june09bandit

You are correct, it changed June 1. Now you have to have a passport to cross at all. I live very near the Mexican border. If I'm just crossing to go get a bottle of vanilla, I still have to have the passport.

Now that I'm finished grieving for the time being, I thought it may be a good time to post. About a week post-op, I went through a serious mourning period, with all the doubts and questions. I finally realized that pre-band, food was my best friend. With the band, I just can't have that relationship anymore (which, after all, is the whole point of the band). For some reason, I didn't realize how much it was going to impact me post op. What did I do? Why did I make it so that I can't enjoy my main source of pleasure anymore? About 24 hours later, I had to lay it all out for myself again. I did it because food was destroying me. My weight made my injured knee useless. I could barely walk. I hated the way I look, so I was always depressed. I did this so that I can feel good again, so that I can take long walks again.. so that I can be HAPPY again. It will be worth it, I just have to tell my old friend goodbye, especially since it was destroying me one mouthful at a time.:wink:

Thanks for the words of advice Mely. Hopefully I'll feel better after I'm off mushies. For now, it IS a time of necessary deprivation. One more week....

I am the same way. I feel like I could eat an entire pizza - and I want to!!! It's sheer willpower that's keeping me away from food at this point. Since I never feel restriction, I'm very worried that I will overeat and cause damage. I haven't felt anything different other than burping. I keep telling myself that it just means I'm healing easily. I don't know if there is any truth to that or not! I'm glad I'm not the only one!

Good luck to all of you - remember that your pillow is your friend. I just carried mine around the house with me for 2 days and kept it against my stomach. It also kept the dogs from pouncing on me. You'll all feel much better soon!

I put my timelines in my signature block - like you, I wanted to keep up with how long it took. I never gave it a chance to stall out anywhere, I kept pushing.

I agree with everyone above. I bought a shaker cup with a whisk ball from GNC to mix mine - it worked much better than the tupperware or the blender. My favorites are nectar Cherry mixed with Cherry Pomegranite crystal light - and Nectar Roadside Lemonade mixed with Raspberry lemonade crystal light. In my opinion, making it as cold as possible makes it better as well. Good luck!

That's more or less what I was thinking as well. My surgeon does over 500 lapbands a year (I didn't ask for specific numbers) and he is a "proctor" for lapband (not sure exactly what that means either). I believe he knows what he's doing, he's just lacking in communication skills. His nurses do all the communicating on his behalf. He is on the liberal side of things. I was on the way home within 2 hours of surgery, however, he keeps those with sleep apnea overnight. I'm allowed coffee and carbonation (but I don't like soda, so that part doesn't matter to me). I just feel a need to "understand" the differences better. It's definitely a learning experience. My stomach gurgles in a new location, and the rest of the intestines are being much more fussy. Now if I can just get my brain adjusted to this new stomach, it'll be a piece of cake!

I can have chicken or fish as long as it's blenderized, so I've had chicken breast blenderized with spaghetti sauce to make it more liquidy. It's not great food, but it's way better than a Protein shake. Restless Monkey, since you have a lot of knowledge, perhaps you know why the guidelines vary so much between doctors. For instance, I was on liquids (any liquid) for one week. Weeks 2-4 are mushies, then full solids. I've noticed others on liquids for 3 weeks. I don't get it. Obviously some doctors think mushies too early can be harmful. Thanks for sharing all your wisdom and experience!

I haven't thrown up or pb'd either, knock on wood. I just know I've eaten a little more than I should a couple of times. I'm rededicating myself to the food diary today. I think I must be eating something with significant calories that I'm overlooking. Still also adjusting to never feeling "full". Like someone else said, I have to learn to eat till I'm not hungry anymore rather than eating till I'm full.

Good question - I've been wondering the same thing. I have a tendency to gulp water as well. I think it just flows through, but I'm not sure. I haven't had any discomfort as a result. Hopefully someone knows the answer.

Very good questions.. are you a lawyer??:blushing: How long was I on it? So long I'm embarrassed to admit. I was on it for probably 5 straight years, then off and on for another 10. I was getting it through a doctor at first and was very successful. I lost about 70 pounds. As soon as it lost it's effectiveness, I started to gain it back. When my weight started to creep back up, I started getting it over the internet and in Mexico. Not legal, but not illegal either, and it was still phentermine. It eventually became totally ineffective. I tried to increase the dosage slightly and scared myself when I felt my heart racing. It also caused me to have long lasting insomnia - up to this day I can't sleep without a melatonin and 4 diphenhydramine (sp?). My blood pressure was elevated from the day I started to take it. If I had a doctor's appt, I would skip a dose so that my BP would fall back to the normal range. My BP is totally normal now. I haven't taken any in about 3 months when I started researching the lapband. Up until I found the band, I didn't see any other alternatives. When I lost the weight the first time, I was in the very happy camp. Now that I realize what all I was doing to my body with the phentermine, I refuse to take it again (at least for now). I can get it very easily, it's about 15 miles to Mexico. It was never meant to be used long term, but I did it anyway. I was just banded on June 2, so this was all pre-band. I have to learn to deal with hunger myself rather than counting on a drug to do it for me. When the drug stops, so did my self control. Just my two cents worth. Like you, when it was working, no one could talk me out of it. Actually, I wouldn't have asked anyone's opinion. If your band doctor agreed it's a good idea for you, then no one should try to convince you otherwise. This is really strictly between the two of you. Good luck!!!

I was on phentermine for a long time. It did raise my blood pressure. Mine has always been "normal", but on the phentermine, it was borderline high.

I got my band yesterday at 0815 (or somewhere around that time). No clocks in any of the rooms, so really not sure. I arrived to the hospital on the edge of late. They whisked me straight back to the prep area. I had a super chatty nurse, Shannon, who kept my mind occupied with trivial things (blessing in disguise I'm sure). The doctor came in for about 1 minute, read my chart and disappeared. Shannon set the IV (painless) and gave me the heparin shot in the tummy (also painless). She also brought in a huge syringe of antibiotic. I told her she MUST be joking if she thought she was going to give it as an injection. Ahh.. it goes in the IV - not so bad after all. Next comes the anesthesiologist, Dr. Oh. He told me all the things he has to tell me then changed topic to my rapidly peeling tan. So far, so good. Into the operating room we go. They lift me (YIKES) and move me to the other table, strap my left arm down, and I'm out. Wake up in recovery. First question - was it done laporascopically??? Answer, yes. Second - it hurts, and I want to cry for unknown reasons. Nope, don't want hubby back there yet. Drugs for pain, then I'm ready for hubby. Get me dressed and out the door! Loaded into car, and away we go. It's a 2 hour drive home. For unknown reasons, the hub decides to take the longer more scenic, more mountainous and curvy route. Excuse me hon, but did you hear them discussing the nausea that may come? I didn't say a word and just kept my head down and my eyes closed. Ok, whatever the reason for the leisurely drive home, we finally make it home. Super sore throat, sore tummy, bad headache, but I survived! Today, sore throat is finally gone. I slept on my side by firmly wedging pillows in behind and in front of me. Good luck to those that are preparing for a future band!:wub:

It seems to carbonation thing varies from doctor to doctor just like everything else. I was surprised when I saw that my doctor does allow diet soda and coffee. Diet soda can even be consumed in the first week post op. I wonder why the docs are all so different?:thumbup:

Regardless of our name, we are all in this together.. all that matters is that we are a team. It's definitely gonna be a journey... And thanks to Breanne for bringing us all together and making us a group!

You are a hoot! I love your blog entries - they always make me smile. I remember everything you mentioned in your post - and I probably still have some of those pants as well!

When does the poll close and we get an official name? Surgery is less than a week away, and I don't know my group name. Ya'll don't really want to contribute to my identity crisis do you??? :thumbup:

I told my boss I'm having a "personal" minor surgery. He won't ask any further, just in case it's female stuff he's rather not know about.

I think it's a tough journey for all of us. I understand why you felt embarrassed in the chat room - we always feel guilty when we know we did something we shouldn't have done. I don't think they were actually judging those that eat before the week is over, but they are probably concerned. That first week of liquid is to allow the band to heal, not to test your willpower. Hopefully you ate the food so slowly that it had no impact. Hang in there, today is a new day to improve!

My favorite so far is vanilla protein, milk, 2 ice cubes, 1/2 frozen banana. Drink it quick and it's sort of like a banana milk shake.

13. Eat slowly: Chew 3 min., wait 3 min. between bites 14. Meals should last no longer than 20-25 min. Based on this, that's 6 minutes per bite. If meal time is no more than 25 minutes, then your meal will have to be 4 bites. There is something wrong with this - 4 bites won't equal even 1 cup!

Google for ENELL. They make them big enough, and once you get it on, those boobs aren't moving. They are ugly, but they do the job! Online store Two Roads Fitness carries them up to a size 50DDD.

Depends on what sort of acrobatic manuevers you'll try to accomplish!:mad2: