Corrigan

Hi yourself.

My only suggestion at this point would be to call a Bariatric Center of Excellence and see what you think of their program. I don't know of anyone who wasn't happy with their treatment and care at one. There are six in the city, find the one closest to you, you'll have to make six or eight visits, but I guarantee it'll be worth it. I had my surgery at Cedars-Sinai in LA and had absolutely no problems, even walked two miles the day after. Best of luck to you, and welcome to the group.

Same here, I was on 3 shots and 4 pills a day, now I'm down to 1 small shot and could probably do without it (security blanket). Aint it great?

Dawn, I've been banded for 3 months and haven't had a fill yet, and no hunger. Some folks go for years without a fill. I've asked and none seems to know why the difference, but I'll take it. In your case as has been stated already, you're healing and will be for six weeks. You're really lucky you don't have any hunger. Most postop people complain mightily about starving. Hope your hunger stays away.

There have been a number of people here who have reported that they are shaky sweating, and lightheaded. Any diabetic can tell you that these are the classic symptoms of low blood sugar. It seems to be fairly common with the pre and postop liquid diets. Most diabetics know that glucose will end those symptoms fruit juice, table sugar or even a piece of bread will help. There's nothing wrong with these diets and we'll all get used to lower blood sugar levels in a short while, we just need to be aware of what's going on. Mine was 150 to 200, now with 50 lbs lost, it's 80 to 100 and I feel fine. Low blood sugar can be dangerous if it's allowed to get too low.

The best thing you can do is walk walk walk, some folks say windmilling your arms helps (you probably should do that in the privacy of your home). It will go away in a few days.

It sounds like just where you want to be. Your weight loss is good, and you're not supposed to drink while you eat, or am I coming in the middle of another post?

I don't know if this is a legitimate post or not, but as with plastic surgeons, weight loss surgeons are not all created equal. Some are a great deal better than others. In my opinion, anyone contemplating WLS in other than a Center of Excellence is taking a great chance with their future. Of course there are excellent surgeons that are not CoEs, but which ones? Anyone who undergoes WLS without doing adequate research is just jumping in the pool without checking if there's any water. How in the world would anyone allow a surgeon, advertising on a billboard, to operate on them without a thorough investigation? Is there any wonder why these surgeries fail? No pre or post op care? Come on.

It's kind of old fashioned, but bicarbonate of soda before your drink may help, if you can get past the taste.

Good luck, Amanda!

How about settimg your weight goal at 150?

Welcome, you'll find this a friendly, helpful group. As far as the liquid diet, it's only as bad as you make it. This surgery is to lose weight and to do that you have to reduce your calories. There are a few weeks that the liquid diet is necessary, but with a little ingenuity it really isn't that bad. Most of the folks that are in the program don't have too much of a problem with it, I hope you don't.

I'll be brutely honest, If you can't lose 11 lbs in one year, I wonder if the band is going to do you any good. There is a lot of sacrifice and deprivation involved. Will power is probably the most valuable asset in a successful bander. The band, by itself, won't cause you to lose one pound. This is like a diet with a little help. I'm not trying to be cruel, just honest. Talk to a respectable weight loss doctor and get some guidelines to see if there isn't something you can do. At this time the band probably isn't it.

Pizza, pigs feet an cheap beer sausages.

All I could suggest is to check their reputation as carefully as you can. Life has been made quite miserable for some people by WLS clinics that were less than fully qualified. The fluoroscope is a good sign. Take a look at the "5 day pouch test". A number of people have used it with excellent results. Look in the search section of this site or on Google. I hope it works for you.

Welcome, one of the last words in your intro is the key to successful weight loss......... Commitment. It takes some work and a bit of deprivation, but if you're committed, you'll lose. Best of luck.

If you can wait 3 more days, in the foods section there is a recipe for potato soup that uses instant mashed potatos, dried garlic and onion and some other stuff, that's really good. It is posted as instant, but I cook it for 5-8 minutes. Costco has chicken bullion that works well with protein isolate (look on line or in a health food store), and helped me through the liquid stage. There's nothing easy about this, but I don't know any other way. Popsicles and fudgecicles are a help, but I'm afraid the only way is to keep busy and grit your teeth a lot. Best of luck.

Hi Roseann, you should have an appointment with a nutritionist during your indoctrination. They'll tell you just what you need to get. Your list sounds pretty complete as it is. The only thing you might add is vitamin B12 (sublingual). My program may not be the same as yours, so what I needed may not be what you need. If for some reason you don't get a list of stuff you need, we'll be happy to provide you with what our program suggested. I think you'll be surprised just how fast you'll be out and about.

A number of people have been banded for a year or more with no fills. So It just depends on the individual. There are some that have had 7 or 8 fills and still aren't at restriction. A lot of it depends on the resolve of the individual. I was banded a month before you and haven't had a fill yet, but I'm still losing. Of course the band, by itself, won't make you lose weight. Anyone can eat around the band, so we need to follow our surgeon and nutritionist's instructions.

Why not start with 6 hrs a week (two hours a day, three times a week) to start and work up from there? If you start too strong it gets boring quickly and is hard to stay with it.

Ester, there are people on this forum who have lost over 200 lbs. It all depends how bad you want to lose. The complication rate for the Lap band is less than any other weight loss surgery. I've only been banded for two months and have lost over 50 lbs. with no fills. You can lose 70 lbs by next summer, with a little effort

You know that when you eat much less your energy level drops for a while. The vitamin B12 is a big help for me. This is the time of year when we have to cut and split wood and I had a rough time for a while, but now I'm back in the swing of things. Most of us have a 3-4 week period of malaise, when we don't even want to get off the couch. Just give it some time. Good luck.

You must have married a jackass. I can understand two people gettig mad at each other, but to abandon your kids is absolutely unforgivable. You sound like you've gotten things back together, best of luck to you and the kids.

Eat a little cottage cheese if you feel you're not getting enough protein. You can buy protein isolate on line or at a health food store, sprinkle it on food or broth.

Hi Judy, how great to hear a post from someone with a positive attitude. keep it up.