steph_co

Ah, gees. I was hoping the port pain would go away soon. I'm sick of it. I had to take the belt off of my uniform for work because it was hard getting in and out of the vehicle so much (2 dozen+ times per night). I can't bend down to do anything. If I want to reach my feet, I have to put my foot up on something, but even then it's at arms' reach. The pain/discomfort can radiate from my ribs down to my waistband. Huh. Guess it's just something else to get used to.

OK, Telecia - are WE going to get that recipe? You have me drooling just thinking about it. LOL

Aww, Tish - that sucks. I'm really sorry to hear that. You have to keep us updated as to when you get banded! Hang around, though - we'd miss you here.

This is a great thread. I'll have to c/p some of these great ideas to my files and refer back to them.

My first two weeks after surgery are what they call the "straw diet" or liquid puree. As long as it can pass through a straw, I can have it (within reason, of course!), but obviously can't use a straw because of extra air. I am allowed to have liquified meat, too, so I didn't miss out on the turkey. Where I do patrol, there is a restaurant (that has THE best bbq, btw) that does free Thanksgiving dinner every year. So DH and I came up here early before my shift and got dinner. I snagged some turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and like 3 (MUCh tinier than I used to consider "bites!") bites of pumpkin pie. All liquified before going down. It was really nice to not gorge myself. I was still tired after eating (carbs!), but I was not uncomfortable like years past. It was NICE. The food all looked so good and it smelled good, too. But I was able to enjoy just sitting there with my DH, seeing a whole load of friendly people (small town), watching some Cowboys, and not making it all about the food. I think I may have had 3 bites of each food I listed.

Left side, directly in line with my breast, about an inch or two below my ribs.

I really am surprised these days at what passes for customer service. I can't believe they argued with you over whose fault it was. Sheesh. I agree that the customer is always right and you shouldn't argue with them! Some people in customer service don't stop to think for two seconds that the person they are arguing with is the person that essentially pays their paycheck! It's amazing. I've had problems with Wal-mart's lack of decent CS, hence I now shop at Target. I was sick of being crapped on. So, yeah - some people might just say it, but I follow through.

I experienced hunger this morning on my way home from work. It HURT! Yeah...my tummy growled (contracted) so hard that it gave me physical pain. And I had had my full amount of protein required and had not deprived myself with liquids. So...here I am 6 days post op and if I wait longer than 4 hours to put my "food" liquid in there, it tells me so! LOL

How is it completely the fault of the patients that are getting these procedures when there are doctors out there that don't really care how well prepared a patient is...they just see dollar signs? And yes, I'm sorry, but everybody was raised differently when it comes to questioning what could be considered authority figures. For SOME people, if a doctor tells them to do something, they won't question it. I'm sorry if that bothers some of you so much. I don't happen to be that way (I was asking questions at my information seminar that kind of caught the doc off-guard, like he wasn't used to informed patients), but I do understand that some people ARE that way. Why does that need to be judged? Some people were just raised in a certain way to not ask questions, or it just happens to be in their nature. I myself can't comprehend this attitude because I ask "WHY?" about everything - but I do understand that it does exist. It doesn't mean I think those types of people are "stupid." I have to agree with this. Yes, yes, yes, you guys have every right to vent your frustrations. I mean, you gotta do it somewhere. I FULLY AGREE with you about the people that are looking for justification for their poor choices - it's aggravating. I know that you just want people to make good choices and succeed - I'm not doubting that. But maybe take yourself outside the situation for two seconds and think of where that person may be coming from. And yes, some people are completely UNsaavy when it comes to the computer and it's a freaking miracle that they were even able to find this site. If you know the particular thread that could give them the information that they are asking for, just post it. Or ignore it altogether.

Well, it's not so bad, really. I'm a night security officer, so I work by myself. I work in a town that's 2 hours away from our "headquarters," so I hardly ever see "the boss." LOL DH goes to HQ quite a bit, but not me. Anybody I see up here is people I don't see too often anyway (night staff at the hotels), so it's not like they'd notice. They may notice once the weight loss is DRAMATIC, who knows? As for my family...ugh. I'm the youngest. They think it should be part of their job description to have snippy opinions about everything I do. LOL I think on down the road the only person in my family that will get to know is my mom...but only after I've lost quite a bit to prove to her that it was a good decision. I have a group of good friends that I am on another board with. Small group of less than 30. But when one of the girls mentioned over a year ago that she was considering Lap Band, they would NOT let up with the diet/exercise advice just to keep her from doing the procedure. So, it's just the way it is. It'd be nice to have support, but honestly, it's easier when people actually have experience with bariatric surgery. And I don't know a single person IRL that has had it...bypass or banding. So DH will have to do.

It was my understanding that you do not have liquids at all while you're eating, so yes on the coffee/toast question. My doctor recommends a half hour before and a half hour after - no liquids.

It looks to me like you need more protein. I only say that because I was borderline hypoglycemic before getting banded and hungry ALL THE TIME. Getting in plenty of protein after getting banded has helped A LOT. I realize I still have some swelling that keeps the hunger from getting too bad, but I'm just amazed that I've had none of the hypoglycemia symptoms that I had before getting banded. Would they allow you to drink protein shakes? Like maybe a Slim-Fast low carb shake? That's the only thing getting me through.

Are you getting enough calcium? Or possibly lack of other vitamins? Are you taking a multi-vitamin and additional calcium? My back is achy, but I think that's from holding my tummy differently with the muscles to keep the port from feeling like it's pulling.

Melissa - I bought the tongs and never used them for that purpose. LOL I think you'll be okay. Good luck!

Tish - I'll keep you in my thoughts that it's just fat and no sickness so things can proceed and you can get on the road to a healthier liver!!!

Tish: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/went-dermatologist-hair-loss-45447/

Glad to hear it went well!! Welcome back. My port incision is really the only one that bothers me.

LOL...that's an interesting twist. I'd never heard of one that vibrates. I think my heating pad is a regular Sunbeam - I love it.

Good luck with your surgery!

I hope everything went well for you, Jill!!! I know it's way past, but I still wish you good luck! Look forward to hearing how things went for you. That is encouraging. I mean, physically I feel better than I have, but good heavens, I'm sleeping a lot. I think I've had about 12 1/2 hours total sleep in the past 24 hours. :bored LOL ANDIE - I'm glad to hear the update!! Sounds like things are going pretty well. OMGoodness, you made ME shudder at the thought of sneezing. LOL Sounds like a good dinner you had.

I drove an hour to work tonight (4 days post-op). I could have driven at least yesterday if I had not been on Vicodin.

I didn't have one. That's strange - I thought with such a short surgery it wouldn't be necessary. I'm just surprised to see so many that did have one. Huh.

I thought the "unflavored" tasted like baby formula smells. Not a fan. And I had mixed it with chicken broth, but could still taste that weird smell.

Only person in my personal life that knows is DH and it'll stay that way until/if I feel comfortable on down the road with telling people. I just don't want to risk hearing any negativity. This is going to be rough enough.

I didn't really get the shoulder pain that everybody talks about. I was so prepared for it, too. All I really got was kind of a radiating pain that went up to the bottom of my shoulder blades - it was worse on the right side, go figure. As for further recovery update - feeling pretty good, actually! Compared to how I HAVE been feeling, that's for sure. Woke up today not hurting too terribly much. I only took a half a Vicodin and didn't really need it. I'm doing my first full night of work tonight (6p-6a) with a little stand-by assistance from DH if I get too run down. The only thing bugging me is the pinching around where my port is while I was driving to work. Ugh. I had to recline the seat more. Kind of a pain, but not unbearable. Anybody else feel a pulling around their port? I don't feel like I can stand completely straight all the time - it feels like it's pulling the port. I just hope everything stays straight in there. I set up my post-op appointment for next Wednesday. I look forward to see how well my incisions have healed!