isit5yet

Welcome to the board. I go to Dr Malley's practice and Dr. Fearing did my surgery at New Hope Bariatrics. I really recommend New Hope and Dr. Fearing, and the seminar (if you haven't gone yet) is very informative. The one thing I will say about Malley Surgical Weight Loss is that when you make your appointments for follow-ups and fills, make a few of them in advance as the doctors' schedules book up. The reception staff didn't ask to do that for me automatically, then looked at me like I was an idiot when I couldn't get in within 2 weeks for a fill because someone at their reception should have scheduled the appts in advance. Oh well. --Carrie

Resurrecting this thread in case anyone out there is reading this part of the forum. I just realized we're under a week away from Passover. I think this year will actually be the easiest to follow the dietary guidelines since getting banded. I don't even think I'll buy matzoh. No need to get more constipated considering how little I eat to begin with now Anyone else out there or have interesting plans for next week? --Carrie

Hi all! Great topic since I'm sure we see people come and go on this board; it's nice to know a little bit more about those who are currently active. My name is Carrie, I'm 35, and live in Shawnee, KS, which is a suburb of Kansas City. I grew up in St. Louis (Go Cards!), and my family is originally from New York, so I have a crazy weird Midwestern/NY accent. Some things I say make me sound like I'm straight out of Brooklyn and I talk very quickly. I went to the University of Missouri (Mizzou) with a BsED in Secondary Education English and taught high school English for one year. My husband's job transferred him to Kansas City in 1999, and I followed. I've been married for 9 years, and we have a little girl who just turned 2. We also have two dogs: A 4 yr old black lab mix and a 12 yr old yellow lab mix - coincidentally Mizzou colors I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2001 after gaining 40 lbs out of nowhere with no changes in diet or exercise since college. I was always athletic with cheerleading and track and field. I probably had PCOS in high school since my periods were very sporadic but the extreme workouts I did for my sports held off the weight gain. I went through four years of infertility treatments before being successful after rounds shots and IUIs. When I turned 35 I kind of freaked out about it and realized that I'm lucky. I have no issues with blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, etc. I knew I wouldn't be lucky for long carrying around 100 more pounds than I'd like. The PCOS, even with Metformin, made it frustrating to lose weight and almost impossibly no matter what I tried. I decided the band was drastic but necessary. I was banded on 2/17/11 and don't regret it at all. I quit teaching for numerous reasons when I moved to KS and started doing Project Management. I'm now a Quality Assurance Manager for a software company that does software for smartphones (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, etc). I actually get paid to play with the latest mobile devices; very sweet! Nice meeting you all! -Carrie

They may give you something like Verced before you go in, which will totally take the edge off and you'll be less fearful. I didn't dream about anything and don't remember anything. My nurse said that younger women tend to come out of anesthesia crying and men come out swinging hehehe. I was just groggy and wanted to nap.

Congrats!!

Welcome back and good luck!

Sorry, I didn't know I needed to explain past tense versus present tense. When I said "I never mentioned..", that's past tense in reference to my past post. Since it's written in past tense, it obviously does not relate to what I wrote after it - the future. Glad you enjoyed you got a laugh at what you perceived as my failure, but was really your's. I enjoy seeing the kids get their GOP panties in a wad over a supposed liberal elitist. I'm surprised you're not crying in your Cheerios over Beck leaving his show for other developments. Several uncompleted stints in Junior College does not make for an educated woman. Their physical appearance doesn't bother me; their need to USE it is as a tool to get the white, middle aged, Viagra vote is pathetic and demeaning. I also don't give a shit if someone calls Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi butch or ugly. They are grown women and can fend for themselves. So again, you're wrong. How much time in the day do you need to comment on a Lap Band site, Huff Post, ride ATVs or do whatever you do? I've seen your posts as well (by the way, posts is plural and not something that gets an apostrophe to show possession). You contribute nothing to the board besides items the Rant thread, so you're now the Troll of Rantland.

I said more people vote religion and align themselves with people who don't really care about them. Not ALL people, and certainly not the reverse that all ppl who support those politicians are rednecks. There was no transitive property to my statement. You lose at turning that around. Good day, sir! The "real American" rhetoric is becoming a yawner at this point. What makes some more real than another? I'd love to know absolute criteria, although, I suspect it has more to do with holding a party line rather than anything the founding fathers really believed. I never mentioned government involvement or handouts, nor did I mention my political affiliation, but you're good at assuming I see. Or, at least, good at overreacting and getting offended. Whatever floats your boat. I'm third generation American; Am I less American than someone else who say they uphold the founder fathers' beliefs. Oh no.. I'm less American since I'm not Christian (yet I believe in helping those who need it, go figure!), have an opposing political viewpoint, am a working mother with a toddler in daycare (for shame!), I hate NASCAR, guns and think Palin and Bachmann are popular because rednecks want to see their tits (and that's all). Your generalization about those on the left finding your dribble hard to understand shows how simplistic that argument has become. "Those on the left", you know, the elitist left (e.g.- codename for New Yorkers and Jews), came here and did just what you described, and without help. My family came here in 1907 after the Odessa Russia Pogrom. They learned English, worked, got an education and made it work. That's a typical turn of the century immigrant story. You can put in Irish, Italian, Chinese or Jewish into that storyline. However, now those hardworking Americans and sons, daughters, and grandchildren of those immigrants who are left leaning don't understand what being an American means? That's horseshit. I guess the Tea Party movement agrees with this, right, when they want to "their country back"? John Adams; "God is an essence that we know other of. Until this awful blasphemy is got rid of, there will never be any liberal science in the world. " James Madison: "And I have no doubt that every new example will succeed, as every past one has done, in shewing that religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together." Thomas Jefferson: "Question with boldness even the existence of God. Ben Franklin: "Lighthouses are more helpful than churches."

How is this any different from the uneducated Americans I see around me who listen to Glenn Beck and support politicians who have NO interest in helping them? I see more people vote their religion, although they are starving, their farms are failing, and they wag their tails and pant over people like Palin, Trump, Huckabee, Backmann, etc. They think it will be different.. but it rarely is for them. Don't think that blind allegiance is just relegating to dictator run governments.

Hi Dum Bass (hehe, I had to say it). Love your username Welcome to the board! I was banded on 2/17/11 and have found the board so useful and not just for kind words, strong nudges or support. Dive into the different topics. I find the food and Nutrition topics have great recipe ideas. Your post hit a nerve with me, as I'm starting to find that it's easy to cheat the band and not just with slider foods. That knowledge scares the crap out of me, but at least I recognize it's a potential problem. Talking to you doc and recognizing the issues is so going to help you in the long run. Good luck!! --Carrie

HI Claudia, Welcome to the board. Your timeline is very close to mine. I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2001, married the same year, took 4 yrs to get pregnant and finally did after follistim shots and IUIs. My daughter will be 2 in a couple of weeks. I didn't fight weight until I went to college. I was always athletic (cheerleading and track in high schoo). After college my weight ballooned with no real reason or change in habits. I had a few loses in life and the infertility treatments were emotionally draining on me, where I turned to food for comfort. I realized I had a food addiction 10 days after lap band surgery when I went back to work. I couldn't concentrate at work, as I the only thing I could think of were the stupid Snacks my office stocks in the kitchen. I was on the puree stage, so nothing filled me (slider foods are mostly purees). You sound very in control of knowing what's happening with your eating habits. Hang in there and good luck!! --Carrie

I just remind myself how many people in the office DON'T wash their hands after using the restroom and how I don't want to eat their ecoli treats

Plain Greek yogurt w/ fresh fruit Cottage cheese Soft, low fat cheese like Laughing Cow wedges or Babybel Ricotta cheese Egg Beaters Edd salad I'm LOVING a poached egg on some cooked spinach. Canned chicken salad with sliced green onion. Use plain greek yogurt for more protein over mayo. Add dill or tarragon for a yummy taste! Add tofu (blended) with your soups. You'll get the protein and shouldn't be able to taste the tofu. The tofu usually takes the taste form of whatever it's mixed with. Fake lasagna: layer shaved ham on the bottom, veggies w/ marinara, low fat mozzarella and cottage cheese in a pan and bake Crustless egg souffle: layer shaved ham on the bottom, mix eggs, low fat cheese (I use garlic herb laughing cow wedges) and veggies ( i use onion, mushroom and spinach), salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture on top of the ham and bake until a toothpick or fork tines come out cleanly when inserted. Check out the Nutrition section of this forum. I found so many great recipes!

New York and Company have similar styles in pants as LB and good prices. The quality isn't the best, but neither is LB. I think at one time they were both owned by Limited Company. Gap has nice slacks. I can't wait to shop at Ann Taylor Loft. The Loft has good prices and goes up to a regular 18. If you want nice pants that will last, I totally recommend Talbots too. Also remember Target I can't wait to get out of the Plus Size area and into the cute stuff in the reg department. If you're comfortable shopping online, Lands' End has great stuff.

I'm on the soft solid stage 2.5 post-op and right now all I want is a BK Original Chicken Sandwich. It's such a silly thing to crave, but it's constantly on my mind. Thank goodness I really don't crave sweets; I'm all about salt. My binge food was triscuits with sliced cheddar. Weird, huh? I don't crave fries or burgers.. just that stupid chicken sandwich.

Having a period with any frequency is a good sign. Are you charting your basal body temp, or are you not that far along in your pregnancy journey? I was Dx with PCOS in 2001 and know a TON about infertility and fertility treatments. Please feel free to reach out to me anytime. I spent years trying to have a baby and finally was able to have a baby after two rounds of shots and IUI. Try not to worry about the cycle days. Celebrate the fact that your period is coming back on its own; that's such a great sign for you!!

It's good to be informed of what can happen, but please stay positive. Try not to get too mired in others' horrific experiences. Every experience and body is different. I debated watching the surgery video before my surgery and thought better of it. I'm glad I didn't watch it; I totally would have backed out It's like when you're pregnant and every person wants to tell you about how hard and terrible their labor was. You almost want to say, "WTF, hush up. You think I want to hear that??" Be informed about the complications, but keep an editorial eye out for what you read. Cheers, Carrie

Trolls are everywhere. Unfortunately, these asshats have the safety of their monitors to act that the jackholes they really are. I've been on chat room since 1995 (starting with IRC), and there are power-hungry moderators and regulars that try to exert power and knowledge that I can only image they don't have in their "real lives."

It's tough for them to monitor their carb intake when weeks 2 and 3 are usually the puree/mushy stage. No staying strong about it. Real advice: My doctor says that at this stage you'll eat items you won't normally eat later. The idea at this stage is to heal, and get your stomach ready for food again. You may still be swollen from surgery. It's about healing now over losing weight. pureed foods will normally be higher in carbs unless you feel like blending up chicken in a blender and drinking it...barf! I'm moving to soft solids from the puree stage, and here are some foods I ate during that stage to help boost Protein amounts: Greek yogurt w/ pureed fruit. Plain lo fat greek yogurt is so packed full of protein. I used organic baby food food for the fruit - it was actually yummy. Campbell's Vegatable Beef Soup. Chew the beef bits well or throw the whole soup in a blender to puree it down. I did pulse blend some chicken to add to other creamy soups - very tasty. Cottage cheese Soft, low fat cheese like Laughing Cow wedges or Babybel Ricotta cheese w/ pureed fruit Egg Beaters Low fat refried Beans w/ low fat cheese and a dab of plan greek yogurt. Plain greek yogurt tastes a lot like sour cream. Edd salad - well blended and chopped w/ low fat mayo Go to the Nutrition / Diet section of the forum for great mushy food ideas. I found it SO SO helpful for recipes and ideas! Good luck! --Carrie

I'm 16 days post op, so my diet is reflective of being in the soft food stage. B: Pure Protein shake and 1 laughing cow swiss wedge S: 1/2 cup Chobani plain greek yogurt with chopped stawberries. 1 Spenda packet. L: 1 poached egg and 1 cup of french onion soup (no cheese or crouton). S: Either 1/4 cup 1% cottage cheese or an Amplify Protein Shake with skin milk. (I'll see what I feel like) D: 1/2 cup canned chicken salad w/ low fat olive oil mayo and green onions. 1/4 cup mashed sweet potatoes and carrots (called Tzimmes - Jewish soul food) I'm also drinking some gatorade throughout the day. I was up all night with tummy issues, so I'm dehydrated I hate taking the hit in carbs because of the gatorade, but getting hydrated quickly is more important today.

I'll be perfectly honest, I'm hoping the band with help with behavior modification because I completely, 100% hate vomiting. Since I hate puking, I won't overeat knowing the band is there. I actually hope I never have to get filled and that the idea that it's sitting there and can make me puke is enough to keep myself in check

I'm just venting here because I have to do something else besides walking into the kitchen one more time. I'm two weeks post -op and back at work for the third day, and now I totally resent that my office has snacks in the kitchen. I work for a small software company where there's always chips, snacks, fruit, candy, etc in the kitchen. I'm one week into the puree stage, so I can't go and eat the fruit, which would be my choice. I absolutely hate that this food is available. I did so much better post-op when I was home for 10 days. This just sucks. I'm not even hungry, seriously. Not at all. However, those damn reeces mini eggs look so good. It's a head problem on my side, which I'm aware of. I chewed a stick of gum and that helped. I also know salty foods are my trigger. This has to get easier as the days go on, and in a few days I can move to soft solids like tuna and chicken salad which will help. The sad thing is that I have greek yogurt and some mashed bananas ready to eat, as well as a protein shake. But, I'm sitting on here obsessing about the damn reeces. So now I have to say: F U office snacks; we have to break up. I'll come up with an elaborate story on how you cheated on me to tell my friends about it. FYI: You all reading this who think I'm a little nutty; you'll soon get my humor. It's dry and sarcastic and a tad over the top Cheers, Carrie

The smells..oh the smells. My desk is by the kitchen, so I get to smell everyone's lunches. Wish people were horrible cooks and ate things that smelled like junk. When I was pregnant, I hated smelling anything cooking. Maybe the cure is to get knocked up.. ok, not so much heh. After I wrote this post, I've been good about staying away from the office goodies. I also did a food log on Thurs as another way to keep me on track. I didn't want to write it down, so I didn't eat it. I also increased my protein the yesterday and today to feel more full. It's helped. There is a scheduled ice cream party at work today (in 15mins). Seriously, my office loves to eat. I planned my meals around this and accounted for the extra calories. I'll have a scoop of vanilla, and I brought my own pureed, fresh strawberries to put on top, so I feel like it's a treat and I'm not the freak being left out. I think this is a good plan - fingers crossed

Absolutely tell your doctor. Have you already has your pre-op appointment? I had my pre-op appt a week before my surgery and day 3 of a cold with a low grade temperature. I was in the exact same situation as you.. freaking out! On top of my cold, I was day three of antibiotics from PINK EYE that my toddler gave me!!!! I went to the pre-op appt with swollen, red eyes, a stuffy nose, sweaty/clammy and I basically look like crap.. or looked high . I also have asthma and typically my colds go to my chest into a productive cough by the last week of the cold. I 100% knew that if I couldn't get over the cold that with a chest cold and asthma, surgery was NOT safe. I did joke that if I had to be rescheduled after the 2 week pro-op diet, I was going to say F it and get Burger King hehe. My advice: Rest, fluids, rest, fluids, rest, rest, rest! That weekend I drank a ton of Water and took several naps and the cold went away before surgery. Be honest with yourself; surgery is nothing to sneeze at (ha ha, I'm funny). Going under anesthesia is serious and not to messed with. A postponed surgery is much better than a risky surgery and a harder post-op recovery. You'll want to rip your gut out if you have a sick cough post-op, because the deep tissue sutures hurt when you sneeze or cough. Another fact I learned. Good luck... rest, fluids, rest, fluids...drink drink drink!!

I think the 14% APR for the Care Credit extended plan is if you qualify for that rate. My total cost was 16K. We put 5K down in cash (check) from saving, then put 11K on Care Credit. I used the Care Credit 0% APR plan with the 6 month payoff plan. I was going to do the 18 months 0% apr plan, but I found out the day of my pre-op appointment that my surgeon's office only accepted the 6 month 0% plan. I was totally screwed, so I selected the 6 months option. The payment was going to be around $1,800/month. After the snafu, my husband applied for a credit card with no balance transfer fee and 12 months no interest on balance transfers. These types of plans are only available if your credit is accepted. Now we have 12 months to pay it off and we make a $950 monthly payment to get it paid off in 12 months before the interest rate kicks in. We redid out monthly budget and it will workout. We'll just go out to eat less, which will normally happen anyway Hope this info helps! -Carrie