Moving FORWARD!!!

I have posted a couple times before...I have Lap Band and have been desperately trying to get through the process. Long story short, my lap band failed and I am hoping for a revision. After lots of confusion, I FINALLY have my next few appointments!

I had my Orientation in November, Nurse Assessment in December. 

I have my appointment with the Doctor and Social worker next week

Nutrition Class Feb.7.

I asked the nurse what to expect after those appointments and she said she wasn't sure, but stated that because I have already completed all the required medical tests and provided the requested reports I would likely not be seeing the doctor again. I know the process is individual and varies from person to person, but I was wondering what other appointments I need to attend.

I recently hired a personal trainer and have started following "the rules" that I would be following post surgery (with some tweaking due to not being able to eat certain foods because of my band) I am noticing lots of positive changes in myself, and a little weight loss too. I feel incredibly motivated, but I know motivation is something you have to work at every single day. I am so relieved to get this process going and be moving forward!

Congratulations, that's good news!  I'm sorry I don't know what you can expect; maybe others who have had the revision from lap band will see your post and respond.

How do you like your personal trainer?  It's great that you're already making so many positive changes. You must feel so much better.

I absolutely love my trainer. I have always loved working put, but it's nice to be pushed extra hard and try exercises I might not on my own.  

I am starting to feel really good! I know I have a long way to go, I just keep telling myself that I might as well get this started NOW because the time will pass anyways. 

That's so great that you like your trainer.  I have never loved working out, although I do like walking, swimming, and since last summer, riding my bike.  I really have to force myself to do anything else.  I bought some resistance bands at Winners last night and am watching videos today to learn how to use them.  I'm going to try them out after my next Optifast shake.  I've been feeling pretty weak on Optifast.  My body isn't used to the drastic cut in calories yet.

You're so right, the time will pass anyway.

Resistance bands are awesome!! Good choice!! Once you are able to - if you search on Pinterest they have these pictures with "How to burn 100 calories" or "how to burn 500 calories" and a list of exercises (with pictures) and you can do them right at home! I find it pretty helpful when I am really not feeling like working out - its a quick way to burn some extra calories! 

I have heard that Optifast isn't the easiest thing to be on. Goodluck!!!

Thank you! I'll definitely check out Pinterest (LOVE Pinterest, lol).

I'm doing OK on Opti; some head hunger if i leave the house. Grocery shopping is a bad idea on Optifast, as is sitting in the food court, (watching your friend eat).  I really feel for the people who have children they need to cook for; thank God I just have a small elderly dog who needs his food pureed.  He had a meatball and meatsauce yesterday and OMG, it was hard not to eat that meatball. I had to puree it and stick it in his dog dish right away, lol. Thankfully he normally just gets dog food (the meatball was a treat).

I've been having a lot of real, stomach growling hunger every single afternoon.  I'm fine in the evenings, which is the opposite of what I expected, as I'm traditionally an evening snacker.  I was allowed herbal teas for the first week but had to give them up 14 days before surgery, so I'm missing my herbal teas today.  I'm sure I'll get into the new routine of not having tea soon, and someone suggested I could try a hot lemon drink instead.  I will try that if I get desperate, but am not a big fan of lemon. It reminds me of neocitran, which I always hated as a kid.  But perhaps my tastes have changed as an adult and I'll like a hot lemon drink. 

Sounds like you are doing great! I hope the time goes by quickly for you :)

And people say this is the "easy way out" PFFT - if they only knew!

Congratulations! I can't offer much by way of expectations, but I'd suggest posting on the revision board on here too. There are tons of folks who are revising from lap and to another wls.

you are doing great by focusing on your post op behaviours now. I did the same, and I really think it made my transition to post op life smoother. 

As for motivation, you're right on the money, it's an every day choice. I'd suggest making a list of all the reasons you wanted surgery in the first place, and refer to it often. I also broke down my weight loss into smaller chunks, it's easier to stay motivated to lose the next ten pounds, than a 100!

Good luck!

Thank you :)

I am scared of failure...but I KNOW my band is not right for me.

I had kind of given up when my band started to really fail for me, and I was having all these stuck episodes - I definitely take ownership for some of the bad habits I allowed (LUCKILY I didn't gain a ton of weight, I was just eating things that would go down easily and unfortunately those things aren't the best) so I know I need to adapt to a new lifestyle. I just start every day as a fresh start so I don't get overwhelmed with the entire journey. 

Fear of failure is very common among wls people. We've experienced it many times. It's one of the reasons I put off wls for a number of years. I wasn't ready to face going through major surgery and still not succeed.

One other thing I'd suggest, is if you have access to a behaviorist or a therapist through your centre, use it. If not, at least spend some time googling behaviour change. For me, that's been equally valuable as the surgery itself. as you know from the lap band, it's always possible to eat around your tool. The mental side of this is huge, and it's good to learn as much as you can!