Hi folks. I am in Manchester UK. I have paid privately for a band which is due to be fitted on 12th Feb.

I am 49 and have battled with 'our problem' all my life. I see this as my only option to spend at least some of my life the size I would love to be, and also a chance to give myself maybe 10 extra years.

Q1. I am on a pre-op diet that my doc gave me. 2 Yoghurts a day and 2 pints of milk with other fluids. This seems harsh to me but the doc tells me its to shrink my liver. I am just about dealing with it.

Is this the norm in the USA?

Q2. I have read lots about people being hungry afterwards. I will be so dissapointed if I am after this commitment and having spent so much money (£7k).

Is it normal to be hungry afterwards or does the band get rid of that feeling completely?

Q3. I have a mother-in-law who is an incredible cook. Guess who she likes to feed up?

What is the general plan for dealing with this type of thing and restaurants?

I am having my sx in mexico and the diet they suggested is slimfast for breakfast and lunch and a lean cuisen for dinner... plus you could eat all the green veggies and fruit you wanted anytime.I have my sx this friday and have dropped 17 lbs in 2 weeks.. it worked wonderfully and I was never hungry...also fiber pills can help with hunger.

Thanks for that, but the doc said that if my liver was too big he would have to stop the op and I would not get a refund. I don't know if this was just a way to get me to stick with it. Whichever, it worked I have stuck to it rigidley.

hey!!!!! i am in the same boat as you are right now. yes, it is normal for doctors to tell you to eat that kind of food, it is to shrink your liver, and believe me it is HARD! it is because you are not used to it. here is a trick that i use in restaurants. i order like a salad with meat on top for protein, and i ask the waiter to serve me half and put the other half in a to-go box, so i dont feel the pressure of eating a whole meal. i also try to look forward to what i CAN have, and not look at what i CAN'T have. hey, at least try it! i wish you the best of blessings, ~maddy

It is CRUCIAL for you to follow your surgeon's instructions re the liquid diet to shrink the liver--you don't want it nicked, do u? I had clear and some full liquids 2 weeks before surgery. Don't eat whole foods off the list before the surgery, even if some doctors let their patients. It's chancy.

As for being hungry afterwards, yeah. We're supposed to get hungry when our stomach is empty. It's healthy. Most of us don't know what real hunger feels like. The hunger comes--it goes. Drink if you're hungry. I'm told Proteins stave off hunger, too.

And look at your psychological hunger cues--the lapband didnt eliminate those, did it? And it didn't eliminate the emotional needs we when we ate. This requires serious psychological work, too, not just diet and exercise.

This all said, I know the band will make us fill physically full after we've eaten the appropriate SMALL portions.

Give your MIL your program after you talk with her. Maybe tell her how much you love her and have appreciated her wonderful cooking and all the other things that express her love and generous spirt. ANd tell her you're doing this for yourself, her son, grandkids(?), so you will live longer, healthier and fuller. And ask if she can help you.

YOu can't do all that at the restaurant, can you? But you can order whatever's on your program. Clear broth at first. You'll learn what works. There are loads of tips in this forum. I told my sweetie that I'll be snuggling next to him now and nibbling 20% of his meal.

He liked that.

He urged me to look into this and is so supportive. He only called me a Drama Queen once since I had surgery last week. hehe

Best!

1. all dr's give diff instructions for pre-op, even in the U.S. I know a lot who can only have liquids for 2 weeks prior. My pre-op diet was more lenient and I was allowed to have oatmeal for breakfast, Protein shake for lunch and a salad for dinner.

2. Not everyone feels hungry afterwards...everyone is different. I can tell you that I felt very hungry afterwards. There is a time between when u get the band and before you start to feel some restriction. It took me about 3 fills before I felt really good restriction and could only eat a little at a time.

3. You can still eat most food, just a little bit of it. You will have to change your habits by eating small bites and slowly (60 seconds b/t bites). The same goes for restaurants, order a smaller portion like an appetizer...but now that I think about it, UK portions are smaller than U.S. so you will have a "just right" amount, but may still have some leftover.

hey!!!!! i am in the same boat as you are right now. yes, it is normal for doctors to tell you to eat that kind of food, it is to shrink your liver, and believe me it is HARD! it is because you are not used to it. here is a trick that i use in restaurants. i order like a salad with meat on top for Protein, and i ask the waiter to serve me half and put the other half in a to-go box, so i dont feel the pressure of eating a whole meal. i also try to look forward to what i CAN have, and not look at what i CAN'T have. hey, at least try it! i wish you the best of blessings, ~maddy

Maddy this is an EXCELLENT point - love this way of thinking.. Truly the longer you do this the less you miss all that junk you use too eat - at least that's the way it has been for me - I eat healthy 98% of the time and once and a while I allow myself a small treat..

Grayom -

Each doc has diff preop diets - mine was oatmeal - shake - Soup - and some yummy portein bars

After surgery it will take a week or so for your appeitite to return - but yes you will be hungry at times- depending on your doctor you will be on full liquids (includes cream soups) for 10 or 14 days - then move to mushies for the same amount of time then soft then regular - you most likely will be instructed to eat 1/2 cup of food per meal - here in the US most doc's don't fill till 6 weeks post-op

Hunger - there is real hunger and head hunger - i can eat and be full no longer really hungry - but still want to eat - us fat people don't really know what hungry is (IMHO) we eat more with our brains than we do with our tummys - they are banding your tummy not your brain and imho i think most of our problems lie there

The band is not the magic cure to your issues with food - the band helps 25% of the time once you have proper restriction and the other 75% is up to you - you control the quality and quainity of foods you eat - only you can do the exercise that is needed to lose weight - the band is only a piece of plastic in your tummy - Once you have made up your mind to make the lifetime lifestyle change in your eating habits (low fat - sugar free) and add exercise in your life - it's a breeze - at least for me it has been. But I have finally realized that I want to live - I feel 1 million times better than I did 6 months ago - I am proof that the band works as long as you do the work too.

As far as you MIL cooking - once you are cleared from your post op diet you can have some - just not as much - and it depends on what she cooks - some of us can eat bread - some can't - some can eat chicken - some can't - it's a trial & error - eat slowy chew chew chew - and I can eat most thing if I follow the banders rules.

Good Luck on your journey -

I too had to do a diet beforehand to shrink my liver. It was a little harsh towards the end but Lord knows I didn't want my bigass liver getting in the way of my surgery so I just did it.

I have to admit I have been hungry today for the first time. It sucks, of course it does, but this time period is so small in the grand scheme of things so I just added an extra few spoonfuls of Protein powder to my slimfast today and have been drinking Water out the wazoo.

I have to keep remembering...NO PAIN, NO GAIN! I'm a self-payer too and I am treating this like gold and it means the absolute world to me.

Thanks for all that folks. I take on board all that is said.

My sister's Dr didn't require any pre-op diet but that was 4 years ago. She pigged out on Chinese the night before as her 'last meal'. Most Dr's do require the pre-op diet.

I think it's a good idea even if you don't have a fatty liver because it gets you ready for the 2 week liquid stage immediately afterwards. Instead of going directly from eating normally to liquids at least you've got the 2 week buffer zone to get used to it.

My doc has me on a 7 day pre-op and 6 week liquid only diet afterwards. That should do it!!!

So far with my doc, it's lose 10% of my weight, no diet... though I will be doing one myself to make sure I am really the ideal candidate.

the band helps 25% of the time once you have proper restriction and the other 75% is up to you

Lord, I hope that's just your experience and not the norm.

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Lord, I hope that's just your experience and not the norm.

I have heard many times that the band does 70% and the rest is up to you

Hello

I am in the uk and self paid for my op, I was given a heathly diet to follow, lucky for me no real hard plan. I thought I had put on weight b4 my op, as I felt like I was always having last suppers bad I know, but if I could follow a diet I wouldnt have to have been paying for this op, anyway lucky for me I had not and I had lost a little.

My op was fine and I went home on the liquid diet,no pain or anything.

it was a while b4 I had my 1st fill and to be honest I didn't feel anything when I did, so I went back 3 wks later to get another fill, I had put some weight on and I was gutted anyway he gave me my 2nd fill and I then found out how the band worked:rolleyes2:, I was not hungry at all to start of with and then I slowy started to get more hungry and my weight loss stopped(4mths later) which is when I just went for my 3rd fill, which was last thursday.

I am now tight!! but I dont mind I have lost 9lb since last week so I dont mind, at the mo I am eating yougurt only as other food is to much effort but I know as the weight comes of it will loosen.

I wish you all the best for your op, I started 22st 2lbs im now 17st 7lbs in 7mths. If this can work for me it can work for anyone. I still have the things maybe I shouldn't but I just cant have as much I will never be perfect, but I know I WILL be slim.:eek:

I have heard many times that the band does 70% and the rest is up to you

That sounds like a lot better odds