BetsyB

600 doesn't raise my eyebrows even a little, and I live with a man who has congestive heart failure and is on a strict sodium restriction. Most Americans take in 5-6 grams of sodium a day--most of it hidden in prepared foods. That's 5000-6000 mg--most of it hidden in prepared foods. The Daily Value recommended for most people is no more than 2400 mg. The standard sodium restriction for those who require it for medical purposes is 2000 mg. Most bodies need about 1500 mg/day. If drinking lots of Fluid and exercising, more may be needed. So 600 at a pop? Definitely not a showstopper. It's pretty hard, with limited stomach capacity, to trip the wire of sodium overload. The band does a pretty good job of putting the brakes on, even for that. My concern about prepared foods is that they often aren't nutritionally dense. A Lean Cuisine just doesn't pack the same nutrient punch that a similar volume of good-quality lean Protein and veggies packs. And it's not easier to prepare, either.

What are you eating? If you journal somewhere like fitday.com, you can get a good, realistic idea of what does and does not work for you. I can tell you what has worked for me---but it may not be right for you. My doctor's regimen is low-carb, and comes in around 800-900 calories/day. I eat about 3 ounces of Protein at each meal, plus nonstarchy veggies. Occasionally, I have fruit. (I am "allowed" to daily, but really prefer veggies, so I lean toward them more.) I often use legumes as my protein source. At 75% of excess weight lost, we're "allowed" to reintroduce grains and starches. I have technically reached this stage (I'm 11.4 pounds from a normal BMI), but my goal is lower, so I only rarely include them. (For example, I no longer eat around croutons if the salad I order shows up with them. I occasionally eat sushi with rice...that sort of thing.) My doctor recommends 65 g protein/day. I feel and lose better if I aim for 80-100 g (and usually come in around 80 these days, with restriction). To do this, I do rely on protein supplements 1-2X/day (depending on what I've eaten). In a nutshell, for ME what works is: 800-900 calories/day 80-100 g protein <50 g net carb (from nonstarchy veggie, legume, fruit sources) only occasional starchy foods (ETA: I have to add, I also take a good-quality bariatric Multivitamin and other supplements. Fitday tracks nutrients, so it's easy to see when, for example, I need to take a Calcium supplement, and when I've had enough for the day.) I promise---PROMISE---things get so, so much easier as you approach restriction. You're in a a really tough phase right now, but you can lose during bandster hell if you tough it out. Yes, it's frustrating--it really is. But remind yourself that you're already on your way. This is the last time you will be hungry in the name of weight loss. Truly, the band will save you from that very, very soon.

Yes. The stress hormone cortisol causes fluid retention---and it affects band tightness, for sure.

The Inspire and PURE protein powders from bariatriceating.com are hands-down the best. Dutch chocolate + almond milk is delicious. And the PURE (unflavored) can be added to almost anything.

Are you a masochist? LOL I wouldn't do it, personally. Two weeks seems to be commonly accepted as adequate time to reduce the liver's glycogen stores. I'm all for giving it your all--but I think if I wanted to get a head start, I'd do it more conservatively, by focusing on lean Proteins and nonstarchy veggies---and not thrusting myself into the land of liquids sooner than necessary. Believe me, it will soon seem interminable for you.

If your doctor uses fluoroscopy for fills, you will have to swallow barium. But in MUCH MUCH MUCH smaller quantity--not enough to affect the bowels (thankfully)! Just a little mouthful. Upper GI amounts really do cause a lot of people to have really gross aftereffects. You won't have to endure the same routinely postop.

Your diet depends completely on your doctor's regimen. At 10 days out, I was allowed to have pureed Proteins. (ETA: Wait. I think Day 10 is when I switched to soft, moist Protein. Even better!) At 10 days out, I was really beginning to feel like myself again--I think you'll be okay for a big Christmas breakfast, especially if you have a bustling house with plenty of people to help :thumbup:

You're right on target. At the seminar, they will take your insurance info, so by the time you see the doctor, you will know if you've been conditionally approved. The doctor will fill you in on the "conditions." Generally, you have to be cleared by a handful of specialists: cardiologist, pulmonologist, psychologist. Sometimes, a sleep study is required. Also at your first meeting, you'll find out if your insurance OR doctor require a period of preop supervision. My insurance covers banding at Bariatric Centers of Excellence, but requires 3 months of diet supervision. This amounted to monthly weigh-ins at the doctor's office---no specific diet, just the requirement that I lose 6 pounds within the time frame. (If I'm not mistaken, the weight lost was a physician requirement, not an insurance requirement.) When you do see the doctor, you might want to ask about the preop education and aftercare provided. Who will see you postoperatively? (In my doctor's office, it's the surgeon, each time; I like this.) What kind of postop followup (in addition to band adjustment) is offered? Is there a support group? That sort of thing. In our zeal to get banded, we sometimes forget that we're choosing someone with which we're going to have a very long-term relationship---so choosing the surgeon and practice carefully is well worth the effort.

The psych I used went so ridiculously in-depth that my surgeon literally rolled his eyes and said, "So. That psychologist. A little 'special,' huh?" LOL He did "approve" me for surgery, but for some reason felt compelled to provide a 14-page report and to tell me that he didn't think I'd do as well as most bandsters. I told him he was flat-out wrong, and asked him to identify what indication he had of that. He first told me the conclusion was drawn from the "empirical testing" but then more or less admitted he thought I just didn't stick with stuff. My surgeon knew this to be ridiculous--I can provide years of food and exercise journals to any doctor showing that I lose when I eat around 800 calories/day and exercise routinely---but gain when I eat more than 1000-1100 calories. Hence the need for the band. Anyway, even though it wasn't the most fun experience I've ever had, my psych evaluation, it wasn't horrible. You just have to let anything negative go in one ear and out the other. (Obviously, the psych was really, really wrong about me. Because less than a year later...well, look at my stats. The band was the missing link for me.)

I lost very little on the preop diet. I'd been lowcarbing for long enough that my body just didn't purge tons. But the aim of the diet isn't loss--though it's often a side effect. It's to reduce the liver's glycogen stores so that the organ is smaller and the surgeon can more easily manueuver. Don't focus on the number. If you look at my stats, you'll see that little losses on the preop diet aren't predictive of future banded success :thumbup:

the Protein shots are not composed of the most bioavailable proteins; you'd be better off finding a good whey protein isolate powder (or ready-to-drink). Protein supplements don't have to be high volume or gross. Bariatric Eating has really good powders that mix with just 4 oz. liquid. There are both flavored and unflavored---the latter is really handy to have, because sweet can get tiresome after a while.

The preop diet is really hard. But you'll get through it. And it's really important that you stick to the regimen prescribed. It's not a diet designed to jumpstart weight loss; it's designed to reduce the stores of glycogen (carbohydrate) in your liver so that the liver is smaller and more easily manueverable during surgery. ETA:I know you know about the liver---the long period without carb is required to really deplete its glycogen stores. It's not necessary that this be accomplished without food. I think lots of surgeons go this route because it eliminates guesswork. Every doctor seems to have a different preop regimen. The foods you've chosen to eat actually fit in with my doctor's prescription (2 shakes a day, then a meal with 4 oz. lean Protein and 1/2 cup nonstarchy veggies.) You have not undermined your progress, vis-a-vis preparing your body for surgery. I wonder: if you were to call your doctor and propose a 2-shake, 1-lean/leafy meal regimen, if he'd approve. As long as you keep your carbs below a certain level, there shouldn't be an issue in terms of surgical prep. He might want you to return to liquids for the last day or so---or he might not. Until you get green-lighted to do something different, for your own sanity, it's just better to stick with what's prescribed. The second-guessing, the guilt, the worry....the satisfaction provided by cucumbers just isn't enough to compensate, you know?

I have no idea. I stopped asking after around 8.5 cc in an 11 cc. band.

You don't have to love it--you just have to do it. You don't need a punishing regimen to see results. I'm a walker--I walk long, and I walk fast, but I didn't start out that way. As I've lost weight and gotten better-conditioned, it's just happened. You can't use body aches as an excuse. The body needs to move; it hurts when it does not. Will you get sore? You might. But that doesn't last forever. I let pain keep me from exercise for too long. I have 5 herniated disks and sacroiliac joint disease. I have a bum knee and a bum shoulder. When I started exercising routinely 4 years ago, I found out something startling: using those body parts didn't make anything worse. And more surprisingly, I felt better. Not everyone ends up loving exercise. But it's one of those things, like brushing your teeth, or emptying the litter box, or taking the garbage to the curb on Thursdays. YOU JUST HAVE TO DO IT.

It sounds like your band needs some fine-tuning---and that you need to get moving! My back is horrible I have 5 herniated disks from neck to tail, as well as sacroiliac joint disease. I am in pain almost all the time--sometimes severe, even with meds. I exercise every.single.day--usually twice. It does not make my pain worse--it promotes weight loss (which helps the back enormously), and the movement is good for the body. Unless your doctor is telling you that walking will cause you permanent nerve damage, please don't use back pain as an excuse to keep you from doing the one thing that is most apt to give you relief. If you don't have one already, find a good pain specialist. Periodic epidural injections help me tremendously. Appropriate medication can help you engage in life productively, as well. Even simple measures such as ice or heat can make a huge difference. Re: "chewing to mush." That would gross me out, too. My doctor's rule of thumb is "no bigger than a pencil eraser." If I had to chew to mush, I wouldn't eat!

Beano helps :thumbup:

I know it's morning, so my answer's a day late and a dollar short. But if liquid is going down, I would wager the pill had already past, and the sensation you were feeling was a bit of swelling resulting from the stuck incident. pills cause me trouble, too. I've had my meds switched to liquid whenever possible. My Vitamins are capsules, but not time-release. Taking them with warm liquid ensures the Gelatin cap dissolves before I have real trouble.

You're thinking of endoscopic. Laparoscopic means that fiberoptic cameras are used to guide surgery.

Are you confusing laparoscopic surgery with single-incision surgery? Most bands are installed with laparoscopically. Traditionally, this involves 5 incisions; 4 are tiny, and one (the port incision) is a bit larger. Single-incision laparoscopy involves one incision through the bellybutton. It's not nearly as widely done. With most surgeons, it's not an option because they don't do it, for a number of reasons. Open surgery (with the traditional single, large incision) is done in cases where laparoscopy is not an option; if my surgeon told me he needed to do it this way, I wouldn't even question him---some people do need open procedures, and I know he'd share a very good rationale with me.

Please don't do this without checking with your doctor or pharmacist. Many capsules should not be opened and sprinkled. Time-release caps are designed to dissolve in the small intestine rather than the stomach, and opening them completely changes the bioavailability of the medication. Quite often, meds come in other forms. When they do not, a similar drug in liquid (or crushable) form is usually available. When I have (non time-release) caps bugging me (not usually stuck, per se, but kind of lying against the stoma and obstructing things) warm liquids do help (rather than back things up). They dissolve the Gelatin and make it possible for the cap to pass through easily.

I don't have advice on the bread, because I haven't tried it. But... Please don't do this. It is eating disordered behavior. Instead, try to find a bread you can tolerate. Lots of people like the bagel thins, when toasted, and find that they work well. About the plastic surgery: most surgeons want their patients to be at their goal weights, or very close, before consultation; there's no way to give concrete answers about what to expect if they cannot see the "blank canvas" with which they will be working. HOWEVER, it's not too early to start "shopping" for surgeons--interviewing them, discussing options, and so on. ETA: It used to be that patients would be advised to wait 6-18 months after reaching their goal to have plastic surgery. It's not the general recommendation any longer; if there is excess skin, there is excess skin---there is no need to wait to remove it (and it ain't going anywhere on its own).

That's why the years they do couples seem to work better, I think. Especially early in the season, when there is such a disparity between the progress of the men and women. As the seasons progress, it seems like the women often have the edge. We always wind up with one or two who really, really kick ass.

I agree, it's time to see your PCP. I would not relate a long-term headache to the band, but would simply describe the nature and duration of pain as best as you can. Provide as much information to the doctor as you can--without drawing conclusions. By this, I mean that it might be useful for him to see food journals (might be an allergy issue); to know how much Fluid you're taking in; to see a calendar/journal in which you've recorded details of each headache (how and when you experience onset of pain, rate it on a scale of 1-10, describe what you do for relief and how well that works; relate it to any identifiable stressors or activities, etc.) Headache can be tricky to pin down. The more information you can offer, the better.

It's pretty common for loss to periodically slow down/stall. Sometimes, the body just sort of says, "Hey! What's going on here!" and rebels a little. It regroups, then loss resumes. Make sure that you're doing all the stuff that promotes loss--eating the right foods in the right amounts, getting enough exercise, getting adequate Fluid, getting enough rest. If all of those things are on target, just hang in there---the ball will start moving again :thumbdown:

Pull out your insurance policy and read their requirements for bariatric surgery. You may find that you do not need your PCP's participation at all. Then, research surgeons who perform banding in your area. Attend one of their seminars. Find out how s/he can get the ball rolling for you. If your insurance does require a referral from PCP, find another. Drugs aren't the answer---they never have been, and they never will be. I personally would not be comfortable with a physician who prescribed them when I had the documentation you describe. She is being paternalistic and making decisions for you when you have already demonstrated a strong commitment to losing weight and have made a personal decision for which you need her support.