LollyMoe

The vaccine for shingles is for people over 65, it cost $195.00 at your doctor's office and medicare WILL NOT pay for it. However, some of the chain drug stores are giving it. You have to get a prescription from your doctor, take it to the drug store and they will give you the shot. Medicare will pay for this method! Go figure.

I was able to do the same thing. My doctor told me that I didn't have anything in my band yet but that everyone's anatomy is different. Therefore some people feel restriction right away and others do not, especially while still swollen from the surgery. I wasn't allowed anything but liquids (no crispbread) and everything went down fine. Good luck on your journey and if you have any other questions, just ask. There's always someone that will help.

My goodness, you are just out of surgery so to speak and of course you feel bad. You didn't get the kind of support you should have had from your surgeon or the dietican. I bet the d/c nurse didn't even go over your instructions for home care either or you would know what to do. I didn't have a lot of pain except for gas. I used Gas-X and walked a lot. My doctor recommended liquid Tylenol or liquid Lortab for pain and Phenergan for nausea. I haven't used either yet. The walking helped me the most. As for food. I was on a clear liquid for two days after surgery, full liquids for five days, and soft diet for 10 days. I was able to go on full food on the 15th day after I started the soft diet. I am seven weeks out and have lost 30.4 lbs. I had my first fill of 4cc on the 23rd. I am suppose to get in 40-60 gms of Protein, no more than 5 fat gms or 15gms of carbs. It took a lot of determination on my part to stay on program, especially when the swelling went down, but I am determined to be a winner in this journey. I refuse to be a slave to food any longer! You can do this....just give yourself time to heal. Drink your Protein shakes, Water, and whatever else your doctor said you could have.Don't give up.

I haven't anything take that long to go down but it did go down eventually. Have you tried drinking something hot, like tea or cocoa?

My dietian said that I could take no more than three small sips while eating. I don't do it all the time but when eating out, I do sometimes take the small sip or two. I have to admit that this has been very hard for me to get use too. Some foods are just more dry than others.

Busdriver: I joined the Gadsden one-$46 a month for a senior couple. I am going to try to go at least twice a week in the beginning. Maybe more as my legs improve. I will never be a exercise nut!

The leader of our support group works very close with my physician. She had bypass a few years ago and she tells about it but makes it clear that we are there to talk about lap-band.(I think these surgeons at this hospital has just about quit doing bypass. & are doing the band mostly.) She had scheduled a recontruction body surgeon to talk about taking off the loose skin. They have clothes exchanges. She offers samples of different flavored shakes, recipes. For the first 30 minutes, our meeting is only for post-op people and then she lets in the pre-op people. Hope this helps.

So sorry to hear about your mom. I do hope she recovers well from this and will realize she has been given a wake-up call. I didn't go into this b/c of my self image. I went b/c my PCP told me I wouldn't see age 70 if I do not do something soon. My obseity had finally caught up with me. I was always a happy fat person, felt no limitations, worked 14-16 shifts, and wasn't taking a lot of meds. I had to had a knee replacement due to a work related injury and my health made a huge turn in the wrong direction. In two years time, I went from 2 pills a day to 17 a day, COPD, a "flutter" in my cartoid artery, huge trouble with my legs, respiratory failure from asthma. Now, I'm on the track of getting better health and the weight loss will just be a side effect.

Hang in there. Don't limit yourself on your meds and try to talk with a psych doc when you need too. Worry about the WHOLE YOU. I hope things get better for you very soon.

First of all, try not to think about food too much. Put your mind set on less food and more weight loss. The more you think about food the more you will want it. Train your brain for weight loss. Walking is the best thing for the gas. Also helps to use the Gas-X strips or gel capsules. I don't know about your coffee as I can't stand the stuff but I do know that I can't stand cheese anymore. I use to love it too! My friend that was banded at Easter says for me to wait until the "cravings" start. She explained that all summer, she craved cherries and is now on to jalapeno peppers...both are something she had never eaten in her life. Don't know if this is true for everyone. Good luck on your journey.

I feel for you. Been there and am still worried that it will happen right in church one day! Gas-X helps me too. It's the burping I still get that bothers me the most. It will come w/o warning. Thank goodness it is a regular burp and not a PB.

Call your doctor at once! Don't let this just go by thinking you can doctor it.

Hey Everyone: Today is weigh day for me and I'm down 30.4 pounds in seven weeks! I've never lost this much weight in such a short period of time. I joined the YMCA yesterday and plan to take some of the water exercise classes and maybe work on some of the machines. My orthopedic physician won't let me on a treadmill but there are others I can use. I am a happy camper today!!! I have a good simple recipe that one of my church ladies gave me and it's delicious. You might like to try it. Microwave Quick Chicken: Put a whole chicken in a pyrex dish, sprinkle lemon pepper on it. Add paparika all over chicken and cover dish with Saran Wrap. Make sure it's tight. Microwave it for 30 minutes. Very tender and moist. Tonight I am going to try this with just chicken breasts. Don't see why it wouldn't work both ways. Let me know if you try it.

This is answered prayer. I didn't know you but I have been praying that everything would go well for you. Thank goodness for a good team. Shawna is my angel too. When I am worried I can ask her anything and she always has a cheerful helpful answer. My anxiety about everything is so much better now since I went to support group. I am doing fine on my journey and hope it continues. Everyone is so helpful and I appreciate that so much. I am so happy that you are back on track!

chicken Recipe: (It's great) Put a whole chicken in a pyrex dish, sprinkle with lemon pepper and use a lot of paparika over it. Cover the dish with Saran wrap and microwave it for 30 minutes. The chicken is moist and very tender. Almost like rotriessee chicken. Please excuse poor spelling.

I don't have the problem and your problem is probably not related to the band. By all means talk with your PCP about your anxiety. There are anti-anxiety meds that will help you. Trazadone is one I am very familiar with and it works well. I am a retired psych nurse and we used it a lot with patients with anxiety disorders. Good luck and let us know how you are doing. You need to get this under control so you can deal with your band/weight loss/better health.

That's great. Food is nice. I still use my shakes in the morning as I can't stand food too early. I haven't done sour cream or butter on my potato yet but I did buy some low-fat sour cream and Promise, so soon I'll enjoy too.

Pain and more pain is what you feel with a stone until it passes. However, I have been told at support group that a lot of banders have gall bladder problems after being banded and the gall bladder can throw out pain/symptoms all over the body. When I had mine out, it felt like a heart attack with one episode but the next one felt like severe muscle cramp in my back. Go figure! Anyway, call your physician and talk with him about it.

That is fantastic!

My surgeon had me call my PCP b/c of "flu like" symptoms right after surgery. He said the band had not time to heal and he didn't want me coughing a lot. My PCP sent me some meds and in a few days I was much better. I would assume that if your band is healed, that coughing wouldn't hurt it but it's always safer to call your surgeon. Better to be safe than sorry. I do hope you begin to feel better soon. It's a bummer to get sick this early in the cold/flu season.

I was banded 8/11 and to date have lost 30.4 pounds. It's slowed down but each week I've lost something and that's what counts in my book. I haven't been able to exercise very much due to some legs problems and the doctor wants me to wait until I've lost some more weight before tackling the walking. However, I joined the YMCA yesterday and plan to take a lot of Water exercise classes. Every little bit will help. I'm not having any problems with hunger per se but I am still using the occassional Protein shake and that holds me between meals. It's going to be a long journey but it's a journey to better health for me and I am looking forward to getting off most if not all of my B/P meds & C-pap machine. The weight loss is just a side effect of getting to better health. Good luck everyone.

Thanks for posting pictures of trike. Interesting! How expensive is it, if you don't mind my asking?

Congrats! I can't wait until I change sizes...whatever they are. Thanks for recipe too.

I am fairly new to being a bander but I wouldn't trade it for the bypass for any reason. The band is reversible, you can have a baby and/or cancer treatments with the band. With the bypass you have to have B-12 injections and take B-6 for the rest of your life. Losing weight very fast is not good for your skin or your metabolism. You didn't put the weight on that fast....so why would you think you should take it off fast. I have three friends in Louisiana that had it done. We all went to the same seminar back in 2000. I decided not to go that route. I was afraid of it and still am. One of my friends lost 274 pounds in a short period of time. She now has gained it all back and more. Another friend wound up in ICU and spent months in pain & suffering from infection. The third friend is doing fairly well but looks like a bag of bones. ALL of them wish they had never done it! I have another friend that has her band taken out. She says she was a happy fat person and intends to stay fat. I hope she lives a long time but I doubt it since she is beginning to have some serious problems. Please re-think the reasons you did all of this in the first place. Talk with your doctor, get something for the depression, and start over with a fresh attitude. It's hard work losing weight...but it can be done. There is no magic wand.

Great. I love my band too and I'm a fairly new bander.