enterprise01

My doc said liquids for 24-48 hours post-op, then soft foods for 4 weeks, then solid food after that. I'm just not sure where the boundary is between soft and solid food or why it's that important.

Cindy, Can you clarify what you said about solid foods? I'm 8 days post-op and am eating mostly soft foods (cottage cheese, yogurt, eggs, juice, polenta), but for dinner I'm eating fish and vegetables (grilled until they are practically mush). I'm also eating a little chicken and some other solid foods in very small quantities. I have not had any problems that I know of. I'm still burping constantly, but that started immediately after surgery. What is the big deal about soft food vs. solid food? I need some education. Thanks.

I'm a Coke addict. It's been a serious problem for many years now. I'm telling myself that I cannot have any carbonated beverages or it will ruin the band. That's what I need to believe to stay away from the Coke. Coca-Cola is not something I can have every once in a while. If I have one, then I'll be drinking 2 or 3 every day before I know it.

I wish I had had my legs waxed before the surgery. I shaved the morning of surgery (8 days ago), and now I look like a Sasquatch. I wonder how long it will be until I can bend enough to shave my legs.

Three days post-op, I started eating applesauce, cottage cheese mixed with ricotta, eggs, yogurt, and polenta. On day 4, I was eating grilled salmon and asparagus, which I've been having every night for dinner since. The asparagus is going down fine, but tonight the salmon feels kind of stuck -- sort of a pinching sensation. It's funny, because the doc's instructions say no meat but fish is fine. I've had a few Nutrisystem meals with beef, chicken, and ham in them and had no problems. For lunch in the past week, I've had Nutrisystem chicken salad, whipped sweet potatoes with cheese, chocolate chip cookies, and fettuccini alfredo. No problems with any of those. I just can't stick to a liquid diet. I haven't found a protein drink that I think is even tolerable, and if it doesn't taste good, I'm not going to eat/drink it. The solid food agrees with me much more. If you're still having nausea, try drinking a lot of ice cold water. That helped me a lot. You're right -- we have to keep telling ourselves that it will be worth it.

I was banded on 1/17 and have the same problem with hiccups. I'm burping a lot, too. Very annoying.

<FONT size=3><FONT size=3><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">I'm 7 days post-op and still fairly miserable. I had severe nausea and lots of dry heaves for the first 24 hours post-op and had difficulty waking up from the anesthesia. I started back on solid food 3 days after surgery and that has really helped me get my strength back. I'm not feeling any restriction, though. My belly is still bloated, my incisions are sore, I've got a lovely rash from the band-aids, and I can't stop burping, which is amusing my boyfriend to no end. Putting my socks on in the morning is a Herculean task. I can't wait to feel normal again. <FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Sounds like a lot of other bandsters are doing better than me, so that's good. I was hoping that this surgery would not be any worse than my tubal ligation, but it is. This surgery has completely knocked me on my ass. <FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">How long 'til the sutures dissolve and the incisions heal up? I'm having to wear the same pair of sweat pants to work every day (and sweats are not allowed), so I'm anxious to get back in regular clothes. But right now, I can't imagine wearing anything with a real waistband because of the incisions. How has everyone else dealt with that issue? </st1:date>

Katieo, Even if you do lose your hair, don't worry -- it's almost always treatable. My hair started thinning about 6 years ago, and it was awful. I suffer from hypothyroidism, and I was losing handfuls every day. Well, I tried Rogaine, and believe me, it is a miracle drug. I used it consistently for 1 year and after the first 3 months, my hair stopped falling out. By month 4, it was regrowing. After a year, I decided to stop because I thought my thyroid condition was improving. Within 6 months, I started losing hair again. I went back on Rogaine and have used it consistently since then. My hair is now as thick and as full as it was when I was a teenager. And I've had no side effects from using it. I'm scheduled to be banded on 1/17 and have lots of concerns, too. But thanks to Rogaine, I'm not concerned about potential hair loss.

Holy crap! PBs, slime, thick foam? I'm really getting nervous about this now. I'm a known cheater and rule breaker -- with everything. This forum might just scare me straight (at least with my eating habits).

I think that's a great idea. Moderators, what do you think?

Wow! I hope that happens to me. Since my thyroid medication was changed a couple of years ago from Synthroid to Cytomel, I'm always hot. Like blood-boiling kind of hot. But I wouldn't give up my Cytomel for anything because the Synthroid did not work at all for me. I cannot tolerate any temp above 65 degrees. Living in Houston, that means I can only go outside 6 days out of the year. My boyfriend sleeps in sweats with 2 blankets and a comforter while I'm completely bare and still miserably hot. I'd love to be a little closer to normal. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Thanks, Carlene. Glad to hear you're an animal person, too. Many people just don't understand that to animal lovers, giving your pets the best possible care is a moral obligation. I've got to do the best I can for them or I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Besides, I've gotten a lot of love for that $6,000 -- that makes it all worthwhile.

How about Peter Jackson (director of Lord of the Rings)? He's looking much thinner these days. And what about Billy Bob Thornton? He was heavy for a long time before hooking up with Angelina Jolie. What a freak show the two of them together were! But he's managed to keep the weight off for a good 10 years now. Maybe he had the lapband done in Europe.

Oops. I also meant to tell you that I'm only taking 3 days off work (Wed, Thurs, Fri) and that I met my surgeon yesterday and already have the surgery scheduled for next week. So, exactly one week between consultation and surgery.

I haven't been banded yet, but I have had many, many surgeries, a couple of them being laparoscopic. I think how quickly you bounce back after surgery has a lot to do with what condition you're in before the surgery. When I was thinner (and younger), surgery was easier on me. I had a tubal when I was 25, drove to my mom's house 4 hours away the next day, had to drive right back the same day because the idiot ex-boyfriend let my cat of the house, and then spent the next 4 days walking around the neighborhood for several hours at a time posting flyers and looking for the cat. (The cat came home on day 5, and I dumped the idiot boyfriend not long after that.) Now that I'm much more overweight and get out of breath walking up a flight of stairs, I'm fully expecting a good 3 days of complete down time. Although I don't have kids, I do have to wrangle with a very fat cat (yes, the same one that escaped for a 5 day vacation 14 years ago) every day to give him medications and sub-q fluids. I'm fully expecting that to be unpleasant for me for the first week post-op. (He's about 16 pounds.) I'm no doctor, but my best guess from my own experiences is that you'll have difficulty lifting and holding your daughter for at least a week or two after surgery. But difficult doesn't mean impossible. As for the loose skin, you'll just have to wait and see how your body adjusts to the weight loss. I have some friends who look great after losing weight and others that have a lot of excess skin. The doctors recommend waiting 1 year after losing the weight to see if your skin will tighten up. After that, if you still have loose skin, plastic surgery is the only viable option I've heard of. I don't know about you, but if the plastic surgery isn't affordable, then I'd still rather be thin with loose skin than be fat with tight skin.

I've been with my boyfriend for 11 years now, so he's seen me thin, fat, and everywhere in between. My mom recently asked me if it bothered him that I had put on so much weight. (Because it obviously bothers her.) My reply was, "No, he's not shallow." I think she got the point because she has hardly said a word about my weight since then. A dear friend of mine who is also obese drives a Mazda Miata. She loves her car and views it as the one luxury she has in her life. About a year ago, as she was getting out of her car in the parking lot of a grocery store, a stranger walking by told her she was too fat to drive such a little car. I wasn't there, but when she told me about it, I was devasted for her. How incredibly hurtful, rude, and unnecessary. :angry I'm always dumbfounded by people who feel the need to point out the obvious. I know I'm fat. Every fat person knows they are fat. We don't need to be told.

So true. We have a lot of Greek families here in Houston, and a lot of them own restaurants. I have 2 very good friends who are Greek, and I always feel right at home around their families. The food, the fighting, the guilt, the crying, the hugging -- just like home.

Sunta, I can usually spot a fellow I-Tie. You're right -- it is cultural. food is how Italian mothers nuture and care for their families. It's a point of pride. My boyfriend is also Italian, and after dating many non-Italians, I've decided that I need to stick with my own. He understands my insanity, and I understand his.

Thanks, Kathy. Please keep us posted on your recovery. I really hope the pain subsides quickly for you.

You must be Italian! This is exactly the way my Italian grandmother was. When I was a child and would stay with her in the summer, if I didn't eat at least 2 or 3 helpings of everything, she would say, "What's the matter? You don't like my cooking? My food's not good enough for you?" Keep in mind, this is after I had already cleaned my plate. Yes, for some people food = love. And, yes, you are a little off your rocker, but that's OK. :huggie: My grandmother was very much off her rocker, and I loved her dearly. Just try to remember that to a lot of people, food is just food. It's merely fuel for the body, and they just don't see it the same way you do. And people who don't cook may not understand the time and effort that goes into making a good meal. But if someone in particular is being ungrateful and taking you for granted, I think I'd probably stop cooking for him.

Hi, everyone, I've posted a couple of things before, but now that I have a surgery date, I thought I should make a more official introduction. I had my consultation with Dr. Spivak earlier tonight and am scheduled for surgery next Wednesday, 1/17. I have 98 pounds to lose and am looking forward to my new life with a band. I've been dieting since I was 14 and am tired of living like this. My grandmother passed away on Monday, and my first thought was "thank god there's not going to be a funeral because I'm way too fat to face family members that I haven't seen in years." Isn't that just pathetic? I'm sick of my weight impacting every aspect of my life. My biggest concern is that I won't get through the mourning period. I'm not sure what to do with myself if I'm not eating. I think I'm really going to miss eating to excess. enterprise01 surgery on 1/17/07 current 218, goal 120 Dr. Spivak in Houston

You're right -- height makes a big difference. Crossing your legs is really difficult when your feet don't touch the floor when sitting! I'm barely 5' so I won't be able to cross my legs until I'm at a size 6, which is where I was for 2 days in 1993. enterprise01 Houston, TX Consult with Dr. Spivak today! Yay! 210 current, 115 goal

I'm also a self-pay. Last year I spent over $6,000 in vet bills for 2 sick cats. One died and one is still sick (terminal with renal failure). I'm spending $600 a month just to keep this 16 year old cat comfortable in his final days, and he could conceivably live many more months thanks to the very expensive medication. When I thought about how much I was willing to spend to help my cats and give them a good life, I realized that it was ridiculous not to spend that kind of money to help myself. I have money in savings for a new car (mine is 14 years old), and I'm going to use that for the surgery. With any luck, I can have the surgery by the end of the month and then I can start working to replenish the car fund. Between the sick cat and the cost of surgery, things are going to be tight for the next year or two. But both the cat and I are worth a little financial hardship. By the way, my insurance company turned me down, and because the insurance company is a client of my employer, I cannot appeal. It was made clear to me that it could cost me my job. P.S. Please, no negative comments from non-animal lovers about spending so much money on my cats. I get enough of that from well meaning co-workers. Thanks.

What a fun question. 1) Hugh Jackman (but only as Wolverine) 2) James Marsters (but only as Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) 3) Karl Urban (Eomer from Lord of the Ringers and Kirill, the assasin, in The Bourne Supremacy. He also played several parts on Xena.)

I'm not banded yet but hope to have it done by the end of the month. I have however had more than a dozen surgeries and each time the anesthesia has had a slightly different effect. The first few times, I suffered severe nausea. And one time I had a horrible burning sensation in my veins. Now, I make sure to always talk with the anesthesiologist before I'm sedated. They have much better meds than they did 15 or 20 years ago, so I no longer get nausea. I tell the doc to give me IV anti-nausea meds before I wake up. We also determined that the burning sensation was from valium, which they no longer give me. Talk about your concerns with the anesthesiologist. Let him know your family history with anesthesia, and I'm sure he'll be able to adjust the meds accordingly. The part of all this that I'm dreading is the pain from the carbon dioxide that they pump into you during laparoscopic procedures. When I had a tubal, the pain from the gas was much, much worse than the pain from the surgery.