Betsyjane

Here's what I'm going to do for Thanksgiving! I'm going to use a very small plate. I'm going to put a spoon of any cooked veges on it, and a small piece of turkey. I'm going to drink a glass of water first. Then I'm going to spend the meal chew chew chewing so my stuff lasts as long as everyone else's! It's gonna be liquid before I swallow and it's gonna be small bites! I'm gonna work it, baby! I may leave the table during dessert, or I may pick a few cherries out of a cherry pie and nurse those along. Nah. Probably play with the dogs during dessert..... I am ready!

One of the things I'm beginning to figure out is that it's like any other doctor's office. The story changes just a bit depending on who you talk with. Dr said no lifting more than 5 pounds for 3 months. Nurse said be careful for 3 months, receptionist said don't lift for 6 weeks and be careful for 3 months. Add to that that I had some instructions while I was coming out of anaesthetic and probably not remembering clearly, and the different instructions by different doctors mentioned here...and the bottom line is....I'm still responsible for my own health decisions, based on whatever info I can gather! Life is life, eh?

Thanks for the advice. I'll ask for an aggressive fill. Right now, I am waiting for my first fill and am not feeling a restriction.....

Probably some of that is really amazing muscle! Sounds like your body is reforming itself in some really healthy ways at the moment.

Hey XelaPaul. I was banded by Spivak last Monday, the 13th. He's awesome. I'm just east of 1960/59.

Or ask your doctor if he will skip it. My Dr. didn't require anything except a CBC blood test.....

I think I burp for a long time if I don't chew everything totally to liquid, or gulp too big a gulp. Not sure, but we were banded the same day and it sounds like our recovery is very similar.

I was banded Monday, and this morning was my first time to crush and take the unrelated pills that I need to take. What a horrible taste! I tried them in some fruit juice and it was awful! Are there any tricks that you know out there????? :help:

I love the chewable Tylenol!!!!!! Thanks for the tip. The rest of my pills I'm crushing and downing with a couple of swallows of chocolate protein drink. Chocolate cures all.

Hi Jen! I was banded just a few days before you and I had ALL those symptoms! Sore scratchy throat from the tube during surgery...and it's mostly gone now. Awful pains from the gas they pump you up with so they can see what they are doing during surgery......tolerable now finally! GasX helps some, eating slowly helps some, heating pad helps ALOT, walking helps some,chewable Tylenol helps ALOT! Bruising-yep! Just yesterday, I started to feel alot better. Here's the next challenge---as the swelling in your belly goes down and you start to feel better, then you have less restriction....until your first fill a month from now. So I'm pretending I am restricted and continuing to practice eating correctly...and counting the days to my next fill. And feeling good about getting rid of those first symptoms...especially that horrible back chest and shoulder pain. We can do it, buddy!

I hate the treadmill too! I get through it with music, TV, whatever I can. It's going to be a hard habit to make. I'm also worried that my Dr. is goin g to be disappointed...so I called their office yesterday whining that I wanted my first fill early, and they laughed and said that everybody says that...so I feel better.

If you decide to start one for Humble/Atascocita/Kingwood, please let me know. I'm brand new and have never been to a meeting, so I probably can't volunteer any more in setting it up than to show up. I know Atasc. library and both hospitals have meeting rooms..... Are there others of us out here?

What's the closest support group to Kingwood? (northeast Harris county)

I appreciate the information. Why do we wait for a first fill? Is it to allow healing first?

Actually, he's been doing them longer than anyone else in Texas. Is part of the NIH team that evaluates studies submitted on lap bands, etc etc. He's one of the guys here who bands the doctors.....

I was told not to lift more than 5 pounds for the next 3 months. Anybody else? Seems like a long time.

Thanks. I'm actually pleased with everything but the weight. I'm eating in a calm and reasonable way, and my choices are good. I did splurge once though and that's what started all this. I got scared that it was possible to mess up so badly with no punishment. I want to be beaten for my sins. Auuuggghh.

I'm on mushies and have been since day 3. I called my Dr's office and they said it's not true that there's no restriction until it is filled...They said having the band at all is a restriction and I should be able tp use it as a tool. Although I'm not steak and potatoeing, I think that's due to fear, not restriction. I don't feel any different if I eat 8 ounces or 4, larger bites or pulverized, etc.

1 egg nuked in the microwave so I don't have pan clean up to do, and cottage cheese. I seem to be craving protein.

Congrats Jay! You are my hero.

Hmmm. My surgeon said I can eat anything mushy...eggs, fish, veges. You name it. Just chew alot and 4-6 oz per meal. Am I going to regret this for some reason? Seems like everything is fine......

maybe some day there will be enough bandsters that the drug companies will come out with mini pills or flavored crushables...

It's good to be cautious and think it through every way that you need to. Having surgery and having a foreign object inserted in your body is not something to be taken lightly. I almost postponed my surgery, and I kept going over lesser options just to reassure myself that I had tried everything else first. And when I was coming out of the anaesthetic, I was dismal...thinking that I shouldn't have done it, wanted it out. Panicked about wanting to eat and not being able to...wondering what to do with all the hours I would get back that have been spent either eating or being too low in energy to do anything beyond TV. By the end of the day of my surgery, all of that changed. I'm learning how to eat and feel satisfied. I'm learning how to structure my day differently. But none of it seems really foreign or deprived. I just feel like I'm beginning to "naturally" be one of those lucky people who can eat a bit, push away from a table and say "Wow, I'm full! The portions they give here are ridiculous!" I'm just barely beginning to be that person who is health-conscious (which I am anyway), and on whom it really shows. I am mentally rehearsing being a moderate health nut. I like it. I'm still dealing with horrible gas from the surgery, so I can't strut yet, but I'm strutting in my own mind. I'm so pleased with my band and want to take such good care of it for taking good care of me. I think I'll name it. I'm open to suggestions. Hmmm. Is this why men name their .......?

Ha! I called my Dr's office today to say I have been pretty good, but I don't feel like there's a restriction. I feel like I could eat anything without a problem. She said even without the first fill, the restriction is still there and will help, and that if I didn't believe her, I should go drink two big glasses of water and they would come back up. Being one who sometime has to learn from experience, I did it, and it did.

Vegge-can you spray some Nasalcrom or get a shot or a pill to knock out the sinus infection???? Might be worth a try.