sakirby

Just got home from the hospital, surgery went great. Doc said my liver was real clean and flexible, made surgery real easy. Only problem was in recovery my oxygen saturation was low, but they gave me a breathing treatment and had me use one of those deals you have to inhale and keep the ball floating. I am not in any pain other then discomfort from gas, but after I lay down I will walk a little and if that don't work they said half to a whole chewable gas-ex. I have lost 23 lbs over the last 2 weeks with my pre-op diet and I hope to keep it going, though it should not be at that pace now.

I am taking the centrum chewables right now but I found CVS has a chewable and they are cheaper so I will try those when these run out. I asked my nutritionist about the gummies and she said they are not absorbed real well but if that is what people can stomach it is better than nothing, maybe take 3 instead of 2. As far as calcium citrate vs carbonate, once again she said citrate is absorbed much better then carbonate. I used the Bariatric Advantage chocolate chewy bites, they are ok but they get real gritty at the end. I tried some chewable chocolate calcium citrate at GNC and it was much better (sorry I forgot the name but they only have one kind) so I'll try them next time. My nutritionist also said to take the multi vitamin and calcium a couple ours apart, as the multi has iron and it willfight the calcium for absorption with the calcium. :cursing:

My doctor used the sleep study to determine if I would stay overnite or do outpatient surgery. The results came out good so I had surgery this morning at 7:00 am and was home by 1:00 pm. He did say it could help me get approved if I had sleep apnea. Good luck.:cursing:

If it is your idea to be helpful by being judgmental then you should ask your self are you answering peoples questions to help and be supportive or or does it just makes you feel better when you talk down to them. I did not appreciate your dig about whether I will rely on the shakes after surgery, nor should you call someone a "Maverick" simply because they are trying something a little different yet staying within the spirit of what she is trying to accomplish.

Hey, I am March 17 too, so we are in this together. Every doctor seems to have a different philosophy on tje pre-op diet, mine really pushed the Unjury shakes on me they are good but no protein shake is great. Maybe your surgeon gets visited often by the meditrim rep, if you know what I mean. What I was told by my doctor was low carb, low fat to shrink my liver to make the surgery easier. I drink 2 unjury shakes (20g protein each) then make sure I eat super lean protein like white fish or chiken breast and green vegatables like broccili or green beans or spring mix salad with walden farms dressing(no carbs or fat). The first couple days were rough but I am feeling alot better. Now I am not doing anything my doctor told me not to do so you shouuld check with them but this works for me, good luck.

I just got back from the grocery store with the supplies for my pre-op diet, I start it tomorrow. At first I thought that my surgery date was a big day, and it is, but as of tomorrow I will officially give several of the foods that I love. Tomorrow I start making the right decisions on what I put in my body. I was just wondering what others thought about this.

I just added it to my signature, it looks great thanks.

I have had the last item on my "food bucket list" tomorrow I start my pre-op diet. After dinner I went to the grocery store and got the last items I needed for the next two weeks, wish me luck.

Yeah, I actually had mine at the same hospital I will be having the surgery at and my surgeon is across the street. :thumbup:

Congrats, I get mine the 17th, I can't wait. :thumbup: :thumbup: :mad2:

:thumbup: When I went for my sleep study they had the results ready when I woke up, hopefully this will happen for you. My surgery is in 2 weeks but one of the first things my surgeon did was order the sleep study. I had it done three months ago, they said it was to determine if I would be required to stay overnite or be able to do outpatient surgery. I had to sleep on my back (you will see why when they start hooking you up) but it wasn't that bad, it's just for one night. Your almost there, just keep your head up and good luck.

I have had the last item on my "food bucket list" tomorrow I start my pre-op diet. After dinner I went to the grocery store and got the last items I needed for the next two weeks, wish me luck.

:thumbup: Thanks for the clarity, I am glad you have such a positive attitude I am sure there will be times it is tested, I know mine will be. That is why this website is so valuable, so we can get support from others going through this. Best of luck to you, you too Btrieger.

Surgery March 17th, I start my pre-op diet tomorrow and I am extremely exited. :thumbup:

I tell anyone that will listen if it comes up in conversation, but I don't carry a sign around advertising it. People have always judged me for my weight anyway, so if they are going to judge me for taking action then they really need to look in the mirror. My goal is to lose about 100lbs and when I lose it people will ask how I did it and I am not going to lie to them. At work I have actually got a lot of positive reactions and one coworkers wife is starting the process based on what I've told him about my experience. :w00t: Surgery Date; March 17, 2010 Hospital; St. Vincents, Jacksonville FL Current Weight; 336 Height; 6'1" BMI; 44

You are probably right but I just can't call someone "Loser" regardless of what you may think it may mean, thanks for correcting me.

I start my pre-op diet on the 3rd (surgery is March 17th) just looking for any pointers on making the transition, I have pretty much ate everything on my "food bucket list" so I am extremely exited to get it started. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

:w00t: Well Bob (I would never call you LoserBob and neither should you), I have much the same relationship with food that you do. I think of dinner all day long. I also remember standing in a hospital room and watching my mother pass away after we decided to take her off life support, she weighed over 400lbs. I swore that day I would never put the people I love through such an agonizing ordeal, but that was 6 years ago and I still did nothing about it until my daughter got pregnant with our first grandchild. I started to think of how blessed I was to have my grandparents around as I grew up. I know I am the person I am today in a large part due to them. So I made the decision and the phone call and jumped through all the hoops. My surgery date is March 17th 2010 which, ironically, is just 6 days before my daughters due date. So I've decided I am going to put all my past failures behind me and focus on my future and be damn proud of the decision I have made because I will see my grandchild be born and I will be a big part of her life, I will be a better husband because of this, I will be a better employee because of this and most importantly I will be able to look myself in the mirror and know that I am willing to do anything to save my family from having to stand in a cold hospital room and watch a 400lb man draw his last breath. Oh, yesterdays over my shoulder So I can't look back for too long There's just too much to see waiting in front of me And I know that I just can't go wrong Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes

I am new to this but here goes. I got my surgery date yesterday it's March 17, 2010 so I guess I am officially a March bandster. Good luck to everyone. :wink: Name: Scott Height: 6'1" Weight: 336 B.M.I: 45

This is my 1st post ever Great news!!! I got my surgery date today, my life will officially change on March 17, 2010 at 7:10am. I am extremely excited and confident the lapband is exactly the right tool for me. I feel that I have a good beginners understanding about how it will work and more importantly the changes I need to make to ensure it works. I look forward to my new life ahead and the challenges I am sure it present me. All that being said my question is this; I have read on here a lot about people who are able to return to work pretty quickly, but it seems that most of them have office jobs or jobs that require very little physically. I work at a steel mill and do a fairly physically demanding job, I would like to hear from people with similarly demanding jobs or at least jobs that you are required to be more active. I mean no disrespect to those who don't have these kind of jobs, but I am trying to figure out what kind of time I am looking at off work and how much I will be able to do when I do go back. I will be off for 7 days after my surgery date but this is a regularly scheduled 7 days off I get every month (pretty cool huh?) I am trying to figure out if I will need to use any short term disability.

Thanks, I have tried explaining to my doctor that I do a pretty physical job but apparently he worked at a steel mill while going to medical school in Pittsburg. Not that he is pushing me but he feels I will be able to go back in a week. I will have my short term disability filed and ready just in case, I do understand that the more you can be active early then the quicker you will recover.