La_madam

Would get to eat the BIG piece of chocolate cake and...

And I can bet you are not alone in feeling this way , I love your honesty..Now go to Lisas site and check out that rabbit!!! LOL. I took the brochure to work today and the girls went wild over it.

I love the idea of 2 bashes a year..a winter and a summer... Lets get the ball rolling on this one. How about in Jan or Feb after the Holidays?

Hi Welcome Good luck to you on your upcoming surgery in OCt. Who will be doing your surgery? I went to Mexico as wel land I have bee nvery happy with my Dr. and my after care and my resluts so far. I'm glad you found us here, this is a great site, everyone here is so kind and supportive. Best wishes to you : Hope you have lots of success with your band!

Plain and simple!!! When she gets the bypass be as supportive as you possibly can, do not compare her weight loss to yours. You know you are working hard and seeing progress, and that is al lthat matters. ... but in 2 years after she has lost her wieght just sit back and watch, most likely her pouch will have become stretched and she will start to gain wieght back where as for you , you always have the option of getting a fill and continue to lose weight..

This is the one I bought ( Soy) Vanilla flavored and I enjoy it, I use skim milk with a bananna , lots of ice then blend, YUMMY, 20 grams of Protein per serving... I was never into portein drinks since I hated to use my calories on liquids but my mornings are tight and if I do not do it, I find I can not get in 60 grams of protein like a bandster should so I started this recently, but one thing I have noticed is it gives me gas by the afternoon.

Cute story Christina, Quick thinking, I too thought "Red Eye" meant a late night move, you can tell I do not get out much LOL

I'm a firm believer in this, and liek the otherssaid, do come back and visit, just because you had the bypass does not mean you are not welcome here. We all battle the same demon and support with this demon , no matter where you get it from is still support. I wish you the best

and with the spa pedicure you are in a reclining vibrating , massaging chair, Heaven, pure heaven I say! its a weekly ritual for me, every Monday after I get the boys off to school I get my spa pedicure, worth the $20, sometimes I even pay the $7 for an extra 15 minutes of massage on my feet and legs...my feet have never looked so good

Hi Wlecome and congratulations Hope you have lots of success with your band August Of next year?

I had the last supper syndrome and fortunate for me my doctor did not require a pre op diet, I ate carnitas, beans, rice and tortillas in TJ the night before my surgery. Remember though once you are banded you will stil lget to enjoy food but in much smaller quantities, this is what I love about the band, I get to still enjoy food and yet lose weight . How awesome is that ?

It takes your body 3 days of the liquid diet to get used to it, after 3 days of it it is easier, as far as thepost op diet, you will be amazed at how not hungry you are in thefirst week or so, there isso much swelling and gas that food is not a thought.

Mushy and Pureed foods are different, mushy is foods like refried beans, cottage cheese, scrambled eggs,oatmeal.. those are not pureed food, to me pureed would mean full liquids anything that would go through a straw, you can blend anything to make it pureed ( no chunks) is what I was told

I drink right up until I eat, since no food is in my pouch the liquids go right through, after I eat I usualy wat atleast 30 minutes , sometimes longer depending on what I ate.

You do 258 very well..would of never thought you wieghed 258 and YES Iwould do it over again in a heartbeat.

adding also that if you drink with meals it can be quite painful, the liquid sits on top of the pouch with no where to go and it hurts!

That is just so great!, you must of been very proud. What a great acknowledgement for your daughter

When my son was having his chemo and had to take alot of pills, I used to crush them and put them in a bite of Jello and it slid right down, and since jello is a clear liquid it is safe for you to take so soon post op. Once the swelling goes down from surgery you should be able to take your pills, but once you start getting your fills it is tougher to take med so either get in liquid form or crush it and put it in a bite of pudding, jello, or applesauce. I take liquid tylenol with 1.5 cc's in my band the pills got stuck no matter what I put it in..any antibiotics I have to take I ask for liquid form. Hopefully some of the meds you are taking now, once you lose weight you will no longer take them if they are for high blood pressure or diabetes or cholesterol..many people once they lose weight no longer have to take pills daily other then an antibiotic, tylenol when needed. I take chewable Vitamins also..COngratulations to you on your new band, I hope you have lots of success. I'm happy to hear you had such a pleasant experience

tztmama, port problems are rare. Do a survey on this site and ask how many of us have had port problems, yes it does happen but there are risks with every surgery but more with the RNY in my opinion I would so take a port problem any day with my band then the risk associated with the bypass. Do you really want to worry about malabsorption? Do you really want to worry about the "dumping syndrome"? Do you really want to worry about your pouch stretching out and gaining your weight back? Do you really want to worry about have your insides re-routed? I do not want any of those worries, which is why I chose the band and could not be happier and YES I have had problems in the 17 months. I had esophagitis, gastritis, and complete bowel obstruction which required surgery, but I would do it all over again with my band. Here is a great site with the risks of both surgeries http://www.lapbandvsbypass.com/ it is your decision not your friends, obviously you have chosen the band since you have gotten approved. What detered you from the bypass in the first place and get approved for the band is the question you need to ask yourself. Best wishes to you o nwhatever you decide

If you are 2nd guessing yourself, there is a reason for it. Is this the only Dr. in your area who does the band? Will he take you on afterwards in his new practice? If not then why does it matter if you use him or stay with the practice where he is leaving. Do you know even if he is leaving the surgical group to go to another one and still do the lap bands?

Lisa thanks for starting this thread, it is so great to finally put a face to all of us here.. Now Where's Jack? Jack Oh Jack come out come out wherever you are We want a picture not a belly itcher, Oh wait its we want a pitcher not a belly itcher, but you get the drift

My doctor allows me to drink up until 1 hr before a fill but NO food for 4-5 hours before a fill.

Not even the case with my Dr. in TJ, he will take all the time you need once you get in that fill room and it is just you and him. He will answer any questions you have , he will not make you feel rushed one single bit regardless of how many are out in that waiting room. I have spent 30 minutes in that fil lroom with him asking questions after my fill Octavia, so glad you had an ufill..it is normal to gain wieght now that you can eat more, it will taper off once your body gets used to it, did you have weight gain post op when you went from liquids to solids? I did and so did many others, what you are going through is the same concept. You havent eaten well in days, weeks, now you are able to, it is normal, not to worry. I'm just glad you did the responsible thing and went to see your Dr and got the help you needed before it was too late and too much damage was done and non reversible. One question though , I always thought being in Ketosis was being in fat burining mode, you said you wre in ketosis but not burning fat. I'm confused. Any Dr. who will tell you to leave the band alone when you tell him you cant get food down without it coming back up, well that would concern me. If I PBed more then once a week my Dr. in TJ wants me down there immediately to remove some fill. Exercising is not the sole answer to weight loss, I will tell you that in my 17 months, I have barely exercised and have lost 95 lbs my starting weight was 265 I'm now 170... If you have to grind your hard Proteins to get it down you are too tight! PERIOD! I hope this slight unfill will work for you and you can get the nourishment your body needs, forget about the weight gain ,right now focus on getting well, you have the rest of your life to lose this weight, this is not a race. Best Wishes to you

LOL...LOL... Your cracking me up Alex

Babs, That is great news, I'm happy for you that you got answers and on your way to losing again!