Amaris

Sorry to post this here, but I can't find the information I need nor can I get to the correct forum. I'm not loving the new site! A friend of mine just told me that my personal picture is showing up next to my posts instead of the profile picture that I uploaded. I'd rather not show my personal pic as I've not told very many people about my surgery. I can't find where to change this. Any help would be much appreciated! I can't even find where LBT got this picture from!

Thanks so much! I'm happier now!

I don't care for the Isopure RTDs, but love the Cytomax ones. I ordered a case of them from Amazon.

Everyone probably has different answers to this. I'm only 12 days post-op, so I can't really speak about living with the band. But for the actual surgery, the hardest part for me was the pressure in the center of my chest for a few days. In fact, I had to sleep the first night sitting up, it hurt so badly -- and that was only for five or six hours. After that, I was able to go back to bed. Then there's the time affectionately referred to as "Bandster Hell". Now that the swelling has gone down where the doc placed the band, I occasionally get hungry enough to eat the way I did before surgery, but what I can actually have is very limited (still on full liquids until Thursday). It's pretty frustrating to have gone through all I did to get to this point, and still be able to eat like I did before. But even that's not too bad yet, unless I let myself get too hungry or don't get my Protein in. It's also been difficult to remember that there's no drinking with meals, or for 45 minutes afterward. Some days -- some meals -- are better than others, but I forget at least once a day. As soon as I remember, I remove my drink and follow the rules. I assume this will get easier as I develop a new habit. Someone with more experience may have other things to talk about, buy that's where I'm at. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

I get to start mushies on Thursday -- and I'm very excited! Soft foods two weeks after that. I'm gonna be pretty pissed off if I've gained any weight, because I'm keeping it below 1,000 calories most days. I know this time is about healing and not about weight loss, but still ... I like your walking plan! Hubby and I walk a little bit each day; I'm hoping to increase the time gradually until we're walking for at least half an hour. We also are aiming to get to the gym daily.

Good for you for getting in your protein! I get in about 90 grams a day and I feel pretty good most of the time. We are out of town for the day, so probably won't make all my protein today. Which means I'll probably be hungry later on! I can always drive through KFC and pick up some mashed potatoes, though. Hubby and I are walking just about every day. It does feel good to be out and about, doesn't it? My first fill is scheduled for 30 September, so I still have a ways to go! Hopefully, it won't be too bad!

Kelly, are you getting your Protein in? I was banded on the third, also, and as long as I get my protein in, I'm doing okay. Sure, I can eat more than I could when I came home from the hospital, but nothing compared to how I was eating before the surgery. Good luck and hang in there!

I had the sore neck and throat thing too. It's from being intubated, I'm pretty sure. That was the last surgery pain/discomfort to go away for me.

My doc is very conservative, but his numbers are way better than the national averages for complications, etc., so I guess that's a good thing!

Week Five!!! I have two weeks of full liquids, two weeks of mushies, then at the beginning of week five I can add soft solids, and continue from there.

Sorry to hear that your surgeon's office is being less than professional with you. I, too, had to pay a certain amount up front because my surgeon's practice is not in-network with my insurance, but it was all handled very professionally and I knew it right up front. In fact, when I paid a few week's before my surgery, the receptionist said, "Oh, hon, you don't have to pay until your pre-op appointment." Are you going to a different clinic for your fills? Just wondering, since you implied that you won't be dealing with them after surgery... Good luck to you! I hope all goes well!

I lost 8.8 pounds in the first week after surgery, to bring my total up to 29.4 since I started the pre-op diet on 13 July. The most impressive part to me is that I've been able to drastically reduce my diabetes meds in this short time. I've gone from 5 pills a day and 24 units of insulin to 2 pills a day and nine units of insulin; I expect to completely eliminate those meds, too, as time goes on. Good luck to you! It will be here before you know it!

Personally, I didn't have any problems breathing afterwards, but I just wanted to reassure you that several other people have reported that same thing, so it seems to be normal. I did have a heaviness in my chest that lasted for days. It hurt when I hiccuped. Congrats to you! You've made it!

I'm using Centrum Chewables and Viactiv Calcium chews. Both are okay, but I don't like giving up 65 calories a day to supplements! Not to mention the 15 calories per serving of the fiber I'm supposed to be taking -- three times a day! That's 110 calories that I'm not really eating each day! BOO!

Nope, not a bit for me. The only way I even know where my port is, is that one of the incisions is much larger than the others and the nurse told me it was my port incision. I hope that pain clears up for you soon!

I don't love hospitals, either, and I originally wished my doctor let me go, but I ended up being so glad that I had to stay overnight. The rest was wonderful, and I got more walking in that I would have if I had been at home. Also, I ended up needing to sleep sitting up the first night, and the hospital recliner was much more comfortable than any at-home option would have been for me. I had to have an Barium Swallow the next morning just to make sure everything was placed right; I left the hospital at about 1:30 PM.

AmberK – I am counting calories, but it’s more from an informational standpoint, than a control standpoint. I had long given up dieting before the surgery, so had forgotten most of what I knew about the amount of calories foods contain. I’m not really censoring what I eat, just keeping tabs on it. No judgments, no beating myself up. I am counting my protein, religiously, and managing to get in over 90 grams of it a day. I think you’re right – this time is more about healing than it is about weight loss, at least that’s what my RD said. Congrats on your loss! You’re doing great. I still have to lose about 15-20 more pounds before people will start to notice, although I can already fit into jeans I haven’t been able to wear in several months! jennay5180 – It was almost a week after surgery before I felt really hungry. And if I eat on some kind of reasonable schedule, I’m not really getting hungry most days. I’m torn between eating regularly (as recommended by my doctor’s staff and most nutritional experts) and not eating when I’m not hungry – Isn’t that how I got to be this size??? I’m looking forward to mushies, too, but not to pureed food! I’m not going to be able to just puree my regular food. I think I’ll just stick to reasonably soft food mushed with a fork. Lap2Fab – I did experience the same thing my first few days. I only ate because I knew I needed the nutrition; I was not hungry at all. Now, 10 days out, I’m getting a bit hungry, but not terribly. The couple of times I got too hungry, I made some poor food choices. Luckily, everything went down okay and I suffered no lasting effects from eating off my plan. If you’ve gained weight, it is most likely fluids and gas, and yes, you should see a big loss when your body regains it’s natural balance. How much are you walking? Because that made all the difference in the world to me and my gas issue. Good luck to everyone -- recently banded and soon to be banded!

I live in Silver Lakes (Helendale), off the 66 between Barstow and Victorville. Where did you live?

I'm just writing on loose leaf paper until I can get a notebook to use a journal. I live in kind of remote area, so no just running to the store for me! Congrats on everything you are keeping track of. You're sure to shine!

Is the Apple Valley office connected with 1-800-Get-Thin or are they different people?

Congratulations! So glad things went well for you! Best of luck as you embark on the rest of your journey!

Right at 20 pounds -- maybe a little over. I started the pre-op diet on 13 July and my surgery date was 03 August. And I cheated three times; one time involved several cookies, so it was pretty bad!

I'm ten days out, and I still have trouble drinking a full Protein shake. What I've started doing is only mixing them half strength (Half the liquid, half the powder) and drinking them more often throughout the day. That's helping me a lot!

What is the link to your blog? My blog is listed in my signature.

Good to hear that you are really ready -- I think that will make a big difference in your recovery. Interesting that you don't have a pre-op diet! At the time, I wished I didn't, but now I can see how much good it did me, in preparing me for what was to come. Good luck to you, RiahRiah, and everyone else that is to be banded soon. The other side is great!