EnchantedRuby

ok so the day after my insurance approved me the dr's office called and scheduled my surgery.. So with in the next 3 weeks I will be running around like crazy getting my pre-op testings and other stuff that needs to be taken care of. I start my shakes this Thursday (01/24). I'm ready for that. I bought 2 cases of Slim-fast Optima. One's Dark chocolate Royal and the other is Cappuccino Delight. I was wondering since they said I can have tomato juice does that mean I can have some V-8?? hum.. I have a question (other than the one I just asked).. I take birth control pills and Vitamins daily.. now I've heard we can't take pills cause they could be hard to digest. Does anyone have any ideas or alternatives??? Thanks!!

Curious... My coordinator just called and said she submitted all my information to my insurance company (aenta)... I'm curious to know how long some of you waited for your approval.. but most of all ... how did you deal with the wait???????? I'm so excited and nervous all wrapped up in one!!! I can't wait to get approved.. but at the same time it's like ... "what if I don't??" GOING NUTS HERE!!:help:

I have a similar problem. Everyday my band feels tighter. I talked to my counselor about this and she stated that she's heard in some cases the band reacts to your emotions. I've been under some stress lately so maybe that could be my problem. I have noticed that when I'm relaxed and comfortable I can eat a little more than usual but still not to much. I have a lot of restriction. I just saw my surgeon yesterday for my 6 month follow up. He asked if I wanted a fill and without a thought I said no.. when I explained my problem he asked if I wanted a unfill but again without a thought I said no.. now I think maybe I should have had him remove a bit of the Fluid. .. I probably did not help much but I thought I would share that with you.. Hope all goes well and good luck! Ruby

hello.. I was banded 02/07/08. answer to your question... YES!.. stress of any kind makes me band tighter which causes me to eat less because if I eat normal it'll come right up.. I usually stick to soups if I've been having a stressful day. good luck!

Congrat's on getting a date!! Good Luck!! Best wishes being sent your way...

Thanks guys for all you replies and suggestions. :-)

Hello everyone.. as you guys can see from my signature I'm headed to Disneyworld very soon.. (June 12-17th). I was wondering about the whole eating and what to do about it. I found this thread and I was soooo glad I did. All the posting have helped a lot. Ok so here's my "problem". My DH has suggested I take snacks with me from home to be able to take into the park. This would also help for breakfast since I don't eat much early in the day. The thing is I can't figure out what to take. Any ideas or suggestions of what I should get now to take with me (I was thinking I could just pack it in a suit case and claim it a check in.. so any ideas? thanks in advance!

good luck!

I have a size goal!... I want to be a size 12 but now that I can fit into a 14 (tight but damn they close) I'm thinking maybe a size 10 but what I really want is to be able to wear a L instead of a XL in tops. I went to Lane Bryant yesterday and was soooo happy I saw a really cute blouse (a must have) but they didn't have my size .. Guess what they had only.. sizes way too big.. lol.. I can't believe it.. I was really excited. For the first time in a very long time I can actually say Lane Bryant sizes were to big for me.. ok ok so I was only asking for a 14/16 but still the 18/20 was to big.. and I loved it!!

I was told to sleep how ever made me comfortable but it took about 5 days before I could actually sleep on my side. I basically slept propped up on pillows..

Congrat's good luck!!

Well today was my first fill. I was scared at first but everything went ok. Had no problems at all. I only got 1cc but I felt it right away. Dr. said that I'll get a total of 4 cc and I should be good. He said that I should have no problem hitting my goal as long as stay focused on my food intake and increase my exercise to 30 minutes 3x a week. I was walking 15 minutes a day on the treadmill already I thought I was doing good since I didn't do anything at all before. Come to find out per Dr. that I would have to increase to the be able to make a difference. Ok he's the Dr. I'm excited the nurse said she could see the difference in my looks. She even pulled out the "before pics" from my folder and was pointing out my face , my tummy, my thigh, how she could tell where I've lost.. the before pics were taken 1 week before my surgery. I'm so happy I've officially have dropped from a size 22 to a size 16 in a minimum of 2 months:thumbup:. YAY me!! I want to be at a size 12 hopefully by June for my Disney vacation so till then I'll eat right and lots of exercising!:tea:

Thanks Jack.. I'll keep that in mind.. :-)

Ok So I’m not going to sit here and lecture you, Yaz about how wrong you are for giving but at the same time I’m not going to encourage you to have the band remove. What I can do for you is tell you my experience. See I tried everything and at your age I was already close to 200lbs.. I kept thinking that’s not bad as long as I don’t actually hit 200 I’m still ok. So I started dieting to “stay under 200” and dieted, and dieted. I turned 30 and I was at 265lbs!! How?? I exercised a lot at that age. I never ate red meat, never drank sodas. So why was I so heavy?? So I gave up dieting and started to love me for me!!. Whether 190 or 265.. I was happy. I started eating what ever I wanted to and before you know it I was for some reason loosing weight. 1 year ago I got sick. Found out I was border line diabetic, hypertension, and severe sleep apnea. Not to mention I was having major pain in my legs at night. So I started to diet HARD. Counting calories, working out, I joined weight watchers. Nothing was working. To me having the lap-band or the bypass was an “easy way out” for lazy fat people. No I didn’t miss read you post, I know what you meant but this is what I felt. When I first met with my family doctor he asked about my thoughts regarding the surgeries. My response? No thanks. Then he basically told me that at the rate I was going I was not going to be able to see my son get married and have his kids… Did I go through the “what the heck did I do to myself”?? Of course.. I cried myself to sleep at night for being in so much pain and watching my hubby and son eat anything they wanted. I’m an “emotional eater” a ‘food addict”!!.. All I wanted to do was eat to feel better. But guess what? The food gets better and you shouldn’t deprive yourself of food. I would “kill” the urge at first by just sticking my figure in food for a “quick” taste. I chose to stick to pureed foods longer than I needed to, but you don’t have to. The first few days are hard because you are still swollen. You’re body is still trying to adjust to the “foreign” object. I feel great now, I won’t lie to you and tell you I feel 100% all the time because I don’t. I get tired sometimes and just want to sleep. I get hungry a lot and want to cheat and not to mention I still feel a little sore when I try to do something I shouldn’t. Hope all goes well for you.. Either way you choose to go.. good luck!

ok ok confession!... well yesterday at work we had a "nacho" buffet basically we laid out all the toppings to a deluxe nachos.. man you guys should have seen some of this people's plates.. super loaded!! well I was like "ok the chips are soaked in cheese and chilli if I take a bite I should be ok. Figured it was soft enough to swallow ok.. yeah right!. ONE bite my but!.. I ended up eating a plate of it.. totally forgetting about the band and then it happened! PAIN!!!.. I felt so bad! I was sweating and sliming all over the place!! BUT damn were those nachos GOOOD!!! HUGZ!

Congrat's to you and best wishes.. see you in bandland!!!

Well Just like Jax... I had my surgery exactly 4 weeks ago... I have no surgery pain except that discomfort feeling when I burp,cough, or lay down the wrong way. I've had 2 PB since surgery but that was completely my fault. 1st I was still on liquids and tried to have a bite of a hamburger, and 2nd was just yesterday when I tried to have a bite of a chili cheese hotdog.. I know I know I shouldn't be eating that but it was only going to be a bite.. oh well...

that's exactly what my post-op diet is travelgirl...

I was banded on the 7th of feb.. I still have to walk slow cause if I start to walk to fast my port area feels real sore from the inside. the outer part not so much but if I try to push even just a little on it .. it hurts.. I can feel my port when I'm laying flat it feels weird.. can't wait for my 1st fill!!

I cracked!... I bought 4 boxes total.. 1 peanut butter patties, 2 peanut butter sandwiches,1 chocolate mint oops.. make that 5 cause I also bought my favorite girl scout cookies the Caramel Delights!!.. I've been really good just sitting back and watching my hubby and 17 year old eating away......but today it was my co-worker that talked me into trying the lemon cookies.. "their soft just be sure you chew it up well, one won't hurt"... YEAH RIGHT!.. that one cookie was soft but I was eating it ok till I took the last bite and didn't chew it up right!!.. well it was good in my tummy while it lasted.. oh well.. my 1st major cheat and I only enjoyed it for about 10 minutes..

Interesting... I got banded on feb7th. I have a lot of restriction. I only eat about 1/2 cup per meal.. but what my dietitian advised my to do is eat 6 small meals a day. I'm full all the time. Not to mention I'm sipping liquids all day. If I eat something wrong I feel it!.. and no I had no fill at surgery nor have I had my first fill yet.. good luck to you all....

I was on a 2 week clear liquid diet!! I was suppose to be on a 2 week Protein shake diet but I caught a cold and had to stop so because I was coughing to much... 3 days is nothing! trust me just keep yourself hydrated! keep drinking.. trust me you'll be full.. !! good luck!

try a sports bra or a no-wire bra. I ran into that problem a lot what really worked for me where those cami's you can get that have the built in bras.. I got 2 at walmart. they fit comfortable not to mention it keeps my clothes from rubbing all my other incisions. well that's what worked for me.. hope it helps.. HUGZ!

Oh yeah been there..it was a cool morning here in Houston today and I didn't expect my allergies to go hay wire but they did and HOLY COW!! .. I couldn't even hold my stomach cause I was caring some paper work in one hand and my purse and lunch bag in the other!! WOW did that hurt. Even felt like a pulling pain ..that scared me to death..called the doc's office and nurse said it was "normal" just to be a little more careful.. HUH?? oh well.. :-)

Ok what the heck.. I just started on pureed foods today. I've been on liquids for the past three weeks. This morning before I ate anything I went to weigh myself and there is was 3lbs more than 3 days ago. Where the heck did those come from?? Anyways so I called the Dr's office and was told to watch my liquid intake (?) because I may be retaining Water. (?) Not to mention (and this maybe a little TMI) I'm constipated!!! Haven't "gone" GOOD in 3 days. I told the nurse and the dietitian this and they agreed the weight could be coming from there. They advised me to drink some Fiber powder drinks and instead of 3 regular meals have 5-6 small meals. Meals? wow the word itself sounds strange to me. 3lbs..I still can't believe it!!!