Pnw_Red

Ditto on the beans as a yummy recipe! I also made a riccotta/spinach/egg/parmesan concoction topped with spaghetti sauce. It was pretty yummy and gave me a little veggies to go along with my protein. My weight loss crashed to a half day ten and even bounced up a pound or two, but I'm working out, so I figure these sore muscles are holding onto a little water too. I can tell that my swelling is going down because I'm eating a little more and starting to get hungry sooner. I've got a pot of potato soup on the stove right now that smells HEAVENLY.

Hi ladies, I'd like to join! I'm 31 years old and was banded 4/22. Recovery has been pretty easy and only my port incision still bugs me right now. My doc has a fairly lenient post-op diet--liquids week one and mushies week two, so I'm enjoying some mushy food this week. I'm finding I hardly get any down before I'm full, so I'm still losing pretty quickly. I'm down 14 pounds since surgery and 48 pounds total. (I count each and every one!) I work shift work and my coworkers bring in a lot of food--ugh. I told them all what's going on though and they've been pretty supportive.

Congratulations on the loss! I'm 9 days post-op and enjoying my first couple days of mushies!

Wow Jet, I'm sorry you're having such a tough recovery! I think I walked an hour a day (and I'm not a big exerciser) the first few days. It just goes to show that people can have vastly different experiences. I know you said you're feeling miserable, but I found that the few days I WAS feeling the worst were the days I didn't move much. Can you manage a few SHORT five-minute walks around just to keep your muscles moving? For me, moving was a huge key to relieving soreness. I really hope you're feeling better soon!

Stardrum--I was banded on April 22nd, so I'm just over a week out from surgery. I'll send you a private message and maybe we can get together! There's another person from Birch Bay that I've e-mailed so maybe we can get a little group going.

I found I didn't use a lot of stuff either. I had some leftover Medifast shakes from my pre-op diet, so I had a few of those (made with milk for a bigger Protein boost) and mostly I had tomato soup, shakes, Water, milk and a little Jello pudding later in the week. I think I had one popsicle. I did use a heating pad a little, that was nice, but I have a ton of Crystal light leftover (the artificial sweetener gives me a headache) and I never did use up the other stuff.

I was off a week just because of my shift schedule, but could have gone back much sooner. I talked to a woman at my doc's office who went back to work THAT NIGHT after surgery. I couldn't have done that, but I felt pretty darn good except for some soreness on day 5, so if I could have walked around enough . . . I could have gone back pretty much right away.

I know, I know. :thumbup: It seems silly and I should just enjoy it. I've been feeling the effects of the really low calories ever since I started Medifast a month ago (though I think that was mostly the lack of carbs) and kept saying, "Oh, it's going to be better soon." I also had a couple family members drop dead from electrolyte imbalances (ie, no potassium) during dieting/severe dehydration episodes so I'm paranoid, even though I'm taking my Vitamins like a good girl. I'm sure I'll be chasing the hunger again in no time. :biggrin: Just curious when that happened for people.

How long was it post-op before you started getting closer to your "normal" calorie intake (whether that's 800-1300 calorie range.) I did Medifast for most of the 3 weeks pre-op and I'm one week post-op now. So, I've been on liquids for a week and mushies for 2 days. I'm dropping weight like crazy, which is GREAT, but I'm a little concerned about how my body is going to handle living on 400-500 calories a day for an extended period of time. I got down 1/3 cup of cottage cheese this morning, a latte for my morning liquids/snack and just polished off a big old 1/4 cup of chicken salad with Tzatziki sauce mush for lunch and I'm full. I know the hunger will come back eventually, and that I'm still swollen from surgery, but how long did it take to get back to a basic minimum of calories where you felt like you were getting your basic nutritional needs met?

My doc told us to take 2 Advil every 4-6 hours the first few days and then gave me a liquid Vicodin RX. I never used the Vicodin. I was uncomfortable (not pain) the first day and very, very sore on days 4&5, but again, muscle soreness, not really pain. Tomorrow is a week post-op and my port incision is sore if I use my abdominal muscles too much, but I'm generally ok.

Looks like this post is about 3 years old. My understanding is that most of the Bellingham groups have kind of dried up, but I'm hoping to get something going! I just got banded a few days ago and I'd love to be part of a local/Bellingham group.

Thanks. :cursing: I needed to see the chiro for about 3 weeks before surgery, but we were traveling and working, so it just didn't come together. And then he was out of the office the day before surgery. :thumbs_down: I may call for an appointment later in the week if possible.

I'm a little sore today and had a more difficult night, but nothing the Advil didn't help. I had a hard time finding a comfortable sleeping position since I"m a tummy sleeper. I finally just rolled over and slept on my tummy and did fine. I'm even a little less swollen this morning. I think today may be a bit worse than yesterday, but I'd still use words like "discomfort" and "soreness" rather than pain. My back is the worst, and it's absolutely due to delaying a much-needed chiropracter visit. Extra time in bed doesn't usually help when my back is acting up.

Cool, good to know. I'm up in the middle of the night a little sore tonight, but still going to stick with the Advil I think. I've heard that some surgeons are totally anti NSAIDS, but mine told me to use Advil specifically, so I'll follow that for now.

Hi all, I'm one day post-op and feeling GREAT! From what the nurse told me, the local anesthetic should have worn off long ago, but I'm really not feeling much pain at all. Just a little discomfort. I 've gotten by on just the Advil my doc recommended and a little back pain due to a much-needed chiropracter visit is bugging me, but no real pain. I'm curious if things got better or worse the second day for most people. Anyway--I'm really pleasantly surprised that things have gone so well today. I anticipated a lot worse. My only issues came when I accidentally leaned too far back in my desk chair and it tipped farther than I expected. I caught myself with my abdominal muscles. Ouch. Other than that . . . I think I walked an hour today total. I'm very excited to be started and through the surgery!

Hi everyone, I just wanted to share a little of my excitement. My surgery is in TWO days! I have lost 33 pounds pre-op (20 on WW, then another 13 on Medifast the last couple of weeks) and I'm already down from a 26 to a tight 22. My surgeon didn't require the medifast since I had lost weight, but three weeks ago I realized I had been eating a lot of "last meals" and started Medifast just to keep myself from gaining back the 20 pounds! Woo hoo! I have my date, time, supportive family and friends, a blog (don't we all need a weight loss blog? :thumbup:,) my mom is cooking me my one and only "last meal" Monday, and I'm just counting the hours. I can't wait to join you all as a banded voice of experience.

My nurse told me that alcohol would have a stronger affect. (Funny, since half a glass of wine puts me to sleep!) Maybe what Wheetsin said is right--it's a bigger deal because you won't ever have a lot in your stomach to absorb the alcohol and slow its release into the bloodstream?

My doc said I didn't have to do a pre-op diet because I've recently lost 20 pounds. However, he told me not to gain. I found myself getting a bit of a "last meal syndrome" thing going, so I just bought some Medifast (which other patients usually go on) and I'm down something like ten pounds in ten days. Crazy! It's not fun, but I found a few days in I just wasn't hungry. Not SATISFIED, but not hungry. I figure it's good practice distinguishing between the two. :huh2:

My doc's office told me that at 5'7.5" my "ideal weight" would be 140, and then they kind of laughed and said they believe the insurance charts (that the "healthy ranges" are based on) are very conservative. They also talked about the fact that when you've carried around a lot of extra weight, your body compensates by increasing bone density and muscle mass in the lower body. So somebody at a given weight who has been significantly overweight for a decade is going to be thinner and leaner than somebody at the same weight who has never had a weight problem. The nurse and nutritionist mentioned that, the psychologist mentioned that AND the surgeon talked about it. They asked ME to set a goal and when I picked 175, they told me they thought that was a very reasonable goal for my height, frame size, and the fact that I've carried a lot of extra weight for a long time. I figure that losing a lot of weight, even if it doesn't get you into your "healthy weight range" will STILL do a ton of good for your health. For me, losing 145 pounds will do a lot more for me than losing the last ten to put me into my "healthy" range. And I'm more than ok with that. JMHO.

The Ports DO have titanium in them--at least the original lap band does (not sure about the Realize band.) IT's on the back of the port--the side that sits against the muscle wall. I sat in the surgeon's office three days ago and saw their sample ones. He said that some people do set off the metal detector, but not always. He also said they are MRI safe because titanium isn't magnetic.

My insurance specifies in their paperwork that the weight they use is the weight at the BEGINNING of the six months. I have BCBS of Illinois. And honestly, I've been told that the six months is to show you CAN'T lose weight and I've been told it's to show that you CAN lose weight. Nobody really knows for sure.

I'm curious, how do you use WW points if you're limited on your intake by the band? Or are you using Core? I'm doing WW, but am not yet banded. I'm trying to get down 10% before surgery. I'm down 5%, so only about 14 lbs to go!

Oh, I'm fine with shakes, etc at the beginning. I just don't know if I'd choose this option if I was going to spend the rest of my life eating shakes and highly processed diet food. It's not even so much a carb issue for me as just a normal "food" issue. I'm not a huge cheese freak, but it makes for a good example. :thumbup: Right now I'm doing weight watchers in anticipating of surgery in a couple months and I'd WAY rather spend a couple points on a little goat cheese or sharp cheddar cheese (1/2 oz is plenty for flavor) than four times that much fat free cheese or a bunch of fat free dressing. ABsolutely, without a doubt, being fat is a huge health risk for me--the biggest risk. But I think we're going find over time that a lot of our fake/diet/sugarfree foods aren't doing us any favors in the health department. I can bet my future on small amounts of real food. Not sure I could do the same if I knew my future consisted of Protein shakes and splenda. Thanks for all the input!

Thanks ladies! That's exactly what I was hoping to hear. I"m calling the doc's office tomorrow and hoping to get this all going by April !

Hi everyone. I'm seriously considering getting the band in the next few months, but I have a question about eating "real" food. I know that my more successful dieting attempts have included being able to eat "real" food just in smaller quantities. I try to avoid a lot of fake sugar and overprocessed low-fat things. (I'd rather have 1/2 an oz of "real" cheese than eat a ton of low-fat.) I'd rather go without sugar or have fruit than eat a lot of artificial sweeteners. Is it possible and reasonable to eat whole, real foods with the band? I don't mind picking leaner options as long as they're natural foods. (Ie, we're looking into buying local grass fed beef, eggs from local pasture raised chickens, veggies from local farms, etc.) I have a little one and we're trying to start eating whole, organic foods as a family and try to develop some good eating habits as he grows up. I know that there's a period where shakes/smoothies are necessary, but I'm wondering how many people end up living off of "diet" food and supplimental food after the healing process is done.