heartfire

I'm sorry you are so scared. I agree that maybe you should find a female gyno. That would be easier on you. I also want to add that in all honesty, they've seen it all and yours is going to be no different from anything else they've encountered. I used to be pretty shy about it. Then we discovered infertility and all it entails. After awhile I just figured they should all just line up and do their thing and I could get outta there faster! Sheesh! Sometimes I felt like charging admission! Mighta paid for some of the treatments we did! LOL!! Seriously though, you're now building this up to greater proportions than it deserves. Take a deep breath and make some phone calls. Shoot, if we were closer and I had a sitter that day, I'd go with you for support!

Lost 6.5 this week on the pre-op liquid diet. Should've been more but my hormones are out of whack now and even though I'm on Depo shots, I'm PMSing and having breakthrough. Bloated like no body's business but haven't GAiNED my normal 2-5lbs! I think it means that I'm still losing liver-wise but with the bloating, just not showing up on the scale! I'm hoping this will end tomorrow b/c I'd like an accurate surgery day weight!! I'll be banded by next WI too!! WooHoo!!

Co-Pay, $15 each: PCP (3 times) Psych Nutritionist Surgeon Outpatient Surgery $100 for the 20 session Weight Management and Lifestyle Class

Thanks! I'm super excited! Morning of is going to be a little tough. We live an hour from the hospital and they're doing roadwork overnight on the 2 lane highway sooo we have to leave by 4:30AM in order to get there by 6!! Don't think I'll be sleeping much anyway! :smile2:

Why are you only eating applesauce and pudding? There is all kinds of stuff you can eat on the liquids part. Have you tried low sodium broth, (chicken, beef, vegetable), V-8 juice, Protein shakes, LF or FF milk, pear or peach sauce (similar to applesauce, at Trader Joe's, watch the sugars), yogurt (I prefer Greek yogurt), small curd cottage cheese (not sure you can do this on liquids, some can), tomato Soup, etc.? There's all kinds of things you can do to change things up. I have a whey Protein Isolate powder that I can add to anything to get more protein in. The hot stuff though has to cool before I can add it or it curdles, so be careful. Experiment and have fun with it. It's only temporary so hang in there! BTW, how long on are you on this phase? I'll be 2 weeks on shakes, then 2 weeks full liquids/purees. Surgery is Monday.

I would think the food processor would work better and make it a finer puree. Mine actually has a puree button on it. The bottom is flatter and blade is lower to the bottom as well so I would think that would help as well. BUT if you don't have a food processor and don't want to go buy one, then I'd just use the blender. Just might take a little longer to do it. Another thing too is that my processor has a small bowl with a blade that fits inside the larger bowl for smaller portions. That'll be a big help.

Okay, I haven't even had surgery yet and I'm nervous about moving from the shake stage to soft foods! My surgeon has me on my pre-op diet for 2 more weeks after surgery (shakes and no-cal liquids) then moves me to soft foods. I'm already planning on full liquids/purees for 2 more weeks before I move to soft foods. I'm so worried about slippage by moving through the food stages too fast that I'm actually going AGAINST surgeon's orders with the full liquids/purees. I want to know that if someday, God forbid, I have a complication, it wasn't because of something I did. Just freaks me out!!! He also said 4-6 week lifting restriction of 10lbs. I put 6 weeks on the calendar. I don't want my port to flip!! I think I'm flipping out!! :thumbup:

I'm hijacking too. Green, it's good to see you again. I was fairly new I think when you dropped off. Didn't know what was going on though. Glad to hear about your tests results. That's good news! Take care! Ghost, how are you doing?

Oh My Gosh!! What great ideas! I'm on a pre-op diet right now of shakes and no-cal liquids, max of 800 calories right now and will be on the shakes for 2 weeks after surgery. Surgeon says I can then move to soft foods but it scares me so I'm planning on full liquids/purees for 2 weeks before I move to soft foods. I'm excited for all of the ideas and combinations that you all are doing! Never thought of hummus and mixing it with tuna and chicken! Probably be good with canned salmon too! I have a favorite artichoke dip that I'm looking forward to on soft foods but I'll have to blend it first b/c it has HUGE chunks of artichoke hearts it in. It is sooo good! Ahhh! Gotta stop talking about food! I'm hungry!!

Glad you're feeling better and sorry that you got sick! That stinks! I have NO idea if it will hurt surgery or not. I'd be more concerned about the coughing though after surgery. Can you take a little something that has no aspirin in it to help? Might need to call your surgeon's office and ask them what they think. I have heard about others getting sick right before surgery but I haven't heard of any of them getting canceled. I also wanted to say welcome to the 25th!! There are several of us getting banded on the 25th! If you want, check out the August '08 threads. I'm so excited!! I know this weekend I'll probably be flipping out but not right now! I have to be at the hospital by 6:30AM, we have to leave the house by 5 b/c it's an hour away AND they're doing roadwork during the night on the highway, so that means I need to be up no later than 4AM! UGH!! Don't know that I'll be sleeping much anyway! :thumbup: Take care and rest as much as you can to let yourself get better. PS> Oh wait! I just remembered! My mom had PS done in March and she was seriously ill the 2 weeks before surgery AND had to work b/c she was going to be gone for so long afterwards. They didn't cancel her BUT her recovery was longer b/c her system was so low at the time of surgery. You sound like you're doing much better than she was though.

Hmmm, never thought of that! You might have to try it, defrost it and see if you can handle it or if it changes at all. I figure that those are used in casseroles and such and those are frozen for later meals all the time. I don't see why it couldn't work. The egg might change texture though and that could be an issue. I think it sounds like a great idea! Let us know how it all turns out!

Oh Tap, I'm so sorry. Have you checked your local health store to see of they have any natural products you could try to help with your symptoms? Might be worth a shot. Hang in there.

I really have to disagree with you. I've been working very hard for this for the last 6 months. I'm having surgery next Monday. I started a pre-op of shakes and no-calorie drinks on Friday, I have not had anything other than that. Do I want it? YES! Am I going to do it? NO! I was tempted to go to the store and get some fat-free broth and add some Protein powder to it and replace it with one shake (it would add up to one of my shakes), surgeon even said I could use my powder in something. BUT he didn't say I could have broth! He said shakes and no-calorie drinks. Did I want a taste of my daughter's scrambled eggs this AM? YES! Did I have any? NO! I was also VERY tempted by the tuna that I got for her for lunch. Plain it's only 60 calories and 1/2 a gram of fat, probably wouldn't have hurt BUT it's not allowed, so I didn't have any of that either! I'm not saying I'm a paragon of virtue, I'm just saying, there are people out there following the rules, whether you believe they are or not. It's up to you if you follow your surgeon's rules or not but don't paint others with the same brush. It's not fair. And you can NOT tell anyone else it's okay to go against their surgeon's advice and rules.

So. Today, started my 10 day ALL liquid pre-op diet. Met with my surgeon to get the last details. Had the EKG, Chest X-ray and lots and lots of blood drawn! Monday, August 25th I have to be at the hospital by 6:30AM and I'm the first surgery of the day. If all goes well, I will be going home that night. So, it's finally really here and I'm about bouncing off the walls right now! Very excited! Just wanted to share!

My mom is coming down the 24th to stay for at least a week. DH will be with me the 25th (he was able to get the day off). He has to be back at work the 26th and 27th then comes home for vacation til he goes back the 10th! My mom is keeping the option of staying through the 8th or 9th open. We have a very active 2 year old daughter. It's going to be so nice to have the help! Just an explanation b/c I'm sure some of it sounds kind of strange. DH is a fireman with our State fire dept and works a 72 hr shift. Sooo, for him to be able to even take Monday, especially during the height of fire season, is amazing and then the timing of surgery was great b/c he had vacation scheduled already. They have to have their vacation requests for the next year (08) in by the end of October the previous year (07). So scheduling things can get tricky. It worked out really well in this instance. With my mom, she travels for work and she didn't have anything scheduled right now so she can take off from the office without too much trouble. Whew!!

DITTO!! Best wishes and lots of prayers to all of you!

I've been following this since it was originally posted and I fail to see where anyone was harsh to the OP. What I saw was great, sound advice, that was then thrown back into posters' faces. I saw the OP as out of control with anger and I don't understand where it came from. It was fast and struck hard and I thought there was no call for it. JMHO. LJM, I didn't understand that either.

That story reminds me of something that happened with DH at work. We were married only a few years (we're heading to 21 years now) and he was still a rookie firefighter. He and the guys were hanging out after dinner and talking and one of the guys was saying how his wife jumps to his every whim, when he needs, whatever he wants. He asked DH if I get up and get him something if he told me to get it for him. (Pay attention to the working of all of this.) DH said sure, she'd jump right up and grab me a soda out of the kitchen, then she'd walk over and pour it over my head! Now if she's already up, and coming back that way, then yes, she'll bring something back for me, just like I do for her! I was so proud of him! The guy talking was his CAPTAIN!!! So kinda scary for him but he did it anyway and they all, including the Captain laughed their heads off! Captain told him he'd better behave then since he didn't think he wanted to WEAR his sodas!!

See, that's totally different. If someone ASKED me what I was doing, I would tell them. And encourage them to look into the different procedures to see what, if any, might be right for them. :mad2:

My surgery is the 25th and I haven't had any problems. I'll be having surgery in Fresno. They just started doing them late last month. Maybe you could try for Fresno? I really like the surgeon. Best wishes!

Eggplant Ragu from foodnetwork.com Yum!!!

Yep, me too and I'm a little embarrassed about it. It's almost like getting that stupid letter in the mail, looks really personal and all that's in it is some WL ad and a "handwritten" scribble at the top that says something to the effect that thought you might be interested or some such BS. It's kind of like, how dare someone send something like that to me, so walking up to someone would be along the same lines. That's why I'm embarrassed about even THINKING it!! I DON'T know the person's story and what they've been through. AND how do I know, at any size, if they've BEEN losing weight and just still have that much more to go? If someone looked at me in 6 months would they think I've got to get it together before it gets too bad? Probably. Do they know that I've been heavier and am working on it? No. So, yes, I'm doing the same thing. And please don't tell me I'm the only one who has ever gotten those letters! :mad2:

Oh Hon, hang in there. I am so sorry about the timing of this. I'm thinking he did you a favor though. He's a creep and it's good he left. I know that's hard to swallow right now but down the road a ways, you'll realize you're better off without him. Hold your beautiful head high and focus on your after surgery process. Take care! Hugs!

Deanna, that IS wonderful news! I can imagine how shocked you were! Maybe he will eventually come around but it may take some time. Best wishes on your surgery and let us know how you are when you can! Take care! Diane, that's great news for you too! I bet you were a little surprised! I send you best wishes on your surgery as well! Take care!

Eeyore, I'm glad you're starting to feel better. I like your story of the guy on the way home. :thumbup: Nice when you can have something so harmless like that happen and yet make such a difference in how you feel or your outlook. Take care! Oh and congrats on the lost inches!!!