KIKOman

Hey Kristy! Glad your feeling normal already. Yeah, when you add regular foods into your system, do it slowly. Your body will be thankful.

Congrats on the 27 pound weight loss! You''re doing great. I myself lost 46 lbs so far.

I have been adjusting these past two weeks since I got my first fill. I have been changing my meal sked, and my drinking habits. I wrote all about this in my blog in this site, so check it out. =)

You're doing great. Just go on with your liquid diet. You'll be in the mushies stage in no time. =)

I just had my first adjustment this morning (under a fluoroscope/xray). My doctor injected some local anesthesia, and then he pulled out a loooong needle! Man, I was scared at first, but the pain was not that bad. He put 3cc initially, and I will need to come back after 2 weeks for a follow-up.

By the way, 35 pounds lost already. So I am averaging 5-8 pounds a week, which he said is normal for a guy my size (started at 471lbs). He said we tend to lose way faster than others.

For soups, he said I can have as much as I want....even during snacks. But my protein shakes should be limited 2x or 3x a day, during meals. As for the mushies, he did not give me detailed amounts on how much I can consume, but I always limit it to 1 cup. I don't get to finish the 1 cup though, because I get full quite fast already.

WOW! 21 pounds! That's great! Glad you are doing well.

I am now on day 13, and I am going to get my first adjustment/fill tomorrow morning. I'm still on semi solids (my fave is saucy spaghetti and mashed potatoes), but I will be allowed to eat solids starting tomorrow, the day of my adjustment. =) By the way, I am 30 lbs down =)

hey kristy...how are you doing? hope you are recovering well...

"I looked at your photos...just beautiful! I love photography. i am hoping to enroll at the local colleges photography program in the fall."

---- Thanks! Photography has been a big help in my lapband journey. It helps me get my mind off food, and I also use it to document every step of my journey.

I am doing well. No more gas pains and shoulder pains, but my problem now is that my biggest incision (where the port is) is now purple all around. I think there's hematoma under the skin. My doctor just gave me additional meds for this, but if it doesnt work, he would need to take out the blood using a syringe. (youch!) I will know by tomorrow.

Nice to hear from you Kristy. Congrats, you are a bandster! Don't worry about the soreness, it will go away soon. No driving until next friday? Wow. I guess different doctors have different ways of handling patients post-op. My doctor encouraged me to drive and go back to work 48 hours after the operation. Anyway, don't worry. You'll be up and about in no time.

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But guess what, I was back to work 48 hours after my surgery, and I was actually able to drive by myself!! I Just made sure that I was not lightheaded/dizzy anymore. There's still that feeling that something is going on inside your belly, but no pain anymore. I was really surprised at how fast the recovery is. I'm sure it will be as easy with you. good luck!!

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After the operation, i am not hungry at all. And that's considering I was not allowed to eat 12 hours before and 24 hours after the surgery. But I was reallllly thirsty! My lips were really dry, and my saliva tasted like ewww (sorry for the description...).....But I was allowed Ice cubes just to wet my lips.........

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Then I feel that pain in my shoulders/neck...like a really bad stiff neck. I just realized that the pain relievers were being given to me through my IV. That's why I felt that pain after I was discharged. My doc gave me some meds to ease the pain, so everything was ok. .................

When I woke up at the recovery room, I didn't feel any pain at all. It was just discomfort --- like you are bloated/full of air. I was able to walk around my room a few hours after that. But when I was discharged a day after, that was when I started feeling the pain. It was like really bad muscle pain - like you just got out of a very intense workout. ....................

Good luck on your surgery! I'm sure everything will go well. I'm now back to work, so Im sure your recovery will be as fast. Congrats in advance! =)

Hi Kristy! I am now a bandster! Got banded this morning. You can read my blog here in Lapbandtalk, I wrote my experience today there.

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I will be staying another night just so my doctor can monitor my recovery. I can go home around noon time the next day.

Talk to you after the surgery! =)

--- KIKO

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Asked my doctor what my schedule will be tomorrow. Here's what he told me:

6:30 - Doctors will take me to surgery room for pre-op preparations

8:00 - Exact Start of surgery

9:00 - Surgery done, gonna be transferred to recovery room

11:00~12:00 - Back in hospital room

2:00 - I should be walking around the room. He said, If I can sit down, much better.

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Hi Kristy... going to the hospital in a few hours for my scheduled surgery tomorrow morning at 7am (manila time). I will be staying 2 nights there. I will definitely keep you posted as soon as i can after the surgery.

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And by the way, congrats on the weight loss! =)

Here was what my doctor told me about my meals post-op:

Day 1-4: Clear liquids / Shakes

Day 5-7: Thicker Soups / Mushies / Shakes

Day 8-14: Add solids slowly. I can eat noodles/spaghetti/tiny pieces of meat at this point.

Day 15: First Fill

The type of shake my doctor recommended was GLUCERNA. IT is really for diabetics,but he said I can take it even if I'm not diabetic. This is where I am enjoying, since I get to mix different stuff for my shakes.

Just got back from the hospital for a series of appointments with the Cardiologist, Endocrinologist, and the Psychiatrist. I was required to get clearances from them. The Cardio and Endo appointments were quick (since I passed my blood tests with flying colors!), but I wasn't expecting my talk with the Psychiatrist to be that long. It was quite good actually, I got to talk to her about my concerns, and she taught me how to cope with the surgery preop and postop.

Hi Kristy. So far, I've lost 5 lbs since I started my Low-calorie diet. Just spoke to my doctor yesterday, and he told me to start avoiding meats and carbs until my operation. =) So I'm now basically on a liquid diet (with some veggies).

Just curious, what kind of shake did your doctor recommend?

---- KIKO

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I'm glad to hear your husband is considering getting banded also! I'll be glad to share my experiences with him.

I'll be flying to the states this April for a family vacation.....and hopefully by then, I won't be needing an extension seatbelt on the plane! That's my short-term goal. I'm not big around the waist (since I'm a tall guy), so I think that goal is possible. Wish me luck!

How have you been doing?

One more week!! I'm so excited for us. =)

2/3

By the way, I did all my tests already before christmas (Bloodwork, Abdominal Ultrasound, Chest X-ray, Treadmill Test) and I'm going to get my results tomorrow. Hoping to get good results.

FYI, I have Hiatal Hernia (wikipedia: "A hiatal hernia occurs when part of your stomach bulges upward out of your belly and into your chest cavity"). This causes me to have really bad (read: painful) heartburns. Usually, a surgery is required to fix this. But the good news is the doctor can fix this while doing my lapband procedure! So I'm getting a 2-for-the-price-of-1 deal! This alone got me really excited (no more heartburns!)

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Hello Kit (you're nick is KIT right?),

Just saw your messages. I'm so sorry for the late reply. It's been a very busy holiday season for me. And boy...it's a real challenge to do my pre-op diet during the christmas season.

I see that your sked has been bumped to the 14th. That's alright, like what you said, what's 3 days right?

I've been doing my low calorie pre-op diet (1200 a day + Glucerna Shakes every meal). My first few days were, ugh, kinda hard, especially seeing all that food in our Christmas parties.

So at every get-together, what I did was I just let everyone eat ahead of me. I am an amateur photographer (Flickr: Changkers' Photostream), so I just volunteered to be the "event photographer". Takes my mind off all that food. So by the time I want to eat, I can just grab a bowl of soup and some bread, and I can continue shooting photos for everyone. Basically I just needed to find something to keep me preoccupied.