Instyle98

"...guess i wont eat tmrw" No! Don't do that! That's just starting bad eating habits. Like anything else, if you fall off of the wagon, just get back on. Go back to what you're supposed to eat. Skipping meals is not good and is what got a lot of us into this pickle in the first place. As they say, two wrongs don't make a right. Stop beating yourself up, you're only human. So, you had a slip or treated yourself, or whatever you want to call it. Life goes on, now, it's time to get back to business. Binge eating and then starving yourself is bad for your body. Every day is a chance to start over.

The first several days of the pre-op diet were hard for me also. I'm not going to lie - the first couple of days I probably had a couple extra ounces of protein or more than 1 cup of vegetables, but I was still able to lose weight prior to surgery. I cleaned out my refrigerator so I really didn't have anything that I could go crazy with. Get yourself some no sugar added fruit bars (the little ones that have only 25 calories each), sugar free jello and Crystal Light or make Kool-Aid with a no calorie sweetener. Try to keep yourself busy. The other thing I thought about was how much I weighed and how humiliating it was to say that number out loud. Once you get a few days in and see some weight loss, that will hopefully give you some motivation to stick it out. Don't forget, they will weigh you the day of surgery so they will know if you followed the pre-op instructions or not. It helps when you are held accountable to someone.

Sounds like you answered your question yourself!

I was banded on 1/31. I had a lot of swelling (couldn't believe the scale the day after surgery) and nausea upon waking in recovery even though I was wearing a Scopolamine Patch and had anti-nausea meds before and after surgery, then the nausea returned on post-op days 2 and 3 enough that I resorted to taking the anti-nausea drugs. I continued taking my liquid Vicodin and then things got better. Swelling is subsiding, nausea is gone, but still sore. The gas pains are the worst part, but I walked, stretched, using a heating pad and a heated massage pad and while I still have a bit of discomfort, it is greatly improved today finally. I had a spot on my right side around to my back that took forever for the gas to move. They give you pain medication for a reason. The longer you wait to take it, the more painful everything becomes and then it's harder to get it under control. If you take it in the beginning as prescribed, it is much easier to manage the pain. The anti-nausea medications are to offset the side effects from the pain medication. Of course you should always check with your physician and follow his/her instructions.

I would let the doctor's office handle it since they deal with this stuff on a daily basis. They should know what they need to submit and if denied, how to go about appealing. That's how they make their money so it's in their best interest to get you approved. If you're really worried, just keep checking in with them and ask what you can do to help.

The center I used is out of my network and I was approved. The center treated me as if I was in network so it didn't cost me any more.

There was a questionnaire I had to fill out for the center doing my surgery and for the psych evaluation and my PCP's office supplied records and I don't even see my PCP that often.

I think so. In the past when I lost a great deal of weight I had great difficulty accepting it because I had been overweight for so long. I kept checking the tag sizes on my clothing in the closet. When someone called me small and my husband said I was getting bony, I thought they were all crazy. I finally had someone take some photos of me so I could see what I really looked like. The real shocker was when I put on an old pair of jeans. I looked like Jared in his after photos. I actually sat down and cried that I had been so large before and hadn't realized it. Now that I have gained almost all of my weight back, I refuse to have my photo taken because I know how big I am and I am totally disgusted with myself.

I just had one person to tell - my husband. I figured it was no one else's business and I will tell who I want when and if I want. After my first meeting I came home with my information, approximate cost, etc. and just said this is what I need to do for myself. I made the information available and let him choose how much he wanted to know about it.

Put your blinders on and ignore her. Stay focused with your eyes on the prize and pay no attention to what she says. Some folks just can't stand seeing others succeed so they try to sabotage you, steal your thunder, take credit for your successes and just have a difficult time controlling that green monster they have inside. Stay strong!

If I remember correctly, I was told to stay away from bread, rice, potatoes and pasta because they could gum things up and cause slippage. My patient care advocate told me she can eat things like tortilla chips, but she's very careful about limiting herself.

I was the first case when I had mine. I had to be at the surgery center by 6:30. I think my husband said they took me away around 7:30 and the doctor came to speak to him shortly after 8:00. It takes about an hour to drive and I think I was home by noon or so. It's kind of a blur, so I don't remember exactly. Another friend of mine was supposed to be there by 9:30, didn't get taken back until 11:00 and didn't get home until 5:00. I don't think she has to drive as far as I do, but not sure.

I believe it was less than 2 weeks. It took 10 days or less I think. The approval came back before I was mentally ready for the surgery!

I already got myself a baby/child's fork and spoon set plus small containers to store food in for when I can start eating regular food. The 2 week pre-op diet was hard at first, but I got through it, so I'm looking forward to the next step. I lost 165 lbs in the past and went from a size 24W to sizes 4, 6 and 8 and I still have a lot of those clothes so that is one of my big incentives to stick with a healthy eating plan. I love clothing (and shoes and jewelry and everything else that goes with it), so being able to pull out some of those will be my reward. That quick burst of weight loss during the pre-op diet helps to fuel my motivation. Of course I also tell myself that I need to remember the discomfort and pain I'm experiencing now because I don't want to have done this all for nothing.

Okay - got it! Thanks for the sample menu. It helps to know what I have to look forward to. Already found a coupon for those crackers that I can put away for future use. I had never heard of those before.

I was banded 12/31, feel crummy and sore today, so I can't wait until the "no pain" part!

Three month diet? What does the diet consist of? I had a 4 month waiting period in which I had to complete stuff like 2 nutritional counseling appointments, psych eval, blood work, medical clearance, sleep study, 10 lb weight loss and a 2 week pre-op diet which consisted of 2 protein shakes and 1 meal of 3 - 4 oz of lean meat, 1 cup of veg, 1 cup of fruit (no dairy). The 2 week diet was the surgeon's requirement to shrink my liver for easier band placement (and helped me meet the 10 lb weight loss).

I'm confused. I was told with the band I would be unable to eat bread, pasta, potatoes or rice. They said anything that gets gummy or sticky had to be avoided. Is that not true?

Are any of them questions someone on this forum can help you with?

Sam How are you doing today?

Of course it's okay to sleep. While laying around in bed all of the time is not good, you do need rest in order to heal. The pain medication should also help you sleep. It certainly makes me sleepy. I don't normally sleep for long periods of time anyway, but if I'm tired and need to lay down for a nap, I do. I just make sure when I'm up I stay on my feet for a while, moving around. I'm sure you've read this all over the forum, but while you don't want to gain a bunch of weight while you're healing, don't be surprised if you lose very little or none at all. Your body is trying to heal itself, plus you need protein to heal. You will experience swelling, bloating, etc. But that should resolve itself once you have healed. I forgot to mention that my surgeon gives a Scopolamine Patch prior to going to the O.R. to help with nausea too. I don't know if all surgeons do this, but it does seem to help with that. They pretty much covered all of their bases with preventative measures before and during surgery. You can do this and remember the pain and discomfort is only temporary.

These are the times when you have to remind yourself to stay focused. You must ask yourself, " Do you want to be fat (sorry for not sugar coating it) no matter if your boyfriend stays or goes?" For this and this time in your life, what he does, doesn't matter. You are more important and if he left, well it's his loss! Choose yourself over him. If he left now, he most certainly wouldn't have been any support later. Just think, you probably just lost 150 - 200 lbs (or whatever he weighs) in one fell swoop. Time to move on and live for you. Take control of your life. If you eat something it won't make you feel better and it certainly won't bring him back. You CAN do this! You are a good person. Hugs to you and we're here for you.

ASR246, My surgery was first thing this am. Got up at 3:30 am as I had to be there at 6:30 (approximately 1 hour commute plus I had some routine morning chores). Didn't have to do too much waiting and I was home by noon I think. Woke up from surgery with severe nausea despite all of the anti-nausea drugs they gave me. They gave me some more so It was bearable and eventually got better. The ride home was pretty uncomfortable, I had a lot of middle and upper back pain. Even though I was still pretty groggy and wanted to sleep, I stayed up for a bit moving around the house, had a little juice and sat up in the recliner on my heated massage pad. I took some pain medication as soon as my husband got back with it and was able to go to bed and sleep for awhile. I've been trying to be diligent about moving around for a bit and sure enough, the gas started moving (every so often I have a bit of belching - sorry to be so graphic). I've been taking my pain meds about every 4 hours as directed, but not need anything more for nausea (which is a good thing since my pharmacy is out of if and with the holiday can't get any until Wed, so I probably won't even fill it). I still have some middle back pain, some discomfort in my tummy - feels like very extreme hunger pangs or the start of indigestion, but nothing unbearable and am swollen and sore (feels like I did 4000 sit ups - LOL) which I think is probably quite normal. I keep using my massage pad when I'm up, between naps, having small portions of liquids every so often, using my Spirometer and walking. I'm sore and uncomfortable at times, but it's not at all like what I experienced after my Laparascopic Cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal). That was supposed to be day surgery also and I ended up staying in the hospital for 2+days. Sorry my post is so long but I know you are wondering what the time right after surgery is like. On the plus side I was prescribed "liquid Vicodin" and it of course works a whole lot quicker than pills! Even though they are not horrible, I am kind of glad I can forgo my Protein drinks, even for a day. This too shall pass as I go on to learn to live life as a bandster and work on getting into shape (I would say better shape, but I'm not much more than a blob right now so...) My goal is to lose enough weight to enroll in Aquatic Boot Camp to help me continue on my way to my end goal!

When did you get banded and where are you located?

I'm scheduled for surgery Monday morning. I have to be there by 6:30 am so I hope I am the first case. I'm going to make some chicken and beef broth this weekend to have on hand. I'm kind of on my own for this so...