Texgirly

hey Cat - Elisa and Becky are right - nervous is ok and expected. You are about to make some major changes in your life (that is where my nerves came from) and it is surgery. But it is worth it. Tomorrow will be officially 2 weeks since my band and I am down by 15 lbs. already. I am expecting that to slow some as I enter the mushies phase. I started back at the gym last week and will continue that, so a few more calories will feel better. Can't wait to see your progress too!

Lisa and G2S - LOVE where you have been this morning! What amazing suggestions you have G2S! I jotted them down and like Lisa will be trying them soon. I had a scrambled egg for lunch today and thought I was in heaven. Mushies is a nice place to be moving to right now. My husband is behind me in the kitchen as we speak making what we call loose meat. Traditionally we cook the ground beef with a little onion (this time cut smaller) with some chicken broth. makes it very moist. Today I will just be enjoying the meat, but in the past we would role it up in a leaf of romaine. As for the hunger pain - oh yeah! If I wait too long the hunger gets down right angry! I keep some fruit juice handy for a quick fix. Like you said, as soon as it has something to work with the pain goes away. How many calories are you getting in? I track everything on Sparkpeople. I have been around 700 per day until mushies; now I am closer to 1000. That should help keep the engine running. I have lost just about 14 lbs. so far.

Hey Lisa - I am with you on the Water thing. I want it all the time. It has been a struggle. I wish I had some magic hint to offer. I am at the end of a 2 week full liquid but I have been sneaking some mushies with success thus far. Today we shopped for the first mushy week. Can't wait to get into the cottage cheese and scrambled eggs. Yum! I also hit the gym this week - anyone else? It felt really good.

Hey Cerrin - along the same lines but I thought it would make you feel better. I went in January to be properly fitted for new running shoes. The sales girl and I sit down to chat and she has me take my shoes and socks off to see my feet when I walked. She says to me that I am tying my shoes way too tight. She said that when you can see the entire impression of your shoe in your naked foot, you have gone way too far. She brings out the new shoes and laces them properly and they were completely comfy and loose. The only place even remotely tight was at the very top where they were tied. I was really embarrassed :biggrin:. I figured since this was my gift to me for my 38th birthday I knew what I was doing but I was wrong. With the new tying system in place - no numbness, ever. I have restrung all of my shoes the way she did and they are all much more comfortable. Hope that helps.

Congrats! That is awesome. Lots of well wishes for your journey!!

For a quick, at any store shakes, I like Ensure (or the generic form of it) in strawberry. In 8 ox it delivers 13g of Protein. The calories are high but if you are like me and still in full liquid stage, 350 cals is not a huge setback. I love seeing everyone's suggestions. The recipes are awesome. I may have to try tat Espresso one.

Hey Am - same issue - I was banded 3/4 and exact description. I called my doc (good suggestion) and it sounds normal. Body adjusting, and such. My nurse said as long as I don't have shortness of breath (which I don't - it hurts if I breath deeply too fast but not if it is planned) then I am ok.

If you are talking about the stabbing pain when I breath deeply too quickly - or sneeze, cough, drive, etc. Yes! I called my doc's office and my nurse said as long as I am not experiencing shortness of breath (which I am not) then it is normal and will work it's self out. I didn't think about the scar tissue issue. I have a firm spot (not firm, but like there is something there) that I suspect is my port. Now I can't wait for my follow up next week to find out.

Lulu, Mindy, Wombat, Daddy Stranger and BigBaby- sounds like you guys are still logging miles and losing weight! Yeah for all of you. I missed yall and thought I would pop in and give a quick update. I hit the gym for the first time yesterday since the big day. (Yep, I am officially banded!) I walked for 20 minutes at 2.5. Felt great and will repeat tomorrow. I am all about walking until doc says otherwise. Someday I will check in with all of you and report a run has been made. You guys keep rockin' it. You are so inspiring!!

Hey Elle - I was wondering the same thing sometime ago and started the thread linked below. There are some great answers and real inspiring bandster. Based on what I was doing pre-band and my surgeon, I am a week post op and have started 20 min on the treadmill at the gym everyday. Good luck and I look forward to watching you on this journey. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f81/exercise-after-surgery-when-what-51623/

Thank for the info Amanda - but I still have my steri-strips. They are peeling back, but still on. I'm not rushing them.

Hey all. Trinity - sorry to hear you are in b-hell. This is my second week of full liquids. While I am cool with the different Soups I have been trying, I am dreaming of a steak. I am a Texan thru and thru - we love our red meat. But all in all it is going pretty well. Sorry to hear the gas is still so bad for everyone. Mine seems to have subsided now, but it took a full 6 days or so. Here is crazy side effect I have found. The band seems to have made chocolate and anything flavored as such taste a little nasty to me. My favorite "treat" at this point is some homemade apple sauce DH made me. Yeah, I am braggin' a little - he rocks! I am finally getting the Water I was craving. Have any of you discovered the Special K Protein Water? Mixed berry is my fav. It has 5 Protein and 5 Fiber. With that addition, I am getting about 48 oz. of water on top of the other liquids and soups. Oh, and I have dropped about 12 lbs. thus far. Talk to yall tomorrow!!

It is really funny how different everyone reacts. I am struggling to get Water in me. I feel it going down. adding to that frustration is the act that I LOVE water. Pre-banding I was drinking something like 80 oz./day. Yesterday I managed 24! To try to solve this little issue I had DH pick up those tiny bottles, Ozarka 8 oz. The thinking is that it is easy to measure, extremely portable and an easy goal. I am setting my sights on drinking one bottle every 2 hours. I will let you know how it goes. Trinity, no fill date in sight. Doc wants to see how weight loss goes first.

Hey, hey March 4thers. Hope everyone is well and making great strides in recovery. Like all of you I have some belly soreness on the port side but not the port site. They told me that they incision on my upper left side was where most of the "work" came from and therefore will be the most sore. It is way better today. I bent down to tie my shoes today for a short walk. Just to the mail box and back but it felt wonderful. I did get the gas thing. Lots of belching going on in So. Texas right now. And so far my favorite liquid on the full liquid stage is Ensure Plus in strawberry. 8 oz. in 30 minutes for Breakfast. How soon are your follow ups? I see my doc on March 20th next (2 weeks.) Later all - will check in later.

Thanks Lulu - and everyone else. I am on liquids today. Surgery is at 7:30 am tomorrow and doc requires an overnight. I am way excited at this point. We have a small office and they all know about tomorrow. They are all so sweet. They planned their lunches so that nothing had to heated today - no smells to make me long for. I know I have 2 weeks of just walking after tomorrow. I can't wait to rejoin the ranks of the running. All of you are doing so well. And yeah to the folks who have joined while I was ill - you guys ROCK! Well, you guys have a great week and I will see you on the other side!

Ok- are all of you ready for tomorrow? I am. All liquids today. Everyone at work is being super supportive - they all brought food don't don't have to heat so it won't smell so good in here. I know I am blessed. How is everyone today? Really want to hear from you if you are still up and around. I have to be at the hospital in the morning at 5:30 - my surgery is at 7:30. I also wanted to ask - are all of you overnight stays or day surgery? When my sister did hers she was home that night. My doc requires an overnight.

Well, Feb has been crazy for me. I have basically been sick since the 8th. click below for my funny take on the whole thing. Mortals in Training: You can't make this stuff up! I am hoping to get back on the horse later this week, but like Mindy said to me - I am going to take it slow. I basically will be back at week 1 when it happens. And I have my surgery next week. So - walking is really where I will be for a while. But all of you are so encouraging! I love keep track of each other. See you around.

Hey guys - can't wait!!! 6 more days. I have been missing for like weeks because if it was a virus in Texas it found me. Two different ones - first the big with the flu like stuff then a stomach virus that landed me in the ER. Everyone around me is asking what I have done to deserve this. Thankfully I am back to being healthy and still on track for March 4. Pre-op day is Feb 28th. WHOoo HOO!

Hey all. Thanks for answering these questions. I really appreciate all of the feedback. As of today I am 13 days away from surgery and have a pretty good plan in place. Thanks to all!!

I am sure I will get the answer to this from my surgeon, but I wanted to ask here as well. Here is my mini survey: How soon did you start exercising after surgery? What kinds of activities? Were you active prior to surgery? Trying to make some plans. Thanks for the feedback.

Howdy all. I fell off the planet and back into Flu-ville, TX! Took me to my knees, 2 doc visits and 1 week of work lost. Not to mention any kind of activity, other than lots of sleeping and TV. Yeah to the many success since my last visit. And wow to the snow. Here in Texas, we really think you guys fake those kind of pictures. I am afraid I will be stuck in week 2 forever. I may try it next Tuesday. But all of your successes are so encouraging!! Keep it ups guys!

No solutions as I am not banded yet but I have similar issues. I want to watch the responses you get. Like you were thinking going into the band, I am hoping the limited amounts of food will help me with this issue. Mine seems to orbit certain foods. For years cheese cake and ice cream (but, no other milk products) have caused me problems. I now think of those foods as food intolerances. I stay away. Also, in my nutritional visit, the gal talked abut stomach dumping. The way I understand it, in some folks, when you get too much grease or sugar from some foods, your stomach kind of hits the reject button, but the long way around. When she described it, I knew exactly what she was talking about. Violent cramps, and then diarrhea until the offending food was gone - for me this lasts about 3 hours. Thanks for asking this one!

Stranger - glad you are feeling better and super glad you logged fewer lbs! Welcome ting - your found a great thread. These guys have funny stories, and offer great support and inspiration! I seem to be playing tag with this silly cold, I had to skip yesterday's gym trip and I am sitting out today for rest. I may try tomorrow depending on how today goes. I had a cool NSV of sorts yesterday. I visited my PCP for a re-up on my cholesterol meds and something for this cough. Our Ins is a PPO, so he doesn't know a thing about my banding adventure. So, I finally told him about it. For some history, I know him - he is not just my doc. His wife helped found our local Habitat, she still helps me with fund raising, and I have worked with their daughter on a HFH project. Let's just say I was nervous. He was positively giddy! Can't wait to observe the whole process. Wanted to know why I chose LB over GBS. Apparently, I will be his first patient to go the LB route. And here I thought he was going to give me some big "don't do it" speech. That was a big relief.

Wombat - I have not done it in a while, but both are awesome! Pilates literally kicked my butt the first time. My lower abs - the hard ones to work - were throbbing!!! But it also felt really good in the end. Yeah - I am excited about LB day - only 26 days left! On that note, I posted a question I would love to hear from all of you on, too. Here is a link (I think!) http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f81/exercise-after-surgery-when-what-51623/ Headed to the gym in the am and planning on some treadmill work. Good night all!

Hey Mindy! Good to hear from you. I think I suggested earlier this week that we all attempt another race on March 1st - the race is actually in Houston - the Conoco Rodeo run. It would be flat (your hill stories scared the snot out of me) but it is almost always rainy. However, I will be in Houston that weekend for something else if anyone is game. Lulu - the knee - ouch! Hope it gets better soon. And yeah - I am surprised you didn't hear my Giants fan from there. He was hoarse on Monday. I was telling a friend of mine (who is opposed to me being banded but ok well) what WE have all been up to. She was so inspired, she ran day 1 week 1 yesterday! YEAH! Your inspiration is reaching beyond the boards. Well done. And Whoysa - what can I say? I live for your posts!