Hey there fellow pre-op bandsters. I'm scheduled to get banded on the 26th, two weeks from today, and have been on a strict pre-op diet for two weeks already, due to the large amount of weight I need to lose to have my surgery. It's been a very difficult, emotional roller coaster experience. Immediately after starting the diet (two Meal Replacement shakes, a lean cuisine, and green veggies for hunger), I started feeling awful, headachy, and just downright miserable. I was also exercising intensely, because I wanted to prevent my body's metabolism from adjusting to the low calorie diet. My body went into starvation mode, and at one point, even gained a couple of pounds a week into the diet. After stopping the exercise on the advice of my nutritionist, I started to lose some weight, but I have not lost anything since Monday and am starting to get panicky again. I have 5.5 pounds to go, and if I don't lose it in two weeks, I will have to postpone my surgery. I haven't even bought my plane tickets yet (I'm going to Mexico) because my weight loss on the pre-op diet has been so slow and inconsistent that I don't feel confident about whether I'll reach that goal in time.

Anyway, I've also started to notice some menstrual irregularities since starting the pre-op diet. A few days after starting the diet, my period came about ten days early (on Halloween). It lasted the usual amount of time (4-5 days) and then it was over (or so I thought). Then a few days ago, I started to get rust-coloured discharge, which is something I usually get either immediately before or immediately after my regular periods. This has continued and now seems almost like a mini-period. This also, interestingly, started on the day that I was originally supposed to get my period in the first place. I'm not sure whether this is a continuation of the period I got on Halloween, or if it is a new one. Obviously, the rapid changes in my body have to be responsible for this, but I'm curious about whether any of you have experienced such menstrual irregularities on the pre-op diet or after the band.

Hi Vangirl,

I am pre-op as well, but I wasn't required to lose any weight or do a pre-op diet. My cycle started 2 days early this week, which is great because that means I won't be dealing with it when I have my surgery next Tuesday. I must admit that for the past two months, my cycle has come 2dys later than scheduled and normally I'm like clock work. That's neither here, nor there though because I'm not on a diet. I guess the fact that it came 2dys early this month is just a matter of it adjusting back to normal.

I completely digress though because I was writing to suggest something for weight loss. Have you ever read anything about colonics and the need for colon cleansing? It has many, many benefits and the best is that it clears (brace yourself) dried up waste/fecal matter that adheres to the walls of the colon over time and prevents our colon from extracting the nutrients we need from the food that passes through it. I say all this to say that this waste is heavy and if you get a colon cleanse, when it's washed away people lose anywhere from 5lbs to upwards of 20lbs. I asked my surgeon if he felt this would interfere with my surgery if I had it done pre or post-op and he said it wouldn't at all since the band doesn't interfere with the workings of the small or large intestine.

I planned on having a colonic cleanse pre-op, but I just haven't had the time to schedule it, but definitely plan on getting it done post-op. I thought you might want to schedule it to help with your weight loss and for all the other benefits it offers.

Good luck in your journey and I wish you much success! :thumbup:

Inspirations and blessings,

Nat

Nat,

Have you had a colon cleanse before? I've never had one, but it sounds like it would be a good idea, either before or after the surgery. At the same time, I'm a little scared of the idea. Never had anything go up or in, only out :thumbdown:

One of the things I've also been considering is going to one of those spas and sitting in an infrared machine. They say you can burn up to 600 calories (which I doubt) but maybe that might help to flush out some of whatever is built-up.

I've got 5lbs to go, to get to my pre-op weight loss goal, and it's stubborn!

-Vangirl

the colonic sounds like a very good suggestion. I'll keep that inmind for myself. Nothing like being squeaky clean inside and out!