TwilightLover83

I say if ou are focused & dedicated to your goal of losing weight- you will be fine. I was 318 and 5'3 1/2 when I had surgery on 3/30/09. I'm down to 219.2 as of a couple of days ago. I hit the gym & watch calories & try to make healthy choices. I chose lap-band b/c I didn't like the complication risks w/ the others. Even though, my surgeon's partner said "dont chose a weightloss surgery based on complications, choose the best one for you." My surgeon never questioned lap-band for me, he was supportive. Maybe you should look into a new surgeon if you can't get this one to come around? Good luck to you! :thumbup:

My dr said drink drink drink. typically 64 oz a day. 20 oz a day is not going to cut it right after surgery. Watch for signs of dehydration (concentrated urine, dry lips, sunken in eyes). The things I drank right after surgery- warm tea w/ a lil honey, Water, chicken broth, SF popsicles, SF Jello, coffee...yeah that's really it while i was on the clear liq phase. Good luck!

hey there! congrats on your surgery & such. I dont mean to be blunt, but I think you really need to stick to your doctor's diet plan for you right now. I believe you said it was liquids. It's CRITICAL that your band has time to rest & heal itself, or band slippage might be in your future. You gotta be focused to what you want. When i catch myself WANTING something naughty, i stop and ask myself- do you want that blizzard or whatever more than i want weight loss? It typically stops me bout 90% of the time. I've been lucky enough to have my cravings pretty much go away. As far as popsicles & ice cream you are eatting- you are doing sugar free popsicles? & an extremely light ice cream i hope. Those are just extra calories. My doctor says 600 calories daily for the first year (yeah that doesn't sound like alot) & then after the first year 1,000-1200 for maintenance. Food journaling helps! Goodluck!

Have you ever heard of Isopure? You can buy them at GNC. I know they come in fruit flavors, they have something like 40g of protein. I personally thought they were way too sweet. But if you are on clear liquids, and need protein to keep ya full & energy, it might be right up your alley.

I use chocolate Unjury. It's tasty. I also do the vanilla. Hope surgery went well. :biggrin:

Isopure can be purchased at GNC. I dont recommend purchasing it in bulk though. Try a couple of the fruit flavors first. I thought they were waaaay too sweet. I couldn't get any down really.

Hey there- I'm about 8 monthsh post-0p. I was one of those that had to force myself to drink drink drink to keep hydrated b/c I wasn't hungry. However, you need to keep drinking, sip sip sip all the time. Wake up in the middle of the night, you need to have a bottle of water next to ya to take a sip. :biggrin: The liquid will help with your hunger. I was on clear liquids for days after surgery. You could always call your doctor's nutritionist to get advice. Good luck! :sad:

I had port uncomfiness for a couple weeks after surgery. I definately would not wrap yourself, without consulting with your surgeon's office first. You could cause a bunch more problems for yourself besides the pain with the port incision. Yogurt less than a week post-op under my surgeon's rules would be a no no. I was on clears for 5 or 6 days, then graduated to fulls (pudding, yogurt, cream soups) for a another week or so, then I got to go to "soft" or as people call it here mushies for 2 or 3 weeks. Goodluck!

I use chocolate unjury. I mix it with 8 oz of fat free milk, put a tablespoon of reduced fat peanut butter, and away I go. It's delicious. With just the unjury & milk it's right at 28 grams of protein & 180 calories.

I was denied my first try- stating I needed to have a 6mo supervised diet (even though I had been doing Jenny Craig for a whole year! & I had even called my insurance company and asked what they required, they said nothing about the 6mo supervised diet). Did my diet process- resubmitted, took alittle under a week to get my approval. I started my original process in April 2008, and was finally banded March 30, 2009. My surgeon required you to do alot of standard stuff to get to the surgery date. :thumbdown: PPO w/ BCBS in IL

hey there! Congrats on your upcoming surgery! I had surgery 3/30/09- a couple of rough Patches but I've lost right at 71 pounds :biggrin:. YaY! I do exercise alot. Good luck!

thamilton- I had mine about 6 weeks out, to be sure I was all healed & swelling had went down. Banded on 3/30- first fill 5/13. Got 4 cc! It was awesome.

Been there done that! My port flipped on me, I found out on august 10th- and I had the surgery August 20th. Literally was super easy! My doctor said it only took him less than 10min to correct the problem, hardly any pain. Went back to work the next day. I do have an office job though. My doctor said this complications happens to about 10%. Only problem I ran into- they filled me in surgery(it would've been my 2nd fill). Too tight! I couldn't even get my spit down. So I'm at a total unfill now- still lost 5 pounds on my own so far, it's hard though! I see my doc on Monday 9/14 for my 6 mo post op visit & 1 mo visit of revision & HOPE to get a fill!!!! Good luck!!! It's not a big deal!

Hi All- I went in for my 2nd fill today. I've lost 60pounds, I exercise 5 days a week. So my dr pokes me, and hits the side of my port. My port has flipped. I have to go in August 20th and have surgery to correct it. It's not a big surgery obviously, but it's a small set back. AFter surgery I will have to wait to be fully healed again before exercising. Second- I was on vacation all last week, living it up in Keywest & South Beach. I get to work today to have the District VP tell me that my position has been eliminated & that I have 30-60 days. There is really no place for me to transfer to inside the company b/c we are on a hiring phase. soooooooooooo it appears my day just can't get any better! Thanks for all who reads this, I just needed to vent. I'm past the point of crying.

I just wanted to share with ya, at my heaviest I was 362 1/2 at 5'3. I had to do something, my clothes wasn't fitting, my sister was getting married, I was supposed to be in one of those pretty little dresses. I started Jenny Craig, they helped me lose 55 pounds. They were my life saver, and then a couple years later, i decided on lap band. I slowly started at the gym, man I remember when 5min on the ellipitcal and i thought i was dying and that's all i could do. I slow increased. It's all about watching what goes in your mouth & moving your booty (even if it's only alittle). Good luck to you!!!!

Congrats!!!!!

I just wanted to say, the Gas-X didn't help me. The Gas-X would work great if the gas was actually in your intestines... it's not. It's floating around and it's super duper uncomfortable. That was the worse part I think. I had surgery on Monday, was back to work by Friday. But I took an extra day, b/c I ended up in the ER Tuesday night. Best of luck to ya :rolleyes2:

I got whatever my doctor stuck in me! lol And I truely have no idea what that is... :tongue:

My surgeon urged me to stay away from caffeine... b/c it can cause hunger. Just a tidbit from my doctor. I was never a caffeine drinker, so now i just try to be aware of if something has caffeine or not. :tongue:

I only had to do 5 days of clear liquids prior to surgery date. I lost 8 pounds... just an fyi though, after surgery I weighed myself a day or 2 after, and it was a mistake to do so. B/c I had gained 4 pounds, but you have to figure in swelling & trauma. It came right back off after my system settled down.

Hi Wonderwoman2009- I was banded on a Monday, and went back to work on Friday for a 1/2 day. Of course, I have a desk job. But it worked out good for me. :wink:

Hey there Jeremy~ Welcome to Bandland. I waited right at a month to get back to the gym. I was told not to push it too much or too fast, b/c you can develop a hernia. Definately don't want that. So I started w/ cardio, Love the eliptical machine. Hope this helps! Good luck!:wink:

Walk Walk Walk...Move Move Move... it's more than likely from surgery. I remember mine hurt so bad, it would wake me up. Sucks to say but if it is the gas from the surgery you pretty much have to deal with em. :thumbup:

Peoria, IL... any other central IL peeps out there? :smile:

ridethewave- Hi there. I think in healing, it means letting the swelling go down. When I was first banded I felt restriction, probably most people do for awhile, b/c their stomach has swelled from the trauma done to it with placing the band around. Good luck. I hope this helps alittle. :smile: