"PLEASE BEGIN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO PREPARE YOU FOR LAP BAND SURGERY

Begin the

Myocel Protein supplement two-three weeks before your surgery. Take two scoops 2-3 times each day. This will prevent your liver from tearing during surgery. If Dr. Benavides feels there is a chance your liver might tear, we will reschedule your surgery.

DECREASE THESE IN YOUR DIET:

Ø All fats including butter, fatty meats, fried foods, whole milk products

Ø High sugar foods

Ø Carbonated drinks

Ø High carbohydrate foods such as breads, starches"

So this basically means go on Atkins Induction + Myocel Drinks AT LEAST two weeks before surgery...

I have read that others are put on a liquid only diet... that is not what I read here... am I right?

I am reading that you are allowed lean meat like skinless chicken and 95% lean beef, low fat/fat free yogurt, cheese, milk. Sounds like a fair pre-op diet to me. I had to do 10 days of liquids. Drink plenty of fluids and enjoy solids while you can. ~Mandy

I'm guessing you can have eggs too. ~Mandy

Sound like a lowcarb high protein diet to me...very much like Atkins induction, with the Myocel to supplement it! Good luck with the pre-op part!

Ok... Atkins it is...

I am getting very scared now... my date is so close...

I am doing this for my own good, but I'm really wondering about what the heck I am about to do to myself. Normal, I guess???

If you didn't have some concerns, I'd be worried about you. I think 99% of us had the same thought. Just remember that once you back to your old self, you will be glad you did it. After surgery, it takes anywhere from 3 days to a full week to feel normal again. Take that time to get caught up on reading a good book, walk around your neighborhood, learn to knit? I learned to knit and when I was feeling better, everyone in my family had a new scarf. It was July, but they all had nice new scarfs. I also discovered a love for the DIY channel. We just purchased a new home and I have a list of cool things I want to do there, all thanks to that channel. I have a great shopping list that I will find and post for you, it is really helpful for pre-op shopping. ~Mandy

Here is my list:

heating pad

flexible ice pack

liquid tylenol (they make adult strength)

chewable or liquid gas-x

a few books or movies

comfy clothes (loose waisted shorts or jumpers)

squishy pillow for car ride (guard against seatbelt)

a sports bra (doc said no underwire for a few days)

protien shakes

flavored water

make sure you have a good blender

I bought a drink mixer for the protien mix (cost $10 at walmart)

broth or stuff to make broth

sugarfree popsicles and jello

sugar free gum (ask your doctor)

sugar free breathmints (ask your doctor)

*Ask at your pre-op for the pain med prescription so you can have it all ready to go when you get home, our walgreens has to order liquid pain meds and it takes 3 days to get them.

"a sports bra (doc said no underwire for a few days)" Yeah... the girls will be set free... Don't even think I could put a sports bra over my head after surgery.

Thank you for the list. What is the best kind of broth to get? Do you have a favorite?

I am also thinking about one of those little mini food processers. I think that would make a smooth chicken salad for post op.

Also, I keep reading about the gas-x. After my appendix surgery I did not get any gas pains, is this one going to be different?

Changing your diet to focus on Proteins is going to prove to be very beneficial for healing after surgery. If you can get in 70 grams per day, you'll be in good shape by the time you get banded.

For optimal weightloss, I would focus on lean chicken or fish and fresh veggies and fruits. Begin practicing eating slower. Cut small bites, chew each bite well, and make your meals last about 15-20 minutes. These are good bandster habits and they will help you now as well. In addition to the Protein suppliments and the food I mentioned above, be sure to drink about 4 bottles of Water per day (64oz). This will also help to prepare your skin for surgery, get rid of water retention, and help you lose weight.

Best of luck to you!

Poodles, I bought a Cuisinart "Smart Stick Hand Blender" which I highly recommend. It works great and eliminates a lot of the clean-up of mini food processors but allows you to use it with those same accessories if you want to. Heres a picture of the box so you can see what it looks like:

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h91/fuzzy_pink_poodle/CuisinartBox.jpg

I like Swanson chicken broth. It's made with vegetables (no actual vegetable chunks in the broth though) and doesn't taste as salty as Campbells and some other Soup broths.

Hope this helped. Good luck to you on your big day.

I didn't have much gas after my gall bladder was removed but I did with my band. For the chopper, walmart has one that is $12 it looks like a small blender and you can drink out of the plastic "cup part" it even has a seperate lid to drink out of, works great, I make crab salad with it. While you are at walmart check for front closing sports bras, I found 3 there for less than $8 each and still love them to wear to the gym. I did the chewable gas-x and it really did help. As for the broth, I bought cambells select chicken noodle soup and strained out the pieces, my daughter ate them, and drank the broth. I also bought the boullion (sp?) powder and made my own chicken and veggie broth. The beef was just weird to me. My mom boiled a chicken for soup and I drank the broth off of that for several days, I put it is small cups in the freezer and then just nuked it when I wanted to treat myself to something good. I also ordered egg drop soup with no eggs and that was really filling, it is made with corn startch so it is thicker than regular broth. Another really filling drink is jello that is still warm, it makes you feel full and fools you into thinking you are having something sweet. I love the sugar free peach, and the strawbery-banana. During the mushy phase, I did jell-o let it get 90% set and then whip it with a hand mixer with a small tub of light coolwhip. Put it in the fridge for about 2 hours and it becomes the texture of twinkie filling. Makes a fun light summer pie and you can make whatever flavor you want. I also tell people that I am bringing a watermelon pie, they look at me like I am crazy but it is always a huge hit. It was great during mushies. When I was allowed mushies, I ate wendy's chili in the blender with a bit of sour cream added to make it richer and more filling. I still have wendy's chili several times a month, it has become a regular part of my diet, high in protein and fiber and low in fat. I have the recipe but it is easier to just order a cup and eat it on the run. That is one of the few fast food items that I still eat. I have loads of post-op food ideas, I was starving after day 3 and I was lucky my doc had a pretty short post-op restriction for food. I was back on solids in 2 weeks. But I was creative for those 2 weeks. I also developed a terrible stomach flu over the holidays and had to be on liquids for 10 days. If you have any other food questions, just let me know. ~Mandy

Not really a chicken lover, but the swansons broth was sooo good after all the sweet of the pre-op diet I was on. I was looking forward to beef but the canned stuff was gross, I poured it straight down the drain. Luckily I had a stroke of brilliance while still planning my surgery and decided to freeze all the fluids that came out of my crockpot. Mmmm, roast water! The garlic and rosemary flavors were comforting and incredibly substantial..for clear fluids.

Add to your packing list...slip-op shoes, lipbalm, and rolling luggage.

LipBalm? Why?

Also, my DH will be my rolling luggage.

I think the rolling luggage is for patients going to Mexico for the airport. The lipbalm is for the very dry lips that you have after surgery, I wasn't allowed to bring it to the hospital, they gave me a glycerin (sp) thing for my lips. And ice chips to suck on. I also had to wear the leg compression stockings until I was released to go home, I wore my burks to the hospital so they were easy to put back on for the ride home. ~Mandy

I was planning on taking a very attractive MuMu (House Dress) for the ride home and bringing a pair of slip on shoes/flip-flops. Yep... I am going for the supermodel look...Will pack the lip balm just in case.

I am having a hernia repaired at the same time. Do you think the one hour car ride home will hurt that? Oh... I am just trying to find something to worry about I guess... Seems like every little thing is getting to me now.

Doing well on my pre-op today though. No slips at all yesterday or today!

You guessed it, dry lips. I was banded in Mexico when my home state is damp almost all the time. I woke up feeling like I had journeyed through the desert. I was parched and my lips would crack whenever I smiled, ooch. I picked some up at the pharmacy when I got my pain meds but would have liked to have had it in the hospital. I went the dress route too and was very glad I had packed one. About the hernia, I think you are lucky to get all the uncomfortable stuff done at the same time. Recovery isn't fun, but you are killing two birds with the same stone. I think you will do great, take care.