catseye

Try a recumbent exercise bicycle. You're basically sitting with your legs out in front of you. Most gyms, etc should have them, even the little ones like community centers. - Jen

The nurse at my surgeon's office said they used to tell people 5 small meals, or three meals and a snack or two, but they found that it turned people into grazers, so instead they recommend three meals with one snack if needed.

That sounds a lot more like eczema or rosacea than acne to me, though they can be related.

I've had a BLT dip (IIRC, it was crumbled bacon mixed with mayo/sour cream with chopped tomatoes added) that was served on tiny little toast points. You could also maybe do melba toast or other cracker type things.

I'm slightly confused as to what your question is, but my surgeon said as soon as we were eating normal food it was time for the first fill if you were not still experiencing restriction. I had surgery 6/13 and my first fill 7/15. I'm not sure what the size of your band would have to do with the timing of your fills though.

Are you focusing on Protein at your meals? It will keep that feeling of satisfaction longer. oatmeal or something similar makes me very hungry later in the day because it is so carb heavy. And, I'm sorry, but you need to cut the snacking out. The band WILL let you graze all day. You're effectively eating around it.

Old Bay is a seasoning mix especially for seafood: McCormick Product Detail - OLD BAY® Seasoning Also, if you buy canned crab from the seafood counter -- the refrigerated, pasteurized 1lb cans that need to be refrigerated (Trader Joe's has them, so does my local grocery store) most of them will have a very simple recipe on the can.

You shouldn't need egg to hold them together -- or if you do, you shouldn't need more than a tablespoon or so. I googled low fat crab cake recipes and came up with a ton, you might want to do the same and just find one that looks good to you. I usually saute chopped onion, garlic, and celery till soft and combine with light mayo, bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, and a little old bay till the crab cakes hold together lightly. I'm not really worried about them being terribly portable. Sometimes I'll do the bread-soaked-in-milk trick if I don't have breadcrumbs. Basically IMO crab cakes should be pretty simple and mostly crab.

You'll definitely need to talk to your doctor about it. I have the implanon, which is a three-year hormonal birth control implant. It couldn't be removed for surgery. They were NOT happy about that because of the clot concerns. They gave me ten days of Lovenox instead of the seven they give most patients. Ask your surgeon, make sure they know everything you're on, and they'll advise.

Yeah, I thought it was just the wounds healing, too, the first day they started getting itchy. Then it turned out that I ended up with hives and blisters that looked like chicken pox all over my stomach because my itching was actually a delayed reaction to the steri-strips. It seriously looked like I'd been burned (and once the blisters healed, all my skin peeled off just like a burn, too). I held off calling the surgeon when it started because I had day-10 appointment scheduled, but it got really terrible two days after the itching started and I really should have gone in to have the strips removed sooner. I still have the scars from the hives three weeks later. If it continues to get worse, you may want to follow up with your surgeon's office sooner than later to see if the strips can be removed. I took crushed-up benadryl (50 mg 4x/day) and used the benadryl spray once I was told that the incisions were fine. I also soaked in a cool tub with aveeno once I was cleared for that. I itched for a good four or five days after the strips were removed. I have a lot of allergies and have had hives many many times, but these were the worst I've ever had, in terms of severity and itching.

Actually, Excedrin is a combination of aspirin, acetaminophen (tylenol), and caffeine. Maybe you should look that up next time. :thumbup: Probably pretty hard on a 12-day-out stomach between the aspirin and the caffeine, but I imagine you'd have discomfort more than anything.

So I'm curious. I was just banded a few weeks ago, but I've had skin issues under my belly for years off and on-- a weepy, itchy, rash. How many of you had issues before weightloss and still had them later? How many had it resolved?

IIRC Sprite Zero uses splenda, which I personally can't tolerate very well. It's worse than aspartame for me for that all day diet aftertaste -- and I mean ALL day. If I have something with it, I still have the aftertaste eight or so hours later. YMMV, of course.

My surgeon said no caffeine for 4 weeks after surgery because the caffeine can irritate your stomach, but other than that he doesn't restrict it. I've had decaf off and on, but I'm looking forward to being able to have a cup of coffee in the morning again. Luckily I never did drink my coffee with Breakfast, just sort of sipped it all morning.

It's just soreness from your port, which was sewn in on that side.

I was told that chili was a nono during healing because it would be too much Fiber, which we were supposed to try to avoid.

Yes! I had a terrible reaction to the strips on about day 8 after surgery. Blisters and hives all over my stomach, both under the tape and all around it. My skin is so sensitive that it even spread to my lower belly, nowhere near one of the strips. Try benadryl spray, it worked better for me than hydrocortisone. Also make sure that you got all the adhesive off of the areas (I used some rubbing alcohol to gently remove the last of it). Mine is still there, but is calming down and is no longer as itchy as it was monday when I had the strips removed. You can also try a cool aveeno bath if you've been cleared to soak (I have). I'm also taking oral benadryl a few times a day, but I"m still at home this week and it would probably make me too tired if I were back to work. My doctor does fills once you're on regular food for a week, which is after the fourth week. So, my first fill is scheduled for July 15th (my surgery was the 13th).

Also, I'm pretty sure most wine coolers are carbonated, which means they're just as much of a nono as beer. - jen

My surgeon says to avoid caffeine for the four weeks after surgery because it can irritate the stomach. - jen

My surgery time off and all appointments associated with it have been under FMLA, so I'm protected from being fired for taking time off for any time tagged with it. Do you qualify for it? It may be something to look into. My company was able to retroactively put in some of my time as FMLA for me, but not sure how common that is. Hope you feel better - jen

I cook soups on the fly all the time, so I didn't need a recipe per se, but just yesterday i was trying to figure out how I was going to add protein to my soups (I assumed Protein powder, bleh). I didn't even THINK of silken tofu, that's an awesome idea. I'm getting banded next week, and I'm trying to do a little plan ahead for some of the soups. I figured I'd make a few up and individual serving freeze them now. Any idea how the tofu works for that, or would I be better off doing what I was going to do before, which is make the stock/veggie/etc part to finish off with the tofu (or milk, which was what I planned on) when I'm ready to eat it? - Jen Band date 6/13/08

As someone who's struggled with EDs in the past, this post threw up a few warning flags for me. The band should be a tool, but you should not be using it to overly restrict what you eat at the price of your own health -- mental and physical. If I were you, I would consider going to talk to someone before this really does turn into a problem. You don't have to weigh 90lbs to exhibit anorexic behaviors, as I learned the hard way. - Jen * anorexia nervosa is the name of the disease, but a person with the disease is classified as an anorectic medically. I used to work in a psychiatric office, what can I say.

My surgery is on June 13, and I'm planning to take two weeks (plus a couple days before surgery -- I really don't want to do my clear-liquid-cleanse day while working, ew). I've never had any surgery before, and I'm not sure how quickly or slowly I'll recover. I figure two weeks is safe. If I need to take longer or if I want to take half days when I get back, my boss has given me full blessing to take what I need. My whole surgery (plus all the pre-approval dieting my insurance company provided) has been under an FMLA leave, so that offers me extra protection, too. - jen

Also, just FYI: the policy doesn't state it's just weight monitoring. Here's what they actually want:

When I asked my surgeon's office and BCBSIL that question, they said the months had to be consecutive and that you had to have appropriate documentation by the doctor. This is why I went to a nutrition center that specialized in preparing people for surgery -- I didn't want to have to redo any part of the six months. I'd call if you have a question about it, but it really sucks that your doctor didn't properly document. - jen