Lady Janey

If there are any Orthodox Jews here, I wanted to let you know that there is a new message forum specifically for Orthodox Jews that was created to deal with issues of Kosher, Shabbos, Holidays, and other unique challanges. The web site is: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/frumwls/

Has anyone used Dr. Bessler at Columbia Presbyterian in NY? He'll be doing my surgery on Nov. 6th and I would love to hear from anyone who used him. Thanks

I'm currently on Optifast until my surgery on Nov. 6th in order to shrink my fatty liver before they go in. The problem is, even though I'm only getting 960 calories a day, I haven't lost yesterday, although I did lose the four days before that. Is it possible that my body thinks I'm starving and went into total shut down? I am pretty weak and tired. Has anyone gone on Optifast before surgery and have some advice?

Thanks. I hope that people find their way over and can really get help that is difficult to find anywhere else.

If you live in North jersey, I had a great social worker in rockland who only charged 160 maybe. I went to Dr. Bessler in columbia and he recommended her highly.

My doctor told me that they weigh everyone before surgery and if you gained weight and didn't lose even a little, they cancel the surgery. They put you on either a modified fast of a complete liquid diet (which I had). The week before my liquid diet started, I had a "farewell to food" week where I ate all my favorite things. But then I had a three week liquid diet phase, so I ended up losing 10 pounds before surgery. It was also very good practice in controlling my eating and when I did have my surgery, it was much much easier to do the whole pureed thing because I was already used to a liquid diet and not coming off a week of gorging myself.. Maybe talk to your doctor about going on Optifast before surgery.

some doctors caution against Aleeve which is an NSAID and could cause some side effects. Talk to your doctor before taking this.

I think that my port is very close to my skin - perhaps more so than normal. I feel it very clearly and hart when I touch it and when I bend over, it hurts like it's pinching me. I'm only one week post op, but I hope this feeling will go away, it's annoying. Also, I've been reading that Drs. can't find the ports for the fills? I could fill mine myself, it's that clearly palpable.

The recipes are for anyone! They are very high protein low fat low carb but very delicious. After each recipe, in a sidebar, she gives directions on how to adept it for lap band, bypass or DS. Today I had a broccoli omlett with shallots and then turkey francese (which I made with flounder) which was the meat sauteed in egg and parmagane cheese and served with wine and chicken broth sauce. Then I just pureed the whole thing! She also has recipes for smoothies. For me, it's especaily interesting because we both had our bands done at Columbia Presbyterian in NY. It's the greatest

Hey guys, I wanted to share some of my less boring pureed food ideas My favorite is pureed broccoli with low-fat melted cheese and some salt. I also love 1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese with an ounce of avocado mashed in. To get fancy, I made a turkey chili one night. I sauteed onion and green pepper in a tiny bit of olive oil, browned the turkey, added a can of chopped tomatos and a can of tomato sauce and a can of red kidney beans. I seasoned with salt, pepper, and a bit of cumin. Then cook for 45 minutes on low heat. It was delicious! It pureed very well and kept it's unique and certainly non-bland flavor. Also, I just got a fantastic cookbook: Eating well after weight loss surgery. It has amazing recipes from someone who is banded and I am in love!

I had my surgery on Nov 6th and my port is really bothering me. It doesn't really hurt anymore (unless I bang it or something), but I feel it there, just below the skin and it really bothers me. When I sit on the floor, I feel it digging into me. Since I'm a pediatric Occupational Therapist, I spend a good deal of my day on the floor hunched over, and the port is getting mighty annoying. I hope this goes away!

I have the same thing! I got banded on nov 6th and most of it is gone except for one spot under my rib cage on the right side. It kills. I try to lay on my left side (which usually helps release gas) but it hurts my port. I try to lay on my back, but I can't sleep like that. I try to lay on my right side, but that hurts my back. So I toss and turn all night - it's awful. I did eat some garlic yesterday and I think that might have aggravated it. Who knows.

oh my god!! How amazing! It is so refreshing to see an honest doctor with intergrity who is looking out for his patients (or maybe is own rear end, but anyway). Sorry you had to go through all of this, but at least it didn't cost you another surgery.

My doctor made me promise to go on BC before getting the band. He said a year to 18 months, but I said I'm only willing for 6 months. Losing weight is a priority, but so is having a baby. Congratulations to you!!

I had my surgery on 11/6. My stomach swelling is starting to go down because I can eat about 2 ounces at a time now without a problem. I just don't know when I'm full. Sometimes I feel a tightening in my chest and I assume that's it, but sometimes I feel hungry at the same time. I am also still in some pain, so I don't know what I'm feeling inside. I'm trying really hard to stick to the diet exactlly (I have a pretty strict one), and I don't want to throw up. Also, I only drank protein shakes for three weeks before surgery and I am still very gassy and haven't had a bowel movement yet, so that's not cool.

Actually, it wasn't the republicans that turned agianst the party, it was the undecided idependants who sided with the dems. The problem with the rep party was they were all trying to show how liberal they were. Well, you know what: If you get up and say how the war is bad and Bush is bad and look how liberal we are so vote for us, the electorate is going to say: You're right. Liberal is better, so lets vote for the real liberals. The exact same thing happened two years ago. All the Democrats were on board with the war, all pro-national security, all patriotic - all conservative. So the electorate voted conservative. This is election was in no way unusual. It is extrememly common and even expected to lose house seats in a non-presidential election. All this will do is show America how liberal policies hurt the country in the long run before the "big" election in '08. It will be a pain to have a vindictive and petty congress until then, but it's a price that has to be paid. (Guess which side I'm on )

Hi! I'm a November bandster too! I got banded on November 6th with Dr. Bessler at Columbia Presbyterian in NY. I'm about 5"3 and 220. My goal is 120. I lost 10 lbs. on three weeks of Optifast before sugery but I lost major inches since this whole thing started. I was edging from a 22 to a 24, and now I'm a comfortable 20/22. I'm on pureed foods for this week - 1-2 ounces every 20 minutes and no drinking 1 hour after eating. I spend my whole day getting food together or drinking from tiny shot glasses. Can't wait to be thin!!

Hi! I can't believe I actually did this! I'm really excited but really freaked out. I'm so gassy, my empty stomach is hard as a rock. I have a great deal of pain from the incisions and by the port and when I eat anything pureed, I don't think it goes down. I feel it sitting there until I take a drink an hour later. I also threw up a lot when I was in recovery at the hospital (lots of bile) and that scared me so much I am eating tiny tiny bits now and just sipping water. Is all of this normal?

Hi guys. Yes, I am on purees, I mean that I take tiny bits of that too. I'm kind of getting into the groove of all this, creating tiny meals for myself. Today I had two ounces of low fat cottage cheese and an ounce of avocado mashed in. It was so delicious coming out of three weeks of Optifast! I also made a turkey chili out of ground turkey, onions, peppers, kidney beans, and crushed tomatos. I cooked it up for about 45 minutes and then blended the heck out of it. Then I froze it into one ounce portions in an ice-cube tray. Now, I've finished eating for the day, trying to get in a few more ounces of water, but I'm feeling very hungry. My stomach is rumbling. I guess I just have to get used to that.

Hi, I'll be getting my band on Nov 6th and I'm currently on a liquid diet up until then. I wondered if I would eat sushi rolls after the band. I love love love sushi and I would feel very bad if I couldn't have it anymore. Could I get a whole roll? I used to eat three at a time (of course, that's why I need surgery).

sorry, newbie here: What does NSV stand for? And congratulations Susan, I'm very inspired by your success.

I have to do 3 weeks of Optifast (5 box drinks and one bar a day) becasue of fatty liver. But otherwise, if your BMI is 41 or above Colubia Presbyterian hospital in New York puts you on Optifast for 2 weeks, if it's 40 or below, you get a slim fast like diet: protein drinks for breakfast lunch and snack and a low cal low fat dinner.

I'm on the Optifast. I get 5 drinks and a little bar. That's it. I've been on for 13 days now and believe me, it gets much easier. I'm not hungry anymore, I just miss eating. Read my blog for minute by minute updates. Keep your chin up, it's all for a great cause and it'll train you to eat lap band style.

I've been doing it for 11 days now and have lost a grand total of 5 pounds. I wish someone would explain to me how I could be eating 960 calories a day, working out, and still lose so little. I finally spoke to my doctor who basically said: well, you have a slow metabolism. I was like, duh! I asked him if he thought that increasing to maybe 1200 calories a day would help me lose weight faster and that maybe I'm in starvation mode and have shut down. He told me that's illogical and the purpose of Optifast is to shrink my liver anyway and it's doing that. This does not bode well for my post-surgical diet and he told me that I'll probably need about 1000 cal a day to lose after I get the band. I'm very upset needless to say.

That was the funniest story I have ever read, my husband couldn't stop laughing!! Thanks