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Hi Wendy, I would never encourage anyone to smoke, but as a smoker I thought maybe I could put your mind to rest. I actually smoked the morning of my surgery and about 1/2 hour after they let me out of the hospital. Was that the smartest thing to do? No. Did it cause any actual problems? No. I was honest with the anethistesia Dr. and it was not a problem. It's just very important to be honest so they know what they are dealing with. If you can cut back to just a few a day that is great. I am down to about 5-6 a day. I know it's not great, but as a former 2 pack a day smoker...this is great for me. I have honestly never heard of smoking to be a reason to cancel this surgery. I suppose if you have lung problems from the smoking that would be another story. Hope this helps. Good luck to you. My best advise is to make sure you have Gas-X strips on hand because the gas pains can really hurt and the quick strips help A LOT. The other thing is sacks of frozen peas. They are great ice packs and offer a ton of relief for the pain and swelling. Also, warm broth feels good going down. Blessings to you, Julie :ohmy:

Hi All, I wanted to send out a good luck to everyone getting banded this week. I was on 6/11 and am already seeing good results. Someone mentioned they were using the Gas-X strips and I have to second that!!. I was really afraid when I was getting gas pains and didn't realize at first what it was. The Gas-X offers fast relief and gets things moving. Also, another huge help was ice packs (I actually use frozen peas). I would ice my upper stomach area several times a day and it really felt good and took the edge off of the pain. To the person who was not taking the Protein suppliments... I feel really bad for you about that. Maybe your Dr. would change his mind and let you add it in. Protein is super important for healing and also keeping lean muscle mass. I have actually found that during the day I may start to get very shakey and light headed all of the sudden probably from the lack of calories. As soon as this happens I have a Slim Fast High Protein shake and immediatly feel better. Sometimes I only need 1/2 of one. It's very important to get your strength back and I know without a doubt I could not be back working without the protein. I wish you all super speedy recoveries and joy to fill your hearts to overflowing!! Julie:rolleyes2:

I wanted to say thank you to Cathy for doing this list!! It is awesome to know there are so many of you going through this at the same time. It really helps to not feel so alone!! Julie

I love this thread!!! So many people could never even understand this stuff and I agree with all of your lists. I will never miss people asking when my baby is due. Although, a few times I have actualy had the guts to say, "Oh no, I'm not pregnant. I'm just fat." I thought a few people would stroke out trying to think of a gracious answer. I will also not miss my daughter getting made fun of at school because her mommy is "as big as an elephant." Seeing her get hurt over my fat was one of the worst moments of my life. Julie :thumbdown:

Hi Christy, I noticed that on pages that list the names of the different threads, there is a button near the top on the left that says "new thread." Hope that helps. I've never actually done it. Also, to all the Junies, I noticed someone said something about the 'Jazzy Junies' list. Where is that? It's so nice to know that there are so many people out there that understand exactly what I am going through because no one in my immediate life does understand. I can't wait for June 11th!!!! Julie :thumbdown:

Hi to all you Junies!! I read the post about the pre-op diet. I am a little confused too, but my Dr. said that I should follow the Atkins diet for 10-7 days before the surgery. I really hate the Atkins diet, but I'm pretty sure I will be faithful. I am self pay and it took a long time to save up and hours and hours of extra work. My Dr. had a patient he calls "The French Fry Lady." I guess during the pre-op diet she ate french fries everyday because she didn't really think it mattered.....Well, when the Dr. got inside to do the procedure her liver had not shrunk at all and he was unable to complete the banding and had to stop and stitch her back up. I think I would just die if that happened to me. So good luck to all of us. I can't wait to post an "after" picture someday!! Julie

Hi All, I was so happy to find this web site and all of you June Bandsters. My surgery is June 11th with the Pre-Op on June 5th. My 10 year old daughter will be away at camp the week of the surgery so she won't have to know and worry. Only my parents and two friend know about this. Is any one else keeping it kind of secret? I am so excited and yet sometimes so embarrassed. It's like I have to face the reality of my size even though I am acutely aware of it every minute of every day. I'm getting so nervous, but I keep thinking that in a year from now I will have my life back. Good luck to all of you!!!!:thumbup: