RaleighGal

Thank you for your suggestions. Day one of full liquids went pretty well. I had 1/2c. runny cream of wheat and 1/2c. of banana pudding made with Protein powder for Breakfast. It took me about 50 minutes to eat. Then we went and ran to a few stores and a movie and I became very hungry. I had my bottle Water with me so that helped curve the hunger. We got home about 5:30 and I made a Protein shake, and then had a cup of strained cream of mushroom soup about 7:45. I did not get all of my protein in, but I will plan better if I go out next time. I am unsure if I should still eat if I am not feeling hungry as well. Dusty Rider- I think I am going to try the watermelon smoothie, that sounds so refreshing! Julian- It is amazing how different the doctor’s orders are across the board. My doctor said a week for each stage of foods after surgery, and the nutritionist I went to said 3 days for each stage. When I asked my doctor, he said to follow his rules so I heal. I am sure each doctor tells their patients to follow their rules.

I had surgery 3 days ago and I have had pretty bad indigestion. I have been trying to get in as much liquid as I can a day, I am on Clear liquids for a week. I am taking Chewable Gas-X but that does not seem to be helping the indigestion/heart burn. Any suggestions to help this? Also, how much were you able to drink the days following surgery. Thanks!

Goodbye yummy Cookies and cakes. Goodbye fried foods and starchy potatoes and breads. Goodbye large portions. Goodbye eating late at night or just because someone offers it to you. For as far back as I can remember, food and I have had a love/hate relationship. Food has given me both comfort, misery and a waist that has constantly increased, decreased and increased again. I have battled over what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat. Food has made people judge me, laugh at me and stare at me for being the biggest person in the room. Food has made me feel bad after I would binge, and feel good when I knew I was doing the right things and making the right choices. So today this all ends! I am breaking up with my dysfunctional relationship with food! So to you bad food…listen up! I will no longer let you control my life. I will no longer make bad food choices that sabotage my long term weight loss success. I will no longer eat the bad food choices to make me feel good. I will no longer turn to food when I am stressed. I will no longer stock my kitchen cupboards with you. I want you out of my life for good! Moving on…hello good foods! Let me introduce myself to you. My name is Jen and you and I are going to be best friends. You are going to help me in more ways than you will ever know. You are going to be a form of nutrients that make me feel good about myself. You are going to help me loose weight and keep it off for good this time. You are going to keep me feeling strong and not sluggish. You are going to fill my cupboards and fridge with healthy choices. You are going to help me reach goals and finally do all the fun things I have sat on the sidelines watching for years. I will no longer let food control my life and have it be a permeate fixture over everything. I will no longer make bad food choices. I will no longer eat till it hurts. I will no longer let food dictate the choices I make. Social gatherings will not be centered around food…instead, they will be for spending time with those you care about, not what to eat or where to eat. As I get ready for surgery tomorrow, I have a mountain of emotions flooding over me. I am so beyond ready to make this change and create a better, healthier me! Sometimes you have to leave something behind…and for me, I have decided to leave bad food choices behind.

Thank you all for your feedback. I understand fully what everyone is saying. I love having so many people able to share their opinions and experiences...makes this journey so much easier! I think that by my doctor giving me a HUGE list of no-no items (carbs, sweets, etc.), I have gotten into the mindset of never eating anything good again. I am happy to hear I can cheat every once in a while and eat something yummy, in moderation of course

November 17th…the day I have been waiting for since May when this journey started. I am trying my hardest to stay calm but I am an emotional basket case. I cry at the drop of a dime…even know I am so excited to have the surgery. Hopefully I can make it through the next 2 days and not put Kleenex out of business

That is very exciting news!!! You will make your goal for sure ) Keep up the great work...I have my surgery next Thursday and I am counting down to big milestones like yours.

My doctor told me that he would not put any fluid in my band during surgery. He wants the swelling to go down and for me to heal before my first fill.

My doctor advised doing a one week liver shrinking diet, and Clear liquids the day before surgery. Instead of starting the liver diet on Thursday of this week, I just started it on Monday to get a few extra days in (and to start a fresh week). I have a Protein shake for Breakfast, Protein Shake and raw veggies for lunch, hard-boiled egg for mid afternoon snack and fish or chicken and veggies for dinner. If I get hungry I have sugar free Jello. I will do whatever the doctor asks of me before and after surgery to assure a safe and smooth surgery and success after surgery. After surgery I need to be on clear liquids only for a week, then liquids (Protein shakes, tomato Soup, etc), mushies, soft foods and finally regular foods, each stage lasting a week. I will be very excited to move to liquids on Thanksgiving day and enjoy soup of some sort J Yes, the holidays will be hard, but my long term health is so worth it!!!

The nurse I am working with through United Healthcare suggested that I prepare a living will before surgery incase anything goes wrong, my husband can make any medical decisions necessary. Has anyone prepared one before surgery? If so, did you find a website that you used as a template, or did you see a lawyer? My surgery is 2 weeks away so this is something I am going to need to do very soon. Thank you for your help!

Thank you to everyone for your replies :-) I appreciate the feedback and information. JustDoIt130...I am seeing Dr. Bruce at Bariatric Specialist of NC. He is fantastic, just had my what I thought was pre-op today, but it was my results visit. I have my Pre-op at Rex on11/14, then surgery on 11/17.

I agree...and I did make sure I am having my surgery at a Center of Excelence...but the nurse had me so freaked out, I just wanted to get some opinions. What was your recovery time like after surgery?

After the months of waiting…I finally have my surgery date. I got the official “approval” from insurance Friday afternoon and I cannot be more excited. As soon as the approval came in, I scheduled my pre-op visit (Friday, November 4th) and my surgery date, November 17th. I figure what better birthday gift to give myself than the gift of a lifelong change that will make me healthier, more energetic and finally hit the weight requirement to sky dive! I really wanted to skydive for my 30th birthday 2 years ago…but I was too heavy. Next November, I am going to sky dive to not only celebrate my birthday, but also to celebrate my one year anniversary with my life changing band.

I am excited to be a November Banster too I was fortunate to get my surgery for November 17th (my birthday). This is the begining of the new me!!! I am so lucky to have found this amazing site...the support is fantastic! Good luck to all the other November Bansters out there, may you have a life time of great success!

I ordered the sample packs as well. I started with the chocolate shakes for breakfast this week...they are yummy!! I have the strawberry sorbet pack in my purse to drink this afternoon mixed with my sugar free lemonaid. I love how you can order sample packs and try them before you order a huge container.

I recieved my approval call last Friday...it's a great feeling huh??? I was on cloud 9 all weekend...and still am!! Good luck to you and I hope you hear about your surgery date soon!!!

I have my pre-op appointment Friday…I have a list of questions ready, but I want to make sure I am not forgetting anything... *What are some questions you wish you would have asked during this appointment that you did not ask? *What are the key questions I should ask? Thank you for your help!

Thank you, I have not even thought to ask any of those. You read on here that there are various sizes of bands, fill schedules, etc. I appreciate your questions :-)

Ah good ol United Healthcare :-) Thats who I have as well. I just finished my 6 month doctor supervised weight management plan and I am scheduled for surgery on November 17th. Hang in there, my time flew by and it gave me a lot of time for self reflection and to get in the habit of going to the gym and eating better. I do not know if your United Healthcare plan has it or not, but mine has a specific nurse that I can call with any questions on nutrition, lap band, etc. She was very helpful during the 6 months. Best of luck to you!!

Thank you to everyone for your feedback to my post. It makes me feel better that I am not alone in my feelings about having to use my CPAP machine, and it also seems that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. I still continue to struggle at night, but hopefully the struggle will get easier as time goes on.

About 2 months ago, I went for my sleep study...when it was over, they asked me to come back and do the oh so pleasant test again this time hooked up to a CPAP machine. I was mortified! The regular sleep study was stressful enough, and now I need to be hooked up to something else. I went for the second sleep study and requested the same guy to conduct it as my first one (since he was very nice and understanding). As he started to explain what was going to happen...I lost it and started crying. He assured me that it was not going to be as bad as I thought it was. We tried a pillow mask (under the nose) and a small mask that covered my nose fully. Though I liked the comfort of the pillow model, the air pressure was strong. So I went with the small mask. I slept as good as could be expected and felt no different in the morning. So fast forward a few weeks and I am sitting in the medical supply office picking up my CPAP equipment. I got home that night and as I set it up, my husband came in and tried to lighten the mood and make me laugh a bit since he could tell I was very emotional. Again, I started to cry mainly due to the embarrassment of having to use this machine now. I put on the mask that night and woke up with a rash along the sides of my cheeks closest to my nose and pain in my lower eye sockets. I toughed it out for a week and this all continued. I did everything they told me to do when I got the machine...washed my mask daily, set the humidity to 3, filled the Water, etc. I called the medical supplier and we switched to the pillow model which I was finally able to pick up last week (after waiting 2 1/2 weeks). I have not been able to make it a whole night with the pillow mask. I am having severe stress and emotional issues with this machine and having to use it. As positive as I try to be, this is really putting a damper on my self esteem. I know that this is best for my health and long term goals, but I am just so frustrated. So my questions to you are... How did you deal with the emotional component of getting the CPAP machine? What advice can you give me on ways to deal with my stress/emotions when I put my mask on nightly? Was your sleep apnea reversed after loosing weight? Do you see a difference using the machine?

I have taken the past several months before my surgery (November 2011) to really focus on me and get in the habit of exercising and eating better when I wait for the 6 month insurance required waiting period. I hit a huge milestone this morning that I have to share. I stepped on the scale and it read 299.7. I stepped off and got on again and it still read 299.7. Was I really finally under 300lbs??? I have not been under 300lbs in about 10 years. I stood, looking in the mirror watching the tears of joy run down my face. I felt proud and excited. I cannot wait to feel many more of these moments as the weight continues to come off. I hope to lose another 10lbs before my surgery mid November.

Welcome to this site! I have found so much great information and everyone is so positive and encouraging! May 2012 will get here before you know it :-)

Thank you all for your kind words. I was bummed at first that I had to wait the 6 months, but it really has been a great time for self reflection and change :-)

I have been looking at this site for several weeks (my husband says I am kinda obsesed...lol), as well as other sites trying to find one where I can feel comfortable posting as well as getting positive feedback and answers to my questions. I have to say, everyone here is so positive and uplifting and I have learned so much already just looking around. I cannot wait to continue to learn more as I get deeper into the discussions and find support as my surgery date gets closer. I have never thought about having weight loss surgery till my husband and I went to see a fertility specialist and were told that my weight (along with having PCOS) is the main factor preventing us from getting pregnant. As I sat in his office sobbing, feeling embarrassed and down on myself, he told me about the Lap Band procedure. He said that it was a lifestyle change and that he has several overweight patients that have had the procedure and have not needed fertility treatments. When I got in the car, I dried my tears, took a deep breath and called the doctors office and reserved my space in the next information session the following week. We have been trying to get pregnant for over 5 years...this could be my answer to not only starting a family, but a change that will make me healthy for years to come! I started my journey in May 2011 by attending an information session, then my first consultation appointment with my doctor. I was informed at that time that my insurance requires a 6 month waiting period (which from reading on here is fairly common). I was upset that I had to wait, but these past several months have been months of reflection. I have worked hard on changing my eating habits, exercising 5-6 times a week and working with a trainer twice a week. My husband has been my biggest supporter and number one cheerleader. Looking back, I am thankful for this time of reflection and time to get my eating and exercise on track. I am an emotional eater and turn to food for comfort. I now try to turn to other things like exercise, reading, and yes, surfing this site gathering information. I still struggle with a fair amount of emotional eating and/or making bad choices, but from where I was the begining of the year, it is much improved. I have completed all of the required appointments (labs, therapist, sleep study, nutritionist, etc.) and my last supervised doctors appointment is on October 10th. I am keeping my fingers crossed for surgery in November. Everything checked out great with the exception of having mild/moderate sleep apnea, which I am having a hard time dealing with. I have had my cpap machine for a week and am still trying to get use to it. I am also going on a thrift store hunt this weekend so I can stop spending so much money on clothes as I loose weight. I am 31 years old and have so much life to live. I have been heavy all my life, but have been watching the scale go down the past several months...and will continue to watch it go down. I am so ready to see what the future holds...and I cannot wait to be able to go out and do the activities I miss doing, but I am too self conscious or heavy to do like roller coasters, water parks, race cars, etc. I am doing this surgery for me, with fantastic plans for the future, and a healthy, long life! So I will end by saying an official hello, and I hope I can be as helpful and encouraging to others on here, as I know you all will be to me!

I understand what you are going through 100%...to have nice, plus size clothes, Lane Bryant is the best place to go but they are SOOOOOoooooo expensive. I have already lost some weight waiting for surgery (November) and I got so sick and tired of going back to Lane Bryant to get clothes, that I have started looking at nice thrift stores. I figure I am not going to be in the higher sizes for much longer...and I am not going to go broke continuing to shop for them. I cannot wait to be able to shop in the regular ladies department, at ANY store, ANY price point and find nice clothes. Our day will come when we just walk past stores like Lane Bryant and into all the stores we just walked by and looked into for years.