patrickgd

Well I just had my first meal of "Full Liquid" being a 1/2 cup of Strained Cream-o-chicken soup. It was actually delicious and seems to be staying down no problem :thumbup:. The sample menu consisted of a 1/2 cup strained cream soup, a 1/4 cup of milk or yogurt and 1/2 cup SF Dessert. It said stop when you feel full. I stopped after I finished the cream soup, I was'nt real sure if I "felt full" but I did feel somewhat full so I decided to stop. I'll chalk this up as a giant baby step. :laugh:

Thanks for the encouraging words. My binder says that after 2-3 days I can begin "full liquids". So I'm going into my 3rd day today. I haven't decided if I'll try it today or tomorrow. I have been doing some walking around. My sleeping has been thrown way out of wack. I feel pretty good one minute and then weak and tired the next. I'm just gonna hang in there and have hope it will get better. Thanks again, and of course anyone is more than welcome to respond to this thread not just folks from Memphis.

I am using "Liquacell" it is a Liquid Protein that has 16 grams of protein per 2 tbls. It comes in Grape and Orange flavor and I take it in raw form by the spoonful or mixed in some Water. It taste just like Koolaid. And unlike the powders which have to be mixed with several ounces of water I like the fact that I can just take it by the spoonful. Because consuming volumes of liquid with the band takes time. Sip by small sip. I also use it to crush and empty my other meds into and drink. Tried putting them in some Apple juice and it tasted like "Brass Monkey" LOL. Anyway, Good Luck!

Hi Shelley I was just banded this past Wednesday and I've been drinking a liquid protein supplement called "Liquacell" that I bought thru a company called "Square one Medical" prior to surgery. It is "clear liquid OK" and collagen based "no dairy". It tastes like Grape Koolaid and has 16 grams of protein and 70 calories per 2 tbsp and can be taken straight or added to water. Although I'm a newbie I have not had any bad reaction to it yet.

I was also banded on March 4th and have a pain in my chest (upper left) when I take a deep breath. It really SUCKS! I am taking 2 deep draws of breath through the breathing exersize apparatus. Can't express with words how good it will be when this goes away.

I am now going into my 2nd day post-op and it seems that everytime a take a sip of Water I feel and hear a faint gurgling sound of what I assume is the sip of water going through the little hole. It's not particulary a good feeling but not too bad. Has anyone else had this experience and if so does it stay like this?

I had my surgery yesterday (the 4th) the main pain I feel is in my upper left chest when I take a deep breath. Does anyone know about this?

Well...I finally got my band put in yesterday and heres the story. My arrival time at the hospital was 8:45. I filled out all the papers and was called to the admissions booth. The lady who was processing me said "your insurance is not gonna pay for this" to which I replied :eek:"they better, or I ain't getting it" but I knew that it was just some sort of error on her part because I had already received acceptance papers from them. So after a bit she called me again and said they were going to pay for it after all. So then I was given my room and started to wait (10:00am). I was informed that my surgeon had 4 surgeries scheduled and that I was #4 :ohmy:After an hour or so of nothing I decided to turn on the TV. I found a movie to watch "9 to 5" starring Dollie Parton which is a pretty darn funny flick. So finally at about 3ish I was called back for the pre-surgery prep. I met the Anesthiaologist and spoke briefly with my Surgeon Dr. George Woodman. He commented on the pre surgery weight loss progress I had made, asked if I had any questions (which I did'nt) and then reminded me that what I put into this as far as exercise goes is what I will get out of it on weight loss. I was then rolled into the surgery room, put on the table and positioned. A gas mask was then placed on my face which smelled a bit like Nitris Oxide , same stuff you get at the dentist. They hooked up a IV tube and placed massaging garments on my legs. The tech. told me that I would now fall asleep and I did. I then woke up a little while later feeling pretty weird. A nurse that looked allot like Jennifer Lopez :crying: was asking me how bad the pain was on a scale of 1-10. I said 6 or 7 and was given a dose of some powerful stuff Dalada I believe is what it was. Then a few of the guys in the recovery room started talking to me about college hoops (which really helped) and then I was wheeled to my holding room. I laid there for about an hour or so I'd guess and then got up (with the help of my nurse Laura) and started making some rounds up and down the halls. They told me I did much better than most and said most folks like to lay in bed and sleep for hours. I was just ready to get the recovery process underway. So finally after about another hour or so I was discharged. The ride home was tough. The interstate was blocked off due to a major traffic accident where a Gas Tanker had crashed and leaked Gas everywhere. Needless to say the alternate route was long and I could'nt emphasize enough the importance of taking off and stopping very slow. Bumps in the road made my fat belly shake which caused pain My next immediate thing I had to deal with was my dry mouth. I got a 20 oz. Btl of water and nursed on it all night long. Trying to follow the 3-4oz. per hour rule. Also, when I take a deep breath what seems to be my the top portion of my left lung hurts. I was also instructed to take 2 huge draws of air from this breathing excersize apparatus to avoid getting Pneumonia they said. Today I woke up at 5:00am and it felt like and Elephant stepped on me :ohmy: but I think I am doing good. I had 3 oz. of Campbells Chicken broth for breakfast and then an Orange SF popsicle. Aside from my nose being very dried out and stopped up everything seems ok. I am experiencing big hunger feeling which seems to come and go. I am very thankful for this opportunity and grateful to my mother who has taken great care of me thru this ordeal. I look forward to recovery and know that this is going to be a blessing. :thumbup:

Well on Feb. 20 I was given a surgery date of March 4th and weigh-in date of March 3 (10 days). well I started trying to lose immediately through eating 3 average sized meals a day. This worked but by Friday the 27th I had only lost 7 or 8 lbs. So I cut back even more and started walking allot. Since this past saturday I lost 7 more lbs at weight in this morning which put me over the 12 lb. requirment and a total loss of 14. Oh and one other thing I must add is that I only ate when I was truly hungry and even then I would put it off awhile and walk or do another activity. I'm on clear liquid all day today and although it's not too bad I'll probably dream about greasy fast food.

Hello to everyone! This is my first post. First I'd like to thank everybody for all the great threads. I really enjoy hearing all of the "real life" experiences (especially the good ones). If all goes as planned I will have my LB surgery this coming Wed. I am a bit concerned about quite a few things but the one thing at the forefront is "will I meet my pre-surgery weight loss requirement?" On 2/20 I was given my surgery date and instructed to lose 12 lbs. 10 days have passed and I've managed to shed 9 lbs. I figure I can wear slippers instead on my shoes and "steal" 1 lb. which leaves me with 2 lbs. to go and 1 day to do it :hurray:. From what I've heard about my surgeons "no nonsense" attitude, there will be no room for leway. But as always I'm sure no matter what kind of worries I manage to conjure up or setbacks that I encounter, everything will be exactly as it should be. I look forward to using this forum as a tool to aid in my success. God bless you all! :party:

Well not only did I meet the 12 lb. goal today, I surpassed it with a total pre-surgery loss of 14lbs :tongue2:. I could'nt believe what I saw when I stepped on the scales. So tomorrow is the big day!

My insurance "Aetna" will be covering 90%. They required me to do a physician supervised diet for 6 months, fax my med. records from the past 3-5 years. Have my primary care physician write a letter stating that I would be a good candidate which contains all co-morbid conditions, see a nutritionist and a pschologist. All this took about 8 months to get completed. I was accepted to be covered and will be having my surgery on March 4th. I am so exicited!