MellyB

I had my surgery 3 weeks ago, so I'm going into week 4. I guess I'm basically on the second week of mushies, I've added cottage cheese and potatos to my diet. Anyway, I've felt amazing since I had the surgery, didn't miss a lick. This past week I've been running around like a monkey on crack and today I feel like hell. I have PMS, I'm actually a day late, and I realize that could be making me gassy. I also have been eating refried Beans and I'm sure that's not helping. I'm having pains in my lower back. Could that be gas? Also, if I get hungry or don't eat for a couple of hours, my stomach cramps like the devil. It's quite painful, and then the hiccups come on. Did anyone else have this? A couple of days ago, I didn't eat for about 7 hours and I had some cottage cheese and I think I ate it to fast because I got a little bit nasty feeling afterwards. No vomiting or spitting up, just that after Thanksgiving dinner miserable feeling. If I hadn't had zero issues up to this point, I wouldn't be concerned, but now I'm wondering if something is wrong. Like I said, nothing comes up, and I don't feel like anything is going to, but my tummy seems to be sort of sore, and I'm wondering if it's from the cramping or maybe the PMS. This post is atrocious, I can't form a thought and I had nails put on yesterday so my typing and thought process are not in sync. lol Thanks.

My doctor told me it would take as long as he needed. Then I think it was about an hour and 15 minutes.

Mine talks to me a lot as well. I was shopping today and at one point it sounded like I was sneaking baby puppies under my sweater and they were playing. It's crazy!

First of all I would think that it might have something to do with the difference between men and women. Another thing is that a person who needs to lose 280lbs probably has some major issues that haven't been resolved. I'm not sure how much your mom needs to lose. I think it's a perfect example of how everyone is different. I wondered what to expect, and my experience was nothing like I expected. It's just how you go in and what you make of it. It's a fantastic tool, but it's just a tool, it's not the whole shebang.

"The Fat girls can't roll together..." This.is.awesome. I love it. I have had nothing but amazing support. Tonight my sister saw me and nearly cried, she said I looked so good already. She's a fluffy chick too and she's still happy for me. She's ready to get hers!

I had my surgery on Nov. 20th. So I'm what, 10 days post op? I haven't lost an ounce. How can I not lose weight when I'm consuming less than 800 calories a day? I'm on liquids still, and I'm doing everything they asked of me, yet today I get up and yet again I haven't lost anything. Did anyone not lose weight at first? I didn't gain any, not after surgery or since, but I'm not losing. I'm totally steady at the same weight. It's making me insane! I've done pretty well all over the map with this whole process, today I'm very discouraged, frustrated and disappointed. I feel like I should have at least dropped a couple of pounds. I go back for my 2 week on Thursday. I'm not swollen anymore, but I only go to the bathroom (pee) maybe twice a day. I'm drinking Water constantly, so I'm not sure what to do.

Congrats! I'm in the same boat as you, if that scale would move down 1 pound I would run around my front yard naked! I truly believe that the main reason I'm not losing is because I'm not eating enough, or consuming enough calories I should say. I go back on Thu for my 2 week follow up and then I move on to what they call thick liquids. I think everyone else calls them mushy's. Hopefully that will help me get the scale moving. I hope things keep going down for you!

I had my surgery this past Thu (11/20). I am suppose to be on thin liquids for 2 weeks, then thick liquids for 2 weeks, and THEN I get soft foods. So basically I'm a month away from any sort of food. I'm really thinking, hoping, whatever, that at my follow up appt. on Dec. 5th that he gives me to go ahead to move on to soft foods. I cannot lose weight like this. I'm not talking about anything more than yogurt, or eggs, or oatmeal. Just anything that will give me some calories. I also feel like this sets me up for failure. That's 5 weeks on liquids, it seems a bit extreme. I can swallow my regular meds with no problems, and I have flown through this thing without breaking a sweat. I haven't even had to take OTC pain relievers. The day of surgery he gave the order for me to move on to day 2 of the plan the nutritionist gave me. I'm definitely going to ask him about it. How long were you on liquids after your surgery?

I'm 8 days out, I had my surgery on 11/20. I feel great. Tomato soup is my best friend right now. I don't think I've lost any weight yet, but I'm not sure how that's possible considering I drink nothing but water, and I live on soup, popsicles and carnation instant breakfast. The swelling has gone down and nothing hurts. To tell you the truth, nothing has really ever hurt. I was having these early morning cramps in my stomach, but they barely woke me up. I only took the prescribed meds the night of my surgery, after that I was using Advil and I haven't used that in a few days. I have had no gas pain. Which I was fully prepared for, so now I have like 3 boxes of Gas-X strips beside my bed. I can tell when I get full from the soup, I feel full. But the fullness doesn't seem to last very long. I really don't feel like anything is in there. I go to the doctor for follow up next Thu, and I'm hoping to get the green light for mushy's. I'm ready to chew!

I don't think that age means a thing. I'm 38 and last year I would not have been ready for this. I think it's all about where you are emotionally and if you are ready to admit to the problem and go forward in helping yourself. I wish you good luck, I hope that you have much success with whatever you decide to do. Remember this, no one has to live in that body but you, and no one has to deal with the negatives of being overweight but you. It's all on you.

I'm a week out so Thanksgiving was interesting, it's my absolute favorite holiday meal. I went to our regular family gathering, I liken it to taking a recovering drunk to keg party. I was there but I just wasn't as much fun and I felt like everyone was wondering if it was ok to eat around me. I took my Soup, and I sat in the living room while everyone ate. I got full really fast, and the smell of food almost made me ill. It's bizarre how that happens. It was one Thanksgiving out of many. But I'm really glad that it's over.

From the minute I came out of recovery on Thu up until today, I have wondered if they even did anything. The only proof I have is the slight pain around my port site. I have had zero complications. Even when my tummy aches, it's more like a hunger pain, I sip some broth and it goes away. Either I had an amazing surgeon, or my body just took to this like a fish to Water. I am afraid to say anything, because as soon as I do I'm sure I'll keel over in pain, but seriously, I thought this would be much more dramatic. Did anyone else sail through this?

My story is almost unbelievable. I got to the hospital at 7:45am, as scheduled for a 9:45am surgery. They were running behind so my husband and I sat in the waiting room and watched TV. They called me, and put me in a room. Removed my dignity with a tiny little gown that showed the world why I was having this surgery in the first place. We watched more TV, wondered when someone would come in. Finally at about 9:15 the doctor came in and told me he was ready, he had just done one so he was warmed up, and good to go. Said I did great on the pre-op diet and expected me to do very well. The anesthesiologist came in and I met him. I wasn't nervous or anything. Then the pit crew came in. They tried to start my IV, like 5 times. Gave me the antacid pill, I was shocked and happily because I was DYING of thirst and the Water with the pill was divine. The doctor peeked in, and I could tell he was ready to go, and the nurses were falling all over themselves so I think he was mad. Took me to the OR. I gave my "don't make fun of my I'll know" speech to the OR team. The doctor told me he was going to give me something to relax me and BOOM. I woke up in another room. I felt so freaking good, I didn't think they did anything. I heard people all around me moaning and groaning and I saw someone. I asked her if they did it, she said "yes, you did great, you're doing great". I asked her again, "are you sure they did it?" and she asked me what my pain level was and I said "I don't know, 2?" We laughed and I sat up and watched everything going on around me. I guess I dozed off here and there, but I never felt any pain. I moved a little and it was then that I felt something, but it wasn't bad. They took forever to get me out of recovery, but when they did, my husband met me there. I told the nurse I wanted to get up, and I got up and walked around. I had to go potty so I went, it took a while for it to start, I guess my body was still asleep. I asked if I could get dressed. She asked if I wanted pain meds before I left. I told her I better since it was about an hour home and I didn't want to risk it. She gave me a pill. I asked her if I could really take it and she said "yeah, it's fine". I took it and when I woke up I was home. It was strooooooooong. The nurses kept telling me that there was another lapband patient there that was having a hard time. I'm not sure why this was such a good experience for me, but I'm thankful. I have had zero doubts. Zero complications (up to now) and I'm just so grateful that this was an option for me. The only negative I have about anything, are the meds. The meds they gave me were horrible. The side effects were worse than anything I have ever experienced. I didn't take them after the first day. I wasn't in enough pain to justify it. I'm good. I'm hungry, but 500 calories a day will do that to you.

I had my surgery last Thu (11/20). Today was the first day I was hungry, and I had some tomato Soup. I only took a few sips before I felt full. It's weird to me because after not eating for so long due to the pre op diet, the soup was soooo good. I wanted to gulp it like a drink, but I totally felt when I got full and put it down. It's such a head game for me.

Has anyone tried these? I have protein powder, but it's kicking my rump, I don't think I can get these down much longer. They are suppose to have 40g of protein per bottle. I'm wondering if they are even worth the drive to get them.

I bought some sugar free popsicles, I've had a couple, but they taste weird. Everything tastes weird!

I had mine done yesterday, and my stomach also feels like it's in a knot. I just assumed that it's either gas or it's the trauma to the tummy. It doesn't really bother me much, the only pain I have is what I assume is where the port is. I got a mixture of demerol and phenergan. I thought I would get something liquid. Mostly I have got cotton mouth so freaking bad I can't stand it. It's pretty bad, I just keep sipping Water. Aside from all that, I feel amazing.

I gave up on the Protein shakes. I thought I could stomach the Max Protein but after nearly gagging while drinking one last night, and then burping it up all night, I realized that I cannot do that. I'm not even banded yet, I go in tomorrow. So, today I went and got some of the protein bullets. I also tried the Isopure Fruit drinks. I tasted the bullets and the were great. I drank an Isopure and it was delicious, but it gave me cotton mouth something fierce. Then again, I chugged it in less than an hour, I would imagine sipping it slowly on ice would help with the cotton mouth. Also, after drinking, I was running around like a monkey on crack. I had more energy today than I've had in years. And I'm at the end of the 10 day pre op diet, my all rights I should be laing in my bed, passed out from lack of energy. That's my two cents.

I don't know how, but after a couple of days, you just stop being hungry. I'm on the second day of the liquid after 7 days of the low cal diet and I am forcing myself to even drink the Protein Drinks. I also feel as if I have more energy than I have in years. Hang in there, you can do it! Maybe it's different for everyone, I'm not sure. I'm just grateful. I am a bit shaky and dizzy at times, and my patience is very, very thin. But I can handle that for 48 more hours!

I am on day 8 of my 10 day pre-op diet. Today is the first day of all liquids. I have really had a personality change in the past week, so noticeable that it has my family concerned. Mostly I seem to be very quiet, because if I start to get vocal I'm all over the place. I love a good joke, but if someone tells me something I just sit and stare at them. I'm very, very out of sorts. Blending into the woodwork. I'm hoping that this is temporary. That once I have the surgery and I get through the hard parts that I'll be back to my old funny, sociable self. I'm aware it's an issue, but I can't seem to pull myself up and out of it right now, right now I just want to focus on me and what ever I have left is reserved for my kids. Tell me that it is part of it and that it will pass.

I had the same thing this weekend, sort of. I was at my grandmothers and my entire family was there working on remodeling her kitchen. They decided to go and get pizza. I left because I'm on the pre-op diet, and I came home and cried. I told my husband that I couldn't really explain it, because I wasn't at all hungry (the hunger stopped after about day 3). I realized that it wasn't the eating I was going to miss, as much as the socializing. We go to lunch, sit around and talk and laugh. My family is really close and we get togethe weekly for dinners. The holidays are coming up and of course there is tons of food then. I guess for me it's about not fitting in because I can't eat. This is how I got fat in the first place, by pretending I'm like everyone else and I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want, blah blah blah. It's hard to come to terms with yourself. I'm having to take a good hard look at who I am and how I am going to have to change. It's scary, but it's worth it in the long run. At least I hope it is. Good luck to you.

I am not a Protein shake person. I think Slim fast is disgusting and anything milky makes me gag. I was told that Max Protein was good, and I was doubtful. I went yesterday to GNC and got some, and the guy let me try it. It was so good. The powder even smells good, it's great. He made it with Water and it was delicious. I know that the Protein shakes are one of the biggest pains in this whole thing, at least for me. And I cannot tell you how relieved I am that I found something I think I can stomach. I start them on Monday for 3 days, my surgery is on Thu. I bought some coconut and banana extract for the vanilla. Just wanted to throw that out there.

I gained 7 lbs since my initial consultation in June. I sort of had a feeling that was happening, because I have been so stressed and out of it through the whole approval process. Then again I weighed in the midst of PMS so that could be part of it. I'm worried that if I lose 10 lbs, the doctor will tell me I didn't lose enough. But if I lose it, then my liver will shrink anyway regardless won't it? I mean isn't the 10 days the same regardless of how much you weigh in? I don't know, I've lost 5.5 in the last 2 days. Again, part of that could be that as of tomorrow I won't have PMS anymore. (I know, TMI). I also feel as if I've hit the wall, and I'm not hungry anymore. I was in bad shape yesterday, I had a headache, was irritable, wanted to cry all the time. I was never tempted to cheat (knock on wood), but I just wanted to fast forward to next week or sleep until then. At the rate I'm going, I could drop 20 lbs before my surgery next week. Considering that next week I have a 3 day liquid diet. Who knows. I'm mad at myself for gaining that weight, but it is what it is.

Anywhere from 600 to 800. Pre-op.

I start my pre-op diet on Monday, but I bought some Myoplex lite powder samples and made a shake today. I'm trying to get my ducks in a row so I'm not spending a fortune on stuff that I won't like. The Myoplex was so thick, it was like pudding. It was pretty good though, for future reference. I called my nutrionist and she said that I needed to go with the premade stuff and a different Protein supplement. I'm going to use this once a day and another protein supplement twice a day. She said that she personally has used the Max Protein and several of her clients have used it and swear by it. Has anyone tried it?