stleochic

That's great! I think we were banded right around the same time, so I completely know how you feel! I'm on the mushy stage now and it's so much better. Yesterday I had a protein shake in the morning, cottage cheese for a snack, tuna salad for lunch, the leftover tuna salad for a snack (yes that's right, I didn't finish my 6 ounce lunch!), and two scrambled eggs for dinner. I wasn't hungry again until about 8:30 this morning! It will keep getting better once we have our fills.

Thanks for the advice! How slowly do you have to drink? Like how long would it take you to drink a 12 ounce bottle?

So my surgeon recommends 3 small meals a day (4-6 oz) and 2-3 snacks per day. He also says that I should not drink an hour before or 15-30 minutes after my meal. Doing the math, if it takes me 30 minutes to eat, I can't drink for 2 hours. If I eat something 6 times a day that makes 12 hours where I cannot have a drink. How am I supposed to get my 64 fluid ounces in the leftover 12 hours assuming I'll be sleeping at least 7 to 8 of those hours? For those of you who have been very successful with this process, when do you drink?

I know exactly what you mean. I'm 9 days out and I can't wait until I get to the mushy part. In fact I just had a mini breakdown over this whole thing. There I was crying because Michale proposed to Holly on the Office and all the sudden I'm balling about how much this sucks. I can't really offer any advice, but I can say hang in there, you're not the only one who feels this way

Hi guys, I'm 9 days out of surgery and I have two questions. The first is that I still have pain on the side where my port is. It's gotten less, but when I do too much it really starts to hurt again. (when I say do too much, i mean walk around target for an hour) Is this normal? Also, sorry to be gross, but I'm still on the liquid diet and everything that comes out of my butt is pure liquid. I go like 6 to 8 times a day, and it's nothing but pure liquid. Gross, I know, but is this what you guys experienced?

I swear that I'm having carb withdrawals. I have 5 days left of my liquid diet, and I'm going nuts. I think about food all the time; I even dream about it! I want to cheat with purees (seriously mushy asparagus sounds divine right now). How do you stick to healthy eating when you have to spend 30 days eating bleh food? I can't take another spoonful of yogurt or pudding! How did you guys get through this?

This may be a dumb question, but what does NSV stand for? I know what it means, but the closest I can guess is "No Small Victories"

Thanks for the advice guys! I'm waiting for admissions to open now. I have to spend the night because of my sleep apnea, so I was already prepared for that

I'm being banded tomorrow morning at 7:30 am! Any last words of wisdom? Is there anything you wish you had known before your surgery day?

I have felt this way when I've lost weight previously. In fact I still felt so fat that I gave up and started eating junk again and actually became fat! I think it might help to look at your before and after pictures. You might be seeing your after pictures as not good enough, but when you compare them to your before pictures I bet you'll be amazed. That happens to me when I look at my skinny pictures. I think, "I cannot believe I thought I was still fat." Once I get banded (This Wednesday!) I plan on keeping that before picture on hand to remind myself how far I've gone.

I haven't read that book, but the best thing I've read on weight loss surgery is actually "Weight Loss for Dummies" (you know the yellow book) It's very informative and even has suggested recipes. You can find it on amazon for super cheap!

I've found that putting a scoop of Protein powder in instant pudding mix is delicious. If you want to make it even better, add a scoop of lite cool whip when you make it. It tastes just like chocolate mousse.

I'm getting banded March 16th. I started the process in August, so it's been a longggggg wait! I'm also nervous...nervous about the surgery, nervous about the results (or lack thereof), nervous about people's reactions, and nervous about the potential side effects. Ultimately, though, the risk of not having this surgery and not losing weight far outweighs the risk and anxiety of having this surgery.

I just got my surgery date scheduled for March 16th! Is anyone else getting theirs done that day? Anyone want to be band buddies?

Thursday night is my last month of my 6 month diet. Now I just have to wait for the insurance approval!

My insurance also covers 100% after 6 months of a medically supervised diet. Basically, all you have to do is go see your primary care physician once a month. He/she has to document what kind of diet you're doing (ie. 1200 calories), and what your new weight/progress is. In other words they write something like this: 2/20/08: Weight Management Appointment: Susie Jones came into the office to discuss her obesity. We discussed various weight loss methods and we have decided to try a 1,200 calorie per day diet. She will keep a journal of what she eats and attempt to increase her exercise level. Her weight today was 275 pounds. She will return in one month for follow-up. 3/21/08: Weight Management Appointment: Ms. Jones returned today for a follow-up appointment. We discussed her progress and she stated she was having difficulty staying on the 1,200 calorie diet. She stated she is unable to exercise due to the pain in her legs and lower back. Her weight today was 276 pounds. She agreed to try harder to adhere to the diet during the next four weeks. She will return in one month for follow-up. If she is still having difficulty we will explore other options. You might want to give that to your primary care physician, because apparently insurance companies are very particular about how the record is worded. Good luck!

Has anyone had any experience with the United Health Choice HMO in Florida? Specifically going through their Bariatric Resource center? I'm just wondering what kinds of things they want to approve someone. I'm supposed to get a call from their case manager sometime tomorrow or the next day. I'm really worried because I've only been "morbidly" obese for about 2 or 3 years, and just obese before that.