Devistated......sigh..........

[NanaRenan 0]

The dental office I work for is going to our confrence in South Beach Miami this November, and I wanna be able to wear something slightly stylish and keep up with my skinny coworkers.

Ooh, girl, I hear ya!!

My husband and I wanted to take a cruise for our honeymoon but had neither the time nor the $$ so he promised we'd do it someday! Well, life threw a lot at us and it took 28 years for us to have the chance.

Trust me....I did not spend 28 years expecting to be 320 lbs on my first cruise!!! But, the alternative was pass up the chance to go on that cruise (we went with 50+ friends) on the outside chance that I may lose the weight SOMEDAY.

I bought a couple of stylish new things -- in a bigger size than I'd ever bought before. And I went and enjoyed myself as best I could. All the while thinking, "I WILL do this again, once I've lost the weight, I will treat myself to this experience again!"

Most of us have had a lot of misery in our lives because we let "someday" get in the way of enjoying right now. Surgery or not, commit yourself to having the best time possible in November and promise that a year from now, things will look completely different.

[NanaRenan 0]

PS -- I agree with JulieNYC. Your doctor needs to keep his frustration level down a little. It's all work and business with them and sometimes they forget what a huge psychological/emotional/physical metamorphosis it is that the average person's just not equipped to navigate alone.

I'd try to give him the benefit of the doubt, but then I'd strongly suggest that if he 'requires' a weight loss pre-op, then he should also 'require' a pre-op diet!

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I hope you get the surgery you need. Maybe you need to find another surgeon. If he didn't require a pre-op diet, then why is he shocked you gained weight? If you didn't have a problem with eating/weight, you wouldn't be there!!!

Also, from my own experience, I WOULD NOT recommend having surgery on Friday and going back to work on Monday. Even if only for the anesthesia. It takes at least 5 days for your body to recover from anesthesia.

I do not have a desk job (hospital), I'm on my feet and do some fairly strenuous work, but there is NO WAY I could've gone back to work even after 1 week. I had surgery on a Monday and didn't really even feel like myself until the following Monday.

IMO, even a desk job would require a week off from work.

Good luck. You will find all the support you need on this site. These folks are wonderful!

Everyone is different, there are lots of people that can and did go back to work after four days. I could have with no problem. My friend did, lots of folks do.

[JosieK 120]

hi mermaid,

i'd find a new doctor. if we could lose weight without the band...wouldnt we have done it already??? i dont understand doctors that do this....the band is definitely a tool that helps. coupled with right food choices and exercising...it helps us to do what we couldnt for a long time.

good luck in your next steps

[mermaidpuppy 0]

So far so good. The slimfast does stop my stomach from grumbling, and I'm tring to be more active. I let my office manager know the surgery has been rescheduled. She said after having it on a Friday I could just plan on calling in sick on Monday. I don't have any health problems, good BP, no apnea or medications, so I think I can put on my big girl pants and go in on Tuesday. I have a desk job, so I think I can manage. My immediate coworkers know whats going on, so I know they will be supportive. I'm very lucky in that way. I'll stay with my parents that weekend, so I'll have someone to help me with everything. Basically, I'm trying to get a better outlook. It's been tentatively rescheduled for Friday, Sept 7th. So, the liquid diet MUST work until then. I've got to lose 10lbs before my next visit on Aug 31st or lord knows what will happen. I can do it.........Yeah, I can do it!

[Jennifer4118 0]

Mermaidpuppy,

I was banded 7/31/07 and my Dr required a 10% weight loss. I had to lose like 38lbs and I didn't think I could do it. I know people say all the time that if they can do it, so can you. But trust me, if I can lose weight anyone can. I am the most undisciplined person in the world. I would do good for a few days and then MC Donald's fries would scream my name. I felt like I had betrayed a friend by not eating badly after a few days. You can do this.

To make matters worse I was due to start my monthly curse the day of surgery. I knew that I would have Water weight and took a water pill to help. It did, like 10-12 pounds worth. I know this was probably not good, nor am I suggesting you do the same, but I was desperate. I had worked really hard to lose weight and was not going to let nothing stop me from being banded.

I wish you all the luck,

Jennifer

[macacoza 0]

wowwwwww..I guess I am shocked that you were not told about the diet before...that concerns me..WELL..you know now..go for the dream and make it work...I was banded 4 1/2 yrs ago and have kept off the 95 lbs and feel wonderful. You can do it!!!

[mermaidpuppy 0]

Wow, Jen, thats great. How long did the 38lbs take? I've got to go back on Friday, Aug 31 to weight again. I need to be down 12lbs then. Right now im doing a half a slimfast when I get up, and then the other half at lunch when my stomach starts rumbling. Then a lean Cusine about 6pm. I woke up today like a zombe. I got in the shower and my calves were cramping, I felt like I was gonna pass out. An emergency diet Dr pepper helped for a bit. He wants me on liquid for 2 meals and then a small meal. I've got a question.....If a Lean Cusine is the same amount of calories as a slimfast, whats the difference? Why couldn't I have a slimfast in the morning, and then a LC for lunch and dinner? I haven't been snacking AT ALL. Of course im only in day 3 of this torture! I might need to pull out the Water pills also, what kind did you use? When I go in on the 31st, I want to prove to him that I can do it. He just needs to tell me WHAT to do in the first place!!!

[IndioGirl55 32]

Wow, Jen, thats great. How long did the 38lbs take? I've got to go back on Friday, Aug 31 to weight again. I need to be down 12lbs then. Right now im doing a half a slimfast when I get up, and then the other half at lunch when my stomach starts rumbling. Then a lean Cusine about 6pm. I woke up today like a zombe. I got in the shower and my calves were cramping, I felt like I was gonna pass out. An emergency diet Dr pepper helped for a bit. He wants me on Liquid for 2 meals and then a small meal. I've got a question.....If a Lean Cusine is the same amount of calories as a slimfast, whats the difference? Why couldn't I have a slimfast in the morning, and then a LC for lunch and dinner? I haven't been snacking AT ALL. Of course im only in day 3 of this torture! I might need to pull out the Water pills also, what kind did you use? When I go in on the 31st, I want to prove to him that I can do it. He just needs to tell me WHAT to do in the first place!!!

You are right he should tell you what he want - I have found that every doctor is different - some require pre-op diets some don't. It doesn't sound like you are eating enough to function... You need more calories 500 a day isn't going to cut it..

I had to do 7 days pre-op - oatmeal A.m. snack - shake lunch - Soup for dinner and another snack bar - my doc provided all the pre-op diet food. After the 1st day I could not do the Soup - it was awful - so I called and asked if i could have fish & salad for dinner - they said yes just small protions and low carbs - so that's how i made it thru - but i did have 2 colon cleasne that week too - 1 for colonoscopy which was Clear liquids only for 1 day and then again the day before surgery and both days had to drink golitely which dosen't make you go litely - if you get my drift.

imho you have to make it work for you- if you are like the rest of us you are a professional dieter and you could be a dietain - call your doctor ask.. You are paying him - he isn't paying you... he is not God... don't be afraid of him... You have to be well informed to make this decision and you need answers from him. All we can give you is a hug and tell you our experiences which will differ drasticly... Ask your Doctor..

Good luck

[Jennifer4118 0]

Mermaidpuppy,

it took me like 8 months. I would eat a package of organic oatmeal for Breakfast, lean cuisine or weight watchers, whatever was on sale that week. And only snacked at dinner. Like when I was cooking for my family I would take bites here and there. Probably was not good, but it helped. I would never sit down and have dinner. I would try to drink at least on Protein Drink a day if I got hungry between meals. I tried slim fast at one point to replace a meal, but felt hungry soon after. A self made Protein drink seemed to work better for me and the oatmeal in the am really helped. It was hard as you know what! I wonder too why your Dr wants you to replace two meals? The more I read on this web sight, the more I relies that each Dr has his own way of doing things.

It sounds like your Dr sabotaged you . As much as I don't like Kaiser they where pretty upfront on what they expected before surgery.

I took a Lasik Water Pill and Potassium Pill the day before my preop appointment and the day of. I also took one the day before surgery late evening. I know it probably was not the best thing, but you know how it goes. At my preop appt I was 5lbs under my goal weight, my Dr told me that if I gained more then 2lbs the day of surgery he would cancel it! Hmmm. I was to scared to get a last meal in:).

I think losing that weight before surgery was the easy part. I am having trouble with what I am suppose to eat and not right now.

I know you can do this and wish you the best,

[juliegeraci 7]

mermaid, that pisses me off when doctors do that. My doctor definitely wouldn't have. That is such a bummer. There is no reason why he shouldn't have give you the lapband. You are overweight for a reason. You just need a kick start. I would go on his diet and report back into him as often as possible until you hit the mark for surgery. Best of luck.

[mermaidpuppy 0]

I know Julie, the more I think about it, the more mad I get. I though he was playing "bad" cop, and threatening to cancel the surgery because of my gain, but then he said, to come back in 2wks and we'll see where I am......I was like Whattttttttt? Your really gonna cancell it? The liquid phase is beginning to suck. I miss food so much. The only good part about this unexpected liquid diet is that maybe I will get more mentally prepared. But I'm allready sick of all my "Liquid" supplies for after surgery. I'm probably gonna dry heave at the sight of a can of Slimfast after 3 more weeks of this. But anyway, I hope I can make it, so he won't have a word to say about it when I go back on the 31st.

[Vicki J 0]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that all this has happened to you. I am with Kaiser and as Jennifer said they are up front about it. When I went to orientation they told us that they would determine how much we had to loose at the first appointment following orientation. Doesn't sound bad except that that appointment was 2 months out. They did tell us that we might have to loose 10% of our body weight so I immediately started on their pre-op meal plan (they had already weighed us so they knew my starting weight). I started on June 6th on the 1200 calorie diet that they gave me (oops pre-op meal plan LOL) and have lost 37 pounds. One of the things they cautioned us on is not eating too little because your body will think you are starving and will refuse to loose weight. Their reasoning behind this is that 1) the instruments are only so long and if you're too big they will not go in far enough without trouble, 2) shrinking your liver, and 3) they want to be sure that you are going to be able to follow the meal plan that bandsters need to follow and will be successful at loosing with the band.

I know that it's hard. I've been doing this for 2 1/2 months now. My surgery date will probably be sometime in late November or December so I have a long way to go doing this. They also have the "gain weight and the surgery is cancelled" rule. My line of thought on this is that I've always been able to diet. I believe someone called it professional dieter. That's me. BUT keeping it off is what has been the problem and it always, always brings friends. I want the band to help me keep it off. I have to loose the weight anyhow. I mean that's what the whole thing is about. So why not start now. Don't think of this as a diet just to get the surgery but the beginning of your new journey. Your whole life is going to change and it's going to take a lot more commitment to live the bandster life then it will to commit to loosing 12 pounds.

I agree that your doctor should have been up front about what you needed to do. It certainly would have been devastating to me to be all hyped up for surgery and then have the rug pulled out from under me. But use this to find a way to handle stress in the future so that it doesn't derail you when you're happily on the bandwagon.

YOU CAN DO THIS. We know you can!

[wendy645 1]

While I understand from a medical point of view, the way he went about this pisses me off too.

Did he give you any indication of what would be a good way to lose it in that amount of time? Any guidelines, or are you going by a "borrowed" diet? This surgeon does not take life into account and that worries me. Are there any associates that you could talk to? Also, after all is said and done, you should seriously tell him that if he requires pre-op loss, he needs to require a pre-op diet!!

That being off my chest, good luck, we're rooting for you!!

[Vicki J 0]

Mermaidpuppy -

How are you doing? I just thought I would check in and see how the weight loss was going.