phyllser

My DH is toochicken to take the RV to MX, but Id go in a heartbeat and know many RVers who have gone w/o incident.

"Phyl - Can't wait to meet you in person and won't someone like Dr. Bobby see you when you are here for the winter???? Good Morning, Janet! I'm looking forward to meeting you, too. Do you have a support group there that you attend? I am hoping that Dr. Bobby may see me if I need something while we're down there. Otherwise I'll have to fly back to Seattle. I've been enjoying all your posts the past few days. We are ALL in this together and you express so many feelings that we all are having! I've been retaining Water the past week or so... too much sitting in the car or the RV, so my weight loss is stalled and its so discouraging. I dropped 3 lb. this morning, so hope I'm beginning to get rid of some of that Fluid.

Nicnacnut: We are RVers also, but not full timers. We recently bought a condo in WA state and we spend the winters south, in Indiogirl's "neighborhood", in Desert Hot Springs CA. I have been concerned about my followup care because we'll be gone so much, but just trusting it will all work out. Welcome!

Dee, I am Medicare primary, Tricare For Life secondary. I haven't received any bills at all yet. A couple of E.O.B.s have come from Tricare for preliminary visits/tets and so far I don't owe anything. I think when the dust settles, I may end up having to pay for the initial dietary consult, but that's all I've been told I'd have to pa for.

Ssanka: I have my 1st post op appointment tomorrow and I'm curious to see hear what they have to say. I want to know how small my band is, when I can get my first fill, when I can start having sex again, among other things. Has anyone's Dr. told them when they can start having sex again? :thinkI think my dr thought I was too old to bother giving me sex guidelines!! But we did "celebrate" our anniversary last night, despite the clam chowder incident , and it was fine. No port pain at all.

Oh, I've pretty much transitioned from mushy to soft, so I CAN have clam chowder, but when he brought it to me in the RV when we were on the ferry, he went behind me to the table telling me it was still too hot, like he was cooling it for me. But I could hear him slurping it so I knew he was eating it down to his acceptable amount for me to eat and that really pissed me off. I got mad and then he told me I was being really nasty!! Grrrrrrr! :nono::nono::nono: :fencing:

Indiogirl: "As far as shopping - i am buying too much. Once I took the 3 packages of fish and 1 chick and weighted it out i have enought for 3 weeks... And veggies - my eyes have always been bigger than my tummy. I guess i am afaired i am going to starve - yea right got enough reserve to feed an army " Oh, my gosh!! I'm doing the same thing. DH told me last night, "NO MORE CANNED GOODS until we use some of what we have!! " And he keeps complaining about all the leftovers in the fridge! Thanks for all the anniversary wishes! We DID go out to dinner last night, to the top of the Space Needle in Seattle!! What a ride!! Weather was beautiful... clear, blue skies.. fantastic view of the area. Restaurant rotates so we got a 360 view and sat there enjoying it over dinner... AND a glass of wine, for about 1 1/2 rotations and then went up to the observation deck to look some more!! Oh, yeah, I had "out of this world" seafood pasta. Won't talk about the noodles and rich sauce, but it was loaded with clams, still in the shell, scallops, salmon, cod, mussels. All the bread went to my DH, BUT HE DID CUT THE CRUST OFF ONE SMALL PIECE FOR ME . I brought enough home for four 1/2 cup servings, so I did pretty good, though surely ate more than 1/2 cup. :hungry: We still had another "food fight" though, on the ferry on the way home from camping, over a cup of clam chowder!! He is trying to help!! But he's such a control freak and he read too much of my lap band info, including one of my books, so he KNOWS TOO MUCH!!! `Or thinks he does!! :heh: Clean the plate club?? Oh, yes!! About 30 years ago when our kids were 4-10 yrs, we were staying at my in-laws for a few days and one morning the kids were having trouble fixing all the food that had been prepared for them. They wanted to be excused and I said okay when MOL chirped in and said they had to clean their plates. She kept insisting and finally I told her that I looked the way I did because I had to do that growing up. I told her our kids did NOT have to clean their plates and they'd eaten enough. So she says "what about all the starving children in Africa???" And I said, "well, send it to them because they don't have to finish it!!" I'm sure I was quoted to all her other kids and anyone else who would listen for a lot of years after that! I felt a little guilty for being disrespectful, but I'd had enough!! Jeanie: I have trouble with swelling when the weather gets warm and when I'm sitting in the car and/or motor home for a long time... as in yesterday and the day before. Ruby: Rubbermaid makes some 1/2 cup containers with lids. I got two packs of eight at Albertson's for $4 each. So when I come home with leftovers... like my seafood pasta , I put it directly into those little containers. Helps keep me on track with my 1/2 cup servings.

Hi, Gang, We are still "camping" in our RV. The first three days the weather was less than impressive but today it was a beautiful day in the Pacific NW. We went for a scenic drive this morning that was lovely. THEN, we stopped for lunch. I have to VENT!! My DH is a control freak. I have been grateful for his "help" fixing my food, including measuring it diligently so that I don't have more than 1/2 cup. But when we go out to eat and he can't control the portions I am being served he does not trust me to make an intelligent decision about how much to eat... how much is 1/2 cup. I really do have some restriction even though I haven't yet had my first fill. I get uncomfortable if I try to eat more than 1/2 cup. We went to a seafood restaurant. I wanted to try the seafood chowder, tomoato based, then have some steamed halibut. He could not shut up about what I was ordering and then made an inappropriate comment about me going through all the trouble of having this surgery and now I'm going to blow it!! I was so mad I coudn't see straight. By the time I got my lunch ordered I had to leave the table and go to the rest room for a melt down. When my food came, I only ate a few bites of the chowder because he was on my case about how much I was going to eat. I finally just gave it to him and waited for my halibut. I ate half of that and took the rest back to the RV for later. I probably had a little more than 1/2 cup, but less than a full cup... maybe 3/4 cup. And I did feel uncomfortable for a while, but I'd never tell him that!! Wed. is our 43rd wedding anniversary and I told him I do NOT even want to go out for dinner. We'd planned to go somewhere special, but I'm not going to put up with those antics again. Anyone else having trouble with a spouse trying to control everything??? I told him he needs to let me do this!! Sorry!! I really needed to vent!! :cry :cry :faint: :help:

Have you tried cream soups? Put them in the blender if they are chunky. I used lots of different soups, cream of wheat with lots of milk. Hang in there. It'll be over and on to the next stage soon.

Hi, All, I had my post op follow up appointment today. I saw the surgeon's P.A. and then the dietician. They were pleased with my progress. I'm down 14 1/2 lb since my pre op visit a week before surgery. Dietician spent a lot of time with me on Vitamins. I'm not getting enough of some critical ones. Not getting enough Calcium/Vit D, for instance. The band I have is a VG 11. Does that mean its 11 cm long or that it holds 11 cc?? My first fill is due at the six week point hich is Aug 31 but they had no appts available that day so I have to wait for a phone call. Like that's going to happen!! It just means I'll have to keep calling and bugging them!! Hunger pains seem to be increasing, sometimes only 60-90 minutes after I eat. Had a very busy day but really enjoyed cayching up on all the posts tonight. Oh, and guess what??? I was given wrong info by the first dietician!! I never really had to give up my caffeine!!! My doctor says its okay in moderation!! So my morning cup of "Joe" is back!!! Yippee!! I HATE DECAF!! :clap2::clap2::clap2::whoo::whoo::whoo::whoo:

That's GREAT NEWS, Janet!!!

Hi, I'm doing great!! And, YES it was quiet and lonely around here today with all of you back to work!!

Can you have soups? That really helped me through the liquid phase. Blended soups, some creamed soups, in my Magic Bullet. Sometimes added unflavored protein. I'm on "mushies" now and still using the Bullet for all my meals.

I'm still in the "mushy" stage and I'm amazed at what I can puree in to baaby food consistency.... and it still tastes pretty good. This weekend I had salmon/mashed potatoes/green beans and the same combo with a few chunks of BBQ ribs instead of the salmon. Put it in my Magic Bullet and add a little BBQ sauce and/or milk. Eating 1/2 cup servings 4-6 X a day.

My doctor says 1/2 cup 6X a day. That much fills me up. In fact, at noon today I couldn't finish the last of it-- probably saved about 1/3 of it for later. And almost never get in all six "feedings". I've had four today and will probably have just one more. I'm averaging just under 500 calories a day, 45-50 gm protein. I started mushies last Friday. I'm pureeing everything into baby food consistency with my Magic Bullet.

Oh, my!! That sounds good, too. I bet I could eat that if I put it in my Magic Bullet!! DH made Impossible Quiche today and that blended nicely. Tonight I made baby food out of a couple small pieces of BBQ ribs, spoon full of mashed potatoes and a spoon full of canned green beans, french style. Used a little of the BBQ sauce for liquid. Blended up nicely and came to just 1/2 cup. It was yummy. They were leftovers donated by our daughter. I'm liking this mushy phase!!

Yeah! Good thing there's an Albertson's across the street. May have to persuade my DH that he needs to go for a walk!!

Yes, on my list if diluted with lots of milk. Drinkable consistency. Mushies for me today!! I had scrambled eggs for breakfast.

My doctor says two weeks full liquids, then "mushies" for two weeks. I've been eating cream soups, cream of wheat and protein drinks. I have a bunch of yogurt in the refrigerator, but for some reason it just hasn't appealed to me so far. Marcy: Something good must be happening because my daughter pulled my jeans off....without the zipper or button being undone! LOL! She didn't even pull hard! Yesterday I wore a pair of pants that were a little baggy to begin with. Now, 30 lb. later they are really baggy! I slipped my cell phone in to one of the pockets and the weight of the phone sent the pants sliding south!! Good thing I was at home!!

I don't have a card, but we went to a Mexican restaurant tonight and I just quiety explained to the waitress that I'd had surgery and couldn't eat much so could I order off the chidren's menu. She said I could so I ordered a kids beef enchilada meal. It worked great. The beef was finely ground hambuger; I scraped the meat mixture out of the tortilla, which I then moved to another plate to avoid temptation. Then I mixed the meat with the refried beans and enchilada sauce, poured a little salsa on top and mixed it all up. I start mushies tomorrow, so I made it as runny as I could. Then I noticed that the now empty salsa bowl looked to be about 1/2 cup so I filled it up with my concotion and got a to go box for the rest... which turned out to be exactly another 1/2 cup! Two meals for $4.25 ..... and it was most enjoyable!! :hungry:

I.m doing great, Dini. "Mushy" tomorrow and I'm so happy!! I can't wait to have scrambled eggs for breakfast!! Camping trip (well, we cheat--RV) coming up next weekend with our daughters and their families. We're going to Sequim WA. Should be fun. You have anything exciting going on??

Hi, Dini, To clear up your confusion, Preparation H is an ointment used for treatment of hemorrhoids...... except when Lynette puts it on her tattoos!! :faint:

Did you get my PM??

Just sent you a PM.