bashful1269

OH NO, I am so sorry Debster...I hope everything works out ok. Keep us posted. Good luck, Stacy

Oh, I am so with ya sista!!! I've been on liquids since ten days pre op and still have another week and a half to go before I get to the mushies stage...I'm HUNGRY and TOTALLY GROUCHY!! Thankfully, I live alone except for the pets...My dog he just looks at me like "Hey lady what are you yelling about...it's not my fault you're hungry...Watch me chew on this bone for a while...haha you can't have any lady"... <----Goes to kick the dog... Good luck on your surgery!

I woke up feeling ready to exercise, I got up and went for a walk down the hill and down to the end of the road maybe 1/4 mile total, TOTALLY kicked my butt! I will do it again tonight. It may not be far, but at least it's moving my tail. I'm ready to hit the gym and do some weight training so I don't lose the muscles that I have built over the years. I'm so excited! I talked to my friend Jimmy from St. Louis last night on the messenger and he told me that he had the lap band done in April and has lost, get this...90 pounds!! That's amazing to me. I'm pumped, I don't think I will lose that much that fast but it gave me hope. So far I've lost 12 pounds this week just by following what the nut told me to eat. I've been hungry, I mentioned that to Jimmy and he told me to make sure that I was using the protein shakes. I'll be honest I haven't really been doing many of those. I think when I get to the stage where I can eat I will start making some smoothies with the protein whey and have them for breakfast. I go to see Dr. K today, he hasn't seen me since I started looking into this. Mom told him last week when she was in there that I had had it done and he was amazed at how quickly it all went through. I am too...it's so amazing from the time that I finally sent my paperwork into Silvia to the time of my surgery was less than six weeks!!! Crazy! Absolutely, Crazy! I'm so glad that I did this. I know it's just a tool, but I've been good at working out and even eating fairly nutritiously most of the time, I just eat too much and I hope that's where the band will come in and stop me from doing that. Well there you have it...all the random thoughts going through my head...

Hope all went well with your surgery...welcome to bandland!!

Good luck!!! Welcome to bandland!!!

I've been off for five days, but the doc took me off for ten because of the hiatal hernia repair. He wanted to make sure I had time to heal properly. I have 100% disability and didn't have to use vacation time. I have a desk job of sorts but still probably spend 60% of my time on my feet walking. I'm ready for the desk part just not the walking part. I love the people that I work with, it's amazing to be able to say "I love my job" and mean it after sixteen years. Good luck at work. Won't it be fun to see and hear peoples reactions as we travel this journey??? I stepped on the scale this morning and I'm down twenty one pounds this month! I go to my pcp today for the first time since starting this journey. I'm axious to see his reaction!!

I have BCBS Alliance administered by wellmark. When I started looking into this I pulled the insurance coverage book and it stated for me that I had to have a BMI of 40 for at least three years or a BMI of 35 with at least to comorbidities. Oh and I had to prove previous attempts at loss... I'd say that is the first place that you want to start. Look and see first if they cover it and what the conditions are. They will give you a book with TONS of information in it. I was approved within a week of having all of my paperwork in. I gave them tons of supporting documentation. Everything from my EKG report to my personal training records, to letters from my three docs and physical therapist and health coach. Dr. Pitts staff and the staff at Boone county are AMAZING! I have been so impressed with them. I wish you the best, and hope you can join the bandsters soon. Feel free to PM me. Good luck, Stacy

I'm feeling pretty good today, I'm tired but it's hard to find a really comfortable sleeping position. So, I just don't sleep. I figured out last night that if I mix a little cereal and protein powder in my yogart that I don't get hungry as fast. It's not the best taste, but at this point it's not as much about taste as it is about nutrition. I'm feeling pretty accomplished. I have all of the bows made for mother Beth's wedding and all of the table decor along with one boot just waiting on approval to make the rest. Need to get a list of people so I can mark them as I make them. ... HOW do I get myself into these things...Oh well it's fun and it's turning out beautifully. I will be so glad when softball is over so I don't have to see Larry B anymore. I wish that he could be like all of my other ex's and just not have to have any contact with him. But, NO I was stupid and started an office relationship...STUPID...I can avoid him pretty good but he always makes up reasons to come by or email or some something that I have to answer or acknowledge him. GRRRR, it's frustrating. Moving on... My band and I are getting along pretty good. I stress ate some cheese Saturday night and now I'm stressing about whether or not I have slipped or damaged my band. I won't be doing that again for sure. I need to drink more it's just that I can't drink a lot at a time and then I forget to pick it up and drink. It's hard not to drink with meals as I've done that all of my life to help me fill up. I've done pretty good with it. I am sure it will get harder once I am on solid food. I'm proud that I have lost twenty pounds since this journey began. I hope to lose another ten this week if I'm lucky. I'm trying really hard to follow the nuts guidelines and only eating three times a day. I have figured out what full feels like. It's kind of painful. It's going to take a while to figure out the signal to stop before the painful point. Hard to believe that point can be before I've consummed 1/2 cup of food. I used to eat LOTS more than that. I've discovered I like blogging it's rather refreshing to get all of my thoughts out of my head. I wish I could exercise I am ready to hit the gym. I think I'll go for a walk in a little bit. ...Maybe I'll do that now...ttyl

Hey Sheri, You can have a chunk of the cow too...I'll let you. ROFLMAO I need to do a better job with the protein. I like the shake but have been out of skim milk and haven't felt much like getting out to the store. I have to go to the Dr. tomorrow, so I will pick some up then. I figured out that if I eat a little bit of oatmeal square cereal crunched up and soggy in my yogurt I don't get hungry as fast and it's pretty good. So far this hasn't been too terrible, it's had it's moments. I'm ready to go back to work. I miss it.

Well it's been four days since surgery and I have to say that I feel great. I am having some troubles with sticking to the post op diet. I cooked for April and of course she had to pick one of my favorite dishes. I tasted as I was cooking...now I'm scared that I'll have a band slip. I've decided I won't be cooking again until after I'm past the mushie stage. Thankfully, I live alone at the moment and don't have to. Now that I'm home I am going to concentrate on setting a eating schedule that I can live with when I go back to work. I think 9 1 and 5 are good times for me to eat. I'll have to work on finding something to tied me over with if I'm going to eat later then that and am hungry but will try to stick to schedule as much as possible. Yesterday pretty much sucked ass. I went to Alaina's wedding reception and I was worn out from helping her. Katelynne patted my stomach and made me cry earlier in the day then Glenn poked me right in the port incision ...not knowing so it's not his fault but it brought me to my knees in tears and I had to leave. I felt really bad. I'm down to 243 this morning!!! That's pretty exciting I'm hoping to lose another ten by the time I go back to work next Monday..that would be AWESOME!!! I'm thinking about using medifast for a while just to help speed things along to my goal. I really like the bars and they should be just the right amount to fill me up and they have complete nutrition. Then I wouldn't need the stupid flinstone vitamins. 83 pounds to goal!!! I so want to be at goal for the Christmas party!! I have six months it's realistic right??? That's about it for the moment.

I'm feeling pretty good today, I'm tired but it's hard to find a really comfortable sleeping position. So, I just don't sleep. I figured out last night that if I mix a little cereal and protein powder in my yogart that I don't get hungry as fast. It's not the best taste, but at this point it's not as much about taste as it is about nutrition. I'm feeling pretty accomplished. I have all of the bows made for mother Beth's wedding and all of the table decor along with one boot just waiting on approval to make the rest. Need to get a list of people so I can mark them as I make them. ... HOW do I get myself into these things...Oh well it's fun and it's turning out beautifully. I will be so glad when softball is over so I don't have to see Larry B anymore. I wish that he could be like all of my other ex's and just not have to have any contact with him. But, NO I was stupid and started an office relationship...STUPID...I can avoid him pretty good but he always makes up reasons to come by or email or some something that I have to answer or acknowledge him. GRRRR, it's frustrating. Moving on... My band and I are getting along pretty good. I stress ate some cheese Saturday night and now I'm stressing about whether or not I have slipped or damaged my band. I won't be doing that again for sure. I need to drink more it's just that I can't drink a lot at a time and then I forget to pick it up and drink. It's hard not to drink with meals as I've done that all of my life to help me fill up. I've done pretty good with it. I am sure it will get harder once I am on solid food. I'm proud that I have lost twenty pounds since this journey began. I hope to lose another ten this week if I'm lucky. I'm trying really hard to follow the nuts guidelines and only eating three times a day. I have figured out what full feels like. It's kind of painful. It's going to take a while to figure out the signal to stop before the painful point. Hard to believe that point can be before I've consummed 1/2 cup of food. I used to eat LOTS more than that. I've discovered I like blogging it's rather refreshing to get all of my thoughts out of my head. I wish I could exercise I am ready to hit the gym. I think I'll go for a walk in a little bit. ...Maybe I'll do that now...ttyl

I'm in... Starting 264 6/2/09 Surgery 251 7/22/09 Today 243!!!!

Glad all came out Ok...Good luck on surgery...Keep us posted!

Awesome!! WTG!!!

I was banded on 7/23 and today was the first day that I have felt hunger...:thumbup::cursing::skep: I don't like it! Anyone have any ideas on how to get through the next week of full liquids without biting a big chunk out of some poor unsuspecting cow out in a field?? I'm starvin...and nothing I have eaten seems to satisfy me. I looked through the recipe section but most of the things on there I was told not to eat. Any ideas would be appreciated Thanks, Stacy

You'll be fine, it's a normal thing to be nervous. I was just banded Wednesday and I will be honest with you, I feel great. The best thing that I can suggest to you right now is stay busy it will help take your mind off of it. Good luck, you'll do just fine!

Of course there's hope for you! You can do this and you don't even need to know your way around the kitchen. This is what the nutritionist told me Pre op Breakfast 4oz Protein shake 1/2 c juice (no sugar added) 16 oz Water broth or sugar free popsicle or Jello if hungry between breakfast and lunch Lunch 4oz Protein Shake 1/2 C skim milk broth or sugar free popsicle or jello if hungry dinner 4oz protein shake 1/2 C gatorade or sf juice 16 oz water broth or sugar free popsicle or jello if hungry Snack 4 oz protein shake 1/2 C skim milk 16 oz water Having the Protein shakes every four hours or so will help keep you from being hungry. Post op The day of was clear liquid. Water, broth, sugar free jello, sf popsicles For two weeks after: Thined or blended soups with no solid pieces, skim milk, vegetable or tomatoe juice, no sugar added low fat yogart, low fat sugar free pudding, Cereal with milk let it get soggy, or thinned cooked oatmeal or cream of wheat or grits...4 oz of any of the above at a time three times a day only!! As a snack in between meals 4 oz of your protein shake. sample menu Brkfast 4 oz No sugar low fat yogart snack 4 oz protein shake Lunch 2 oz blended Soup and 2 oz sugar free pudding snack 4 oz protein shake Dinner 4 oz cereal with milk (let it get soggy) Hope this helps and YES YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!! I would advice having a serious discussion with your health team and make sure they are going to be there for you throughout this whole process. It's not something you can have done, take your money and then they forget about you.

Doing good, hope everyone is doing well. Just think about how much better we will look in six months!!! :tongue2:

Have you met with the nutritionist? For my liquid diet phase I was instructed to find a Protein supplement that I liked and have two servings per day. Then as much broth, sugar free Jello and sugar free popsicles as I wanted. So you don't have to cook at all really. I also used medifast (Take Shape For Life - The Breakthrough Approach to Fast Weight Loss and Long-Term Health) as part of my preop and thinking about using it for post op to help me reach my goal. As far as post op, my doc has me on semi soft basically Sugarfree pudding, sugarfree yogart and blended Soups as long as they are not cream based and thinned oatmeal. I've been using instant oatmeal made with Water and then adding vanilla Protein powder and cinnamon it's good! No real cooking there either. When you get past the mushie stage will be harder. Make sure you concentrate on healthy choices and get your protein in first and from high quality sources look toward baked or grilled lean poultry or fish. Also look in the nutrition section for lots of easy recipes. Good luck, feel free to message me if you need a friend. Stacy

Well it's been four days since surgery and I have to say that I feel great. I am having some troubles with sticking to the post op diet. I cooked for April and of course she had to pick one of my favorite dishes. I tasted as I was cooking...now I'm scared that I'll have a band slip. I've decided I won't be cooking again until after I'm past the mushie stage. Thankfully, I live alone at the moment and don't have to. Now that I'm home I am going to concentrate on setting a eating schedule that I can live with when I go back to work. I think 9 1 and 5 are good times for me to eat. I'll have to work on finding something to tied me over with if I'm going to eat later then that and am hungry but will try to stick to schedule as much as possible. Yesterday pretty much sucked ass. I went to Alaina's wedding reception and I was worn out from helping her. Katelynne patted my stomach and made me cry earlier in the day then Glenn poked me right in the port incision ...not knowing so it's not his fault but it brought me to my knees in tears and I had to leave. I felt really bad. I'm down to 243 this morning!!! That's pretty exciting I'm hoping to lose another ten by the time I go back to work next Monday..that would be AWESOME!!! I'm thinking about using medifast for a while just to help speed things along to my goal. I really like the bars and they should be just the right amount to fill me up and they have complete nutrition. Then I wouldn't need the stupid flinstone vitamins. 83 pounds to goal!!! I so want to be at goal for the Christmas party!! I have six months it's realistic right??? That's about it for the moment.

Very swollen and VERY bruised I'm bruised from my rib cage down past my belly button on the port site incision. I look like someone took a baseball bat to my stomach...Gotta love blood thinners.

all is better now...no advice needed

I was banded on Wednesday, I've actually had a really easy time of it. Except for a few spells. I feel like I did two thousand sit ups and then just to torture myself more I did another two thousand.... stomach is very sore. I think it's normal to have the thoughts of OMG what have I done. It really changes things when you CAN"T eat uncontrollably. We have to redefine the role food plays in our life...NOT EASY that's for sure. I haven't slept much since Wednesday either I've been having to sleep in a recliner because I couldn't lie down in bed. You might try that with a heating pad. I used a heating pad on my back and neck to help with the gas pains. I think you're doing fine just remember to walk walk walk and walk some more and get all of your Protein. As far as the pain I would call the surgeon and ask just to be on the safe side. Good luck! Stacy

Surgery day... Wednesday... 7/22/09 Got to the hospital at 6:45am checked in they gave me a pager like you see in restaurants and told me when it went off to give it to my friends and come up to the desk by myself. They would page my friends when I was ready. Of course the first stop was at the scale...officially 8 pounds down from the week before. Then it was time for the ol pregnancy test. Of course I told the nurse if I was pregnant I was going to kick her...YUP she was scared of me for the rest of the day! They were quick taking care of things such as the shot of lovanox (blood thinner) in the belly and then having me take my contacts out and then the anesthesiologist came in...PS..He was HOT!! :biggrin: We talked a bit and then Dr. Pitt came in and said hi and told my family it would be about 30 minutes and I'd be out. Then the nurses told me to say bye to my family and friends ..of course they were making fun of me because I was "drunk" (oxycotton) taking tons of terrible pictures. So I said goodbye to them and laid back for the ride. I don't even remember going through the doors that were just around the corner. Next thing I know I wake up in recovery with terrible indigestion pressure and I told them I was going to get sick. They hit me with a med and I laid back and went to sleep. I don't remember much of recovery. They took me back to my room and I woke up feeling on top of the world. I had a terrible dry mouth and the nurse gave me a medicine cup of ice chips. It took an hour to get those down...then another hour to get a medicine cup of Water and then another hour to get two medicine cups down. I had to sip very slowly and of course had to have a nap. I woke up from the nap ready to walk. I walked down the hall and back a total of about six times and felt really good. I even posed for pictures with my nurses so I could have them in my journey scrapbook. The car ride home was a little tough, I cried when I sat down in the seat because it was pretty low and it hurt. I went to my friends house to recoup and really felt pretty good. I walked a lot that night just to keep the gas pains away since everyone had told me that was the best thing to do. Over all I would say it wasn't bad at all. Dr. Pitt and his staff were amazing and I plan to write them a note and let them know how much I appreciate them. Good luck to everyone making this journey...it's a good thing...we can do this! Remember it is a tool and we must put in our work behind that tool to make it work right. Be patient...that's what they keep telling me.

I was just banded Wednesday and had many of the same fears. I will give you the same advice that was given to me by a couple of people... WALK, WALK, WALK AND WALK SOME MORE!!! I haven't had hardly any pain except for the feeling like I've done two thousand situps soreness. It's worth it and once it's done and over you're on your way to onederland!! You can do this! Feel free to message if you need support.