blueturtle

Day after surgery. I have been taking my liquid pain meds. Which I have to say were ridiculously expensive. They were over $200 without insurance. With my insurance I still paid $62. Which to me is a lot! But it is working, therefore it's worth the cost I've kept ice packs on my incision area most of last night and that really seemed to help. I got up several times to do this and that b/c my boyfriend was not supportive of my decision for banding. I felt well enough to do things for myself. I slept good last night and this morning I am starting the day with a cup of tea. We'll see how that goes and advanced from there. Last night I had some chicken broth and a few sugar-free Popsicles. No problem keeping them down. I'm definitely sore this morning in the incision site area and will soon be putting ice pack back on it. No other pains YET. But I'm ready for them when they come. I have my extra strength Gas-x films in the background waiting to be put in action! lol

Turquoise, I was nervous too. It's natural. You will do well too! Best wishes and we'll be thinking of you

Well I have to say as far as I can tell right now everything went really well. I was in at 630 and out by noon. A nausea and soreness at the incision site, but beyond that I am doing pretty well. I haven't drank much, so I'm going to focus on that this evening. Thank you for all the well wishes and thoughts. It so nice to know there are people on your side!

Omgoodness I'm in the pre open waiting room. Excited scared all at once

Congratulations!!! Keep us posted on your recovery & take good care of yourself

I was suppose to get banded tomorrow. But, my surgeon cancelled due to the weather. Its suppose to be super cold here. Schools have been cancelled. I was still going to go though Hope it is rescheduled soon!! Good luck to you tomorrow! What a great step you are taking toward your future!!

Surgery for tomorrow cancelled bc of weather Booooo! It's kind of okay though bc I'm not sure if I was completely ready. Hopeful that new date will be soon!

I totally understand about not telling people especially family. I have only told my grandmother and that is b/c she is my POA for Health Care and will be all for me losing weight. As she asks me every visit with her what I am doing to lose weight :/ My mother on the other hand will "Google" tons of information and share it with me, which would then probablly scare the bee gee bes out of me and I won't have the surgery. I see negatives on the site, but I also see Tons of positives. I talked to my nutritionist and surgeon about my concerns and they both feel the surgery is right for me and will help me. I'm in my 30's and if I don't get this weight off soon the rest of my life is going to be very unhealthy. I feel like I still have time to live and enjoy life before I get to the age where physical limitations are inevitable. We are too young to have limitations now. Those are for "old people" LOL.

" ive found a solution for that though... as my diet contains a lot of Soups still im using apple cider vinegar a lot. put it in my soups, over my salads and wherever.. i even put a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of orange juice. Its leaving me more satisfied when ive finished whats on my plate. i dont need as much food to feel satiated. i think its the amount of flavour we crave that dictates how much we eat." I haven't heard of the effects vinegar has on our body and cravings. What does apple cider vinegar do to your food? How does it change the flavor? I saw you put it in the orange juice doesn't it make it taste gross? Having lap banding tomorrow and interested in is much info as I can get.

My plan for eating is to measure, measure, measure!!! My doc told me a long time ago to stop eating after five spoons full and well I didn't take his advice. I have surgery on Monday. Did the 5 spoonfuls satisfy you?

Wow sounds like you are doing great!!! Keep up the awesome work!

I hope I will have the same results

I am on a similar diet & my dr. Said I would probably lose 5-7 pds. Not Much more than that. Hope that helps. Surgery on Monday for me

Two days before surgery for me and I have to say I'm scared. I am definitely wondering if I can do this. I have not stuck to my pre-op diet 100% of the time. I can get through it in the morning and lunch. Its in the late evening when I get home that I flounder. That is when I feel stress after I think about the day or when I'm not as busy so I start to think about what I "want" not need to eat. I have a journal sitting right next to me, but I have to make a conscious effort to write in it instead of giving in to my desires. I am depending on the band making it so I cannot eat and therefore the desire will go away. We shall see.

Mine is just low carb. No corn Beans peas or potatoes. Otherwise it is pretty lenient. For some reason I have really enjoyed albacore tuna & low fat cottage cheese mixed together. Sometimes I add it to romaine with lettuce & tomatoes with a little dressing. Yummy Who would have thought it!

"but it is a lot more than just loosing weight....it changed my life in respect to HOW I eat.....WHAT I eat...and WHEN I eat (how often) and also my overall feelings about food and the need/desire to eat...all of THAT was the biggest change of all.....the weight loss and good health naturally and effortlessly followed." The mental part is what I am most worried about. How I feel about food. The role food plays in my life is huge right now. It is going to have to change officially January 6th, the date of my banding. There have been some changes about the way I see food in the last few weeks. I feel like I have gone through grieving food and had the opportunity to eat my favorite unhealthy foods "one last time." In some ways I think it is helpful to have my banding right after the holidays b/c I got all of foods in that I really enjoy, so it will not be so hard to not have them. On this low carb diet I have noticed that I am full about ten - 15 mins after I am done eating my pre-portioned meals which is new to me. I typically eat until I am uncomfortably full. This is just the start for many changes to come for me. I am looking forward to them and to having some rules back in my life when it comes to eating. Thank You for your thoughts as they help me to focus on my thoughts and feelings.

I have banding on the 6th. My pre-op diet is a low carb one. I will say I have had some difficulty sticking to it wholeheartedly, but on the up side I have found some high Protein low carb combinations I really enjoy! Also I am eating less... A lot less and I am more conscientious of what and how much I am eating of all food. This makes me feel like I am making progress I ordered the unjury Protein shakes, but apparently not soon enough they are suppose to be here tomorrow. I'm looking forward to trying those. What kind are you using? It's crazy to me how many carbs even healthy food like fruits and vegetables have in them.

I'm rt there with you Desertpixie. Nervous nervous nervous! But when I re think my decision I read posts on this board & I am reconvinced I am making the rt choice ore op diet day two for me. Surgery Monday!

Wow I feel like you all are in my head!!! LOL. It is very comforting to read that others have experienced what I have and think. To know that I am not the only one who feels this way and has these thought processes. Thank you so much for sharing. These posts have made a huge difference for me tonight. I too felt that I was overweight all my life. I will never forget moving away as a teen and coming back to visit my grandmother and her saying to me "I thought you were going to be a Skinny Minnie now." I look at those pictures from that time in my life, high school and think Wow you looked Awesome. I would be so happy to be that size again. Now I look at pictures and either delete them from my phone or cringe. I too wonder How did this happen? When did this happen? All my life I have considered myself too fat, too big, too much. But I haven't always been these things, I just never realized it. Now I am and I have to do something about it. I cannot stand feeling this way any longer. I want to be able to sit in a chair comfortably. I want to be able to not have to walk around the tables in the restaurant, but to walk through them. I want to think I look good at home and after I leave I want to catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror or glass window and to think Girl you do look good, not to readjust my clothes or not get up anymore b/c I don't want people to see me. I don't want to be the biggest person in the room, in my office. I don't want to see someone else who is overweight and think Oh good I'm not the biggest one here. Pre-op diet day one for me. 6 days till surgery. Questioning my choice to get banded everyday, but as I read these posts and write my own feelings and thoughts out I slowly reconvince myself that I am making the right choice

Six days away from surgery. Had my appt with surgeon today. Asked about including plication with the banding. He told me it is not an approved practice in the United States and tons of other information. He says to do a true plication several blood vessels are cut in the stomach area and that it is a much more intensive surgery than the banding. When he talked about the cutting of blood vessels my desire for the procedure was disregarded. I wish it was a less invasive process as I hear several people on this forum benefit from plication at the time of banding. My surgeon does not feel it is appropriate for me. He said maybe someone who sits in a wheelchair through out the day or has other serious health conditions that require them to be sedentary. Interesting. What this means to me is that I will have to be on my A game even more and I can expect the Bandster Hell many peeps talk about. The pre-op diet is challenging. I am able to eat regular foods, just a low carb diet, which is great. But I will tell you I want the candy, the Cookies, the icecream, the bread to go with my tuna. I want to eat foods I can't have right now and it is a challenge to not give in. It makes me question if I am making the right decision to get the band. Can I realistically make the lifestyle changes necessary to make the band work for me. At this time I am telling myself yes. I hope I am right.

I was justwondering this morning how you were doing. I hope you get to feeling better soon! I'm getting banded on the 6th so I can't speak from experience, but what you are describing I have heard others talk about and it sounds like it might be gas?... Many people said the gas-x strips help and so does a lot of walking around, even if it is just in the house. I will let the experienced ones advise you your worry level. I have confidence you will be feeling better soon!

Thank you for the update. Glad the surgery went well! Take it easy and relax

I just bought (but have not received) unjury Protein. I did tons of research and from the reviews I read it looks like the best one for me. I got the sample pack. Unfortunately I did not order it soon enough b/c it looks like it won't be here until the 2nd and my op date is the 6th. My physician gave me foods to eat and if I wanted then I could add a Protein shake. I know after surgery I will definitely need the shakes. What is great about Unjury is that it is lactose free. Also they have one that has no flavor you can just add it to tomato juice or Soup, whatever you. Very low carbs 1 or 2 and tons of protein, between 20 and 25 with about 100 calories. I got the starter pack so I could try all the flavors. Just started my pre-op diet today. This is becoming real!!

What an observation about being afraid to be hungry. I cannot say I have felt actual hunger in a long time. I eat throughout the day. SnacKing On this or that then having lunch. Snack when I get home from work, then dinner. I don't actually ever feel hungry. I start my pre-op diet tomorrow, surgery on the 6th. If my pre-op diet experience is anything like most people's on this forum I will be doing some soul searching too. I will have to consider this as well. I purposely did not take any food home from the holiday bc I'm trying to have all of the more good for me things in the house & the not so good out! Good Luck on your surgery tomorrow! Keep us posted on how Ur surgery went. I'm so excited for you!!

I am going to start my diet right after Christmas just for this reason! When is your surgery?