mdlapband

Carolinagirl ... I work in cary I got banded at Duke!

I have a blog and listed out a bunch of stuff here's the link http://happilyafterlapband.blogspot.com/search/label/Pre-Op

Hey y'all! I've had pcos for 10 years now and was banded 5 months ago. It is the number 1 reason why I opted for the surgery.So far, I've lost 72 lbs!! I stopped taking my birth control pills 3 months ago, because I was getting horrible acne on my neck. I tried plenty of different kinds of birth control and it was in fact the reason why my acne was so bad. I'm super excited because I just finished my cycle for the 2nd month in a row. This is the first time in years that I've had a normal cycle that has lasted between 5-7 days and stopped. I still want to lose 60 more lbs before I try to get pregnant. stay away from sugar, eat small amounts (I still aim for 4 oz or less per meal per my dietitian), get 60-80 grams of Protein a day and get yourself addicted to working out at least 6 days a week. I started walking 1-2 miles at a pace i could handle 1 week after surgery and just tried to push myself a little harder every day.

Not sure what the nutritional values are of the lean shakes, but here are the guidelines that my dietitian set out for me (and my husband) post op. (pre-op we were just told to lose as much weight as possible, so we did the atkins diet the week before, and then Clear liquids the day before) Post op we were told to drink 50-80 grams of Protein per day (at least 50 for me and at least 70 for him) Any shakes we drank had to have less than 10 grams of sugar per 8 oz. In order to get that amount of protein post op we added Protein powder to pre-mixed Protein Shakes. We were told to only drink 2oz of protein every 15 mins, so we made 1 shake in the morning that was pumped with protein and then sipped on that all day long. That being said.... sorry for the long answer. If you like those shakes and they are high protein low sugar, you should be able to drink them throughout all of the stages. But of course always check with your doc!

My husband and I do that a lot too. Every couple of weeks I'll voluntarily do a day of liquids. It seems to help. Then one day out of the week I have something that is more of a splurge. I never feel like I can't have anything, so it helps to keep me on track

First thing I wanted to reply with was that I'm 5 months post op and I used to have to take birth control in order to get a normal period. I dumped the birth control about 3 months ago because it was giving me the worst acne and GUESS WHAT?! I just finished a normal period for the 2nd month in a row!!!! YAY! In regards to the comment below: A low carb diet has always helped me with PCOS and I recently tried doing atkins w/ my lapband. ( I really like atkins and have no issues with it) But this time I was getting light headed/dizzy quite frequently and for longer than just the first couple of days. Dr. Westman, the dr who just wrote the New Atkins book actually practices at Duke (Where I had my lapband surgery done) and he has worked with the dietitians that I work with. My dietitian explained that lapband patients on atkins should acutally up sodium intake just a touch. Maybe have a cup of chicken broth midday. It is supposed to help with that low carb dizziness! I thought that was an awesome tip right from the King of Low Carb and wanted to share!!

Are you looking to be really full or just satisfied? My dietitian warned that you should never feel very full, because that can actually stretch your little pouch. Also, do you feel like you are starving hungry, or more head hungry? What I mean is, do you really want to eat, or do you feel like you're starving and you absolutely have to eat? Try bumping up the Protein in your breakfast. Maybe add a scoop of Protein powder to your glass of milk in the mornings.

YAY!! Letters of approval are definitely reason to celebrate! My husband is banded too he loves it and has lost over 90 lbs in 5 mos! You'll do great!

Try getting about 60-80 grams of protein a day. Even add protein to your pre-mixed protein shakes. That should help!

Welcome to the site and best of luck with the insurance/paperwork process. Getting a lapband is truly the best thing I've ever done for myself. It takes lots of work and lots of mental toughness but it works!

The protein is key! if you get sick of the same protein over and over again, check out syntrax nectar (promise I don't get paid to say any of this) There are so many different flavors so it makes it easy to get all your protein in. Mybariatricpantry.com sells sample packs of nectar, matrix, and protizyme I've loved all of those so far!

I have PCOS as well and decided to get a band in hopes that I will be able to get pregnant in a year or so. I've always just taken birth control for PCOS but it always gives me horrible cystic acne. I was banded on Dec 19, 2011 and I've lost 71 lbs to date. I decided about 2 months ago to dump the birth control because I was sick of the horrible acne. I'm happy to report that last month I had a normal 1 week period. I have about 49 more pounds to lose and then I'm going to try getting pregnant and see how it goes.

First and foremost you are down 16 lbs and that is awesome. Second, you are going to have slip ups. I always tell myself as long as I do right 6 days out of 7 I can be healthy. You aren't going to gain weight from eating the chicken strips. Was it a great healthy choice? No. But you're human and you messed up. As you get used to your band and understand how it works for your body some days will get a lot easier and some days will be tougher than today. The band isn't magic, it just a great tool that we can use. Overeating and making bad choices got us to where we were before the band and those habits will take a long time to change! You are in no way a failure. Here are a couple of things that have helped me. Use Myfitnesspal.com or some other form of food tracker. When you slip up be true to yourself and just record it. When you see the calories it makes it easier to say no the next time. As soon as you possibly can start walking and tracking the calories that you burn. when you compare how hard it is to burn calories to what you want to eat it makes it easier to say no. I wish I could give you a big hug because I know how you feel, but you're alright, just get up and try again tomorrow!