emmylou

Perhaps your body could be more responsive to a low carb diet? Apparently my body is responding to the low carb pre op diet and I have been told to continue low carb for even more success after being banded. Low fat diets seem to have more carbs than my body could handle, but you'll still lose weight. Exercise helps too.

I'm supposed to be on a diet similar to my liquid pre op diet except there aren't any cal/carb restrictions. They want me to begin the shakes as soon as I feel able to tolerate them - for the nutrition and to get the 64oz water in daily. This is for the first two weeks post op.

This is what I keep trying to tell myself, but I still get this nagging feeling to have yet another last meal. During this whole pre op liquids thing I have found myself salivating at the thought of food (even lettuce!) or while watching TV. It sucks! LOL

I wish you the best luck and a speedy recovery! Let us know how it goes. Mine is tomorrow and I woke up 3 hours before the alarm this morning and now cannot think of anything but tomorrow. I'm afraid, but ready for it to be over.

I know EXACTLY what you mean. You've officially entered what I would describe as "the crazy woman stage". Check out the boards, you'll see we all hit it around 3-5 days into liquids! I wanted to eat, couldn't and then would cry. :tongue_smilie: I described it as PMS on steriods! It has gotten better, but I cheated slightly during my first episode. My DH has been so supportive, but is starving! LOL I haven't cooked anything that I myself cannot have, but he has cooked things that I wouldn't want. It's the smell of the stuff cooking that kills me! It smells sooooo good. That's when I get depressed about liquids. I chug my protien shakes in hopes of feeling somewhat full for a minute. LOL Sometime it works, but it also seems to make for quicker trips to the bathroom. I found the Swiss Miss diet hot chocolate helps me in the evening with being hungry. It's 25 cal and I think 2 carbs and even 1 protien. I put some extra splenda in it too. Today is hopefully my last day of being hungry on liquids. By this time tomorrow I hope to be on my way to the surgical center.

Two days, two day, two days.....I'm set to be in surgery bright and early Tuesday morning. I'm nervous but ready for it to be over with already. I'm sooo ready for the liquids to be over even though I'll have two more weeks of it. I'm just hoping to NOT be hungry during the post op liquids. I watch TV and find myself salivating during commercials. EVERYTHING looks like it would just taste like heaven. Anyway, I'm sure my anxiety levels will increase as Tuesday morning comes around, but as of now I'm ready for it to be done.

Two days, two day, two days.....I'm set to be in surgery bright and early Tuesday morning. I'm nervous but ready for it to be over with already. I'm sooo ready for the liquids to be over even though I'll have two more weeks of it. I'm just hoping to NOT be hungry during the post op liquids. I watch TV and find myself salivating during commercials. EVERYTHING looks like it would just taste like heaven. Anyway, I'm sure my anxiety levels will increase as Tuesday morning comes around, but as of now I'm ready for it to be done.

Apparently I am either a food addict or a person who just cannot stand being ravenous. I think it may be a bit of both. I started the 14 liquids last Tues. and fell off of the wagon somewhat this weekend due to hunger and being emotional due to being ravenous. I was completely unable to concentrate Friday and began having second thoughts about getting the band vs the sleeve (after reading some posts here about whether you regretted getting the band over the sleeve. I then proceeded to have an emotional breakdown pity party that continued into the weekend. I convinced myself that I am torturing myself and wondering if it will be worth it. I decided that if you wanted to torture a prisoner or terrorist, give them a liquid regimen. They'll crack. I was never so happy to have lettuce in all of my life. It was crunch heaven! I'm jealous of those who do not have to do pre op liquids though I'm told I have to do it "for my own safety". So now I will be back on liquids again tomorrow for the remaining 8 pre op days. I don't care how crazy I get from hunger or how badly I break down, this is the final stretch. This is it. I believe that once the surgery is over and I'm no longer in pain, I will be fine and successful. Now I have new fears that I had not thought about prior to reading the band vs sleeve posts: Having ANY trouble with the band system (ie flipped port, leaking ANYWHERE, band failure, anything etc) It didn't hit me that this would need lifelong mechanical maintenance and possible replacement in the future, who knows? My husband was laid off last Monday. Perfect timing since I had completed all of the pre op testing on his insurance and now the rest is the self pay portion package which includes two years of post op fills and stuff. As long as nothing goes wrong after surgery or EVER with the band, it should be smooth sailing. Right? Logically I know this liquid thing isn't torture, but my addict side says it is. :cool:

Thanks you guys. I really appreciate it. I'm not sure why I don't get notifications that someone has commented on the blog or I would have thanked you sooner! I wish you all the best!

I'm sooooooooooooo looking forward to having the Hannah red pepper hummus from costco during the purees as well as cream of wheat and maybe even some grits! LOL I could also go for mushed up Wendy's chili. Ahhhhh crap, I need a shake.

I've been thinking about these after surgery moments too. I don't like beer and have weaned myself from dependance on pop so I'm good with no carbonation. I too can lose (after working my arse off) and then gain it back with just as much fervor. I think the band will help keep me on the wagon even when I don't wanna be, if that makes sense. My downfall is chinese buffets or any buffet for that matter. I love having this and this and this until I'm satisfied. I like variety. I too find myself being an emotional eater. This liquid diet has tried my last nerve in regards to looking to food to soothe myself. I have cheated, but not to the point of ok I give up. I realize why I cheated (I allowed myself to get to a starving point) and then work to not do it again. I have told many people about my surgery. Mostly co workers that I feel comfortable with and family and some inlaws. I believe in time that WLS will become even less of a taboo, but you do what you like. You don't have to share it with anyone if you're not comfortable, it's not like we all have xray's on hand to detect the elusive bandster! Besides, who cares honestly? If you're attacked for your choice I think it could be due to jealousy and the low self esteem of the attacker. Screw 'em! It's your life, live it! I'm having surger in two days. I was given a rx for xanax (sp?) as I'm a little surgery gun shy after having an ovary removed a few years ago (was supposed to be lapro, but they gave me a c-section incision in addition to lapro) and am having all of the second thoughts too. A male friend from high school who had the lapband surgery last summer told me to expect to regret my decision for a few minutes up to two days after surgery, but then it's all good. I'll be keeping that in mind. Sorry to be so long winded, I get carried away. I hope everything works out for the best and good luck!

I know that my surgeon has done single incision surgery on "smaller" lap band patients. He mentioned that he was either looking into getting a smaller retractor or something in order to make the single incision more likely? He is also able to do gastric bypass repairs without incisions by going through the mouth. I'm hoping for a max of three incisions. Wouldn't it be neat if they could do lapband by mouth too. I attended a seminar where another surgeon bragged to his nurse that he completed either a DS or bypass using one incision, but after it was completed he did a second incision just to verify his work? This was the same surgeon that I have read here had two patients whose bands slipped and he then tried to push a DS or other surgery instead of repair. So I guess whether we like it or not we could be guinea pigs while we're under. I guess your surgeon was just being upfront with you that he/she was gonna give it a shot? They can always make more holes later I guess. http://www.advancedweightlosssolutions.com/default for info.

July 7th appears to be a popular day. Lucky number 7 perhaps? LOL I'm supposed to be the first one of the day at an outpatient surgical center. I'm hoping to be up and walkin' around and out by noon. I'm nervous and excited and just ready for it all to be over with so that the healing can begin. I'm sooo looking forward to being able to eat again. This liquid diet has been tough for me and I have cheated a couple of times, but still had lost 7lbs. Good luck to everyone! I wish you a complication free surgery and a speedy recovery!

It really is believe it or not! I've been trying to think of some other broth type soup that I could make to jazz up plain ol broth, but I'm kinda stuck on that one. I asked about being able to have it the first few weeks after surgery and was almost encouraged to have it. I was concerned about the salt/spice part kind of throwing salt into a wound type thing. I was told there wouldn't be any "raw" areas, so I should be good. Also, the Imagine boxed potato leek soup is like having real potato soup. I just add pepper and a little "fake" salt. YUM! Lemme know if anyone has anything else!

This made chicken broth tolerable for me. I made hot and sour Soup broth. 4c chicken broth, 1tbs chili garlic sauce (but paste is better due to the pepper flakes and garlic floating around with the sauce and can be found usually in the international isle), 2 tbs rice vinegar or white vinegar, 1 tbs soy sauce and 1 tbs rice wine vinegar (optional). Let it boil and voila you actually want to drink it! LOL I strain it if I use chili garlic sauce, but the taste is all there, PLUS it has salt and a slight kick! I'm actually having it everyday twice a day. I look forward to it actually.

I'm guessing that this may not qualify as a "clear" liquid, but it made chicken broth tolerable for me. I made hot and sour soup broth. 4c chicken broth, 1tbs chili garlic sauce (but paste is better due to the peper flakes and garlic floating around with the sauce and can be found usually in the international isle), 2 tbs rice vinegar or white vinegar, 1 tbs soy sauce and 1 tbs rice wine vinegar (optional). Let it boil and voila you actually want to drink it! LOL I strain it if I use chili garlic sauce, but the taste is all there, PLUS it has salt and a slight kick!

I'm also self pay. I guess it depends on the surgeon's requirments. I had to see a dietitian, my primary care physician, sleep Dr., have blood work, sleep study, etc. I then had to get clearances from each prior to surgery.

I know! LOL I eventually had to eat ground beef and lettuce and then I was fine. I'm back on liquids for the remaining days till surgery, but I'm not crying and depressed at the moment. I guess that kicks in at day 3-4 LOL. I cannot stand the feeling of starving, hungry I can handle.

It wasn’t a big deal, though I was kinda excited to have it done. I was excited because I sleepwalk and save people in my sleep and I was curious if I would be caught on tape during the study. I wanted a copy! LOL It was somewhat like sleeping in a hotel somewhere, but with wires coming from everywhere! I had trouble falling asleep because I am a stomach/side sleeper and the wires did not permit me to get into my normal sleeping position, but I eventually fell asleep. The worst thing was the goop they use in your hair to hook you up. I have long hair. I asked the hook up dude if I should pull it back and he asked if I normally pull it back at night, if not, then don’t. I wish I had. My hair got all tangled up in the wires and then when he was disconnecting me at 4:30am, he dropped one of the goop covered prods into my hair which then turned into a clump of hair and goop! LOL I rushed home and washed my hair twice and the goop came out. Don’t let that stuff sit in your hair or you may have a rough time getting it out. I’d also recommend doing the study on a night when you don’t have to go to work the next day. I thought I had sleep apnea, but actually have hypopnea (shallow breathing). One doctor thought I still needed a CPAP, but another doctor believed it was very mild and would resolve with weigh loss and stopping smoking. The second doctor said that my hypopnea was positional and during REM, but that my average of 6 times per hour was just over the acceptable 5? I had no episodes while on my side, only on my back and during REM. I found out that if I did have sleep apnea that I would have to have another sleep study using the CPAP (I think it was called a titration study?) to measure the effectiveness of the CPAP. Good luck with everything!

I was just telling my husband about your post and my preop liquid diet crazy woman stage. LOL I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one. I've been crying at the thought of food or rather the lack thereof for the last 3 days. It's like PMS on roids or something! I can't explain it.

Thank you Cindy for the encouragment. I truly appreciate it. I try to stay on top of the hunger, but they've got me on a low cal low carb diet. It's difficult to stay below 950 cal/day and NOT be hungry! LOL I did figure out how to make the broth of hot and sour soup and that has helped with the blandness. How is the post op pain? I'm hoping that it's not too bad. I wish you the best in your journey as well and congratulations!

Apparently I am either a food addict or a person who just cannot stand being ravenous. I think it may be a bit of both. I started the 14 liquids last Tues. and fell off of the wagon somewhat this weekend due to hunger and being emotional due to being ravenous. I was completely unable to concentrate Friday and began having second thoughts about getting the band vs the sleeve (after reading some posts here about whether you regretted getting the band over the sleeve. I then proceeded to have an emotional breakdown pity party that continued into the weekend. I convinced myself that I am torturing myself and wondering if it will be worth it. I decided that if you wanted to torture a prisoner or terrorist, give them a liquid regimen. They'll crack. I was never so happy to have lettuce in all of my life. It was crunch heaven! I'm jealous of those who do not have to do pre op liquids though I'm told I have to do it "for my own safety". So now I will be back on liquids again tomorrow for the remaining 8 pre op days. I don't care how crazy I get from hunger or how badly I break down, this is the final stretch. This is it. I believe that once the surgery is over and I'm no longer in pain, I will be fine and successful. Now I have new fears that I had not thought about prior to reading the band vs sleeve posts: Having ANY trouble with the band system (ie flipped port, leaking ANYWHERE, band failure, anything etc) It didn't hit me that this would need lifelong mechanical maintenance and possible replacement in the future, who knows? My husband was laid off last Monday. Perfect timing since I had completed all of the pre op testing on his insurance and now the rest is the self pay portion package which includes two years of post op fills and stuff. As long as nothing goes wrong after surgery or EVER with the band, it should be smooth sailing. Right? Logically I know this liquid thing isn't torture, but my addict side says it is. :thumbup:

I wanted to get the lap band surgery over two years ago and wish like hell that I had. The insurance I had at the time would have covered it. Now, I'm a self pay via credit card. My insurance will not cover the surgery. I have been able to get them to pay for all of my preop tests (sleep study, barium swallow, blood work, etc.) Anyway, I started checking out surgeons in my area in April 2009. I started the process and have completed all of the tests. I would have had surgery earlier this month but had work conflicts. I'm now scheduled to have the band installed on July 7, 2009. I'm on the pre op liquids phase which has been "fun". I keep visualizing myself thin and healthy. I keep telling myself that I won't have to drink liquids the rest of my life and that this period will be over as quickly as possible. My fears: Not waking up from surgery, waking DURING surgery lol, and being in a lot of pain afterwards or having trouble with keeping the band down the road.