MookNana

I've gone about half and half--my family and my best friend from high school know, but I'm not planning on telling neighbors, work friends, casual acquaintances, etc. I don't intend to lie, but I also don't intend to answer any questions I don't want to. It's not a secret and I'm not ashamed, it's just really none of their business. The funny thing, however, is that I can't stop telling total strangers! The lady at hair Cuttery, the guy at GNC, and the flight attendant from last week all know. The nice thing is they were all so positive and supportive--I'm glad to have had those conversations.

Sorry this is kind of a gross question, but approximately what volume of slime is produced? I know it varies from person to person, but I was hoping to have a general idea so I could be prepared. Can it be contained in a tissue or two? A Dixie cup? A Home Depot bucket?

Thanks--I'd love to hear what you thought of the group this week. I'd like to find something like that since it's such an adjustment in learning to live with the band. I figure a group meeting had got to be a help! You might want to check Amazon to see if they sell the Atkins shakes. They offer surprisingly good prices on groceries, especially in bulk.

I bought for a combination of pre and post-op. Our pre-op diet is 5 Protein shakes a day, plus a cup of broth and a sugar free Jello if we feel like having a treat. We have to provide our own supplies. The dietician recommended Bariatric Advantage shakes (conveniently available for purchase on our doctor's website...) but we compared the nutrition stats and found the Premier Protein Shakes from costco to be comparable and more convenient. We wound up getting enough of those for half of our shakes, and we'll use Bariatric Advantage powder (ordered cheaper from Amazon) for the rest. I guess every doctor has their own way of doing things. Ours has only made vague allusions to some kind of support program. We weren't required to go to one but it sounds nice!

Peppermint tea is a great craving-killer for me, partially because it's kind of sweet-ish, but also because the mint seems to short-circuit the sweet craving. It causes a reboot kind of like brushing your teeth. Also, if the taste of something sweet can satisfy your craving and not feed it, sugar-free Werthers caramel hard candies are wonderfully indulgent-tasting and last a very long time. Good luck!

I did the costco run today--by the time I was done stacking the pushcart with 7 cases of Protein shakes, 2 cases of Water, a small case of juice boxes, a case of broth, and some other supplies to tide us over till after the surgery, I could barely steer the dang thing! The checkout lady had a good chuckle at my stash.

I'm with Dr. Woodard at CDH, but the surgery will be done outpatient at the Oswego surgicenter. I think he called it Kendall Pointe? Off of 30, if I recall correctly? Which will be nice since it will only be about 10 minutes for us to get there. So far I've been pretty happy with Dr. Woodard--he actually took my gallbladder out laproscopically when I was 19--I had no recollection of him, but he remembered me! He and his office staff have been very pleasant and responsive. I wasn't super crazy about the dietician--she was nice enough but just gave me a printed out packet and basically read it to me. I can think of more entertaining ways to spend $50. But if that's the worst thing that happens I'm doing OK!

Hi! I'm pretty close by as well. My husband and I are both getting banded on Sep 19th in Oswego and the pre-op liquid diet starts 8/30. I'm off to costco tomorrow to pick up a bunch of cases of shakes and Water. I'm so nervous!

Hello all! Just got the surgery date on Tuesday. My DH and I will both be getting banded on Sep 19th, assuming all goes well with the pre-op testing. It will be 2 days before my 34th birthday, so I guess we'll have to figure out how to get a candle into a bowl of chicken broth. So far the clinic has been really supportive of us going together and, *knock on wood* the insurance company has been great with approvals. Either his dad or my brother is going to come into town to babysit us for the day of surgery and a few days after. Liquid diet starts on 8/30. I'm nervous about it, but I'm hoping that we can help each other stay on track. The fear of them not being able to do the surgery will likely scare me into staying on the straight-and-narrow! Best wishes to all the September folks, wherever you are on your journey!

My DH and I start our pre-op diet next Friday. We have to do 3 weeks of 5 Protein shakes a day...and we can have up to 2 cups of broth daily as a treat (!). We've already made a pinkie-swear pact that nothing either of us says or does during those 3 weeks can be held against us.