Northern Lady

It's day 17 for me and I have moved from the mushies to anything I mash to applesauce consistency. What a huge difference this has made. I no longer feel like I'm starving. I've had baked fish, a baked potato with fat-free sour cream, bacon bits, cheese and chives, I had cheesy potatoes with tiny bits of ham, calico beans with bits of bacon, oh, the world seems wonderful again. I don't get hungry so quickly, am not stuck with soups and puddings and don't have to strain everything anymore. I don't get my first fill until May 28, but now I know I'll make it until then. :thumbup:

I've been able to sleep on my stomach from the start. The first night in the hospital I propped a pillow under my port then I laid on the pillow, it took a lot of the pressure off the port. At home I use a small travel pillow under the port area and sleep great.............Now the left shoulder pain that's still there every night, now that's another story!

Maybe you can take it out and lock it the trunk of your car? Out of sight, out of mind. Start taking notice of how your clothes are fitting better and stick with it, it's going to get better for all of us, day by day, week by week :biggrin2:

I can completely relate! I was banded on April 16th and still have horrible pain in my left shoulder at night. It hurts so much that I have laid awake for hours thinking about either laying on a tennis ball to work out what feels like a giant knot that's on fire, or either having a doctor insert a syringe into the part that hurts and sucking out whatever gas in left in my shoulder. Does that sound freakishly weird or what? :w00t: :w00t:

I haven't stepped on a scale since the morning of surgery, a suggestion I picked up at a Lap-Band support group that I attend. What I am noticing is that my pants are getting baggy already and my blouses are roomier. Watching my clothes "grow" is much more rewarding for me than watching numbers on a scale.

I'm seeing a side of me that I didn't even know was there! "Of course, no one wants to be around us because we're a snarling bunch of ravenous bitches, but hey, what can you do?" My son put me back in check, after I snapped at him last night, he said, "Mom, this is just temporary, remember? You are going to feel so much better by summer. And remember, you CHOSE to have this surgery, it was your CHOICE." That was pretty good, I'm going to have to make posters with that on it and hang them up everywhere to remind me. He's right, it was our CHOICE.:coolgleamA:

I had my surgery on 04/16/08 and don't get my first fill until 05/28/08. I feel like I haven't even had anything done to my stomach, other than a constant growling! I've heard some say that after their sugery they couldn't but a spoonful at a time. Not me, I could eat a 7 course meal if they'd let me! I just don't know how I'm gonna make it until the end of May!

the two week pre-op was a struggle, but the clear liquids was even tougher. If you really want to appreciate how GREAT Slim-fast tastes, go two days on a complete sugar-free, liquid diet and after the two days you will think that the Slimfast is from the Cold Stone Creamery! I was on the Veggies and Meat only for the pre-op and by about day 8 I was gagging on vegetables, I could eat no more! Then when I was on the clear liquids I was craving meat and vegetables. Is that crazy or what? I guess I'm the kind of person that always wants what I can't have.

I'm in Northern MN and have BCBS and had to be do the 6 months with the dietician and had my last appointment with her on March 3rd. I was just banded on April 16th, the first available surgery date after the hospital sent notification to BCBS that I had completed the 6 months with the dietician. BCBS called back and said, "Okay, good enough." So to answer your question, you should be good to go as soon as you complete your dietician appointments. Congratulations on you upcoming wedding!

It's been 8 days so far and am still on the creamy liquids. Still too sore to do much exercising besides walking. Still have the pain in the left shoulder. Still extremely glad that I had the surgery. I am finding that my lower stomach must have vocal cords as I can hear it talking constantly. It keeps saying to me, "Hey, what are you doing to me? I'M HUNGRY!, I WANT FOOD! I WANT IT NOW!!!!" Is anyone else having horendous sounds coming from their stomach? :thumbup:

I'm right in the middle of the process with BCBS. They are requiring that I have the 6 months supervised by my doctor as well. My Nutritionist and I are meeting monthly and we are documenting EVERYYTHING, from food logs, exercise logs, changes that have been made and weight-in numbers. The hospital works with BCBS enough that they know what needs to be in the chart in order to be approved. My hospital bills everything at the time of surgery as well. I started the process back in September '07 and hopefully looking at a banding date sometime in April '08. Seems like forever, but I am if you think about it in weeks and count down, you are going to find out that it's going to be soon than you think. Good luck and keep your eye on the target:)

Hello fellow Minnesotans! I'm up north in Bemidji. I will hopefully be getting banded in April '08 by Dr. Margo in Deer River. What an awesome doctor! I've only heard really good things about Dr. Margo and the Deer River Hospital. I'm eager to get going and it seems like it's been forever since I made the decision to get banded. I'd like to hear from anyone from Minnesota, or anyone that's close to being banded or has just recently had their surgery.

"SOMETIMES I LEARN THINGS THAT SCARE ME BUT I WANT TO KNOW THE GOOD AND THE BAD SO I,M PREPARED" You've totally hit the nail on the head with this. Sometimes I get a scared feeling when I read some of these things, but then I have to tell myself, it's better to see it coming than to have it happen without warning and then how scared would I be?

Kacee - thanks for the heads-up on the normal esophagus not being like a sink drain. This will all be so helpful when I finally get banded.

what kind of fiber pills do you take for your hunger pains? Will you be able to use them with your band?

okay, I think you should have put the "the gassy stage passes" in bold type.

By and far, this post has been very encouraging. I had my gall bladder removed lapriscopically a few years ago, and returned to work after a week. My surgeon told me to expect about the same recovery time. That is what I will plan for but also make sure that I can take longer if needed. Thanks everyone :eek:

Oh My Gosh, this is hilarious! Thank you. Humor and Laughter is sometimes the best medicine!