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My friend had used Pocket Protein when he had his operation 2 years ago and LOVED it!! It was the only thing concentrated enough to meet his protein goals. Their store was sold out for awhile but I found it at: www.theproteinsale.com It tastes amazing and is only 2 ounces so I can drink it without feeling bloated. I highly suggest trying it to anyone who is having troubles with their protein options!! I tried Isopure as well and liked it but had troubles mixing it at the office or on the run. I hope this helps you like it did me!!! :)

After the initial healing phase, the food will be all up to your DH (dear husband). Initial healing generally last for 4-6 weeks. Most docs put patients on Clear Liquids for a week (broth, Water, juice, clear Protein supplements) then full liquids for a week (milk, milky protein supplements, blended soups) Then mushies (refried Beans, mashed potatoes, etc) for a week and soft foods for a week (scrambled eggs - mac & cheese, etc) You should have chewable Gas meds, a few servings of clear Liquid Protein, some broth, some chewable tylenol, and some juice on hand for the next couple of days. Clear liquid Proteins can be found at GNC or your local vitamin/supplement shop. Everything else you can find at your local grocery. Your doc should give you explicit instructions prior to or immediately after the surgery. After your DH moves to regular foods - what he eats will be up to him, and he will probably be able to eat with you and your son most of the time. You will just need to focus on being sure there is plenty of protein and some veggies at every meal. Bandsters eat protein first, then veggies, then complex carbs if there is any room. SOME bandsters have foods that are more difficult to tolerate.... foods that get stuck - but that is highly individual. Some bands won't tolerate chicken, some won't deal with rice, or bread. Some will take anything. Just keep the meats tender and moist, and you will be fine. Good Luck!!

If you are getting "that feeling", and a half cup of food satisfies you, you don't need a fill. Many people go months without a fill. To avoid getting the feeling of being stuck, make sure you are cutting food into pea-sized bites, take one at a time and chew it 15-25 times. Eat your dense Protein first, so if you have to stop eating, your protein requirement has been met. Congrats on your weight loss success so far!

That was neat, but needed an option for "fat all over", LOL. The hour glass had too much of a waist for my build.

I agree that alot of the problems that people have stem from the fact that they are "eating around their band." The most common thing I've seen on the boards is people thinking it's ok to drink clear juices. You can get away with that when you are first banded because you simply cannot get alot of calories in and can't actually eat. Once you get to mushies, the juice needs to cut way back. It's FULL of sugars! Sure, they are "natural", but they are still calories. Save your calories for those grams of Protein and non-starchy veggies.

has anyone had another surgery with general anesthesia after they were banded? I have to have foot surgery. I am going to my doctor tomorrow to discuss my options and seeing if i need to have my fill removed until after the surgery.

Hey Mitch, my name is Steve. Sounds like you have everything pretty much in hand. I have some of the protein powder mix, and have tried mixing it in smoothies, which aren't too bad, and with oatmeal and pudding, but after couple weeks, its pretty hard to take any more. Maybe the pre-mixed shakes would be better. I did buy some Special K protein water, that has 6g per bottle. So that's good to drink, just a little pricey. I'm on soft foods until next Tuesday, but soft foods are no big deal, I haven't had any problems eating, and no vomiting or nausea. I just haven't had much energy since the surgery. I was going to try to go to the ping pong club tonight and see how I would do, but I came down with a cold, so I will shoot for next week. I'd like to hear more about the youtube blog you talked about.

Thanks for all the input. I guess I should have clarified -- the 2 weeks pre-op liquids doesn't freak me out at all (I've done liquid diets before and short-term any diet is pretty easy for me to stick to). It's what my lifestyle's going to be like after surgery that freaks me out. It does help to know that "it's fine have an occasional meal that doesn't follow the Protein first rule" -- for some reason I had it in my head that if you DIDN'T eat protein first you'd feel sick. I think I had this in my head because of original research on gastric bypass instead. So thank you, Anne, for posting this and making me realize it wasn't LAW, just a good general guideline to follow.

Truthfully I wouldn't purchase too much before your surgery because after your surgery your tastes may change, you may become lactose intolerant, etc. I found Lipton makes the flavored packets you can add to water that are made with splenda instead of aspartame - they have lots of flavors - the best price I found them for was at Target. They don't have any protein in them; however, if you get tired of drinking plain water, they're a nice change. I buy the adult chewable vitamins at Costco - they're pretty tasty.

I would not worry about it. Many times when you see people struggling with eating it is sometimes because the don't get all their Protein in and they are healing much slower. Or they have a stricture. From what you described and your weight loss, you are right on track. Everyone is different and heal at different rates. I was like you, completely healed and able to pretty much eat anything at 7 weeks. I have lost nearly 100lbs in 7 months. I have never gotten sick although I have eaten too much on occasion and come close. Good luck with your continued journey!

Thanks for the info! I am already looking into self pay options - not really interested in going out of the country. I know the place I'm looking at offers lap-band self pay for 12K but I'm much more interested in VSG. Will contact them to see if they offer a VSG self pay.

my doctor told me to drink a protein drink right before bed so i'm not hungry throughout the night. might help?

Today is post op day 4. Today I am having food cravings and feel like my hunger is not satisfied. I want pizza. I want garlic bread! Surprsingly, I don't want my typical cravings like chocolate and frosting and ice cream. I am allowed to eat three 2 oz "meals" a day plus protein shakes. Fill in with jello, water, broth, sugar free Italian ice. When my husband went through this 4 years ago he didn't have any cravings and was never hungry. What is this? Is it all mental?

Nice first step, good for you. I am with Kaiser as well and I finished the options classes about a month ago, I really learned a lot. My surgery is 7/27/15. You will be able to choose what surgery you want when you get to the surgeons office. He may recommend something but you will have the choice. I am having the sleeve done. Really pay attention in the classes they are important.

I had surgery 2 weeks ago. I ended up privately paying for it. In January Dh has the option of changing our health insurance. Does anyone know if the new company will cover fills? My current one won't since I was self-pay. But will the new one? Thanks, Leena

I love corn on the cob in the summer! I can't eat a whole cob anymore, not after eating my protein first. And watch the butter intake. :thumbup:

Hi, there! I am sorry to hear about your loss! I think it is normal not to feel hungry. If I am stressed I eat, but I noticed when it is past stress, greiving or something like that I do not feel like eating. Just make sure you get protein, drink some shakes and take your vitamins! Take care! :tt2:

<p>Hi! I finally had it done! After a year of contemplating and YEARS of trying other diets, I was banded yesterday. The worst part was the general anesthesia. The pain is not too horrible. I'm on clears for today, then I can add a protein drink a day until Saturday...then it's 2 weeks of thin purees. YUM. I am so psyched about this that I feel like I'll do whatever it takes. I hope I can keep up the enthusiasm!

Ginger broth is a option! Also try a sea sick med like Bonnine - I only had a little issue and i fish a ton so i had it in my house, Worked for me

Had my sleeve surgery one week ago and have found it all easy except the first night with nausea. Never used pain meds and the nurses didn't believe me with I said I had no pain. They still kept me two nights instead of one. Completely off Diabeties medicines which completely blows my mind. The past three weeks of liquids has been ok, I guess. I'm getting ready to start the pureed food portion and really looking forward to it. I want to have the taste of some real food in my mouth and not just broth or Protein shakes. I went back to work on this past Wednesday (half days) and my husband had taken the week off so he drove me back and forth. I found I made it through the few hours, then came home and was exhausted. My office is very supportive and there were no issues there. Next week I'm going to try driving myself and do full days. 25 lbs down (17 pre-op, 8 in one week). I've decided to only weigh myself on Fridays. Some in my office have said they can see it already. Not sure I believe it, but nice of them to say none the less. Not going to see my family until Thanksgiving. Really hoping to be at least 60+ more lbs down by then. I think that is more than attainable. I hope others who are thinking about this investigate all your options, understand the risks and all possible side effects. I had and was prepared for the worst. My story so far has been smooth, but I won't forget all the things that can still happen. I already wish I had done this years ago.

OK--I was already completely impressed by Doctor Aceves, but now I am over the Moon with his gracious way of being in the world. I got a personal thank you note for doing my surgery with him on May 2-2011. WOW-o-WOW So let me share a few things. I lost 25 lbs in 22 days--now I have plateaued for a couple of days. My incisions are sooooooo teeny weeny that I will be in a 2-piece bathing suit by the 4th of July. I heard that Doctor Aceves once considered being a plastic surgeon--which answer the question why HE is so good at making the incisions so small. Even the one where my stomach was pulled out--that one is smaller than the head of a fingernail clipper. I am now using Fougera Vitamin A & Vitamin D Ointment and wheat germ oil on the scars--I can barely see them. I first heard about a Vertical Gastric Sleeve from a woman from Morroco who had her surgery in France. She told me all about the surgery, different from my incisions, hers were huge and her scars looked bad. That is what I had prepared myself for because I felt it was worth the weightloss. OK-now don't I feel good that I found the right surgeon who has not only performed 3500 weight loss surgeries, has been a board certified surgeon for over 25 years, he also knows how to make his incisions so small that many would wish that they would have come to him. Now Doctor Aceves is also realistic. Before he takes you into surgery, you can expect a 30 minute lecture about what he is doing to help you, and then WHAT is your responsibility to get where you want to go with your long-term weightloss. SUCCESS depends on YOU. [more on this on another post]. I do read on this forum about acid reflux. Dr. A requires that his patients take Nexium for a minimum of 3-mo's. What has helped me to lose the 25 lbs so quickly is the quality and the amount of PROTEIN I am bringing into my body. Doctor A. does a great blood test before the surgery, and even though I thought I was doing alot of protein before the surgery, it was low quality protein. My bloodtest came back extremely low in my protein levels!! WOW--who knew? So finally I am hydrating my body with 64 oz of water daily and I went to GNC [not my normal place to shop] to pick up the ZERO carb Iso-pure drink [40 gm of protein per drink] and then I picked up the Vanilla IsoPure shakes, which is 50 gm of protein/shake. So one drink + one shake - I am getting 90 gm of protein/day and the minimum he feels we should have is 60 gm/day. It is important to get that protein into your body the first thing in the morning so I mix a 16 oz shake [two scoops] and put half of it in the fridge. Then throughout the day, I drink one zero-carb drink. My body is really responding well to THAT daily routine. Check me out on YouTubes! Search for: I left my stomach in Mexicali.

Maybe a few years down the road, she'll be talking about your huge success to other patients. People repeat what they "know" (or, rather, what they think they know). Often, they are wrong. With your banding success, you will teach her the error of her ways :thumbup: My PCP had no role in my banding--I didn't need his approval, and he wasn't part of the process. But he was mildly....not disapproving, but not particularly supportive. But when I saw him next 40 pounds down, he really was impressed. Turns out he has another banded patient who gained weight. After talking with me about what I eat, he talked with the other guy, and learned that, because he had difficulty with dense Proteins, he was taking in about 3000 calories of Ensure each day. We talked a lot about my doctor's aftercare, and diet recommendations, and I learned that the PCP's initial lack of enthusiasm was based on this other patient's experience. He now not only views it very differently, but is able to guide the other patient more effectively (including, if he wants, to MY surgeon's postop support group). So, people can and do sometimes change their opinions--after all, there are many paths to the same destination.

This is totally normal at this point. The weight will come off. Your job is to eat proteins and get all your fluids in. Make sure your hydrated because dehydration really sucks..... Sit back and watch the weight come off now. Work on new eating habits and exercise. This is such an awesome ride....

I look forward to the day when I'm consuming small portions like you guys. Still weighing options so still cleaning my plate when we go out.

It's unlikely your gluten intolerance was caused by your band. I do want to add that you CAN follow a band compliant diet and eat many foods with gluten, since its hidden in many condiments and used in a variety of foods. Here's a list: The following items may or may not contain gluten depending on where and how they are made, and it is sometimes necessary to check with the manufacturer to find out: Artificial Color4 Baking Powder4 Caramel Color1, 3 Caramel Flavoring1, 3 Clarifying Agents4 Coloring4 Dextrins1,7 Dextrimaltose1,7 Dry Roasted Nuts4 Emulsifiers4 enzymes4 Fat Replacer4 Flavoring6 food Starch1, 4 Food Starch Modified1, 4 Glucose Syrup4 Gravy Cubes4 Ground Spices4 HPP4 HVP4 Hydrolyzed Plant Protein4 Hydrolyzed Protein4 Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein4 Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate4 Hydroxypropylated Starch4 Maltose4 Miso4 Mixed Tocopherols4 Modified Food Starch1, 4 Modified Starch1, 4 Natural Flavoring6 Natural Flavors6 Natural Juices4 Non-dairy Creamer4 Pregelatinized Starch4 Protein Hydrolysates4 Seafood Analogs4 Seasonings4 Sirimi4 Smoke Flavoring4 Soba Noodles4 Soy Sauce4 Soy Sauce Solids4 Sphingolipids4 Stabilizers4 Starch1, 4 Stock Cubes4 Suet4 Tocopherols4 Vegetable Broth4 Vegetable Gum4 Vegetable Protein4 Vegetable Starch4 Vitamins4 Wheat Starch5