My date is March 11th. I went to my pre-op appointment & class yesterday (02/26) and started my 2 week liquid diet. I've done well these first 2 days and hoping it'll go as smoothly hereafter. I figure that I'll be able to eat the things that are around me in the future but I need to hold out for now. I'd hate to go in for surgery & get closed back up because I didn't lose enough weight!

I bought the Isopure whey Protein mixes. I bought a couple different flavors & mix them for variety. I've only used Water to mix because I'm not sure if we can use skim milk. I have a call into my dieticians office to find out.

I hope there's some other people with 03/11 date. Please reply if it's your date! Thanks!

SoBrien...You are doing so good! Exercising 2 hrs. a night....wow. You are really motivated. I walk 2 miles every morning before work and I really enjoy it. It's been cold but how cold is really cold when you live in Louisiana...right? I actually have a treadmill but I prefer to walk outside. Ah well, Spring will be here before you know it. A new season and a new me!

OTBT: Thanks for all the good tips, especially the one about Protein supplement receipts for tax purposes! I never would have thought of that but it's true. It is medically necessary. I ordered the unjury yesterday but I think I'm going to get some ISOPURE just to change it up. 12 lbs. lost...hooray! I think we are all going to do well.

I can't really judge my weight loss like everyone else because my first appt. was in early November of last year. I weighed in at 221. After discussing it with my husband, I decided to put off the surgery for a few reasons. First Thanksgiving and Christmas were right around the corner and their schedule was pretty booked thru the holidays. Think about it. Everybody tries to schedule a surgery while they are on vacation so they don't miss much work time. Plus I wanted to have my turkey too! :thumbdown: Also, I already had a trip planned to NY with a friend of mine in mid-February. That was fun. So now I'm back and when I weighed in again last Friday, I was down to 212.

I figure I gained a good many pounds over the holidays so I probably went up before I came back down....especially now that I'm on the Optifast. So officially, I'm down 9 but I know I'm on my way!

I have to second the thank you to O2BT -- great idea about the protein! And, if you're like me and your doctors are a little farther away, you can keep track of the mileage you rack up for these medical issues to deduct next year.

I'm now on day 4 of liquid Protein, and I just wanted to share my experience yesterday. I woke up at 4am RAVENOUS, fought it off for an hour or so, then remembered what my doctor said: Don't go hungry on this pre-op phase, just drink some more protein as long as your daily carbs are below 50g. So there I was at 5:30am mixing up a shake, drank it, took a bath, and went back to sleep for another hour.

Like O2TB, I'm just fantasizing about the next phase: post-op, liquids with no carb limits! Velvety smooth Soups, here I come! :thumbup:

Hi to all! I am scheduled for surgery on March 11 at Louisa, Ky with Dr. Velcu. I am also very excited and nervous! So is everyone drinking Protein shakes on their liquid diet? I haven't been. I've only been doing SF Jello, broth, and crystal light. I must admit I'm starting to get hungry! Is there more I should be eating. My Dr. just told me Clear Liquids until surgery.

I know what you mean about the hubby being "not so supportive". I dont know if mine is just worried or what, but he's not very positive about the whole process. He says I will regret it because I enjoy eating so much. I disagree, but hes hard to convince. I think hes just afraid something will go wrong.

A friend of mine recommended the unjury protein drinks. She says she has tried many and she likes that one the best, so Im planning on trying those. So do you think I should be drinking them now? I was thinking I was supposed to wait until after surgery. Anyway, its great to talk to people who are sharing the same experience! This site is a great comfort to me!:tea:

Didn't your doctor give you a diet? Gosh, how can you like for days & days on just Jello & broth? It'll be 2 weeks that I'll be on my liquid diet pre-op (ie. Protein shakes that're low in carbs & sugar, sf popsicles & jello, broth). Then again, a wife of one of my husbands co-workers just had lapband done & she had never heard of pre-op liquid diet. I guess it depends on your doctor. From what I understand, our team at the hospital I'm goint to were the 1st & 2nd doctors in the country to perform lapband surgeries, so I think they know what's best to do. Then again, I don't have your doctor. However, I'd think that protein shakes are definitely part of a liquid diet.

Oh way, we're @ "T - 4 day" and counting!!!! Horray!

You should at the very least be drinking Isopure Protein drinks (available at GNC)!!! You absolutely need the protein. If you're only allowed Clear liquids right now, that would be the answer. I haven't personally tried them, but lots of people here recommend them for clear liquid Protein.

If you are allowed Protein shakes, then get unjury. But since you'll need to order it (I believe you can only get it online), get some other isolated whey protein that you can grab at Walmart or whatever. You need protein asap!

If you can get hold of your doctor (it being Saturday now), call him to check what your options are. If not, go with the Isopure. It's really important to stay healthy for your surgery...

P.S. I'm sorry, did I forget to mention, you need protein?

Here's a big good luck and prayers to all of us for "rebirth" this week!!! Try to get on-line as soon as you all can so we know how everyone is!!! :smile2:

God Bless Us!!!!!!!

March 10th--> TOMORROW!!!

Sobrien32

EAbadie

March 11th--> Tuesday!!!

Me (O2BThinAgain)

Chica

preKteacher

March 12th--> Wednesday!!!

mom007

Yes! Can't wait to hear from everyone! Can you believe it's finally here? See you on the other side....:biggrin2:

I am on March 11th too and I will be starting my pre-op diet on Monday morning. I am finally prepared for this and just anxious to get it over with.

Good Luck to bossstar also!!!! It's FINALLY here!!!!!!!!

I start my pre-op diet in 30 minutes and I keep thinking that I need to get a steak in my system immediately! Ofcourse I would not know where to get one at 9:30 in the morning.

The next couple of days will be interesting. Good luck to everyone.

I am STARVING on my pre-op diet! Thank God there's only two days left on it. Actually just the rest of today and tomorrow, then surgery for me on Wednesday!

I've been making progress though. I bought a scale for home (I've never owned one) and as of this morning I've lost 9 pounds from my pre-op appointment last Tuesday. I'm thinking it's going to be +/- a pound or two because it's a different scale and not the one at the Dr.'s office but for the most part I think that's pretty good!

Good Luck tomorrow O2B! Make sure we get an update and let us know how it went!

Hey guys. Today was THE day. Everything went fine and I'm doing good.

We had to be at the hospital for 7:00 a.m. and I when I got there, I was quickly whisked away to Pre-Op. Stayed there until about 9:20 a.m. During this time, I was asked numerous questions about my medical history, medications, etc. Then they put in an I.V....twice. The nurse lost my "connection" on the first try. (You should see the big bruise that's forming.) They also wrapped my feet in these warm devices that squeezed my feet on a set timer in order to promote good circulation and prevent blood clots. The rest of the time, I was allowed to sleep until my surgeon arrived.

After I saw him, it was time. They wheeled me into the operating room and really, after that...I don't remember a thing! I woke up in Recovery from a good, deep sleep. It felt like a dream. I could hear my name being repeated over and over again. It was the nurse waking me up. I finally came to and became alert very quickly. Here's what I was feeling as far as pain:

I had a lot of pain in my left shoulder. The nurse said that was due to excess gas in my body...it was very common. My throat was burning from the tube they had to stick down during surgery. I also had soreness in my belly from the incisions and the port. All in all, it was not too bad.

They immediately gave me a shot of Demerol and that completely got rid of the shoulder pain. :biggrin2: It also subsided the pain in my belly. They gave me ice chips for my sore throat which really helped. Pretty soon, I was brought to the room called "Recovery, Phase 2" which is the one you go home from. I walked to go to the bathroom...they were very pleased. I was just happy to get to pee! After a little more rest and another walk up and down the halls, they were ready to let me go. They gave me another dose of oral pain medicine to get me through the ride home and the trip to the pharmacy. We ended up leaving about 1:30 p.m. The whole experience was a good one. I really recommend that hospital --Southern Surgical Hospital in Slidell, LA.

So now I am home and trying to focus on taking in my fluids. They said I needed to average 4 - 6 ozs. per every waking hour. I am doing well. Tonight I had some Ramen Soup for dinner....(without the noodles). It went down ok. Just have to sip everything and not rush it. Of course, I'm sipping on Water and I also had a small popsicle (no sugar) that was basically flavored, frozen water. That really soothed my throat.

My belly is getting more sore as the night comes on. I plan to take some pain medication before bed. My dressings are ok, but I've had to change some gauze out because I was bleeding through. Incisions are really small.

All in all...I think I came out really good. I can't believe how smooth everything progressed. My unjury came today and I will start that on Day 3-Thursday. They actually count today as Day 0.

To SoBrien...Hope you are doing ok. I'm thinking about you! And here's a big shout out to my friend Kourtney who also got banded right after me today! Hang in there girl!

For those tomorrow and Wednesday: I am keeping you all in my prayers and thoughts. I know you will all be fine. I am so glad for all of you. It has not been bad at all so I hope I was able to ease some of your nervousness and concern. If I can get through it, anyone can! Take care and God Bless!

Congratulations, EAbadie!! That's awesome that you're up to sending such a long note tonight after all this. It gives me hope that I'll be in as good shape tomorrow night. I can't wait to report in when I'm done. Off for my last shake, a popsicle, some water, and then a sleeping pill. I'm too excited to fall asleep on my own tonight! :blushing:

EAbadie, your post made me feel very confident as I am leaving for the hospital in 10 minutes. The seriousiness of the surgury did not set in until I told my wife and daughter goodbye this morning ... my wife and mom will meet me at the hospital later.

My surgury is set this morning for 11am and I am just ready to get this over with and begin to work on a new thinner me!

Well I have been home now for a couple of house and feeling a little sore but it is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

Admitted: 9:20am

Surgury: 11:00 am

Home: 3:00pm