chako_lady

Devana What does aloe Vera juice do? This is my week to be banded!!! YEAH!

Thanks Poodles! I don't have any MuMu's :rant: I never really wear loose clothing. I'm a jeans and T-shirt kinda gal... Somebody may see me going down the freeway in my bathrobe...LOL Another 1/2 hour and I will be trying this new protein drink. I am going to mix it in the blender with some ice and make a milkshake. Mmmm, hope it tastes as good as it sounds. Are you still feeling restricted? or can you just about eat whatever you want? I won't be able to get a fill until the end of August, that will be 2 months post surgery. Well, I'm off to test my will power...I have a wedding to attend! 2 hours away. Thanks again for everyones help!!!

Poodles~ I was in Costco yesterday and found a protein drink. It is called Wellements Premium Pro Rated. It was 25.00 for 72 servings. It only has 27g of protein per serving though. Does anyone know exactly how much protein we are supposed to have? I haven't tried it yet, but will for "lunch" if you can call drinking liquid, "lunch"...lol Today is day 2 of liquid diet. I made it through day one without a morsel of "real" food. I am down 13 pounds from the day I made my surgery date! I am 5 days to surgery, and hoping to drop 3 more pounds...plus it is "that time of month"...figures! LOL Hope all are doing well! I am so excited about joining those of you who have already been banded and equally excited about sharing my experience with those who are still waiting. I am being banded by Dr. Ortiz, so if anyone was already banded by him and you have any last minute suggestions, I'm all ears...

Thanks Poodles! I think I'll order some before I leave then it will be here when I get back! Maybe I'll try a smaller size just to make sure I like it. I also like Strawberry, have you tried Isopures Strawberry?

:help: Can anyone tell me more about Isopure. I am always looking for a good protein drink. Does it taste good? I see it comes in several flavors, which ones are good. Also, where is the best place to get it price wise? I really don't have a post-op diet yet so I don't know what they are going to reccommend, but I would like to be able to ask them what they think about Isopure. Thanks for all your help out there!!!!!!

Good Morning! Hope everyone is doing fine! Congrats to all who were banded this week. I can't wait to join you! Just a few more days... Have a great weekend all!

I know this is kinda long...But I thought maybe it may be helpful! <TT></TT> <TT>This is from another board from a girl who was in the FDA trials she </TT><TT>has been banded 3 years has lost 140 pounds...</TT> <TT></TT> <TT>This is a recurrent theme on all lists, so let's just address it.</TT> <TT>The Lapband was designed with a purpose. To be emptied if we ever</TT> <TT>needed to be able to eat fairly normally again. I say "fairly"</TT> <TT>normally because even with no fluid it usually cuts our portions at</TT> <TT>least some. But mostly this is because we haven't been forced to</TT> <TT>superchew our food yet. Now, we understand this purpose when we go</TT> <TT>into it. But it doesn't really SINK IN until we're actually healed</TT> <TT>from our liquid phase (or even before that) and we decide to TEST</TT> <TT>THE BAND. And we can STILL eat!!! And we PANIC! And we convince</TT> <TT>ourselves we're doomed to fail! And we stress out and eat more. And</TT> <TT>maybe gain back some of the weight we lost during the liquid phase.</TT> <TT>We're convinced the band that seems to have worked for thousands of</TT> <TT>others isn't going to work for us. That we're some freak of nature</TT> <TT>that is going to be fat for all eternity. It's normal to feel this</TT> <TT>way. Really. You're coming down from the drama and high of the</TT> <TT>surgery into the day to day boring liquids and you expect to start</TT> <TT>really losing some weight. I mean, you had surgery didn't you????</TT> <TT>Well don't expect much until you're restricted. Use this time to</TT> <TT>HEAL. See ANY weight loss before your first really good fill as a</TT> <TT>BONUS and NOT a given, okay???? If you're lost weight, consider</TT> <TT>yourself that far ahead.</TT> <TT>There are some lucky ones who experience great restriction out the</TT> <TT>door. Most are in between and some experience none (like me). You're</TT> <TT>NOT GOING TO FAIL. Your tummy is healing. It's anchoring that band</TT> <TT>in place so that it won't slip. If you've had one fill and you need</TT> <TT>another, make it your priority to get one. Otherwise you're just</TT> <TT>spinning your wheels. I've had my band so tight that a couple of</TT> <TT>sips of coffee and ONE bite of a strawberry make me so full I'm on</TT> <TT>the verge of barfing for hours. I've had it so tight that chewing</TT> <TT>gum was too much for me because swallowing all that saliva was</TT> <TT>causing it to back up.</TT> <TT>Right now I'm kind of at a happy medium. When you get your band to</TT> <TT>that "just right" spot a switch goes off in your brain about food.</TT> <TT>You stop caring about it. I'm serious. Suddenly you have to come to</TT> <TT>grips with the fact that you just CANNOT eat like you once did. And</TT> <TT>that has a lot of issues unto itself but it comes with the reward of</TT> <TT>weight loss so it doesn't leave you feeling as vulnerable and</TT> <TT>schitzy as the prefill stage does. If you're still healing and</TT> <TT>haven't lost much weight--please try to just get through this time</TT> <TT>and preoccupy yourself with other things.</TT> <TT>Did you know that Dr. Fox in </TT><TT>Seattle</TT><TT> prescribes his band patients</TT> <TT>diet pills to take during the prefill stage? Why? He understands the</TT> <TT>difficulty. He feels it's better to kill the appetite chemically</TT> <TT>while the band heals that subject his patients to all that stress.</TT> <TT>And he happens to have one of the highest band success rates in the</TT> <TT>country.And as always, it's better to ADD to your habits then to try</TT> <TT>to take away. Add more water, more vitamins, more exercise. But</TT> <TT>don't try to take away food because it throws you into dieting</TT> <TT>mentality. Adding will naturally balance out the other problem.Just</TT> <TT>my thought for the night and now I'm finally going to bed. It's a</TT> <TT>good thing I type 100+ words a minute</TT> <TT>robin</TT> <TT>this is a reply from robin:</TT> <TT>And it is my pleasure to try to reassure you all. I remember 2</TT> <TT>things from my prefill stage--how utterly depressed I was thinking</TT> <TT>the band wasn't going to work and how totally alone I believed I was</TT> <TT>in my experience. The last 2 years has proven to me that I was more</TT> <TT>the "norm" that I possibly could have imagined and had my doctor or</TT> <TT>SOMEONE let me know this from the getgo I would have felt like it</TT> <TT>was just a neccessary part of the process and would have gotten</TT> <TT>through it with a more realistic outlook.</TT> <TT>Let's just say I wouldn't have beaten myself up the way I did.</TT> <TT>Robin</TT>

8 days and counting down...:confused: I am going to be traveling home by car (over 1000 miles) and am wondering what kind of clothing I should wear. Anyone have any suggestions? I am supposed to start my 7 day liquid diet tomorrow. I don't think I will be able to go complete liquids. I have an out of town wedding to attend on Saturday. Will it hurt me that much if I eat? I have been doing shakes and Atkins for 3 weeks now but sneaking in a meal of my choice every so often. Has anyone seen the show on WE that had the 390 pound man having the Lap Band surgery? I recorded it, but only watched a few minutes of it. They started to talk about complications and figured I'd wait until after surgery to watch it. Well, everyone have a super fantastic day!

Hi Diana, Oddly enough, I am not scared. I am just trying to get through this pre-op dieting. I post regularly on the June bandsters thread. There are about 35 who have been or are waiting to be banded who post there. It is a great place to learn. Where is Dr. Kuri's office? You may even find someone who is having surgery with Dr. Kuri there. Good luck! It is less than a week for you! You'll make it and be just fine. Everyone who has been banded this month seems to be happy they made this choice! Keep in touch!

Sissi~ Great! Now what you need to do is paste it onto your signature section so it will be there every time. First delete the Ticker Factory one by clicking on it and hitting delete. Then go back to www.weightlosstickers.com where you made the other one and copy and paste it on your signature page. Hope this helps! Melissa~Thank you so much for keeping us updated! You are GREAT! If you like you can remove one of me on the 22nd. Janelle/Chako_lady same person...lol And you are right! We have an awesome group here. I have learned so much from everyone! You all deserve pats on the back!!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

Christa94, Thanks for your post! I printed it! Who is your Dr? and when were you banded? Did you follow this diet and has it worked for you?:clap2:

Barbara, This confuses me also. I know we have a lot of different Dr.s represented here, but you would think there would be more consistency with pre-op and post-op diets. I am being banded by Dr. Ortiz in Mexico. I have read his book and he states in there that the liquid diet is so your stomach can rest while it heals. When you eat the proteins and mushies it makes your stomach contract. I sometimes wonder what real difference it makes with the pre-op 7 day liquid diet. I know they say it shrinks the liver and that there is no "fresh" fat around the liver...but there are people posting on here that haven't dieted at all and their surgery went just fine...Kinda makes me wonder... Good luck tomorrow. My thoughts and prayers are withh all of us June Bandsters! We have quite a group. Hope we can have a reunion sometime!

Try www.weightlosstickers.com there site puts your starting weight and goal weight on the grid instead of weight to lose. They also have some different tickers to chose from! Click on the bbCode, click on select all, right click on the blue highlighted area and click on copy. Go back to your signature page and paste it there. I do the signature preview to make sure it worked! Good Luck!

Sissi, I had problems getting the ticker to work also. I had to try one of the other options other than HTML. I think it is the "bbCode". Also, if you do the preview, it will show you if it worked or not before it sends. Good luck! I hope this helps.

Lynn, Thanks for your post. I am going to be banded on June 22nd by Dr. Ortiz and every positive post helps! I'm not really scared, just anxious to have it done! I'm already starting to pack!!! I will be driving so the return trip will be 2 days in a car. I hope I can do it! The gas pains do have me worried. I have lost 10 pounds and will do the full liquid diet for 7 days. I don't know if that helps any with the gas or not. Maybe it just has to do with how well your body gets rid of it and how much exercise you get... Any ideas? Anything I should do while in Tijuana? or any where I should stay away from? Any help is wonderful. Gongrats on your weight loss!!!

Welcome Kelly! Where are you having your surgery? and please fill us in on your diet. Wow! 15 pounds!! Congrats. What are you doing for your liquid phase? Keep us posted on your progress. Melissa, I only hope I can be as fortunate as you and not have the gas pains. That has been my greatest fear as I have to travel by car. Do you think there was anything you did pre-op that may of helped or that your Dr. may have done?:help: Thank you to all who have been banded so far. You are a great inspiration to all of us still waiting this month!:clap2:

Our thoughts and prayers are with you Melissa Lea, Mary Ann and Barbara! Can't wait to hear from you all! How exciting! I am still counting down the days...but my turn is soon. :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: God Bless!:angel: :gluck:

Thanks Dawn! I am glad to hear you are doing well. It will be fun to follow our weight loss journey together...although you will be ahead of me...I will have to play catch up. Thanks for mentioning lip balm. I remember how dry my lips were after I had my tubes tied...yuck! :cry I am looking for liquid Advil to take along. Does anyone know if there is such a thing? I am leary of Tylenol cause I heard of a lady locally here who was in the hospital due to Tylenol overdose. I guess she took it for pain and it was in another medication also.

Dawn, Good job on sticking with liquids! I've read so much on how important the first few weeks are! I'm sure you will start losing as soon as the swelling goes down. I would love any information you could share about Dr. Ortiz as I am being banded by him 2 weeks from today! Yeah!!! Anything that you would do differently or that you did that you think helped? Carolyn from Dr. Ortiz's office said I could go out for a Mexican dinner the night before...but Dr. Ortiz's book says NO! Did you? What do you think? Any suggestions on clothing? Did you take your own robe to wear at the hospital? I just want to be prepared...I think I am getting nervous...LOL Thanks again to all who post here! You are all so helpful!

I am curious if those who were banded on Monday or Tuesday, and are already eating mashed potatoes were told it was ok. I have read that you have to be on clear liquids for at least a week. Is it really that hard to do? I am scared that that week is going to be very hard, but I'm also afraid of causing problems. Help!!! I'm 2 weeks out and getting worried. One comfort is that those just banded this week are already posting on here!! Gives me hope I will make it through.:clap2:

Melissa Lea, Thanks for being so good about posting and encouraging. I would like to be added to your e-mail list also. I feel this Forum has been a great support system. It will also be fun to be able to share our journey with each other since we are all being banded so close to each other. I to am not looking forward to the "gas" pains afterwards, so if anyone has any suggestions on things that worked for them please enlighten all of us who are waiting to be banded. My thoughts and prayers are daily for all us Junebies! chako_lady@hotmail.com is my e-mail address.

Hi my fellow Oregonians! I am scheduled for surgery June 22nd by Dr. Ortiz in TJ Mexico. I live in Eugene. I have heard of Dr. Tersigni also. I just couldn't afford him since I don't have insurance. There are more Oregon Bandsters out there, we just need to lead them to this site. I agree, we need to have a great support group. This isn't an easy journey ahead...lets "band" together and help each other make it through! WE can do it! Good luck to all who are scheduled to be banded and to those of you who are still thinking about it! I will be posting my experiences as the happen!

Poodles...Don't chicken out! Go to some of the forums with before and after pics...I guarantee you you will not want to back out!!! Good luck, God Bless and keep looking towards being thin! You can do it!!! You will do it!

Welcome AnneMarie! Congratulations! Where are you having your surgery? This is a great site to meet others making the same decisions as us! I just looked throught the Thread on Before and After pics...very inspiring! Best of luck!

Wow! There are a lot of us getting banded this month. Yeah! We will have a big support team! We will probably need it next month! As for the person going to Mexico alone... I have a friend who was banded in March who went alone and she told me they take very good care of you. Pick you up at the airport or border and take you to the Hotel and even check up on you at the Hotel. She felt very safe and had a good time. Anyone else who goes to MX please let us know of places to go or places to stay away from. My Dr. said it would be OK to have a Mexican dinner the night before surgery as long a I eat sensibly and don't overeat. I am looking forward to that!!! Best wishes and happy weight loss to all of us! You are all in my daily thoughts and prayers.