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i sipped crystal light and protein shakes/broth....i was all liquids for 2 weeks

I am considering Lap Band surgery. I am a mother of three and have been overweight since having children. I have PCOS and a very critical uncaring husband. He did not ask me to have the surgery, but he is not interested in me in any way. When we were dating, I weighed around 200 lbs, but was very fit. I had lost 80 lbs due to the death of my first husband and what I call the Triple D Diet, that is Death, Diet, and Depression. We became friends and then started dating. He even made the comment when we were dating that he was afraid that I would "let myself go" if he married me. To be honest, he has been nothing but a thorn in my side since we got married. He lost his job, had to finish his last two classes of college, one of which he failed! I got pregnant right away, and I swear I think he just wanted to have a child. He was 37 when we got married and had no children. Now I have a condescending husband, three children, and a lot more stress than I did before. I'll keep the baby, but I swear I don't know what I'll do with my husband if I get this band. I really want to do it, but I'm scared with the risk and having three kids, two of which do not have another biological parent. I want to do this for ME so that I can fee good about myself again. Is there anyone else out there who has had the surgery but was afraid of the risk?

Its so funny, I had some jeans I bought that were way small and I put them aside. I guess I waited 2 weeks too long because when I pulled them out yesterday they looked like circus pants!

One of the things that the class I am taking requires is that I document my journey daily in some way. They of course suggest that I write, but others have video rerecorded what was going on. I've decided to do this. First of all I hate my hand writing and secondly keeping it on my PC allows me to make changes in my history. I want to capture the raw emotion of what I am feeling without being able to process through it at a later date and then altering the history in any way. I think I've made a good start at doing so that in my first entry. Please put up any editing, grammar, or spelling mistakes I might make and PLEASE feel free to respond if you want to. I need your help, rather it be encouragement or criticism. So here it goes. Yesterday I start my first day of real exercise. I used my stationary bike and rode for 6 minutes after Breakfast and lunch. This excited me as I actually followed through to some degree. I had actually planned to start this weeks ago and my plan was to ride for 30 minutes. But I must focus on the small steps. It taken me years to get where I am at, how can I expect to start at anywhere near a medium level on my first day! I think fear of the failure to reach a high level or medium level is what kept me from trying earlier. I need to lose this fear if I am to walk through this journey. As I look back at my past, this has been the reason that I have failed so many diets. This is the reason I've quit almost everything in my life. I am a classic underachiever, if I can't do it perfectly it's not worth doing and I quit. Today I will change that and I will try to meet yesterday's "achievement". I will try to do that 3rd period of exercise after dinner and I will not look at it as a defeat if a should not. Each day I will sets reasonable goals for myself. I will give myself positive message as much as possible. I will forgive myself and try again when I fail. These are things that I had learned to do when I first got sober 33 years ago. How the have I forgotten them! Today is a new day and I pray that I will make the changes that I need to prolong my life.

Well the nutritionist told me to eat between 700-900 a day, I have on had two fills and I am starving. I work out 5 times a week burning 400-500 calories a session. Thats why I wanted to know if anyone else is deducting amount burned from their intake.

Hi Danielle! I could have written your story as mine...three years ago banded - same problems with gerd and esophagas problems! wow...I'm 34 and had revision surgery to RNY in August. I had a tough recovery due to my surgeon did my revision as mini-open rather than lap...I'm finally feeling like me. I had gained all my weight back within three years of beingbanded plus some...I'm now down almost 50 pounds and had no pre-op diet. It is such a relief not to get that "stuck" feeling...never thought the feeling of an elephant sitting on my chest was a good thing! Now I don't have that...I've gotten sick some post op...mainly learning what I can and can't tolerate and moving from food stages as I advanced in my diet. No more foamies either! I hope you continue to write here...I'd love all of us to have a place to talk and make some new friends

Congratulations and best wishes for a speedy recovery. What a great time to begin this new chapter in your life.....solstice! Be sure to walk all you can and you'll be walking your way to health and happiness. I am six weeks out and so happy with my band. You will be here in no time!

Hi there! I am getting sleeved 2 days after you! :cheers2: Most of my questions were answered at my 3 hour class. I wanted to know if the doctor was conservative or not when it comes to pain medications at the hospital. He is not and I was relieved. ( It was kinda late to ask that question 2 weeks before surgery. ). We will be given some scripts at our pre-op to be filled BEFORE surgery. If that is not the case for you, you might want to ask. I forgot to ask which medications we are getting. I have read here that Oral disintegrating Prevacid is good for gas, sublingual Zofran for nausea & I think Ragla for spasms. I must take my allergy meds the night before surgery or I will be sneezing & coughing after surgery , so I will ask about that. Most importantly I needed a contact number & person to call post-op with "simple" questions. Come and introduce yourself in the forum for November Sleevers. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/26418-banana-babes/page__hl__%2Bbanana+%2Bbabes__fromsearch__1 Best wishes!!!!!!

Hi! I was sleeved April 7th of this year. I took off six weeks as per my dr. I told the kids a few days before my last day. I told them I would be out for surgery. They were so relieved when I returned. They and their parents didn't know the details of my surgery. The parents wished me well and I had no complaints. Good luck.

Hey. I am one week away too! I am so ready but so nervous too.

I am only 6 weeks post op...so I really remember that feeling: excited AND nervous! This surgery is the best thing I've ever done. I have done EVERY diet and gained and lost the same 20 lbs for the past 20 years. My surgery went really well...and I healed very quickly. Some of the things I did (not necessarily on my surgeon's list...but I did them anyway!) I drank organic aloe vera juice 24 hrs post op and continued for 30 days. It's VERY healing. If you buy the EXPENSIVE brand, which is George's (available at health food stores) it tastes just like water. I also started taking arnica immediately after surgery. Great for healing and not bruising! It's difficult to get your water in, but it's very important. I couldn't handle the broth (yuk) but I ate sugar free jello and popsicles that were fruit...with no sugar added. It was good to get my first meal 10 days post op!! Now, even if I try a bite of something I'm not supposed to have....I know how limited I am for space in my new small stomach, so I can't try much more than a bite of any forbidden food!! I'm eating breakfast: either an egg, or a protein shake, or a half skinned apple with peanut butter. I LOVE soup for lunch and I make a chicken tortilla soup with lots and lots of beans and some salsa and spices (great protein) and for dinner I usually have fish, or chicken or turkey with a little cooked veggies. In between, I'll have a small amount of protein shake or some peeled fruit. My clothes are getting baggy....which I love. My only worry is because I'm in my 60's I'm already noticing some extra facial wrinkles and sags I've lost 39 lbs in 6 weeks (no required loss pre-op). Good luck to you....I know it will go well!

Now that I am "approved" for surgery and this is becoming a reality, I figured NOW is the time to post my story so far. I am 49, 5'7 and 235 at my highest weight. (Can't believe I actually wrote that down for public consumption!) That made me a BMI of 36.8. I had considered weight loss surgery off and on throughout the years of yo-yo dieting. My last good weight loss was about 30 pounds back in 2009 and I was lighter then. So that means I have put on about 40 pounds in four years. (Less than a pound a month, not too bad, right??!! Ha!) I have some lung problems, high blood pressure (if you would only lose weight, you wouldn't have to take these pills anymore....) and hypothyroidism. Too much for someone my age I decided and started considering the lap-band. I am a nurse and considered that to be "least invasive" and "easiest" to have done surgically. On November 28, 2012, I signed the hubby and I up for an informational seminar. While hubby wasn't interested (I'm hoping to change that), I listened to the doctor present the band, sleeve and RNY options. To his credit, he didn't try to sway anyone to any one procedure, but I had changed my thinking from lap-band to sleeve. I submitted my "insurance verification" form and left. In lateDecember/early January, I was contacted by the doctor's office and told that my insurance (CIGNA) did provide WLS benefits. I had started a post-holiday "kind of" diet about mid-January with Weight Watchers. I saw my surgeon for the first time on January 28, 2013. We discussed all the usual things and agreed that the sleeve was a good procedure for me. My only beef with the process was that the coordinator told me "All your insurance needs is the evaluation and 3 months of diet history. Just print out Weight Watchers and it will be ok." More on that in a minute.... From there, I had: EGD (endoscopy) on 2-4 and found to have a small hiatal hernia. Psych eval and nutrition eval on 2-13. In the mean time, I had researched CIGNA's bariatric policy and found out that I needed a lot more than "Just 3 months of Weight Watcher history." Rather than chance it, I went and got clearance from my PMD and met with a nutritionist for 3 months of a supervised diet. (2-20, 3-16 and 4-20...boy am I glad I started that "kind of diet" back in January!) Am now at 222 (fluctuating pounds.) My coordinator submitted my packet on about May 10th with a comment of "everything looks great...should be no problem." On May 17th, I was notified of denial...based on two points. My physician had failed to state that he BOTH recommended me for the surgery AND cleared me (he only recommended me....despite the fact I had asked him to do both.) The nutritionist did a summary report that detailed all three visits, with all of the components required, but CIGNA wanted it in three separate notes. At least it wasnt because of medical criteria! So...my coordinator got all that together and on May 21st, she submitted again, stating it could take up to 90 days, but probably not that long. The waiting is the hardest part!!! Well, today I got the news I was waiting for...APPROVED! It took 7 business days for the appeal. Now we are in fast-forward mode: 6-10: Pre-op meeting with surgeon to sign consents, etc... 6-15: Start of pre-op diet! (Not looking forward to it....) 6-17: Pre-op lab/x-ray work at hospital 6-25: Surgery I travel for my work (I am a healthcare consultant) and will be out of town three weeks between now and then, so it will fly by! I am so excited. I think now that it's a reality, my husband is concerned. I got the "If it makes you happy, it makes me happy" but I am not convinced. I know he is supportive of my decisions, but probably a bit insecure at the same time. food has always been a big part of our life and I have been slowly withdrawing from that over the last few months. Thanks for listening! I am so darn excited I just needed to share it with someone. I have told very few people. I will update after the surgery.

Hello I'm a young 32 year old woman who's battled weight my whole life. After starting a journey towards weight loss surgery in 2008 I have finally achieved it just past a week ago. Got RNY, laparoscopically, finally getting back to feeling human again. I'm down 5lbs so far and feeling good. I've had a difficult time healing due to a hysterectomy and bypass in the same surgery. So ready, and happy to have finally started this chapter my book of life!

I was lucky in that it has never really given me munchies...doesn't now. It was fine for me. I smoked it sometime around my second week post-op.

hi, im in the DFW area, but not currently concentrating on losing (almost 10 weeks pregnant)... i'd be happy to email. :cursing: sorry your DH isnt supportive. welcome to LBT.

One shake at a time.... that is how to approach it.. do not think of it as 2 weeks...just one shake at a time.... Drink lots of water or crystal light...Don't just get in the obligatory 64 ounces... WAY up your water intake..you will spend a good amount of time on the potty.. but your body will adjust by day 3....... Days 1-3 are the toughest and then it is fine.....you body will be on board to what you are doing from then on.... I did a 6 month program of optifast... towards the end... waiting on people to eat made me angry ... I called them "eaters" LOL! I wanted everyone to be able to shake rattle and roll on with their day with me.....Eating was a waste of my time... I had things to do!! So remember... ONE SHAKE AT A TIME.......and keep posting on here for support....

Hi, This is my 7th day on Protein shakes Pre-Op diet. The first two days are the hardest. My stomach complained so loud. But now things are quiet again. I got enough protein in per day that I'm not hungry at all. Can you have anything else in addition to opti-fast? My doctor just told me to get 60+g or protein, 20 or les of Fat, and 10 g or less of Sugar per day. After 2 days of EAS Protein Shakes, I got so sick of sweet shakes, so I called up my doctor and asked if I can eat clear broth. The nurse said yes. So I got some chicken broth, add Protein powder (while it still cool). heat it up, a dash of salt and pepper. And It was yummy! My nurse also lets me have Jello (Fat free sugar free kind). So I add protein powder to that and eat about a cup of jello a day. 1 Cup of FF/SF jello came out to be 20 calories and 2g of protein. With Protein powder it's adding 55 calories, 1g Fat, 13g protein, 1g sugar. Also, check out the Special K protein Water. Get the powder kind and add them to your water. I take about 2 pack of those a day, 60 calories, total of 10g protein. So far I lost 7 lbs. And my Blood sugar went from 167 to 104 this morning.... good luck to ya!!! *I'm also self-pay. I'm getting banded next week~!! Woo hoo!!

I struggled for a year with too tight of a band. I was to my Dr. just last week to talk to her about it because I was miserable and struggling with maintaining and was not losing. I was actually starting to gain and was scared. She decided to take only .4 (point 4) cc (a very small amount) out of my band. Almost 1 year prior she had put in .6cc for me. It is amazing how so little of an amount can make a difference. I am doing so much better! I can eat much better choices of food and stay satisfied. Before I would try the challenging foods (almost forcing them down) and be in pain, so, then not being filled up, I would look for the easy foods like ice cream or high calorie drinks to satisfy me. But . . . now I believe I may be at my "sweet spot" finally. It took me a whole year of fighting with food and it hurting when it would go thru the band, even when it was soft foods, to realize that maybe it was just a little too tight. I wish I would have admitted it sooner, but I am very happy with how I can eat and feel full (satisfied) for the desired amount of time (4-5 hrs). I hope this may help anyone who is struggling and wondering if their band could be too tight. It is so different for each one of us individually. Sometimes it is hard to decide what to do. For me, I did not have the typical signs of it being to tight such as the acid reflux or heartburn, no throwing up or having pb. I never have had that with my band. I did not get plugged or stuck totally more than 3 times in the almost two years I have had it. So, it was hard to say it was too tight except that I was not even enjoying eating, other than the things I shouldn't be eating because they went down easy. Now, after a year of being at a plateau (I tried to look at it positively as learning to maintain) I believe (and HOPE) that I will be on the road to being able and motivated to lose more weight finally! Thanks for listening!

Roja, my dr just said for me to drink liquids on sunday but nothing after midnight. But im going to do some drinks anyway and no red meat this week. i seen on youtube of a girl that suffered lots of pain and didn't know why after a couple of days she vomited which she said it could of been stool that was possibly trapped. once she threw it up she was fine. its important to follow the diets before and after so we keep our suffering to a minimum. i am excited for both of us. what hospital r u having ur surgery?

I think at some point we have all had the "what have I done" thought but it is by far the best decision I have ever made for myself. The weight loss is slow for me, but I can tell you that I don't think about food like I used to and I feel ten thousand times better than I did pre-surgery. I am 48 lbs lighter and for the first time in years, I am actually looking forward to getting out my summer clothes from last year and not worrying about not being able to fit in them! Good luck .....the first week will be hard but you will get thru it.

mine was in the US and my surgery was at 12 noon and required an overnight stay in the hospital. I am one week post op tomorrow and I feel FANTASTIC! I can't wait until I can see the results....I already feel different!

I'm excited today because I attended my first information meeting about bariatric surgery at Kiaser. It was informative however I must say a lot of the information I knew because I been researching on this every time a question pops up in my mind. I go tomorrow to my body analysis appointment where they take a picture and weight you prior to beginning the 12 week options program. I can't believe this is all about to get in motion. As a requirement I have to loose 10% of body weight prior to surgery (29lbs) I actually think that will be the most weight I ever lost. Well just wanted to share my journey so far.

Hi everyone. I had my gastric sleeve surgery on Wednesday, 12/19/12. I came home from the hospital on Friday, 12/21/12. So far, I am still on liquids but I feel soooo full all the time. It's really uncomfortable. I have to force myself to get my Water and Protein in. I am doing my best. My follow-up appointment isn't until 01/03/13 due to the holidays. I live in Cleveland, Ohio and had my surgery done at the Cleveland Clinic. My diet is "self-advancing." So, basically, I have some guidelines and I move along as I feel I am able. I am supposed to stay with liquids for 1-2 weeks and then move on to pureed foods for another 1-2 weeks and then on to soft foods. I really enjoy reading about the menu/food options on this forum because they offer more detail than my guidelines do. Thank you, in advance, for that. So, just a couple of questions... Did anyone else here have surgery on 12/19/12? Did anyone else have surgery at the Cleveland Clinic? Did anyone else experience this fullness I am having? If so, how long does it last? Also, I have a blog where I have been writing about my journey leading up to surgery. Feel free to check it out if you would like... losercoop.blogspot.com Merry Christmas everyone!

Well I've been stalling the last couple of weeks, and was a little dissappointed to have missed my march 5th goal, by a whopping 7lb! However upped my Protein again, and today I finally got to onderland, and even if I sound a little self absorbed, it feels sooo good, and I am a little proud of self for getting there. Next Mini goal is 195lb, which is simply "overweight", well I never thought I'd be so excited by the prospect of being overweight, but it sounds so much better than being clinicaly obese, and on the road to morbidly obese, which is where I was until 5th January. I LOVE MY SLEEVE!!!!!!!!

Hello! I have a question? I am on puréed proteins for a week. I had my surgery on March 3rd. When I eat I am never getting that really full feeling like I thought I would get. I just get a tightness feeling right in the middle of my cheat when I am done with food. Does that mean you are full? Thanks everyone!