piercedqt78

WoooHoooo!!! (said with my arms in the air)

I have a former friend that every time I posted something about being curvy, or sexy as a plus sized woman, she would state that it was encouraging obesity, or that I was implying that she wasn't sexy because she was built like a 12 year old boy. Like I said, former friend. If my confidence as a plus sized woman bothered her that much she wasn't a good supportive friend at all. And she was the skinny b***h that would eat a double cheese burger, and 20 chicken nuggets and then wash it down with an ice cream and cookies. This thread cracked me up, and reminded me that good friends are the ones that loved me when I was fat, and still love me as I drop the pounds.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/magazine/RestaurantCard.html Is one example of the card, and a list of places that take it. I will say Olive Garden does have a grilled chicken kids meal that is really good.

my surgeon gave me a card, and it allows me to order off the kids or seniors menu. I have better luck with seniors menus, as kids meals are usually crap food. But I find that I save more money by just ordering an entrée ala cart, and then have a bite of my hubby or daughters sides if I have room.

See if you can find a local Vietnamese place that has Pho, (pronounced fuh) It's a broth with rice noodles, and it comes with thai basil, peppers, and bean sprouts. You mix the raw veggies into the super hot broth and let them steep. Most places have an option of a container of "extra broth" and it's sooo good. It comes without noodles, or the option of meat, but is tasty, and I found it very filling when I was recovering.

It works with sliced deli turkey too, I use the jar of turkey gravy, and serve it with mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes.

I have a severe mushroom allergy, and I make some similar. I use the brown gravy packets (the powder that you mix with water and boil) and then a good tablespoon of sour cream. It makes perfect stroganoff. Also if you don't want to use ground beef, go to the deli and get some sliced roast beef, just ask them to slice it a little thick. If you really love the mushrooms you can add canned mushrooms my dad does, and loves it that way.

I pureed mine with chicken broth, and made a really creamy chicken salad.

I like to puree it and then make it into 100% natural popsicles. I just run it through a strainer with big openings. Same strainer that I used for cream soups etc. I also put pureed bananas and strawberry yogurt into popsicle molds, they make a great healthy snack, and help to keep me cool in the summer.

I love the apple one, and thought the Caribbean cooler tasted way too fake. And I tried everything, even crushed ice to make it like a slurpee.

I was sleeved may 8th, and my final stitch in my navel finally came out last week. I have been swimming several times, I just covered my incisions with waterproof bandages. I bought the assorted box, and used a larger one over my navel, where the doc removed my lapband port, and then smaller ones on the other 2 incisions. Since my stitches were dissolvable I wasn't worried about wicking, since they weren't made from cloth, or anything that I felt would wick water into my incisions. I was also in a private pool, that only my family swims in, and the youngest person in the pool is my daughter at 12, so I didn't have to really worry about people peeing in the water etc.

I had strawberries at 5ish weeks, I added them to a vanilla protein shake in the blender. I had some fresh berries that I washed and cut, stuck them in the freezer for about 3 hours and then made my shake/smoothie.

I went to Universal Orlando at 6 weeks post op for my daughter's b-day and rode everything, no problems. My biggest issue was finding food. We had lunch at Margaritaville, and I had shrimp, and then dinner at Boston Market on the way home. Sliced turkey was on the menu for dinner.

I am a 35 year old sleever. I had a lapband when they were first FDA approved, in 2005. I did wonderful at first and then some other health concerns caused me to have it drained. Then I moved to FL from Chicago and since I didn't have a band doctor here, I left it empty. About 5 months ago I started getting sick, not really able to keep down real food, and was just uncomfortable all the time. I spoke to my GP and she stated that is sounded like reflux and started me on meds. No improvement. She then sent me to a GI doc, he did the scope, and said all looked fine. But I was still sick everyday. I went for a second opinion, and that GI doc referred me to Dr. Uchal at North Florida Surgeons. He had me come in for a barium swallow in front of him, and stated that my band had slipped. he submitted for a band removal and conversion to sleeve. The insurance stated that they could take up to a month to get me an answer. That was not going to work, by this time I was not keeping anything thicker than Water down. And I was dehydrating quickly, as even water had to be consumed in sips. Dr. Uchal was amazing and called my insurance and requested an emergency phone review. After speaking to him, I was 100% approval. And was in surgery the very next day. Since I had already done the psych, and sleep study for the lapband I was able to skip those steps. I had also lost less than 50% of my excess weight. (like I said the band was empty for quite a while) Well I am now 3 weeks post-op and have lost 16 pounds. I feel amazing, I can keep tiny amounts of food down, and best of all I no longer have the pain and reflux that I had with my band. The down side I lost my job over having emergency surgery, so I am looking for a job now. A bit about me, I have a daughter that will be 12 this summer. I am married, and have 2 crazy rescue dogs. My family all moved to Chicago at the same time and then 17 years later we all moved back to the Jacksonville Fl area. I was born and raised at Jax Beach, and love the way the salt air smells. I also love the way my feet sink into the sand. I could walk 5 miles on the beach and never realize that I have even left my "spot" lol. I always say there is something magical about the ocean, no matter how much we disturb the sand, the tide comes and makes it perfect again. I feel the same about my soul, no matter how upset, or disturbed I am, the ocean can make it perfect again. I love to cook, and love to experiment with new foods and spices. I am raising a food snob, lol, she is not fond of processed, or "fake" foods. My hubby on the other hand will eat junk anytime. When I was banded in Chicago I joined a group like this one and once a month we had a group that would meet and spend time with fellow wls patients. I hope to get something like that going in my area. My join date on here is 2005, I was a part of www.lapbandtalk.com.

The NUT at my surgeons office says to only use the Isolate. She didn't say why, and I didn't even think to ask.

That's the esophageal manometry, right? They put the tube in your nose, and then have you swallow some fluid correct? It checked the strength and motility of the esophagus.

I had the Bravo capsule done, it measures the PH and there is no tubes in the nose. They do it under sedation, and then when the stitch dissolves the capsule "passes" through the system. http://www.gastroenterologistpaloalto.com/treatment-bravo-monitor-gastroenterology-palo-alto-ca.html

I spiked a 102 fever in the hospital, they gave me Tylenol and a cool wet washcloth. It came down, and my white cell count was good. As precaution they had me have a follow-up lab to make sure the white cell count was still normal. My white count was good, and the fever stayed around 99.5 for over a week. Hope your recovery is smooth, and pain free.

You look Amazing! You get out there and have fun dating.

I was given decaf in the hospital on day 2.

I take the red and blue Tylenol, it's the rapid release, and it is also coated so it slides down a bit easier. I'm just outside of Jax, and I'm looking to put together a face to face meet-up PM me is you would like to join us.

I only put HALF of what I think I can eat on my plate. Sometimes I will go back for "seconds" and then it's only a bite or two of the things I liked the most. Most of the time the half portion is more than enough. I also have a rule that once my plate is clean I wait at least 5 minutes before going for more. Usually I find that I'm content, not stuffed. And that's where I want to be. When we eat out, I only order if my daughter or husband orders something I can't have or don't like. We don't eat out often, and my daughter and I have very similar tastes in food. I usually let her order an adult meal, and take a few bites from her plate. She is 12, and most foods on kids menus don't really appeal to her. She won't eat breaded food, and hates hot dogs that are not all beef. So she usually orders grilled chicken, or pasta with grilled chicken or beef strips. I will eat a few bites of her protein, and sometimes will order a side of beans, or veggies. That's more than I can finish. I have also learned that most places will do the meat ala carte. That saves me money, and keeps me from wasting the side dishes.

I have the $17 shake blender from walmart, I believe it's a Hamilton beech, it has the cups that you blend in and then use to drink your shake, or soup. Worked for shakes, soups, and I even did iced decaf coffee with my vanilla protein shake. I also bought small baby food dishes at the dollar store, I have small colorful bowls with lids, and small plates. They came with small cups as well, and I have used them mostly for storage of left over shakes, and soup. I did buy myself a nice coffee mug, and a really comfy pillow for my stomach during recovery. Also get yourself a nice warm throw, I was cold all the time the first few weeks post-op, and figured it was from the lack of calories. Now at 8 weeks out, I use a saucer for my meals, and don't have to store my foods separately since I'm eating the same foods as my family. I didn't want to spend a ton on special dishes, and blenders as I knew I would only need them for a few months.