cckcsharp

"Step on that scale now...early on the scale is our enemy, later on it is our best friend and motivator!"

Hey Michele, what did you mean by this. I don't get it and I read it over like 10 times. It's just going right over my head.

Jessica

I met AlainaD for a second in the waiting room! TALL, sweet and pretty, I wish I'd done this at her age :-h

They didn't weigh me...is that normal? Too many weight loss programs, I'm conditioned for a weigh in and bp check. :-?

Then we went back, I had all kinds of silly questions...like "how do you manage not to go all the way through the port with such a long needle? (the back is metal).

It hurt a little. On a scale of 1 - 10, it was only a 2.

He filled and unfilled repeatedly to flush out gases in the band. WEIRD sensation. Not pain, just pressure, but nothing like I've ever felt before. Nothing you'd get used to any time soon

We watched the barium go down. Quickly at first, then slowly filled and it slowly went down, then more saline until it didn't go down and then he withdrew saline until it went down at a rate Dr. So liked.

I stuck around for Zoom whitening And then headed back to the airport.

Liquids for three days. I guess I'll know Friday maybe what restriction really feels like

Awesome Phoenix. How do you feel now? Did you go back to tijuana? I am just not sure who Alaina D is? Never heard the name.

Hi everyone, I had my first fill today.

I learned alot about my band today too. Apparently my surgeon uses two sizes of bands 9cc and 12cc. I have the 9cc. During surgery they actually put 3cc of fluid into my band. I got 1cc today, so I have a total of 4cc in my 9cc band.

My surgeon does not use fluroscopy unless he cannot find the port. Today, he felt around, located it, marked my tummy and when he puts the needle in, he actually extracts the existing fluid to check how much is there before injecting the fill. I guess that's one of way of confirming the needle is in the port.

I am on mushy foods for 2-3 days and then ease into solids. I have another appointment in a month for check on this fill and another if needed.

So we'll see how things go!!!

Cathy, I am glad things went well for you. And I hope the coming days go well too. How much do you have to pay for fills there in canada? Or is your fills included with the cost of the surgery?

Jessica

If you order it from Dr. Ortiz's site: http://obesitycontrolcenterestore.com/?pag...tegory=OPTIFAST it ships the same day (or next day if you order it after 5pm pacific time) from California and they have a map to tell you the shipping time, to Las Vegas the longest I have waited was 2 days for it to arrive. Since you are in Utah you should get it in about the same time.

Now if you are set on getting it somewhere local you can use the optifast website and they will give you a list of centers that sell it but usually it is one of those medically supervised weight loss centers that requires you to join some sort of membership plan to be able to get it. Not worth it to me!

Oh and you can also check E-bay!

thanks michele, I will check it out.

I was just wondering what the difference is between eating a protein bar and drinking protein shake. I read the labels on the bars and noticed that some are very high in sugar or fat. But if you find one thats comparable to your shake such as same cals, fat, sugar, prot, and such, isn't this pretty much the same? I am just wondering before eating a protein bar, what you guys think or know about them. Is the liquid protein shake better or different somehow? I know that we are not suppose to rely on these after the surgery, but I am mostly referring to pre-op diet, although I am sure that I will use these after the surgery when needed. Thanks

Jessica

On Sunday I went out and needed to get some lunch on the run. So, it became a McDonalds run. My first since being banded. I admit I was a bit worried about it.

I ordered a cheeseburger Happy Meal and took the top off of the sandwich and ate it open-faced. I got Apple Dippers instead of fries. I got the light lemonade for a drink and took a couple of sips while waiting for my food. I then gave my daughter the almost full cup of lemonade to drink and shared the apple dippers with her.

I consider this a victory. It was a much smaller meal than I normally ordered to begin with and I reduced the bread. I was NOT hungry after it. It was also fun for my daughter. So I consider it a victory!

Good job, Elaine. Great tips for us future bandsters.

I'm SO excited! And I'm SO scared! I just reserved my surgery date with Lori and just received all of my info. As many of you know, I haven't told my husband yet (plan on giving him the letter on Friday or Saturday) and then need to make my airline reservations...or make reservations first...I don't know which way is up! In the back of my mind, I half am hoping my husband will warm to the letter I give him and will agree to come with, but I'm preparing for the worst. So...planning a trip all the way from Kansas City to Tijuana...alone...never having gone anywhere alone in my life...boy I'm in for an adventure! In more ways than one!

Sweety, if you do go alone, it will be okay. I had to travel all the way to Africa by myself and I had never left the country before. I cried like a baby the night before my flight scared out of my mind. I told my husband that if the plane crashed in the ocean I would be the first one eaten by sharks because I was the fat juicy one. But, everything went well. And I actually regretted that I was so scared because I think I would have had more fun on my trip if I had just relaxed. And now looking back I think, "I was in Africa and should have had a blast." But I spent much of the time with a board up my rear end worried about this and worried about that. If you go alone, you can keep in touch with us while there for support and I suggest taking a deep breath and enjoy the ride. I also hope for you, that your husband will soften to this and come with you. I will keep you in my prayers.

Jessica

I definetly think you have the right to be private about it. I am very open so I suspect that while I don't tell people how much I weigh right now, once that weight is gone I won't care if they know. But it's all personal preference. And I liked the response of "enough to add 10 years to my life." I agree that this sounds more positive and not like your trying to be rude when they ask. But there will always be those people who don't get it. You will give them one of your rockin responses and they will laugh and then say to you," no seriously, how much have you lost." The trick will be what to say then. I know I have had things I didn't want to share and it sucks when the person just keeps on asking because they are not taking the hint that you don't want to talk about it. Let us know how those responses work. I am anxious to see how people respond to them.

Jessica

I did a mainly liquid diet for the last month of my pre-op diet and lost 15lbs in that 4 weeks, the month before I was semi-dieting while doing my research on lap-band doctors and only lost 6lbs.

I really liked the optifast shakes and also used them as the main source of my 3 week post-op liquid diet, I was able to lose 14lbs during those 3 weeks right after surgery! The optifast is pretty expensive but you get up to 5 shakes a day (each 160 cal and 15 g of protien) and after adding a little sugar free vanilla syrup to it made it just heavenly!

I believe KittyCat did a pretty lengthy liquid pre-op diet and lost a lot as well, it takes a lot of will power and I did have those farewell to food moments where I went to eat somewhere that I knew I wouldn't be able to after banding but the low calorie shake regime offset any damage those big meals might have done!

I think I might give the optifast a try and I was thinking the same thing that you suggested. I am going to do mostly liquid diet for the next four weeks. See if this helps along with the water water water water. Thanks michele, you are truly awesome.

Jessica

Can you buy optifast somewhere locally. After hearing you guys mention this, I thought I might consider the optifast over the herbalife. I found places online to get it, but then I obviously have to wait for it to be shipped. So I was just wondering how else I might get it. Where did you guys get it from?

Thanks bunches. I just love you guys and all your support.

Jessica

CCKC, does Dr. Miranda know how much you lost prior to scheduling your surgery? The entire amount of weight you have lost should count so make sure you tell her how much you weighed just before starting your pre-op!

I told her today and she didn't say any response to it. But I am going to tell her again, and probably directly ask her to count those 8 pounds as well. Well see how it goes. Thanks

Jessica

Hi

I also have a high BMI almost 55 at 340 lb. My surgery is scheduled in October 6 so I have time to lose the weight. Dr. Miranda wants me down to 300-310. I am on 2 lean cuisines and an atkins shake. Only 1 gm of sugar and plenty of protein. I don't think I have ever lost weight that fast. She also told me I could eat as much as 4lbs of green veggies with salad spritzer on them. I have just started so I won't know how quickly it will come off. She gave me several options and this is the one I'm going to start with. Otherwise it will be Atkins induction. I wish you well. I would talk to her specifically about what the expectations are. I haven't bought airline tickets yet because of this issue. They told me all this upfront though so I knew what is expected. Did they not tell you this before you scheduled? That sort of bothers me.

Good luck

Christine

I did talk to Dr. Miranda about the expectations today. She said that I have to lose 14 pounds by surgery. Doesn't seem that big until you see the scale going the wrong direction. Also, they never did say anything about waiting to buy airline tickets. So I bought them early, because I am scheduled for Labor day weekend and I didn't want to wait until the flights were booked or the price went way up. I didn't think losing the weight needed before surgery would be a problem. I thought if I did what she said, it would come off. That is not the case. So I am trying like heck to tweak it and do things a little different to get that 14 pounds off in the next 4 weeks. I am going to keep a food diary though. So when I email her my weekly updates I can also include exactly what I have eaten for the week. Then she can see that I am doing it exactly as she says. I am taking that supplements as well, and working on keeping the bowels moving. This pre-op diet will indeed stop traffic in the bowels if you don't do something. So watch that. I will just have to see how this next week plays out with my tweaks that everyone advised me on. Keep us updated on your weight loss progress as well. Hope things go better for you.

Jessica

Thanks for all the great advice and moral support. The part that discouraged me the most is that Dr. Miranda did tell me today that I need to be down 14 pounds by surgery date. Thats 4 1/2 weeks. I am not discouraged at the slow weight loss, I am discouraged at being told that I may need to re-schedule my surgery. I asked Dr. Miranda about upping my calories due to the exercise and she said no. So I am just drinking lots of water and I decided to completely take out the diet soda to see if this helps. I would love to up my protein except Dr. Miranda said I didn't need more calories. So two shakes and one lean cuisine doesn't leave a lot of opportunity to up my protein. I am using herbalife powders for my shakes. I also have this supplemental protein powder from herbalife to add to the shakes. I am doing that to up my protein because it only adds like another 40 calories per shake. Hopefully this will help with the protein. So we will just see how this next week goes. Thanks again for all your support.

Jessica~

This is such a hard journey for all of us. Each one of us struggles everyday to eat the meals we are supposed to and not the meals that we are use to eating and think we have to have. You have all of us here to help you. You are not gona be fat forever..the weight WILL come off if you do everything right. Stay strong, girlfriend!!

Thanks Kim. It helps to hear that everybody else's struggles are just as hard. Then I at least know that I am normal!! Thanks for the support. I am going to keep plugging away at this and hope things get better.

Jessica

Jessica you can get it just about anywhere they sell laxatives.. Its in a green bottle usually on the very bottom of the shelf....

Thanks. I am going to try it out. So I will be right there with ya, when it comes to staying close to the bathroom. Hope it all comes out well for you!

Jessica

Oh Jessica, don't feel defeated, losing weight is very difficult...I honestly don't think you are eating enough..800 calories is not enough...your body could be in starvation mode and won't let the pounds go...try eating a bit more and see what happens.

The band is designed to make you feel full after just 3/4 cup of food, it does not count the calories for you. You could eat a 3/4 cup of fries vs 3/4 cup of protein or veggies and the calorie count differs quite a bit. You are required to follow a diet plan of protein, veggies, grains and fruit, in that order when you are banded. The protein rich diet helps promote weight loss.

You can do this...it seems difficult now, because your body is not losing, but you must realize that the hard part hasn't even begun yet...the post-op liquid diet will be a struggle too. Liquids only for 3 weeks, no solid food.

Bump up the protein and the calories a bit and see what happens...I find when I eat more protein per day than anything else and stay under 1200, I lose.

Good Luck Sweetie...you can do this!!!!

Thanks so much for the encouragement. I am grateful for the forum because I cannot talk to friends and family about this. They just don't understand it. I will add more protein and see what happens. Thanks so much.

Jessica

When I go on the pre op diet, I am going to freak out if they cancel my surgery. I thought you go on a liquid diet before the surgery to lose the weight. I hope my husband can do it. If it is cancelled then we will lose over $800.00, on airline tickets, this is not good news.

Stormy, it depends on how much you weigh and your BMI what they have you do pre op. My starting BMI is 53, so thats pretty high. Dr. Miranda said that I would only go to liquid protein shakes the 3 days before the surgery. Before that, it's the two shakes and one lean cuisine. But, I am starting to wonder if I should just do the liquid diet for the next 4 weeks just to lose the weight. I am worried the other way won't work. As for your husband, well guys suck!!! They lose weight much faster and easier than us gals do, so I don't think he will have to much of a problem. There's another guy on the board who has lost 28 pounds in the last 4 weeks. I am not sure about the surgery being cancelled. They can ask you to post pone it. Which means that you pay a hefty fee with the airlines to change your ticket to new dates. I too will lose money if they make me re-schedule. And I wonder if post poning the surgery would even make a difference. If I can't lose the amount they want in 7 weeks then I don't think that delaying the surgery will help. I am going to keep trying to lose the weight though. So don't worry because of my failure. Most people do lose the pre op weight. And if your starting weight is low enough, then they don't even require you to lose that much or nothing at all. What is your starting weight?

Jessica

This is somethnig I am suppose to take before a colonosicpy. It is supose to clean me out before the procedure. Is it safe for me to take? Have any of you taken it?

Hey, where do you get Magnesium Citrate? Your symptoms sound like the same as mine. Diverticulitis runs in my family and we have either the rhea's or the consto's just like you were saying. Since I started the pre op diet, I am definetly not moving very much. And I take the fiber pills that Dr. Miranda said to take. So this stuff your talking about sounds awesome. But I wasn't sure if it's by prescription only or over the counter.

Jessica

Kim is right.. drink tons of water.. I notice that I lose WAY more weight when I get ALL my water in and then some! Let Dr. Miranda know about the 8 lbs you lost prior.. that may help. Good Luck and keep us posted!

Okay thanks. I started this morning with lots of water since that seems to be what everyone says will help. And I did tell Dr. Miranda on the phone this morning that I had lost the 8 pounds prior to calling the OCC. She didn't say anything, but at least I told her.

Okay, I don't mean to sound defeated, but that is how I am feeling today. If I can't lose the weight pre op, then what can the band do for me. The band works by restricting calories. Well, I have been on calorie restriction for 2 1/2 weeks and yes, I lost 4 pounds, but this morning due to all this frustration, I weighed myself 4 days early. And surprise. I have gained back the 4 pounds I lost. Starting from 0 again. I talked to Dr. Miranda on the phone this morning and told her about my frustration. She said to increase the chromium picolinate to 2x daily. She said that 800 calories per day was fine even with my 25 minutes a day on the treadmill. But Somehow, I did not feel comforted. She said to eat some spinach each day because the vitamin c would help me burn fat. All in all, I have to say that I am starting to wonder if some peoples bodies just won't give up the weight. I am scared that I am condemned to a life of fat. I am not giving up yet. I took some laxatives because I haven't been moving in that department very well (sorry if TMI.) I am hoping that may be some of the reason for gaining the 4 pounds back. Also, I am taking all of your advices to drink lots of water. I have had to pee alot today because I am drinking only water. No more diet soda. Maybe that will help too. So I will wait another 5 or 6 days to weigh myself again and see if these steps will help. I am so sorry to sound so pessimistic and frustrated. Thanks for listening.

Jessica

I know you are frustrated, but you can do it. I started my pre-op diet on July 1 and was told I needed to lose 30 lbs to have my surgery by mid August. I thought it would be tough. I was down 28 lbs. this morning, so I'm almost there. I have been having a protein drink( I use the EAS whey protein in chocolate from Sams Club and it is very good), having a lean cuisine and salad for lunch, and a lean cuisine and salad for supper. I sometimes have some sugar free jello for snack at night. Check the protein drink that you are using and make sure it doesn't have alot of sugar or fat, some do. Like others have said, maybe you need more calories or protein to get the process rolling. I'm sure Dr. Miranda will be able to help you on this. She has been very encouraging to me.

I am using the herbalife protein drinks, .5 grams fat and 9 grams sugar. I think that pretty low isn't it?

Hi,

I started my pre-op diet two weeks ago. I lost 3 pounds the first week and only 1 the second week. Dr. Miranda asked that I email once a week to check in. When I checked in with her this past weekend with my 1 pound weight loss, she responded saying that I may need to post pone my surgery. I am frustrated because they have my starting weight as 296. But 2 weeks before calling the OCC, I weighed 304. I lost 8 pounds just prior to calling them. So I am technically down 12 pounds in 4 weeks, but they are recognizing 4 of those pounds. Now, my weight loss has slowed since when I first started, and I am frustrated because, I know that initially when people go on these pre-op radical diets they drop weight fast. Well, my fast pounds came off right before I called them. Because my BMI is 53, I have to lose weight before surgery. They didn't give me a number, but the paperwork they send out says 5%, for me that would be 14 pounds. I have 4 1/2 weeks until surgery. I am doing the 2 protein shakes and 1 lean cuisine diet. I eat about 800 calories per day and I am walking on my treadmill 5 days per week. The weight is just coming off slow. I don't want to post pone my surgery and I don't know what more I can do to make the weight come off faster. I thought 7 weeks of pre-op diet was plenty of time. I am frustrated because I am not even sure what weight they are looking for prior to surgery. I did respond to Dr. Miranda and ask this question, so hopefully she will clarify so I know what weight they want me at. But I guess I am just ultimately frustrated because I feel like this is why I am over weight. It seems like no matter what I do, nothing works. I am wondering if I should be doing some liquid diet for the next 4 weeks to see if this will help. Although I know that would be awful to follow that up with another 3-4 weeks of post op liquid diet. Help, what can I do different to help keep my surgery on track for Aug. 29th.

Jessica

My starting weight, my BMI and my goal weight are all about the same as you. And I see that you were banded in June. I am scheduled for surgery on Aug. 29th. So I am anxious to follow your progress, as I will be right behind you. How much weight did you lose during pre-op. I am down 4 pounds in two weeks, with 4 1/2 weeks to go. I wanted to lose 20 before surgery, but I am not sure I am going to make that. Maybe only 12-15 pounds. I sure am tryin though. I am even walking on the darn treadmill everday.

Jessica

Why is this more common for gastric patients? Is it because of the rapid weight loss, or that they aren't getting proper nutrition due to the actual bypass of the intestine that limits absorbtion of of nutrients? Or both?

Jessica

just testing as well