Mishay36

Hello I would love to have abuddy who has been there, I have about 120 pounds to lose after Lap Band. I have been going through my two week pre op Liquid diet and on Monday will go in for my band. Please message me if youd like to be a Buddy/Menor. God Bless

Today was my first visit with my surgeon post op. Good news is that I am down 14 pounds since surgery two weeks ago. Woo Hoo! Bad news, or not so good news is I dont feel very much restriction right now so the pureed food doesnt do much to satisfy me. The surgeon said my first fill will be Nov 8th! I cant wait. Then at least I will feel full when eating these small amounts. Other than that I am good. The itching is starting to subside more and more wiht my healing. I am noticing my clothes getting much looser. I tried a little tuna salad for lunch today. Just ate it from a little cup. It was good. :-) Anyone else have some good ideas for this pureed stage? Ive tried soups, refried beans, cottage cheese, yogurt, oatmeal, and now tuna salad. Have a great week everyone!:thumbup:

I am now 14 days post op. I have been eating soft liquids/pureed meals. Mainly creamy soups, yogurt, refried beans (thinned), and of course lots of protein shakes. I was able to complete a 5k walk today. Yay! I wasnt sure I could make it but with everyones encouragement I did it. Someone said I should train for the 1/2 marathon walk in May ??? Got me thinking. :-) I have been ok other than this horrible itching around the areas where the steri strips used to be at about day 8. OMG! It was horrible. I thought I would rip my skin off. I tried everything and finally got some Hydrocortisone cream and 3 days of Prednisone to calm it down. It is much better now. I definately feel more restriction in the morning. And in the evening I am hungrier. I am trying to stay on the prescribed plan and to eat very slowly. It is hard,. I think the swelling is starting to go down post op inside and I feel less restricted. I cant wait for a fill but that is in two more weeks. :-) Tomorrow I am supposed to be able to start things like tuna with mayo etc. :-) Its a good day!:thumbup:

Well Im chuggin right along. I am now 6 days post op from my lap band. Id have to say that the hardest part has got to be the gas pains in my shoulders and back. Some in my tummy. But I just take in my Gas-X strips and walk. It goes away. But sure isnt fun when Im trying to sleep. I was sent home from the hospital with liquid hydrocodone but havent really needed that since day 2. Ive been searching the boards and websites for good creamy soups etc I can have right now. My diet plan until 10/18 is a semi liquid diet. So creamy soups, yogurt, cottage cheese, jello, pudding, protein shakes and lots of water. All sugar free of course and really I dont miss the sugar. I use splenda if I need a little sweetness but most flavors are enhanced big time right now anyway. :-) I go back to work tomorrow. Most of my coworkers no nothing other than I was on vacation. There are a few trusted that I have told but for the most part I have kept it to myself. Today I will beef up my exercise to 35-45 mintues. Just walking and light toning exercises. I love walking tapes. More to come....

Thanks. Im probably more nervous about that than anything else right now.

I will try that. Thanks. It just seems so much worse at night.

Hi. Thanks! I had to stay overnite in the hospital because my surgeon chooses to do that to make sure everything is ok. And it was. He did surgery at 9am. I went to my room at 1130 am and the next morning I had a swallow study at 7am to make sure the band wasnt leaking. Then I was able to start clear liquids. I went home around 3pm that day. :-)

:redface:Yay! Surgery is over. I am stil in the hospital and will go home it a little while. I am one day post op. Surgery took an hour and a half and then I went to recovery for an hour and then came up to my room. I got up and walked around the floor a couple of times yesterday and walked. I had an IV, Catheter, Oxygen and a O2 monitor. THat was cumbersome but ok. I slept most of the time. (morphine) This morning I went down to radiology for a swallow study to see if there were any leaks in my band. There wasnt so I got to start sipping on water. Then I got jello and broth and for lunch I got a little cup of carnation instant breakfast and a littl cup of creamy soup (very diluted) It has all gone down well. I am sipping on my water. I met with the Bariatric surgery coordinator and the dietician came in to talk to me. I will go home soon. I have five port holes. One is more painful than the rest. It isnt the port one but just more tender. Wish me well. I will check in again soon..

Today is Friday October 8th. I received my band on Monday Oct 4th. Im still not hungry. I want something different (for flavor) than the protein shake or creamy chicken soup but other than that I think Im ok. The upper incision still hurts the most. It is almost right under the bottom of my sternum and when I move weird or cough it hurts. But they seem to be healing nicely. My port is right about my belly button. I go back to work on Monday (I took a week off) and Im kind of nervous about how the day will go. But I will take my supplements and soup with me and a big bottle of water and make a go of it. The hardest part for me is having others in my home eating one way and me eating another. They havent caught on 100% yet so they still do silly things like offer me bags of candy corn or Pizza. Hopefully they will get it soon and those unwanted invitations will end. :-):frown:

Yay! Surgery is over. I am stil in the hospital and will go home it a little while. I am one day post op. Surgery took an hour and a half and then I went to recovery for an hour and then came up to my room. I got up and walked around the floor a couple of times yesterday and walked. I had an IV, Catheter, Oxygen and a O2 monitor. THat was cumbersome but ok. I slept most of the time. (morphine) This morning I went down to radiology for a swallow study to see if there were any leaks in my band. There wasnt so I got to start sipping on water. Then I got jello and broth and for lunch I got a little cup of carnation instant breakfast and a littl cup of creamy soup (very diluted) It has all gone down well. I am sipping on my water. I met with the Bariatric surgery coordinator and the dietician came in to talk to me. I will go home soon. I have five port holes. One is more painful than the rest. It isnt the port one but just more tender. Wish me well. I will check in again soon..

So tomorrow is my big day! I have to be at the hospital at 7am sugery is at 9am. They said it will take about an hour and a half. Woo Hoo. today I am on a clear liquid diet and it just also happens to be my wedding anniversary ! Its so hard but Im doing it! Im going to do some last minute packing, watch the Amazing Race and hopefully fall asleep easily. (Ha)! Please keep me in your prayers. I will hopefully be able to update you all tomorrow.!

So today is my wedding anniversary and I am on a liquid only diet preop. Nothing after midnight. :-) I have to be at the hospital at 7am for surgery at 9am. The surgeon told me it will take about 1 1/2 hours for surgery and then I will spend the night in the hospital. :-) The hardest part today has been being on clear liquids for my anniversary (and I dont think Champagne counts :-) ) I have no idea how much weight I have lost in this two week post op protein shake diet. Im kind of excited to see those results in the pre op area tomorrow. Wish me well and say a prayer for me I will try to get on tomorrow if Im feeling well and let you know how it went. :-):confused:

Yay!! Isnt it a great feeling? Now reality sets in. :smile2:

So Im getting to the end of this pre op phase. I have 5 more days of the liquid pre op diet and Monday the 4th I will join the land of the banded ones. :-) Yee Haw! Im getting so excited! I have left no stone unturned. I have researched my brain out. I have joined a Lap Band support group. I have you lovelies and my close group of family and friends to support me. Yay! Now I just have to get it done. The pre op liquid diet is manageable. I have to do two Medifast shakes per day and one under 500 calorie sensible meal per day. It hasnt been bad. I have had a couple of moments but nothing I havent experienced before and got through. (passing Starbucks by). So here I am, 41 and getting ready to start to get my life back. Its really an amazing feeling. This time next week I will probably just be returning from the hospital post op! (I have an overnight stay). Wish me well. I will keep you all posted. I gotta go stock up for the liquid/pureed stage post op! God Bless!:smile2:

:thumbup: So, I started my two week pre op liquid diet today. It consists of drinking two Medifast Shakes per day and one meal under 500 calories. Other than that I can have calorie free beverages all day too. So far so good. I had the dutch chocolate for breakfast. I mixed in the milk, a couple of teaspoons of sugar free French Vanilla internaltional foods coffee and a little ice. I blended it with the hand blender. And it was good. For lunch I made the vanilla and tried milk, ice, a pack of splenda and a little coconut extract. Yummo! There was no after taste and it blended well. Now I have to decide on what to have for dinner. It can be 500 calories and Im leaning towards a salad with Chicken breast on it. :-)

:wub: Super Duper Excited!!! I found out yesterday I am finally approved! And today I got my surgery date. OCTOBER 4th is the day I get to start my journey! YAY!!!! I will have an overnite stay and I plan on taking one week off of work. Sunday the 19th of Sept I have to start my two week preop Protein shake fest! I have to do Medifast shakes twice a day and then a under 500 calorie meal. YAY!!

I have Principal insurance. I am required to complete a 6 month pre op weight loss case management with Carewise. Then it goes to them for approval.

I had to complete blood work, EKG and a chest xray and alot of questions about my history, recent symptoms etc. Good luck!

It is one of several books I bought. I wanted to read up on everything I could get my hands onto. It is very informative. Ive read it twice allready. I bought it from EBAY.

Welcome...I too am in the beginning stages of this journey. I also thought about this for years and finally attended a seminar and decided now is the time to do something for me. Then I can get on with my life. I cant wait for my new tool. I have seen the surgeon and am two months into the 6 month pre surgical process my insurance requires. And Im excited. I bought every book I could find. ( I highly recomment " The Emotional First Aid Kit", "weight loss surgery for Dummies" and " the Real Skinny on Weight loss surgery". They all have a different spin, but great information. And I want to know all I can. I also have checked out a few YourTube videos from Banders who have succeeded. It is inspiring. I do agree there seems to be a multitude of outcomes. I think the bottom line is that the Band will be for you whatever you make of it. I plan on being a success. I even went to a pottery class and made myself some smaller bowls and plates. Just a little personal gift to myself to use post op. Im thinking now about my life after surgery and gearing up for it. There is fabulous support on here. Keep researching! God Bless!

May 3rd will be two months into my 6 month pre surgical weight loss program. Im so excited. I have been meeting with the dietician and setting and making little goals. I decided that I need to prepare myself for my new way of life post op as much as I can now. Last week I went to a pottery shop with a friend and painted a small plate and bowl to use post op. It is just a smaller bowl and plate. So I can have this special thing to use and look forward to. They turned out really cool. They fired them in a kiln and protected them to make them dishwasher and food safe. Im also keeping a journal to record this journey. Question: How long were most of you off of work post op?

My surgeon told me that I could go back to work in 3-4 days. I will spend the night in the hospital and then back to work that soon? I was just wondering if that is realistic or should I just plan on taking a week off?

It took me only one night to get used to mine. Its a full face mask ( cause I tend to sleep with my mouth open) but I sleep so good with it that now I sleep all night and it doesnt bother me at all. My husband doesnt even mind. He just didnt want something horrible to happen to me. So he loves the mask. :frown: Mine is set on 12 and I have been using it for 8 months. When I first put it one before I ramp, I dont even notice how strong it is. Alot of times I dont even need to ramp. Im just used to it. Good luck with yours.:frown:

Apples: You look amazing. What would you say were your top five reasons for success? What did you do to prepare yourself for the change?

Havin I would love to have a friend on here to cheer each other on. Its so interesting to me what the requirements are for surgery based mainly on the type of insurance a person has. I am reading all I can right now. I ordered some books from Amazon. I ordered a diet tracker to keep track of what I eat everyday. I have to do the supervised nutritionists visits as well. Ugg. I just hope 6 months comes quickly. I know it will but it seems so far away.