March Bandsters: MASTER THREAD

[Fenton 3]

Post-op day 6.

To my astonishment, I still have the steristrips! And the haloes of grime around my old IV and EKG lead sites! (I'm going to borrow some damn nail polish remover from my gf to take care of those, as God is my witness!)

I get the occasional twinge from my incision sites, but no pain. Since the first night, I've been able to sleep at home on either side, so the incisions have really not been an issue. I can now bend with minimal discomfort, although, if I stay bent over, it begins to feel a little uncomfortable. Although that may just me being neurotic.

I have less gas pain, but that might be related to the fact that I've been walking more. And I've actually been having a life - both yesterday and today I went to the movies.

Bathroom-wise, everything seems fine. Peeing is normal, and I seem to be going to the toilet every 3 days maybe, and a very small amount.

I decided to take two weeks off work for this, and am glad I did. I know many people go back to work a lot sooner than that, but I'm a fairly hefty fellow, and I'd like to think that it took more out of me than it did out of some of the more sylph-like types on this board! But I'm glad I have another week off to finish healing, to decompress and to recover from the last month of preop/op stuff.

I'm trying to think - did I miss anything?

[Fenton 3]

I'm amused by the counterpoint attacks of me being a chicken Chewer! It's TRUE!

But I'm not as much a hypocrite as I might seem - the chicken in the Soup was cut into thin ribbons (Thai Soups tend to be quick-cooking affairs - indeed, Thai food as a whole is that way) (short cook times - prep can be lengthy), and most of it went to the cats. I had a couple of small pieces, and I chewed each piece for a couple of minutes until it was a fine paste, and then took more broth - my goal was to get the meat to something that I could sip through a straw, the criterion proposed in the bariatric center guidelines. Which I did.

My suggestion would be that you save your outrage at my hypocrisy until Easter Sunday, when I have decided that I will have not one, but TWO pieces of high-end chocolate!

[Fenton 3]

Welcome aboard, newer March bandsters!

And Harleygirl, congrats of Day 1 of liquids! The headaches are day 1 or 2 stuff, and once your system gets used to that, you'll be fine.

[Fenton 3]

My planned total intake today - full liquids day 7:

1. smoothie made with 1 cup of low fat pomegranate kefir

with two scoops of Protein powder - about 250 cals, 2 g fat, 33g Protein

2. Half a diet Snapple

3. A pineapple-orange-banana Isopure - about 260 cals, 45 g protein

4. The other half of the broth from my tom yam goong - maybe 10 calories? no protein

And Water at will.

I'm going to have to start taking in more calories. Hmmm... some mock tortilla Soup might go nicely...

Oh, medicine:

20 mg of Prilosec

Two Flintstones chewables (over time - I worry that the granularity might irritate my stomach lining)

[Fenton 3]

Oh, wait! I also had some Tuscan white bean Soup - 200 cals, 1 g total fat, 12 g Protein.< /p>

[whimsy 0]

I'm amused by the counterpoint attacks of me being a chicken Chewer! It's TRUE!

Pfft. Attacks? My dear Fenton, it's simply my way of showing concern for you as you show concern for everyone else. I don't think it's hypocrisy, per se. I just think that some of us will focus on one aspect of the lapband as opposed to others.

I appreciate the fact that you chewed that sliver of chicken to fine paste until it could probably be sipped threw a straw. :tongue2: The fact remains is that others may not be as...diligent. I've heard too many horror stories about "just one small bite of..." that went horribly wrong. I don't want that for me, you or anyone else.

So, it's more of my way to also put in my two cents about what we consume during our liquid phase. I think both points are important - watch the calories, starch, etc and also stick to the liquids as directed.

Besides, considering the reason why we're all in this situation, no one really has room to be food police, eh? :tt2:

And as far as the 2 pieces of high end chocolate - enjoy it! :drool:

[pippinje 0]

Pfft. Attacks? My dear Fenton, it's simply my way of showing concern for you as you show concern for everyone else. I don't think it's hypocrisy, per se. I just think that some of us will focus on one aspect of the lapband as opposed to others.

I appreciate the fact that you chewed that sliver of chicken to fine paste until it could probably be sipped threw a straw. :tongue2: The fact remains is that others may not be as...diligent. I've heard too many horror stories about "just one small bite of..." that went horribly wrong. I don't want that for me, you or anyone else.

So, it's more of my way to also put in my two cents about what we consume during our liquid phase. I think both points are important - watch the calories, starch, etc and also stick to the liquids as directed.

Besides, considering the reason why we're all in this situation, no one really has room to be food police, eh?

And as far as the 2 pieces of high end chocolate - enjoy it! :drool:

Not to mention one should be open to constructive criticism if they are indeed going to dole it out.

Hmmmmm...wonder if chocolate has more fat than cheese?:tt2:

[kcispy4 0]

Thanks for the info Amanda. I started sleeping on my left side and it's been much better!

[whimsy 0]

Incidentally, I went to the mall with my husband yesterday and enjoyed a nice smoothie. They had options of using Splenda and adding different supplements, so we opted for a scoop of whey Protein. This added 20 grams of Protein to my wild berry smoothie.< /p>

It was pretty tasty. I sipped it all day long since it was SO huge.

I'm doing my best to find the healthy way to take in these Proteins and I think this smoothie might be a decent way to do it.

My steri-strips are still on and my surgery was on the 3rd. I'm not in as much pain as before but I'm still sore.

I've been having some strange shooting pains just below my main incision site which have made me very uncomfortable. If they persist, I'll be calling my surgeon.

I think the worst for me has been not getting a restful night of sleep. I can't sleep comfortably whether it's lying down or sitting up. I finally slept on my right side for a short stint but even that wasn't very comfortable for me. So, more than anything, I'm tired but I'm hanging in there.

Now if I can just get my mother to stop asking how much weight I've lost, I'll be in good shape... :drool:

[Fenton 3]

Haha! I was just clarifying my ChickenChewin' habits, because I knew you guys were worrying about me! I'll post a video of the state of my mouth contents when chocolate Chompin' time comes around...

Post-op, my first worry was not getting enough Fluid in. Now it's not getting enough Protein - I don't want to lose too much hair - and calories. At my size, the recommended daily intake is over 4,000 cals, so I expect I'll get decent weight loss in this period of low cal intake.

But I worry that my muscles will begin to get cannibalized for fuel if I don't raise my intake a bit.

The thing is, I just don't want to. I haven't had my Isopure or my tom yam broth yet, and I'm not at all hungry. I feel full from the Soup I had at 2PM.

I'm hoping this means that I'll be one of those people who gets decent restriction without having the band filled up too much.

[Fenton 3]

Off-topic:

TANYA!

What IS that banana/"peanut butter jelly time" thing? I've seen it as a bit on FAMILY GUY, and I didn't recognize it. Where does it come from?

[pippinje 0]

I think the worst for me has been not getting a restful night of sleep. I can't sleep comfortably whether it's lying down or sitting up. I finally slept on my right side for a short stint but even that wasn't very comfortable for me. So, more than anything, I'm tired but I'm hanging in there.

I think this is also my biggest problem right now. I try putting pillows under my belly to lie on my side or a bunch behind my head if lying on my back. I toss and turn all night long trying to get comfortable. I have almost decided that I will start sleeping on the couch since it seems to be the most comfortable place. LOL. On a brighter note, we leave for Dallas again tomorrow afternoon for my DH surgery. I might sleep better in the hotel. :drool:

[Fenton 3]

Whimsy- have you tried your left side? It's supposed to be the better side for people who have reflux to lie on, so I guess there's less pressure on the stomach in that position. If you take some Tylenol before hoppping in, and pad the bed with enough pillows on that side, you might be surprised to find it's fine.

[whimsy 0]

Haha! I was just clarifying my ChickenChewin' habits, because I knew you guys were worrying about me! I'll post a video of the state of my mouth contents when chocolate Chompin' time comes around...

Post-op, my first worry was not getting enough Fluid in. Now it's not getting enough Protein - I don't want to lose too much hair - and calories. At my size, the recommended daily intake is over 4,000 cals, so I expect I'll get decent weight loss in this period of low cal intake.

But I worry that my muscles will begin to get cannibalized for fuel if I don't raise my intake a bit.

The thing is, I just don't want to. I haven't had my Isopure or my tom yam broth yet, and I'm not at all hungry. I feel full from the Soup I had at 2PM.

I'm hoping this means that I'll be one of those people who gets decent restriction without having the band filled up too much.

I'm actually having similar concerns. I'm reviewing my food diary from yesterday and today and I see a decline in my intake. Granted, my hunger kicks in sometimes but overall I'm not incredibly hungry.

Yesterday was the first day that I didn't get in all my Protein. I was at about 54 grams and my doctor wants me to have at least 60 daily.

I also noticed that my legs were holding some Water last night. That was likely a result of not sipping as much Water as i should. So, yesterday was an off track kind of day. I'm hoping to do better today.

So far, i'm at about 40 grams of protein for the day but I had to force myself to drink some of my Protein shakes. It's not that I don't like them, in all honesty. I just don't have the appetite.

When I did feel hungry, I had some blended Hormel turkey chili (no beans!) and I felt better. Plus, I got some decent protein from it.

But, like you said, Fenton, I hope this means I won't need to wait to long to find my sweet spot. I hope my first fill is the winner! :biggrin2:

As for sleeping on my left side...I'm skeered! :drool:

It's still so incredibly sore and even when I attempted to sleep on my right side, it felt like my innards were sloshing about. I'm willing to attempt anything at this point to feel better, so I may try that tonight. I have a body pillow and several other pillows to use, so why not?

[whimsy 0]

I think this is also my biggest problem right now. I try putting pillows under my belly to lie on my side or a bunch behind my head if lying on my back. I toss and turn all night long trying to get comfortable. I have almost decided that I will start sleeping on the couch since it seems to be the most comfortable place. LOL. On a brighter note, we leave for Dallas again tomorrow afternoon for my DH surgery. I might sleep better in the hotel. :drool:

Jenna, are ya'll gonna have to come to Dallas for fills? If so, I definitely want to meet ya'll for lunch or something down the road!

I will say that my family enjoys going to Shreveport for the casinos, so we'll probably be out your way before long, too.