BandedKitten

I thought about writing a blog for my weight loss and who knows how long it will last, but I feel the need to write about this interesting, somewhat bizarre journey. I mean I have a piece of plastic in my stomach. Now that's weird. I am up too late as usual and I'm going to write my "real" first entry in a few hours. It's 2 am and I can't sleep. Today is one week post-op and I find that I'm all about the band. Don't want to drive my friends and family crazy--this is a place that I can talk about it till I'm blue in the face. More later.......

Hey there. I'm 6 days post-op and my surgeon defines liquids as including Protein shakes, pureed soup, even mashed potatoes....so it's anything that will liquify in my mouth before it goes down. I never knew mashed potatoes do that---but yep..they dissolve in my mouth since i'm not wolfing them down like a madwoman and eating them soooooo slowly..they dissolve. Every surgeon seems to have different instructions. when I was on Clear Liquids only before the surgey I thought I was going to absolutely lose my mind. I talked to the nutritionist and she said i could add stuff to my Protein Shakes..i made a Protein shake to die for the other day.. Here's the recipe: In the Blender: a cup of decaf iced coffee--light..with two splenda in it, three ice cubes, chocolate sugar-free carnation Breakfast powder, 1/2 a banana, one large scoop of whey Protein Powder, one packet of sugar free/fat free hot chocolate and blend. It made a mocha-banana shake. I poured a little bit in a cup and I put the rest in the fridge for the next day or at night. It was SO delicious and felt satisfying. I'm totally fixated on food right now too..although i'm following the routine meticulously and not cheating. i can't wait to CHEW something. I'm down 11 lbs in 6 days. YAY! starting weight on day of surgery was 197 (I'm real short) weight now 186 want to get down to 135-145. Cant decide now since it seems so far off. For my height I shouldn't be above 125..but I haven't seen that since i was 29. Hang in there...I FEEL your pain. But i am SO looking forward to the results. hugs, BandedKitten

hey there! Okay, I am a bit of a envangelistic anti-real-tanner BUT I am an avid Mystic Tanner. Mystic tanning is a spray tan booth that is in many regular tanning salons. It's a booth that you step into..you don't have to strip down in front of anyone...you are in private and you just turn around as the vocal recorded instructions tell you to do. It's AMazing! And I don't have to worry about aging my skin, getting skin cancer, etc. AND it's a nice dark tan that lasts a week AND it makes me look thin and cool...well in my opinion...lol. It's made from aloe vera and brown sugar and it's awesome. Doesn't wear off on your clothes. AND most importantly...NOBODY guessed it was a spray tan--it's not orange at all...looks completely authentic. Just make sure you follow the simple instructions on putting lotion on your palms and elbows and the bottom of your feet so they don't get tanned. I go get a mystic tan before I go out somewhere when i want to look great and i do it more often in the summer. PLEASE reconsider real tanning and go for mystic tanning. I've seen too many people get melanoma and it's not pretty in any way. (sorry, I know i'm on my soap box). however...I LOVE to look tanned and isn't this a nice compromise? Good luck! hugs, BandedKitten

Good luck with your date! Yes, we short sisters need help too! My BMI was certainly high..but my highest size was a 14/16..but on a short girl...that's tooooo big. Normal for most, but not for us! keep in touch.. bandedkitten

I guess I'm still swollen since I have no fill yet and I'm not hungry. I really can only eat about 2 tablespoons of creamed Soup and feel gentle pressure if I eat more. I am trying to get my Water in. I was banded on May 12th. I get my first fill in a month. I hope I don't die of hunger in a week or so when the swelling goes down! Will I be able to Bear it? I've heard of people who still lose significant weight before a fill. I've lost 10 lbs since Mother's Day but that included 1 day of Clear liquids and so far the rest have been "full" liquids---Soups, Protein shakes, etc. i just don't want the Hunger To come back. My hunger is like an Evil Monster that follows me around and haunts me all day long---it's been such a sweet dream to not be Starving the last week. It's so freaking awesome! Thanks to everyone who takes the time to post answers and comments--it's really generous and helpful! I haven't figured out the ticker thing yet. Here's my numbers: highest weight--in the Fall during testing ---205 Before liquid diet for 3 days ---------------------197 today (5 days past surgery) ---------------------187 I'm very short and 187 looks much bigger on me. I am very excited to be on this journey. i can feel this is the right path! yay. hugs to all, BandedKitten

Now THAT's what I'm talking about! Amazing. It's SO inspiring to see someone like you. I just got banded on Thursday and i really NEED to see all these inspiring photos cause it's keep me going during my liquid diet. Congratulations!

sounds yummy! can't wait to try it! Banded Kitten

Hey Bandsters..i was banded on Thursday...yay! i wrote my story under the heading Surgery Day stories...i am too tired to go find the link..but the whole story is there. i am great! hugs and best of luck to you all! bandedkitten

Hey Bandsters..i was banded on Thursday...yay! i wrote my story under the heading Surgery Day stories...i am too tired to go find the link..but the whole story is there. i am great! hugs and best of luck to you all! bandedkitten

Hello! It's DONE! wooo-hoo. After a year of tests, an unexpected major surgery that delayed my lapband and a lot of thought, research, etc.-----it is DONE. Here's my story. My husband and I got to Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn at 8 am for a 10:30 am surgery. The nurses's assistant gave me my id bracelet, took my temperature, blood pressure, asked me several questions and then the nurse came in an pricked my finger to check my blood sugar and ask some more questions. Then the anesthesiologist came in and we spent a bit of time together since it's difficult to intubate me and I had a bad experience in my last surgery in January. (during pre-testing for the lapband they discovered a large benign tumor that required removal of my appendix, a hysterectomy and tumor removal--thank goodness it was benign). the anestesologist was kind and compassionate but a little difficult to understand with his accent. He said that he understood my fear and that he had a good track record with special intubations--mine was going to be Fiber optic again. Meaning it's a guided intubation--they can watch it on a monitor. he did help me feel more reassured and let's face it I have no choice but to trust him. i was proud of myself that i brought up my fear..in the past i would have been macho and not told them about my concerns. We had to wait a VERY long time to get into surgery---hours! As you know it all depends on how complicated the person who is ahead of you..and so we had to wait a very long time. in ther interim my pulmonologist showed up to help me set up a Cpap for when i emerge from surgery in the recovery room. During the last surgeyr..my pulse ox (amount of oxygen in my blood) went way down and it was great cause for concern. Even if this wasn't going to happen again--we were going to be prepared to make sure that the CPAP was ready immediately. Pretty soon i got to walk the long hall to the OR, kissed my husband good bye and went into that big room..which was very blurry because they had taken my glasses. There were SO many people in the OR! People snapping things on me, doing the IV, adjusting sheets and towels around me..and they were chatting in that relaxed happy way that a well-oiled team does...they seemed to like each other and they exchanged quips, etc...but they were clear that i was their first priority. It made me feel safe and cared for. Everyone was very nice. I was nervous about the intubation--very nervous--but they sprayed some stuff in my mouth, made me hold some icky strong tasting numbing gel and then they suctioned it out. And then I was out like a light. Gone into la la land. I woke up in the recovery room...with a bustling team around me..getting me hooked up to pain meds and cpap, etc. The surgeon came right out and I think he said something like " that went great and you also had a hiatal hernia that we repaired and we biopsied your liver and took a small fatty growth off the outside of your stomach." I felt good and was joking with the nursing staff..and people came to check on me, etc. i'm getting tired as i'm writing this....so i may have to take a break to finish it. They got me approved to stay over night and i went to my room. my husband was by my side for as much of this as they would allow. i was given a morphine pump and i made use of it the first day..but it made me nauseous..so they gave me an antinausea iv and i took less of the morphine until i stopped it completely. i didnt like the feeling of it. I am too tired to type more now..but i'm feeling great AND I'm so glad it's over. I absolutely know i did the right thing. hugs, bandedkitten

I am Having my surgery tomorrow too! I'm very nervous..especially about intubation..had problem with that last surgery. but that's because of my jaw--that's not typical of other people getting banded. I'm so hungry that all the stuff in my cupboards that i've ignored because it looks boring suddenly looks like the most delicious thing you could ever eat. It's been a long time---a year of testing...an unexpected surgery when they found something that had to be taken care of before lapband. I'm SO glad this journey is almost over...and my new banded life is beginning. Good luck to you tomorrow---I'm sending good thoughts! BandedKitten

Hi. hope I'm posting this correctly in the right spot! I'm a young 52, very short and weigh 192-197 and am having band on may 12th. I'd LOVE someone to chat with someone on the phone maybe once a week. Someone with a sense of humor, essentially upbeat and has had success with the band. I'm typically optimisitc and positive...but can be a little bit of a nervous nellie around medical stuff. I live in NYC, but you don't have to. I'd probably do better with someone around my age (45-60) who has some wisdom and virtual hugs to share. I'm nervous about the surgery but also nervous about how to adapt to such a drastic change in food habits. I'm having trouble even imagining it! Thanks in advance to anyone kind enough to respond to this. it's good karma to help someone out! I'm a career coach so maybe I can help you out too. Hugs, Bandedkitten

Hey Cindy Thanks so much for replying--it's amazing how nice people are on here.....I love hearing success stories like yours. I'm not a yankee fan (don't follow sports) so you're safe! I'll report back in 2 days when it's "over"----or really just beginning, right? hugs, bandedkitten

Hi Nico thanks so much for your sweet email! I'll definitely call you. I'm having surgery on Thursday..I'm in the liquid diet phase and I'm very grouchy! I am excited and nervous about this new journey...wondering how I'll handle the emotional aspects of not overeating..it's all interesting and scary and cool. hugs, bandedkitten

Thanks so much for posting this. i do not doubt for one minute the difficult stories I read on this site. AND I want to realize/know that there are probably many people who had a somewhat "easy" path with the band and therefore are less likely to come here and post---they're just out living their lives. I think when I have challenges with something I'm much more likely to seek support and post then when things are going smooth. It would be great if you could email me to chat. Thanks!

good luck! you'll be done soon and looking back and glad it's done and you're on your way!