New Hope

Sultana, some antidepressants do cause weight gain. I sure you can check with your pharmacist or the web about particular ones that you're concerned about. The web will give you extensive info. and also what other meds. it is/or is not compatible with. Best of luck!

Lethal Wholey Woman, how are you feeling? Is the pain lessening? Hope you'll soon be "fit as a fiddle". Take care,

Laserjock, Love you already! Thank you for taking such a strong and involved stand with your wife. She can't help but succeed with that kind of support!

Darci, please be careful with the aspirin or Advil! I take Celebrex for arthritis. My dr. recommended taking a Prevacid before taking the Celebrex (protects stomach). You can get RX-strength oral gel. (It's like what the dentist rubs on before an injection.) Start experimenting, you'll find different things that you like to drink. Since banding, I've developed a craving for Water flavored with Cranberry Juice. I keep a big chilled premixed jug in the frig. Helps me get my water quota in.

Stress will drain you and leave you exhausted.

Lisa, you're tired and it's HOT! The heat zaps me quicker than anything.

Michelle, my grandmother used to fix the spaghetti squash. We thought it was so exotic! It's so cool how it curls as you rake the cooked squash from its rind! We didn't know that she was really getting us to eat something that was good for us.

I love this thread! I seem to fix "the same old, same olds". I like getting recipes from all over. Here's a few: (A lot of these ingredients are available as low sodium, low-fat, fat-free, etc. and don't affect the taste or outcome of the recipe.) POT ROAST: roast (any cut) one can of french onion soup one can of beef consomme potatoes carrots Brown roast on both sides in dutch oven with a little olive oil. Do not season. Drain. Add one can of french onion soup and one can of beef consomme. Add potatoes and carrots. Cover and put in 350* oven. I like to prepare this right before I go to bed. Go take a shower or whatever you need to do. Then, turn the oven to 200*. Let it cook all night. You can keep it in the oven at this temperature for a very long time. The heat is high enough to keep the meat safe and it won't burn. The next day you will have a very, very tender, flavorful roast. No knives needed. (I made this for Christmas dinner. I put it in Christmas Eve, it was ready when we were, no hassle.) BEEF STROGANOFF: stew meat or chuck steak (cubed) (cheaper) stick of butter 2 cans beef consomme soup fat-free sour cream egg noodles Cube beef, flour, and brown in butter. Do not season. Drain. Add: 2 cans beef consomme soup Cover and simmer until tender. (You can also put in crock pot after browning.) Just before serving, remove pot from heat. Stir in low-fat sour cream (to taste). Serve over cooked egg noodles. And for the sweet tooth: ZEBRA PIE: oreo Cookies vanilla instant pudding milk cool whip Crush oreo cookies. Prepare Vanilla instant pudding (with fat-free milk) according to directions. Stir Fat-free Cool Whip (thawed) into pudding mixture. Layer crushed cookies/pudding mixture until done (thus the name- zebra) Sprinkle few crushed oreo crumbs on top. Chill well. Keep refrigerated. (This is really pretty in a large clear bowl.) BANANA-BLUEBERRY PIE: 1 lg. box (2 pkg.) Dream Whip (the old timey topping) 1 8 oz. fat-free cream cheese, sofened 3/4 cup sugar (or Splenda equivalent) 1 Tbl. lemon juice 1 Can Blueberry Pie Filling 2 pie crusts - baked 2 bananas Whip Dream Whip as directed on pkg., Add softened cream cheese and sweetener. Blend Well. Line baked pie crusts with thin sliced bananas. Pour Dream Whip/cream cheese mixture over top. Mix lemon juice into pie filling. Spoon pie filling on top of the Dream Whip mixture. Chill at least 2 hours. Keep refrigerated. (Colorful, Easy)

Pour some coke in the commode. It will clean/ eat the toilet bowl ring. I didn't think it was worth the risk.

Thank you, experienced bandsters for those "pearls of wisdom". I know that I will reach several points where I'll need encouragement. This is the first place that I will come.

Yes, Rica, good point! Walk! Walk! Walk! I was the only patient that was out walking the hospital halls. But I had gotten pneumonia once from lying still after a surgery. I wasn't going to do that one again! Lisa, I actually signed the form to proceed with the bypass. My surgeon said they would submit it in four days. My husband and I talked it over and really were scared of the bypass. At that point, I just wanted to lose the weight so badly that I was willing to do anything. Fortunately, I came to my senses and decided on the band.

Debra, I do hope that you get to feeling much better very quickly. That is an unbearable pain! The night of my surgery, I had horrible spasms in my lower left (ovary area) side. I would just cry out and grit my teeth and pant like I was in labor. I've never had anything hurt to the point that I couldn't control my mouth! I know I scared my husband to death! I had a drain tube on that side and just assumed that was triggering off something. But you know what, the nurses never came in one time!

Lisa, a recliner is an expense that only you can say you want right now. Do you have someone that you could borrow one from for a few days? You may not even need it for this surgery. I already had one (that I bought when I had an open-method kidney removal. That resulted in a 10 inch incision and removal of a lower rib.) I definitely didn't want to sleep on my side for 2 weeks and the recliner kept me from turning over. The band surgery is laproscopic and no comparison.

Wow, Rica, you're really "blowing the doors off of everyone!" Please take care of yourself and be sure that you are eating enough and getting your fluids in.

Be kind to yourself! You're just now getting to the point after surgery that you feel too good to feel so crummy. That part will get better!

Darcy, we've all done stuff we regret. You did this for the same reason any of us probably would have... You loved the guy at the time. There has to be something that can be done to nip this in the bud. Have you talked with Lisa? She's a paralegal. Maybe you SHOULD get him busted. Then he couldn't make house notes. Then just before it goes into foreclosure, you could take over pmts., sell it, and end this nightmare. Not sure if that's how it would play out, but maybe! Just a thought!

Debbie, mine is stitched in place in the sternum location. It's actually about 1 1/2 inches below my bra band and 7 inches above my belly button. Mine is pretty much dead center. It doesn't bother me. I didn't know anything about there even being different locations until after I had surgery. I think it just depends on your surgeon. I am going to ask him about that when I see him on 7/29.

Forget the drool rag! You better take a drool bucket! Do you remember that from the old, old Saturday Night Live skits (with Bill Murray)? I'm so glad that you found this problem and can get it corrected before it got worse. Please take care of yourself and don't overdo!

We really are truly blessed! Sending healing prayers to all those precious families.

Birdee, you've done wonderful! I'll be proud when/ and if / I reach that far! My dr. told me when I first talked w/ him about the band that I would "lose 50 lbs.". He couldn't guarantee any more, some did, some didn't. I really considered doing the bypass and came home and thought it over. I'm so glad now that I didn't! Plus I never would have met all of this great group of Bandsters!

Hi Whippledaddy! What does your name stand for? I ditto everything that's been said. While I was in pre-op for my band, a surgical RN nurse that I knew came over to wish me luck. She had vertical banding done 3 years ago. She had gained back a large chunk of her weight. I remember thinking, just before they put me to sleep, that I was so glad that I chose the band. I haven't changed my mind yet!

Thanks, Laserjock! Are you banded? If so, where and how long? How has your weight loss been (if applicable)? What kind of clinical laboratory testing do you do?

Wow, Teresa, can I come and live at your house? You must be a fabulous cook! Thanks so much for sharing!

Teresa, why don't you start a new thread and we can get bandsters to post recipes? I'd love a copy of your vegetable fritata!

Tina, shave your legs before you go. You probably won't feel like bending over to do that for the first few days. I wore a Mexican wedding dress, didn't want anything against my stomach. Do you have access to a recliner? You don't have to pull yourself all the way up from a flat position, like in a bed. Have you stocked up on your liquids for your postop time? You'll do fine and be back to your old self in no time (no, actually, your NEW self... a few pounds lighter! and knowing it was all worthwhile!)