lvnmylife

This is the only flavor I get. I mix it with milk a little OJ, splenda and a splash of vanilla. Tastes like an Orange Julius a 50/50 bar / orange creamsicle. Another good one is unjury, 8 oz milk, cap of lemon flavor, splash of vanilla and splenda. Tastes like those lemon Cookies with powdered sugar. I think the key is the splenda. Their vanilla and chocolate have a sweetener but the unflavored doesn't. Hope this helps:)

I waited 3 days...It was my birthday...No problems at all!

My family is big on secrets (a shame thing from long ago, I think) and my mother was slightly horrified that I would tell my friends (They all weigh 115 to 125 lbs) I told her they are the ones who will moral support and if they are true friends they will back me up. I also told her the cycle needed to be broken. My mom has always pushed her weight issues on my which, for a time, did a number on my self esteem. I have told the family, friends and co-workers. I have not had one negative comment from anyone I've told. Most comments are things like, good for you, I'm so proud of you, etc. Telling people has actually been a very freeing experience and I am very lucky that my BF, family, friends, co-workers are all extremely supportive. My BF and I just started dating in July and I was a little reluctant to tell him (He is 125 lbs and has about 0.5% body fat...the man cannot gain weight!!) He has turned out to be the most supportive of all! He tells me he can already see a difference, comforts me thru the pain, commiserates when I have a really bad craving and right after surgery made sure I followed Drs instructions.

OK, has anyone been dizzy or lightheaded?? I was banded on 8/28/07 and last Thursday I woke up and was soo dizzy/lightheaded I questioned driving to work...of course some at work wanted to know how being dizzy was any different, but that's another story...LOL. I am taking Micardis for high BP. My blood pressure had actually come down the month or so before surgery. Now I have had 3 out of 4 days with the dizzy thing (and the one day w/out was the day I didn't take BP med). Has anyone else had this? I am wondering if it has to do w/ my BP. I have been getting all my fluids and protien, so I am pretty sure it is not dehydration.

My former neighbor is the queen of backhanded compliments. One of my favorites is "you dress really nice for a "big" girl" to which I must reply "I dress really nice, period..." Her other favorite was she thought our neighbor was cute and if I lost some weight, kept exercising he might be interested in me. What???? Who said I was interested in him? She did crack me up... She is in her early sixties and weighs about 130 and is obsessive about her weight. She also has to "grade" someone's looks when she talks about them...I had lunch with So-and-So, she's not really pretty but she drives a nice car, or So-and-do is cute, but really overweight, she'd be so cute if she could loose weight. So glad she is a FORMER neighbor. I have been able to surround myself with extremely supportive people (in both my personal and work life)

Hi Costalgrl-If I didn't have the gas pains I would almost feel like a million bucks. My incisions just feel like bruises. I finally broke down and got GasX strips and those have seemed to help me get rid of the gas. I have been very mobile since the day after surgery...spent 3 hours shopping, same with the next 2 days. This morning the gas was bad...but I finally had a "BM" this morning and the gas pains are gone...hopefully they will be gone tomorrow morning (This seems to be when the pain is the worst). Just walking around the house and yard seemed to help with the pain too. Good luck!! Every day should be better than the one before!

I finally got my surgery date! Tuesday 8/28/07. I am having it done at Legacy Good Sam in Portland, OR. I can't believe I have finally gone thru the hoops and have a date. My mom is coming up from CA for my surgery and is coming a week early so we can play! I know the 28th will be here before I know it.

I had a hiatal hernia repair too. I only seem to have trouble w. deep breaths when I first get up and am stiff. I do have the referred gas pain in my left shoulder and just lots of gas pain...I do not care for that!

I was there...I think I was sittin across from you. Short curly red hair...had on a black w/ white polka dot top. My name is Tracy. LOL what a small world!!!

September 1, 1966...I will be 41 on Saturday (but am still 19 in my head and heart). I was banded 8/28/07...the perfect birthday present to myself!

Were you at the pre-op class 2 weeks ago?

I am 2 days post-op with no bruising. About 2 months before surgery I started taking Vitamin C and B complex to help minimize bruising and speed up tissue regeneration. It really helped with the bruising, I don't even have a bruise at the IV site or where they took blood on Monday.

I had Dr Jan too!! He is wonderful. The entire team was great and kept me very relaxed.

I was banded yesterday and spent 12 hours total in the hospital. I feel great except for the soreness in my abdomen...mainly one incision. But I was up today, cleaning the kitchen, watering the yard, shopping for a couple hours and home for a nap. I have a lot of energy and really can't believe how good I feel. I have told my body that it needs to be a lot less sore tomorrow! I haven't been hungry yet and am struggling to get all my protien and Water in. I put a white board in my kitchen with my meds listed, water and what I should be eating and then put checks next to them as I take my meds, drink my water, etc. I have used this before and it really helped me get all my nutrients and water in.

My surgeon found a hiatal hernia too. He closed it with 2 sutures and said it should be fine. He (nor I) have any idea how long I'd had it. But good to know they fixed it! Good Luck

Well I was banded this moring by Dr Jay Jan of Oregon Weight Loss Surgery at Legacy Good Samaritan. My surgery was scheduled for 9:30 am and they put me under at 9:32 am! I couldn't believe it started on time. I had no problems with surgery, woke up right away, and the first thing I asked was "how's my hair?" Apparently that was a first! LOL. It still has not sunk in that I finally have the band! I am not really in any pain (I know the pain meds are helping w. that:clap2:) I also have no swelling or bruising. Can't wait to see how I feel tomorrow! Off to be now...I have been up since I came out of the anesthesia. Tracy

I don't remember what I said, but the anesthesiolgist told me they would take good care of me. First thing I said was "How's my hair?". A first for the docs. LOL!!

lvnmylife Aug 28

Well I finally have my surgery date!! Once they received my last visit note from my primary they called and said I was good to go! Surgery is scheduled for 8/28/07 (4 days before my birthday...happy birthday to me:bounce:) I did let the scheduler know if they had any cancellations to give me a call. I was getting to the point where I didn't think it would ever happen. This has been a long journey for someone who is all about instant gratification. But I guess it is a lesson I need to learn. I have pre-op class on Monday and pre-op exam the day before surgery. Yay!!!

I have one more week until approval. My insurance (BCBS) requires 6 months Dr supervised weight loss attempt. Started in Feb and had all the paperwork sent in thru July (that is 6 visits to me:) But they count different and need one more note from my primary to make it 6 months of visits. I talked to the office manager in claims and the review officer has gone over my records and approved everything and just needs the last note. Of course he is only there every 2 weeks! So I go tomorrow to the primary and final review on the 8th. I know I am apprroved but would really like a date...I feel like life is on hold. But at least I know it's coming! Have a great day all!

I am taking neither. I am very lucky to have the boss I do. We have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy here. We haven't seen anything in writing regarding sick leave/vacation, so in our office (there are 4 of us) we take the time off and still get paid. Usually if I am out of the office I transfer the calls to my cell and nobody is the wiser:). By the same token, if needed we are there. I can also work from home if it takes longer than a week.