MookNana

Hi, Band Twin! How are things going? Do you feel pretty much back to 100% (or better!) by now?

I've had a couple of dreams like that, especially the ones about eating way too much and feeling bad about it afterwards. A couple of times I've woken up and been relieved it was just a dream. I figure it's a good reminder about how overeating will make me sadder for much longer than it will make me happy. Having the surgery is such a radical change. There's a lot to process--I'm not surprised our subconscious uses some dream time to figure it all out!

I don't know the whole story, but the literature we got from our doc did recommend that we carry the appropriate fill needle with us if we were traveling somewhere outside of a major metropolitan area in the West. I know that's not why they were asking, but it could explain why someone would want to know about the appropriate fill needle.

If there's any kind you like, yogurt is a great vehicle to get a bit of high fiber cereal. There are tons of varieties of All Bran and Fiber One and just a bit crushed up would give you crunch with the added bonus of helpful fiber.

I completely agree with you.

Our instructions seem to be on the liberal side, which is nice. For our two weeks of full liquid we can have: Milk/Milk Alternatives Protein shakes (low sugar/carb) Low fat yogurt (with no chunks/fruit pieces) Low fat cream Soups (strained or pureed) sugar free pudding Cream of Wheat or oatmeal, thinned until it falls off the spoon. All Clear liquids (water, broth, sf popsicles, sf Jello, etc.) So far we're tolerating it all very well and while I'm looking forward to purees, if we mix up the flavors of the Soup, yogurt, pudding, and cereals there's just enough variety that I'm not going nuts. Plus I'm not hungry like I was before surgery. I still get hungry and things still sound good, but it's not that desperate, crazy hunger anymore.

I'm in the same boat, only for me it's a turkey and cheese. With pickles. It has to have pickles. I don't know what that's about--I have three medical tests verifying I'm not pregnant. I think it's totally normal--food doesn't stop tasting good just because we got the band. I hear it's better after you're on solids because you can get more variety and the solids make your band actually work, instead of liquids which just slide on through. Stay strong and congrats on the success so far!

I'm sorry you've had to go through all of this. That sounds like a very rough road. I really hope things get better for you.

At four days out, if I didn't have bandages on my stomach and some lively gas, I wouldn't believe I'd had a band placed. I've only been on full liquids, but I haven't felt anything I'd recognize as restriction.

Just wanted to second this. Disneyland and Walt Disney World are very size-friendly vacation destinations. At 5'10" and up to 370 lbs, the only issues I've ever had with fitting on anything was leg room on the Winnie-The-Pooh ride at Disneyland. It can take some agility to get in and out of some ride vehicles, but almost all rides can be stopped or slowed and wheelchair and ECV accessible vehicles are available on a lot of rides as well. Cast Members are happy to show you to alternate entrances if turnstiles are an issue (they've been removed from a lot of rides too) and are sensitive and discreet about handling it. There are belt extenders available on rides like Dumbo and The California Zephyr, and while some of the old theater seats are tight, newer attractions were built with wider seats or bench seating for barrier-free access. The Disney parks really are the gold standard in accessibility for theme parks. There's a very helpful website about this too called WDW At Large: http://allears.net/tp/ridsiz.htm

I work a desk job and generally work from home. I had my surgery Thursday and I would be totally fine with working tomorrow and I think it would be OK if I had an easy commute to an office too. As it is, I'm glad I'm between projects right now, just so I wouldn't have to subject my co-workers to my hourly walk-n-burps.

I think what you're feeling is totally normal. You've traded in one life for a whole new one and that takes some adjustment and even some grief. Plus, no matter how much we research and educate ourselves beforehand, I think everyone eventually gets the reality check that while the band is definitely a tool to improve things, it's not something that's going to magically fix our whole lives. Thin people had bad days, put up with hassles, deal with rude people, etc. too. Finally, there's the boring, practical issue that fatty carbs work on our brain chemistry to bathe us in feel-good hormones like serotonin and dopamine. When we take away the steady drip of our "happy foods", it's completely normal to undergo something of a mild depression as our brain chemistries readjust. That can account for a feeling of "blah" for a little while. I hope it passes soon and you're able to treat yourself to some new pleasures to get your smile going again. Good luck!

Mine is Gladys...as in "Gladys is over" (the surgery) and "Gladys is here" (the band to help me change my life). On her second day on the job today, Gladys is a bit sore. :-)

The deed is done! I'm feeling pretty all right today, actually. Just a tiny touch of gas pain and some soreness in my belly, but I'm getting around and trying to stay hydrated. My husband is having a bit rougher time of it--more pain, some dizziness,etc--but really, by all standards we're going good. We're assigned Clear liquids for two days, then dairy/protein liquids for one week, full liquids including Soups and thinned grain cereals, then purees for two weeks. Works for me--I don't have much of an appetite yet. I've just been trying to stay hydrated. I'm up about three pounds this morning over my official pre-op weight, so I definitely have some more swelling to get down and Fluid to drop. Time to go for my walk.

I'm going to be outpatient at Kendall Pointe in Oswego since it's really close to home for me. I really like Dr. Woodard as well. He actually took out my gallbladder when I was 19 and remembered me. I was shocked! I totally agree with you on the dietitians. We were really unimpressed with the girl we got (my husband and I are doing the surgery together). She charged us $50 each and basically handed us a packet and read parts of it to us. We were done in just over 20 minutes. The one time I emailed a question she never bothered to respond. If we need a dietitian going forward I'll find someone else. We were assigned a 3 week pre-op of liquid only. They told us to do Bariatric Advantage shakes, but I hated them and so we switched to the Premier Protein shakes from costco. After a few days I began to do shakes during the day and a low carb meal at night because I just couldn't handle nothing but shakes. I switched back to shakes only these few days before the surgery. I can't believe it's tomorrow! How is your day going today?

I'm getting my band from Dr. Woodard this Thursday! I hope things continue to go well for you. It's a huge transition but an amazing opportunity too!

Day 18 of the pre-op diet...just today and tomorrow until Band Day on September 19th! I'm so ready to be banded and move forward. What I'm most looking forward to is eating more naturally--eating when I'm hungry, stopping when I'm full. The pre-op diet is so artificial and I'm always hungry or afraid of being hungry. I can't wait to just listen to my body again! I'm driving myself crazy trying to get as much as I can done before the surgery. I've got one more grocery run to do tomorrow and I've got to pick up my brother at the airport (fingers crossed for no hiccups with his flight!). We had movers in today to rearrange a bunch of furniture. We moved our elliptical and treadmill into our loft so we have a nice, dedicated workout room now. Wishing all the newly banded lots of success and sending lots of good thoughts out to everyone still preparing!

I never thought about putting MIO in yogurt. What a great idea!

Hunts sugar free chocolate pudding cups are really decent and taste very chocolately, to me at least. I'm not sure where you are on your diet, but maybe that might get you the fix you need? Or, if you need the real thing, I've found that a couple of teaspoons of mini chocolate chips will take care of a chocolate jones nicely. Each teaspoon is around 25 calories and it's more than you'd think it is. But I don't know what phase you're in, whether you're still doing sugar, whether having a bag in the house would drive you crazy, etc.

Hot things helped fill me up. Maybe some hot tea or broth. Broth was especially satisfying--it was kind of reminiscent of actual food! I will say that I haven't been doing any kind of vigorous workouts during my pre-op diet. I've done a bit of walking and normal light housework, but I didn't want to try any vigorous workouts because I didn't want to get too hungry and also because it's hard enough powering a 300+ lb body on less than 1,000 calories a day without adding an extra 300-500 calorie burn on top of it. It might be worth talking to your doctor to see what they're expecting for exercise during the pre-op diet. They might not be expecting you to work out, or might instruct you to eat a bit more to compensate.

I was told not to eat yogurt with fruit in it during the liquid diet phase of my post-op. The chunks are too much for a newly banded system to handle. Is that what they were talking about?

Things I'm excited to try when I get smaller: Kayaking Trampoline aerobics Adult Ballet class Random travel Groupons that might necessitate middle seats on planes Fortunately, I'm cool with the lights on, but we've got some ideas on that front too.

Still pre-op, so I have no idea what "stuck" feels like, but the idea freaks me out and I realized I have no idea what I'm supposed to do when it happens. What do you do when you're stuck? What tips and tricks work for you? How do you know you're OK again afterwards and how long should you wait after a "stuck" episode before eating again? Thanks SO much for any help!

In a way it sounds like you did just what you'll need to with your band. You ate something you loved, but you stopped when your body said stop and you had a treat but you kept it small and didn't do it often. To me that sounds awesome! I'm sure the extra water and a little bit of activity will be all you need to keep moving forward.

You start big, generally. The same thing is happening to me on the pre-op diet. Or you can get the flu.