gjnicki

My doc and nutritionist told me to do no less than 900 calories a day. I was taking in around 600-800 and I got yelled at! Your body will store fat if you cut calories too much because it thinks it is starving and needs to save up. I have had the EAS shakes, but never did the isopure. The shake that I swear by is Apex Fit. They just redid their formula and that took 30 calories off. It is now called Apex Fit Lite. You can order it from 24 Hour Fitness online for $20 for a 2.5lb jug of powder with free shipping. It is specially formulated to balance calories, carbs, fat, and has 20g of protien. Even 8 months post op I prefer to have a shake for Breakfast and lunch, then a small dinner. They taste good, aren't chalky, and are super convenient. As for the pressure...is it constant? It could still be trapped gas from the surgery. Congrats on taking the step. It can be difficult at times, and it seems like the worst foods go down easiest. My band is always tighter in the morning...hard to even get my shake down, but as I keep pushing fluids it loosens up. Lots of little things I didn't know about until after and I even researched lots!

I would definitely be up for coffee or a healthy meal or snack! I saw that the support meetings at Cy-Fair is the second Tuesday of the month...is that the one you go to? Have you heard anything about Dr. St. Laurent? I am thinking that I am trying to get him to take over care.

Hi there...I am new to the area and with all the stress I feel like I am falling off the band wagon! I am looking to join a support group or find people to talk with, dine with, work out with. I live at 290 and Jones. I saw an ad for the Cy-Fair support group, but don't know when that meets. I would love to go. Do you still attend?

Hi all! I just got banded Dec. 18th and am feeling great! I have not really had any pain or soreness, and I am still not hungry! I am having a super hard time with my liquid diet because it seems that all the high Protein liquids are sweet drinks. I have never been a fan of sweets, so I am ready to just drink Water and tomato juice, but I know I wouldn't get my nutrients. I have lost 10 lbs in the last 9 days since surgery, so thats a bonus! I am a single lesbian in western CO. I have my MA in education and work as a 5th grade teacher. I had the surgery over the break, and only had to take one day off. My students know I was having surgery, but not what kind. I am sure they will start to notice the weight loss over the next 6 months until summer. I am not sure exactly what to say if the issue comes up, but I am sure I'll figure it out. I love the outdoors, music, movies, and travel. I am looking forward to be able to really travel and get around once I am at a healthier weight. I am also seriously considering moving to the Houston area, but would like to have some advice about that (just incase any who reads this has some!). I would like to chat and see how everyone else's experiences are going and maybe meet some bandster friends!

I checked into the hospital at 6:00am. I was taken into the room around 6:30, put on my gown, got my IV started, and the coordinator of the bariatric surgery center came and sat with me. The anesthesiologist and surgeon came in and explained what was going to happen when I got into the OR. By 7:28 I was in the OR, they blew up this hover-pad and scooted me onto the table. I got introduced to the crew that would be doing the surgery and was out before I could remember anything else. I remember a little bit of being in the recovery room before they transferred me to my overnight room. About an hour after surgery I got up to go to the bathroom. I decided I should get some pain medicine before I moved. They tried the liquid Lortab, but I couldn't drink it for some reason so they gave me morphine. Getting up after morphine was not such a good idea! I got a little queezy so they gave me a phenegran shot. That knocked me out for a bit. I was awake soon after and got up to walk again. I roamed the halls with my ounce of ice chips for about a half hour. I found the worse part was the gas pain and the dry mouth. As long as I went on a walk, I had to have ice chips. I would do a lap, then suck on an ice piece. They kept me up every couple hours to walk. I ended up having 4 heparin shots in my tummy. They had a slight sting, but it seemed like the faster they put it in, the less it stung. I was able to take the Lortab after the first attempt. I also got a half popsicle! That helped the dry mouth. I had to do a barium swallow the next morning to check placement of the band and make sure stuff was passing through. Once that was good I got the ok to go home! I had no pain in my incisions, port, or muscles. The only discomfort was because of the gas they put in to open up your abdomen. The more I walked, the quicker it went away. Maybe I am special, but it went great! I am 6 days post-op and still have no pain, no nausea, and no hunger!

I was banded 5 days ago and have had these spasms right around the band since I woke up from anesthesia. It feels kinda like when you take too big of a bite and don't chew it well, and it just slides down your esophagus nice and slow and painful. That is what this feels like. I have no nausea, no reflux, no burping or other gas. It doesn't have any particular trigger such as drinking, moving, talking, etc. It just comes on, lasts about a minute, making it hard to breathe or move, then goes away. They can be several times an hour to once every few hours. I went in to the doc and everything looks great. I have no pain from the incisions or anything. He thinks it is my body trying to adjust to the band being there because it is a foreign body. He thinks they will go away as soon as I get some scar tissue around the band. Has anyone else had similar experiences? Thanks!

Hello everyone! This is my first time on here. I read a lot of posts while deciding if the band was for me. I decided I think I would do good because I have good self control (to a point) and just needed the extra boost the band would provide. I am 29 years old, live in Western CO, and work as a teacher. Despite having insurance, my great pay allowed me to go self-pay for the surgery (after taking out loans!). I have been overweight all my life, all my family is overweight, and nothing I have done has helped me succeed in losing more than 20 lbs. I am 5'4" and at my most, weighed 292. On the start day of my pre-op diet, I was 279. Today I weighed for the first time after surgery 5 days ago, and am down to 265. I am delighted with how well things are going. I have no hunger, food doesn't smell or look good, and I have had practically no pain. I was up taking half hour walks less than 2 hours after surgery. The only pain I had was some gas pain from the inflating of my abdomen for surgery. I have some occasional discomfort and spasms right around the band area. I asked my doctor and he said that my body is trying to get rid of it since it is a foreign body, and that once the scar tissue wraps it that it will stop. Has anyone else had that? Other than that I am good! Was off all pain meds, including Tylenol, yesterday. I am having a hard time remembering to drink as much and as often as I need to, so I got a little kitchen timer to remind me to keep hydrated. A couple of times I woke up with a little headache from dehydration, but as soon as I got a couple ounces of Fluid in I was fine. I am looking forward to seeing great results and being a part of the community!