newlife082318

No pain meds?? Wow that is awesome.

Well, I didn't think I had it covered last week when I started. I thought I was going to die. HANGRY is an understatement. LOL My poor kids and husband were hiding from me. If you can do soup, you've got this in the bag. I went to Whole Foods and Trader Joes (which I rarely shop at) and bought sooooooooo many soups since they had more options then my standard grocery stores. But still, I've hated them all. Except the la madeline tomato basil soup that I had to add water to. I'm doing RNY. I had the band for 2 years and then it dislodged after a stomach virus. I had to have it removed immediately in 2015. I loved the band. LOVED IT. And then I hated it. And I gained back the 70lbs I lost plus more. So now I'm going to a new surgeon with new goals, and a new mindset. I learned nothing with my band and how to use the tool. It was such a simple "fix". But with RNY it's not simple. You are having surgery the week I go back to work!

Next time you see the doctor, or even the coordinator, ask if everything is met and approved by your Christmas break since you are a teacher, if you could do it then. They may be willing to work with you. My surgery isn't until next week but I'm hoping I'm only out 2 weeks. I have a desk job and can close my door and nap if I need to. Hopefully you can try and do some of your lessons from a chair (unless you are a PE teacher). Stairs might be tough. Can you take an elevator for a few weeks?

I agree with Sadiebug. You are doing this for YOU. She might try and talk you out of it, but that doesn't mean you don't do it. This is for you. I'm sure there is a fear of the unknown. You get skinny, you may leave, you might not be attracted to her anymore, etc. I honestly don't think the doctor will try and talk you out of it. If anything, s/he will TELL you that you need it and explain why. And 6 months on a diet is actually hard. Your insurance is looking for your commitment. WLS is not a cure. It's a tool. And you could still gain weight back after you lose it. But the tool will help YOU keep it off if you use it.

I am currently on day 5 of 14 pre op diet. For me, the first 2 days were crazy hard. I found myself sleeping a lot just so I wouldn't think about how hungry I was. By day 3 I was too busy to fret about food, and by day 4, it was just a regular day. I haven't added anything to the protein shakes so far. I'm drinking premade premier shakes which have several flavors. Besides regular vanilla and chocolate, they have bananas n cream (my favorite), caramel, cookies n cream, strawberry n cream and peaches n cream. I may mix the peaches and vanilla together next time bc it's just too peachy for me. I also have some crush drink mix that I plan to add into vanilla when I remember. It's suppose to taste like a orange creamsicle. As for broth, OMG I hate broth. (I had to live on Broth for an entire month after lapband issues years ago) I haven't added seasoning. Never thought of that. I will try that tonight. Maybe I can make some sort of tortilla soup flavor or something. I did have some tomato basil and some French onion soup. Just the soup. Nothing added extra. I'm just not a soup fan. I'm in Texas and it's just too dang hot for hot soup. Now, I did have a crazy salt craving the 2nd day and I sprinkled just a shake of trader joes everything but bagel seasoning on my hand and licked it. lol I was desperate. And it was just seasoning. But it hit the spot. LOTS of water. I'm drinking crystal light and zero vitamin water. I'm also allowed 1/2 cup of fruit and 1/2 cup vegetables a day. So I've had watermelon or cantaloupe for my fruit, and I got a bag of salad mix (with none of the good tasty carb stuff in it) and I divided that up in containers. I stir in 1/2 a tsp of FF dressing just to give it a little taste. Oh, and there's also jello and popsicles. Haven't resorted to that yet. Seriously, the first few days are crazy hard but you CAN do this. You have to make yourself busy or sleep to not dwell on it. When I woke up this morning, I saw that I've lost 10.2 lbs since I started the liquid diet Thursday. So 4 full days! I know not everyone is the same. I know it was probably mostly water weight since I'm not bloated feeling anymore. But still, to see the loss, it gave me a little more will power. Good luck!!!

The surgeon did when he called me that evening after reading my results.

I called BCBS Fed yesterday b/c my lapband has slipped and is causing severe issues. I was told since it is a "complication" that the surgeon says must be rectified, then they will pay for it but they still need to do precertification. I don't have to go through the whole testing/dieting/psychoanalysis stuff again since it's a complication and needs immediate attention.

Hi everyone. I don't post to often but read fairly often in the band board. I'm so drained. For weeks I haven't felt right. I was banded in Nov 2013. PreOp I was 305, Day of surgery I was 287, and today I'm at 218. I'm quite happy with my progress. I've learned to use my tool. I work out and get about 1500 calories in a day, usually. But the past month has been a struggle to just get in 600 calories. It's like everything I eat makes me sick. Then I caught my son's stomach bug 2 weeks ago and that did me in. I vomited too many times to count in 24 hours and that was with anti-nausea medicine. Once I recovered from that I developed horribbbbbble acid reflux. I wake up nightly by chocking on my own reflux. I barely sleep now. So I went to my dr Monday and he took out all the Fluid in my band. Which wasn't much. A little over 3cc's. He sent me for a barium swallow and that test showed my band has "slipped" and now I have maybe 10% of what I take in, reaching my stomach. So there's a severe blockage. I go back Friday and he told me that I have a decision to make. 1 - remove the band and replace with nothing. 2 - redo the band. 3 - get the sleeve. I'm completely freaked out. They want this surgery done next week. I guess a positive is at least i won't be fretting over a pre-op diet. I'm so upset about the band. I don't want to go through this again if it slips again. I'm considering the sleeve but am scared of making the wrong decision. Thoughts? Advice? Jamie

Hi everyone. I don't post to often but read fairly often. I'm so drained. For weeks I haven't felt right. I was banded in Nov 2013. PreOp I was 305, Day of surgery I was 287, and today I'm at 218. I'm quite happy with my progress. I've learned to use my tool. I work out and get about 1500 calories in a day, usually. But the past month has been a struggle to just get in 600 calories. It's like everything I eat makes me sick. Then I caught my son's stomach bug 2 weeks ago and that did me in. I vomited too many times to count in 24 hours and that was with anti-nausea medicine. Once I recovered from that I developed horribbbbbble acid reflux. I wake up nightly by chocking on my own reflux. I barely sleep now. So I went to my dr Monday and he took out all the Fluid in my band. Which wasn't much. A little over 3cc's. He sent me for a barium swallow and that test showed my band has "slipped" and now I have maybe 10% of what I take in, reaching my stomach. So there's a severe blockage. I go back Friday and he told me that I have a decision to make. 1 - remove the band and replace with nothing. 2 - redo the band. 3 - get the sleeve. I'm completely freaked out. They want this surgery done next week. I guess a positive is at least i won't be fretting over a pre-op diet. I'm so upset about the band. I don't want to go through this again if it slips again. I'm considering the sleeve but am scared of making the wrong decision. Thoughts? Advice? Jamie

Hi there. I'm looking for some guidance on papaya pills. I've read a few posts where people say they take these to help. Is this for a daily supplement, or is this something you take after a meal if you aren't feeling well? Jamie

I eat one of those mini individual size bags of orville redenbacher smart popcorn almost everyday. I've had no issues with popcorn. It's usually what I have for dinner because I don't have time for an actual sit down dinner.

Hi Emjay. I feel your frustrations. I had the same thing here recently with the liquid diet. For me, once I was able to move onto mushies, I was no longer hungry and it would take more than the size of a pudding cup to get full. I'm still not on full regular diet. Still on mushy stuff like eggs and oatmeal. Hang in there. It's almost Thursday and hopefully you can graduate up to something not so liquidy.

Hi everyone. I was banded on 11/21. After taking 12 hours to come out of anesthesia (that was a huge shocker) and getting over the crazy gas pain, I started to feel human again after 2 days. I did liquids up until yesterday and started on mushies. Oh thank goodness. Anyway, so I've moved on to mushies and after I have about 5 slow bites, I have this heavy feeling at the top of my stomach/bottom of chest. I can't eat past that point. Is that the full feeling I'm suppose to be looking for? I didn't get a fill yet but the dr said I would still feel some sort of restriction with the band alone. Jamie - down 12 pounds since surgery 11 days ago! YAY!

Today I had my pre-op appointment. My surgery is Thursday. I found out that I don't have to do any sort of pre-op diet until Wednesday and that is for a colon cleanse. I guess I should consider myself lucky that I don't have to do the pre-op diet like a lot of others but is everyone also doing a colon cleanse? I have to go to work that morning to take care of some stuff that can't be done ahead of time, and then will head home to... cleanse. Anyway, I have that on Wed with only clear liquids. Then after the procedure, I am only on clear liquids while I am in the hospital. Once I go home, I'm on full liquids for 2 weeks, then go to puree's. Looks like a pumpkin protein shake for me for Thanksgiving day. I took the entire week of Thanksgiving off but the doctor said I can go back to work on Monday if I "need" to. Uhhh, no thanks.

Hi. I'm new here. Is it common to not have a strict pre-op diet a week or two before LapBand? My surgery date is next week, 11/21, and my pre-op appt is Tuesday 11/19. I've been dieting for several months now, but nothing like what I'm reading here with the liquid diets and or minimal calories. I have lost 25lbs dieting over the past 3.5 months. My other question is, should I expect to have a drain port on the outside after surgery for a few days? I knew that was common for other gastric surgeries, but I didn't know about LapBand. And now I won't find out from my surgeron until Tuesday. Thanks for your help! Jamie