hello my name is Teresa

I am scheduled for june 21 for lapband

I am a mother of two sweet boys ages 7 and 2 I am working on making thier mom a better healthier role model for them both.

I am very nervous and have no idea what I am getting myself into.

Any advice would be appreciated

age 32

height 5' 1'

weight 233

bmi 43

Hi Teresa.

I am momma to 3 kids, ages 10, 8, and 4 (boy, boy, girl) and am 38....my date is June 20. I started out at 223.4 and have lost 10 pounds so far, hoping to lose a few more before Monday.... on the pre-op diet and HUNGRY all the time!!! But it's only for a short amount of time and in the end it will be worth it for me to be a healthier wife and mom!

I'm currently reading "Bandwagon" which is very helpful, and coming to LBT daily to read about others' experiences.

Best of luck to you!!!

kristi

hello my name is Teresa

I am scheduled for june 21 for lapband

I am a mother of two sweet boys ages 7 and 2 I am working on making thier mom a better healthier role model for them both.

I am very nervous and have no idea what I am getting myself into.

Any advice would be appreciated

age 32

height 5' 1'

weight 233

bmi 43

Hi - I am 2 days post op! Don't regret taking the big step at all. I am still sore and bloated but not hungry. Just having Water and small amount of Soup and some milk shake. Its just the start of my journey but I am very excited and look at my wardrobe thinking that each day my clothes will be looser!

Good luck with the op, take it easy.

Hi Teresa.

I am momma to 3 kids, ages 10, 8, and 4 (boy, boy, girl) and am 38....my date is June 20. I started out at 223.4 and have lost 10 pounds so far, hoping to lose a few more before Monday.... on the pre-op diet and HUNGRY all the time!!! But it's only for a short amount of time and in the end it will be worth it for me to be a healthier wife and mom!

I'm currently reading "Bandwagon" which is very helpful, and coming to LBT daily to read about others' experiences.

Best of luck to you!!!

kristi

Hello Kristi,

Thank you first of all for responding. Sounds like we are both about to begin our journey to a healthier weight. Thank you for the pep talk I think I really needed that. I begin my liquid diet tomorrow and like you have said it sounds not so much fun but worth it in the long run. If you don't mind I would love to say a little prayer for you on Monday morning and a wish of better health and future sucess!! Also I would love to keep in touch and see your progress. I have been reading alot of post from here and it seems like an amazing resource that might be what keeps us going. Good luck to you on your journey.

Teresa

Hi Teresa.

I am momma to 3 kids, ages 10, 8, and 4 (boy, boy, girl) and am 38....my date is June 20. I started out at 223.4 and have lost 10 pounds so far, hoping to lose a few more before Monday.... on the pre-op diet and HUNGRY all the time!!! But it's only for a short amount of time and in the end it will be worth it for me to be a healthier wife and mom!

I'm currently reading "Bandwagon" which is very helpful, and coming to LBT daily to read about others' experiences.

Best of luck to you!!!

kristi

Congrats! I'm 3 weeks post op tomorrow and finally doing pretty good! Some advice - make sure someone is around to help with your kids (especially the 2 year old) for at least 2 weeks. You need to avoid lifting and bending too much during this time and make sure you heal well. Make sure you have plenty of fluids, especially if you get tired of Water quickly. I had stocked up on Jello, sf popsicles, crystal light, chewable Fiber supplements, liquid tylenol, steri strips and Protein mixes. The one thing I realized I should have bought more of was the popsicles. The popsicles have been a life saver when I'm craving something sweet.

Try some different Protein shakes to find what kind you like. I would also focus on eating better, I've read some people on here don't have to do the pre op diet, but they tend to be the ones having a hard time after the band. If you don't have a pre op diet, try to work your way up to 2 protein shakes a day and 1 small protein meal everyday. This will help like no other with cravings right after the surgery. I have my first fill in a week and I'm not having major cravings and I feel satisfied most of the time.

Anyways, if you have any questions or issues, jump on here and I'm sure someone will help you. If it's serious pain or problems, call your dr. Good luck and remember, this tool will only work as hard as we do with it but we can all do this! We're always here to motivate eachother.

hello my name is Teresa

I am scheduled for june 21 for lapband

I am a mother of two sweet boys ages 7 and 2 I am working on making thier mom a better healthier role model for them both.

I am very nervous and have no idea what I am getting myself into.

Any advice would be appreciated

age 32

height 5' 1'

weight 233

bmi 43

Hi Teresa!!

I don't know that it was much of a pep talk, but you're welcome

Yes, please, say a prayer for me on Monday!! I would really appreciate that, and will keep you in my list as well. Feel free to email me anytime kittyforet@yahoo.com.

Good luck to you and let's keep each other going!!!

kristi

Hello Kristi,

Thank you first of all for responding. Sounds like we are both about to begin our journey to a healthier weight. Thank you for the pep talk I think I really needed that. I begin my liquid diet tomorrow and like you have said it sounds not so much fun but worth it in the long run. If you don't mind I would love to say a little prayer for you on Monday morning and a wish of better health and future sucess!! Also I would love to keep in touch and see your progress. I have been reading alot of post from here and it seems like an amazing resource that might be what keeps us going. Good luck to you on your journey.

Teresa

Papillon Princess,

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!! That is very valuable to me to hear how others are doing!!

As for the liquids, last night hubby and I took the kiddos to get snowcones, and I had a small sugar free pink lemonade that I could only eat half of, so I told DH that next week when I'm on liquids that I would send him to get me one but also to buy a second cup of just ice, since they put WAY too much syrup in it!! (I'd probably also ask for half the syrup, since too much grosses me out!)

I've already bought a box of SF popsicles (the variety pack with creamsicles and fudgesicles) that I hid from my kids, but will go back and get a few more boxes of the plain SF ones just in case!!! I'm also thinking of buying a little snowcone machine to make our own, I have a friend that makes her own syrup, so I bet she could hook me up with some good recipes.....

Also already have lots of Sobe Life Water 0 calorie and the Vitamin Water 0 and a huge variety of the crystal light packets...I am a huge iced tea drinker (decaf sweetened with sweet & low, but I have heard I need to change that to either stevia or truvia, according to people here on LBT; I will ask my nutritionist when I see her on Thursday!)...

Do the chewable fiber supplements taste good? Worried about that!! Now I just need to go buy liquid tylenol!! Yuck!!!

Thanks again for the motivation!!!

Congrats! I'm 3 weeks post op tomorrow and finally doing pretty good! Some advice - make sure someone is around to help with your kids (especially the 2 year old) for at least 2 weeks. You need to avoid lifting and bending too much during this time and make sure you heal well. Make sure you have plenty of fluids, especially if you get tired of water quickly. I had stocked up on Jello, sf popsicles, crystal light, chewable fiber supplements, liquid tylenol, steri strips and Protein mixes. The one thing I realized I should have bought more of was the popsicles. The popsicles have been a life saver when I'm craving something sweet.

Try some different protein shakes to find what kind you like. I would also focus on eating better, I've read some people on here don't have to do the pre op diet, but they tend to be the ones having a hard time after the band. If you don't have a pre op diet, try to work your way up to 2 protein shakes a day and 1 small protein meal everyday. This will help like no other with cravings right after the surgery. I have my first fill in a week and I'm not having major cravings and I feel satisfied most of the time.

Anyways, if you have any questions or issues, jump on here and I'm sure someone will help you. If it's serious pain or problems, call your dr. Good luck and remember, this tool will only work as hard as we do with it but we can all do this! We're always here to motivate eachother.

I really feel like I have hit the jackpot finding this site!! Such wonderful people and advice from people that are actually going though what I am about to do next week. I start the liquid diet tomorrow thank you for the tips on things to get ready for life after the band. I am excited and nervous so I am thrilled to have so many others knowing how I feel and what I will be feeling. Thank you to all of you that read this.

Hey I am a mommy of 2 boys 3 years and 2 years. I am six months post surgery and feel amazing. I love my band. Good luck.

Check out my blog

WWW.bandedme.blogspot.com

Loly,

You mentioned you're drinking milkshakes...I'm not trying to give medical advice but I hope your dr told you that you probably shouldn't be drinking milkshakes. High calorie drinks get right past the band and defeat the purpose. The Protein in the milkshakes does not even come close to outweighing the calories. I personally am not allowed any milk products (aside from fat free cottage cheese and some cheese added to my meat). If you are allowed milk products, I still wouldn't suggest a milkshake. If you want something of that consistency, try using your Protein powder with skim milk and some ice cubes. This will give a similar consistency to a milkshake. I'm not trying to be rude with this, but hoping that you have as much success as possible! Try not to drink your calories away.

Hi Kitty,

Glad I can help (I do tend to have quite an opinion and do tend to lean towards my dr being one of the best...so take my advice as you'd like to. I don't mean it in a bad way or mean that you're wrong and I'm right! Everyone is different in what works for them. A few things...you said you got creamsicles and fudgesicles – check with your nutritionist on when and if you’re allowed to have these (even though they’re SF) they’re not a clear liquid, you would need to be on full liquids. Creamsicles and fudgesicles are also quite a bit higher in calories than SF popsicles. (Just a thought…it’s still up to you though). As far as the syrups, walmart and bed bath & beyond have sugar free snow cone mixes that are good in the blenders. (If you want a snowcone machine, go for it! I personally love my magic bullet and I can use it for lots of other stuff too!)

I LOVE iced tea as well! I drink mine with truvia and it is so good! The truvia is quite sweet, so generally you won’t need as much as if you were using actual sugar. It is a little pricy but when you see how much you’ll actually use, it’s not too bad. Also if you didn’t know, crystal light has some REALLY yummy iced tea flavors (the regular is 99% decaf and the decaf is 99.9% decaf – so not much difference, regular should be okay). I love the lemon decaf iced tea by crystal light, it’s so good! Any type of stevia should be okay to try, but I do love truvia so I haven’t tried any others at this time. J

The chewable Fiber is pretty good (IMO) I buy fiber choice (I’ve had 2 flavors – the orange is very good and there is also one for weight management and it’s strawberry flavored) Both of them are good. Amazon has some great deals on fiber choice if you find one you like. I get my Vitamins through Bariatric Choice, they have great prices and quite a variety of items.

The liquid Tylenol isn’t that bad, they don’t have an “adult” option, just get the children’s Tylenol and calculate the dose of acetaminophen that you’ll need. I think I take 4-6 tsp of the children’s Tylenol (double check on my math for that…I use a pre measured thing and figured it out the other day). The bubble gum isn’t too bad.

Papillon Princess,

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!! That is very valuable to me to hear how others are doing!!

As for the liquids, last night hubby and I took the kiddos to get snowcones, and I had a small sugar free pink lemonade that I could only eat half of, so I told DH that next week when I'm on liquids that I would send him to get me one but also to buy a second cup of just ice, since they put WAY too much syrup in it!! (I'd probably also ask for half the syrup, since too much grosses me out!)

I've already bought a box of SF popsicles (the variety pack with creamsicles and fudgesicles) that I hid from my kids, but will go back and get a few more boxes of the plain SF ones just in case!!! I'm also thinking of buying a little snowcone machine to make our own, I have a friend that makes her own syrup, so I bet she could hook me up with some good recipes.....

Also already have lots of Sobe Life Water 0 calorie and the Vitamin Water 0 and a huge variety of the crystal light packets...I am a huge iced tea drinker (decaf sweetened with sweet & low, but I have heard I need to change that to either stevia or truvia, according to people here on LBT; I will ask my nutritionist when I see her on Thursday!)...

Do the chewable fiber supplements taste good? Worried about that!! Now I just need to go buy liquid tylenol!! Yuck!!!

Thanks again for the motivation!!!

Thanks again Papillon Princess.

I value your input. And now a million questions for you!! (sorry to hijack this thread!)

I will speak to my NUT tomorrow about both the fudgesicles (even if I can't have them, I know my kids will gladly eat them!!!) and the stevia/truvia vs. still using the occasional sweet & low in my iced tea. I don't care for lemon-flavored tea but will check out the crystal light teas the next time I'm grocery shopping and might try some. I have to learn how to eat differently now!! YIKES!!!

I will also look into the snow cone mixes and try some. I have an off-brand "magic bullet" and the full size blender that's the same brand as the magic bullet but I never use that big bulky thing....I will look for a snow cone machine next time I go to WalMart or BB&B. Darn, looks like I have to plan a shopping trip!!!

I will research the chewable fiber (for some reason that just sounds gross!!) but I understand the importance of it. Do you also take a Calcium supplement??? So far I bought some of the Viactive chocolate chews and they are not very tasty!! I remember when they first came out years ago, they were yummy and now, uh not so much!! Debating whether to get some of the other brand (the name escapes me right now!) next time I'm shopping. What about multi-vitamins? So far I've tried the Gummy Vites kids and now the Gummy Vites adult and like them ok. Also not looking forward to the liquid tylenol, as any liquid medicine makes me gag!!! My kids have some of the dissolving tylenol tablets, think those will be ok or is the liquid stronger?

Will plan a last shopping trip this weekend after I've met with the nutritionist.

Thanks again!!!

quote name='Papillon Princess' timestamp='1308099243' post='1626146']

Hi Kitty,

Glad I can help (I do tend to have quite an opinion and do tend to lean towards my dr being one of the best...so take my advice as you'd like to. I don't mean it in a bad way or mean that you're wrong and I'm right! Everyone is different in what works for them. A few things...you said you got creamsicles and fudgesicles – check with your nutritionist on when and if you're allowed to have these (even though they're SF) they're not a clear liquid, you would need to be on full liquids. Creamsicles and fudgesicles are also quite a bit higher in calories than SF popsicles. (Just a thought…it's still up to you though). As far as the syrups, walmart and bed bath & beyond have sugar free snow cone mixes that are good in the blenders. (If you want a snowcone machine, go for it! I personally love my magic bullet and I can use it for lots of other stuff too!)

I LOVE iced tea as well! I drink mine with truvia and it is so good! The truvia is quite sweet, so generally you won't need as much as if you were using actual sugar. It is a little pricy but when you see how much you'll actually use, it's not too bad. Also if you didn't know, crystal light has some REALLY yummy iced tea flavors (the regular is 99% decaf and the decaf is 99.9% decaf – so not much difference, regular should be okay). I love the lemon decaf iced tea by crystal light, it's so good! Any type of stevia should be okay to try, but I do love truvia so I haven't tried any others at this time. J

The chewable fiber is pretty good (IMO) I buy fiber choice (I've had 2 flavors – the orange is very good and there is also one for weight management and it's strawberry flavored) Both of them are good. Amazon has some great deals on fiber choice if you find one you like. I get my Vitamins through bariatric choice, they have great prices and quite a variety of items.

The liquid Tylenol isn't that bad, they don't have an "adult" option, just get the children's Tylenol and calculate the dose of acetaminophen that you'll need. I think I take 4-6 tsp of the children's Tylenol (double check on my math for that…I use a pre measured thing and figured it out the other day). The bubble gum isn't too bad.

Thanks again Papillon Princess.

I value your input. And now a million questions for you!! (sorry to hijack this thread!)

I will speak to my NUT tomorrow about both the fudgesicles (even if I can't have them, I know my kids will gladly eat them!!!) and the stevia/truvia vs. still using the occasional sweet & low in my iced tea. I don't care for lemon-flavored tea but will check out the crystal light teas the next time I'm grocery shopping and might try some. I have to learn how to eat differently now!! YIKES!!!

I will also look into the snow cone mixes and try some. I have an off-brand "magic bullet" and the full size blender that's the same brand as the magic bullet but I never use that big bulky thing....I will look for a snow cone machine next time I go to WalMart or BB&B. Darn, looks like I have to plan a shopping trip!!!

I will research the chewable fiber (for some reason that just sounds gross!!) but I understand the importance of it. Do you also take a calcium supplement??? So far I bought some of the Viactive chocolate chews and they are not very tasty!! I remember when they first came out years ago, they were yummy and now, uh not so much!! Debating whether to get some of the other brand (the name escapes me right now!) next time I'm shopping. What about multi-vitamins? So far I've tried the Gummy Vites kids and now the Gummy Vites adult and like them ok. Also not looking forward to the liquid tylenol, as any liquid medicine makes me gag!!! My kids have some of the dissolving tylenol tablets, think those will be ok or is the liquid stronger?

Will plan a last shopping trip this weekend after I've met with the nutritionist.

Thanks again!!!

Just thought I would jump in with some additional insight

For fiber, instead of the chewable try one of the disolvable ones like Benefiber. I mix it in tea, crystal lite, etc and it completely dissolves. Also be careful of the Gummy Vites...most of the gummy Vitamins don't contain Iron which is very important for you to have. The liquid tylenol doesn't taste bad, but I would think that dissolving children's tylenol would work...you should run it by your doctor's office and get their input on how much to take. Since you have trouble taking liquid meds you should also know that, most likely, any pain meds they prescribe to you after surgery will be liquid. Another thing you should make sure you have for post op is a heating pad...it really helped me with muscle pains and gas after surgery. And don't forget to bring a pillow with you for the ride home from the hospital...it helps cushion your stomach from the seatbelt on bumpy roads

That is such a sweet thing to do - you sound like a very neat person

Hello Kristi,

Thank you first of all for responding. Sounds like we are both about to begin our journey to a healthier weight. Thank you for the pep talk I think I really needed that. I begin my liquid diet tomorrow and like you have said it sounds not so much fun but worth it in the long run. If you don't mind I would love to say a little prayer for you on Monday morning and a wish of better health and future sucess!! Also I would love to keep in touch and see your progress. I have been reading alot of post from here and it seems like an amazing resource that might be what keeps us going. Good luck to you on your journey.

Teresa

Thanks Vicky for adding your 2 cents!!!

I have a heating pad already. Going to see the NUT tomorrow morning so I will talk to her about the medicines and Vitamins and benefiber.

And I will put a pillow on the surgery day list!!!

Thanks!

Just thought I would jump in with some additional insight

For fiber, instead of the chewable try one of the disolvable ones like Benefiber. I mix it in tea, crystal lite, etc and it completely dissolves. Also be careful of the Gummy Vites...most of the gummy vitamins don't contain Iron which is very important for you to have. The liquid tylenol doesn't taste bad, but I would think that dissolving children's tylenol would work...you should run it by your doctor's office and get their input on how much to take. Since you have trouble taking liquid meds you should also know that, most likely, any pain meds they prescribe to you after surgery will be liquid. Another thing you should make sure you have for post op is a heating pad...it really helped me with muscle pains and gas after surgery. And don't forget to bring a pillow with you for the ride home from the hospital...it helps cushion your stomach from the seatbelt on bumpy roads

Kitty,

No problem, if you have questions, feel free to private message me as well if you'd like. Any advice on here should be run by your dr or NUT to find out what they would like you to do since everyone has different ideas on what works best. I've read a lot of people on here use sweet & low without a problem, my NUT said it was fine as long as we weren't using sugar. If you like any flavored teas, all of crystal light's teas are great! They have a peach tea, a red tea, etc and they're all very good.

Full size blenders are just obnoxious unless you're having a margarita party! LoL I don't know how people use those or have room on their counters for them. I think BB&B would have more options for snow cone machines and if you get one of those 20% off coupons in the mail, even better!

The chewable fiber really isn't that bad, it does stick in my teeth a little bit, but swishing with a little Water takes care of it. A person above recommended using the dissolvable fiber, I personally can't go that way! I'd rather chew it and get it done with. I don't take a calcium supplement, I'm on a bariatric Vitamin for lap band patients and my dr said if you take a high quality vitamin, you won't have to worry about additional supplements. He also does regular blood tests to make sure the levels are acceptable.

Multi Vitamins this is heavily debated on here! A lot of people on here talk about taking kids chewables and adult gummies etc. If you compare the amount of nutrients with vitamins that are made for a bariatric patient, you will see that they are really lacking in some areas! My Dr is very against just using kids vitamins and the gummies but does not require that you buy vitamins from him. I go through bariatric choice for my vitamins, they have some great prices and lots of flavors and options.

The dissolving Tylenol tabs should be fine! Just use the recommended amount of acetaminophen for adults on an adult package. I'm not sure of the strength difference, I just thought the liquid was slightly cheaper (had more per bottle than the package of dissolvable). I had read so much on here about people having issues with swallowing and recommending the liquid, but now I'm just using it to get rid of it. I can swallow pills just fine. The dr had me on 500 mg vicodin tabs and I'd just break them in half and I took them just fine. So if you can swallow pills after and you prefer pills, go for it! My Dr. let me go back to meds as regular the night of surgery (none were liquid or chewable, except my fiber). If you decide to just try swallowing the pills and they seem too big, break them in half or 4ths and you should be fine with 1 at a time.

Thanks again Papillon Princess.

I value your input. And now a million questions for you!! (sorry to hijack this thread!)

I will speak to my NUT tomorrow about both the fudgesicles (even if I can't have them, I know my kids will gladly eat them!!!) and the stevia/truvia vs. still using the occasional sweet & low in my iced tea. I don't care for lemon-flavored tea but will check out the crystal light teas the next time I'm grocery shopping and might try some. I have to learn how to eat differently now!! YIKES!!!

I will also look into the snow cone mixes and try some. I have an off-brand "magic bullet" and the full size blender that's the same brand as the magic bullet but I never use that big bulky thing....I will look for a snow cone machine next time I go to WalMart or BB&B. Darn, looks like I have to plan a shopping trip!!!

I will research the chewable fiber (for some reason that just sounds gross!!) but I understand the importance of it. Do you also take a calcium supplement??? So far I bought some of the Viactive chocolate chews and they are not very tasty!! I remember when they first came out years ago, they were yummy and now, uh not so much!! Debating whether to get some of the other brand (the name escapes me right now!) next time I'm shopping. What about multi-vitamins? So far I've tried the Gummy Vites kids and now the Gummy Vites adult and like them ok. Also not looking forward to the liquid tylenol, as any liquid medicine makes me gag!!! My kids have some of the dissolving tylenol tablets, think those will be ok or is the liquid stronger?

Will plan a last shopping trip this weekend after I've met with the nutritionist.

Thanks again!!!

quote name='Papillon Princess' timestamp='1308099243' post='1626146']