Melinco

Tomorrow is the day! In twelve hours, my alarm clock will be going off to get up. Have to be at the surgery center at 6:00 a.m. Surgery is at 7:30 a.m Wow, this time has absolutely flown by! I'm not sure if I'll be coming on here to update tomorrow, but I will post on my blog via text when I get home to let everyone know if all went well. Good luck to the other soon-to-be December 17th bandsters!

Best of luck today!

I have no idea. You'd have to ask him that question. PM me if you want his info.

Miss Sammy, I'm on a solid food, high Protein, low carb diet for 10 days prior to my surgery, which is this Thursday. It's recommended by my surgeon. He said that it doesn't really matter if you're food intake is liquid or solid, what matters is getting less than 30 grams of carbs per day. I'm shooting for about 100 grams of protein. He did not limit my calorie intake. However, I'm averaging about 1400-1500 calories a day and I've lost 10 pounds already. I'd talk with him again, and if you're not comfortable with him and his recommendations, I'd look for a different surgeon.

First year free, $50 after that. However, when I went to my first support group, I got a certificate for a free fill. It seems like they give you one of those for each support group meeting you go to, so it's quite possible to not pay for any fills with my dr. My self-pay costs for surgery is about $14,500 (includes psychologist and dietician).

I never said that they weren't loaded with carbs. I said that they were not fattening, if prepared properly. Fattening = loaded with fat. At least in my book it does. Sorry you took offense to what I said.

I'm sorry Abby that this is so tough for you. If it's any consolation (which it probably isn't) I'm having to force myself to stay away from our lounge where all the goodies are too. I work in insurance and we get lots of baskets and boxes of holiday treats. But everything, and I mean everything, is loaded with carbs so I can't have anything. That's okay, because this time next year, I'll be a lot thinner than I am now! That tastes better than any of those yucky, icky, gross things. :thumbup:

Me too! There's quite a few of us going under the knife on Thursday. Is your surgery outpatient or will you be staying the night in the hospital? Mine is O/P. Good luck and welcome to December Delights!

I'm not going to tell you to not get married, but rather to let you know that if you work for an employer that has 20 or more employees, you will be offered COBRA continuation. This allows you to continue your health insurance for up to 18 months. You do have to pay 100% of the actual cost of the premium (this includes the amount that your employer is currently paying on yor behalf) plus 2% administrative fee. So if you are concerned about the loss of coverage, this might be something to think about. Regardless, though, congratulations on your upcoming nuptials.

Potatoes in and of themselves are not fattening, they are actually fat free. However, it's what you ADD to the potatoes that can make them fattening. If you are craving mashed potatoes, you can make a healthy version of them. Rather than using cream or milk, use chicken stock, to help make them creamy. You can skip the butter, or use a low cal alternate like "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light." You can add fresh chopped chives, a teaspon full of powdered ranch dressing mix, roasted garlic, etc., to add additional flavoring to them without the added fat. You can also make fat free gravy for the potatoes. It's all in the preparation of a food as to whether it's fattening or not, unless of course you're talking about pork rinds, which are fattening no matter how they're prepared! :thumbup:

My surgeon and dietician provided me with the following guidelines: 3-5 days after surgery - liquids only (nothing thicker than paint) 1-2 weeks after surgery slowly add - low fat yogurt, tomato Soup, low fat cream Soups (no chunks), pureed or very soft fruit without skin, oatmeal, cream of wheat 2-6 weeks after surgery - low fat creamy soups with chunks, fish, chicken (processed), canned meat (tuna, chicken if packed in water), grains, rice, pastas as tolerated, slowly add tougher meats like pork or beef, fruits/vegetables (boiled or soft first). No skins, no seeds. Now my surgeon told me that I should progress through the stages as my hunger dictates. If I'm feeling hungrier earlier, then I can proceed to the next stage.

Tonya, that makes me think of what I did when I was about 20 years old making mashed potatoes. I wanted them really smooth, so I used an electric hand mixer to mix the cooked potatoes. I mixed it so much that the consistency turned into a paste, and it actually changed the flavor of the potatoes! They tasted like glue. So I am very careful now when I mash my potatoes that I don't mix too much.

It's funny how taco salads are getting a bad rap here. The one I make is actually quite healthy. I use lean ground meat, drained from any fat, then spiced up with chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, etc. Drained pinto Beans and kidney beans, lettuce, fresh tomatoes, fresh red onions, fresh green bell peppers, cheddar cheese, and salsa. It has Protein, Fiber, Calcium, lots of Vitamins, and is quite tasty. I serve the tortilla chips on the side for my husband to get the "taco" part of it. Again, it's really how you prepare your "salad" that makes it either healthy or not. Now, if you go to my husband's Mexican food restuarant and order a taco salad, you'll get it in a deep fried tortilla bowl, with refried beans, hamburger meat, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, all covered in green chili (for you Australians who may not be familiar with green chili, it is a sauce or gravy of sorts, made with roasted Anaheim green chile peppers, onions, diced pork and diced tomatoes with spices). That taco salad is not healthy. lol

I'm not banded yet, but this is a really good recipe for the mushie stage. Mashed Cauliflower 2 pounds fresh cauliflower, cut into small chunks 2 tbs heavy cream 1.5 tbs real butter 2 tbs sour cream Boil the cauliflower in a pot of salted water for 10-12 minutes until tender. Drain well. In a food processor in batches, blend the cauliflower until smooth. Add the heavy cream, butter and sour cream, salt & pepper to taste. Mix well. If needed, put back in pan to warm up. Serves 6.

What's your blog address? Or is it here through LBT?

I'm hoping that those of you who have been there, done that can help me out. I haven't drank milk since I was in 1st grade. I don't like it. I'll drink hot chocolate, but not any type of cold milk. Surgery is scheduled for Thursday, December 17. One of my post-op "can haves" is skim milk. Ugh. Do you think it's okay if I make a sgar free or low calorie (25 calories or less) of hot chocolate instead? It would be thinner than paint, which is my criteria for the first 5 days after surgery. Or does anyone have suggestions on how to drink milk? Normally I'd say I'd make a shake out of it by blending it with ice and some vanilla extract, but that would be too thick. I'm making my list of things to buy tonight at the grocery store as well as pick up all my prescriptions, and just kind of got stuck on the milk issue. I know it's a good source of Protein and Calcium but it makes it hard when I can't stand the stuff. Thanks for any help you can provide!

Thanks, everyone. It isn't a must have, but a can have. I was just thinking during the first five days, it might be good to get it in since I can't have the Viactive calcium chews yet. I bought a lot of sugar free puddings last night at the grocery store, but those really are for about 1-2 weeks after surgery. I guess I'll just drink my hot chocolate with the milk. I may even try making a Protein shake but make it pretty watery. We'll see. Oh, and I'm so looking forward to my coffee! I've been off of it since I started my pre-op diet since I must have cream in it, and the cream just had too many carbs. So starting Friday, hello coffee! :thumbup:

At the top, under the google ads, are the navigation links. To get to the discussion forum, click on LAP-BAND Surgery and LAP-BAND Discussion Forum. Then you'll see all the various forums you can join. To go to the groups, up at the top under the pictures, click on Community, Social Groups, then there should be a list of groups you can join. To start a post (new, not a reply), once you are in a forum, click on New Thread which is right under the search LapBandTalk.com box. Hope this help you navigate your way around!

Last night I went to the grocery store to stock up on the items I can eat/drink after the surgery as well as to fill two of my three prescriptions. I'm saving the nasal pain med for afterwards in case I need it since I will have a pain pump. I spent almost $100 on groceries and another $50 on the Rx! I may have bought too much, but I wanted to have on stock enough food for several weeks. I got apple and cranberry juices, diet V8 splash, light V8 fusion, canned pears and peaches, cream of wheat, malt-o-meal in chocoloate, sf carnation instant breakfast mix, lots of soups, both broth based and cream based, sf instant jello pudding mixes in lemon, banana cream, butterscotch, white chocolate, and cheesecake, sf fudgesicles, sf popsicles, sf crystal light popsicles, and skim milk. I already have at home the stuff to make plain chicken, beef and vegetable broth (it's the paste kind of buillon). Can you think of anything else I might need, food wise? I told my husband last night that I didn't buy him anything to eat during this time frame of healing, but he could have the bits that I strain out of my soups! lol I don't think he really appreciated that. Wow, just today and tomorrow left. It has gone by quickly.

My surgery is Thursday. My last diet pepsi will be Wednesday. I am not giving those up until I absolutely have to! lol I figure, most food I will eventually be able to eat again, even if in very small quantities. However, I will not be drinking diet pepsi again. As a self pay, I do not want to do anything that could jack this band up. So until I have to stop eating/drinking anything on Wednesday evening, I will be drinking my diet pepsis! Anyone being a rebel like me??

This morning I called my surgery center because I hadn't heard from them yet about the last minute "to do's." They didn't even have me scheduled! I gave them my information and they said they'd call my surgeon. The lady on the phone didn't act like it would be a problem with having it done Thursday, but boy, I'm not too happy about this. ETA: I did speak with my surgeon's office and they had faxed the information to them, but the surgery center just couldn't find it, I guess. However, that whole day is blocked out for my surgeon, so I'm still scheduled. It's a really good thing I called! Moral of story - be your own advocate and call when you think you should have been called already and follow up!

I have a funny story to tell! Well, not that funny maybe, but still. This morning when I got on my scales, I about fainted! It read 269.something. I got off, about hopped in the shower, and thought that can't be right. So I stepped back on and it read 274.2. That's more like it. My weight the day before was 276, and I knew there was no way possible I could have lost over six pounds in one day, even if I did work out. I'm thinking that my liver must be really fatty and I'm losing lots of fat from it. Maybe from a few other places too. Oh, on a different note, as I've mentioned before, we have lots of goodies at work. It's been tough avoiding them, but I have. In the past, I would have snuck some from the lounge and brought them to my office to pig out on. Now, I think to myself, yes, I could do that, but regardless of whether someone sees me or not eathing them, when the surgeon cuts open my stomach, HE will see that I ate them. So therefore I've kept my distance from them. I'm very proud of myself! Okay, time to get back to work. Cioa!

Sluggo, I'm in the do not tell side also. I did tell my husband of course and my doctors and my best friend. I did tell one person at work so that in case something happened to me someone would know that I was banded in order to tell the EMTs. Unfortunately, my DH told his folks, so they know too, but I have asked them not to say anything to anyone. Oh, and then anyone who reads my blog knows. But really, I am in the do not tell camp. lol Good luck with your pre-op. Yesterday was better for me (day 3), but day 2 was horrible!

Swan, I'm sorry you're in so much pain! Have you tried walking around and taking Gas-X strips? Perhaps you can take some more pain relief to help with the gas. I hope you get to feeling better soon.