Astrasmom

The Lapband is not a diet. It's a lifestyle change. You can pretty much eat anything you want, in moderation. You however should really eat healthy. Naturally you don't want to pig out on junk food all of the time. You pretty much eat 5-6 oz off food at each meal for the rest of your life. As you move along in your banding, with your fills and restrictions you really won't feel like even eating the 5-6 oz most of the time and you will feel full between meals for about 4-5 hours in between. For a few days after the surgery your doctor will prescribe pain pills for you. Unless you are on other prescription medications you have nothing else to take. I take a chewable Multivitamin, a chewable Calcium pill (1800 mgs), and a chewable Vitamin D3 (2000 mgs). I also drink one Protein supplement in the morning. I was drinking 3-4 after surgery but again once you get your fills and you aren't that hungry anymore, you find your protein in other forms such as food. I eat alot of chicken and fish.

Here is a great thread that will explain to you what PBing and Slimming are. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f84/what-pbing-slimmed-28191/

Hi Jenny, My names Dawn. Would love to be your buddy. I was banded Oct. 23, 2009. Please feel free to add me as a friend or email me with any questions that you might have along the way cc-dmtermini@comcast.net Congratulations to you.

Less food going in means less food coming out. It's very normal. I only go every 2-3 days myself. You shouldn't need a stool softener unless you are constipated.

I eat Kashi bars. They have only 140 calories, 5 grams of sugar and 7 grams of protein. They are really good.

Mushies you can eat anything that you can stick in your blender to puree. Stage 1 baby food works too. Yogurt, cottage cheese, Creamy Soups, Ricotta Cheese. Good luck. I hope you feel better.

Are you sipping really small? And did you have any fill put in when you had your surgery?

I don't think a couple of saltines will mess things up for you. Just try your best not to do it again. Monday is not that far away. You are almost there. By the way unjury makes a really good chicken flavor protein mix. It's clear. UNJURY is Medical Quality whey Protein Isolate. Best Tasting Whey Protein powder. Most Trusted Whey Protein Powder Supplement. Taste the difference I'm glad that you are back on track and almost there. Good luck on your surgery Monday! YOU CAN DO IT!!!! Please let us know how the surgery went. Have a wonderful weekend.

Check with your doctors office and see if there is a local support group in your area that you might attend. They really do help. Also just remember no matter what anyone else might think, you are doing this for yourself, not for them. You are doing wonderful!!! When is your surgery?

The pre-op diet is the hardest part of this process. You HAVE to be strong. You came this far. Don't give up now. I know you honestly feel like you are dieing right now but there is light at the end of the tunnel. If you give up you will ultimately regret that you did. Your body is in starvation mode right now. Your at the peek of the mountain. Things will get easier soon. I have faith in you that you can do this. Have faith in yourself. Keep going. Your doing awesome. :biggrin:

You are very welcome. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. No question is stupid. Good luck to you.

Everyone loses at different paces. Do not get discouraged. It's better to lose it slower anyway. You have to look at it differently, its not the pace that you are losing the weight, it's the fact that you ARE LOSING THE WEIGHT!! You are all doing wonderful. Stick to the plan, watch the calorie intake, drink your 64 oz of fluids a day, and if you can't really exercise at least try and walk. For those that can't walk, there are tons of exercises that you can do from a chair that will actually increase your heart rate so you can lose weight. Make sure that you are getting in your 80-90 grams of protein a day also.

I get stuck once and awhile. The longest that it has been stuck is maybe 30 minutes. It will come up sometimes if it gets stuck for me. Usually I just stand up and try walking around. Sometimes I will even jump up and down. Of course if you are in a restaurant you want to go into the bathroom to jump. You DO NOT want to drink when you get stuck because that will make you even more stuck. It could be the foods that you are choosing that get stuck. You may want to not have them for awhile. Or it could be that you are not cutting them small enough or chewing at least 25-30 times before you are swallowing. Also try using a baby spoon if you aren't using one now. After you get stuck, especially the way you are feeling now, you may want to go back on all liquids for a day or 2 and then move up to mushies for a couple more days and gradually back onto solids. Sometimes when you get stuck you could cause a little swelling. My calorie count is 800-1100 so you are ok if you don't go any lower than 800.

Hi Carol, I had just answered this for someone else also. Here is what I said. The consult is the easy part. The surgeon will explain to you all about the surgery and what to expect both before, during and after the surgery. He will go over all of your medical history. And you will sign papers for the surgery. This is the time to ask questions. No question is stupid. That's what the surgeon is there for. Then depending on what type of insurance you have (unless you are self pay) your doctor will set you up with other consults from other doctors that your insurance might require. For instance mine took 6 months. I had to have 6 months of supervised diet from a nutritionist, 1 Psychiatrist visit, 1 cardiologist visit, 1 gastroenterologist visit, 1 Pulmonary visit, and a letter of diet habits and approval from my primary doctor. As for the surgery, what you are feeling is very normal. But I will tell you that it's a pretty easy surgery. Yes it does hurt a little after but that's what the pain pills are for. This is probably the best thing I have ever done for myself. I am EXTREMELY happy that I had it done. The only regret that I have is that I didn't get it done sooner. I have not been to the weight that I am now since about 1989. I have only 34 lbs to go before I hit goal. You will be fine. Go in there with your head held high and ask alot of questions. Please keep us posted with your progress. You can also read my blog. It might help you a bit.

Hi Karen. My names Dawn and I'm from NJ. Would love to be your buddy. I'm 6 1/2 months in. Please feel free to email me or add me as a friend. cc-dmtermini@comcast.net

The consult is the easy part. The surgeon will explain to you all about the surgery and what to expect both before, during and after the surgery. This is the time to ask questions. No question is stupid. That's what the surgeon is there for. Then depending on what type of insurance you have (unless you are self pay) your doctor will set you up with other consults from other doctors that your insurance might require. For instance mine took 6 months. I had to have 6 months of supervised diet from a nutritionist, 1 Psychiatrist visit, 1 cardiologist visit, 1 gastroenterologist visit, 1 Pulmonary visit, and a letter of diet habits and approval from my primary doctor. As for the surgery, what you are feeling is very normal. But I will tell you that it's a pretty easy surgery. Yes it does hurt a little after but that's what the pain pills are for. This is probably the best thing I have ever done for myself. I am EXTREMELY happy that I had it done. The only regret that I have is that I didn't get it done sooner. I have not been to the weight that I am now since about 1989. I have only 34 lbs to go before I hit goal. You will be fine. Go in there with your head held high and ask alot of questions. Please keep us posted with your progress. You can also read my blog. It might help you a bit.

You could be taking to big of a bite. Try using a baby spoon if you aren't already using one. Also is it happening with ALL mushies or only certain ones? If you are only experiencing it with certain mushies then I would suggest staying away from those one for awhile. You really shouldn't go backwards unless of course it's after a fill or perhaps you have gotten stuck, which really shouldn't happen until you start solids (If it does happen at all). If you are sticking to your plan and this is the time that you should be on mushies then stay on mushies but try different ones. eggs always gave me a problem. They still do.

Wow I am glad to hear that you are doing better and finally able to keep things down. Keep up the great work.

WOW congratulations on your success in many way. And for the start of your new life. I love the nutritional visits. And the fact that I had to have 6 nutritional visits before my surgery was awesome. Of course I thought the day of surgery would never get here but now that I look back I am so glad that I had those nutrional visits. I have learned so much. And I see my nutritionist every time I go for a fill also. I can also email or call her anytime I have a question. The nutrionist as well as your doctor are both there to help you. Don't ever be afraid to talk to either of them. Good luck on your journey.

Basically you will go to sleep and before you know it you will wake up. You will have a tube down your throat when you are asleep that will be out when you wake up. You may have a slight sore throat from the tube. Your stomach will be sore from the incisions but you will have pain medication. Most have a morphine pump. I suggest using the pain medication when you are feeling a little pain and not waiting until it hurts more because it takes a while for the morphine to get into your system. The first thing that you will find is that you are not hungry. It's honestly amazing. Yes you will have pain but it's not to awfully bad. You may have some gas which some tend to feel in your shoulder. That's from they air that they pump into you during the surgery so they can see better. Gas-X strips help with this. Also a heating pad. Most of all you just want to make sure that you walk to help pass this gas out of your system and to also help prevent blood clots. As with any surgery there are complications but they are rare. It will all be over faster than you can imagine. Meanwhile make sure you read as much as possible before hand so that you know what to do after you have the band. And of course if you have any questions please feel free to ask. You can add me as a friend if you like or email cc-dmtermini@comcast.net and you can also check out my blog. It has alot of information on it that may help you.

EVERY person gets 'cold feet' before the process. It's very normal what you are feeling. After all it is surgery. I will tell you from my point of view this is the best thing that I could have ever done for myself. The only regret that I have is not getting it done sooner. I promise you the results are awesome. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and before you know it, you will be there. Hang in there. You have come this far. You can do it!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! :bored:

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I promise. The wait is well worth it. Just hang in there. Congratulations and I will be looking forward to seeing your pictures. YOU CAN DO IT! :glare:

It's not a stupid question at all. You are correct about food staying in your pouch to make you have a fuller feeling. Food that goes down too easily such as Ice cream,yogurt, smoothies, etc. is called a slider food. It won't stay in your pouch for very long at all. And you will find yourself being hungry sooner then with a non-slider food. Where as normal food that you have to chew chew chew to keep in your pouch, it actually will start the decay process in your pouch before moving down into your stomach. It's because of the texture of the food that keeps it from going down faster. Hope this helps.

How did you make out with your Fluid taken out? Are you able to keep things down now?