kyteachjules

SO, I have several friends who have been through this process and all of them have been exceptional belchers. I, however, have these little petite air releases occasionally. I wish I would have a big gut vibrating belch, occasinoally. Of course, I'm still on mushies as I'm only 2 weeks out from surgery. I'm just curious on whether anybody else has had belching issues...

Well ok, I'm not strange then. I talked to another friend who had the band and she says that her belches come from intaking toooooo much air. SO, I guess I'm not so strange, after all! Thanks for the info!!

Agreed... not drinking with my meals has been kind of strange! I was a big-time sipper!

Egg drop soup was a LIFE SAVER for me during my liquid stage. My family and I eat at a Chinese restaurant at least 2-3 times a week and the owner, Simon, sent me a quart of it... It was easy to digest and was slightly more substantial than just plain ol' broth.

Gas X Strips are AWESOME! Liquid Tylenol works exceptionally well. Also, I chew Flintstones vitamins and those caramel calcium chews. My doc told me to get a pill crusher and add my Flintstones to OJ or grape juice. As far as the calcium chews, they fairly well melt in your mouth. Walgreens, CVS, Rite-Aid, Walmart, KMart, Target, etc all have these items.

Hey Folks: I'm Julie and from the lovely little town of Hodgenville, Kentucky (slightly south of Louisville). I also, am a teacher. I teach special education on the elementary level, for children w/ IQs of 55 and below with other health impairments, autism, cerebral palsy, seizures and the like. I am certified in 5-12 Family and Consumer Science, 5-8 Science, K-12 Moderate and Severe Special Ed and K-12 School administration: IE. Principal. Stress RULES my life. I am also beginning a doctorate in School Administration. I am married to a fantastic man. He works for Amazon.com (uh huh, we LOVE LOVE LOVE shopping!) and drag-races diesel pick-up trucks. We do not have children, unless you count the four-legged variety. Socks and Dallie are our lovely black and white indoor felines. And, since we are on a farm, we also have 9 lovely cats who spend time in our garage and barns. I had my surgery on December 13 and can't feel any better. I'm so glad I did this!!

Yep, but remember, she's going to go back on regular food and not the "Jenny" way... SO, we can control our weight... She's going to yo-yo! I just get aggravated w/ weepy women! HA HA!!

Take some Gas-X strips. Also, those stick on heating pad things are really helpful, too. Therma-something... Believe me, they help

SO this is normal? I am getting ready for my time, also. I feel EXTREMELY tight, but not completely unrestricted. This is my first month, SO just curious!

ok, speaking of the 'dent' and port placement...? Where is yours? I thought it was going to be more toward the left, but mine is more centralized! Just curious...

I ate mashed potatoes, some smooshed (technical term I know! LOL) green beans and some pureed broccoli casserole on Christmas Eve and Christmas. Other than that, I have stuck w/ the diet. I have been cooking like MAD for my hubby and not tasting or anything. He is going to be SUCH a butterball!!!! But, I feel awesome, so I guess all is well. My biggest problem is that my mom wants to push stuff that I'm not supposed to have on me. We had to eat at a restaurant the other day and I got vegetable soup (I asked for mostly broth, and the waitress was awesome! it was nearly all soup and no 'lumps'). Mom also got vegetable soup, but also received cornbread. She kept shoving some at me saying... "you can spit it out! Just have some, it'll make you feel better... you can spit it out!." And, I wonder why I'm fat! HA HA!

Hope all goes well for you! I was banded on 12/13 and am doing really well. I'm down about 26 lbs in my first two weeks!

GOOD LUCK! What a great life-changing way to start the new year!!! You'll be fine!!! AND DON'T FORGET THE GAS-X! OMG What a life-saver!!

I get the Kids Dannon Danimals yogurt smoothies. They have LESS sugar than the adult version and more calcium. Plus, they have LESS calories. They do the trick for me. My doc also let me have sugar free sherbet that helped a bunch. I could have cream soups, so I went to Panera and got broccoli soup. I brought it home, pureed it and added a little milk to make it thinner. I also LOVE SF strawberry-kiwi jello. My doc let me have SF pudding (dulce de leche is awesome!) and SF apple sauce (I buy organic, SF). And, if you are truly desperate, try taking chicken noodle soup, take out about 1/2 of the noodles and add either FF milk or a little water and puree it. I can only have 2 oz of any calorie-rich foods at a time. I also got Simply Juice in Orange and Grape and take 2 oz shots of those when I get hungry. It helps TREMENDOUSLY! Good luck!

Gas-X strips... they are these little things ( like the listerine breath strips) that just melt on your tongue. They have been VERY helpful for me!

MERRY CHRISTMAS YA'LL! I hope you each have thin dreams and happy banding! Blessings to each of you...

Wow, I felt fairly good from the day of surgery on... the biggest pain I had was my right shoulder from the gas. And, my surgeon had to re-route my stomach (it was entirely in my chest cavity) by cutting my diaphragm and moving my stomach south (literally! HA!). Anyway, I took gas-x strips and it helped with the gas, SO much! I TRULY hope you feel better soon! I'll keep ya in my prayers!

YEA!! Glad you had a good experience. I feel like a completely new person 1 week later! Congrats!

Well to be honest with you, I went to a family funeral back in the earlier part of the year and was the thinnest woman there. When I saw cousins, who were my age, that were 500lbs +. I guess that I simply didn't want to keep up with the family norms! And, my family health history is an utter disaster. My maternal and paternal grandparents and my parents all have high blood pressure. My paternal grandfather died of a massive heart attack at age 57. My mother, paternal grandmother, and maternal grandmother had low or non-functioning thyroids (my paternal g-ma actually developed stones in hers and it was surgically removed), My paternal grandmother had Type I Diabetes and my mother has Type II. Let's see, the whole family has arthritis and, my maternal grandmother and mother are susceptible to gout. SO, while I have low blood sugar, low blood pressure and no pain from arthritis, etc, I decided now was the time. I was encouraged by two dear friends who both have have had it, not to mention two friends at church, also. In other words, I want to be happy and healthy for the duration of a long, fruitful life!

I dunno... Sounds like a great idea~

Hi Cindy! Good to meet you! I'm from the Elizabethtown/Hodgenville area. Glad to know you are getting ready to have the band. I just had mine and feel fantastic! Julie

Lord have mercy, I've been like clockwork. I take it you all didn't have to have the barium/swallow study post op? I can tell ya, the barium flushed everything ... EVERYTHING! But, I've been regular. Apple juice or apple sauce work, also.

2 days Pre-Op: Liquids (wasn't hard, wasn't eating much anyway.. haven't ever) Surgery 12/13/07: Had ice chips until midnight that night 12/14/07: Barium/Swallow study: Had broth and jello afterward. Week 1: Liquids (broth, cream soups, jello, sf pudding, sf popcicles, apple sauce, etc) My Doc doesn't care for protein shakes, especially since I'm lactose intolerant. I can do yogurt and have gotten the Dannon Danimals Strawberry Explosion Smoothies (the kids have a TON less sugar than the adult portion) I can have 2 oz at a time. Weeks 2-4: Pureed foods Week 4+: Small portions of regular foods

I'd give him more information. Provide him websites, literature, etc to explain WHAT you are doing and WHY you are doing it. Provide information that tells how it will improve your health and well being. My mom wasn't agreeable about the whole thing right up until.. well she's still amazed that I did it, but it worked out. My husband is excited because he knows that I'll work my butt off until... well until I don't have a butt to work off! The biggest thing is that you have to make sure that your family knows the information that you have and the work that you have put into this process, also. I think you just need to explain how it will change your life.

What a great gift!!! Sounds like an interesting thing to do! I'm giving my mother an antique suitcase that a friend of mine painted a snow-man on the side of... with a snowman inside made out of an antique chenille quilt. Now, I just have to figure what the blooming hell to get my hubby and sis in law and bro in law...! I'm slightly behind these days!!!!