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Consider yourself lucky if it is indeed a bad gallbladder and you only have mild pain. My worst attack I was laying on the bed in my dormroom, fetal position and literally could barely breath from the pain.

EatSmart brand scale is quite good. Availble on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Precision-Digital-Bathroom-Technology/dp/B001KXZ808/ref=dp_cp_ob_hpc_title_0

Remember the port requires a special needle! I would ask your doctor for one in the event the nurse needs to remove fluid.

I am a great dieter. I have never been the fat person who would diet for a few days and stop. I did not bother to diet unless I was going all in. And by all in I mean execising 7 days a week, eat only non fat foods; no cakes, Cookies. And I could loose weight lots of it. I lost over a hundred pounds at 12, 18, and 30. My problem was that after a year or two I would get tired. Tired of the constant exerciese, tired of depriving my self (at least I saw it as deprivation) of all foods that were enjoyable. If I did eat a piece of cake I would feel guilty. Eventually I would say to myself I will just have a candy bar today; but that would turn into a candy bar everyday. Bad food choices would become a habit and then all was lost. I was an all or nothing dieter. I also really saw it as a diet not as a way of life. In the end the weight always came back with a vengence. For some of us the band is the end of the line. Is my weight killing me? When I had a stroke at 39 the doctors could'nt say for sure my weight was the cause but they coud'nt rule it out ( I had also been on a perscription NSAID which I believe was involved). If your doctor does not require sessions with psychologist that specializes in eating disorders presurgery find one. This was very important to helping me understand why I was overeating and identifying what foods triggered me to over eat. YOU MUST change your relationship with food. If you do not do that you will not be successful with the band. You can cheat the band. You can eat "around" it. The band will never stop you from eating liquid calories, or anything that liquifies or becomes mushies in your mouth: Candy, cookies, sweet childrens Cereal, crackers, ice cream. Even with the band you have to choose NOT to eat these things. Once you have restriction the band helps me stop eating sooner than I normally would have. For me I feel satisfied vs "full". I ask myself do I really need to keep eating? If the answer is no I stop. Before I would have kept eating until I felt overly full. You know 3 in the afternoon at work when the leftover meeting cookies get put out at the coffee center? Well the band you can walk by and not have the desire to eat one. Preband I would have automatically eaten whatever was available. Bandster Hell. Until you get restriction this will be will power diet. I wish more doctors were more upfront about this. Reading this site presurgery I thought I would get restriction after one fill. Uhhh No. It took me 6 months of fills. That's not a knock on the band, just my reality. What kept me going was this was the last time I had to loose the weight. Also while I am a pretty strict dieter; I try to see all foods as having a particular role. I don't keep candy, cake, bread, crackers in my house. If I am at a birthday party however (once every 3-4 months) I can have a small piece of cake. Veggies you eat everyday, treats are something I eat on occation.

My doctor never gave me food guidlines based on volume (cups). He also never referred to my pouch as being the size of an egg. He does say to eat 3 oz of solid protein. I have 3oz of Protein (usually chicken) for lunch and dinner. I have a fruited Greek yogurt, with half a scoop whey isolate protein powder, walnuts, 1/3 cup Kashi Go Lean High Protein Cereal, unflavored benefiber, and Splendra.

As mentioned above the lower your BMI the slower you will probably loose. Also even being 282 at time of surgery I lost slower than some because I had already lost about 100 pounds.

Ibuprofen is a NSAID Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. All NSAIDs can cause stomach problems. Also people who took large amounts of NSAIDS have been seen to have more blood clots in the brain (ie strokes!). I am convinced that the non perscription ibuprofen and then perscription strength NSAID I took long term led to my having a stroke at 39. I had been taking A LOT of Ibuprofen to deal with horrible knee pain. The nurse giving your fill should have known as a bandster you should not be taking Advil. I would be concerned about their lack of knowledge if I were you. I would talk with your surgeon about it. To me it even rises to malpractice. Yes I am very passionate about NSAIDS but feel I have a reason to be.

Ask the pharmacist for store brand liquid tylenol.

DO NOT TAKE IBUPROFEN! It is bad for for pouch. Take a Tylenol type product.

As I am not a morning person I would wait as long as I could in the morning to have the first shake. Have popsicles and jello until late afternoon and have the second shake. Have the meal at suppertime at say 7. I bought a great single serving blender by Hamilton Beach at Walmart ($15) that the blending bottle is a travel mug. Does a fabulous job chopping up ice. If you freeze fat free milk into ice cubs if you use them to mix up your shake they will give the shake a nice icy texture.

I shoot for at least one hour of cardio 7 days a week so that if I miss one day I've done 6 days. Are you measuring your protein? My doctor says 3 oz per meal.

If I do a rigorous walk I can get pain/aching in the port area.

I think 800 is kind of low. My doctor says 3 oz of solid protein per meal. You can get a digital food scale for about 20 bucks at Walmark or Target. My doctor does not believe in snacks. He wants me to eat the protein, veggies and yes fruit. Then grit it out until the next meal. I am at restriction so I can go about 5 hours between meals. I find if I plan on a snack I end up Needing a snack, so it's really head hunger.

Are you eating solids? I was not allowed solids until week 5. I was allowed 3 oz of cottage cheese at day 15.

I would do cardio for now and wait on the abs work. After all you can't loose weight in a particular area by exercising those muscles. Doing good cardio will help you loose weight all over.

Talk to your doctor and ask for an ultrasound. Gall Bladder pain is HORRIFIC. To be perfectly clear EXCRUIATING. I know some doctors perscribe a medication that prevents the stones or gravel from forming. I don't know if it does you any good once they are already formed. If you eat any fat it will give you an attack. ANY fat!!!!!! After loosing 100 pounds at 18 I had to have my gallbladder removed at 19. Genetically my family has bad gallbladders. All of my mother's siblings had it removed (all 8 of them). Today it is a laproscopic surgery. When I had mine out 22 years ago it was a regular open surgery.

I take several small capsules (COQ10, Biotin), Tylenol gelcaps, and even mucinex on occaton which is a pretty big pill. One question is whether you have to take them in the morning when you might be the tightest. Also if you drink coffee first that will help loosen the band.

The usually discuss previous surgeries, allergies to medicines. Discuss any medical conditions. If you use a CPAP ask if you should bring it with you.

I second vitafusionn gummy fiber. I take some in the morning and some at night. I also add unflavored benefiber to my greek yogurt for breakfast.

If you have access to costco Premier Ready to Drink is a very good shake: 160 cal for 30 g of Protein. I buy chocolate but the vanilla is fine. For powder my doctor prefers Whey isolate. Isolate is the best form of Whey protein. Look for it specifically because not all Whey is Isolate. I buy Dymatize gourmet vanilla and Gold Standard Chocolate at Vitamin Shoppe. Join the frequent buyer program as they send you coupons. I would freeze Milk Cubes so that when I blended the shakes they had a nice frappe consistancy (frappe is New England for milk shake made with ice cream). You can also add fat/sugar free pudding powder and or Torvani sugar free syrups (found in the coffee isle).

In general I will say to always follow your doctors orders. If you DO go off your perscribed diet eggs and cheese are probably good choices. Your doctor wants you to burn the fat stored in your liver and by not feeding your body carbs it is forced to burn fat. Fat stored in the organs is burned first; thus the shrinking of the liver. The liver gets flipped out of the way so they can get to the stomach. My doctor explained to me that doing laproscopic surgery is like trying to due surgery inside of a full suitcase through 5 small holes. The more things you remove from the suitcase before the surgery (weight loss) the easier it is for him to work (has more room to move around.). I was 336 at first consult and after 7 months wait (waiting for a blood clot to disapate) was 282 the day of surgery.

I had surgery late Thursday and did not go back to work until the next Monday. So Friday, Sat-Sun, Mon-Friday, Sat-Sun. And I did a 'desk job from home". I would take a couple days off. Also you need to get some protein in order to heal. Premier ready to drink protein shakes taste very good and are convenient.

I don't feel like I owe any information to coworkers. It's not that I feel embarrassed; I just don't think it's any of their business. Also, I don't need any food police. You can be guarenteed that you could have grilled chicken breast and raw veggies every day for lunch; but have a 2 inch square birthday cake and someone will ask you "Should you be eating that!?"

I do think your problem was a combo of using a straw and your body freaking out from the fat in the milkshake. I agree with the previous poster that planning is an important part of this journey. For now I would keep a ready to drink protein shake for times when you are caught away from home and need to eat. I highly recommend Premier ready to drink chocolate protein shakes. Now that I'm healed I keep a low fat protein bar in the car for when I need to eat but don't have time for a meal. Once healed Wendy's chili is an excellent fast food option.