The Icy One

Congrats on your surgery and may you have a smooth and uneventful recovery.

I think that "normal" is whatever works for each individual. If you needed four cc, than that is normal. I had my first adjustment today, as well. I had my 10 cc band installed with five cc of saline so I had 1/2 cc added, today. Mine had to be done under fluoro, Mr. Porty was being a creep, he didn't want to be found so off to x-ray went I. I am also on liquids for the rest of today, mushies, tomorrow. I had a lovely Skinny vanilla Latte from Starbucks for a late lunch, today. Hey, they didn't specify what liquids, now, did they?

I looooove Diet Snapple. But it is so expensive. I only treat myself when it is on sale or when I am feeling especially indulgent and am willing to pony up full price. I think it is time to go rob a bank so I can feed my Diet Snapple need. Anyone want to be my getaway driver? I'll share.

If you have nausea, call your doc's office and get a script for anti nausea meds. There are really good ones that work super fast. My surgeon prescribed one that dissolves on my tongue and works almost instantly. I didn't need it right after my surgery but i do take one now and again, when my gallbladder acts like a d*ck and I feel sick. Hey, that rhymed! I'm a poet and I didn't know it! But seriously, if you're feeling urpy, get some good stuff from your surgeon to quell it, you should not be vomiting, at all. It can impede your healing and put you at risk for a slip.

Aww... I feel your pain. I am assuming that you just recently had your surgery and now you have diarrhea? I had the same problem. The Infernal Ass Hose. I. Was. Miserable! It was awful. Liquids in, liquids out. Call your surgeon's office and get permission to take Immodium or get a 'script for an anti diarrhea med. You shouldn't have to suffer. Once you get on to full liquids and then to mushies, things will naturally ease and your gut will begin to regulate, but don't wait, get help, ASAP! And don't let them put you off! Trust me, you don't want this to drag on and on. I went through weeks and weeks of misery of pro biotics and other nonsense. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Keep pushing until you get relief and feel better! Push fluids as best you can. Having diarrhea can dehydrate you. Taking Probiotics can help repopulate the flora that the antibiotics that you were given on surgery day and in the days after your surgery and help regulate your gut and they are good, in the long run but they won't give you the immediate relief you need. Okay, now I am just rambling. I hope that you feel better, soon.

I was also going to suggest Torani sugar free syrups. They are available in a wide variety of flavors and can really jazz up your Protein shakes. Also, I would suggest switching to different protein. If the Boost is gross, try a different protein! No sense in double suffering! I mean, seriously! Your doc must be getting a kick back from the company for insisting on that brand! Try samples of different brands until you find something you can tolerate better. I use the Hi Health brand, I like the taste, it is high in protein, has only 2 sugars. Good stuff and Hi Health has a very liberal return policy if you don't like the stuff. Most stores will accept returns with a receipt, just ask, before you make a purchase.

Not really. I started drinking Crystal Light a few years ago and loved it so much that I drank less and less soda. I am just not that into it, anymore. Right now, I am slurping a diet Minute Maid lemonade with lots of ice and a little Splenda added to it. (I like my lemonade a little sweeter.) So cold and refreshing. And yes, I am slurping it through a straw. My surgeon says straws are allowed after the first month, and since I am a straw freak, I am back to using my straws. There are so many lovely flat beverages that one can slurp and enjoy that I don't miss soda, at all.

My surgeon is trim and fit. His staff vary from very fit to obese and working on it. They are running a weight loss challenge, at present. Some of the overweight staff are banded, some not. None of the staff show attitude toward the patients. If any of them have attitude about fat people, they keep it behind closed doors. Everyone at my office are very supportive, caring and sweet.

I weigh my protein portions and measure veg and fruit and dairy. I always have a little left over when I hit my soft stop and have to toss it. If I eyeball my portions, I overestimate and have to throw away more food than I like. I don't like to waste good food. And I don't like having too much food on my plate, it makes me feel as if I have to try to push through my band's signal to STOP! That old head hunger, you know... It's just better and safer for me to have the smaller, more precise amounts of food on my plate, to begin with.

Twelve days may seem like bags of time but if you take this time to prepare for band life by reading, researching, shopping for what you will need after your surgery, the time will go pretty quickly. I found that it flew by, especially when I was sitting in the pre op prep area the morning of my surgery!

My surgeon stressed to me that my pre op diet was to shrink my liver, as well. He didn't care if I lost weight or not. I lost nine pounds on my pre op diet, tho. *happy dance* Every surgeon is so different in their approach. Some want a full on torture liquid diet, some don't do a pre op at all, some, like my surgeon let you have two shakes, with frozen fruit, if you wish and a nice lean and green with a big portion of Protein... Some require a strict weight loss, like B-52's doc did. I would have been driven mental by a mandatory weight loss requirement on my pre op. Too much stress.

Give your surgeon a call and ask if it is okay to take Lactaid. I had trouble with dairy early after my surgery (I won't go into too much detail but the words *ss and hose could be used), and my surgeon let me try Lactaid and it helped. I used the max strength, fast acting kind. I took it until my gut finally regulated and I got more regular. I don't really need it, any longer but it got me through the rough patch and it may help you.

Oh, honey no. What would be the point of that? I know that some surgeons put the kaibosh on caffeine for their bandsters. My surgeon is cool with it. Why do some surgeons forbid caffeine, anyway? Anyone know? Seems silly, to me. *wanders off in search of moar coffee*

Welcome to Bandland! The first few days really kicked my *ss. All I wanted to do was sleep, slurp my broth, Soup, coffee, tea, Protein shakes and so forth and do my walking and go back to sleep! LOL I just listened to my body, gave it what it wanted and the fourth day, I started to feel human, again. By the end of the first week, I was actually feeling pretty good. My post op diet was a little different from your's. I was on clear liquids for the first 48, full liquids for days three through seven then I was on mushies days eight through thirty. I thought that I was going to be on mushies forever! LOL I was then cleared for solids with the few obvious caveats. The post op diet is a meh fest. I did not enjoy it much. But it is crucial to healing and, tho that month feels as if it is going to last forever, it really doesn't. Hang in there. You'll be chomping on the good stuff, before you know it.

Congratulations!

I am almost two months out, no adjustment, yet. I have yet to have a stuck episode. I am careful about what I chow on. I eat slowly, chew properly and I avoid fresh bread, beef, pork and dry chicken. I eat moist, tender chicken, hamburger, in very small crumble in sauce and chili and so on. I had the guts of a couple of steak fresco tacos from Taco Bell for dinner, tonight (minus the tortillas) they went down just fine. I can eat rice, lettuce as long as it is cut up fine, egg any way I like. I have even eaten some Pasta without any trouble but I am not making a habit of it. I have a feeling that this honeymoon period is going to end on the 16th when I have my first adjustment. I know that getting stuck is unavoidable, it happens to all of us and it can be a good learning experience but I am not looking forward to it. LOL

Oh and I meant to say, I do start with nice, hot coffee. My band likes a hot beverage in the morning as much as I do.

I am normally a searing hot coffee girl, too but I have learned to accept cool coffe. LOL Sipping is relative. Early on, you will be sipping delicately. Almost two months out, pre adjustment, I am able to swallow beverages fairly normally. I don't gulp madly, but I don't have to worry about it, either. I suspect that post adjustment I will have to modify, again to accommodate my Little Silicone Friend but I suspect that, unless I am insanely tight, drinking and enjoying my beloved coffee, even if it does cool a bit, shouldn't be too much of a concern moving forward.

Why did you quit caffeine? I would have gone INSANE on my pre op diet if I had been forced to give up my coffee, too. Seriously... There would have been blood running in the streets. The only time I backed off my coffee was the first 48 hours post op. My surgeon said I could have tea, for thise two days then have my coffe back after that.

I am sorry that the hospital where you were scheduled to have surgery decided to pull out of bariatric care. It seems strange to me, as WLS is a growth industry, if you'll pardon the pun. But who knows why hospitals make these screwy decisions. And no, I am not buying that it is strictly because of the ACA. Hospitals and insurance companies were pulling all kinds of f*ckery long before the ACA came along. Anyway, I am sure that you will find a wonderful facility and surgeon to perform your surgery. You may have to go a little out of your immediate area, but that isn't such a bad thing. I live almost two hours from my practice. It wasn't terrible. An extra bump of pain meds got me home happily and comfortably the day of my surgery. Yes, it's a bit of a pain to drive that distance for check ups and aftercare but it's a nice excuse to visit the city, do some shopping, have a day out of my small town. Find the silver lining, don't give up. This isn't a sign that your surgery isn't meant to be, it is just greedy *ssholes being greedy *ssholes. Don't let it affect you. Move on, do your thing.

You can do this! Go hardcore, now. Keep reminding yourself what is at the end of this very temporary pre op diet is! My pre op was three weeks and I thought it would. Never. End. Then, all of a sudden, it was my surgery day and it was over. Trust me, this too shall pass and sooner than you can believe, when you look back on it. Do you have sugar free Torani syrups? Maybe you can add some to your milk, give it some flavor and make it more interesting? Can you have coffee? You could blend milk, instant coffee, ice and Torani and have a frozen latte type thing... Ummm, blend ice, milk, yoghurt, Torani, to make a smoothie kind of thing... Get as creative as you can within the parameters of what you are allowed to have to make it a little less boring than just slugging down glasses of plain milk and a dish of yoghurt, every day. Hang in there. You can make this pre-op diet your b*tch! And then the band will be yours.

Ugh! The pre op diet was the worst! I hit it hard core. Mine was two protein shakes and a lean and green meal a day. I was allowed frozen fruit for my shakes if I wanted it. Pretty liberal. My only "cheats" were the occasional handful of raw almonds on my salad and one day, for some reason I was hungrier than a horse and I chowed down on a pile of deli pepper turkey. Those two small deviations didn't affect my outcome. I think that the pre op has that built into it. As long as we hit the pre op hard a small bump in the road isn't going to wreck us.

Welcome! You're almost to the starting line. These last couple of days are huge, take the opportunity to be sure you have all of your ducks in a row and everything you need all ready to go and at your fingertips so that you can spend your first week or so post op concentrating on resting, walking, and recovering. It's nice to not have to worry or stress when you should be focused on pampering and spoiling yourself. Good luck on your surgery and your recovery! Come back often and read and participate and get support. We're here for you.

My surgery was outpatient, but having had a hospital stay years ago, some things not to forget, a robe, comfy slippers with a grippy sole, socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, if you have long hair, hairties. Facial cleanser, moisturizer, eye cream. Clean undies, a fresh outfit to wear home. Something soft and loose so that it is comfy over incisions. Low waistband pants or a dress are good. Any electronics you want with with you and their chargers, a book, hand lotions, lip balm. Any paperwork, your I.D., insurance card, a little cash for incidentals. Good luck on your surgery and a smooth recovery.

Congratulations on making a great decision for a healthier future! WLS is a huge decision, but once you have chosen the right one for you and fixed your date and are ready to go forward, it is such a great feeling, isn't it? Good luck with your surgery, recovery and your future weight loss.