NiceWillSuffice

They give you the BEST drugs EVER!

2 weeks after your surgery you will read your post again and smile. Not sure about the congestion part. If it is alergies then its alergies. no problem. Just remind yourself of the cons of being over weight and how much work it is to diet and fail. That should get your through to June 5th. Everyone cheats on the preop diet. Thats what my doctor said and thats why he does it 24 hours in advance of surgery only. To clear the bowels. Check with your doctor, there are other reasons like if your liver is too big etc. But i doubt that salad is going to be any kind of problem. If you lost 7 pounds in less than 2 weeks that is great! dont complain. That is more than 3 pounds a week. You might only lose 2 pounds a week on the band. Sounds slow but hey..2 a week is 8 per month or 50 in 6 months. Normally we give up on our diets long befor that right? :smile:

Have you been Critisized for wanting (or getting) the band? PLEASE TAKE THE POLL. Enjoy!

Well, ..since then she gained 10 pounds and now is going to try to get banded. haha. My guess is MOST people are not judged harshly for getting banded (to their face). I think I will post a poll and see what the groups expereice is on that. yep, good thread.

June 16th? wow. my Dr. only requires clear liquids 24 hours prior so there wasn't much struggle. I ate like a (fat) king until a Sunday night and was Banded Tuesday morning. :party:

is this your pre-op liquid diet??? or were you just banded? if pre-op when is your surgury?

In Feb I told 1 person outside my immediate family. She got mad! Went on about cheating and how weak I must be etc etc. And went on to explain how I only have to exercise blah blah blah. Called me lazy. She needs to lose a bunch of weight herself and said "Well I'm gonna do it the healthy way and join a gym, etc etc" I told her "thanks for the support" Guess what? She has gain at least 10 more pounds and is now going to get banded. My step mom is in her 70's. She replaced a hip, both knees, shoulders and had a partial face lift. She is 100% mobile now and looks great (not fake and not perfect..just great). She told me if the option exists to improve your quality of life with a surgical procedure why wouldn't you do it?

Gonnagetbanned, You might want to start this as a new topic..but anyway, you can't go by the first week because of all the bloat, Gas and retention and weird things your body does. Get on the scale 2 weeks from today and you'll be surprised.

Does restriction hurt? My experieance has been mostly no. 95% of my day i am not eating so i feel nothing. When I eat..if I swallow a lump then yes it hurts. It feels like swallowing a lump of something litterally. It does NOT feel like swallowing something sharp nor is the pain really ongoing. Once it passes its over and a great sense of relief happens. Then it's easy to say "I'll finish eating later". Another sensation is sometimes although I chew plenty..i still will swallow a lump..but soft, and as it goes down air wants to escape (like a burp) so it can't. That is uncomfortible because you are trying to burp but can't...although that isn't really a hurting sensation. both of these suck but they are tolerable. Getting "stuck" is a bummer and its only had to happen a few times to change my behavior (again the reason i got the band). The first time I kind of paniced and tried to wash it down with water...oops. That just fills your throat then you throw up. The nice part is I was "unstuck" after throwing up. I have no problem with Tortillas. Beef I do have trouble with..except hamburger. I had an issue with chicken breast the other day but i forgot to chew. it didnt get stuck but I swallowed a lump. I don't have any problem with Rice or Pasta. However, Dr. Coon's diet recommends to eat Protein first and since pasta can be fattening and low protein its not recommended. So basically Bread and Beef are the 2 problems so far. But i have to admit I am mostly sticking to a diet and have not ventured off too often...except tortillas which i have no problem with. One more comment..my level of restriction is not enough currently. Hopefully that will be fixed this week. I had restriction for 4 weeks but when you lose weight the band gets loser as the fat around the outside of the stomach shrinks, also the band settles in. So currently with a 7cc fill I have less restriction than I did in my 4th week. It is posible that once I get the next fill that Torillas will become a problem. I'll let you know. :party:

pretty cool. i have only lost a couple pounds in a couple weeks and have been fighting getting down about it. I am expecting like 3 a week or more. for now my fill is not restricting enough so i think this week will be good after they adjust. your post is helpful. cant wieght to see 9 more pounds come off...I'll be relieved when I hit 225 which is only a few pounds a way but it will prove the band is still working and that i am still working it...

Hi, I am doing GREAT. Congrats on your appointment. Are you already approved? or is this your inital visit? Less Nervous? Cool. The further in I got the less nervous I was as well. There were a few moments in between but overall its just a step at a time process leading up to then through the surgery. Before the surgery there was a session I attended. I recommend taking really good notes. It's mostly a Q&A, filling out paperwork and instructions for post op, also meeting with a nutritionist. I know Dr. Coon does have a support group. I have not attended nor do I plan too unless someone asks to me go to support them. At this point I get what i need from this forum. Did I have to do the liquid diet postop? Of course. I want things to heal properly. It was really easy to follow because it is only 2 weeks and post surgery I wanted to do everything right so willpower was not an issue. My compusive eating desire didnt kick in until week 4 or 5..but then i got my first fill at week 6 so only struggled for a week. The Soft food diet started at week 2 and most SOFT food tastes really good. Lots of Jello brand products (sugarfree) and Protein drinks and Water. Soooo much weight comes off in that first 4 weeks I got super modivated to succeed so it was pretty easy to fight. I had some restriction from the band i discovered and a couple times I gulped food and burped up what I ate. This is why I got the band..I wanted a consequence for pigging out. It works well for that! Its great I love it. I go in this week to readjust my fill. I want a little more restriction. I'm at 7cc's. I understand it can take several visits to get it dialed in. The worst issue I have had is I puked my brains out 2 times and it was totally my fault both times. Bread is a loser let me just leave it at that. more q's?

heck yeah I would! im only 6 weeks in lost 21 lbs feel great.

Hi, Congrats on getting approved. Doctor Coon is great, his staff, his approach etc. I am very happy to have gone with him and got to know a couple others that went with him. Yet to hear anything negitive. As far as Tx and your Cousin...you really need to read this entire forum. The good and the bad. Getting stuck can be your cousin not chewing enough or selecting the wrong foods etc. Also could be the fill is too tight and a number of reasons that this site has lots of information on. Also, things change over time. I got stuck with no fill in week three which meant I burpped up was I swallowed. Now I have a 7cc fill and it is not enough restriction. If I pig out I want the band to make me gag..thats what I require. I need my hand slapped when i reach for the cookie jar. Others no doubt will disagree. The band can be reversed and if the fill is too tight it can be reduced. Point is there are solutions. if you are obease..that's what you need to be afriad of in my opinon! (For the forum lawyers out here..this is all merely my opinion).

I disagree, ignore the doctors. haha just kidding. Sorry I thought it was a given doctors advice trumps all, but I guess I forgot some people lack common sense. :crying:

Well, yes! now that you mention it. haha. I am also experiencing zero restriction..well..if I swallow a lump I feel the restriction and throw up but can eat a hamburger if I chew it. Wow makes it too easy huh? haha So yeah im a little afraid. But there are 2 things that calm me down. The first being all the research I did on this website where people basically got hungry once healed and the general repsonse seems to be after the first fill life gets better. the second thing is I remember talking to a guy, his friend got the band and he never feels hungry since his first fill and makes himself eat. There is a lady I met online in this forum that isnt never hungry also. So I just keep reminding myself there is a chance after the first fill my appetite will decrease..not just restriction but an actual decrese in appetite. I had a hamburger 2 days ago. it was amazing..i was so full. but I felt really guity and started thinking how im gonna fail and ruined my diet..just like I would feel when dieting without the band. but im cool now.. first fill for me is next week!

Hey DanBar, Start at the very worst case...that you hate the band and work backward. If you hate it.. 1. Its removable 2. The fill can be removed If you sorta hate it.. 1. Its adjustable..search the forum on "the sweet spot". Lots of talk about people changing fill loads to find it As far as food choices..you can still eat crappy food with the band once you are all healed up. Just chew or stick to milkshakes. Bottomline is you will still consume LESS than you probably do now and may even still lose weight...of course your bllod pressure and colestoral and all that will still be bad. Remember that thin people can be unhealthy too. For me, im investing the effort and am going to keep trying to eat well but if the things you are worried about prove true for me there are still options. thats why i went for the band..options and tunability. Loven it.

In case any preops want to know what a 3-4 week post op diet might look like. Good chance to shop in advance. In 3 weeks I lost 17 pounds. The first 2 weeks is all liquid, but here is how my 3rd week started... · Liquid and soft foods only · Target 80-100gms of Protein (ProSLam and low cal protein shakes) · Target 900-1200 calories a day · Always eating protein first · Multivitamin complete (with iron) daily · Calcium chews (from Sams club) · No starch · Max of 6gms of sugar in whatever I eat/drink · Lots of sugar fee or no sugar added Jello products · coffee with no sugar added soymilk · Targeting 64 ounces of Water per day but more like 16 in reality · Crystal light popsicles I’m a little habitually hungry at night but generally pretty satisfied. Dessert is 90 calorie tapioca by Jello.

The meat isnt a mushy food but if you are a month postop then its probably fine anyway. My doc said Protein first targeting 80grams a day. This is important as otherwise you will lose muscle and hair. Protein shakes should help. The eggs are good. you can have more than 2. Once you are healed you can technically eat anything you want... but you want to lose weight so you have to make good choices right? I am learning the band is a tool. I discovered I can eat french fries, wow the oil helps them go down nice! haha...but its so conter productive to my goals so im done with them. At 4 weeks I am looking forward to a fill, starting to feel hungry. eric

well many of us are fat people and this board is our social life. :thumbup:

I'm at 16 days and the swelling is gone just in the last few days. 17 pounds is also gone (the best part)...but the gas isnt. thank God for GasX

Let's get the facts balanced out on this topic. First, I am glad you are going to Mexico and what is key about all the Mexico phobias (Cartels/Flu/etc) is simply be cautious and know where you are going and do your homework. The swine flu should be put into perspective with the common flu... 1. In the USA each year 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications CDC - Influenza (Flu) | What Everyone Should Know About Flu and the Flu Vaccine 2. In the USA eaxh year 36,000 people die from it CDC - Influenza (Flu) | What Everyone Should Know About Flu and the Flu Vaccine 3. The Riverside county office of environmental health is currently saying "all indications are the Swine flu is a milder form of the flu we fight every year" Riverside County Department of Environmental Health - Office Locations 4. Baja Mexico (assuming that is where you are going) is 900 miles from Mexico city where most of the reports of Mexico deaths are noted Google Earth 5. As of April 31, Baja Mexico has not reported any confirmed cases of swine flu (10 people being observed only).. paragrpah 9-11: http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/may/01/1n1bajaflu002056-baja-shuts-most-services-5-days/?tijuana&zIndex=91919 6. There are at least 2 medications that cure the swine flu Zanamivir or oseltamivir, Amantadine or rimantadine 7. You cannot prevent the flu or make yourself feel better faster by taking, Antibiotics, large doses of Vitamins and minerals, such as Vitamin C or zinc or Herbal remedies, such as echinacea. Influenza-Medications 8. There is no "carrier state" of this flu. Meaning you can only get it from someone that is sick not from someone "carrying" it. Source: my doctor 9. I returned from central Mexico 2 weeks ago amoung 1000's of tourists. I am fine. 10. Fly into San Deigo then have a clinic chartered driver take you to the clinic. Just my 2 cents on this.

Having major sleep apnia (natural restriction based of tounge) and generally sensitive throat I was concerned as well. Long story short..you can not feel the Band. What you CAN feel is if you forget to chew and swallow a lump of something you can feel it trying to get through..this has happened 4 times to me. Totally my own fault! I didnt follow the rules. One of the times i threw up. I thought guzzling Water would wash it down..that was a mistake haha. But this is why i got the darn band..because i want immediate punishment for bad behavior (my eating habits). You wont feel the band really. If you have too much restriction i heard you can have tourble swallowing but the beauty of the band is it is adjustable! dont let your FEARS...talk you out of doing something that might improve your life forever. Worst case (way worst case) is it is easily reversable procedure. go for it!

I agree with Brockbabe82.... GAS X strips! They disolve on your tounge and work well. I was banded 4/14 and I take 2 gasx strips in the morning and 1 at night. Works great. BUT, walking is important. I found laying on my side for a while then getting up and walking make the gas come out. thanks

Just keep pushing forward, 1 step at a time. Time never stops passing and the final date will be scheduled then arrive sooner than you think.

Ohhh "Workinit", your freaking me out now! I want to LOSE not GAIN!