Lite'N'Sweet

OH MY... that was an M. Night Shyamalan ending to that story.... I was all warm and fuzzy feeling good that you had your mushy crunch berries then.... WHAMO!! Sorry that happened to you.

I may be wrong but I think the chickpeas are the protein in that recipe

Hey there @@scubasteph Congratulations on your surgery!! A few questions before anyone can properly answer your question - what kind of diet do they have you on post-op (clear liquid? Protein liquid?) How long have you been on that diet (may answer the 2nd question)

Keep us posted! Our thoughts are with you!!

It's totally normal to be nervous (and those ARE nerves taking over). You have to try to regain control of your breathing. My mom used to make me do jumping jacks when I'd have a panic attack and it helped me get back to my right mind. I'm sure that your doctor will do nothing short of reassure you of your decision. Mine did. I told him I was nervous. He said "What are you having again?" and I said "Lap Band" and he waved me off like it was nothing and said "That's a piece of cake - nothing to worry about." And with saying that ... I felt at ease. And you know what - your nerves won't matter when you're under the anesthesia. They'll have it all under control - bp, breathing, everything. You just have to lay back and enjoy that sleep. Good Luck today and see you on the other side!!!

This gives me a LOT of hope! Yaaaay!! Congrats and keep it up!

I am excited for the change you're about to experience in your life. It is so unbelievably painful when you lose your loved ones, you definitely reassess everything you're doing, especially if you have a little one depending on you. It is NEVER too late for you to decide you want to better your life. And we're here to support you with words, information and inspiration. Congratulations on this revelation! You're on the cusp of your new life!! Keep us posted on your decisions and progress!! This community ROCKS!!

So.... I'm 2 days post op... 4 total days on a clear liquid diet. I'm just wondering - how much should I be expecting to eliminate (poop)? It's all liquid right now and it's not a lot at all. Am I stopped up and should get some laxative assistance? Or is this to be expected till I actually ingest something with some substance? Looking for some feedback since the dr's office isn't open till tomorrow Thanks in advance!

Thank you for keeping it real. Sometimes we think that we're just supposed to snap into place with all this change but it's experiences like that mold us into who we need to be in order make the best out of this whole process! I read somewhere that you learn to reward yourself with a spa day or take in a concert at the park, go for a road trip to somewhere scenic, maybe even a movie (which is tricky cause of the food)... but try not to reward with food. It's the way Society has raised us and we have to break out of that. I respect and appreciate your imperfection but moreso your willingness to keep fighting!

Well... here I am - on the eve of everything I've been thinking about for the last 4 months (6 years and 4 months). Reading through the site has given me a great deal of steadiness. I have to speak power and success into this process... not fear. So I'm glad to have you all to mentally lean on while I walk down this path. The surgery is at 7:30 AM and we have to report at 5:30AM and the hospital is about an hour away. So we'll be leaving the house at 4 AM. Because of that we set the baby up to get some sleep with Grandma downstairs so that she didn't feel the shift of having to go down there at 4AM. My mother in law who is an old school West Indian woman ( just like my mom was ) said ... "is this absolutely necessary?" And I know what she was saying. In our cultures... will power is supposed to prevail and you're supposed to win that way. And I said to her, "If I'd like to live longer than my mom did and avoid the same pitfalls and tack on a few more years to this life for that little girl right there... then YES. It is absolutely necessary - because nothing else worked yet." And she was actually satisfied with that response (which I was surprised about). I'm gonna go lay my head down for a few hours before we make the trek to the future! Here's to dreams of success! ... And to all a Good Night!

I had no idea that this feature was available on this site. I really love BariatricPal.com. It's given me an outlet for all these thoughts circulating around in my head and how to deal with them all as I get adjusted to this new life. A little background about me - I'll be turning 40 this year. I've been struggling with my weight for the better part of 20 years now but have always struggled with my image. I look back at pictures of me when I was thin and healthy and fit and remember thinking how fat I thought I was. I now have a 3 year old and doctors were beginning to use words like diabetes, hypertension and "morbidly" obese around me. The biggest I ever got was 240 and that was quite enough for me. My mom died when she was 65 from all the aforementioned conditions and their complications. I already started late out of the gate having my daughter late in life. The least I can do is try to extend this here life a little longer. That's not really possible / an option if diabetes and hypertension are eating away at my ability to exist. So I banded! My surgery date was 7/11 and it's been pretty smooth so far. Just getting adjusted to it all. Today's challenge is gas, feeling tightness in my esophagus (which I think is my body just now taking inventory of the band install) and I can't wait for these incisions to heal so that I can pick up and hug up on my daughter. The journey continues!

Okay - I have a toddler (she'll be 3 this week coming). And halfway through the night, she likes to climb in bed with me and the hubby and sleep the rest of the night with us. Of course, one of her favorite places to lay is right on mommy's chest / stomach. With all that I'm hearing about the port being so... tangible - will this be something I'll have to stop forever? Or just while I'm healing? I really don't want to screw up our bonding but... being healthy and living longer is definitely way up higher on the priorities. Thanks for any information you can offer!

I can't speak from experience but all the research I've done (because I hope to get pregnant again by the end of this year and i'm 2 days post op) says that you can have a normal pregnancy with the lap band. I understand that they recommend that you don't get pregnant RIGHT away after you've banded and try to lose all the weight that you need to lose before you get pregnant. And once you do you have to watch your nutrients very carefully. There is someone on this forum that was documenting what they went through being pregnant and banded here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/137406-my-experience-being-pregnant-with-the-lap-band/ I hope this is helpful! CONGRATULATIONS on this amazing news and Good luck to you!

Okay - I'm going to call this Day 2. Not counting the surgery day as an official day 1. Last night was pretty tough because the gas... I mean... c'mon. It was just gurgling through me but there wasn't any real relief if I released it... it just made new gas. So I think that's topic #1 I'll bring up to the doctor once I call through tomorrow. Gas X didn't help because I think once it's in the large intestines there isn't much it can do to help. I'm starting to feel something when I swallow now. Almost feels like a little lump in my throat. I'm wondering if that is the band. And I have a little tight spot in my chest a little to the left. I guess since the swelling is finally going down, my body is taking inventory of all these new little parts to me. The sore throat is all but gone except for a tiny bit of phlegm that keeps lingering at the back of my throat no matter what I do. I suspect that will go away soon enough too. Doing my best to stay away from the scale. I'll let the doctor weigh me in this week.

@@2muchfun Thanks for supplying these videos. In all honesty, I didn't get that much detail from my doctor (i'm 2 days post op). I did a lot of the research on my own and watched actual surgery videos online to get familiar with the process. But hearing a doctor detail it out has put me at ease greatly. I might have to show my doctor this stuff......... have him step his game up Thanks again!

CONGRATULATIONS, @@Wendydarling19!! That's great to hear and inspiring to me! I sincerely doubt that you'll do anything to jeopardize this success for any trips back to Twodorville. Can't wait to join you in Onederland!