BigBoss

No worries in the pre op diet. I am on day 6 and it really has been a breeze. Even with having my daughters first bday on day 2 of my diet. I really havent been hungry at all. The worst pard about the diet is that i have had dreams about me eating solid foods every night of the diet and i wake up thinking i have messed up my diet lol. I get banded on July 26th and am ready for it.

Hey everyone, ran across this site while researching the band and I've seen some great stuff. I'm scheduled to get my band on 7/26/13. Right now just working though the pre op diet (which is going much easier than expected).

Welcome doraburke

No worries in the pre op diet. I am on day 6 and it really has been a breeze. Even with having my daughters first bday on day 2 of my diet. I really havent been hungry at all. The worst pard about the diet is that i have had dreams about me eating solid foods every night of the diet and i wake up thinking i have messed up my diet lol. I get banded on July 26th and am ready for it.

Hot water bottle, shakes, pain meds, anti-nausea meds, LOTS of tv shows, movies, video games to keep you busy Beef broth, chicken broth, s/f Jello, egg drop Soup, G2 (low-cal gatorade), support!, a recliner.

Hey everyone, ran across this site while researching the band and I've seen some great stuff. I'm scheduled to get my band on 7/26/13. Right now just working though the pre op diet (which is going much easier than expected).

i get band on July 23rd

I'm at the end of day 3 of my diet of 3 shakes a day, broths, Water, and sugar free drinks and popcicles. The diet has been much easier than i thought and i really havent been hungry. Getting banded on July 26. Good luck on your insurance submittion

Opinions differ about how gastric banding actually works.
My opinion is based on the fact that stretching the stomach wall shuts down the appetite hormones. When your stomach size is reduced from a football to a golf ball you are going to get stomach wall stretch and appetite hormone diminution on much fewer calories.
Also, the food takes a while to empty through the restriction so the full feeling lasts longer. Some patients will forget to eat dinner because they are still full from lunch.
We know about some of the appetite hormones floating around but we know that there are many more and that the way the stomach and the brain communicate is very complicated. The drive to eat is a very powerful biological drive. If the brain thinks for an instant that you're trying to starve yourself it will take drastic measures.
The small stomach pouch above the band fools the brain into thinking you've just eaten a Thanksgiving meal.
In some patients the appetite suppression is very powerful and some patients say they are never hungry after band surgery. Some patients deal with lots of "head hunger" which is a complex process and not easy to deal with sometimes.
As you lose weight, the stomach tissue inside the band loses weight and that is why you need additional fills as you lose your weight. At your goal weight, the stomach tissue thickness stabilizes and the need for fills diminishes quite a bit.
I read a lot of posts where patients do not have their bands perfectly adjusted.
Here's my version:
Perfectly adjusted - full on small meals, not hungry between meals, easy to lose 1-2 pounds per week, amorous feelings toward your surgeon and staff, send them a Christmas card that will bring tears to your eyes
Too loose - hungry, can eat large amounts of food, hard to lose weight, feels just like you are on a diet.
Too tight - everything wants to come back up including liquids, hurts to eat or drink, bad heartburn especially at night (when you lay down), the only thing that wants to go down is Cheetos and ice cream (bad stuff)
I think if you don't fit the "perfectly adjusted" description you should call your band surgeon to make it perfect with an adjustment.
Also keep in mind that each patient's band journey is very individual.
Hope that helps
brad

I'm on day one of my pre-op diet. Today hasn't been too bad, but I can see how two weeks of this will probably get really old really fast. My surgery date is July 26th, 2013. "Crystal Light and Better Than Bouillon is my Friend"

Write a letter to your future self only to be read when you hit goal. Put all your thoughts and dreams in a letter and seal it and do not open until goal. Tell yourself the good, the bad and the ugly.
I created a thread about this yesterday but thought it might be worth mentioning here.