christymarie

It's been 4 days since my surgery and I'm struggling a bit. The pain is still pretty intense and I'm so ready for this gas bubble that has been causing me so much pain to go away! I'm able to get about 2-3oz in per meal but I think I'm going to have to change to something lactose free. I'm having horrible diarrhea and am so ready to be done with it. I know that many people have this and once you get to mushies it gets better but I'm ready now, LOL. I'm down 12lbs from two days before surgery so I'm excited about that. I know I will not lose at this rate for long but it is nice to see the scale doing down everyday. On the whole I'm doing well but just have a few glitches here and there. I know the worst is over and it should get better from here. Excited to continue the journey Christy

Hi guys. How are ya all doing? I'm doing well. I'm down 12lbs now and feeling ok. I'm beginning to think that I may be a bit more lactose intolerant now. I tended to be a bit before surgery but I think it has intensified. I'm going to try to mix my carnation instant Breakfast with lactaid now instead of using the ready made bottles that have regular skim milk. I also have a rash on my tummy from the solution they put on it when you have surgery so I think I'm going to get some benadryl cream and see if that helps. Hope everyone is doing well!! Christy

Morning everyone! I have a question about calories. I'm 3 days post-op and I'm only getting in about 150 calories a day. I'm only able to manage about 1-2oz per meal and I'm drinking carnation instant Breakfast. I have yet to finish a whole bottle of it. It only has 150 calories per serving. Should I be worried about this? Should I try to push how much I can get in at a time? I'm just trying to figure out how much to let my body tell me what to do and how much to push it. Thanks for your advice, Christy

Thanks so much. I totally forgot about Protein Water. I may have my hubby go out later and get a 4 pack. It really helps to know that I'm not the only one. Christy

Morning Yellow, morning guys. I slept in today. I needed it definitely! I'm doing ok, not eating enough I'm realizing. When you guys talk about getting in 1000 calories a day I'm barely making it to 100 a day. I'm wondering if I should start pushing my intake a bit. I'm drinking the Protein drinks but it only has 150 calories per serving and I have yet to finish a whole bottle. I also had two s/f fudgesicles but they only have 30 calories each. Not sure what else to do. Maybe I'll call the dietition today and see what she says. Hope you guys keep feeling better!! Hugs Christy

Hey Hope, I'm glad you're doing well. I'm so sorry about the pain by your navel. OUCH! That's right about where my port is but other than tenderness to the touch it doesn't hurt like that. I hope you feel better soon. I'm up at an ungodly hour because my mouth has the most horrific taste to it. Blech! It's like something died in my mouth. Is anyone else experiencing this? I'm finding myself brushing my teeth several times a day. Great for my teeth but I feel sorry for anyone I talk to. Ok, off to search LBT for bad breath posts. Then some medicine and off to bed, again. Hugs Christy

Thanks Down. I'll give that a try. They sent me home with some liquid tylenol 3 but I hate taking codine. It's really just the gas pain that is bothering me all the time the incision pain is minimal, LOL, until I try to sit or stand up. OUCH! I was down 5 lbs this morning and 7lbs down this afternoon. I know this is all Water weight but it feels good to be losing. Hang in there guys. Christy

Craig, do you take the children's liquid tylenol? I'm hanging..just trying to figure out how to drink and eat enough. Christy

Sorry it took so long. I only got out of the hospital at about 5pm last night and didn't have the energy to post. I'm doing alright, not great but I know this will pass. I am having a ton of pain issues. I have a gas bubble that has lodged in the right upper quadrant of my abdomin and it makes it hard to breathe without pain shooting into my shoulder and in my lower chest. They did a cat scan to make sure it wasn't a blood clot but it seems to just be the gas bubble. It just ment that I had a bit of a longer stay in the hospital. I also had a lot of nausea and throwing up after surgery which has diminished now for the most part. I also feel like I have to carry my tummy around to not have it pull so much. I'm getting down about 2oz of carnation instant Breakfast per meal which is not a lot but for now all I can handle. I'm on full liquids (as opposed to clear liquids) so I can have a lot of liquid things but I have found that anything too sweet tasting (sugar free, of course) makes me feel sick to my stomach. I am having a hard time with sugar free Jello, popsicles and other sweetened drinks. Blech. So, I'm hanging in there. So far so good! Christy

I came home from the hospital yesterday. It went ok. I'm in a lot of pain because of a gas bubble in my right upper quadrant of my belly. The funniest thing is that the incisions themselves don't hurt that much but the residual pain into my shoulder is killing me, LOL. I'm having trouble eating very much. I'm averaging about 2 ounces of carnation instant breakfast every meal. Not much but for now it will have to do. I had a pretty good night last night and slept ok bed for a while and then moved to a chair. I am most comfortable belly wise on my right side but after an hour or so in that position my hip starts to hurt and no other position laying down is comfortable yet. So it's off to the chair, which is fine. I'm just working on getting this gas bubble out, trying to walk as much as possible. Christy

Hey Guys, good luck with surgery! Hope, I hope everything goes well tomorrow!

Alright 26ers, this is our big weekend. Most of us start with the pre-op fast and other specific instructions this weekend. How is everyone doing? Any last minute jitters? I'm scheduled for 9am on Monday morning and apparently I am his first surgery so that is nice. I did find out that I will definitely have to spend at least one night which is ok. I have a special "internal cleanse" product I have to take tomorrow and a special wash that may turn my skin orange (I'll look like I have liver failure.) I'm really getting excited. My hubby has been doing great and is already down 28 pounds in the last almost 5 weeks. I'm so proud of him! Good luck everyone!! Christy

Wow, that's fantastic! Even if it does slow down a bit you're still losing quickly. Good Job!! Christy

I had an appointment with Dr Rantis today to do my pre-surgery consultation. We were scheduled for 4pm and I got there about 4:05. Since my hubby was with me and we were going to the Bulls game afterwards I figured it was not a big deal when it had been 30 minutes and they hadn't called me yet. There were others being called in who had come in after me but I wasn't sure if they were seeing Dr Rantis or another doctor. After about an hour they came out to get the last person in the waiting room and I made eye contact with the nurse, who asked if I was waiting to see the doctor. When I told her yes, that I had been there for an hour, and that I had already paid my co-pay she quickly told me she would be right with me. Bless her heart everyone else in the office had left and asked her to work late but she was usually just the scheduler. They couldn't find my chart and while they could see that I did have an appointment they had no idea why I had gotten lost. They finally put me into a room and the doctor came in and was very apologetic. Apparently their office manager was out sick with the flu and things had not gone smooth with her not being there. I have been cleared for surgery. My bloodwork all checked out, my chest x-ray was fine and my upper GI looked great. I asked which band he was going to put in and he told me he decided that once he started surgery as it depended on my anatomy. I found out about lifting restrictions, fill schedules, OTC medication restrictions and what to expect on Monday. Apparently I am the first surgery on Monday so I'll probably be on time. Now my next biggest thing is picking up the c-pap machine on Thursday. After that there are no other appointments or tests. So, I'm going out today to pick up some groceries and stock up on liquids for next week. I've decided to go with carnation instant breakfast as opposed to the ensure protein or boost protein. Not much longer now, on the home stretch! Christy

I had an appointment with Dr Rantis today to do my pre-surgery consultation. We were scheduled for 4pm and I got there about 4:05. Since my hubby was with me and we were going to the Bulls game afterwards I figured it was not a big deal when it had been 30 minutes and they hadn't called me yet. There were others being called in who had come in after me but I wasn't sure if they were seeing Dr Rantis or another doctor. After about an hour they came out to get the last person in the waiting room and I made eye contact with the nurse, who asked if I was waiting to see the doctor. When I told her yes, that I had been there for an hour, and that I had already paid my co-pay she quickly told me she would be right with me. Bless her heart everyone else in the office had left and asked her to work late but she was usually just the scheduler. They couldn't find my chart and while they could see that I did have an appointment they had no idea why I had gotten lost. They finally put me into a room and the doctor came in and was very apologetic. Apparently their office manager was out sick with the flu and things had not gone smooth with her not being there. I have been cleared for surgery. My bloodwork all checked out, my chest x-ray was fine and my upper GI looked great. I asked which band he was going to put in and he told me he decided that once he started surgery as it depended on my anatomy. I found out about lifting restrictions, fill schedules, OTC medication restrictions and what to expect on Monday. Apparently I am the first surgery on Monday so I'll probably be on time. Now my next biggest thing is picking up the c-pap machine on Thursday. After that there are no other appointments or tests. So, I'm going out today to pick up some groceries and stock up on liquids for next week. I've decided to go with carnation instant breakfast as opposed to the ensure protein or boost protein. Not much longer now, on the home stretch! Christy

And what a fun day it was. I had already had the abdominal u/s so all I had to do was the bloodwork, nurse's interview, EKG, chest x-ray, and upper GI. What a load of fun all those were. Bloodwork was ok, I just have the worst veins known to man. Seriously, my husband keeps offering to get me new veins for my birthday (he feels sorry for the techs to have to get my blood). This woman was fantastic and got me the first time. Way to go blood lady (I can't remember her name but she had a cute pink teddy bear scrub top on)!! Then it was on to the Nurse's interview. This was fun because I got to finally see what time I was supposed to be at the hospital (6:30am) and all the pre-op stuff. They are having me wash with the special antibacterial soap twice before surgery. She told me it would leave my skin feeling sticky but that it will go away after a few minutes, however, she did say it would make my skin an orange color. How lovely!! I'll have to wear coordinating socks to go with my orange glow!! Jaundice has nothing on me!! :thumbup: Then it was off to the X-ray people. I feel sorry for them, no outside lights (not many lights period), I would have to imagine they would spend their days off outside as much as possible. OK, for those of you who have never done an upper GI (you lucky Dogs!!) be thankful, for those of you have God Bless You! I tell ya, that was pretty gosh darn bad. They give you what they call "crystals" to put in your mouth (they seemed kinda like really really really sour pop-rocks) and then they give you some water....yeah like a half an ounce. Then they tell you..."ok this will make you want to burp but don't burp".. What the heck?? :tt1: That's like giving someone a diet coke on an empty stomach and telling them not to burp. The word bloated does not begin to describe the sensation you are trying to deal with... then the topper...drink the barium. Barium, let's consider that word for a moment... when you hear the word barium what do you think of? Dessert? Flowers? Warm spring days? No, you think Bury 'em. And believe me you would probably rather they just go ahead and bury you. That stuff is like milk of magnesia on crack. And here's the best part...they flavor it. Reallly, why flavor something called barium. Ok, so moving right along. After you get the barium (shudder) you get x-rays taken of you swallowing it. Not so bad except for the barium..and the fact that you are standing in front of an x-ray machine trying to drink (and drink, and drink, and drink) and hold the bottle of barium out of the way. Graceful it is not. Talk about graceful, here comes the really graceful part. Here I am a 337 pound woman on this 2ft wide slab of something cold and they are telling me "roll over on your side, now immediately on your stomach, now on your other side, now on your back." This does not sound bad until you realize that they are done saying the on your back and I'm still trying to figure out how to roll on my side without rolling off the table. I decide to just go for it and will my poundage over to my side...suddenly the table shifts. Seriously, the table moved while making this horrible grinding noise. Now, let's talk about this for a minute. Here I am a huge woman on this slim slab and it's moving a making a grinding noise. Several things went through my mind. First: Oh gosh, I broke the table. Second: This is my first table breaking episode (although I have been known to break chairs now and again, just the cheap ones that you get at outdoor weddings). Third: I am so fat that I just broke this skinny table. BUT, the x-ray people just kept going on like nothing had happened. This left me very confused (and still trying to figure out how to turn) because if this was a design mechanism in which the table was made to move and grind when large 300+ pound women tried to roll over on it, THEN THEY SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT!!! Seriously, please let fat people know that what you are going to have them do may sound like the table is breaking but not to worry it's made that way. Ok so back to rolling around on the two foot slab. I finally get on my side. WHOOO HOOO! Then low and behold they say, roll onto your stomach...Ok stop right there. Here's some background, both my mother's and father's side of our family are well endowed...very well endowed. This trait was passed down to me. I am (on a good day) some where past an I cup. So here I am on the table (two feet) and they say to roll onto my stomach. My first thought, and I kid you not about this, was "what the heck do I do with my boobs?" Seriously, this is a hard table, there's no give to this table, if I were to roll onto my stomach my head may not be able to touch the pillow. Unfortunately they had continued on with instructions and I had to keep going so I flung myself over onto my stomach (grinding noise once again) and laid there. Suddenly the tech shoved a bottle into my hand and told me to drink the barium. What the heck!! I already drank the barium, as a matter of fact I had downed the whole dang bottle (I really thought that I was supposed to drink it all and then I was done drinking...big mistake...huge). Nope I was back to drinking barium but this time they wanted me to do it laying down. On my stomach. With my boobs threatening to cut off my oxygen. Seriously, at this point I considered hopping off the table (side tangent: isn't that funny, hopping off the table, this is an action a skinny person can do, however I do not suggest anyone over the weight of 220 trying it without medics nearby) and asking one of these techs to show me exactly how you lay on your stomach, drink BARIUM, and breathe. Finally, it was over. They did the chest x-ray, which, after all I had been though was refreshingly easy, and told me goodbye. Whew. What a morning, but I feel good that I have one more think to do marked off my do to list. I have the surgeon appt this afternoon and then I get a c-pap machine on Thursday (that will be another post) Hugs everyone! Christy

I figure I may as well enjoy the ride while I'm on it. You gotta look on the bright side. Christy

I posted about it in my blog so feel free to read it, I tried to keep my sense of humor about the whole thing. I'm done with the pre-op stuff and am off to the doc this afternoon for the pre-op consultation. After that we're off to a Bulls game. This I'm a bit more concerned about since I have never been to a Bulls game and have no idea if I will fit in the seat. I'll let you guys know how it goes. Hugs Christy

I'm at Alexian Brothers so we can compare notes, LOL. I really like Dr Rantis, as a matter of fact I have an appointment with him today at 4pm. I had my dietary class last Monday, I think, and went to the Saturday class last month. My hubby had Lapband surgery the end of last month. I'm really excited to have this done! Christy

Hey Chi, I'm with Dr Rantis also, but on Monday the 26th. Where are you having surgery?

And what a fun day it was. I had already had the abdominal u/s so all I had to do was the bloodwork, nurse's interview, EKG, chest x-ray, and upper GI. What a load of fun all those were. Bloodwork was ok, I just have the worst veins known to man. Seriously, my husband keeps offering to get me new veins for my birthday (he feels sorry for the techs to have to get my blood). This woman was fantastic and got me the first time. Way to go blood lady (I can't remember her name but she had a cute pink teddy bear scrub top on)!! Then it was on to the Nurse's interview. This was fun because I got to finally see what time I was supposed to be at the hospital (6:30am) and all the pre-op stuff. They are having me wash with the special antibacterial soap twice before surgery. She told me it would leave my skin feeling sticky but that it will go away after a few minutes, however, she did say it would make my skin an orange color. How lovely!! I'll have to wear coordinating socks to go with my orange glow!! Jaundice has nothing on me!! Then it was off to the X-ray people. I feel sorry for them, no outside lights (not many lights period), I would have to imagine they would spend their days off outside as much as possible. OK, for those of you who have never done an upper GI (you lucky Dogs!!) be thankful, for those of you have God Bless You! I tell ya, that was pretty gosh darn bad. They give you what they call "crystals" to put in your mouth (they seemed kinda like really really really sour pop-rocks) and then they give you some water....yeah like a half an ounce. Then they tell you..."ok this will make you want to burp but don't burp".. What the heck?? :ohmy: That's like giving someone a diet coke on an empty stomach and telling them not to burp. The word bloated does not begin to describe the sensation you are trying to deal with... then the topper...drink the barium. Barium, let's consider that word for a moment... when you hear the word barium what do you think of? Dessert? Flowers? Warm spring days? No, you think Bury 'em. And believe me you would probably rather they just go ahead and bury you. That stuff is like milk of magnesia on crack. And here's the best part...they flavor it. Reallly, why flavor something called barium. Ok, so moving right along. After you get the barium (shudder) you get x-rays taken of you swallowing it. Not so bad except for the barium..and the fact that you are standing in front of an x-ray machine trying to drink (and drink, and drink, and drink) and hold the bottle of barium out of the way. Graceful it is not. Talk about graceful, here comes the really graceful part. Here I am a 337 pound woman on this 2ft wide slab of something cold and they are telling me "roll over on your side, now immediately on your stomach, now on your other side, now on your back." This does not sound bad until you realize that they are done saying the on your back and I'm still trying to figure out how to roll on my side without rolling off the table. I decide to just go for it and will my poundage over to my side...suddenly the table shifts. Seriously, the table moved while making this horrible grinding noise. Now, let's talk about this for a minute. Here I am a huge woman on this slim slab and it's moving a making a grinding noise. Several things went through my mind. First: Oh gosh, I broke the table. Second: This is my first table breaking episode (although I have been known to break chairs now and again, just the cheap ones that you get at outdoor weddings). Third: I am so fat that I just broke this skinny table. BUT, the x-ray people just kept going on like nothing had happened. This left me very confused (and still trying to figure out how to turn) because if this was a design mechanism in which the table was made to move and grind when large 300+ pound women tried to roll over on it, THEN THEY SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT!!! Seriously, please let fat people know that what you are going to have them do may sound like the table is breaking but not to worry it's made that way. Ok so back to rolling around on the two foot slab. I finally get on my side. WHOOO HOOO! Then low and behold they say, roll onto your stomach...Ok stop right there. Here's some background, both my mother's and father's side of our family are well endowed...very well endowed. This trait was passed down to me. I am (on a good day) some where past an I cup. So here I am on the table (two feet) and they say to roll onto my stomach. My first thought, and I kid you not about this, was "what the heck do I do with my boobs?" Seriously, this is a hard table, there's no give to this table, if I were to roll onto my stomach my head may not be able to touch the pillow. Unfortunately they had continued on with instructions and I had to keep going so I flung myself over onto my stomach (grinding noise once again) and laid there. Suddenly the tech shoved a bottle into my hand and told me to drink the barium. What the heck!! I already drank the barium, as a matter of fact I had downed the whole dang bottle (I really thought that I was supposed to drink it all and then I was done drinking...big mistake...huge). Nope I was back to drinking barium but this time they wanted me to do it laying down. On my stomach. With my boobs threatening to cut off my oxygen. Seriously, at this point I considered hopping off the table (side tangent: isn't that funny, hopping off the table, this is an action a skinny person can do, however I do not suggest anyone over the weight of 220 trying it without medics nearby) and asking one of these techs to show me exactly how you lay on your stomach, drink BARIUM, and breathe. Finally, it was over. They did the chest x-ray, which, after all I had been though was refreshingly easy, and told me goodbye. Whew. What a morning, but I feel good that I have one more think to do marked off my do to list. I have the surgeon appt this afternoon and then I get a c-pap machine on Thursday (that will be another post) Hugs everyone! Christy

it? My doctor has no pre-surgery diet other than 24 hours in advance and taking impact advantage drinks every day. I'm wondering if it would be helpful for me to start the full liquid diet now (surgery is Monday 26th) if for nothing else then to just get used to the idea and maybe reduce my liver a bit. Is there any reason to not do this? Thanks! Christy

I was thinking about this after blogging yesterday. In my blog I was thinking about how much I was eating out more and kinda going through a "last meal" type mindset. I know from watching my husband (he was banded last month) that eating out is not a big hassle after surgery (other then me being done before him, LOL), so there was really no reason for that type of thinking. I appreciate your input. Thanks guys! Christy

I also would suggest finding a new band doctor. If this ER guy is so anti band (whether because you did it out of country or just bands in general) I would not trust that he would know enough about bands to work with any other alternatives other than taking it out. I have a feeling a band surgeon would be able to offer other suggestions. Good luck, keep us posted! Christy

Wow, it sounds like you've had quite the journey. Way to stick with it! I'd love to keep in touch and compare notes. The countdown is on!