Terry Poperszky

The is an old conversation that pops up every once in a while. My Dr. gave me no restrictions on Coffee/Tea or any other caffeinated drinks. Last time I saw a study it said the diuretic effects of caffeine are over blown. 90% of the liquid I consume on a daily basis is caffeinated, and it has never affected my hydration. Your Dr.s opinion my be different, YMMV

Normal, your swelling has gone down and you are in "bandster hell". Search on it, you will find a lot of useful information.

I wish you well, and thank you for letting us know your decision. I personally think that if I ever have to have my band removed and can't be rebanded, I would probably choose VSG as well.

Turkish Delight, the crack of Narnia. I love all of his writings B-52, my first exposure to him was the "Out of the Silent Planet" trilogy.

Looking good Donna, keep up the good work!

Each Dr. has their own suggestions, talk to the person who fills you and ask. For me, it is liquids the day of the fill, mushies the next and then on to normal eating. Although depending on the swelling I will stay at mushies for a couple of days.

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. My 12 year old daughter told her Mom the other night, "Daddy is always happy now, not like before his surgery". You want to know why? for the first time in my life as far as my weight is concerned, I have hope. The band has done that for me.

Yea, I haven't looked at this thread, but I spent a little time on the Sleeve forum, and what I read there made me glad I was banded. But what Elcee said is absolutely true. There were people there who were totally happy and loosing weight, there were people there complaining about how the surgery had ruined their lives and they wished they had never done it. People who had lost, and regained because they went back to their old habits. People who thought the sleeve was WLS magic and the weight was just supposed to melt off. In other words, all the same types of people that we see here. Although the ones that I found most interesting were the ones who wanted to know if they could have the band installed even though they had the sleeve. The grass is always greener.

Keep your eye on the prize, think of the pre-op diet as a test, you pass, you get your band

I really think we need to build a FAQ with some of these questions and answer.

Funny this should come up, but I just got a call from one of the other managers where I work, he wanted to talk to me about the surgery and to get the contact info for my surgeon.

If you are going to weight daily (which I do), keep this in mind. 1 pound of fat is about 3500 calories, so as the scale fluctuates (which it will), keep in that in mind. Did you eat over 10K calories yesterday? No? Than the gain is Fluid (water), and will eventually go away. Yes? You are an idiot and you need counseling. Some things that will cause Water retention are: 1. Sodium, I couldn't believe how much salt I was taking in my processed foods until I started tracking it. A plate of food from a Chinese restaurant is good for at least 5 pounds of water for me. 2. Heavy exercise, my body retains water to help build new muscle and repair the old. A really good workout is good for a couple of pounds of water retention the next day. 3. TOM, although as a male, my TOM is probably lighter than yours my wife tells me hers is good for 5 pounds of water weight each month. 4. Your body is just screwing with you. Sometimes for whatever reason my body retains water. Believe it or not, the best way to get rid of that extra water is to drink more. The more you drink (within reason), the less reason your body has to retain, the more toxins and sodium is flushed out. If you can't deal with the fluctuations, then you need to stay away from the scale for now.

You don't have to prove anything to anyone but yourself. This isn't about anyone but you and the life you have chosen for yourself. You can do it.

I like your nurse's answer.

I must live in an alternate universe. I have told everyone who has asked about my weight loss how I did it, some have asked polite questions, but most have simply congratulated me on my success. Business and Church, the reaction has been the same. Now, it could be the fact that if someone had the balls to tell me I had made the wrong choice when confronted by my obvious success, would no longer possess them after the conversation was done. But I choose to believe otherwise.

Problem is like a**holes, way too many of them are heard

My Dr. believes the irritation/erosion occurs because the big pill sits up in the stoma.

My Dr. gave me a script for as custom mix of liquid ibuprofen, but at 43.00 a bottle co-pay, I use it sparingly.

I want the facts, ALL of them. So when somebody tells me that the band is bad, and I should look at another WLS, my first question will be how does the problems with the band, compare with the problems of that other surgery? I am more than willing to listen to personal experience, but anecdotal information (In my mind) ranks lower than almost all other types of information. I want to see controlled studies, I want to see information from the complete range of people who have had the procedures, not just those who post on a particular forum. I want to see bias (pro and con) eliminated as much as possible.

I hate baggy clothes, and wearing my size 40 jeans made me feel sloppy. I am currently wearing 38"comfortably, but I decided to try on 36" when I went shopping. Here are the results: Now this is uncharted territory, but I am more than happy to keep on exploring. Going where Terry has never gone before. Band, warp 9!

Bovine Feces. Ask them to show you the study where this is documented, the acid produced by your stomach many, many times more destructive than the acid in coffee. I am sucking down my second 16 ounce cup this morning, and believe me, my coffee makes Truck Drivers cringe in terror. My Surgeon belongs to a religion that forbids the use of coffee, yet when I asked him about it, his only concern was the calories from additives. When I told him I drank it black, he told me I could drink as much as I want. As far as caffeine being a diuretic, it loses that effect at a normal baseline of use, which means that if you normally drink 16 ounces a day, it will lose it's diuretic effect, much the same as it loses it's effect as a stimulus.

The problem is what you are saying is not be taught by a majority of surgeons, so it really isn't unusual that we see so many people showing up believing that.

Great job, remember to keep focusing on the basics as you move forward.

For me it is the doubled edged sword of exercise, I am not a model of moderation so when I exercise so I usually burn 8-1K calories per sessions and as my body tries to keep up, my hunger sky rockets as well. I usually try and throw in an extra Protein shake, and make sure my meals are even higher in protein and that seems to take the edge off it. I have to really be careful for the carbs though.

I put up a photo of me in size 44, relaxed fit jeans 3 days before I started my pre-op diet. I was 300 pounds in that picture.