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So here on Day 5, things are a bit easier so far. The fever is mostly gone -- I have little blips of temperature where my temp will spike up to as high as 100, but usually it doesn't go higher than 99.5, and mostly it stays around normal. More importantly, I don't feel that all over body "ick" that I felt before. My incisions are healing up well -- no bleeding or oozing, just some lovely bruising coming in. Apparently the MA was really impressed with how well they're healing -- they hardly even bled. I'm finding it easier and easier to stick with my Protein and hydration and Vitamins -- it's 8:30am and I've taken in half of my day's protein and vitamins, and 20 oz of Water (plus a little watered down apple juice for some blood sugar). On the minus side, I think I've basically exhausted my "reserves" -- I'm feeling a little "wobbly." Nothing major, I think I've just exhausted my free blood sugar reserves and I feel like I have to be a little bit more careful and deliberate in my movements. sleep is still a little challenging; I get tired early so I've got on a sort of bizarre sleep schedule. I'm sure that will work out as my sleep becomes easier and more restful. The biggest problem I'm facing right now is gas/cramps. It feels like hunger because I get these crampy pains in my stomach (actually in my intestines, I think), with lots of rumbling. Going to the bathroom (bowel movement) helps -- it tends to be lots of gas and little solids (sorry, TMI, but again, this is a medical board). Also, it's hard to say but it seems that eating helps, and possibly the Gas-X strips. When the gas is happening, it's pretty unpleasant because I feel like I'm starving (since that stomach grumbling/crampy feeling is one of the ways I used to experience hunger). Also, it makes me a little nauseous. However, I suspect it's a phase. I'm worried that it's real hunger, because I didn't want to FEEL hungry. But even if it IS hunger, it seems like a 100-200 calorie Protein shake pretty much nips it in the bud (which is a big change from before). So, aside from the gas, things are doing better.

Thanks for all the good wishes. I'm still feverish (it's hovering right around 99-100) and all over achey. My abdomen feels like I've been hit by a bison. And the most bizarre muscles are sore -- my calves, my shoulders, and so on. My girlfriend thinks that some of that may be because I'm using strange muscles to sit down and stand up, since I'm sort of sparing my core muscles. I have a fair amount of congestion in my lungs, but I don't think I'm at risk of pneumonia; I've had pneumonia before and I remember that horrible whistling, wet breathing sound, and I have NOTHING like that -- just some yellowish mucous (sorry, TMI, I know, but hey, we're all family here, right?) I just discovered that my prescription pain med (Roxicet) makes my fever go down a little, makes most of my aches and pains fade away and (probably most important for me!) tamps down my anxiety quite a bit. I know it's addictive (which is why I was avoiding it), but I figure the doc prescribed it for just this reason, so I've been taking half doses, and it really seems to help. I'm HOPING I can get a few restful hours of sleep tonight. I'm really hopeful that people are right when they say that things start getting better around day 4. That means just one more day of miserable, hopefully, and I'll start feeling better. The pain, I can deal with. The fever is really the unpleasant bit. On a plus note, I'm not hungry at ALL, despite having basically 0 calories for two days. Well, maybe 50-60 calories in some watered down apple juice but still, normally I'd be starving by now. At the moment, the thought of food revolts me (which may be tricky when I have to start on the "full liquids" tomorrow). Also apparently my wounds look really good (when the MA changed my dressings today, he commented that a couple of the wounds didn't look like they'd bled at all). And I can walk almost 3/4 of a mile without getting winded or tired. So on some levels my recovery is going really smoothly. If only this darned fever would break!

This is a pretty major concern for me, too. I'm pre-op but generally eat a very high-fiber diet. TMI, but I am...very petite in THAT area and the few instances of backup I have had have meant major trauma...tearing, bleeding...eeeek. Going low carb sounds like a recipe for pain to me.

I'm one of those weird likers, but it is only a very occasional thing. It has to be in the doggy-style position, and I have my vibrator in the other hole. I'm one of those who likes to feel double stuffed (sorry for TMI).

Just read your posts NiceGirl and wondered about the symptoms that make you think you are lactose intolerant. I know that one of the main symptoms that a lot of people have with lactose intolerance is gas--but gas is very common for a lot of people (belching and flatulence) after this surgery for quite a while. Also, when I started my pre-op diet, I was having incredible blow out diarrhea (I know, TMI) that was almost like dumping syndrome anytime I would drink the whey Protein shakes. I knew I wasn't allergic to milk, and I had never been lactose intolerant before. It obviously wasn't related to the surgery, since I was pre-op. I did some research and found that a lot of body builders have similar problems when they use the protein powders. I did some more research and decided to switch to unjury (unflavored) because it is easier to digest and has no artificial additives. My GI problems cleared up. Also, my daughter is lactose intolerant, and there are some tablets you can buy that may help.

wannalise, I just wanted to comment to you that the vitamins have been a major pain for me too. My doctor required liquid vitamins for the first two weeks which made me very nauseas and then gave me the runs. Sorry TMI! But I managed to keep them down. I was so excited after two weeks when I was able to start chewables. The first one I had I chewed and it went down just fine. I thought everything was ok. Not three minutes later it came right back up. Which was the first time I threw up with the sleeve. It was not pleasant and was not how everyone described as crawling back up. It was a full on puke, dry heaves, sweating and all. So after that I tried children's chewables. I know that they aren't optimal but I take two in the morning and two at night and they go down pretty well. I plan on finishing this bottle and seeing if I can't go to regular pills and maybe just cut them in two if they are too large. I know they are necessary but i hate all the supplements. Why do they all have to be so big. HAHA I have the hardest time getting down those citracal pills as well and I buy the petite ones. Oh well I guess I will just have to get used to them.

I throw up about once every two weeks? I guess I am still learning what I can tolerate and how fast I can eat it. I am over 4 months out though and I don't think it damages my stomach in any way. It isn't even like a real vomit if you want me to get real about it. It is like the food just kind of falls back out of me. (Sorry if this is TMI) I don't know. I get mad at myself when it happens (because I feel like I did something wrong), but I don't worry about it.

- A recliner-like place to sleep. Laying flat was too painful. - The hospital sent me home with a refillable ice-pack, which really helped with the port-site pain. - This is totally TMI, but stool softener. My doctor warned me that I might need it, and I SO did.

No nasty FB messages between family members today! Praise God!! I can't deal with much more of that! Beach house.... You gals are going to love it. Setting is just wonderful. Place is smaller than I pictured it, but it will work just fine. The outdoor areas are GREAT... pray for good weather so we can enjoy it!! July 4th weekend can be wonderful, or not!! The remainder of our bill is due June 1... $802, and $200 of that is cleaning/security deposit. So we'll get that back. But... I think we have 8 confirmed.. so $100 each. If you are in agreement, I will spend $200 stocking with groceries, wine, etc... whatever you want me to get.. and then The $200 deposit will be mine, assuming we get it back. And I don't know why we wouldn't. Let me know what I should get... I know red wine for Candice and I. Then... what else... Long Island Ice Tea??? Tequila?? Vodka??? Beer??? Seems we drank mostly wine at Candice's, but I'll stock whatever you want me to get. Then... suggest some breakfast items... Kashi Go Lean?? Eggbeaters??? Yogurt??? Give me some suggestions... I may have to spend more than the $200 but we can sort it all out later. Place is rented Thurs night through Sunday night... so those coming in a day before or staying the day after, can stay in the condo here with us. We have an extra bedroom with queen bed and a pull out single in the LR. Suzanne preferred payment by PayPal with the deposit. Some of you had a problem with that, so just send me a check for $100 and I will deposit the checks in my checking account and pay with my PayPal account. Sounds like you guys are driving hard this week!! Relax... take your time, smell the roses! Are you stopping at the Mall of America after Steph's??? I hear Uncle Ed is doing pretty well... still a little confused at times. I think themain thing is tha he is depressed... I can't drive anymore, therefore my life is over. Making comments like, "I'll be leaving this place soon", etc. My sister, Barb said he was already talking like that before all this happened and now it's worse. Told my Mom they can't go to church anymore because he doesn't want anyone driving him aroujnd! Ridiculous! Their complex has a shuttle that will take them places. AND, he's been driving ladies who can't drive around to church, lunch, etc., for YUEARS!! Male ego!! UGH! Kinda pissed at Earl the last couple of days. Since we bought the new car he's doing things like sending me a detailed email account of our projected expenses for the next 6 months telling me our finances will be "touch and go"!! RIDICULOUS!! And today's thing... having a fit because I'm taking the cat for her once a year checkup and shots tomorrow... about $75. He wants me to take her to the animal shelter for the shots and not get a check up! He says he doesn't get a yearly check up so why should she??!! She's 13 yrs old! I'm taking her in or a check up tomorrow and shots!! Told him I'll take the money out of my "mad money" account if necessary! We only financed $10K, and our son-in-law financed that for us... so we're paying him...at 3% interest instead of what the car dealer was going to charge us. So the payments are minimal. Did it all formal with a contract and all. And it is not going to stress out our budget!! He had our financial adviser take a few K out of our IRA so we could have a "cushion". I told him... in 3 more years Uncle Sam will MAKE him start taking money out of that based on his life expectancy. That was a revelation for him... guess he thought he'd have control over how much he withdrew. Not the way I understand the "rules". So... then our income tax is going to go up. It's to our advantage to start taking some out yearly NOW! WHAT are we saving it for... for our kids to spend when we're gone!! SORRY... TMI, I know! I have had 2 glasses of wine and I am really frustrated... and YOU are truly my closest friends!! I have to VENT to someone!! Oh, CRAP!! News is reporting there is NOTHING you can do to help ward off Alzheimer's! Can't prevent it! But.. a better diet can lower the chances of getting it! HUH??? May have made more sense before the wine!? What a cheery new report! Now they're talking about breast cancer! I think I'll be done with the news now! Too depressing! Oh... here's some fun news from my family!! My nephew... sister Mary Lou's DS#2... just about to finish many years of school and officially be certified as a pediatric neurologist.. His wife and he wantd to wait until he was finished to start their family. He is 36 years old this month. I got a very clever email from him a few days ago about a "high terror alert". It went on and on with all these big words... and said the "non-specific indications of terror" were to increase on or about Oct. 14. There were two photos attached to the email. They were the most amazing ultrasound pictures I have ever seen... 3-D... of their TWINS!!! It was incredible! You could actually see that they are undoubtedly fraternal because they don't look very much alike... and one looks just like he did as a baby! They don't want to know the sexes, so you could only see the torsos, but, you could see the placenta, details of the fingers, etc. Needless to say, my sister is on cloud 9. She is 62 with 4 kids over 30 and these are her FIRST grandchildren! She is so thrilled! She already ordered two "onesies" online... Dr. Seuss theme.. "Thing 1 and Thing 2"!!

In the spirit of TMI :thumbup: ... When my son was a newborn, he was constipated. The doctor had me mix in 2 teaspoons of Karo Corn Syrup into his bottle. Without getting too graphic, let's just say the next day his bowels "let go". Maybe that would help.

I'm trying not to. I know in my head that I have to have lost weight. I havent eaten in 7 days!!! My stomach feels bloated and my bowels havent moved since surgery (sorry TMI) so I'm sure thats it. Its just we all have such irrational thinking when it comes to this stuff. Thanks for the encouragement

So the pain finally went away and my shoulder feels better. Thanks for the advice to keep moving bandsters. It really help, but now I'm in liquid diet hell. If I drink one more whey protein shake. I feel like I am starving. I have also been a tad bit bad. I ate a small bite of a chicken panini sandwich my daughter had,but after I chewed it I spit it out. Big mistake. That tiny morsel of normal came back in the form of exposive diarrhea, I know tmi, but someone has got to say it and days later I thought I could have a chicken chunk. It was soft and it's chicken right healthy. Wrong!!! Same thing that happen before happened again so no more cheating for me.But I have got to tell you I'm raging bitch :smile: on this liquid diet.Yes I have gone from 316 to 296 in two weeks :thumbup: but when came I use my teeth again.

So the pain finally went away and my shoulder feels better. Thanks for the advice to keep moving bandsters. It really help, but now I'm in liquid diet hell. If I drink one more whey protein shake. I feel like I am starving. I have also been a tad bit bad. I ate a small bite of a chicken panini sandwich my daughter had,but after I chewed it I spit it out. Big mistake. That tiny morsel of normal came back in the form of exposive diarrhea, I know tmi, but someone has got to say it and days later I thought I could have a chicken chunk. It was soft and it's chicken right healthy. Wrong!!! Same thing that happen before happened again so no more cheating for me.But I have got to tell you I'm raging bitch :confused: on this liquid diet.Yes I have gone from 316 to 296 in two weeks :biggrin: but when came I use my teeth again.

I don't log how I feel, restriction-wise, on a daily basis. I do, however, log unusual stress, my period, and what I eat and drink--and that helps me pin down what's going on when I do have some sort of confusing restriction question in my mind. Really, things tend to dawn on me as I crouch in the bathroom, coping with something stuck. I don't have consistent restriction, so when I get stuck, and it's not due to obvious user error (like swallowing a pill that is too large), I do try to make sense of it if possible. (A bit of TMI to follow...) This happened to me last night, with a food that simply should not have been a problem, in a quantity far below what should have presented a problem. I was able to determine that this last happened right before my last period. And checking dates...sure enough--I knew that was it. I woke up this morning with my period. So now I know to keep a closer eye on dates and really listen to my body carefully when the timing's right (or, really wrong!) Did that make any sense?

I had a fill last Tuesday...1 cc in a 14cc band which has brought me up to 7 cc's. As of right now it seems like I can only eat a few bites of food and I am full. While I think this is a good thing, I am just wondering if the meals are too small. About the only thing I can eat with no problems is 1 cup of oatmeal. Other than that, any kind of meat gives me discomfort. Sometimes I feel like I am burping but then this slimy stuff comes up! :thumbup: Sorry if that's TMI... This is only my second fill so I am still not sure what restriction feels like. Could someone help me on this?? I want to be able to eat a "reasonable amount of food". Not quite sure what this is. If this is restriction then maybe I can adjust to it. Help!

Hi Everyone! How are my favorite people?... hanging in there? Staying the course? I just read that Tracy's having a baby! That's wonderful news!... wow... best I've hard all day. Congrats Tracy! I was sick for two weeks straight and haven't been online. Except for having a cought that won't go away, I'm a lot better now. The last time I posted I was contemplating getting a fill before Easter with the the in-laws. I ended-up waiting (due, in part, to not feeling great as the appointment day got closer). So I just got my fill yesterday, and it was a pretty aggressive one. He put another 2ccs in my band. And boy, I'm tight. I'm seriouosly thinking about taking the rest of the day off work and going back in for an unfill. I've never felt like this before. I'm not in pain or anything, but I can barely swallow. If I take-in too much fluid (water, coffee, cough medicine) at one time, it stays in my throat for awhile and then some of it never goes down. This is TMI, but I have a spit cup here in case that happens. I know that my esophogus is swollen after getting the fill yesterday (AND because of my cough), so part of me thinks I should wait it out. Any similar experiences?... and what'd you do??

Hi Jackie, I really don't know how it eroded and never even heard of a lap band erosion. I lived in California and moved to Knoxville, Tn. I didn't realize that if a doctor did not do your procedure, he will not give you any fills. So no doctor in this area would even consider me. After a couple of years and 25lbs weight gain later I found a doctor in New Orleans which is actually from TJ that flies in every three months to give fills to their patients. I drove all the way to New Orleans all excited to get a fill and on my way of losing some weight! I have the 10cc Inamed band. He said okay you are going to feel some pressure as he is filling my band to the full 10cc and got no restriction and that is when I found out it was eroded. Went locally and had an Endoscopy to confirm it. I would use my credit card if it was not maxed out! I had a great job. It was only a 2 year temporarily project and after the 2 years was up it was the worst time to get a job during recession. Which forced me to start my own business that is doing great but I have everything invested into it. I will be able to have the band removed in a year but I was hoping sooner than later! I do have some good days when I say I can live with this a bit longer but on my bad days when I have a lot of pain I want it removed yesterday! I guess i gave tmi but that is my story and it feels good to let it all out! I'm glad to see you are doing good with your lap band and I wish you lots of luck and will power to make it to your goal weight!

A breast reduction has the same scar lines as a lift, and my scars are pretty major BUT I had a lot of tissue removed (like a chunk the size of a pound of butter off each...TMI?). There was a girl in the recovery house in CR with me who was just moving down a size in implants so her surgery was just like a lift, and her incision lines were almost gone after two weeks. It depends on how you scar.

Good morning! Suzanne...want a margarita? lol I think I am finding out that even if we go out to eat mexican food that it doesnt matter that I am cutting portion size....I will not lose weight eating that food. SO, plan B, no eating mexican food. I knew that already, I guess I needed a confirmation. Maybe, just MAYBE I have not lost anymore weight because I have bathroom issues (tmi, i know). I feel so bloated! I will fix that problem! I have been putting out applications. I do not remember how much of our probs I have posted on here due to dsd moving back home but it has kind of strapped us money wise. We are waiting to see if we are approved for a debt consolidation loan and that would make my life alot easier! Maybe even enable me to stay home with Macy. I am not against working but I HATE that i feel like it is being forced on me. I resent it. Anyway... Have a great day everyone!

Way to go ASH! That is so exciting! Your next through this journey! Chrissy, I had to stop weighing myself everyday because like you I dropped real fast and then it slowed way down and it was frustrating. Now I weigh myself every 4 or 5 days and it has seemed to help keep me not in so much turmoil. On the tmi subject, when I take the vitamins I have always taken 1 stool softner as just that extra iron gets me plugged. When I told Liz my list of vitamins she kinda freaked and told me to stop taking those stool softners as your bowels begin to depend on them. I am stopping for now but I won't let myself get plugged...lol tmi, I know. So, I had my preops today with Dr Paks and Dr Chen and all set to go! 13 days until surgery! oh ya, I was down more so my total weight loss thus far is 31 pds!

You all made laugh. TMI hahaha

Pic attached! OK I wish......... One of the side effects of dieting and/or weight loss surgery is being constipated. Taking Benefiber or Metamucil helps you be regular. I was constipated on the 1200 calorie plan and now again on stage IV. Since Sleeved I will never be able to have heavy large meals and will more than likely have to take a fiber supplement for the rest of my life. More TMI but now I find myself only going to the bathroom (#2) about once a week. I try to weigh myself after that event to ensure some accuracy... The Richmond program recommends and regularly talks about Benefiber but I spoke to Doc Who and he said the Benefiber recommendation / requirement is only for RNY patients and that Band and Sleeve patients can take either.

Hey Candra!!!!!!!!! Glad to see you still around!!!!!!! Sounds like you are doing great!!!! Happy birthday Pat!!!!!!!! Not much on this end. Haven't barfed in days. Speaking of ends and barfing need to go take some metamucil, sorry TMI! I hope everyone is having a wonderful wet Monday night!!!!!!!!