Shrinking Justine

Congrats on doing to good thus far, was banded 8/11 and through i had a few other issues at surgery (not expected0 I am doing well. On mushy food also, Found out mushed chicken is pretty darn good at this point. Made chicken and dumpling for everyone else and kept back some for me. It didn't even bother me not to have the dumplings. I am excited with each step I have taken. The only question I have and may call dr. is that where my port is located is very firm and sore. . Are you having anything like that in the area or is it just me? Keep up the good work. Thursday is my two week mark.

I have a hunch as to where my port is but I'm not 100% sure. I have heard from everyone else that ive been talking to that the port area is sensitive. It makes sense that it would be, because they have to attach it to the stomach wall there so I would imagine there would be some tenderness. Good luck to you too!

so how are you doing now. throat was bad for me too. Had a couple of other things they had to do while i was in surgery ,.... scar tissue from other surgeries had to be removed before placing band and found hernia they fixed while in there so thurs will be two weeks for me and am finally feeling better. Looking forward to getting on with loosing weight.

im doing pretty good. they found a hernia when they were doing mine too . i definitely am almost back to 100%. as soon as i go see my doctor on tuesday to have him take off these butterfly stitches, then i can say completely healed.

im trying not to get on the scale this week. during week one i lost 14lbs. i know week 2 wont be quite as good but im still hoping for a decent number

Hi, CONGRATS on your new journey. I was just banded on Friday Aug 19th and for some reason i think I'm doing something wrong because I'm so hungry. I was never this hungry before my band.

hey what have you been eating? im just curious because i wasn't hungry .... i was bored with what i was eatin but not hungry.

my surgeon told me he does it the morning after, the xray that is, that i will stay in the hospital the night of my surgery and if my xray goes good and everything goes as it should, i will go home the next afternoon, if not, i will stay another night. where i have pretty bad blood pressure problems, he says it might be necessary to keep me 2 nights.

oh i didnt stay the night. there was no reason too. i was up and walking pretty quickly. left the hospital at 2pm and just went home and popped a squat on my couch. it was fine. i just had issues getting up and down (i needed someone to hold on too) and it was uncomfortable but i did not want to stay in the hospital. i was afraid of that the most i think. its a 45 minute procedure.

Congrats! Hope it goes great for you! I'll keep an eye out on your blog for sure. Not sure when I'm getting banded. Have 2 more pre-op appointments then it's getting submitted to the insurance company! :crosses fingers:

hey good luck with your pre-op stuff!!! hope the insurance approval goes quickly

Hi. I was banded on 6/17/11. Just wanna see how you are moving along. Keep in touch!

Hey I'm doing good. Down 14lbs in week one which was all liquids so I'm not really surprised. It's exciting though to see the numbers move in the right direction

How are you doing??

I have had several surgeries, including gallbladder removal, artroscopic knee surgery, and a lump removal, non cancerous, so I am aware of the tube, and the sore throat afterward, mine didnt last all that long. But then again, I was able to drink all I wanted.

I am more curious about the xray after surgery, to check the band, did you have to drink some type of barium or something for that???

oooooh yea they did..... blegh!!!!! pretty much right after they brought me back to the room they took me in to do that. it was pretty bad. It wasnt a lot to drink but it was enough that it almost made me vomit all over everybody. I dry heaved for a minute or so and had a bucket just in case but I managed to keep whatever was in my stomach (mostly nothing) down.

Hi Justine. I get banded on sep 2. Big concern is nausea and vomit. Did you have problems. How did you feel when you woke up from surgery any words of wisdom dorm those who have recently gone through the process with the newest generation lap bands would be great. Thanks

Hey! I was nauseas when I woke up but it wasnt unbearable. I asked them for meds and it was fine. I never threw up though. When I got home I was only nauseas when I took my pain medication so I just stopped taking it.

Waking up I was just tired and my throat hurt very badly. That I think was the worst. I didn't have any gas pains, I just burped a lot.

Overall my experience was as close to perfect as it could have gotten I think. I went in afraid of all the "what ifs". Try not to psych yourself out too much before hand.

I'm in week 2 and have been eating pretty "normally". My portions are smaller and I'm not eating red meat yet because it's not "mushy" but I'm doing chicken, eggs, tuna...I had corn tonight, that I was worried about but it went down fine.

Good luck

Congratulations Justine! My banding in going to be Aug 31. I'm excited and scared. I had it scheduled for Aug of last year but chickened out. I've had a year to think about it. (And my weight hasn't changed much over the last year-I think I'm 5 lbs heavier) Anyway-thanks for sharing. I'll be joining you in a week or so. This Friday I have knee scope surgery first. Lap Band on crutches, oh well, do what you have to do according to insurance

Awww That's ok. You can hobble around instead of walk walking. At least you have a week to recover a little between the knee surgery and the band. Good luck with it all

Glad to hear you have so far had a positive experience, I am scheduled for august 30th and getting very scared and wondering if I am making the right decision.

I had that feeling up until the night before. I have NO regrets now. Everything will be fine. Just do what they tell you too and walk.

Phew I am finally feeling better thank you! The first week and a half was really rough for me but things have definitely gone up from there! I'm on the pureed food stage now and have heard a few good recipes I'm going to try to make it seem like I'm eating "normally" (I just can't do baby food...i just can't do it lol)

I definitely hear you on the baby food!!! I never was told i had to puree anything. they said chicken was fine as long as it was soft but no breads, red meat, fresh fruit or hard veggies. everything had to be soft.

Good Luck on your Journey. I was banded on Aug. 11. I am feeling more human everyday. At first it is confusing figuring out how to drink the shakes and get all your Protein in, but it gets easier with each passing day. Good Luck with your journey and keep us posted on your progress!

Yea, I did pretty good today. Hit 750 cal and 62 Proteins.

Hey everyone! I hope you all are doing great and that the procedure went well for miss new yorker!! (I'm from NY too!!)

I finished week one of 3 Protein shakes a day (add a tsp of Peanut Butter, makes it taste better). During week one I lost 14lbs.

I'm on to mushies now. Had a portobello pizza with baby shrimp for dinner tonight. It was like ... filet mignon!

I was banded exactly a week ago and have been struggling with knowing how much to eat. I'm on full liquids now and am only eating the things on the list but I'm pretty sure I'm eating more than I should be even though I don't feel "full" when I stop just satisfied. I'm having an incredibly hard time with all of this and to be completely honest have had more days of crying and regretting my decision and just wanting to be able to go eat a normal meal than I have of being happy (even though I've lost 13 lbs). For me, its been extremely rough.

I'm sorry you were having a hard time with it! Did it get any better for you? I would just eat the portions that they say too. I just started mushies last night and I ate 4oz of chicken for dinner and stopped. You are right that you don't feel "full". I don't think we will ever feel "full" again and thinking about that kind of stinks because to me that feeling was pretty awesome.

Try and make your meals "normal". What would you normally eat? Like last night on my plate was the chicken, broccoli and there was potatoes on the table. I ate the chicken and was satisfied so I didn't get to the other items. Even though I would have liked to sample the potatoes (yum!) I knew I really didn't have room. Just make sure you get your Protein in and if you have space then go ahead and eat the veggies and if you want some sort of starch.

I hope you are feeling better about everything! I'm Justine if you ever want to vent!

I was banded today! Got to the hospital at 5:30 was the first appointment. I was out by 2pm. I took a little longer to wake up because I went to bed at midnight so I just wanted to sleep!!! LOL

I'm doing good. I think I went in thinking the pain from gas would be excruciating....it wasn't. My throat hurts more than the gas pains from the breathing tube.

But yea. So far so good. I have to try and get a Protein Shake down...8 oz but I was told to drink it 2 tbsp at a time to prevent overeating and having it get stuck. Anyone else had to do this???

I'm documenting EVERYTHING that happened to me on my blog right now (www.shrinkingjustine.com) If anybody wants to share tips or has questions about the surgery who has yet to be banded, just ask or let me know!

Also if anyone is in GA and wants to exchange info we can be band buddies!

I get my band on August 12th and exercise is the one thing I'm dreading. I'm right there with you. I HATE exercising. I also feel like my level of exercise is SO far behind what everyone is. I get all huffy puffy walking to the end of the street. It's terrible.

I got myself a personal trainer and not a "cheerleader" personal trainer....a BOOT CAMP personal trainer. I need someone who is going to tell me shut up and just do it. That's what I needed. I didn't join a gym though, she does it out of her basement.

It's really bad but after the evaluation session of 20 minutes I was so sore for days. I don't know if you "need" exercise for the band but it may get you where you want to be faster and that's my personal goal

Good luck!!!!!!

I just started my 2 week before surgury mines on the 9th i hate prottein shakes it worried me to death yesterday i went to GNC i said what can i do i dont like the way they smell are after taste she said let me make you a sample of this IT IS AMPLIFY Cookies AND CREAM OH MY GOSH I LOVE IT. I CANT BELIEVE THIS SHE SAID CHOCALATE MINT IS GREAT TO. MY DAUGHTER GOT ANOTHER ONE ON SALE IT WAS YUK TRY THIS BELIEVE ME IF I LIKE IT YOU WILL LET ME KNOW astromom2005@aol.com this is my doctor where do yuou live?

I'm in Atlanta. I emailed my nutritionist today asking about the Protein shakes and she still said just the two kinds that I just can't stand. If I have to suck it up and drink it I will. Eventually I think I can switch to a different one but for postop they want a certain kid. I am going to have to find that one though!!! Thanks!

It might not be advised but very few if any don't have there pig-out time before surgery. It is almost a given. My only problem is figuring out and writing down the most important foods that I need to have so I get them in

I am definitely having my pig out phase....I'm trying to cut it down now that it's getting so close. I just called and emailed the nutritionist to find out what I need to stock my fridge with so I don't have to go shopping immediately after the surgery.

I'm just starting the process and thought it would be fun to have a band buddy. Anyone out there from Atlanta area. I live in Kennesaw by KSU.

I'm in Roswell/Dunwoody!!!!! Definitely would be interested in ...... having coffee??? Lol. Normally here is where I would say something like "meeting for lunch"....but that would be counterproductive and I don't know that I could follow the band rules at a restaurant at the moment.

I get banded on August 12th at Emory Johns Creek!

My surgeon is not requiring the 2 week pre-op diet. I have my pre-op visit on August 10th and my surgery on the 12th. I was told that on the 11th I needed to just be on liquids all day.

Have any of you NOT been required to do the 2 week diet?

Also with the Protein Shakes we have to drink after, can we pick our own Protein shake as opposed to the ones they want us to make with the powder? I've tried powders? utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury and Bari but hated them. I was told muscle milk lights aren't so bad so I wanted to buy one of those to try. What have you guys been drinking?

I'm still working on this. I keep asking people that have already had the surgery what they are eating, when they're eating and how they stopped thinking about food.

The biggest thing is flipping the switch from living to eat and eating to live. Once I recognize that I think it will be a little easier.

August 12th for me! Good luck to all of you!

I'm August 12th too!!!!! I'm extremely nervous but excited!!

Lap Band Journey