*susan*

During my surgery, Dr. Aceves removed two tumors from my liver, a gallstone, and a bunch of pre-cancerous moles, and my lapband. Now, here is the kind of funny part that we like to give him a hard time about. Obviously, we did not know about the tumors on my liver, he discovered them during the surgery. He was very concerned about them and as a result my surgery took quite a bit longer. After the surgery, he and his team realized they forgot to remove my port from my band. So, I had to go back into surgery again the next day to have that removed. Despite all of that, I still found the pain to be very minimal compared to the other surgeries I have had.

Dr. Aceves had told me we would need to take it for three months until our stomach adjusted to the fact that it is not as big as it used to be and it stops overproducing acid. However, I am four months out now and have tried coming off it, but when I do I have major acid issues.

iPhone rocks! I picked up my first one, the 3G S last week. This is the most awesome phone I have ever owned. Bearded, it will get better, I promise. Tiff, sorry, I hope your husband returns home safely and the time flies by until he does. I lost six pounds last week. (kind of random, I know).

Just curious to see if anyone is interested in linking up on other sites as well. I have already had a few of you friend me on facebook, which my link is in my signature. I am also on twitter located here: susanhelander (susanhelander) on Twitter I just signed up for Loopt on my iPhone, as well, but am not sure how to share on there yet.

I tried coming off of it twice, and had major problems. I am going to continue with it for a couple of more months and then try it again.

Hi Paloma, and welcome to VST! What you are feeling is not at all unusual, you will be tender for several days. The shoulder pain is probably due to the gas. Walking is the best thing you can do for that. Make sure you are taking tiny sips of water frequently, it is very important that you get all your needed fluids and avoid dehydration.

Ryansgirl, welcome and congratulations on your decision to have the surgery. I would hope your PCP is supportive, but if not, I would take Vegas Angels advice. Only you know what is truly best for you and will work for you. Everyone on this forum knows diet alone does not work for us, we needed something more and we have done what we need to do for us. As for telling people, like others said, that is your personal choice. When I had my band, I didn't tell many people. Now, I am such a proponent of sleeve surgery that if anyone asks what "diet" I am on, I have no problem telling them about my sleeve.

Hyacinth and Ardita, welcome to our forums! We are excited to have the two of you join us. We are like one big, happy family here and look forward to following you both as you go through your weight loss journey.

You have given me a couple of ideas, thanks. I hope more people post as well.

Penny, VA pretty much covered it. I was also told not to put anything on the incisions. Glad to hear you are home and starting the recovery process. It will get better as each day passes. Take care.

This is a fun topic! Um, I suppose I don't really need to go into any great detail about how I chose my name though.

Nanna, you can do this! It is hard, but the reward makes it all worth it.

Not me, I am always happy so long as it is a loss and not a gain. It took me years to get to where I started, I don't mind if it takes a while to reach my goal, so long as I do reach it.

Renee, welcome and thank you so much for sharing your story with us. It is truly amazing and you have accomplished so much, what an inspiration you are! I hope you stay with us and continue to post your accomplishments and help those who are just beginning in their journeys, etc.

Awesome news on the scale moving this week, Chancie! Mine made an awesome move this week too, I was down six pounds! Want to race to onederland? As for goal weight, I think you need to find a spot you are comfortable with. If you hit 170 and are happy there and healthy, then great, if you find you want to lose a bit more, that is okay too. I know at my age, I don't really expect or need to be "skinny" again. I just want to be at a healthier weight for me and to feel good.

Just as soon as I get there, I will want one of those cards.

Thanks for better explaining that to all of us, Maldito!

Cool, I take it that is the ironman symbol then?

Cherry, welcome!! Congrats on being eligible, let us know when you get a date.

The Irish in me likes that idea!!

I couldn't find that specific brand, so I went with a soup that was similar that my supermarket carried.

Here are a few recipes that helped me through the full liquid stage that I thought I would share with you guys: 1-2 TB Simply Jif Low Carb Peanut Butter 1 small jar baby food Bananas Stage 1 1-2 packets Splenda (depending on your tastes) 1/4 c or more Milk to make it as smooth as you want Place everything in your blender and you are ready for a really yummy shake. I also added some unflavored Protein powder to this. _________________________________________________________________ 1 container of Yoplait low fat yogurt - 100 cals (peach is delicious!) 1 container of non fat milk (I use the yogurt container to measure) - ~90 cals 1/2 frozen banana (I take ripe/over-ripe bananas and freeze them) - ~50 cals some ice 2 pkts of Splenda Add everything to your blender and blend until smooth. It makes a large smoothie that is really filling and helps you get the Calcium you need - all for about 250 cals. _________________________________________________________________ chocolate unsweetened almond milk or soy milk(better for you than regular milk and less carbs) (40 cals per 8oz) about 12oz so you can save a bit for later 1 banana 1 tablespoon of almond butter a few drops or a small envelope of Stevia a natural sweetner As a last resort use Splenda just a few pieces of crushed ice Chocolate Protein Powder blend all together...enjoy! _________________________________________________________________ 1 cup Fat free plain yogurt 1 cup skim milk 1/2 pkg sugar free Jello cheesecake pudding 1/2 pkg sugar free jello (any flavor, I like strawberry) 1 tbsp protein powder ice cubes (if you want) mix well in blender this is just like eating strawberry cheescake without the crust _________________________________________________________________ Strawberry Cheesecake Shake -2 scoops of vanilla Myocel or vanilla protein powder of your choice -4 ounces skim milk -4 frozen strawberries -1/4 cup sugar free, fat free jello Cheesecake pudding Add all ingredients (protein powder last) in blender or smoothie machine and blend until smooth!!! _________________________________________________________________ Banana Split Smoothie 1 Banana 1/2 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt 1/8 cup frozen orange juice concentrate 1/2 cup 1% milk 2 teaspoons whey power 6 ice cubes, crushed Makes 2 8-ounce servings Calories per serving: 171; Protein: 8 g; Carbs: 33 g; Fat: 2g Saturated fat: 1 g; Sodium: 94 mg; fiber: 2 g _________________________________________________________________ Cheddar Potato Soup (full liquids) 1/2 carton of Imagine Potato Leek Soup (its smooth and pretty thin...no chunks) 1/3 can Campbell's Cheddar cheese Soup 1/2 cup skim milk onion powder to taste Mix together, heat, serve, enjoy....it's very tasty. _________________________________________________________________ 1 can Campbell's Italian Wedding Soup 1 wedge laughing cow garlic and herb cheese 1 scoop powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury protein powder puree all in blender then heat and serve