I've done it -- survived my 1st week of banded life and I FEEL GREAT!!

I guess I am one of the lucky ones -- no problems with surgery -- I was up walking and peeing right away. I discouvered that one of the differences between the clinics and going with a Dr. at a hospital is you get a room for the 1st night (just to be on the safe side) -- let me tell you Humber River Hospital is really nice -- the nurses really care! and they take good care of you too (a pleasant surprise, since my previous hospital stay at Sunnybrook was a nightmare)

I took everyone's advice and made sure I walked as much as I could (arthritic knees) even if it was just circles around the house (living room, dining room, front hall, and back through the living room again).

Full liquids was not too bad, the biggest problem I had was spending 15 minutes eating a 1/4 cup of cream Soup ... or 1/4 cup of anything ... even using a baby spoon to make sure I did not take too much at one time, and "chewing" anything with any substance (cottage cheese) I find that I can make things last about 10 mins max.

The other thing I hate is the Protein drink -- I've been mixing as directed, then measuring what I'm supposed to have, double diluting it and adding ice and Chrystal light -- I'm getting it down, but not enjoying the process -- give me nice plain Water any day.

Good news it that I did loose another 5 lbs .... so onward and downward I go

Big excitement is that tomorrow morning for Breakfast I'm going to try scrambled eggs (I LOVE Scrambled egg).... and for dinner I'm having mashed potatoes (another favourite food).

... and my journey continues ...

Pat

Congratulations CraftyLady - I'm on day 2 of Optifast and am doing fine. I like the Opti, and other than a headache, am not feeling too deprived. I'm glad everything went well for you. Keep us posted on progress.

I have 2 questions for your Cindy D. How much Protein is in the Opti? Why do you think you have a headache? I was wondering if liquids only will produce headaches. I was just curious.

New2tch

I just pulled out the nutritional information on the Optifast box:

• Calories: 225
  
• Protein: 22.5
  
• Fat: 7.5
  
• Carbohydrates: 16.8
  
• Sweetened with aspartame 61.3 g
  
• Sodium: 500
  
• Potassium: 750

Plus all the Vitamins that are needed. It is a complete Meal Replacement and is proven to be the best at reducing the fat in the liver - as the liver lies over the stomach, it has to be lifted during the procedure. A risk of handling the liver is tearing it - that could cause significant bleeding and create a major emergency. I'll stick to the optifast.

I think my headaches are simply from the change in diet - I am a carbohydrate addict and all of a sudden I don't have any. I'm sure they will disappear in a day or two - nothing a couple of Tylenol can't handle anyway.

Thanks Cindy D. for the response and thanks for giving me info on the liver. To be honest with you I have been involved about learning about the stomache that I did not consider the liver and where it is. Now I understand why the doctor wants the liver to shrink. I am going to look for the Optifast and give it a try. The Protein content is good.

new2tch

New2tch, I think you have do get the Optifast by prescription - it is not available in retail - my order was faxed to the the company and delivered to my home 2 days later. Are you being banded in Canada?

Each clinic seems to be a bit different in their directions. I know some physicians do prescribe Optifast as a supplement, but I have never asked mine for it - it was something that I had not considered on my own and I am surpised at how easy this is - at about 3 PM though I was ready to chew off someone's arm and a plate of cucumber and tomatoes took care of that - even managed to stay away from the salt.

HI Cindy and New2TCh -- I am still doing well, now 2nd day of puree and I was told I could even add "a few" raisins to my oatmeal -- guess what? I managed to make the porridge last a full 15 mins Maybe the extra 2 T of porridge helped as well

Cindy, I was on Optifast as well - and my Dr. actually had it for sale in his office. Every Dr. / clinic is different, but Dr. Klein insists that his patients have the optifast - for exactly the reason you mentioned - to shrink the liver (and also so you loose a little bit of weight too). He told me that he would be able to tell as soon as he started the operation if I had been "good" or "bad", and that if the liver was too big, he would not even risk the op, so I would have wasted my time and $$. I stuck to the plan -- 2 weeks of NOTHING but Optifast -- by the 2nd week I discouvered that adding Chrystal light made a world of difference -- I could have a different flavour and was able to disguise the chocolate (not really a chocolate fan).

Tangerine Grapefruit makes a very good addition to Chocolate, and my favourites with vanilla were Summer Peach an strawberry Orange Bannana.

I managed to loose 15 lbs on the Optifast. Your amount of loss will depend totally on you, everyone is different ...

Nwe2tch - if you would like to see an interesting set of video clips about being banded, there is a series done by OBYGYN net that follow one of their editors on her journey into bandland -- these were done before banding became common in North America -- she went to Germany. I found them extremely interesting (and you will see the placement of the liver and how the have to lift it up before they can get to the stomach area)

I am sure the link is elsewhere on this board, but I'll repeat it here so you can find it easily:

OBGYN.net Weight Management Section

Cindy, I want you to know that I, too, had a headache right at the beginning, and yes, I think it has to do with the drastically different diet all of a sudden -- if you were a coffee drinker, it could be a bit of cafine withdrawal -- OH, if you are a coffee person,I was also told that I could mix cold coffee into my Optifast, or even stir in some instant coffee (and since my dr. seems to be one of the "strictest" with his pre-op requirements I'm sure it should be OK for you too.

Keep up the good work girls -- I'll keep posting on my progress as I go ... It is nice to have the great place to share info (and to get help and encouragement)

MaryPat.