U_go_gurl68

RugmanForever, I totally agree with you. I just had my surgery on June 30th and have not been taking in what I should be due to discomfort or lack of interest. I have only lost 2.6 lbs since my surgery day and I attribute this to not taking in enough calories. I have been stuck at the same exact weight for 3-4 days even though I am taking in less than 1000 calories and have increased my activity a little bit ( well as much as allowed). At first I thought maybe I was taking in too much, but the reverse is the case, I am sure of it. Some people think in order to lose weight you have to take in very little, but that is not so. If you don't have enough calories you kill your metabolism and teach it to function on less calories; the dreaded starvation mode. So I started this morning trying to get more in so that I can start losing. Every now and then, you have to change things up a bit, otherwise your body will get bored, thus a plateau. I am not saying to be bad and eat junk you shouldn't, but if you keep eating the same old thing, day after day, nothing changes. Try adding more calories to your diet, but do it at different times each day, so your body doesn't get stuck in a routine and especially if you are exercising more. If not your body will turn your muscle tissue into usuable fuel instead of the fat you want to lose. Good luck to everyone. Stephanie

Hi everyone, I was banded on June 30th and my port incision is looking just about what all of you have described. I thought maybe it was due to increased blood flow to that area after I put a heating pad on my stomach for comfort, but I am guess now this is normal. I have dermabond on my incision and they are really starting to itch. I had a little drop of clear drainage from the port incision yesterday, but no fever or foul odor from the site, so not guessing infection just yet. It is a little warmer to touch than the others but no real pain. Feels kind of different though when I touch the surrounding area. Almost like touching something rubbery instead of touching my skin, but I am starting to get more sensation around that site. I have my follow-up appt on Wednesday and will be sure to mention this to my surgeon. Good luck to everyone. Sincerely, Stephanie

Made it through the weekend ok. Starting to get hungry, but not too much. I haven't been able to get everything in that I probably should because then I feel gassy and uncomfortable. Tai, I also love going to Jamba juice. Yummy, yummy, yummy!!!!! I haven't seen any weight loss in about 3-4 days and kind of surprised since I haven't been taking in much and having a bit more activity. Maybe it is due to the swelling I still have in my stomach. Still just as swollen as it was the first day; just not as hard. I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday weekend. I am still in full liquids. Tired of cream Soups. Sincerely, Stephanie

I was banded on Monday 6/30. Was feeling pretty sore, but starting to move around a little better. That gas pain was the worse for me. Still not feeling like taking anything in at this time, but I have been forcing myself to get in some kind of nutrition. I hope all of you are doing well. Good luck on July 9th Rondidq2. That is when I have my post-op appt and it is also my 40th bday. I will keep you in my prayers. Sincerely, Stephanie

Tai, Please keep up with those breathing exercises. The Fluid buildup can cause pneumonia and that is not the effect we are wanting. With all the pain and trauma to the abdominal area, we tend to not take in as deep a breath as we should and our activity is decreased. This causes the build up. Along with the breathing exercises, this is where walking is also important, as well as taking in those fluids to keep those secretions thin. I have been doing mine about every 2-3 hours, because that is what we usually do at work with our kids that have abdominal surgeries. The first time it made me cough, I though my gut was going to split, but out came this thick phlegm. YUK!!!!

French vanilla, Did they give you an incentive spirometer to use when you got home? It is a little plastic tube you place in your mouth and inhale through to help keep your lungs clear? Sometimes with all the pain, we don't inhale as deep as we should. This helps keep your lungs clear while your activity is down and makes your chest not hurt so much either. It is an exercise designed to make you cough though, which can be a little uncomfortable. It has helped me a great deal though. If they didn't give you one, you can also get a straw and blow through it or blow bubbles or even a party horn. It may sound silly, but it does help with some of that chest pain, or it has for me anyway.

Tai, I had that same WTF feeling Tuesday evening until this morning. I was hurting so bad. Now the pain is going away somewhat and I am able to move around much better. I can't wait to see where we all are in a month, two, or three. Hang in there everyone. We are all in this together. Sincerely, Stephanie

I am feeling much better today. The gassy feeling is finally now starting to break up, which is a big relief. Msmaurany, I have a very high pain tolerance. Tuesday evening and Wednesday, I thought I was going to die. I too felt that beat up and stabbed feeling, but now it is starting to fade a little. I didn't want to appear weak to my fiance, because he was against this from the beginning and he probably would have just been mean and said I asked for it. All in all things are slowly getting easier. I can't wait to shower today. I could have yesterday, but just hurt too much. I am more than halfway through my pain meds and will keep taking them. I tried to be strong and just take regular tylenol, but the pain was just too bad. Hang in there; it will get better. Sincerely, Stephanie

Hi all, Glad to see everyone is doing well. I am so glad to be done with the surgery, which was 6/30. My gas pains are pretty intense, which makes it hard to take anything in. The more I try to drink, the more bloated and uncomfortable I feel. I am doing plenty of walking to help get rid of it. I think I am going to make some hot mint tea. My grandmother use to make us hot tea when we had belly aches and that usually helped a great deal. I have also been using a heating pad, but had to quit using it on my stomach bc it left me with some red marks around my incisions. So using that for back discomfort only. Well take care everyone. Will be checking in regularly to see how everyone is getting along. Sincerely, Stephanie

Lillylilly, Sorry to hear about your traumatic awakening, but glad you are doing well. I was back in the recovery area when I remember waking up and all went well. I remember when I had my tubal though that was a very scary feeling; waking up with a tube down your throat and choking. I will start my full liquids tonight since my surgery was a late one. I don't know how much I will be able to get down since I still have this painful bloat. It makes taking things in very uncomfortable. Its like forcing myself to eat when I am already full. I guess kind of like I did sometimes when something was really good to eat, LOL!!!! No more of those days for me. Well keep up the good work. I hope you continue to progress well. Keep in touch. Sincerely, Stephanie

I feel you girls. I am having so much more pain than I did yesterday. I can't get much liquids down because the bloat get worse. I can hardly get comfortable to sleep. I sure can't wait for this pain to be gone. Never realized how much you use those abdominals til you can't, LOL!!!! I have such a hard time getting up out of bed or a chair. Anyway, I pray we all recovery without problems and quickly. Sincerely, Stephanie

Hey all you sexy 6/30 bandsters!!!! I know you probably don't feel too sexy right now and neither do I, but one day soon. I am so sore today. Much more than yesterday. Kind of like when you start exercising and don't feel the pain until a day or two later. I am so hating this pain. I can't drink too much bc the bloat causes more pain and I think I may have overdone it with the walking to help get this gas out. I can sleep ok for about an hour or two, but that is it. I can't get comfortable bc I am a stomach sleeper. This is so hard, but I keep myself distracted with good thoughts of better days to come. I hope all of you are doing well. Sincerely, Stephanie

My fee from TLC was $11,990 which included my ekg, labs, surgeon related fees, surgery facility and 6 months of aftercare and fills. According to the IRS website, this surgery is tax deductible if done for the treatment of a disease, which in our case would be obesity.

Thanks for the advice Cowboy. I can't wait for that pain to go away and I can't wait to be able to sleep on my stomach again. Thanks everyone for all the support. Stephanie--Waco, Tx

I had my surgery yesterday and was scared to death. Lots of emotions were running through me and I wondered if I was doing the right thing. I am feeling pretty good right now, although, a little sore and gassy. My Gas-X strips sure are helping me. They also gave me phenergan and lortab, but I have been using rapid release liquid tylenol except for when I am having trouble sleeping. I don't want to be doped up all the time and I hate the way lortab makes my head feel. Good luck to all those waiting to be banded and those recently banded. We are all in this together. Sincerely, Stephanie

Hi all, I am glad to see the activity here is picking up again. I had my surgery yesterday and all is doing wonderful. Better thank I expected. I am a little sore and gassy, as to be expected, I am taking my Gas-X strips and liquid Tylenol Rapid Release. I don't care for the way the Lortab makes me feel, so I am saving it for bedtime. The tyenol is getting me through just fine. The less narcotics I take, the faster I will heal. I don't want to slow anything down. Any way, I guess I better go walk some more. Thanks for all the support. Sincerely, Stephanie

I hope everyone is recovering well. I am just a litte sore and gassy, of course. Those Gas-X strips are becoming my new friend, for now, LOL!!!! I hope we all keep in touch. Good luck to all of you. I will look for your success stories here or drop me a line on myspace. Sincerely, Stephanie

baby bandster smarquezrn checking in and doing well. Yesterday went better than I expected. Thanks for everyone's support. I will be checking in quite frequently. I still need lots of support and encouragement; we all do. Thanks again everyone and thanks a million to cathychatts for keeping up with everyone. Sincerely, Stephanie

What part of Central Texas are you from? I am from Waco and work as a Pediatric nurse at Hillcrest. My BMI is less than 40, but I do have some developing health issues. My insurance wouldn't cover my surgery bc I wanted to go out-of-network, so I am self-paying. I borrowed against my 401k to fund my surgery. I will be banded Monday (june 30th) in Plano. I am going through TLCEdge in Plano. The people are super nice and have been so patient with me with all my questions and frequent changes in scheduling my appointments. The cost is $11,990, which includes all surgically related fees, ekg, labs, and 6 months of aftercare and fills. If you do end up having to pay yourself. Get some of your testing done through your family physician so your insurance can pay, lessening the amount you will owe in the end. For most insurance companies, you should qualify, unless the employer excludes it from your policy. I hope you get it all worked out. Sincerely, Stephanie

Just received a call from the anesthesiologist. Wow this is really happening. Finally our day is drawing near. I am feeling so many emotions right now. Some are probably due to hormones and others are because of the changes I am starting to go through emotionally and soon physically. I still don't quite have the support I wish I did from my fiance, but that is ok too. My kids are also nervous, which doesn't make it easy for me right now. They are 15, 17, and 23, so they are old enough to understand the risks and what they mean for them. It is hard not to get a little down when I think about the worse case scenario and what it would do to them. But I figure, if I don't do something now, they will just watch me get older and fatter and pretty much die a slow death in front of their eyes. Not the way to LIVE and not the way I want to live. I feel that way everytime I see my mother, because she has many major health issues and doesn't really seem to care about what it means for her. She wants to live her life the way she wants to live it and so what if something happens. She lived doing and eating what she wants and that is all thats important to her. I feel like I am just watching her slowly kill herself, which is the main reason for my decision to be banded. With all this said, thanks for letting me vent one last time before Monday. I know in my heart all well turn out well for me and for all of you. Like I said, I don't really have the support I wish I had from my family, but I do have the support from my new online family. This is the way I see all of you. So as I go in for my surgery, I will imagine all of you being there with me; I think this will make it much easier. My surgery is not until later in the day. I don't have to be there til 1p. Which I guess isn't too bad since I have a two hour drive. It just leaves me more time for thinking. And more time to get really thirsty, LOL!!!!! The bad thing is, they said I will be there about 5 hours and then have another 2 hour drive back home. I would stay out of town, but I will be so anxious to get back to my family and my little dog Daisy. Thanks again for all your support. Sincerly, Stephanie

Hi all, I am a self-pay very soon to be bander as well. I will be banded on Monday (6/30). My cost was around $12,000.00 which included, labs, ekg, nutritional counseling, surgical related fees and 6months of aftercare and fills. (TLCEdge--Plano, Tx) I know what you mean about the credit issue. I guess getting credit these days is not as easy as it use to be. I wasn't able to get approved for financing, but that is ok. It all worked out for the best considering the payments were going to be higher than I wanted to pay anyway. I ended up getting a loan against my 401k. I was going to make a withdrawal to pay for the surgery, but the financial mgr where I work, encouraged me to take a loan against it instead. This way I wouldn't have the high penalties and I would still be earning money at the same time. My payments are going to be much lower. It was guaranteed approval since the payments were going to be deducted from my check, not only that, they had my 401k account for collateral. i was able to get my money in 2 days. Good luck to all of you. Sincerely, Stephanie

Amisha, I enjoyed reading your post. I sometimes feel that way in regards to my job. I am a nurse working nightshifts on a pediatric unit. I have heard comments and rumors of comments that only the "Cute" people work on the day shift. I have to admit we do have some pretty cute, little day shift nurses, but we have some on nights as well. It appears as though the day staff are always making comments about the night nurses not having much to do, as on days, and we are a bunch of lazy people. Well I am due to go to a dayshift position in mid August. One of my nightshift co-workers was asked by our unit manager if she thought I would do well on days due to the fast paced atmosphere. My friend and co-worker, who is also very thin, felt offended she would ask such a thing. She asked her why she felt I wouldn't be and that we are quite busy on nights as well. When she mentioned this to me, I was very offended myself. I know I am overweight, but I do tend to my business. I hope I never get that negative attitude the day staff shows the night nurses. I hope to always remember where I came from and help others along the way. So I guess that is what I have to say to others going through the same thing. When you get to be that so called "normal" person, never forget where you came from. Always look to encourage and support others who are in the position you were once in. Never say unkind things or make jokes behind anyone's back. Remember the pain you felt when the comments and jokes were made about you and try to add a little happiness in another persons life, even if just by a friendly smile. Sincerely, Stephanie

I am not sure how good your credit has to be, but the payments were sure going to be expensive and depending on your credit score, they could even be higher than the amounts given on these finance companies websites. I chose to borrow against my 401k. The payments were going to be much lower and I would basically be paying myself back and also not have the penalties as with early withdrawal. Although weight loss programs aren't tax deductible, surgery is because it is for the treatment of a disease--obesity. Found that bit of info on the IRS website. Oh, by the way, I am also using TLCEdge as mentioned in earlier posts. The current cost is $11,990 which includes 6 months of aftercare and fills. Psych exam not done there but they do have someone available for $250.00 if you can't get one using your private insurance. Also if you are required to get a sleep study or upper gi, that will also have to be done through your private physician. The people there are very nice and some of them have also been banded with awesome results. Good luck with your journey. I will be banded on Monday (6/30). Sincerely, Stephanie

Sandra, Congrats on your weight loss. :thumbs_up: Sounds like you are doing very well. I hope I have great results like yours to report soon. I will be banded on Monday. I am so excited and starting to get a little bit nervous. I would love to hear about your experience sometime. Anyway, good luck on reaching your goal. Sincerely, Stephanie