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Sometimes the idiotic things men say astounds me!!!!

My doctors have been doing wls surgery for a long time and are a center for excellence. There is a rule about absolutely no carbonation. This can cause stretching and I believe it and it can cause your band to slip. Have u ever put a new balloon on a bottle of coke? Watch it expand and stretch, the balloon does not go back to its original tightness. Over and over this will eventually happen. We needed wls surgery because we stretched our stomachs out from over eating in the first place. Follow what rules you feel like but I will follow them all. I haven't had carbonation in about 15 months and I could care less. I would rather maintain my weight loss then try to see if it a myth or not.

@shauna yes i start it wed its liquid and very soft foods until day of surgery

Hey Girl, I am just 2 days Post Op and the majority of my pain has been in that area as well. I have just been taking my pain meds and Gas X strips with decent relief. You are not alone!!

I think this forum is a micro version of any group of like-minded people you'd find anywhere. If you walk into a room full of people, you'll find some who are nothing but positive, some who are nothing but negative, and most who "go with the flow." The personality types who are strongest will lead the conversation, and try to convince others in the room to think the way they do. It's human nature. For me, the LBT forum has been a great resource, not necessarily because of just the good posts, but because of ALL the posts. Even those who are all doom and gloom, who SCREAM EVERYTHING IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS WITH SIXTEEN EXCLAMATION POINTS AFTER EVERY SENTENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It isn't because I agree with everything being said, but because I can take that post and step back, comparing it to how my own journey is going. I'm not going to experience the same things everyone else does. My band is my own, and my body's response to my band is also my own. I can learn from the experience of others, and not have to experience that problem to learn from it. I consider the general aspect of the post, whatever its topic is, and compare it to how my own journey is going. I may or may not reply to the post, if I think I have anything to contribute that may help talk that person down off the ledge a bit, or help to allay the fears of a newbie who is not sure just what the heck is going on. Time and experience brings perspective, and sometimes all people need to hear is a few calm words, so they can relax a bit. My experience with the band is often that what I was told pre-banding is a bit (or a lot) different than what has materialized post-banding. The people I talked to pre-banding at my surgeon's office are medical staff, but none are band patients. They have theoretical experience, but no real-world experience. I immediately realized their comments have to be considered in that light. I made some friends here at LBT that I communicate with offline, whose experience I can compare notes with, but who are having their own journey with this. I found my own experience is very personal, so I turned the mirror inward, and I focus on what is working for me, and how to avoid the pitfalls I see others fall into. Things have worked out well for me, because I've been able to understand what is happening inside my own body, and I've been able to respond to my own situation. I'm a generally positive person by nature, and I find I'm someone a lot of people come to for advice. (Not just about banding, but about a lot of things in life.) I try to be helpful, but usually turn the freaked-out person around to step out of their crisis of the moment, to step back, and think of things with a clearer head. Most of the time, people find their own answers, and they're appreciative that they had someone to consult. In that room full of people I first mentioned, when I hear the totally negative person trying to recruit kindred spirits, I'll tend to keep my mouth shut, or I may offer a pointed comment to give others something else to consider. If someone asks my opinion I'll share it. But throughout I'll consider the source, and cut the negative person some slack. I've learned some people try to make themselves feel better by gathering a crowd who'll stand with them and cheer them on. The advantage I have is being able to set aside such comments, because I know the person is only being emotional about the topic because they're highly invested in the situation (especially as a bandster), and things are not going as they expected it would. Those same people tend to come back later much more relaxed, once the crisis has passed. So for me, it's all about listening to my own experience and common sense, taking things I read here with a grain of salt, and considering the source. If someone is repeatedly negative just for the sake of being negative, I just stop reading their posts. Life is too short to try and educate those who won't learn. And when absolute push comes to shove, I try and follow the sign I saw on the wall above the desk of a former boss, who was a shoot-from-the-hip, damn-the-torpedoes, seriously contrary person of the highest degree. The sign said: "When they're running you out of town, try to get in front of the crowd and make it look like a parade." Dave

Hi all, I was really nervous about telling my family about my decision to get the Lap Band. They are all out of town until shortly before I get my lap band, so I sent the following email. I hope this helps others in ideas of how to break it to loved ones (though you may do it in person, you could use this as a script). It must have worked as they responded that they are all on board! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear (loved ones) I've made a really big decision in the last week: I'm going to get a Lap Band. I'm not sure how much you know about this so I'm including several links below. I've been researching this for a few months now and have met with several surgeons who exclusively do bariatric surgery. I've picked one named Dr. (your surgeon). THIS IS NOT GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERY OR ANYTHING DRASTIC LIKE THAT! It is FDA approved for anyone with a BMI over 30, which is considered Obese. I am well into that category. It has been used for 10 years in the US and 20 years in Europe, and my surgeon has done several hundred of them. I have to have blood work, x-rays, a psychiatric evaluation, and a few other tests done before we can move forward with setting a date, but I'm hoping it will be sometime in July. You may wonder why I am doing this. Here's a partial list: (customize this list, of course) 1. My health is deteriorating rather quickly due to my weight. I am now (put your health problems here). I want to be around to see my grandkids! 2. I took (my son) to Legoland and after 1 hour my feet, knees and ankles were killing me. I was in pain most of the day and couldn't enjoy myself. This has been going on for a decade. 3. I spend 90% of my day thinking about my weight and how ugly I feel. This affects me in psychological and social ways that are hard to understand if you have never been obese. 4. After losing 50 lbs. the year before last, I have put 30 lbs back on in the last year, and will probably gain another 30 this year if I don't get this done. This despite working out 4-6 times a week. 5. This surgery is especially effective for over-eaters like me, who have problems with portion control (as opposed to grazing all day, having lots of Snacks, or binging on 1000's of calories at a time.) 6. My weight has been a constant struggle for 25 of my 39 years now. It's time for something to change once and for all. 7. While I could probably lose the weight myself, I'm clearly unable to KEEP it off, which is one of the benefits of the Lap Band. You keep it indefinitely, but is fully reversible if there are any problems. 8. The surgery is done laproscopically so it is very minimally invasive. It leaves 3-4 tiny incisions. However, it is still considered major surgery and I will have to take from 2-5 days off work until I recover. I may need some help from you guys as far as rides to the outpatient surgery center and back, or helping me during the first couple of days of recovery (getting my pain meds at the pharmacy, things like that). After a lot of research, I have learned that this is not a quick fix, but merely a tool. I am expected to attend support groups, meet regularly with my nutritionist and physiologist (exercise expert), and eat very healthy as every calorie will count since I'll be taking in relatively few calories (between 1000-1200 a day). I will be on a high Protein, low carb diet that has been tailored for me by my nutritionist. I will also be expected to exercise 5+ times a week. People do fail with the lap band but it's because they don't do these things. I want you to know I have seriously researched this and it's not something I'm jumping into. I have a plan…I will be eating 500-700 less calories a day than I burn just by sitting around. Add 500 calories burned 5-6 times a week by exercise, and I'll be losing about 2 lbs. per week. This is not to say this is no big deal. There is a small chance of complications (for which I am buying insurance). None are life threatening or anything but could require another surgery. A few people out of 100,000s of surgeries have died doing it but this is very, very rare. A few could not handle the anesthesia. I have been under full anesthesia before so I am not worried about that. My surgeon also reassured me that because of my relatively young age and "lower" weight (compared to the 300 lbs. or bigger that he commonly treats) that I have a much smaller chance of complications, and will heal faster. I will be on a very strict diet for 10 days before my surgery to get my liver shrunk as much as possible. I will be on an even stricter diet for a month after surgery. For example, liquids only the 1st week, pureed foods the second week, "mushy/blended" foods the 3rd week. The lap band affects different people in different ways. I may get lucky and be able to eat any type of food I want, except in limited proportions. However, it is likely that there may be some foods that will be off limit to me indefinitely (lest I get sick). The most common foods that are not tolerated are bread, steak or other chewy meats, some pastas, and fibrous vegetables like celery or asparagus. So, if we are out eating and I'm being particularly picky in what I will eat you will know why. I will be eating 4-5 meals a day. They will only be about ½ cup, or a few bites. So don't be surprised if a lot of my food goes home in a doggie bag! There are a couple of unpleasant side effects which many people experience. If you don't chew your food thoroughly or eat too fast, it can get "stuck" and that can be anywhere from uncomfortable to painful. The same behavior can result in "productive burping", which is just a nice way to say you are vomiting up slimy stuff. I have been told this may happen, especially at first, but they will be very memorable experiences and I will work to rectify the bad behaviors for sure! I'm telling you these yucky details because I may need to get up and excuse myself to the ladies room while we are out having dinner. Note that regular, persistent vomiting and not being able to keep ANY food down is not considered normal and will be fixed by the surgeon by reducing the restriction of the lap band. This is done without surgery, but by taking saline out of the band through my new little "port". I will have a little "port" in my belly somewhere. It's a little round circle and it can be seen sometimes if I was wearing a bikini. It is impossible to imagine myself in a bikini so you will probably never see it! I will also have a few little scars in various places around my tummy. So there's lots more info I could tell you but I'll leave it to these links to teach you the basics: Manufacturer's website: http://www.lapband.com/en/home/ My surgeons site: (Enter your surgeons web site) My surgeon on Channel 3 )enter a video of your surgeon talking about the lap band, if available) Dr. Oz Show, Part 1 http://www.doctoroz....nd-surgery-pt-1 Dr. Oz Show, Part 2 http://www.doctoroz....nd-surgery-pt-2 Biggest Web Forum for "Bandsters" http://www.lapbandtalk.com/

Hi there! I have a high BMI and am getting banded tomorrow morning. I didn't have a liquid diet, I had a goal. I was told to lose 20 lbs. They would THEN schedule surgery. I did this with a high Protein, low carb diet. It's very possible to do and I am a picky eater and did NOT want to live on salad. I ended up losing 23 lbs and was able to get my date. Guess what, I did VERY little exercise so adding that will speed up the process. Here's some foods I ate and some ideas: cheese sliced from a chunk (This is usually lower in fat than the string cheese but the string cheese was an alternative to convenience) * String Cheese * Cottage cheese (I would add garlic salt and some pepper, you can add fruit but keep in mind that fruit can have a high sugar content, especially if it's not fresh and has been sitting in syrup or juice * Cream Cheese (I would smear some on a piece of lunch meat and wrap it up. Make lettuce wraps with lunch meat and cheese!) You can even have sour cream! *eggs, I usually made an omelet with ham and cheese or had them scrambled. Meat- for dinner if I wasn't into a salad I would do the following: * Bake or BBQ chicken breast. My favorite was adding just a little virgin oil or spraying some Pam in a skillet and adding the breast with some Mrs. Dash. If your feeling crazy, I would mix a little mayo with some hot sauce and lightly spread that on, it was AWESOME! Stay away from BBQ sauce! Even Ketchup was something I avoided all together. * Bacon, Not the leanest but it was a treat and I enjoyed it with my eggs on occasion! * Beef, I would make a roast in my crock pot and add carrots, onion, garlic and celery. It's great by itself. * Ground beef, I would throw some in a skillet with garlic and drain the grease. You can also make a meatloaf and add veggies to it. * Ground Turkey, Bariatriceating.com has an amazing recipe for turkey strognoff meatballs. I made them on Easter and they were a hit! You can also just throw this in a skillet and get creative as well. Make a lettuce taco, add tomato, sour cream, onion! drinks *Crystal light became my best friend! You can even freeze some and make Popsicles. Refrain from using juice because of the carbs and sugar content. These come out more like ice cubes and are hard to bite BUT it keep the hand to mouth going and lasted longer so I felt like I had more going into my body. *Protein Drinks were a big help and my Breakfast on the go! I use Hydro whey from GNC in chocolate. It's 30 grams of protein, 2 carbs and no sugar. It tastes REALLY good in milk. I would even add some instant coffee crystals and it would taste just like a cold mocha! Let it sit in the fridge for a couple minutes to let the coffee crystals dissolve. You can buy some through GNC and if you don't like it, take it back for a FULL refund. Can't beat that! Work I work in an office with no break room or kitchen so the fridge and microwave was my friend. I also cut up summer sausage and would eat that with my cheese slices or my lunch meat wraps. An extra Protein Drink is essential for when you get a hunger kick. I always keep a variety of Crystal Light flavors in my desk. Raw Almonds or nuts would help with a crunch as well as pork rinds. Yep, pork rinds! I didn't want to kill everything I had been doing because I wanted chips, I wanted the crunch! They sell plain, BBQ, spicy and a variety of other flavors! No carbs in pork rinds and they have protein. Not something that will fill you up but will satisfy your need for a crunch! I DID NOT eat any of the Fiber bars, Protein Bars or anything like that. I was VERY strict with my carb intake and kept it a minimum! A lot of those still have a nice chunk of carbs. My Mom thought she was doing well with watching her intake until I pointed out the 20 something carbs per bar she was eating. I was having less than 20 carbs a day, let alone in one bar! Everyone is different and it's all a matter of getting creative! If you throw in some exercise, you will be in GREAT shape. Don't get frustrated with the scale. I would hit a plateau and get so upset, only to drop a couple pounds more the next week. You can do it! P.S. I was NEVER hungry and always allowed myself something to eat if I was. You do not have to starve. I am in fact glad things were done this way and I didn't have to deal with the liquid diet before. I will be on enough liquids after and since I'm working, even today, day before banding, I was afraid of being weak. Not the case and am glad things worked out the way they did!

If you are just starting out I would advise you to do a lot of research. Definitely go to the seminar. Get the book "Bandwagon" which is pretty informative. It's time to put yourself first. If you keep giving and giving without replenishing yourself you just get very drained and burn yourself out. It's nver too late to turn your life completely around and take the wheel and steer it in a new direction. You owe this to yourself and you CAN do this! Best of luck on your journey!

First of all, congratulations on getting approved, and best of luck with your procedure. Six months ago I was in almost exactly your situation: approved for the surgey with a BMI of 31 and co-morbidities (severe asthma and sleep apnea, chronic back pain, and pre-diabetic). I was very scared the surgery wouldn't help me enough because I also had difficulty exercising, and I thought that would make the post-op regimen ineffective. Boy, was I wrong! I've lost 60 pounds since the operation, and I'm just 5 pounds away from having a BMI of 25. The surgery itself is no fun -- it's laproscopic but not pain-free, so expect a few days of pain and limited mobility. But know that every moment of that pain will be worth it. Once you're on the road to health you'll barely remember the pain of those first days. The secret to making this process work is to start out with the knowledge that the surgery won't "fix" you -- it just gives you that extra bump that allows you to stop eating when you've had enough. The most important thing is to make healthy food choices. Depending on how loose your band is at the beginning you can usually eat anything you want after the first few weeks -- that doesn't mean you should! Make substitutions whenever you can. sugar-free Jello isn't exactly ice cream, but it will satisfy your sweets cravings. Turkey burgers grilled at home are much tastier than McDonald's. Focus on getting lots of lean Protein -- fish and chicken can be prepared countless ways, with lots of delicious low-calorie sauce options. Use variety to keep from getting bored. The exercise issue is very important, but you can start slowly -- try just walking slowly on the treadmill for 30 minutes, and work your way up from there. I promise, the more weight you lose due to eating healthy, the more progress you'll be able to make at the gym. Before the surgery just 20 minutes of walking left me winded, and forget about climbing stairs. Now I live in a 5th floor walk up (which would have killed me at 250 pounds!) and work out at the gym three times a week. The best advice I can give is to Celebrate every victory, no matter how small, and keep moving forward. This won't be a success-only journey; there will be days you gain a little, or can't make it through your work-out. There'll be days when you have a slice of a friend's birthday cake, or go out for cocktails. And that's all OK -- we live in the real world, and if you have unrealistic expectations for yourself you'll just get discouraged and eventually give up on your goals. Every time you take a step back, just resolve to yourself that you'll take two steps forward the next day. Take things day by day, and wake up every morning excited to know you'll be just a little bit healthier by the time the day ends. Best of luck on your journey!

I have thought about this a fair bit and I have come to the conclusion that 'carbonated drinks stretch your pouch' is a myth. It just seems a bit trusting to take that statement at face value. For a start, there are actually two holes for the gas to escape, either up or down... if food is blocking the down bit, then up it comes... I know that from experience LOL. The pouch is made from an elastic material and the brief time a little liquid is effervescing in it is not enough to permanently stretch it. I know if I drink carbonated drinks too fast that I pay for it either by burping or it coming back up... but I don't believe it can stretch our pouches. I am not advocating drinking sugary or alcoholic carbonated drinks... all I'm saying is that I don't think a bit of sparkling Water, soda water or sugar free diet sodas is going to be bad for us. We have to deprive ourselves of so many things, why deprive ourselves unnecessarily?