Doer

It's a chat room. Once people start to get to know one another, they chat about whatever is on their collective "mind." Any time I'm there, regardless of what they're talking about, someone has been happy to answer questions and give me the benefit of their experiences. Give it a try!

Well I will be thinking of you today, and hoping that's not the case - I don't know what I'd DO if that were me. Whoa. Counting my lucky stars and keeping good thoughts for you.

Ok but here's a question for you: My first fill will be Monday ... do all doctors test somehow to see how filled you are? I'm curious - this first fill is four weeks after my surgery.

Is this normal? Surely it can't be. I am not gaining, but not losing either. Anyone else?? :smile2: I'm the exact same boat! Not losing, not gaining, constantly hungry just like before. My doctor swears this is totally normal, and who am I to doubt him!? He's done this surgery thousands of times. My first fill is Monday, I'll keep you posted on what happens to the hunger then!

...Until one day I woke up and tried to eat and COULD. That dreaded day really happened. I am working hard to manage, but am really looking forward to the fill. Good luck!

I asked my doctor the same types of questions and more when I saw him for the first time since my surgery. He said this is TYPICAL ... in fact, most people either stay the same or gain a little after the surgery but before the first fill. He reassured me that I'm doing nothing wrong, and that in a couple of weeks the real journey will begin. I'm not stressing over it anymore, and am on my way to my Weight Watcher meeting this morning same as any other Saturday. It is nice to know most of us are going through the same hunger!

1) What do you mean "slider foods?" 2) I'm not actually supposed to be doing anything but drinking liquids at this point - according to my doctor. That went out the window when the hunger came back on Christmas and I ate about 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes. I haven't been eating anything near normal capacity, and yes, I have been thinking about calories. But I thought that my stomach would have like a 2 ounce limit. Let me tell you, that's a myth in my case - and I wish it were not. Even my Protein shake, which I could never get down more than a few sips since surgery, is going down without a hitch. My stomach has definitely healed. My appointment is at 2 this afternoon. I know my doctor doesn't do fills until six weeks after surgery, so that won't be a possibility. But I had imagined the hunger would be far less. :thumbup:

Tomorrow is my first post surgery appointment with Dr. Tishler. I feel fantastic. A bit of shoulder pain which comes and goes, but no pain at all anywhere else. The disappointing thing is that on Christmas morning when I woke up, that knot I had in my stomach (which I guess felt like indigestion) was entirely gone and I could drink and experienced real hunger again for the first time in three weeks since beginning the liquid diet. I'm curious if this is how others feel, too. I'm actually NOT grateful to be hungry again. I ended up eating about a 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes at Christmas dinner and it went down fine - no problem. It's like my stomach is it's old self again. I'm relieved I have a doctor visit tomorrow so I can complain of my too good health! But honestly, I really was glad that hunger seemed to be over, and am sad that it's BACK. I got right back on liquids today, but again, that 2 ounce limit where I couldn't even think of swallowing another bite is all gone. Anyone else experiencing the same thing?

I thought it could also be from the lack of caffeine! I'm dying for a cup of coffee. I''ll live, though. I'm not in real pain, the shoulder is annoying but manageable, and the weird feeling in the top of my stomach I suppose means I haven't been sipping my liquids slowly enough. I'm working on that today! We've had more than 20 inches of snow, which is pretty exciting. Hope everyone is feeling well!

My surgery was Wednesday - I did it! All went pretty smoothly, although I became very nauseous after the yesterday morning and they wouldn't let me leave the hospital until my stomach had calmed down. I was a wimp when I got home, too, complained about the headache I've had for days (interesting to see others had it too, pre-op) and finally tried to get some sleep last night. Well today I'm pretty much back to normal. I little tired and sore, but nothing unbearable. I went out and did a little Christmas shopping, too. Now I'm home for some rest! Congratulations to everyone else coming up!!

Doer DID IT!! I am in my hospital room right now. I'm not in too much pain, the staff has been very attentive. Everyone here has been wonderful (Hartford Hospital). I am thrilled to be starting my journey. Good luck to the rest of you this week and this month!

It sure IS a long journey, and I have to tell you, the toughest thing was those first three or four days on the protein shakes. I couldn't sleep through the night - that's how much I was starving!! But guess what? I got through it and so will you!! Congratulations ... you're on your way there!

Tomorrow is my day - barring any nonsense from insurance. Remember, I had to switch surgeons last minute because mine left his practice? Well the transfer of insurance approval has not happened yet, and my surgery is tomorrow. I'm a little on edge about it, but haven't strayed from my pre-surgery diet regardless. I am so excited ... I'd be chomping at the bit except I haven't chewed anything besides my toothbrush in 12 days! ONE DAY MORE! (can you tell I'm a Les Miserables:redface: fan?)

I've been in the chat room and the etiquette was fine. It was a good place to talk about my upcoming (tomorrow) surgery with some who have already been there and some who haven't.

Omg of course it's worth it! Yes, it's worth it. It's most definitely worth it. Pete, you made me laugh about the broth, because I had come to the same conclusion myself: it must be that the salt in the broth is making me retain water. So I haven't had any broth in at least three days, I'm eating less than 800 calories a day and the weight is not falling off. The only thing I can attribute it to now is the fact that I have been a yo-yo dieter for the past 30 years (I'm 51) and my body is finally saying, "Ha! The joke is on YOU now!" I lost 130 pounds three times, 110 once and 90 last year. I'm a great dieter. But I did find last year the 90 was much harder to get off than in years past. I KNOW what it's like to be the thinnest woman at the party, to have all the eyes on me ... somehow I forget how good that feels and begin to medicate myself again with food. So we're both here (and probably a lot more of us, too!). What to do? Just keep doing what the doctors have told you. Drink the shakes. Follow the protocol. And don't get whigged out when they see you haven't lost a ton of weight - it's through no CURRENT problem of your own! Its our old baggage come to haunt us. I figure it this way... by the time I've gotten my band, lost some weight, and move around more again I will start showing better losses. And the truth is, when I'm not eating carefully, I never have losses. It's constant gain. So in these two weeks I could have easily gained 7 pounds! Probably true for you, too. I'm pumped and motivated. I remember how great it feels to be thin, and I've got big plans for next year. I want to go skiing again, I want to enjoy being in pictures, I want to go shopping and share clothes with my daughters again ... the list is endless. And I'm on the way - so are you! And the truth is, I already feel better just knowing that at this very moment I am controlling food, it is not controlling me!

We really are in it together - that's pretty exciting! And we got through another day. I just had some sugar free jello, although I can't really call that something to chew on! Sleep tight!

Thanks, Abby! I don't generally have unrealistic expectations, but eight days of chewing only my TONGUE have gotten to me!! I bet you're as excited for your surgery as I am. I'm a teacher, too, everybody, but I'm hoping to be back at school for two days before the holiday break - fingers crossed. My surgery was supposed to be later, also, but my doctor had some kind of drama with his practice and left it - he couldn't do the surgery and we scuttled to find another doctor in a hurray. The new guy comes highly recommended, so no worries there.

Whew - thanks! I just drank my "breakfast" and needed a pick me up!

That's great news - glad you're doing so well. That's pretty much what I expect for me; I usually adapt pretty well and when my gallbladder was removed I was up and out within two days. Hope to hear more good news from everyone!

Thanks!! I will be busy today visiting a friend in NY with very serious cancer - that will certainly put the focus on something bigger than me - oops, I didn't even mean to be punny! I'm going to buy some liquid Protein stuff for the few clear days before Wednesday, too. I'm sure everyone here has gone through some version of what I'm feeling; I've dieted a million times and be so very successful, only to eventually gain most of it (and sometimes all of it) back again. I want so much to believe that this time I'll be able to sustain it. Not for a year or two, but until I'm a skinny old lady. I so desperately want to do all the fun things I've been avoiding in my fat skin! I think in the final minutes, I'm afraid to believe because, like my nickname says, I'm a Doer, not a Hoper. Ok, enough!

My surgery is Wednesday the 16th, and I'm a little more anxious than I had thought I would be. I went for a pre-op physical yesterday, as required by my hospital, and in the 8 days that I've eaten nothing but Optifast shakes, I have somehow lost only 5 pounds. I'm disappointed - I know how stupid that is, but I am. I had this idea that I'd take off like 10 or 15 pounds in the two weeks before surgery, and I've done everything I have committed to do, but only lost five (with four days to go). I guess the older we get the harder it is to just starve it off, but this is the least successful I've ever been on a diet. Hell, I've done far better every time on my first week of Weight Watchers (the twenty times I've had a first week!). I haven't put as much as a fingernail of solid food into my mouth. I just don't get it! Ok, enough complaining. The good news is I am finally able to sleep most of the night with my stomach on empty. I think that was the hardest thing about the shakes! Congratulations to everyone. I can't wait for my turn Wednesday.