thatDEgirl

I used a straw mostly (and still drink from one). I also have an insulated cup I used. I asked my doc about straws and he said so long as I didn't have any issues with them, he didn't care if I used them. Good thing, I hate drinking out of glasses:-).

Try liquid Tylenol or call your doc and ask him for a different med. Don't cheap on the eating. I discovered I was allergic to Lortab and just used Children's Tylenol instead.

We're AF so it probably won't help your choices much:-) Dyess AFB, Abilene, TX - Oct 1999-July 2002 RAF Lakenheath, UK - July 2002-July 2005 Eglin AFB, Fort Walton Beach, FL - July 2005-present All bases have had their pros on cons but I enjoyed living in each place. I only wish the family support at Lakenheath would have been better, especially since it is an overseas base.

Definitely fitted!

I'm still on mushies but thought I'd start posting anyway... B - EAS CarbContron Dark Chocolate Protein shake L - 2 oz canned chicken w/ 1 tbs Tostito's Spinach Dip and sprinkle of cheddar cheese D - 1.5oz vegetarian refried beans, sprinkle of cheddar and tsp of sour cream S - 2oz mashed cauliflower w/ sprinkle of cheddar cheese

Awesome work!!!

This sounds so good, I actually found it this evening before seeing this thread :-) recipes : Sloppy Buffalo Joes : food Network

I am off and on. Most days, my 2oz meals are enough but there are a few times I am starving.

Mine is this life of mine

Ask your doc about using a plastic retainer...I used on for my tongue. My docs rule was no metal in the OR.

We did Clomid when I was about 220 at 5'3". My doc never suggested that I needed to lose weight to take it. She realized that with PCOS, it just isn't that easy.

They will make you remove ALL jewelry...at least my hospital/doc does.

I finally got around to posting my surgery story on my blog this life of mine I'll copy and paste it here... I am home from the hospital now and finally awake and coherent. I thought I would write a bit about my experience for those that want to know. I am also going to start putting *WLS* in the subject line for those that don’t want to read about it. After I finally managed to go to sleep, that darn alarm was going off after only about an hour and a half. If it wouldn’t have been the start of a whole new me, I probably would have thrown it across the room. We got up, threw our clothes on and grabbed our bags. Pensacola is an hour/hour and fifteen from our house and I had a show time of 5:30am for a 7:30am surgery (July 25th, Friday). The trip was uneventful, unless you count me driving Bryan crazy, still going back and forth about making the right decision. Once we got to the hospital, they got me all checked in; started an IV, heparin shot, some stomach acid med, those utterly sexy TED stockings and air compression leggings. I actually didn’t have to stay in pre-op very long, less than a hour if I remember correctly. Then they came to get me and take me to the operating room holding point of sorts. At this point I had to say goodbye to Bryan and he headed to the waiting room. I sat there bored, for what seemed like forever. While I was originally scheduled to be the first surgery for Dr. Nye, for some reason he had to go into surgery before me and was running behind. Don’t get me wrong, I want the surgeon to take as MUCH time as necessary to do a good job, but all that silence by myself started me to thinking again. I actually shed a few tears, thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong and Bryan and Jacey having to make it without me. Did I say good enough goodbyes? Luckily that didn’t last long and the anesthesiologist came by to talk to me, tell me what was going to happen and see if I had any questions. Then Dr. Nye came in to see me and they wheeled me into the OR at about 10am. Bright, white and blinding. They got me moved over to the OR table, asked me what my tattoo meant and then where I wanted to go for vacation. All I remember is saying Paris and then waking up in recovery, groggy and with a sore throat from the tube. I got my first dose of pain meds and then they called down to the waiting room to tell Bryan where to head. They wheeled me to my room, where Bryan was waiting on me. All of this by 12pm-ish. The rest of my stay was uneventful. I needed pain meds about every 5-6 hours, battled a bit of nausea and tried to walk when I could. Two nightmare heparin shots, one blood draw and two nasty jello/broth trays, Dr. Nye came in to see me and told me I could go home…YAY! I was out of there a little before 12pm on Saturday (July 26th, Saturday). Since I’ve been home, I have slept a lot, discovered that I am allergic to lortab and could stand to never see jello again. The good thing I, I had my last dose of pain meds last night and am feeling pretty good. I have my follow up Wednesday, so we’ll see then how well I have been doing. Some people ask, with all the pain, discomfort, etc would I do it again? Absolutely, I know this is my chance at a healthier, longer life. Who wouldn’t want that?!

I was banded on a Friday and was cleared to drive after my post-op appt on Wednesday.

I can't feel my band, but I can feel my port. It is stitched to my abdominal muscle wall. It is usually pretty close to the skin so they don't have to search and dig to do fills.

So, why do they tell you to sip, sip, sip then? I am having issues with the drinking bit...how do you quantify a sip? If I drink normally, I feel fine but want to follow the rules.

From surgery to 5 days post-op, I lost 7.6 pounds. I weigh again at my appt Wednesday (will be 12 days post op). I threw out my scale a long time ago...LOL!

WTG, you look great!!

I definitely think call your doctor. While we can offer what we have been told, every doc is different and you need to follow your docs rules. Good luck!

My booklet says 1/2c or 3-4oz 3x a day with 2 1-2oz snack (high protein) if necessary.

I was banded on the 25th and have been starving since Monday, 5am (yes, I know since I was so grumbly it woke me up). I about kissed my doc when he cleared me to phase 2 (full liquids) today. If I never see jello again, it will be too soon!

Each doctor is different, mine won't do a fill till you are no longer consistently losing weight and the first fill isn't even thought of until 7 weeks. Discuss your concerns about slipping/stretching with your doc though, they are the best source of info.

I recieved dilaudid through a butterfly catheter in the hospital. I came home with a script for liquid lortab and quickly discovered that it is the pain killer I am allergic too but we couldn't figure out. I ended up taking only 2 doses of that an one dose of liquid tylenol. I had surgery on Friday, discharged on Saturday noon-ish. Took one dose at 3pm Saturday, one at 5am Sunday and one at 10pm Sunday. No more after that.

They don't taste bad but for me are entirely too sweet. Alone or mixed with something else. Of course, this is coming from the person that now thinks sf Jello is too sweet!

I just had my surgery on Friday and my nurses were telling me that they think I made a great decision. They said since my dr has been doing lap band, they haven't seen anyone come in with major complications, unlike gastric bypass patients. Made me feel good...I know complications can happen but they are rare.