AquarianCrab

I took a personal day from work on Friday, one of those "mental health" days, where I stay in my pjs all day and do, well, nothing if I want to. Anyway, I was sitting in my husband's recliner looking for the TV remote when I found it. An open bag of my absolutely favorite kettle cooked potato chips. I looked at the dog and asked him if he thought it would hurt if I ate a few, and his impatience at my waiting to open the bag made me do it. I popped one in my mouth and gave him one. Before I could even taste it, I popped in two more. I offered the dog a second and he balked. It was then that I began to taste what was in my mouth. No wonder the dog didn't want another one. It was like I had taken a spoonful of coagulated bacon grease. It was the most disgusting taste and feeling like I was going to puke, I immediately ran to the sink pulled the trashcan out from the cabinet and spit. Never in a million years did I ever think I'd hate a potato chip so badly.

https://www.realizemysuccess.com/launch.htm

I love the iced tea flavor.

My calcium is hard to space out because it's just a single chew. Same with the others. I think it would be difficult to eat only a part of it and wrap the rest up for later since they're so small. I'm post-menopause so iron is not a necessity for me. In fact, I was told if I could find multis without iron that would be better.

In our pre-op classes we were told that if we didn't lift anything over 30 pounds at work we would be back to work after 1-3 weeks, and if we did lift 30 pounds or more we'd be back to work in 1-3 months (depending on how much weight we had to lift). As always, you'll find as you read more here, every surgeon has their own recommendations.

My surgeon prefers Realize so that's what I got. With Realize, you also get access to a very good online resource that lets you track stats for weight, measurements, clothes size, etc., log food intake and exercise, and get great recipes and helpful hints, AND your surgeon can also access your stats and food/exercise diaries to help keep you on track between appointments.

I was allowed protein shakes if I mixed them with water. To me, they were pretty yucko except for one: Unjury chicken soup flavor. Mix it into warm (not more than 130*F) water and it's a divine cup of chicken broth. The protein helps keep you feeling full longer. This product was suggested to me by my surgeon.

Unjury makes a protein powder in chicken soup flavor that got me through the liquid stage. My mom tried it when she came to visit one day and loved it as well - it's delicious! The protein in it helps keep you feeling full longer and really helped keep me from feeling hungry. If you decide to try it, just be sure not to heat your water to over 130 *F (it doesn't hurt the soup, but it changes the texture of the protein so you get little pieces of protein in your broth - still tastes good, but not as good as when it's completely dissolved).

Definitely go to the appointment, but have a chat with the doctor. I told my doctor that I wasn't hungry at all. He said as long as I'm not hungry and I'm still losing, a fill is not necessary. Now if I start feeling hungry or am not losing or (horrors) and gaining, then he said a fill should be "considered" (his words, believe it or not). In our pre-op classes, he stressed that fills are basically the patient's decision because it's the patient who really knows if it's needed or not. Look at it this way: I figure if you don't get the fill, you can always go back and get one. If you get the fill, and you're uncomfortable or having problems (and it's night or a weekend) you're not going to be happy. I personally don't intend to get a fill unless I reach a plateau of no weight loss for a couple of months or am hungry between meals to the point that I will put anything in my mouth just to curb the hunger. Bottom line is, you have to do what's right for YOU.

Welcome to the club!

Breakfast for me is a double Protein shake (2 cups of skim milk and 2 scoops of unjury protein powder) for 40g of protein down the hatch first every day. I make it up at home and drink it on the way to work. This is followed by 2 cups of coffee at work. lunch (at 11:30 AM - not my choice, I'm a teacher) is usually about 1 1/2 cups of leftovers from yesterday's dinner. I just mix all the leftovers into one microwavable container like a casserole (meat is cut into tiny chunks when I mix it all together after dinner the night before, and if there's not a lot, I'll put it into a whole wheat soft taco wrap). If I don't have any leftovers, I'll eat one of my emergency backups: either a lean cuisine or one lean pocket. Mid-afternoon snack (when I get home, around 4 PM) is usually my daily treat of a sugar-free jell-o chocolate pudding. Sometimes I'll have a lite no sugar applesauce or piece of fresh fruit if I have some. (I'll probably do the fruit more often once it's in season). Dinner is usually a piece of protein (1 pork chop or boneless chicken breast or fish fillet, for example), a couple of spoons of rice, potatoes, or Pasta, and a couple of spoons of cooked veggies. Sometimes on the weekend, if my husband craves wings or a big mac I'll make a salad and top it with a hard-boiled egg and tuna, chicken (I buy a family pack of boneless breasts, marinate and roast them, then slice them and put each breast in a baggie and put them in the freezer), or 2 slices of very well cooked spam (I buy the single slices in the foil pouches) cut into chunks (hey, some favorite foods are just non-negotiable, but I don't do this one often because my husband hates the smell of it). Dessert later in the evening is my assortment of gummy Vitamins, chewy calcium, chewy Omega fish oil, and this week I added 3 prunes. I know it's not really dessert, but they taste like it. My nutritionist and surgeon have me eating 1200 calories daily. I enter everything into a food diary on the Realize My Success site (love it, it calculates everything for you and they have some great recipes) at least twice a week - doctor's orders (by the way, he can also access my food diary and stats on the site). Sometimes I'm over by 100 calories, but most days I'm under by up to 500 calories (and I get reprimanded from my doctor more for being under than being over).

I was banded in January but haven't lost as much as you have - congrats on that. I haven't done any exercise either, but that is by my arthritis doctor's orders. He told me to wait until I get under 200 pounds so there will be less force on my knees. I'm at 210 now, so ten more pounds and I will have his approval to start walking. I can't wait - I want so badly to take my granddog for walks but I'm scared to death I'll get halfway around the block and be in so much pain that I won't be able to walk back home.

I've had this problem since my surgery, but this week was the worst experience ever. (If you're put off by very descriptive posts, skip to the next post.) I hadn't "gone" since Sunday. By Wednesday, I was so bloated and gassy it was beginning to get mildly painful. At one point a very loud release of gas occurred right in front of my students - can you say most embarrassing moment? I was constantly feeling like I had to go, but every time I sat down to business, nothing but gas. I knew that what little I was eating was still moving through, and was getting scared because I knew it was just compacting and getting wider, and the wider the stool, the more painful it is to release it. On the way home from work, I stopped at the drug store and bought a laxative, a stool softener, gas releaf tablets, and fiber tablets. Hey, I was getting desperate. When I got home, I decided to give it another try before I delved in to all of that "help". Just for shits and grins (pun intended) I got on the scale first. After a painful pushing session that felt like another baby delivery, I was able to drop a huge, very wide (about double my normal width) turd. When it was over, I immediately felt better. I got on the scale again, and lo and behold I had just dropped two pounds of crap! I've been eating 3 prunes daily since Wednesday, and although it's still dry and requires some effort, I've been able to go. This weekend I'm going to try my first dose of the fiber supplement to see if that helps.

Are you on any medications? I had to restart my blood pressure medicine, and the dosage was later increased because my blood pressure just won't stay down. I also feel like that when my blood sugar is low or high. I was taking medicine for diabetes before my surgery and it was stopped, so if I'm not careful about what I eat, or forget to eat because I'm not hungry, that's how I feel.

Yep.

I had the strips and was told no baths or showers, just a PTA bath at the sink. He took the strips off at the 1 week appointment and then gave me the go-ahead to shower. I was told coffee is okay, but to drink decaf for the first 3 months because caffeine can irritate the stomach lining too soon after surgery. I'm now drinking half cafe.

I gave in to a pack of M&Ms this past week. I felt so sick after I ate them then later guilty, but they were oh so good going down. I'm glad they made me sick, because it will probably be a while (at least another few weeks) before I give in again. Especially since I lost nothing for my weekly weigh-in. We all know the rules. We all know it's against the rules. But we're all also human. Nobody ever said this was going to be easy. "So pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try all over again".... (anybody else remember that song, or am I showing my age here?) Denise

My mom made me drag some bins of old clothes out of storage because she said my clothes were so big I looked like a baglady. When I picked up a pair of size 22 (no elastic waist), I said no way. The jeans I had on were 28 with elastic waist. Mom said put them on, and I did. It was great!

I've always done best with Sugarbuster's, but then I was diabetic, so it makes sense. Always lost and always felt well. It was just so hard to keep up because my family just had to have their white carbs. Now that my boys are grown and gone, it might be easier. My husband is a human toothpick and has always eaten less than what I'm eating on the band, but he's a junk food junkie and that's tough for me.

Thank God I was on mushies when I went back to work. Talk about not being able to go to the bathroom when you need to.....I'm a teacher - can't leave a roomful of kids to go potty.

Pam, you're doing fine, just take it slow. You've got the same pains we've all had. I know it's painful and scary, but it's normal. Now if it's still happening two weeks from now, you might have a problem. Best advice I can give you is, if in doubt, call the doc. That's what you paid him for. Oh, and most of us also had a "what have I done" day the first week. I cried my eyes out and hated myself for a good 12 hours. Then I went to bed, woke up the next morning, got on the scale and said "oh yeah!" Denise

I had a rash after my surgery that turned out to be ringworm. My sister works at the hospital and said it's not unusual for people to leave with an infection of something or other. Ringworm is a fungus that is in soil. Well, when they moved me around, they put my shoes right on top of my blanket. Voila! I was told it was my fault for not putting my shoes in the plastic bag - well, duh, I was smart enough not to put my shoes in the same bag with my clothes...

I don't think you're under any obligation to pay anything until you actually receive a bill. That said, my sister works at a hospital and tells me that billing makes errors typing codes in all of the time. I have Horizon BCBS, and I told them I wanted everything spelled out in writing before I started the "program". I received my approval in writing, with everything spelled out as to exactly what was covered and what wasn't. They even stated how many pre-op visits to the doctor and nutritionist would be approved, what pre-op tests, everything. With written approval in hand, I began my journey.

When people at work ask, I say "don't know, don't care, as long as my health keeps improving". That (I hope) gives them a clear message of what is important. The problem I have is with my mother and my adult son. They are both the vainest virgos I know, and nothing is more important to them than being in perfect physical appearance. They hound me relentlessly. To them, a one pound loss is failure. Then just today my dad stopped by, and he said "are you still losing anything? are you sure you're eating the right stuff?" Last week my sister (also a vain virgo) told me how much she's lost on her new diet, then asked me how much I've lost like it's a contest. When I told her, she said "at least I'm doing it on my own". Actually, I think it is a contest to her because she started her diet on my surgery day. She told the girls she works with that her sister had lap band surgery (none of their business in my book) and there's no way she's letting me get skinnier than her. So while neighbors and people at work annoy me, my family is downright hurtful.

I guess my progress isn't as bad as I thought. I went in for my appointment, and the doctor said that since I was still losing and not hungry, he wasn't going to do a fill. He said he'll do one when I come in weighing the same as or (horrors) more than the previous appointment. He said there is no need to do a fill unless I'm not losing. I do keep my own weekly records, and this month it's been a pound or less a week. I think sometimes that because we see so much loss in the first couple of weeks, we get impatient later on when the weight loss slows. I know my mom is impatient. She asks me every Saturday what the "magic number" is. If it's 1 or 0, she starts lecturing. She insists I should be losing 5 pounds per week. I keep telling her I had lapband, not gastric bypass (like my cousin - who did lose at that rate) and weight loss is slower with a band, but she still gripes at me, telling me I must be cheating. I'd like to start exercising, but since the doctor took me off of my arthritis meds, my knee is absolutely killing me. The pain will sometimes wake me up in the middle of the night. I'd love to take my granddog for a walk but I'm scared to death I'll get halfway around the block and be in so much pain I won't be able to make it home. So I'm going to wait until our pool opens and do my walking in the Water so there's less strain on my knee. Denise