cheri52

and Dana!!! I forgot you , good luck to you too... I'm sure you will do okay. :clap2:

Hi Caresa, of course we care! now don't wait so long next time ! Good luck on Thursday , Vicky sounds like me, only I'm not doing the 60 lbs. I try on the food but can't seem to get my butt motivated to do the EXTRA milage the Dr. said I need to do. anyway, enough about me. Keep us posted. I don't always write either but I do check in often and love to hear from everyone. Good luck to you too stevee!!!:whoo: to both of you.

I'm so sorry for you! I don't understand your Dr. at all !!! It seems to me he/she missed the point. My dr has never refussed me a fill and especially for being hungry. was the 23 lbs just since surgery? ( that is GREAT , by the way:whoo:) or the total?? have you told him how crazy starved you are? maybe don't go so crazy with the food that you gain, but maybe slow down a bit just for now if that is the game he is playing. I just can't imagine why he is doing that to you. I go for another on 10/3. I'm afraid I have no will power, that is why I got this thing! haven't found the sweet spot yet, but I do feel fuller longer. I was making the mistake of having what my nut. said was "thin protein" yogurt for breakfast. it goes through the band too quick and leaves me hungry 2 hrs. later. I had a more solid breakfast and it lasted well past lunch before I was hungry. Before the fills,and now if I'm hungry, I have an approved snack between meals, the dr and nut approved having a Protein , string cheese, cottage cheese, something like that untill we find the right amount of fill. they want me to stay away from shakes and Soups as they go right through the band. they are good when you are healing but after that you want to slow down the process. good luck. I think you need to really have a heart to heart with the DR. and insist. But , this is only my opinion.....

Well that is a very good question!! I guess cuz the Drs. are all different. It seems that there should be some sort of uniform protocol for all these issues. Maybe they want to do blood work?? I just don't know, as I've had 3 fills and I have not had any eating restrictions for the before. Now after, that is a different story. After I am only allowed liquids (not clear) for the first 24 hrs. Mushy for the next 24 and then regular food. and they do mean ONLY liquids . I cheated on only 1 small bite of chicken that I though I could chew till very pulverized but :omg: OMG was that the biggest mistake of my current life!!! I got a very quick and complete lesson in ugly painfull side affects:eek:. felt like a creature from the black lagoon! the last 2 fills went well, NO cheating !!! I got it!!! I didn't think it hurt that bad, she had a little trouble finding the center of the port but it really wasn't much more than having blood taken. I don't see it as a big deal pain wise. Good luck and be good after!

Hay Jude, Travel doesn't seem like a problem to me, But then I'm one of the crazy ones that drove myself the 100 miles home 2 days later!( not with the dr's blessing) I did drive much more carefully (and slowly :rolleyes )and I was back to work in 10 days. I was careful that I didn't do any lifting as per my Dr.s orders, but basically I was good to go! I think it may be an individual thing, you need to know your body. I have always bounced back quickly. Good luck on the 15th, and have a great time with your son! OH! ALSO.... it would hugely depend on weather or not the surgery was able to go laparoscopic or open. and that will greatly depend more on you and how much wt you can lose presurgery :confused: !!!

Edd, You poor thing!!! It DOES get better, really. It does seem like a very long time for clear liquids. we were put on clear liquids only for the first week, week 2 was full liquids, which includes..da da....tomato soup! Also yogurt (no fruit), other strained low fat cream soups, diet pudding and sherbet. week 3 & 4 (limited "mushy") all the above plus cottage cheese, ricotta, "thin" mash potato, cream of wheat or blenderized oatmeal, and prueed fruit (applesauce ok) , week 5 (full mushy), same PLUS add egg, fish, ground turkey.....all the above with protein shakes..... week 6 no more shakes, "normal" food for our new life!!!:clap2: But, once I got to week 3 it felt " almost normal" for me as I eat those things anyway, and, I was SOooooo.... gratefull to have something else!!! you may want to clarify with the Dr./nut. what he/she means as liquids, are you sure you can't have soup?? it just has to be smooth. I hope you are getting enough protein, we had to have 3 shakes with 20gr. ea of protein powder (or same) daily from day two. Keep up the good work, it will be over before you know it.

Sweet! you're beautiful! :whoo:That's all I got to say!!! oh, and also that I'm very impressed that you got them posted, and no excuses about the cell phone, I can't do that one either. It's all beyond me how you get it from there to here, and I have figured out the camera but I can't find any instructions on how you post a picture. So, in my book, you are brilliant! Just a note on the band thing, got my 3ed fill today, so far, fingers crossed, no problems! but that's a learning process too, and I'm hoping I finally got that one...lol:rolleyes:

Well, just thought I'd check in with everyone, that sounds like a GREAT vacation Eddie! have to keep that one in mind. I was just checking back to my last post on the 3rd and it's amazing how a couple days can change things. I am SOoooo ready for that next fill!!:hungry: things have settled down so far as what I can eat, but, yesterday I woke up hungry and have been hungry every 2 hrs since!! been very careful but it's hard. I also find that I can eat more, that can't be good. so, guess I'm ready for Monday. Oh, Edd, thanks for the before and after link! didn't know we had one, now I'll never get to bed:lol: ! I hope you are feeling better, it will all be worth it shortly.

Lettuce??? don't think so on mushies. that would be too fiberous. I think just a spoon for now! you'll never miss them after being on liquids:bounce:. Later when you progress from mushies, you might try soy crisps, Trader Joe's has some , they come in a bag like chips and are in the natural foods snack section. They go down very nicely for me when other things aren't . they are baked , low fat/calorie and soy is good for you! I was a chip lover and these, in modest portions naturally;) seem to do the trick! carefull with the avocado dip , very high fat! but YuMMMM...

not to worry Margie, pretty sure they go by the wt. you are when you first walk in the door. If they say you are a good candiditate they will not screw it up for you. Good Luck!

thanks Dee, never would have got that one! Andi, Dee is right , don't get discouraged. I was starving before my 1st fill, just getting it "installed" is like buying a new tool, the fills turns on the power! BUT it may take a couple to really start to work. My 1st helped some, the 2ed really made a difference:whoo: . I am scheduled for a 3rd on the 10th, but I'm a little nervous about it because there is a real learning curve to changing your eating habits and the types of food you can eat, not to mention a few very unpleasent side affects at first. didn't really notice any on the 1st but the 2ed was a bit rough! got to say though that hunger isn't one of them! they are getting a little better so I'm sure I'll go for the 3rd. Hang in there, the 3 lbs will surely come off! Edd , good luck !!!

Ok you guys, I just can't stand not knowing any longer, what the h.....is NSV??? I'm feeling very stupid and out of touch! Dez, that is really great, both the years and the size! I remember I was a 16 for about a week when I was about 17, I had just lost a bunch of wt. and was so happy! Naturally, it was short lived. But we'll all be there again. you two sound so cute together, I got 14 years, and they get better every year. Have fun!:hug:

guess we are all really different. I can eat some bread, it's very selective , whole wheat lite rolls are ok but not ww lite bread , but oatmeal lite prep. farm is ok, but not arnolds just got to try if you really want it and you are brave enough (or compulsively crazy like me, lol) one bite usually tells me but I'm stubborn and a slow learner so I usually have to try it a couple more times just to be sure . Pizza, 1 sm thin crust plain pc. went down well, haven't tried any other, the scrambled eggs were fine and the steak was ok, but chicken can give me trouble sometimes. my worst experience was just one bite of swordfish! tuna can be trouble even mixed well, moist and chewed well. Haven't tried pasta! but you know I will! rice ok so far.:nervous Laura, never had to have anything removed, that doesn't sound like a good time to me:eek: lol.

Thanks Kat, I will definately try the warm water. that sounds like what I got going on. you really put a lot of effort:typing: into helping with our issues. We, at least I, really do very much thankyou:angel:. Dana, sorry we scared you. don't think for a minute that I wouldn't do this again. MOST of the time it is all ok, I am just trying to adjust to the new phase, not always that gracefully! It is still the best thing I have ever done for myself!!! I have my same breakfast as before only less, about 3/4 c of plain (whole milk, it's the only one i like) yogurt with a sm. hand full (1/4c measured) special K red berry. that still goes down very well. lunch varies, I'm still working on that! I usually take 1/2c cottage cheese and have it with soy crisp crackers. they are high protein and seem to go down well. then i take some pureed chicken,ham or egg "salad" to have if I get hungry, again with a few of the crackers. 17 are a serving of the crackers, I don't have anywhere near that. Dinner .......??? that is a work in progress! Like the popcorn at night, i know, very bad:bandit Good luck tomorrow! you might check out the "hungry newby "thread.

So... it's now totally random! Before my 2ed fill everything was ok, now everything and nothing gets me in trouble! it changes from day to day, minute to minute! usually it is the first bite, often chicken, always VERY well chewed, once I'm over the first choking lump in the throat, that maybe a sip of plain water will clear, after a few minutes it will all be ok and I can finish eating. it's almost like an allergic reaction as I don't think there is actually anything there. it's VERY weird! it never gets as far as the stomach before the reaction occures, got the sliming, pbing, had foaming only once, thank GOD! that was on one bite too!!! I have a question for all of you. What is the deal with popcorn??? I have absolutely no problem with popcorn and when nothing else is going down, that is fine. Yet the Drs. all have it on the "NO! NO! NO! or else!" list. Is it because of the calories and they just don't want us to eat it...Like Icecream, or do they think well eat an unpopped kernal and get stuck? sorry for all the questions, new to this forum Very glad to have found you! crunchy things are all good, eggs I put in the chopper and add a little lite mayo for a spread , great on soy crisp crackers.

JO Martha's Vineyard, Mass banded 4-26-07 :huggie: definately relating to the PBing , etc. etc.! :omg: OMG anyone experienced the lump in the throat thing? it's like someone is choking me, very painful and a bit scary. it generally happens on the first bite and on well chewed and familiar foods that didn't do it before, it's very freaky. :nervous

Are you sure you haven't skipped a week???:huggie: it's so much info to take in, your post op plan is really a bit ahead of most of us....the first week is generally always "full Liquid" which does NOT include cottage cheese, oatmeat or mashed anything. those are considered "mushies" that come on week 2...also 60 grams is the lowest protein recomended I've heard. I think if you want to keep from losing hair you might want to go for 60. anyway, good luck all . did they tell you that untill you start to get fills that you really don't have any restriction, it's like not having it at all! So if you are hungry now not to worry, that will change!

Hi Liz, first, congrats on the surgery! Soon this will all be forgotten and it will pass faster than you think. the good news is that now you should be on full liquids (1 week out) and that opens up some alternates that seem more like real food. you can have tomato soup, and any other cream soups that you can dream up. if they have bits of stuff , like mushroom or clam, etc, you should put it in the chopper or blender and puree it. yogurt(no fruit on botton), diet pudding.....this is only for 1 week then you get "mushies" !!! you can go to the mushie thread for lots of ideas. you really can't have the fill too soon, the stomach needs to heal or you could have a real problem and do damage.( that could mean more weeks of liquids!) I don't understand the 1 oz in 15 min thing, that would take 2 hrs to get down 1 shake!! I was lucky if I could slow it down to 10 min. for the whole:rolleyes I think that is only if you are having trouble getting it down. I NEVER had any problem getting anything down untill my 2ed fill.....:cry, now I'm getting restriction issues. I think you can just drink the shakes as tollerated (sp?) you can also have "snacks" in between as per your dr. I would have the protein drinks as snacks and a pureed veggy soup as a meal. when I got REALLY hungry i'd just have a little more soup. Just use your head and you will get through Good luck,let us know how you do!

Thanks Juli, real food still isn't doing so well for me either, but I'm definately diggin the wt. loss, finally stated down again:whoo:, so I guess I'm not complaining!! The september apt. is the Drs. schedule, not mine, suppose to see the nut. and get a fill if I need it. BUT, coming from the Vineyard and all the expense of the boat, etc., if I don't think I need a fill I'm certainly not going that far just to see the nut.! we'll see.....

Hi , welcome to bandland! you really don't need a list, you need a mini chopper. I got a Cuisinart mini prep plus that I just love. it cost a bit more than some of the others but worth it, I've had others! just take about anything you love and puree it I like carrot soup that I make which is already pureed, tonight I put in some chicken that I chopped (with a little water added to make it kinda like a spread) I also chop ham and put in a little relish and lite mayo for ham salad. you will always need the option for mushy stuff. I didn't need it after the 1st couple weeks of protocol till this last fill, I can do some "normal" food but I am having a little trouble with the chicken so have kept myself longer on the mushy side, once you've experienced "foaming":omg: (just happened 1st time after this fill) you learn quick to be carefull . mashed potatoes are GREAT and go down nice. Good luck;)

:ranger:[ Got my fill yesterday under flouro. I can feel the difference, I haven't tried anything more than mushies, and they do go down...along with drinking plenty, I'm feeling great! As of right now I'm only 100 pounds overweight!!!!! A new mile stone!!! Juli, that's great, you must be thrilled!!! was this your first? and what is "flouro"? I can't believe how different this time is :nervous I had my fill on monday and still am having to be VERrrrrry carefull! I am pretty much still on mushies and even that will make my throat clamp up tight. I have mixed emotions about it cuz I'm sure the wt. will start to drop now, but it's crazy how carefull I have to be or I'm in trouble. I got another apt. for september, but at this point can't imagine another fill. Anyway, hope everyone is haveing a great weekend.

Wouldn't it be great if money wasn't a part of society?! when you figure out how to work it (the paypal thing) , let us know, I'm sure you will get what you need with a little help from your friends,.... you're to young , but there is a song in there somewhere:music: Well, I had my 2ed fill yesterday. It went well, without a hitch, but I got to tell you after was a first!:confused: I've never been one to follow rules, always though I was the exception! and actually up to now have not had even one bad side effect.but I mean to tell you when they say FULL liquids the 1st 24 hrs, they mean it!!! I only took one bite of very soft food and chewed VERY well. OMG:omg:, wrong thing to do. found out just what they mean by "foaming" lost the "bite" and then the foaming started. felt like a creature from the black lagoon! won't go there again!!!:faint: The good thing tough is that I always thought that the vomiting associated with this thing would be like when you are sick, but it really isn't as bad as that, just a little blurp with the burp! nothing that at this point out should threaten the band placement. but still...:rolleyes They said it would be a couple weeks till I felt a change in restriction, but I definately feel it now. And YES I would still do this again! creature and all!

Pamala, Juli, great pictures, thanks, you both look GREAT... and like you are really doing up the town. Congrats to Pamala and Susanne!!!!!:whoo:love , love , love.....love, love, love......all we need is love:note2::note2::note2::note2::hug:

Stevee, I am so sorry, to come this far and ......... :cry. Have you tried talking to the hospital/drs. ???? maybe they can set up a payment plan? They often give a break to people on limited income in need. is your band for other health reasons/complications? that could help. I don't know but will keep thinking! chin up, something will come. oh, recheck that adjustable rate , that sounds way off base, I've see others and they usually have a cap every 3 years and can not go up that much in that short a time. How many years in the whole thing for?that sounds wacked! sorry, but it sounds like a mistake!

[ My partner and I are in our 12th year together, two kids from my previous marriage. She is supportive of my getting banded, but scared for safety, etc. It cracks me up that with so many couples we have big and small together! She is about 5'6" and maybe 125 lbs. It really sucks when size 8 pants are too big!!!! Well, just wanted to say hello, meet some fellow banditos (or future banditos like myself), and enjoy this GLBT group! Anyone from Colorado? Btw, MsDad, we have a table saw, power drill, router, skillsaw, and an air compressor!! But, damn, were cute! Funny though, I just love designing and building stuff, after I take off the dress and makeup! LOL too funny, I was just on here ordering up a new drill at Makita.com! love my tools, it's like christmas when we get a new one. In my former life I left nursing and went to work with my now X doing finish carpentry. But that was many years ago, my kids, now very grown, are in the building business and now won't let me touch anything in the house. But, I do:eyebrows:anyway! Now I'm back to the nursing full time. no "dress or makeup" here though! I guess I would be the fem one. I will do it on occasion. lol. My Wife of the last 14 years (legally, since Oct. 06):whoo: wouldn' t be caught dead in a dress!!! all 4'10 and 105 lbs of her! it really is a screeem..... and she's tough, I got a little 8 lb. dog and she's a scrapper too, something about being little....?! anyway, great to have you on here, Keep us posted on your journey, oh ya, Mass here :kiss.