BJean

SherryA: You already have an appointment! I'm envious. At least you now have a date to look forward to. I have to go back in 2 weeks to meet with the Dietician. I'm sure the whip will come out. I'm actually doing better today with the hunger thing than the past couple of days. I'm working much harder at getting more protein. How are you feeling? How about the hunger thing for you?

FYI and FWIW.. my doc showed me medical photos of a cross section of an esophogus before LB, after LB, and what a normal esophogus should look like after a year of being banded, and what one looks like after someone who decides to bypass the issue of not being able to eat as much. In the last picture, the esophogus is all misshapen and stretched out. He explained that food is sometimes held in the esophogus waiting for it to slowly move down past the band into the stomach. Over time, a person who overeats and stuffs food on top of food just above the Band, can get used to that feeling of fullness mistaking it for being a good thing. They keep over filling that area just above the band. Then the esophogus starts becoming very irritated and things can happen like slime production, coughing, hernias, etc. Sometimes they have to go in and remove some of the abused esophogus. When you run out of healthy esophogus, no more banding, and probably lots of spit ups and other side effects will follow. Put the fear in me, that's for sure. I wish everyone could see the picture. It sure makes a believer of you. Another bit of info he shared yesterday was that he can't do any restriction (told him I was hungry) until all of the swelling from surgery has happened - usually 6 weeks. If done before the swelling has gone down and healing has happened, the restriction can do all of the negative things we've heard about here - PBs, sliming, vomiting, etc. And he said that then you get into the extremely serious situation where your band will slip and eventually have to be removed. :faint: I hope I'm not repeating stuff that's already been said here. But he sure helped me to understand why they insist on the post-op diet and waiting for healing before any restriction.

Ahhh. Now I get it... NOT!

First attempt at ticker using Photonut's directions

Hi Tracicat! Welcome aboard. I was banded on 9/11. My story is so similar to everyone else's - although I did spend the night and took all the pain and anti-nausea meds they offered. The shoulder pain and bloating were the worst issues for me. When I walked and lifted my arms up and down, it definitely gave me relief from the shoulder pain - which, by the way intensified when I ate or drank anything. On my post-op diet list they had recommended Liquid Tylenol and chewable Vitamins. I couldn't gag either down! I now have gummi vitamins and they are no problem at all. And today after reading all about it here, I bought Tylenol meltaways (for youngin's) I don't know if there is an adult form, but my store only had stuff for kids. Haven't tried them yet. Whhich takes us to the part where I had read so many accounts of the liquid pain reliever that the doc prescribed being an "horrible" experience, I didn't use ANY. I toughed it out and right now, I'm glad I did. My surgery was on Monday - by the following Sunday nite, I was almost a new woman. The pain in my shoulder and back subsided, the bloating wasn't as bad, and I was able to sleep pretty much however I wanted - with attending pillows here and there. My biggest help aide was an IPOD with Mozart music everytime I tried to sleep, even in the hospital. It got to the point where I fell asleep at the sound of the first strands of that clarinet. Sounds silly to some of you, I'm sure, but I read about it and there are studies to support the claim of faster healing! Good luck to all of you who are joining LapBandLand soon - the painful part is only really about a week and it turns out that we all seem to be able to handle it - reading about it here sure helps!!

KarenK: I didn't have a tremendous amount of acid reflux, but had a hiatal hernia repair with the LB (9/11) and I am still a little gravelly voiced. But my hernia is already feeling much better! Will they be doing any repairs like that for you? I'll bet you're going to be really glad you had the surgery if it takes care of your acid reflux! Good luck!!

No offense intended to innocent bystanders! Ignore anything you don't want to read here, okay? If I'm dealt a blow in an open forum, and my name is used in someone else's posts to a third party, it's pretty likely I'm gonna want it solved here. Why wouldn't the rest of you want it cleared up for all to see? I never in a million years thought I would be targeted and I hope those of you who are wanting it to be overwith (that includes me, by the way), are never targeted. It will be over when no one mentions it again, okay?

Yep, that was me talking. Goes to show a person how much they can learn over just a few days at this site. Thank goodness. I am now enlightened.

Are you kidding Bettina? Because surely you're trying to be funny. You're good, girl!

bremdab: I was banded on the 11th. I started feeling better yesterday. So perhaps tomorrow you will enjoy some relief from the bloating, etc. I've had a little shoulder pain today, but nothing like in the past week. Good luck kicking the blow up routine!

Spike: Why did you have staples, just a different medical approach? I've had them before, years ago, and I don't remember them being too awful. I am in complete agreement with you on the artificially enhanced foods!! Brain cancer and other stuff - not all good. I want to eat real, natural food. I'm hoping all this relying on artificial stuff will cease and we can make our goals just learning how to eat good food. Good luck!

MCW I didn't mean to put some guilt trip on you - I was planning to leave because of the interaction I had with Bettina. Your comments just helped to convince me that things had gotten as out of hand as I thought they had. Life will certainly go on very well without me here! I talk to much - yep, I admit it. I don't know the meaning of the word concise. Oops, here I go again. Best of everything to you. I understand that you had the best intentions. BJ

MCW prior to this I really enjoyed your posts and identified with your progress and comments. I will only say one more thing on this tired topic and that is, I never intended to come off as thinking I'm superior here. I honestly don't believe you read completely what all was said prior to my becoming so vocal about it. I was personally misquoted and used in a post, and I didn't like it one bit. I may be short, but I can get rabid when I think someone is doing me or someone else wrong. I understand that you thought she was the underdog, but to me, she was the aggressor. Then it shockingly turned into me being the aggressor. (At least in your eyes.) I think my fun here has ended. There is another site with similar information that is more friendly. I cannot even fathom that I have participated in this unbecoming diatribe. Silly me! BJ

Like I said. If this helps to clear the air on some topics, it's a good thing. That's why it came up in the first place. Not for making anyone feel threatened or embarrassed, but to fix some stuff. If you mean by what you said, that I'm the culprit, dude, I don't have a problem with that. Jump in with both feet. I did, and I'm glad I did. Even though YOU don't name names, I totally understand. I tried my darndest to never name names. If I had wanted to do that, I would have addressed her directly, in private. But alas, like you said those who feel "threatened" jump in first. Interesting reference, by the way. As for the not-so-sweet "Queen" remark - I'm surprised that you noticed. I am indeed Queen. Not of the LTF, but of my realm. Hope you are of yours too. Nice chattin' with you, Miss Good Humor.

McW - Don't know whom you were jumping on, but you must not have read back quite far enough. No one was "jumping on" Bettina. On a couple issues or topics, there were some of us who had differing opinions and experiences and were concerned that those would be ignored because Bettina was making herself out to be an "expert authority" on those topics by repeatedly stating her qualifications. If a reader thinks someone is an "expert", why read any further or consider a different source of information? When I said something to Bettina about it, she became very defensive and acted wounded. No one ever, to my knowledge, has had a problem with anyone speaking their mind here. But we should ALL be able to do it with impunity, not just ones with whom you may agree. Furthermore, if you have information and experiences that don't jibe with someone who is sharing information contrary to yours, why can't you talk about it without everybody getting all het up? So attack on, if you must, but if any of this has served to make people aware that all posts should enjoy the same credibility here, then it has been a good thing.

SherryA: Uh duh, I'm a tad shorter - 5'1.5" It also hit me why my waistband and yours relate so differently to our port sites. You're probably wearing cute low-slung hot jeans. I'm wearing elasticized stretchies - very attractive. A notch below sweats in fact. But one day!!!! I did discover a bit of a lump at the port site, but nothing orange sized. Oh yea! I may get rid of the steri-strips tomorrow when I go for my first appt. Woo-hoo! want2lose: funny you referenced pickles. I actually dreamed I was sucking on a nice big fat huge pickle like we used to see in large glass containers at the deli. Which is peculiar because I have never eaten one and don't like pickles. Think it was some kind of subconscious yearning for something salty instead of all this artificially sweetened Jello, puddings, popsicles, etc.?

SherryA: I agree with you that this has been a very helpful thread! BTW (I think that means by the way) I started off quite a bit lower than you so that's why I was able to get below 200 first. I am probably much shorter than you too. That's a very good way to set an interim goal. For your birthday, like a reward - not a deprivation! Smart! Keep up the good work. BJ

SherryA: Wow! You're REALLY doing well. You're an inspiration here, big time! I haven't quite lost 10 since surgery, but I actually am no longer in the twos!!! My port area is tender too. It seems to be situated right where the waistband of my pants hits. I keep hoisting them up and walking around with high pockets. lol I appreciate your encouragement! Let's stick together and git 'er done!Thanks. BJ

Miss Vicki: For what it's worth, I've been the hostess with the mostess almost all of my adult life too. Everyone loves to come to my house for dinner. I've always enjoyed the rave reviews - it is a very large part of who I am. I love to eat and give good party more than I love to do anything else. But what I realized is that I am going to die an early death and in my coffin, I am going to be one big, fat, unattractive mamma. No one will be surprised at my early death, either. It will be something everyone will be saddened by, but what can you do? "She loved to eat" could be inscribed on my tombstone. What a legacy! I figured out what I can do. I can change it. I am positively the only one who can change it. The question has been, do I want to change it? I have battled back and forth with myself for a very long time over this delimma. I thought that if I gave up the way I loved to cook and eat, life just wouldn't be worth living anyway. So what the heck? I thought I was pretty happy, so what if I am much bigger than I should be? This unhealthy, self-absorbed lifestyle I lead is actually NOT making me happy. I've been on anti-depressants for a while and as my head is being cleared by them, I've come to realize that not only am I not happy being MO, I am withdrawn, lonely and really don't like myself much - in spite of years of telling myself what a sparkling, fun, witty, fabulous cook and entertainer I am. In spite of telling myself that everyone loves to be around me, even if I am fat. I realize now that I don't respect myself for secretive binge eating. I don't respect myself for not getting out of the house and exercising. I don't respect myself for choosing to self-distruct. I don't respect myself for choosing a certain death over spending more time with my DH and family. I don't respect myself for having such a disgusting appearance, and thinking that other people are rude for not respecting me. The Lap Band was a huge decision for me. Any elective surgery is HUGE! And to have a prosthesis in the core of my being, for the rest of my life, simply as a tool to remind me to stop eating, is HUGE! So when I went into this, I didn't choose it because people were disgusted by me, or because my DH or children were disgusted by the enormous portions I ate, or because of anything anyone else thinks of me. I did it because I was disgusted. I am the one who has to wear the thing. I am the one who has to eat like I'm supposed to since being banded. I am the only one who can decide this for myself. And I decided to like me again, respect me again and care enough about myself to get back with the living... not the dying. I have no reason to believe it will be easy in any way. I don't deserve for it to be easy. I embrace that it will be a struggle because I want it to make me stronger. And I REALLY, REALLY want to care about and respect myself again.

Larry- good goin' with the pre-op tests! You've already lost 7 lbs! That's great. It will make things easier for your doc (and you). I'm one week out from getting the band and I am pretty much a new woman this morning. So just think - once you get banded, you may have a week of some discomfort (or maybe even not) and then you'll be on your journey into bandland and good health! Woo-hoo!! Go Larry, go Larry, go Larry!

Hopeworks: I was told that we still have a lot of swelling from the surgery. Plus anything I eat or drink causes bloating, which not only causes fairly major discomfort for me, but also makes me feel incredibly full. I've been completely shocked too, at how little I can or want to eat. Don't know if you're eating too fast, but one day I gulped some water like I did pre-surgery, and it was a little scary for awhile! Your description of the taste of Pro-Stat 54 totally cracked me up! Sure made me want to get my hands on some! My heart goes out to you! Don't know about the creamer. My doc said no coffee and since I'd already been through sugar and caffeine withdrawal, I haven't tried it. Would a little skim milk work?

Cory: It has been 1 week today since being banded and I actually was able to sleep on my tummy and side last night! Good luck!

Mary - I LOVE the Margaret Thatcher quote!

Hey guys, up until now this has been a Fantastic forum for me. Obviously I got carried away last evening. I am truly a wonderful, caring, perfect person. And what me, cranky??? No way. At least LESS cranky this morning. I finally feel pretty good and last night slept a little on my tummy - true MILESTONE! Untill you've been through the surgery, you might not appreciate how great that feels. Before someone opened up this thread for September bandsters, there seemed to be an awful lot of postings from people with problems after their surgeries. It looks like all of us September bandsters are really doing great! It doesn't hurt to have all of the support we have here. Cranky or whatever, thanks youse guys! :clap2: BJ

Mary: Years ago I paid big money to go to a specialist evert week for check ups while I was on Optifast. I would always leave there, loss or not, and buy a large chicken sandwich meal at Wendi's. The rest of the week, I only cheated with smaller things. The past few months before the pre-op LB diet, every time I drove through Chick-Fil-A, I ordered not only the largest number of chicken strips you can get, I also ordered the largest number of nuggets you can get. For a while I thought the clerk was giving me the benefit of the doubt with her look. But after a while, she started sneering when she took my money. It got to be so embarrassing that I would drive all the way across town to avoid her. It only took me about an extra 45 minutes! It was the same way with the Starbucks drive through. And as for the evidence, if I had to pick up my daughter or husband, I would find a road less traveled and dump the trash, hoping no one was watching. I knew how creepy it was and that made me feel almost as bad as the overeating did. You are not alone!