showmepat

Well I don't have much to say, but wanted to check in with ya'll. I'm down 20 lbs and boy it's so nice to be going in this direction rather than gaining. I'm on mushies for a few more days. I plan to make some eggs with grilled onions, green chiles and ff cheese this a.m.. As long as I keep some things at the office to eat, I'm good, ie PShake, sf jello, sf popsicles, peanut butter. Our office always has food around, so it seems. I'm going out tonight with some friends to listen to some blues/jazz. This will be my first night out with friends that don't know I've had the surgery. I've already scoped out the menu and there is a soup on the menu. Now as for a drink, has anyone any ideas of something to order? I'm thinking cranberry juice or stick with water and lime or lemon. I heard that now when you drink it really gets you. Has anyone tried to have a drink?

Well it's not that exciting, I'm still on mushies for 6 more days (which is 2 weeks post-op) than start to introduce some very simple meats - like ground beef, 1/2 cup of food (1oz) at a time, then at week 5 I'll go to 1.5 oz. Chew, chew, chew. If I get nausea I go back to liquid. I really think that each person has their own particular health issues prior to surgery so just ask lots of questions when you go for your post-op. At my appt. there were two women in the waiting room, I spoke to them. One woman had been banded last March and had lost 100 lbs., the other one had had her band for 2 years and had lost nothing to speak of. The second woman just kept saying whatever you do don't cheat, I assume she did quite a bit. I think if solids are introduced too soon you can compromise the band, and my guess is it won't ever be the same again. Ladies let's be like the first lady, be smart and "stay the course". A year from now we can be 80-100 lbs thinner and of course much healthier!:smile2:

Today I went for my follow-up visit, which was great! I got my staples out which makes my tummy feel so much better. My doctor told me I was doing super, I've had a 16 lb weight loss in the past 3 weeks (2 weeks pre-diet and one week post surgery.) I asked him some questions about diet and he recommended to stay away from the fruit juices and fruit as it converts to carbs. I'm to have 60 grams of protein each day. He basically said to use good judgement about exercise. It's so nice to be a week out now. :smile2:

Well, I woke up to a nice bowl of Malto Meal. This was the first day of mushies. Wow, what a nice change from the past two weeks prior to surgery and the five days post. I did fine today, not really hungry, but ate, so I keep getting better. I had a little more gas pain in the shoulder, but it seems like I've found when I lay down, ie. take a nap, the pain goes away, not sure the correlation or if there is one. Each day I am feeling much better and I know I'll be ready to go back to work on Monday. I hope everyone out there is doing well and enjoying a positive recovery.:thumbup:

Ginny, I can relate to what you had to say, my parents have been gone for many years and I could have enjoyed their support trying to raise my daughter Katie. Being a lone parent is lonely, though I have some great sisters and a wonderfully supportive cousin. Some of my friends know about the surgery but no one at work or church know. We are all on a journey and will be learning lots of lessons over the next months and years. I spent some time praying for God to help me through on this one as I was feeling prior to surgery "how in the he.. did I let everything get so out of control. I know that my depression since Walt died allowed me to escape through eating whatever I wanted. Without food I'll need to channel my emotions into something new, something more positive. I know you can do that also, set your mind to it Ginny. Together we're all walking into our new lives!

Thanks for the wisdom, guess I was mistaken, now I'm not looking forward to day 3 so much. I'll continue to get out and walk. Today, I started to have congestion in my lungs, so am working to breathe deeper. I'm so glad I have the week off work.

Well, it's done, got the band today, surgery was 7:30 and I was home by 2:15. I would have to say that I'm doing much better than I thought I'd be doing. One suggestion for those who have gas, try to belch as much as you can, it's worked wonders for me. No gas pain today to speak of, I forced myself to belch as soon as I woke up in my room. Walking around the house and outside briefly today, helped to relieve the gas (belched) :thumbup: also had lots of water - sipped per instructions, apple juice, two small sf popsicles and one cup sf jello. Oh yeah, I made a great holiday treat Hot Wassail (applie juice, pineapple juice, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks and whole cloves poked into an orange and all heated). This is a great holiday treat. Also planning to have turkey broth on Thanksgiving - found it in a box in the local grocery store. My sister was such a great help and my daughter did fine, though she was very scared when I left the house this morning. I ended up sending my cell phone with her so she could call my sister. I think this helped her a lot. The pain is very low, only hurts when I try to get up from bed or a sitting position. The heating pad is helping relax my tummy. Happy Thanksgiving to all November banders' out there!

Well tomorrow's the day! Guess I'm one of the group holding up the rear (surgery date that is). I have to tell you that all of your posts have been helpful. Thanks everyone. I have tried to prepare everything, ie have all the grocery needs here, so I won't have to go to the store till the weekend. I have an 11 year old and she is worried a lot about the surgery, I'm a widow and so there's no Dad to go to for comfort. My sister is coming to stay with me starting tonight, she'll drive me to the surgery center and pick me up and she said she'll stay as long as I need her. Just curious about mobility, 1, 2, 5 days out? Do you pretty much lay around the house or are you all doing stuff? I know lifting heavy stuff is out. Joining you all after surgery tomorrow!

Jenny and Jaime, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I know that what you both said is the core issue. I had a talk with my sister, who is a recovering alcoholic. I told my sister that I now have a better understanding of what she went through when she walked through the door at AA. She can so relate to what I have to say. Food will no longer control my life. I know the journey will be tough some days, but so is carrying an extra 100 lbs. I will find fun new things to fill the voids left from this addiction, exercise being one. A hobby would be good, all I do now is focus on raising my daughter. So here's to motherhood and also to getting the priorities right when it comes to food.

Well today I went for my pre-surgery appt., what a nice facility (outpatient) and the staff is great. I am anxious for Monday for a variety of reasons. Well for one I've only had a c-section and so not sure what it will really be like. It looks like it won't be too bad. I'm doing okay on the pre-diet and the staff at the center said that the pre-diet is the hardest part (we'll see about that). For those of you that have already had your surgery congrats. I'm a widow of 4 years and have an 11 year old daughter, a lot is riding on this surgery. I have personally drained money off the retirement account to make this surgery happen, I hope I never regret it. I've had to make lots of tough decisions in my life and this is not different. Here's to getting to the other side - like I wish it was Thanksgiving 2009 right now.

Well I'm supposed to have 18g protein shakes, but when I found the Dr. Atkins shakes have 16 I ended up adding a new product I found - Special K2O protein water mix, which has 5g protein. YOu find them in the drink aisle and they're very convenient. They have 7 sleeves in a box and you just add them to water, I chose the pink lemonade one and take it to work for a snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Add a little fresh lemon and you're good to go.:cool:

Bill, I'm also on the 24th, cheers to us! I start the pre-op tomorrow, so tonight was it, then onto two weeks of protein shakes for breakfast and lunch and then a lean cuisine for dinner or something similar. There's some sadness and relief all mixed into my thoughts!

I don't know about you guys but I'm having lots of emotions running. I get banded on the 24th, the pre-op starts on the 10th. The doctor said the pre-op is to make your liver shrink a bit so that putting the band on goes well - good placement. They also want to see that you can do the diet before the surgery. I have put off buying the protein shakes,but will be doing that this weekend. Last suppers, yes I've already had a few. If you want some realistic reading go to the page http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f260/im-here-help-64725/ - Indigo Girl has lost lots of weight and provides some real life insights, the band in her thoughts does 25% of the work and you do 75%. I don't know about you but I was hoping for a 50/50 split, oh well, here we go! I guess 25% is better than what I've had until now 100%/o and no luck losing. I plan to participate in a local support group, both for nutrition and general support. I've learned so much on this website.

Hello, regarding private pay, I'm using my 401(k) monies, borrowing against them, not taking them out, that way you don't pay penalties. I did use the doctors company Care Credit - for a small portion. Lots depends on your credit situation, what you'll be approved for.

Hi, I'm from Lenexa and am scheduled for November 24th with Dr. Hitchcock. I have gone to a support group that meets at New Hope, where I"ll have my surgery. Anyone can go to the group, so let's try to meet at the next support group meeting in November, you don't have to be banded there to go. I'm 51 years old, 5'2" and 250 lbs, bmi 44 or so. I am excited and anxious as I'm a self pay and need to see results. I know the monkey will be on my back to make it all happen. Write back!

Well 4 more weeks, I have a date of November 24th. I like most of you am very anxious, excited, anticipatory, etc. You all know I'm sure as you're probably having the same feelings. I'm 51 years old, 250 lbs and 5'2", so can't wait to shed down to 150 or less. I have high blood pressure, asthma, and beginning arthritis. I know that this is a must for me as I've tried lots of other options and have not been successful. I'm a self payer as insurance won't cover banding. I'm just putting together the last money to make this happen. I borrowed from my retirement acct. to make this happen. I wish all well and from what I hear from others I won't regret it! I want to be able to do all the things I said I would do if I was thin, I've put them off much too long.:wink_smile:

Well it's coming up, November 24 is my banding, just prior to Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to a few months down the road, after everything levels out. It sounds pretty time consuming making all the changes I'll need to make over the next 2 months. Just the grocery shopping and preparation, as I'll still need to prepare a dinner each night for my daughter.

First let me say I'm 50 years old, a mother of an 11 year old and a widow. My husband died 4 years ago at the age of 41 (he was obese). I'm scared to death of making this decision to go for lap band, you'd think it would be a no brainer, but it isn't. I have told only a couple of people that I'm thinking about doing it. I'm 250 lbs, bmi is 43 and I've tried many of the diets around. My fear is what if I fail and put myself in a bad place physically. I need to be healthy to do my job so I can support my daughter. I just need some words of encouragement. I'm also worried about how do you know if you'll be successful vs. cheat and eat some of the foods that will pass through. Any words of wisdom? Pat

Thanks Cleo's mom, I appreciate knowing there's someone else out there dealing with this decision also. I'm sorry your husband died, I know it's hard and lonely each day. Some days just float into the next. I wish you the very best on your journey.

I want to thank each of you for your words of wisdom, they are so much appreciated. I have a supportive doctor and meet with her this week, thank you for your kind and thoughtful remarks. I know each of you have gone on your own journeys and have made your own decisions. I will make mine soon. I can only dream of being around to hold my grandchildren and to be a great example for my daughter today! I can't foresee all the health problems that are ahead if I don't do something, but I know they're there. Pat