Just a Girl

Hey guys. I am so ashamed of myself. I have been really bad the last week. I ate Cookies, chocolate, and other forbidden foods. I'm on the mushie stage, but what I've been eating is more solid than mushie. I feel so much regret and I'm so disappointed in myself. I have my first followup appointment next week. If I were to weigh in at the dr's office today the scale would show only a one pound weight loss. How could I have let myself do this? :tongue_smilie: So, today I am getting back on track. I've come back here to get support. Last week I didn't visit the forum at all. I need to stop by here at least once a day to help keep myself on track. Today I joined the daily plate so I can keep track of what I'm eating. And I'm making a renewed effort to stick to the mushies, get my Protein first, and drink Water. I had my first PB last week too. I ate chicken too quickly and I didn't chew it well enough. The chicken got stuck. It hurt and it was so gross. How is everyone else doing? I hope everyone else is doing better than I am!

Rosey, that's fantastic! I'm glad to know you are doing so well. Keep it up! We are behind you! You will be fine at DH's Christmas party. The band will be there to help you.

I haven't thought about a short term goal. Thanks for suggesting it! So, I thought about it and I will be pleased if I am down 8 lbs by January 1st. I am excited about this challenge. Now I have something short term to shoot for. Great idea China and good luck to us all!

Thanks Pete, i'll give it a try! I'm drinking 60 cc of boost 4xs a day and drinking water, broth, V8, OJ, and apple juice. Glad to hear your situation has improved! I appreciate the advice

I too am having trouble with loose bowels. Except for water, whatever I drink goes through me quickly and I have to run for the bathroom within 30 minutes of "eating". It's pretty annoying and I am a little concerned about going back to work in 2 days. Because of the diarrhea, I'm not "eating" as much as I'm suppose to and the hunger pains are driving me nuts! I'm not sure what to do except to take some Imodium. I hope when I get to soft mushies this little problem will go away! I'm so afraid of not making it to the bathroom in time!

Week 3 bandsters, your week is here! You are in my thoughts and prayers for successful surgery and quick recovery! Keep us posted!

Today is day 4 post-op. I'm making progress. I'm not quite as tired as I was the day of surgery, when all I wanted to do was sleep. My incisions look like they are healing nicely. I'm still having gas problems. I think I need to go to the sippy cup as someone else said they did, a few posts ago. I am swallowing too much air, I think, and the gas gets stuck in my chest. Also, I am SO hungry. I can't wait to start soft mushies in about 9 days or to get my first fill. I can't wait to hear how everyone else is doing!

Hi fellow December bandsters! I am now officially banded as of Wednesday:thumbup: Most everything went well. I did have a wee little trouble coming out of anesthesia. I was very cold and having trouble catching my breathe. They gave me lots of warm blankets and once i caught my breathe, I was fine. I feel good. All things considered, I am very pleased with the low level of soreness I have. My pain meds take care of most of it. I've been staying on top of taking it every 4 hrs. Kudos to the bandster that didn't take pain meds! I don't know how you did it, but way to go! I've had a little gas. Feeling it mostly in my chest and shoulders. I too have been burp-hiccupping a little. The hiccuping part hurts a lil, but getting the gas out is sucha a relief. Walking around helps. Seems to move those bubbles along. I have some Gas-X just in case, but haven't needed to use it yet. The nurses gave me some yummy Ensure to drink while I was at the hospital. It was the most delicious thing I've had in forever! After being on Optifast for two weeks, the Ensure tasted like a rich dessert in comparison. When I went to the pharmacy to pick up my pain meds, I also picked up a six pack of the Ensure. Yummy! I only needed 2 incisions. I am totally excited about that! My surgery lasted under an hour and my surgeon said things went very well, better than he expected. The staff at the hospital were fantastic and my surgeon was wonderful. They were all so patient, attentive, and helpful. I was so pleased. Kerry, Rosey and all my other fellow week 2 bandsters, how are ya doing? To all future bandsters- this surgery is so worth everything we have gone through. Wk1 bandsters, thanks for posting so quickly, letting us know how you are and what to expect. All the advice was very helpful. You all take care and God bless!

Kerry, I'm praying everything goes smoothly for you tomorrow and you have little to no pain. I can't wait to hear how you are doing post op!:biggrin:

Thanks to all the Holiday Hotties/December Diamonds that have checked in to let us know how you are doing and something of what we can expect. I pray you have a speedy recovery and much success with your band! Please continue to keep us posted on your progress.

Grats on getting insurance approval. I know you were concerned about that. My surgery is on the 10th, but I won't have a time until the day before. I'm a little miffed because I stepped on the scales today and it said I gained 1.5 lbs from yesterday. :thumbup: How is that possible consuming under 800 calories a day??? I hope its just my scales being screwy or maybe I'm retaining Water. Good luck and God bless! I can't wait to hear how you are doing post op!

Trina and Sue, I'm glad to see you are both doing well. Thanks for posting so quickly after surgery. It helps ease my mind, and I'm sure everyone elses', that things are going smoothly for you. Please continue to keep us posted. I'll be on pins and needles for the next week.

Hi Kerry, When I started the liquid diet last Wednesday, I was still taking 500mg of glucophage xl 4 times a day, for PCOS to regulate my cycles. I felt really light headed and dizzy. I assumed it was from the drop in blood sugar from the lack of sweets and carbs, so I stopped taking the Glucophage. Now I feel fine, no more lightheadedness. I wouldn't recommend anyone doing what I did without talking to their doctors first though, especially if you are taking glucophage, or other similar meds, for diabetic reasons. Yeah, I am really surprised by the fish thing. I hate strong fishy fish, which makes me gag. I can eat mild fish every once in a while. Looks like you and I are having surgery next week(10th for me). I can't believe it's almost here! I'll keep my fingers crossed and say a prayer that your insurance approves you. I was on pins and needles waiting for mine to approve. Mine took a little over a month to come through:unsure: Good luck to you as well!

All the best to you Trina! Keep us posted on your progress!

I found that chasing the Optifast with broth helps me alot. I crave salt more than sweets so this has been working out alot better than just drinking the Optifast alone. I find that I am craving fish. Normally, I am not fond of fish, so I'm not sure where this is coming from. I hope it lasts through surgery when I am allowed lean protein. My surgeon prefers that I eat fish over chicken, to start out and I was dreading it. Maybe it won't be so bad after all. I think my taste buds are changing, either that or I'm listening more to what my body needs, instead of what my taste buds want. I agree with shrinkinmom, I miss chewing. On a positive note, my fat pants are getting lose :thumbup: I've noticed that I don't feel as sluggish or tired. I have my last appointment with my surgeon on Tuesday. I think he'll go over what I can expect after surgery. I'm not sure what else but I have to bring a support person with me to help me remember. 10 more days to surgery. It's coming up so fast!

My doctor gave me a script for the premade ones. It cost me $142 for a 2 week supply. He wants me to be strictly on the protein drinks and zero calorie non carbonated liquids. Honestly, I've been waiting til I'm starving before I have one because I can't stand them really. I'm not even going to finish the strawberry ones that I have. They are going in the garbage. I don't know how bad this is, but they want me to drink five a day and I've been drinking 3-4 (plus my water and broth) a day cuz they taste so bad. There is an upside though. When I weighed myself first thing this morning, I've lost 7.5 lbs since Wednesday...

You can do this! Take it on day at a time. Heck, take it one hour at a time. Tomorrow will be a better day. We all slip up every once in a while. Don't give up on yourself! I started my liquid diet on Wednesday. Let me tell you, it's been no picnic. I've come so close to validating eating a bite of this or a bite of that. I've been staying on track by thinking about how long it's taken me to get to this point (9 months since I decided to have surgery, 7 months since the initial mandatory seminar). If I have a slice of pie, will that put me over the weight I need to be for surgery? If I give in to my craving and pick up some McDs french fries, will it be worth it on surgery day when my liver is too large and instead of 2 small 1/2 inch incisions, I end up with a long 5 inch one? Do I want my surgeon to tell me my surgery is cancelled because I've gained weight? Heck no! I want this too badly. When I start feeling weak, I take a deep breath and I think of all the reasons I'm doing this. There are so many. Health reasons first and foremost. I want to be able to keep up with my slim and trim husband. I want to fit in some skinny jeans. I want a better shot at living to 100. I wanna run a mile for the first time in my life. I have so many reasons for having the surgery and everytime I feel weak, I remind myself of them. I'm sure you have many goals and reasons you are doing this too. I know you can lose that last 8 pounds. Look how much you've lost already! You've come so far. So congratulations on your hard work to date. Try looking at some of the before and after pictures posted by others on the message board. They are a great motivator for me. Good luck and God bless you.

I started my two week pre-op liquid protein diet today. I came to the forum to look for some support. I've been a lurker on these boards since I decided to go for the surgery back in March. My surgery date is December 10th and I'm nervous and excited. I also had a lot of "last meals". I tried to fit in all my favorites and not gaining weight. Haha:lol: My Dr. prescribed Optifast. He had 4 varieties-chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, and tomato soup. The tomato soup is pretty good. The other three taste like Slim Fast and I don't care for Slim Fast. Since I paid a small fortune for it though, I will tough it out. It's only the first day on the protein drinks and already I'm craving things like popcorn, hamburger, and mac n cheese. Actually anything that I could chew sounds awefully appetizing at the moment. Gosh, this is tough. I like all the creative group names that everyone's come up with. It's helpful reading through these posts knowing others are at the same point in their journey. I hope everyone has a lovely and happy Thanksgiving.

najah, thanks for your reply. I've called twice since I visited the psychologist August 25. I called the office the day I finished my psych eval. Altavia told me I had to wait until they received my eval from the psych. Then I tried again last week. This time Altavia said I had to wait until the nurses read through my test results and that the nurses were swamped. I'm getting the runaround and I'm getting quite frustrated. :embaressed_smile:

I am going through Dr Chapman too. I started the process in May 2008 with the seminar. I finished all of my pre-op appointments by the end of August. Now I'm waiting to hear from the office as to when I can meet with Dr Chapman for the final appointment before surgery. Seems to be taking forever. It's been more than 3 weeks since I visited the psychologist and the nutritionist. An aquaintance of mine started the process shortly after I did and she had her surgery 2 weeks ago with a different doctor! I feel like I've been forgotten. Anyone else having similar experiences with Dr. Chapman?

IMHO, I think fitted clothes present a neater, slimming appearance. However, fitted clothing, to me, does not mean tight clothing. Tight clothing tends to show off any lumps, bumps, and rolls you have. I've also discovered that the type of cloth makes a difference as well. I do not look good in velvets and some polyester blends because they cling too much. Also, I agree that wearing loose clothing makes you look larger. I have a couple of really pretty blouses, which are loose, that make me look like a big top tent. :wink_smile:

I have Tricare Prime North region and I'm about half way through the process of getting approved. My surgeon keeps telling me that it will take Tricare around 6 weeks to approve AFTER I've gone to all my consults and gone through all the lab work. That seems like a really long time after reading all the posts from those that are getting approved by Tricare in a couple days. Is anyone else experiencing this?