Spring into March 2010 Bandsters

[Liftingchic 0]

I was eating a stick of string cheese. I am on my soft foods stage, which is just about anything that I can chew really really good. I guess I didnt chew well enough and it blocked my stoma, but I gave it a minute and it went down. Now I continue to chew chew chew chew! I go in for my fits fill 4/14 but I havent really been eating too much as long as I get my Protein in. I basically have carnation instant Breakfast for breakfast, then lunch would be 2 oz of veggies and 20z of protein and the same for dinner. I am full at about 4 oz which is good since I have no restriction whatso ever.:tongue_smilie:cant wait to actually start working out next wednesday. I am looking into the gym where my Dr.'s office is. tomorrow night is support group for me, I urge anyone who is to get or has already gotten the band to continue to support group it truely helps.:thumbup:

Them dang string cheeses hehhe!

I dont think my doc has a support group, but i will check into it...

[J_True 0]

Hey everyone, I'm new to this site so I'm still trying to get the hang of it. Everyone seems really great and supportive. :thumbup:

My surgery date is set for March 24. I'm a little nervous but mostly excited. Can't wait to turn my life around.

Not sure if this is the right place to ask... but I'm scheduled for pre-op testing later this week, can anyone tell me what to expect with that?

[StevieVieth 0]

Hey everyone, I'm new to this site so I'm still trying to get the hang of it. Everyone seems really great and supportive. :thumbup:

My surgery date is set for March 24. I'm a little nervous but mostly excited. Can't wait to turn my life around.

Not sure if this is the right place to ask... but I'm scheduled for pre-op testing later this week, can anyone tell me what to expect with that?

The pre op testing that i had to do was actually go to the hospital where I was having surgery, and they too your vitals, drew some blood, checked my weight, had me sign paper and such for pre registering in the hospital so that way on surgery day you wont have to fill out a whole bunch of paper. Then after that we had pre op education which was a tour of the floor where we would be staying, and was given a goodie bag with a spirometer, pillow, theraband inside it. the support pillow was to hold against your stomach when you cough or sneeze. It helps with getting out of the bed.

[browneyes29203 0]

Hi Everyone, Congrats to all of u who have been banded eariler this month. I've just received my surgery time and I'm getting really excited now. I've been waiting on this for 5yrs. My surgery is @ 6am tomorrow morning. Horaay for me!!! Lapband here I come!!!

[♥Amy♥ 5]

Hi Everyone, Congrats to all of u who have been banded eariler this month. I've just received my surgery time and I'm getting really excited now. I've been waiting on this for 5yrs. My surgery is @ 6am tomorrow morning. Horaay for me!!! LAP-BAND® here I come!!!

Good luck tomorrow! :thumbup:

[NYSparklegirl 1]

That is odd that they gave you a fill while you were still in the hospital. I had to take a test before having surgery and one of the questions was will you get a fill right then and there in the hospital and the answer was false.

Every surgeon I have looked up never did a fill right in the hospital. Your body is working and learning that there is an instrument inside you, without the fill you will still start to lose weight, I dont go for my first fill till 4/14..

Jodi glad you are doing well now, and I hope this is an experience for you.

Stevie. No I didnt get a fill after the surgery. From what I understand sometimes the surgeons put the band in with fill or without. I hear its just a matter of where and who?

Alot of people have the fill and dont need a fill so quickly or those who dont get it 4 to six weeks after....something of the sort.

Who knows...apparently what happens does happen...which is why they always do a barium swallow with that yuchy tasting stuff in the AM to make sure that the liquid is going down without obstruction and not to slow beofre you go home....as there are many reasons that obstructions can happen. Its okay....Ill just get a fill in several weeks...Im still not hungry and have alolt of restriction regardless.

Glad to hear you are feeling better!!!

Sorry to hear about you extra day in the hospital, At least things seem to be doing better... Hope you start feeling yourself really soon :thumbup:

Thanks,....much appreciated! Im feeling much better. You are right about the surgery. It is a tool. Not a magic bullet however....its not going to tell you when you have had enough to eat...our brain is going to have to do that...and that we have to all by ourselves. Change the way we think about eating, food, and changing the what and when we eat.......the band is not going to do all that for us. Which is why we need to want this to work...and find a way to change all the above. Whether this means....reading, nutrtionisist, following a diet, exercize.....support, support and with support.

Ive been reading the BECKS DIET SOLUTION and began going to a nutritioninst once weekly, a support group and began looking at diet...exercize clubs.

The book has really helped. Maybe this or one like it will help you...but, the band is just a tool as you have described....if you dont retrain the brain....nothing is going to happen....like with that guy...why go to a support group at all??? or perhaps....like you said...he just doesnt have a clue and doesnt know how to begin...but sabotage cannot be our thing!!!

Go for it!!!! You can do it.....you can....!!!

we will help!!!

well be here...burping up Protein whey....with you all the way~!

Question for the banded people: are you guys allowed to take your regular meds? IE. blood pressure meds and such

I was told to either see if liqiud is available or get a crusher to crush pills. If it is a tablet you can open and pour then crush or get tab open and driink if they wont crush so they werent meant to and you shouldnt.

I'm so happy that everyone is doing so well pre and post surgery. I am having mine on 3/24 and we are actually leaving for Mexico on 3/22 so its one week from Monday! Yay.

I've started a blog of my journey and would like to invite you all to visit. It is in my signature line. I have found a whole bunch of mostly women and a few men who have gone through this, are going through it and who are thinking about going through it! Such great info.

Please check it out!

This was great thank you so much!!! Great information.

so i definately over did it yesterday loading and unloading the dishwasher. im taking it easy today. i woke up this morning at 4:30 and took some medicine for the pain. its gotten more tolerable though. im not really hungry which is probably from the swelling. my arm where they had the iv in is black and blue though. i guess thats what i get for having small veins. so today i am going to be working on some homework that i need to get caught up on. i cant wait to take a shower tonight since i havent had one in a couple days. i also have to go through my important papers and find the packet that the nutritionist gave me. i cant wait till i can have liquids and Soups. i am really really craving brocolli and cheese Soup. the one thing that i am not touching is sugarfree Jello. that stuff is disgusting. jello is disgusting by itself let alone with no sugar. i love the sugar free popsicles though. i have one of those and some apple juice im still nursing for breakfest. but let me tell you i am bored just sitting around and i get up every now and then and walk to the mailbox and back. in fact i am going to get up and do that in a little bit. i finally starting passing some gas instead of just burping. which is good. im hoping to get all the gas pains out before i head back to work and school on tuesday. im still really sore where the incisions are though especially where they put the port. that area of my stomach is bruised. the dressings are also icthing and driving me insane. i have to go back to the doctor on friday for a post opt check up and we will see how much i have lost in this week. my 5 year old doesnt understand why he cant give me a hug which breaks my heart. but soon hopefully it wont hurt to do that. well i am going to get back to doing my homework...

Im glad you are feeling better...me too...but OMG the Protein Drinks are killing me!!!. The gas is much better....today not to much of it but this past weekend....OMG my daughter was like...MOM. I couldnt help it. Im on only Clear Liquids until Wednesday. But each day is getting better.....

I was eating a stick of string cheese. I am on my soft foods stage, which is just about anything that I can chew really really good. I guess I didnt chew well enough and it blocked my stoma, but I gave it a minute and it went down. Now I continue to chew chew chew chew! I go in for my fits fill 4/14 but I havent really been eating too much as long as I get my protein in. I basically have carnation instant breakfast for breakfast, then lunch would be 2 oz of veggies and 20z of protein and the same for dinner. I am full at about 4 oz which is good since I have no restriction whatso ever.:tongue_smilie:cant wait to actually start working out next wednesday. I am looking into the gym where my Dr.'s office is. tomorrow night is support group for me, I urge anyone who is to get or has already gotten the band to continue to support group it truely helps.:smile2:

Stevie, Hi. Im sorry about the...cheese....I guess...I know where my port is and you now know what getting stuck feels like. Lets not have to know these things unecessarily. Chew Chew Chew,...id like to Chew Chew Chew. but soon ehough. You sound like activity is really your friend and embracing it. Im envious...exercise is not my thing never been....but you make it look alot easier to begin...to like.

Hi Bandsters,

So - it is 9 days post surgery and am really feeling great! I went to the doecot on Thursday and all seems to be going well. We (all those who had surgery the same day) spent about an hour and a half in a nutrition class. It was very informative.

I had no pre-op diet and was on a liqiuid diet until yesterday. Yesterday was my first day on the mushy diet. It consists of 1/2 cup of food 3 times a day with 2 optional 1/4 cup Snacks (same food as eaten during meals. I love the part skim ricotta with a bit of Tomato sauce. Luckily - they also alow eggs and watermelon in this stage. I will be on this phase until next Saturday when I can add alot more.

So - I am going to have to learn to read my body. They say to eat the 1/2 cup or until you feel full. I don't feel full, but a half an hour, or an hour later feel VERY full. They say to make the meal last for 1/2 an hour, but considering that you are eating only 1/2 cup - this is almost impossible.

So - the weight loss is going really well - down 19 pounds in 9 days. I cannot believe it. I joined a gym and have begun walking - up to half an hour.

Hope all is going well for the early March surgeries. :thumbup:

Starting Weight - 350

Current Weight - 331

Goal Weight - 200

That is terrific!!!! You seem to be doing great keep it up.....thanks for keeping us posted!! I cant wait to join you eating at least just liquids...not just clear...and then Ill follow all your expertise...about whats working and what maybe not so much!

Jodi

Hi all.

Im gathering from all your responses that what happened to me was not the norm? lol

(Okay, but we are talking about me? I wasnt expecting anything less then the abnormal. lol There is always something with something for something when something is being done. No suprise here).

In all seriousness I wasnt really sure why what happened happened. There wasnt any real clear explanation...was it because I was congested? or was it the Anesthesia? I was thinking that maybe it was my underlying asthma? Who knows....perhaps it was just the naseusness that made me start throwing up then wretching...and then the swelling and irritation began...and therefore the liqiud going down became obstructed.

I wasnt aware that sometimes the bands are filled and sometimes not until later. I was so upset when he had to take out the fill thinking....oh no. Then how am I going to loose weight or not be hungry until they fill it again..will they ever be able to fill it and of course what does that mean for me now that Ive got a band thats empty...however from your posts I see that there are several ways to do this...and this sometimes can happen at any time...so all is not for nought. (is that right)

I have the band. Its.....in...im okay and doing well.....what more can I want?? NADA. Ill get a fill when the doctor says its time. Until then..Ill just do what needs to need to be done....how it should be done and thats what I shall do! lol

So, its been a few days....and I have to say...its been okay. I feel okay. Been up and active. I hate these protein powders, isolates, drinks etc!! Ive tried several and found only one that I can tolerate and whod have thunk it "STRAWBERRY Protein Powder DRINK". I am really a chocoloate gal. Anything that has chocolate im usually okay with but I gotta say......yuch. Chocolate, vanilla, peach, banana, etc etc you name it....i cant do it.

I never would have suspected strawberry. lol suprise suprise.

So. Im able to get my 30 grams right now from those two drinks. but it is still not enough and am struggling as I am only on clear liqiiuds this week now. Ive been getting to 50 ounces of liqiud. but I guess with during the night Im getting to maybe 60? This is hard. Cant wait to eat not "clear" liqiud.

Had quite an adventurous weekend here.....at the house. We had my daughters....bday party last night. That. was fun!!! In the dark half the night. What fun..ghost stories, candles, with five, ten year olds. Loads of fun.

Thank god the oven is gas and not electric and we were able to make the pizzas!!! Im also glad I ran on Friday to get the edible fruits from the Edible fruit store.....instead of after shabbat on sat....as they would not have opened due to the storm here! The girls had a fabulous time dipping their fruit into the choc fondue. Again, sure glad the oven was working to melt that choc. Dassi decided to have this as an activitiy as opposed to having a cake which was not a healthy choice for....no sodas and no candy or junk.

What a party???? It was perfect. The kids made mini pizzas and tasty edible friuts dipped in choc, and they were able to make their own creations with about 8 skeweres of floweres shaped all different fruits. This was the healthiest and cheapest party ever!! The kids didnt even ask about the cake.

OF course when it came to 3 AM and the noise level hadnt gone down....well the party had to come to an end....with big momma comming in and turning down the noise to sleep.......

The electricity due to the lovely storm that apparently isnt over....has still not returned. It had been 24 hours now without power on one side of the apt. Thank god...I was able to run a line from the bedroom side of the apt to the kitchen so the fridge is working. Had that not happened....lord have mercy.....I dont know what I would have done with all the fridge and freezer after 24 hours and they have said that they still will not have service for another day or so....well. Glad I took a shower sat morning, and washed all the dishes from shabbat on shabbat. Otherwise id have one bigggg disaster plus a bday sleepver in the dark, at least in the major area of apt. BUT tomorrow I will be in need of a SHOWER!!!! A HOT SHOWER!!!

Funny thing...I never knew about my dog. She is a scaredy cat. I took her out this evening..where it was alot dark as the light in the hallway in the building is out totally. It is pitch black. I took my flashlight out and walked her....she was not walking...

she wouldnt move. Im like come on Starlight Im here with you.....its only dark see....im here and im guiding her...Im guiding her??? wth?? she wasnt budging...she starts cowaring etc etc....I had to call Dassi to come out to the hallway and get on the other side of her to go forward. ME GUIDING A DOG???? What is wrong with that picture! Poor thing was scared of the dark. never knew that about the little thing we rescued 5 years ago. I wonder what happened to her before to have her so scared Ill never know....but know now...not sure what im going to do tomorrow with her.

Feeling okay tonight....it was a big weekend but had my friend Renee help with the party and the cooking and all with the girls. She also helped make shabbos for Dassi as I was really not up to sitting at the table for an hour with them. SO, I sat on the couch and watched them together and felt so lucky to have such a good friend. Between my mother and her this week...went as smoooth as can be..and I cant be blessed enough to have them.

I also have to thank all my other friends who have dropped off containers of leftover chicken soup, broth and chicken from the chicken soups to grind up into baby food. Thought this was nice...dont have to cook at all another batch for at least two weeks...thats if the electric stays on ....on the other side of the apt and I get to eat blended any time soon! lol

Well......must go now and see if I can wash some dishes even in the cold water.....will have to rewash all when the electric comes on.

come to think of heat....its starting to feel cold in here.....uh oh. didnt think of that....NO HEAT? NO HEAT?? grrrr, now im getting ticked.

Have a nice night all........have a great week.

Thanks for all the best wishes again!!!!

[StevieVieth 0]

Jodi, glad you are doing well. I had to do the yucky swallow test the morning after, even tho the Dr. didnt put any fill in. I just thought it was odd that they would even fill before they put it in.

Glad everyone is doing well. I will be 2 weeks post op tomorrow, and one of my scabs washed off in the shower!! So happy that the scabs are going away so I can start the scar healing process.

I also get to start working out on wednesday, today I was having a little port site pain, and sometimes it hurts really bad. anyone else???:thumbup:

[finding me 1]

Hello all. I am on day 5 of pre-op and so far so good. I have lost 11 lbs since last Thursday. I went in for my pre-op blood work today and the dangt nurse bless her heart stuck me 4 times and never found a vein. She felt so bad for sticking me so many times. Heck I am use to it. I know I have hard veins to find. She had to send me to the lab and they got me on one try. Then it was off to the bank to get my first of two payments for them. That was tough to have to withdraw that much money but it will be well worth it.

[cynpatt 2]

Question for you all -

My docter reccomended 2 multi chewable per day and 2X500mg chewable calcium citrate a day. The chewable isn't great, but doable, but I could not even tolerate the chewable Calcium without gagging. The pill was HUGE - about the size of the circle when you put your thumb and pointer finger together. Any suggestions for better tasting calcium?

Thanks!

Banded 3/5

Start Weight 350

Current Weight 330

Goal Weight 200

[kujhawkrulz 0]

Surgery done on March 12th, 2010 in Juarez MX, no real significant post-op problems. Absolutely NO appetite, not sure what I think about that! Drinking clear fluids and trying to make sure I don't get dehydrated. Jello, broth, and Water are okay I guess. The doctor sent me home with antibiotics and Toradol for post-op and I found out that my band is Lapand VG system, which is the newest one I believe. I have the card and the box even it came in :wub: Anyways, fluoroscopy showed that I have reallly good restriction from the inflammation, that could attribute to no hunger whatsoever. So far so good, port is a bit sore, tired, and having to force myself to drink!!

[♥Amy♥ 5]

Question for you all -

My docter reccomended 2 multi chewable per day and 2X500mg chewable Calcium citrate a day. The chewable isn't great, but doable, but I could not even tolerate the chewable Calcium without gagging. The pill was HUGE - about the size of the circle when you put your thumb and pointer finger together. Any suggestions for better tasting calcium?

Thanks!

Banded 3/5

Start Weight 350

Current Weight 330

Goal Weight 200

I'm not banded yet but I take Flinstones Complete and plan on getting these for calcium:

Bariatric Advantage Chewable calcium citrate, 400mg (60 Count)

[wantstosucceed 0]

Date of Surgery: March 18th

Where Surgery will be: Richmond, VA

Doctor/Center: Dr. Schroeder

Seminar date: September 2009

1st consult date: October, 2009

2nd consult: November

Consults and tests completed: Cardiologist. Pulmonologist, sleep Study, Nutritionist, Psych Test

Tests still needed: None

How is surgery funded? Insurance

Concerns? My biggest concern is the hospital stay; I am paranoid about hospitals and I'm dreading the "You have to spend a night in the hospital."

Reason for banding? Tired of being over weight and know that it's time to do something about it, that will last me forever, instead of a quick fix.

[kujhawkrulz 0]

Date of Surgery: March 18th

Where Surgery will be: Richmond, VA

Doctor/Center: Dr. Schroeder

Seminar date: September 2009

1st consult date: October, 2009

2nd consult: November

Consults and tests completed: Cardiologist. Pulmonologist, sleep Study, Nutritionist, Psych Test

Tests still needed: None

How is surgery funded? Insurance

Concerns? My biggest concern is the hospital stay; I am paranoid about hospitals and I'm dreading the "You have to spend a night in the hospital."

Reason for banding? Tired of being over weight and know that it's time to do something about it, that will last me forever, instead of a quick fix.

Good luck and congrats, I saw you today in the chatroom, really nice to meet you!

[pmommy 0]

DId anyone else receive a "card" with info on their band? I didn't get anything like that...

[btrieger 21]

DId anyone else receive a "card" with info on their band? I didn't get anything like that...

I got nothing about my band at all. I was handed a piece of paper that had what I should eat for the next 4 weeks.

I have my 2 week post-op this afternoon and hope I get the info then.