TerriDoodle

I slept well last night and only had to get up 3-4 times to pee, rather than the every 15 mins. I did the night before! Oh, and I also weighed 211 today so the weight loss has officially begun! I really feel like I have 'turned the corner' and my pain is sooooo much better today. I'm only taking Tylenol now. Still using Gas-X. Had a 1/2 c of cream of wheat this morning and it was yummy! (skim milk, brown sugar splenda, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, plain protein) I'll probably have soup again for lunch. Need to start tracking on fitday. Think i'll go over there now....

While I was sore and in pain (I'm now 3 days post op) I was having a bit of the "what the hell have I done?" thing going on, but now that I'm feeling MUCH better and have lost my first real pound....I'm nothing but excited!!! I'm not hungry (yet) and am quite satisfied with a small smoothie or 1/2 c of soup, etc. It's all good! :-)

(((((THANK YOU, BETTY)))))))

EXCELLENT!!! Sounds like you are doing everything right. It feels good to take such positive steps, doesn't it? So much better than sitting around with that feeling of hopelessness. Makes every day brighter. Please let me know how you're getting along, ok? BTW, I'm post-op day 3 and feeling very well....really feel like I've turned the corner today. The procedure itself is quite tolerable if that is a concern for you. Spivak is the best.

****ANNOUNCEMENT**** I have officially lost ONE pound since my surgery day weigh-in!! It has been soooo long since I have actually seen my weight DROP that I forgot how exciting it is!! WAY COOL!! First thing I did this morning is change my ticker, baby! Sara - We have the Queen Mother of shopping malls right here in Houston, The Galleria, and it is wonderful!! 375 stores!! Everything from The Gap to Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Yurman, Vercace, Tiffany, etc.... Of course, Houston doesn't have a whole lot to offer tourists otherwise, but I'm here!! DaVinci Syrups - We looked at some of the stores here and couldn't find it; I just went to www.netrition.com and ordered a few flavors. They've got 20+ different ones!! You should check it out!. I've used this company before for supplements and they deliver very quickly and have good prices. I also ordered some papaya enzyme...they're chewable and I've read around the board that it helps to take those when food gets stuck. Better to have it on hand!

We got our Magic Bullet at Kohl's. It is really great! and I love the strainer too...that'll help with the liquid stage for the next 4 weeks!! Lunasa - I'm so very sorry your airplane trip was so horrible. Don't worry, sweetheart...things will be getting much better very soon! I can't remember...where do you live? How long will you stay in Florida? Jennifur-- I'm missing you! Hope you're having fun in Myrtle Beach!!

Well, I thought I would record my banding experience...I may find it interesting at some point in the future. DH drove me to Park Plaza at 8:30 and I basically sat around until 10:00. they got me in a gown and in a room then I took a nap (relaxed, eh?). Finally got to the staging area about 11:00 where they took another hour to start an IV and get an anesthesia history. I met with Dr. Spivak for a bit, too. At noon they gave me something in my IV that made me really goofy and took me to the OR then....LIGHTS OUT! I woke up in recovery feeling quite a bit of pain and having difficulty breathing. They gave me oxygen and some morphine, I think...and I was in and out of sleep...don't really remember. At some point they took me back up to my room and I was SLEEPY!! I was having a really hard time staying awake for more than 30 seconds at a time. I was hurting, but not too bad...I could get up out of bed and sit up etc. They wouldn't let me go until I drank 30 oz of fluid and urinated. The fluid wasn't any problem but I was having a very hard time urinating...I kept falling asleep on the toilet!! Actually, I even would take a sip of water and fall asleep before I swallowed it!! That happened 3 times....with the popsicle too. It was pretty funny. I finally peed and was able to go home at about 8:00p. I got home and watched the recorded American Idol (why??) and posted on LBT! I actually slept very well. I was given liquid vicodin for pain and that did the trick for me but I do have to take it every 4 hours! I'm still taking it. I didn't really eat anything to speak of for 2 days. 1st 24 hours I took 3 naps and had one 8 oz protein drink and a bunch of water. Shoulder pain was the worst of all. Took a shower. 2nd 24 hours I've been moving around a lot more, even went for a walk outside this morning, and did a little shoppiing at Michaels with Hannah. Did a load of laundry, unloaded the dishwasher, etc. Haven't had any shoulder pain today. I made a 4 oz smoothie, 3/4 c. cream of wheat, 3/4 c cream of mushroom soup. That's all! But I'm not really hungry. Feeling a little weak, so I know I need to eat, and I will, but I sure do like not eating all the time! I know this won't last but it's pretty cool for now! DH was so sweet yesterday...I gave him a whole list of stuff I needed and should have gotten beforehand. One of which was a "magic bullet" and that thing is GREAT!! He's been wonderful about this whole thing. Very supportive and never questioning my judgement at all. I weighed 212 before surgery, 219 day after and 215 today! Man, that's a lot of water! Ok, headwise, I am having a little bit of the "oh sh*t what have I done?!" syndrome but I hope I'll get past that. DH and DD were eating BBQ and baked potatoes last night and I was feeling kind of sorry for myself. But those kinds of feelings don't last long. The support and motivation here on LBT have been indespensible. I can't imagine how one goes through something like this without it. Seriously. Life is good.

Well, I thought I would record my banding experience...I may find it interesting at some point in the future. DH drove me to Park Plaza at 8:30 and I basically sat around until 10:00. they got me in a gown and in a room then I took a nap (relaxed, eh?). Finally got to the staging area about 11:00 where they took another hour to start an IV and get an anesthesia history. I met with Dr. Spivak for a bit, too. At noon they gave me something in my IV that made me really goofy and took me to the OR then....LIGHTS OUT! I woke up in recovery feeling quite a bit of pain and having difficulty breathing. They gave me oxygen and some morphine, I think...and I was in and out of sleep...don't really remember. At some point they took me back up to my room and I was SLEEPY!! I was having a really hard time staying awake for more than 30 seconds at a time. I was hurting, but not too bad...I could get up out of bed and sit up etc. They wouldn't let me go until I drank 30 oz of fluid and urinated. The fluid wasn't any problem but I was having a very hard time urinating...I kept falling asleep on the toilet!! Actually, I even would take a sip of water and fall asleep before I swallowed it!! That happened 3 times....with the popsicle too. It was pretty funny. I finally peed and was able to go home at about 8:00p. I got home and watched the recorded American Idol (why??) and posted on LBT! I actually slept very well. I was given liquid vicodin for pain and that did the trick for me but I do have to take it every 4 hours! I'm still taking it. I didn't really eat anything to speak of for 2 days. 1st 24 hours I took 3 naps and had one 8 oz protein drink and a bunch of water. Shoulder pain was the worst of all. Took a shower. 2nd 24 hours I've been moving around a lot more, even went for a walk outside this morning, and did a little shoppiing at Michaels with Hannah. Did a load of laundry, unloaded the dishwasher, etc. Haven't had any shoulder pain today. I made a 4 oz smoothie, 3/4 c. cream of wheat, 3/4 c cream of mushroom soup. That's all! But I'm not really hungry. Feeling a little weak, so I know I need to eat, and I will, but I sure do like not eating all the time! I know this won't last but it's pretty cool for now! DH was so sweet yesterday...I gave him a whole list of stuff I needed and should have gotten beforehand. One of which was a "magic bullet" and that thing is GREAT!! He's been wonderful about this whole thing. Very supportive and never questioning my judgement at all. I weighed 212 before surgery, 219 day after and 215 today! Man, that's a lot of water! Ok, headwise, I am having a little bit of the "oh sh*t what have I done?!" syndrome but I hope I'll get past that. DH and DD were eating BBQ and baked potatoes last night and I was feeling kind of sorry for myself. But those kinds of feelings don't last long. The support and motivation here on LBT have been indespensible. I can't imagine how one goes through something like this without it. Seriously. Life is good.

I got some liquid vitamins at Sam's club and they're tolerable...just taste like strong orange juice and you only have to take 2 tsp.

Wow! That's cool!! At least you KNOW you're in the best hands possible in that regard. For me that was a huge, huge factor. Please feel free to PM me if I can help you in any way.

Sara - My doc is haviing me do breathing exercises every 2 hours -- maybe you should do the same if you're not already. Just take 5 slow deep breaths (as deep as you can) every 2 hours (while awake) for 2 weeks. I was on major drugs when they explained why, but I do it anyway. It's harder to do in the mornings than in the afternoon, so there must be some good it is doing. Twigs - CONGRATULATIONS !! Sounds like you are doing amazingly well! Go easy though, especially since you've been traveling AND going back to work on Monday. Rest! Cred - I'd be careful with the egg drop soup. I'm sure it would be okay if you blenderized it, though. I'm popping the Gas-X, too....it helps! That is so cool about your insurance -- you sure don't hear that story very often!! You're lucky!

Awww shucks!! Thanks you guys! Ya'll are the BEST.

Seems like I read somewhere that flying can affect your swelling. Maybe you'll feel better tomorrow. Nevertheless, just keep sipping and try to get some Protein down...one way or the other. I'm two days post op and am not having those issues although I just ate some real food (cream of wheat) this morning...I haven't been hungry at all. Just making myself eat at this point.

Panda - I'm 2 days post op and having hiccups and burps too. Usually after I've moved around a bit... sitting to standing...or after too many sips of my water too fast. I think that's the signal we're supposed to be watching out for!!

:bump: Bumpin' on up!

48 hours post op, still on pain meds, but went out for a 20 minute walk. Somebody tell me how wonderful I am!! ('cause i feel like a total exercise weenie next to you guys)

The time will fly by May Bandsters!! The April Bandwagon is here to support you through all your jitters. Just hang together and you'll be amazed at what a difference it makes having others to lean on during this waiting period. Good luck to you all!!

Definitely sounds like acid reflux or GERD.... if you look up the symptoms at webmd or somewhere like that, I think you'll recognize them! There are medications you can take and alter the way you eat and, as you suspect, need to finish eating earlier in the evening. Good luck!

By the way....iif ya'll are sick of seeing me post just ignore me. I have nothing else to do so I sit here with my laptop all day. I'll get moving elsewhere soon! I promise!

Protein basically comes in whey or soy. IMHO whey is worlds better than soy. I canNOT STAND Atkins shakes because they are made with soy. I have all kinds of whey protein (powder) that I'm experimenting with and it's quite good. I got the idea from bariatriceating.com to mix crystal light or DaVinci syrups in with your homemade smoothies. I tried that this morning and it was delicious!! I mixed plain yogurt, raspberry ice crystal light a scoop of unflavored whey protein and ice. How simple is that!? A lot cheaper than the premade stuff, too! I might just have to get a magic bullet for the office.

Wow, Tracy that's one helluva NSV you got there!! Way to go, baby!!! :cheer2: re: isopure water - you can do like I do and just dilute it...it's not so bad. Besides, GNC is really good about taking things back so even if you ordered it online you might be able to return it to your local store. I had kind of a neat realization a little while ago. Before surgery my biggest concern is "what will I eat???"....now I'm like "Well, I need to eat something". I'm just not hungry! Last real food was Tues night. You'd think I'd be absolutely ravenous. I'm sure it's coming though! So it sounds like those of you who have yet to be banded are really getting excited in spite of our reports of discomfort, etc. That's good!! I have to admit that I have been going thru a little bit of the "what have I done?" thing, so be prepared for that. I'm sure that will pass, too. Wonder how Pat is doing?

It occurred to me that you might get some useful insight by reading this thread Why Are You Fat?

I think everyone's story is different but here's mine. I'm obese because I suffer with the disease of obesity. It's hereditary and is a malfunction of some sort in my body. I do not overeat in normal terms. I generally eat between 1600-1800 calories/day. I eat healthy foods and I do not binge on anything. Generally, I don't eat sugar, bread, rice, potatoes or Pasta. My only weakness is chocolate, and I might have a handful of peanut M&M's once a day or a SF chocolate ice cream bar at night. So I don't consider myself to be obese because I have an eating disorder. I consider my eating to be quite healthy. But nevertheless I have gained weight and I can't seem to lose it anymore. There are others, however, that eat for emotional reasons on top of having the disease of obesity. For them it is quite necessary to address their emotional issues with therapy, etc. along with the band. So, what I was saying to you is that if you haven't been overweight all your life, or for at least several years, you probably don't have the "disease" of obesity, but instead have only the emotional issues to deal with. Banding is a life-long decision and people with eating/emotional disorders WILL find a way to eat around the band and not lose weight....so their money goes down the toilet. Make sense? I was just reading a post yesterday by someone who wanted to have her band removed simply because she misses food. She knows she relied on it for comfort and now that comfort is gone she feels that she is having a mental breakdown of sorts. That is so not me. I really don't think I'll be missing food that much...I'll still eat the way I've always eaten, just less of it. You see the difference?

No, I'm not hungry...39 hours post op and all I've had other than Jello, popsicles and Water is one 8 oz Protein drink. I have to do better today!! No, I haven't noticed a feeling of fullness yet. The 8 oz Protein Drink was taken in 3 different 'sessions'. Water just tasted better. Last night my husband brought home BBQ and loaded baked potatoes for himself and my daughter. Didn't bother me one bit. DH is looking forward to losing a little weight along with me. My daughter eats like a bird anyway. Hopefully your whole family will adapt and eat more nutritiously because of your changes.

I don't know if this helps you, but I have excellent credit and when I was looking a finance options I applied to Capital One. They wanted to charge me 12.9% interest!! I have much better rates than that on my regular credit cards, so I just used those.