slinkymalinky

Good luck Paula. It's now 10.15am your time so I presume you're having the surgery right now! Congratulations!

Hi Lisa, I think we're eating just about the same thing - just that I'm chewing to puree my food. There's something about chicken that I can pour out of a blender that I don't find that appetizing. :wink2: You know I have pain on my left side too, but I think it's probably gas. I know that my port is at the front, about 4 or 5 inches down from my breast bone - I can just about feel it if I'm lying down. The surgeons told me that the port is located about an inch or so under the biggest incision you have, so that should give you an idea as to where yours is. Today was pretty good, but I'm not that enthused about going back to work tomorrow. I may take off one more day, as one of my incisions is bothering me a little bit, and I think it should get a bit of airing! But I have to go back Wednesday as I have no sick time left, and my coworker is sick too so I can't imagine how much work will be piled up for me when I get there! How are you doing with protein shakes. I think I told you I can't stomach them at all, but today I found some oven ready salmon, which has 25g of protein per portion and is only 140 calories. That's what I'm having tomorrow, so that I can get in enough protein. Congrats on your 6.6 pound loss. I weigh myself every morning on the Wii Fit, and every morning a cute little Wii voice tells me I'm obese! Oh well, not for much longer. I was 214 this morning, but I'm pretty sure I'll be about 98 pounds if I can ever go to the bathroom. Ok, not quite... Take care, and let me know how you're doing, Tracey

Hi Everyone, Just thought I'd share a little tip I found out quite by accident the other day. You know all the yucky glue residue that's left on your skin after you take your bandages off? Well, I tried just about everything to get it off, but in the end the absolute best thing was a pencil eraser! I erased all the residue off my stomach in under 5 minutes. Just thought I'd pass that along!:wink2:

Yes, well my diet wasn't exactly supposed to be chicken the first week! LOL. They said liquids and purees for the first couple of weeks, and solids after that, but I have read so many different things from so many different doctors, and so I figured I would see what was best for me. As long as I feel fine, then I guess it's probably alright. Having said that I'm being really careful, and when I say a bit of chicken, I mean no more than a teaspoon. And I chew it until it's basically pureed before I swallow it anyway. My surgeon told me that if I can suck it up through a straw it should be fine (within reason of course - he wasn't talking about blended chocolate bars!) Today I had oatmeal for Breakfast, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese for lunch, and about 1 cup of tomato Soup. How are you feeling today? That's great that we have the same weight loss goal! Tracey

I was banded August 5th as well. How are you feeling so far? I'm doing really well, and feeling better every day. I'm planning on going back to work on Tuesday, which should be fine as long as I get up and walk around every once in a while. What are you drinking/eating so far? I find I get full fast, but I can eat a bit of chicken as long as I chew it really well. I can't STAND the protein powders, so I thought I would try some chicken and have had no problems with it!

Good Luck to you! You've made an excellent decision to be banded. I'm still very new at this - only been banded for 6 days - but so far it has been wonderful. Keep us posted!

Good luck to you on Tuesday - that's a horrible thing to have to happen just before surgery. It's good though that your doctors are being diligent and found out that there was a problem before you went in for surgery...at least now you're prepared. I saw a lap band being performed on OR-live.com, and I remember that the spleen is up and to the right of the stomach. In the video they were able to push it right out of the way, so hopefully they will be able to do the same for you. If for some reason they can't do the surgery, don't give up hope. Just think of all the years you've been wanting to lose weight, and how close you are to fulfilling your dreams. If you have to wait a month or so until your spleen has gone back to normal, the time will fly by. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you on Tuesday. Let us know how it went. Take care!

Hi, I was banded August 5th, and could lie down the first night. The trick is to put a couple of fluffy pillows under your knees, which brings your thighs up and stops the pulling on your stomach. Just use a regular pillow for your head. This was the best way of sleeping for me, because my torso was flat, which helped the gas pains in my shoulder, but my stomach wasn't being stretched because my legs were drawn up a little. Hope that helps!:thumbup:

Good Luck tomorrow Jenbug! I had a C-section too, and the lap band doesn't even come close to being as painful. It's a walk in the park compared to that! Hope that helps a little! Take care!

Good Luck tomorrow Sam and Sweetpea!!! You'll both be just fine! I had my surgery August 5th, 2008, and feel great. I went shopping today and spent all afternoon at the mall, and I'm starting to feel almost normal again. I've lost 5 pounds since the surgery and I'm already starting to feel a bit smaller. This is the best thing ever!

I was banded 5 days ago on Tuesday. I still feel quite bloated, although not nearly as much as I did to begin with. I found the Gas X chewable tablets helped me quite a bit, and walking is excellent as well.

Hi all, I had my surgery on Tuesday, and I have found the best bra to wear is the stretched out saggy one that doesn't fit very well to begin with (ie. the elastic has stretched out and is a bit big). I find that those bras don't sit snugly on the breastbone, and so they don't hurt my incisions.