Norma Jamerson

Okay tell me if this dosen't sound good to you....." Can I please have a tall, non-fat,decaff, carmel machiotto with sugar substitute? Thanks!" I had that yesterday, and let me tell you..........It was awsome!!!!! It wasn't even the caffine that I missed, it was the taste. And it even tasted better than the regular one. Gotta do it again!

SO I started having "caffein" once again in my coffee. So far so good. I was scared I would get the "Hershy Squirts" or something. (Maybe I should define that...I was referring to having diarreah). But everything wen't well. I missed my little caffein energy boost in the mornings. I have coffee and I start cleaning the whole house. My husband sure liked that.

Don't feel bad about cheating. This is a hard adjustment. Obviously we all know that the Doctor's orders are for a reason. However, With any medical proceedure we may stray from the rules. I mentioned one time on another thread that I had Lay's potato chips during my mushie fase because I was craving them and they disolved very well and were MUSHY before I swallowed them. So at this stage of your muchies, you can have bascially anything that will blend well. And I too have been very honest with my doctor about every little thing. I am in contact with his nurse at least 2 times a week just to ask questions.

Well, Be prepared to have some discomfort when you wake up. Not real bad. It was bad for me because I have allergies and my throat felt like I had to clear some mucous and I was coughing up a storm. They kept telling me to stop and that I was just feeling the irritation from the tube they put in my throat. I said no it wasn't that, and then It cleared, no more mucous. Then I stopped coughing and my belly didn't hurt so bad. Pretty gross huh?!

Gosh! Everything. I'm starting to wonder if that is normal. I can eat walfles in the morning with an omlet, a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch, some barbecue chicken wings with veggies at dinner. The list goes on. I am pretty sure it will change once I have my fill, if not, then their may be a slippage problem. Tonight I am having some broiled cod fish with lemon juice and salt over it. with a side of salad. I really don't have any restriction. will you be getting your fill on the 21st?

I may try some water aerobics till my back is stronger. My back is the reason I decided to do this in the first place. Does anyone know at what point we can do some serious sit-ups? Lord knows I need to do about 1000 a night.

Oh yeah, can't forget the husband....Mine just about starved. I too was in at about 5:30am and din't get on the operation table till about 12noon. Make sure he's got plenty of coffee. You are going to be fine. The anestesiologist (however it's spelled) will ask you to think of a nice place about a minute before you dose off. I said a prayer, thought of my children and my husband and dosed off into lala land. I'll be here to hear the rough times, good times, and to encourage you. I look forward to your success with the band. Later!

Penni, What do you think? Should we do this another time? Maybe we can set it for a week in advance so that others can make arrangements.

I started solids today. Well actually I have been eating some solids for about 3 days now. I know---Bad Me. But I really felt fine eating. Today I had Toast for the first time and it went down and I felt fine. Now I just ate some pasta with and experimental enchilada sauce over it (don't ask--low on food options). The pasta so far seems to be staying down. Could it be that all my swelling is completely down and maybe after my fill I will notice for sure if I have problems with certian foods?

Betty is right. After the band, it is scary how normal it is to be farting and burping. The thread she is talking about is really funny. You mention that you are still on mushies. I was banded on 2/16 and today I started solids. Is there a reason why you are only on mushies? Are you having trouble eating?

United Health Care? You'll be approved. I have them. just about 2 out of 10 people at my husbands work have either the lap band or the gastric bypass. It's so popular that people do it just as easy as making a regular Dr.'s appointment. I saw my Dr. for a consultation in Dec of 04, and then had my band put in in 2/16/05. It would have been sooner too, but I had other stuff I was taking care of. Anyway, your eating habits and your feelings were just like me. My husband was eating slower and less than me while I was stuffing my mouth with 2nd's and 3rds. Depression on top of it didn't help either. So I know what you are going through. But since I see a lot of myself in you, I would say try weight loss counceling before you do the band. Maybe if you can overcome your relationship with food, any depression and anxiety, you may still have a good chance at succeeding on your own. Or even with the band, the counceling especially for food relationships, will help you through the really tough beggining. Because it is soooooooooooo hard those first 2 to 3 weeks after surgery.

Hi. I was 236 on 2/16/05 and today I am 220. Your in for a big change. A good change. It will be a challenge at first. You will miss eating the way you do now, but with any diet, you have to change your eating habbits. That was the most difficult part for me and I cried the first 2 weeks and thought,"what the heck did I do". However, the first 2 weeks are just liquids (shakes, soups, etc.) and that was difficult for me. It became a little easier at the mushy food stage, and now that I can start solid food again, it feels even better. With your health problems, I would totally recommend this to you. your blood pressure will drop, it may even help your ovarian tumor problem. I was in the E.R last week for bleeding for 3 weeks and lower left abdominal pain, I found out that I had many ovarian cysts and they wanted to see if it was cancerous. Fortunately I am okay. However, they told me that it is a good thing that I have the band because now I will be losing weight and it's usually the overwieght women who have more problems with ovaries. So make a list of the pro's and pro's. What will you benifit from the band?, and what will you benifit without it? What ever has more benefits, I say go in that direction.

you know, if your looking for a low fat, low calorie coffee, try "Cafe' con leche." Spanish for coffee with milk. I pour about 6-8 oz of skim milk, microwave to right temp, then mix the coffee, sweet-n-low, and then to make it really worth while I grade cinnimon over it. It is fat free and tastes so good. And you don't have to spent money on it.

When I had some fish during mushy food time, I had this stuck feeling in my throat and called my doctor. He said fish is soft, but for me it was maybe too soon. He recommended I sip water till the feeling went away. So the drinking water thing maybe different for everyone.

Tonight, I plan to have pork chops. (well, what I can eat of it). I like to bake it till it is cooked through, then I fry it in about 2 tsp olive oil and 1/4 cup barbecue sauce. It tastes so good! I have some veggies on the side and some mashed potatoes, and I'm set.

I just started solids today, and had 2 pieces of toast with Peanut Butter. That made me full enough. However, it's not the stuffed full feeling, it's the, "Am I still hungry feeling." If you have to ask your self that question, then your satisfied and you don't need anymore food at that point. Eating SLOW is so important. By the time your brain says, "STOP!", your already in risk of a PB. SO give your brain some time to catch up with your tummy.

That's a great idea! Maybe also people can write about the begginning of their band experience, good and bad, so that others who are new (like me) can see how others overcame the difficulties. And at what point did people notice not just the weight change but their body change. Goals are great for everything. This is great because it will give us all a good idea what people are looking forward to. and not just a weight goal, but what they hope to see diiferent in their lives because of the weight loss, ie. better job, better sex , tons of energy, better sleep, more vacations, etc.

Yesterday, I was going through everything in our home to see what I could sell in a yard sale next week. WEll, I was able to get rid of all my size 22-24's. Yeah! It will be the 18-20"s to go next!

I have to say it does feel good. I am a woman of prayer aswell as many of you. I finally told myself that although I should have thought more in detail about my decision, I made it and have to live with it. I gain nothing complaining about it right?! So I put it in Jehovah's (have to give him a name you know )hands and am also going to counceling tomorrow to deal with the worries of what may or may not go wrong, etc. And to deal with the mourning of my favorite foods--creamy pasta, pizza, big mac's, etc. The fact that I am losing weight however, has giving me alot of energy and has improved my back. So there is a positive to everything.

Kathy, You are very welcome! I just want to make sure that others don't have such a hard time with the band like I have, emotionally. Counceling is always a good idea BEFORE the procedure. I have my first counceling session tomorrow. I am doing a lot better than I was the first 2 weeks post, however there is still a lot of new changes that I am dealing with. Take care!

It's funny how I have kept many different sizes of clothes over the years. I had them all in big suitcases and now I unpacked all of them and started shopping through my closet.

Ah man! That's not fair. Oh well. What about the coffee?

Isn't sparkling water carbonated? I thought it was. If so, the answer to your question is absolutely no! It may cause your now little stomach to basically feel like it will blow up. SOes anyone know when we can start drinking carbonated drinks agian? I miss my diet coke.

Chistina, You mention that you are not too excited about the show. You also wonder if God is trying to tell you something. Well, most of the others have by now gotten irritated with me because I tend to focus on the bad side of the lap band. Yes, the band helps to lose weight, but hard work helps aswell. Maybe the show isn't what you really want, but something in you is not sure about the band either. I knew my insurance would aprove me because their United health care and they're the best. However, I really didn't think about the following questions in detail.... 1. Is this really my only option? 2. Am I just lazy and looking for the easy way out. 3. Will I be okay never eating what I want. (without the band you can still eat what you want but in moderation) 4. Do I want to deal with my skin sagging? ( your skin will sag more when you lose weight fast. When you do it on your own, you exercise and build muscle and lose SLOWLY, alowing your skin to go back.) 5. Am I truely emotionally ready for this. And so on.... I was 236 on 2/16/05 day of surgury, and now I am 219 today. Yes it's nice to lose weight, but something in me was not 100% ready for surgery. And maybe that is why I would rather not have the band in me today. My husband had lost 10 pounds on his own since my surgery. He goes to the gym at least 3 times a week. He walks during his breaks at work, and He has a nice salad for either lunch or dinner instead of a big plate of Pasta. I know now, that I could have still done it on my own. I honestly thought to myself, I am tired of trying so hard to lose weight and just gave up. But anything in life is hard work when you want to succeed. I believe in you. Try the show if your comfortable enough. No one is going to think " Oh my gosh she's huge!" People are proud of the people on the show and think, "Good for them, they are really trying to do something for themselves and they deserve all the respect in the world." That's just my 2 cents. Hopefully you really think this through, and if you are not 100% sure about doing the surgery, then don't. However, if you are 100% sure then go ahead.

Last night I used a heating pad first to warm the area, and then my husband massaged my shoulder for about 10 minutes and it felt sooooooooooooooo much better. I guess it takes a long time for the gas pains to really say good bye to us. I am going on 4 weeks post surgery and still have the shoulder pain every day, especially at night.