Group visit with Doctor

Today was my group visit with my doctor. (8:30 - 10 am). It took about an hour and a half. There were four of us there that are all scheduled for surgery on May 25. I'm the first surgery of the day. Don't know why that makes me happy, but I'm sure it is a good thing. Out of the four of us, three were lapbanders and one was gastric.

I have attached a picture of my doctor up above (right). He reminds me of the actor Frank Langella (left) , who played Dracula in the movie. :) Kudos to my dr. and the bariatric center:

Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence
In August, 2009 it was announced that Centegra Health System, Amir Heydari, MD, and Centegra Weight-Loss Surgery Center was named an American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. The ASMBS Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence designation recognizes surgical programs with a demonstrated track record of favorable outcomes in bariatric surgery.

Highlights from the event:

The 10 day pre-op diet has a few options/loopholes :) which helps:

-Focus (little or no sugar carbs)
-Soups okay, not creamy, but chicken noodle okay
-Juice okay

-Fresh fruit okay (no canned or frozen)
-No more than 1 banana a day

-Once or twice if starving, a 1/2 of a lean turkey sandwich

-Four to five protein drinks a day

-Sugar free jello and Popsicles okay

So all in all, not terribly bad. :) Then again, ask me next week. It is one thing to read about it, and another to live it.

Day before surgery is Clear Liquids only.

No Aleve...10 days prior take Extra Strength Tylenol for pain as needed. I generally take two Aleve a day for arthritis pain. Works wonders; so I may be thinner but in pain. :)

We are supposed to wash our tummies extra well the next ten days and clean our belly buttons.

He said on the day of our surgery we would be given the option of a Realize or Allergan band. If we didn't have a preference, he switches back and forth between the two. He said there really is not a big difference between the two of them. Any thoughts on the two bands??? Good things about one or the other??? Here is an interesting link http://www.wlshelp.com/lap-band-vs-realize-band.html

It takes him about 25 minutes to do a lapband.

He talked about the problems that can occur with surgery and that surgery alone is not a cure all. We have to do our part (moving afterwards) and following the diet. He talked about erosion/slippage. We watched a video during the initial seminar explaining the different surgeries and the computer video early in the approval process, so this was not new.

WLS is considered successful if a patient loses 70% of their excess weight. For example, if a patient needs to lose 100 lbs., and they lose 70 they would be considered successful. He said it can take lapband patients 2 - 2 1/2 years to reach their weight goal.

We discussed protein drinks. I will share those later this weekend. I got the Bariatrix Essentials by Metagenics. I purchased some sugar free flavors (Torani) from World Market that another lapbander suggested.

All in all, that wraps up the preop visit with the doc. Starting to get a few butterflies in my head and tummy. :) Does anyone ever think that they can skip the surgery and just stay on the liquid diet forever??? Just a brief thought in my head.

PreOp Class Details

My dr. requires that we take two preop classes prior to surgery. The classes are three hours long each. I took the first one last Thursday (6-9 pm). There were six patients there, including myself. I was the only one scheduled for lap band. When I attend the monthly support group the mix is closer to 50/50 lapband and gastric, so it seemed a bit odd to have that many more gastric patients. The baby spoon shown up above is part of our homework this week. :)

Homework:
-Buy chewable vitamins
(Recommended Choices: Sugar Free Bugs Bunny or Flintstones Complete) After we move on to regular food, we can switch to an adult multiple vitamin

-Examine labels of food we eat

-Use baby spoon to eat and meal and try to make the meal last 20 minutes

-Find a smaller plate (7" and practice using for meals)

One of the perks this doctor coordinates, is FREE membership at a local health/wellness center. (see picture up above) for two months. This also includes membership for a friend so we have a support person. PLUS...8 sessions with a personal trainer. (Ideally, break that into one session a week). Some of the fitness trainers have been to our support group meetings and are great working with WLS patients. My oldest daughter and husband are hoping they will be chosen as my "friend." The facility is next door to my doctor's office. It is state of the art with classes, pools, rehab, exercise equipment...you name it.

Okay...back to PreOp Class.

The first hour and a half we covered information with the dietitian. (we received 46 page handout).

Highlights:

Carbohydrates Recommendations: 130 grams a day

Simple Carbohydrates (Sugar): No added sugar in the first five ingredients
Less than 2 grams of sugar per serving (excluding fruit and milk products)
Protein Recommendations: 50 - 80 grams per day

We talked about the speed of eating and portion sizes.
How to read food labels

Diet before surgery (10 days of liquid diet/5 meals of liquid protein beverage each day)
1 day before surgery (clear liquids)
2 weeks after surgery (Full liquids)
3-4 weeks after surgery (Pureed Food)

5-6 weeks after surgery (Soft Consistency Foods)
Weeks 7 and Beyond (Regular consistency foods - focus on low fat, low sugar-high protein)

They threw in a few recipes. We discussed protein drink options. I think I'm going to go with

Carnation Instant Breakfast/no sugar added (20 grams of protein) Mix 2 packet with 8 oz of skim milk and add 6 tbsp. of non-fat dried milk.

They suggested Atkins Advantage for protein bar (only has 1 gm sugar)

We received a chart to determine when we are hungry (it includes a scale to rate how hungry we are, how long it has been since we last ate, mood...)

The next 45 min. we had a psychologist talk with us. She said about 30-33% of WLS patients gain back the weight they lose. It was also emphasized that we are not going to be perfect. We discussed stress management tips. Again, we had a packet of handouts.

Finally we wrapped up the last 45 min. of the night with a physical trainer. She showed us many exercises that used equipment we might have around home. We also received charts for exercise (10,000 steps program), tips for motivation.

Whew...so that is a quick overview of the night. I found it very helpful and informative. Plus, it makes it seem more real.

I didn't have time to eat dinner before the class, so I stopped at McD on the way home (about an hour drive) and grabbed an unhealthy late dinner. I know those days are limited. :)

Time to call it a night!

Happy Mother's Day

The best part of my week was celebrating my children's successes. My oldest daughter was just inducted into NHS (National Honor Society) at her high school. We surprised her with a cake because we found out before she did. She came home and saw the cake and the copy of the email...and she knew. On Friday, my youngest daughter made Varsity Cheerleading for her middle school. Mind you, she has never been a cheerleader before and has limited tumbling experience. She has some good friends that helped her prepare. These accomplishments are special to me because our family just moved to this area last year. I was so worried about uprooting the girls at this stage (one is a junior in high school and the other is a 7th grader). As a mom, it was important to me that they adjusted, made friends and were happy. They have had a great year and that is the best present a mom could ask for.

Tomorrow is the day I will post my pre-op class notes. Promise! :)

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

My NEW Goal

We just went as a family to see Iron Man 2. I loved the first one and the sequel was just as fun!
My NEW goal is to have a body like Scarlett Johansson in the cat suit she wears! That is motivation to add exercise. :)

I had my first pre-op class last Thursday. I will share more on that later in the week. We received a lot of great ideas and tips.

Happy almost Mother's Day everyone!

3 weeks...21 days...Which sounds better???

I enjoy the blogs that share pix. Above are two pix of our Soft Coated Wheaten named Willow at the dog park. She is NEW to the dog park and pretty antisocial so far. She sits on top of the the picnic table and just looks at all of the dogs. Of course, I'm sitting on the table with her, so we make a good pair. My oldest daughter is taking videos of Willow being antisocial. :)

Wow...hard to believe surgery is just three weeks away. I had to post something today just to celebrate the three week mark!

It kind of reminds me of the time before I got married, I would tell myself..."This is the last time I'm doing this as a single woman...The last time...". Then before I had my first child I would tell myself, "This is the last time I have a date night"... Now everything is, "This is the last time I will do ____ without a band."

There is life after the band! Can't wait! (Remind me I said this when I'm week two of the liquid diet and in the middle of Bandster Hell.)

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo (the last time I go crazy eating Mexican food)... :)

Tape Measure Bought

Eeeh gads...I can't even think of the last time I took my measurements. I broke down and bought a tape measure this weekend. Haven't tried it out yet, but at least I have the tape measure. They took my measurements when I had my initial visit with the surgeon. I don't remember the exact numbers, but I do remember that I was pretty much a rectangle. Hmm..so much for the hourglass shape. How did Scarlett O'Hara ever have that 18" waist? :) She had a little help with a corset and no fast food. I remember in my thinner days my waist was 25" and I had 37" hips. I thought I was HUGE!

Got a chance to decorate the blog a little bit this weekend with the help of my teenage daughter. Doesn't seem fair that I give birth to someone who is MILES ahead of me in technology.

I have been reading all of my follower's blogs. I LOVE reading everyone's stories. They make me smile, laugh and get misty eyed! I feel very honored to have these connections. Please check out Deb's blog. She has the cute cat icon and is from Australia. She was banded Feb. 9th and is doing great. I feel very international now to have an Australian follower!

Now to try out my new signature. Is there a way to set it up so it automatically pops up at the end of each posting?

Thank you everyone for smiles across the miles!

Band Month is Here

Now the clock is really ticking; and it is not for having a baby. :) May is my band month and a lot is happening!!!

This Coming Week: My pre-op physical with my regular dr and my first pre-op class (3 hrs long)

Next Week: My appt. with my band surgeon and my second pre-op class (another 3 hrs)

I start my liquid diet on Sat., May 15...not sure what all that entails but it doesn't sound filling. :) I feel like it is a penance for bad eating habits over the years. So I have ten days of liquid diet before the surgery.

Last night we went out for Mexican food...I cherished every bite. I looked at the plate thinking that down the road that much food is never going to happen again in one meal. I'm not really counting down to the surgery now as much as I'm counting down until the liquid diet. That is when my unhealthy relationship with food hits the dust.

Thank you to newly banded Jacquie who gave me a "shout out" and now I have 18 followers!
Not quite sure what to do with everyone, but it sounds exciting to say I have 18 followers. :)

For those of you that are preband, I thought you might enjoy this story and learn from me "what NOT to do." I had my first visit with my surgeon, dietitian, etc. to get the ball rolling last October. I REALLY did not expect to get approval since I did not have any major co-morbidities and my BMI was below 40. When it was time for my 45 min. appt. with the dietitian she wanted to discuss what I currently ate and then talk about what the post-surgery diet would be like. I felt like I was wasting her time and told her, "Shouldn't we wait until I have approval before we go over all this?" I think I rendered her speechless. If I had it to do all over again, I would have asked away and taken great notes. So all in all, I chatted with the dietitian for about 15 min. top. Moral of the story: Go into this with the assumption that you will get approval and get the most out of your time with all of your team of professionals.

My favorite part of the day was when the nurse taking my measurements asked me my goal weight and I told her 145. She said that was realistic and that I would be "cute" at that weight.

She made my day! How often do you get to be called "cute" when you are over 50? Hope reigns eternal!

Follower Advice??? Anything I should be eating now that will not be lap band friendly? I have two weeks to say goodbye to those foods. :)

Happy Weekend!