RestlessMonkey

DJ teach... my surgeon has us on 7 days clear to allow tummy to heal so I think you were smart to go back to liquids. What BP meds are you taking? If you are taking a diuretic, I'd suggest holding off until monday when you can ask your prescribing doctor if you must keep taking it. (explain to him you have the band) Initially it is hard to keep hydrated on the band and our surgeon recommends about 99% of his patients discontinue it. Otherwise, if it's a pill that can be crushed, and can be taken on an empty stomach, crush it and take it. OR if it is small (I am taking diovan and it is little) take it with your clear liquid.

Philly2dc... I have tricare sorry just wanted to tell you, you need to give your post time to generate some answers. This board moves slowly; I think its because most bandsters are out being active! LOL You might also try the search bar at the top right to see about past posts on this subject. Good luck

Congrats, Miss Understood! The time will fly by!

I think a LOT of women, especially mothers, have similar issues. You love your family and have encouraged them to lean on you (it's our nurturing side, darn it) and somehow over the years, you get kind of consumed or something. I can tell you that your family is spoiled (of course they are! you've spoiled them!) and it can't hurt them to toughen up just a little bit! I will say mom used to cook big old meals and I HONESTLY would rather have had her playing the games with us than working in the kitchen. Don't feel badly if your family is "forced" to eat healty. It won't kill them! It may save them. I am not blessed with kids and can't really give you tips but I can say I know you are worth this and you can find a way to carve out time for yourself. You probably are grieving the loss of the old you! But the new you still has her in there...you'll just be healthier. That can only benefit your family.

Do you mean like preop? first month post op? over the long haul? It REALLY REALLY depends on each person, how high your start weight is, how much you exercise, how motivated you are to follow your surgeon's/nutritionists plans TO THE LETTER, etc. The average is 1-2 pounds a week overall (people can lose indefinitely .. 3 years..whatever it takes). I've lost 30 pounds preop but know there's no way that will keep up, for example. Some lose 150 the first year, some only lose 40. You've read different figures because they ARE all different! LOL I think you kind of have to let that type of mentality go...this is a lifelong committment and it's supposed to come off kind of slowly. Gastric bypass has huge numbers the first year....lap band can supply some good numbers but it's more "long term". Hope that helps!

I agree with Poohprecious. However my internist told me I needed to do something ASAP or I'd crash pretty quickly, so I kind of started with him. He recommended the band but I'd flirted with the idea for years. In fact...I thought my insurance would NOT cover it (I had called twice, in Jan and again in April of this year!) and was proceeding with finding a surgeon etc so I could pay for it when i got a flyer (my DH is retired army and it was the retiree newsletter) saying TriCare DOES pay. So I switched surgeons from the original one my Internist recommended (so glad I did!) and took it from there. I'm VERY lucky; the hospital my main surgeon uses has an insurance coordinator who does all the paperwork for you. What a blessing. My stuff was approved within 48 hours of submission, but I think that is really rare. You'll have (probably) a meeting with a psychiatrist or psychologist, and a nutrition consult, and whatever preop tests the surgeon thinks you need. ANYWAY after this long post (sorry!) check with your insurance and check again! I was misinformed both in Jan and in April...

I just know your Aunt can help you. What a great idea! And your family may not understand, but we do! Be nice to yourself.

Clever woman, Roheryn. And I like your quote from "Wicked", too. It's got the same sentiment as my "Listen to the mustn'ts" in my profile (credit to poet Shel Silverstein)

Congratulations! How exciting for you!

Congrats! Next friday is MY day! YAY!

OH I did quit smoking 15 years ago and that was hands down the hardest thing I have EVER done. Being hungry is easier, in a way.... I would lie in bed at night and CRY because I wanted to smoke so badly (and I was a 40 year old grown woman) so I know how darn hard that is. No wonder you get ticked! Find something to do with your hands, hang in there. It DOES get better it really really really does. Hugs to you. What you are doing is amazing.

Sassymama...does your surgeon provide psych counseling? You chose the band, I know, but right now it sounds to me like you are grieving for the old you...the one who could chow down with the rest of them. You don't REALLY want that anymore, I am sure. But no kidding it is darn darn hard when everyone you love around you is carrying on with the same old stuff. It would kill me right now if my husband came in eating an Arby's or whatever. Fortunately for me, my husband and I are "alone", and he, God bless him, is only eating what I eat when he's in front of me. I am grateful for that, and I KNOW it makes it easier, and it's STILL hard. So you are doing something amazing. I know you don't begrudge your hardworking husband his meal, nor your little kid, but that doesn't mean you have to enjoy it when they eat. Is there anything you can do to distract yourself when it is their dinner time? Take a walk, a bubble bath, go to another room and read, ANYTHING? Just take time for yourself. If your mom and dad will handle the kids (assuming they need it LOL ) while it's "dinner'...just clear out. Go for a drive. Go walk around a mall. Anything to get away from it. I know you are struggling but you can do this. You are very worth it, and it's just temporary. Do what you can to get through it! I was thinking if your surgeon HAS psych consultation, they can maybe give you some better tips.

WAY more detailed than my attempt!

Be sure and post to let us know!

I don't know if I want to laugh at the irony or be jealous of you two who are forced by our foolish insurance industry to GAIN weight to qualify for the band! LOL Good for you, anyway. Make the system work!

Anwa..our doc told us about a patient that 1st week post op ate a toasted tuna sandwich and had to come back in for surgery because it did something to his band (I think caused it to tear loose, but honestly I don't remembera) I'd rather just do what he says than chance it! BUT I've already had my "shame on me" moment by not shrinking my liver so I've used up my passes! LOL

MomCof3... Welcome! There was a thread last night about How to do the ticker. I got mine up (finally) but don't know if I could talk you through it, but I'll try. You go to www.tickerfactory.com and follow the directions to set up your ticker. Then you go to "codes" or, "get code" I think it is (you'll see it) You use the very first code and copy it in it's entirety. Then go to "edit profile" (down the right of this screen) and "edit signature" (will be at the left of the screen) and PASTE that url (actually there are 2 but copy them all) into the big box. Then click on "preview signature" down at the bottom. The ticker will show up at the top of your screen. Edit it, add text etc...then click save. I hope that works...good luck!

We're supposed to stay overnight but I'm hoping mine will let me go home. He did after the 1st "attempt" and I was fine....happy to be home and slept like a queen. Hope I can go home the next time too!

I'm hoping I'll be too scared to eat the wrong stuff. I am going to try REALLY hard to do what my doc tells me too. I've been hungry on diets all my life; so I'm hoping I can hang in there a little longer. I'm scared I'll damage my band or hurt my self or something so I pray I can hang tough!

Hollie chickie What do you mean by "artificial chocolate"...the kind that is sugar free and has matodextrin or whatever it is, or something else? (trying to learn from other's mistakes!)

Terilynn I'd surely be freaked too! Do you have any help taking care of the kiddos the first few weeks post op?

FairyFacade... I don't know which South you live in but my Southern family...the ladies would have to swoon and take to their boudoirs if they belched in public! LOL

One other thing...the NP in my surgeon's office told me... She said the odds are high that down the road (1 to 2 years post op) I'll find I can eat just about everything I ever did, just in smaller quantities. She said not everyone has issues with foods getting stuck etc. So I figure I will probably never eat popcorn again, but I can give that up to save myself from diabetes, which I was headed for. Otherwise, I am just going to keep an open mind and see how things shake out! I've never really found a bandster yet who says he or she wishes they hadn't done it!

I went to my seminar 7/10 and had my first surgery 8/11, but because of fatty liver have rescheduled to 8/29, so I understand fast! BUT I've wanted and researched the band since it came out in 2001. So I'm one of those "overnight sensations" they talk about where really I've been headed here forever! If you really are unsure, take the time to read, pray, meditate, whatever to make sure you want to commit to the lifestyle change! I bought a few wooks on banding, besides doing internet searching etc, and they really helped answer a LOT of my lingering questions. Good luck to you!

This will sound funny but are you sure you are chewing with your mouth closed, and not using straws when you drink? Chewing with mouth open and using straws both mean you swallow a lot of air, and that plus the band equals burps!