Band Chick

CONGRATULATIONS, Becky!!!:whoo: Good job! Every bit COUNTS! :clap2: That's exactly what this challenge is all about-- get us thinking about exercise every day. Those stretches add up! Keep up the great work! :cheer2:

Confessions... I haven't been eating the best quality stuff and even "cheated" a little by starting mushies 2 days early and ate steak a few days ago, but chewed it to a super mush. I have been tracking my food honestly and stayed under 800-1000 calories. I wasn't hungry because I ate a lot of solid type food, which I either blended or chewed to a mush. I was eating/drinking about 1 cup 4-6 times a day. You can view my food diary here: FitDay.com - Diet and Fitness journal for band chick Brags... I went in for my first fill today and I'm down 27 lbs!!! Dr Neal said everything was looking good and I can go back to water aerobics. I got my fill under flouro and had no pain-- I even asked if the needle was in. So, all my worries about the pain not going away, never being able to sleep on my left side again and not losing were for nothing. It's week four and I'm doing GREAT!:whoo:

The job is really what ever you want to make of it. If it were me, I would probably post a "Happy Birthday [name]" post a few days before each birthday. You could also just do one birthday post per month, for all the "[month] Birthdays". The hardest part, I suppose, is keeping track of all the birthdays.

I too am a big WASaBB fan! I look for your name in posts. You're funny, inspiring and full of good advice and info. Thank you, WASaBB! Please keep posting!:clap2:

That's too bad. I went to Bremerton surgery center. Everyone there was wonderful. It was the farthest distance, but the quickest I could get into. Turned out to be worth it. Good job on the exercise! Thank you, Becky! It's so good to know that it helps. :hug:e As promised, here's a sneak peek of the award for this challenge: This will be available as a web image, printout for iron-ons or scrapbooks; as well as coffee cups, mouse pad, t-shirts, tote bag, etc. Because we're worth it! :first:

I had the most awful pain last night! I plan to talk to my Dr about it on Tuesday (my first fill), but I'm wondering if anyone else has had this and what it might be. Last night I was a little hungry so I had a boiled egg, which I've done several times with no problems. Then I had to take my meds with a little bit pudding, as usual. I went to bed about an hour later, laid on my left side (my port and stomach side) for just a little bit and I started feeling pressure on my stomach. I rolled over onto my right side and I got the most awful pain! The worst of it was in the middle of my tummy, right below my sternum and in my back. I felt like my whole belly was full and I was either going to vomit or needed a really good burp. :sick I started walking and had a heating pad on my tummy, which helped. After about 10 minutes, it just all of a sudden went away and I was fine. WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS THAT? Was it a blockage some how? Was it because I laid on my left side? It was very scary, I can tell you that. Anyone else had this?

I was in the same boat. We have a great lap band surgeon close by, but the staff were so cold and the Dr's reputation was that she was the same. When Chris, a local bandster I met on this board, told me about Dr Neal I called the next day and made my appointment. You are absolutely right-- all after care, including any additional surgeries, for one price; plus a great staff! No brainer! Dr Neal even called me at the hotel the night of the surgery and gave me his home number, just in case. WOW! The nurses at his office and surgery center called so much in the first few days to check on me it was almost annoying. LOL Did you have Karen as your pre-op nurse? She and her husband were banded by Dr. Neal too. Great job on the exercise! Moving will help us heal and lose weight! Stellar Becky! You are doing so fabulous! You've just about got this challenge wrapped up! Go, Becky! Go! :cheer2: O.K. Crazy Ates, we have two weeks and three days left in this challenge. That's plenty of time. I know many of you are doing your mindful daily exercise. Please pop in and keep in touch for your support and others. Keep up the great work everyone! :clap2:

My signal for full is a sigh. My signal for being overly hungry is hiccups. :loco:

Good job! I'm so glad the challenge is helping. The biggest reason I signed up to be the Exercise Challenge chair is to keep me motivated and ACCOUNTABLE. I, of all people, need to keep plugged into this thread and keep my exercise going! How silly would I look if I didn't participate in my own challenge.:car: It's definitely working for me, even if I'm at a snail pace compared some of our participants I only had 3 hours to Dr Neal and made two trips, but he's TOTALLY WORTH IT! They are so great at working with out-of-towners. Did you have the surgery in Bremerton? Where do you live-- Canada, Oregon, Idaho?

I'm wondering if any of you are experiencing this same issue. My tastes have seemed to change. The most obvious of these is: I used to be a daily V-8 and Starbucks coffee drinker. I've had both of these a couple of times since surgery and they don't taste very good anymore. It seems like a weird thing. Has anyone else noticed that things taste differently now?

That is so true! I had the same experience when I tried a little cheese off of DH's pizza. :pizza::ohwell: Yuck! It's like I have to retry every food. :hungry: They all taste different-- some good, some bad. It's an interesting experience and I'm totally OK with it. Thank you for all the replies. It helps to know I'm not a total freak and all alone in this.

WELCOME, PigsRFlying, Brandi, Karri, ilovefood, Jezaamphilyn, arielle, Rosie and Chris! So glad to have you join us! :clap2: Hey, Karri. I was banded by Dr. Neal too! He and the staff are all so wonderful!!! Curling? WOW! I've seen it on TV but never tried it. It looks like a good work out! I think all you have to do, for the sparkling sig, is copy someones else's and paste it into your signature. If I'm wrong, you should start a new post on it. I see lots of people asking. Good job, Becky! I bet you are losing weight and getting tone. You are very inspiring! Jim, I'm sorry to hear you're hurting. Like you needed that right now. I wish you a speedy recovery! :eek: It's so much easier when you have a buddy to walk with, especially DH. Great goals! That's about what I'm shooting for too. Good job! It does seem convenient to use the hotel's exercise room, though most of us never get around to actually doing it. lol * ~ * ~ * :typing: Wow! I don't log on for a few days and the message boards are just exploding with posts. I'm so glad to see everyone doing well and even getting in on the exercise challenge! I will be posting about the awards later this week, so be sure to check back. Today's mindful exercise is a walk with the dog, as soon as I'm done with this post. :dog: :clap2: Everyone is doing so good!!! Way to go Crazy Ates!!! :boxing:

LadyBug, I'm a bit concerned about you. Throwing up is dangerous for your band. Did you tell your Dr that you are throwing up? If not, please do. I truly feel for you! Nausea has been my biggest problem in healing, from the moment I came out of the OR. They gave me every shot imaginable and what helped was the patch behind my ear. My Dr gave me an Rx for more and I used a second one (they last 3 days, so a total of 6 days on nausea patches). I don't know you well enough to say this is the right thing for you. However, I have read MANY messages on this board that say "It was a difficult surgery and recovery but totally worth it!" You will most likely say that too 301 bandsters out of 332 say "Yes" they would do it again! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/would-you-do-again-30418/ Please keep us posted. I hope you feel better.

Who told you? I was keeping that a secret. LOL! It's so true! That was the biggest factor to my problem and it sets a horrible example for my kids, who I thought I was helping. I'm learning to take care of myself now, because I'm worth it! Congrats on real food, Becky! :biggrin1:

Hi! I'm in the Portland area and got to the same point you are now with Dr. Patterson. I was not happy and found a much better option for me: Dr. Neal. He's in WA but TOTALLY worth it!!! chinokitty and her husband were just banded by Dr. Patterson's associate, Jay Jan. She may be able to give you some info. There are a few of us from LBT that started a Portland area support group. You're welcome to join us! Wishing you all the best.

You have a very unique perspective. So, how does this surgery and recovery compare to your first? Congratulations on your re-banding! :whoo:

That's so exciting! I'm still at my two week mark, just getting excited about eating mushies. LOL It's great that we are all at different stages. Please, keep us posted about every little detail. Good luck tomorrow! :clap2:

Hi, Nicole! Welcome to the Crazy Ates! I was banded on the 21st, same week as you. :eek: I was going CRAZY :Cry: by the end of the liquid phase and started pureed yesterday and today. You have my sympathy. I started on very mushy refried Beans a few days early but it totally saved me. Candle, I should have clarified that I was talking about in the early healing phase. I think you're absolutely right about after we've healed. TexasBecky, Congrats on your loss! I can't believe you're 1 month post-op already. That's great! When do you get your first fill? claramae, It's sounds like you're doing better. I hope you enjoyed your outing. How are you feeling? Liz1531, Wow! I can understand why you started early on Protein drinks. Don't want baby to get hungry :hungry:. It's amazing how different each Dr is. Mine started me on Atkins shakes the day after surgery and I've read others who went to mushies in one week or less! Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, speedy recovery.

Great goals everyone! It's inspiring to read yours too! Update to one of my goals... My Dr says no Water aerobics until I come in for my 4 week check up. So, my new goal is to start as soon as Dr allows.

You only PB if something gets stuck-- if it can't go down, it will come back up. Yuck! Water will go down, BUT if you drink/eat way too much too fast you can stretch the stoma (above the band), cause band slippage or rip a stitch. UGH! A heat wave? That doesn't sound fun at all. Poor you. Can you have popsicles? Wishing you a speedy recovery and a cool breeze :eek:

Hey, fellow Oregonian! Welcome to the Crazy Ates! A few of us from LBT have started a support group in the Portland area. We are meeting this Saturday. If you and your husband would like to join us just let me know :eek:

I have been drinking between 1-2 liters of water a day since the day after surgery. I fill my 2 liter jug in the morning and I use my 3 oz plastic dixie cup to drink out of all day long. I started by sipping one cup every 15 min. to see how I felt. I have gotten to the point now that I don't watch the clock and can drink more and more. I hope that helps a bit.

I'm not a gourmet cook, like Judi. (Though, I'd love to have dinner at her house! Yum!) I thought I would share this little thing that has been working for me in hopes of helping others. I'm only a few days away from my two week band-iversary and mushie phase, but I've been hungry all the time, SICK to death of sweats and Soups, and have head hunger for every greasy, cheesy, meaty sinful food on earth! The one thing that saved me is I went to the store yesterday and got a can of Rosarita vegetarian refried Beans. I smoosh them really good, add a little Water and cheddar cheese and pop 'em into the microwave. I then dab on a bit of fat free sour cream and they are the best beans I've had in my life! I'm not hungry or craving anymore! That's it. That's all I wanted to share. They have worked like magic for me

Things really do change day to day, sometimes even hour to hour, with the band recovery. I had a three day rough patch with depression. I knew I didn't have a good reason, I just FELT like crying. Well, now that I started my "monthly" I'm hurting but not depressed anymore. Yippee! I'm feeling so good with my band that at one point today I actually forgot about it. That's the first time since surgery. My two week point and start of mushies is Tuesday. I have been super hungry and agonizing over head hunger and cravings. So, yesterday and today I had some very smooshie refried Beans, cheese and FF sour cream-- the best I've ever had in my life!!! YUMO! That did the trick. My glue is starting to peel away from my incisions and they are healing nicely. I get to go in the hot tub as of Tuesday. I can hardly wait! And next week I will start back to Water aerobics. Today and this moment, I'm doing GREAT! I hope everyone else is enjoying the holiday weekend!

:hug:{{{HUGS}}} :hug: {{{{HUGS}}}} and more {{{{{{HUGS}}}}}} You poor thing! I'm practically in tears for you. That's so awful. I thank God you are OK now and didn't have any more serious problems, but that is horrible and no where near the norm or what you expected! I'm so glad those nurses got a good azz chewing! :rant: I hear your frustration and sympathize. It does sound like you have some great people that love you. I bet it scared the heck out of them too and they fear for your health and safety. It sounds like you're having a very rough recovery. :crutch: We are here for you every step of the way. Each day will get better and better and when you reach "get to be 130 pounds, this will be funny" or at the very least worth it. :cheer2: Please keep in touch with us. Feel free to write me directly. more {{{HUGS}}}