MerryHearted

I was never told to avoid coffee, pre-op or post-op. (maybe in the day before surgery and the first few days after, but I don't remember that far back) So yep, I drank coffee while preparing for surgery, and I drink it now too. I think it's a great non-caloric beverage. Just make sure you're drinking enough non-caffeinated liquids too.

If you prefer a natural sweetener, try xylitol or stevia. They are both alternatives to sugar that are natural (unlike saccharine, aspartame or sucralose aka Sweet-n-Low, Equal, and Splenda). My dad likes Splenda best. Same with my brother/sil. Both do low-carb when they diet.

Welcome, and I hope you hear from your insurance soon. It's exciting, isn't it? I just love the "hope" of the band and how it's slowly turning into reality.

I'm an August 05 bandster, does that count? Seriously, I was doing OK on exercise and now all of a sudden... not. And I can tell, because I didn't lose but 1 lb last week. :tongue: I'm only 4 lbs away from both Onderland and my -100 lb mark. 203->199. I was going to wait to start the Couch to 5k once I got to 199. Maybe I should just suck it up and start now? If I can continue to lose at 2lbs per week like I have been, I can hit 150 by mid-Oct. I'm just realizing that the best time for me to take 3 weeks off work would be December over the holidays. (for a TT/lipo) But if I want to do that THIS year, I better get my butt in gear!! So are you starting today or on the weekend? I'm thinking of starting tomorrow since I can't do jog/walk today (just walking). I'm nervous about starting running at this weight. :cool2:

Nobody that I know personally. Our kids seem fine so far, although my son is only two; I'm not sure which shots he's missing yet. He just had his latest round of 2-yr-old shots last week. We adopted our children and were required to sign papers stating that we would not withhold immunizations. Since we gave our word, we will vaccinate. So I haven't spent a lot of time investigating the alternative.

I hear ya! I went clothes shopping today as I'm getting close to dropping a pants size. I happily found a pair of size 16 jeans in a brand that was broad enough in the belly with a little stretch to them. Another 10 lbs and the muffin top will be gone with them, too. Then I tried on a pair of size 16 Levis 505's. As I vainly tried to stuff the saggy rolls of belly fat into the completely unyielding and too-slim waist of the jeans, I realized -- oh crap. I really am going to need a TT or I'll be stuck wearing jeans one or two sizes larger just to accomodate this #@$%@ belly, even when I'm at goal. :thumbup: I'm apple-shaped, and most women's clothing is made for pear or hourglass shapes since it's more common. Where the heck am I going to come up with $25k?? :biggrin: Will the rolls of belly fat & loose skin ever go away on their own, if I just keep losing weight? :confused2:

I'm guessing they'll want another co-morbidity since your BMI is 38. The high blood pressure would count, but I'm not sure pre-diabetes counts. Are you on Metformin or Actos for it? How close to diabetic are you? I assume by pre-diabetes, your HA1c is in that range above normal but below diabetic. Have you been tested for sleep apnea? How about high cholesterol? Any issues with joint pain or back pain, especially anything requiring physical therapy or prescription pain meds? Depression? I'm trying to think what some other co-morbidities are... hmmm.... your doc will figure it out though. Most surgery centers have staff skilled at figuring out what to put on the forms to help you get insurance coverage.

Go Lisa! How about "bends" when you see Ben? (squats) Leg Lifts when you see Juliette? hehe -- you need one of those TVs powered by an exercise bike. :biggrin: We TiVo, so no commercials to watch. And we watch TV so late at night, that if I exercised then I'd never get to sleep afterwards. Instead, I use this as "unwinding" time. Stress relief. Particularly nice is to lie down on the couch with my head in DH's lap and have him stroke my hair. That slows my heart rate, drops my blood pressure, and practically puts me into a relaxation coma. A cat usually curls up by my feet and purrs, so I get a little foot vibration heat massage going on too. :thumbup:

Banded patients don't have malabsorption issues, so for most of us a Multivitamin and calcium supplement does the trick for whatever we are short in. Most multivites have B12. Did your doctor explain why you would need the shots? Did you need them pre-banding too?

This is the "Life after lap band removal" board, but I'm guessing you mean once banded can we have soda? Some people don't have problems with it. I tried it once, and OUCH. It hurt SO BAD. Imagine the worst gas pains you've ever had in your life, and having them for a few hours. The pain worked great, really. Soda is a non-issue for me now; I used to drink tons of it pre-band and now it no longer calls to me. (well, most of the time. Very occasionally I miss "the burn" of a Coke, especially if I'm in the mood for a drink, since rum & coke was my favorite)

ITA with the others -- your support person is afraid of something. Afraid of you getting sick or the surgery going wrong, maybe. Afraid you'll regret it. And probably doesn't understand what banding is, or does. If he/she is thin or not morbidly obese, they probably have no idea that it's not as easy as just deciding to eat less and exercise. That's what it does come down to with the band of course, but it's almost impossible to do it on your own. If this person is a friend and not your spouse/significant other, you may need to find someone else to support you if you can't get them to come around by the day of surgery. The surgery center you are going to might have a support group available where you can hook up with others going through this.

No regrets here! :thumbup:

I've been able to take most pills with no problem. A giant enteric fish oil gel capsule got somewhat stuck once, but finally went down with some hot coffee. I don't try those anymore.

If that's a typical day, then yep, I think your calories probably are too low. I don't know your schedule, but can you add in a snack between lunch & dinner, and/or an evening snack? With exactly 3 meals, you must have a long gap in there somewhere. How about a mid-morning latte?

One thing that has helped me tremendously is figuring out my triggers and avoiding them. For example, 100 calorie packs of something like oreos or cheese nips is just a bad idea for me. It might only be 100 calories but eating that stuff makes me wild for more of it. It takes a couple weeks of consistently doing it, but once I'm in the habit of eating only healthy foods and not sugary or salty junk foods, I do SO much better with cravings. Getting in adequate Water helps too. That may or may not apply to others. food, or eating, addictions take multiple forms.

Completely normal. Especially if you were on liquids for a couple weeks -- you pooped out all the solids. Now that you're eating mushies, you've got poop solid building up again and that usually accounts for a couple pounds. Don't worry, if you stick to eating per the guidelines, you'll start dropping again soon. Also -- don't forget that daily weight fluctuations are normal anyway.

No, most people do not remove the band after reaching goal weight. Otherwise you'll just put the weight back on. You need to keep the band on so you continue to eat properly and have that satiated feeling after a small amount of food. So plan on keeping it for life unless you have complications requiring removal, which happens in a small percentage of cases. How often for fills is unfortunately very personal -- it depends on how much fill you get at each appt, how tight the band is to begin with, how much weight you lose during the year, and other factors. Maybe plan on 5 or 6 of them? And don't expect that you will be done getting fills after the first year. It will probably be less often, but you will need adjustments from time to time, especially if you don't hit goal that first year. You might look into a Fill Center USA or something like that if there is one nearby -- might be cheaper than going back to Mexico to see your surgeon there. But make sure you have a plan for who will do your aftercare before you go. Most US doctors will not take patients banded in Mexico for aftercare. Expect your husband to drop weight a lot faster than you. Men generally do. It's a higher-muscle-mass thing. Don't get discouraged. Good luck with your surgeries!! This is a grand adventure, and banding is a wonderful tool!

I think the key to proper restriction is this: if you eat the portion size you are "supposed" to eat -- around 3 oz of Protein and 1/2 c of veggies -- and are not hungry for at least 3-4 hrs afterwards, then your restriction level is right. If you are eating solid food in appropriate portions and get hungry too soon, then you likely need a fill. So many complications come from having your band too tight. You don't have to use the band to prevent yourself from eating too much at one sitting. You can use it as a way to feel satiated once you've chosen to eat a small portion of healthy food. If that makes sense. And yes, I know that some people, by the time they get the band tight enough to help them stay satiated for 3-4 hrs, also have it tight enough that it prevents them from eating very much and they have foods they can't eat anymore. That's not true in all cases though.

Oh my goodness that's terrible -- I'm sorry you had such a crappy doctor who wouldn't listen to you. A cautionary tale indeed -- for those of you still surgeon-shopping it's a good question to ask: "if I decide for whatever reason after banding that I would like it removed, will you agree to the surgery?" I would have sought a 2nd or 3rd opinion if I were in pain and my doc wasn't listening to me. I'm glad you are feeling better now! I do also feel weird about all the LapBand commercials these days (or Realize band, or whatever) -- on one hand, it does raise awareness that there is a potential solution out there, and on the other it just seems like primary care docs should be on the ball about working with people to find the right solution for their excess weight.

Mine was 1.5ccs, and that was still pretty loose. I'm at my sweet spot now at 3.5cc. It completely depends on the person though. I'm sure if I had gotten 3.5cc right away it would have been way too tight. You'll lose weight around your stomach as you lose, and need additional fill.

I don't have trouble with rice. I don't have it very often though, and when I do, it's almost always a very small amount of brown rice. Unless I'm at a restaurant.

It's kind of like pouring liquid into a funnel -- if you pour faster than the liquid goes through, it'll pool up. I can't imagine "stretching" the pouch with too much liquid though -- I think it would just come right back out your mouth if you drank too much.

100% yes - absolutely!! I'm more than 2.5 yrs out with no complications.

I was just going to suggest that you aim for 3 months not 1. If something like South Beach seems too hard to stick to, maybe try Medifast.

Depends on the restaurant. I tend to order something "simple" so that I have some idea of how many calories I'm taking in. e.g. a steak and veggies. And then I take home most of it, if it was good. If my husband is ordering something I like, I usually split a plate with him since it's only a few bites of food. I'm a fan of chili, so sometimes I order that. I don't go out for fast food at all anymore. If I did, I'd probably get something like chicken nuggets, that doesn't have a doughy bun. We went to Red Robin (a burger place) last weekend for the kids, and instead of chili I got the fried fish. Only had a few bites - it was delicious! - but boy did I have a stomachache later. Ugh. I'm so not used to fried food anymore.