mommakatx2

I received my band on a Wednesday. The following Saturday I started an 18 hour moving drive from KY to CO. It wasn't incredibly difficult, but I would have rather stayed at home on the sofa for a few days instead. Be sure to keep hydrated and get plenty of rest. My hubby drove the vehicle and my dad drove the moving truck so I could just sit back for the ride. If you're in a stressful environment it could make healing slightly more difficult and increase your pain perception as well.

Thanks everyone. I haven't exactly been following the "10lb lifting" rule because not only do I have three children, I have a husband currently overseas. I don't care for wraps, they are too hot and constrictive for me. I liked my Ellaroo (and other wraps I've made) when he was much smaller and could snuggle in a front or back carry...but now he and I both just prefer the meitai. ETA: I've been babywearing and sewing my own wraps, slings, and meitai's for the last 2 years. I'm familiar with all the types out there, just concerned about the pressure they put on the port site!

CONGRATS to you!!!! I know you must be so relieved and excited!!! It won't be long now!

This is a public forum where EVERYONE can have access. I don't know why anyone would think what's posted here would be private from physicians too. Not everyone has to "go searching" for information. Sometimes it's stumbled across by accident. Since the OP refuses to give the forum any more information, I can't really see the benefit or purpose of the post, other than to ruffle a few feathers and get everyone all curious. A private email or letter (as the OP commented she was going to do) to the MD in question would have been better. I guess I just don't see the purpose of dragging it to the forum without explaining what, when, where, and why. Just name-throwing and accusations. I don't get it. But that's just my opinion...and we all know what opinions are like.

How inappropriate. If you have an issue with your physician, take it up personally with them. No need to post publically in a forum like this. I'm sure you'll get lots of "Ooooh! What happened!?" posts. On other forums I belong to we call this "baiting".

I did not tell my boys (2, 8, and 11). They know I had surgery and they visited me in the hospital, but we told them I just had my stomach "fixed". My oldest child is overweight and I really don't want to put ideas in his head that he can eat whatever he wants. I am still working hard with getting him to eat right, smaller quantities, etc. Most of my friends and family know, and of course my husband knows.

I personally would stay away from mashed potatoes and gravy. You aren't even one week out yet! Your body just went through a major insult and it needs time to heal. I experienced quite a bit of pain and pressure post-op for about a week and a half. It didn't take very much liquid for me to be full. Listen to your body. If you're feeling full and tight, your body is telling you it needs more time. If you feel hungry, drink. If you're not hungry, don't eat jut because it's mealtime. You now have a different agenda and it's not to join the family at mealtime...it's to heal your body.

I agree. You should NOT be eating potatoes and gravy at this point. My guideline were to be on full liquids for 2 weeks, THEN mushies for 2 weeks. I'm concerned that you went home from surgery without having ANY idea when or what to eat. :welldoneclap:

I was banded 4/23 and haven't even seen my doc yet for a follow-up. We moved out of state 3 days after my surgery (planned). He wants me to fly back to see him but I can't afford that. Anyway, I'm going to try light excercise (walking) around June 1st. I'd probably be ok now, but I'm still really worn out and tired. I don't have much energy at all. I've been doing soft foods as well and haven't had any issues. I get full after about a cup of food. I think everyone is doing great with weightloss!!!!

Hi Carol! So glad to see you here!!! I'm so excited for you and just think, it will all be worth it. Pretty soon you'll be looking back on the CLD as a long gone thing of the past (as you put on your size 6 pants!). :thumbup:

Ok, I admit I've only tried two. My surgeon's office gave me a sample of powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury to try (unflavored) and they told me to buy a Protein powder at Walmart---Body Fortress. I can't stand them. They are so completely nasty!! Am I using them wrong? I put the UnJury in juice (BIG MISTAKE!) and the Body Fortress I just mixed as directed. I couldn't get either one down. I finally stopped at a Jamba Juice and got a smoothie with 2 shots of whey protein (I could taste it a little--but not as bad). So that was 20g...however I'm supposed to down at least 60g a day. So please tell me...what supplements are worth a crap? And I also wanted to put out there, Jamba Juice's whey protein boosts are 10g of protein each, and you can add as many as you want. :biggrin:

:confused2: You had to breathe into a bag for 20 minutes?? Mine was a simple blood test :thumbup:

Hello everyone... Well I am FINALLY finished with all the steps needed to get my referral for surgery in. My surgeon's office submitted everything on the 2nd. When I look it up online, it says "IN-PROCESS" where I assume the approval/denial would go. I got a letter the other day saying that Tricare is requesting an H. Pylori test to be done before they make their decision. Has anyone else run into this? Seems like the first time I've heard of that (and of course it would be me) :tongue:

Hello, My port is sort of mid-upper abdomen for me. In my case the port is located directly beneath the larger incision. I had steristrips instead staples, but had staples with two c-sections. It doesn't really hurt to have them out...maybe a tiny pinch on some of them. 15 staples isn't all that many and should be over quickly. tmfritts~~I'm not sure what you mean by the port being always noticeable...do you mean can you always feel it as in with your hands, or feel it as in inside your body--if you're just sitting there. You will most likely always be able to locate your port by feeling for it, however you shouldn't feel it internally at all. HTH!

Well, considering I'm not trying to lose weight and just trying to maintain my caloric/protein needs for adequate healing, I'm ok with that:wink2:. I don't have them every day...I've had two since surgery a week ago.

I'm still on thick liquids but I notice after eating only about a cup or so I feel really bad, almost lightheaded and nauseous. I notice that I stop then because I'm so turned off to whatever is was I was drinking, and it lasts for about an hour or so. Then I'm hungry again :blushing: Is that the banded me feeling full? Or is that just my body still healing and trying to accept liquids? I guess what I'm really wondering, did you feel "different" being full post-band than before? And is restriction even possible after banding and without a fill?

I'm going insane. I'm *starving*. I was banded 4/23 and was on clears in the hospital but told I could advance to full liquids when I got home for two more weeks. TWO MORE WEEKS!!!??? I am so SICK of cream Soups and broth! It's getting to the point of feeling nauseous every time I look at Soup. Yesterday I was so desperate I sucked on about 10 Goldfish crackers until they completely dissolved and then drank Water. It tasted good but then of course I panicked (I was fine). Please tell me it doesn't last forever. I'm feeling so sick right now but I'm also so hungry. :biggrin::smash: WHAT DID YOU EAT????? (and yes, I'm still thrilled to be banded)

Thank you for those AWESOME recipes!!! I am going to try those out...I'm vegetarian but the mushroom soup sounds great, I'll just omit the tuna. Yeah, it's rough, and I knew it going in. My husband isn't very sympathetic and just says "Well, you wanted it." Yeah, ok...that doesn't mean I'm not miserable right now...but I know this too, will pass. I can NOT imagine being on a liquid diet for 2 wks prior and then again AFTER. What kind of surgeon does that to their patients???? Torture. Pure torture. I guess some variety will help, too. That smoothie sounds delicious!

Try having some apple, cranberry, or white grape juice to boost your calorie and sugar intake. You will feel much better. You should not be eating only sugar-free items at this point, you are going to drop you blood sugar and not only feel terrible but be very hungry as well. I would even get regular popsicles and Jell-O, those are not going to affect your liver and will give you an little boost to your hovering blood sugar level. I've heard some docs put their patients on liquids for 2 weeks just to see if they can stick to it...is that the case for you or are you "liver-shrinking" (a ridiculous concept, IMO).

I had to pay a $300 fee to my surgeon's office and that covered the psych consult and nutritionist fees. I was glad to pay it, though. $1000 sounds pretty steep to me, however medical providers can pretty much charge whatever they want in terms of fees. I would want to know the breakdown of those charges...and find out from Tricare if those are charges that would normally be covered.

I am less than a week post-banding and my weightloss is in my ticker :biggrin: I was also told over and over not to worry about weightloss...to just focus on getting enough calories and Protein for proper healing. I think the weight is beginning to come off only because I'm not doing so well with the 2-week liquid diet post-op. I should definately be getting more calories and protein in.

I was on cream soups from post-op day #2 and while I was nervous about the tiny pieces of mushroom and potato, I haven't been straining them either. They've gone right down with no problem. No if there was anything bigger than a grain of rice in my soups, I would be blenderizing them or straining them.

I am just floored that some of you went home the same day!! Makes me feel like my surgeon did something wrong. How many incisions do you all have?

Hey Peraly, glad you made out so well!!! Good for you!!! I, on the other hand, did not have such a smooth sailing time. The whole preop stuff leading up to the OR went fine. Coming off anesthstesia, I was a mess. Vomiting in my "sleep", being half conscious while they suctioned me and I was still on the vent. Not pleasant. I got to my room at about 1230 and I was in excrutiating pain and dry heaving, my nurse did not give me ay meds for 5 hours!!! I could be hypercritical because I'm an ocology nurse, but holy hell...no post-op patient should have to wait 5 hours for pain relief. She kept telling me she couldn't get it out of the Pyxis. Well, I happen to know you can override the Pyxis for pain and nausea medicine. I kept dry-heaving and she said "Oh stop that! We don't want your badn to slip, it's brand new!" Wel F'ing DUH!!!!! I was mad. Still am. I am usually not a wuss about pain, I took motrin after my two c-sections, but this is really kicking my butt. I'm in a ton of pain, still naseous. I've been home for about an hour and a half. I hope eveyone has done better than me. Right this moment, I' m at the point where I'm going, WTF as I thinking? Owwwwwwwwwww.

After getting the run-around for several days now from both my surgeon's office AND Tricare, I finally got ahold of someone who knew what was going on. It's not online and I don't have a letter, but I have a case manager who said "I just faxed the APPROVAL to your surgeon's office today". :tongue::w00t::w00t: :redface: It's too late today and I also have to work tonight, but you can bet I'll be on that phone tomorrow asking for a surgery date!!!! (a little background: I am 100lbs+ overweight with arthritis, depression, asthma, and pre-hypertension. We are PCSing in less than 20 days, so that's why there's a huge rush on it!)