RestlessMonkey

No psychologist worth his salt will think you are "crazy" because you are on anti-anxiety medicine. You need to calm down! :tongue2: The three hours probably means you'll have to take some type of standardized test like the MMPI. Answer HONESTLY. (it will trip you up if you don't). Then you'll probably meet with the psychologist to go over it and s/he will try to assess your readiness/preparedness/success with the band. Frankly some people are NOT suited for it, most are. So just take a deep breath (or two) and go be yourself.

I have great restriction and thankfully can eat anything. But my doc filled me slowly and advanced me slowly...that might have really helped.

Exactly Jachut...you are right..nothing wrong if it WERE easy! LOL I'd be all over that, who CARES what people say. At one point in my past I thought WLS would be like trading one "affliction" for another...that I would just be "hiding" my difference. I had to really work through that. Obesity is an odd state. I'll be happy to leave it.

I did not drink with one for about 2 months post op. Especially right after healing the last thing I needed was gas, and straws can cause/exacerbate that. I use one now, though, because I have very sensitive teeth (gum disease).

Not all surgeons will do hernia repairs, so it's best to check with your doc. :rolleyes2:

I agree talk with your surgeon, and Look DEEP inside you. We all get hungry and have made bad choices in the past or we wouldn't be here, ok? But you know you're told "do this so you can get the band" and you say "Ok I WANT The band" and then you go and cheat. Why? Were you just NOT thinking? Was it habit because you were in diet mentality? Or do you NOT really want the band? Am not trying to play head games with you! :rolleyes2: I cheated on MY preop diet and didn't get the band. Talk about instant focus!! But you said "cancel" your surgery, not postpone it while you get on track, so that made me wonder. If you really want the band, call your doc and fess up. It's important to follow the preop diet but VITAL to follow the post op (and for me that one was even harder because it was "to heal"...vague compared to that band dangling before me as motivation for the preop one) So once you know the eating was just thoughtless, diet mentality, a slip you can correct, and your surgeon says ok, then go for it. OR you may have some ambiguity that he can help address, or you may need to think it through some more. Just understand you aren't the only one who ate something wrong preop. Use it as a learning experience call your doc, and take it from there.

Probably not depends on the placement. Check with your surgeon.

I have to say TANITA. That's the brand many WW sites use, that's the brand of the pricey one at my surgeon's office, and that's the brand I have. Mine weighs to 440 and is super accurate. You know how they say "if you get on a digital scale and weigh, then get off and then get back on it will weigh differently"? Mine NEVER does. My husband and I test it from time to time with some weights he has and it is ALWAYS right. never varies. Mine are Tanita HD 351 and they are on amazon right now for about 85 (I've had mine 3 years and paid 65 for them; so worth it) but if you don't need a scale that goes to 440 (thank God I don't anymore) then most any tanita brand will be reliable and accurate. Good luck!

But...fat people ESPECIALLY can think (not ALL do, but many) that if only THEY dieted/did the right thing/were "good" that something like weight loss surgery would not be necessary, and shame on you for throwing all that and going ahead and doing it! I don't think it's always intentional, but it is judgmental, and it springs I think from an internal secret fear. How often do you or have you heard people say "I cheated" or "I was good today" or "Today I was bad" when referring to eating? It's not just emotion, it's bottom line hearkening back to that "good people aren't fat" idea that was big in the 60's, 50's and before...partly the old mythic "gluttony is one of the deadly sins" thing. Again I don't think many fat people who are against surgery would readily agree with my idea, but if they really searched and looked deep, they'd have to give it some merit. AND partly it's lack of education. People see obese people drop weight really fast after many WLS and they assume it's easy. Again, faulty logic. But since when are people logical? Either way, you're doing marvelously and you know it wasn't easy and you and I and thousands like us know it is a smart decision. Personally at 54 after doing diets for literally almost 40 years I am almost ashamed it took me so long to think...ok kiddo this isn't working. Now what? LOL We'll face that type of "weight loss discrimination", though. It's just all part of the "quick fix" we've opted for (mild sarcasm there!)

I don't understand that mindset either. I THINK it's honestly tied to a residual belief that being fat is a character flaw, and getting surgery is a "quick fix". Of course, neither of those things are true, but misinformation abounds in this information age. Some of us are enlightened, some still struggle in the dark.

I haven't ever really experienced this phenomenon...because I don't eat Breakfast usually, I drink a Protein shake. But...sometimes even my AM coffee felt a little funky, so I asked my doc about it (he's great). He said HYDRATION seems to be the major culprit. He said if you are well hydrated then the band is loose, if not, then it isn't. In a way, internally, water is a lubricant (NOT saying it is mucous etc! ) but think how dry your skin and lips can get if you're dehydrated? Internally if we don't have enough water, things restrict and tighten up. Water them and they relax again (this is really generic, not trying to be scientific but just give a visual). SO he said people who get at least 64 oz of water a day (not all at once either, LOL but spread out) don't usually have the fluctuation issues. I mentioned this to a friend really struggling and it may have saved her band; she said it changed her life, because she hadn't been drinking much of any water, just other things. She said the first day she got her 64 oz was almost miraculous. My restriction now is very consistent. AM/PM doesn't matter, I think it's worth at least a try if you are fluctuating widely and haven't been getting the water in.

The MAJOR cause of slippage is advancing one's diet too quickly. I don't want to scare you but you really should call your doc tomorrow and tell him/her what you've eaten. Depending on what it is, he may want to check you out to make sure you're ok. Especially if you've overeaten enough to gain 5 pounds (assuming you didn't just eat salt!) then you need to tell your surgeon.

I combed through them on Amazon and I love it because of the customer ratings. I read through and found a couple I felt were what I was looking for! Sounds like you've already been given that tip; good luck! In fact one of the two I bought was the one you downloaded! :thumbup: LOL

I agree with the other posters. I'm a native Texan and "the border" covers a HUGE area. Are you near Laredo? Corpus? El Paso? Texarkana? Brownsville? Makes a diff. I'm in San Antonio and LOVE my doc. Period. He too makes you sign a paper promising not to get pregnant for 1 year. And yes the band does not MAKE you diet. You do that. The band helps you if you work with it. But it isn't in control, you are. I don't eat like I used to, right now as I'm losing, but I can. It isn't a "diet", it's life. Right now I've found that certain foods keep me full for a LONG time. So I choose those. Most people don't eat thinking "Hmm, I want to choose THIS item to eat because then I'll be hungry again in 2 hours and have to just suffer". The band slows some foods down more than others, so if I pick those dense foods (like steak, for example) I am full for 6 hours. It's a no-brainer and the weight is falling off. So don't let the truth intimidate you. Yes you must eat differently to lose, but that is true of any WLS, any diet, for any (healthy) person. Do what you've been going, you'll get what you got. Eating differently, though, is so much easier when hunger isn't gnawing at you all the time! Good luck!

To quote Madonna (zounds have I lost my mind, who quotes Madonna) "We are living in a material world and I am a material girl". Fat and rich. Indubitably. And Wasa, profound as always BUT...if you're rich, you don't have to camp, you can stay in a 5-star hotel! :thumbup:

I've never ever honest to goodness had anyone be intentionally rude to me unless we were fighting. Seriously. I know fat people are discriminated against, but people are always nice to me. I asked my husband once after reading a thread similar to this on a Weight Watchers Board "am I just clueless? do people jeer at me and me not notice?" and he told me "no, EVERYONE is nice to you. I don't why" LOL I'm generally cheerful and friendly and upbeat; maybe that's why? I don't give them a chance to be pissy?

I live in San Antonio. Heat and humidity personified. Doesn't impact my band at all. What DOES impact most people's bands is hydration...if you aren't well hydrated you tend to be tighter. Well hydrated=looser. And when it's hot, if we don't up our water intake (not tea, not crystal light, but plain old water) we can get dehydrated. If you are swelling that means you need water (odd I know but the water needs to be in your system circulating, not holing up in your extremities! ) Drink more water...if you swell it will lessen (assuming you don't have kidney disease or heart issues) and your band will remain "sane" instead of tightening up. :thumbup:

To each his own...but there is no way I'd let ANYONE put ANYTHING into me without knowing what and how much. And I was that way before I went to nursing school! Good grief. How will he know if it's leaking? Sloppy at best. I'd find a new doctor. That's just insane. Would you let someone give you a shot of, say, morphine and say "I don't know how much I gave you it's different". Good lord. I know saline isn't morphine but someone needs to know about that medical device in you and the buck stops with your surgeon.

I think your best course would be to ask your surgeon WHY. There is some new rumbling that super tight may = more problems with the band (no evidence that I've read, just innuendo and anecdotal stuff) so maybe he's reluctant because of something like that. Ask him. Don't jump to conclusions!

I lost 42 pounds pre and post op then slowly regained back about 15-16 of that over the ensuing months until I FINALLY hit my sweet spot on May 7, 2009 at 10:15 AM (but who remembers those things LOL) Now I'm down almost 68 pounds...over 2/3 of that since May 7 of this year. It varies...My average appears to be about 1.75 pounds per week, taking it from when I started the preop diet.

Are you guys getting sufficient (at least 64 ounces) of WATER each day? (not crystal lite, not tea, just plain old WATER)?

Actually I'd check with your nutritionist, because.....lap band is about portion control, not calorie counting. While the other posters are correct that there is a big discrepancy in wt. vs volume...most of us are told to eat 1 cup, eat 1/2 cup etc. Weight (and the calories) aren't really an issue. If this were WW or another "diet" I'd agree that it is probably weight, but with the band? Maybe not. Ask to be sure!

Just follow your doc's prescribed post op diet and you'll be fine! You should still be on liquids only and those shouldn't cause slips/pbing. (Lap band vomit is different from vomiting say from a stomach bug, because it doesn't have bile or stomach acid in it. It's usually caused by taking too large a bite of food, not chewing a food well, or overeating...NOT overdrinking) If you get nauseated, though, call your doc. A major cause of early slips are eating inappropriate foods too early post op, so hang in there with the guidelines your surgeon or nutritionist gave you and let yourself heal...and don't worry!

There is nothing I can't eat (Thank you, Dr. Cavazos!) I have great restriction (2 oz of steak keeps me full for 6 hours) but I can eat bread (white, not toasted) pasta rice fiberous veggies chicken breast shrimp etc. You name it, it is NOT off limits to me. I am so glad!

Nope. Never have, with the band. This isn't a diet. It's life. I am not going to weigh and count every bite of food I put in my mouth for the rest of my days. Personally when I "diet" I become food obsessed. This is so much better! I did weigh my steak one night and found I can eat about 2 oz before I'm full...but that's it. I have to have something I can live with, but we're all different