giveyouthemoon

Good thought....I want to check this out. Thanks for the info and congrats on your surgery date!

Okay....tell me a little bit about protein drops......is this something you can use to add protein to things? I would guess so. So...is there a brand you recommend? Where do you find them? I'm interested. Thanks in advance.

Nah....I'm one of those who when she drinks loves EVERYONE! I'm a lover not a fighter.....and I used to go to a rough true cowboy bar in college and there was ALWAYS a fight.....I always did hate bar fights. I also used to go to a place where oil field workers, miners and cowboys used to gather. They wouldn't serve beer in glass bottles because there had been so many fights. Nice place eh? Also, they had plastic windows out front because they'd been broken so many times......

Hmmm...I know some folks here have expressed troubles with bras. I personally never had any troubles. I wear a front hook underwire bra and I even wore it home from the hospital and was comfortable. I think some people have their port placed up by their sternum and that would certainly cause troubles with a bra. My port is about three inches above my belly button so no bra issues here. Just giving you my viewpoint, I'm sure others will chime in with different stories. I think it all depends on where your port gets placed.

I actually find I take in more air without a straw and using the straw helps a TON. It also makes me sip and not gulp. Like Vinesqueen said, I guess each person has to figure that one out for themselves.

Seppi - they asked me to do deep breathing a lot after my surgery. When it feels tight like that keep doing deep breaths to help get it loose (and keep it loose). Try doing ten breaths as deep as you can go. You'll find that each breath you can get a bit more air in. This feeling does go away.

Yup, me too. Dr gave me two cards with Dr's name and number and all the info for me to carry in my wallet.

I did self pay because my health insurance would cover only gastric bypass. I think the band is still fairly new so it's taking time for insurance companies to step up. Bypass is fairly widely covered but the band is not.

Well.....sad day Chunk....I'm a big fan of red meat and I know that being banded means that may be a no go for me. Thanks for sharing your experiences because it helps me to understand as I go.

Stock up on liquids, you will really go through them. Ideas: Gatorade, juice, variety of broths, some Soups, Protein drinks, milk (if you need to mix protein shakes), sugar free popsicles (these were HUGE for me...for many days they were about all I could eat), Jello, Ensure or Boost drinks. Liquid Tylenol (for adults). I had trouble finding this stuff but did finally find it. Heating pad books, magazines, DVD's to keep you entertained while recovering Other things that helped me.....I got a box of straws....they forced me to sip drinks and not gulp them. The straws helped a TON when I was so swollen. My sis also got me one of those straw cup deals that toddlers use and it was awesome because I could sip some juice then snap down the lid. Kinda funny an adult using a straw cup but it worked great.

Okay to make you feel better I had a LOT of pain and I was on pain meds for at least six days after surgery. It hurt me bad even thought I was up and walking a ton in the hospital. In fact, walking helped me when it felt like all the incisions felt "tight". Walked and walked and walked and still whimpered in a lot of pain. Keep taking the pain meds. Stay in front of the pain meaning take meds BEFORE the pain gets to you. As someone said...each day is better than the last so just hang in there. I took a week and a half off from work and am SO glad I did. When it was time to go back to work I was ready, tho still having some pain. Just hang in there it will improve. Take GasX, take pain meds, sip warm liquids (they seemed to make me feel better) and rest.

Size 18's is a HUGE NSV. Congrats to you Vines!!! I can hardly wait to be in sizes one can find in regular stores and not just "big people" stores!!

Hey, we're band buddies!! I'm with you on the hunger thang....but I'm also kind of struggling with mushies. I let myself get TOO hungry and then the mushies are hard to get down. I've got to better manage hunger. 15 lbs is AWESOME!! I'm only at 14 and all but one little pound was the first week. I've been on a two week stall now. Driving me nutty!!

I agree that it took about the two week mark before I felt less bloated. Tho I will say that I was REALLY bloated up from all the liquids from the IV in the hospital and I felt sloshy. That came down about the 3-4 day mark. Then the gas....OH the gas.....yeah, that took time to work out. I'm still VERY gassy and wondering if this is going to just be a "thing" with being banded. Not as bloated, just seem to always need to break wind. Nice hunh? And here I was hoping that losing some lbs would help attract the men....hey boys, don't you want a gassy girl??!?!?!

I started mushies a couple days ago. Been doing them one meal a day, things like tuna salad, chicken salad and deviled ham. Last night did some refried Beans with sour cream. I find I can eat a LOT less with mushies than I was putting down with creamy Soups. So I do have *some* restriction. But not as much as I think is needed. I have my first post op appointment next week and I wonder if I'll get a fill. I'm going to ask anyway. I think a skosh more restriction and I'm going to be doing real good for a while. The problem I'm having now is that the big stomach isn't fooled by the antics of the little stomach. I'll eat, I'll be full, then it all passes through the stoma, the big stomach digests and then starts growling. It's not amused by these small portions.

Okay, so like me this is fairly new. Like others said, I think it's best to ride it out for a while. You are still healing. The port is attached to muscle and the muscles need to reknit the muscle fibers back together so it may be painful for a while yet.

Oh honey, you have no idea how glad I am to hear you say this. I've been scared to death about this very fact! VERY black.....or green...ew....VERY slimy. I personally am still having liquid BMs a lot of the time as well, but even when they are solid they are the oddest color and yeah, slimy. Don't know if it's "normal", just know I'm having it too and I was banded a week before you. I know that I've read that when people do a liquid fast (like that lemonade fast) that they get a lot of mucus out and also lots of dark stuff clearing out the ol' pipes so I'm hoping that is what is going on. Tho I've been having mushies for a couple days now and my BMs are still black.

My port is about three inches directly above my belly button. How long ago was your surgery? I was terrified mine was flipped but I realize I actually have a hard lump over the port and under the incision and that lump felt like maybe the port was twisted, but the lump is decreasing in size so it's not that. If you are sincerely concerned the only way to know for sure is to go see your doctor.

pamstransky I took almost that same amount of time off and coming back was no problem. Only issue was I was a bit tired the first two or three days but I found getting back on my feet was actually good for me. It helped me to heal to "get back out there". I'm glad you're taking that bit more than a week off, it really will make a difference. It is true that people heal at different speeds but barring anything unforeseen you should do fine. Congrats on your upcoming surgery!!!!!

Hoo boy, now that I'm on to mushies and more actual food I can see this drive to finish whatever I've got on my plate is going to be a big one to deal with. Having the band, by definition, means most of the time I'm not going to finish what's on my plate, I'm going to stop when I get full instead. And yet I drive myself crazy thinking "okay, I've got to stuff the rest of that down. It's like I can't throw it away. Happened this morning with a bottle of juice. I was really full and quite done but just couldn't stop until it was gone. Am fighting it right now with lunch. I'm pleasantly full but I feel like I'm "misisng out" on something if I don't finish what's on my plate. This is weird...and bad. THIS is how folks get in trouble, trying to eat too much. I would guess most of us have dealt with this issue at one time or another???

I've also noticed a certain stinkyness and yeah, my DO isn't working like it should (I gave up on Secret a LOOOOONG time ago...strong enough for a man my @ss!). Also, from all the liquids I have a nasty white paste on my tongue. I had a teeth cleaning last week and asked the dental hygenist if I had thrush and she said no, it was just from the all liquid diet. I brush my tongue and drink plenty of fluids but it's still there. Yucko. Since before surgery I have to use men's DO to even touch my sweaty-ness. If I can find the unscented kind, Old Spice High Endurance works best, tho they rarely have the unscented.

Congrats!!! The gas WILL pass, I promise. It's a terrible feeling those first few days but it gets MUCH better. Hang in there. Walk. Sip. Rest. Stay ahead of the pain, don't let it get too bad before you take meds.

Smaller plates would help but I'm in this habit of putting a HUGE portion on there! I got some chicken salad at lunch in a tiny box but really took too much. Even in a small box it's too much, like a cup worth and we all know the ol' tummy pouch can't hold that much. In other news....what is up with the food police of the world????? I mean I've had THREE people comment "is that your lunch???? Is that all you are eating????" to me. Who asked them to effing assess my lunch??????

Funny you should mention this Vinesqueen....I'm juuuust starting on mushies and pureed meats and I can EASILY see how a PB could happen. Today I was STARVING at lunch and got some chicken salad and was trying to eat slow but I'm SO hungry and as I went I could feel a small small teeny golf ball. Not bad, but enough to make me say "hmmm....I need to stop right here". I waited a while, heard a hellacious gurgle and felt okay again. I can really see how a PB could happen fast and really bad. This eating "real" food is going to be a tough adjustment.

OH!!! Popsicles. YES!!!! There were times that was ALL I could manage. Good pickup iluvharleys!!!