keiko

Good luck and enjoy yourself. It might be easier than you think. I went out with my son for lunch and while he had a patty melt with fries, I had cream of potato soup. I thought I was in heaven, it tasted sooo good, and it didn't bother me at all that he was eating a patty melt. Just don't let yourself get real hungry and I'll bet you'll be OK.

Well it looks like almost everyone is making progress. I found the first week soooo hard but I see a light at the end of the tunnel now. Saw the doc yesterday and I had lost 12.5 lbs! :clap2: He told me I'm doing fine, not to push myself and he'll see me in 5 weeks for my first fill! I did find out I have a large band, so it will be interesting to note my progress. I really will be gratefull for any weight loss, because I know it will finally be permanent. I'm not in a race with anyone, and my goal is not to lose x amount of weight is a certain time period, the goal for me is to get a healthier life to share with my family. Have a great weekend and rejoice in the fact that we don't have to be a slave to food anymore.

I agree 100% with everything socalgal3 said. You don't need to push it or prove anything. Take care of yourself so your band can do its intended purpose for you.

No Robert you aren't the only one. I've been angry, weepy, and snappish to my dh and I'm hungry a lot! I was banded on 5/16/07 and go in tomorrow for my post surgical visit. My food schedule is: Days 1-3 clear liquid Days 4- 14 full liquid Weeks 3 and 4 pureed diet Weeks 5 and 6 soft diet Then finally regular food on June 28!! And the taste of artificially flavored pudding, yogurt, etc. is gross. I hate the taste! For anyone who's getting nasty comments about lapband being the easy way out, just ask them how they would deal with those 6 weeks.

There is a UK forum here. I'm sure they would be a great support group.

Brilliant! Good luck today.

I love biking, and I have a bike trail just a couple of blocks from my home. I can't wait to get started on it. My surgery was 5/16 and I see my doc on Thursday, so I'll ask him when I can start riding my bike again.

Thanks! I will see the doctor Thursday so I can ask him then. I do forget my vitamins - it seems I'm so busy trying to remember when I ate last, when I can drink my Water again, etc. that I forget the vitamins. I also have to say that I'm feeling stronger today, so I'm encouraged by that. I just think that this recovery will take a little longer than I'd hoped for.

My dietician said to buy Centrum chewables. They are cheaper and available most everywhere.

NimbleBean, GinaKirwan, munchkin, ljuht115 and jsrico good luck tomorrow and see you on the bandside!

Kim, If you ever need any help eating that lobster, I'm happy to volunteer! Yeah, unfortunately, unless you let your coke go flat and try it that way, carbonated beverages are out.

I'm so sorry you had such a rough time of it. I don't understand why they had you go through all the contortions for the barium swallow. I had to stand against a board and just take a small sip. They watched it go down, then told me to take one more sip but stand with my side to the board, watched it go down and that was it. I too have been dizzy and cold. Today it's supposed to get up to 80, and I'm wearing a long sleeved shirt and long pants along with socks and shoes, because I'm cold. I haven't thought I've made a bad decision, but I definitely thought yesterday, when I was starving all day, that it's a good thing I couldn't eat anything for fear of complications, because I was ready to eat anything that moved! I will say, though, that as soon as I had some of my allowed protein drink, the feeling went away for awhile. I'm drinking 3-4 ounces of liquid for my meals. It really depends. Good luck and I hope you start feeling better soon!

Hey laurie, part of the diziness could be because you're dropping weight so fast. I don't know if you've gotten on the scale, but in the past, when I've been on a high protein diet, I tend to get very tired and lightheaded. But, check with with your doc about that and not being able to get food down.

I'm planning on taking 2 1/2 weeks off (surgery was 5/16 and returning to work 6/4). I still feel really exhausted, so I'm hoping that I start getting more energy soon. I couldn't possibly have gone back to work after a week or less, because I'm just too sore and tired. However, I am blaming my age for part of it.

Hey folks, glad to hear I'm not the only hungry one. Had surgery Wednesday and did fine until today. I've been so hungry all day! I hope this doesn't continue till I'm on mushies, I'll be ready to climb walls! Yesterday was my worst day, not for pain, but for discomfort. Today I woke up and my stomach seemed to be a lot less swollen and I didn't hurt so much. So while I don't have any energy (taking a shower totally wipes me out!) at least I don't have as much discomfort. I've been taking the pain meds at night, but I don't think they give me a really rested sleep. I'm not going to take them tonight and see if I sleep better. I've also been very weepy today over nothing, so I guess I'm just reacting to the surgery and stresses of making a life-changing decision. At any rate, I see the doctor Thursday, so I'll be anxious to hear what he has to say. I haven't weighed myself, I'll wait till Thursday hoping I'll be pleasantly surprised. Good luck to everyone having surgery tomorrow! I'll be thinking of you.

Melissa, thanks for the suggestion. Ground up meds are horrible and if red jello will disguise the taste, I'm going to make some now.

Welcome to the a May zing bandsters! Hopefuly everything will go well. Good luck to you and see you on the bandside!

Hi folks, I was banded on Wednesday and thought I'd drop in and let everyone know how it went. We must be a really talkative group, because it took me forever to go through only 2 days of messages! Anyway, my surgery was scheduled for 3:00 PM Wednesday, and by Wednesday morning I was over my craziness and just excited to get it done. I didn't get into surgery until almost 4:30 and nobody came to us and told us why we weren't going into surgery. Finally a nurse came over and told us I'd be going in soon. So I never found out what the delay was. My dh asked the doctor and the doctor said he didn't know either, they just told him he had to wait 1.5 hours for a surgery room! Anyway, surgery went well, no complications. The night nurse and aid were horrible, and didn't seem to care about explaining anything! Both my dh and I were amazed at how bad they were. (There's a lot more to this tale but I won't bother to go on about it) Thursday morning went OK. I wasn't naseated because they put something in my drip to prevent it. The day nurses were absolutely GREAT! and I have nothing but praise for them, but I have to wonder about a hospital that didn't have blankets for the bed because the clean linens hadn't been delivered, so they just put several sheets on the bed for warmth! The upper GI went fine, and we got out of there as fast as we could. It was great to get home and in my own nightgown and bathrobe. Pain is doing OK because of the liquid vicodin, not too many gas pains and they are improving because I'm moving around a bit more. I had a bad headache and discovered that it was a sinus headache! After that was all cleared out I haven't had any more headaches. I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to get all the protein in, but I imagine as I feel better I won't sleep as much and I'll be able to get more in. The beneprotein the doctor told me to buy is horrible, so I'll have to see if it can be disguised in the protein drinks. Otherwise I feel like I am on the slow mend, and can't wait till I feel a bit better. Good luck to everyone still waiting to be banded. I feel it was worth it and look forward to a life not hindered by my excess weight! I'm getting sleepy now - time for lay down. BTW, no incisions on my right side, so I can lay on my right side on the couch and have it support my back - it's great! Keiko

Carol, I just saw this thread and had to add my congratulations to your success. What an accomplishment in one year!!!!:clap2: keiko

Thanks for the encouraging words, everyone! I knew I was freaking out and couldn't seem to control it. Your words of encouragement helped so much. I also took a nap this evening (all the running to the bathroom pooped me out!) KYsunshine, SillyWillyMommy, and Short01, good luck, Godspeed, and I'll see you on the band side.

Cajun, How long have you two been dating? Does he know you are looking into getting banded in the next couple of months? If you're definitely going to get banded and he knows you will, I don't understand the blowup. Threats never worked for me either, it just made me more stubborn just to spite them!

Hi all! I'm to be banded tomorrow and found out that my time was pushed back from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Arggg! I'm making myself a nervous wreck. Last night I couldn't sleep much because I'm so worried if I'm making the right decision. I don't want to stay the way I am - the weight makes me miserable, but I'm so worried about this. I've had 3 babies and 4 operations, and I've never felt scared like this. I think it's because my other surgeries were to correct something that was wrong, and once the surgery was over, I could continue life as I knew it. And while the weight is "wrong" there seeems to be so many things that can go wrong, from complications, to band slippage, to erosion, I wonder if this is the surgery I should have. I didn't want my entire insides rerouted, which is why I didn't choose the RNY. But now I'm worried about what I'll be able to eat for the rest of my life, etc....I know I'm making myself nuts! My husband just came into the room and reminded me that the surgery I'm having tomorrow is very minor compared to some I've had, but then I was alot younger when I had those surgeries. So then I start worrying that maybe I'm too old to have this done...eeek! Sorry to vent, but I just had to talk to people who would understand what's been running through my mind. Any warm fuzzies would really be nice. Keiko

I'm going to be banded Wednesday and have had to stop taking my anti-inflamitory medicine for my arthritis, so now I'm just taking Tylenol, and boy do I hurt! My entire body aches and various arthritic points are really aching. How has anyone else dealt with their arthritis after lapband surgery? Can you ever go back on meds or do I have to stick with Tylenol for the rest of my life? I didn't ask the doc that when I saw him last week because I wasn't off my meds yet. I'd appreciate any advice or comments.

Thanks for the suggestions. I totally forgot how much I hurt without the meds until I had to stop. I'll call my doctor on Monday so he can give me a prescription when I leave the hospital. Vicodin is a great pain reliever but it puts me to sleep, so that will never work for more than a couple of days. I know losing some weight will help, but until then I don't want to hobble around moaning and groaning all the time!

Hey, noworry, that's basically the same question I posed today regarding my arthritis. Maybe someone will have an answer for us.