kdlee

I'm in Belpre. Dr. Kaplan is doing my surgery on June 30th!

My surgery is scheduled for the 30th also! I started my pre-op diet today. I can do a protein shake for breakfast and lunch and then a 4 oz piece of meat and some veggies for dinner. Each Dr. is so different on their pre-op instructions. I say just follow your Dr's orders and you'll do fine.

When is your surgery? I hope the whole 2 week thing goes pretty quick. Good luck to you, too. :frown:

I hope so! :biggrin:

I'm not going to slam you like others have. That said, I am a nurse who is experienced with ports and I would not feel comfortable accessing a port which is so deep in the abdomen. Has your friend who is a nurse ever accessed a port this deep? Where would you get the non-coring needles at so you didn't hurt the port? I understand your frustrations, but it just doesn't sound like a safe idea to do something like this at home. Your friend could also risk his/her nursing license by practicing out of the scope of his/her nursing practice.

Thanks for the replies. I feel like right now I'm in last supper mode, but I'm trying to be good and not put back on any weight that I have already lost!

Hi all. I start my liquid diet on the 16th and I am supposed to do it for 2 weeks before surgery. I am to have a protein shake for breakfast and lunch. I can have a 4-6oz piece of lean baked meat with veggies for dinner. My question is...who else has had this type of diet and how much weight was lost during your 2 week diet? Just curious.

I have already started taking my post op vitamins to get used to the chewables. I take 1 Centrum adult chewable and 2-3 Tums a day for the calcium. After surgery I'll add in some type of fiber supplement, like metamucil and pepcid for acid control.

Good luck to you! I know just how you feel. I'm starting to get scared, too. Looking forward to hear how you did.

My nutrionist has me on 1600 cal and 60g Protein. She told me not to get much more than 60g of protein in and no less than 60. She figured it out by some ratio she plugged my weight into? I was told to eat fat free cottage cheese. It is very high in protein and the consistency doesn't matter. I have been eating it almost everyday and I'm kind of getting sick of it!

Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital "Gastric banding is now available locally at The Healing Center at Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital Center. For more information, contact The Healing Center at 304-420-7155" Good luck! My surgery is scheduled for June 30th!

I was very prone to headaches, too. I have stopped drinking all caffeine over the past two months and I've only had one headache since! I think it was due to decaf tea and withdrawal the next day. I don't know if the decreased in headache is because I am off caffeine or if it's related to eating better since the start of this process? Either way, I'm just glad the headaches are gone! Mickey-What does 75% Protein equal? How many grams are you supposed to eat? I'm supposed to get in 60 grams, which is fine now. I'm just worried that post-op it will be hard with such limited intake! Do they have you taking any supplements or anything like that? Just curious. :tongue2:

That's great! There are so many surgeons and each one does things so different. There are alot of people on here I've read who don't have to do the preop diet (makes me secretly jealous! :tongue2:)

Wow. I was told the purpose of the preop diet is to shrink your liver, thus making for a smoother surgery since part of your liver lays over the stomach and must be moved. Also, the purpose of the postop diet is to allow your stomach to heal on the outside, around the band, to ensure that your band doesn't slip. I guess in some ways your lucky not to go through the 2 week torture of the liquid diet! Good luck to you in your journey. I'm dreading the preop liquids which start soon.

I'm not banded yet, so haven't had a fill but...Did you notice if the Dr. aspirated (pulled back on the plunger of the syringe)? You would know if you were in the port this way, because you would have a return of saline that you could only get from the port. Perhaps the mark doesn't line up with the port site exactly because she stretched your skin tight across the port to make for easier access and when she let go, the skin went back to where it was, thus looking like it didn't match up?

Exercise will really help to bump up your weight loss. Is there a reason you're waiting to get under 200? I am exercising 4 days a week at my current weight, with good results. I was told to expect a loss of 1-2 lbs a week max after the band. That is all the Dr. wants you to lose, because it's better for you that way. I understand wanting to lose more, believe me! :confused: I hope that with exercise added in, that I'll be able to loose 2-3 some weeks. Good luck to you, whatever happens.

I'm not sure how to measure it. I haven't gotten to that point yet. But, my nutritionist told me that some people have difficulty eating salad post-band and have PB'ing. It would be interesting to see how many people on here can actually eat salad without problems.

Wow, that sounds terrible! Do they think your band's ok? That's one of the things I worry about. I'm afraid I'll get sidetracked and instinct will make me swallow before I'm ready to.

After surgery, I'll be taking 1 chewable multivitamin a day, Tums for Calcium, Metamucil and Pepcid. That's all I was told to take. I wonder what the purpose of 2 multivitamins is? Your body can only absorb so much and the rest is just excreted.

Thanks! :eek:

Something like that is what I'm afraid of! The nurse practitioner keeps reinforcing that complications are rare. However, this is a surgery and things can happen. I think I am going to go ahead and check into the self-donation. Thanks for the input.

She didn't offer it to me. I brought it up to her.

Good job! Thanks for the replies, everyone. I've got a little bit of time before surgery to think about this and decide.

Jeannie said I could donate some blood if I wanted, but she seems really hesitant about asking Kaplan about it. She doesn't seem worried about the need for it, either.

Thanks. I guess it's the nurse coming out in me. :tongue: I know the complication risk is low and I was just wondering how many people have encountered this.