PhillyGirl

I use Unjury too. I use the unflavored in my jello, the vanilla in my vanilla pudding, and the chocolate and vanilla (plus some dried milk) in my skim milk high-protein shakes. I also have started using the chicken soup flavor in my broth and after I've let my low-fat cream of chicken/mushroom cool. Order it from Amazon; it comes quickly!

I lost 22 pounds pre-surgery and 12 pounds since. Now I'm constipated. ARRRRRGH. I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow and will talk with him about it then. Dulcolax isn't doing it. ARRRRRRGH.

Hello from Pennsylvania! I got banded on December 30th, 2010, so all my memories and experiences are pretty fresh (if not ongoing!). Depending on your BMI, there are different diets you should go through prior to the surgery. The purpose of the diet is, from what I've gathered, good because: your liver likely needs to shrink prior to surgery; you need to acquire better eating and lifestyle habits to get you ready for the lifetime change ahead; your doctor wants to see if you're serious about losing weight, and; many insurance companies require it. I lost 22 pounds prior to my surgery and have lost at least 12 pounds since. Meetings are good for many people because you get to be in a room of people who totally understand where you've been, where you are, and what roadblocks you'll encounter on getting to where you need to go. Being at a meeting helps keep you honest too--if you're too insulated from others you're more likely to "fall off the wagon" diet-wise. And of course it affects your eating and drinking; that's what got us into this trouble to begin with! If we don't take a very critical look at what got us to where we are, we'll not succeed. Eating as you used to eat after being banded is at the least foolish and at the most dangerous. But the process goes beyond eating. Exercise has to become a part of your daily routine, as well as avoiding/modifying those situations that contributed to your overeating. So yes, it's a lifestyle change--a necessary lifestyle change. I have not experienced very much pain at all. I'm more tired than anything else, and that's getting better too. I am following the diet plans my doctor & nutritionist supplied me and am not cheating. My stomach needs time to heal. If I ate huge portions like I used to I could do major damage to myself. Anyhow, I like stepping on the scale and watching my weight go downdowndown. It doesn't sound as if you're intellectually and emotionally ready for this. Work hard on that. It is a permanent and necessary change to your life (I'm assuming necessary, as your doctor wouldn't suggest it if you weren't probably morbidly obese). It is a tool to help you in your weight-loss journey, but it doesn't do the work for you. That's up to you. I wish you the best, northern neighbor. Good luck & bonne chance!

As someone who's watching fat AND sugar, these sound nummy (especially with the apple jelly!), but too high in sugar for me. Guess I could try fiddling around with lower-sugar/Splenda-ized versions of this ...

Thank God I read this. I've been suffering for 2 days. It's made me weak and concerned about what nutrition my body is absorbing. Banded on 30 December, and hoping this too shall "pass"--and soon!!!

I am better now. I started on small rations of skim milk with vanilla and chocolate Unjury and extra dried milk (once a day). Makes all the difference; I'm not hungry and feel so much better. And I've lost 8 pounds in 5 days! (Not expecting to keep up that pace, but it is a nice jump start.)

Traci, Hi from across the river! I am 5 days post-op. I'm surprised this procedure was done as an outpatient; I was kept overnight and it made a world of difference, in that I started off well-hydrated and kept "happy" for the first day on major pain meds. The pain you're feeling is the leftover gas in your abdomen. You can't "boop" this gas away; it has to be absorbed. Walking helps break up the gas and facilitates reabsorption, as well as helping you heal and minimizing clots and the chance of developing pneumonia. This is a great forum; use it extensively, communicate with your doctor and nutritionist, and you'll do fine. Good luck on your journey. I've already lost 30 pounds (22 pounds pre-surgery, 8 since).

Hello-- I'm Abigail Maley. Look me up & friend me! Best of luck to you in this new year!

I told everyone that I was having a hernia fixed as well as some internal scarring removed (I had major surgery last year). Both are lies. Only three people know, and that's how I want it. Some people are just too nosy and one of my co-workers is an obsessive/compulsive bulemic and makes fun of fat people anyway (always sooooo nice to hear her). This is my private business and as I have been on a diet for the last five months or so (and ~25 pounds down), everyone will think that I am one of those "lucky" dieters. If I hear of anyone considering bariatric surgery I probably would speak with them, though, but I'd make it clear that it is my decision who knows and who doesn't.