Sivan

Thanks so much, eldonh. After your reply, I made a very light, 1 cup fruit shake for Breakfast and it took me about an hour to sip down. I feel satisfied and not too bloated or nauseated. I was also wondering about sipping 2-3 liters of Water and 100 grams of Protein a day. I'll have to be hooked up to my sippy water bottle at work. Sivan

I had a similar experience. I got banded on Wednesday. Thursday I was eating broth and Jello and had a bit of gas bit there was no problem. By Friday afternoon, I couldn't eat a thing, I felt nauseous and had gas pains, and just a few sips of anything made me feel like the center of my tummy was going to explode. Saturday I just took it easy. Last night I did explode - from the wrong end - yuk. Now I'm eating yogurt and low fat soft cheese. Tonight I blend a bit of cooked potato into my Soup. I have been reminding myself that as relatively uninvasive as this surgery is, it's surgery. We had something put in our bodies that is a foreign object. We've had holes poked through our innards. And our happy little stomachs are confused. But most of all, we went through general anesthetic that we would have had, had it been a major operation. It can take up to two weeks to recover just from that. I spent more time with the anesthesiologist before the op than the doctors. He made sure that I knew my recuperation time was in a large way dependent on how fast my body threw off the effects of the anesthetic. Thursday I was still pretty drugged when I felt so good (no wonder they want someone else to dirve us home). And I'm pretty sure that's where the nausea came in the next day. I drink when I can. Little bits of Water, juice, whatever. I eat about four mini meals a day. If I still feel a bit hungry, I wait a couple of hours to eat anything more. Yesterday I had a bit too much of the low fat cheese, so now I'll get the smaller size single serving container (I still have the urge to finish evrything on my plate). I'm looking forward to mashed up fish, next. Keep going. It only gets better. there's lots to lookk forward to.

I was banded on Wednesday afternoon. I felt like myself when I left the hospital and when I got home. Then the gas... I'm grateful to the forum that I knew about it. But I also have been having dry heaves. :dizzy: That worries me because I know that excessive vomiting can cause the band to slip. The last time it started was when I dissolved my one daily pill in a 1/4 cup of apple juice. That was it for my whole night. Now this morning I'm afraid to "eat" even my yummy turkey broth. Tomorrow I can have yogurt. Yeah! I had a food dream last night. Mushie tuna sandwich on a whole wheat bread and diet chocolate milk. I could've done better than that before I was banded! One more thing - this is the third time I've tried to get my ticker onto my signature. I copy and paste from the first URL in ticker.com and the forum site tells me I have an invalid URL. I want a cute ticker, too!

Uh Oh! I was just sitting at my computer after a nice bowl of homemade turkey broth. And it all came out the back end... unannounced! :embarassed: What a mess! Has anyone else lost bowel control in the liquid stages? I remember when I had another abdominal surgery, they kept giving me broth and yogurt and broth so I wouldn't strain my stiches on the toilet. They saw how often I had to call a nurse to get up to go to the toilet so they pushed me up to mushies immediately and it got better. I also suffer from chronic IBS. I want to just get past this part and go on to the part where I just eat a little, chew something, get up and go to the restroom like a normal person and then I can go back to work and my life.

"another nasty side-effect of my band" This is not so much a lap band problem, it has to do with issues of a food addict. What you are doing to yourself are the same things food addicts do when they're still trying to control the food and what it does to them. The help you need is not just the initial step of going to your doctor (your health is at least worth the $150), but getting into a good support group or to a good therapist that specializes in eating disorders. You're on the right track by confiding in us. And who am I to tell you all this? After all, I just got banded, too. Many of us could write a book on diets, the books we've read, the doctors we've seen, and programs we've been in. I am pretty sure that any success I have with the band will be because I can no longer fool myself about what the real issues are. It's not so much the food I choose (feel compelled) to eat, or how much of it I consume. It's about why and how I'm feeling at the time; what the food actually does for me. You need to figure that out - soon. And, sweetsue, the name of the disorder you have is bulemia. Admit it, use it, and you'll get help.

And, Chris, I'd love to get on the back of a '67 Harley hog again. There aren't many of them here where I am, but I can dream, can't I.

I am really excited about being banded next week. And one of the reasons I am doing it is just like PeloRojo says: I can still eat the things I like, but I won't be able to eat the quantities I have been. Like my PCP says, "Less food is fewer calories. That is what gives us a chance to lose weight" Also, the biggest binge problem I've had is bread, and I've been told that I won't be eating bread anymore. It's just one big thing I have to give up, and that's fair. But in the meantime I've been eating bread like I usually do - too much of it. Bagels like it's my last breakfast. And with all this bread go the things we generally like to put on it. And I doubt I'll eat those things without the bread. I like my Protein and fruit and veggies. If I eat a satisfying amount of those, I figure I'll never get to the bread and dessert part. I am a bit nervous about the things that are recommended to eat/drink. I can't tolerate milk. Udder pus. We're weaned at the age of two-and-a-half for a reason. Skim milk is the worst thing in the world, especially in coffee, even in Cereal. Then there's Protein shakes. That reminds me of my Slim Fast and Nutri System failures. They're not food. They're torture. So onward to my freezer full of homemade, Vitamin packed broth, and goats milk drinkable yogurt. I'll live for a week, and then on to blended Soups. Then to get individual mini-portion freezer containers so I can cook up a bunch of mushies for the next phase. Then all the dark meat chicken and ground meat stuff I like will come back, but in the smaller containers.

I can't say I don't care about nice, fashionable clothes or being able to wear the boots I bought 2 years ago and can't wear now. But there are things more important to me than the aesthetics of weight loss. About two years ago I went out with a really terriffic guy. We walked a lot and he was very patient, but I couldn't keep up with him. I want to be able to walk without the arthritis pain in my hips and knees that is aggravated by the weight I want to fly to see my family (a 24 hour ordeal) and not have to ask for a seat belt extender and a bulkhead seat so I can use the baby changing table instead of the dinner tray that my stomach prevents from going all the way down. :ip:I'd like to travel for enjoyment and not have these two issues prevent me from it. I want to be able to cut my toenails easily:!: I want to sit with my knees together :censored:Some of the things I want are X-rated...

Oh dear. I just responded to the great prospects for my IBS. Now this. I just spent about 7 days in the emergency room, at doctors' offices, having tests done after trying to pass a 1 cm kidney stone that was just perched at the exit from the kidney. As far as anyone knows, it's still there. Now I drink lots of Water. I gulp water 2 cups at a time, and am worried about my abillity to just sip and get enough in a day. I even have a Nikken filter bottle! I have a referral to have another kidney function test after the banding surgery. I hope I can follow that up again to be sure this doesn't cause problems. Sivan

Thank you all so much for the insight that IBS has disappeared for you. I've had it for about 20 years. The makers of Immodium are going to hate me forever if WLS aleviates it. I've always known that part of the problem is what I eat when I am stressed. But I was worried about the liquid >semi-liquid>mushie diet for the first month. Thanks, and I hope this is another of my medical problems that will be helped through the banding. My op is on Wednesday. Sivan

I get banded on Wednesday. My doctor basically has the idea that not much is going to happen during a short time of pre op dieting, and that that's why we're in this program. My pre op regimen has been more tests. I had all the doctor required done a month in advance. I went to my provider and they decided less than 2 weeks out, that I had to do 5 more tests. One was to pee in a bottle designed by men, for men, and collect it for 24 hours. The results were to be ready over a week past my op date! Another was the famous cardio stress test where they shoot you up with weird yellow drugs and have you do a treadmill session. Well, I had an appointment for Monday evening, got there and they cancelled it, rescheduled it for Friday morning (only four days to op and still needing to get the results to my provider in time), to get there 7:45 am to have it cancelled AGAIN. Their suggestion? - to have it Tuesday morning. Right. I made them find another place to have it done RIGHT NOW! and they did. The doctor in charge of the test couldn't figure out why they even ordered the test. So I went home and ate ice cream.

I'm being banded in mid-January. I keep reading about people walking to relieve the gas post-op, and to relieve it when it builds up from sipping liquids. :success1: One of the big reasons I'm being banded is that I can hardly walk because of the arthritis in my knees and hips (arthritis isn't caused by excessive weight, it's just exacerbated by it). Has anyone out there had the same limitations? I am looking into doing Water aerobics three times a week (which I've done many times over the years). Does that help? Would it help to join the health club to have access to the swimming pool between aerobics sessions? Or is the walking something I have to do as it's necessary? Yesterday we had a fun day at work :phanvan . We went bowling, ice-skating, relays, target practice and had a squash tournament at a sports complex. I got a kick out of everyone else having fun, but couldn't even walk easily from one event to the other. My company in non-participation was a 40 year-old woman who is 8-1/2 months pregnant and a young woman who is even more overweight than I am (I am hoping my courage and success will be an example to her. She's too young to be so limited :welldone2:). Sivan:

Hi all! My date is confirmed. January 10. And it works out perfectly with work because my boss and half the office are going to be in Viet Nam and Columbia on business. Things are falling into place too easily for this to be any of my doing... Last night I chose a health club and joined. Yes, I will use it. Money is a great motivator. Water Aerobics twice a week and Pilates once a week. Sivan

very picking & unplesant Dr. (who I get the impression has very little use for FAT people!) :angry Kattiegirl - If I were you I'd get a different Doctor. You don't need one who is not supportive, compassionate and positive. We get enough of that in our lives without our doctors joining in. Get positive support and hang in there. That's what we're here for. Sivan

Thanks all for the good answers. It looks like Water exercise will pay off, and I should start now, about 3-1/2 weeks from surgery. I have a choice of two good places for water aerobics with professional instructors. Walking will have to come when I get some of the wieght off and build my strength and flexibility. Hand weights are out because the arthritis is also in my shoulders. I'm willing to start as soon as I can. I live where we have hills everywhere, but I may be able to walk at my lunch break. And they're not so strict at work that I can't get up now and them to strecth and twist. I'm really looking forward to this.

I would think that one way to stave off the craving to chew something is to make small ice cubes of some allowable juice or soft drink and suck on those. That's worked for me in past situations. I am lucky not to have to go on a liquid diet. I guess after 50 years of being fat and having a fatty liver for a significant part of that, two weeks isn't going to make a whole lot of difference to the doctor when he's looking at what he's doing on a 17" monitor. Good luck

Flowerpot (in which I imagine a seed becoming a beautiful flower), I, too am doing this alone. I have a few trusted friends who know, but they know better than to become my conscience. My family knows nothing about it. I am not telling anyone at work (they think the short surgery I'm having has to do with a recent kidney stone), and I have a good friend who lives far away, but has recently been banded and is on this forum. One advantage is that my medical coverage includes a support group led by a dietician for people who have been through this. I hope there will be lots of good information to pass along from people with as much as 6 years working with the program. My doctor says that it's good to get as much information or feedback as possible, and encourages this forum. But he also advised that everyone is different, and that we have to take things as they come. Some people take 2 days to be in the shape to go back to work, others take 2 weeks. Unfortunately, when doctors give definitive answers to these kind of questions, we take their answers as a tome from above, and worry about any of the variations of reality. And on a forum or in a support group, we get the wholw spectrum of reality that makes us understand our individual needs. I will be banded in about three weeks. I coordinated it with work so it doesn't interefere with a project deadline, allowing for anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks. I will look for your future posts. Sivan

I was glad that someone outside the US showed up for this forum. Our health system supports lap band surgery 100% as a way to prevent more costly health problems in the future. Much of the initial research was done here, and, as in Europe, the percentage of lap band versus gastric bypass and gastric sleeve surgeries is much higher and with greater success. I've been through the initial introductory group session, have had all the required tests done (including a psychiatrist's evaluation) and Thursday I go to meet individually with Dr Berglivter (you get points for pronouncing this correctly). From there they set a surgery date and meetings with the nutritionist. My biggest problem is that I just started a really good new job. And I just took a week of sick leave with a kidney stone than doesn't seem to want to pass. The hospital where the procedure will be done is over an hour away from work, and I'm concerned about how much time I will need to take off for check-ins. How did the people around you respond to your need to do this, and did their expectations put extra pressure on you? Also, I am an OA member of on and off 28 years. So much for the weight loss success of OA, but the suport is there. Have any of you depended on this combination of support? Support systems here in Israel are not as advanced or common as in the "Old Country". Sivan with 45 kilos to lose (oh get on the metric system like the rest of the world!:bored )

About going back to work: I just started a great new job, and only three weeks into it have been out for over a week with a kidney stone that won't leave. My meeting with the surgeon to set a date to be banded is at the end of this week. I'm taking it as a follow-up to the kidney stone thing. The reason is that my doctor said most people can go back to work in a few days, and if the few days are over a weekend... I'm glad to know that about half of your responses indicated that I may actually be able to pull this off. I have an office job - with an office of my own. I have told only a few friends who I knew would be supportive. My family (who are halfway around the world) don't know a thing about it. I don't need their old tapes playing while I'm trying to be successful. Seeing me this summer will be enough. I don't want my weight issues to be a topic of office conversation with two other young women who would benefit by my experience. Let them approach me if I am successful. So you people are my primary support group.

For those of us newbies, is there a list of jargon and initials we can refer to... Like PB?

It's early in the game to be even asking this... What are the reasons for removing the lap band? Is it usually some physical problem like dysphagia or slippage or erosion, or is it ever just a choice as "it isn't helping", or "I've lost the weight and the desire to eat inappropriately" (right, we've all been there)? Sivan:peep: