Rebecca Cain Salpacka

way to go...keep up the good work.

Its hard to really tell ya what to get because each doctor/surgeon has different requirements. My surgeon gave me one list, and the nutritionist that sees all of the patients for this surgeon, had a slightly different list. A few things are almost universal though. sugar-free popsicles crystal light decaf coffee/tea no-sugar added carnation instant Breakfast skim milk hope this helps

Yup was informed of the above both verbally from surgeon as well as in the reading material. Since the band is just a tool...if i get a few years out of it before anything happens with it, im confident that I will have formed and kept the habits needed to continue to eat healthy portions and healthy foods, even if the band was no longer in place. Thanks for posting tho, for those who may be browsing the forum before even talking to surgeon this could be helpful.

Sorry, not here..but will be watching this thread for ideas for when i go on solids after my surgery...thanks for posting the question.

Congrats on getting back into it. Best of luck and determination to you on your revisit to this amazing journey.

Twins....I absolutely love that idea....I dont work around food..but anything and everything hubby makes smells yummy, even stuff I dont care to eat lol...So i may have to try that...thanks for the suggestion. Anume...my surgery is 26th and I start my week pre-op diet, on the 19th...I will be thinking of you...we both WILL get through this...it will all be so worth it in the end.

They say the first month is the hardest, so way to go on making it through!

I get severe headaches when i dont eat within 5-6 hrs of my last meal. I asked nutritionist and surgeon abourt this for when i do the liquid diet..they said the protein drinks should be enough to keep them from happening, but if not..a few crackers would be okay, and see if that helps. They said the diet is to reduce the fat and sugars you are taking so it will shrink you liver..and a few crackers wouldnt be enough to keep that from happening....but if u feel better hearing it from your doc directly, give them a quick call in the morning and see what they suggest. Good luck!

I found Muscle Milk on sale today, so grabbed it to try out before my pre-op liquid diet starts...I tried chocolate...YUCK! lol. I also found Myoplex Lite...chocolate fudge .... a little better taste. If i dont find anything else i like better, i can stomach it enough drink one a day for the weeek before and the week after surgery. Im going to try one or two more that ive seen listed on this board and see how they are.

wow, im so glad to read that some of you who started at higher weights, have lost so much in one year. I know each of us are different, and if i dont lose at the same rate, not to be discouraged. I started at 356 the day i met the surgeon, 1/26/12 I have been dieting and working out ever since, but no budge on the scale..i have lost a few inches tho. I have set a goal of 75 lbs for my first year and a total of 156 over all. obviously at only 5'1, 200 lbs will still be heavy for me..but its a realistic goal for me to start with, and once i reach that, then ill set another one. Hearing about the stories on here..makes me realize that my year goal is verrry doable.

OC...ty so much for the website. Now if they would just make vitamins more affordable, it would be even better lol.

My Surgery date is April 26th. I found out on Tuesday (the day after my birthday), that the insurance approved it. Its crazy how excited I am about it..slight nerves (more so about how ill do getting through the pre-op liquid diet)...but I am soooo ready to do this.

Just got the info with my 1 week pre-op liquid diet on it. Surprised that there is no protein shakes or drinks of any sort on there. I see the nutritionist on the 5th so going to ask her about it..the pre-op liquid diet is the same is the 1st week post-op, so two weeks with no protein...doesnt sound right to me.

i had looked on cvs and walgreens before and missed that they had the liquid vitamins..but i see the ones sharon mentioned..they actually have the 8oz bottle on sale for $4 instead of the normal 7.99 right now. so thanks Sharon for mentioning them. I will look into the others mentioned as well. Hubby and I are both out of work right now..so the cheaper I can get them..the better.

So I have read everywhere and doc has also told me.. I will need to take liquid or chewable Multivitamins...but didnt say when to start taking them.. I know u can get childrens chewables (she said take 2 of them) but i have never seen liquid ones? I am going to ask doc more about it at my april 5th appt....but was just curious if others are taking the liquid? where they found it? and did u start before surgery or after surgery? thanks

Arpil 26th here... Exactly 11 months before turning 40..I have dreaded getting older lol...but now I cant wait to turn 40...im looking forward to 40 as if I was turning 21 again! liquid diet will start on the 19th...we just scheduled everything yesterday so they are sending me the info in the mail as far as what to have during that week before...After the band the liquid week wont be so bad i dont think cuz i wont feel so hot anyway..but the week before the surgery scares me lol

The blood clot concern makes total sense, and someone mentioned her doc decided to have her stay over because of the apnea...i too have apnea.

Thanks all, i wondered if maybe it was an insurancee thing or just a doc preference. maybe ill be lucky and things will be smooth after one night..we will see

I'm curious to how long everyones hospital stay was? I ask because prior to meeting my surgeon, everything I read was saying that surgery is usually outpatient and you go home the same day. However, my surgeon said I would stay overnight and because I was "one of her larger patients" I would most likely stay 2 nights. Thats not a big deal for me, but I was quite surprised by it. Has anyone else had to stay overnight or longer?

PA, I too am through the pre stuff, as of Friday the 24th. I spoke with surgeons secretary on the 29th and she said that surgeon should be done reviewing everything within few days and then can submit to insurance and she would call me when that happened..but im still waiting on the call. Hopefully sometime this week...but then, its another 6-8 wks for an answer...thats gonna be the time that will draggggg. Hoping to have surgery by end of May, we shall see. Hope yours comes through soon as well, i know the anxiety is driving me mad lol.

WTG...you are doing amazing, and are very inspiring to Pre-op patients like myself. Thanks for sharing your journey.

My First Appt was last friday...the doc never actually said "2 months or 5 months, etc" but she said after the preop tests and appts, then its 6-8 wks for insurance...then usually another 6wks or so out from the approval date, that they schedule the surgery...so even though i have all my preop appts set up to be done by end of next week, we are still looking at 3 and half to 4 months maybe a bit longer...im hoping end May mid June. Good luck!

I have all my "pre surgery" appts made for my tests and evaluations...should have them all done by end of next week...thought for sure would take me a month to get them all scheduled, but everyone had openings that worked perfect with my schedule. So this will bring my expected surgery date up a little closer..so im totally excited.

Had my first doc appt yesterday. I was surprised to hear some conflicting information from what I have read on here as well as various websites about Lap Band. Mainly, the info about what to eat after the surgery (once you start on solids). I have been reading that you want to go with soft foods pretty much all the time...surgeon says the firmer the better, softer foods will go right past the band and you wont fill as full as fast...you just have to eat slow enough so that food doesnt get stuck because you are shoveling it into your body so fast, it doesnt have a chance to digest correctly...makes sense. Other than that, most of what she said coincides with much of what I have read online...either way, shes the doc, and ill go with what she says lol I was hoping, based on what I have seen on here, that I would be able to have surgery by my birthday (end of March) however, after the tests and appts i have to do, it will take 6-8 wks for insurance approval, its state insurance, and so they are wayyy backlogged, then she said she usually sets surgery date about 6 wks after the approval is received. So that puts me somewhere around May, end of June the latest. I do have my psych appt made for Feb 6, and I will call monday and get the chest xray and cardiology stuff done...so at least the ball is rolling and hopefully the next few months fly by, im super excited and soooo ready to do this.

And you should! 3 lbs is a huge accomplishment..keep up the great work