Hey There,

Just looking for any July 2011 banders. I just started my process, but as that I am "self-pay", I am on a fast track to surgery. Although, not terribly obese (bmi 34), I am using lap band surgery as a tool for continued success after loosing weight. I have always been able to join a program(diet or exercise or prescription) and loose weight.....I've done it several times with several different programs (not a good thing), but I always gain the weight back and more. Now that I am in my 40s, it is harder to loose and faster to come back. No more, I say! I want to be heathy in my future - family history/genetics dictates that I will/can be using a walker or wheel chair from degenerative bones and joints, heart disease, diabetes. I am trying to steer clear of that but still keep seeing myself heading in that direction, so now is the time for further action. Although apprehensive about going under, I am reading all the good things about the lap band procedure and am hoping that it is just a little more than the tubiligation and endemetrial ablasion that I had done last year. At least, I am thinking of it that way, so as to not scare myself too badly!

Lisa B - Northern Virginia

I am thinking of you Shana. Good Luck.

Lisa

Holy moly this is it....going in in a half hour. See you guys on the other side!

Shauna

Shauna- the breathing gets better. I had the same problem.The doctor told me it was from the air they put in my stomach. I slept with a lot of pillows and that helped. Congratulations!

Hi Tammy! I'm here and banded!

Surgery went well, they fixed my hernia at the same time. My gas pain is manifesting itself as a lot of tightness in my chest which is making it hard to breathe. Incisions hurt quite a bit getting up and down but not too bad otherwise. Pretty much a textbook recovery so far.

Hope everyone else getting banded today is doing well and check in soon!

Shauna

Sorry for the delay...just woke up.

I am so glad you are doing okay...was worrying about you. Take it easy, drink lots of fluids and walk when you can. See you on the "post side."

Tammy

Hi July bandits!

My surgery date is the 19th - 3 more days! - and although I am mainly excited, I'm starting to get a bit nervous as well. I haven't been afraid or nervous about the procedure until now, so I am SO happy I found this site! It has really helped in answering questions as they pop into my head (sometimes every 5 minutes... LOL) and alleviating some of my fears and concerns. But there is one concern I have hanging over my head = the pre-op diet and how much I'm losing...

My doctor put me on a 2 week pre-op diet that consists mainly of "Optifast" Protein shakes & bars with broth and sugar-free Jello and/or popsicles. Here's my fear: I haven't been loosing enough! I keep reading about people who have lost 20+ lbs. during their pre-op diet and I've only lost about 10 lbs so far. Is this a sign of things to come?? I will admit I've cheated a couple of times - by having some lettuce w/ a couple slices of turkey and fat-free dressing. (I just felt I had to eat some "real food" or I was going to absolutely LOSE IT!) But I haven't eaten anything else and have always kept the calorie count for the day at 800 with about 10 g. of fat. Yet, I don't feel so great about the amount I've lost I'm so worried this is an indicator that I'm going to go through the surgery only to still not loose! Does/Has anyone else had this issue or concern??

Hope everyone has a fabulous Saturday!!

K.

YEAH!!!!! MY SURGERY WAS APPROVED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY YESTERDAY. I WILL CALL THE MEDICAL ASSISTANT IN MY DOCTORS OFFICE TO SCHEDULE MY SURGERY ON MONDAY. HOPEFULLY I WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE THE SURGERY ON JULY 27TH. I MIGHT BE STARTING A NEW JOB AND DONT WANT TO HAVE TO ASK FOR TIME OFF SO SOON.

I was banded yesterday as well,I was in alot of pain last night mostly at my port site, im up and moving around,i did have a little bleeding this am,i feel like i did 1000 crunches. I have no problem drinking thank god. Im glad its done! Glad you're well Shauna

10 lbs is more than I lost, and I also didn't "cheat" once during the two weeks. I was able to eat one small meal a day and lost 9 lbs in the two weeks, which I was thrilled about.. I don't think there are very many of us who lost 20 lbs. on a two week pre-op diet. Some people had to lose weight prior to approval, others were on longer pre-ops.

If you are doing everything right, stop weighing yourself so often! Your body will lose at its own rate.

Good luck to you and let us all know how it goes!!

Hi July bandits!

My surgery date is the 19th - 3 more days! - and although I am mainly excited, I'm starting to get a bit nervous as well. I haven't been afraid or nervous about the procedure until now, so I am SO happy I found this site! It has really helped in answering questions as they pop into my head (sometimes every 5 minutes... LOL) and alleviating some of my fears and concerns. But there is one concern I have hanging over my head = the pre-op diet and how much I'm losing...

My doctor put me on a 2 week pre-op diet that consists mainly of "Optifast" Protein shakes & bars with broth and sugar-free Jello and/or popsicles. Here's my fear: I haven't been loosing enough! I keep reading about people who have lost 20+ lbs. during their pre-op diet and I've only lost about 10 lbs so far. Is this a sign of things to come?? I will admit I've cheated a couple of times - by having some lettuce w/ a couple slices of turkey and fat-free dressing. (I just felt I had to eat some "real food" or I was going to absolutely LOSE IT!) But I haven't eaten anything else and have always kept the calorie count for the day at 800 with about 10 g. of fat. Yet, I don't feel so great about the amount I've lost I'm so worried this is an indicator that I'm going to go through the surgery only to still not loose! Does/Has anyone else had this issue or concern??

Hope everyone has a fabulous Saturday!!

K.

K: I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. I lost a whopping 4 lbs. on my 2-week pre-op diet. In the first nine days after the surgery, I didn't lose a single pound. Then this morning, I weighed (as I do every morning) and I had dropped five pounds overnight! All my years of dieting have taught me that I often see the loss in my clothing size before I see it on a scale. Just follow the rules and let your body lose at its own rate. Don't compare yourself to others!!

Hi July bandits!

My surgery date is the 19th - 3 more days! - and although I am mainly excited, I'm starting to get a bit nervous as well. I haven't been afraid or nervous about the procedure until now, so I am SO happy I found this site! It has really helped in answering questions as they pop into my head (sometimes every 5 minutes... LOL) and alleviating some of my fears and concerns. But there is one concern I have hanging over my head = the pre-op diet and how much I'm losing...

My doctor put me on a 2 week pre-op diet that consists mainly of "Optifast" Protein shakes & bars with broth and sugar-free Jello and/or popsicles. Here's my fear: I haven't been loosing enough! I keep reading about people who have lost 20+ lbs. during their pre-op diet and I've only lost about 10 lbs so far. Is this a sign of things to come?? I will admit I've cheated a couple of times - by having some lettuce w/ a couple slices of turkey and fat-free dressing. (I just felt I had to eat some "real food" or I was going to absolutely LOSE IT!) But I haven't eaten anything else and have always kept the calorie count for the day at 800 with about 10 g. of fat. Yet, I don't feel so great about the amount I've lost I'm so worried this is an indicator that I'm going to go through the surgery only to still not loose! Does/Has anyone else had this issue or concern??

Hope everyone has a fabulous Saturday!!

K.

Hi MassMom,

It's not unheard of to not have a pre-op diet but it's pretty unusual. The reason for it (according to my surgeon) is to shrink your liver, as they have to get around it or under it to reach your stomach, and a lot of us have fatty/enlarged livers due to obesity. My doc is only making me do 10 days of the pre-op diet instead of 14 because my BMI is 33. Is your BMI relatively low? Maybe your doc is making an exception for you if so.

Shauna

I am going to have lapband in July too.(most likely 25th) and I have not been asked to go on preop.I just want to do it on my own.Had a BMI of 42.

Hello all! I was banded on July 13th! I'm still pinching myself that this is all real and in time I'll be a smaller person! I'm still sore but able to get up and down much easier as of today. The one thing I'm avoiding is picking stuff up from the floor! I wish everyone a speedy recovery! Good luck!

Welcome! The bending part was hard for me, too. My dogs stay in crates when I am not at home. I managed to find a way to close the two latches on each crate with my big toe! LOL By a week postop, bending wasn't a problem anymore. And I STILL look down every day in disbelief that I had the surgery, but in a good way. What an adventure this really is.

Amy

Hello all! I was banded on July 13th! I'm still pinching myself that this is all real and in time I'll be a smaller person! I'm still sore but able to get up and down much easier as of today. The one thing I'm avoiding is picking stuff up from the floor! I wish everyone a speedy recovery! Good luck!

I only lost 1 pound on a 10 day pre-op diet, but I'm not sweating it. I was allowed some solid foods and kind of overdid it on both those and the the yummy protein shakes. I'm not going to worry too much about losing until I'm all healed up and I get my first fill at 6 weeks post-op.

Hi July bandits!

My surgery date is the 19th - 3 more days! - and although I am mainly excited, I'm starting to get a bit nervous as well. I haven't been afraid or nervous about the procedure until now, so I am SO happy I found this site! It has really helped in answering questions as they pop into my head (sometimes every 5 minutes... LOL) and alleviating some of my fears and concerns. But there is one concern I have hanging over my head = the pre-op diet and how much I'm losing...

My doctor put me on a 2 week pre-op diet that consists mainly of "Optifast" protein shakes & bars with broth and sugar-free jello and/or popsicles. Here's my fear: I haven't been loosing enough! I keep reading about people who have lost 20+ lbs. during their pre-op diet and I've only lost about 10 lbs so far. Is this a sign of things to come?? I will admit I've cheated a couple of times - by having some lettuce w/ a couple slices of turkey and fat-free dressing. (I just felt I had to eat some "real food" or I was going to absolutely LOSE IT!) But I haven't eaten anything else and have always kept the calorie count for the day at 800 with about 10 g. of fat. Yet, I don't feel so great about the amount I've lost I'm so worried this is an indicator that I'm going to go through the surgery only to still not loose! Does/Has anyone else had this issue or concern??

Hope everyone has a fabulous Saturday!!

K.

48 hours post surgery and I'm feeling pretty good! Day of surgery was pretty bad but it keeps getting better. No more gas pains and just the incisions hurt some. Not even taking the Lortab today...which will be a relief because I hated the way it made me feel!

Here is our updated list, Good luck Nouzi!:

No date yet: kychick1294, 30Something (JeVona), nickieredd79

June 27:pkjjm31049

June 30: Nechama L

July 1: jenjaw, nancy2011, amjcal, Tracy N, xlstan, Wendy Muehleisen, ahassan, KevinM, Banded Karebear, lifeisjustbeginning2011 (Amy)

July 5: AlyGurl (Aly), MassMom01527 (Steph), Allison0927, Harvest Farmer, wannabe21bmi (Kate), Kim from CT, blackmajyk, Xtinabrown13, Ecinaj, Wanttobeskinny22

July 6: lizzy21050, crash878905, Lorelei, Kimiky, Diana1980

July 7: nesportsfan, hokdo, songbird5769, Short and Chunky, LisaB68, pinktink, dare2bthin

July 11: dixiechick, honeybunny, Jessica43082, hlong1985, Breezybbyy, BANDme_LUV, jengy, leemuise

July 12: BandedApril (April), merlina, mfrancis, Kay Adams

July 13: CurlyDiva, Tammy A, Lisa_MC, Ginasjmm4, JulieB0802

July 14: crystalddm, BandItOrLoseIt, MassMommyRebecca, schmidty42, NewCruiseGirl2011, Denise'sjourney, Meerkat135, dmhanaphy (Dawn Marie)

July 15: Shauna Deanne, Corize, JohnnyBoy, Labella624, Moe-Moe

July 17: Nouzi

July 18: Colee85, Bandmebaby!, ANewMe63

July 19: Mrs. Schultz, karmaandkismet, Anjiie, teacherz

July 20: Carmen16

July 21: NomersCat, Coco's mum, Rock4Light401, TWILLED

July 22: razzcat, Kgirl1960 (Kristy), BamaBrandy

July 25: cat lady, dropsizes (Mary)

July 26: Serifa, MustangMama

July 27: Healthy4Ever

July 28: Erica Pizzi, whitetiger011680

July 29: ButterflyM, PungosMama

argh! I am scheduled for surgery on Tues., 26th. I woke up this morning with a sore throat and stuffy nose. I hope this doesn't delay my surgery. I have my pre-op appointment with the surgeon this Tuesday so I'll see how it goes. I'm going to get me some vitamin C tablets. If it does progress, I'll have a week to knock it out. Not good timing.

Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to respond to my post!! I'm definitely feeling much less stressed about the amount I've lost so far. Hoping to drop another pound or two before Tuesday, but if I don't, so be it... Also, it's been so great to see everyone's posts post-op - even from the very day of surgery! It's absolutely helping me feel more comfortable about the whole procedure. The fact that there seems to be as many differences as similarities in people's experiences actually has helped a lot. And regardless of the differences, everyone is so positive & supportive... LOVE it! Not so happy to be spending my birthday (tomorrow the 18th) not being able to eat ANYTHING (LOL), but I know it will be totally worth it in the end!

Kell