blklab70

I understood the protein would help with the toning of the skin. Our classes tell us to have about 60 grams a day. I do that with unflavored whey protein added to my meals. Would like to know what others have been told. Thanks.

K-Jan, I got tired of the shakes and now I am happy with the protein powder (unflavored) mixed in with instant breakfast. They taste great and you don't even taste the protein powder. I was banded on the 10th so I have been on these since Thursday the 12th. I just was not getting all the protein in that they suggest so the unflavored can be added to just about anything, even water. I put it in cream soup this afternoon and you would never know it was there. I got it at GNC but I am sure other places sell it too. The banana and the chocolate were recommended to me by a man who has lost a ton of weight, but I have not tried those yet. By the way, it is normal to be nervous. You will be ok. Good luck!

Mine is going great. A little sore, but nothing bad. Surgery was about 40 mins, but then spent 5.5 hours in recovery since they could not find a room for me. Ended up kicking a man out of a private room so I could have it! LOL Came home yesterday and although tired, not very hard to go through at this point. Tried some tomato soup for lunch and so far so good. No gas pains as I worried about. Dr Wetter is the best and I would recommend him to anyone and everyone. He is a true professional and I am so blessed to have him for my surgeon. One bad thing about the whole thing is the junk you have to drink for the xray! ICK!!! Good thing it was only a few sips. Nothing to drink for 24 hours then to have that be the first thing to pass my lips, well, it was terrible!!! I can not wait to see how we all do. Good luck family of Feb 10!

4david, I like the Atkins shakes. They keep me full till lunch or dinner. I use them twice a day. I was talking with a man at my doctors office yesterday and he likes the protein shakes from GNC. Says they have 20g of protein and taste good. I am going to buy some this weekend. I had pre-opp yesteday and go for surgery on the 10th. No pre-opp diet although I decided to go on the protein drinks for breakfast and lunch a couple of weeks ago on my own. I have lost 16 pounds! Best of luck to you.

Tiffany, my doctor has not said anything either, but I started seeing what everyone else was saying here and so I went out and got me some protein shakes. I take them for breakfast and lunch, no snacking and have a regular very small dinner. I had lost 13 pounds in the month from the first time I saw him till my second visit. I go to my pre-op on the 4th and my surgery is the 10th. Unless he tells me different on the 4th, I will just keep doing the shakes two times a day.

Emmage, it would not be normal for someone not to be a bit nervous about this. We have never been here before, it is something totally new to us. So it is ok to be nervous. You will be ok. You need to do somemore studying and see that the mortality rate is so very very low. You will be OK! You will look better, feel better and your chance of dying from an illness associated with being over weight will go away. That is much more to worry about than the surgery you have decided on. You made the right choice, all of us have made the right choice. If you are a religous person, pray about it, pray for assurance that you are doing the right thing. Meanwhile, we are all here for each other.

Melissa, that is what is so great about this site, you have lots of friends you just haven't met us all yet. Everyone is super great here. Any questions are answered by those who have been there already. Welcome to our club! We are all here for you.

I am on the band wagon on 10 Feb and could not be more happy. I had my first appointment on 22 Dec 2008, did all my evaluations within a month and saw the doctor again on 21 Jan 09. From there they submitted to my insurance and I got the word of approval on 27 Jan. Pre-opp is set of 4 Feb and surgery 10 Feb. I too am a bit nervous, but so excited to get this done and on my way to a new life. I am not on a pre-opp diet although I have been drinking protien shakes twice a day for about a month, not at the request of the doctor. I lost 13 pounds from first visit to second visit. thanks for the thread for our group!

I am in the process of getting insurance approval too. My doctor office says once that comes in (expected in a week or two) then I have an appointment with doctor and surgery is two weeks later. I am looking at Feb for my surgery. I have had very fast response from my insurance company. Good luck!

Well I am on my way. I have had all my pre op counseling, blood etc. Have lost 13 pounds since 22 Dec 2008 when I last met with my doctor. Met again yesterday and we are waiting now for the insurance to give ok. I am excited and can not seem to think of much else. Have stopped drinking diet coke, no problem there even though I drank them all day long before I decided to do this band thing. Yup, I am so excited and you all have done such a great job of informing me of what was going to happen. I am 56, weighed 282, now 269 and can't wait to join you on the band wagon!

I chose to not tell my co-worker because I did not want anyone saying anything negative (you know they love to do that). I had told my boss, then I said what the heck and I emailed the office telling them that it was a matter of me living and my grandson said he did not want me to die. So I am having the surgery and I also asked that they be supportive. I would love to see them have this done so I did not want to keep it from anyone here. We are a very small law office of four people. All over weight, I say we are a large firm! So, when I am successful perhaps they will do something also. As for anyone else, I will tell them when they ask. I have no reason to not share what I have found.

One thing I have learned from being on this site is that there is much support for and from everyone. As such, we become friends in a long distance way. Friends do talk about other things. I have been on forums where people talk about losing their dogs and I can send my support for them since I understand that our pets are like family to us. So please forgive those of us who do talk about other things. It is our way of keeping in touch with the people who do understand us and support us through our journey. There are lots of threads that answer our questions and believe me I have learned so very much from everyone. I hope you can feel at home here and make some friends of your own who will talk to you about their lives and problems. Best of luck. I am here for you!

I agree with everyone else. You are doing great as long as the baby is growing and is where he/she should be. My daughter never gains anything during her pregnancys, in fact she always loses. she is not banded, but is a little chubby. Her doctors say that she is doing fine and she has healthy babies. I liked the suggestion that you find a doctor that has band knowledge. Not to change doctors but so you can talk to them to get some peace of mind. If you worry it is not good for the baby either. So, from this mom of 6, grandma to 14, you are just fine! Best of luck, enjoy for it does go so fast you will wonder where the time went.

I just made my first, second and third appointments to see the shrink. I did not think I would need to go more than once. Is this normal? How many times did you have to go? I know the referral says I can see them up to three times, I did not think that meant I had to see them three times. She has not even seen me once and has me scheduled for all three times. I want to get this all done before my next doctor visit on the 21st, but hey, three times! Maybe I am crazy!

I have not had the band yet, waiting for durgery date, but have seen my doctor. I put it this way, you know when you are on a plane and they are explaining the mask to you? Well they tell you that if you have a child you need to put your mask on first so you can help the child. Well, it is time for me to take care of myself so I can be there to take care of my children and grandchildren. It is time to take care of me. I can not wait till I can be on the same road with all of my new friends here.

You take as long as you need to get over this huge loss. On the morning of Oct 17, 1989 my beloved Rottndobie was in the back yard dying. I called our vet who had just seen him the day before. She said he was ok then, but came over to see him. Before she could get there he died. My world was totally ended, but at 5:07 that evening we had a 7.1 earthquake here in Northern CA and with our house sitting on liquified ground, we lost everything. I did not have time to cry over my pup (only 5 years old). Several weeks later the vet spoke with me and said he probably could feel the gound moving long before the quake hit, and he had a heart attack. I still cry over him, he was just the best dog and friend ever and although I have had several dogs since, he fills my heart with pure joy today in memory as much as he did when he was here. His collar is still in my jewelry box. So, allow yourself time, do not feel that you should not be hurting because our pets are some of the best family we could ever ask for. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Mimi, I am so sorry for your loss. It does look like you have a big family to help support eachother. That makes a world of difference. Please think more about your diet. You need to be strong and take care of yourself so you can take care of those around you. You will be in my thoughts.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day. We have sunshine at least at the moment. Our day started with our preparing to go to our daughters house for presents. As we started to leave there was the new puppy (9 months old) sitting in the cat tree! This big ole black lab just sitting there so pretty like dogs do that everyday! Oh my, it was just the funniest thing. The rest of the day has been pretty much the same just one funny thing after another.

Thanks Apples! I do feel like I have new friends and I know that you all will be there with me through this whole new life that I have chosen. I explained it like this; when you are on a plane and they are telling you how to work the mask, they tell you to put it on you first then you can take care of your child. Well, I need to take care of me so I can take care of my family. It is just time to do it. I spent time reading what everyone had said and all my questions were answered, so I know this is what I need to do. I know that you can not cheat and lose weight. I just don't understand why you would want to go though this and then not do the right choices. I am even ready to clean off the treadmill and the bike and put a foot on them, maybe not for long right now, but I will get back up there. Baby steps! BTW, we have three black labs and they are such a wonderful part of our family. Our son recently moved out and took his with him, but I still count the dog, Tonka, as ours. Tonka can come live with us any time, no so sure about our son! LOL

You all are such awesome support in each others lives. I just love that! So, please allow me to share my yesterday. I saw my doctor for the first time. Dr Wetter is wonderful! I can not tell you how comfortable I am with him and how he listened to everything I had to say. Hubby went with me and we were both so impressed with Dr Wetter. I now have to get blood work and EKG and return visit with Dr on 21 Jan. You have all helped me make this decision with your kind words and true support. What super new friends I have and I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. You will all be in my heart with your personal problems and personal victories. I know for me I can not do this alone and I appreciate all your kind words. I look forward to a long relationship with you all and the new ones that are yet to know you. Thanks!

Katydid, that is exactly what it means and now he sounds like he has the hiccups when he barks. I think that is just aweful. He was left outside all day and they did not spend enough time with him so he grew bored. No one hates a barking dog more than I do, but that is not the way is should have been handled. Oh well, that dumb owers loss is certainly my gain since he is just the best boy and having him only a month now, I love him so much! Ok can anyone tell me, when you go into surgery do you have to have an IV? I know that it sounds funny, but I just hate having an IV. If it is in my arm I do much better than in my hand. Just wondering! I have learned more from all of you on this thread than any I have been reading. Thank you all so much for your wisdom. One more question. When you say you need to walk the first couple of days, like what are you talking about? Going around the block? down the driveway? What is exactly walk mean? We live on a farm and our blocks are huge! LOL

That is super news and I really need lots of positive! I feel so much better and I know this will be a huge change for the better for me. It was not that many years ago I could get on the floor and play with my grandsons. Now it is a chore to get down on the floor and a much less pretty site of me getting up! So with a new grandaugher on the way I said I had just had enough of this fat. It was in my way and I needed to do something about it for good. I lost 85 pounds when I was very ill with a gall bladder infection and surgery. So I can lose, it just happened that I let myself get back up after two years and I gained nearly all of it back. BTW I was just given an 8 month old lab puppy from my husband. He is our third lab and what a great addition to our home. He is from Golden Gate Labrador Retriever Rescue. He was de-barked and then given up to a shelter in Bakersfield CA. He was rescued and brought to Carmel where we got him. What a joy he is and I am very lucky he is mine! So for anyone looking for a new member of your home, check out the rescues!

JoAnne, I too am so sorry for your loss. We are a lab family but we once owned a Sheltie and he was a wonderful member of our home. You will be in our hearts and prayers. Since we have no children at home it is true that these are our babies.

Thank you so much. That really helped me a lot. I know I can lose the weight and I needed someone who has been there to give me that extra push. I hope I can do the same for someone someday. I look forward to the journey and the new life style. I have so much to learn and am so willing to learn. Everyone has been so great!