PhotoNut

When the band is put in, there is no fill in it. Some people dont swell as much as others so they may not have as much restriction. When you start with your fills, you will feel the restriciton. As for the liquid diet, most doctors include Protein shakes in the liquid phase. It is vital that you get 60 grams of protein right now, for healing and fighting infection. I'm sure the email from your doc will help clarify that. And, no matter what anyone else is doing.. be sure to do exactly what your doc instructs you to do. But don't always take for granted that you fully understood. Ask questions when you see others doing something different. I was banded on Jan 9th and I can still feel my port under my skin. It used to stick out more and hurt quite a bit, then as the swelling went down it just had a bruised feeling to it and was less visible. The port is actually sewn to the muscle, so there will be swelling and pain there. Hope this helps. And remember to ask your doc lots of questions. That's what you paid him for.

OMG!! I missed you soooo much! *wipes a joyful tear from her cheek* *sniffles* Who are you? *grins* Hiyas.. Im the new smartass on the block. Nice to meet ya, and welcome back

Dayna.. did you add your info to the Stats thread in the General Discussion forum? It's one of the sticky threads.

I was told that the issue with coffee is dehydration. And after surgery this is something to be very careful of. I was like Jack, after surgery I couldnt stand the taste of coffee anymore. But unlike Jack, I still cant. heh

Um.. nobody's touching my omentum! But I would happily have an assectomy. *grins*

*gasps* Randy! What would your kids say if they saw that?! It's just odd to see a post like that from a guy called My Kids Dad LOL And I thought Heather was the horndog. Are you from the same neck of the woods as her? Drinking the same Water??

So I went to the doctor today (not band related).. and this male LPN comes in and we start talking about eating and dieting. He tells me that all of his family is fat and he got over 200 pounds and decided he wasn't going to let himself go any further. He proceeded to tell me about how he approached weight loss and how he talks to their patients about weight loss or quitting smoking. He tells me all about his theory that complete denial of things we are addicted to is settting us up for failure. I grinned, thinking about this thread. Then he goes on to say that he smokes and wants to quit. He is down to 3 or 4 cigarettes a day now. He said there are some who still fuss at him for that but he believes that for him, he's doing great. He talked about behavior modification. Taking small steps which eventually grow into bigger ones. He said he started losing weight by cutting out only one thing he knew was hurting his health - lattes (400 calories each). As he began to lose weight, he cut out a few more things then began exercising. He looked like he weighed about 160 - very fit, white hair but looked younger. He now works out at the gym every mornign at 5:30 am, THEN goes for a run, then comes home and downs a 2,300 calorie protein shake. Then he eats a LOT during the rest of the day. His body and metabolism have adjusted to his new healthier lifestyle so he needs to eat more to keep the muscles from being lost with all of the excercise he's doing. Anyway.. that was all interesting but what really got me, and I just had to share it with all of you who have been keeping up with this thread, is when he said, "Everyone has their opinion about my smoking and they did about my eating too.. so I just don't tell people what I'm doing now. And if they still make comments, I just hold up my hand, (he held up his hand with all fingers pointing upward) and then I tell them to read between the lines. Well, I busted up laughing because I thought.. ok ok.. I get this! God sure has a sense of humor, doesnt He? This guy knew nothing about me, our thread, my feelings on the subject.. notta. Yet, I still heard what I needed to hear. *laughs* I knew that would make you smile.

Just posting this again as an attention getter for those who haven't contributed their info yet. The more people we have, the truer the stats will be. Everyone please take a moment and post your info. If you wish to keep it more private, send a PM to dawg. Thanks!

I wholeheartedly agree with Vines. Although I felt just like you did before I went on the pre-op diet. I kept feeling this panic of -having- to get taht last meal of this, or that last huge helping of that. But then, when I started the pre-op diet, I got serious. Something changed. I knew it was time to make the full on effort to get that liver shrunk. I was NOT going to wake up without my band! Now, here's what's cool.. getting your band often changes your tastes. I used to be a coffee addict, but now I can't stand the taste of it! I have lost my desire to eat large amounts. In fact, the thought of it makes me want to puke. So, just trust that you are about to embark on an adventure that will definitely be making some changes in your life, but they aren't changes you will necessarily care about once you are on the other side of the band! Cheer up, relax, and think on the things Vines mentioned as the trade-offs and rewards. You'll be fine. :couch2:

Trish.. before I say this you know I am concerned and hope you contact your doctor to find out what he or she thinks you should do.. right? *grins* Ok, um.. I can't help this.. everytime I see the title of this thread in New Posts, I think its about a porn movie or something. Yes, yes.. someone fwap me! *laughs*

*lots and lots of hugs* I can't image how frustrated you must be. They get their kicks making us jump thru hoops. So you just keep trudging forward and before you know it you'll be banded and on here giving advice to people just like you who are going thru similar frustrations.

Illude - this absolutely took my breath away. Litterally, I'm still trying to catch it. I have chills. Girl.. you should be SO FREAKING PROUD of yourself! You are so beautiful. :humble: Bravo girl! :humble: Bravo!! :humble: Bravo!!

*eyes widen in panic* cheesecake, pizza, kfc, cinnabuns, tacos, hot dogs, sees candy, hershey pie??!! OMG! *sticks fingers in ears and says, 'la la la la la la' very loudy* Meanieheads!

I figure I'll live as long as I believe I will. So I'm not going to look and get a number in my head that will jinx me! *laughs*

Oooo.. I feel a song coming on... *sings* Go on, take the money and run.. *snickers* I think maybe she's just worried about the surgery. Why not try asking her, in a round about way, if she is scared about the risk involved with the surgery. She sounds worried that she won't be there to take care of you. Best of luck to you! *sings the verse again with a grin on her face*

Hey Kathleen! *big smile* Welcome to LBT. A tip for you.. go to the "Introduction Forum" found on the main LBT page and then click on "New Thread" button. Then repost what you just posted here. Many will miss your introduction if it's just added to another thread already in progress about an unrelated subject - which you just did. Again, welcome! And grats on your band date!

Hiya Nykee, Wow.. I'm amazed at what this thread just did for you. It must have touched in a very big way. And I can tell it wasn't all good, but I think the release was and what you did was awesome. You opened up and talked about the problem honestly and frankly.. and out of that someone was able to help you identify what might be the core of your struggle. And that is awesome! That's exactly what I was hoping to trigger with this thread. For us all to look at ourselves and really examine the why behind the struggle! I do think you took much of this as a direct aim at you, and trust me it was NOT. There are many here who post about their food everyday and many who are upset at their slow weight loss. This was not about you, but it did strike a nerve and maybe that's a good thing. (I mean that in the most sincere way) We all learned from your posts and I really hope it was a good release for you as well. You also have my promise that I was not talking about you when I mentioned eating beyond the band to the point of PBs and band damage or illness. I have seen people posting about how they ate a huge quantity of foods that we all know are 'iffy' for us bandsters anyway, then they end up sick as hell and upset and confused about why? Or they talk about the huge quantity they can fit in their stomach and ask if they need a fill. This frustrates me because I get afraid for them. I want to shake them and yell, 'Stop that! Youre going to hurt yourself.' And as for my comment about starting the posts with "I dont want to change, I just want sympathy".. well that was not for you either sweetie. It was for the ones who really needed to hear it and they know who they are. You never, not once, not even fleetingly, crossed my mind in this entire thread. You have my word on that. Thank you for sharing all of those deep and sincere feelings. It touched me in a big way. *great big hug*

Get thee behind me Satan!! LOL

I have the Canon digital Rebel and I love it. Although I do have my eye on more pixels. I shoot landscape and wildlife and my prints need to be big.

Yay Amy! What an amazing day! You're efforts are paying off. And I have done the same thing, grab something to stuff in my mouth before I realized what I was doing. The panic is undescribable isn't it? I'm so happy for all of the NSVs you had after that, which confirmed that you are doing just fine!

I broke down and cried one morning over food. It was like greiving. But since being banded, I haven't had any problems with it. Sure I think about some foods I miss - especially when we drive thru fast food row (everything from Texas Roadhouse to Krispy Kreme at one intersection - and I do mean everything!) but now when I think about those foods I shudder in fear. I don't want PBs and I don't want to ruin this great weight loss I'm having! The motivation prior to surgery? I was told that if my liver was too fatty to safely move aside during surgery (the fat makes the liver way big) that the surgeon would close me up and not put in the band. Until I woke up and heard I had my band, I was so worried about that. No way was I going to wake up unbanded! So I stuck to the pre-diet religiously. I was told I could have all the raw veggies I wanted and also had a small amount of tuna and chicken in a salad a couple of times so that helped. You'll do fine and yes, the emotions range from elation to dread. And afterwards you might even experience a phase of "Oh dear god, what have I done? Was I ripped off yet again?". That's normal too. I had read about that ahead of time, but when it happened to me I didn't realize that's what it was - until just now while telling you! LOL

*laughs* Oh do I relate to this. Prior to being banded I was a 4+ cup a day coffee drinker. I found that if you take a drink of coffee after downing the Protein, the taste is washed away completely. The sad thing is, after I was banded coffee tastes so weird and yucky to me that I won't drink it now! How strange is that?? I miss my coffee *sobs* Anyway, have the missus try drinking some hot liquid afterward. Tea might help, not a tea drinker so I couldn't say for sure. Hey.. I've always disliked tea. I wonder if I will like it now? I should try it! *laughs*

I'd go for it. If it has inclines, maybe wait on those for a bit? But then, we have a folding step stool that says it only supports 250 pounds and we use it anyway. heh We get our treadmill on Friday, and I can hardly wait!

I think anyone can go. However, Dawg and I showed up at the usual place and time (confirmed by my doc's office) last night and nobody was there. I'll call around this week and find out what's up with that.

I cant drink the chocolate, really hurts my stomach. Not sure why. The strawberry and vanilla are ok though. You might be milk sensative. You can mix it in Water.. but, um.. ewww. heh I'll check into what lactate intolerant folks do.