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nurse535

LAP-BAND Patients
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Everything posted by nurse535

  1. nurse535

    feeling awesome!

    Tabby, that is a great start! You'll be ready to walk a 5K before you know it!
  2. nurse535

    STRUGGLING.....

    Is there a parks & rec department in your town that offers fitness classes? I am looking at signing up for a Water aerobics class that meets twice a week for 8 weeks and it's only about $40. Our parks and rec also offers zumba, spin, dance, and several other classes for fitness and fun. They even offer a tap dancing class that I am considering taking!! I have some Walk Away the Pounds DVDs that are good - good exercise but not too difficult. Easy to do at home, and you can get the DVDs at a pretty good price on amazon and they're also available at a lot of libraries. Do you have Netflix? You can also get fitness DVDs from them. They might even have some available for streaming but I am not sure. I need to check that out myself! I definitely think you will see results if you begin exercising, plus it's good for you!
  3. Debbie, you may actually need MORE calories to stimulate weight loss. When I was on WW I saw many posts on their message boards from members who weren't losing and it turned out they weren't eating their whole daily point allotment or using any of their exercise points or extra points, and when they started eating MORE they'd start losing! Some people say starvation mode is a myth but I think some people really do have that response. It might be as simple for you as adding back full-calorie items (whole or at least 2% milks, full-fat cheese instead of low-fat cheese, etc). Hope something changes for you soon! Juliat, I think you will have to try it and see, because some people do need more calories when they're exercising to stay healthy. I've just started "really" exercising (I've been going on leisurely walks in the neighborhood, but now I'm hitting the treadmill at the gym and actually breaking a real sweat for at least 30 min at a time) and I've noticed my appetite has increased. I've only been banded 3 weeks so I'm still figuring things out, still not eating all foods yet, and no fills yet...so many variables!!!
  4. My info also told me not to drink through a straw, but when I asked the PA at my surgeon's office, he said it's ok as long as it doesn't cause me problems. It's funny, because I thought it wouldn't be any big deal to go without a straw, but then after the surgery I realized just how often I do use a straw! So far I haven't had any problems from using one.
  5. nurse535

    water with meals

    My surgeon's office says it's ok to drink up until eating, then don't drink while eating, and then wait 20 min after eating before drinking again. These are their revised guidelines that just took effect about a month before my surgery. I have been pretty good about following that, but I did drink a few sips of water the other night at a restaurant because the food was a little spicy. It didn't cause any problems. I was banded on 6/17 and have not had any fills yet, so it could change for me after I have a fill.
  6. 100 lbs is so fantastic! Congrats!
  7. I don't know, but I'm glad you asked because I'd like to know the answer, too. Hoping I never found out personally!!! lol
  8. nurse535

    Mini Horror Story

    I have (fortunately) not had a stuck episode (only banded since 6/16) so I have nothing to compare your experience to, but the pain you described sounds similar to when I had gallbladder problems a few years ago before I had it removed. I sure hope your problem is solved now!
  9. nurse535

    "Stuck"

    If no one posted things online, google wouldn't work very well anyway....I'm just sayin. I don't have anything to add but I am recently banded so the info others posted helped me, too. Thanks!
  10. nurse535

    5 days Postop and STARVING

    Mashed potatoes are on the list from my surgeon's office. There is a disclaimer on the list that states that some things that are allowed in the beginning will not be recommended later due to lower nutritional value. At this point the amount of potatoes that can be eaten is not much (probably 1/3 cup at most) and most likely people's protein will still be coming from the shakes.
  11. My port incision area is still sore (surgery date was 6/16). It was feeling better but then I worked 16 hrs Sunday and 8 hrs yesterday and last night it was pretty sore again, which I'm sure was from all my physical activity (I'm a nurse, so I'm up and down and walking a lot) even though I didn't lift anything. So yours is probably just irritated and hopefully will feel better by tomorrow. The bloating is probably a combo of your other two issues! Edited to clarify that my port incision is not extremely sore, but it's still sore in comparison to the other incisions.
  12. I have not had a goal set for me by my primary care doc or my surgeon. Weight charts show 174 as the highest for my height which is 5'10" but I don't see that as a realistic goal for myself at this point. (Weight on surgery day last Thursday was 300.2.) Any advice on setting goals? I know WW starts babystepping you towards your goal weight at 5% so I was thinking maybe I'd try that route. Small goals that won't take so long to attain will encourage me for sure. But how do I establish a long term goal?
  13. nurse535

    6 Week Follow Up

    That's great! I remember seeing your post about starting your liquid diet...and now you're six weeks out?! Wow, time went by fast! Hope everything keeps going so well for you!
  14. Another thing to keep in mind: I've seen several posts between here and other message boards where people have had complications and yet they still make the decision to keep their band or to be re-banded because they still felt the positives outweighed the negatives. It's also important to really evaluate yourself and the issues that have caused you to become overweight. In my case, one reason I have overeaten is that I rarely felt full or even satisfied, no matter how much I ate. I know I will still have to make healthy choices in order to lose weight, but for me making those healthy choices will be a lot easier if I am not feeling hungry ALLTHETIME! The ability to still be able to eat some of the things I love is also important to me, which I can still do with the band, but again the band will help me control and limit my consumption of these items. Unfortunately there are as many different ways of educating patients about the band as there are surgeons, and it's very inconsistent. Couple that with some surgeons who really are mainly out to make a buck and not doing this out of a desire to truly help people get healthy, and you end up with some people being banded with limited and/or poor education and unreasonable expectations, without having been prepared for the changes they'd have to make. I know there's definitely a few people who have issues beyond their control and that's unfortunate, but I've been told by my surgeon that the complication rate is around 1% in those cases. Most of those issues can be corrected but I feel so sorry for people who have to endure that. I'm recently banded (8 days post-op) so I could still be one of those 1%, but I am hoping and praying I won't be. I agree with an earlier comment who said that the best way to make an educated decision about having the surgery is to know the bad and the good, so I don't think you should stop reading.
  15. nurse535

    Picking a goal weight

    Thank you for all of the great replies! Some good info and ideas for me to think about. I know that I will do better with smaller goals along the way. I think I will set 171 as my long-term goal and then use percentages to set smaller goals along the way. Which makes my current goal 274, which is 15% less than my all time highest weight.
  16. This has been an interesting topic. I understand and respect people's decisions to keep it private. For myself, I chose to be open about it. I feel very confident in my decision and the ability to educate others about lap band surgery after all the research I've done, and as a nurse I tend to do a lot of patient education so it's 2nd nature to me. If anyone were to question any food choice I make, I'd be glad to explain to them why I'm choosing to eat what I'm eating. I have no expectations whatsoever that the band is going to magically change my food choices to only healthy options, and I don't WANT to eat only healthy food. I like my treats now and then! The people in my life who are supportive of me already have continued to be supportive of this particular decision. My co-workers have been supportive as well. I have a feeling there's probably some talk behind my back about it at work, but I suppose that's to be expected. I have one relationship with a close family member that I am concerned about, because she's by nature a very jealous person and struggles with her weight, but she's not overweight enough to qualify for lap band surgery (and isn't even interested in doing so, as far as I know). I'm afraid that things might change between us when I lose a significant amount of weight. Hopefully it won't go like that, but that's the only relationship I have any concern over. Since three out of five of my sisters-in-law have had boob jobs, none of them have any room to talk about elective surgical procedures LOL! At this point the most important people in my life know, and I will tell the ones that don't already know when the opportunity arises. I have sympathy for those of you who are dealing with problems from people knowing...it's too bad it has to be that way. I hope that over time any negativity you've gotten will go away and be replaced by praise and respect for the changes you've been able to make in your lives.
  17. nurse535

    Hit Onederland Today!

    That's so awesome. Congrats!
  18. nurse535

    Bread

    I am a newbie, so I'm not sure but I think the reason they say whole wheat is that it's a denser texture and less likely to ball up and get stuck in your pouch. I don't think sourdough is prohibited but it just might not sit well. Toasting it or chewing extremely well would probably make it easier to handle.
  19. I am having surgery Thursday morning and am considering a road trip on Saturday that's about 4 hours long. I asked my surgeon and he said as long as I feel up to it he has no objections to it, but if I go he wants me to walk a few minutes every hour to help prevent blood clots. I had a laparascopic gallbladder surgery 5 yrs ago and from what I recall I felt ok enough two days later that I could have gone on a trip. If I go, I'll stay overnight and be coming back the next day. Am I totally crazy to even be considering this?
  20. UPDATE: I decided to do the trip. I was feeling pretty good when I woke up Saturday morning, so I took a 15 min walk and thought about it and decided to go for it. Once we got on the road, I set my timer for an hour and we stopped. My sis and my daughters ate lunch at Culver's while I walked around the parking lot Then we got back on the road, and about an hour and 15 min later we stopped to get gas and I walked around the gas station parking lot. Back on the road again and we were at our destination about 1 1/2 hours after that. Once we were there, my sis took the kids swimming while I took a nap in the hotel room, then we got ready for the show. The show lasted longer than I expected it to and I was on my feet some, but I was able to sit when I wanted and felt fine. Then it was back to the hotel and off to sleep. I didn't get to sleep as late as I would have liked to, but I felt rested. We did the same thing on the drive home, stopping around every hour so I could walk. I'm feeling tired today but I had trouble falling asleep last night and I'm sure the combo of that plus the trip has made me tired. Fortunately, I don't have to do anything today, so I'm just chillin in my recliner enjoying the a/c since it's getting pretty toasty outside! I went out walking for 10 minutes earlier and I'm going to play on the Wii this afternoon while it's so warm out, then hopefully this evening I can take another walk when it cools off. I am glad I chose to go because we had a great time. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone tho LOL! I really appreciate all the input I received on here and I did take it all into consideration when making my decision. You all were very helpful!
  21. I hope you will try again. I don't have any advice for you but don't give up!
  22. nurse535

    #2 After Surgery:)

    My surgery was Thursday, and I had my first bowel movement Sunday morning. It was a combination of solid and liquids (TMI), and then I've had a couple small bouts of diarrhea since then.
  23. I may be misinterpreting your message, but it sounds like you were expecting the band to be some type of stop sign so you'd know when to stop eating. There are definitely some people out there for whom it works that way, but I've seen others say they can eat as much as they want. I'm only a few days post-op so I have no idea what category I will fall in...my hope is that I will be able to eat what I want but only a small portion of it will satisfy me so I won't overeat. I think you should talk to your surgeon and make sure he understands you're not feeling full. I don't believe you're supposed to feel stuffed after eating, but you at least shouldn't feel hungry again for several hours. And when you eat, it's on you to choose healthy foods in appropriate portions because you already know that in your case the band will not stop you. My advice would be to plan out some meals and Snacks in advance and follow that eating plan carefully and see what happens. Also, track everything you eat so you have an accurate picture of what your caloric intake is.
  24. Hello everyone! I had surgery yesterday at 7:30 am and it went very well. I am having some pain, most of it in my arm and leg muscles that I am using to compensate for not using my stomach muscles, but it's manageable with my pain meds. I went out walking around the block 4 times yesterday for a total of about 25 minutes, and have been out twice today for a total of about 20 minutes. I am going out for another walk in a few minutes. So far I haven't had any gas pains and I've been tolerating Water, Jello, and Protein shakes made w/skim milk and Protein powder without any problems. I am on Clear liquids for one more day after today, then I can go to full liquids. I have had a couple of moments of head hunger (when my family was eating pizza for dinner last night!) but I'm not feeling physically hungry yet. I've been sleeping quite a lot, from the anesthesia and pain meds I'm sure, but it's a restful sleep so I'm sure it's helping me heal. Gonna take a shower when I get back from walking in a little while. I'm so thankful that I've been given this opportunity to become healthier hopefully make some really positive changes in my life!
  25. Aww, I'm so sorry he said that to you. That's so hurtful. ((hugs))

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