steph_co

Well, it's not so bad, really. I'm a night security officer, so I work by myself. I work in a town that's 2 hours away from our "headquarters," so I hardly ever see "the boss." LOL DH goes to HQ quite a bit, but not me. Anybody I see up here is people I don't see too often anyway (night staff at the hotels), so it's not like they'd notice. They may notice once the weight loss is DRAMATIC, who knows? As for my family...ugh. I'm the youngest. They think it should be part of their job description to have snippy opinions about everything I do. LOL I think on down the road the only person in my family that will get to know is my mom...but only after I've lost quite a bit to prove to her that it was a good decision. I have a group of good friends that I am on another board with. Small group of less than 30. But when one of the girls mentioned over a year ago that she was considering Lap Band, they would NOT let up with the diet/exercise advice just to keep her from doing the procedure. So, it's just the way it is. It'd be nice to have support, but honestly, it's easier when people actually have experience with bariatric surgery. And I don't know a single person IRL that has had it...bypass or banding. So DH will have to do.

It was my understanding that you do not have liquids at all while you're eating, so yes on the coffee/toast question. My doctor recommends a half hour before and a half hour after - no liquids.

It looks to me like you need more protein. I only say that because I was borderline hypoglycemic before getting banded and hungry ALL THE TIME. Getting in plenty of protein after getting banded has helped A LOT. I realize I still have some swelling that keeps the hunger from getting too bad, but I'm just amazed that I've had none of the hypoglycemia symptoms that I had before getting banded. Would they allow you to drink protein shakes? Like maybe a Slim-Fast low carb shake? That's the only thing getting me through.

Are you getting enough calcium? Or possibly lack of other vitamins? Are you taking a multi-vitamin and additional calcium? My back is achy, but I think that's from holding my tummy differently with the muscles to keep the port from feeling like it's pulling.

Melissa - I bought the tongs and never used them for that purpose. LOL I think you'll be okay. Good luck!

Tish - I'll keep you in my thoughts that it's just fat and no sickness so things can proceed and you can get on the road to a healthier liver!!!

Tish: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/went-dermatologist-hair-loss-45447/

Glad to hear it went well!! Welcome back. My port incision is really the only one that bothers me.

LOL...that's an interesting twist. I'd never heard of one that vibrates. I think my heating pad is a regular Sunbeam - I love it.

Good luck with your surgery!

I hope everything went well for you, Jill!!! I know it's way past, but I still wish you good luck! Look forward to hearing how things went for you. That is encouraging. I mean, physically I feel better than I have, but good heavens, I'm sleeping a lot. I think I've had about 12 1/2 hours total sleep in the past 24 hours. :bored LOL ANDIE - I'm glad to hear the update!! Sounds like things are going pretty well. OMGoodness, you made ME shudder at the thought of sneezing. LOL Sounds like a good dinner you had.

I drove an hour to work tonight (4 days post-op). I could have driven at least yesterday if I had not been on Vicodin.

I didn't have one. That's strange - I thought with such a short surgery it wouldn't be necessary. I'm just surprised to see so many that did have one. Huh.

I thought the "unflavored" tasted like baby formula smells. Not a fan. And I had mixed it with chicken broth, but could still taste that weird smell.

Only person in my personal life that knows is DH and it'll stay that way until/if I feel comfortable on down the road with telling people. I just don't want to risk hearing any negativity. This is going to be rough enough.

I didn't really get the shoulder pain that everybody talks about. I was so prepared for it, too. All I really got was kind of a radiating pain that went up to the bottom of my shoulder blades - it was worse on the right side, go figure. As for further recovery update - feeling pretty good, actually! Compared to how I HAVE been feeling, that's for sure. Woke up today not hurting too terribly much. I only took a half a Vicodin and didn't really need it. I'm doing my first full night of work tonight (6p-6a) with a little stand-by assistance from DH if I get too run down. The only thing bugging me is the pinching around where my port is while I was driving to work. Ugh. I had to recline the seat more. Kind of a pain, but not unbearable. Anybody else feel a pulling around their port? I don't feel like I can stand completely straight all the time - it feels like it's pulling the port. I just hope everything stays straight in there. I set up my post-op appointment for next Wednesday. I look forward to see how well my incisions have healed!

I am SO sick of this attitude. I haven't told anybody, so I haven't personally had to deal with it. But with every ache and pain and adjustment I have to make, I see flash in my mind, "THE EASY WAY?!?!!!!!" LOL This is NOT freaking easy. I don't care who says that. Until they've been through it themselves, they have NO right to call it "easy." Holy moly. Who in their right minds could seriously think that going under general anesthesia to get your belly cut into is EASY? It just makes me laugh. I know - mini rant. I'm not really angry, I'm just AMAZED that people can assume this is easy!!! As for everybody else - I'm really glad you are getting support from them. :scared: THAT is what makes it easi-ER. I think that's really great that your students are showing support without even realizing how much it means.

You're probably in recovery right now! I'm so excited for you! I'll keep you in my thoughts to heal quickly!

How soon after surgery were you able to get your 64 oz of Water a day? I'm really sucking at this. I sip, sip, and then my stomach hurts. I'm getting my fluids by way of the about 8 oz of chicken broth I'm drinking right now, the stuff I take with the vicodin (watery applesauce or pudding), sips of Protein shake, and sips of water now and then. I'm getting NOwhere NEAR 64 oz. Sheesh. I just don't feel like taking anything in - it's hard! And how about your protein? I haven't gotten 60-80 mg today, either. This will get easier as the days go by, right? If there's anything I wish I had, it's a belly bra. LOL It hurts less to walk around if I support my tummy. Anybody else have this problem?

Glad to hear you're doing so well, Phil. Keep up the good work. That's a great attitude to have, Longhorn. I'd like my success to be more about a size than my weight, but we'll see how that goes.

Total cost was $10,850 and that covered all my pre-op stuff. They didn't even request any type of payment from me whatsoever at my consultation and that included talking to the nutritionist, the doctor, the psych-eval, the doctor's assistant... And I went to their nutrition class with no extra cost. Not a cent came out of my bank account until the day of surgery. Of course, I also didn't have to do a lot of that pre-op stuff like EKGs, pulmonary or sleep studies, etc. That may be more BMI-related or a doctor's preference based on his estimated risk for each patient. I'd say it probably evens out compared to Longhorn because I WILL be paying for fills. Honestly, I don't know how much because I don't care what it costs - it's worth it to me.

I got into the operating room at 9:47am, they called DH at 10:30am to tell him I was out, he finally got in to see me about 11:30am and we left at 2pm. It hasn't been bad - I was banded 2 days ago and I walked over 1 mile today (just keep on top of those pain meds!).

Yay! Have fun! I'm jealous.

I asked the same question in our monthly support group. Come on over - we're all right around the same time as you (actually - I was banded on the 15th, too!). http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f99/water-45363/

I agree - this has been an excellent thread. DH was SO happy to hear about this. We'll be paying for a CPA that is familiar with small-business/self-employed people this year rather than going to H&R Block because it's cheaper. I think I might actually get a refund this year!! Chiquita - I had the same thoughts as you about the whole "last meal" thing and enjoying that last big one. But you know, honestly, I'm looking forward to eating LESS than I have in years past and being satiated. That'll be so nice. And really, it's best to do it THIS holidays so that you are most likely to be around for NEXT holidays (AND slimmer!!) and beyond. You are making a great choice for you and your family. I have NO regrets doing this before Thanksgiving/Christmas (just banded 11/15).