duckydoom

Just a question for anyone who may know - are we able to take Probiotics after surgery? I have super tiny ones, acidophilous pearls that I figure could fit through the opening no problem, but I haven't had the chance to ask my doc yet... it is on my pre-op appointment questions list though! Also, what about activia or other yogurts claiming probiotic benefits?

I plan on first doing Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred and then P90x or ChaLEAN extreme. I'm curious to hear more about DailyBurn though... is it an app?

That's a toughie - I understand where you're coming from, and it's good to know all of your options ahead of time. I was considering saving up for the MX trip if my insurance fell through, but didn't have to take that route. I asked my doc about complications and the possiblity of revisions or removal, and he said that in his practice they only had a handful, and they were all done out of country and that the patients had to pay out of pocket to have it fixed. Based on that conversation I'd say I'd have to agree that there probably is no recourse - have you checked w/any of the docs in MX to see if there are any waivers or anything that they'd have you sign indicating release of liability?

Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar is what we take at my house - it's a lifesaver. You can usually find it in the healthfood section, or you can order it for pretty cheap on Amazon. I already have problems with regular heartburn, so I have to admit I'm semi nervous as to how it will be when I have the band.

My facebook profile pic (and my profile pic on here as well) are from 3 years ago. It's mortifying to see my recent pictures, and even though I've committed to it, I hate uploading my videos to youtube because all I can see is how awful I think I look. It's so weird - I can look in the mirror and think that I look relatively decent, but as soon as a camera goes on me, I'm horrified with the image that reflects back. I agree with some of the above sentiments - I never really realize how big I have gotten until I see photographic evidence. Sigh... I can't wait to update my danged facebook though, lol. I'm sure my friends and family are going to be sooo annoyed.

Have you discussed this with your doc? I used to have that sort of pain and my doc suggested that I reduce my fat, though not completely (gotta get the good stuff of course), and start drinking liver detox teas. It helped me, and my liver enzymes were much happier on my next blood test. Obviously don't take my advice w/o consulting your doc, but that might have something to do with it. How much do you normally consume in fat per day, do you know? Maybe it's a reaction to sudden fluctuations in sugar and fat intake. I am not sure. I'm sorry you haven't been feeling well though

I'm not "liking" the fact that you aren't feeling too happy with yourself, but I am "liking" your attitude for wanting the surgery - I can't keep up with my husband or my dogs at all, and that's one of my big reasons for getting the surgery. I'm tired of hurting with little to no exertion, and I can't wait to be able to be more active. Good job on losing weight on your own so far - I'm struggling with that right now, I'm pre op and have 5 lbs to lose before I'm "at or below" my required weight for surgery (Aug 21), and I'm starting to panic and struggling with not loathing myself and loading up on the negative self talk for not having the willpower, being fat and gross etc (all of the wonderful things my mean girl side tells myself... sigh). Best of luck to you, and before you know it she won't be able to keep up with you!

I think that the assumptions are the worst. It's bad enough to get it from the general public, but I'm starting to get it from my family as well. They'll load up extra food for me, or make a big production of "Oh, I made extra of your favorite dish just for you!" I don't know if that's more annoying, or being asked if I'm finally pregnant. I do have to admit though, and I'm so ashamed of this, now that I'm getting so close to my surgery date and am painfully aware of what I'm eating, I'm also really aware of what others are eating and finding myself judging them for their food choices. I know what it feels like to be food shamed/fat shamed/whatever you want to call it though, so I'm careful not to call it out... but it's so weird to have that attitude. All I can think is "agh, now I really know what people think of me when they see me with food!"

I'm in the same exact boat - reading that was like reading a bit of my own biography, lol. Good luck on your journey from here on! It's going to be a life change, for sure. I'm totally ready to adapt myself, and it sounds like you are, too! Keep us posted on your date. These boards are seriously awesome for any information you might need. Take care!

That's my problem too - I work in a call center/production environment, and everyone is always bringing in treats and offering them. Its frustrating since I'm trying not to make it well known that I'm having the surgery (I work in an office full of women and they gossip!), but I've made it clear I'm on a diet... but they still offer. I know they mean well, but dang. We also have monthly potlucks that you're expected to keep filling your plate at - I've actually had it mentioned to me that I only had one plate, why didn't I have more, I'd hurt so and so's feelings for not trying their dish etc.

This is a hard one. I'm not even sure what I'll title this post yet, since I'm not entirely sure how to phrase the question. I'll start by explaining my situation. My mom is anorexic, and has been struggling with it since her teen years. She's 5'9 and maybe 120#, and has a very hard time eating anything. She exhibits the typical behavior patterns - avoiding food, complaining about her weight and body, etc. I am on the other end of the spectrum though - I'm 5'6" and 230 lbs, and can't stop eating. She's constantly telling me I'm beautiful, she loves my curves and she doesn't know why I think I'm fat, why I'm getting the band, etc. She's reasoning that my doctors are only "pushing me to the surgery to get money," and that BMI scales are invalid and some sort of tool used to fat shame. It's opened up a lot of painful discussion between the two of us, she's asking me lots of questions about the band, is disbelieving of the amount of calories I can consume on any given stressful day, and is trying to talk me out of it. It's really frustrating because I'm trying to tread lightly. I am trying to encourage her to move forward in her recovery, but at the same time my desire to lose weight seems to be triggering her. Her determination to lose more weight and talk me out of this surgery is triggering me... all I want to do is sit and eat everything in sight. My husband is an amazing support in this... but has anyone else had a similar situation? How did you deal with it? thanks for reading...

Ugggh... yes. My mouth will literally start watering when I'm watching someone eat something delicious and forbidden to me, whether on TV or in real life. Drives me nuts and makes me feel like a huge weirdo.

I started my self impost pre-pre-op diet (I am pretty sure I'm going to have to start the 2 week preop on August 3rd, but I won't know til my appointment.) So far it's lean proteins, really low carbs, and lots of water! I know it'll take me a few days to get into the groove of things - I started last night - so while I had broccoli and fajita meat for dinner last night, my husband made himself pancakes. I almost died, lol. I'm craving carbs like a sonofagun right now, too. All I have to remind myself is "This too, shall pass." It's funny how my body seems to not really care about/crave something until I decide to mentally cut it from my diet. Head hunger be damned, I tell ya!

Wow! I'm glad your husband was there - I'm sorry that happened! I have issues getting in all of my Water even now, but I cart around one of those 72 oz ridiculous looking water bottles and make sure I finish one daily. It's hard to adapt to at first, but within a week my body was actually craving that much water, and I started to feel super cruddy without it. I hope you feel better soon!

Congratulations! That is so inspiring and just.... awesome Thank you for sharing, and inspiring!

I just bought/rec'd Centrum chewables. I haven't tried them yet, but the nutritionist said they will work. She also wants me to take an additional Iron supplement though - any suggestions? I've also started my subscribe and save on Amazon for Muscle Milk light. It's not the most amazing tasting, but again approved by my nutritionist...

So no other Aug 21sts? I'm worried, too, though the worry is going away as I get closer. I'm not on my liquid diet yet, but I'm doing a Dukan Attack-style approach before then to get used to eating less and primarily proteins. It's kind of hard thus far, which is why I figure I should start training myself now. I've been drinking Muscle Milk light, my phone nutritionist said that's okay, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they'll switch me to something like Optifast for the 2 week preop and then post op.

I am so sorry that happened! It's really frustrating for me to read stuff like that because I work for an insurance company (an ***, so referrals and stuff are required)... I process claims now, but I started in customer service and it was always of the utmost importance to make sure that I got the info to my customers correct the first time. I had lots of folks calling for info on the different bariatric surgeries, and my calls would always be long - I wanted to make sure they got all of the information that they needed so stuff like this wouldn't happen. You should ask if they do what's called a "service recovery." We did those when people were grossly misquoted their benefits - told something would be covered when it wouldn't (like an office visit covered in full w/just a copay but we forgot to say if there was a deductible or coinsurance or something). It was rare when we gave them, but when they were justified they were granted. Again, I'm sorry that they messed it up so many times! That's so ridiculous. So to make sure I'm understanding right, you just have one more visit with the PCP, then you get your surgery, then your 6 month followup? Regardless - good luck!

I'll try to explain I don't quite understand the concept myself - I just remember last year I was going to just take vacation time to recover from a tonsillectomy, and my boss freaked. She wanted me to apply for the FMLA just in case I had to take more time for any more issues related to the tonsillectomy, it would all fall under the same case and wouldn't be considered unscheduled time loss. This time I just went ahead and applied for the FMLA so if I have to take any time off beyond my scheduled two weeks it won't count as an unscheduled absence that I'll be dinged for. I think it gives you extra protection if you have to call in - at my job I can have up to 6 unscheduled absences a year and up to 3% time loss without getting into trouble (one absence counts as calling in for an issue - so if I had a 3 day flu it'd only count as one occurrence). I still end up using my PTO days, they just code it as FMLA instead of vacation time. So if you've got 60 sick days, you should be able to just notify your HR and then they'll code it as FMLA - if you need more days it won't be an issue. At most, they'll probably have you take a form to your doctor indicating how long you'll be out of work, your expected return date, and if you need light duty or anything like that. If I remember from my tonsillectomy stuff, that's all I had to do. Our time loss is handled through an outside company now, so they contact the doctor for that sort of info, I don't have to be the middle man anymore. I'm pretty sure I just rambled on there, but hopefully it makes sense, haha. Just goes to show how little I know about the process itself

I submitted my time off request and my FMLA request on the same day. I was approved for the time off already, but the FMLA is still pending at this time (but it won't affect me being able to take the time off). I took two weeks as well, one for vacation, one for recovery. I just told my supervisor that I'm having stomach surgery. I work in an office full of women and they tend to be nosy, lol.

I like your attitude about all of this. I see the band as being a tool to help me lose my excess weight and get back to a healthy place for me. Quite a few people I've talked to see it as being a method of "cheating" or an easy way out, but looking at these boards and reading the pros and the cons of the surgery, noting the lifestyle changes required and the commitment needed, it's definitely not the easy way or cheating! I have a friend of the family who had the band and now that she's heard I'm getting it is totally against it. She had it done 3 or 4 years ago, but had it completely unfilled because she couldn't get any breads or pastas down, and "could barely eat anything." She determinedly did not follow the rules, and thought that it would just magically cure it all, so now she's touting the failure of the band, not of her choices to make it work. I'm set to be banded on the 21st of August (I can't stop talking about it I'm so excited lol), and I'm already incorporating more of the changes I need to make into my diet (weight watchers helped me revamp quite a bit, but it wasn't enough to really make a dent in my weight). So, you're doing great, you have the right attitude, and based on what I've seen on the boards thus far of post-op stories, that's the biggest part of success

One is a Great Dane/Lab mix and the other is a Boxer/Rott mix. They both weigh about 120 lbs apiece, and even though my Dane is almost 7, they still run me ragged at this point!

Right now I'm focused on sizes, simply because I hit my highest size limit (which for me was a 20), and I want to be able to fit into the 15/16 clothes I've bought within the last year. My weight goal is 139, but my size goal is 11/12. It's just hard to pinpoint for me because I find so many discrepancies in sizes out there, ya know? I know my body type is broad and muscular, so it really varies from brand to brand (I can still fit in 14s of some brands and 20s of others...)

Hello, and welcome to the boards I've found that they've been super awesome in helping me prepare... I'm set to be banded on 8/21 If you ever wanna chat, just let me know. How far along are you in the process?

I saw my doc on April 24th, I saw him again on July 5th for a 10 minute visit after all of my info had been compiled to make sure I was sitll wanting the surgery. I won't see him again until August 21st which is the date of the surgery,and I'll probably be knocked out then, lol. My next visit at the office is August 3rd to meet with the NP and nutritionist to start me on my liquid diet... but I haven't had much contact with the office at all, to be honest.