shortgal

Congratulations Tina! :biggrin: so glad to hear all went well. I had a hard time with the broth in the beginning, it just didn't sit well for me. Try again next week, it could change. Smallest band? What brand? I have the Inamed/Allergan 10 cc band. It also comes in 14cc, but I've heard of people having a different brand that is 4cc. Stay warm and dry! CTMAN: I'm still here and hanging in. Oh man, waiting for restriction is tough. I've had five fills and I'm still not tight. Next fill is a loooonnnng two weeks away. This is absolutely the hardest part of being banded, but I know it will get better (tighter) soon. I try to tell myself the patience will pay off later. Good Luck with your "test" ( they ask a question about taking tylenol or aspirin after banding, so study up) and good luck with the pre-op diet. I was lucky I didn't have to do that, but what a nice head start on losing the pounds it will be. Just keep that in mind when it starts to get to you. If you feel you must cheat on it, (I read so many posts on the forum about people that do) keep to low fat, low sugar food for your liver. I've read that men are more likely to have a fatty liver so be careful on the pre-op diet.

You know a lot of people on the forum call the Isopure "Isopuke", but I'm a fan and still have a glass often for the Protein boost. I like the alpine punch, the apple melon and the pineapple/banana. Glad you found it, too!

Yep Kristin, you have won the equivalent of the lap band lottery! I'll be getting my sixth fill the end of the month! Of the five fills I've had I'm at approx 6 cc's in my 10 cc band. did your Dr put any fill in at surgery?

A cup of dry ingredients is different from a cup of wet ingredients. Example: A cup of bullets weighs more than a cup of corn flakes. That's a dry ingredient so the cup measurement won't translate. I think you have to weigh the oz on a scale and pour it in a cup to see. But I'm very intrigued about this product for occasional use. so I might try this product down the road. I was never great in math, your numbers are right, but I think it's the dry/wet thing.

Great math, but who measures powders by ounces for cooking? I guess I was looking for measurements like a 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup, so I could translate that into a receipe and try to figure some calories. But powders are light so maybe that's a lot in one serving?????

Kristen: Welcome, I'm from Ct, too. We have a Ct group on the forum. Connecticut - Lap Band Talk Forum - The largest forum for Lap Band Surgery Discussion and Lap Band Surgery Support We are close to the same height and starting weight, but I'm twice your age! I was banded end of November and have lost slow but regularly. I did not have to do a liquid pre-op diet. I do not have good restriction yet, so continuing to lose is taking a lot of willpower ( which is fading). What part of CT are you in?

But of course we are stuck on the numbers on a scale. Since our birth announcements that list our weight and pediatrician visits that tell us where we are on the growth curve, every Dr's visit the first thing they do is weigh us and if we join a weigh loss program like weight watchers, success is measured by the scale. I agree with the above posts but think it's hard to get away from the reality of the NUMBER on the scale. Let's face it, I cannot fit into a size 12 unless the numbers go down!

I have never heard of it. Just read the link and nutritional info. One serving is 60 calories but I can't find where it says how much a serving is. Don't really want to add it to my diet now, but as I get closer to goal or on maintainence I would try it.

I was NEVER an everyday kind of girl, but it's now more like every five days. I do use benefiber in my flavored Water, it hasn't change the frequency in movements, but they are not uncomfortable to pass. They were before I added the benefiber. Tried to say that as delicate as I could!

So far, I haven't eaten out much. Too much salt in restaurant food. But I have ordered fish once, but I would probably get fish or salad or soup. I've seen threads here mentioning eating out and some bandsters eat out often. They just take home 2/3 of the meal and have it next day for lunch. You generally figure out at home whihc foods your band tolerates and then order something similar if eating out. But in my opinion, most home cooked food is healthier and easier to control portions.

Seems you need more fills! I've had five fills and I'm still not at restriction. It's a gradual process and we just have to be patient. Trust me, I know how hard this is. I am struggling with this myself right now. do you have another fill appt scheduled?

I personally think it's great that a Dr. doesn't want to hand out RX so easily. For some people a little education about waht they have such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol is enough to get them to eat better or reduce salt intake etc. Of course if the level is too high, especially blood pressure, waiting to start a person on meds is not advisable. A pill is not an easy fix. They can have side effects and are metabolized by our livers and can effect our kidneys. All we notice is that our cholesterol or blood pressure goes down, we don't see or realize the other effects for years. Several years ago my cholesterol was 236 and I decided to diet to see if I could get the numbers down. After 6 months my cholesterol went down to 180. A drop of 56 points and put me in the normal range. Not everyone can reduce their numbers by that amount, but now I know I can, at least for now, cholesterol elevates as we get older. I also saw a reduction in my tricyclerides, although they were in normal range to begin with. Maybe you could ask your ins. company what comorbids they will accept for surgery.

I don;t know how your ins company evaluates the co -morbidities, but high cholesterol is anything above normal. so above 199 is high. But there are different levels that Dr's will decide that it's time for meds to control it. Like once it rises over 250. A dr will also evaluate your other numbers like the good and the bad cholesterol and your tricyclerides before deciding if an RX should be prescribed. But is your number is above normal, then it's high. This is true of high blood pressure. A small elevated level and the Dr. might not prescribe, but a higher level, they will. Did you have a sleep apnea test? Being diagnosed with that is a co-morbid.

A pre-op appt generally means a physical, Blood work, EKG and Chest x-ray to be sure you're healthly enough for surgery. Most hospitals require them to be done within 30 days prior to the surgery date. Congratulations on your approval.

800 a day is not much if you're exercising. But 800 calories of Protein is better than 800 calories of carbs. I would be sure to get the protein in even if you have to add another 100 calories. (a half bottle of Isopure CLEAR is 80 calories but 20 gms of protein and no carbs). And I would change up the amount of calories, a couple days of 800 and a couple days of 1000. I'll bet your losing inches anyway!

If you have a hanging belly now then you'll having hanging skin later. I know, BUMMER! Most of us are in the same boat, just depends on where we carry our weight. But I have yet to see one person that lost a lot of weight, that doesn;t look better overall, even with hanging skin.

Just tell the Dr. you're 5'1" that will raise your BMI a little or slouch a little if they measure you. And lots of people overestimate their height, so have someone check it for you. I used to be five feet and 1/2 inch, but I guess I shrunk, becasue now I'm five feet even. My highest weight was 230, but at surgery I was around 216. For now I ahve my goal weight set at 140. Not sure I can get and stay lower than that at my age. I'll re-evaluate my final goal weight later.

I would be comfortable in a Dr's own surgical center (In his office) IF I was having a procedure that could be done with IV sedation but I would NOT be comfortable anywhere but a hospital or facility attached to the hospital if I was having general anesthesia. Lap band is done with general anesthesia. Examples of procedures done with IV sedation, colonoscopy, endoscopy, removal of wisdom teeth, minor knee surgery etc.

I read online that the No caffeine rule was for the first three months. When i asked the Dr's office about it, they said it can cause dehydration, but if I was staying well hydrated then a cup or two a day wouldn't hurt. I drink a cup of tea every morning and sometimes in the afternoon. Very occassionally I have a cup of coffee. the carbonation seems like a whole different thing. All those bubbles in the pouch. I gave up most carbonated drinks a while ago because of my hiatal hernia, the carbonation bothered me. Now my hernia is fixed (when they put the band in) but I have no desire to drink carbonated things. The only one I'll miss is sparkling Water.

Me too! I knew I had one (because I had an endoscopy a few years previous) when I went to the surgeon and he fixed it and yup no more reflux! I might have additional swelling after surgery, but that's it!

I went for lap band because it's less invasive which makes surgery safer and I did not want the issues of malabsorption of nutrients. Who knows what will happen after years of malabsorption. As mentioned weight loss is slower, but after a few years the weight loss stats even out for both procedures. And the band is adjustable. And I have never had that "gray washed out look" that many GBP get i the first few months from the rapid weight loss. Those were my reasons. Good Luck with your decision.

What you can eat might change later, but not necessarily after your FIRST fill. I've had four fills and still can eat most foods, but I don't have good restriction yet. When we both get to our first level of restriction, then we'll have a better idea of what goes down and what doesn't. It will also depend on how tight we each feel we need to be. I'd prefer to be a LITTLE loser and not so tight that almost everything comes back up. I have yet to try certain foods, like pizza since being banded and I rarely eat bread. If I do eat bread, it's a small piece of crust or a piece of whole wheat toasted. don't need/want the carbs.

What are the calories of the shake? How many carbs in it? I would track calories and Protein for a few days just to see where you are. If you're getting in too many carbs or not enough protein, that will stall the scale.

Good defective work! Maybe you'll be able to lower your cholesterol enough after losing more weight, so you don;t need them anymore!

Not too many people are concerned with losing weight too fast..... most people on here are complaining about slow weight loss. If you're drinking 3 Protein drinks a day, you'll be fine. You feel lousy because you're detoxing from all the bad food you used to eat.