AshevilleEddie

I also like Any Whey. I mix it with Hood Calorie Countdown chocolate milk. Yummy! If I don't want anything sweet, I actually mix it with strong, hot beef broth. It mixes in completely with no change in flavor or texture, although with the broth it's a little odd because you get a bit of a vanilla scent (but no vanilla taste). As for the broth, I use a can of double strength and mix it with a can of regular beef broth or stock rather than using water. It tastes much better that way.

Unfortunately, it is trapped gas that has to dissipate on its own. And Gas X does nothing for it. I actually didn't have too much discomfort from it, but others have talked about reffered pain in the shoulder (especially left), back and joints (how odd), to name a few. The little I had didn't last but 4 or 5 days, some have mentioned a week plus. But the good news is that it really does end. I promise!

I was banded on 5/16 and had my first follow-up on 5/24. My doc cleared me (only 8 days post-op) to eat whatever I could tolerate. The only thing I haven't been able to handle was this past Friday when I ate a small chunk of raw pineapple. I won't do that again! I chewed it really well, but it just sat there and hurt. I chugged a 20 oz bottle of tea (Lipton sugar-free white tea BTW, there are at least 3 or 4 flavors and they're GOOD) and washed it down rather than risk it coming back up.

Hey Pamela, I didn't even realize there was a chat room! Of course now that you brought it up I actually looked and found it. :guess

Hey Tracy, Do the prunes ever, um, swing the pendulum too far in the opposite direction? :guess I've had Irritable Bowel/Spastic Colitis all my life and tend to have diarrhea quite often (sorry if that one's TMI), that's why the bout with the constipation was such a surprise. I just don't want to aggravate my IBS any more that it already is. But on the flip side, I will admit that I'd rather have the diarrhea than be constipated like I was on Saturday. That was a very bad experience that I would prefer to never repeat (it involved about 30 minutes on the toilet, a lot of pain and some blood :welldoneclap: - again, sorry if it's TMI).

Yeah, I thought that was probably a big part of it. We were at Disney and I just didn't pay much attention to drinking (or eating much for that matter!). Lucy, I looked up the Perfect Food online. How does it taste? And is there any particular place you get yours? I've got a couple of online sources for vitamins and such, but I'm always looking for the best deal. What day is your surgery? Please check in with us as soon as you feel up to it to let us know how you're doing, even if it's just to say you're home and you're ok.

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. We got back from Gay Days at Disney World late yesterday afternoon. We didn't get to see the ocean of red shirts as we went to Animal Kingdom on Saturday instead of the Magic Kingdom. But we still had a good time. I did go back to the RV a few hours before Sean and the kids because I was totally pooped. Speaking of poop (nice segue, huh?), has anyone else had a problem with constipation? At the risk of sharing TMI, I'll just say that I had a very difficult time going to the bathroom on Saturday. That's extremely unusual for me. The only thing I can think of is that I had been eating a lot of cheese (well, a lot proportionate to everything else I was eating) and not drinking enough water. Anyhoo, it's back to the grind today. Glad to have you aboard Dawn! You've found a great group of folks here, both in this thread and the forum in general.

Hey, that's my birthday!! Too cool! Congrats, Wade!!

Hey peeps! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mark, sorry you had to work yesterday (Monday). Maybe you should move to the States, then you would have had it off! Juli, I'm very sorry to hear about your GF's uncle. How is she doing? I've had my share of loss over the past few years, so I know what it's like. I've got a call in to my doc's office about that mysterious discomfort/pain. I've been doing more research on the forum, and I think I have a solution, but I want to talk to them just to make sure. I've read on a couple of other threads that it could be the band rubbing/pressing against my diaphragm. What I don't know is if this is dangerous. I just hope I don't have to have my band removed. On a lighter note, has anyone seen the new Orbit gum commercial? It is freakin' hilarious!! I went online and found the transcript (to follow below), but it's so much funnier when you actually watch it. If anyone can find a link to the actual commercial, please post it! Dirty Mouth Test 37 Irate Wife: You son of a biscuit-eating bulldog! Husband: What the French toast? Wife: Did you think I wouldn't find out about your little doo doo head cootie queen? Mistress: Who are you calling a cootie queen? You lint-licker! Wife: Pickle you, kumquat! Husband: You're overreacting. Wife: No, Bill, overreacting was when I put your convertible into a wood chipper, Stinky McStinkface! Mistress: You Hoboken. A ruckus ensues, but thanks to Orbit gum, now it's all PG-13. Fabulous! :rofl:ROTFLMFAO!!!!

You've got to take your pain meds. The less pain you're in, the quicker you'll feel better and the quicker you'll heal. I was banded on 5/16 and have been off pain meds since about 5/21, with the exception of using it for a couple more nights to sleep. My personal reasoning? Since I wasn't in pain I was up and moving as soon as I got out of the recovery room and haven't stopped since unless I'm tired. In fact, I started going back to the gym (treadmill only!) six days post-op! It's really made a difference IMO. I do have the "lump of coal" sitting in my chest (although I refer to mine as a brick ). Still trying to identify exactly what mine is, but I do have a couple of ideas...

Leatha, you seem to have a handle on this diaphragm pain thing, so I've got a question for you. My incisional pain is pretty much completely gone, it only hurts if I move the wrong way or bump into something. Port-area pain is also minimal now. But I frequently have a dull stomach-area pain that feels like a combination of hunger pangs and feeling like I've swallowed a brick. It's usually more pronounced after a meal, but I feel it off and on frequently. And while it can feel like hunger, it definitely isn't. I have really good restriction and fill up pretty quickly and am quite satisfied when I'm done. At first I thought maybe it was because I'm eating solids, but it was going on before I advanced my diet, and can happen any time, whether I've eaten or not and whether I eat solids or just drink Clear liquids. I don't think it's still from being pumped up like the Goodyear blimp during surgery. Do you think it could be the band rubbing against my diaphragm? I read something about that on another thread. I just don't want to call my doc's office or the WLC in a tizzy over nothing... Thanks for you input!

' Hi Spunky, Are you talking about the ones that look kinda like test tubes? If you are, that's IDS NewWhey 25 and NewWhey 42 (the number refers to the grams of protein). I recently bought some of the 42's. I gotta warn you though, they taste pretty nasty IMO. They're kinda thick, like Jello that's just started to set, but it's the taste that gets me. I've wound up holding my nose and just downing them as quickly as my band will allow. But if you can get past the taste, that's a lot of protein packed into a small package, especially the 42's. Just one of them is almost half my protein for a day. Not to harp on the taste thing, but to be fair I only have the fruit punch flavor. The others may taste better...

Quote: Originally Posted by bostonfatgirl Kids are great! I would not trade it for the world! Yeah, it is nice to be in a state where my marriage is legal....but it will not be long before it is nation wide! tip... eat slow, drink your Water, and exercise. I have not followed the rules as well as I should but I work out daily some days two times a day so that has helped. Yeah, kids are great. Yours is only two...just wait until you have teenagers! They are definitely a challenge, but yeah, they're worth it. BTW, welcome Boston! Our little GLBT thread is growning every day! I love it! I'm SOOO glad I decided to start this thread - it's great having a thread where I can post pretty much anything! And all you guys are the BEST! I do have a question for those farther along than me. My incisional pain is pretty much completely gone, it only hurts if I move the wrong way or bump into something. But I frequently have a dull stomach-area pain that feels like a combination of hunger pangs and feeling like I've swallowed a brick. Is this normal? It's usually more pronounced after a meal, but I feel it off and on frequently. And while it can feel like hunger, it definitely isn't. I have really good restriction and fill up pretty quickly and am quite satisfied when I'm done. I thought maybe it was because I'm eating solids, but it can happen any time, whether I've eaten or not. I really don't know if this was part of what I was feeling before I introduced solids, because I was still having incisional pain and everything just kind of lumped together (the pain, does that make sense?). Any input/advice/thoughts will be most appreciated.

Edd, I'm only 11 days post-op and off one of my three diabetes meds already. I have also cut my insulin by 5 units and will probably drop another 5 within the next couple of days. My blood sugars are now not only completely normal (again, only 11 days post-op!) but any time you're sick or healing they tend to be higher so I foresee coming off the insulin completely within the next month or so. Once I do that, then I'll focus on the blood pressure and cholesterol. But elevated insulin levels (in my case caused by insulin resistance) increase blood pressure and cholesterol so once I'm off the insulin those should start coming down on their own. Hey Dee, other than the fact that you had a little too much, how did the wine go down? Mark, how about the beer? I have a bottle of bubbly wine that I've been saving for a special occasion, so input from both of you will help me decide if I can give it a shot (I don't really want to open it up and take two sips and have to pour out the rest:eek:). We're sitting in the motorhome as I'm writing this post. The interior is completely packed up and organized; the basement storage will get done tomorrow. Not that we're particularly religious, but we're resting today. Even though I'm really tired from yesterday, I feel a lot better today just being out of the house...

Hi Edd & Direct Hit! Glad to have you guys aboard! Rhonda, how's your partner since the fill adjustment? That must have been terrifying for her. I can't imagine being so restricted as to not be able to even drink Water. Mark, our doc routinely does first fills six weeks post-op. I assumed that was the norm and was actually surprised you weren't getting a fill until July! Don't know if I mentioned it or not, but doc said I can start introducing solids back into my diet. Woo hoo! Real food!! :hungry: I had a half a hamburger (no bun) last night and a few very well cooked brussells sprouts. Yum, yum!

Thanks for filling us in! Seriously though, how did it go? My appointment for my first fill is July 3 and I'm more than a bit apprehensive about it. DH has had two already and says they're no big deal, but both times he was still sore a day or so afterwards. Have a safe trip Juli! Don't do anything I can't do yet! Lucy, I would have loved to take two weeks off, but it just wasn't feasible. It's great that you're able to take that time off. Everyone have a GREAT weekend!

I work for a bank. I could have milked it for a little longer, but I have a new employee and I didn't want to throw her under the bus for any longer than necessary. And I did get in my 20 minutes on the treadmill this morning!! YAY!

Hey Dee, it's a 42' diesel pusher with five slides. Yeah, I know, it's a big one. A couple feet longer and we would have had to have a tag axle. But Sean and I are going to be living in it in a couple of years, for at least a year, maybe two so we decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and go for it. I had my post-op appointment this morning. I can eat real food (whatever I can tolerate). Woo hoo! Skinny City, here I come!!!:clap2: The down side is that I do have to go back to work this afternoon. :tired <crickets chirping>. At any rate, I do have time to do to the gym for my (hopefully) 20 minutes on the treadmill.

Ok, why the hell can't I edit?? I get a window full of smilies! Anyone else having this problem? Anyway, I forgot to put this in my last post: Check out my new avatar...it's the new RV!

Woo hoo! You and Yenken are getting your spouse fix! I'll be getting mine Friday after Sean gets home. We're taking the new motorhome out for a "shakedown cruise" this weekend. For any non-RVers, that's where you take a new RV out for the first time to make sure you get most of the bugs worked out before you go out in it for real. The for real trip is the following weekend - we're taking it to Ft Wilderness at Disney World for Gay Days!! None of our Rainbow RV friends know we got it yet, so we get to show it off. It seems like every time we go to a rally, someone has a new rig. This time it just happens to be us! :biggrin1: Of course, we'll hear a hundred times how we just got the last one less than a year ago, blah blah. Then we'll have to expain a hundred times how we got a lemon and just couldn't take it anymore. Oh well. Band update: I go back to the doc tomorrow for my post-op checkup, then I get to go back to work. Oh, joy. :tired Can you feel my excitement? Anyway, I knew he was going to take off the Steri-Strips so I went ahead and took them off in the shower tonight. Wow! I can't believe how well the incisions are healing already. They're completely closed, no sign of infection and just look really good. I was really worried about healing because of my diabetes. I tend to heal very slowly, but now I can start rubbing Vitamin E oil and cocoa butter on them. I'm also on some really mushy food (baby food, grits, soft scrambled eggs), tolerating it very well. My doc told me that the sooner I can tolerate real food the faster I'll heal and the faster I'll lose weight. I'll check with him tomorrow to see if I can advance to soft foods. I just don't want to keep eating the carb-laden mushies. And all the Protein shakes are getting old. I'll be glad when I can just drink one or two to supplement. I went to the gym yesterday! Did a full circuit, all the machines. The ab machine was a little rough, but...HAHAHAHA!!! Bet I got a bunch of you with that one!! Seriously, I did go to the gym, but only to walk on the treadmill. I did 10 minutes yesterday, and went back today and did 15! I was a little tired afterward, but I'm going to keep going back every day and increasing until I can do 30. Then I'm going to up the intensity so I can get the cardio going good. I'm not even going to try anything else for at least 4 or 5 more weeks unless the doc tells me otherwise. I have lost about 5 pounds since surgery, so with the pre-op diet I've now lost about 16! I'm under 250 now! Woo hoo! DH is at 251, so the race is now officially on!!

Damn you Lesbians and your Lesbian sex! Well, actually I suppose it's women in general. We guys get once a DAY, maybe 2 or 3 if we're REALLY lucky! DH is actually out of town until Friday so I've got a couple more days to heal, but you can believe I'll be trying some real action Friday night! In fact, look what I found to commemorate the occasion: (OH Juli, you've got nothing on me now!!)

Well, mine wasn't necessarily in the port site. It just HURT! I'm happy to report though, that today (6 days post-op) it doesn't hurt anymore! (I hope that isn't TMI!)

Didn't take you long to figure me out, did it?

Well, a guy's got needs...:guess

Well, I have tried a little, ahem, solo-ish (DH here, just not active participant) sumpn-sumpn, so obviously there was no actual physical activity that hurt. But when "the moment" arrived (well, ya know, the body sorta involuntarily tenses up) it did hurt and pretty much offset any good feelings it produced. So I think I need to wait at least a week or so before I attempt anything else... :hurt