Tuff Enuff

Hey thanks for the sugar tip and the great recipes! I'm going to have to try them, I've been stuck for a while and it's still almost two weeks before my next appointment where I might get my first fill. If I don't I'm going to be kinda annoyed. (12 weeks out)

Jack, That's a really interesting theory, it makes a lot of sense. Everyone else, I totally relate to what you are all saying. I too had reservations about getting my band because I know what my habits are. I am a boredom and a stress eater. I went ahead with my surgery because I knew that was never going to go away and I am still dealing with my issues now ten weeks out. I believe I am now ready for my first fill (scheduled later this month). Yesterday was a bad day eating wise for me and the bulk of it was in the evening. I have found that I can eat fresh fruits and vegeatables as well as most hard Protein (beef takes a looong time to chew) so one shouldn't worry about being able to eat healthy items. The tendancy is to eat unhealthy things (at least in my case) because they are so much easier to chew to death. This is something I am going to have to really work on and I suspect I'm not the only one this is relevant to. I also have a habit of stockpiling groceries then worrying about things going bad. This is a horrible habit after having the band. My freezer and cupboards are at capacity. So you see the habits you have before you will have after, I now have a tool to use to cope with my issues. I too still have work to do and I know it's going to take me some time, maybe a lot of time....I'm going to try and pick one thing at a time and work on that. Good luck and good fortune to you all with your battles.

I have an aunt that lives in Sequim but I much prefer Bellingham. Coffee...Must have Coffee!

I'm a really bad night muncher and have found that sunflower seeds in the shell really help. Of course you have to be very, very careful not to swollow the shells. I like the Ranch flavor Davids brand the best. I'm not sure if they are sold in England though. Good luck!

Hi and welcome: The BM thing is pretty normal. I think it was probably almost a month before I had one but I also had three weeks where I couldn't keep anything down and was dehydrated. PB stand for productive burp or belch. Basically you upchuck what is in your stoma (at least thats what happened in my case) or until whatever is stuck either comes up or goes down. It's a good idea to avoid this if possible. There are lots of threads on your questions if you try a search. Good luck and happy reading!

BwaaHaHaHa... I am from Bellingham which is north of Seattle, It's true there are coffee shops on just about every corner and in a number of the grocery stores. I have really missed my caffiene during this pre and post surgery ban on caffiene. I also was a quad girl! Love those Mocha Milkshakes am going to have to wait another month or two before I can have one though, decaff just doesn't taste right!

I didn't use the product you are using but I did try various drinks until I found one I could tollerate (it was a low carb whey protein) I then put a healthy shot of sugar free coffee syrup in it. It made it tolerable.

Hi, Welcome on board! I also have been heavy all of my life and know what your talking about. I had my band surgery May 20 of this year. There are a lot of great people with great advice on this board. Good luck!

Hi Fee: Well it's really up to you about this kind of a decision. Do lots and lots of research weigh the pros and cons and then make the best decision for you yourself. I'm really happy with mine, I took about a year doing research, went to a seminar, made and kept my first appointment with the surgeon and then took about seven more months before I actually had the surgery. After all of that I knew it was a decision I made exclusively for me. Tuff Enuff

Congratulations, I hope everything goes really, really well!

I'm glad your Monday went well and you had the backbone to stand straight and tall and have a huge amount of class. I've been there as well with people and their stupid, insensitive, and rude comments, animal noises, etc., These are ignorant people and as so many people have mentioned... Karma is a b****! I had a great example of that about a year ago. A boyfriend dumped my by answering machine (he had issues with my weight and no doubt "dating" other people) I truly wished him the woman he deserved. Years later he contacted me at 2:30am to "apologize" and called on several other occasions. I began to get hang up calls and wierd messages froma female. Turns out he had a whacked out ex girlfriend who was stealing his phone bills and calling the numbers on it to "find out if he was cheating on her". The evil elf in the back of my mind was rolling on the floor hysterical. Karma baby, it will bite you when you least expect it.

Mine is also a couple inches above my belly button and a little to the left. I "found" it just a week or two ago and can definately feel it by applying light pressure to my tummy. It is actually a good place as it is above my waist band line.

Hi Mandy: Yea the two week liquid diet really is tough! I found that if I made the sugar free Jello and drank it cool before it set it really helped with the hunger. The broth also helped after all day Protein drinks (Bleagh!) I found sugar free coffee syrups that helped with the taste of the Protein Drinks. Good Luck! It's only two weeks, it's only two weeks, it's only two weeks.................................

Thanks for this thread everyone! I have to admit that I'm one of those who have hidden behind my weight to avoid men (I've been burnt pretty crispy) it just seems easier to be fat and single. Now of course I'm eliminating the fat part and am going to have to deal with dating issues if ever they arise. The hair thing??? well I've had hair pass my hiney and men were never interested in me, I've had it really short and men were never interested in me. Voila! Must be me not my hair. I think the people who said the you have to feel/own sexy for the opposite sex to be truly interested in you are right. And I'm not talking about skimpy clothing.

Here's wishing you strength and luck! I had some of the same things going on when I originally decided to do this. Mostly family and friends as I don't have a husband. The many diets and programs that were suggested were unreal! I took seven months between the seminar and the actual surgery so that I knew it was my decision and mine alone because it was my body and I would be the person living with the results for good or bad. I have to say six weeks out that it all looks good to me. Whatever your decision I wish you well.

That is truly horrific, and your right this lady is ill! She probably does think she looks like the gal in the background or she has been horribly, horribly ill for a really long time. Hopefully noone on this board will ever think that is healthy! Yikes!

Hi Everyone, I'm finally back and up to speed. I had my surgery on May 20 and everything went well according to the doctor, I was able to go home the same day. The problem arose when I began vomiting that evening..the next day was the weekend, fortunately my doctor returned my call, said it was due to swelling and set a appointment for a barium swallow...everything was swollen shut and I was unable to keep anything down including my saliva. They wound up putting a feeding tube down my nose and through the blockage for several days, (Horrible!), took it out on Friday things seemed fine on the drive back (2 hrs) but by evening was again unable to keep anything down. Wound up driving myself to the emergency room for dehydration that evening and again back to the emergency room a day later again for dehydration. The doctor kept saying to be patient that the swelling would go down. After 2nd trip to the emergency and still sick to the stomach they prescribed in home IV drip to make sure I didn't dehydrate, Seven Days! The first thing that stayed down was tums! Which eliminated the residual sickness. Wierd thing was I was never naseous. From the ten days off work that was planned, I was off two full weeks plus by the third week, on portable IV's could only work partial days so was off more like three weeks. My boss was beginning to wonder if they needed to hire someone else. Instead she paid me for sick leave the entire time I was off, I'm still employed and the band and I are getting along fairly well. I'm finally on real food but chew everything to death! I consume about 1/2 cup each meal six times per day and am feeling well. Through all of this I dropped about 34 pounds. I think I'm going to be fairly conservative about fills though! I'm really curious how common this kind of swelling is though. My Doctor said that I was the first patient that they had that this had happened to. ???? (What a wierd way to be special!)

Hi Jim, Good luck with everything. I just had my surgery last month and have to say the process can seem a bit much but it's worth it in the end. Best of Luck!

Thank you for your responses. It seemed like such a wierd thing and I was so sick I was beginning to really panic before it was over. All of the research I did didn't prepare me for what happened. I am so happy I am well now and everything is working properly. I think that I do have restriction on my sixth week out so I really don't think I'm going to need my first fill for a while. I'll have to talk to my doctor. Do any of you ladies notice more restriction around your period? Yesterday and today I am having some trouble with things I havn't had problems with. ??

I'm a financial accountant (not a CPA) I do every aspect of accounting for small companies. It's pretty interesting and I like what I do.

Thanks guys! You have made me feel a whole lot better. I do have a recliner that is pretty comfy so will be ok.

Would anyone give me advice on being alone after surgery. What creative things did you come up with? I'm having some issues tonight since I found out the friend I was counting on to come stay with me for a couple of days after surgery won't be able to make it due to things going on in her life that can't be avoided. The person who is going with me the day of surgery is wrapped in legal battles with her business partner (they are my bosses) and I'm a little up in the air as to whether or not she is going to get miffed and decide to not help me as well. I'm really feeling like a lot of people are expecting me to solve their problems and when I need help I'm left with me, myself and I. (Don't get me started on my condo assoc. Augh!) Suggestions on how to take good care of myself after surgery without help of any sort?

Congratulations David, enjoy the egg!

I cleared out my Simple IRA and am still financing part through a home equity loan. Since it's for medical I won't have to pay the 10% penalty, income tax only and the home equity loans interest is also tax deductable. So there is a little silver lining in there somewhere.

Thanks for the tips everyone! I'm getting banded here in Washington State and it was looking like I was going to have to go to my preop and surgery by myself. Having a "support" person at the preop is mandentory at the Wish center. I think it's a little silly to make it mandentory. I get my best support right here. Today someone else has offered to go to the preop and drive me home so won't have to drive myself. Whew! Was doing my best to figure out how I was going to manage that one!