Lite'N'Sweet

@@The Icy One You crack me up with that *ss Hose comment LOLOL But now that I'm thinking of it... You said you had hot liquids (tea? coffee?) cause as soon as I had my tea this morning I felt the rumblings and it was hose time. LOL So you used heat on your incisions? Is that okay? cause I'll throw a heat pad on these jammies in a MINUTE. I just didn't want to slow the healing process @@NolansNana I'm actually not pressed to get the prescrip meds. I don't medicate heavily at all and when they gave me the liquid tylenol intravenously yesterday it was heaven. I just wanted to have it on hand - but if no one has it... then so be it. It's just super sore right now. Does today count as "Day 2" or is this officially "Day 1"? I ask because i read a lot about "Day 3" and I'm trying to brace myself LOL

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and words. This site is really invaluable. I'm maintaining my sanity as i daydream about all the foods i WOULD be having for dinner tonight but obviously cannot. And I owe that to being able to vent here. The tap block anesthetic has officially worn away. I feel everything. It's not excruciating... but on that fun 1 - 10 scale it's a definite 7 in terms of pain. So borderline on the... can't really think of anything else. The doctor prescribed liquid percoset but no one in this city carries it. They'd all have it by Monday - and by then? i'm sure I won't need it. So the hubby is out getting me liquid tylenol. Is it alright to put lemon in my Water? I hear that works like a good flush for your system (since we have to drink all that water anyway). One last question... how does everyone handle the "first post poop"? I'm afraid to push too hard. I know -- it's TMI but i would hate to damage anything on either side LOL

Made it back home and moving around comfortably. I'm on Clear liquids till I see the doctor again next week. Then we move to Protein liquids. I can only take down 15 to 30 ccs of liquid at a time right now. My main question is - when and how can the sore throat go away with that little Water at a time? or is it just a wait it out thing?

DONE!!! I am officially banded!! Feeling good. Throat is REALLY sore but it's my only complaint. I have 3 incisions and they don't look bad at all. Not sure exactly where my port is yet. They have a local anesthetic over the area still I can't really feel anything. HOMEWARD BOUND!! YaaaaaaY!!!

Live blogging. Lolol We just arrived to the hospital. Going to check in.

Well... here I am - on the eve of everything I've been thinking about for the last 4 months (6 years and 4 months). Reading through the site has given me a great deal of steadiness. I have to speak power and success into this process... not fear. So I'm glad to have you all to mentally lean on while I walk down this path. The surgery is at 7:30 AM and we have to report at 5:30AM and the hospital is about an hour away. So we'll be leaving the house at 4 AM. Because of that we set the baby up to get some sleep with Grandma downstairs so that she didn't feel the shift of having to go down there at 4AM. My mother in law who is an old school West Indian woman ( just like my mom was ) said ... "is this absolutely necessary?" And I know what she was saying. In our cultures... will power is supposed to prevail and you're supposed to win that way. And I said to her, "If I'd like to live longer than my mom did and avoid the same pitfalls and tack on a few more years to this life for that little girl right there... then YES. It is absolutely necessary - because nothing else worked yet." And she was actually satisfied with that response (which I was surprised about). I'm gonna go lay my head down for a few hours before we make the trek to the future! Here's to dreams of success! ... And to all a Good Night!

GREAT JOB!! Keep speaking that positivity into your world and you'll be there in no time at all!! Good luck!

Thank you for responding @@NolansNana! Did you experience the whole gas in the shoulder thing? Was your port site super sensitive after the surgery? Does it "get in the way" or do you constantly feel it? Thank you for sharing your experience with me!

Did anyone have SILS installation (single incision laparoscopic surgery: )? that's what they're doing tomorrow for my surgery and I'm wondering if it's the same issues with gas and discomfort. They're going to manage all the ports through an incision in the belly button. They're also going to use a Realize band which I understand is different port-wise than the Allergen port. Anything anyone can share with me about either topic is greatly appreciated!!

On my 1 day clear liquid diet in preparation for the surgery tomorrow. Hospital just called to confirm. I'm so nervous and pensive and feeling like i'm on the precipice of something amazing!! We're renting a recliner so I can sleep at night - cause if i sleep in my own bed my 3 year old will CERTAINLY jump on my stomach at night. And we just can't have it. But seriously??? I'M. SO. HUNGRY. I. CAN'T. THINK. STRAIGHT. All this clear liquid is NOT cutting it. GOSH.

Wow!!! July 8th is popular! Mine is a few days later on the 11th. My doc only has me doing 1 day pre-op diet (clear liquid) - anyone else have that?

Okay - I have a toddler (she'll be 3 this week coming). And halfway through the night, she likes to climb in bed with me and the hubby and sleep the rest of the night with us. Of course, one of her favorite places to lay is right on mommy's chest / stomach. With all that I'm hearing about the port being so... tangible - will this be something I'll have to stop forever? Or just while I'm healing? I really don't want to screw up our bonding but... being healthy and living longer is definitely way up higher on the priorities. Thanks for any information you can offer!

Hi all! I'm scheduled for my banding on July 11th!! I'm excited and nervous all at once!! Here's to a new beginning!!

So after recovering and getting into the swing of fat loss - what did you note "went" first. When I was younger and I'd diet the first thing to go was my boobs (unfortunately). I know it's individual for everyone. What was the first thing to lose weight the fastest on you?

Thank you so much for those words LyceeB! I just had a long conversation with one of my old work colleagues who got banded about 7 years ago when we worked together and I promise you she said the exact entire thing you just told me. Her weight loss was great (she went from 240 to 150) but she did warn me about it not being a magic bullet and told me of the different weird things that can happen along the way. But at the end of it all, she did say "and after all that I'd still do it all over again". That gave me hope. And now your before and afters give me more hope! GO ON girl! I can't wait to wear dresses that don't have to disguise my tummy and arms.

For those of you following here - I got my date finally. July 11th. I have a bunch of pre-op stuff to do before I get under way but the wheels are moving. Trying to stay away from horror stories on the web and weird statistics that say that Lap Band is unsuccessful for 68% of patients - that doesn't seem to make sense. I was going to go on youtube and watch a surgery to understand what they'll be doing and I came across a video of a woman imploring the world NOT to get lapband because she had a terrible experience (something about productive burps and digestive juices eroding her teeth) and then of course there were the multitudes of people co-signing or thanking her for her insight. Whatever I do, I have to be part of the success stories... I have to give it my all!

Thanks All! Spoke to the doctor's office and it is an Approval! Got my date - July 11th. Just have to do all my pre-op stuff and then... it's off! YAY!!!!

Talking to the Lap Band veterans - can you remember back to that first week after your surgery? What was the biggest obstacle for you? What was the hardest part of your recovery in particular? Thank you in advance for sharing your stories!

This is awesome news!! I feel like non scale victories are much sweeter!

I got a letter from my medical insurance provider today. It wasn't the thick package with all the info I should have read up on. It was a thin envelope with one sheet of paper inside. I was nervous. Till I read it. And then I was confused. The first line reads: But then it goes on to say: So..... yes? They've approved me but they aren't guaranteeing that they'll pay? *does the RCA Dog pose* Anyone familiar with this? Should I be celebrating?

Thank you so much 1Day1Life4Now, chasingadream and Weeviegurl! It means a lot to me to be able to chat with like minds on this subject. The latest update, the Surgeon's office just called and my heart jumped because I thought that they'd have some definitive news for me. Instead they were just letting me know that they requested my latest A1C and TSH test results from my General Doctor. I called my Gen and they confirmed that they faxed it over. But the coordinator at my Surgeon's office told me "usually it takes 30 days to get a confirmation back from the insurance". At this rate... it feels like I may not get the surgery (if i'm approved) till the end of the year. Ugh. I'm trying not to be impatient. It's worth the wait.... I have to keep telling myself...

Hello all! I am waiting to get my approval from my insurance company at this point. But I have done my 3 visits with the nutritionist, doppler on my legs, endoscopy, test for h-pylori and my psych eval. Now I wait. And as I wait, a million thoughts / feelings / emotions are rushing through me. Not fear really... because this isn't the first time I've ever had surgery (I had an abdominal myomectomy to remove 14 fibroids from my uterus in 2009 and then a c-section to deliver my daughter in 2011) - so I don't really have a fear of being "put under" or "cut open". I'm so excited to start my new life. I guess my fear is that they may deny me and then I'll have to figure out what i'm really doing. For 20 years I've watched this weight just pile on and no matter what I've done - it's determined to stay there. And as I Celebrate my 40th birthday in October - I want to be free of that struggle. But I recognize me and my will power. I need something to force me into place. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I lost so much more weight than I gained because I dodged every and anything they told me was bad for her... because of the consequences to her. I feel like I've heard enough horror stories about what happens when you don't follow the plan after the lap band that it would be enough to hold me true to the system. My mom died at 65 years old in 2008 because of Metabolic Syndrome. She struggled with her weight all of MY natural life. They've already started using words around me like "pre-diabetic" and "high blood pressure" I cannot. I will not follow that path. I have a 3 year old daughter who needs me to do better and live longer. But i have to stop kidding myself with all these other methods I've been using. So this is my hello... hopefully in the coming days, I'll report great things about what is on the horizon for me. Thank you for welcoming me into your community!