MissCheryl

Howdy! Patty and I are going to be in Denver for fills on April 7th so we're meeting up at the Rockbottom in Englewood at 7:00 PM on the 7th. We'd love for you to come, and anyone else who's up for it! Cheryl

Welcome Step68! This was the first message board I ever joined, too, it has been SO helpful! I had my surgery on March 3rd and I'm doing great. It's been so easy, it's hard to believe sometimes! I think the best advise to you all is to think positive, visualize good results and an easy recovery. Make sure you have everything you'll need at home before your surgery date. Keep up with your pain med's, even set the alarm at night so you don't miss a dose. Let yourself sleep the first couple of days, sleep on your back, of course, with lots of pillows under your knees, that will take the pressure off your stomach muscles. Good luck to you all, check back in and let us all know how you're doing and if you have any questions!

Wow, you did great, I stayed in Denver for 3 nights and thought I was brave! I'm glad to hear it went well for you. Welcome to the Dr. K fan club and the loser's bench!

Hope your belly feels better soon, mine took about 6 days before I could say it wasn't sore anymore. Try liquid Tylenol if you don't want to take a narcotic. I know, the soup routine gets old. I also ate Greek yogurt, know it's not a true liquid but it melts in your mouth and has lots of protein. I found a great tasting protein powder on www.Vitacost.com, my favorite online store for vitamins and such, it's called Gold Standard Whey. It's quite a bit less expensive then others I've seen and has great ratings on the website. I've mixed a scoop of the chocolate with a package of sugar free hot choclotae mix for a real treat at night. The vanilla is good, too, and blends well with other flavors. Another favorite find is V8 Fusion Light, it's a vegtable/fruit juice drink really yummy and great ingredients, it comes in 3 flavors. Here's too us all, just think where we'll be NEXT March!

I just had my surgery with Dr. Jerry Kirshenbaum (lapbandrockies.com) on 3/3. I have NEVER been so impressed with a doctor, office staff or his hospital team. I flew all the way from NC because of his good name and reasonable prices for we self payers. Check him out, you won't be disappointed. There's a large thread with all of his happy clients in this forum, too. Good luck!

So how was your first day back to work? What kind of work do you do, how is everyone coping with returning to work? I'm so backed up from taking time off it's crazy, but it feels good to be productive, guess our bodies will tell us if we're overdoing it!

Congrats on your surgery! From everything I have read and what I've heard from every doctor you should NOT be drinking carbonated soda, EVER! It will stretch the new stomach area, kind of wastes why we do this surgery to begin with. I think it's probably even most dangerous as you are healing, ask your doctor.

Congrats on your surgery! I had mine on the 3rd and was able to sleep on my side on the 4th day, I think. Try putting a bunch of pillows under your knees when you're sleeping on your back, it will take the pressure off the stomach muscles and maybe you'll be able to sleep longer. I read that it's really cold liquids that make you hiccup, and that seems to be true with me. Also don't drink a bunch of Water and then lie down, or don't drink when half lying down, this will bring on the hiccups, too. Don't worry, these things go away pretty quickly and they'll all be a distant memory soon!Cheryl

Miss Can-Do, Yeah, It's been pretty easy, but each day has been different. The indigestion thing was no fun, it's like I needed to burp but couldn't. Chewable Pepcid AC has made a big difference. My stomach looks huge, even more huge than normal, feels like a balloon, guess it's the swelling around the stomach. Hardly any pain at all, just a twinge now and then. Put in a full day at work, it's a home based business so that's nice. I'm still catching up from being gone 6 days, worked hard but got through it. What a great tool, I'm very excited about the coming year!

Great, see you there! Anyone else want to join us?

Bernadette, Congrats on your surgery date, it will be here soon! As far as the pre-surgery diet, all doctors are different, who knows why. My doc, Dr. Kirshenbaum in Denver CO has his patients go on a low carb diet for one or two weeks before surgery, the time frame depends on your starting BMI score. The goal is to get your liver less fatty before surgery, with laproscoptic surgery they need to move the liver out of the way and if it's too big they can't move it without doing an open procedure, which noboby wants. I think some surgeons don't think we have the will to stay on a low carb diet so they make them do the liquids instead. Hope that makes sense! Cheryl