BeckyinTexas

I have clicked on the chat room several times and never found anyone at home but today it was different. I met a lovely lady from England and it was so nice chatting with her as she's as new to being banded as I am. I was wondering though, is there ever a set time for chats? If so, I'd love to chat with anyone that would be interested!

Kathy....thanks so much for your post. I'm like you, I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing right now. I just eat until I start feeling full then I stop. I wait until at least an hour or more before I drink anything and I just pray I'm doing it right. I've been told the first several weeks after surgery it's all about healing and not weight loss and I keep telling myself that over and over but I count every calorie that goes into my mouth. The most calories I've had since surgery on April 29th in a day was 900. I've had baked pork chops one time and I tolerated that fine. Other than those I've pretty much stuck with chicken or tuna from the can and I mash those to doodle dust before I eat. I read every post on here so I can gain insight into how other people did it so I get it right. I just hope and pray that I am cause I so want to get the weight off forever!

Thanks everyone! My sister is doing great today and I'm so excited for her and for me, too. This band is wonderful and I haven't even had my first fill yet. She doesn't have a screen name yet but hopefully she'll jump right in soon.

I was banded April 29 and at 11:55 p.m. on April 28 I downed my last diet Dr. Pepper. It was like saying goodbye to an old friend but I did it! I drank from 6 to 8 cans a day of the stuff but since my surgery, not one single drop. It wasn't as bad as I thought either. I think it's just I finally have my mind set that I'm going to be successful and I ain't letting no 12 ounce can of diet Dr. Pepper stand in my way! I drink lots of water and I love Crystal Lite now. A good cold glass of that hits the spot! I know it's not easy and I sometimes feel really sorry for people that have stock in Dr. Pepper cause since I gave it up the stock has to be falling but you can do it...I'm living proof. Good luck!

I was banded three weeks ago today and my big sister Linda got her band today. What a wonderful thing to be able to for the first time in my life be the one to give her encouragement and support! We're both doing great, thank goodness. I can't wait to be on this journey with someone who not only is my sister but one of my best friends! I'm just so proud to be a part of such a wonderful group of people like the ones that have lended me an ear and loads of encouragement like all of y'all on this site!

I read on here were so many people can't tolerate so many foods but so far I'm not one of them.....what's wrong with me? I've been on soft foods for a week today and I've even eaten baked chicken and bake pork chop in small bites and chewed like the dickens and they are fine. I don't blend things, I just try to stick to really soft easy to chew foods but so far, it's all been my friend. I even ate a helping of Turkey chili and was fine. I even ate a little bit off a pork rib from Sonny Bryan's and that was fine too. Am I a freak????????

Congratulations! I'm a newbie myself, 3 weeks ago today. I hope everything goes as well for you as it has for me. This has been the best thing I have ever done for myself!

OK, I hope someone can help me with this one....I was banded on April 29. Everything has gone great. At first I had no appetite at all. I had to force down water. My doctor put me on mushies Friday of last week and that was great....but still not hungry. Then Monday came along and ever since then, I'm hungry! I eat my small little portions, three times a day cause I read somewhere that's what we shold do but I'm so hungry still! I'm craving meat big time, too. I get my first fill on June 2. So, my question is...is it normal to be hungry before my first fill or is it just me?

I went in and saw Dr. Jay yesterday for my 2 week followup to my surgery. I stepped on the scale and was I pleasantly surprised! I had lost 28.5 pounds in 3 weeks! He assured me that that wouldn't happen all the time but I told him I planned on being an overachiever. I know it's not the norm but boy it sure helped jump start me on my long journey of weight loss....I have quite a spell to go. I was so excited I just wanted to share my news with everyone. Plus I got to start mushies today and I have never loved a bowl of oatmeal so much in my whole life!

Will someone please tell me if and when I can sleep on my stomach again????? I had my surgery 4/29 and I so hate sleeping on my back! I have slept face down, flat on my stomach all my life and this sleeping arrangement is the only problem that I have had since my surgery. Someone please, I'm so scared I'm gonna flip and roll over in my sleep to my stomach and hurt something that I hardly sleep at all. Help!

Mark....what ever you're doing, it must be all good....40 pounds!!!! Man, I have some big shoes to fill to keep up with you but man, I'm so proud of you!

Well, fellow bandsters, I am now one of you!!!! The surgery went great! I had a really rough day yesterday with gas pains but today it's a whole new world! I feel so much better today, thank goodness! It's amazing how much difference a day can make. Thank you all for the encouragement! You guys are an amazing group and I'm so glad to be a part of it now! Thanks again for all the support, prayers and positive thoughts sent my way...they helped me through this with flying colors!

OK....I'm about to leave for the hospital! I'm so nervous and yet so excited but I know you all can relate to that! Thank you all so very much for the encouragement and friendship! You guys have helped me more than I can begin to say! Just hang in there with me cause I'm thinking I'll still have lots of questions for y'all! God bless all of you! Well, the next time I post...I'll be a member of the banded...one of the best bunch of people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing!

Tomorrow is the beginning of the new and improved Becky! I had my preop visit yesterday and the doctor made me feel so much better. I'm just ready to get the show on the road! Thanks again to everyone for all the support! Only 25 hours and 45 minutes and counting!!!!!

It's the strangest thing....I border on about to break down and sob myself to pieces to being so giddy I can hardly stand it....am I losing it or what????? Day after tomorrow and I so hope everything goes well. I told myself to not read anything that would scare me but I'm hardheaded even to myself and I did....now all I can think about are the cases that had problems. Someone want to give me a swift kick in the right direction?

Once again.....thank you all so much for the encouragement! I'm getting more excited by the minute! I'm must ready for Friday to get here. Also got some great news for my big sister...her insurance approved her and her surgery date is set for May 20! For a change I get to pave the way for her so I have to buck up and be brave! You all are just some of the greatest people! Thanks so much and I know that everything is going to be fine! (Boy I sound a whole lot braver than I actually feel)

Mark.....Well one week ago today you got your band. I know you have had one hell of a time and I so wish things would hurry up and get better for you! I just so hope that each day gets better and better for you...it will. Hang in there, bro!

Kara....I never got your email! But oh thank you so much for this one!!!!! I'm to be quite blunt....scared shitless! I've only met him once but he was a sweetie and I immediately liked him. My pre-op appointment is tomorrow and I'm so ready! Did your surgery go well? Where did you have your's done? How long were you out of work or whatever. Just any help you can give me would be sooooo appreciated! Thanks a hundred times and then some!!!!! Becky

Trish....my surgery is the day after your's and I'm actually feeling more calm than I was. Not sure why but darn glad of it! I think I'm just so ready to start my new healthy life! I read all the positive posts on here and look at before and after pictures whenever I start getting any nerves or doubts and that seems to help me. Also, I look at a picture of my precious little 9 month old granddaughter and know how much more fun I'll be able to have with her once I get this weight off! Anyhow, good luck Trish! Things are going to be great for both of us! Hang in there, it really is going to be fine!

I can't say this enough but...you guys are the best! I mean it, I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't found this site! The encouragement is so fantastic and all the support is so appreciated. You know, it's really cool, to know there are so many good people out there willing to help someone when they so need it and each one of y'all fits that bill! I can't wait until I'm able to help others out just like each one y'all have done for me! Thanks so much and please....stay close I'm still 3 days away and no doubt, I'll be needing all the help I can get!

Babs....OK, stop beating yourself up! Good grief, look how far you have come! You can do it, heck you've done wonders and you can do anything you put your mind to. You have more than proven that! Now from one Texas lady to another....kick butt and take names.....you can do it!

Teresa.....I would imagine going to Mexico would certainly add to the stree of the whole ordeal...thank goodness I'm having my surgery right here in Dallas. Hopefully I'll be home by Friday evening. Thanks so much for your wisdom and passing it along to me since you've already walked the road I'm taking. Thanks again!

You guys are the best! Thank you all so much for the encouragement! Today is a better day for me. I've been on clear liquids now for nearly a week and honestly I'm not hungry. I get a little weak by the end of the day but nothing I can't handle. I have a question for all you veterans....am I being overly optomistic thinking that if I have my surgery on Friday I should be able to go back to work on Thursday of the next week? My job is all sitting and no lifting so physically it won't be bad but will I be up to it by then? I've heard so many different stories and I hoped one of y'all might be better to answer that for me. I know everyone is different but just generally speaking. Thanks again for all the help....it means so much to me to have the support from y'all like I do! God bless each of you!

Mark....It sure sounds like a lot of what you described could be from the anesthesia that was used during surgery. My son had knee surgery a few years back and had the same reaction from the anesthesia. He was nauseated for 3 or 4 days. Also, I have no clue but maybe the throat thing....did they use a breathing tube on you when they did surgery? Just grasping on that one though. I just hope that things improve quickly for you! I hate knowing how depressed you are right now....after I had gallbladder surgery I hit rock bottom with a blue funk beyond belief. Maybe some of what you're feeling is that....plus you're in pain! I've already lectured you once on being strong so I won't torment you with another one! Just know how many good thoughts are coming your way (yeah, I know that and a quarter won't get you a cup of coffee but it's positive!)/

First off, this site is a Godsend! I was so lucky to find it. Let me tell you, I'm one nervous wreck! I know that's normal but it sure helps knowing others feel or felt the same way before their surgery. I'm on day 4 of my liquid diet and so far, that's the hard part. I've found out why commercials are on TV, they WORK! I may have to hunt down the Burger King and strangle him myself! He keeps trying to get me to eat some big ole hunk of a breakfast sandwich and if the Kentucky Coronel wasn't already dead, he'd have to watch his back cause every time that family sits down and eats for $4 each, I want to throw a brick through the TV! :devious If anyone has any words of wisdom to pass on to me, I would much appreciate that! I'm going shopping to stock up on things and hoped someone could tell me what I'd be needing when I come home after the surgery. Take care everyone and please send me good thoughts this Friday when I proudly join the ranks of the banded!