Musicmir

Hey everybody! It's been a long time since I've posted, so here's a quick update... Begining of January I had my appointment with the PA Deirdre - I had 3cc's in the band, but it was WAY too much for me personally, I couldnt eat anything and was only getting in maybe 500-600 calories a day. She took out 2.5cc's and after about a week I started to feel a lot more normal - no more reflux, and I was able to eat a bit more. I went back yesterday and lost 6lbs, for a total of 31 lbs so far. I'm pretty happy with my progress thus far, but I know I really need to start exercising now. I feel that the .5cc is all the restriction I need. I feel very lucky in that I havent had a hard time adapting to chewing food to oblivion or eating slowly. I don't have much of an appetite during the day, but at night I can eat about 4 oz. protein, some veggie and some starch. I havent felt deprived at all, which is awesome. I hope everyone else is doing well, and hopefully we can meet up some time soon. Wishing everyone a good week :-) -Miriam

Hey all! I'm doing a bit better - started soft foods last night, and even made myself a protein smoothie! I'm really anti-protein powder, they make me gag, but I forgot that I had a sample pack of the Unjury brand unflavored - it's amazing!!! Doesn't taste like protein powder at all! I blended it with some skim milk, frozen strawberries, bit of banana, splenda and a dash of vanilla extract - deeelish! I ordered more online today. I really have to commit myself to drinking at least 1, if not 2 protein smoothies a day, because I know for sure I'm not getting in what I need to, and I'm starting to feel it. I'm feeling a lot more tired the past couple of weeks. We got a Wii Fit for Christmas, and I've been exercising on that for at least a half hour a day, but then I feel like napping right away! This is all definatley such a learning process. I'm game for any kind of meet up - my only issue is that I work nights - my days off are Sunday and Monday though. I could really use some in-person chat about this whole experience, as I don't know anyone else that has gone through this. My mom had a gastric bypass 3 years ago and is doing amazingly, but it's not the same. Back to work for me! Hope everyone is having a good week! For all of those with surgeries coming up soon, good luck! It's sooooo worth it!!! :-D -Miriam

Hi everyone! It's been forever since I've posted - I've been so busy! I'm doing pretty well. Down 26 pounds since surgery on 11/21. Went and saw the PA (Deirdre) yesterday and it didnt go quite as I expected. I've actually been having a hard time gettin in enough food. I had something stuck once, 2 days before I was to start solid foods (a little over 3 weeks ago) - and it was HORRIFIC. I have no idea how it happened, as I'm always careful of chewing to oblivion and eating slow. Anyhoo, I was ok after the episode and started solid food no problem. Well, except for the fact that I could barely eat because I was getting full so fast. My weight loss slowed down to a crawl (only lost about 2lbs since starting solids), and I was getting in *maybe* 700 calories on a really good day, usually averaged around 500-600 calories a day. So I went and saw the PA yesterday, and she took out the fill that I had from what Dr. Geiss put in during surgery. Dude, I had 3cc's in there! She left in .5cc's - and told me to do liquids for 3 days and soft foods for a week! WTH!!! Does this sound normal at all to anyone? I know after a fill/unfill you should do liquids for like a day or 2, then soft for a day or 2, but liquids for 3 days and soft foods for a week!? I'm so cranky, and it seems so counter-productive to losing weight, because the problem was that I wasnt eating enough! Oi vey. I'm going to soft tomorrow because I seriously can't stand liquids, makes me feel inhuman, and I feel perfectly fine. I'll stick with the soft foods for a couple of days, but I'm going to call the doctors office back probably tomorrow to ask for an explanation again. She was trying to explain it to me in the office, but it really didnt make sense. That and i was so pissed off at the thought of not being able to eat solid food that I think I tuned her out lol. Hope everyone's new year is going well so far! I still would love to meet up at the next meeting. Chris - I'm sorry I didnt make it to your office, I got stuck at work, and my stupid toush deleted your email! :-( Talk to you all soon! :-D -Miriam

The same thing happened to me after surgery. I had my cath taken out the morning after surgery (I stayed overnight - 2 actually because my blood pressure was too low - stoopid anesthesia!). It felt like I had the worst urinary tract infection of my life! I was literally crying when I had to go to the bathroom, and hardly anything came out. I sipped on some cranberry juice, but fortunatley it totally passed in like 2 days. Totally not fun, but at least it's over with!

i'm close to a month post op, surgery was 11/21. i've been fine up until about an hour ago. today i ate - 12pm 1/2 deviled egg, maybe 1 tbsp potato salad, and a little bit of fresh mozzerella cheese 4pm egg salad made from 1 egg, 1 egg white and 6 ritz crackers. i walked in to the supermarket at about 7pm, and started to feel what i thought was really bad gas pains. then my mouth started salivating really bad and i got naseous. got to my car, was spitting a lot, thought i was going to throw up - i dry heaved once but nothing came out. i havent dry heaved again, but i have a very bad pain in my chest, right at the top of my rib cage - like really horrible gas. I'm burping a lot, not spitting like i was at first. i'm very careful about eating slowly and chewing a lot, because i HATE throwing up more than anything in this world, so i really want to do all that i can to avoid becoming stuck. did i just get stuck? the pain is starting to subside just a little bit, still tight. please help :shades_smile::confused:

Thank God it's over. That was by far and away one of the WORST things i've ever experienced in my entire life. I started dry heaving REALLY bad, and that was after a lot of spitting and burping. The spitting and burping werent bad, but once the feeling of impending "need to throw up" came - I was a pile of whining, crying, praying mess on the floor. It happened a few times, the worst being for almost an hour. Thankfully now its over, but I feel like I've been hit by a bus and then forced to run a marathon. I called my surgeons office expecting to leave a voice mail, but they have 24 hour coverage, and I was able to speak to the doctor on call. He was like "oh sweetie you should have called me earlier, I could have talked you through it." I was like, um, yeah I couldnt talk, and I'm pretty sure you wouldntve been able to understand my whining/praying/cursing language that I seemed to have made up. Anyhoo, he wants me to come in first thing in the morning. Thank you for all the tips. The only thing I can think of that happened is that I didnt chew well enough, or ate too fast. I'm still really curious as to why it took 3 hours for the symptoms to start, and I'm going to ask the doctor tomorrow if that's common. I would have thought that if something was stuck, one would know RIGHT away. God I hope this never happens again! I was supposed to start solid food on Friday, but now I don't know. I still <3 my Band though. Just gotta learn to play by it's rules!!

Thanks for the yoga tip, but i'm totally not capable of achieving that position lol.

I've had ritz crackers almost every day since i've been able to start soft foods though. i dont know if maybe i ate my 2nd meal too fast - but if i was stuck wouldnt i have felt it almost right away, or can it happen hours later? the pain is moving down now. its not longer at the top of my rib cage, its more around my belly. i'm burping a lot, still spitting a little bit. and i dont have a heating pad :shades_smile:

Hello ladies! Since I came back to work last week I've been super busy, so I havent had time to post. Just wanted to say hi, and that I'm really looking forward to meeting those of you who are going tomorrow night! Yay! I'm on mushies and doing pretty well with them. I'm still not eating enough, but I'm working on it! I've also had a lot of acid the past few days :-( Other than that I think I've lost 20lbs! My scale and Dr. Geiss's are conflicting. I like mine better lol. Back to work for me! -Miriam

Hi everyone. I'm a little over 2 weeks out of surgery, I started mushy food 4 days ago. I'm definatley not eating enough which I'm trying really hard to work on - but I've also had this almost constant acidy feeling in my chest (esophogus) and the back of my throat for several days now. Has anyone else experienced this? I do have GERD and am taking Prevacid every day, but it seems to have gotten worse since the surgery. I know one can become acidy from not chewing enough, but this definatley isnt the issue for me. I havent felt nauseous or anything, just acidy and uncomfortable :angry_smile:

Why is there so much emphasis on having no sugar/no fat pudding (and overall in general no sugar/no fat) lol. I hate the stuff. I'm on mushies right now and totally not getting in enough calories/protein. I feel like I'd be able to get in more if I could make regular pudding with skim milk.

Howdy all! I'm getting ready to venture out on my own for the first time today! I drove for the first time last night and it went pretty well. I'm supposed to go back to work tomorrow - UGH! Totally not looking forward to that. I kinda want to stay home until I can see Dr. Geiss on Friday. This liquid stuff is kicking my toush! I have NO energy whatsoever, and very little to no appetitie, so I really havent been getting in the protein/calories that I *know* I need to be. I seriously can't wait to get to mushies lol! Fran - I'll be the super groggy one Friday morning lol. I'm very much not an early morning person. Not sure what I'll be wearing yet, but most likely it will consist of sweat pants and a sweat shirt lol. I can't wait to get to meet you! As for the 10th, I'm in - I work until 7pm, but I can more than likely leave at 6:30 to get there by 7. I work in Massapequa, so it's not that far for me. Who's surgeries are this week? I though we had some. Good luck to anyone having surgery this week! :-D Hi to Sue(s), Chris, Debbie and anyone else that I missed! I'm really bad at keeping track of names. I gotta start writing them down. No matter, I feel the love of this board and that's all that matters! :biggrin: -Miriam

Fran - what time is your appointment on the 5th? That's the day I have my follow up too! My appointment is at 8:45am UGH! I too am having a hard time getting in Water, but I'm also having a hard time getting in the Protein Shakes. Yesterday was really bad, I only had like half a Protein Shake and a little bit of soup. I think I'm starting to feel hunger again, but I can't tell lol. I was always kind of bad with that, as strange as it sounds. I'm sitting here working on the same Protein shake now for about 20 minutes. I swear I will finish it though! Dr. Geiss told me he put about 1-2cc in my band so that when I go in for the follow up they can check to make sure it's working properly. At least I think that's what he said - God bless Demerol. I'm actually venturing out into the real world tonight for a friends birthday - at a Chinese buffet. Ugh. Wish me luck! Hope everyone is doing well! -Miriam

Hello Ladies! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I made my boyfriend go to our local diner to get me cream of turkey Soup lol. It was yummy though! My gas pain is pretty much all gone now, and my stomach muscles are starting to feel not as sore. I actually slept in my bed for a few hours this morning, as opposed to sleeping on our couch that has a recliner in it as I have been since I've been home. Progress! Amanda - I have like NO recollection of my time on the recovery floor lol. I'm glad you tried to find me though :-) Fran - I hope youre doing well! How are doing with getting in enough protein/calories? I'm still having a hard time, but yesterday for the first time I believe I felt hungry! Sue(s) - Thank you so much for all your support and encouraging words, they mean a lot! I hope in the next few weeks we can all arrange a time/place to get together! :-) -Miriam

Hi everyone, I'm back! Fran - I'm so glad you got through your surgery with flying colors! Too bad we didnt get to meet up beforehand, but we will one day! Amanda - thank you SO much for thinking of me and trying to see me in the hospital :-) Words can't describe how much that means to me! My surgery went well, but I had some complications afterwards, so I spent an extra day in the hospital. I have vaso-vagal syncapoe (basically my blood pressure gets WAY too low sometimes, and makes me pass out). The morning after surgery (7am - ugh) they took me down to do the video esophogram, and I really still wasnt feeling very well from the anesthesia/pain meds/lack of sleep. Well when I stood up into the machiene, I instantly felt like I was going to pass out - told the nurse that was there, and she said "wow, you sure are pale!". Duh. Well she was able to get a chair underneath me, and out I went. My blood pressure just got way too low (85/40 by the time they took it) but eventually I was ok by the afternoon. That little episode of course cost me another wonderful day in the hospital. The first like 2 days home were pretty rough for me - has anyone else experience trouble urinating? It felt like my bladder was super full, and then I'd start to go, but then my bladder would just seize up and stop. That by far was the worst pain for me, but thankfully it stopped by Monday night. I'm guessing it was from the gas, the catheter - a lot of different things, but thankfully it's all better now! I still have some gas, but not too bad. I'm really trying hard to get up and walk around as much as possible. The only site of the inscions that hurts is around the port, but I agree that keeping an ice pack on it REALLY helps. And honestly, the pain from the inscions/port is no where near as bad as I thought it was going to be. Right now I'm really trying hard to get in more calories/protein. I have NO appetite whatsoever, but I'm really trying to force myself because I know I need the Protein to heal. Oh, and if anyone is looking for a good Protein Powder - I ordered the unjury powder online, and the chocolate one is AWESOME. I had also tried the Designer whey, and that sucked lol. Each day gets a little bit better, so yay! The only bad thing is that I cant stop fantasizing about eggs LOL. I can't WAIT to eat mushies!!!! -Miriam

Ok, I did it! I made us a whole new forum! Here's the link... Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum - Banded on Long Island Yay for me! I'm usually so technilogically uninclined lol. -Miriam

Fran, I'm thinking of you right now! I know you got to the hospital about a half hour ago - sending good happy thoughts your way! Today I'm on clear liquids, so I took the day off work lol. I didnt think I'd be able to function too well, so for everyones benefit I stayed home. Now only if I had enough energy to get that laundry done lol... oh well, that's what the boyfriend is for! I'm definatley game on the support group in December, and then setting up our own one. I was also thinking that maybe we should create a new chat forum on here under "social groups", that way we don't overrun the Long Island thread lol. I hope everyone who is healing is doing well, and all those who are in the process need to know that it does go fast. I'm suprised how fast this week of pre-op liquids has gone, thank GOD!! Ok, time for some ices!! Whee!! -Miriam

Hi everyone! I'm really bad at remebering to look back and keep track of names, so just a big ol' generic HI to everyone lol. 2 days til' my surgery! This pre-op diet is kicking my toush!! Tomorrow is Clear liquids only - please pray for my boyfriend lol. I would LOVE to set up some kind of support group in the real world. I don't know anyone else who has the band, so it would be nice to come together once a month or so to gab and share our experiences. I'm getting kind of nervous about this huge life changing thing I'm about to do in 2 days, so some extra support would be fabulous! This as I sit at work listening to my co-workers deciding what they're going to order from Olive Garden. Beaches! :-) -Miriam

Hi ladies! Hope everyone who's recovering from surgery is doing well - here's a hug for ya'll *HUG* I'm suprisingly not hungry doing the liquids. Today starts day 3, but I've already lost 2.2lbs, so that's encouraging lol. The only concern that I had was that I wasnt getting in enough protein/calories, but I bought some Protein shakes from Vitamin World that have 35g Protein and 170 calories, so yesterday even though I only got in 1000 calories, I got in 80g protein. Thanks for the cottage cheese suggestion, but I actually hate the stuff lol. Over the past few weeks I was trying to like cottage cheese and yogurt since I know those would be a big part of the diet, but I just couldnt do it lol. Yogurt I can kind of suck down now to get in the calories/protein, but I just can't get over the consistency of cottage cheese. That and I have enough in my thighs, don't need to put more in my body lol. Fran - that would've been awesome if we were having surgery the same day, it would've been nice to have a surgery day buddy! Since you're a day ahead of me you'll have to keep me updated on what to expect lol. Hope everyone is having a good day! -Miriam

Hi ladies, it's been a while since I've posted! I've been so busy with work... but good news! I'm getting banded on November 21st with Dr. Geiss!! I just started my liquid diet today, and so far I don't want to kill anyone. Any pointers as to how you all got through the week? I didnt have that many calories today - I think I broke 900, but that's it. I didn't order the Medifast because it's so expensive, and quite frankly, I'm broke. I'm using the Slimfast High Protein, but the nutritionist Christine said only 1 a day pre-op, but then post-op they should be fine. I'm starting to get really nervous about the surgery. I wish I could have stuck with this board more for support. It's late and I'm tired and cranky/hungry so sorry if I'm rambling. Congrats to everyone who just got banded!! -Miriam

Hey Lcubed, Amy, Cappy, Susancarole... and everyone else reading! Well I called Dr. Geiss' office to speak to Jennifer today, but she didnt call me back. They got the letter from my cardiologist, but Jennifer told me that Dr. Wistowsky hadnt given them my letter because I paid 1/2 up front and gave her a postdated check (for yesterdays date). That really pissed me off, but Jennifer said that she should be able to get it no problem and to call on Friday. Well she never called me back, so now I have to wait until Monday . Oh, and the endocrinologist called me yesterday with the results of most of my bloodwork. Only thing that came back abnormal was my cortisol level - it was way too high. Next step is the pee in a jug thingee, which i was planning on doing Sunday and bringing it in to the office on Monday. *le sigh* I can't wait til' all this is over with! I need a hug. Oh look, I found one! :thumbup: How is everyone else doing?

Mazel Tov! Good luck on your journey :girl_hug:

Welcome Amy! Hi Susan and Lcubed :tt1: No word from the endocrinologist today. I called the cardiologist yesterday to see if he had written the clearance letter yet (I saw him last Tuesday) and he said he'd have it by the end of the week. I whined a little and asked him to have it done by Wednesday, because frankly I'm tired of waiting to have all my forms in lol. Hopefully he'll do it. I'm going to call Jennifer at Dr. Geiss' tomorrow, and also ask about the possibility of using Dr. Powers. I'm seriously growing impatient, but it could just be the PMS. *le sigh*:wub: So how is everyone else's day going? Oh, I realized I never really have mentioned anything about myself - so here goes! My name is Miriam, I'm 29, live in Levittown, and I run a housing agency for mentally ill adults. I have an AMAZING boyfriend and a very supportive family. My mother actually had gastric bypass in 2006, and now she has more energy than me! And she's a size 4 (the beeatch). So obesity definatley runs in the family (moms side at least - my dads side is all thin - jerks.) I've been successful at losing weight on my own (lost 65lbs in 2006 - except I didnt know I was thin!) but.... gained just about all of it back. I started researching the lapband back in January and finally decided that it was what I would need to lose weight and KEEP IT OFF long term. Now if I could just get a surgery date.... Talk to ya'll later! :confused:

Well, I went to the Endocrinologist this morning, and she was really nice, and very thorough. She said to hold off on surgery until she gets all the labs in, as she suspects that I have *something* wrong - she's looking for PCOS, Cushings Disease, and some other crapola. Oi givultz. Then again, I still don't have a surgery date so kinda by default she wins. Oh, and did I mention that I get to pee in a bucket for 24 hours? It's a bright orange jug that I have to keep in the fridge. I warned my boyfriend not to drink it That was gross, sorry :redface:. How is everyone else doing? I'm starting to get this like "last supper" mentality. The Oreos stood NO chance against me last night. Gotta get my eating habits in check. At least I can blame PMS for another few days:biggrin:.

I hadnt thought of asking to switch to Dr. Powers. I havent met him, but I'm sure he's just as great as Dr. Geiss. I've been to A LOT of doctors in the past year, and something about Dr. Geiss really made me feel at ease, so of course I'd rather have the surgery with him, but we'll see. My goal was to be healed by Thanksgiving. That and Lord knows I dont fit into any of my clothes from last fall/winter, so I really didnt want to buy a lot of new stuff lol. I'm going to call the office Monday morning to see if they got the letter from my cardiologist - that's all I'm waiting on. In the meantime I actually have an appointment with an endocrinologist Monday morning because when I had the thyroid function test it came back a little whacked out, and my rheumotologist (who drew the blood as a favor for me) said I should see an endo, so we'll see how that goes! I'm SOOO sick of doctors appointments, but at the same time I'm VERY greatful that I have health insurance, and accesebility to some amazing doctors. Congrats to all who are newly banded and doing well, and yay for ya'll with upcoming surgery dates! Hopefully I'll have one sooner than later!