Lisa99

Add a tablespoon of lowfat or fat free cream cheese to any protein shake. I make my protein shakes with water, so the cream cheese adds some flavor and makes it a lot creamier.

Hi everyone, hope you can help provide some input for what is going on with a stuck feeling that I have. Last night when I was getting ready for bed I was really tired and was on auto-pilot. Before I realized what I had done, I had popped a Melatonin tablet in my mouth and swallowed it (it's a little smaller than an aspirin and composed of the same kind of stuff as aspirin). I don't take any medicine on a regular basis, so completely forgot about the crushing restriction until it was on its way down my throat...about 10 minutes later I got the stuck feeling that everyone describes. This morning the feeling is still there. I've had warm tea and LOTS of Water to try to flush the pill down. I even had oatmeal to see if something more solid would move it along. Everything is going down fine...but that weird feeling is still there. Is it possible that the pill is still stuck even though anything I eat or drink is going through just fine? or is it more likely that I caused some swelling and that is what I'm feeling? And my last question, as long as food and water is going down is there anything to worry about with this stuck feeling? Thanks for any help!

It's my understanding that they do use stitches like the video shows. Also, the video is not only great for pre-band it's also good for someone who isn't taking their band seriously because they don't understand the mechanics of the surgery. DH was banded last March and after 2 fills still didnt' have restriction and ate WAY too much at almost every meal....yet he was losing weight so he had no incentive to change his behavior. At his 3rd fill the doc told him his pouch was dilated. I told him about the video, explained how the stomach is stitched together to hold the band and that he could cause big problems if he kept eating the way he was. He was too squeamish to watch the whole thing, but I got to the place where they were stitching the band in and then had him come and watch...he was astounded! He never knew the band was attached that way. Since that day he's had another fill and he's finally eating small meals very slowly with small bites. His pouch dilation is gone and his weight loss has sped up again. Yea for the video!!

Thanks everyone for your replies. I went to the pharmacy and bought Mylanta, had lots more hot tea and about 10 gallons of Water (not really, but felt like it)!! The feeling is just about gone thanks heavens. :clap2: All morning I had visions of having to go to my doctor and tell him what a boneheaded thing I'd done...wasn't a pleansant prospect. In the future I promise to be a good bandster and crush all pills. :biggrin1: Thanks again!

Daily - first thing in the morning.

Hi Kris, welcome. Everyone is different, but my experience wasn't 'painless'. It wasn't bad, just not painless. For the first 3 or 4 days I was sore where the port is, but able to get in and out of a chair ok as long as I moved slowly. Also when I walked I was a bit "hunched over". The 'pain' felt like really sore muscles, like I had done lots of crunches. The first night I took one teaspoon of the liquid codeine and slept soundly all night. At about a week I was able to sleep on my stomach again as well on my side where the port is. At three weeks out I'm good as new with no port tenderness at all. My husband had a bit of a different experience and had a bit more pain, but again it wasn't bad and liquid tylenol was all that it took. His port area was "tender" for about a month and it took him a bit longer to be able to sleep on his stomach, but his payback is that he's lost 80 pounds in 7 months and is off of his blood pressure medicine. Good luck and don't worry!

Calories, but I also make sure I don't eat carbs after 3pm (don't know if it is a quack tip, like so many are, but I have the "Biggest Loser" cookbook and the trainers recommend no carbs after 3pm.)

Something that I've found that helps is Listerine breath strips. They're sugar free and come in a little plastic package. You put one on your tongue and let it melt...helps for hours!

Hi there, I'm about a week ahead of you in the healing process and you're not alone in being hungry! My stomach started rumbling on day 3 and by day 5 I was ravenous! :hungry: At my two-week post op appt I told my doctor about the hunger and his feedback was that my healing seemed to be a bit quicker than some and that I could progress to mushies for a week and then onto solids (but PLEASE don't do anything that your doctor doesn't ok first ) As for the Water, I think it is an individual thing. At first they want us to sip because the stomach is swollen and you really do want to sip. But I drink water all day long and don't sip - I don't gulp - but I just drink normally. I think though once we start getting fills drinking liquids will be a bit different. My husband was banded last March and has had 5 fills and he says if he drinks too fast it feels like the water is "stuck"...goes through eventually, but he gets a weird sloshing feeling in his pouch. I know a bunch of bandsters who are much more experienced at this than me will answer your questions, but I wanted to chip in since I experienced some of the same stuff. Good luck taming the growling!

Posting for my husband...he was my inspiration for getting the band. Band date: March 6, 2006 Starting weight: 303 Current weight: 230 (he's 6'2" with LOTS of muscle) Former pant size: 40 - 42 Current pant size: 34 - 36 Fills: 6.5 cc in a 10 cc band (took five fills to get there) Complications: None - not even the PB, slime, golf ball category When I found this site (I was doing more research) I would come across stuff he had never mentioned...PB, sliming, golf ball, etc. He had no clue what I was talking about, so needless to say he has had a very good experience. He's off of one of his blood pressure medicines and expects to be off the other soon....and let me tell ya ladies he is lookin good!! :-) I've been happy with my progress too :-)

Hi Carrie, I'm so sorry to hear that you're in pain and that the doc is ignoring you. I hope you're feeling better soon and thank you for posting how you're feeling. I was recently banded by the same doctor that you're having problems with so I'll be very interested to follow what's going on and finding out what the problem is and of course to hear that you've found the problem and getting better. Take care,

I haven't been banded as long as you guys, but I've experienced something similar and was a really strange experience at first. My stomach growls so I know I'm hungry. I eat a small amount and know that I've had enough, but the lower part of my stomach is still growling! If I wait 20 minutes or so, my stomach stops growling...this learning process is fascinating!

Monday a.m.: 45 minutes elliptical Tuesday p.m.: 30 minutes Step Class Yes Telly, I quite the step class 30 minutes early. My stomach was feeling a little funny with all of the jumping around (I can't do anything "lightly") so I thought I'd better stop before I ripped a stitch!! There's another step class in the morning at 6am, so I'll see if I can go a little longer tomorrow.

I've been banded a little over two weeks and so far have had a great recovery. I've been sticking with the eating rules and am still in the liquids/cream Soups stage. So to my question...I have a strange nauseous feeling this morning and have had it since getting out of bed, but I also feel REALLY HUNGRY, so I'm wondering if the nausea may be connected to being hungry?? (Unfortunately I wasn't one of the lucky ones that aren't hungry after surgery and I've been hungry enough to eat a baby elephant since the third day after surgery....I've resisted, but have been getting progressively more hungry every day.)....Anyway enough of my whining :-) I've never experienced the combination of nausea and hunger before, but since everything with the band is new I wanted to see if anyone else had experienced this. Thanks! Lisa

Sunday am: 40 minutes on elliptical using Cardio Coach Sunday afternoon: 2.5 miles of hiking on a local mountain bike trail

Thanks for all the input! I've added a new weirdness over the last couple of days...I get dizzy/lightheaded if I bend over then stand up too fast. I planted some new flowers this weekend and almost took a header into the bed when I stood up! :omg: ...looking at the two together you guys are right about not getting enough calories. I'm terrified of snacking (sugary stuff between meals is my nemesis) so I've been having two Protein shakes a day and one bowl of Soup. I've been adding protein to my soups, so I think I'm getting enough protein, just not enough calories. Think I'll look into the sf/ff pudding today :-) Thanks for helping out!

Hi there Dawn, I've just been banded 2 weeks so am not making recipe again yet, but pre-band it is my very favorite quick breakfast. According to MasterCook, here is the nutrition info: Per Serving: 96 Calories; 3g Fat; 14g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 18mg Cholesterol; 588mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 Lean meat. Egg Muffins (makes 12) 3 3/4 cup Egg Beaters if using silicone muffin pans. If using regular muffin tins with paper liners use 3 cups egg beaters. 1-2 tsp. Spike Seasoning (or salt can be used) 1 cup grated low fat cheese (I like sharp cheddar or a blend of cheddar/Jack cheese) 1 cup diced Canadian bacon, lean ham, or crumbled cooked turkey sausage Optional, but highly recommended, 3 green onions diced small. Optional: chopped veggies such as blanched broccoli, red pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, etc. Preheat oven to 375 F. Use regular or silicone muffin pan, 12 muffin size. If using silicone pan, spray with nonstick spray. If using regular muffin pan, put two paper liners into each slot, then spray liner with nonstick spray. In the bottom of the muffin cups layer diced meat, if using, vegetables, if using, cheese and green onions. You want the muffin cups to be about 2/3 full at this point, with just enough room to pour a little Egg Beaters around the other ingredients. Pour Egg Beaters into large measuring bowl with pour spout, add Spike (or salt), and beat well. Pour egg into each muffin cup until it is 3/4 full. Stir each muffin slightly with a fork. Bake 25-35 minutes until muffins have risen and are slightly browned and set. Muffins will keep at least a week in the refrigerator without freezing. Egg muffins can be frozen and reheated. For best results, thaw in refrigerator before reheating. Microwave on high about 2 minutes to reheat.

From what I've read, just about ever doctor is different and sometimes the patients within the same doctor are different. I had to do two weeks of low carb, low fat but another lady who went to my same doctor had to do liquids for two weeks before her surgery.

Hi guys, I'm about 2 weeks post-surgery and have found a new smoothie that is DELICIOUS!! It tastes a lot like fruit-flavored frozen yogurt, but in a drink form...the only catch to this smoothie is that you have to have a really good blender to crush the ice and frozen fruit. I've had it both for Breakfast and as an afternoon snack when I was craving something sweet. 1 container (6 oz) ff/no sugar added fruit flavored yogurt (the Kroger brand is 60 calories and tastes really good) 1 scoop Any whey unflavored Protein (could also use any vanilla flavored protein) 1/2 cup frozen fruit (match the fruit to the yogurt) 3 ice cubes 1 packet sweetner (can be left out, but I prefer it a little sweet) Put it all in the blender blend until the ice and fruit are incorporated. Favorite combinations so far: strawberry yogurt - frozen strawberries (tastes like a strawberry milkshake) Blueberry yogurt - frozen blueberries (if you like blueberries this is awesome) Cherry yogurt - frozen cherries (this is is my favorite) Have fun with flavors! Lisa

Hi there everyone, I'm not banded yet (scheduled for 9/28), but I've read so many posts about bad tasting Protein drinks I thought I'd pass on what I discovered a couple of weeks ago. Buy unflavored whey protein (I use "Any Whey"). Make up a batch of any flavor of sugar free koolaid. Put 8 - 10 ounces of the koolaid in a blender, add one scoop of the unflavored Protein powder and a couple of ice cubes. Blend it till the ice is crushed. It tastes just like a fruit smoothie, is very high protein, and tastes good!! I also do the same thing with vanilla whey protein and sugar free koolaid and it makes it tastes even more like a Smoothie King Smoothie. Good luck! Lisa

Salmon Like your honey with chest hair or no chest hair??

Sorry to jump in here Mark, but since I also had 70# to lose, wanted to give my perspective. At my doctor's visit, he told me that he believes the starting BMI requirement of 35 is "arbitrary" and he believes that if personal history and family history indicate that the band is appropriate then he is 100% for performing the procedure (He was a cardiac surgeon for 20 years before switching to doing the band full-time. He wants to prevent heart problems rather than having to repair a life-time of damage) My aunt died at 45 of a heart attack (when she died, she weighed the same as me pre-band), my mom had a heart attack at 62, and all of my dad's side of the family are obese and/or diabetic. I've been on the heavy side all my life and while I've been a normal weight off and on it has never lasted. I just turned 45, have mild sleep apnea and have back and knee issues. I had surgery six days ago, pre-op and post-op have lost 16 pounds.....and I'm sooooooo sick of liquids!! :-) but regardless of the monotony of the phase that I'm in right now, I look forward to being one of the few in my family to dodge the bad health bullet. Sorry for the long response, but I'm passionate about this topic!!

Congratulations! Wishing you in and out of surgery in a flash and ready to take on world!! Just be prepared for all the new energy that you're gonna have....if you have a significant other, warn her before hand :-) I've only been banded six days and I can't sit still...instead of flopping on the couch every night, I've cleaned ever closet in sight...and the list of stuff to do around the house just keeps growing....and since I'm not supposed to lift anything heavy right now my poor husband is getting to come along for the ride!!

I'm sorry to hear that they were so mean!! I think they're just being parrots and repeating what they've heard Dr. Phil and Oprah say over and over and over....it's a shame that such famous people are so badly mis-informed.

Welcome Turmoil! I'm fairly new here as well (just banded on 9/28), but am finding the answers to a LOT of questions that I've had over the last couple of days.