Pippz

Suddenly in the last two days I am not starving, but I've been able to eat a LOT more than I could prior. I guess it's time for a fill! I called and scheduled my fill for next week (my previous appt wasn't for 3 1/2 weeks out). I'm petrified of returning to my old ways! About sleep - we're going on about a week now that I haven't been sleeping properly. I'm exhausted. I took some post-op pain meds to help me sleep last night, but it was crappy sleep and I overslept an hour this morning (so not like me). UGH what to do!!

I'm set to be in Vegas in mid-January for work, just in case that's an option!

Agree about the waking up early, too. For about two weeks after the surgery, I was up at 5am ready to go every morning! Now that I haven't been sleeping at night, though, I'm very tired in the morning again. Well I'm hoping it balances out soon, or I'm going to have to take a day or two off just to catch up on sleep! About the hair loss - mine has finally started falling out too. I cut it short before my surgery because I anticipated that (it always falls out when I'm under stress/etc). Because it's so short I don't think anyone notices it yet, but since I'm in the process of growing it back out I hope it stops falling out soon!

Has anyone else been having sleeping issues? I'm either dead tired or have so much energy I can't sleep (like right now). UGH this sucks. I'm such a sleeper, if my schedule gets messed up I can't concentrate at work at all!

Okay, so no one stab me here. I haven't had the incredible "actual" hunger everyone else has been describing here, so I could be way off base. But are those of you that are super hungry getting enough to drink? I find that even if hunger hits, if I take 1/2 hr to an hour to finish a tall glass of something, the hunger is TOTALLY gone. I'm not "full", mind you, but I'm not starving either. That helps me get through to my next meal. Just for fun, I've been putting ice, crystal light and water into a blender and making a super-cold low-cal drink. I find that it also helps me figure out if my stomach is really empty or not. I can feel the cold going down. So, if I feel it going down very quickly, I know I can eat safely. If it goes slowly, I know there is still food in there so I should wait a while before eating more. About exercise, I haven't been doing it as regularly as I'd like, although I have been more active in general. Before, I'd let my house get filthy before I started to clean it (I've always been a messy person), but now I'm up cleaning every day. Then, when time allows and it's relaxing for me, I go walking at the local park for a few hours. I know it's not really enough, but with summer camp for my daughter and work I have zero time to hit the (free) gym at work, and I'm petrified of exercising outside because of dehydration. Come fall I should be back on a normal schedule and able to exercise in a gym again. Okay, sorry for the long winded post. I haven't been on for a few days and I've been thinking about all of this stuff for the last few days, jsut waiting to get back online! :faint:

Yes, for many reasons. Today is my 2nd day of "regular foods". Yesterday at lunch I got a piece of sushi stuck and ended up not having dinner while I waited for it to clear. Today I'm trying a wrap, hopefully that works out better than yesterday! It's easy to lose weight on liquids and avoid temptation "because of surgery". But being back on normal foods has had me stressed out for the same reason I"m sure everyone is. Will I make the right decisions? Will I eat small amounts and not make myself sick? I'm just taking it one day at a time and seeing where it goes. I'm going to stop myself from worrying because that's what brought on my food issues before. Worrying about eating too much always made me eat too much. I know now that I CAN lose weight and that I will if I just make healthy choices. I hope you find the same thing is true for you too!

News from band-land. My doctor said he can't remember seeing someone that's lost as much as I have in my first month. I am in shock! He offered to give me a mini-fill, but since I haven't really been hungry at all (and still freaked about my stuck-chicken situation), I told him I'd prefer to wait. So my next appointment is in a month.

Ange, you sound like you're doing okay. Some days are just harder than others. If you get a lot of pain, though, it might just be safe to call your doctor. to everyone that's gotten something "stuck", man do i feel your pain now!! I was getting REALLY confident with my food and chewing and overdid it one day. I wasn't "hungry", but I made the excuse that I should try to eat "just becaue I know I should be". Biggest mistake I've made in a lonnggg time. I took two bites of chicken (on a not-empty stomach), didn't chew the 2nd bite properly, and soon found myself gagging and walking around with chicken stuck in my throat. It was the most horrible thing I've ever felt. Now, I may be unique here, but I am PETRIFIED of throwing up. When I throw up, I cry, I get all emotional and I can't eat. That's exactly why I had this surgery! I know if I'm afraid of throwing up, I won't push it! Well it took almost 18 hours for my stomach to empty to the point where I was hungry. I didn't have another solid thing for over 24 hours, I was that afraid of repeating the same mistake. I haven't even had a fill yet! I tell you, I learned my lesson BAD. I'm going to be sooooooo careful from now on!

I think that I just have a lot to lose, so it goes faster than someone with less to lose, if that makes sense? Also, I can tell you honestly that if I stay far away from carbs the weight drops MUCH faster. Towards the beginning of last week I ate carbs (potatoes) at several meals and the scale didn't budge. I went back to 90-95% protien-only and I started losing again. I guess I'm just really carb sensitive! My fill is on Friday! Yikes!

i've been taking two chewable vitamins for kids. Not regularly, mind you, as they taste gross. As far as I can tell there are no yummy viatmins out there (I've tried!). the liquid ones actually made me throw up they tasted so bad, and it's really hard to get me to throw up on taste alone!!

Have a great weekend everyone! I'm off to the beach in my NEW bathing suit. :-D

Anyone else having problems with how your band feels in the morning? I wake up every morning feeling like I need to hiccup/throw up but nothing comes. Once I drink something super-cold it helps, but until then it's a real annoyance.

I was with a guy last year that had a girlfriend (he kept saying they were breaking up. I KNOW, I KNOW). Well they finally broke up this year and now that he knows I had the surgery, he's interested in me again. NO THANK YOU. Anyone that didn't want me before is out of the picture now! :-) Glad to hear you've stayed good friends. That was a nice message to get, but you know what's right for you!

Ramekins are smallish bowls for dips and things like that. They're not traditional bowls but based on how much I can eat right now, they're perfect.

I drove about day 4, and I put a bra on about the same day. My port and incisions are above my waistline and below my bra line so I think I'm okay there. I made pureed pea-soup this morning and I'm in heaven. I can only have a little bit, and of course I made a TON because I'm used to such large portions. I think I'll run to Pier One later and get some ramekins to eat out of instead (one of my library books suggested that).

I know it's not good to weigh yourself every day, but I've been doing it simply because it's been falling off so fast now (sorry). My one tip, however, is to weigh yourself in the MORNING instead of at night. You generally weigh less in the morning. :-) I think in another week I'm going to go to a once-a-week weigh-in as my weight loss slows.

thank you so much for the hiccup note!! I've been getting them something fierce. Today I made a VERY thick protein shake (it was almost like pudding) and tried to drink it quickly (before it got warm). I had the hiccups for a full half hour and was petrified I was damaging my band!! now I know I need to take it slower. Thanks!

Thanks for sharing that, Toni!! I think we're all wondering about that now!

Has anyone else been getting a lot of hiccups? I'm petrified they're going to mess up my band!!!

Hi Jen! Congrats on your band! The hard thing under your large incision is probably your port. My port is located about 2 inches above my largest incision. I did get the diarrea, but I think that's to be expected on a liquid-only diet. :-) I hope you are feeling better soon!

<p>Strange question for everyone. Has anyone thrown up yet from eating or drinking something that doesn't agree with them? I'm living in constant fear of that so I haven't been pushing it at all, but I am starting to feel very hungry and wanted to try to eat a little more.</p> Oh toni - I'm not very close to your relative. I'm very close to the border of CT and NY towards NYC.

My doctor and nutrionist are really opposed to straws, but to be honest I've been using one almost since day one. In my house I can't leave an empty cup around, my daughter is an expert at knocking them over! The key with straws is to go as slow as humanly possible with one. It really isn't almost worth it, honestly, but if you have to, just do it slow!

I got one before and one after. I second the "stinging" part of the shot. The needle is so small you can't feel it going in, its the thinner that stings for a while. I still have a little bruise from it. Did anyone else's doctors make them take needles for pain meds instead of drink/iv? I asked for pain meds twice in the hospital and got two HUGE shots in my shoulder area (in the muscle). Also still have bruising there! I declined the third until my prescription was filled! Okay here my recipe of the day! I suck at measurements, but I don't really think you can screw it up. Fake (but yummy!) ice cream 1 Atkins Shake (I used the chocolate one) 1 powder weight watchers shake mix (I used vanilla, will try with chocolate later) (optional - 1/2 serving protein or whey powder) get your blender out and pour in the atkin's shake. fill with ice so it's full, but so that the atkins shake still covers the ice a bit. Pour in the WW powder. Blend on high 30 seconds. Stick it in the freezer for 1/2 hour. I swear after having all of these protein drinks, it feels like those chocolate shakes from wendys. Nice and cold on a hot day and tons of protein too! Plus you can stick it back in the freezer when you're done so you can have more later! In total it's not more than 300 calories and will probably last an entire day because it's so thick.

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I also got a smallish volunteer-made pillow. I LOVE it. It's so pretty and perfectly thick for my needs. It's to me what my daughter's hospital blanket was when she was born (she still has it). I think I'm going to keep it for a loooong time! Okay so strange news (good news I think!) out of my post-op today. I'm 1 1/2 weeks out and my doc said to come back in 2 1/2 weeks for my first fill! Well due to scheduling reasons I'm actually going back 2 weeks from today. I'll be 3 1/2 weeks out and with a fill.... anyone else think this is strange?! I'm completely happy but at the same time very nervous about getting a fill before ever having food without it. I'm sure it's for the best but wow anxiety like whoa today! Speaking of anxiety, I notice I'm much more stressed out/anxious this week. Maybe I'm just still recuperating after surgery? Okay last thought before I get back to work. I asked my doctor about swimming. He said I should only go swimming once the wounds are almost totally healed (with no chance of more bleeding), ESPECIALLY going to a pool with kids and other adults. He said it's more likely to spread infection/etc going in with wounds like that. So, to my dismay I will be skipping the pool this weekend, to lay indoors bare-bellied with neosporin on my wounds and praying for fast healing. hahaha I can't wait to start swimming. It's the only exercise I actually enjoy. Okay, off to work I go! Michele

I think it's just because I have a lot to lose! Also carbs have a horrible weight-gaining effect on me, so once I drop those I usually lose it fairly quickly. Now the key is to stay away from them!!