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That is major important!!! Great job!! And I agree, they are soooo much better than sitting at a table : )

Wow!!! Congrats!! What a difference a year can make!! I bet you feel as great as you look. Great job ; )

Sweet!!!!

My bet is it just made your tummy swollen a bit. You are right to bring soft foods to work today. Do something soft for dinner too and just give your tummy a break today. If it gets worse, a quick call to the doctor doesn't hurt. Hope it goes away quickly for you

My goodness!! This whole situation just sucks!! Have you followed up with the hospital yet? I find if you go in person it tends to get more accomplished. People tend to be alot more rude and/or un-accommodating when you are on the phone because they can't see you. I really hope the appliance passes through soon to give you some piece of mind. I would definately raise some hell at that hospital. On another note: the idea of a medic alert is a really great idea! Especially if you are traveling. I think I'm going to have to go get myself one ; )

Woohoo!!!! Sweet!!!!

I didn't know where to post this. Sorry if I put it in the wrong place..... I posted in another section about my moms band slip. But this has turned into a nightmare. My mom has been in emergency for 4 days after food got stuck in her band. The resulting throwing up cause her to aspirate into her lungs as well as force her band down and kink it up. The surgeon FINALLY came to see her and said the OR was really backed up but he'd try and get her in for surgery in the next couple days. There was luckily an opening in 30 min. We waited 5 hours as she got bumped a few times. When they went in, they found that the slipped band had actually cut off blood supply to the stomach and 1/2 her stomach was dead and poisoning her. They cut off the band, then cut off 3/4 of her stomach, from the top down. Her esophagus is now attached to the bottom of her stomach. So she essentially got a sleeve without asking for one I guess. She has an ng tube for now. The doctor said that, had they waited the day or two, we would've lost her!!!! My question is, her sleeve is different than our sleeve because ours is vertical and it sounds like hers is horizontal. Anyone know how this will differ for her day to day? Has anyone else heard of this happening? I am so sick to my stomach about this.....

Thanks for your concern every. I read all the responses to mom yesterday. She was very touched! Good news! Mom came out of surgery icu yesterday and is now in a regular surgical ward. The nurses also had her up and sitiing in a chair already!! Her pain is quite minimal right now as they have a constant epideral drip going. It's great because she lucid, but doesn't have a huge amount of pain. Doctors says a week until she comes home Tiffykins, thanks for the cancer forum advice. I've been able to find some great info on them!!

Thanks so much for posting your pics. My hubby is about you preop size and is contemplating the sleeve. So this was a great before and after to show him. Cheers!

Woo hoo!! That's awsome!! I love all that extra energy we have now!!

Very cool!! I've often wondered about the cruise too. I'd love to take the kids on one. I think I'll try to remember to take protein shakes as a just in case! I've lost about the same amount of weight. I'll tell ya, I sure don't miss that weight either ; )

My mom has had her lapband for just over 2 years. I'm sitting beside her in the hospital right now. It looks like her band has slipped. We are waiting to hear from the surgeon, but she has pretty much decided on a revision to the sleeve (yay!!). I'd like to get some insite on some of you. I was thinking it would be wise to get the stupid thing taken out and allow her stomach to heal as much as possible before getting the revision. Or does it matter? Any insite would be great. I hate seeing her in pain, but I'm glad she's getting it out. That lapband has been pretty cruel to her.....

Thanks new beginnings. Unfortunately, because she's in the hospital, there is only one doctor that can do that kind of surgery. So a 2nd opinion isn't really an option. I'm glad it's coming out though. She's always getting things stuck and had been starting to regain quite a bit. I Hope surgery is quick ( and liproscopic)

Thanks for the advice. Mom's not doing too great. A CT scan shows the band has slipped down to the bottom of her stomach and is now blocking her bowels. From the throwing up that occurred, she also has pneumonia in both lungs. There is no choice but removal surgery. The surgeon is not in the hospital until tomorrow, so she's in alot of pain until then. Unfortunately, they don't have a bed for her yet and ,as of last night, was still in emergency. Has anyone else had this happen? Any words of encouragement?

Don't " promise" not to spend more than $20. Promise us to try lots on and get something that makes you FEEL awsome and look fabulous!!!! That ( to me anyways) is the point of thrift store shopping ; )

I love thrift stores!!!! They are my cravings now : )

Hahaha!!! Awsome!!!

Great job!!!

What about just doing a protein shake in the morning and try and have an earlier lunch and dinner, then do another protein shake at night? I find after surgery I have troubles with breakfast always, so I do protein shakes to get something in.

Try roasting veggies and throwing them in a good blender with chicken broth and milk. Purée and strain if needed. That was always my base. Then you can add different spices ( like taco seasoning or indian or whatever) in VERY small doses to start ( a little spice went a very long way for me) to mix it up. I even added chili to mine sometimes. Mmmmmmm

I think maybe because I mix mine with just water, it doesn't really look any different, but it does go a little clearer. It doesn't separate though ( thank goodness- ewww). I noticed she mentions about whey ISOLATEs. Maybe regular whey DOES break down? I don't know. But I'm happy I emailed them. It makes me feel alot better about it!! I'm glad it helped you guys out too.

So I emailed powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury to see how they would answer how long Protein shakes last after being mixed. This is the answer I received this evening...... Hi Heather, Thank you for being an UNJURY customer! You have a great question! It is untrue that protein will start to deteriorate once it is mixed and that it must be consumed immediately. We have not found any science to support this. UNJURY uses only whey protein isolate as it's protein source. Whey protein isolate is a milk protein. Normal whey doesn't deteriorate quickly. To get a good idea of it, think about how many days milk spends traveling from the farm to your home fridge. Nobody questions the amount of protein in milk. Many of our customers like to make their UNJURY beverages ahead of time and still enjoy all of the high quality protein benefits. We do recommend drinking UNJURY shakes within 48 hours of mixing them for general food safety reasons. If you are using milk in your shake, make sure to drink it within 2 hours if it is not refrigerated. Milk becomes unsafe to drink after it’s been left at room temperature for two hours. Does this information help answer your question? Please feel free to call and speak with me or one of the other Registered Dietitians if you have any other questions! Healthy Regards, Tovah Tovah Wolf, RD Clinical Nutrition Specialist

I always added protein powder into everything. I actually really enjoy full liquids. Go on the vitamix blender website. They have great soup recipes. If your blender isn't a magic bullet or a vitamix you may have to strain it, but yummmmmmy!!! My fave drink is chicken broth, chicken unjury protein powder, cottage cheese, roasted red peppers, and sometime some milk. I'd then change it up with some taco seasoning, or some butter chicken seasoning. Mmmmmmm. I think I'm making soup tomoro. Just get excited about finding something you love. It'll make the time fly.

I enjoy bbqs MORE now because I eat all the good stuff (the smoked meat) and maybe a bit of this or that and I'm satisfied. Then I get to enjoy my family and friends. I don't eat to gorge myself ( like i used to) and then spend the rest of the time uncomfortable. Yes. For me the first few weeks sucked. You need to totally relearn how to eat. I feel so much better about myself now though, so I know it was all worth it.

I carry a couple in my purse as backup. If there is nothing acceptable to eat, I'll go with one of those. But as the last poster said, by really careful of the ones you choose. They can be really high in carbs and caleries compared to the protein it gives you.