lisacaron

So many variables weight into this statement. With the lapband you have a stoma around your stomach that limits the amount of food you can take in, in one bite. It restricts the flow of food from the upper chamber of the stomach to the lower chamber of the stomach but it is not itself a cup or pouch that holds food for any extended amount of time. Things like Soup or yogurt icecream or soft cheeses, will not be slowed by any measurable amount and will simply slip through the stoma and into the larger chamber of the stomach and digest. Eating these type of slider foods does not and will not stimulate the Vagus nerve that is responsible for stimulating the feelings of satiety in the lapband patient. To do this the lapband patient must eat whole solid food such as chicken, fish or other solid Protein types of food. Adding dressings, gravy or sauces as well as drinking a beverage while eating, and or directly after eating will create a soft food that may slip through the band easily and not stimulate this nerve to help the patient feel full. There is much compliance required by the banded patient that needs to be explained in detail by doctors and surgeons. It is misleading to let someone think that the band creates more then a stoma to slow the movement of food. It is the very movement of the food that stimulates the feelings of satiety and if we do not eat the foods that comply with the operation of the band then we are out of compliance and will not have the feelings of satiety we search for. Good luck with your next fill please let us know how you are doing.

lleepers, you are so right about everyone and everyones doctor being different. Some of us even have the same surgeons and our plans pre op and post op are not the same. Follow your doctors orders are paramount to success!!! If you like certain shakes and you already purchased them if they don't expire for a while you can use them when you get your fills maybe, but always follow what the docs have planned for you and ask questions. My Dr. liked the medifast but I didn't so I asked and I was able to use what suited me as long as it fit certain nutrition guidelines and calories. Ask questions and speak up, even if your nervous about the surgery or something always good to let people know what's going on with you so they can relate to you and comfort you as well. Nerves are a big thing as you get closer, I was anxious like you and couldn't wait to get it done. Hubby was nervous and a bit worried about my surgery and then his. I had mine first and he was feeling better when his turn came though still nervous. I'm an old hat having surgery several times through out my life, he never had and was more nervous then me. Take deep breaths and give your self some TLC as you get closer to your date. Best wishes for a speedy and smooth recovery!! Let us know how you do!

Hubby and I have Empire BCBS and actually they verbally approved quicker then UNHC which is my insurance but it was longer to actually get the letter. Stay on them, I kept in touch with all our doctors and health care providers we have dual insurance and made sure I had copies of all the necessary paper work so no one could come back and say they didn't have something. Best of luck to you on your journey!

Ooof Cher that just stinks! I would have done the same thing you did. I have to say I'm very lucky...or maybe it's just the F'off or I'll cook you look on my face that keeps people from being my food monitors, or asking me dumb questions like how much did you lose this week. I'm only kidding I don't give off that vibe at all it's all warm and fuzzy over here...my friends can attest to that! (grins wickedly) I think only one person here at work asked me that question, and she is one of the founding members of the organization and a bandster as well, so I answered and now we are friends. No one knew she was banded and she was hiding here all the time now she has someone to turn to and cover when things just don't go down right At home..my in laws can be a bit intrusive but they know my hubby does not like it AT ALL so now they just say hey you two look great! We say thanks, and how are you doing...and move on to something else.

I agree with Protein from whole foods, however when you need that extra because of hair loss and specifically the collagen which is pretty much what hair, nails and skin are made from the protein shots help. They are low in calorie, and allow you to be able to eat the whole foods as well as boost the protein level especially in the very beginning of your band phase when your not really eating much food at all and are on liquid or mushy phase diet. I had an issue with digesting them, due to the whey in them but taking lactaid chewable before helped cut down on the gas and digestive issues. If your having a hair loss problem, this is what worked for me. Also using the Nixoin shampoo and conditioner to help revitalize and care for the scalp. Biotin is just another supplement that can't hurt to help strengthen the hair you still have and to prevent further breakage from lack of nutrition while you transition from liquids onto full whole foods again.

Congratulations! Let me be honest with you...the day before my surgery was the worst day for me to get through. I was HUNGRY all day! Clear liquids only that day before surgery and it was not the easiest thing to do. I was a bit irritable, excited, and anxious to get it over and done. You will make it through, and you will be so happy you did! So if you have family and friends around you the day before let them all know you love them but might have to bite their heads off a bit the day before surgery mostly because your hungry and can't eat anything else Best of luck to you, see you on the banded side of life! Let us know how it goes!

I agree with you Bandi, an overnight stay was a blessing. When I was released to go home I was feeling pretty good. Drinking Clear liquids moving my body and not feeling nauseated. Everyone has a different experience but my goodness, you just had surgery and they should have been more worried about you suing them if something went wrong then trying to shove you out the door. Next time, I would take action against the hospital. Even if you are OK, the chances are that someone that gets treated like that is NOT going to be OK, and that is inexcusable! Glad your doing well Angi.

I agree with the others about WW. Your going to find it hard to fit into the "points" of WW when you are banded. Mostly because you are going to need to eat a high Protein diet. Your going to get your chicken, fish and meats in first before you think about vegies and fruits. WW. primarily likes to focus on those for volume rather then the protein and that is not inline with your band diet. You can still attend the meetings and keep track of your intake and weigh in if that helps you to be accountable to yourself, though for me the cost out weighs (no pun intended) the benefit of WW. I would and do use my fitnesspal(free application/ website) to track your food and calorie content and try to stick with band friendly foods that have higher protein levels. Don't worry so much about WW points, as much as calorie in and calorie out. You could still measure the amounts you eat and try to keep those WW proportions those are pretty on target for band sized portions of food. Eg. 3oz of chicken etc. as you work toward your greenzone. Best of luck to you!

I shout it from the roof tops, sing it from the mountain side. I don't care who knows about my surgery. The reason I feel this way is because I am proud of myself and my husband for having the courage and conviction to care enough about ourselves to do something about our health. People will talk about you if you are fat or skinny if you had weight loss surgery or if the newest Oreo cookie diet helped you shed 100 pounds. I don't care what people think about me I know how I feel and that's AMAZING! I do understand why you would want to keep that secret to yourself, and I applaud you for doing it! Listening to peoples comments or questions is never easy but like Chase said for me it's life improvement surgery! I look at it as if it were open heart surgery! That would help a cardiac patient have a better quality and quantity to their life, and for me that's what WLS has done! I'd wear a gold pin (cause I just love me some jewelry!) that said I had weight loss surgery. I'd put a banner on my car, or broadcast it over the airwaves, to educate the ignorant question asking comment making population and if it helped even one person that was like me to make a choice for a better longer healthier life I'd be more then happy to let the world know. My husband doesn't feel the same way. He likes to keep things quiet, and he doesn't share his story unless someone asks him and honestly has an interest. I understand his feelings, and I respect them as I do each of yours as well. I am proud of you all no matter what you decide to share or not! You have made a commitment to yourself and that's what matters!

As Cheryl mentioned above now is the time to stop eating all those foods that you are trying out. They are not part of the band diet now or in your future. If you are not going to follow the rules of your band you are going to have a hard time as you move forward. It takes time to reach your optimal Fluid level or green zone in your band it takes a period of adjustment both of the band and i your life. In the mean time the best thing to be doing is working on your choices your eating habits and your eating mechanics. (taking the time to eat your meal, at least 20 min. and chewing chewing chewing not eating and drinking together) Those things will benefit you over all in the long run as you move forward with the band and begin losing weight. Lapband surgery is not an automatic restrictive surgery like other WLS it takes time to reach your green zone and it takes 100% compliance by the user. The band is an amazing tool but you still have to work it. All the best!

Hi lovebug, Give yourself some love! It is going to take you some time to get to the green zone and to be able to make the life style change and eating habit changes that the band requires. Faster is not always better. Don't beat yourself up, try to take each lesson in stride until you reach that green zone eating smaller portions and not feeling hungry is going to take time. So while you are moving forward to that point, take the time to notice your eating habits, your eating and chewing strategy. Do you still drink and eat at the same time? Do you take your time to eat your meal at least 20 minutes? For right now if you need a bit more to feel full, that is OK as you are not at your optimal fill level. You will get there, but give it a chance and it will be well worth the wait and effort you put toward it. Best of luck to you!!

Welcome back Mony!

Fred is correct. You can find them at Walmart, and I am not a big fan of anything nasty tasting, but these were not so bad for me. I don't use them much these days but they are very good for helping to up the Protein when you need it without the extra calories. I used the one by body fortress in cherry flavor if that helps you can also mix it with Water if you want to cut the taste and drag it out..but I found knocking one shot back was less gross

I used Premier Protein it's 30 grams of protein and low in sugar. You can pretty much find them everywhere now. They are not expensive and do not leave a nasty after taste.

I bet you look wonderful in the dress, and feel great about it!! What a steal, for something you loved!! Have fun at the wedding and take some photos you can share with us!!

Wow that's great! All these years I have been doing it the hard way!

PT that is AWESOME!!!!

OMG CG! That was great! Thanks for the laugh this morning I feel like that sometimes and what a nightmare having 56 kids would be! I want to dis-own the 3 that I have now! I didn’t have much pain after the surgery. The only thing I feel is the port, and mostly because I have very little torso so it hits into my desk and my seatbelt and the waist of my pants and bra sometimes can be uncomfortable. What goes on inside your body you don’t feel at all. You will feel the wounds from the surgery and you may feel some sharp pain from the gas that’s used during the surgery. Give yourself some TLC after the surgery, prepare before you go in and have things on hand like gas-ex strips, a warm Water bottle or heating pad to put under your shoulders and back if you have those gas pains. Ice packs to place on the wounds and the port site help tremendously and if you really can’t take the pain or can’t sleep take your pain meds. I was fine with just Tylenol and nothing stronger. Warm tea to drink in the first few days was a comfort for digestion as well as frozen ice pops. Best of luck to you and let us know how you do!

Thanks for posting that Cheryl. I feel just the way you do, I'm losing it slowly but surely and I'm not in a rush. This is a marathon for me for the rest of my life not a sprint to see who can get there the fastest. I'm learning as I go and making the changes to my life and life style. Old habits are not the easiest to break and this old dog is learning lots of new tricks every day. It took me 42 years to adopt the old ones...so it's going to take me a minute to pull out those bad behaviors from the roots and plant the new ones deep enough that they grow and flourish. In the meantime I've never been happier to have a great tool to work with, and awesome people to share my journey with!

I will be totally honest with you. I felt great and was back on my feet as soon as I got home from the hospital after a one night stay. I was up and driving but if you take any kind of public transportation to school or have to carry any books or back pack you need more than 3 days. If you are going to be able to drive yourself and not have to go too far to get to the class and you are going to sit there and not have to carry much you should be OK if you are OK a couple days after surgery. Though you may be tired often and need to rest if you go back full bore. If you can take the full week before you put yourself back into the fray. Contact the professors of your classes and see if you can miss the first few and/or make the work at home online, let them know you had surgery, you don't need to say what kind if you don't wish to. If all else fails, wait for your Spring Break and schedule at that time if you can. The more time you give yourself to heal and get your strength back the better you will do. I pushed myself too far too fast and regretted it after. Best of luck to you!!!

I agree, up your Protein intake. I also took Biotin tablets and used Nioxin shampoo and conditioner. My hair got pretty thin but it all came back, and I put it through the ringer! I like to change it up all the time color and cut and all that. So give it a break for a bit if you’re like me, I stopped making changes for a few months and just nurtured my hair. The Nioxin shampoo can be a bit pricey but to me it was totally worth it. I also purchased some protein shots to take when I was newly banded so that it was easy to get them down and into my system without messing with my meals. Sometimes you can get a bit gassy from soy Proteins that are in bars, shakes, or shots. If you find that you are feeling that way you can take some lactaid to help and trust me it does. The whey in protein is derived from milk and causes the digestive issues. Best of luck I'm sure your locks will come back soon with a bit of TLC.

Thanks CG. I had some of those feelings and issues myself just before we made the decision to go for weight loss surgery. My loss has been slow and I wish the band and the plication worked for me the way it's working for you CG. I knew going in that it would not be the "magic" bullet. Volume of food was never my big issue. I had lots of digestive issues and the start of crones disease. The surgery has stemmed all of that for me, and I am feeling so much better! If only I could keep myself healthy and not keep getting respiratory infections it would be easier to stay on track. There are days when I fall back into the old Lisa way of being. My big issue is that I don’t take care of myself. I rush and I run and do for everyone else and then I realize oh yeah, I didn’t eat Breakfast, and now I’m starving and my tummy is growling and I’m feeling weak. So I rush to get something to eat and maybe it’s not a good choice, or maybe I over eat it because I’m so hungry and think well no breakfast so I’ll eat it now. (bad thinking) I don’t get the Water in that I should and feeling well enough and making time to get to the gym…I can find more excuses then most to just not do it! (slapping myself in the ass!) I have to remind myself that I only feel as good as I do today because of my band, and I need to honor it and take care of myself. I stop on here and read the inspiration of others, and even the snarky stuff of still others, and I use that to motivate me. Sometimes I need something snarky to wake me up to my ignorance The band is a great tool it never lets me forget it’s there and it’s really what I need to help me keep my head in the game that is my life! I’m feeling better after another week of bronchitis, and maybe I will even get to the gym for a bit today just to walk and that will be a big accomplishment for me this week. TGIF!

This is true fact! It affected me at my company we were told we have "Cadillac" insurance and therefor must pay a hefty fine for it. I'm sorry it's bad enough that we work hard for what we have, and we take care of those without but to have to pay a fine for having a good job and working for a good company that cares about it's employees is just BS. Our generation as I tell my husband all the time is the sandwich generation stuck between our aging parents and the baby boomers looking for their medicaid ride and our kids who are too dam lazy to get a real job that we now cover them until they are 26. Sometimes I actually think I should just quit my job, and put my hand out like 99% of people out there. If all the working class Americans quit what would they do? Have to work....hmmmm makes me think every day when I get up at 5 am and work 10 hours a day to pay fines for having healthcare.

All dressed up and ready for the holiday!