dancinglamb

Thanks, Nikki. I see him on Thursday for my first post-op visit. I'll be interested to see what he says. I emailed him yesterday and told him I've been hungrier than I anticipated and he said I could lean more toward the 10 of the 10-14 days post-op for mushies. I had watery *oatmeal* this morning!!!! Woo hooo! (OK, I know I am a dork, but it was nom nom NOM!!!!!) :huh2: -m

Have you called your neurologist to tell him/her what's been going on with you? If you've not looked into Topamax, I highly recommend it. I did the Imitrex route for a while and just didn't like the way it made me feel. Kind of queasy hung over, kwim? I went from having easily 4-6 migraines a WEEK to now maybe 1-2 a MONTH (and usually I can knock them out with the Advil routine). It's truly been a lifesaver for me. I have two little kids and it was awful having to lay on the couch in the dark because I couldn't handle the light and noise on a daily basis. Honestly, I had forgotten just how bad they could get until last night. I really hope you're feeling better soon. hugs -m

No worries. :smile2: Feel better! -m

I'm 5'2", and my current 'yay!' goal is 145. My 'wooo hooo!' goal is 135. Do I think I can hit 135? Dunno. I don't even know how I would look at 135. It might not look good on me. The lowest I recall being as an adult was 148 and looking back, I was pretty smokin' if I say so myself. :smile2: But that was 15 years ago, and before two c-sections. Honestly, I'd be happy if I could be a size 6-8. Hell, who am I kidding. I'd be happy if I could be a 10, but single digits are really preferable. Ultimately, I think it's how you feel once you get there and what's going on in your life at that time, kwim? -m

Yep, spontaneous deep breaths, then the hiccups, then a burp. Very strange, but pretty predictable. -m

Hi- I got the Realize band this past Monday. I've not looked at their site yet (I have to register - husband has the damn card in his wallet from when the surgeon gave it to him in recovery...), but have you guys looked at thedailyplate.com. I started using it when I was on the pre-op diet and got pretty hooked on it. You can even enter in recipes and it will break down for you what the nutritional counts are. On top of that they have stuff from Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and um, Cold Stone Creamery (not that I, uh, would know about that) in their database. You can also log your exercise and weight goals, tracking, etc. My surgeon told me that my first fill will be 4w from the surgery date. Now I'm kind of worried after reading your posts that the first fill doesn't work well. Crap. I'm hungry already! -m

First, don't use any cornstarch. You'll be feeding any yeast that's growing there. Literally. Second, take pictures and get it documented by your PCP. If you ever plan on wanting plastic surgery down the road, rashes will qualify you as 'medical necessity' and insurance may pay for tummy tuck and breast reduction/lift (do searches in the plastic surgery forum for more on that). Third, the diflucan pills should help, but you will also need a topical cream. You need to first wash the skin, then pat it dry. After that, dry it with your hairdryer on a cool setting. I know. Sounds ridiculous, but it's imperative that there's no moisture left. After that, you can put Lotrimin cream (either the stuff for vaginal yeast infections or for jock itch - same stuff different marketing - just Gyne in front of the former) on the rash. The best thing you can do is expose the skin to air. If you are able to lay down, maybe under a ceiling fan, it would help. In the mean time, if you need to, you can cut up old t-shirts and put a layer of the soft cotton in between the layers of skin to absorb perspiration. Once the rash is under control, a great powder to use is Z-sorb. It's in the foot section (where they sell the Dr. Scholls stuff) of the pharmacy. It's not the greatest smelling stuff, but it's probably the best working stuff I've ever come across. It's got one peculiar side effect in that it absorbs so much that it tends to become a little granular by the end of the day. Not so much that it's painful, but enough that it's slightly noticeable. Oh, and as far as any sort of cream, Monistat sells a chafing cream that starts out as a cream and turns into a powder. You can also buy stuff called Body Glide that's used by runners. I found it on drugstore.com. Sorry for the scribe, but I, uh, have a bit of experience with this. :smile2: -m

I tried crushed pills exactly ONCE. It was beyond the grossest thing imaginable (Wellbutrin is **disgusting**). I put it in some raspberry Crystal Lite. It was like drinking something with chemicals in it. See if your surgeon will let you take your meds in small, chopped pieces instead. It is SOOOOO much easier - both to do (you don't have to run around getting special scripts unless you take extended release stuff...they can't be chopped), and to consume. I got a little pill cutter from GNC for less than $5 and put the meds in a little pill paper cup from the hospital (they gave me ton of them) as I cut them. Then when I'm ready, I just throw them down the hatch and swallow with Water. For capsule stuff like Nexium - it is tasteless BTW - I just sprinkle on a toddler-sized spoon of applesauce. Oh, and metoprolol cuts super easy. But seriously, try talking your doctor into letting you chop up your meds. As long as they're small enough to fit through a straw, you should be good to go. Oh, and I was allowed to take the applesauce while on clears. It's really less than a tablespoon you're consuming however many times a day you take your meds. (Just indulge and get the regular Motts. They tried giving me the sugarfree babyfood applesauce in the hospital. I'm not sure which was worse; the crushed Wellbutrin or the nasty applesauce.) Good luck -m

Hey Katie- I was feeling the exact same way. I had surgery on Monday, and I swear that I woke up Friday morning and felt totally different and exponentially better. Seriously. Cut yourself some slack, Girlie! It's going to take some time to feel better. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that these bodies of ours are pretty damned miraculous. They have this utter ability to heal themselves and make themselves right *if* we give them a chance and a little time. You've feel better. Give yourself a few days. I promise! gentle and ginger hugs -m

Awesome, Alice!! My husband just about fell over when I parked at the 'further' spaces at Target today.:smile2: I pinched him. Congrats on kicking butt and getting out there! Go get yourself some new sneaks so you look spiffy out there on the block.:biggrin: -m

Yvonne- Are your migraines triggered by barometric pressure? I don't know where you live, but I'm in NJ and yesterday, I had a migraine that lasted over 6hrs. I was able to tell without even checking that there was a storm moving through. Sure enough, we got rain last night. (Should've figured, since I got the car washed for the first time in about six months.:biggrin:) Anyway, my normal protocol for migraines is 800mg of Advil, then 10mg of Maxalt-MLT. I also take 100mg of Topamax daily. Well, I couldn't take the Advil (I was just banded on Monday), and it kind of started the downward spiral. Lemme tell you, I was in tears and about ready to go to the ER. I paged my surgeon twice before he finally called back (turns out he was in surgery), and I had already taken one Darvocet - I chopped it up and swallowed it, along with Reglan for nausea. I just wanted to get his go ahead for a second Darvocet. I honestly would've taken it even if he didn't call back. It was that bad. I still had to take a third one before I finally fell asleep around 1am. Of course, it turned out to be a double whammy and my period showed up this morning.:smile2: Figures. Have you asked your surgeon for meds for nausea? They really *do* help. Also, a lot of the time, it's the pain that can be adding to the nausea, too. Hope you're feeling better. And congrats on the band. Welcome to the bench! :wink2: -m

You could end up going to the ER for dehydration and malnutrition and then he will have himself a can of worms that I'm sure any doctor would not like to have do deal with. However, that might not be a bad idea at this point. It sounds like it might be a reasonable thing to consider if you are to that point. Do you know the signs of dehydration? -m

Amber, then I think you need to either find another surgeon or demand that you get better care from your current one. I'm not sure how anybody could be be purportedly as sick as you've written and be denied an unfill and diagnostic testing. That's outright malpractice. Is there anything you're leaving out? -m

I'm 5 days post op and got my period this morning. Up 2lbs. Not happy. I'm *hoping* it's AF weight. I'm not eating much food, and I'm not that swollen, other than just around the port. I know everybody has said that anything you've lost before your first fill is 'gravy', but I'm going to be VERY disappointed if I start gaining back everything I've worked to lose so far. Just know you're not the only one! -m And, OMG. I LOVE pickles. Every freaking time I open the fridge they're there staring at me. Mocking me and my post op liquid diet. I'm trying to use my forces for good and not evil and ignore them. We'll see... I used to get in trouble when I was little for drinking all the juice out of the jar and letting the pickles dry out. Heh. Forgot about that. Oh, and I am SO not pregnant.

So you're completely unfilled now and still can't keep food down? Did you have the Fluoroscopy? -m

You've not mentioned whether or not you've had unfills. Sounds like maybe you need to be have even slight unfill if that's not been tried yet? Have you not gone for an upper GI to make sure everything is OK? If not, I'd definitely request one before undergoing more surgery. It's a non-invasive test for the most part. Hell, the stuff you drink isn't even that disgusting. Better than throwing up. big hugs to you -m

He originally said two weeks on full liquids but then the day I was discharged, the doctor mentioned that with the new band (I have one of those Realize ones), the first fill is at 4w instead of 6w. So I'm kind of wondering if maybe I can move forward sooner. I go and see him on Thursday. I'll be interested to know what he says. God knows I'm starving - and I really, really was hoping I wouldn't be. -m ETA - OK. I just sent him an email. I can't wait till Thursday. Now I'm curious to see if the timeline changes. I'll let you know when he responds. ETA2- He said that the fill dates don't change the food timeline, but that I could move to mushies 10-14days post surgery. At 3w post op, I move to soft solids as tolerated and then go on from there. HTH -m

Here's another NSV to add to the list. I realised last week that I wrapped a regular-sized bath towel around myself after a shower and it covered everything.:hurt: Granted, the boobs are still in the way of being able to tuck it closed, but no more flashing the kids with an extra 2" of flesh hanging out! Woo hoo!!:redface: -m

Sorry to be a little late to the party. :redface: In the scheme of things, yeah you cheated. But you also stopped yourself and didn't go running to the concession stand to snarf down a huge bag of fake buttered popcorn, followed by a $15 bag of M&Ms and a trough of Coke. Here's a secret. The second day of my two week pre-op diet I went a little crazy. I had six Hershey kisses. Why? Because I knew they were still sitting in the dining room leftover from Easter and I knew I had to get them out of the house. Of course I should've just given them to the kids, or my husband or thrown them out (F*CK NO!! Throw out perfectly decent Hershey Kisses!! The HORROR!!!). So I ate them. And I felt like a total failure. But at the end of the day, the sky didn't fall, and my surgeon didn't deny me my band, and my family still loves me. So, chin up Wilbur. We all have our shortcomings. What's good is that you know you need to stick to the lousy preop diet (and yes, it sucks. I've been there). And even better yet is that you stopped at one Frito (do you know what kind of acts I'd be willing to perform... or, well, at least consider performing for a Frito right now?) Things will get better (at least that's what I keep telling myself). So, come join me on the bandster bench and we can sit it out together. OK? :hurt: hugs -m

Yay!!!! Congrats :redface: I'm right here with ya! -m

Christine- Full liquids two days after - as soon as I got home. I was on clears while I was in the hospital. -m

It's official. I have myself a Realize band. And according to the surgeon, the operation was absolutely 'textbook'. I specifically asked about my liver (thinking about those cheats of turkey and salad) and he said that it was perfect and pink and firm. The whole experience couldn't have been better for the most part. The only negative was after the upper GI. Apparently, the stuff they make you drink also has a side effect of causing major diarrhea. Would've been nice if they mentioned that. I was *so* tired, and all I wanted to do was go back to bed. The wheelchair ride down to radiology was the first time I had sat up for an extended period of time (I had been walking the halls no problem, but sitting up was a whole new thing and it kind of hurt). But every time I was ready to come out of the bathroom, my stomach had other plans. I was literally stuck for about two hours.:thumbup: I think the most I was able to come out for was about 15 minutes at a clip, then I'd have to dash back in. With the damned IV pole. Though as I said, save this one issue, everything else has been awesome. No shoulder pain. Some minor belly gas, a little bit of a difficult time peeing (they didn't use a foley cath, but it's a side effect of anesthesia). I figured out that if I ran the sink, it would help.:tt2: Since I'm on full liquids, I came home and had some cream of chicken Soup for dinner. It was nice to have something besides salty broth. I go to see the surgeon a week from Thursday. He said I get my first fill in 4 weeks, and that with this Realize band, it in fact has a *negative* fill right now, but that I'd still feel a slight restriction. I can if I have too much at once, and it's something like the onset of heartburn. So, I guess the real adventure will now begin! Oh, and I can take a shower tomorrow morning. -m

Go Pearly Girlie, Go!!!! I got home around 4pm today. It was much easier than I anticipated. I just updated in the April section. Godspeed to you! hugs -m Oh, and bring your own pillow :tt2:

Awesome!!! You're just rockin' the whole band experience!! -m

Hey - I'm right there with ya. I've been doing the Optifast fest since 4/7. It's been pretty damn rough. Some days I'm totally fine. Others, it's been like a sick and twisted game show event. I know all about the upset stomach (you can take Immodium, btw, if it's particularly bad), the ridiculous growling noises (coming from your abdomen - not you voice ), the dragon breath... I've broken down and fallen off 'the wagon', but it's fortunately been with decent Protein for the most part. The worst being a couple of hershey kisses, but even then, it was only four of them. The way I've been keeping track of everything is logging my intake on dailyplate.com. I've been able to monitor my caloric/carb/protein/water intake daily. Even with my cheats, I'm still consistently under 800 calories/day and sticking to the equivalent of the three Optifast shakes. So, in my ever hungrier head, I figure, if the nutritional intake is the same as the shakes, what difference is it how I get it. There was no directive from my surgeon about solids/no solids etc. Just know that you've got company!!! hugs -m Oh, and the whites of hardboiled eggs have become my best friends. Nom nom nom!!!!!!! :tongue: