New Hope

I didn't have to stay on liquids that many days, but it's hard. But whatever you lose now just puts you ahead of the game. It's supposed to make your surgery more successful, too. You definitely want to give the surgeon every perk you can think of! Best of luck!

Hopefully, once the hurting stops, you'll feel much better. You certainly don't want that stuff trapped in your body! Besides hurting, you probably had to wait for medical help for hours. Hope the rest of the weekend is calm and uneventful for you and your husband. Take care!

Donali, thank you so much for all of your info. Hope you are feeling better today.

What does the flax oil or flax seed do? How much do you take daily? I bought a huge GNC container of "Natural" flavor protein powder. I thought it would be tasteless, to mix in w/ food. But it's chalky tasting. But it's so expensive, I'm going to have to figure out how to use it. How many grams of protein are we supposed to get daily? Does one Flintstones chewable vitamin give enough vitamins daily? Thanks.

Best of luck to you! Just give yourself time to rest the first few days.

Donali, how are you feeling today? I remember those gallbladder attack pains, not any fun. Do you have a local pcp you can go to, besides your lapband dr. in Mexico? Best of luck to you!

Delarla, you're a hottie! You also have a great picture of you and your husband on your website. What a handsome couple!

During my initial consult with my Lapband surgeon, I told him I wanted to lose 100#. We like to feed wild birds in our back yard. Those seed sacks weigh 50# each. It will be wonderful to be able to shed that amount off of my heart and joints!

Glad to have some "older" women abroad. Where are you located? When were you banded? How are you doing? Best of luck, always!

Being a new bandster, I don't have much imput here. But yesterday, I had called my drs. office because I was having spastic sharp pains in my lower left abdomen (about where the left ovary is). The nurse said my body was probably still absorbing fluids and doing too much can aggravate it. I made dr. appt. for month end. May be too early for fill, but just want to get dr. o.k. on everything.

Delarla, how are you feeling today?

Thanks so much for the words of encouragement and the great advice! I know each day gets better. I guess I'm just feeling a little alienated right now. I don't think I realized how much I focused on FOOD. Going in the grocery store now, I bypass so many things that used to be a staple in my diet...ex. pastas. Donali, if you don't mind me asking, how tall are you? A few inches really makes a difference on how the weight is spread out on you. You are so good to encourage all of us "beginners".

I am totally responsible for getting my body into the blown-up portion that it is. I love food too much. I have to bypass so many things I love, like pizza, pasta, mexican food, etc. I've been going through a little bit of depression the last week. I'm on pureed foods and I'm already tired of them. I'm ready for some variety, some real textured food. But I know I can't jump over too soon, so the band will anchor. I've had some grabbing spastic pains horizontally between the lower middle incision and the left incision that held the drain tube. Each day, it seems like a new little ache, some more noticable than others. One thing bad about being so short is it doesn't take long for you to quickly become a squatty square or box. You taller gals can pull it off better by appearing graceful, swan-like. Delarla, I hope your port area heals properly. Thank goodness we have Doneli to share he hands on experiences along the way. Take care,

Wow, one of the things that I've enjoyed the most about this website is that the members have been very supportive, nonjudgmental, and noncontrolling. It's been a safe place that you could get wonderful advice and encouragement. I hope that's not changing now.

I was banded 5/26. I felt all your feelings and more. The anestheologist will talk to you before your surgery. I always have to have them put something in the i.v. for naseau. It works. Best of luck!

I think we all could compare notes on "crummy childhoods". But no matter how horrible they were, WE SURVIVED. They say things happen for a reason. Sometimes that's not easy to see or understand. It may be years down the road. My husband inherited PKD, a kidney disease. He went through kidney failure, dialysis, heart attack, open heart surgery, and kidney transplant. We got through it, one day at a time. God had a plan, I just thought I needed to "backseat drive." Now I know why we weren't able to have natural children, but able to adopt 2. We don't have to worry about them inheriting this horrible disease. My husband and I crossmatched! I was able to donate a kidney to him. I'm so thankful we didn't have to wait for someone else to lose a loved one, so we could have an organ. In the workup for the transplant, we found out he'd had a "silent heart attack". This wouldn't have been discovered if they hadn't been running preop tests on him. He had a rough time through open heart surgery, and recovery...because of the kidney disease. But 7 months later, we did our transplant. He's done so remarkably well! Things do happen for a reason. Sometimes it just takes a while to understand why. We've been truly blessed! I wish that for each of you!

Gals, I was a skinny girl growing up. But I was so darn shy that I was miserable. So that didn't solve everything. I gained all my weight (more than doubled myself) after I hit 30. I am fortunate in that I have a wonderful, loving husband who married me when I was skinny, knew the real me, and still loves me, and has never, ever said anything negative about my weight. I let this weight thing keep me virtually a prisoner for the last several years. I never judged individuals by their appearances. I have always been able to see and love people for what they are inside. I can tell by your postings that you have enjoyed your lives and not let this drag you down. This website has been so helpful to me. I have experienced first hand how "overweight" women are treated. I know how discriminating it is. I would be honored to call any of you my friends and introduce you to anyone that I know.

Kids can be horrible. It probably wouldn't do any good to confront their parents about being rude to your daughter. It probably has nothing to do with her size, the color of her hair, or the clothes she was wearing at the time. There's usually a ringleader in the bunch, that keeps things stirred up. That kid probably has the worst inferiorities of anyone. Good luck on your surgery. Everything is probably getting on your nerves more than usual. Try to take some time to relax.

When you placed your order, did the company give you a confirmation number? Do you know how it was being shipped to you? If by UPS, the company usually gives you a UPS tracking number. You can go to the UPS website, enter that tracking number, and find out where your package is. If you have a confirmation number, the company should be able to tell you what's going on -- if there was a back order, delay in shipping, etc. Good Luck!

Thank you for sharing your pictures. Being a new bandster (5/26), it's easy to get overwhelmed by the whole picture. But you've shown the steps taken and the results at each step. It doesn't hurt that you have always been beautiful to begin with! Your skin looks gorgeous! Best of luck always!

I was just banded 5/26/04. I still have a lot to learn. This forum has been so helpful and encouraging (before and after surgery). During the banding, the surgeon also found and removed a bad gallbladder, multiple adhesions (internal scar tissue), and a tumor on my esophagus. Without this surgery, the tumor wouldn't have been found until it was too late. I am very grateful for my band! Plus I get the bonus of losing weight, getting off so many RXS, and truly enjoying life. I'm very grateful for my band!

I was banded 5/26/04, following the insurance co. denial in 10/2003 (8 months). Hang in there! It's stressful, but just be sure that you get a copy of the insurance company's appeals process. You have to follow that to the "t". It takes time, and a lot of digging around on your part. But it can be done. Best of luck to you!

Yes, you have normal feelings! My surgery was 5/26. I thought I was on a roller coaster of emotions. Up one minute and down the next. But you'll do fine. Enjoy the pampering while you can. Best of luck!

I just got banded 5/26, so I'm a new dummy. Are we not supposed to have tea? Is that hot tea, iced tea, etc.? I really have a lot to learn. You have done great on your weight loss! I hope you're feeling better today.

Tell who you want to and don't feel guilty about not telling others. It's your body and your decision how you want to handle it.