December Bandsters

[tonijo 0]

great idea. I made some baked potato Soup for supper boiled some potatoes, a packet of ranch dressing,added fat free sour cream, bacon bits green onions and some cheese, salt and pepper to taste it was delicious and you will eat this at either end of the surgery. It was tolerated and good.

[okiefamily 0]

Skinnymom- I hope your problem has passed. However, I guess that means you have good "restriction" because if I ate an onion ring it would go right through. Can't wait to get fills!! I heard someone talking about enzymes that are available in health food stores...look in the post titled carrot north of band. I'd quote it but I don't know how.

[The New Me 0]

Hi I am from Northern Indiana, I was banded on Dec. 19th. Surgery was a nightmare. They nicked my liver. YUCK!! Alot of pain Alot! Woke up with a PCA pump cathater and drain. Had to stay in the hospital for 3 days & come home with a drain tube. But it was all worth it, I am 3 weeks post op tomorrow and feeling great. Lost 13 lbs as of today. Hurray!! I started at 217, I am 5'2" I would love to see 140-150 some day. It's getting hard now I can tell my stomach is healing. My appetite is coming back full force. I'm trying hard to remember Soup is my friend. My best friend right now!! My Dr won't do the 1st fill until 6 weeks post op. I am wondering when we can start doing abdominal exercises? We just bought a Ab. Lounge!! I don't want to do anythng yet. Just wondering when though. This site is so cool. I am so excited for all us of. too be overweight is such a hard thing to describe and its wonderful to be able to share with so many people that truly understand. Well take care and feel free to message me. Sue

[Gerbera 0]

Hi Everyone :welldone:

I officially lost 1kg (2.2 pounds) this week YAY!

A total loss now of 8Kilos (17.6 pounds) in 3 weeks :cool:

Kathyb: Seems you and I were banded on the same day. I'm still on liquids & don't get to see the doctor till 30th January. Not sure if he will do an adjustment/fill then?

VABandster: Congrats on your smaller size purchase It will be quite sometime I'm sure before I manage to drop a size, but I have quite a wardrobe to wear as I downsize. Again Congrats

Denise822: How long have you been on liquids now? and how much longer will you be on liquids? I've been on liquids for 3 weeks now and still have another week and a half before I go onto mushy/vitamised food. (singing.........I'm dreaming of tuna Mornay/hotdish) hahaaa

CHEERS and Happy Healthy Eating to all

Current Weight 116.4Kilos (256.08 pounds)

[StephC 0]

good morning bandsters!

Skinnymom - hope you're feeling better today. I wonder if it wasn't the greasy-ness of the oring that got you feeling yukky - I haven't ever had a problem with anything I've ate and I've made some mistakes too - like taking a bite of a sloppy joe - I made them for lunch one day and everyone was eating and I made myself one just like I would have done pre-band, took a bite and tasted that soft white bun in my mouth and went OMGoodness! I can't eat this! So I threw the bun away and ate the ground meat inside. I'm at the point where I think I could eat anything without it being a problem - I go in to the dr today so I'm anxious to find out how soon he'll fill me.

Gerbera - tuna hot dish :welldone: Did I mention that when I went on mushies that was one of the first dinners I made that I could actually sit with my family and eat? Its one of my daughters favorites so I try to make it now and then anyway - I also made tatertot hotdish, its just ground burger, cream of mushroom Soup, peas, onions mix it up and top it with a bag of tater tots. Its pretty mooshy,mushy - my mushy stage was slash soft foods which included casseroles so the family got a few of them this past month.

New Me - wow how scarey to have your liver nicked! My dr explained to me about how delicate the liver is which is why we want to shrink them with the pre-op diets, but you're the first I've heard that actually had something happen. Good to hear you're feeling better. (and welcome to the bandsters!)

VAbandster - :clap2: yeah for you and a smaller pant size!!!! You're doing great!

Have a great day everyone! Aren't you glad the holidays are over?! Life is beginning to get back to normal.

[LuckyGirl 1]

Hey all - had my first fill yesterday. Felt a little nauseous afterwards but I realized all I had had all day was 2 Protein shakes so I think I needed food. I ate a pack of grits and felt better. They sprayed this really cold stuff on my stomach - i think to shock me and then they put the needle in. It took 2 tries because my port is deep. Felt more restricted last night and today. I go in again in 2 weeks for another fill. They said I had the smallest band - the 9.75 - that they have. They put 1cc in and said there was probably a little residue liquid from surgery. Next time I go in they said that they will totally take out all that's in there and then fill it back up. With my doctor I get as many free fills as I want for 90 days and then each one after that will be the cost of my copay. I plan on getting as many as i need until I feel perfect. Anyway, wanted to share the experience so we can compare how we all do after our fills!

Yeah VA for the smaller pants - I tried an 18 on this weekend and it was too baggy so i put it at the top of the closet. I have other 18's that fit so that pair must just be made differently but - felt good anyway!!

[VABandster 0]

Skinnymom....you still alive?? Let us know that you're ok!

NewMe...OUCH!! That sucks that the surgeon niked your liver!! But glad to hear you're doing well now!! That's all that counts!

Luckygirl...thanks for telling us about your fill!! I go for mine on Friday, I can't wait! Mine are free for the first 3 mos too....but I have the biggest band (VG, holds 10ccs)....so i don't know how much he'll give me for my first fill.

[LuckyGirl 1]

VA - I kind of thought 1cc wouldn't be enough but I really felt the difference or at least I felt my band. Did you ever have like spasm feelings in your stomach right after surgery? Kind of like your stomach trying to figure out what this band thing is? I did and I felt a small spasm again last night. It doesn't hurt but I can imagine the stomach has to adjust to each time we get tightened. My side was sore too last night - so I think getting them slowly is great. Plus, it sounds like we both have progressive doctors who let us come in soon and often - if we need it! Good luck - can't wait to hear how your fill goes!

[skinnymom 2]

Hi everybody! I wanted to thank you all for the good advice. I think that as of this morning I am finally unstuck!!! Stupid peice of onion ring - so much trouble for such a small mistake!!! First I tried the warm drink (sipping) and that helped a little. I wanted to try the olive oil but didnt have any in the house (BTW do you think it would work with any kind of oil??). Finally, a freind who was banded in august just happend to call and I asked her and her advice combined with your advice about the waram Water helped...finallly...what relief!!! she suggested that i should take a sip, hold it in my mouth while I raise both hand overhead and look up while swallowing. It worked - I actually couldnt beleive it!!! I want to get the aloe vera juice and olive oil in case I need it in the future. Didnt get to use the wine - that seemed like a great idea as well. thank you all so much for your guidance and support!!! sorry about the repeat info in th eother threads but I was so desperate for answers and some different people post in different threads so I figured the more advice the better. Deseprate times call for desperate measures...huh?

[okiefamily 0]

New Me- Sorry your surgery was so eventful...Hope you are feeling better and welcome to the board. Good Luck on your Journey.

Skinnymom- glad to hear all has passed. Sounds like some kind of interesting tribal ritual, but hey, if it worked, I will save the post in case it happens to me.

Lucky Girl- thanks for sharing about the fill, I am eager and anxious to get mine.

I am glad to have this board to turn to for support and when I want to eat out of boredom. You guys rock!!

[Gerbera 0]

G'day and Good Morning all

6am here Yawn, stretch, I'm heading out for a walk as soon as I complete this post

StephC: Glad I could share my tuna Mornay/hotdish craving with someone else. Thanks for the tater tots suggestion, thats sounds so Yummy! NOW if only I knew what tater tots were hahaa. Please let me know Obviously we don't have them here in Australia, well we might, but under a different name hhaaa.

LuckyGirl: WoW Thanks for sharing about your 1st fill. It releived some anxieties for me. I'm curious if I will get a fill on my first visit? I paid a co payment of $1,000 and that is supposed to cover all my follow up appointments for 2 years. I imagine that includes fills? I just found out (reading a card the hospital gave me) I have a 14cc band.

LuckyGirl & VABandster: Isnt it amazing we were banded on the same day 19th December 2006 and how amazing how different Dr's in different countries vary with the follow up diets (Liquid) and fills etc.

TheNewMe: I'm pleased your feeling a lot better. Very sadly every surgery has its risks, how unfortunate you were one of the unlucky ones on this occassion. I read your post & commented in another section on the forum. Hope your finding the forum supportive and useful. keep us posted how your going

CHEERS to all - Happy Healthy Eating

[Gerbera 0]

skinnymom:

Phewwwwwww skinnymom So So Pleased your ok. Thanks for letting us know. From your experience, I guess we all know what to do now if we get a food stick. Amazingly I've been tempted to see if I could eat some different things, but after reading your post I DON'T DARE TRY!

[StephC 0]

Hi all - just came back from the doc - I thought I'd get my fill next week (PA made a mistake in telling me that) but I have to wait 2 weeks

He absolutely won't do them before 6 weeks because he says the band has to have time to build up scar tissue so it won't have a chance to slip - but the good news is we do it under fluro in xray so he doesn't do a little and then stop - he fills until nothing will go through then he takes a cc out. He said some people get up to 4 cc's the first fill - then I can have more fills every 2 weeks if I need to. Second good news is I lost another pound. Total of 16 lbs. He said don't worry about the weight until you get a fill and then he says to only expect 40% the first year - ugh! Thats only about 3 lbs a month for me! Of course he's trying to keep me in line and not to get too impatient. Its hard not to get impatient when you hear other people moving on but I guess its just like the different food stages and pre-op diets each doctor has his own theory of what works best so we just have to accept it.

Luckygirl - keep us informed on how the fill is going - you are a lucky girl! Are you sore where the needles went in?

Skinnymom - so glad to hear you are feeling better. And a lesson learned for all of us - warm drinks.

OH my 3rd good news - I'm officially on "regular" food! Still the 1/2 cup and no drinking an hour after - but guess what - I had a salad for lunch - it was wonderful! Thought I'd died and went to rabbit heaven.

[BabyGotBack 0]

Hi I am from Northern Indiana, I was banded on Dec. 19th. Surgery was a nightmare. They nicked my liver. YUCK!! Alot of pain Alot! Woke up with a PCA pump cathater and drain. Had to stay in the hospital for 3 days & come home with a drain tube. But it was all worth it, I am 3 weeks post op tomorrow and feeling great. Lost 13 lbs as of today. Hurray!! I started at 217, I am 5'2" I would love to see 140-150 some day. It's getting hard now I can tell my stomach is healing. My appetite is coming back full force. I'm trying hard to remember Soup is my friend. My best friend right now!! My Dr won't do the 1st fill until 6 weeks post op. I am wondering when we can start doing abdominal exercises? We just bought a Ab. Lounge!! I don't want to do anythng yet. Just wondering when though. This site is so cool. I am so excited for all us of. too be overweight is such a hard thing to describe and its wonderful to be able to share with so many people that truly understand. Well take care and feel free to message me. Sue

I am supposed to walk, but not raising my heart rate for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks I can do a little more strenous. No abdominals until 3 months. Audree

[StephC 0]

Gerbera - tater tots are kinda like what you might call chips - like fish & chips. Sorry I don't really know how to explain them - you buy them frozen and they are little round potato patty type things. LOL get it?