The Icy One

If you have hit your personal and your body's goal and food is literally making you sick to try to eat, I would suggest that you see your doctor. Get a check up, a physical, have labs, maybe some scans, see what is going on. Make sure there is no physical, health related reason for your food aversion.

Don't freak out. Remember, the purpose of the pre op diet is to shrink your liver so that it is safe for your surgeon to get in there and place your band. If you lose a few pounds, that is just gravy! *so to speak.* Don't worry about pounds, just stick to your pre op plan so that your liver is nice and shrink-y dink-y and you have your band wen you wake up. I only lost nine pounds on my pre op diet and I was on that sucker for three weeks. Three. Frakking. Weeks. And my surgeon was delighted with me, so yeah. Don't panic. You're going to be fine.

Eighteen pounds is great! I only lost nine during my pre op diet. Cheating isn't a great idea. If it isn't slowing your progress it probably isn't hurting you and I doubt it is inhibiting your liver shrinking, which is why you are on this diet. Just be careful, mmmkay? You don't want to jeopardize your chances of having your band placed! If your surgeon gets in there and your liver is to large, your surgeon won't take a chance. He or she will simply close you up and you will have had surgery for nothing. I feel you on the emotional eating. And on the volume eating. I am/was both. I battle both daily. My band is huge for me, as it pulls me back from going hog wild and eating the huge amounts of foods I used to nom on. Now, I have to eat my small portions. I am not 100% successful. But even when I do eat a bit more than I should, I can't and don't eat as much as I used to and I don't eat the kinds of things I used to so if I do "go overboard" it is still a pretty small amount and not nearly as damaging. But I still have to work on NOT DOING THAT SH*T TO MYSELF! OY! I still find myself wanting to comfort eat and tat is a hard one. I can't. I simply can't. I have to find other ways to get that out of my system. It's a work in progress. My husband and I are currently house hunting, I want a place in an area that is more walk friendly so that when I need to release my sh*t I can get out and walk it off. Anyway, the band is a tool, not a cure for what ails us. I think that therapy is a great idea, if you feel that you would like to seek it. We all need to do what it takes to be successful and happy.

I had a surprisingly easy time of it, for the most part... I had no gas pains. Some discomfort in my left shoulder that was easily knocked down with a heating pad and some liquid children's Motrin. (Used on approval of my surgeon.) My port site was a bit owchy, but supporting my tummy and learning how to move until it settled in took care of that. I never needed my prescription pain meds, I didn't have any real pain after my Lap Band surgery. I was extremely tired. For the first three days, I was wiped. out. All I wanted to do was sleep. I'd wake up, hit the bathroom, sip Water, have my liquid nourishment, walk for a bit, take care of my incision sites if called for then snuggle back into my recliner, grab my book, read for a few minutes or watch a little tube and crash. My biggest problem was, unlike many people who get constipated, I had the Infernal Ass Hose. Weeks of diarrhea. I finally had to seek medical help for it because everything that went in was coming out in pure, liquid force and it. was. awful. I would have much rather have had constipation. That, I know how to deal with. The trots just suck so bad. But yeah. That was the worst of it, for me. My surgery, recovery, and so on, aside from the diarrhea were a piece of cake! Really, it wasn't bad, at all. I went in at a quarter to seven in the morning, I was released just before ten, that same morning, I was home, chilin' like a villain in my recliner by one. (We had a long drive home.) I was a bit sore, Moved carefully for a couple of days but I didn't have any real "pain" and I bounced back really well.

You rock!

Oh, yeah. I had insurance hoops through which I had to jump. We all do. Those hoops vary by insurance company. My insurance company required four months of visits at my chosen practice, in my case, True Results, in Scottsdale, AZ. When I started I didn't really have to worry about my weight... In fact, I wasn't supposed to lose weight. My insurance company wanted my weight to stay within about five pounds up or down of my start point. I had to have medical documented proof of obesity going back three years (no problem, there! ), a couple of visits with a nutritionist at True Results, a consult with an exercise physiologist, labs, a breathing test and a psych eval. I was just healthy enough that I didn't need a sleep study. Not too bad, really. My practice did all of the heavy lifting and guided me through everything and made it effortless for me. Ten days before the end of my four month hoop jump, my frakking insurance company threw me a curve ball and changed the rules and said that I had to be at or at least one pound BELOW my start weight to qualify for approval. Those sneaky S.O.B.s! So on top of everything else, I had to crash diet like a mad woman! And I did it. Squeaked in under the wire. Then I had to sweat out a five week wait for my approval phone call and letter. But I got them and my surgery. All in all, the entire process took five months. I started on June 11, 2013 and I had my surgery on November 21, 2013. When you are in the middle of it, it feels as if it is taking forever! As if the stupid hoops are never going to end, that your insurance company is going to torment you until the end of time and your surgery is off, somewhere in the far, distant ether. Then, all of a sudden your NP and Patient Advocate tell you that your hoops have all been jumped, your last test has been taken, they have collected the last bit of documentation and will be contacting your insurance company and will call you as soon as your approval comes back and sit tight and wait for the call. Hang in there. This too, shall pass. You will be on the other side, before you know it.

No. Oatmeal and Cream of Wheat are mushies. They are for the next stage. Hang in there. Once you progress to mushies, you may have them. In my post op diet sheet, watered cream of wheat is included as the thick liquid stage. I'll have to double check If your diet sheet says that watered Cream of Wheat is okay for you to have then go for it. My diet sheet said that Cream of Wheat was a mushie. As I said earlier, each practice has a different diet and progression, so just go with whatever instructions you were given.

Everyone is different. Every person will be adjusted according to their needs. I didn't have my first adjustment until eight weeks out because of swelling from my hiatal hernia repair keeping me in my Green Zone until about seven weeks out from surgery. When I went in for my eight week aftercare appointment, I learned that my surgeon primed my band with 5 cc of Fluid and my NP and I decided to start me with a 1/2 cc adjustment and that was my only adjustment. I am pretty happy there. My advice is to take it slow. You can always have more fluid added but if you are over filled, you can be very miserable and if you don't jump on it and get that fluid out, immediately, you can do real harm to yourself. Get a small adjustment up, take it out for a test drive and see how it works for you then, if necessary, get a little more, then go from there. Good luck.

No. Oatmeal and Cream of Wheat are mushies. They are for the next stage. Hang in there. Once you progress to mushies, you may have them.

Day eight, I was allowed to start eating mushies. Every surgeon has a different progression schedule. Follow the dietary guidelines set out by your surgeon and practice.

I know, right?

Recovery goes fast. Be patient and just rest, let your body heal and get used to your new silicone friend. I know that you miss chewing. I remember how heavenly it was to move from full liquids to mushies on day eight. I got to chew a six minute egg and grits! Oh! So sublime! Then it was mush, mush, mush until I had my first aftercare just a few days shy of a full month after my surgery date. By that point, I was literally BEGGING my NP to let me transition to solids. She laughed at me and gave me the go ahead, as long as I went slow. Don't rush it. Remember, this month of healing is crucial for your band to settle in so that it can rock it's job. Hang in there.

Oh dear God... I have a very vivid imagination and now I need brain bleach... Someone once told me to soak cotton balls in orange juice and swallow them. That the cotton balls would taste yummy going down, sit in my stomach like fluffy food and keep me full forever and I would never be hungry and I would lose tons of weight, super fast! Yeah... Riiight!

Congratulations, Mary! Your progress is inspiring and the fact that you feel great and feel great about yourself is the best testimony of all.

Remember, it isn't really about restriction, it is about tuning in and listening to your band, working with it. I have 5 1/2 cc in my 10 cc band and that is plenty... I am rolling solidly in my Green Zone as long as I follow the guidelines. If I eat the right portions, have my hard Protein first, then good veg, then fruit, then carb, last. If I take small bites, chew, chew, chew. Time out my bites, allow myself to wait between meals, even if my tummy gets a little rumbly. Remember, if I get that "hunger signal" that my band will most likely, if I give it a chance, shut it down in a few minutes and I won't be bothered by it, any longer. (It is so marvelous! ) I am still very much a work in progress. I am seven months out, 55 pounds down. Not stellar, by any means. I really stalled for a couple of months. I discovered the delightful world of sliders and I dove in head first and started eating like a true devotee. Yeah... Slowed myself right down. Then gained a few. Lost them. Then discovered that I can eat Taco Bell Cantina Bowls and gained ten. Had to re lose that. I am so. Obnoxious! And yes, I am frustrated with myself because I know the drill. I can recite it backward and forward and in my sleep with one hand tied behind my back! But I get back on track, got on the scale and am down ten and back on track, my portions are coming back under control, I am eating the right bite sizes, timing them, telling my stomach and my head to STFU when they start hollering at me between meal times and, most importantly, I am tuning back in to my band, hardcore. We are all human. We are all frail. We all need support and to uplift one another. And we can all do this! That is why we got this surgery! Hang tough. This is doable.

Sorry wrong post in the wrong spot. Don't know how I managed that trick...

Bandedchick, first of all, I am so sorry for your loss. (((hug))) Hair loss. Yeah... That one is a horror show, fo shizz! When I started this process a year ago, I had ass length, insanely thick hair. I knew, from my research, that I would experience shedding post surgery, so a couple of months before I was banded, I had my hair cut to just above waist length to make it easier to deal with. Or so I thought. Had my surgery on November 21st and in mid January, my hair started really falling out. In hanks. I would wash it, comb it out in the shower and have handfuls of hair in a ball on the shelf in my shower. Comb out after my shower and have a shower pouff sized ball of hair sitting on my dressing table. I'd just sit and want to cry. Every time I touched my head, brushed or combed my hair, more and more and more just. Came. Out. It got to the point that I couldn't deal with the hair loss and my long hair any longer, it was too depressing, I called my hair stylist, begged her to squeeze me in for a cut. She knew that I was shedding and why so she got me in that day and cut my waist length hair to just below my shoulders. My much shorter hair just made the shedding easier to take. My hair is so thin, in comparison to where it was when I started but it is so thick that I don't have bald spots, just some thinning around my hair line and a pretty skinny ponytail. LOL My shedding has finally normalized. *whew!* And, at my last colour touch up a few weeks ago, my stylist told me that I have a ton of new growth coming in! I will give it about a year for my thickness to recover then I can let my hair grow, again. Having short hair is fun but I miss my long hair. I'm ready to get it back, again. I will say this, losing my hair has been worth it. If I had to go through this to get my band, it's a price I'm willing to pay.

Congratulations! That call is the best one, isn't it? I had to sweat out a five week wait after my insurance hoop jump and when that call finally came, the relief was so intense, I literally couldn't speak. All I could do was whisper, "Yessssss!" My Patient Advocate just chuckled understandingly. You got through the hard part. It's all gravy, from here. Enjoy the experience. It's quite a ride.

Congrats on getting through your first week. By that time, I had done clear and full liquids and was looking to start mushies on Day 8. I was so happy! LOL Enjoy your mushies and good luck with your recovery.

The pre op diet blows. No fooling. But it is only temporary, once you have your surgery, you will get to do the post op diet! Yippee! But, about a month after surgery you will be back on solids, regular food, in bandster portions. Hang in there. It's worth it.

Ugh! My first fill was a hella experience. I got prodded so much that I looked as if a herd of wild horses stampeded all over my gut. lol Luckily, the X-Ray gal was there, that day and they were able to use X-Ray and finally fluoro to get me my fill. I was sore for over a week, and it took several for all of the bruises to heal. My port wasn't flipped, it was just recalcitrant. LOL So far, I haven't needed a further adjustment. When I do. I'll be sure to do it on a day when the X-Ray tech is in house, just in case. LOL Schedule your next fill appointment on a day when the X-Ray person is in the house, that way, if they have trouble finding your port, they can stick you under the fluoro and get it done.

Call your doc's office and ask if you can blend frozen fruit into your Protein shakes. It will make them feel more like a milkshake, taste better, add further nutrition and maybe calm your tummy a bit, too. Frozen peach in vanilla is lovely, as is strawberry, strawberry in chocolate is yummy, raspberry in chocolate is decadently delicious if you can stand the seeds. Try bananas, if they are allowed... they may not be, I wasn't allowed them. Too much sugar. Try also blending in coffee and sugar free flavored syrups and extracts and yoghurt. Get creative, within the parameters of what you are allowed to have to try to make things a bit more palatable and easier to live with.

I won't lie. The pre op diet sucks. Depending on your doc, it varies from all liquid to a mix. Mine wasn't too horrible as they go, really. I did two Protein shakes into which I could blend frozen fruit and a lean and green meal that had six to eight ounces of lean protein and green veg and salad each day. Some are all Clear liquids, some all Protein Shakes, some milk and yoghurt... Just follow your surgeon's plan. Different people need different length pre op diets, too. Some people do a day, I had to do three freaking weeks! The purpose of the pre op diet is to shrink your liver and make it safer to install your Lap Band so wile it blows, it is important.

I really do love my band. It is such a useful and helpful tool. I have fully embraced it as my Little Silicone Friend. I am not perfect, every day but I am compliant most days and working on it. My band helps me to have a better, healthier all around relationship with food. I no longer think of food as my life. It is fuel, my life is other, better things, now. I hope that your band helps you to have that relationship, as well.

I knew going into this that hair loss was a very real possibility but a part of me was hoping that I would be "special" and I would dodge the huge shed bullet or it wouldn't be too bad. Ha! No such luck. I have been losing huge amounts of hair. So much that I actually cut my very long hair to just below my shoulders because the huge balls of hair were distressing to deal with. I am talking balls of hair the size of a shower pouff. I was sad to chop off my hair but dealing with those huge hanks of shed hair was too depressing and I couldn't handle it, any more. It's a good thing I had extremely thick hair or I would be bald, right now! When I went in to have my hair cut, my stylist was shocked at how much thinner my hair is. I hope the shedding slows down, soon. I don't know how much more I can afford to lose! When I weigh the cost of losing hair against the certainty of losing the weight, losing my hair is a price I am willing to pay but boy does it hurt, while I am paying it.