*Love*

I have a 3 day road trip coming up. We will be in restaurants or with relatives for breakfasts & dinners. What do you pack for stops along the way? I am taking protein drinks, but I don't know what else will travel well, as well as work to keep my energy & protein levels up. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

We will be eating in restaurants or family members homes for breakfasts & dinners. This is a motorcycle trip. The portable food is for between those 2 meals, at the gas & pee stops, while on the road.

How are my fellow TLBCers doing? I am doing well, though weaker than I feel I should be at this point. I also don't think I will need my 1st fill at the 5 week mark, as I still have to eat carefully.

My first fill date is June 23rd - about 5 weeks post op. I don't think I am going to be ready. I still have to eat quite carefully. I also don't think I am getting enough calories in yet, as I am still a little weak. I am thinking of pushing my appointment back 2 more weeks. Has anyone else had to do this?

Hi There Fellow 'May Flowers': I was banded on May 22nd. I think I am doing quite well, except for the first half of every day, I am still weak. I am eating the way my surgeon's menu states. I am finishing mushies today & start solids tomorrow. I haven't had work the last month or so & I start a new part-time job tomorrow. Is anyone else this far out still weak?

I was banded the same day you were & am getting my fill the day before you. I still have to be careful getting things down. I haven't been physically hungry yet. My doctor gave me 3 rules: eat healthy foods, always eat the Protein first & don't let yourself get hungry - eat every 3-4 hours. I make up a cup of food at each sitting & slowly eat all of it. I don't get the feeling of 'oh, that's enough', but I don't feel hungry either. I am not up to full strength yet. I still find myself week for at least the first half of the day. I am likely not getting enough calories in per day.

I have "Weight-Loss Surgery with the Adjustable Gastric Band" by Robert W. Sewell. It was quite informative. For recipes, I found "Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery" by Patt Levine & Michele Bontempo-Saray. The recipes sound yummy. They also give portion sizes for how many weeks after surgery you are, calories, protein etc.

That is not me in the video.

"Things Men don't want to know about Women."

Carbonated drinks - Why we shouldn't have them -Explained See video, about half way through: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3tYliTpDiY]YouTube - Third Fill Appointment - Part C - Lap...[/ame]

If you sip, feel full, then gurgle & feel okay, this is just the Fluid slowly passing through the band into your stomach. Take smaller sips.

I find that my iron pills are tiny enough to swallow. So are my insomnia & ulcer pills. I solved my ibuprophen problem by using my pill crusher. I just turn it enough so the pills crack into 5-6 pieces. Those go down fine.

I did that for 4 weeks, then was good for the last week, so my body wouldn't be as shocked.

You can see my incision progress pics in the 'Progress' Photo Album in my 'Profile'.

Has anyone heard of a liquid Ibuprofen that is not for kids? I have headaches pretty much daily & am allergic to Tylenol products. I think my advil tablet got stuck tonight, so I am hoping to find another option. Before banding, I took Calcium-Magnesium 'horse pills'. My husband found that in liquid form for me today. I am taking the chewable Flinstone vitamins, because I don't like the generic adult chewable vitamins I found. *yuck*

If you are still taking you pain meds they can really mess up your stomach. (Mine did today.) After being off them a day or two, it should improve.

I had my first BM this afternoon on my 6th day. I was actually surprized to have it. I was on clear liquids 2-5 days out & switched to just liquids today. Not sure were solid matter would come from. :sad:

I am at the end of my 6th day out. I have been finding this too, but I know it is the pain medication, on a fairly empty stomach, making my head feel wonky, making my hands shake & increasing my heart rate. The lower calorie consumption contributes to my lack of stamina, energy, hot flashes....I do small windows of things & lay down alot. I felt almost human yesterday, only 1 of the pain killers in the early morning. Last night I had a migraine & ended up taking 2 consecutive doses of the pain meds. Since with big head pain + the med head disruption, & the restarted nauseau from the meds.....today SUCKED. Tomorrow will be much better = there will be no more pain meds. :sad:

I was banded the same day as you. The 3rd day was the worst for me. I have been feeling almost human since yesterday. I do get the odd head spins from the meds & still have shakey hands. As for the nausea, I have an ulcer, so I went into this process nauseaus. After the first day & a half, I replaced the broths with skim milk. It has really soothed my stomach & I have no more nausea.

Getting out of bed to have my shower, I realized I am getting the twinges at my port site, not my incisions. Most of the shower went well, but we may have been in too long. I had to get out fast because I started to feel strange, not dizzy...but maybe close to fainting. I have never fainted, so I am not sure what that feels like. It passed in about 10 minutes once I was back in bed. As I wrote this, I had a similar feeling, but on a much smaller scale & it only lasted a couple of minutes. I guess it's time for some more electrolytes.