Wheetsin

Two sisters I know were banded in 2001 and they were part of the trials, so there is no US-based long term research study data available. Honestly - not one bit. MAYBE the band will be somehow harmful, hard to see how though. DEFINITELY carrying a BMI over 50 would have been harmful in the long run!

I was not catheterized, but from what I was told they will catheterize some people. I also did not have to do a bowel prep, but I know others who did. It depends largely on your surgeon.

What's sex?

Here's mine from a previous thread:

I felt like I was just waking up from a really long sleep, but I knew where I was. My thought process went something like this: . o O ( Oh yes! I'm alive! ) . o O ( Is the breathing tube out yet? ) *trying to surreptitiously tell, and I can't, so I reach up and feel a few times to make sure* (my eyes are still closed at this point) "Do you have any pain? Rate your pain on a scale from 1 - 10." "Umm... like a half." Then I was asked to lift my butt so they could get an xray slide under me. I tried opening my eyes, and starting getting really annoyed because I would look straight ahead or up, but my eyes kept slowly looking right back down at my bed, so I'd look up again, and they'd slowly fall again. It was REALLY making me mad. Then a nurse came over to check something, and she had "dirt" all over her face (apparently it was ash wednesday -- not that it would have made any difference had I known) and seeing her that dirty really made me mad... and I guess I kind of told her that she should be ashamed working at a hospital with such poor hygiene, and that she needed to stay away from me so I didn't get an infection. I apparently asked another nurse why she had a Charles Manson tattoo (again referecning the ashes on her forehead). At that time I was still not able to talk coherently, I'd try - but what I heard was more like someone had just woken me up than any real lucidity. A few minutes later and I was better. I was only in recovery less than an hour. I remember the nurse saying she was going to call to have me moved to ACC, and someone else questioning that and she said, "She's talking, breating just fine, has no pain -- no sense in making her stay here if she wants to see her family."

Teresa you should be so excited! I know that each time I get to a new century, it's absolutely indescribable! Eh... not that I've lost hundreds of pounds (at the sametime), but let me say -- each of the many times I've gone from 300 to 299.

That's actually not my case. The band the doctor used for me had an inner diameter smaller than the outer diameter of where it was placed, so just by virtue of the band being there I have some restriction (Dr. estimates about 20% - 25%, e.g. about 1cc in a 4cc band).

IME most of the shakes out there can be good depending on how you make them. Isopure made me gag when I was just mixing it with Water (Double Ducth flavor Ispoure). Now I blend it with non-fat milk and a dollup of Peanut Butter... actually quite good. There's a brand you can get somewhere called "Six Star". The vanilla of that brand, blended with some ice and sugar free Kahlua syrup is a reasonably copy of a virgin mudslide. Or you can add some strawberries, a bit of Splenda, and make a Julius. Or blend with light OJ and it tastes like an orange creamsicle. When I'm in a hurry I use "EAS Advant Edge Carb Control" shakes in the strawberry flavor. Not as good as a homemade one, but definitely tolerable, esp. when cold. What is C2? You really should eat breakfast, at least. It will get your metabolism going for the whole day. You want alternate foods to shakes, but your surgeon has told you that you have to drink shakes? Is there a nutritionist or dietician involved in your pre-ops that you could talk to for ideas?

Never heard of the Super BLender but I have the Magic Bullet (never even saw that thread until just now) and I LOVE it. It's super fast. Easy. Crushes ice like*that*. And only dirties one cup.

I too had staples. Mine were covered with this clear "tape" stuff, and bubbles started to form, lifting the tape up. Took me a while to figure out what was causing that! Unless your wounds are gaping, I wouldn't worry about the staples. This was m first time with them, and like I said - I had this tape stuff holding them in place, but I asked around - with a LOT of people - and it doesn't seem unusual to lose staples. Heck, I asked my mother and she had staples after her hysterectomy and "lost" about 11 of them. "They were there when I went to bed, gone when I woke up, but not inthe bed or on the floor!" However, if your incisions don't look like they're closing, def. call your surgeon. Didn't lose any of my senses...

I have the exact same issue, except adhesives will also "melt" into my skin. I didn't have to wear band-aids on my incisions, they were were covered with a thick, clear "tape" while staples were in, and then just steristrips after they were removed. I actually had a reaction about 1 week post-op that was bad enough for me to call the hospital's 24-hour nurse line and ask what I could do for them... itching so bad I couldn't stand it, on top of raw skin that had essentially been pulled off as the adhesives were removed. Hw are the band-aids even staying on? Dang, a couple of showers and that's all she wrote for me! Are you replacing them, or are you originals still there? If your originals are still there, probably time to change them anyway? I used hydrocortizone and my doc called in a prescription cream, some kind of steriod/antihistamine if I remember correctly. My skin is *still* discolored in some of the places where I had this reaction. I posted pics the night of, if you're interested you could probably find them via search & see if it's anything like what you're getting.

1. This "restriction" thing...yes, I logically know what it is but how do you "feel" it? Is it just the "oh, I'm sooo full" feeling or do you know that you are "restricted" when you have one of those god awfully scary PBs/Golf balls I keep reading about. (y'all are givin' me night terrors!). To me I just kind of feel the food going down. When something doesn't go right down, you can feel it hanging out. There's no easy way to describe this because it's not something you're likely to have felt before, so no "it feels likt *this" analogies to be made. I feel it more in my chest than right where my band is, but I've not had the golfball feeling. I don't feel pressure, I just feel that there's food there. 2. Once I am banded and way over my post-op stages and eating "normally"....is the amount to eat for every meal always around 1/2 to 1 cup (ie. for everything total at that meal?). Can someone plse confirm...is that the goal...not to eat more than 1 cup (amount wise) at one meal sitting? I believe the "on paper" goal is 2 - 4 oz per meal, at least per my nutritionist. Most people I have talked with or heard from aim for about 3/4 - 1 cup, but I'll let others chime in - we all at different amounts. 3. I know you get anti-nausea meds to prevent vomiting after the surgery ...but despite that, did anyone still vomit? I'm so paranoid because the last time (yrs ago) I had anasth. I woke up vomiting (not a pretty site, let me tell ya)...scared it will happen again and ruin what was done. No vomiting or nausea for me. No gas pains, either. My only discomfort was from the incisions themselves. 4. I know y'all talk about how many 'ccs you have etc...and I do know what that refers to...but I didn't know there were diff. sizes of bands...(as to how many cc's they hold)....what if you get a band that isn't even BIG enough to have the right amount of ccs in it for your restriction? Is that possible? You'd have to have one heck of a tiny esophagus for that to be possible! I have a 4cc band and I've seen one inflated to capacity, and that's a seriously small opening! I don't think you'll have any worries there. You surgeon should select the band that is right for your natural organ size. Going in, based on the weight I had to lose (lots of it) he thought I would get a 10cc band, but once he saw my innards I got a 4. 5. Last one (for now!)...water....I know we have to drink LOTS of it; especially post op....but when we drink it, is it supposed to be in continuous small sippys or can I drink Water (liquids) normally (like I do now)...omigawd, I just thought of something...will I get one of those PB things from just drinking water? I was a chugger post-op and afraid of this. I could down a 32oz glass w/o thinking twice, let alone stopping to breathe. The first few days post-op I drank slowly - small sips - one at a time. Then I went to taking larger mouth fulls, but only swallowing part of them at a time. It just gradually progressed as I felt comfortable, and now I can take a few (2 - 3) mouthfulls in succession. Not quite gulping, but not sipping. I drink enough that I don't really get thirsty, so I really only do this when I'm working out. I've not PBed from water, but I do know someone whose band slipped to the point that they would PB their own saliva from swallowing. Being too tight I'd imagine could cause it to, but that should be a very rare occurence and not something you're likely to have to worry about.

I had a fill Friday but my surgeon really debated over whether or not one would be needed. He eventually gave me 1cc and I have to call back in about 2 weeks and tell them how I'm doing, and depending on how that goes he'll possibly have me in for an unfill and let me continue going on w/o fill. It's not so much that the band has to be filled to work, or be un-idle, it's that the band size my surgeon chose for me gives me restriction even when empty.

About 2.5" below my bra and about 1/4" to 1/2" right of center. My surgeon places them there due to accessibility -- being easier to find and get to in a less fatty area than lower midsection.

My co-worker and I have been asked to handle the icebreakers & intro activities for my work's upcoming "bring your child to work day." We anticipate about 30 kids. Neither of us have children, nor are we "kid people". We lead icebreakers all the time, but mostly for corporate teambuilding, problem-solving, etc. Our repetoire does not include activities for kids. I've gotten some ideas from google, but I know LOTS of you out there have children and surely you've had to entertain them, right? Any ideas on a few good icebraks for kids? I'm going to guess we'll have about 30 - 45 kids, a huge room, and maybe about $1000 budget.

I had my first fill Friday. My instructions were basically, "thick liquids tonight, then work things back into your diet as you can. Do it carefully because things probably won't be as easy now as they used to be." So far I can eat all the same foods that I've tried (still haven't tried Pasta yet), just a lot less of them.

I'd take a PB over barfing any day! Not that I'm lining up to have one... barfing doesn't hurt and PB does, but if you're going to bring something up, the food/saliva combo is a lot better & a lot less in quantity IMO than food/saliva/acid.

I went swimming as soon as I felt up to it, about 2ish weeks post-op. I took it easy. The only exercise my surgeon really limited was ab workout.

Thanks for all the ideas, I'm still waiting to hear the age ranges. Sign-up ended Friday so I should get that info soon. We arranged for Ident-A-Kid to come in for part of the day, but we still need to fill about an hour and a half. I'll update when I know ages!

Breakfast - Usually a Protein drink b/c I'm still not able to eat enough solids to get my requirements in. I don't mind, I like the ones I make. lunch - I often eat cooked turkey pepperoni (cook until crisp, cooks almost all the fat out -- leftover from my Atkins days but someone mentioned it at our support group meeting so I know others eat it too), or maybe half of a small lunchable (3 wheat crackers, turkey, and cheddar pieces), maybe something leftover from lastnight's dinner. If we go out for lunch I'll get the Soup, or a band-friendly appetizer (chicken wings, potato wedgies...whatever) Dinner - (you can tell this is the meal where I really have time to think/prepare) I love to get a Chipotle bol with black Beans, chicken, tiny bit of sour cream, little bit of cheese, maybe guac if I'm feeling frisky. I make my own sort of "spicy thai chicken" with a carmelized peanut sauce -- I will eat just the chicken and be very sparing with the sauce, but will make some brown rice for DH to have with his. I also have a recipe for breadless pizza that is YUMMY - I throw all DH's favorite toppings on it except for my little 3x3 square where I just use cheese and turkey pepperoni. DH & all my co-workers who have tasted this like it more than regular pizza. I also make a chicken dish - you make a spread for the chicken before you bake it that's GOOD (and fattening, so I use just a tiny bit on my piece of fish) when it browns up. If I'm not doing the Thai chicken I will make a lime/chipotle/honey marinade and grill some boneless tenferloins, or make a stirfry with a garlic/terriyaki concotion I make up. If we eat out I'll get some kind of chicken and a sauce to dip it in, just in case - or some kind of grilled fish. My favorite restaurant chicken right now (and pre-banding too!) is LongHorn's portabella chicken. I give the asparagus & mushrooms to DH, and get the sauce on the side. The chicken is really moist. Occasionally I'll get soup & half sandwich and just eat the innards of the sandwich, or an egg & soup.

How do you guys lose? I'm a "chunky" loser (in more ways than one!) - so I may go a week with nothing, and then lose 8# overnight. Others will lose more consistently - a pound or two a day. How 'bout you?

What does your doctor's post-op diet specify you can eat? We can all tell you what's common, or what our doctors made us eat, but we really can't tell you if it's ok for you to eat a given food unless we know what Dr's orders are. Some have endured the shoulder pain for weeks...

It takes a long time because of the chewing, and the time advised/required between bites. Since you're still on liquids, you won't have the same issue - unless you're sipping or drinking slowly (that would be the drinker's version of the chewers problem).

Ok, sorry if this is gross to anyone, but you can't chew corn very well, and it (and all plant cell walls) are hard to digest. That's why you umm... poo it out so visibly. A long-time bandster I know can eat it w/o problems, but I've been too afraid to try. If it's visible in poo, I don't want to risk it getting through that little bandhole.

Mine hurt a lot too, but not in my chest where I hear most people hurt. I hurt in my back between my shoulder blades, and on the sides of my waist. *shrug* Congrats, you're "official" now.