pandagirl

I was told that I would need: 1) A scale to weigh my food. 2) A blender. 3) A food processor I live in a small apartment and I do have a handheld mixer that has a blade attachment; I'd like to keep the equipment down to a minimum if I can. :biggrin: And I'm thinking before I run out and buy all these things for my post-op, I should find out what things you guys, post-ops, actually use. :thumbup: What are the things you can't live without? Are there things you use that aren't on my small list? :cool2:

That sounds awesome!!! I'll need to check out my Rite-Aid now.

I've been telling myself that diabetes is looming over me and I've put so much effort into this to stop now, but that doesn't stop me from questioning it. I hope your recovery is smooth. Gosh the 12th isn't too far away!!!!!!

Right now eating normally means I can choose items that are not protien shake, veggies and meat. I've was on Protein shake for breakfast/lunch, salad with meat for dinner diet from Sept up til last week. (With about a total of 3 weeks off diet for reasons such as g/b surgery, and just plain needing to.) And I've been on a strict liquid diet since last week. I'd really, really like to get all of this over with so I can learn what normal for a bandster is. At the moment it's all theory and on occassion I feel like the universe has asked me to do a little more for this diet than others. Maybe it's a big whine on my part, but you know I knew WLS would be hard, I didn't know it was going to be this hard.

I am...I think I'm in the middle of a very specialized pre-bandster hell!! :thumbup:

I've been on some form of the liquid diet since September of last year for various reasons...so yeah I need the support!!!!

I take "Lil Critters" gummi-vites with Iron. I think they taste way better than normal chewables. They actually taste really good. My doc says I can take those after surgery as long as I make sure to chew well. GNC also has a liquid Vitamin that is supposed to taste well enough, never had it though.

Short Background: Sept 07: Starts liquid Diet. Nov 07: Meets Pre-op Weight Goal (330lbs.) Dec 07-Mar 08: Long Story Mar 6th, 2008: Failed Lap-Band Surgery. asked to lose 30 more pounds. Mar to Today: Back and forth struggle, upset, anger, courage,etc. Now weigh 315 lbs. Okay... If all goes well, I will be at around 300 lbs. by the end of the month. My surgery will not be scheduled until July of this year. They want me to stay on the liquid diet until then. If all goes as planned I will be in the 270-280 range by the time I go into surgery. My ultimate goal is 170. I guess my thoughts are, I will have lost over 100 pounds by the time I get back into surgery and I will be close to only having 100 pounds to lose. Should I even bother with the surgery? A part of me doesn't want to go through the surgery again and have it fail again. I will be devastated if this happens. Another part of me knows that during my off diet period last month I gained 5 pounds in three days and I WAS eating healthy. No fast food, minimal carbs, and so forth. But my body glommed onto everything like a starving maniac. It's apparent my body is very effecient in using food, too effecient. I believe I still need the tool of the lap-band, but I'm no longer 100% about it and I wonder if it's fear. What would you do? If you were losing the weight anyway would you still have the surgery? I know I'm not eating normally. But then I will not being eating "normally" ever again. I will have a re-defined normal, but, jeez....I'm running around in circles over the matter. It;ll be hard and probably unhealthy to do this Protein diet for another year , which is what it will probably take to drop the final 100. And once I'm back on a normal diet I will probably pack the pounds back on. But...I've already had 2 surgeries this year... And on a side note, my insurance will cover some of the plastic surgery if I have the WLS, if not and I lose it all on my own, I have to go through a lot of petitions. Somehow, I think that policy is messed up. :biggrin::thumbup::party::sad::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

I rarely post here because all of my entries are on live journal. I find that forum easier to write in that this one. I don't have many friends over there, but that's not the point of my journal. I wonder if it would do better over here, if I should be connecting to people going through the same thing as I am rather than "go it alone"? I'm not alone really. I have family and friends supporting me in this, but there are times they can't get the full grasp of what I'm going through because they are not experiecing it. Anyway...I'll think on it and see how I feel about opening up over here. It shouldn't be hard, but I'm finding that it is.

I rarely post here because all of my entries are on live journal. I find that forum easier to write in that this one. I don't have many friends over there, but that's not the point of my journal. I wonder if it would do better over here, if I should be connecting to people going through the same thing as I am rather than "go it alone"? I'm not alone really. I have family and friends supporting me in this, but there are times they can't get the full grasp of what I'm going through because they are not experiecing it. Anyway...I'll think on it and see how I feel about opening up over here. It shouldn't be hard, but I'm finding that it is.

I think it's normal for them not to give a surgery date until after you've lost the required wieght. But....I was approved before they sent me to the surgeon. Who do you have?

Okay, so it's not totally out there. I've been asked to lose 25% of mine. h well my body must be different somehow. Cool on the 15 pounds!!!!! The other 15 will be gone in no time!!!!

Mine cares about mine, the funny thing is others I knew who went to my surgeon in 2006 didn't have to do any kind of diet. I wonder what happened to change her mind?

Thanks Shortgal, I'll look into the book. I've done the total liquid diet thing for 4 days now and have lost 4 pounds. I have eaten meat though, but without any sauces or carbs. I've basically intergrated Atkins into the diet, but only do it when I need to eat something. It's not exactly what the doctor ordered, but right now it's the best I can do. (Oh and tons of carrots!!!! I should be a rabbit by Easter!)

Mine actually went 30 pounds heavier than I want to be. I was told by a past doctor I should weigh between 160-170 pounds with 160 being on the scrawny end of things. My surgeon said aim for 200. I dunno. I'm 5'10" with large bones. I'm about the size of a smaller man. You don't sound so far off from me, three inches? So maybe 150 at the lightest?

How much weight were you asked to lose before having your band done? How long did it take you? Was it more difficult as time went on? By the time all is said and done I will have lost a total of 85 pounds since my first official weigh-in with my Surgeon. If I include my weight the day I started my supervised diet it will have been 97. I will have been on some form of a liquid diet since September 2007 and on some kind of diet since January 2007. I'm losing and I'm proud, but I'm kind of frustrated because now I've been asked to do a full on liquid diet after I went in for my band on the 6th and they were unable to do it. (There's a thread called "unfinished band? " if you're interested.) Fat or not, 7-8 months on a liquid diet would be hard for anybody. Right now, it seems very hard.

My Doc has asked me to stop becuase it dehydrates and after band you need all the water you take in. I've gone to drinking decaf, with sugar-free creamer and splenda. It took me a while to get used to functioning "naturally" but it is way easier now. I think it took a good two weeks to get the need out of my system.

I should compile some pics. The most recent ones I have are phone shots though. I did, the night before surgery make a tape mold of my upper body. That will be interesting to put on and walk out of!!!

I feel so much better and both the Dr. and her assistant talked to me, gave me a pep talk and made sure that I was okay. They are really good people.

Okay, I went to see my surgeon today and cleared up some things. 1) The instrument she was having trouble with was the one used to sew the band itself. There was so much tension that she didn't have a comfortable level of control. The instrument would bend as she tried to use it. She did try other areas, but the fat in the upper,not lower area was too thick. She opted to end the surgery, have me lose a few more pounds so that she could get the band in properly. 2) She never considered open surgery for a band because is it professionally not preferred. And I'm with her on this one. i do not want an open surgery and I told her when we go in again and she finds she is having another issue DO NOT move to an open surgery. I'm just not mentally prepared for it. 2) She wasn't asking me to lose 30 pounds in 2 weeks. I think my drugged out self heard that when she was saying she would want to see me within a week. She does want me to lose 30 more pounds though and then we will reevaluate when the time comes. It looks like I'm not going to be having surgery until May. April is already booked. I've been on the liquid diet in one form or another since September, but I can make it. I started 2007 at 397 lbs and every day, band or no, I'm getting smaller and in the end that is what counts. And so you guys know, I'm sticking with my Dr. I really trust her and like her. I know all of this seems really, really odd, but it is not so far fetched. I believe her and believe that she and her staff have my best intrests at heart. Thank you so much for all of the kind words, the support, the ideas of waht to ask and what to look for. All of you have been so very, very helpful. Thank you, Pandy

I didn't like my nutritionist at first because she assumed things about my eating habits. For instance, I wrote down what I ordered at a resturant. I think it was Chevy's, a taco, an enchilada, rice, beans etc. (What even skinny people get when they order it.) And she assumed I ate it all in one sitting. I didn't. It took me three sittings to down it all. She wa right about the calorie choice though, bad decision. If I could start over again, I would explain my eating habits in more detail and not let her think as she wished because by doing so, she went a different route with my eating issues. Anyway, call him or her on what they say. Make sure they understand your eating habits not "fat people's in general" and you might expect them to expect you to be defensive, mine did and it was kind of combative. I heard the same thing from others dealing with thier own nutritionists. All is good now though.

I have sleep apnea and was told that it benefited me to know what my c-pap number was so that they could make sure they had the right equipment for surgery, but it wasn't a requirement to be treated for it prior to surgery.

I had mine out in January, no band yet. I think you having a band and a restricted diet will make it easier on you. I've read about a lot of people havinng issues with consitpation, the runs, sudden need and so forth after they have thier g/b's out, but it seems they have a horrible diet and having the surgery didn't change that. I just had band surgery, but didnt get the band ( odd huh?), but I found the unband surgery to be much, much easier to recover from. The g/b surgery was rough in that movement made the area very sore. The port, and I'm not sure, may make it more difficult. The good news is, they give you excellent meds. I had morphine and fetanyl in the hospital and vicodin when they sent me home. ( The next day.) In contrast my unband surgery has only required Tylenol. Though...I was prescribed Lortab for the actual banding. It's still sitting there waiting for my next surgery. Good luck, stay away from fatty foods, expect a good week to really start moving around easily, but keep moving because you will improve dramatically each day becuase of it.

I'm going in for a follow up tomorrow, Grace. I will see what I can find out then. I don't think I'm getting to the bottom of it though. If something horrible happened I doubt they'd want to tell me. And in the end I am okay. I am out a band for a couple of weeks and out some servings of chicken, but I've already had my "last supper" syndrome and hopefully, crosses fingers, that she was telling it as it was and I lose the 30 pounds and we go in and all is fine. (insert curse word) If not and I go in and out without a band a second time, I'm gonna raise some hell.

I've been telling myself the more I lose prior to the band was going to benefit me. I've been trying so hard to be positive and I am going with the flow at this point. And you mention the strength it takes. Well, I said this to someone else on here too, but my surgeon is female and average sized and her assistant is even smaller than that. I wonder if they just weren't strong enough? And I feel the same way about my lower tummy. The fat is thick and strong there. I can imagine it being hard to handle, male or female.