thebandedgirl

I have PCOS. I weighed 298.2 pounds (135.26124 kg when I started my pre-op diet. I ate a lot more than 300 calories a day. There are other ways. Find a new surgeon. People start this journey at a lot more than 300 pounds and do just fine without being forced into anorexia.

Keep calling. And calling. And calling. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and all that. Good luck

They say it does My doctor's office bases the pre-op diet on the patients' starting BMI. I had to do a three week diet because my BMI was over 50 (gosh). Some only have to do one week, though. Also keep in mind that every doctor has different requirements. Mine didn't require a liquid diet, but a restricted one. Do what your surgeon says, not what mine or anyone else's says

It's a deal. So here's my commitment: I will go to the gym on either Saturday or Sunday and work out for at least 20 minutes. I will then go at least two more times over the next working week for at least 20 minutes. We can keep in touch through private messages here, via Twitter, the contact form on my blog, or email. Let me know what works best for you

I hope it all works out for you!

Waiting's probably the hardest thing on earth for me. I'm so impatient. Luckily, I was self-pay and didn't have to worry about waiting for the insurance company to finish hemming and hawing Best of luck to you!

I thought I was ready to take on life with the band, but I'm learning that I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was pre-op. My advice? Get a slight unfill and see if that helps you add variety in your diet. Make time to eat on a regular schedule and take enough time to chew. Eat a variety of foods. STOP with the soda! I know it's easier said than done, but you CAN do it. Don't buy it. They're full of empty calories and chemicals your body doesn't need. I've lost my will to exercise but I'm going to start forcing myself to go effective Saturday or Sunday. Want to make a commitment to me that you'll start this weekend and I'll do the same for you? You can do this. It's hard work. Very hard work. But you're capable. I promise you!

Merry Christmas to you, too

No, I'm pretty sure I'll have the standard port rather than the low-profile one still. As far as I know, it's a kind of "remove scar tissue and hope it stays gone" type thing. My main problem is its so-called sensitivity--it's getting to a point where it hurts quite a bit all the time in that area now.

Does anyone else have sensitive scar tissue, especially around the port area? I'm scheduled to have my port resutured and scar tissue removed next month because of its sensitivity. Even when the area's been numbed, I feel pain when I get fills. Also, I've been experiencing a lot of intense needle-like pain over the past few days in my port/scar tissue area. Am I the only one? I guess I'm just looking for someone to commiserate with!

I was banded the day before you! My loss has been really slow, as well. I'm still searching for that "sweet spot" that will prevent me from being hungry all the dang time! I've found that my fills actually tend to tighten up as time goes on, so I've been waiting for three to four weeks between fills. I think that some people experience a loss of restriction as swelling from the stomach irritation due to Fluid being added to the band goes down. As with so many other things in this journey, I think that it's a really individual experience!

Eating what I eat probably isn't the best option, but there are a lot of resources out there for people! Check out theworldaccordingtoeggface to start. She's got a lot of great recipes and is just an awesome person in general.

The Gas-X definitely helps, but I found that walking as much as I could helped things, er, move a little more quickly :eek:

Hi Julie! Good luck on your journey :eek:

No scars? Wow, mine are still a darkish pink after six months. Then again, I still can see where I was poked for my last fill and that was three or four weeks ago. I don't think I'm a good person to compare healing with :eek:

*high five* :eek:

It's pretty easy to set up a weight loss ticker at Graphical Tickers and Trackers: Weight Loss, Trying To Conceive, Pregnancy.... That's where I got the one I use on my blog :eek: So glad you're doing well after your surgery. I was lucky, my doctor gave me a prescription for liquid Lortab to take so I didn't have to deal with the bitter taste of crushed pills! I still have over half of my bottle almost six months later--Tylenol curbed the pain enough after the first few days that I didn't need the narcotic anymore. My surgeon's office says pills are acceptable if they're no larger than a baby aspirin. I still use Advil's liquid gellcaps and have no problems (I did check with him before I used Advil, he said it was okay). I wish you a speedy recovery!

I actually logged on tonight because of major gas issues. It's been so bad that I've been unable to sleep a few nights; I just want to curl up in a ball and cry. Gas-X isn't really offering much relief. I'm not sure what to do, but I have read that gas pain can be a complication of the surgery.... Anyway, just offering sympathy I think.

Your surgeon will probably not want to set a date until after you have the sleep study done. If you have sleep apnea and a BPAP or CPAP, they'll actually use it on when you're in surgery.

That really sucks. You'd think that they'd want to get it done now to help keep you from gaining more weight. I'm not a doctor, though--there's probably (maybe) reason in what he's saying. I'm sorry you have to wait. Hang in there.

Glad that it was a fairly pain-free process for you; congratulations on your approval!