Cate18

I think your blog was really very honest. I posted a few times with questions like, "Is this normal?" or "Am I doing the right thing?", but noticed that more often than not I'm seeing a lot of posts looking for validation that it's okay to do the wrong things. I think I typically stay away from those because I get how hard the decisions can be, and I don't want to be part of someone's poor decision making one way or the other, but I agree with you. It took me a few months to realize that they REALLY weren't joking when they said it could come off slow and that I would have to work just as hard to get a very slow weight loss. I had to really temper my personal weight loss against all of the people I was seeing on the boards that were losing crazy amounts of weight in 6 months. Now I have my own expectations. It was nice to read a bit of honesty !

Ooo I second that. I LOVE Eggface. I make her recipes all the time. She's kind of my hero.

We have always had an iced tea maker that didn't get much use as I was completely and utterly addicted to diet coke. Now that I've been banded I love trying different concoctions to make tea. I go to tea shops and organic stores and even grocery stores and walmart and scour the aisles for interesting sounding teas. I mix brew with two bags of luzianne tea and two of a flavored tea. I mix it up and bring a gallon of it to work on Monday. This week it's jasmine and passion fruit. I sweeten it with Splenda, and I've found that the longer I'm banded the less Splenda I use. I've started to be able to taste things again so I don't need quite so much sweetening ! From time to time I also drink VitaminWater10 (the 10 calorie version). I usually don't drink a whole one in a sitting because it tastes too sweet, but it's perfect for something a little different. I like the orange version (tastes like Tang) and the XXX. Good luck finding something you love !

I'm a few months post op and I take a Flintstones chewable with iron. Works out pretty well for me. My mother-in-law is a few years post op from a RNY surgery and she does the same thing. Honestly...they taste like iron...but it's easier than swallowing a big vitamin.

I think for me, as I lost some weight, the fatty padding around my stomach shrank and so my band was a little looser, making it SEEM like I wasn't really getting as much restriction anymore. So I definitely could eat more than I felt like I should be eating. And it felt terrible psychologically. I didn't eat TOO MUCH, just more than I felt like I SHOULD be eating. So when I got my fill I felt restriction again, and I vowed to myself that I would not eat too much so I wouldn't truly know what my "limits" are. I think testing your limits can be a very dangerous thing early in the game. Stay positive and challenge yourself to be successful. That's what keeping me on track now ! Best of Luck !

I noticed recently that there have been a lot of threads saying something to the extent of "I was banded less than 6 weeks ago and haven't been filled yet. I haven't lost any weight. Is this normal ? " I'm also in this position. I read another post in another section of the forums explaining why you really need to have a fill before you lose significant weight. I think I am trying to stick it out no matter what, but I'm just interested in those people that are further out that WERE in my/our same position. Did you have a lot of anxiety before getting a fill that maybe this wasn't going to work either ? Then you got a fill and realized, "Oh ! This DOES work !". I think I'm getting anxious and nervous that I'll be one of the people that the band just doesn't help. Can anyone that didn't lose any weight pre-fill share some wisdom ? Thanks !

I've only recently been banded, so I don't think I'm in a good place to speculate about your weight loss. But I WILL say that I know that in larger size pants, you have to lose MUCH more weight in order to move down a size. For instance, the amount of weight you have to lose to go from a size 6 to 4 may only be X lbs, but the weight you have to lose to go from a size 26 to 24 may be something along the lines of 3*X lbs. Get what I'm saying ? When my mother in law lost her weight with a RNY procedure, she said that it really took her something like 60 lbs or 27 or 28 kg to feel like she looked different, wear different pants, and have people mention to her that they had noticed she lost weight. I think a lot of that was because she started off at a higher weight. Don't get discouraged ! It sounds like you're working hard and doing the right things. Tell your doctor you want a heart to heart HONEST conversation next time you go in. Best of luck !

Oh man. Yup. There's the scientist in me. I was thinking, "I'll check back when there's an 'n' of 20". I'd love to make a spreadsheet of everyone's progress. I think a lot of people are curious about whether or not they are "normal" or "doing it right". I have to try to remember though that sometimes starting weight may play a role and that isn't always available. Thanks for sharing everyone. I'm looking forward to gauging my progress.

I love my magic bullet a lot ! I was really excited when I read the booklet that mentioned making fresh salsas and things with it. So I tried to make some with peppers and onions and let me tell ya....either it doesn't chop them, or it chops them to goo. Try as I might, I couldn't get small (or even semi-large) chunks. If anyone else knows a secret, please fill me in ! I'm the queen of shakes, but no such luck with other things that I don't want to be goo.

I was back at work 6 days after my surgery. I work in a lab, so I have a lot of sitting, but truly I was just a bit tired and I had a hard time changing positions (standing or sitting). That was it. But I think people tend to be very different. If I'm being 100% honest with myself, I think 2 weeks after I had surgery I felt like my old self again, but unfortunately science keeps its own schedule, so I had to follow along. Best of luck !

So I can't believe it's actually going to happen. I waited a year to move and get settled before pursuing WLS. Then in Feb of last year I went to the doctor. I had already done 12 months of doctor supervised weight loss. Not required...just out of a need to do it for myself and make a show of effort to myself. After the Feb consult where they said I was a perfect candidate, weighed me in at 273 and said not to gain more than 5 pounds before surgery or they wouldn't do it, a fight with insurance ensued. Because I'm a graduate student, they will only cover surgeries at my university's medical center. They do RNY, but not Lap Band. So I waited another six months for my husband to get benefit eligible. We now pay $200 extra dollars a month for his on top of mine (mine is better than his, even though his covers this surgery). But his insurance only covers 50%. Queue me hem-ing and haw-ing for three months about paying $10k to have this surgery instead of a free RNY. I finally decided, we took out a loan for $6k and my parents graciously offered to cover $4k. Then I found out my insurance won't pre-approve out patient. I hem-ed and haw-ed another month. But I feel like I had all my ducks in a row and I truly feel there is no way they can turn me down. I had all my testing done (no sleep apnea!) and I'm scheduled for St. Patrick's Day ! The only last obstacle I have to tackle is--I weighed 310 when I finally got my date. Luckily I'm down to 294 now, so only 14 more pounds left to go. My mother is canceling her university classes (she's a professor) to fly out and take care of me. She's booked a ticket, so not losing the weight is not an option. I'm fairly confident that 2 weeks on Clear liquids combined with daily elliptical torture will melt off 20 pounds. I've already started on less than 1200 calories a day. What do you all think ? I'd love to talk with some of you and get to know you. I've found myself unexpectedly here, ready for a surgery I truly never thought I would be able to have and would love to hear some of your stories. Cait

Thanks very much for your comments !

My only advice is to bring a little notepad and write down any questions you have as you think of them ! For some reason as soon as you get in front of the doctor you will forget anything and everything you have to say. In fact, my surgeon recommended keeping a binder with copies of all the bariatric info you have. Labs, nutrition guidelines, fill dates, etc so that if you have to be seen by someone else for something they can see your history. Oh...and walk as much as you possibly can while in, and once out of the hospital ! Good luck !

I'm 9 days post op and have been given the go-ahead on full liquids and things like baby oatmeal, cream of wheat, etc. I am a pretty high-strung person, but I swear I am deathly afraid of eating too much food right now. After seeing the pictures of how small my pouch is, I'm so afraid that even 1/2 cup of food or liquid is going to stretch out my pouch and my band isn't going to work as well. Does anyone have any words of wisdom (sorry in advance if I thread hijacked!).

Sometimes this forum amazes me. I was literally sitting here at my desk eating my lunch (I'm 9 days post op), and I was thinking, "I wonder why my nose is runny" as I clicked on this thread. Question answered. This was also how I found out about the weird hiccup/burp signal. Thank goodness I have these forums to answer my totally bizarre questions !!

In case you haven't visited it yet, I thought I would mention that there is also a special area of the boards for PCOS. Just scroll down from the main forum page and you should find it ! Good luck !

Good luck in surgery ! You will do fine ! The doctor and nurses are all SO great. I had a really good experience. Little gas, and little pain ! Be sure to ask all the questions you have. If you were in the office today for a pre-surgical appointment you probably were waiting with me ! Send me a message sometime I'd love to get in touch with you ! Best of luck !

I was away for a whole week recuperating and enjoying my week off of work ! So I avoided the internet like a plague and it was very satisfying. Hope everyone has had a great success with their surgery. Mine went very well. It was 50 minutes total. I have one large incision, and four TINY incisions. I had no gas pain, and the only pain I really do have is around my port. I'm guessing it's because of the muscle repair that is going on. So I stand and sit a lot more slowly and shuffle more than walk. But I've gotten quite a bit of walking in, and am feeling generally good. Just tired. I'm at work not really working right now and counting the minutes until I can go home and nap. Hope everyone else is doing great ! Let me know how it went for anyone else reading this thread !

I think you're talking about a spirometer. If you weren't given one during surgery you should definitely mention it to your doc. It's pretty standard surgery practice.

Oh man. I'm having mine on Tuesday. The last round of posts I had read were generally along the lines of, "Whoa, this wasn't as bad as I thought" or "Man, this hardly hurt at all!". But I just had to push my luck and read more posts, didn't I ? That'll teach me !

I follow the directions with mine. So for me it's one scoops to 8oz of water. I omit about 2 oz of water and throw in 4-5 ice cubes (you can do it with milk if you're allowed milk too). I also went to the coffee aisle of my walmart and picked up some sugar free davinci syrups. You can put a tiny bit of that in there if you're allowed, and really add some flavor. You can get torani syrups on amazon, and I think they're on sale right now ! Best of luck !

I'm on day 7 of a 14 day clear liquid diet. I drink so much Protein throughout the day, there have only been two times that I've noticed I'm hungry. And both of those times a little broth and some more protein fixed the problem. I think after your brain adjusts to "you cannot eat solid food" types of thoughts, you'll find it's not as hard as you think. The only real problem I've had is that I haven't lost any weight. None. And I don't seem to be retaining fluids. I'm so frustrated. My doctor won't do the surgery if I'm more than 5 pounds heavier than my first appointment (over a year ago), and I am still 17 pounds heavier, so I need to lose at least 12 pounds. I'm doing everything I'm supposed to, and I'm still not losing weight. I hope you have much better luck losing weight than I am having ! Hang in there, it will get better.

I think my surgeon is a cruel, cruel man (not really, but I'm feeling a little dramatic because I'm pre-op dieting). I can only have Clear Liquids (with 8 oz of OJ and 8 oz of V8) a day for two weeks pre AND post op. So far I've done fine. I haven't felt hungry or frustrated. I think it's because it took me so long to finally get to this stage with insurance hassles and all the hoop jumping that I'm just excited it's finally here. I looooooove Protein shakes. I would kill to be able to mix protein with milk right now. How sad is that ? But it's just a month out of my life. So I'm trying to hang in there. Good luck to everyone ! I'm sure we'll all make it.

I forgot to keep checking my thread ! My email is such a bomb I never subscribe to threads, so I'll have to remember to keep checking ! Good luck to you spiritdriven ! I'll be thinking of you as I'm going under ! I think of all the days of the year, maybe this will be the best one, and it happened completely coincidentally for me. I didn't realize until later it was St. Patrick's day ! Hey Gabi ! Thanks for your support. No major movements yet, but I just started my liquid diet today. 13 pounds left to go, but 2 weeks on clear liquids should be enough to get rid of 13 pounds, right ? I'm really nervous, but this matters so much to me I can't really see any alternative to success. Do you have a pre-op diet to follow ? You're almost there. Let me know how you're coming along ! I'd love to hear more. Cait