Hi, everybody,

I saw a lapband (lb) surgeon today for the first time. I really need to have the surgery and suspect I will do well, but I am wondering how badly I will miss the food I love now. Do you crave what you once could eat? Do you still eat pizza or Pasta or are those strictly no-nos? How much time off from work will I need to recover from the surgery? Thanks for your help.

Hi there Demi,

I had my surgery on 11/03/08 and I am doing very well. Although I don't have any saline in my band yet (I go for my first fill 11/25/08), I find that I obviously have some restriction because I can't eat as much as I used too. And trust me, that was quite a lot. I don't really have too many of my old cravings that used to pop up out of the blue and I had to have it. I think the two week liquid pre-op diet helped with that as well to rid me of my carb addiction. I can sometimes be enticed by people eating "forbidden" foods around me but I've learned to always ask myself am I really hungry before I put anything in my mouth. If it is something that I probably shouldn't be eating I ask myself if I want that more than I want to lose wait and reach my goal. For me that usually works. I guess it just depends on how bad you want to stick it out and make the band work for you. I think the most important thing too is to learn to listen to your body. When I am no longer hungry I stop eating whether there's food left on my plate or not. This was very hard for me to learn, as a matter of fact I still forget sometimes and am painfully reminded by the growing tightness at the top of my stomach if I don't stop soon enough. This is a very hard lesson to learn coming from a not so well off background and having it drilled into your head to eat everything on your plate "because little kids in Africa were starving to death." As for me I'm taking off the full month from work because there's no light duty on my job and I have to be fully functional when I return. I think most surgeons recommend a week if you do desk work. I wouldn't recommend any sooner than that because for me during the first week sitting up in a straight back chair was still uncomfortable at my port site. Your doctor will discuss all that with you once you get the ball rolling. Good luck, I hope some of this info is helpful.

Hi, AngelicOne, thanks for the reply. Knowing what you know now, you would do the surgery all over again?

When you eat too much or the wrong foods, how much time do you have between knowing you over did and vomiting? Can someone make it to the bathroom on time? Also how hard was it to fight the hunger pangs while on liquid diet only. Online several doctors say to stay on all liquid for 21 days because one can stretch or hurt the sac (and not know it until much later - or never know it at all)? What liquids could you enjoy during that time? Thanks so much for your reply.

By the way, can you eat pizza?

Demi, I would do it all over in a hot second! The band has given me a new found motivation to stay on track that I just couldn't find by myself. As for the vomiting, that hasn't happened yet and I hope I don't have to experience it. I haven't had my first fill yet so I am still able to eat a good size portion just not as much as I could prior to the band. The discomfort that I feel from overeating is a sort of tightness at the top part of my stomach. I think as long as you chew chew chew and stop when you are no longer hungry you shouldn't have anything to worry about. The first day I started my liquid diet I did good all day (while I was at work) but that evening when I came home I had a freakin' melt down and raided the refrigerator. Everyday got a little easier after that. My meals usualy consisted of 3 protein shakes a day, as much sugar free jello, pudding, and popsicles as I could stand and my personal favorite, egg drop soup. The egg drop soup was my lifeline. It was the only thing that kept me sane during that period. Sugar free jello with lite or fat free whip cream on top is a really nice treat too. If I got too hungry and really needed to eat something I would have a little protein like a piece of chicken breast or some other source of protein. I felt that was the lesser evil. I lost 17lbs in two weeks so it was worth it. As for the 21 day liquids I don't know about that. I was on full liquids for two weeks prior and then 1 week after the surgery. When I went back for my 1 week follow-up I was told to start mushies. I did that for about a week and now I eat whatever I want as long as I am able to chew it really well. I am of the opinion that you can't hurt your pouch without hurting yourself. In other words there will be some pain associated with stretching out your pouch and you'll really have to push the limit to do that so follow your docs instructions and you should be fine.

About the pizza, it is one of my absolutely favorite foods but strangely I haven't been tempted to try it yet. I'm basically sticking to a high protein, low carb diet which seems to be working because I have lost an additional 10 pounds in the 2 weeks since the surgery without the luxury of any restriction in my band yet. Just remember to always chew chew chew and stop eating when you are no longer hungry. If you wait to stop eating when you feel full, it's already too late. And follow your docs instructions and you will do fine. I am always here if you have any questions or just need to chat. Good Luck!

hey hope your surgery goes well,mine did i was banded oct 20th,was so easy that part ,i didnt even get bad gas like others do,i wish u the best lmk how things went for ya good luck

AngelicOne,

I am so excited for you that you have lost almost 30 pounds in 4 weeks! WOOOOW! So fantastic!!! Way ta go! You go, girl! heee hee hee. That is so excellent and what an encouragement for me. How do you feel AO? Mind if I call you AO or Angela in my notes? Even with 20+ pounds less you probably feel much better, huh?

Also, thanks for your reply and for your kind offer to be there for me and available for my multitude of questions. I appreciate it and I'll take advantage of your offer.

When the doctor calls me, I am going to see if I can have the surgery done in May. I am going to be out of town for a couple of months between January and April and don't want to have to worry about having/not having time to recuperate and get used to my new life. AO, can you sleep in any position you want? Does your incision site or insert hurt? Can you feel it when you sit down?

What if anything do you wish you knew before having the surgery? Can you swallow Vitamins? You know, since I know that LB surgery is in my program I have started thinking about every bite I take for size and chewing. How much food do you eat at a time, 1/2 a cup? Do you eat every few hours? Do you drink lots of Water? How about coffee in the morning? Ha, am I the question queen or what? :drool: Did you put your food in a blender during the mushy stage? I know I will find out the answers to many of my questions when the dietician calls me for another appointment, but it is so much better to get it straight from someone who has just had the surgery. Also, how much do LB surgeries cost in your area? Mine will cost around $20K but my insurance should over most of it. Did you stay in the hospital overnight? Phew! So many questions. I think I'll let you go so you can get some rest before you begin my answers! Also, it's time for some dinner. Congrats, again, for your great progress! Good Luck to you, too!!! :w00t:

LOL-Don't feel bad about all the questions. I was in your shoes once and somebody was there for me. We're kind of alike in that way. In the weeks before my surgery I tried to soak up every little tidbit of information I could find. It helped to occupy my mind during what seemed like a never ending waiting period also channel all my nervous energy. My mom on the other hand (who BTW will be banded 11/26) is the exact opposite. She said she was so stressed out trying to get through the process that she would just get frustrated and throw her hands up. It's funny how people handle stress differently. I notice that alot in my patients. You could have two different patients with the same terminal diagnosis. One will research the internet and the research journals and absorb every piece of info they can find. The other will go on as if they never knew and pretend that nothing has changed. But anyway, I digress. I guess I'll just list the Q&A to make it easier.

1. How do you feel AO? At this point I feel almost good as new. The only mild discomfort I have is at my port site when I try to bend over to pick things up from the floor from a standing position. This is the only time I notice any discomfort at all.

2. Mind if I call you AO or Angela in my notes? You can call me AO if you like. My real name is Angeletta but everyone calls me Angel, hence "Angelic One".

3. Even with 20+ pounds less you probably feel much better, huh? I feel loads better. I am (was) an insulin dependent diabetic and prior to the band I was taking almost 300units of insulin a day in increments of approx 40-50units, 5 or 6 times a day. My fasting blood sugars would usually run close to 200. After the first week after banding I checked by blood sugar one morning after having no insulin since the band and it was 97. I cried. I also am (was) on meds for hypertension. No meds since band and my last reading was 116/75. It hasn't even been a month yet and already it was worth everything. I'm sure you can guess how much I've saved on meds alone this month.

AO, can you sleep in any position you want? I'm a belly sleeper so it was difficult at first. The first 2 or 3 days I spent at my Mom's house in her LazyBoy recliner, a life saver. After that I alternated from my back to my right side. My port is on the left and it was still uncomfortable to lay on that side. After about a week and half I went home and was able to sleep on my belly but with a small pillow under my left torso to keep pressure off my port. For the past few days, I've been able to sleep on my belly with no discomfort.

Does your incision site or insert hurt? All of my incisions are healing well and I don't have any pain except very mild discomfort at the port when bending over.

Can you feel it when you sit down? If you've ever had a large incision or wound that developed scar tissue underneath then you'll know what the port feels like when I'm sitting down. It just feels like a small indistinguishable mass below the skin. But when I'm standing or lying flat I can palpate the exact shape of the port. But before you panic nothing is visible through the skin and you have to palpate pretty deep to feel it.

What if anything do you wish you knew before having the surgery? I wish I knew how quickly my medical problems would have improved and I wouldn't have waited so long to get the band.

Can you swallow Vitamins? I probably could because I don't have any restriction yet, but my doc recommends chewables so I use Centrum orange flavored chewable Multivitamins and chewable Tums for the extra Calcium.

How much food do you eat at a time, 1/2 a cup? I'm still learning to reset my pattern of thinking so I do things like fix a size plate that I would for a small child if I were fixing their plate. This will help to keep things in perspective until my eyes and my stomach are in agreement. This means overcomiing years of poor eating habits and way too large portion sizes. Because I don't have any restriction, I'm still able to eat well over a 1/2 cup but I always make sure I listen to my stomach and stop eating when I'm no longer hungry, whether there's food left on my plate or not.

Do you eat every few hours? I usually try to eat something every 2 1/2 to 3 hours just because I know that will help boost a healthy metabolism. The most important thing I do for myself is train myself to ask one simple question before anything goes into my mouth. "Angel, are you really hungry?" If the answer is yes then I eat, but if the answer is no then I try to figure out what it is I really want. Another difficult task of overcoming years of emotional eating and comfort seeking behavior.

Do you drink lots of Water? I have a 24 oz container that I try to fill and drink at least three times a day. When I can't get all the water in I supplement with Crystal Light, a most wonderful invention! I'm really practicing that whole not drinking while you eat thing but I've got some work to do in that area.

How about coffee in the morning? I'm not a coffee drinker so I don't have this problem but I know we're supposed to stay away from caffeine.

Did you put your food in a blender during the mushy stage? I'm kind of lazy so I tended to stick with things that were already mushed like applesauce, mashed potatoes, that sort of thing but I kept with my Protein shakes to make sure I was getting in enough protein.

Also, how much do LB surgeries cost in your area? I think it is about the same rate here, about 20K but mine was covered under insurance.

Did you stay in the hospital overnight? My surgery was about 2pm and I spent the night in the hospital and was discharged by about 4p the next day.

I think that was all of your questions so far. If I missed anything or if you think of anything else, let me know. I'm only a few clicks of the keyboard away.