Alex Brecher

2 weeks ??? That's insane, especially since you're going to be doing the same thing 2 weeks post op. Did you ask your doctor why he's requiring yo to go on a liquid diet for 2 weeks ? My doctor had me on a low fat diet 3-5 days before my surgery so my liver should shrink and it would be easier for her to operate.

Hi Thanks for joining us here at LBT. What's your story ?

WOW! It was all worth the effort putting this forum together just to read your post! 68 Pounds is nothing to laugh at! You lost a little over 2 pounds each week which is very normal. According to what I've read, you should be loosing 1-2 pounds every week. How many fills have you had so far ? Let us know how things go!

Before I had my surgery I made it very clear to my wife that I did not want her to discuss it with ANYBODY. The only people who know about my surgery are my wife and my doctor. I didn't mention it to my parents since I didn't want them worrying. I also felt that I had absolutely nothing to gain by mentioning it to family and friends. Did you make it clear to your husband that you didn't want him to mention your operation to anybody or did you just expect hm to use common sense ?

Sheila, Thanks a million! Please let us know how things go for you. When are you planning to get banded ?

I've spoken to a few of my doctors patients and none of them have ever had problems during fills. As a matter of fact my Dr. - Dr. Ren and her assistant never use x-rays!

Alexandra, We're all rooting for you!! Let us know how your appointment went.

Howdy freebutterfly, 60 pounds in only 3 months...that's awesome! Did you have your first fill yet ?

I haven't had my first fill yet. I'm curious to know how your doc did the fill. Did he use an xray machine or he just felt around for your port ?

Thanks! I'm so happy I was able to give something back to the lap band community.

There are some great diet iced teas out there but you're right...nothing can replace a good cold diet coke! I asked my nutritionist about diet soda and she said that I could have it but I should make sure that I let the soda sit around a little to get rid of the carbonation. I have to tell you that there are people out there that are very sensitive to NutraSweet. I was on the Atkins diet a while back and I wasn't loosing any weight. The Atkins center recommended that I cut out diet soda and any NutraSweet products and that really did the trick.

Alexis, Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to try that tonight and see how it goes.

Isabella asked me if I heard of Dr. Arturo Rodriguez but I have not. Has anybody on this forum used or heard of Dr. Arturo Rodriguez ?

This Friday I graduated from a complete liquid diet to a pureed or mushy/soft food diet. I had some baby food, apple sauce and Farina until this evening in small portions. Tonight I decided to try mashed fish and mashed potatoes. The fish and potatoes went down without any problems. I chewed everything really well and took my time. When I finished I felt like I was stuffed. I think I had too much mashed potatoes and fish. Are there any guidelines as to HOW MUCH I should be eating per meal ?

I tried adding spell check to the forum but it was way too complicated. Until I figure it out I'd suggest you use http://www.iespell.com/ . It's a great tool and you can use it on any site.

This forum has now been added.

We'd need to add 50 categories to the forum. I might add a special section for local discussions but to break every category into 50 sub categories...... Let me know if you have any suggestions on how to do this.

Alexandra, I researched Bariatric surgeries over a year ago when I was around 225 Pounds. I decided that I'd try to loose the weight with other diets one last time before I'd consider surgery. I tried around 5-10 diets and I lost weight with every one of them. The problem is that I kept on gaining weight each time I went off any of the diets. I hit 247 around 4 months ago and I decided that I had to take drastic action. I went to an information session with my wife at New York University given by Dr. Ren and I was very impressed. At the end of the session I was 100% sure that I wanted to go ahead with the Lap-band procedure. I thought about it for a few weeks and I was a little nervous. I did tons of research online and I decided to take the dive. I called Dr. Ren at the beginning of July and made an appointment with her for that same week. I met with her and she asked me if I wanted to think it over...I told her I had thought about it already and I scheduled a surgery date for July 25th. When I went to her office a few days later the secretary told me there was a spot open on July 18th. At first I was really nervous since it was only a few days away and I had prepared myself mentally for the 25th. I decided that it didn't really make much of a difference and I was going to jump into this head first. I didn't think much about the surgery or the anesthesia until I was on the operating table . They put me out pretty quickly and I don't remember anything else except waking up in the recovery room. I wasn't in pain, just a little groggy. It's been less than 2 weeks since my surgery and if not for my small bandages on my stomach I'd forget about the band. I feel 100% NORMAL. You might pass some gas after your surgery but it's not like you'll be farting uncontrollably for a week or two

Amy, 42 pounds is not shabby at all! Have you been following the 7 Golden rules ? ( http://www.geocities.com/laylaburd/AGB/sevenrules.html )

My liquid diet will be over tomorrow but I was pretty creative the last 2 weeks and I was actually enjoying the liquids I was drinking. I found some great tasting yogurt and fruit drinks that kept me going the last 2 weeks.

To quote from http://thinforlife.med.nyu.edu/faq.html#work: "Using a laparoscopic technique for bariatric surgery has the advantage of allowing you to return to daily activities much faster than if you had the standard open incision. Healing of smaller incisions is faster with less pain, and has a lower risk for the development of hernias. Therefore, we encourage you to exercise as soon as you feel ready, and this can be as early as one week. Some people have returned to work on the 4th day after surgery, however, most patients find that they need 1 or 2 weeks before going back to work. You may feel tired during the first week, but you will feel more energetic as you lose weight. " I was told that I could exercise after one week but I should not do sit ups or weight lifting for 4 weeks.

Pretty close, I drank: http://www.nakedjuice.com/iwant_superfoods.php?blend=proteinpack

rrrsmom, I had the same exact side effects for a few days after my surgery. I still get gasy even 10 days after my surgery.

If any of you haven't noticed this has been added to our lovely forum .

I own my own business but if I were working for someone else I think I would have taken a few days off.