KarenElaine

Hi! And a warm welcome. Keep posting your progresses, concerns, questions, whatever. We are all here to help each other. The only place I've found with no ridicule.

Julie Norton....I buy my Quest bars on Amazon

Ive been super selective in telling anyone as well. My husband, my sons, my boss, my mom, one sister, BF at work. That's it. Im going shopping today for my pre & post op needs, gearing up. I want to be ready when they give me the go word.

I have a flex. I purchased it 3 months ago, pre op, to help with monitoring activity. I wear it all the time, including the shower. I have no problems with skin rashes. I like it for the awareness it provides me about activity. I have it paired with "My Fitness Pal" and I also received the "Aria" scale as a gift so that is also tied into my dashboard It is a simple way to monitor my activity and motivate me to do more. I notice when I have been sitting all day, and if I am close to goals I have established. It will compensate for activity on My Fitness Pal but I have not eaten more because of the fitbit adjustment. I look at that as a bonus.

Quest bars, best ever.

thanks everyone, all great suggestions. I am also looking at the Planet Fitness in my town and my 11 yr old asked why we couldn't consider the "Y"...so we are going to tour all three this coming week and decide.

Yay! My surgery is August 15, good luck to you!

Done!

Thank you! I was just reading " The BIG Book on Bariatric Surgery" and it recommended carrying Protein bars to help stay on track. *smacks forehead* Why didn't I think of that?!

I was just looking at my doc's suggestions yesterday: my doc recommends Quest (I love them!), Balance bars, Myoplex Lite, Oh Yeah Natural Bar, Detour or the Simply bar.
My personal favorite is Quest chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. It's just like the real thing, and very easy to chew. My suggestion is go to GNC and get some single bars of things you find appealing and start that way.

If you could control your food consumption you would not need a lapband. It's about Portion Control mostly. my band will not let me overeat comfortably. there are a few things I cannot eat such as French fries and rice.. otherwise I can eat pretty much what I want . don't worry so much about your changing for now, it will come about with the band. Good Luck.

One of the many things I would like to share with lap banders is you dont have to have a food Funeral ! Most people can eat 75-100 % of what they ate before. The thing is , partly, is you dont WANT to eat junk because you're noticing a weight loss or feeling heathier or looser clothes. Yes I can still have pizza, cheeseburgers and fries, bread, and Pasta, but very rarely eat them, and then only have a couple of bites before im satisfied or my body says " NO more! " I only have a few foods that I absolutely cant have again, so you learn to substitute something close. ( celery instead of broccoli, chicken thighs instead of chicken breast, etc ). NO food funerals ! Just normal healthy foods with an occasional not so healthy food. Mostly Protein, fruits, salads, some nuts, cheese, crackers and pb. A little cookie/ ice cream or something sweet every day. Nothing weird, Hope this helps !

Honey....I know just how you feel, I felt the same way before I had lap band surgery. First of all, you should be able to eat alot of the foods you think you'll never eat again. But....you may find as I did, that you don't want them so much anymore once you find that losing the excess weight feels so much better than how good any food tastes.
I just got back from a cruise, and believe it or not, I lost a pound. I had virtually no problem eating healthy choices and not overeating. I feel soooo much better with the weight loss and better mobility that I don't care about what I can't or shouldn't eat anymore.
If you need to have food funerals right now, go ahead and do it. But I bet that once you start to look and feel better, you won't be missing that food the way you think you will.
Good luck and keep us posted.

I am waiting for my insurance to OK my lap-band surgery. But in the mean time i am eating like i always have,its like i know i will never be able to have these foods again. And i guess maybe i will feel deprived and have mad cravings?

why do i do this knowing i need to change? I feel like i want to eat everything ,i guess like a alcoholic having his last drink before going in to rehab. I just hope that i can get over these feelings and have better control of my eating. Maybe i will have to change or die.

If your psychiatrist makes a suggestion, consider it a requirement. I was supposed to have two sessions and then be cleared for surgery. At my first session he suggested I stop eating in front of the tv. At my second session I admitted that I hadn't had success changing that habit. He decided not to clear me for surgery. WHAT!? So I needed to get my act together and show progress by the next month. Was I ticked off? You bet. But in retrospect it was necessary and a real eye opener for me. I spent the next three weeks really focusing on mindful eating and NO tv eating. When I saw him the third time he cleared me. That change in habit made me realize that the band does not work by itself. I was only going to be as successful as the effort I put into this myself. 82 pounds later, I can say that I don't miss tv eating one bit, and I have a strong respect for my band and the discipline it requires. Good luck. You got this!

I have my last apt with the dietician tomorrow and then its just a waiting game. (:

Condolences and best wishes for this new chapter of your life. You sound well-prepared for this transition -- you have the desire and willingness. That positive attitude is a great thing. I found a sense of humor also really helped at the hospital. It is like another planet, so surreal. I had never been an overnight patient before and I was nervous and excited. It was all much better than I thought it would be.
This is a great time to start listening to your body, to be really present and aware. If you're jittery, feel what that feels like. Thirst, fatigue, hunger, etc. Later you'll be listening to your band and the more in touch you are the better. You'll want to be able to separate out head hunger from true hunger and know what is coming from a place of old habits, etc. Don't pressure yourself but just notice what's going on and acknowledge it.
One thing that cannot be overstated is the importance of walking. I was really glad I upped my exercise pre-surgery. I didn't want to but I did it anyway and that gave me something to step right into after surgery. Anytime I got up (to pee or whatever) I walked, a little further each time until I was tired. Napped then got up to pee, walked, walked, etc. This kicks the body into healing mode and releases any trapped gas. Things have been moved around inside and the walking "rights" the body.
I had flip flops at the hospital -- was glad for those. I took a robe but used the one they had. Didn't use other things I brought, like my journal, book to read, etc. You'll want clothes that are easy to put on for going home and a pillow to hold on your tummy in the car.
Good luck with the rest of the pre-op -- you've gone through a lot of hoops and it's all going to be worth it. Be patient with yourself those first couple of months as it can take a little while to get into the swing. Keep all your appointments and know that it's all working.

I am so sorry for your loss. I lost my mom to breast cancer last November, ten days before my surgery date. I was gutted but determined to go forward and I knew that she didn't want me to stop my life so I went for it.
Now that you know that everything is a go, do your best to be fully prepared. Buy the liquids, full liquids, supplies for incision care, sugar free Popcicles, sugar free Jello and so on that you will need. Make sure that you fill your scripts ahead of time so that you don't have to worry about going out for the first few days.
It isn't really a good idea to be completely alone, right after surgery. If you have a friend or co worker who can spend a day with you, or pop in or at least cal you on a regular basis to check in on you, that would be good. I had my surgery outpatient and was getting around just fine by the time I got home but it was reassuring to have my husband here in case I had needed him and he was handy to run little errands for me and bring me stuff to drink. I would have been fine on my own, as it turns out but still... It is a good idea to have someone, if you can, just in case.
Good luck and your surgery date and surgery will be here, before you know it.

First off, im sorry for the loss of your mom, I know this is hard for you. ( I lost both my parents to cancer in the summer of 2012, I had been banded Dec, 2011. ) I believe my parents are watching out for me, maybe your mom is watching out for you too. Maybe thats why it seems to be happening a little fast ? Just a thought. If you make a checklist of things to do and buy beforehand I think you 'll feel less overwhelmed.. Also, you will need someone to take to to and from the hosp day of surgery, and stay with you for the next 3 days or so. Its hard to get off the couch or move much for the 1st several days.. I went back to work on day 8, felt fine, never had any problems.. Hope all goes well for you , goid luck !

My suggestion is to do as much research in the next few weeks as you can to prepare yourself! This site is a good place to browse to find answers to specific questions you have, all you have to do is type a few keywords in the search bar. But I caution you to take what you read of people's experiences with a grain of salt. You'll see a lot of the bad experience stories on here along with the good ones. Do not let that scare you!! If you follow your surgeon's guidelines, your chance of complications is minimal.
I also encourage you to read blogs on this site or on the web in general. There are a lot out there devoted to LapBand success stories and when I first started my journey I found it comforting to read. I felt more prepared reading what others did to be successful. I have a blog, the link is below if you want to check it out. I have a lot of info about my journey from insurance approval to now. Other good blogs to try are LapBand Gal and BandedWendy (video blog). You'll find links to other blogs in these places as well.
Best of luck to you!!! You'll do great

I started buying things in advance. Protein Shakes, Vitamins, heating pad, ice pack, Water etc. Preparing for my needs before surgery helped a lot.

First of all let me say I'm so sorry for the loss of your mom. That had to have been devastating. I know things are moving fast but it must be meant to be! Right? I'm so excited that you are starting a journey for you! If bf doesn't understand its his loss. I pray that everything goes smoothly with your appointments as well as your surgery.

Okay.I am really nervous..things are moving fast...Heres the story..I started in Nov of 2013, with the prep for surgery. I did all the visits and finish up in Feb. The insurance change the requirements at the beginning of the year, so it was unknown weather I would have to do more nutritionist visits or if the insurance company would "grandfather" me in under the old requirement. I wait for several months to find out. During the "waiting" period my mother fell, went to the hospital and we found out that she had stage 4 cancer...I was her primary care giver. In May the doctors office called, saying they finally got approval for the surgery...my mother was still in hospital at this time and we had no idea when she was coming home. I explained to them what was going on and they said I had till Aug. to do the surgery. My mother passed a way middle of June. I had her estate to settle and final arrangements to take care of. Now that things are settled I am ready...I think and hope. I talked to the doctors office to find out what needs to be done....if i need to restart the process, I knew I wasn't going to make the Aug deadline for surgery. Imagine my surprise when they told me that I had until Aug 23 for surgery...I can get my gi done in the next week and tentitive scheduled the 21st of Aug...I am nervous about getting this all done, and excited too..but its moving fast...It may be a good thing, it won't give me time to back out...is there any suggestions from anyone that might help keep things moving smoothly? What should I do next? I will be living by myself, any thing i should know there? Anything will help..I'm moving too fast to know what I should be doing next, but I have dreamed of this for so long, I even lost my boyfriend during all of this because he was a non believer in the surgery...

Clothing wise, the smartest thing I did was buy 3 outfits , 1 size down from what I started at. ( I bought them just before I was banded ) I made sure I could mix and match as many of those pieces as possible. That way as I started loosing I had a few items to fit into. ( nice to have when your pants start getting baggy ! Woohoo !)

@@DanaKat it is normal to have some "cold feet", your making a change that will affect the rest of your life. If you don't think so, then think again.
You will have all your favorite foods again, but you will look at food differently then you do today. You will use food differently than you do today. It is very much a marriage, and you are getting a little ring around your belly to remind you of that commitment.
Are you ready to say I do? Do you love yourself enough? These were some of the questions I asked myself before my surgery and the answer to them was a resounding YES.
I loved my life, and all the things I could and would be able to do in my new life and I was ready to make that commitment, and let me tell you the truth of it is that just like they say about the first year of marriage, that first year can be tough. You learn every day how to live this new life, with this new WLS partner and some days they are forgiving when you make a mistake and some days they can bop you upside the head for making the wrong choice.
So my friend, are you ready to say I do? If so...then don your white gown on your surgery date and I wish you a long and happy relationship with your new life support tool!!