RestlessMonkey

You maybe should check with your surgeon? I just say this because mine said "If you are constipated check with me, don't just self treat it" but then they are all different. You probably need something like benefiber or one of those things (just fyi we need about 28g of Fiber a day. A dose of benefiber has I think 3 g so you can see you'd need a LOT of benefiber) and colace. If you aren't putting enough solids in, nothing solid is coming out. ALSO you need adequate hydration or you'll just make the problem worse. Do you get at least 64 oz Water daily? Check with your doc to see what is recommended for you. Good luck!

I'm almost a year post op. There are times when I am in "LOSS mode" and times when I'm not. Loss mode is like this: Shake, 16 oz water, and cup of coffee with sugar free coffee "stuff" in it. Lunch is the same. Snacks are water. Dinner, 2-3 ounces of meat (usually grilled rib eye steak) or poultry and a veggie. more water. I also have iced tea (no sugar) but make sure I get 64 oz of water in. (this is austere but my doc is keeping an eye on me, blood work etc.) I take multi vitamins (a pack of 6) along with prescription meds for blood pressure every day. I have no trouble taking them. When I've done that a while and get bored, I'll usually still have the shake/water/coffee thing for breakfast, not because I can't eat (I can) but because I'm usually not really hungry. Lunch I'll have whatever I want. Sometimes it's something like 1/2 of a chick fil A and a few waffle fries, or a frozen dinner, or 1/2 of a sandwich and some chips. Whatever. Bean burrito? Chile and some crackers Dinner is usually the same but I'll have 1/2 of a baked potato or some pasta instead of the "veggies". I don't measure. I don't weigh I don't count. I know I eat about 2-3 oz of steak only because I was curious once, dug out my scale, and weighed the whole steak, then weighed it after I ate to satiety to see how much was left. That was a science experiment and not for dieting LOL I try to eat lunch and dinnner at the same times each day because my doc said if we can train ourselves to do that it helps with hunger in between. He's a really smart guy and he's right so often that I've finally learned to really give his ideas a good attempt. Upshot now that I'm healed (and after my preop fiasco I did follow my surgeon's post op directions exactly. not necessarily the nutritionist, but the surgeon's) I can eat anything. I usually eat what my husband is having, I dine out, Whatever. Even when I'm in loss mode I don't have a diet mentality EVER. I have lost 46 pounds since 5/7 (almost 73 total) and feel wonderful. On my "non weight loss days" I don't gain back everything I lost when I was dieting. I maintain. It is wonderful. I LOVE my band.

Welcome and good luck! Just fyi...many surgeons prefer you don't get pregnant for a while (like a year, but it varies) after banding, for your safety and that of the baby. But also losing weight helps many many get pregnant, so that's the total upside! If you decide you want the surgery, since you want to get pregnant (I assume?) ask your surgeon what his "wait" limit is! :biggrin: (something to check into at the seminar!) Hope you enjoy your seminar! Mine was a gas! (not the bad kind LOL)

LOL!!! at Cantb2noty2 (i think that's the right way to spell it going on memory bad idea) Actually I've had 1/2 of a chick fil a once. (not while I was healing though!) Nothing happened (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, end of the world) and I still lost weight that week. I LOVE the band! But I'm glad to know you're sneaky and not saintly. Sneaky is much easier to live with! :biggrin: I was not so smart as you! :thumbup:

Actually I think that it isn't in your heads. That's the point. There's that old emotional "head hunger" that many of us deal with (bored, sad, tired, lonely, happy, whatever) and then there is true physiologic HUNGER that our body uses to tell us EAT SOMETHING!!!! That's the hunger many of us do not have post op because of the surgery, swelling etc. But for others of us, like me, we don't have that luxury and are truly HUNGRY from the start. Head hunger is easier to handle than the body saying "feed me or I will make you regret it!" :biggrin:

Don't know if this will help...my nutritionist said to eat Pasta AND rice WELL DONE because it continues to absorb liquid and can swell in our pouch. Maybe that happened? Broccoli and chicken are both major offenders for being "stuck" too. I can eat lemon chicken with rice and this happens to me. When it does, it is invariably because I didn't chew well enough. Normally I can eat 1 cup of food; but a few bites and "full" means "woman you did not chew that well". I wait and if the feeling doesn't subside, have a couple papaya enzyme tablets and try again next meal. Don't know if that will help you. AND...if you have to work and eat maybe pick easier foods? (not being pissy...we all have to work this out our own best way) because otherwise you're grazing and can overeat that way. OK I have to LOL at myself because overeating is so NOT your problem right now! But I think you know what I mean! :biggrin: (my doc said eat in 30 min, 20 is pretty fast!) Anyway I'd take some papaya enzyme tabs if you have them. If not, pick some up (local large grocer or drugstore) They really help this type of thing where it isn't really stuck but not really going on through either. And just wanted to say you've lost a good chunk of weight so you are apparently doing something right! WTG!

I have one and she is as vital as my surgeon! I don't need her all the time but she helped me get back on track right after graduation... and I'm going through some family crud now that I am handling WAY better than I ever would, thanks to the band and my therapist! A good therapist is golden! :biggrin: IF you need one. :thumbup:

Clinical depression shouldn't stop a person from getting the band. Especially if you work with a doc or therapist; Losing weight is a very postive healthy thing even if, for some, it causes some emotional issues that need to be dealt with. Working with a therapist during the pre- and weight loss phase can only help.

This is going to sound SO Pizzy! LOL But sometimes I don't post because you did that bump thing and I don't want you to think that's why I did. SIGH! No I'm not ocd, not anal, not adhd. Controlling maybe? Probably! :biggrin: Anyway you push the elevator button lots if you want. I do when no one is around. It's a form of rebellion for me! :thumbup:

Thanks for clearing that up! :thumbup: I think you voice some very valid concerns and it is smart of you to think ahead to life with the band. I don't know if you are a worry wart, or a good planner! The liquid and mushies stages are FINITE. I stress that because, having been on a huge variety of diets before (with the caveat that you must eat cardboard for life, or whatever) liquids and mushies are NOT how you will always eat. They are for healing. If it helps, think of it as if you will be on a 4-6 week (or however long your post op diet is) course of medicine that is composed of certain foods. Fine distinction, but vital I think. They will not be a way of life. We are all different, but as my surgeon says, a huge chunk of your post band life starts between your ears. How tight you end up will be totally under your control. For example, I can eat a cup to 1 1/2 cups of food at a time. Could I be tighter? YES. Are people tighter? YES. However I know myself; tell me I can't have something and I MUST have it (and even with that I got thru the post op diet!) Staying where I am allows me to occasionally eat bread, pizza, enchiladas, Pasta, rice. I eat chicken breast or steak almost daily. I have had fried okra (talk about a veggie that has fiber) Having restriction makes, to me at least, it easier to choose healthy things. I can eat 1/2 a sandwich and some chips and be hungry in 3 hours. I can have some chicken breast (unbreaded or fried, whatever) and be full for 6 hours. Since I don't usually eat to be hungry, I pick the food with the most bang. I didn't used to do this, preband, because it seemed to me like preband I was always hungry. I probably was, and it probably had to do with insulin resistance (not head hunger)....the band has mostly stopped that for me. So I can eat anything, I am losing well (46 pounds since 5/7 when I found love and happiness and the sweet spot with that fill!) and feel wonderful. The band is my friend, it is my tool. I can tighten or loosen it as I see fit. Looser and I can eat more. Tighter and I will be able to eat less. I am in control. You will be, too. Some do have issues. The psych consult is supposed to catch those unlucky ones (at least the ones with issues adapting) but it doesn't always work. AND yes there are complications...but they are rare. Follow the rules your surgeon gives you and the odds of a complication diminish. There are no guarantees in life; there are no guarantees without the band. At my age, with my health, the band became the healthier more logical choice than remaining without it. But we all must weigh the odds and come to our own decision. It isn't for everyone. But for some of us it is a miracle.

I think, like pushing an elevator button 100 times instead of once, this doesn't really HELP...but if it makes you feel good then I guess you go, girl! :biggrin:

Yes, according to my surgeon and the few things I've read, eating "ahead" of a post op diet is a major cause of slips. I've read posters on here who "cheated" and were back in the OR for repairs. If you don't "pop" the band loose immediately, you can cause the bond it forms to be weakened and subject to slips on down the road. OR you can "get away with it". It's a roulette wheel spin. Most of us, once we realize how darned important that ONE diet is in all the diets we have had in our lives, manage to stick it out. I think many people "cheat" because they just plain were not educated about why it matters to much.

:smile2: Glad I could help. I think I just realized that being interested in what they were doing and why helped me not be scared out of my mind. (as I had told my husband, "People DIE in hospitals. I'm not going there" LOL) It was fascinating and I was blessed to have medical personnel all down the line who explained everything to me. That didn't convince me, but it got me thinking about it! No one wants surgery (well I should say most mentally fit people only want it in dire circumstances!) but you'll do great, feel great, never miss that gall bladder! Keep us updated, ok? :crying:

Just wanted to say welcome! Sounds like you already have a winning attitude! Good luck! :smile2: (Oh and take some lip balm for post op; they give you something to dry you up and your lips will be miserable!)

Broth? BROTH? MY lands woman are you a saint or something? I wanted a HAMBURGER! LOL It's nice to know I was not the only human to come to starved to death. Sad, but nice! So many on here say things like "I'm 42 days post op and still not hungry" Bless them, I hate them! :smile2:

Ok God's honest truth I have NEVER heard that. Quite the opposite in fact. Most people have gall bladder surgery, recover, and never look back. All the gall bladder does is concentrate some bile to aid in fat digestion. It's VERY LITTLE and people don't usually miss it. As my surgeon told me, I'd have plenty of bile to take care of things without the gall bladder. So don't worry about that. I have had NO issues whatsover. No food I couldn't eat. No pain, No phantom symptoms NOTHING. Seriously my surgery was SO fascinating (the OR looked nothing like I expected, for example) that it was one reason I went to nursing school. And yes before the surgery I was petrified to death. It ended up not only being a big non issue, but kind of interesting to me. As I've posted, recupertation was even easier than lap band...no pain, and a WAY shorter post op diet! My surgeon (I can't remember exactly now cuz it was Oct 2003 when I had it removed) had me follow a specific diet for a short time post op to give things time to settle down. I did as he asked and never had an issue, problem, etc. So do what your doc says and you'll be fine!

Trying to tread lightly here... I just would like to say that parts of this thread have been pulled. It's easy to draw the wrong conclusions when we don't have all the information, and to misinterpret emotions intended when we post on a board here. Goodness knows I've been misunderstood before, and most of us have probably experienced that too. As the mods have said, no personal attacks please! We all have a right to our opinions (thank goodness! it's still the old USA) But perhaps we could just let this rest? (We could all join hands and sing Kum-Ba-Ya or something!) Since the thread is incomplete, perhaps we could just let it die a natural death. ?

Trust your doc if you trust him. Not everyone has a liver large enough to stop surgery and in fact it's pretty rare. Believe me, if your surgeon thought you needed to shrink your liver before the surgery, he'd tell you!!! Just brace yourself to be strong post op; it's tough to follow that post op diet but vital. :smile2: If you are REALLY worried about the liver thing, ask your surgeon so he can reassure you.

I'll add this. It seems on diets I was ALWAYS hungry, and obsessed with food. I counted it. I weighed it. I bagged it and apportioned it. I fretted over each bite, wondering if I would be hungry later. Food wasn't my friend, food was my "master". Now I forget about food for hours at a time. I eat a good meal and am not hungry for HOURS. In fact, when I get peckish between meals I KNOW it isn't real hunger, and believe me, knowing that REALLY helps stop the bad behavior. As I posted earlier (and Nanook liked!) The lap band is a tool, not a solution. If you are willing to work, it's another weapon in the weight loss arsenal. I had despaired of dieting because I'd do well for a while then get exhausted or bored or both and stop, and gain, plus plus. Now with the band, it's there helping. I don't get bored because I personally don't count, weigh, portion, fret...and if I want something I eat it. I just don't eat much of it any more. Last Weds I had 3/4 of a cheese enchilada and about 5 tostado chips at my favorite Mexican food restaurant. I was happy as a clam, and I've lost a couple pounds since then. Amazing! I couldn't ever have done that without the band.

Ask your surgeon for direction here. It's great that you are feeling so fine! :smile2:

Wordsmyth, in 8 weeks you should essentially be through with the patches, correct? Just let your surgeon know. Nicotine impacts circulation etc so he may want to delay surgery a bit. The patches are WAY better than smoking (your lungs are not impacted, as you know!) and the patches usually have way less nicotine. If you're up front with him it may very well be a non-issue. :smile2: Good luck!

Rather than me rattling on and on about whatever, can you be specific? Are you afraid of the pain immediately post op? or of feeling bad say 2 months out? When you say feel, do you mean hurting? or how you'll need to eat and live? I will gladly help you if I can...just need a little info! :smile2:

I wore my normal bra and it didn't even TOUCH my surgical sites. In fact, it helped keep my breasts up out of the way. Had I gone braless, it would've hurt. So just take a comfy bra; then you can decide which option works for you. :smile2:

From what I've read and researched online, aggressive fills seem to be a contributor to post op complications. Just wanted to let you know that; surgeons use their own good judgment and want us to be successful, I generally believe. Taking a while to hit "restriction" helps prevent that. They have come a long way since the "early" days a few years back. Bands come in sizes now, many surgeons DO NOT put a fill in during surgery, and they fill more slowly. Since the point is a lifetime of health, if your surgeon is a conservative one, there's probably (in his mind at least) a good reason. I do NOT mean everyone who has aggressive fills will have problems, nor will everyone who has conservative fills be problem free. But the odds are in your favor if you take it slow. Good luck! :smile2:

I wasn't told not to have pasta....in fact I was told the point of the band was to allow us to eat anything but in smaller portions. The nutritionist did say to cook pasta AND rice well done because they both tend to keep absorbing fluid and swell. Of course you should follow your doc's advice over anything you read here, but cook it well (no al dente) and it shouldn't give you any trouble! :smile2: Bon appetit!