garden-nut

Totally agree with nervous_newbie. Credibility is a huge issue here. You gotta walk the walk before you do the talk. I was banded 12/2 and never imagined how completely miserable 3 weeks of Optifast and other liquids would make me. Couldn't sleep for the hunger. Optifast for Thanksgiving. Sure I cheated a bit. It kept me from totally going off the rails. A green bean and egg are soft and if you chew it 20 times it's mush. I feel great, am losing and have had zero digestive problems. Before the fill (3 weeks away for me) many of us are cruising on will power alone.

Greetings fellow bandsters and bandsters-in-waiting, I had surgery on Dec. 2 and am feeling great. The gas pains only lasted a couple of days and the only pain i've really had is sometimes when I bend over. Dr. said it was nerve fibers that had been severed when an instrument passed thru the muscle. Much better now. I have no restriction, you could probably drive an 18 wheeler thru my stomach. I'm doing mushies currently but no doubt could snarf down large amounts of food if I were so inclined. NOT! I look forward to getting a fill on 1/14. I've lost around 20 pounds, feel great, my pathetic knees no longer hurt, my blood pressure decreased, and have gobs of energy. I'm really glad I did this. However, I can see that this is not going to be a quick process. Just tryin to go with the flow and enjoy the journey.

December 2 was the day! After the ordeal of the past couple of weeks (incorrect EKG that reported a major heart attack and waiting a week to get results of thallium stress test!) I was totally in the groove and ready to go. No nerves. Post-op I never had any really significant pain, just discomfort from the gas collected in my shoulders, bad sore throat, and for a couple of days, ouchey around the 5 laparascopic incisions. I got 4 injections of heparin (to prevent clot formation) so the lap sites oozed blood for a couple of days. Now on day 4 I'm feeling good except for being tired. My cream of wheat, runny oatmeal and other delicacies have gone down well. I'm doing laps around the house to help with gas dispersion. It really is like so many people have said; the gas is the worst part. It's great to be over this hurdle and look forward to dropping lots of flab. CAN'T wait till I can start getting rid of my fat clothes. I also noticed that my blood pressure has already fell 15 points (lost 16 lbs. on Optifast). It's all good!!

Where are the december 2009 bandsters? Either I'm not looking in the right place or they are pretty quiet. I've got a Dec. 2 2009 surgery date. I'm a little nervous about the whole thing and really want to be compliant with the program. Of course my willpower isn't so great or I wouldn't be here. I'll be starting OPTIFAST on November 18. Thanksgiving on the stuff will be interesting as I have to cook. Anybody out there with concerns, questions or just wantto let off a little steam?

Hi michelleisaac, Your liquid diet sounds really tough. I'm on day 2 of Optifast and tonight I braved the garden tomato dried Soup. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I have to eat 5 units a day; either shakes, bars or soup. The taste is bearable and I'm not hungry, yet. I got some bad news today. MY EKG is abnormal. In fact it appears that I have had a bad heart attack. I'm having a thallium stress test on Mon. and Tues. My PCP doesn't think the EKG was accurate as I am very healthy and have no heart failure symptoms but I can't be cleared for surgery unless it is cleared up. After a few hours of frothing and spazzing I'm just gonna go with the flow. If I can't have the surgery I'm confident I can lose weight with Optifast or some other restricted program. Please wish me luck fellow bandsters! p.s. This is the site for December Bandsters

Any advice out there for enduring the Optifast diet for 2 weeks (dec. 2 banding-Yipee!). I'm pretty nervous about it. I pick up the stuff (300 bucks) tomorrow and begin on Wednesday. Any ideas would be much appreciated.

Thanks KarynA. for putting together the December list. I'm wondering what you all are planning to do for Thanksgiving; especially those of us who are stuck on the liquid diet. I'm leaning towards ordering the meal from a good grocery store.

Hi, What kind of diet are you going to be on for an entire month? I'm afraid the 2 weeks of Optifast will do me in!

Hi mchelleintheoc, I'm really chicken about the optifast for 2 weeks also. It sounds like the supreme challenge since obviously controlled eating isn't one of our strong points. I haven't eaten 600 calories a day since infancy. And don't even get me started about Thanksgiving! It seems like all the practices have differing rules about diet; like the 7 versus 14 days of liquids after surgery. I think some doctors are just more conservative (mine is). I've been drinking slim fasts once or twice a day to get used to drinking liquids. It sure tastes alot better than it did about 15 years ago. Just anything to get more confidence for the challenges ahead.

Hi sexygma130, It's cool we'll be getting banded about the same time. Yeah, I'm a little apprehensive about the surgery also but I've had several elective surgeries before and it's been fine. I guess what mostly concerns me is the TOTAL change in eating habits we'll have to make. Like always making sure I have the right kinds of food available. I guess also it means paying total attention to my needs-something a lot of women are not accustomed to doing. I just receoved some protein samples to try out. They're Unjury brand which are supposed to taste ok. I wouuld suggest spending some time reading these forums. There's a wealth of knowledge here.

Thanks, sue in ne, for the great Thanksgiving ideas. I think I may also buy some prepared things from the grocery store. My goal is to stay out of the kitchen as much as possible. Oh well, it's just the first challenge of many to come.

I've got a December 2 2009 date. Exciting but scary. My drs. have lots more preop fun in store for me: EKG, Chest xray, Upper GI, abdominal songram, pulmonary function test, medical clearance (again), loads of bloodwork, nutrition classes, Optifast for 2 weeks, and more. I have to cook for Thanksgiving. Yikes. Any strategy for getting through that? Best of luck for all december bandsters!

I'll be starting Optifast liquid diet in 2 weeks. Thanksgiving (I'm cooking) will be a trip. Also I'd really like to lose some weight before the Optifast. It's hard not to have self-doubts after so many years of piling on the weight, but this is it! (borrowing a few words from the King of Pop) Can't wait to pitch these worn out, elephantine clothes and actually buy something with a zipper. But heh, I've got every size in my closet from 12 to xxl. Any one have ideas for getting thru Thanksgiving? Best of luck to all December Bandsters

Yipee! I just got a surgery date of December 2. I'm excited and scared and hope I am up to the challenge. Early diabetes is one reason for the banding; but am also looking forward to non-aching back and legs, no C-PAP machine and more energy. It's great to be able to talk with other December bandsters. Is anyone drinking Slimfasts to practice for the all liquids phase? Any other ideas to prepare for the huge changes? Thanks, Kathy (garden-nut)

I was diagnosed Dec. 08 with a preop BS of 240. I've done okay with diet control and exercise but know DM type II is progressive and just haven't been able to lose weight. I'm 56 and I don't have time to fool around anymore. Health is so precious. I had my first appointment last week and with my insurance should be banded sometime in November. I'm worried about the eating changes but really excited about moving forward.