scoobydoo

My surgeon was Dr. Laura Machado who has an office off of Greenback Lane in Rancho Cordova...She is wonderful and I have had a great experience so far with her. Her office staff is friendly and helpful whenever you call. She has a great bedside manner, is very easy to talk with and makes you feel like you are the only patient she has. She is always happy to answer any questions and has made the whole process of being banded so much easier than I ever expected. I would highly recommend her to anyone considering this surgery.

Finally got a call from the surgeons office yesterday and have been approved! SOOO excited, scared, nervous, but very happy to finally have an actual date. This has been quite a journey already with all the insurance hoops to jump through. Now the "real journey" begins! I just can't believe it is happening, finally! Would love to find others with same date so we can support one another along the way.:confused:

I used to love tuna...now it is just as you said and too fishy and the consistency is not good. I found some little premixed cans that are sweeter in taste and I can get them down if I have to. I now love iced tea too...used to be a diet pepsi-holic. Never was much of a sweets person, but now I can barely stand to watch OTHER people eat sweet stuff. yuk And I was the biggest coffee drinker you ever met! BEFORE. Now it just does not taste good to me. I have tried brewing it lighter, but I think I am just not supposed to drink it anymore. I would never have predicted this! lol So funny how things taste different than we remember them.

I was told No drinking 30 minutes before meals. Can drink 30 minutes after a meal. Need to drink at least 64 oz. per day. Protein should be btween 60-80 gms a day. Protein shakes for Breakfast to insure protein intake is high and in case of restriction in mornings, Each meal should be 1/2 to 1 cup of food. Stop eating if I feel full sooner. Snacks should be sf pudding, cheese stick or fruit. Limit calories to 1200 per day. Caffiene is okay if it is not an appetite stimulant to me. No gum, no soda and no rice.

I wasn't required to have an upper GI. The doc did find a hiatal hernia when she was in there to do the operation and just fixed it then. I think all insurances are different in their requirements. Just check with your surgeon, let them know your fears and you should be fine. Get a surgeon who understands you and will go that extra step to help alleviate your fears. Don't let a test stop you from being banded. You can do this!:crying:

Jaytee, that is funny. I always just order a water even though I don't drink it. I noticed the weird look the first time I went out after being banded and didn't ask for a drink. It was almost like the waitress didn;t know what to do. LOL How funny that some system "requires" a drink to print a check. Hope you are doing well. And by the way happy belated birthday. Good for you enjoying a little cake on your birthday. We have to give ourselves a treat sometimes.:thumbup:

Jen, that is SO cool that you were able to make so many meals out of what used to be one! Isn't it weird that we can eat soo much less than we used to even though we have no fills yet? I am amazed at how full I am feeling, especially the past couple of days. I am afraid to eat tuna again since I had the bad experience, but it was probably due to me eating too fast. I am not schedule for a fill until the 12th of June, and at first I was worried that was too far away. Now I am wondering if I will need it. If I continue with how I feel now, I won't. Funny cause i was so hungry for the mushies. Guess I didn't expect regular food to fill me up so fast. Anyway, glad to hear your experience. Sounds similar to what I am experiencing. Keep up the good work.

Hi contemplating. I too, started "regular" foods this past week. I have some smaple menus from my doc that I can share. However, I am not able toeat nearly half as much as suggested. Sometimes I am close, but somethings just don't go down that easily. Tuna was fine at first...now when I eat it I get a lump in my throat feeling and so I have stopped it for now. So, anyway, I think it is also a learning process...this new stage we are in...but here is the doc's recommended menu suggestions. 8 am B:1 scrambled egg 1/2 c. cantaloupe 10 am Snack: 1/2 c. fortified skim milk 12 noon L: 1/2 c. chili 1/2 c. stewed apple with cinnamon 6 pm D: 2 oz. baked chicken, no skin 2 tbsp. lo fat gravy 1/2 c. squash or 1/2 c. string beans 8 pm Snack:1/2 c. sugar free yogurt 8am B: 1/2 c. cooked oatmeal 1/2 c. unsweetened pears 10am Snack: 1/2 c. fortified skim milk 12noon L: 3oz. tuna 2 tbsp. low fat mayo 1/2 c. watermelon 6pm D: 2 oz. poached fish 2tsp. diet margarine 1/2 c. boiled potato or 1/2 c. steamed carrots 8pm Snack: SF Swiss miss hot cocoa with skim milk Hope this helps.

Angie, thank you for the great info! It was very informative and answered some of my questions. I am finally scheduled for a fill but not until June 12th. At least it is on the appt. book! I am not feeling too hungry lately so I am happy about that. I drink about 40 gms of protein in the morning and find that really holds me over for a long time. Then the rest of the day I am eating about 1/2 cup of food for my other 2 meals.

Hey there. I agree with BG, call you doc and let him know what is happening. Maybe you just need to stick to liquids for a bit longer. Remember this time is for healing, not really losing, so don't worry too much about the pounds coming off. They will. Also make sure you are getting enough Protein in...that really helps the healing and feeling full. Hang in there and let us know how you are doing. Sending a hug your way. It will get better soon.

Jen, those chicken cordon bleu things sound really good. I will check them out when I go to Walmart. I ate chicken last night for dinner...just regular rotisserie chicken and chewed it really well. It was great. Also had some green beans that were not pureed. Kinda cool eating regular food. The dietician told me that anything that requires chewing alot will fill me up longer and take longer to eat, so it will be more satisfying. I was scared at first, but I think as long as we chew until it is the consistency of a pureed food, not much is off limits. I am supposed to wait a couple weeks to add salad, so we will see how that goes. My first fill is scheduled for June 12. I am excited that it is on the appt. book, but don't knwo if I will need it, since I am still not eating that much.

Hey, where is everyone from the 16th?? Had 3 wk. check up today. Now on "regular" food. But I have to take it slow and gradually add textures to see what works. In 2 weeks I can try salad again. I miss my salads! Never thought I would say that! Also, just a FYI, I tried the Special K new crackers. YUK...They must expand or something to keep you full because I ate one and it was awful!! Wheat thins go down great, but not the Special K ones. Never again. Hope you are all doing well. Anyone else have a 3 week check up and moving on to other foods?

Hi Sherri, Congrats on your new band! I had a follow up at the doctors today and she said that I had eaten too fast and that is what caused the lump in my throat feeling. It lasted all night! LOL Needless to say I am slowing down. It is definitely a hard habit to break. I am now allowed to eat regular food and in a couple weeks I can add salad. I am just trying to re-program myslelf and eat slower. My first fill is not scheduled until June 12 which seems so long from now...but until then I am just going to keep trying to eat slower, chew longer and drink more. Good luck with your band. In no time we are gonna be looking sooo good!:glare:

Hi everyone. Today at lunch I had some tuna that I think I ate too fast. I have this lump in my throat feeling. Not painful. I just know it is there and can feel it. I can drink okay...but the last thing I feel like doing is eating again. And I ate the tuna like 4 hours ago! Anyone else have this feeling before? Well , I can tell you what. I will be eating a lot slower now...I do not want to feel this again.

Hi Jen, I usually eat about 1/2 cup of food at a meal. So I think yours sounds about like that. I got a scale that I started to weigh stuff on and find that sometimes what I think is 4 oz is not even close. I think it sounds like you are doing fine. I usually have a protein shake in the morning. Then 1/2 cup of food for lunch. (tuna or an egg) and then for dinner I eat soup or refried beans. I have a snack of ff pudding later in the evening. And in between all this I am drinking either water or decaf iced tea.

Hi, I came down with a cold the week before my surgery and was so worried it would not get better in time. The day before my surgery I still had a bit of congestion, but the doc told me that as long as there was no fever and nothing settled in my chest I would be okay. Turns out I was fine and did well. Good luck tomorrow...I am sure you will do great!:thumbup:

I usually heat the ff refried beans in the microwave, then top it with some shredded cheese, light sour cream and a little mushed up avocado. Tastes like "real" mexican food to me:smile2: The refried beans are a life saver in the mushy stage! I have an appt on Friday and will get moved to the next food stage. I am looking forward to it, but scared at the same time. I am worried about losing control and eating more than the amount allowed since I don't feel any restriction. I guess it is all part of the process....learning to eat again. We just have to get through all the phases and then once we start getting filled it will be better. At least that is what I keep telling myself:unsure:....over and over...lol

Hey, Heather, Do NOT beat yourself up over a muffin! lol It is okay and everyone messes up once in a while. Just try to get back on track. I am not feeling much restriction in the evenings anymore. I had some wheat thins with my tuna tonight and figured I will be cleared for them in another 3 days so I am not gonna stress over it. I just needed something more than the tuna. At least they were wheat crackers. :thumbup: Still, I feel bad they are not really approved yet, and I know what you are going through. Call your doc's office if you can and see if you can move on to other stuff earlier. It's funny how all of us that were banded on the same day have different diets to follow, huh? I was cleared for refried beans at week 2. I feel like I would have died without those beans to pull me through the hunger. Anyway, hang in there and just move forward. You can't change the past, but tomorrow is another day:smile:

Thanks for that! I am gonna try some! :smile: May not be pancakes, but I have a great imagination!lol I get to move to more real food on Friday. Let me know what they tell you that you can eat on Tuesday.

Hey, Jen...I had this happen a couple of times and noticed it was mostly when I ate two different things. If I eat just one type of food, like a scrambled egg I am fine. If I eat the egg then follow it with SF pudding or something, I get that feeling. I just eat one thing and let it sit for awhile. Then if I want something else I will have it later, not right after. It has worked for me. Guess stuff doesn't mix well with me yet. The only thing I CAN eat with something else is soup. That doesn't seem to bother me.

How's everyone doing? I went out to eat at Applebees tonight with my daughter and was suprised there was actually something I could order! I had the french onion soup...did not eat the cheese though...and a small side of mashed potatoes. Only ate a few bites of the soup, but the potatoes were yummy. It is so cool to know that you can still go out to eat and find mushies on the menu. :thumbdown: lol I am totally burned out on Crystal Light. Now I am drinking decaf iced tea and that tastes great. Hope you all are having a great weekend...ttys:smile:

Hi Bee, Isn't it weird how all doctors are different? I would be going crazy if I was still on liquids! How did the mashed potatoes go down? I was liquids for a week, then full liquids for a week then mushies. On week four I move to regular food....only chew,chew, chew and meat has to be the size of pencil eraser. Funny the things you crave. I was never a big pancake eater, but I could kill for a pancake! LOL Wonder what that's all about?? All I can say is hang in there and soon we will all be eating real food again...

I think once we get fills we may have to have liquids again for a day or so and then we will fill up on smaller amounts of food. HOPEFULLY. I think the key is to chew chew chew. But until my next appt I am only guessing. Heather do you have a fill scheduled yet?

Did someone mention scooby snacks!?? lol Heather, you crack me up! I had my post of visit and it went fast too. I didn't even get to see my surgeon! The nurse saw me, said I was great and I was outta there! Then she asked if I wanted to do a "phone call visit" for my next appt? She said that all they do at the next appt is change my diet. so I said okay. I am ready for real food! Heather, you seriously had me contemplating how I could eat pizza! It sounds so good. I made a tuna casserole last night and blended it in the magic bullet. It was soooo good. First time I have tried noodles since they are not mentioned on my list of approved foods. But i figured they were mushy...so I ate 1/2 cup and it was great. Anyone else eating noodles? I was half scared they would get stuck or something, but nope...went right down. Still worried I am eating too fast though. It definitely does NOT take me 30 minutes to eat. I am trying to work on that.:thumbup: How about the rest of you...how long does it take you to eat your meals? Okay, time for a scooby snack...in the form of a SF pudding...I am hungry!