Sai

My doctor's pre op consists of four Meal Replacement shakes if made with milk/soy milk/almond milk or five if made with Water. I started my 3 weeks pre op yesterday. Calories 800-900, carbs under 100. Sent from my SM-N910V using the BariatricPal App

I start my pre op diet tomorrow as well! I'm both nervous and excited! Good luck with yours! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App You too! Woot, we got this!

Great post, thank you. I finished all the tests and the last thing I need to do is the pre-op testing which includes, blood work, urine test (for nicotine), chest xray and ekg. Now I'm wondering if I'll be going through an anesthesia evaluation as well as I was determined to have mild sleep apnea (no cpap yet). Thanks again, I'll give the nurse a call. For those who haven't started their hoops... I had to go though ekg stress test with a bicycle, as well as the nuclear stress test with imaging, echo,respiratory testing/pulmonary function, cardiac clearance appointment, sleep apnea test, two nutrition classes, and the dreaded endoscopy. All of them were alright, nothing too painful but some were annoying. The hardest were the stress test on the bicycle lol, and the endoscopy left my throat feeling sore (and a week or so of acid relux which I didn't have before). The nuclear stress test was a breeze. I prefer that over the bike/treadmill stress test. P.S. Having a band to sleeve revision, after years of the band.

Sept. 2 is my revision date: Band to Sleeve. Starting my pre-op liquid diet tomorrow.

Had my band unfilled 2 months ago to prep me for the EGD (which I hated) and my surgery is in a couple of weeks.

Was told to come back after 4-5 weeks to allow healing.

What a wonderful article. Something I can certainly relate to because I was in "Soft Calorie Syndrome" land for perhaps more than a year. After they removed some liquid, it took a long time to get out of that mentality, and I still have to force myself to eat real food. When I do eat, I can easily stay full for up to 6 hrs. or longer. "She said, “I was able to eat again. Solids went down easily. Bread was on my menu. Meals lasted me several hours. I didn’t snack because I was able to eat enough to keep me satisfied.” is what I'm experiencing again but it has been difficult because my mind still wavers towards the Soft calorie syndrome mentality. Since I've been making myself eat real food, I've been taking in about 500 calories less per day because I can eat anything I want without pain. However, mentally, I still battle with it every meal . When everything gets stuck & eating becomes painful day after day for over a year, I suppose one's mind won't easily forget that. For example, when I'm at a restaurant, I still have the urge to find something soft that will slide down easier for fear of being stuck at a public place but that defeats the band's purpose. I'm hoping that it will pass soon but in the mean time, I continue taking each meal one at a time. Thanks again for a great article!

I may be going against the grain here (no pun intended hehe) but if you can't eat a cracker without feeling stuck, you're probably too tight and you don't need a fill. I can eat several crackers (as long as I chew well) and I'm still overfilled according to my last fluro. Strange way to test it though, better to go do a fluoro and see how fast the Barium exits the pouch but...

No reason to feel like you've let yourself or your doctor down, it's all part of the normal beginnings of the lap band if you have a conservative doctor. I had a very conservative doctor who sloooowly added to my band's volume (i.e. small fill per month), and it isn't till you get around your sweet spot does the weight start coming off. Some people don't need fills, they are lucky, but I was different in that I needed multiple fills before I received the band benefits. I think I didn't start feeling it till a few months later. Hang in there, and don't be so hard on yourself. I'm sure your doctor knows this more than any of us so don't feel embarrassed to go in. Most important part is communication with your doctor, when you go in, don't forget to tell him approximately how many cups you eat at a meal and how long it takes before you get hungry again. That way, he'll be able to determine how much he should add to your band on this visit. ((hugs))

I was told you can drink all the way up until you eat (since water just passes through the band), and then wait 30 min. till after you eat.

I'm surprised that he didn't tell you to come in now... only 8 to 10 oz of Water a day is dangerous . Please continue taking in as much liquid as possible to avoid being dehydrated. I remember when I first had my surgery I took little sips throughout the entire time I was awake. Perhaps sip on warm liquids a little throughout the entire day, they tend to relax the band some and may soothe your throat a little too. As I'm sure you already know, dehydration is very dangerous. If you get dry mouth or swollen tongue, dizziness or weakness... or any of the common symptoms of dehydration, please go and get checked immediately. More likely than not, you will not have to have another surgery. That is unusually rare. I'm hoping that your swelling goes down some and you will be able to take in a little more liquids soon!

During my recent fluoro, they have me stand up in front of a C arm fluro. He was able to see right away that I was too tight because the Barium took far too long to exit the upper pouch. I think it's superior in detecting problems but heard that since food doesn't go down like Barium does, it'll still rely more on honest patient-doctor communication to reach one's sweet spot. For example, letting your doctor know that you can eat more than 4 cups of food and get hungry within 2 hrs... etc. (need a fill) or keep getting stuck (need a slight unfill).

In the past when I was too tight, I had many days like that. I learned that after the first time feeling stuck, I needed to go back to eating only soups or drink liquids for a day or two because once you get stuck, everything is still swollen and you're more apt to do it over and over again.

I would look at the total calories that you eat everyday. See if they are in the ball park of 1000-1200 calories which is the norm here. If you are, then please do not worry about it, the weight will come off. The fast weight loss in the beginning is a lot of water loss, and if you eat anything salty, the weight can fluctuate. It doesn't take away the wonderful fact that you are indeed losing fat. Too fast of weight loss can lead to muscle loss and muscle is important to continue future fat loss since muscle helps burn fat. Congrats and hang in there. You're doing good.

Good luck, we know you can do it. I agree with Missy, some of my fills were +/- 0.1 ml. It made a huge difference.

I think many people who reads these forums who haven't had the band yet may think "stuck" is similar to the feeling of choking. I know I thought that. If you feel stuck, it's absolutely nothing like being choked. You can breathe with no problems, it's just a lot of pressure in your throat and you either want it to go down or up because it sitting there is uncomfortable. You can avoid those episodes if you're not too tight, if you eat small bites and chew lots and lots . It's always scary doing something new, especially something life changing. The band is life changing but in a wonderful way, at least that has been my experience for the past 3 or so years. I don't regret it, I wish I had it done many years before that. Good luck and we'll be here for support along your journey.

I choose the band because I wanted a wls that was completely reversible. I also liked the idea that it was adjustable.

I have to agree with lap band master. I've never heard of 500 cal per day either, although I'm sure some are extreme like that. I try to keep around 1400 cal per day with 3-4x a week work outs (a little more if I work out more). Anything less than that, my weight loss slows down but that's just me. It depends how active one is too but I believe your doctor will advise you what is best for you. I know some here eat like 1800 cal/day but they are runners and are extremely active.

I had those symptoms when I was too tight. My doctor had me do a upper gi and that confirmed it. Please see your doctor asap because many complications come from being too tight. Because of it, I got an enlarged esophagus. He had to remove half my liquid in order for my esophagus to return to normal.

Ditto to many here. I can eat everything but certain foods I need to take a little more care and chew well. When I couldn't eat bread, I was far too tight... and eventually my weight loss slowed down because I was out of my green zone.

Thank you for opening up. The things you've shared are things that many of us have felt or perhaps still feel. Congrats on your choice to make a change in your life. The fact that you have decided to make that change is half the battle. I'm sorry that you do not have the type of support that you would wish for from your friends and family, and you wouldn't believe how common that is here. I've heard it time and time again. Just remember that this is for you, not anyone else. It's a choice, for once in your life, to care for yourself and that is absolutely wonderful. Cheers!

Yes, I really liked and still do, super sour sf candy. Makes my mouth water hehe.