AlysonRR

RE: medifast - I found that the taste of the rehydrated medifast foods was vastly improved by letting them sit for awhile. Plus I added sugar free espresso syrup flavors to them - vanilla shakes got hazelnut, amaretto, or coconut, chocolate got peppermint, hazelnut, or coconut - not as bad! Had my last medifast meal this evening (banana pudding w/coconut sugar-free syrup) - whew. Looking forward to chicken broth, mushroom Soup, fruit smoothie, etc.

My surgery is at 11am on Tues the 18th. As of Friday I've lost 13 lb on the 2-week Medifast 5+1. Getting sick of these particular rehydrated foods, though, and the idea of liquids isn't daunting right now because I just want some different tastes in my mouth! Best of luck to everyone with surgery scheduled this week! I'll post again on Thursday or Friday. Alyson

Can you be successful losing weight with the lapband if you have difficulty moving? I have fairly significant arthritis in my knees and find walking somewhat difficult. Obviously, losing weight may relieve some of the pain, but since I've had knee problems since I was a slender teen, I'm not expecting it to resolve completely. Since I've been sedentary for so long, my plan is to start doing physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around my knees, and simultaneously begin a more general weight lifting program to increase my general strength. I'm hoping after a few weeks of this I'll be strong enough to start walking short distances. What I have to avoid is injury - the last time I injured my knee I managed to gain another 50 lb :-( I'd love to spend time in a pool, but the nearest one is 45 minutes away and doesn't have childcare... So do you think I can be successful with this plan? Have any of you had similar experiences? Any suggestions or comments are appreciated. Thanks - Alyson

Thanks for sharing your sister's experience - I plan to be more active than that (I don't have much choice - I have two small children!), but it's good to know that the band will still be working for me as I work to regain some level of fitness.

The same medication in Sudafed and cold medicine pills is available in both liquid and dissolve-strip formats. The OTC aisle at our grocery store doesn't always have them, but the OTC aisles at RiteAid and Walgreens, the pharmacy chains available here, both have them. I can't remember the brand names, but a pharmacist should be able to help you find the medicine that works for you (pseudoprine, dextromethorphan, guanifesin, etc.) in a band-compatible format. Hope that helps! Alyson

I'm on my fourth day of a fourteen day pre-op Medifast 5+1 (5 of their "meals" plus 1 lean/green meal of lean Protein and green vegies). It's not bad - I'm hungry sometimes, but usually only when I've gone more than 2-1/2 to 3 hours without eating something. Between meals I'm drinking lots of Water to flush some fat out of my liver, plus a couple cans of diet pepsi (getting rid of it before I can't have it anymore :cry) and some decaf tea. I can feel that I'm losing weight already (I'm over the range of my scale) - no surprise since it's ~800-1000 cal each day - but I'm spending much of my time planning what I'll eat when, how I can take foods with me, etc. Wishing everyone a good surgery! Alyson

One thing I considered was whether insurance would cover any subsequent treatment/surgery if there were complications, now or later. I investigated, and they will not pay for any treatment of band-related complications. The daughter of an acquaintance of mine had to have her self-pay band removed due to erosion and infection and she ended up with over $100K of debt. The surgeon I chose costs more for self-pay ($17K) than others I've seen, particularly Mexican surgeons. But he is local to me, the cost includes all fills, AND he will cover the costs of any complications. That, to me, was worth the extra money. Good luck making your decision - Alyson

Someone here suggested Liquid Health. I was able to find it locally for a pretty good price, but there are quite a few online sites that carry it. I'm taking the women's multi - it doesn't taste bad at all. Good luck finding something that works for you :-) Alyson

Thanks - I appreciate your input. If I can lose the 60% I'd be low enough to get the knee replacement, and then be able to do more. The irony about the pool is that we're building a house, and one of my dreams has been to have an Endless Pool. I could pay for a pool if I don't do the surgery, not to mention that my family would enjoy it. But I'm concerned that the weight wouldn't come off with diet and pool exercise; I swam and did water aerobics 5 days a week two years ago and didn't change my weight at all, though I was more fit - then I had an injury and gained 40 lb... Lap-band seems more likely to help me lose weight and keep it off, and get me to the point where I can get my knee replaced and be more active without pain. But then I read some people's exercise routines and started getting worried I wouldn't have good results because of my arthritis. Thanks again for the feedback and encouragement - Alyson

I'm a 43-y.o. stay-at-home mom to two homeschooled children, ages 5 (girl) and 8 (boy). My husband and I are building a home - well, his salary is paying for it, I'm managing it, and our contractors are building it, lol. I used to be a research scientist. I started my weight gain/loss journey at age 9 when dad pointed out I was getting chubby and didn't I think I should stop drinking shakes and put me in a (boys!) soccer team for exercise. I was particularly clumsy at soccer and it did nothing for my self esteem... I wish they'd taken some effort to get me on a swim team instead - I'm actually a very good swimmer. Anyway, I followed a typical "lose 10, gain 15" pattern - the last round I lost 70 lb and gained 100... I'm starting my 2 week pre-op Medifast diet on Monday at just under 350 lb. My last straw was when my parents went to Hawaii last month - my son remarked that he wanted to go back, which reminded me that two years (and 50 lb lighter) ago I was jumping in the surf with my 6-y.o., and right now I don't even know if I could comfortably walk on a sand beach because of the arthritis in my knees and hips :-( My knees have been bad since I was a teen, so it was particularly stupid for me to have gained so much weight. I've been told that I can't have knee replacements until I've lost 125+ lb. I want to keep up with my young kids (hence the knee replacements) and I also want to live long enough to see my grandchildren. Consequently, I'm very highly motivated to succeed with my lapband. Looking forward to sharing progress stories with you all - Alyson

I'm still missing from the list :-) AlysonRR on Dec 18th. Thanks!

Hi - I'm Alyson in WA, scheduled for banding on Dec 18th with Dr Neal in Olympia, with a starting weight of 348 and a BMI around 60, depending how straight I stand . I'm starting the pre-op medifast 5-1 next Monday, but from reading here I'm thinking it would be advantageous to mentally start right now - I think I've had a bit of "last meal" going on. I'm not binging, but I'm definitely planning meals that I know won't fit into my new post-band life. I'm also doing some post-band meal planning. I'm not much for sweets so I've ordered some unjury unflavored, hoping it will mix well into broths and pureed soups during the liquid phases. I'm excited to start this next phase of my life, and a little anxious. I'm grateful there are so many people here sharing their experience. Alyson

I'm on Dec 18th - starting my pre-op Medifast on the 3rd. AlysonRR

I'm December 18th, in WA with Dr Neal :-)