Alexandra

Wow, thanks everyone! It's nice to be stroked once in a while. DeLarla, they are indeed zip-up jeans, a size 24 in that picture I think. Now I'm wearing a 20. There was a time when even size 30 wouldn't go around my butt and middle, and it was quite a victory when my 28s were fitting again. And now look at me! :( But reality slapped me in the face yesterday. I was shopping at landsend.com and tried to create a virtual model. The program couldn't make someone based on my vital statistics! Great. :rolleyes Strange, considering they sell clothes up to size 26. Guess I don't exist... :D

OK, I'm scared now...

The funny thing is that people do notice that I look different, and even I think so when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. It's just that in photographs the weight loss is not so evident. But the real evidence of lost weight, much more than the way I look in the mirror, is the way I feel and move and just LAST through my day. Today we went to a Renaissance Fair and had to park at least a half-mile away from the park. Walking from the lot to the Fair was mostly downhill, so no one minded. But a few hours later asking our two hot, tired, cranky little girls to walk all that way back, uphill, was just out of the question. So I volunteered to go get the car and come back and pick everyone up. This would have been UNTHINKABLE a year ago, and today it took nothing out of me at all. I even took the LONG way around because it was such a beautiful day and I was enjoying the exercise and the solitude. Tomorrow I'm going to see my former stepmother, whom I haven't seen in just about a year. I don't know if she knows about the surgery--my brother may have told her, but I haven't--so it will be really interesting to see her face when she sees me. I'll let y'all know what happens. :devious

And this is this past April, about 45 lbs later:

Michelle, you look fabulous! And on you, the photos look great. How nice to have a real photographic record of your hard work. I'm still waiting for that one picture that makes it look like I've lost any weight at all. The camera is just not kind to some of us.

Hi Barbara, Not every patient is given orders for a pre-op diet, liquid or otherwise. But it does seem that some patients' doctors feel that surgery will be easier/safer/whatever if a liquid diet is followed for a period prior to surgery. It may help to lessen the fat around the stomach and liver, from what I hear. I don't think it's a make-or-break situation, though, since so many people are given no pre-op diet at all (myself included). Do your best to stick to the liquid diet, remembering that your doctor recommended it for a reason. It might help if you ask your doctor what the reason is, so you'll know what you're working for. Good luck!! :(

DeLarla, I think you're doing the right thing by biting the money bullet and establishing a relationship with a local doctor. I was ready to go to Mexico if I couldn't win my insurance battle but it was fear of a situation like this that kept me from jumping on a plane at the first denial. I'm sorry you had to suffer and wonder for weeks before finding out what was up. But all that is behind you now and you're clean and clear and ready to move forward. I'm sure things will improve for you day by day from here on out!

Oh, ouchie wowie, honey! You poor thing!! I know something of how that feels because I had a couple of boils in my armpits lanced about 20 years ago. I will NEVER forget that pain, and how incredibly weird it was the way they packed in the gauze. Poor baby! I hope hubby is being extra good to you and that you heal up fast and easy now. You definitely deserve loads of sympathy! :(

Carmen, I've just discovered that Fruit 2 O Citrus Energy Boost too...it's the bomb!! Fruit 2 O is a great product, ladies and gents, but a little hard to find. All the flavors are delicious. I highly recommend them!

Bailey, try to realx and enjoy the concert!! Great idea, to do something so fun and distracting during the last few days. I went on a long weekend trip to Cape Cod the week before my surgery, and it really helped to ease the tension. Good luck next week, and let us know how it went!!

Pen, may doctors do consider thin oatmeal and thick soups to be appropriate foods for the "full liquid" phase. Yogurt, too. But I'd not include mushy Pasta or scrambled eggs until you get all the way to the "soft foods" part. A lot of people have trouble with eggs for some reason, and pasta takes up way more room than we think. But you'll be fine with anything that's in a Soup (other than something really chewy). The world of soup is amazing...have fun!! Sorry, nope, no ideas. By this time you've walked off all that you can walk off and it will probably just take time. But it will happen!! :cool:

Topsy, the pain your daughter feels may not be related to the fill at all. Or it may be a result of the poking and prodding she got--sometimes the docs are a little rougher than we realize, especially if you've had any numbing agent.

Janie, what a cool way to look at this! I've lost the equivalent of my almost-6-year-old daughter!! :cool: :D Wow, no wonder I used to have trouble going up and down the stairs. I can barely carry her now. 50 lbs is a LOT!! :eek:

Jennye, my heart goes out to you. I know what it's like being the only one standing when everyone else in the family falls apart for one reason or another. I know it's hard but do try to remember to take that time every so often to decompress. (I used to just bawl my eyes out in private, like Holly Hunter did in Broadcast News. Try it...you'll feel better, really!) Take care, and know we're thinking of you. :cool:

Don't worry, DeLarla, we won't tell the Protein police. :cool: No really, we can't forget about Fiber (believe me!) and if your NG bar has any of that it's a good addition to your diet. Just watch the mountains of sugar they put in that stuff...I know I get super sleepy after that so right before driving home would not be a good time for me to eat something so sweet. Donali, I'm so glad you're feeling better. And definitely let us know how the checkup goes! It is so comforting to have that screen there and the doctor saying "uh-huh, uh-huh, yep, looks good" even though all I see is blobs connected to slightly grayer blobs.

My excuse for not being here today is that first I was having my fill, and then I took a mental-health day off from work and went to the city to visit friends and family. I had a great afternoon and it was wonderful to get away from work and everything else for a while. And I found a great Soup place for lunch! DeLarla, Donali, and Chantal, you should ALL do the same thing I did today. Chuck your jobs for a day and go somewhere you like but never get to go to alone. Leave the kids and hubbies at home, and don't tell them where you're going. It's really soul-feeding, and I feel great! Here are my oh-so-amateur diagnoses. DeLarla, you're still getting used to being banded so everything feels a little strange to you. Don't worry!! And it is SO nice to see your face, and know what the smile looks like that we've only been able to imagine so far. :cool: Chantal, recently as my restriction level decreased, hunger once again became my enemy. YOU NEED A FILL! It's not in your head, and it's not just a matter of changing habits. With good restriction you will not feel that awful hunger that makes you lunge for whatever's close by instead of the right thing. One thing I am going to start doing religiously is having a snack before I leave work at 4:00 p.m. Even if I don't think I want anything, a few nuts or a small piece of cheese will make the difference between being ravenous when I get home and being able to wait and eat a normal dinner like a sane person. Let's both try it and see how it works, OK? And be nicer to yourself, please! You're not a failure and you're a LONG way from being done with this process. Donali!! What up, girl? How scary was that?!? Wow, please do let us know what's going on. It could be nothing, like a gas bubble that just got stuck under a nerve (is that possible?). Was the pain in your stomach? Please let us know what you find out. And take care of yourself, girlie!!

DeLarla, first: Hey, you're cute! Nice to see you!! Sashimi has never been a problem for me if I eat just the fish and don't go further than I should. Six or seven good-sized pieces have been a good lunch choice for me all along. A few weeks ago I had a whole 13-piece lunch meal (and I mean 13 BIG pieces) with nary a burp. But yesterday's meal included a small side of seaweed salad, and I just should have known better. :cool: That's great you're getting a band buddy. It's so wonderful to meet other bandsters face to face. (Right, Mary Beth? Shelly, this fill went really well. I told the doctor about my recent lessening of restriction and he agreed that it's certainly possible for several reasons--loss of weight, fluids in my stomach tissue redistributing themselves, fairies taking a drink here and there (OK, I made that last one up)--and on the fluoro it was clear that the barium scooted right through. Everything looked good, though, nice esophageal movement and good placement and so on. He added .2 cc to the band and sent me on my merry way. So I'm fixed! Today I'm sticking to Soup (tomato seafood bisque...YUM!!) and it's feeling great. I LOVE MY BAND!! And Dr. Bertha is pretty cool, too.

I was eating sashimi for lunch, and on the plate was some seaweed. I knew when I popped it into my mouth that it was pretty chewy, but wasn't 100% sure it was what caused the problem until it reappeared an hour later. Blech.

DeLarla, even almost 10 months out I can still get port-site twinges and pangs when I move certain ways. It may always be like that--like the old knee injury that lets us know when it's going to rain, or something. (Even just typing about this I'm getting a very slight throbbing--it knows I'm talking about it!) Someday I'm gonna get me a purple bra, too. Don't tell my hubby...Shhhhhh!

Janie, most of the stories I've heard about popcorn are of the "I can't believe it doesn't get stuck!" variety. I know for me, I was shocked the first time I had popcorn and discovered that it goes down extremely easily. Like anything else, your experience may be different, so take it slowly. But popcorn is mostly air, and wilts when it gets wet. So what looks like a lot of popped corn takes up very little room in our tummies. :cool:

If your doctor said two days of liquids, then try to do that. My doctor says one day of liquids and then take it slowly (good advice no matter WHEN, as it turns out). Your vacation will be affected in that you won't be able to pig out, which I know was one of my favorite things about vacation. :cool: But pigouts are a thing of the past now, and we all have to learn to live with that. Have a great vacation...are you going anyplace fun?

DeLarla, I definitely notice port-site pain sometimes after exercising. Not surprisingly, it's worst when the exercise involves abdominal work or twisting. I take it as a sign to be gentler to that region. It is a foreign object, after all, and I certainly don't want anything to upset it. :cool:

Hi Jane, and welcome! Congratulations on your family and your decision. I know it was my kids who made me finally take control of my lifelong weight problem--they're great motivators, the little ones. Hope you hang around and let us know how the surgery goes. Nice to meet you! :cool:

As my friend would say, "Holy CRAP, Batman!" That's amazing progress and it's great to hear you so happy with the band. Good luck with the running! I hope your wife's surgery goes well, AND that she is not expecting the same incredible results. It would be a shame if she felt that anything less than 20+ lbs a month was a letdown. :cool:

Birdee, this person is not a friend that you need. Anyone who presumes to know more about your condition and habits than you do is absurdly off base, and you need to remember that you are doing the RIGHT thing for you. It is hard to ignore know-it-alls, but it's a great habit to cultivate. Those ignorant comments have nothing to do with you and everything to do with the person making them who doesn't care that she's making you feel bad. Why should you care what someone so inconsiderate says/does/thinks? Remember, weight that comes off slowly is weight that STAYS off. That's what it's all about!!