Fenton

hungry4help: indeed I do appreciate your dinner - I think Tom Valenti, the chef at Ouest, is great. I'll be having some of his cooking next week at a food & Wine event honoring the year's Best New Chefs - it's actually going to be a trial of my willpower: it's the 20th Anniversary of the program, and so they've got some of the best of the best for the last two decades offering food, including a whole bunch of the TOP CHEF people. I had something delicious today, too: a lamb burger with goat cheese and zucchini pickles and spicy tomato sauce. I didn't eat the roll, and only had a couple of fries, but it was immensely satisfying. I was impressed by the fact that I felt pretty sated for the rest of the day - perhaps I do have more restriction than I thought. Indeed, thinking about it, I rarely feel hungry. Kathy - it sounds like we had similar ordeals in the hopsital. Yuck - zero fun. Stellabella - just keep walking. I have to say that you guys seem to have done better getting relief with your GasX than I did; for me, only walking was able to relieve the gas pains. If I had them in the night, I'd sit up, lean left, right, forward, whatever it took to get me to burp, and maybe stretch my arms a bit. I sure hope that the gas pains babies feel aren't as bad as what we get. Although I think much of our experience post lap-banding relates to the gas they use to inflate the belly during surgery. Rhonda, what food did your doctor give you the go-ahead to eat? Or do you mean "mashies"? It was nice to eat food, even baby pabulum-type food, after weeks of Slimfast Optima. Glad to hear everything's going well. Finally, Lynn, that's awful that the insurance people aren't covering your overnight. If the MD felt it was indicated, the insurer should've coughed up the dough. But as they say, those insurance bastids didn't get rich by giving away money... I'm sure it would be worth asking your doctor to see if they can appeal it. But I figure if you apply after the surgery (?), you're in a weaker bargaining position. I mean, it's not as if, if they refuse to pay, you can go and give back your operation...

Dragonfly Girl: these are last-minute jitters, and only natural. I suspect that there isn't THAT much difference among the bands, that it's largely a question of marketing - my surgeon got HIS band 7 years ago, and has maintained his slimmed weight ever since. Which is impressive, because his ancient band is probably made of, like, reeds bound together with mud. Yay Special K! I took some acid reducer spontaneously for about the first week post-op, but I wasn't having any reflux problems - probably because they took the time to fix my hiatal hernia. I wasn't given a blood thinner, although I'm pretty massive - I'd bet that reflects the surgeon's experience more than anything else. As far as preventing blood clots, keeping well hydrated and keeping moving are really important - it comes back to the old mantra "Drink, walk, drink, walk, repeat". And yay Charity and Lynn - good to hear that things are getting better...

Note to Shamrocks: When you're feeling a bit hungry, when you're on mushies and unrestricted, it's probably not a good idea to watch TOP CHEF. Plus: Yay Hope, JDub and Busy!

Annie! Snap out of it! This is entirely up to you. The reason your dietician gets upset - and it may, in part, be that she is, in fact, a Nazi - is that when you eat the wrong foods, you risk damaging the band. And, of course, it isn't the band that get's damaged, it's you. If you eat too much food, or food of the wrong consistency for your degree of healing, you run a serious risk of the band slipping from position. If the band slips, you'll suddenly have REAL problems - do you want to have that surgery again? I don't care how well you did with the surgery, no one wants to be put to sleep again to have the band replaced. You're in a difficult stage now - you're basically just dieting. The more you eat, the more you'll want to eat. You've got just one week left before the band gets filled! Hang in there, cut down your intake and just last until your band becomes a second conscience, stopping you from overdoing things... You can do it. So do it.

I am deeply and passionately in love with my new blender! Being a guy, I splurged and picked up an Oster Professional Blender - it feels like you're starting up a 200 hp engine on your counter! But what is REALLY cool was the Oster Mix'n'Go Cup (I don't think that's the real name, but it's something doinky like that). It's a heavy plastic cup which is double thick with air between the two layers of plastic like a Thermos, so Soups or shakes stay hot or cold for a good while. But what's cool about it is that you unscrew the top of the cup, load it with eg Slimfast Optima shake, banana, Peanut Butter and Protein Powder, then screw on the BLADE attachment of the blender as if it were the cap of the cup, then turn it upside down and plug it into the blender. Then you blend the contents, unscrew the blade attachment, and screw on the normal lid, and you're good to go with your perfect shake. It's great! Indeed, I shall make my lunch shake in a minute and carry it in to my office for consumption... Congratulations to all the new bandsters! You've listened to us whine, now it's our turn to listen to you whine. And we're going to tell you to STOW IT, because you've already listened to us and you knew what to expect!!!!

Thanks, Wikimikebceo! <tm one stop band info> Hmm. I think that, because of my high BMI, I probably have the higher profile port. Now I'm imagining losing weight and having my port look like a yogurt container sticking up under my skin...

Ay yi yi! There is Much Discontent in the House of the Shrinking Shamrocks!!! I hope everyone's issues resolve quickly! I'm pretty sure they will...

Thanks, Mike - great stuff! Tell me, with the AP-L, how large is the port? And where is it on me? My port incision is a bit above my belly button - is the port directly under the incision? How big is it? The size of a bottle cap? The size of a beer can top? Somewhere in between? I realize I probably could just feel around for it, but that's kind of freaking me out. Yeah, I know... I get my first fill in three weeks. I lost about 10 lbs in the 10 days or so after surgery, but in the last week, on Mushies, I put on one pound. When you found you were gaining, BigUnc, what did you do? Did you monitor your diet, cut down, change foods? I don't really have any restriction, I don't think. I've ventured into solid foods a couple of times, without any discomfort.

Speaking of warnings, I think at the very least there should be alerts that read, like, FENTON, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BRAS NOW. It's only decent, fer cryin' out loud! And busy and Rhonda, glad to hear that the shoulder pain has gone - I'd say you guys are turning the corner I mentioned above.

Harley! I'm so sorry to hear about your Less Than Fun day! I think there's a point in the recovery process where you kind of Turn a Corner, and suddenly you feel a lot better. The worst of the swelling has eased, the fluids are going down easier, you're walking, the gas pain has let up, and you accept that, yes, indeed, the sun will come out tomorrow... Sounds to me as if you're just about to hit that point. I'm not sure that I follow you with the hiatal hernia repair. My understanding is that it's just a couple of extra stitches to tighten up the area where the esophagus passes through the diaphragm. Most people with a weight problem have some degree of reflux, and this will sort that out. And many people with bands have some degree of slippage, the risk for which is definitely lowered by those extra stitches - apparently, as you lose weight, you end up with more room around your esophagus and a greater chance of developing a hiatal herna. I knew it was a possibility before I went in, and asked the surgeon to take care of it if I had one, and was happy that he did. Do you have to cough up more dough for it?

Yay Christine! I'm sorry the nurse bitched you out - it's really not her place to lecture you once the dead has already been committed! What did she think you were going to do, excuse yourself and drive the little nipper home then come back for her to take your BP? It sounds like you had a rough ride of it. I had a nice view of the East River, but it becomes a little less nice at 2 AM, and even less nice at 3AM. Less nice still at 4 and 5AM, but come 6AM, when release time gets closer, it starts to seem a little nicer. I wouldn't bother weighing myself until you go back in for your follow up visit. And I wouldn't sweat a little Water getting on the steristrips. I'm pleased with the 38 lbs, but I'd lost that 10 days ago! I just gained a pound! Eating twigs and leaves! I know, I know, it'll get better, but STILL! I want to see that red needle moving aggressively downwards... I guess after my fill day things'll move again (April 14 - call tomorrow and book yours, because they're so damn busy there that they couldn't see me for my fill until then! Then again, I think they inject through the scar, so, ok, I don't mind if the scar has a couple extra days to heal. Although maybe they only inject through the scar after you've had a few months of healing...) I'm so happy you're done - a Bandster at last!

By the way, what is a gastric sleeve? I know that the stomach is sewn over my band - is that a sleeve?

And Lisa, you're going to be the Last of the Shrinking Shamrocks, I do believe!

We were told to remove the dressings covering our steristrips after two days, then that the steristrips would fall off by themselves in a week or two. After two weeks you really don't need the strips anymore, so I just peeled mine off. After, maybe 12 days. You don't need to put bandages over the dressings, I don't think. Although you should ask your MD. But I really don't think you have to worry any more.

Yeah - all the cardio machines - the treadmills, the eliptical trainers etc - seem to have a 350 lb weight limit. I had no idea that bikes did, though! I'll see how I do with my Leslie Sansone DVD, but obviously a gym is in my future.

I'm not going to track my sodium, btw! Watching the damn calories and Protein is enough!!! It's a good lesson, though: just because you have a band doesn't mean you're automatically going to lose weight! Thanks for the positive vibes. As the Lone Dude here, I admit I did flee the conference for a little while you gals were sorting out your undies...

Have you been hitting the sauce, Teri? I kid, I kid! What motivates me is the success of others, so just keep on losin'! I just unpacked my new blender and my new blender cup, and made a Protein shake - it was actually delicious! One of the horrid Slimfast Optima vanilla shakes tarted up with some banana, Peanut Butter and Protein powder. It actually tasted quite good, had tons of protein. Not low cal, though. Still, not TERRIBLE...

You've sure done your research! Thanks for sharing. I'll mention that to my doc come filltime, and wonder out loud whether I might need a bit more Fluid than usual. But he's really good, v. experienced, so I expect he knows...

The thing is, over in the Men's Room, I see all the lads with this great weight loss, and I'm frustrated that I'm not accomplishing that. Particularly because my high starting weight should mean that I'm ploughing through the calories. But I think you're right - this bump reflects the return of carbs, and some change in Water weight. Even so, I'm going to be hypervigilant. I wish I could be filled sooner. And I"m increasing my activity. My new blender arrived yesterday: tomorrow I shall branch out into Protein shakes for breakfast. I have been having a bite in the morning, but haven't noticed any change in my energy levels or whatnot. Perhaps I should be taking in more - I shall try. There was actually a piece in the New York Times today about how children who eat breakfast are statistically far more likely to be normal weight than those who routinely skip it.

Nice to see you back, loprofyl. Man, you've been doing well with the weight loss. I've got to get serious - in the last 10 days, since the doc said I could go onto soft foods, I've actually gained a pound. I don't get a fill until April 14...

Sounds like the belt is going to save your bank account as well as your health!

And hey, lrh - glad to hear you're doing well.

Rhonda, do you hate to sip or something? I doubt squirting Water into your mouth gives you extra air, but I'd have thought that was a good way of guzzling water, rather than taking fluids in slowly and steadily, which is what we should probably be aiming for. I think sipping water slowly would be the best way to do it, but I don't think that squirting water into your mouth will do you much harm, as long as you don't have too much at one time.

HOPE!!! A *Rubik's Cube*??? OMG! I've never been able to do one of those in my life. I'm glad you slept well - we'll see you soon. I haven't watched last night's I CAN MAKE YOU THIN yet, but the first ep, where he introduced the principles of conscious eating, was very good, I thought (once you got past the cheez-ee set and all around icky infommerciality of it). I'll watch it tonight - it sounds like a technique I might need. I've been doing badly, I have to say - by which, I mean, no weight loss this week. Indeed, since coming off liquids 10 days ago, I've actually put on a pound. I was surprised by this, because I'm sure my intake has been less than 2000 calories a day. Perhaps the liquid diet turned down my metabolism or something, because my body's clearly jumping on every calorie I take in. I'm going to have to tighten up my intake. Also, I realized last night that a Soup I'd been enjoying and thinking was 200 calories actually is 200 calories PER SERVING, with the single-serving-looking container actually being 1.5 servings. So that's an extra 100 cals a day right there... Anyway, yes, more vigilant about the intake, more vigilant about walking and whatnot.

I think the best thing about the liquid diet is that you lose a heckuva lot of weight on it. Other than that, it's all pretty awful. Luckily, it's only temporary! I'm fascinated by cathyl's nutritionist saying that since she's on mushies she can't have Soup and various other things. Many of those things are kind of carby, but soup? If you've been having soup for some time, to have it suddenly become disallowed is weird! I suppose if they're trying to knock out cream Soups, that might make sense. Personally, I'm on mushies (although I've had two cheaty days with solid food), but I'm about to add some oatmeal or something - I've GOT to increase my fiber!!!