lizzy2150

Yes, yes, yes--find another doctor. Get a second opinion. And a third, if necessary. The doctors I've talked to said they would repair any hiatal hernias and not a single one of them said anything like "unless it's too big." Don't get sad--take your (insurance) money elsewhere and get even!

Melissa: I suggest that you bring this issue up with your surgeon when you see him at your next post-op appointment. Make sure he knows you're upset. Doctors rely upon their staff to pass on the important information and help take care of patients, and he needs to have it impressed upon him that his staff was not doing a good job. In my opinion, anyway.

I choked down cottage cheese the other day because it's an approved snack. I HATE cottage cheese. But I needed to kind of chew! Wow. Anyone else suspect that this pre-op diet is also intended, in part, to help us learn to fight these cravings before we can do damage to our band by giving in to them?

Lorelei: I'm having the opposite problem. Ick! I bought Benefiber tablets and am sad to say that they're making up a lovely part of my pre-op diet. It's pretty pitiful when chewable fiber tablets are a dietary highlight.

I highly recommend this DVD and band set: http://www.amazon.com/Gaiam-Pilates-BodyBand-Workout-Kit/dp/B000O1J5U6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309111289&sr=8-1 It's a gentle way to get started and the instructor (Ana Caban) discusses ways to customize them. Also, it includes a couple of bands with different resistance levels.

My doctor said to wait four weeks to swim in your own pool and six weeks to swim in a public pool, lake, river, or ocean.

Butterfly: I just finished day 3, and it's already fine for me. Day 1 was horrific--I was cranky and mean and ugly. Day 2 was better, but I was still not a nice person. Today, I was hardly hungry at all. I think it must vary from person to person, but I've seen lots of posts where people say it gets easier around day 4 or so. . .

One of my brothers is a surgeon and I asked him once if they notice this kind of thing. First he snickered. Then he said he doesn't even think about it--he's always concentrating on the surgery, not anything else. So I'm not going to think about it either. (Of course, he's a trauma surgeon, so many of his surgeries are probably a bit more intense than installing lap-bands. But still. Not gonna bother.)

YES, Lorelei! Me, too!!!! I can't wait to get out of the fat chick clothes and into normal sizes! I also want to be able to run around and play with my 14-month-old without getting out of breath.

Stan: Don't beat yourself up about it. I'm sure LOTS of people go off the diet once or twice. Think of it this way: the diet is designed to shrink and soften your liver to make it easier for the surgeon to manipulate the liver to get at the stomach. If you eat 1000 calories for 13 out of 14 days and 1500 calories on one of those days, you're still going to ultimately reduce and soften your liver. Now, if you ate a cheeseburger every day, you might be in trouble. But once? Don't panic. Just take a deep breath and get back on the diet. I guarantee you're not the first person to fall off the wagon on the pre-op diet, and plenty of them went on to be successful bandsters. Just don't use this as an excuse to do it again. (I say that because I know that I could easily figure out how to rationalize doing it several days in a row--but I REFUSE to this time!!!) We're here to support you--you can do this!!!!!!

I don't know about the weight-loss stalling out, but for the cold/illness, I suggest you talk to your regular doctor and call the surgery center in Mexico and ask what you should do.

Yay, Amy!!!! I checked in here tonight just to see what had happened with your situation. I'm glad you got it worked out! I was not pleasant today (my first on the pre-op diet), and I got to have a little bit more than just the shakes. I bet my family members were wishing I lived alone!

Oh, the head games!!! I could so totally work my way around this pre-op diet if I let myself by working out "equivalents" and then eating, eating, eating. I'm having to fight that urge. And yeah, I've had the "Hey! I could lose the weight THIS way instead!" thoughts. But clearly, I can't. Or at least, I can't KEEP the weight off. But I made it all the way through my first pre-op diet day without cheating. I'm counting this as my first NSV. (Baby steps. I have to take this in baby steps.) I'm practicing using my creativity--the kind that would usually allow me to rationalize cheating on the pre-op diet--to work on coming up with interesting ways to spice up my Protein shakes. For my last shake of the day, I used vanilla powder and added pineapple chunks, skim milk, imitation coconut flavor, and imitation rum flavor, then blended it up with ice. It tasted like a piña colada. Yum!!! Anyone else reading Bandwagon? I'm really enjoying it; it has a lot of good advice/information.

Hi, all! I started my pre-op diet today (daily: 2 Protein shakes, 1 bowl of Soup, 1 yogurt, 1/2 cup cottage cheese and unlimited sugar-free jello) and I am STARVING. And cranky, too! I'm glad that my dr. doesn't require me to give up caffeine, though--I don't think I could take that on top of how I'm feeling right now. Those of you who have already started the pre-op diet: this does get better, right?

I'm starting my protein shake diet tomorrow. I'm in an odd place, emotionally--totally freaking out and completely excited. Anyone else got seriously mixed feelings about this whole thing?

I absolutely would get it, but it's not available in Texas (as I found out when I checked their website). *sigh*

Jachut: I always LOVE reading your posts. I'm an American with a Ph.D. in British literature, and I enjoy watching the ways in which your language usage differs from (or adheres to) either American or (purely) British idioms. My favorite one was a post in which you suggested that someone "suck it and see"--a phrase that would probably cause most Americans to do a double-take. (But as I understand it, it's the equivalent of "try it and see what your experience is"--It originally applied to a candy, right?) But that's British AND Australian, yes? Anyway, hooray for cultural and linguistic diversity. And boo to grammar errors and horrific spelling.

So last night, I was reading the forums and was talking to my husband about all the people who have lost over 100 lbs--and in the course of the conversation, my husband FINALLY figured out that I'm planning to lose 100+, too. He freaked out a little--not over the weight, exactly, but because he was suddenly worried that I might lose it too quickly and damage myself (as if the weight weren't damaging enough!). Bless his heart and all (to use my favorite Southernism), but he just doesn't get it. He's never had a weight issue. If he starts putting on weight, he goes for a run every day for a week and gets rid of it. And despite nursing me through a horrific pregnancy made worse by weight, it didn't really occur to him that I had THAT much to lose. Once we talked about the lap-band more and I gave him more information, he felt better and started working out ways he could support me in this. I keep laughing over it--and it makes me happy because I can't figure out which is better: a husband who loves me so much that he apparently doesn't even realize how overweight I am, or a husband who is willing to suddenly start planning meals he can make for me once I have the lap-band. I feel lucky to have both in one!!!! Feeling thankful for my support system today!

Ha!!!! Amy, your story cracked me up! Don't feel bad about it at all--companies send doctors those samples to hand out, and I'm sure he doesn't care if his patients take them!! (That's what I would be telling myself, anyway--'cause that sounds EXACTLY like something I'd do!!)

It sounds to me like your doctor is a bit of a bully. You have every right (indeed, a legal right) to know exactly what kind, size, etc. lap-band you have. Your doctor might be trying to help, but it seems to me that by not answering your questions, he's damaging your trust in him. If I were you, I would let him know that I wasn't happy with the way that appointment went--politely, but firmly. But then, I tend to be pretty assertive with doctors. . .

Just installed it--thanks for the recommendation!!

Hey, Crash! We have matching surgery and PreOp start dates; I'd love to cheer each other on!

My surgeon said that in his experience, banded women with PCOS tend to lose weight a little more slowly than those without PCOS, but that we cysters can lose as much weight long-term. And he's banded himself, so when he says it's all about the long-term, anyway, I believe him!

Hey, Smushieface! Are you having your surgery done by one of the doctors at Ft. Worth Lap Band? (Dr. Smith is my dr.) Why/how did you choose banded plication over plain ol' lap-band? I've been considering it, but I don't know if my insurance would cover it. . .

Hi, jmar! I am in Texas with BCBS and it's paying for most of my lap-band surgery on July 6. I am more than 100 lbs. overweight and your story sounds much like mine--only I took longer to get to the lap-band part. I'm 40 years old, and just about the time I turned 35, I started a downhill slide physically that ended with me being virtually bedridden. I've got all sorts of health issues because of the weight. I take a slew of medications. I have terrible asthma. I was fatigued all the time. Losing even 36 lbs. has given me back tons of energy. (I was also finally diagnosed with PCOS, which was a trial in itself. Starting on Metformin even though my blood sugar was on the high end of normal helped with the fatigue some, too.) My doctor says that if the fatigue is/was hormone-related, losing weight will help because fat messes with hormones (that's simplistic, of course, but true nonetheless). All that to say that I've had recent health issues that sound similar to some of yours, and my BCBS is covering me for lap-band surgery. They approved me in four days. I'm hopeful and optimistic for your chances of approval, too.