Pammy S Lewis

having the same problem today thanks for the info.

hi all i'm 4 days post op and feeling great today! i just wanted to share some info for people about to have surgery that i wish i had known before going through a lot of trial and error. i ended up spending WAY too much money on different Protein powders because they were bad. some wouldn't dissolve at all in Water and were a chunky mess, some were gritty, etc. so here's my suggestion, which you can take or leave. i bought like 5 different kinds of Protein Powder and EAS seemed the best to be in terms of taste and it also dissolves completely in water when you just stir it. no blender needed! i bought this cup with straw at target and put one scoop in and about 4 oz of water and stir it with the straw and it works great! washes right out without having to scrub gunk at the bottom. you just have to be really careful about using a straw because you can gulp too fast. you need to take tiny, slow sips out of it! chocolate and vanilla because you tired of just one really fast. http://www.amazon.com/100%25-Whey-Protein-EAS-Resealable-Chocolate/dp/B003UPOK58/ref=sr_1_3?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1300648895&sr=1-3

you should meet with a nutritionist through your doctor. if not, definitely ask why because it's important. i'm one week post op and just went to my mtg and just started on soft mushy yesterday. she said 60 grams of protein a day (up to 80 for big guys) and keep fat below 3mg per serving. that's what mine said, but i just realized she never said how many calories! i just started tracking everything on fitday.com and it's an amazingly useful site to diary on, love it! there's also a free iphone app that syncs with the desktop version. you can search for generic foods or create your own using your own labels to input the info. it tracks protein, carbs and calories and weight/goal. it seems on my 2nd week diet right now, i'm eating about 500 cal a day, but that seems pretty low.

what are you supposed to do so that doesn't happen? just leave the water in it? or do you have to do something else.

don't feel overwhelmed. just feel organized and fully informed. i felt like i didn't have enough info so more is good. hope your surgery goes great!

i went to dr jeremy korman and he has offices in miracle mile and marina del rey. i had it done 3/15 and have been really happy with he and his staff. he met with me personally, no group mtg (i did it at the miracle mile office, i think they do group mtgs though in mdr). here's the marina del rey info and the phone for miracle mile below that. http://www.labariatriccenter.com/ Miracle Mile Outpatient Surgery Center 5757 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 6 Los Angeles, California 90036 PH 323.964.0866 Ask for Joseph Rubin also, cedars sinai has a lap band program. i don't know anyone who's had it there, but i can't imagine it being bad since it's one of the best hospitals in the world. http://www.cedars-si...eight-Loss.aspx

i know, i'm really happy i found this site. have found a ton of great information and it's so reassuring to hear stories about people going thru the same things. i feel like it's way better than going to a support group (for me at least because i don't have time!)

hi jen. i got banded on 3/15. no kids but happy to be an auntie to several. i'll kick you in the bum if you do the same.

i was told by the nurse at my dr's office that it's because i'm in ketosis. she said it's absolutely normal (i was banded on 3/15 too and just started on soft foods today and noticed that it's better). i think it's just mainly bad when you're on the fasting diet. don't chew gum though. i asked if i could and it's on the no list for a while. just brush and use listerine if you can.

yikes, they can do breast augmentation now thru your navel! that's crazy!

i think it depends on the dr what advice you get. mine never even mentioned anything to me about it and i read about it here! i've been crushing mine and it's fine. better to be safe.

i am 5'4" and weighed 174 when i went in and under the new fda guidelines i was ok to do it. my insurance, however, would not cover it so i had to self pay. but i didn't have any health issues besides high cholesterol, which was taken care of with meds. you may have to go through a lot of tests and get a sleep apnea test to see if you can qualify with your insurance that way. otherwise, there is also financing.

love the quote about church in your sig line! funny.

yes definitely. i also had a lot of pain in the center of my chest and called my dr and spoke to a nurse. she said it's extremely common. mine went away completely and i could breathe fine after about 4 days. it's been a week and i feel great now. hang in there!

i had a ton of anxiety the first couple of days after surgery and kept thinking that i had made a huge mistake. it's been a week now though and i feel like i made the right decision. i had to so some relaxation exercises and get myself centered because the anxiety was driving me crazy and i felt totally off balance. once i started feeling better and got myself grounded, it went away. hope you feel better about your decision. i think how you feel is pretty normal.

my surgery was pretty whirlwindish. i went and met with the dr for the first time on march 2nd and my surgery was 2 weeks later on the 15th! unfortunately my insurance wouldn't cover it because i fall within the new fda guidelines for people 50lbs or more overweight and insurance companies aren't covering all of these yet unless you are diabetic or have a serious condition caused by the weight, which i don't (mere high cholesterol wasn't cutting it with blue cross. i did think about eating a piece of candy before going to my fasting blood sugar test though! ha). i felt it was important enough to me though so i just decided to self pay, which is a bummer. but at least i got it done.

i know! i'm dying too. i miss it SO much in the morning. it's hard to even get out of bed knowing i can't have coffee!

on the day before surgery i was told to eat a light breakfast and then do protein shakes and liquids for the rest of the day with nothing after midnight.

i went to dr jeremy korman and he has offices in miracle mile and marina del rey. i had it done 3/15 and have been really happy with he and his staff. he met with me personally, no group mtg (i did it at the miracle mile office). here's the marina del rey info and the phone for miracle mile below that. http://www.labariatriccenter.com/ Miracle Mile Outpatient Surgery Center 5757 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 6 Los Angeles, California 90036 PH 323.964.0866 Ask for Joseph Rubin also, cedars sinai has a lap band program. i don't know anyone who's had it there, but i can't imagine it being bad since it's one of the best hospitals in the world. http://www.cedars-si...eight-Loss.aspx

had my surgery on 3/15 and i'm feeling almost back to normal. just went for a walk with my dog and am getting out and about more every day. have lost 8 lbs but i wonder how much the weight loss will slow down once i stop eating. thank god for the liquid diet at first to give you some quick weight loss / hope and incentive!!

hi! good luck with your surgery, hope it goes great. i realized that i got really sick of just one Protein drink so i wanted to buy another flavor. also, i had bought broth in chicken veggie and beef and then when i tasted them i only liked one so i ran out of it really quick. here's what ended up working really well for me: - EAS Protein powder - i bought like 3 different kinds and some were horrible and i wasted a lot of money. this one's great because it mixes easily in Water with a spoon and tastes good. some of the other ones got goopy or were gritty or i had to use a blender. - cartons of low sodium beef broth. this worked when i felt hungry because i felt like it has flavor. it tastes good alone whereas the chicken and veggie seem like a base for cooking. also, i would put a splash of non fat milk in it to make it creamier. - non fat milk. i hate non fat milk and was surprised how great it tasted!! - white grape juice. the juice you drink needs to be clear and without pulp so this seemed like a good choice. you have to be careful with it though because it has a lot of carbs so don't drink a lot of it. i ended up watering it down and only taking a couple sips of it maybe twice a day. - sugar free popsicles!! these have been great! after surgery your throat will be kind of scratchy or sore from the breathing tube and this helps. - sugar free Jello. really great when you feel like all you're doing is drinking. you can kind of (sorta) chew on something a little bit. my suggestion is when you eat it to chew it or let it dissolve a lot in your mouth before swallowing it. when i first ate it, i just swallowed big pieces and didn't go over well with my tummy. - WATER!!! you need to constantly be sipping water all throughout the day. absolute necessity. - magazines or dvds - i got bored with tv pretty quick and wished i had bought some magazines or got some dvd's. i didn't feel well enough to actually read and those could have helped with the boredom. - thermometer- i felt like i might have a fever and was worried about infection. called my dr and he i needed me to check my temp so i had to go out and get a damn thermometer because i didn't have one. ended up being fine and didn't have a temp, but a good thing to have on hand because it's one of the things they tell you to call them if you have a temp. for the first couple days you might be sleeping a lot but you should try to get up and walk around your house at least once an hour or every 2 hours or so. the more you walk and gently move around, the faster you will get rid of the gas inside of you, which can be painful for some people. i had weird neck and muscle pain from it. ok, and here's my biggest piece of advice: for the first 2 days, i was drinking WAY too much Protein shake at once and i was getting chest pain (which is actually band pain). go by what your dr says to drink, which is probably around 4 oz at a time. and sip slow. half way through it, actually set it down and wait a bit. the hardest thing to get used to is how to go so much slower but you need to be gentle with your tummy.

lucky girl! i had my surgery 5 days ago and i'm definitely hungry and already wanting real food!

i want to take a shower!!!! AHHHHHH!!!! do they take it off at your 1 week follow up appt?