mrsto

When I first mentioned the idea to my husband, he was concerned. He had no judgement about WLS, but was concerned about "surgery" and my well being. I mulled it over for awhile, and then the both of us went to my surgeon's seminar. After that he felt SO much better about it, and I was actually going to have a bypass. But I chickened out of that about 10 days before surgery, and decided against doing anything. Well, in those few weeks I put on another 2-3 pounds, and it was all too painfully clear that I wasn't going to lose weight without taking my efforts to the next level. Like you, I'd lost and gained hundreds of pounds over my 58 years of life. I was pretty good at losing the weight, but long term maintenance has always been the issue. Also, at my age.....when everything slows down, there was no way I would eat as little as I need to eat for the weight to come down. So, I settled on the lap band with gastric plication, and close to one year later, I'm thrilled with my decision! I'm very close to the goal I set for myself, and I feel like an entirely new person. Owl, I understand where your husband is coming from, and it sounds like he's got your best interest at heart. But look back at your history and ask yourself if you think you'll be able to take the weight off, and MOST importantly.....maintain it for years to come. That's been the real issue for most of us. I know it was for me. With the band/plication, I feel that I have a fighting chance to keep my weight within a normal range, without being hungry and miserable all the time. I'm not saying that it's always easy, but it is effective......as long as you follow the rules set by your surgeon's practice. As for my husband, he is SO happy that I'm healthy. Though I gained the last round of weight during our marriage, he never gave me crap about it. His biggest concern was always about my health. He wants us to be together as long as life with allow, and have an active life. I had a few obesity related health issues; all of which have resolved with the weight loss. I wish you all the best, whatever you decide to do

Amen! I just read it, and it rubbed me wrong as well. The guy sounds like a total A-hole. I can't sit and think into what he meant or where he was coming from. At face value, it's offensive at best.

lynz - I don't know what your pre-op diet consists of, but mine was pretty easy. Even so, I wasn't sticking to it closely. I was given 1,200 calories per day; low carb, lower fat. The first 2-3 days I didn't follow it, and on the 4th day I was standing in the kitchen and had a total panic attack. I was thinking....OMG, I'm having major surgery in less than two weeks, and I'm already not following orders. I freaked out, and it totally reeled me back in. Even so, I think I ate more like 1,400 calories a day, but it was healthy food; no fast or junk food. I lost 5 pounds before surgery, and because I'm smaller around the middle, and my BMI wasn't off the charts, my doctor wasn't too concerned. Now, coming up on a year post-op, I've done very well and follow the rules most of the time. It's such a huge life change in our eating world, and sometimes it can be frustrating. Please do as others above recommend......call your doctor ASAP and let him know what's going on. If you've totally tossed the pre-op out the window, then you might not be ready to go through this. Believe me, as much as pre-op sucks, it's only a fraction of what's to come. You've got a long road ahead, so you need to be sure that you're emotionally ready. And lastly..... Don't beat yourself up too badly. As tmf said, many people weren't angels with their pre-op diets. I'm not saying this to give you a false sense of "it's okay". Just that you are not alone. But just make sure that you're truly ready for the huge life change. It's worth it, but only if you really ready.

my dr told me that if my liver was not nice and small that he would not do the surgery....that scared the crap out of me.....picture me waking up and him telling me that, and then telling my hub and then having to reschedule it all? all because i could not follow a diet for me to have WLS..... i am doing some tough love you can do this pre op diet if you truly wanted to you are not even giving yourself a chance.....its not going to get easier....you must adhere to understanding that from now on and especially right after surgery, if you eat more than you are suppose to you could harm yourself.....your life is worth more than a quick minute or two food gasm GF......look what its doing to you now.... as TMF said, call and and let your doctor know (accept responsibility) and then follow the rules until surgery and after.....for best results with any WLS, its is BEST to follow your doctors instructions.....best of luck. Love the term "foodgasm"

Cereal is a dangerous food for me. It's like dessert, and I can't control it. I was never a big cereal eater, unless it was after dinner

If you're having a hard time getting in the recommended fiber, you can add Benefiber to your food. It's completely tasteless, and a good way to get in some extra on top of your fruit, veggies and 100% whole grains. I happen to love All Bran Cereal, but since being banded, I no longer eat cereals.

Shel - I have noticed the same thing. And I've learned to trust what my body is instinctively telling me. The band is fickle (good way to describe it), and if I'm getting a twinge of nausea before taking a bite, I walk away. Our bodies are pretty darn smart, and anytime I've tried to push through the clear message, I've regretted it.

I'm completely off any chewable/gummy type vitamins; bariatric or otherwise. I didn't feel that any one of them was complete nutritionally. I went back on my old Twin Labs multivitamin in capsule form. They go down fine, and I feel so much better. Along with that, I take an extra 5,000 of D3, 5,000 of biotin, and 1500mg of calcium; 500mg 3 times per day. I was told that our bodies do not absorb any more than 500mg at a time, so taking anymore in one dose is a waste. I have a liquid Cal/Mag by Solgar that's strawberry flavored. If I'm not home, I carry the chocolate calcium sugar free chews from Costco. And lastly, I take sublingual B12 from GNC. As for protein, I no longer drink a shake on a daily basis, but when I do, it's Premier Protein ready made chocolate. But I do have a Quest protein bar daily, which adds about 20 grams of protein to my daily food intake. And.....it takes care of my sweet tooth :-)

For psychological reasons, I would say......YES. You are trying to change habits and patterns, so just stay on track with respect to tracking your food. If you don't, it's like saying, I burned off 400 calories at the gym... now can I have a slab of cake? BUT - is throwing up something you're doing on a regular basis? If this was a one time issue, okay. But if you're having vomiting episodes regularly, I would call your doctor ASAP.

In the banded world, if you have ½ cup of solid Protein food, and ½ of veggies, you should be fine. That doesn't mean to eat the whole cup of food, but you certainly won't go over. Most times I find that a full ½ cup of protein is too much. I'm more around ⅓ cup of.....lets say, tuna, egg salad or chili type of things.

I started "shedding" at around the 4-5 month mark. I went back on Biotin (which I took pre-band), and it stopped falling out. My suggestion is, to add 5,000 mg of biotin to your daily Vitamin regime. Don't wait until your hair starts thinning. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. But biotin won't hurt you, and I believe it will help to avoid any "fallout". I can't comment on regrowth, but when I go through a shedding cycle (hormonally or otherwise), biotin stops it in its tracks.

Gowalking - I feel exactly the same as you. I'm at a very comfortable place with my band and my weight, and allow myself to enjoy eating and drinking in social situations. At those times I will also enjoy a drink WITH my meal, even though we've been trained otherwise. If I gain a pound, it comes right off in the next couple of days. We have a friend who lost a lot of weight, and he's become like a religious zealot. They were over on Superbowl Sunday, and he told me that anytime he overeats, it means that much MORE time exercising. My response was "whatever works for you". To me, feeling the need to exercise like crazy because I had an off day, is like a punishment. Like you, when I have an off day, I get right back to my "normal" routine, and any gained weight or bloat comes right off; no need to pound it out on a treadmill, running path, etc. Thanks for this post..... I love to read from people who have become relaxed in their banded lives, and don't freak out because they ate something "off", or that they saw a pound or two come back on the scale. It's ALL about balance.

Thanks for letting us know! I just bought a couple of boxes :-)

I don't know what the interest rate is on Care Credit right now, but the key to using it, is the months they give you interest free. I just looked online, and depending on the procedure cost, and if the doctor accepts Care Credit, they have different terms; 6,12,18, 24 and (if I read it right) up to 60 months. I don't believe the interest rate is dependent on your credit score, but I can't say for sure. Here is a link the their website. http://www.carecredit.com/faqs.html

I love hearing this stuff! You've got quite a wonderful husband. I agree with above poster......TELL him how much his support means to you. He'll love to hear it. My husband was 100% supportive of my decision to have surgery, but he didn't go as far as doing the diet progression along with me. But he's also one who will eat whatever I prepare, and be happy with it. It's not like he's bringing home buckets of fried chicken, while I'm sitting with a Protein shake. He's been great, which has been a huge help over the past year.

Care Credit is interest free for a designated amount of time. But like other credit cards with an interest free promotion period, they hit you for all the interest if not paid off within the promotional period of time. I think, between 6-12 (maybe 18) months....something like that. I've used it a few times when I needed a lot of dental work. Some doctors want to increase the procedure price if you use Care Credit, because they get hit with a big fee. But I've only had one tell me that.

Thanks for the tip! I never knew there was an oil. Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate, which is what makes them work so well, too. But the oil is great when you're not near a bathtub

I haven't had issues with headaches, other than when I try and get off of caffeine. As far as what to take, liquid Tylenol should help. Extra or arthritis strength works best (for me).

I very much look forward to an occasional Protein Bar. Me too! I have one pretty much every single day. It's what gets me through, and satisfies my craving and need for something sweet, while adding extra Protein grams. But when I mentioned the bars to my doctor, he gave me the talk about being satisfied after only ½ bar, but eating the whole thing. Then he said, protein bars are "like" candy bars; why don't I eat veggies when I feel the need to snack. Honestly, if it wasn't for protein bars, you'd probably find my hand in a candy dish. At least the bars don't spike my blood sugar. My personal favorite is Quest. But I find that a bar doesn't keep me satisfied as long as something like turkey or some other fish/meat. That's what prompted my comment

It's so true about the protein. When I stick to something like tuna or another dense protein food (turkey, meat, etc), I fill up fast and stay that way for longer periods. If I eat a Protein Bar, it doesn't hold me very long. But lets face it, Protein Bars are replacement candy bars - LOL!

Sharpie - I just got back, and she (nurse) took out about ½ cc. She said that the pain should resolve; that something got stuck and caused inflammation. She also said that I will probably be calling in a couple of weeks to have that ½ cc put back in. She said that when the swelling goes down, and the issue corrects itself, I'll notice that missing ½ cc more than if I'd never had it put in. We'll see.... I don't want to be so tight that things easily get stuck & irritate the s-hit out of my pouch. I never had this problem before the last fill, so I'll see how it goes. I hear ya on the last few pounds! They don't come off as quickly now, as they did in the beginning. I've got another 10-11 to go, and I'm really pushing it with eating. I think because I feel so much better, and I'm really comfortable with the way I look. But those pounds will drop off, just very sloooooow

I love Jay Robb's Egg White Protein - chocolate. I whip it up with some almond or non fat milk, and it's great. Sometimes I throw in a few frozen raspberries, and it's wonderful. Other than that, the Premier Protein ready made chocolate shakes are a favorite. If you're getting sick of the sweet shakes, you can try putting some unflavored Protein Powder into things like V-8 juice. Really good, and a break from all the sweetness.

Yes, I LOVE the come back. Perfect When people ask how I've lost so much weight, I simply say "eat less, exercise more". End of story. And the reality is, that's exactly what we're doing, right? Aside from the small handful of people in my world who know, I keep it to myself. I don't really care what they think, but I don't have the time or patience to educate the ignorant. For many, even if they're obese, think that surgery is beyond drastic. Well, like you said.......you chose LIFE, and that's all there is to it. Bravo to you on your success! WELL done

I was really doing fine before the fill, but found myself pushing the limits. Like many, I thought a little tweak would help me back to a better sense of control. NOT! I'll be fine once I backup to where I was before. Right now, I've got this never ending pain at the bottom of my sternum, and a chronic sore throat.....which is reflux. Lots of burping, but not the productive type. I'm leaving in about 15 minutes for my appt. Can't wait!

Congrats on getting through the hurdle. See.....no biggy.....just a pinch I'm going for my first UNfill today. The last one drove me right out of green into the red, and I'm tempted to have the band completely emptied. I'll see what they advise. My doctor warned me when I asked for the last fill, but I thought it would be fine. It was for a couple of weeks, and then things really got weird.