Shrinking Violets -- April 07 Bandsters

[kity 2]

:kiss2: Hi everyone, I can say that I am "freaking out" a bit as we get closer. I was approved on 2-12-07, but am still having to go through the formalities of all the testing. I had the stress test for the heart today. WOW...that sucked. I couldnt have coffee this am, and have been tired all day. Anyway, besides the Doctor signing off on the test (the tech is my friend, said it looked good)...I AM ALL DONE.

My eating has been all over the place. As with all diets all my life, I start off great...and crap out during the day. On March 21, I pick up the 10 days preop diet of Optifast...so I will continue to try until then doing the best I can, and if I blow it from time to time, I will forgive myself. I am excited, and scared. But I AM READY. It is nice to have this April thread for us. What is the exercise challenge this month? I quit smoking 2 weeks ago, and am ready to jump in...I hope!

HERE WE GO!

[Sara Mos 0]

Hey I found a really good list on the March bandesters site: Post of for what we might need after: I'll post it.

PREOPERATIVE SHOPPING LIST

This list contains items that some patients wish they had before their surgeries but didn't think of til later. It is compiled from suggestions by Mandy, Photonut, Archermom, NancySmiles and her LBSG support group (including Nancy, Del, Cindy, and Toni), Gadgetlady, and NancyRN.

Feel free to post your suggestions to add to our list. Hope these suggestions are helpful.

food

For Fluid stage:

• Bottled Water – plain or flavored, some like Propel or fruit 2-0

• Popsicles (sugar-free as needed)

• Crystal Light

• Crystal Light “On the GO” in different flavors - add to bottled water

• Jello (sugar-free)

• Gatorade

• Bouillon or chicken/beef/veggie broths (low sodium as needed)*

• Ensure, Boost, Glucerna - or whatever Protein drink the Dietitian asked you to drink based on your history*

• Protein powder for shakes*

• Frozen fruits for Protein shakes

• Clear Soups

• Decaf tea

• Hot cocoa mix (sugar-free)

For creamy stage:

• Cream of Wheat

• Creamy Soups

• Applesauce

• Yogurt - Dannon Lite N' Fit

• "Imagine" Soups - in cartons (Potato Leek, Butternut, Squash, Corn, Creamy Tomato....and more. They are considerably lower in sodium than Campbell’s soups.)

• Soup-at-Hand soups

• Small pudding cups (sugar- and fat-free) - Take a spoonful to get meds to slide down easier

•Sugar-free gum (ask your doctor)

•Sugar-free breath mints (Ask your doctor)

*Make sure to taste each item before you buy them in bulk

DRUGSTORE

• liquid medications

Tylenol (adult strength)

Pain medications

Gas-X or Phazyme

You will want these meds right away when you come home. It can be very difficult to find them in a liquid form. Check with the pharmacy beforehand to see if they stock them or how far in advance you will need to order them. At your preop visit (or earlier if needed), ask the doctor for prescriptions so that you will have them ready when you return home.

• chewable Vitamins

• Stool softener

• Antihistamine cream, if you tend to get irritated by tape or bandages

Do not put directly on incision.

• Heating pad

• Flexible ice pack

• Pill cutter

• Gauze pads 4x4

• Non-irritating tape, such as paper tape

• Kitchen timer – for 15 minute sip intervals for the first few days

• Blender

• Wet Wipes or “adult baby wipes” like Cottonelle

• Toilet tongs (long barbeque tongs) – Use if you are just too sore after the surgery to reach around and wipe your “behind”. Just wrap the wipes around the end to get an additional few inches so you don’t have to contort yourself.:funnypost:

OTHER THINGS TO MAKE YOU COMFORTABLE

• A few books or movies

• Comfy clothes, such as loose-waisted shorts

• Slip-on shoes

• Squishy pillow for car ride -to cushion seatbuilt

• For women, a sports bra – “doc said no underwire for a few days”

THINGS TO DO BEFORE SURGERY

• Prepare your advance health care directive form, so key people can carry out healthcare decisions important to you if you are unable to so. Discuss your decisions with these key people, including family and doctors. One excellent way is to fill out your “Five Wishes” booklet. Obtain several weeks in advance from “Aging With Dignity”, 1-888-5-WISHES (1-888-594-7437). You can obtain other formats from your hospital or online.

• Cook some chicken before surgery. Save the broth and freeze it in very small containers (ice cube trays work well). This broth has less sodium than store brands, if you have a salt problem.

• Check if your medications are “crushable” (able to be crushed without causing problem with effectiveness).

• Get rid of all the foods in the house you are not to eat, before you go to the hospital.

• Buy all the groceries you will need for at least 2 weeks after surgery.

• Catch up on your laundry and housecleaning.

• Make arrangements for someone else to prepare family meals – You may not feel like cooking for some time.

• Get a manicure or pedicure.

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[Sara Mos 0]

Wow Kity, Im impressed, you gave up smoking 2 weeks ago! I went to the Drs on Friday to see if she would give me the new smoking pill, but she said to cut down and quite after, Im down to 10 ciggs a day now (not healthy I know) I must read that Alan Carr book again. The exercise challenge is 4 times a week!! Good Luck!

[mdrai 3]

Great info, Sara, thanks for posting it!

Yesterday I completed 4 tests @ the Radiologists, + 1 @ the Cardio's. Everything went well except I was told I have a "fatty" liver. Need to google that & see what that means (other than the obvious). I guess it goes w/my "fatty" everything else... but I'd like to know the medical implications.

Today I go to my Gastro consult & a yearly check-up w/my sleep doc re: my apnea (turns out I haven't seen her since 10/04 -- whoops!). Talk about getting it all done at once! whew!

After that, all I need is my psych consult (3/10) & 1st 1-on-1 w/the dietician (3/13) & 1st exercise consult (3/13) -- then I am DONE & the waiting game will begin!

Baby steps...

Have a great day, everyone!

[Jennifur 0]

Morning Everyone

Can I say what a great group of people with such a great sense of humor. I love reading these post.

Anyway, I only walked 15 minutes yesterday because my son was sick with the stomach bug - does scrubbing my bathroom from top to bottom 5 times count towards anything? yuck

I am waiting for my final preop test, I have met all other requirements but found out that I have more, not for insurance but to make sure I don't have gall stones or blood clots. That was kind of stressful since I have a surgery date.

That is a great post op list, I did already see it but lost track of it so i printed it out this morning.

I think that I like this forum so much because I am beginning to realize that other people feel the same way I do and feeling more at ease with some of my fears

HAVE

[TerriDoodle 6]

Good Morning everyone!

MDRAI - Yes, you'll definitely want to look up 'fatty liver' especially with regard to this surgery. From what I understand that is the main reason we are put on strict diets before surgery (to rid the liver of extra fat). They have to lift the liver out of the way in order to get the band around the stomach and if it's heavy with extra fat then it increases the risk of injury to the liver -- they're pretty fragile and almost impossible to repair.

I tell ya girlz, the more I read on this board, the more excited I get. Last night I read every bit of the thread titled (something like) "Have you reached your goal weight?" and let me tell you, that is inspiring to see the rate of success. And to know that, for most of us, the weight will be gone forever and our lifelong struggle with weight will leave us. It's hard for me to even imagine not obsessing constantly about "How am I going to get this weight off???" when I have already tried everything out there. These thoughts have plagued me night and day, day and night, since I was 12 years old. I have beat myself up 'til I'm black and blue and am so ready to think about something ELSE for a change. I am relieved. I am ready.

.....AND....I am very, very grateful to have this opportunity and I will NOT waste it.

Best wishes to all of you...have a glorious day!!

[kity 2]

Sara, thanks for your kind words and support. It does suck not being able to smoke, but I love how I smell now. Plus I want to do cardio and it is too hard when you smoke. Good luck to you!

[Sara Mos 0]

Thanks Kitty

Wow, you had loads of tests yesterday mdrai, at least there nearly over now.

I agree with you Jennifur re this forum, I love checking it now daily...I'm getting addicted to chatting to you all! (and knowing we'll all be here for each other) I feel like you all my buddies now

Terridoddel...Ohh Ive been thinking about what you said about a fatty liver this evening, and how they have to lift it out of the way....Ive been wondering if to crash diet now for 4 weeks (Im trying to do slim fast x 2 then an evening meal) I know thats not been recomended to me by the dietician....but it is a bit worrying, Im imagening my liver is huge, lol, I hope its not too big though!

Have a great weekend everyone xx

[Sara Mos 0]

Hows everyone done this week with their personal goals? Ok this week I set myself a couple of targets 1. to exercise 2. cut down on ciggs: Ive managed to acheive the following:

1. Exercised x 2 this week:

*Walked 40mins

*40 mins of gym workout equiptment: 10 mins rower: 10mins elpitcal trainer (nearly died on that) 10 mins jogger (wel walked fast) 10 mins weights

2. Cut down from 20 ciggs per day to 10 per day:

Next weeks goal that Im setting myself:

1. Exercise x 3 times per week

2. Cut out bread

3. Keep to 10 ciggs per day (& read Alan carr book - stop smoking)

Have a great week folks! xx

[mdrai 3]

Those sound like reasonable goals, Sara... good for you for setting manageable goals that you can reasonably meet... I always tend to shoot too high & then get disappointed easily when I fall short. You've motivated me! I think that I will set some for this week, too (last week I overshot by thinking I could jump right in & do all the nutritionists recommendations bing-bam-boom... guess what... I couldn't...)... So here goes:

Atkins shake each morning for Breakfast (started this last week)

No bread, Pasta, rice

64 oz. Water daily

no caffeine

Exercise (I do basically nothing now)... so... 3x for at least 15 mins.

Baby steps!

[TerriDoodle 6]

G'Morning April Bandsters-

My ticker reads '30 days until my surgery'. 30 days. That is way cool.

I'm facing the fact that I'm really having that "Last Meal Syndrome" and I can't believe the crap I ate yesterday. Generally I eat pretty healthy because of blood sugar problems but I got a taste of Panera french bread yesterday and it was all over. I had a bunch of it...with lots of butter. And then on the way out of the store I bought a pecan sticky bun--thinking my 3 companions would want to share it when we got home. Well, nobody did and I scarffed down that bun all by myself. I mean it was gone before I even realized what I was doing!! This is pretty strange behavior for me and it has to be that last meal demon whispering in my ear and telling me lies!!! Anyway, my goal for today is to get back into my routine and NO sugary treats!! And tomorrow I'll add another goal...like getting off my hiney and doing some walking. Baby steps.

Anyone have any good books or other resources for how to define, face and change these behaviors? Maybe Dr Phil's Life Strategies, or what?

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

[Jennifur 0]

Good Morning Everyone!

I have been dying to get on but had computer problems this weekend.

Sara - Great goals! My son was sick as I posted before and didn't get to the gym, but did walk Saturday on my treadmill, 15 mins which is not great but something. Went bowling (I joined a league last week) and did 3 games and this morning went to the gym for 45 minutes. I am going to cheat and count bowling as exercise, only because I can log it in on my chart with the gym so it counts.

TerriDoodle - I am getting better about the "last meal" thing, but, until I have surgery I am by the book with what I eat Monday - Friday and then cheat a little on the weekend. The first few weeks I was out of control, I got something in my head and my mouth watered for it all week, and I would make it on Saturday. I find as I do this and time goes by, my cravings are different, even healthier, and I am also making those bad dishes much healthier.

I hope you can find something that works for you. 30 DAYS! YIPEE

Happy Monday Everyone

[day3447 0]

Hi there pre bander,

I started my journey January 2006-- My insurance covered it but made me jump through hoops prior to doing anything.. I was denied in December 06 & upon appeal with 5yrs worth of Physician notes showing I have been overweight and a peer to peer discussion w/ my physician and the Aetna Health Plan Physician I am Approved. It is a long difficult process, it would have been easier if I had comorbidities but thankfully I do not. I started this journey at 230 and am 215 right now. Keep on going don't quit, that is all the insurance wants you to do..

Ana

[Jennifur 0]

Mdrai

those are great goals!. Personally I had to do the same thing. I feel like I am in a good place with eating- or a much better place. I have been really strict for about 6 weeks and can now easily pick up Monday morning if i cheat on the weekend. (which I do so I don't feel totally deprived)

I hate walking on my treadmill so I set small goals on that when I am stuck inside but Just made the commitment to go to the gym every day. I figure that in 1 month the gym will be something I don't think about and a part of my every day life.

[singdeborah 0]

I hope to be added to the April bandster list. I'm going for three appts. in the next two weeks and if all goes smoothly they said it could be in April. Hoping for April.