Corridor72

I haven't tried any of the other quest products but the quest bars have been a staple in my house from day 1. I LOVE them and eat them every day. I buy them by the box instead of individual bars. The only one that I don't like is mixed berry and I'm not crazy about the vanilla almond crunch. My favorites are double chocolate chunk, chocolate chip cookie dough, and white chocolate raspberry. Those are the ones I eat the most of. Sometimes I eat them for breakfast, in which case, I prefer the banana nut or cinnamon roll. I also keep some of the peanut butter & jelly, lemon creme pie, and apple pie on hand. Yes, I really keep some of all of those on hand at all times. I keep them in my locker at work, in my purse, and in my lunch bag that I take to work. I'm never without my quest bars. There have been many times when a quest bar saved me from "cheating" because I didn't have anything better to eat when I was hungry. I LOVE them!

Hang in there. This too shall pass. And it does get better! A LOT better!

I saw my surgeon today for a routine visit & weigh-in. I went in expecting to still be above my goal but, much to my surprise, I weighed in at 154 lbs! My goal when I started this journey was to reach 155 lbs, putting me at a normal weight for my height and a normal BMI. I was shocked to realize that I met that goal TODAY!!! Needless to say, I'm ecstatic! Now that I'm there, I've decided I still have a little bit more that I want to lose(not much, maybe 5 or 10 lbs) but I'm still celebrating this HUGE milestone in my journey as I can now say that I am no longer overweight, much less morbidly obese!!! Wow!!!! I thought this day would NEVER come and now, 8 months post-op, here I am!

My answer is actually a little bit different but I chose the one closest to what I actually did. I used to be a true caffeine addict but I quit cold turkey on the day when I started my 3 wk liquid pre-op diet. In fact, the anniversary of the day I gave it up is 3 days away. I have not looked back and do not miss it.

I haven't had my B12 levels checked in several months so I don't know. I have a checkup scheduled with my primary care provider later this month though and he's planning to check all of those macronutrient levels then along with some other labs. I'm thinking I may need a blood transfusion by the time they get drawing blood this time with all he has planned to obtain!lol

The best thing about my band is that I get to choose good quality foods that taste good to me and my band does the rest by keeping me from eating too much of those awesome foods! Because of that, I will never be fat again and I have reclaimed my health! I can enjoy life like I did when I was kid! And shopping in regular stores for my size 6 jeans and small-medium tops is pretty nice too

As the others have said, it can usually be detected when you have the EGD, which is required by most surgeons and insurance companies prior to surgery. If not, it will be easily detected at the time of surgery and is usually an easy repair.

I experienced a new NSV this evening and I have to say, I'm feeling pretty good after this one! My daughter had a dress in her closet that was MINE when I was a sophomore in high school. I wore it when I walked in the football homecoming that year. I remember feeling so beautiful in that dress. We were looking through old yearbooks and pictures a few nights ago and she said "Hey! I have that dress in my closet!" So tonight, she pulled it out of the closet and insisted I try it on. I was certain that it would NOT fit. Only, it DID fit! OMG! Wow! What an amazing feeling that was/is! I just can't believe it! People keep telling me how skinny I am and how great I look but I have such a hard time seeing/believing it for myself. I have spent my entire adult life wishing I could be THAT small again and looking at that picture and thinking how little I was and now...Wow! Just wow!

I can only tell you what I know my surgeon has told me about such things. He says those things are sliders. He prefers that we eat our protein rather than drink it. I can't tell you from experience really because the only time I've ever done smoothies in the post-op period was on 2 different occasions when I was really craving a milkshake, I made a smoothie instead. It did seem more filling than I expected so I don't really know how to answer your question. Perhaps some of the veteran bandsters who've been at this a lot longer than I have will have a better answer for you....

LOL...Sorry, I didn't take any pictures!

You really need to follow your doctor's orders. My surgeon allowed me to advance past the liquid stage within several days. In fact, his orders were clear liquids on days 1 & 2. May advance to full liquids on day 2 if tolerated. Days 3 & 4 were full liquids and on day 5 I was allowed soft foods. Having said that, you need to understand that your doctor knows your situation better than anyone else and has reasons for the orders he has given you. If you're really uncomfortable, give him a call and tell him. Perhaps he will give you the ok to advance sooner or at least help you understand why he doesn't feel that's safe for you, if that's the case.

Because it still takes time for it to pass through the band. The texture makes it so that the stomach still has to work to get it through the band. Whereas, with a true slider, it literally almost just slides through the band without much work on the part of the stomach. Also, the other thing is that when it takes you longer to chew something, you get the satisfaction of eating for a longer period of time without actually having to consume more food. And, as the above posters have mentioned already, it gives your stomach time to send the message to your brain that you've had enough before you've eaten too much.

It will be rough for probably about 3 or 4 days but you CAN do it. You raise a very good question in this post Why are any of us so afraid of being hungry? I don't know but I can tell you that one of the most important things I have learned along the way was from a post I read here that talked about the fact that it is okay to be hungry sometimes. I won't die if I get hungry and don't eat right away. In fact, nothing bad will happen if I'm hungry for a little while. Fortunately, I read that prior to having to do my liquid diet almost a year ago so every time I got hungry during those first few days, I reminded myself "It's okay to be hungry. This is part of the process that is going to make me healthy and healthy is more important." After the first couple of days, the hunger and cravings began to subside and by the end of day 4, I was having to remind myself that I NEEDED to drink another one of those MRP shakes. That thought process also came in handy during the months after I was banded until I reached the green zone.

I use straws. My surgeon never told me NOT to use a straw. I don't have any problems with them though.

My first fill was at 4 weeks

I experienced this when I got the fill that put me in the green zone. I decided to wait it out a bit and what I figured out was that my band was not too tight. The problem was ME. I was trying to drink too much too fast. It was at that point that I learned NOT to gulp and realized that it was time to put everything I had learned about taking small bites and chewing everything to mush into practice. Once I figured that out, it's been smooth sailing. As long as I don't gulp liquids or eat too fast, I can tolerate most anything. I can even eat raw veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, carrots, etc. and I hear a lot of people that say they can't eat those things unless they're cooked to mush. I chew them until they're mush!lol

Yes, most of us have experienced this. It usually starts around 2-3 months post-op and lasts for about 6 months. For me, it started at around 2 months post-op and lasted for about 4-5 months. I lost so much hair that I feared I would go bald. Then suddenly, it stopped. Just like that. I didn't go bald. Fortunately for me, I have very thick hair so even with losing as much as I did, it wasn't noticeable to anyone else. I ended up changing hairstyles once it started to come back in because my hair was almost all one length so the new growth was quite noticeable. I switched to a style with some layers in it and it's not even noticeable now. I did try taking biotin but I honestly can't say that it really helped.

You can do it! I think we've all felt exactly what you are feeling. I remember being afraid that I couldn't do the liquid diet and then, once I was well into that and realized I was going to be able to survive that, my thoughts turned to the post-op period and worrying if I would be the only person on the planet who couldn't lose weight even with weight loss surgery. My surgery was ALMOST 10 months ago. I met my goal in late August and I'm down a total of 135 lbs. If I can do it, anyone can! And you WILL! Good luck to you!

Best of luck to you!

Robe & slippers if you'll be staying overnight Chapstick Gas-X strips or chewables small pillow iPad or tablet if you have one Your own toothbrush(the ones from the hospital suck!lol)

I've never tried bread since being banded other than to eat some toast made from wheat bread in the early months. I don't think I will either. I rarely get anything stuck but when I do, I hate the way it feels and so I tend to avoid things that are likely to cause a stuck episode. I asked my surgeon prior to banding if there were any foods I would never be able to eat again and he said "The only food I'm going to say that you will never be able to comfortably eat again is bread" He went on to explain that he was talking about things like sandwich bread, pizza crust, breadsticks, rolls, etc. In other words, things that are doughy when they get wet. He said those things would almost certainly cause a stuck episode and his rule is "don't ever try it". He also told me that I would eventually be allowed to eat crackers & toasted bread if I could tolerate it and he has recently given me the green light to try those things but I'm just too afraid of bread. First off, it's not worth it to me to experience a stuck episode and, like someone else already said, I'm afraid that if I find I can tolerate it, I will eat it and I will eat it often. I'm comfortable and happy with eating the way I've been eating and it's healthy so I don't want to change too much of it.

Aww, that is a great feeling, huh? I have been able to comfortably cross my legs for several months now and I sit with my legs crossed all the time. I still get that amazing feeling of accomplishment every time though! I think maybe that's why I enjoy sitting like that so much!lol

Ummm, nope we're not on the lap-band payroll! However, if you can find me a job where I can be on the payroll just for being a successful lap-band patient, sign me up cuz I'm there!lol...Make sure that you are comfortable with your choice in surgeons because they WILL be a part of your life from now on. Good luck to you!

Hope you are feeling better soon! I had a difficult time for about 5 days after my surgery due to swelling but it got much better very quickly after that.

I'm one of those that can eat pretty much anything I want to eat. However, I haven't tried bread in MONTHS. I ate it toasted, on occasion, during the first few months after being banded. And then my surgeon told me to stop eating breads, crackers, etc. He did tell me at that time that I would be able to eat those things once I reached my goal. And he recently ok'd me to start adding some crackers and the occasional piece of toast back into my diet. I can eat crackers fine but I have yet to try the bread. My surgeon doesn't allow any of that stuff when you're trying to lose weight but says it's ok in moderation IF you can tolerate once you meet your goal.