Cocoabean

Wow, Dianne, I read your blog posts. I, too, get migraines. When I did my pre-op, it wasn't pretty. But after the 3rd day it got much better. I had to do 2 weeks. I just want to say that if you decide to go ahead, your attitude will be different for the pre-op. You will know that you cannot post-pone it. It is for the goal of making your surgery safer. You just power through and get it done. I did Medifast, I had tried it before and failed miserably after a day. But for my surgery, I stuck to it and did not cheat once, because I knew I had to and I had a short-term goal in mind to focus on. I knew I didn't have a choice. My surgeon said if he got inside and my liver wasn't ready he'd close me up and no band, or maybe have to do an 8" incision and do it open...no thanks. After surgery, yes, things change...but not as dramatically as many think. Yes, there is a post-op diet to make it through. That period sucks as well, but after that, you DO get food again. I eat the same foods I ate before. I even have some junk from time-to-time. Not in the same quantities or as often, but as a treat? Yeah.

As you do your research and find questions write them down. Don't be afraid to bring a list with you to the seminar (if they do that in Aus) or to your consult. Make it as concise and organized as possible, but that way you'll not forget what you wanted to know. I'd want to know if the doctor feels lap band is best for me. Why or why not. How long should I expect for a recovery? What tests do I need to do before surgery? How long do you think all testing and procedures will take before I can have surgery? Do I need to do an extended pre-op diet? What will my post-op diet be?

Practice saying "thank you!" and walking away. Accepting compliments needs to become something you can do with grace, because will be something that happens often. And in odd ways, too. Don't lose any more! You're gonna get skinnier than me! How much are you planning to lose? It's a nice acknowledgement when people say "Hey Skinny!" I'd say, "HI, and thank you!"

I am nearly always frozen. Used to be frozen, then I had some thyroid problems and went hyper, the I was always hot. Got that figured out, was comfy to warmish all the time. Lost the weight -- now I am back to ice cube land hanging with the polar bears. It is 82 inside my house right now and my hands are chilled, my feet are in sheepskin slippers, and I have warm fuzzy PJs on... Then a hot flash will hit..ah the joys!

Shirley, truer words were never typed!

I am not a gum chewer, wasn't really before surgery either. I don't know if it would get stuck, I swallow pills that are bigger than some pieces of gum. If it did get stuck, would it not come up like stuck food does? Would stomach juices dissolve it eventually? I have no clue... Here's my doctor's response to a bypass patient's question about gum: Kim, I don't think there's any problem with gum. I don't know why a prohibition of gum crept into the WLS mythology. Dr. Callery

Hello and welcome!! There are people who are not happy with their bands. But their are many of us like me who love ours. There are up sides and down sides. The best you can do is research all the WLS options available to you, talk them over with your surgeon, see which one he or she thinks is best for you, and make your most informed decision. Ask questions, read, then ask more questions.

It's mix and match. I like hamburgers on a bun (love the scoop out the soft parts idea, BTW!), but if I attempt to eat one, it leads to me being stuck. Which is very painful, gross, and usually ends with me leaning over a toilet. So, aversion therapy says, DON'T EAT HAMBURGERS ON BUNS! I've adapted to veggie burgers without a bun. I love BBQ chicken. I still eat it, but my band's restriction says I can only eat 1 thigh, or else I will be in pain from eating too much. So again, aversion therapy tells me to not attempt a second because it HURTS. So, you have to learn over time by working WITH your band what you can and cannot eat, and how much you can and should eat. So, you might still be able to enjoy steak after banding, but you won't be able to eat the entire porterhouse. You'll be lucky to eat half the tenderloin. That's how it works for me...

I had my first on Dec. 19. I wish I could have used the pills. I did a thing called "Moviprep"...I had to drink a liter of the stuff over an hour and then 16 oz after that, and as much in between as I could. 4 hours later I had to repeat the process. With my band I can drink freely, but I tell you, it was A LOT of liquid to slam down. I can swallow pills as large as a multi-Vitamin without issues, except for first thing in the morning. I'd suggest not tossing all four in your mouth at once. Also, find out if they can be broken up into smaller pieces.

I snipped your quote a bit. CONGRATULATIONS!!! This is so true for so many of us. I don't know about you, but even when my pouch was full, my mouth wanted to continue to eat. I was used to the taste, texture, and experience of a certain amount of food. Eating less just left me wanting, until my brain got re-trained and used to consuming far less.

As you are off all BP meds, there isn't much you can do except be careful upon rising. Your pressure is dropping and your body isn't able to adapt quickly enough. I do it too, sometimes. I also have a problem with my pressure dropping if I have been standing for a prolonged period. My PCP says he sees this from time to time in his weight loss patients, not only WLS patients. Something happens to the body's ability to interpret the signals to correct BP as we lose weight. For me, a signal in increase BP is taken as a signal to drop BP, and I drop! Oh yes, I do! White as a sheet and sweaty. If I don't get seated, I'll pass out. It's great fun, but better than a stroke.

I've seen it before. Do NOT change anything to do with your diet until speaking with your surgeon. Every surgeon is different in aftercare rules.

5'11" and 285 lbs puts you at a BMI of 39.7. Most insurance companies require a BMI of greater than 40 to cover surgery without any co-morbidities. From 35 to 40 most require at least 1 co-morbitity. A family history does not qualify as a co-morbidity, it is something for which you have a diagnosis. 288 pounds would put you at 40.2, so you are right on the cusp. Get an appointment later in the day and don't dress lightly. As to foods, I cannot eat hamburgers, especially on a bun. I do veggie ones without the bun, otherwise they just get stuck. Any sandwich type food is dangerous, I tend to take bites that are too big. Dark meat chicken works MUCH better than white meat. Steak is ok if tender and cut into very small pieces. Your mileage may vary. If you absolutely cannot give up certain foods, rethink banding. You have to be able to "go with the flow" when it comes to eating. The only thing I can count on is never knowing what the day will bring.

Hi Jenn, welcome! As the previous poster said, everyone is different. I was moving around my house pretty well by day 2. I took 1 week off from work, did half time the next week. I caught a cold right around the time I was in the hospital, that did not aid my recovery. Laundry? Well, I'd say at least a week for moving loads from washer to dryer, more for carrying them, unless you split them into tiny parcels to carry them. But reaching into the dryer will not be easy. Stay on top of your pain with the pain meds provided. When you get to level 3, take more. Just remember when cooking for your kids, popping things into your mouth will be off limits now! That might be a challenge. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Appendix will hurt half way between your belly button and hip bone. Also, with an appendix the pain will intensify when you release the area after pressing on it. If something feels very wrong, it probably is, call your surgeon, that is what we pay them for.

Hi Brandi! Welcome to LBT. 20 lbs since Oct is FANTASTIC! Don't sell yourself short! I also have an AP Standard. i love my band, one of the best things I've ever done for myself. Just hop into the topics and ask questions, share experiences, and join the discussions!

I would not do anything drastic until I knew what is required. We all want to lose weight, but to do a liquid diet when you haven't been instructed to do so is just putting yourself through torture. It isn't something you can easily maintain for 3 months. Most of them aren't nutritionally sound. Without the short term goal of surgery in a week or two, I feel it is a set-up for failure. Sticking to a liquid diet is VERY difficult. When you decide you cannot stay with it, will you rebound a gain even more back? This is a rhetorical question, but something so many of us have done in the past. My suggestion would be to follow a healthy diet now. Don't fall into "Last Supper Syndrome" where you feel the need to eat everything because you won't be able to eat it ever again...this is completely untrue. While it is hard to do without the feedback of the band, start practicing eating slowly and taking small bites. These are habits that will serve you well once you are banded. Practice chewing well. Try not drinking while eating, not an easy thing to do at first for most of us. Just my more than two cents worth. Best wishes for your surgery!

Yes, when I eat with a group I have to be very careful not to take a bite then swallow too fast to say something. I've learned to order more Soups when dining in groups.

Every surgeon is different. My pre-op was 2 weeks of Medi-fast. It would have been 2 weeks of HMR shakes, but I already had the Medi-fast from a prior weight loss attempt. You'll have to ask YOUR surgeon to be sure what your instructions will be.

Full liquid diet: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000206.htm Do a google search for other ideas.

My medical group would not let me see my surgeon without a 6 month supervised diet. I appealed with multiple Weight Watchers records, personal diaries, a graph I put together of years worth if diet attempts, and information on a hospital supervised program I did (this one did not involved weighing in). I followed the example appeal letter in WLS for Dummies. Explained that another 6 month program would change nothing. That all I wanted was to be healthier for myself and my family. I won the appeal and did NOT have to do a 6 month program. But as previous posters have said, see what your surgeon and insurance company says. If your insurance company requires it, you will need to do an appeal to get around it. Best wishes to you!!

Thanks for the update! So glad you are feeling better!! The pain meds can cause nausea. Good thing for all new bandsters to keep in mind is anti-nausea meds. A quick call to the surgeon's office and they will call in a script. I all my years here at LBT I've never seen anyone turned down for anti-nausea meds.

Some surgeons put a small fill in at the time of surgery. You might need to have that removed, if yours put some in. The pain you are describing sounds like pain from a tight band. If it gets worse, or you cannot get clear liquids down, call your surgeon's office right away. Holiday or not, someone will be on call.

I can do most pastas. I do sometimes have a problem with lasagna noodles. They just seem to either go down as one big glump or they regroup and form a very nice cork. No matter how tiny the bite or how well chewed. The other forms of pasta noodles are fine. About the only thing certain about the band is that every one of us is different in what gets us stuck!

Liquids go right through the band. They don't really help to sustain us. Like you I woke up hungry from my surgery. The pre-op was horrible, and I was sooooo hoping that the post-op would not be bad because the trauma from surgery would help me...it didn't. My surgeon said to have as much as I wanted during the liquid post-op phases. If yours said the same, don't feel bad about going back 30 minutes later to finish your shake!