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Congratulations new bandsters and good luck to those having their surgery soon!

I get to have smaller feet, too? Oh darn!

I'm thinking I'm going to be feeling your pain, if not a whole lot worse. I went the ER, then was admitted for 3 days and had many tests done. My doctor is going to word my whole experience in such a way to hopefully get insurance to cover this . That's not including the ER trip I took the morning after I had finally gotten home from Denver, to which I had no doctor to word things in such a way to help approve the visit. I hope they send me the bills soon.

Woke up a bit? I don't think that was a dream. Who dreams or remembers dreams when knocked out? Especially one that happens to exactly coincide with what is happening in real life. Even if you're amused by it, I think you ought to make a little stink about it. It very well could be something an anesthesiologist needs his or her hand slapped for. Eeek! Glad you're feeling pretty good. Congratulations on the banding!

Thanks for asking. I'm doing much better. However, my belly has been awfully sore the last couple days. I may be trying to eat too much, too soon. Trying to figure out all my new feelings in my stomach, at least, lol. My doctor might be a little too loose in regards to post-op diets, me thinks.

Welcome! Congrats on having to wait to get your Lapband, and then the ultimate banding .

LOL I'm sorry your belly done did undone itself. Yikes! Many moons ago, my son sliced a nice deep gouge under his chin. It didn't look like anything unless you pulled it apart. I almost fainted. Your story makes me think of that - yikes, yikes and more yikes! Glad to hear you're on the mend! <3

Hello all! Are we getting excited? Today I start my pre-diet. My doctor's office forgot to send me the instructions, and I have forgot to ask them for it, but I'm pretty sure I don't need it since I've discussed it in length with the nutritionist and doctor a bit ago. It was similar to Atkins, but you can eat some fruit? It doesn't matter about the fruit as I'm allergic to most of it anyway. When do you start your diet, and what does it entail?

Thank you, all. I'm feeling 100% better now. So let me just start over with my tale. Surgery went fine and was discharged feeling fine hours afterward. About 3 hours after that, I was sick, sick, sick. I tried so hard not to throw up and when I couldn't handle it anymore, I actually couldn't. Nothing. Not stomach acid, nothing. That's not very fun. I finally told my husband to get me to the ER - I needed an IV, some anti-nausea stuff, sleep, and assurance I didn't just royally mess my band up. Oh, I did manage to throw up a little, once. My doctor made sure I was completely unfilled and found 2 CCs? of Fluid to take out and that's when it happened. After not too long in the ER, my Lapband doctor had me admitted to the hospital where I stayed for days. After the first day there, my IV line was all tweaked and kept setting off the IV pump machine thing, so they took it out to reinstall it elsewhere. I have horrible veins, even when I wasn't fat, my arm and hand veins are small, wonky, buried, and some claim non-existent. However, I've always reassured people to just keep digging - that I'm used to it and such. Anyhow, my set of nurses, and all their friends, wouldn't even freaking try. The ER nurse that came up to try said that if they could get doctor approval, she could start a line in either of my feet with her eyes closes, so with that, my regular nurse called two different doctors for approval in hopes of just getting one to answer soon. She comes back with an approval and BAM, it's in. Awesome. The second she tapes it all up real good, the second doctor calls and says absolutely NOT. *sigh* Now I'm hearing about how wonderful a PICC line is, and how much I'll like it. I'm miserable sick and just about don't give a damn, but then they tell me it's going to be a tube inserted in my arm that will follow an artery into my freaking heart. It's installed by ultrasound. I'm now pleading with them to keep poking me - nothing. So I got a PICC line. Another horrible thing I had to do at the hospital was the upper GI. I think that's what it was. I had to drink the bitter stuff while they took pictures... they even flipped me around on a board a bit. Anyhow, that's so not a fun test when you're so nauseated. Everything looked fine though - band still in place. So I finally felt better on Sunday morning and got discharged from the hospital. Before I left, they made sure I took some pills that weren't too smashed up, and a bit to big. They caused an uncomfortable pain in my stomach that caused things to go swiftly downhill by the time we got to the airport to come home (I live in WI, surgery was in CO). And, of course we didn't have flights until after me being discharged so what could have been a two hour direct flight home became an 11 hour, miserable fiasco. I'm feeling so, so much better now though. I do believe my nightmare is over ***knocks on wood*** .

Hello April Bandsters, I thought I'd start a fun post where we can get to know each other better! I have 3 boys (15, 12 and 7) and one husband. I grew up and lived in WA my whole life, up until 2008, when I moved to Wisconsin. It is also probably noteworthy that I have 6 parrots, lol. I have a Greenwing Macaw, a Blue and Gold macaw, 3 Amazons and one Congo African Grey. I battle adding to my flock each day, but I think 6 is plenty, lol. I collect a few things. Not the usual collections, I suppose, lol. But it does make thrift store shopping more fun!... tupperware keychains (love them for some reason, lol) Cheesy souvenir plates Parrot items (duh?) Crab and fishing items (my dad, may he rest in peace, was boat owner and skipper, just like you see on the Deadliest Catch show ) Vintage Pyrex dishes (pastel solid colors or primary solid) Lets see, what else can I say? Oh, one of the reasons I need to lose weight fast is my ankle. It wasn't weight that brought my ankle issues on, but it certainly isn't helping. I have had two ankle surgeries, the biggest one was called an OATS procedure. They drilled out the worst defect in my talus and filled it in with cadaver talus material. Anyhow, the surgery helped, but it only buys me time until more action needs to be made. Ankle replacements aren't done on people my age since they are only good for 10 years and you can only have it replaced twice. I'm 34, so that won't work. My only other option, should my ankle crap out, is having it fused. I don't want that and the knee and hip issues that will eventually cause. The idea of being more crippled than I already feel, is kinda scary. And of course, I want to lose weight to feel better about myself, and to be healthier. So, what about you? Care to share some random facts about yourself?

Lot of us probably are already planning on doing this, but don't forget to take some good front/side/back pictures. Surely we all dread photographs of our fatasses, but I'm pretty sure we'll all be happy when we're down 100 lbs and can post side-by-side comparisons. I'm going to have my husband take some of me tonight. Wooo, I'm so excited!

I had my pre-op appointment today. I told him I knew who he had operated on today, Woodslass (her real first name though, lol) and he didn't flinch or anything, so I'm guessing she made it through just fine, lol. Good luck tomorrow, everybody! Surgery at 9am mountain time for me

PamR - I'm sorry your friends with my mom, lol. Yes, you definitely don't need friends that bring you down like that. <3 Use these friends as motivation and prove them all wrong.

Well, shoot. The husband is home now. I guess it's time to take pics. Clothed. LOL

Lovely. Try to think of a really snarky thing to say back to her, should she say something like that again. For me.

Hello April Losers! (get it - losers, as in pounds?) Please visit and bookmark our very own April 2011 forum here on Lapbandtalk! Here's the link! http://www.lapbandta...2011-bandsters/

Yeah, I meant clothed pictures, lol. Why did you all assume otherwise? Ha ha, Pervs.

I'm not finding anything on the internet on the topic, other than what us non-doctors say and think. I have read a few posts on other boards while looking, and some people have said their surgeons are fine with it. If you're right though, by all means, everybody bleed all over the table, lol. One can sneak a tampon though, unless there are vag searches. I'm reading about a lot of people who have worn one during short procedures. I do think if one was to sneak a tampon, they should tell their significant other, or a family member, should things go bad and you're doped up in the hospital for the day. That way they can rat you out to the nurse and they can remove it.

I don't think it's nerves I'm feeling but rather an anxious excitement. I think tomorrow will be worse until I land in Denver. Once there, I'll be preoccupied with new surroundings. Plus, I hear there's a Joe's Crab Shack near my hotel and I've always wanted to eat there and Seafood is a-okay with my pre-op diet. Now how I'm going to get to sleep that night, I don't know.

No, not stupid. I'm cringing at the thought of my husband taking my pictures tonight. I haven't been fully naked in front of him in years. Mind you, my before pictures won't be of me in the nude, lol, but I will have to wear some clothing that is tight that accentuates my rolls and my low hanging gunt. Eeek! I'd never post these pictures, even here, without another picture right next to it, with me looking fabulous.

MMichelle, that's an awesome list!

I'm genuinely excited for you. I hope all is going smoothly! Yay!

You rock! I think you should make the list it's very own thread! Thanks for putting the time into doing that!

Hello JoanneD! I miss Vancouver. My boys, husband and I used to go up there every couple of months when we lived an hour away from the Peach Arch boarder (we rarely went through that crossing though - too busy). We'd go to all the Value Villages we could in a day and then eat at A&W because we liked their poutine the best. Now we moved to Wisconsin, and I'm told that there's no interesting part of Canada above me now, so we haven't even even tried. Gosh, I sure do miss playing in your neck of the woods!