Corridor72

I am really glad you aren't leaving. I haven't posted a lot on these forums but, as a newbie to the banded world, I read a lot and I need lots of advice and support. This forum has already helped me in many ways and it makes me sad to think that others are leaving. I especially love reading posts from you and Missy though :-)

I am taking the Centrum Chewable for adults. When compared to the gummies, it has a lot more vitamins and minerals in it. It doesn't taste the best but it's not horrible either. My doc prescribed Folbic, which is basically just B vitamins. I also take Caltrate chewables 600 +D. They're fruity and taste pretty good, I think. I am supposed to take fish oil but I can't do the large gel caps that I had before surgery as they're just too big. I tried the gummies and ICK! The ones I bought tasted just like chewing fish oil caps! They were GROSS! I've heard that MegaRed makes krill oil caps that are much smaller so I may try those.

It took me about 6 days. I did have a lot of gas and bloating as well as nausea. I don't know why but I noticed that the gas and bloating seemed to be much improved after I used the heating pad on my tummy. I had used it because I moved around a lot on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and my tummy had gotten more sore than it had been so I thought the heating pad would help with that but then I got lucky and it seemed to help with the gas and bloating too. As far as the nausea, it lasted about 5 days and it seemed to get much better once I was able to stop taking the pain meds. Those really messed with my stomach after this surgery even though they never really bothered me after other surgeries. Of course, I've never had surgery involving my stomach either, just my gallbladder and uterus.

I'm newly banded so not a lot of choices for me yet. I'm lucky in that my surgeon advances your diet pretty quickly so I can eat solid food now. No steak or beef yet but I am allowed fish, rice, and veggies. DH and I took the family out to Cheddars last night and I ordered the grilled talapia with grilled shrimp and mango salsa. It is served on a bed of rice and then you get 2 sides. I had veggies with it. I have NOT had a fill yet and I still had plenty left to bring home. I ate some of it for lunch today will probably have the rest for dinner. It is YUMMY and a nice, healthy choice I think. I love seafood though :-)

I'm already having issues with this as well. I've lost a total of 56 lbs since I started my journey but I've only been banded for 11 days. I realized this was going to be an issue for me before I even got my band. My problem is more though that I don't see MY body as changing in size/shape but I look at other people and they look bigger to me. For instance, my dh is also overweight( he weighs roughly 400 lbs). He hasn't gained weight over the last several months but when I look at him, I see him as being larger than he was 6 months ago. Same thing with my coworkers and friends. Of course, I would never say anything to any of them or treat them any different and I DO realize that it's ME with the problem, not them. I just worry that it's going to be a bigger problem for me when I get closer to my goal or even at goal...that I'm still going to feel like I'm the size of a house whether I am or not because I realize that the problem is in MY head and that my mind is not seeing the changes in the physical me but rather perceiving it more in terms of changes in those around me. Like I realize that they're larger than me but my mind perceives it as a change in them, not a change in myself.

My surgery was scheduled for the middle of last month. Due to unforeseen circumstances, it had to be rescheduled. I was already prepared, had completed the liquid diet, and then had to reschedule :-( Very very upsetting!!! Anyway, I am scheduled again for next Friday so hoping that everything goes as planned this time around.

Do you eat celery since being banded? I don't like raw celery by itself but I love to chop it up and put it in things like soups, chicken salad, tuna salad, cornbread dressing(which I only eat on holidays). I know the lapband book mentions it as being a potential problem food so I was wondering if I will need to avoid it? Or is it ok as long as it's finely chopped?

Does anyone know if you can sample the protein drinks at the Vitamin Shoppe before purchasing? I know GNC will let you do that but I've never used the Vitamin Shoppe before so don't know if they will or not. I'm going to be close to one tomorrow and was thinking I might run in there to see what they have. I'm trying to have a variety of different flavors for after my surgery but I don't want to spend money on a bunch of stuff and then get home and find I don't like it.

I have been so excited about getting my band. Right now, I am on a bit of an emotion roller coaster about it though. I started my liquid diet 10 days ago. My surgery date is Nov. 15th. Since I started my liquid diet, my immediate family has shared my plans to have lapband with some of our other family members, which is fine except...the resounding response is "Why? She's not THAT big." My mom keeps telling them that I'm doing it for health reasons, which is true. I have hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, and I'm on medication for palpitations. Anyway, some days I'm confident that this is the right thing to do. I have health issues that are only going to get worse if I don't manage to lose the weight. I have dieted many times over in the past and either didn't lose the weight OR lost it and gained it all back because I couldn't stick with it. That is why I feel the band can help me. My reason for giving up on all the diets I've tried in the past is that I have to deprive myself of foods I love and/or I end up feeling hungry all the time. At the same time, being only 12 days from surgery, I keep wondering...Am I really doing the right thing? Is this going to be another attempt at weight loss that makes me miserable? Only if this one makes me miserable, there's no going back. I won't be able to afford to "undo" it. This is a permanent decision for me. So then I ask myself...if I have the willpower to stick with a slimfast only diet for 10 days, WHY can't I stick with any other diet for as long as it takes? I lost 20 lbs during the 6 month period I had to wait for my insurance approval but I can tell you that I'm not sure I'd stick with the changes I've made for a lifetime because I was hungry all the time. Another reason I think the band can help-I will have to make the right choices but it can help by helping me avoid being hungry all the time. It's like, one day I'm very confident this IS the right decision and the next, I'm having doubts. Is this normal? Should I rethink my decision? Or do I just need to suck it up and try to put these thoughts out of my mind? Maybe it's the hunger talking...after all, I haven't eaten anything in 10 days.

I'll be going the day after you on the 15th! I am also very anxious & excited!

So today is day 7 of my 3 week liquid diet. My meal replacement shakes HAVE to be the SIim Fast shakes per my surgeon's order. The problem is this: I'm already tired of them. I can't imagine what it's going to be like to force these down in 2 weeks if I'm already tired of them now. I must keep going though. If I don't, I will have wasted a week and will have to reschedule my surgery and I'm not doing that. Soooo, I'm just gonna have to choke them down and go on with it. I will say this though-after my surgery is done, I hope I never ever ever see another slimfast!

A lot of people don't realize that there is a high protein/low carb version of slimfast. My doctor didn't specify that I had to use the high protein version but that is what I've been using. I did ask the nurse about it and she said that he prefers the slimfast over other Protein drinks during the preop phase because he wants his patients to use something that is a full meal replacement shake-not just a Protein Drink. Post-op, we are supposed to switch to protein drinks such as Isopure, unjury, or something along those lines.

Thanks, everyone for all of the replies! It makes me feel better to know I'm not the only one who ever second-guessed their decision so close to the big day. I'm confident it's the right thing to do. I guess it's just because it is such a life changing thing.

Is this a chili that you make yourself? Or do you buy it? If it's homemade, would you mind sharing your recipe?

That's great! Congrats!

You probably need to call your surgeon's office and ask them. I know my surgeon won't do it if you don't stick to the liquid pre-op diet. In fact, that was one of the first things they told me on my first visit with him. I'm a little worried about mine being delayed too because I have a skin yeast infection that's giving me heck. If I can't get it cleared up before surgery day, my surgery will be postponed. Here I am doing this liquid diet(today was day 10 for me) and I haven't cheated at all so I'm going to be upset if I can't get my surgery. I don't know if I can do this liquid diet again if my surgery date gets changed

I realize this is a STUPID question but the thought just occurred to me...I don't know what keeps the port from flipping or moving? I mean, I know that they do occassionally flip but from what I understand, that's not real common. So, what DOES keep the port from flipping or moving?

Apparently, I've been lying to myself. I was thinking my highest weight ever was around 273 lbs until I started looking through all the apps I have on my phone and realized I had been as high as 277. OK sooooo then, a few days ago, I decided to start blogging again. I have a blog that I started about 3 yrs ago. I had decided I would start getting really serious about losing weight and I wanted a place to be able to express myself without fear of judgement. Anyway, was looking at that and reading the old entries and SURPRISE....The first weigh in that I documented was 282.6 lbs! OUCH! You'd think I'd remember that, right? Apparently I've been in denial. Just last winter I was still at 273 though so the good news is this...through this process and just with what I've learned from the dietician and with a lot of hard work and willpower, I was down to 250 when I started my pre-op diet last Friday. Yesterday when I weighed in, I was down to 244. So why bring this up? Because seeing that I've made progress on my own already gives me faith that, once I'm banded, I really CAN do this.

Thank you! I was always a skinny kid and was a skinny teenager but always saw myself as fat. It wasn't until many years later that I realized I was never overweight until I started to gain weight in my 20's. I have tried many diets over the years and failed. I'm sure most of you can understand that. Anyway, one of my biggest fears has been that this won't work either. I used to work with someone who had lapband and the only weight she ever really lost was what she lost on her pre-op diet which was a low-carb atkins type diet. I understand I'm going to have to work hard for this to work too but I've learned a lot throughout the process of getting approved for my band and I can honestly say that I think it's going to be a huge help for me. I've learned to make better choices. I've learned a lot about portion control. I've learned to make my Snacks count. What makes things difficult for me right now(or at least prior to starting my liquid pre-op diet) is that with the smaller food portions, I always feel hungry. I never have that feeling of satiety that we all desire and THAT makes it difficult to stick to a meal plan. So once I have my band and have had enough fills to get me to the green zone, I think it will get easier.

Thank you!

How bad are the fish oil gummies? I need to get some of those too but am afraid of the taste.

I haven't been banded yet but they used glue when I had my gallbladder removed. It does start to peel off pretty soon. Just let it come off naturally and you'll be fine. You can only see 1 of my scars from the gallbladder surgery and it's not bad at all. It will take time for them to fade though. I learned yesterday that my surgeon uses the glue for his lapband patients and I was very happy to hear this.

My surgeon said the chewables would be ok even in the immediate post-op period. I'm thankful for that too because the liquid vitamins smell AWFUL. I gag every time I have to give that stuff to a patient so I don't think I'd be able to get past that to try to choke it down myself.

I am on day 6 of a 3 week liquid pre-op diet. Day 3 was the hardest for me so hopefully things start to get easier for you over the next few days.

So I keep reading about these huge losses people have while on the pre-op diet. I have been on my pre-op diet for 5 days now and I've lost 1 lb! Yup, you read that right *1* lb is what I've lost in 5 days And no, I haven't cheated. Not once. I have my 4 Slim Fast shakes each day. Additionally, I usually have 1 or 2 cups of chicken broth made from bouillon cubes throughout the day, a cup of SF Jello, 3 or 4 SF popsicles, lots of Water and maybe 1 or 2 sticks of Crystal Light. What is going on here? Am I doing something wrong??? Am I just doomed to being a fat girl for the rest of my life? HELP!!! PS. My doctor's order for my pre-op diet is this: Slim Fast Shakes- You will have 4 shakes per day. 1 for Breakfast, lunch, and dinner and then 1 more at your discretion. You may have all of the SF clear liquid you want including SF Popsicles, SF Jello, Chicken & Beef Broth, Crystal Light, Diet Soda