adagray

Congratulations to you! I am just 4 days post-op, but these are the types of moments I am most looking forward to. Lately, I feel helpless to do some things. For example, getting the fitted sheets on my kids' beds (the beds are up against a corner) and I've ended up in tears because it is too hard for me to get them on. My husband has no problem doing it, but I hate feeling like I can't do it myself. It has also become the norm around here that I don't help w/anything physical. I would be very proud as well to be by my family's side to dig out the snow. :->

I just want to recommend a site for you to go check out (www.meetup.com). There are many many different types of groups with different interests and each group has a calendar of events where you actually go and meet up w/the other people in the group. So, you can get to know them through the board on the forum, but then actually go to an event and meet up w/them. I found this site when I was laid off from my job and about to become a SAHM. I knew I would go nuts if I didn't make a group of mom friends. Well, I ended up meeting so many great ladies through a couple of these meetup group and really formed close life-long friendships w/some. There are many different types of groups... some are just women who want to make friends, various crafting groups, wine tasting, dog walking, etc. They may even have an adult ADHD group in your area. If you have an interest, they have a group for it. Best of luck to you.

You are doing great! 2 cookies is perfect. We baked our cookies the weekend before my surgery and I had no pre-op diet so it took a lot of willpower to not go crazy with them. I still probably ate about two dozen (small ones) over the course of 3 days, but honestly, that is good for me considering how many I would normally eat. I think its awesome that you were able to eat just TWO. And, you are right about being prepared being key. Even though I could never keep the weight off w/Weight Watchers, that was an important lesson I learned... if you are prepared, then you are much more likely to succeed w/your goals. Best of luck to you and enjoy your trip!

:w00t::frown: because I CAN!!! :sad::w00t::mad: Finally, it is Monday (4 days post-op) and I am allowed food. I never knew cottage cheese could taste so good. I was afraid to put my normal spices on it just yet, but the delicous creaminess, texture, saltiness is just perfect on its own. Yummmmmmmmm!!! :thumbup: I am taking it slow, chewing well, and not drinking water. So far, my tummy is happy, VERY happy!!!

:w00t::frown: because I CAN!!! :sad::w00t::mad: Finally, it is Monday (4 days post-op) and I am allowed food. I never knew cottage cheese could taste so good. I was afraid to put my normal spices on it just yet, but the delicous creaminess, texture, saltiness is just perfect on its own. Yummmmmmmmm!!! :scared2: I am taking it slow, chewing well, and not drinking water. So far, my tummy is happy, VERY happy!!! :cursing:

Just a little over a year for me, but I did not meet the insurance company's requirement for weight history and it took two appeals to finally get approval. If I had met all the requirements, it would've been more like 7-8 months. If its any consolation, though, I consider the time it took to be time well spent because it really prepared me well for the surgery. I have no regrets and I feel 100% educated and have realistic expectations.

First off, I woke up this morning w/the worst shoulder/neck pain ever. I was never this sore in the hospital. The pain was so bad I was crying and shaking. I had to wake up my husband to help me get the heating pad on and pour my medicine out for me. Its weird that I feel like I'm at the most difficult point w/my recovery and I'm 3 days post-op. I thought it would just get better and better, but today was a big setback. I realize, though, that I had not been doing all the walking that my doctor had recommended. And, I feel like the pain med (Lortab) is slowing my bowels too much so that I am not passing the gas as fast as I should. So, I've stepped up my walking and am trying to just take tylenol sometimes instead of Lortab all the time. Its rough! And, I just hope it gets better by Tuesday when I am supposed to go for my post-op education (3 hours in the morning - I'm am gonna be miserable if this pain is not mostly gone by then. I am also really really really sick of broth, tea, and jello now. And, my stomach is making the weirdest noises. I am so excited to be able to eat REAL food tomorrow. I am fantasizing about cottage cheese. Yes, I am desperate at this point! I should add, though, that I am still so so very grateful to be able to have this surgery. I have no doubt that it will be soooooo worth it in the long-run. A small price to pay for the chance to get my health back. :tt1:

LOL I agree w/all of your peeves. I mostly feel sad, though, for the people who are soooooo stressed out because they don't drop a ton of weight right away. My surgeon and her staff gave me such good pre-op education. In fact, they say not even to expect a loss the first month. She says my job the first month (before my first fill) is just to heal and she also warned me that you can gain 10 pounds of fluid just from the IV fluids they pump into you while you are at the hospital. I'm so glad my expectations were set properly so I am not freaking out like a lot of people in their first month. They talk about 'bandster hell', but I think it is just due to unrealistic expectations and lack of information on how the band works.

I feel your pain. I am 3 days post-op and only allowed herbal tea, diet jello, broth, and water. So, not only am I on liquids only, but essentially no calories. My family has been really good about going out for most of their meals, but when they have eaten here, I just hang out in my room... close myself off from the eating. That way I am not torturing myself. Maybe that is a little rude, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Its a temporary thing I figure so they can deal w/it.

The pre-op education was 5 hours! I am glad for it, though. I figure you can never know too much, plus I met some really nice people in the pre-op class. One of the ladies ended up being banded the same day and we hung out together some in the hospital while we were recovering and walked the halls together. I think the post-op is mostly going to be focused on food and they said there would be a lot of time to dicuss individual challenges and concerns. Anyway, I figure its all good. I have my husband home this week anyway to take care of the kids since I wasn't sure how I was gonna feel. Right now, I am just Huuuuuuunnnnnnnggggggrrrrryyyyyy!!! I am so ready to eat tomorrow!!!

At your age, I bet your skin bounces right back. A Few things you can do to help the situation... make sure you get in the daily recommended protein AND find an exercise you enjoy and do it every day (or almost every day). Oh yes, and definitely don't smoke. Smoking breaks down collagen in your skin and makes it less elastic.

I really like agave nectar as an alternative to all the splenda I used to use in my coffee, tea, and shakes. The only problem is that agave nectar has almost as much calories as regular sugar. The real bonus w/this is that it is much lower on the glycemic index so it helps keep your blood sugar more steady (important to me because I'm prediabetic, but this may not be important to everyone). Anyway, its hard to say what would be a good alternative since I don't know the restrictions for your pre-op diet. I didn't have one myself, but for the day of surgery and three days after, I am not allowed any sugar at all so I can't even use the agave nectar. I would recommend that if you aren't allowed any except for splenda, nutrasweet, etc. (the artificial ones), then try to go without any sweetener or see how far you can cut back. I used to put a heaping spoonful in my tea and for these few days, I've been find just sprinkling a tiny bit in or none depending on the flavor of the tea. And, honestly, the diet jello is kind of grossing me out now. Its too sweet and artificial tasting. Yuk!

First off, I woke up this morning w/the worst shoulder/neck pain ever. I was never this sore in the hospital. The pain was so bad I was crying and shaking. I had to wake up my husband to help me get the heating pad on and pour my medicine out for me. Its weird that I feel like I'm at the most difficult point w/my recovery and I'm 3 days post-op. I thought it would just get better and better, but today was a big setback. I realize, though, that I had not been doing all the walking that my doctor had recommended. And, I feel like the pain med (Lortab) is slowing my bowels too much so that I am not passing the gas as fast as I should. So, I've stepped up my walking and am trying to just take tylenol sometimes instead of Lortab all the time. Its rough! And, I just hope it gets better by Tuesday when I am supposed to go for my post-op education (3 hours in the morning - I'm am gonna be miserable if this pain is not mostly gone by then. I am also really really really sick of broth, tea, and jello now. And, my stomach is making the weirdest noises. I am so excited to be able to eat REAL food tomorrow. I am fantasizing about cottage cheese. Yes, I am desperate at this point! I should add, though, that I am still so so very grateful to be able to have this surgery. I have no doubt that it will be soooooo worth it in the long-run. A small price to pay for the chance to get my health back. :thumbup:

I was told that if the pill is smaller than a pea, then it will go down fine. And, the morning after surgery, I had to take 5 pills. I probably took them too quickly (the nurse was waiting), but they still stayed down fine. I did let out a huge burp a couple minutes later, but nothing came up w/it. Since then, I've been taking my pills each morning a little more slowly and have had no troubles or burps at all. As for the Lortab, I think this is a common one that they give for pain because I am taking that too. It could be that they didn't want you to take your sleep medication because of interactions it might have w/Lortab plus Lortab makes you drowsy so they may think you don't need your sleep med. I would definitely check w/your doctor before you continue to increase the dose of the Lortab or mix it w/your sleep med. You really need an expert's opinion on if this is really OK. Lortab is one that can be dangerous if mixed w/some other meds or taken in too high of a dose. It can suppress breathing... not something you want to mess around with.

Things have been a little more rough since I left the hospital. The dosage of pain medication I was prescribed for home is significantly less than what I was getting in the hospital and boy does it make a difference!!! My gas pain was pretty bad last night and the gas-x strips don't seem to work very well on it when it is in my back and shoulder. A heating pad helps w/my back, though, and I did end up getting a good night's sleep. I had one big farting episode in the middle of the night that helped relieve a lot of the gas pressure and then another today. I have never wished I could fart more in my whole life. I would love to just toot toot toot all the rest of this out of my body and be done w/it. Sorry, TMI!!! I am also really getting tired of only being able to have broth, herbal tea, diet jello, and water. I did discuss this w/my surgeon's assistant and she assured me that the hunger I am feeling right now is really just head hunger. And, I agree because this doesn't feel like the real hunger I had right before surgery. Right before surgery (I had not eaten for 24 hours), my stomach was growling really bad and felt like it was eating itself. I couldn't think of anything except how hungry I was and how I wanted to be knocked out so I wouldn't feel hungry. My 'hunger' now is more of just wanting to taste and enjoy something different than jello, broth, and tea. Anyway, I am so thankful my husband has been so supportive and helpful AND has not been eating around me. What a saint! He went over to my inlaws tonight w/the kids for dinner. I just have to get through one more day of no eating now and then I can start trying foods on Monday. My surgeon has you go straight to real food, but to be safe I will start w/cottage cheese or yogurt I think. Then, I have some good deli meat I got from Costco and also some smoked salmon. Mmmmmmmm, that sounds so good. I also have some yummy soups in the pantry... roasted red pepper & tomato w/a dollop of greek yogurt... mmmmmm, I am giving myself more 'head hunger' now. :thumbup: I watched Julie and Julia last night. What a great movie to watch when you can't eat eh?

You are both doing great! Just remember that the pre-op diet depletes the carbohydrate stores in your body almost completely. Carbohydrate stores are stored w/a lot of Water. So, a lot of what you lost in the pre-op diet is water weight (maybe 10 pounds). This is why people on Atkins and low carb diets can 'gain' back so quickly... because as soon as they eat some carbs again, their body replenishes the carb stores in their body which means they will start holding onto some water weight as well. In any case, this is what causes an inevitable yoyo effect w/low carb diets. And, the reason why you can't keep losing at the super fast initial rate. Anyway, just don't let it get you down. Remember 1-2 pounds per week is a healthy rate of weightloss and definitely not considered 'slow' although it may seem that way just because we'd all like to lose weight faster. When I was doing Weight Watchers as best I could, I would lose 0.0 - 0.5 most weeks. Now that is slooooooowwwww!!! So, please feel good about your big losses so far! Congratulations!!!

Oh, and on the sipping thing, I've found that I can take the same size sips as I used to, but I'm just careful not to glug down a bunch of sips at once. I take one or two normal sips and then put my cup down. I haven't had any issues of nausea or anything coming back up. But, when I took my medications (5 pills each smaller than a pea) in the hospital yesterday, it did cause me a big burp afterwards (just air, though - it didn't make them come back up). I figure that means I probably gulped them down too fast, though. I felt hurried cause the nurse was waiting for me to take them.

I'm not allowed anything except Water, broth, caffeine free herbal tea, and diet Jello until Monday (I was banded on Thursday). I thought I would die from lack of calories and talked to my surgeon's assistant about it, but she reassured me that my hunger is really only head hunger right now... that you aren't really hungry this soon after surgery. Interesting... I believe her though cause its definitely a different kind of hungry than I was feeling right before surgery. Like, my stomach is not growling and it doesn't have that feeling like it is eating itself. I just feel like I should have some sort of calories since I haven't eaten anything since noon on Wednesday. And, I'm definitely bored of my limited choices. But, I think this is good for me... a few days w/absolutely no foodertainment. LOL BTW, I did not have a pre-op diet at all except to eat a light b-fast the day before surgery and only Soup for lunch, then liquids after that. Sooooo, I didn't go through the 'no food' process before. I can see why psychologically this is a good thing to realize that, yes, you can go a few days without food. I have a few calories stored up I guess. ;->

I have read some of the research on this and aside from the things you can't control (age, genes, etc.), your best bet for avoiding lose skin is to exercise a lot and emphasize Protein in your diet. My surgeon's office recommends this anyway so that is my plan. Of course, there are no guarantees I'll still be happy without PS, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it. My mom had lapband two years ago and lost 100+ pounds. She told me to start saving for the PS now. She's not getting it done because she is 65 and just doesn't want the risk of more surgery, but she said if she was my age, she would do it.

I am happy to report that, so far, my recovery has been pretty easy. I had some back and neck pain yesterday (from the gas), but most of that is gone now after taking several walks around the bariatric unit here. I have to say that yesterday the most annoying thing was just being hooked up to so many wires. I still have an IV, but the thing on my finger to track my oxygen and pulse is gone now, the leg pumpers are gone, the thingy w/five wires to my chest is gone, and I no longer have the BP cuff attached to my arm the whole time and going off every 5 minutes. So, I'm finally untangled enough to hook up my computer here! :thumbup: Now, my FAVORITE thing about being in the hospital has got to be being wheeled around in a bed. I don't know why, but that just makes me giggle inside. The one thing I am kinda worried about now, though, is how I am gonna make it until Monday without eating anything. I am only allowed herbal tea, diet jello, and broth. I think I will e-mail my dietician and just check to see if anything else would be allowable if I am up for it. I have some of those protein bullet shots at home and maybe they would allow that?

I am happy to report that, so far, my recovery has been pretty easy. I had some back and neck pain yesterday (from the gas), but most of that is gone now after taking several walks around the bariatric unit here. I have to say that yesterday the most annoying thing was just being hooked up to so many wires. I still have an IV, but the thing on my finger to track my oxygen and pulse is gone now, the leg pumpers are gone, the thingy w/five wires to my chest is gone, and I no longer have the BP cuff attached to my arm the whole time and going off every 5 minutes. So, I'm finally untangled enough to hook up my computer here! :tt1: Now, my FAVORITE thing about being in the hospital has got to be being wheeled around in a bed. I don't know why, but that just makes me giggle inside. The one thing I am kinda worried about now, though, is how I am gonna make it until Monday without eating anything. I am only allowed herbal tea, diet jello, and broth. I think I will e-mail my dietician and just check to see if anything else would be allowable if I am up for it. I have some of those protein bullet shots at home and maybe they would allow that?

My stomach is growling My butt is sore (from the bowel prep) My laundry is clean (and the kids' too) My house is clean (kinda) My medicine cabinet is stocked with... gas-x strips and chewable vitamins My pantry is stocked with... diet jello herbal tea and low sodium chicken broth My treadmill is dusted off My Christmas presents are bought My husband will have to do the rest!!! OK, my attempt at a poem of sorts. I do find it a bit humorous how much preparation goes into this half hour surgery. And, you all know this poem doesn't even begin to cover it all. I could write a separate one about the insurance junk. But, here I am, the day is finally here! :tt1: My surgery got moved back up to 12:30 so I am really happy about that. I was scheduled for 2:30 and was wondering how I would make it that long without food. A 12:30 surgery time makes it a lot easier because I need to be at the hospital by 10:30 which leaves a lot less idle time around here to wallow in my hunger. My 6 yr old son heads off to school at 8:45, then my MIL gets here at 9:15 to watch my daughter, then my hubby and I need to leave by 9:45 to be at the hospital, parked, and in there by 10:30. I'm just enjoying a few silent moments here before my kids wake up. I am anxious to get this over with, but not worried. I mainly just want to be knocked out so I don't have to feel this awful hungry feeling anymore.

My stomach is growling My butt is sore (from the bowel prep) My laundry is clean (and the kids' too) My house is clean (kinda) My medicine cabinet is stocked with... gas-x strips and chewable vitamins My pantry is stocked with... diet jello herbal tea and low sodium chicken broth My treadmill is dusted off My Christmas presents are bought My husband will have to do the rest!!! OK, my attempt at a poem of sorts. I do find it a bit humorous how much preparation goes into this half hour surgery. And, you all know this poem doesn't even begin to cover it all. I could write a separate one about the insurance junk. But, here I am, the day is finally here! :crying: My surgery got moved back up to 12:30 so I am really happy about that. I was scheduled for 2:30 and was wondering how I would make it that long without food. A 12:30 surgery time makes it a lot easier because I need to be at the hospital by 10:30 which leaves a lot less idle time around here to wallow in my hunger. My 6 yr old son heads off to school at 8:45, then my MIL gets here at 9:15 to watch my daughter, then my hubby and I need to leave by 9:45 to be at the hospital, parked, and in there by 10:30. I'm just enjoying a few silent moments here before my kids wake up. I am anxious to get this over with, but not worried. I mainly just want to be knocked out so I don't have to feel this awful hungry feeling anymore.

Surgery day is tomorrow. I know I'm not gonna get much sympathy from you all cause I know most of you had to do a pre-op liquid diet. But, for me, this morning was my last meal. I had hard boiled eggs and polenta... trying to stick w/the surgeon's recommendation on what a 'light breakfast is'. My paperwork said eggs and toast, but I have an intolerance to gluten so bread does not agree w/me. So, I ate some leftover polenta (cornmeal mush type thing) I had made for dinner the other night. Its hard to eat 'light' when you know you are not eating again for 5 days! Ack!!! For lunch, I am only supposed to have soup, then I do the bowel prep (magnesium citrate) at 1pm. I am soooooooo not looking forward to that. I am NOT constipated ever so this stuff is probably gonna give me terrible diarreah. Sorry, TMI! :confused: Anyway, I am excited to get on w/this. Its been a long time coming. It took me the whole year to get all the stuff done required by my insurance and then I was denied twice and was finally approved on my second appeal. I am sooooooo ready to get this done now. I've mostly just been paranoid for the last two weeks that I would get sick and that would delay my surgery once again. Yesterday I had a scare because I thought I was getting a sore throat, but it turned out to be just an inflamed tastebud on the back of my tongue. I was inspecting and poking my tongue and finally figured it out. And, today it is gone since I stopped gargling w/salt water.

Just wanted to say that just because you have to be on psychotropic drugs forever does not mean you would fail the psych eval. For most conditions treated w/these drugs, the psychologist would just want to make sure your symptoms are well managed through your medications. I will be on Lexapro forever for Generalized Anxiety Disorder and this was not an issue at all in psych eval. And, in the seminar, my surgeon says that even in the case of bipolar, the WLS are successful so there is no reason to deny based on this. I do believe she said that depending on your mental disorder, though, they may recommend gastric bypass instead of lapband. I can't remember in what instances, but because lapband is so reliant on the patient's follow-up for fills and following rules, if there is any doubt that the patient is able to do the followup, then they would want them to do gastric bypass because this is more of an 'automatic' weightloss.