ShannonRT

Unless you drank Gastrograffin instead of barium. It is a clear, amber-colored liquid, not chalky white. Still nasty though. This is what I had the day after surgery. If there is a leak somewhere and barium leaks out, that can be bad. But Gastrograffin is water-soluble, which won't cause a problem if leaked out. Ok, the lesson in radiologic contrast is over for today!

Thanks for the list dmtjet!

Hey guys. I haven't posted here in awhile. I'm having a hard time keeping up! It's such a long thread and since I haven't been around since the beginning, I don't know who everybody is. Is there a list somewhere of everyone here that was banded in July? Tomorrow is my 4 week Bandaversary and I'm down 21 pounds! I went to the pool today and my bathing suit was too big!! :whoo:

I'm almost 4 weeks post-op so my band is still empty. I have been on mushies for almost 2 weeks. I have found in the last few days, I get much more hungry in the afternoon/evening. I can manage the hunger during the day pretty well with liquids and protein shakes and sticking with the mushie meal plan. However I get soooo hungry between about 4-8 pm! I try to have a shake around 4 to stave it off for awhile. Well, yesterday I was late leaving work and my dog had a vet appointment so I had to rush home, get her and get there. No time for anything. By 7 pm, I was STARVING! I had ordered pizza and chicken strips for my daughter and her friend. Well, I ended up eating 2 chicken strips and the toppings off of 2 slices of pizza!!!! I was so mad at myself and of course felt miserable the rest of the evening. But today is a new day and I'm back on track. And I had lost weight this morning compared to last Thursday. :huggie:

Ok...how did my thread get to be about grammar??? (Although I agree-it bothers me too)

I'm 60 minutes too. But my surgeon's office actually WANT you to drink 4-8 ounces about 15-20 minutes before a meal, beginning with Phase 3 (right after mushies). The idea is you fill the pouch with liquids and are too full to eat very much. After a meal, however, liquids will mix with the food and make it go through easier and you will get hungry too soon. I, too, thought this would be very difficult, but I'm adapting to it really well. I keep an eye on the clock right when I finish eating and then start drinking almost exactly an hour later. It's hard to get my 64 ounces of fluids if I don't drink a lot between meals.

I had the exact same thing until about a week and a half after surgery. I believe it was gas trapped in there from where they blow up your belly to get the instruments in. Obviously gas rises and when it got up there, it couldn't go any further. It will eventually subside.

I've seen posts stating from bandsters, depending on their restriction, can't really eat much earlier in the day but as dinner rolled around they coud eat more! Why is that? Some even said they couldn't even drink water in the mornings. What's different about the pouch, morning vs evening?

I work in healthcare, so it is very difficult to be a real patient. Luckily I had my surgery at the hospital where I work and know most of the people that took care of me. Are there complications? Of course. Nothing is completely foolproof. But driving your car everyday is much more dangerous! If you have an experienced surgeon, I promise he has picked out the best team in the OR to work with. I actually hand-picked my nurse anesthetist and even knew all the folks in the OR room. Now, what I said to them over there, I have no idea. I don't even remember leaving my room and rolling down the hall to OR. They tell me now I was talking the whole way and even scooted over on the OR table and said Hi to Eugene! Don't remember any of that. Gotta love the Versed! Complications with anesthesia are very rare. If you had an unknown allergy to one of the medications they give you, they would reverse it immediately. They have all the life-saving medications they would need right there at their fingertips. For me...the actual surgery was a breeze. Incision pain and gas pain were minimal. The liquids only diet for 2 weeks was MUCH harder, IMO.

When I see heavier people at the gym or in an exercise class, it makes me feel happy for them that are trying to be healthier! I, too, have issues with the gym specifically though. Too many mirrors and skinny beautiful people. I prefer Jazzercise, where there are no mirrors and all shapes and sizes with different levels of stamina.

Not about meds, but about drinking before meals. The dietician at my surgeon's office calls it Water loading. She said to drink 4-8 ozs of water immediately before a meal, then nothing 60 min. after. I guess the idea is the water will make you feel fuller and you will eat less during the meal. She even mentioned going to a restaurant and sipping on water while waiting for your entree. I'm only 3 weeks out and still on mushies and have not eaten out yet, so I'm no expert. I have a follow-up appt next week and will meet with her and move to phase 3...REAL FOOD!!! So...I would think takings meds right before a meal would be appropriate.

My surgeon said Flintstone's with iron twice a day for the first month. Then he added Calcium with vitamin D once per day after the first 2 weeks post op.

Allows too much gas to get in your pouch.

At my job I could borrow from my 401k. There were certain rules though. You had to have been working there for so long and you could only take it out for certain reasons like buying a house or surgery not covered by insurance. And you only get 5 years to pay it back, but it's at a 3.9% interest rate and you end up paying the interest back into the 401k account! Obviously I need to continue to work there for those 5 years or I would have to pay the rest back upon my leaving. Also, they just take it directly out of my check. For some strange reason, that makes it less painful than writing a check every month! Our 401k plan is through Fidelity. Good luck!

Yeah, me neither. What cruise?????

Rocking in a rocking chair also works.

I am in medicine and am on my feet all day, part of the time in a lead apron, lifting patients, etc. I had surgery on a Monday and took 2 weeks off. I had enough sick time, but if I HAD TO, I could've gone back the following Tuesday or Wednesday. I wasn't in a lot of pain, but I felt pretty weak from the liquid diet. Also, I think I'm pretty sensitive to anesthesia. It took about 5 days before I could go all day without a nap! But as others have said, it's different for everybody. My surgeon knows exactly what I do (same hospital) and he recommended the 2 weeks.

What do your incisions look like? I would be more concerned with getting an infection in an incision than messing anything up on the inside. Since it's a non-weight bearing activity, I wouldn't think you could damage anything.

They give you a pre-op medication called Robinul to dry up secretions during surgery. IT'S AWFUL! Worst dry mouth I've ever had.

Thanks Wendell! That was very good information.

I've been on mushies a week and here's my daily menu: Breakfast - 2 scrambled eggs - 9 grams snack - Protein shake - 15-17 grams lunch -tuna or chicken salad - 13-20 grams snack - Protein Shake - 15-17 grams dinner - refried Beans with a little cheese - 10 grams Grand Total - 62-73 grams I also buy cans of turkey chili with beans and puree that. 17 grams Cottage cheese is a good choice also. And if you have unflavored Protein powder, you can mix it in for extra. Only one more week to go!

I haven't, but am interested. Of course I want to lose some more weight first. But I wanted to see if anyone here had any experiences to share.

Kind-of OT, but has anyone ever tried Speed dating?

FMLA doesn't have to be unpaid. If you have sick time available, you may use it and/or vacation if the sick runs out. However, you are allowed 12 weeks total paid or unpaid, Where I work, I just went to HR and got the forms, took them to the nurse at the surgeons. She filled them out and I took them back to HR. HR e-mailed my manager with the information. Very simple. I've been there 15 years, so I had over 400 hours of sick time. Took 2 weeks (80 hours) off for surgery.

The sutures on the stomach that prevent the band from slipping are permanent. However the subcutaneous ones in each incision are not. Even if they close the skin with staples or Dermabond, there are still absorbable sutures under the skin.