waterlily1072

Zannie I feel for you. We couldn't afford it either, no health insurance right now, my husband is self employed. Fortunately my parents stepped up and paid for everything. Not everyone is that lucky but I had a woman say to me a long time ago. Don't you think you are worth the price of a new car? And I said to myself heck yeah I am worth more than that. I guess what I am saying is, you and your health are worth every penny, and as soon as you can find a way, do it! Finance it, take our a second mortgage anything. Good luck

Not all proteins are complete sources though. Does the Isopure have complete protein? Does anyone know?

Oh dang what a hardship, not only are we all gonna have to buy a whole new wardrobe but we're gonna need to buy all new shoes too

I am with you Yoda, I have two weeks to go, and my skin is so dry, I need a soak with some bath oil bad! Lotions just don't cut it for me, I hate taking the time and having my hands feel slimy. Bath oil is so much better, and I have a new bath pillow too.

I wanted to know how much was realistic for me to lose and i figured at my current base calories burn if i take in 1000 calories a day i will lose 5lbs per week. 1000 per day is not unreasonable especially with the band. I am with you Teli, as soon as I have restriction and am moving from 1500 and hating it to 800-1000 and loving it. As i lose and my basal burn lowers I will up the exercise. As soon as my back and joints can handle it I want to start running again. I would love to lose 5 a week on average. I am not sure my body will cooperate but I am sure gonna try. I am young enough that, my skin should handle it just fine, and nothing could be harder on my organs than being fat. So Teli, I have two weeks to my fill, then I will be joining you on that goal. I already met it this month and the hard way, with no restriction!

Calories seems to be very individual. Some people do 700-800, others do much more. My aunt lost over 70lbs in the last year and she eats 700-800 calories per day. She is now about 20 pounds from goal! I am just starting on this journey but I can tell you that one single number isn't the key. There is no just eat x amount and you will lose weight and feel great. We all have to find that spot on our own, with guidance from our doctor and dietician.

I am so sorry you are having to go through this. Every surgeon seems to have a different opinion about weight loss before surgery. Yes the fat from your liver burns first making your liver smaller and lighter. Surgeons requirements go from not required to absolutely required and large amounts at that! If it were me I would look for a different surgeon or at the very least get a second opinion. My surgeon strongly recommended a 10 lb loss, this was not a requirement but was stressed as being very important and to do the best I could. If you don't have any other options for a surgeon and you really want the band then you will have to meet his requirements no matter how grueling. Good luck we are all here for you

Hi Tidge, I think it is safe to say that days 2 and 3 are the worst. You are almost out if really bad part, every day you will feel better and better. My doc gave me liquid vicadin, I sucked that down mostly in the first couple of days. It took two weeks before I could bend over without port pain. Find a spot where you are the most comfy and get your family or friends to come help you with anything that absoutely needs to be done. I promise you the pain doesn't last. Just keep your chin up cause you are gonna feel great really soon

hmm, your doc should have given you some info on how much protien he wants you to have. I have even heard of the same doc giving different numbers to different people. I'm not sure there is one set answer on how much protien. Most docs seem to work in the range of 56-80. But you should consult your surgeon and dietician for what is best for you.

Most peoples headaches go away after the first couple of days of the pre-op diet. Mine lastaed a whole week and was terrible, but then I have insulin issues so I figure my blood sugar just took longer to even out. The only headaches I have now are stress related not hunger related.

Ooh cold stone, haven't had that in two years. That stuff is soo good it's pure evil. I like the strawberry with graham cracker crust in it. It tastes just like my grandmas frozen strawberry cream pies used to taste. It is a fond memory and fortunately they are over an hour away. Unfortunately they are not far from my surgeons office but so far so good.

I am sorry you are going through this :eek: I suppose many people have fear of going under anesthetic, but everyone has to decide for themselves if it is worth the risk. You need to decide for yourself why you wanted the band and how much it is worth to you. I wish you all the best.

Wow Becky :eek: That is an awesome loss! Great job

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I did that on soup. Oh boy was I sorry. I got really hot and miserably uncomfortable for about 15 minutes, it was seriously not fun. Sorry you had to go through that :eek: I think maybe we all have to learn that one the hard way though. Life long habits are not easy to break over night.

OK... First off, yes I have major insulin issues, hyperinsulinism to be exact. So I eat carbs and my body starts producing enough insulin to cover an entire foorball team of carb loading athletes (non-scientific estimate, hehe). About the period business, went to the doc this morning, and everything will be under control very soon with the hromone stuff he prescribed. He had to squeeze me in so I was there for 2 hours!:omg: My appointment was in two parts. Oh well all is well, and according to my weigh in ( I got an extra trip on the scale for goin to the doc :eek: ) I lost another pound Now to update my ticker.....

OK forgive me if this is dumb... Isn't one of the primary reasons for us eating 60-80grams of protein a day supposed to help prevent the burning of muscle? And A doctor who shall remain nameless once told me that as and obese person I needn't worry about taking in too few calories because my body would simply just burn the fat as long as i had enough protein. And that I wouldn't starve for a long long time. I have heard so many things I am more confused than ever. I know my aunt, who has been banded for almost a year, eats around 700-800calories a day and has lost over 70lbs. I guess I'll figure it out through trial and error if nothing else, once I can get a fill.

Thanks I did call today and they are squeezing me in tomorrow morning. They want to do a red blood cell count. LOL, I can tell them I haven't lost that much blood but they want to make sure. I did this once before when dieting and the doc then did the same thing, I was however borderline anemic that time. Doubt it's any different this time, at least I hope not. I was just hoping I wasn't alone on this one. The old saying misery loves company.

Did anyone else have issues with their periods after surgery. I have always had light to non existant except when losing weight, then they are very heavy and ongoing. In the past though I'd only lose about 20-30lbs then plateau and eventually give up. Three full weeks of it now, and the last few days have been absolutely horrid. Am I just weird? Or do other peeps have these same types of issues?

Megan about your chinese food comment Try getting a chinese cook book Egg foo young is wonderful and in the right amount very healthy, eggs, sprouts (I don't do the gravy) You can do your own stirfries where you control the oil content with lots of vegies and some nice fresh chicken. Chinese food doesn't have to mean deep fried and battered. I am willing to bet that in china it's not that way. Also some of the grocery stores chinese deli stuff could be good for a little treat. They have ones with lots of veggies, pick the healthiest one there, and just get the smallest container they have and only do it once. I like the cashew chicken at mine, the chicken isn't fried and lots of veggies. At my store a half a cup is the smallest container! It's great. TIP: When sauteeing or doing stirfry, in place of much of the oil you would normally use try using lowfat chicken broth, it works great

Terisita, OMGOSH, you got rid of the pesky 4! Way to go

OK, this is crappy. According to the scale I have lost 18lbs. Now I didn't get that wonderful drop some of you got in the beginning, but oh well. I must say that I am very sad about that. My hormones are out of control. Now I have never been pregnant, and I have never done crack, but I feel like a pregnant woman on crack. My poor husband and his poor 5 kids, putting up with me. I am snapping like a killer turtle. To top it off, I have had my period for almost 3 weeks straight. I have had a few days off. I have PCOS so I usually don't get one at all or maybe spot for a day. I am a hormonal train wreck. I know that there is nothing that any of you can do, but I had to get my feelings out somewhere. I have no restriction now that the swelling is gone and 3 more weeks till I can get my first fill. I have the VG band so that could be a long journey. I'll be there getting a fill every week if I have to at first. I am constantly hungry! Arghh, I wish I could have a fill right now. THanks for listening :think

We all have our demons in our past, things that made us overeaters. We rarely talk about them (except in therapy sessions). But something happened last night that makes me want to share my biggest weight demon, my grandmother. Now I have to say I love my grandmother very much, she died many years ago now, but is still very alive in me and always will be. From the time I was 9yrs old she would snag me away from my parents and put me on diets. Always telling me I was too fat and that if I wanted to grow up to be happy and have boyfriends and a husband that I needed to lose weight. At 9 I was about 20lbs overweight, not too big a deal. It became a ritual where every summer I would spend with my grandparents and I would diet, absolutely no cheating allowed! She made me walk a few miles a day and do aerobics for 1hr per day. Summer would end and I'd go home to my parents where there was freedom to eat. Naturally after 3 months of severe dieting I did what any child would do, stuffed my face with cookies, cakes and pies. So the cycle went, lose gain, lose, gain more. Till the day my grandmother died, she said, "if you're not careful you'll end up 300lbs". I never believed her. That is the reason for much of my psychosis in overeating. Well, last night I was talking to my mom, and she shared with me something that my brother had said to her. Paraphrasing a little "well mom, what do you expect after what grandma did to her with always telling her she was too fat and needed to lose weight. Between that and her PCOS (he calls it that ovary thing, but for clarification sake) she didn't have a chance." He is very happy for me and really hopes that this band is the answer for me. And now I'm crying. It is sad that out of love someone can hurt a child so badly, making them feel that their entire worth is in how skinny they are. There is one blessing to my weight and I am very greatful for it. There is no doubt in my mind that my husband loves me for all the right reasons, and by marrying him while I was near my highest weight, I proved my grandmother wrong. Love is not just for the skinny girls. Ladies we are beautiful, each and everyone of us. Whether we are 500lbs+ or 110lbs, and we deserve to love ourselves and to be loved by others. Just remember, the people who love us don't judge us, so love yourself.

Talk to your surgeon about it. There may be a way to not have to do barium at all. Not sure when or why it's needed, but I didn't have it after my surgery like some seem to. Not sure if I'll need it for fills or whatnot.

Thank you Cashley and Yoda. I totally agree. We are not here to judge. And our stomachs churn when they growl too, hence my comment about risking a PB being more the reason. Bottom line listen to your doc, and don't judge others. This post and one other have really bothered me in their judgemental response that they have drawn.