msbug

God, I'm glad I'm not the only one with last supper syndrome! :confused: I've been eating like crazy. Not good, that's for sure! I need to stop so I don't gain too much before the surgery, otherwise my doc might not do it. Wouldn't that just suck?! I got the official clearance from the shrink last week, guess I'm not crazy. So now I'm just waiting for the nurse to call and schedule my consults with the nutritionist and all my pre-op testing. 5 weeks from tommorow!

Do you have a sewing machine or know someone who does? If so, take a kitchen towel or a piece of flannel, fold it so it makes a pouch about 12-18 inches, sew up the sides, leaving a 2-inch opening on one side. Fill it with uncooked rice (not the instant stuff!) and handstitch the rest of the opening closed. Throw it in the microwave for a couple minutes, then put it on your shoulder. I did this after I had my gallbladder out and after both my c-sections and it helped the pain more than anything else. I think it was the weight of the rice that helped the most, because I did not get the same kind of relief when I just used a regular heating pad. The extra pressure really made all the difference. HTH!

Congratulations! :grouphug: That's great!

The last few times I've had surgery (gallbladder, appendix, and 2 c-sections!) I've gotten blisters from the surgical tape they use to cover the incisions. Is there any way to avoid this when I get my band?

It sounds like the same kind of pain I had with my gall bladder attacks. But, since you said they checked that, I guess that doesn't help much. Hope you feel better soon and they can figure it out.

I'm being banded August 15 and can't wait! Not really nervous yet, I'm sure that will hit later. I could have gotten it done in July, but I'm going on vacation mid-month and didn't want to be worrying about a liquid diet while out of town. So, I wait. I am so ready to get this done and start losing! I'm self-pay and being banded by Dr. Heydari in Crystal Lake, Il.

How about "male issues"? Then let them wonder what exactly male issues are. :grouphug: Seriously, you could use the hernia excuse. I'm using the female issues excuse with my boss. Can't use the gallbladder excuse since I had mine out 2 years ago. And I agree with the above poster, I wouldn't use gallbladder since there is a very high chance you'll need it out in the future after a big weight loss.

That woman annoys me to no end! She had the biggest chip on her shoulder and came across as a real witch. I hope the door didn't hit her skinny arse on the way out! :grouphug: Oh, and her freakishly long witch fingers creeped me out when I saw them in a recent photo.

That's nothing! My surgeon's post-op diet is clear liquids day 1 then full liquids (anything that can go through a straw) till week 4, then pureed foods (don't ask me how this is different from full liquids) till week 8, then mushies till week 11. Almost 3 months before I'm able to eat regular food! :faint: I'd better lose a lot of weight in those 11 weeks.

Glad it's going so well! Gives me hope that it won't be too bad once I get mine done. Take it easy!

Any recomendations for a good blender? I tried to make a smoothie this morning and my blender didn't even crush the ice. :eek: So I'm thinking I need to get a new one before I have to live for weeks on pureed and blended foods. What's the best one out there that doesn't cost a ton of money? I'm also looking for one of those small food processors that I can keep out on the counter to mush and mix food if anyone has a good one to suggest! Thanks

At my appointment with the nutritionist she mentioned that they don't want patients to chew gum because if it gets swallowed, it can get stuck. I had never heard this before. I chew gum all the time and it helps keep me from wanting to eat as much. I was thinking it would be crucial during the liquid phaze. Now she's got me paranoid, even though I haven't swallowed my gum since grade school. So do you chew gum? Did your doctor tell you not to? If I have to give up my gum, I'm not going to be too happy!

My family did the same thing when I lost weight on WW. I'd lost 70 lbs and my mom and gram never mentioned it. My aunt lost 10 on WW and they raved about how great she looked. I think family's are just like that, totally oblivious. Also, if you see your mom and sister all the time they probably don't notice how dramatic the weight loss is. Be proud of yourself and what you've accomplished, even if you family is too dense to do it.

Glad it went well! Here's to a speedy recovery.

I had mine out in 2005. I'd had problems with it since having ds in '03, but the stupid docs misdiagnosed it as back spasms caused by nerve irritation from my spinal. My symptoms were a-typical so it never dawned on them to check my gallbladder when I had the attacks. It got really bad after losing 70 lbs on weight watchers and when I wound up in the ER feeling like my stomach was going to explode, they realized I had pancreatitis and took my gallbladder out a few days later. It was hell!

Sorry you're having such a rough time. Hope you feel better tommorow.

Poodles, can you share your recipe for cucumber soup? It sounds yummy! And do you serve it hot or cold? Thanks

Yep, sounds like our docs do a very similar plan. Liquids till week 4, then pureed food till week 7, mushies from week 8-11. I'm hoping the strict diet will be made better by the good weight loss he says his patients have! Good luck tommorow and let us know how you're doing when you get a chance.

Wait a minute, we can't wear underwire?? I hadn't heard that before. What's the reasoning?

I'm so not looking forward to that part. My surgeon is very conservative and I'm not allowed regular food till eleven weeks after surgery! :faint: I'm going to be putting lots of things in the blender in those weeks to keep me from eating the table legs! I think the post-op diet will be easier than the pre-op though, just because we get more variety. It's not like you can only have the Slim Fast for the month after, there are lots of other things that fall in the liquid diet. From what I've heard at the support meetings and online the pre-op diet is way harder than the post-op. So if you can get through these 2 weeks, I bet you'll be fine! Hope it goes fast for you!

Start taking Vitamin C and Zicam right now! Zicam works wonders in preventing illness. As soon as my kids get sick I start taking it and usually I avoid whatever it is they've got. The nose spray is the least offensive form of it. Don't get the rapid melts, they taste nasty! You can find it in any of the chain stores by the cold remedies. Hope you stay healthy!

I had my screening with the bariatric nurse and the nutritionist yesterday and got their approval. :clap2: Next step is the psych consult, which I just scheduled for Monday. I have to go in and take some type of test, then meet with the psychologist again in a week to go over the results. So what kind of test is it? For some reason I'm now getting paranoid that I'm really a total nut job and they won't let me have the surgery! :nervous Anyone care to clue me in on the type of questions they ask? And yes, the voices in my head are telling me everything will be just fine.

I don't plan on telling anyone I work with, my extended family, aside from my parents, and only a couple close friends. I've had my gallbladder out too, so I can't use that excuse. I think I'm just going to tell my boss I'm having some cysts removed from my ovaries. Any mention of female stuff and it should dissuade him from asking questions! As for the questions about how I'm losing weight, I'll tell them I'm doing weight watchers. I lost a lot of weight on WW a couple years ago, so no one should question that.

I took my dd in for her 6-year well check today. We all see the same doc, and while I was there I mentioned I was getting the lap band put in in August. She said she wasn't too happy with it. She does not like any type of weight loss surgery, but did admit that the band was the least problematic of all the options. Honestly, I was surprised when she said she wasn't happy about it. She'd actually suggested I look into bypass about 3 years ago when I first started WW. Now it seems she has changed her tune. She did say that the surgeon I was using was excellent though, which made me feel better. I'm not sure why I'm bothered by the fact that she isn't thrilled about it, but I am. She'd like me to just keep doing weight watchers. Yeah, tried that, lost 70, had my gallbladder out and proceeded to lose nothing for the next year even though I was religiously following the program. And now I've gained 1/2 of that weight back. So, nope, not going to keep on the WW bandwagon, but thanks for asking! :heh: So was your doc supportive when you told them you were getting banded?

I noticed on my other thread, several of you mentioned following Weight Watchers with the band. If so, how have you altered it to fit with the band lifestyle? I did WW for over a year and lost a lot of weight, but I'm not sure how it would work with the band. I'm assuming you have to adjust the amount of points you eat, otherwise I wouldn't think you'd be able to eat all your points for the day, you'd have to eat non-stop! I know for my weight I'd get about 30 pts for the day, plus the extra 35 flex pts. That seems like a lot when you can only eat a cup at a time. Or do you follow the Core plan rather than the Flex?