gMommy

Great topic!!! How fun! 1. Take my kids to a Water park where I will wear a regular (not skirted) bathing suit in public 2. Go to Hawaii and lay on the beach in a regular bathing suit 3. Start participating in walk a thons 4. Wear bright colored clothes (bye bye black) 5. Do a photo shoot where I am not trying to hide behind my kids 6. Go to a Couple's only resort with my hubby and participate in all the activities (except the buffets! lol)

Hi. My surger is scheduled for Thursday, April 28th. I was wondering what your energy level was the day after surgery, during the liquid diet phase, during the mushie stage and beyond? I am supposed to take my son to an important doctor appointment the morning after my surgery at 8am. I had to schedule the appointment 2 months in advance. I'd prefer to not reschedule it. But, I don't know if I will have the energy to drive. Did any of you have a hard time driving?

I went through a greiving period a couple of months ago. I decided I needed to start working on my emotional eating before my band surgery on April 28th. I have been an emotional eater for as long as I can remember. I didn't realize how much I felt that food was my best friend. It was always there for me no matter what was bothering me. When I started avoiding my binge/trigger foods in February I started having a hard time with my feelings. A friend told me it was because I could finally "feel" my feelings. I was using food to escape reality so I didn't have to deal with my feelings. The food would help to numb me. Once I didn't have this help anymore, my feelings were almost overwhelming. Then I felt a desperate need for the food. I was on the verge of a panic attack. So, I decided to get out of my environment (my couch in front of the TV). I got in the car and went window shopping. Seeing all of the cute clothes I could look forward to wearing helped to make me to work through my feelings. I had one night where I layed in bed crying for the loss of my best friend. The next day I felt a lot better. Then I realized what had happened. I had worked through my feelings! Whoa! So, that is how to do it! So pat yourself on the back for greiving. It is healthy and normal.

Llyra, did you have any other symptoms of your thyroid issue? I had my thyroid levels checked a couple of months ago. First it was a little below the normal level. A few weeks later it was normal level. Before the first test I had been sick with this year's flu. I read that could cause the thyroid levels to be low. One of my main "kick in the pants" to get this surgery was an uncomfortable pressure on my throat. I figured it was from the bigger double chin and thicker neck. I hadn't gained any weight when I started feeling that. But, it seemed all of my fat was getting redistributed. I started changing my habits after starting this lap band journey (no straws, no soda, eating Protein first, avoiding Recreational Sugar, and not drinking with my meals). I was able to lose 6 pounds. The pressure on my throat got better. I snacked a little too much over the past 4 days and gained 2 pounds back. Now my throat is feeling that pressure again. I'm looking forward to my surgery next week.

My nutritionalist said I should get 60-80g Protein a day from protein shakes/bars/cereals in addition to the food I would eat. I started drinking one a day about a month and half before surgery. I really like the taste of the AMP from GNC. The instructions say to use 3 scoops in 8oz of milk or Water. It is 20g protein per scoop. But, I decided to try different amounts of scoops to make the flavor and consistency good to me. For the vanilla 1 scoop if perfect. Any more than 1 scoop and the flavor changes a bit for me. For the chocolate, 1 scoop tastes good but I can go up to 2 scoops and still like the flavor and consistency. To add variety I use sugar free, zero calorie, Torani syrups. Raspberry for the vanilla protien and caramel for the chocolate protein. Yummy! They almost taste like a regular milkshake. They are really low in sugar too. I use 8oz. of fat free milk which adds another 9g protein. So my vanillla/raspberry shakes ends up being 29g and the chocolate/caramel is 49g. I make one in the morning and drink it as I drive to work. They have really helped me with my appetite too.

Hi there. I understand your situation. I have three kids (19mo, 8yr & 9yr). I get banded on April 28th, but I have been staying away from sugar, chocolate, rice, potatoes and pasta for almost 2 months. I just have to pretend that I am a short order cook. I make regular dinners (chicken, veggie and starch). I just put chicken and veggies on my plate. That way they are not deprived and I am eating what is on my plan. The hardest temptation is the goodies my husband is constantly eating. He'll leave a container of cookies in our bedroom or by the couch. It is easier to do what I need to do if I don't have to see them eating the "goodies" or have the "goodies" within view. So, I just put the "goodies" away. I've asked my husband to refrain from eating that stuff in front of me. With each day it gets easier. I try really hard not to think "I will never be able to eat <blank> again". Instead I just remind myself that I am not choosing to eat that stuff today. I'm not going to worry about tomorrow. Today is my focus. Do you have any tricks that work for you?

Hi there. I heard that hair loss after surgery is pretty common. I started taking biotin supplements and I have at least 60 grams of protein a day. I am hoping that will minimize any hair loss I may have. For those that had the hair loss, how much hair (percentage) did you lose? Was it in clumps or specific areas of your head? Or was it a little from everywhere? How many months did you experience the hair loss? When did it stop? Did any of it grow back? How much and how long did it take?

So, the ironic thing is that my husband lost 70 pounds in the last year. He's not planning on leaving me. And he is still the same person. I guess I should remind him of that the next time he brings it up. If our relationship was not affected by his weight loss, why would mine?

My surgery is scheduled for the 28th. I'm taking a week off of work. I'm nervous about going back to work while still on the liquid diet. I heard there are plans for a team building event that week that involves a BBQ challenge (one team vs. the other). Great! Maybe I should just call in sick that day. I really don't want to have to answer questions. My work is a great place. Unfortunately, a lot of stuff is planned around food. Good luck everybody. I would love to be band buddies with you.

I love my magic bullet!!! I use it every morning for my protein shakes. I bought mine at Costco for about $45. It came with 8 cups, a solid lid, and a commuter lid. The blender cups are perfect for taking to work. I just measure out my non-fat milk, add the protein powder and sugar free Torani syrup (either caramel or raspberry) and blend. I like the AMP protein powder from GNC. I blend for about 30 seconds and it is perfect. The magic bullet is even small enough to take on trips. I am going to try to blend one in the morning to put in the fridge for lunch. That way, when the all liquid diet is here I will know if it works for me or not.

It took 3.5 months from intro meeting to surgery date (4/28/2011). My insurance approved me on the first try. I had a BMI of 40.6 and 2 co-morbid conditions. My insurance required a written history of all of the diets I had tried in the last few years. Some insurance companies require you to work for 6 months with a nutritionalist before getting surgery. The good thing to keep in mind is that recovery from this surgery is really fast. The tough part lasts 24 hours. You can do light activity like walking (or sitting in class). My coworker had the surgery done on a Thursday and returned to work on Monday. So, you might consider still going down this path even if your surgery date ends up being after September. Good luck to you.

My husband is having a lot of fear over me getting this surgery. He is worried that I am going to get skinny and leave him. We both know of couples where this happened. I wasn't very close to any of these couples so I don't know what their marriage was like. But, I do know what my marriage is like. I'm trying to calm his fears. But, it is frustrating. I would prefer to have his support at calming my fears instead of the other way around. Has anyone else had to deal with this?

My surgery is scheduled for April 28, 2011 with Dr. Machado. I'm really happy with her and her staff so far. I wasn't able to make it to the support group meeting at Sutter Cancer center yet. Today was the 3rd Saturday, I really wanted to go. But, my husband misunderstood what time I said it started. I needed him to watch the kids. I'd like to hear about how people dealt with the emotions of their spouses. My husband is expressing his fear that I will lose weight and leave him. He has heard that happened to other couples after the wife has weight loss surgery. That is not my plan. I am doing this for my own health and well being. Any advice?

I am scheduled for 4/28/11. Good luck April bandsters! G

I started my journey towards getting a Lap Band last September. In December I realized that I had more of a problem than just being overweight. There is so much more to overeating than putting lots of food in your mouth. Using food to make yourself happy, relieve stress, and comfort from illness or sadness leads to overeating. Thinking about food all day leads to overeating. Looking forward to the food at an event instead of looking forward to the actual event leads to overeating. Using food to suppress you feelings and starting to isolate from friends, family and the general public leads to overeating. For me, being overweight was a sign that something was wrong. I felt like I always had a tug a war going on in my head. One part saying to eat the "bad food" and the other side telling me not to because the "bad food" and the quantity was so unhealthy for me and was going to lead to a premature death. The first one was winning out. At times I had serious physical symptoms that should have led me to the Emergency Room. Instead I ate more "bad food" to comfort myself. I know the lap bad will help me lose weight. But I also know that it will not stop the mental tug of war or any of the emotional eating. I knew I would need more help. I tried counseling for a couple of months. The counselor was not an overeater, so she didn't really "get it". I decided to try OA. I was really embarrassed going there. I didn't want anyone to see me going into the meeting. But, wow! Once I was through the doors I felt like I was completely accepted, understood and loved. Although these people were strangers to me, they all had the same problems as me. I "get it". I have been going for 2 months and I understand how valuable this program is going to be to me. It is not about counting calories. In fact, it is not even about losing weight (that is just a wonderful benefit). It is about learning how to come to peace with yourself, start loving yourself, living life without the food obsession and how to make the mental tug of war end. For me, I know that I will not have success without addressing what is going on in my head. Good luck with everything. Only you know what will work for you.

That is great! I felt the same way this week. I have completed all of my pre-surgery requirements, the request for approval is submitted and I have lost 8 pounds in the last month and a half. I have been following the behavioral changes needed for success with the lap band: no straws, no drinking with meals, eating the Protein first and then the veggies, hardly any carbs, two Protein shakes a day and 3 small meals. I also haven't had any "recreational sugar" in 2 weeks. Yay! Not only is the scale starting to move, but my mood is improving. I put on my jeans out of the dryer and was able to easily button/zip them closed. I even had wiggle room. Within an hour my jeans were really loose on me. I felt as good as you feel about your shirt! We can totally do this! I truely believe this will be the last time I have to struggle to lose a lot of weight. I started thinking about a Hawaiian vacation in summer 2012. At first I just felt the reservation that comes from being a heavy person that wants to be in a swimming suit. Then I remembered that I will have had my lap band for over a year by then. Oh, wow! The joy and excitement I felt in that moment was overwhelming! I don't expect to be model thin, but I know I will have lost enough weight that I can be comfortable in a one piece bathing suit in public. Happy day, happy day!!!! We are finally going to be able to start living our lives and loving it!

I am registered for Dr. Machado's Feb 7th information session. I have Blue Cross PPO. My insurance is supposed to pay for the procedure 100%. But, I still would have to pay the $2995 fee for the support and online support. The money is due in full at preop. When I told my husband about the fee he told me to find another doctor. I am really impressed so far with Dr. Machado. The website is very informative, she has performed 1000+ lap band operations and has really good reviews from past patients (found on many online dr. review sites). I'm leaning towards staying with her. But, is the fee really worth it? I don't know what the support afterwards includes. I guess I will find out at the information session. The one thing that concerns me is if I will get approval through my insurance. The rep for Dr. Machado said if you have a BMI of 35-39 most insurance companies require two comorbid conditions. I am on high blood pressure medicine, so I definately have one. Does anyone know of a list of comorbid conditions (Blue Cross PPO approved)? My BMI is 39. At least they said if the insurance does not approve me I don't have to pay the $2995 fee.

Hello. I am registered for Dr. Machado's informational meeting on Feb 7th. I think a support group is a definate key to success. Do you mind if I attend even though I haven't had the surgery yet?