The surgeon's office said they will be ready to give me a surgery day either this week or next week. My question is for all the Jewish bandsters....should i wait till after the holidays and do it in november, or should i try to get it in before rosh hashana and suffer through all the food laden meals of all the holidays?

I'm not Jewish but if you don't mind, here's my opinion: there's no time like now to get on with the rest of your life! I was banded a few days before Thanksgiving, so I had been wondering the same thing. I ate (sipped) turkey broth I made from the family turkey, and my family understood completely. Although they all kind of stared at me the whole time to see how I was doing...

I'm half Jewish and half Christian. I wanted to get it done as soon as possible. I had it done 5 days before Christmas. Did I feel bad eating jello and protein drinks while my family was having dinner, sure, but I knew what I had to do. Think about it, the sooner your do it, the sooner you'll lose weight and feel better, and you won't have to worry about eating at the holidays.

Coming more from your perspective than perhaps others, I would say to wait. I would caution, however, NOT to gorge yourself but to use these holidays to start to train yourself on portion control, chewing slowly, cooking differently and viewing the food as one minor part of the holidays. It will be easier for you next year to then look back and say "I could do without this dish, I could change the menu that way, I could substitute here and there" without making yourself nuts and miserable. Also, keep in mind, that depending on when you are banded, you may have to have mushies/pureed foods which will be very difficult to do for all meals when you can't use your immersion blender/food processor. Cooking full menus for your family and then separate foods for yourself will not make this process any easier.

There's always going to be something coming up that could make you want to wait. If you wait for November then are you going to be freshly banded for Hanukkah. If you do it now, by November you could easily be down 40 or 50 pounds. There's no time like the present. If it was me, I would go for it as early as possible.

I had my band put in a week before Easter (I'm christian)...It wasn't as tough as I thought it would be. It felt like I had eaten a meal on the way to dinner, so I wasn't really hungry. You'll be able to eat again, get your journey started! Good luck!

I had my band one week before my birthday...not as big of a holiday but we usually went out and ate a BIG dinner. I had scrambled eggs with ranchero sauce... I would do it as early as you can to start living!

Do it now. You will have to deal with holidays for the rest of your life!

Thank you all for your replies! I really appreciate it.

The problem is that all the jewish holidays are not just one meal like easter dinner, christmas dinner, or even chanukah. These holidays are days and days laden with food and traditional foods and all there is to do is sit at the table and eat. (they are like sabbaths where you can't watch tv, drive, listen to radio, no laptop, etc etc)

If i get banded before the holidays, i'll be dealing with just liquids during the holidays. If i wait, i'd have to plan it so i'm not on the preop liquids during the holidays.

Ugh, still not sure. Aside from the eating, is it better to recuperate during the holidays where there is a risk that pple will stop by for visits? My husband says that if i decide to do it in between rosh hashanah and yom kippur but do i want to be recuperating going into a fast? I dont think i'd be able to get away with not fasting since i have a choice to postpone till after the fast.

But then again, i agree with those of you who say to get it done as soon as possible so that i can start the process of losing weight.

I guess i'll have to wait and see when their earliest date is and decide from there. really nervous

To be honest, you may actually be in a great position to fast post-op. You'll be used to smaller amounts of foods and liquids if your dr makes you go through a pre-op liquid diet. I'm not sure how it is with your family, but with mine, the high holiday meals are a little lighter than what we do for Hanukkah. I'd rather be banded and maybe in mushies in time for tuna salad, egg salad, gefilte fish, applesauce, chopped liver, even a little matzo ball Soup, split pea soup w/ flanken (blended), etc. for breaking the fast (I just listed some of my family's traditional items).

I honestly think that soon is a great time before getting too close to Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, the holiday season when ppl bring tons of sweets to work, holiday/work parties, and New Years events. Think of how prepared you'll going into this season having already had a month or two of experience with the band. That said, I just thought about how this is my first year I'll be making latkes for Hanukkah since I was banded. I'll probably just make a batch small enough for one meal and no leftovers to help control me from devouring the deliciousness.

Oh Gosh, latkes...........YUM!!! Isn't that considered a mushy food??????????? LOL

During succos, we usually get invited out or have guests for meals..........wondering if i'll be up to all that.....and this year there are 3 day yom tovs!!!!!

If i cook and freezer ahead of time, will i be physically able to deal with guests or be invited out for meals.......and sukkah hopping, of course!

As it is right now, i don't think the nutritionist will be happy with me becuase i've had a month to try and follow a diet in order to lose some weight and ive not really done well. My appt is on Wed when i'm supposed to get clearance and then i'll be able to get surgery date. I'm hoping she gives me the clearance.

I am not Jewish, but will respond. Those first few weeks are tough. I was banded in March and had Easter at my house this year. I had lots of candy and other junk around. It was hard, but I was already losing at that point and glad I made the decision. I would say go for it. It will be hard to get past the first holidays but it does get easier. I agree with the other posters--no time like the present.

Good luck!!!

Thank you so much for your input, rachael!

Hi,

I'm an observant Jew and I have to agree with everyone else. It will be tough but there is no time to start like this very second (or the first slot they have available for you). I think fasting post band will be very easy and the rest (all the meals, guests for Succos etc) will be hard and you should be prepared for that.

Best of luck and Shana Tova U'Mesuka!

I am not Jewish but...I had my surgery on a Thursday...Monday was a holiday and I went back to work on Tuesday. I think you probably will be ok for company. Just be sure to have plenty of water available.

Hi,

I'm an observant Jew and I have to agree with everyone else. It will be tough but there is no time to start like this very second (or the first slot they have available for you). I think fasting post band will be very easy and the rest (all the meals, guests for Succos etc) will be hard and you should be prepared for that.

Best of luck and Shana Tova U'Mesuka!

I definately agree..........just nervous about the 3 day yomim tovim (specifically succos) where all we do is eat and sleep......kwim?