JaxBandster

I was 252 the day of my surgery. Today (five days post-op) I am 246. So right now I am averaging just over a pound a day. Of course, I won't be starting on mushies until Saturday and I understand that you will slow down and even gain once you reach that point, so I am grateful for anything I can lose until that point!

I think as long as your chicken is really moist (maybe marinade it?) and you reallly chew well that you should be okay. As far as hair goes, make sure you take really good vitamins (I take Bariatric Advantage Chewables which I specifically made for bariatric patients and loaded with vitamins) as well as making sure you get as much protein as possible. There may be some initial hair loss but from what I hear it does come back. Keeping your nutrients up will help prevent or at least lessen that. I lost a significant amount of hair about six years ago when I was on treatment for Hep C. It literally was coming out in fistfulls in the shower. Today my hair is as thick as always. So just make sure your getting all your vitamins and nutrients and you should be good to go! :scared2:

Good Luck Staci!!!!!! Hope the train ride is nice and relaxing! You will do great! Write when you get back and let us know how you are doing!

Wow Q!! And I thought I was doing good!!! :scared2: Congratulations on your band and continued rapid healing!!!!!!!!!!!

Crystal, As with any life changing decision there are going to be pluses and minuses. But I can pretty much guarantee you that the pluses will definitely outweigh the minuses and that a year from now, if you follow your doctor's instructions, get your fills, and follow the bandster way of eating that you will succeed and any of the minuses will be a minor sacrifice for your over all health, well-being, self-image and confidence. Try not to over think this. You will make yourself crazy! :scared2:

Wow Sue! 57 lbs is fantastic!!! We Jacksonville Bandsters know how to work the band!!!!! :smile2: Thanks for the info about how Dr. Cywes does his fills. I was definitely curious about that (although never thrilled with the clear liquid part). If I can lose 8-10 lbs a month I will be REALLY happy! Something tells me that Dr. Cywes won't let me fail! LOL I can't wait to meet all you ladies, it will be nice having a small group of bandster to support each other.

I can't imagine going through two surgeries so close together! You are really a trooper! I can imagine that the discomfort correlates to that as well :smile2: Right now I am on Protein shakes 3x a day plus all the Clear liquids I want. Saturday I get to move onto mushies and I can't wait!!!! Just to taste some normal food again will be wonderful! On the plus side I am down 22.5 lbs so far so it's working and yes we are doing it!!!!!!!! Right now my only complaints are persistant burping, a hoarse throat and some soreness in my tummy and left shoulder. Not bad though. Glad to hear you are on the mend!!!

Actually Kitten, 26 lbs is not water! Maybe a few lbs of it, maybe even five but not 26! LOL Face it darlin, you are losing fat! Congratulations!

There you are!!!!!! Was wondering where you ran off to!!!!! 50 lbs in five months! Man that's awesome! I can only dream of doing as well although I've gotten off to a good start! As of today I'm down 22 lbs in a little over a month so I'm definitely not complaining. Gosh, I just had a Protein shake and a little broth from some chicken noodle Soup and I'm stuffed!!!!!!!!!!! Pretty cool! Let's figure out when we can get together. I'm pretty wide open during the week, I get a little busier over the weekends with riding and all :smile2:

Hey! I was banded on the 7th and I am having the same burping problem. It sort of hurts doesn't it? Not terrible but uncomfortable. I have been taking Gas-x strips and they help a little but it's really getting annoying. Can't help you on the sugar thing, I can't have anything with real sugar in it right now. I'm planning to ask about the burping at my post op appt on Thursday. Hopefully I can give you some insight then.

Good luck to both of you!!! 26 pages? Dang!

OMG -37??????? That's terrible!!!!!! I tell you what, if I weren't still a bit sore today I would have been out today! Maybe I will give it a shot tomorrow. So your daughter likes to ride huh? Looks like you are going to have to have a suitable bike so she can tag along with daddy! My bike has a resemblance of a back seat and foot pegs but it wouldn't be very comfortable for very long. Very much like a sport bike set up. I sure hope it warms up for all you guys up north. That is just brutal!

Hi Christi!! Welcome to the group! We sort of run in fits and starts around here so keep checking back from time to time. We will get it running good eventually! I was banded on the 7th and I'm not stir crazy yet but I'm sure I will be soon. Still a little tender in the mid section and get periodic pain in the left shoulder/neck from my hiatal hernia repair, but I feel a little better each day. I will definitely be glad when I get back to normal. Started on Protein shakes today which is definitely helping me to feel a little more human. It's nice to get some calories. Wish I could do cream Soups and other stuff like that but Dr. Cywes doesn't allow those :cursing: What is your post-op diet like? I am hoping that once I get back on real food I can arrange a get together for everyone here so we can meet each other face to face. Looking forward to getting to know you better!

My surgeon had everything outlined on a piece of paper and depending on whether you were in the hospital or surgery center. $5,500 surgeon fee $8,800 surgery center fee $250 anesthesiologist $100 weight loss counselor $150 nutritionist Sounds like yours should have been clearer

If he has the means to have an operating room in his practice with all the surgical participants (anesthesiologist, etc.) then I'm sure it's fine. He wouldn't be allowed to perform this kind of surgery at his office if he didn't have the proper provisions there in the event of an emergency. He can't operate and do anesthesia at the same time. So if he has been doing this for a while I'm sure he's fine. I had my surgery done in a surgical center and the entire center took up the 2nd floor of a very small office building. The actual surgery side was only half of that. So you don't need a big hospital to do this sort of thing. Just the right equipment, space, personnel and licensing. If your doctor is board certified I'm pretty certain you are fine, but always ask about anything that concerns you.

Same thing here. I have known I have had one for years and have had two scopes to monitor it to make sure that there were no problems with it but my gastro opted to treat it with medication rather than operate to repair it. Heaven forbid I forget to take that medication. I could never just take OTC, the only thing that worked was Aciphex which is $180 a month! My lap band surgeon also repaired my hiatal hernia during surgery (I have pix and everything! LOL) and according to him it was huge! Last night I moved from our third bedroom where I had been recovering post-op (there is an adjustable bed in there) and slept in our bed for the first time since surgery. I have had to sleep on a foam wedge for years as well due to the horrible GERD (even with medication sometimes). Last night I decided to try sleeping without the wedge and slept like a rock. No waking up with acid in my throat. It was awesome! I hear that big hernias can sometimes come back over time but I sure hope mine doesn't. I'm very pleased! The only additional side effect it caused was some soreness in my left shoulder/neck area and that was worse last night. Not bad, just felt like a muscle strain. It has something to do with the proximity of the esophagus to the diagphragm and the tendons that are attached to the shoulder/neck area. (Ask your doctor LOL) Also, don't fret about the scope. It sounds worse than it is. You don't remember a thing. One second you are falling asleep and the next you are waking up. It's a breeze.

I was banded on 2/7/08. Have had absolutely no complications, surgery and recovery have been a breeze. However, today I am suddenly getting hoarse. I am presuming that this is from the tube they use on you during surgery but I expected to feel after effects from that sooner after surgery rather than three days afterward. I have no soreness and my throat feels completely normal otherwise. Anyone experienced this?

Surgery Center just called. I need to be there at 5:45 a.m. and my surgery is scheduled for 7:00 a.m. Holy crap! This time tomorrow I will be banded!!!! I've done everything I'm supposed to do. I have everything I need. I have people praying for a successful surgery. It's all in God's (and the surgeon's) hands now. Right now my gut feels like it might feel when getting on a roller coaster ride that hasn't started yet. You are sitting in your seat, strapped in and waiting for the ride to start moving. I hope this is worth it. I hope I'm successful. I hope I don't regret it. I hope a year from now I can look back and say it was the best thing I ever did for myself like I hear so many others say. Here I go!

Did wonderfully Amanda! No complications whatsoever, went smooth as silk. Right now just going through the poor me clear liquid diet phase. Will be glad to start getting some actual nutrition tomorrow. My tummy is still tender mostly on the left (port) side and I can feel the swelling when I run my hand over it but every day it gets better and better. All in all I can't really complain being just three days post op. How are you doing????????

Soup this soon after surgery???? OMG I'm so jealous!!!!!!!!! :eek: You are probably right about the swelling, just imagine, that is what restriction will feel like! :thumbup: Seriously though, keeping with the clear liquids until you can get them down easy is probably the best plan. Good luck at work tomorrow and don't push yourself!

Rhapsody You are very welcome and thank you for the compliment! I know it helped me by reading other people's experiences so I am glad I can contribute. The show you are talking about is called Big Medicine and I record it religiously!!! I find it fascinating to follow other people's journeys and everything that goes into it from the physician's perspective. My surgeon actually shows his patients pictures of the liver of a patient he closed up because she hadn't followed her pre-op diet thinking it didn't matter. Well it did. You should have seen her liver. Like you, he said that if he had lifted it, it would have torn in two! That's all it took for me. I followed the pre-op diet religiously if not better than they wanted! The only real requirement was less than 30 gms a day excluding green leafy vegetables, i.e. no corn, peas or other starchy veggies. I counted everything. Judging from my liver pics and the accolades from my surgeon I must have done a good job. I just can't believe how eager I am to get back to that low carb diet right now!!!!!!!!!!

Checking in LA makes sense. Don't know why you couldn't go across state lines :eek: I don't have staples either. Sutures underneath, steri strips on top. :thumbup:

I wonder if she ever got the band???? LOL

I actually went out and got some of these before I thought to ask my surgeon if I could have them. You would think "clear" so they are okay right? Well my doctor said no. Too many calories (175) They want me on almost no calories right before surgery and for four days afterward. Having said that, there are soooooo many differences between doctor's pre/post surgery diets that I would call them and ask them for directions. As for me I'm looking forward to Protein shakes!!!!!!!