aubrie

My doc said the same thing as AlisaH

1. Did you have a nutritionist? Just went one time Did you receive a written diet or program? Yes, from my surgeon. 2. What was your pre-op diet? Low fat diet for one week and liquids two days pre-op. How long were you on it? 3. What days were you on Clear Liquids? 2 days. Day of surgery and the day after. 4. How long were you on Full Liquids? Two weeks. Did you incorporate any whole foods in this stage, for example, by blending? If I did, I mixed in broth, Water or milk to thin it out. NO meat though.... 5. When were you on the Puree Diet? I referred to it as the mushy stage. I did this for 4 weeks. 6. When were you on the Soft food Diet? this would be the same as mushy stage for me. 7. In the soft food diet, were you told which foods to avoid or be careful of? Yes. My surgeon gave me a folder with TONS of printed materials. The diet. Sample menus. Danger signals to look for. What exercises were allowed and when, history of Lap Band, discrimination, etc. It was VERY helpful. I was even given a little measuring cup with a lid at the hospital that measured cups, ounces, milliliters, etc. It was very helpful. 8. Did you deviate from your diet? What was your experience, if so? No. I was to scared to.

I don't know where you live, but down here in south Texas, breakfast tacos are popular. I can eat the eggs out of the taco. I trash the tortilla. Wendy's chili is very good. KFC makes a decent pot pie. The chicken and veggies are soft and creamy, but I don't eat the crust. they also have mashed potatoes if you're still on mushies. I do very well with deli turkey, so I also order a sandwhich and pull the turkey out. I LOVE soup, so anywhere that has soup is good for me. We have Jason's Deli here, and they have about 10 different kinds of soup, chicken salad, tuna salad, etc. Not to mention they have cottage cheese on the salad bar. I can eat salad, so that's still also an option for me. If you eat pizza, just pick the toppings off and eat them. Leave the bread. It's pretty dense. If you find yourself at a Mexican restuarant, refried beans and guacamole are PERFECT. (One of my favorites)

In the mushy stage, I loved refried black beans, mashed bananas, mashed avocado, baked sweet potatoes, unsweetened applesausce. But I agree. Try to get more protien in your diet. It staves off hunger. Egg salad was a great suggestion. some meat is dry and gets stuck. I've found if I roast my chicken in a roaster instead of baking it, it's much more tender, easier to chew and doesn't hurt going down. I roast a whole chicken and pull the meat off the bones. I put it in one cup tupperware containers with a little bit of veggies and stack it in the fridge. Then I just grab one in the morning on my way out the door to work. Tuna in water with a little fat free salad dressing works well for me too.

Could the tubing be wrapped around an intestine? this is puzzling. My port started hurting me, but I also started doing some strenuous exercise and abdominal work. Now I'm sore quite often. Have you started an exercise program?

they are esophogial spasms. At least that's what my surgeon calls them. He told me they would eventually go away. Mine did.

Don't even get me started. As I type this I am on hold for someone to help me at Aetna. I've been on hold for 55 minutes now...... I'm so angry. My surgery took 11 months before I got approval. I had it done last Novermber. They finally agreed to pay it at 100%. Well, I just got a statement of benefits saying they denied part of my hospital bill and now the hospital is trying to bill me for $9,971 !!!!!!! I think not.... I'm so pissed I could spit.

I ate sesame chicken last week and thought I would die. Who would have thought that sesame seeds would KILL my tummy. I ate it at lunch and my tummy hurt until lunch the next day! Some things are just plain wierd and unexplainable.

I've been exercising like a crazed woman so I don't gain during this plateau period. It IS freaking me out. I've never been so committed to a diet before. I don't eat a lot of salt. My hands and feet don't even swell anymore. They look great. My rings are falling off, and some of my shoes are too big, so I know the water retention is much improved. Would water aerobics make your muscles hold more water than normal?

Wow. You give me hope. Hell....All of us hope.

the girls at work decided to do Chinese yesterday. I hadn't done a lunch with the girls in over 2 months so I decided to join in and got sesame chicken. I ate it with no problem. No sliming. No PB. But about an hour later. OH MY GOD. My tummy hurt so bad. this was at noon. By midnight I was still in pain. I didn't feel "stuck". I was able to sip water and sipped some cream soup at dinner. I thought the warmth would help. It was soothing, but it didn't go away. I woke up this morning and still had a bit of a tummy ache until I went to the bathroom:redface:. Then I felt better. I skipped breakfast and just had a few sips of slim fast. At lunch I ate my usual. It didn't "hurt" but was uncomfortable. I was filled for the first time 3 weeks ago. It suddenly dawned on me. could the sesame seeds lodged themselves in the band area or something? I didn't even think about it. I've NEVER had any problem eating Chinese food, so it has to be band related. What happened? Could I only now be experiencing some restriction?

this is good to know. I'm two months post op and a friend of mine has cancer and needs regular transfusions. Her insurance doesn't pay for blood products. I've given in her name just so it won't be so expensive for her. I haven't since banding and was a little concerned. I guess I will resume helping her out.

Sades, I swear, your original post could have been written by me. It is DITTO of what I'm going through. I'm now 5 weeks without losiing and I'm so frustrated. I'm exercising, doing my water, I stick to diet all day, no sweets, no snacking in morning or afternoon. I go from work to water aerobics or gym. When I get home I'm VERY hungry. 7:30 by then and I still have to cook. I either snack while I'm cooking my low cal meal, or I eat my correctly portioned meal and then graze right before bed. I know this is preventing my weight loss. Last night I ate about a cup of potato chips!!! Sometimes I'm happy with a slice of cheese or a few strawberries, and that's not to bad, but most the time it's chips with pico de gallo, cheeze nips or crackers. WAY BAD. The water aerobics really increases my appetite. What should I do?

I attended my first salsa dancing class last night at the club. It looked fun, and I HATE boring, tedious exercise. OMG!!! :cool2: I flopped around, spun in circles, tripped over my own feet, repeatedly went the wrong way and flapped my arms to a rhythm that was like disco on speed! they went so fast I couldn't keep up. Made a total fool of myself.:eek: Of course there were mirrors on every wall. I looked like an episode of I Love Lucy.... :frown: There was a man next to me. Before class he told me it was his first time too. I was impressed that a man would come. He was WAY better than I was! Poor thing though, I must have bumped into him at least a dozen times in my psycho spasms. I'll never do that again. I laughed so hard I was thanking God I didn't have to go to the bathroom because I would have peed my pants. Maybe pilates would be better?:frown:

I haven't lost a thing in 4 weeks. I had my first fill two weeks ago and NOTHING has happened. I just want to cry....

Mbanja, Hey, it sounds like your DH has a wonderful alternative for pizza cravings!!! I think I would prefer that any day, to PBing in the Pizza Hut bathroom.

Candle. I had to laugh about the anethesiologist. I hadn't done that in a couple years, and by happenchance, ended up partaking the week before surgery. I didn't even think about it. They questioned me at my pre-op session regarding that, and I thought, "Crap, they're going to find it in my dirty piss anyway, so I might as well fess up." I told the truth. The nurse scolded me, and I was , yeah, yeah, I know, but I've done it like 5 times in the last 10 years. (I'm getting to old for that crap, but I WAS a product of the 70s *wink*) The day of surgery, my DH was sitting next to me and the nurse was going over my chart. She mentions this in front of my DH!!! This had been a private, girls weekend away, and I hadn't shared this tidbit of information with him..... You should have seen the look I got!!! I was furious with the nurse. Now two months later and he still gives me shit about it...... they did my surgery anyway.

I slept on my right side about 3 days post op. I slept on my port incision side about 7 days post op. I have always used a body pillow, and it sure helped after surgery. I also had a very small pillow in bed with me. When it was time to roll over, I pressed it firmly against my tummy to roll. It kept the fat from rolling around and pulling on the stitches. I have the same digestive problems. The anesthesia and the hydrocodone always block me up after surgery. I was even hospitalized a second time after surgery once for blockage. It was worse than the original surgery!!! Now I start with citrucell a day or two before. I don't use hydrocodone anymore as a result, so I just stuck with tylenol. I still got pretty stopped up. I called the doc 5 days later in pain. He ordered milk of magnisia, but you can't do that all the time. the constipation is a problem for me post band as well. Sometimes a little prune juice before bed helps. Stool softeners help. Once you start eating well again, chew an apple really well at bedtime. Before banding, I was regular as clockwork. Now it's a daily effort. I feel your pain..... Irregularity makes me so cranky.

When I first got there I asked how much he was going to put in. He told me, "Just let me worry about that." I was kind of offended, and made a funny face. After he was finished, he told me what he put in. It was his call. He didn't want me making that decision. It wasn't a negotiated option. So then I was okay with it. I got 3 CCs in my 10 CC band. I was happy with that.

I've been obese for the last 17 years and in that time have had numerous major surgeries and never had heparin like that. It may be common, but it was news to me. Matter of fact, the doctor wouldn't even let me take aspirin. I was on baby aspirin for my heart and had to discontinue it because he said it would thin my blood and could cause me to bleed. So wierd, to hear such varying opinions.

I am stunned at the amount of heparin for this person as well. WOW! I had two the day of surgery, and one the day after for a total of three. I did have a wierd breathing aparatus that I had to blow in for a few days before surgery, and once I had it, had to do it numerous times a day for several days. I was told it was to keep the lungs clear of fluid and discourage clots. I also had massage things put on my legs to discourage clots. (They actually feel good to me... I didn't mind at all) Not to mention I was instructed to get up and walk down the hall just a few hours after surgery to prevent clots. I had to walk the hall every couple hours. My tummy was sore, but it actually felt good to get out of that bed.

PB the fly???? EEEWWWWW. I haven't laughed today either. Thanks for the entertainment. I have to add here though..... The ONLY A+ I ever got on an English paper in college was one I wrote about finding flies in my taco from Taco Bell. They were in the meat, and I'd already eaten half of it. I was so upset. It was all I could write about that evening. Damned if I didn't get an A+ on it. I guess my professor was laughing as much as everyone else on here. Extra points for entertainment.....

I used to really like Dr. Phil a long time ago. As time as passed, I'm sick of his holier than thou attitude, his wife horning in on the glory, his questionable resolutions to problems, his talking down to people he clearly doesn't like, and now I hear he's not even a licesenced doctor. Well that just seals the deal for me. I'll never watch again.......

I've only lost 30 pounds so far and have a long way to go, but I'm beginning to notice some small things, that I didn't realize would make such a difference. 1. When I stand with my arms relaxed at my sides, my hands now touch my upper thigh. Before, the fat under my arms and my sides got in the way and my arms hung out at an angle. 2. My double chin has gone down enough for me to wear a necklace I haven't worn in 6 years. 3. I don't grunt when I lean over to tie my shoes. 4. I can shave my underarm COMPLETELY. The excessive fat used to cause a fold that I couldn't get to with a razor. I can also easily shave my legs. It used to be a strain and uncomfortable. 5. My hands and feet don't swell anymore. 6. My snoring is improving. I don't wake myself up snorting anymore. I'm also sleeping better. 7. My energy level has increased 10 fold. 8. I can "participate" in sex, instead of just laying there exhausted.:tt1::biggrin2: this truly is amazing. these are benefits I didn't expect at this stage of the game. I'm delighted.

I didn't feel mine at all. that's so strange. Is it the band or the port that hurts?