SashaWLS

The surgeon has to go in with tools laparoscopically and place the lap band around your stomach. They have to hold liver up and out of the way in order to place the lapband, and the liver is pretty heavy--especially if you did not do the pre-op diet! It's a completely unnecessary risk to not do the pre-op diet.

Meatloaf, eggs, scallops, chicken, salmon, turkey burgers, meatballs, chili, tuna salad, egg salad...

Yet another post that may show how crazy I am. Hope you're not getting sick of me. So, last time I weighed I was down 84lbs—about 25 of that in the last 3 months. I found out my pouch was slightly dilated, so I've been on liquids for almost two weeks. I must have lost a lot more in that time because I'm getting CONSTANT comments and compliments about how I look. Everyone I know is saying something, everyone's asking me about it, everyone tells me I look 10 years younger and amazing... That should make me feel good, right? So why is it freaking me out? I don't want to talk about it. I don't want anyone to look at me. I feel great, I feel like I look great. I love wearing new clothes (Like my new size 14 petite pants from the gap!! Wow!!!) But really, I don't feel so happy. I'm just really mourning food right now. Maybe it's because I'm on liquids, so that might pass when I start eating again, but I look at things I used to love and feel like I'm going to cry. I was at a big party last night and they had big vats of baked ziti. I had a few bites, but I wanted that heaping plate. I had a bite of cake, but I wanted my big honking piece with all that icing. I think it's finally sinking in that I will never, ever be able to eat like that again. And whoa, here come the tears. I'm crying as I write this. What's wrong with me?? I'm thrilled with my weight loss. I want this. I want to not be able to eat. And yet I feel like someone ran over my puppy.

greek yogurt hummus applesauce fork mashed canned peaches meat sauce (or chili, but meat sauce is thinner)

Hi there... You need Protein because after the surgery you'll be eating so much less that if you don't make a point to eat enough, it could hurt your muscles. And they're worried about calories because there are a lot of hidden calories in things like juices and ice cream that can slide down... But you don't really NEED carbs. Just try to get your protein and enough Water (so you don't get constipated) and you'll do great. Congrats on your upcoming surgery, we look forward to seeing you on the other side!

How did it go?????

I don't know that you can really make a mistake. Both are great options. That said, I chose the band because it's less invasive. I felt like why start with cutting out major organs if I could lose weight without doing that... But that's just me. :-)

I really don't understand all the focus on eating during the post-op healing period... I mean come on, what do you want?? Did you really care so much about a few pieces of dead animal or plant that you're willing to hurt yourself over it? Do you want to do what you've always done THAT BADLY?? Or do you want to change your life and get your act together? Your choice, but if you don't want to change your life, why bother with the surgery? I don't get it...

OMG how horrible! This is my worst nightmare!!! Definitely agree with getting small fills. Especially the closer you get to the green zone. There's no reason to get more than .1cc at a time when you're feeling pretty good. Good luck to you. I'll be thinking of you and sending good vibes your way!!

Look, at the end of the day, you're the one who has to live with the band, not your doctor. And while a doctor's advice should almost always be followed, you really can't substitute someone else's judgement for your own. Reading your post, it really sounds like YOU think you're too tight. And since there's no harm in unfilling, it sounds very sane and responsible to follow your gut. Good luck! I just had an unfill and feel awesome. Hopefully you'll feel better soon!!

The thing I wonder about is your feeling nauseous... Usually too tight manifests as heartburn, esophageal pain, getting stuck. But feeling nauseous? Is there anything else you're feeling? Is it possible you might have a gallstones? From Wikipedia: "Gallstones may be asymptomatic, even for years. These gallstones are called "silent stones" and do not require treatment.[7][8] Symptoms commonly begin to appear once the stones reach a certain size (>8 mm).[9] A characteristic symptom of gallstones is a "gallstone attack", in which a person may experience intense pain in the upper-right side of the abdomen, often accompanied by nausea and vomiting, that steadily increases for approximately 30 minutes to several hours. A patient may also experience referred pain between the shoulder blades or below the right shoulder. These symptoms may resemble those of a "kidney stone attack". Often, attacks occur after a particularly fatty meal and almost always happen at night, and after drink."

Public Service Announcement :-) Just in case anyone else out there is uncomfortable, yet fears getting a small unfill, I wanted to share how absolutely AMAZING I feel now that I got .2 taken out of the band!!!! I've been having great weight loss, so I wanted to stay super tight, but I was also having a bunch of annoying symptoms. Heartburn when I'd never had it before. Totally unable to drink anything cold in the morning. Not able to drink more than a tiny sip at a time. Back ache after eating. etc... Anyway, went to the doc for an unfill and now feel UNBELIEVABLE... I didn't realize that I'd end up feeling so good, or I would have done this a while ago... Every symptom went away immediately, and oddly, I'm actually less hungry between meals than I was before. So if you suspect you might be a little too tight, don't feel like you have to tough it out or you won't lose weight.

This is exactly why I haven't told people about the band... People ask how I've lost weight, I say "I saw a nutritionist" (technically true, in the beginning). People want to talk about it, I change the subject. People avoid the subject, GREAT! That's what I want... I think that if you don't want it to be a focus, then just don't make it a focus—either way. I mean, you can think about this as just a natural part of relationships... You're close or distant with whomever you feel close or distant to, in that moment. It doesn't have to be about your weight. Regardless, congratulations to you! It's an adjustment for sure, but we will get there!!

I would like to recommend that you ask your doctor what to listen for, when you're listening to your body.

Nope, I didn't have any fluid in it during surgery.

Yes... I like Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery... http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Well-After-Weight-Surgery/dp/1569244537/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377197494&sr=1-1&keywords=eating+after+weight+loss+surgery

They want you to wait because you're swollen inside, and because your stitches have not healed. If you eat solid food, it will sit in the pouch above your band (as it's supposed to) and go down slowly. However, putting pressure on the band before you have healed means there's a very real chance that the stitches will tear right through your stomach tissue, causing your organs to tear, and the band to shift or slip... Organ tissue is different than skin. It stays moist all the time and doesn't heal as quickly as skin. This is one of the reasons the sleeve is a riskier surgery than the band. With the band, you just have stitches, but when they cut your stomach open for the sleeve, the staples up at the top don't always fuse shut, and your stomach juices ooze out through the wound. So the post-op diet is intended to make you wait till your swelling has gone down, your stitches have healed, and your body has gotten used to having a foreign object in there before adding pressure and irritation to your organs. I was on liquids for two weeks. I was supposed to be on mushies for two weeks, but asked my doctor (after being on mushies for a week) if that was 100% required because I was getting hungry a lot. He said it was, but after doing a checkup and a fluoroscope on me, said that my band was so wide open that he would approve my eating a small amount of mashed fish a few days earlier. But that was the only food he was willing to let me eat earlier. I'm rebellious and don't like to follow rules, but also don't want to hurt myself. So I've been selectively following the rules that relate to my not hurting myself, and figure the ones having to do with calories and weight loss are on me. So sometimes I have candy. Sometimes I have juice. And I figure if I lose weight a little slower, that's ok with me because this is a long journey... That said, I messed up. I was told that you shouldn't drink with meals. My doctor was VERY clear about that. But I thought the reason was so that you didn't push food through your band quickly, thus causing you to be hungrier earlier... Ok, so most of the time I didn't drink with meals, but sometimes I did. I even asked the nutritionist once if that meant I could never have wine with dinner again and she said it was fine to sip a little sometimes... But OOPS!!! I didn't know that the reason was not just about pushing food through faster, but ALSO so that you didn't increase the overall volume of food above your band. Because I wanted to drink, I only heard "it was fine." I didn't hear "a little" or "sometimes" because I wasn't listening for that... And now my pouch is dilated. Not a lot, just a little. And I caught it early so the doc said it should go back to normal after I do a few things... But I really do wish I had followed the rules on this one and not tried to pick out what I wanted to hear, and what I thought the reasons were. I'm not a doctor. What the hell do I know? All I know is that i got this surgery because I wanted to lose weight. And I have lost a lot of weight!! In fact, if I never lost another pound I'd still be happy... But if I gain it all back I will not be happy. And if I stretch out my pouch, cause slips, and mess up my internal organs, I will end up right back where I started...

I have no medical training, and therefore no idea what's going on, but I do want to offer my support and wish you good luck. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!!!

Where is your back pain? If it's in the middle of your back between your shoulder blades it might be the band pressing on your vegas nerve. I just posted about this a few days ago because I was having agonizing pain, particularly after eating, and was also feeling dizzy... Ended up getting a very small unfill (.2cc) which has COMPLETELY fixed the issue!!!

OMG unfill... I just got a slight unfill because I had a lot of heartburn and was having trouble, and I feel AMAZING now!!! So much better!!!!

That's just about the nicest thing ever!!

You're craving sugar because you're tired!! So get extra sleep, and focus on Protein. Sometimes having an egg when you're craving sugar can bypass the craving. (old weight watcher's trick!) But aside from the weight techniques, I think it's really important to remember that you're not going to be a perfect band patient all the time. Sometimes things get really hard and you don't feel like doing it, and other times you'll be really in the groove and flying high. My advice to you now is to try to just coast through it... Don't try to force yourself into being perfect, and don't give yourself guilt. You feel how you feel, there's a lot going on, and you don't need additional EXTRA pressure. If you can focus on being kind to yourself, comforting yourself in other ways (maybe get a masssage, can you do yoga?, maybe go to a movie) and just try to not do damage while you're feeling lousy... Then you'll feel good again and it'll all be fine!! Good luck to you!! Give yourself a hug and hair pet, just as if you were your own mama!