krtork

Welcome to the board! Good luck with your surgery. Try to get your pain med prescription filled before you go to the hospital, if you can! It will be nice to have them ready when you go home. Make sure you are stocked up on Protein drinks too. I lot of people have used Gas-X, but I never did. The biggest thing is to remember to get up and move. Walking is the best thing to get the gas moving and out or your body. Water is also important, sip, sip, sip! Don't get behind and get dehydrated, it is hard to get caught up! Good luck with your surgery, let us know how it goes!

Everybody seems to have different instructions from their surgeon! At that point I was on full liquids - protein drinks, sf jell-o, sf popsicles, juice, broth, milk. I was adding protein to the broth and jell-o to make sure I was getting enough protein in. I was supposed to be at 60g of protein by the end of the two weeks.

I would get the band again in a minute. I have no regrets. I needed to do something for my health. I could see where I was headed and new I needed some help to lose weight. The band is not an easy fix, it is something I will use to help me lose the weight and become healthy. I would definitely recommend that you look into the band. Go to the seminar and meet with the doc and work with the doc to make an informed decision to see if it is right for you!

I hope you can take a day or two off work. You just had surgery! Your body is adjusting to having a foreign substance implanted and you need to recover. Don't be afraid to take the pain meds, they are there to help you get through the first few days! Glad to hear you are walking. That will definitely help with the gas pain. Make sure you are sipping your Water and don't get dehydrated. I found that broth (w/Unjury unflavored protein) was very calming to my stomach right after surgery. You will find that you start to feel better every day. Make sure you are resting, walking and sipping and you will feel better and feel good about your decision to get the Band!

Kelda44~ I love the horse idea. I too have a horse that has suffered from my mounting. I quit riding about 2 years ago, I felt bad getting on him and I knew in my heart I was hurting his back. I almost sold him this spring! When I decided to get the surgery and my husband was supporting the decision, the first thing I thought of was riding my horse again! I am so glad that I did not sell him! We are set to start riding again this fall.

You need to take some time to focus on yourself! I know where you are coming from. I am the doer in my family and I finally have had to put my foot down and let them know that I am doing this for myself and I have to have time to work on this process. The house will not burn down without you. I like the suggestion of not taking your phone with you when you leave the house. They will figure out what they need to do if there is a crisis. You are doing them a favor by cutting the string. Take the baby in a stroller with you when you walk, then you don't have to worry. Cook meals for your family, make them healthier, they will adjust. I assure you they won't starve or have them help cook the things they like to eat. It is tough, but you need this time to focus on you and your health so you will be there for them down the road!

Welcome to the forum! You will love all the information and support you will find a LBT!

After three weeks, I finally feel like all of the swelling has gone down. Now all my pants are falling off! I can't keep them up and I hate wearing belts.

Good luck! Let us know how things go!

I just posted the same thing a couple of days ago. I was all excited about getting to chew my mushies, but then I was afraid to start adding more in. I was uncertain of how my body would react to the food. I got some great advice from a lot of different people. You just have to try different foods and see what works for you. You can't just eat the same thing everyday, you will get bored and frustrated. The band is there to help you control the amount of food you eat - so try different things, see what works. I have done some experimenting this week and feel much better about trying new foods!

I agree with Terry, I would go back to liquids and try again later. You might even want to contact your doc before you try again. I hope you get to feeling better, that sounds like no fun at all!

You are grieving. You have made some big changes in your life all at once. You should be proud of yourself for making a decision to be healthy. The eating in front of you is very hard. My family did KFC last night. I could even feel the taste in my mouth - very strange! It is hard and frustrating to watch them eat while I am having mushies and feeling hungry. I would suggest that you go for a walk or find a way to not be in the house when they do this, that way you don't even have to smell it! I think it is perfectly normal to have a grieving period. We had to be banded because we love food and eating too much of it. That is how we got to this point! Remember that each of these stages will pass. You will soon be eating mushies, soft textures and then regular food/textures. Look toward the big picture, your health! I think you are amazing! You have just been banded and you quit smoking at the same time. I have never been a smoker, but my dh has and I have seen him quit. That is a tough one! You are giving up several addictions all at the same time - if you weren't mad I think that would be strange. Do you have someone you can talk to? Or like RestlessMonkey suggested does your surgeon have a counselor or psych you could talk to. It is hard not to get down sometimes but don't let it control you. Remember why you got the band and find a positive outlet for your emotions! I hope you get to feeling better, I think you will find that each day is a little easier!

Is anybody else really apprehensive about trying new foods? I have been really hesitant to add new food because I am afraid of how my body will react or that it will get stuck. I know this is crazy and all in my head, but I am really nervous about it. :thumbup: I had scrambled eggs yesterday and I was so nervous I could hardly eat them. I want to enjoy what I am able to eat!

Here are some of the things I have tried: Refried Beans with a touch of salsa and sprinkle of cheese, yummi! I also have had ricotta cheese with spaghetti sauce (warmed up in the microwave for 1 min). Scrambled eggs with salsa. Yogurt. Mashed potatoes. Baked potato with sour cream.

I could really feel my port in the beginning, but now I hardly notice it unless I bump my belly or lay on my left side. It is more an uncomfortable feeling than pain, when I lay on my side. I am sure as it heals it will become less noticable.

Ladybugmom~ Welcome to the site! Congrats on your band. This is a great place to get information and meet people who are banded.

Congrats! Isn't it great when those things happen. I have already picked out my pair of 'before' pants that I am keeping as a reminder to never go back!

I had my surgery on the 5th and I am really feeling good. I even ventured onto my stomach on Tuesday just to see how it felt. Wasn't to bad, couldn't have laid there for a long time, but not bad. You might want to call your docs office if it is that bad. That doesn't sound normal, but I am not an expert. I have been able to eat (mushies) and I have been hungry. I have to say that I was not really hungry at all the first week, but my appetite has picked back up. Some people have said they had a fill when they were banded, the band was not left empty. Maybe that is why you are not able to eat anything. Make sure you are getting your Protein and Water and call the doctors office. I hope you feel better!

Edel~ Remember this time is really for healing. You will start losing. When we go from drinking to eating again the weight loss will slow or stop for a short time as our bodies are trying to figure what is going on! Just stick to the nutrition plan you were given, try hard to fight the head and mouth hunger, and you will start dropping again. I think it is going to be hard as we start eating again, until we have our fills and really start to feel that restriction and sense of fullness. I know you can do it! It will get better!

Katweedy Just double click on any of the tickers and it will take you to the site to build your own. Same with the signatures. Or there is a sticky at the top of the August folder that has some of the signatures that you can paste into your personal sig.

It is no fun going to a job that you hate! Maybe after you are feeling better, you could look for another job? Something that you would like more or at least not dread going to work! Congrats on getting banded. Make sure you are focusing on you and getting healed. Are you still taking pain meds if you are in that much pain? If you have to go back to work right away, even part time, make sure you are getting up and moving and sipping your Water. The movement will help with the gas pains and keep things moving which will help you feel better.

Congrats on the band! I started walking about 15 minutes each day and then adding on minutes as I felt better. I did this on top of walking around the house, etc. Try not to stay still for too long, the more you move, the more the gas frees up and gets out of your system.

Jodi gave you some great advice. Also watch the other foods that you are eating that contain sugar and you don't know it. Make sure you read the labels of all the canned foods you are eating. It is amazing what they add to just a can of plain black beans! When you have the sugar, you crave the sugar. Good luck and stick with it, you will start losing again!

I really like the unjury. Very flavorful. The unflavored is great to add to your food also, so far I have not been able to taste it when added to Soups, Jello or pudding. The New whey Protein bullets also seem to be popular. They have 42 gms of protein per bullet, so you can split it over the day. Add it to your Crystal Light, it is good and not chalky.

I would ask to see your records so that you know your height was changed. Then you will have piece of mind with that issue. I really don't know about the insurance issue, I was self-pay. I would think that you do need to lose weight, that would be a good sign that you are ready to make the lifestyle change. You also need to lose weight to make your liver less fatty for the surgery. Good luck, I hope the insurance comes through for you!