TopTier

Best of luck to you! Sending positive energy your way. . . oh and ENJOY YOUR VACATION! THAT'S AN ORDER!

Well, with all due respect to your husband, being "big" is not "okay," and it's not "just a way of life." To be sure, being big, ultimately, is "just a way of death." I'm sending you uber eHugs because I know it's frustrating enough to get to the point where you want to do this to fix your body, and then to run into so many stumbling blocks, especially from your own family, must make it that much harder! I'm sending all sorts of positive thoughts and energy that you can find a way to have this work out for you! HUGS!!

I stopped by GNC and picked up some Isopure Protein Water thingies. They aren't half bad!

Petunia, are you sure you're thinking about the same kind of hernia? Many, if not most, surgeons will repair a hiatel hernia during the lap-band surgery, but many, if not most, will wait for the umbilical hernia repair until 6 months or more AFTER lap-band surgery. Unless they are doing the open surgery instead of the laparoscopic? The umbilical hernia is around/at your belly button. The hiatel hernia is around/at your diaphram above your stomach. Just checking to be sure.

Yup. Jenny is absolutely correct. You are defeating the function of the pouch if you drink while you eat or, basically, within an hour or two after eating. That, I'm afraid, will be my toughest challenge. The placement of the lap band is not arbitrary or random. The stomach receptors for "full" are in the upper portion of the stomach. That's why the lap band is placed where it is. When you eat, you should only be consuming about a half-a-cup of food. That will stay in the "pouch" and tell your brain, "Hey STOP EATING! We're FULL" and it will then SLOWLY pass the food through the lap-band opening into the bottom of the stomach to be digested SLOWLY. This will keep you feeling SATED between meals. If you DRINK anything, including Water, or if you consumer Soup, or anything liquid with your meal, you will "wash" the food bits through the pouch too soon. They will simply pass on into your lower portion of your stomach to be digested as normal, BUT you will be HUNGRY still, and possibly not know when to stop eating, because you are BYPASSING the pouch AND the stomach receptors that tell you to STOP so that you know you are full. That is one of the very few hard and fast rules with our "new normal." NO LIQUIDS WHILE EATING. Before meals and 1-2 hours AFTER meals you can chug all the liquid you want. But during meals: nada.

Wonder how male patients get their fills then? Ouch?! :tongue_smilie:

I guess different surgeons have different issues and requirements. Here is the intro to our instruction sheet for Pre-surgery diet: It is recommended by your surgeon and dietitian to follow a low carbohydrate, liquid diet 7 days before surgery. The purpose of this liquid diet is to deplete the glycogen stores in your liver, making the size of your liver smaller. This will make laparoscopic surgery easier. Now, knowing what I know about the liver anyway, even if he didn't require this, I think I would have done it anyway, since anything to make the lap-band surgery placement easier gets a two-thumbs up from me! But, as we all know, every surgeon is different. So as long as we are in line with what our doctors require or prefer, we're all A Students!

With all due respect, I don't like your surgeon's attitude! At any rate, there is no reason to remove caffeine from your diet. At least that's what my doctor and nutritionist both told me. You can even have soda's if you let them get sit out for a bit and get flat. Reducing sugar? Sure, but to be honest, everyone should, and High Fructose Corn Syrup is a deal breaker. Everyone, especially kids, should reduce consumption of products with this killer in it. But the "reason" why many of us are obese is very complex. Do we need to adjust our mindset? Sure, for lots of reasons and in many ways, but to say we are weak is not only not fair, does not address the complexities of what goes on in the body at the metabolic level to create and maintain an obese person. It's a shame your doctor felt he had to pull out that tired, and inappropriate, cliche to get the "motivation" going.

During my pre-op I'm supposed to take one Tums table twice a day and Benefiber tablet as well. The doctor's office has put Gas-X and Pepcid (or Prilosec) on my shopping list for post-op. They will also be giving me a prescription for Phenergan for nausea/vomiting for post-op, as well. I am supposed to take the Pepcid daily, whether I "need" it or not, so that I can decrease the acid production in my stomach, which will also reduce the chance of nausea. Or at least that's the "theory." Since I haven't done this yet, I can't say if it all works or not!

Hehe. Tell them you're recouping from a bout with Swine Flu. They'll probably stay away and not ask any more "probing" questions after that!

Thanks! some of these look very yummy!

Well, obviously only your surgeon can answer that question. It will depend on so many factors, such as what sort of webbing was used, what options for port placement he has, etc. But I have an umbilical hernia. The surgeon doing my lap band also does this sort of repair as one of his specialities. I've never had it repaired before, but I asked him about it, fixing it, and whether I should wait before or after the surgery and whether having the hernia will impact my being able to get the lap band. First, he said it won't impact the lap band placement. Then he said that he would be able to repair the hernia after surgery, but wanted me to wait about 6 months or more (if I could). He suggested waiting at least that long after Lap Band placement for any surgery.

I will be honest, my head wanted me to do what you are doing, but my psyche wouldn't let me. One part of the reason I didn't was my husband. It's going to be hard enough on him to change his lifestyle along with mine, because he will. I didn't want him to have to self-sacrifice until he really has to. Also, I have voluntarily adopted the Protein shakes for two meals a day. I did that when I got my surgery date. But there are a handful of restaurants that my husband and I really enjoy, and specific meals there that I know I won't be able to "gouge" myself on anymore. So I'm doing the "last meals" thing! Cheesecake Factory was Friday night. (surprisingly, I only ate less than half of my usual meal, though!) Cheddars was last night (WTF?! I ordered a dinner salad?! Oh, that's right, I only wanted the croissant, anyway! DOH!) And tonight I'm going to a place called Sake Blue for my favorite dish of all, Bi Bim Bop. Then tomorrow AM starts the pre-op diet. I think if I had ended up with a longer wait-period, I would have done what you are doing. But from the date of my 1st surgeon's appointment to my surgery only ended up being 3 weeks, so I didn't really have the time to dwell on a strategy like that!

Yes, I think self-pay makes a huge difference. I was rejected by my insurance company (our police doesn't cover any Weight Loss Surgery at all) in early June and after liquidating some assets to get the money, my surgery is scheduled from June 24.

Well, the pre-op and post-op liquid diets aren't what should be considered the new normal, since those are specific medically required diets for the surgery itself. It's the period after the surgery and healing that will constitute our new normal. For pre-op, my doctor gave me a whole list of things I could eat/drink and in what quantities. I start that tomorrow. They give us a shopping list, too, for each phase. I also have a daily "check list" for the pre-op phase. For the pre-op, he has broken down "Liquids that can be taken in any amount," "Liquids in moderation," and "Solid foods." I'll let you know on Tuesday if it (all the lists and checkboxes) was of any help or not! LOL

I would prefer to see my old, thinner self grinning out at me. It would remind me why I am on this journey. I already know what I look like now. One trip past the mirror tells me that!

Congratulations! Well deserved pride!

My doctor does his darndest to make sure that we understand this is NOT a diet and it's not a fad. In his orientation he talks about why we (America) has such a high obesity rate and why it's increased so much over the years. He talks about how it's because we (Americans) have changed our idea of what "normal" eating is. Taking McDonald's as an example, when they first hit the scene, the "normal" hamburger "meal" was not even as big back then as the Happy Meal is for kids today. That was "normal." Today, quarter-pounders, double-quarter pounders, THOSE are the "normal" meals we see at McDonald's. Go into any restaurant and the portions we get are huge. Monsterous, if you consider what a "normal" human being should be eating in a day. So we (modern Americans) have been habituated to a much larger (and life threatening) "normal" than we should be. What the band does for us is work as a TOOL to help us adjust to a new "normal." So it is not a diet, it is re-habituating to a more life-sustaining "normal." He is adamant about eating all the foods we are used to eating, with a few exceptions. For example, he doesn't like if people try to eat hot dogs without the bun. That's not "normal" and you will always feel you are "dieting." Eat the hot dog on the bun. You just take smaller bites and chew them really well, and you won't eat as much. Soon, you will be "habituated" to a new normal. Then you will be able to work with your new tool, your band, so much better! Best of luck to you! I haven't been banded yet, but I'm trying to keep my doctor's mindset in front of me. This isn't a "diet," this is a "new normal," and I will love what that "normal" does to me! (at least, I hope so!!)

Great mews. Synastar! Don't worry about the liver, since it's all over now! What's HBP medication? (I should probably know, but drawing a blank?)

Are you careful not to be drinking anything with your meals? Or soon after?

I can't speak from any experience on this, since I'm not banded yet either, but I've seen people in other similar posts recommend going back to your liquid only for a few days. But don't dismiss the need for a fill so easily. And make sure you are not drinking anything with your meals. I think that's going to be the hardest thing for me to do, especially long-term. I soooo love to "wash" my bites down with ice cold Water when I'm eating.

Stay focused on the outcome and trust in your doctor. I've never been fond of not being in control, and turning my insides over to someone else to manhandle, well, not my idea of a way to spend a morning, but the end result is what I am focusing on! It will be fine, in the end, and when it's over you'll be starting on a brand new you!

DenaBug! So glad to hear you're actually having FUN! I'm not banded yet, but am scheduled for June 24. My doctor keeps saying over and over that his goal is to make sure, after all is said and done, that I will have FUN doing this! I, of course, turned a very skeptical ear to him given, well, none of my other attempts to lose weight and keep it off could ever have been remotely classified as "fun"! But it's nice to see that potential really is there with this! Great job!

Make crustless mini-quiches by mixing up a quichey mixture (put in it whatever you want), then line some muffin tins with cupcake papers, spritz in some Pam into each one, then fill half way and bake. Then pop them in a plastic baggie once they are cooled down, stick them in the fridge (or freezer) and pop one in the microwave for breakfast, about 40 seconds or so.

I hope! (knock on wood!) I just got off the phone with my surgeon's office. They are going to squeeze me in for tomorrow morning (June 12) for the pre-op testing and the meeting with the dietitian. I will then meet with my surgeon, next Weds (June 17) to go over the tests. Given everything is "okay," they have me scheduled for surgery the following Weds, June 24! Yippee!