BeachBabe

I had been reading about so many people cheating in a big way early after post op and I wanted them to know that there is a big risk when you do this.

OK, my weakness is wine not ice cream. So I was a bad girl last night and had a glass of white wine. (I am still on liquid phase and this is liquid right??!!). Anyway, it tasted bad to me and my taste buds were not ready for it after having protien drinks for 13 days. My mouth was dry as the desert all night as I slept even though I drank 2 glasses of Water after the wine. Anyway, I am glad because I am not going to hurry to have another glass now. That will make me fall off the health wagon faster than ice cream. Does anyone else that likes an occasional drink have a story of their experience of alcohol with the band??

It is painful the first few days to sit or stand. I needed to lay down and be propped up for a few days. There is a lot of pressure on the incision sites when you stand and sit. It sounds like you have no choice and have made up your mind so good luck!!

My doctor also says 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after. 2 hours is way too long!!

I have never had surgery and I was only slightly in pain in the chest. Most of my pain was from the incision sites. It hurt to cough or sneeze for a week but on a scale on 1-10 on chest/shoulder pain I was about a 5. The incision pain was a 8 but the pain meds helped this a ton.

I agree, tell him now and if he backs off or reacts badly then he is not the right person for you. It is hard to beileve this when you really like someone and want things to work. My guess is that he will be happy and supportive. What guy wouldn't like their lady to be a little smaller? Good luck.

I totally felt 9 months pregnany post op and the gas made it feel like the baby was kicking!!! That is a very normal post-op sensation.

I have cheated a little. I am 14 days out and on 3 weeks of liquids which is really long. This week I have had a glass of wine, a bowl of ice cream, purreed tortilla soup (without protien), and a chicken nugget (each on different days). Oh well. I have been keeping on 400-600 calories a day and have lost 11.5 pounds. I need to be really good tomorrow since I have my post-op visit Friday.

I definately thought about getting a VG since the % of weight lost is higher than the lap band (80% vs. 60% on average) but my husband talked me out of the VG. He is in the medical device industry and feels that a band can be removed but cutting out 2/3 of your stomach is forever. I agreed quickly and went forward with the band.

Did you have a cold leading up to your surgery or any sort of illness? I was warned about this before my surgery so I took zinc and vitamin c for 2 weeks before my surgery. I am so sorry you are ill. That has got to be awful to cough with a new band in place. Chin up.

I was banded 2 weeks ago. I was in so much pain and had no energy for the first week and I slowly went out of the house linger and longer. Today I ran around everywhere and was out for 7 hours. I carried a protien shot with me and I took it when I was feeling hungry and weak and I felt much better then. I am very happy I got the band. I had a food addiction and I hated myself often for my eating. I feel in control now and love the fact I am restricted and no longer able to eat like a total pig.

Thank you for the feedback. It makes me feel better!!

I knew I had to prepare myself mentall and I did. I would think each time I went out to dinner and looked at the menu about what I could eat after I was banded. I prepared myself for what I no longer could eat. I ate like a pig up until the day before my surgery (when you have to only have clear liquids 24 hours before surgery). It is important to get good tasting liquids because the gross ones are awful. I have tried canned shakes and powder ones. The Designer Whey Chocolate is the best and least sticky weet tasting shake. I went online to www.ProtienShop.com and ordered protien powder packets for fruit drinks in different flavors and protien broth soups in many flavors to mix things up. also drink protien hot chocolate every morning. It is all about mixing things up. I am on my 14th day of liquid and doing well. YOu have to get 70 grams of protien or you will be really hungry.

OK guys, I need to know, what did your diets look like? How many weeks of liquid and mushies did you do? Have you slipped at times and had any ice cream? How much food are you eating daily? Are you able to go to dinner with your family now? I am having a hard day because my husband and kids are out eating at a yummy restaurant and I am bored at home drinking my protien drink. I really want a little scoop of ice cream but am scared to fall off the wagon. All of the recent talk about ice cream on this forum put the seed in my head and is possessing my mind.

Great to know this info. I think wine is what got me into this situation in the first place. I blew up like a blimp one I had my babies and started drinking wine with my dinner to relax in the evenings.

It was on sale for the same buy one get one free at my local Rite Aid. I like this the most of all shakes I have tried. It is the least sweet and not as gross as the other shakes.

Get a flu shot now!! That will hopefully make it sure you are well for your next surgery. Take lots of zinc and vitamin C for 3 weeks leading to your date too.

I am new to this all (only 2 weeks in) and I am trying so hard to stay on track with my doctor's reccomendations. Oh how I want ice cream but I am so scared to "unleash the carb monster" or let the genie out of the bottle!!. I did have a glass of wine last night and supprisingly it tasted bad to me and I was dehydrated and had a dry mouth all night last night. It was really odd. Thank goodness it was not that enjoyable because I love wine and hopefuy now I will keep away from it.

I loved to eat and would eat whenever and whatever I wanted. Now that I have the band I have to be mentally on board with the program but I have been and am not hungry. YOu MUST GET all of your 70 grams of protien a day or you will get hungry. I have stuck with getting my protien and I am not hungry. There are many protien broths, hot chocoaltes, shakes, fruit drinks etc that will keep you hydrated and full of portien in the first few weeks. If you can do this you will not have as many cravings.

I love www.ProteinShop.com . It has yummy soups and hot chocolates.

I have read all of the posts you are referring to with the weights, height, etc. For goodness sake if someone has a BMI of 39 and is needs to be 40 for insurance to kick in is it really a big deal to use weights instead of gorge themselves on cakes, ice cream, and fried foods to get from 39 to 40? I think pigging out and getting fatter so you don't "cheat the system" is silly and it is better to use weights!! What it all boils down to is that everone here is overweight and trying to get healthy and happy.

I don't think that being 50 pounds overweight is that much. You can not control him and should ease up on him. Focus on yourself and your weight loss. I still am shopping for food for my family and buying my husband's favorite foods. You can't expect him to lose weight just because you are. Relax and leave him alone. He is not doing anything bad or wrong. We all know how weak food can make us.

trust me, next week it will come very naturally. You are still feeling the gas from the surgery and it will not come up because it is in your lower stomach and in your chest cavity. Once the gas goes away (not by burping) it will come so easy. I am 12 days out and I can't stop although I remember in my first week I felt I needed to burp but couldn't.

It is important to do variety. I have high protien no carb hot chocolate that I have every morning and all of my liquids are protien powder fruit drinks (from Health Wise). The key to not getting hungry is to get your 70 grams of protien. It will curb your hunger. You will not be successful if you are not doing this. I also have a protien shake and protien broth every day. I found some great split pea soup and vegetable beef broth on www.proteinshop.com . I am on my 13th day and doing really well.

There is a great laxative tea called "Smooth Move" it tastes good and kicks in within a few housrs. Plan to stay home because it will work for hours and clean you totally out. I just saw it at Rite Aid today and I have gotten it at Whole Foods in the past. It is great!!!