Lynn B

Sally - everyone is different but I just had my gallbladder out a little over a month ago and to me personally it was easier than the band. Questions Did they do the gallbladder lap or open? Mine was lap so if you had open surgery that would make it tough. Do you have a fever? If so I would call your doctor right away. Sorry I cant be more help - hope you feel better soon!

Wow, thanks everyone - they all sound great!

Sorry, gotta go with the NO. I like a couple of others would not have had WLS if GBP was the only option - To Scary. Thanks,

And my contribution for us Mexican addicts Black Bean - Vegetable Burritos 8 FF Flour Tortillas 1 med onion chopped 1/2 med green or red pepper cut in thin strips 1 tbs lime juice 1/4 tsp minced garlic 2 tsp olive oil 1 15 oz can black Beans rinsed and drained 1/2 c frozen corn 1/4 tsp ground cumin 1/4 tsp chili powder 1/8 tsp black pepper 1 c reduced fat monterey jack cheese Heat tortillas wraped in foil in a 350 degree oven to soften if desired In a med sauce pan cook onion, pepper, lime juice, and garlic in hot oil for 3-5 min until tender Stir in remaining ingredients and cook over med heat for 4-5 min until heated through Spoon 1/3 cup bean mixture and 2 tbs of cheese into tortilla and fold envelope style. Serve with salsa and sour cream if desired. Serves 4 (two burritos per person) 420 cal, 8g fat, 70g carb, 20g protien. Enjoy,

OK now I'm hungry - everything sounds soooo good! Here is one to try meat Loaf with Vegetable Stuffing 2 8oz Cans mixed vegtables of your choice (Veg-All) 3 tbs Bread Crumbs 2 eggs or equivalent Egg Beaters 16 oz lean ground beef or turkey 1/2 c chopped onion 1/2 c rolled oats 1 tbs Worcestershire Sauce 1/4 c lite ketchup 1/4 tsp Pepper 1/2 tsp garlic powder Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In one bowl mix veggies, bread crumbs and 1 egg. In a second bowl mix remaining ingredients. Spread half the meat mixture in the bottom of an ungreased 9x5 loaf pan. Cover with veggie mixture and top with remaining meat mixture. Bake 45-55 min. Cool 10 min. before serving. Serves 6 each serving 211 calories, 9g fat, 18g protien, 15g carb. Enjoy

Well, I have been on full liquids for one week and have two more to go (Oct 5 is my next app. when they will switch me to mushies) and I have to tell you, I now HATE chocolate shakes! Someone replied to a previous post about adding SF FF pudding mix to your shake to thicken it up a little (I can't drink watery shakes) so today I added SF FF Cheesecake flavored pudding to my shake and I am saved. Chocolate cheesecake - Yum. 1 Scoop 100% whey protien powder in chocolate 1 to 1 1/2 tsp SF FF Cheesecake flavored pudding (Jello) 1 cup Carb Countdown Fat Free Milk Blend and enjoy! Does anyone else have any good ideas on how to make these things drinkable? recipes would be appreciated. Thanks,

OK I have to put in my 2 cents- First my heart goes out to your friend - what her husband did was really scummy - if he felt this way he should have gone to her first before starting a relationship with someone else. Now about John - He says he prefer sexual relations with large women - but does he mean - I would rather be in a relationship with someone who may have self esteem issues that I don't have to worry about doing this same thing to me (preemptive strike)? Maybe he needs to have the dominant personality and finds that this is easiest with larger women as they tend (not all of us) to be more withdrawn from the spotlight? What ever the truth may be I think she is better off with out him - anyone that would throw away 23 years over sex with out trying everything in there power to save the relationship isn't worthy IMO. I hope your friend doesn't let this scar her - just remind her it was him with the problem, not her. Good luck,

Cheers - May this year find you lighter than the last!!

Ditto here - with out resources like LBT and other WLS Sites this would be a very lonely journey as I do not know a single person that has had WLS surgery. I also think you get the best advise from those who have been there. Keep up the good work everyone!

Puddinpie - I am one week postop on Monday I also have cottage cheese in my diet as long as it is blended - Full Liquids for 3 weeks. Your speed seems close to mine (got through the cottage cheese in 30 min for 1/4 cup) - Protien shakes are taking me about 45-60 min. I use 100% whey protien from GNC with carb countdown milk for a total of 31g of protien per 8-10 oz shake (only need 2 day) and then its sip, sip, sip - my Water never leaves my side. I also use popsicles, Jello and creamed Soups (at dinner time) to fill in the day when I feel the need. Are you using protien shakes? Its a nice easy way in the begining to make sure you get your protien without trying to eat to much. Good luck,

Good luck Vanesa - See you on the other side!

Bensmum - do you have an incentive spirometer? Due to pain after surgery the bodies natural reaction is to only take shallow breathes to avoid the pain. Some hospitals give you a spirometer that you need to use 10 times per hour to induce deep breaths. If you don’t have one make sure you try deep breathing every hour to make it easier when you have to exert yourself (also prevents post surgical pneumonia) Good luck, Lynn Banded 9/12/05 299.5/275/???/140 Top/surgery/current/goal

Update: I got the 100% Whey protien from GNC and now that I mix it with Carb Countdown milk the consistancy doesn't bother me as much (never thought I would drink milk again but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do) Between the powder and the milk I come out at 31g of protien per shake (30g is the most your body will absorb at one time so this works out perfectly) I looked at the clear Isopure - and I guess if you drank half in the morning and half at night it would work well but the powder was about double the cost of the whey protien and seemed like kind of a waste as 30g is all I need in one sitting. Thanks for the pudding suggestion. I have some SF FF Cheesecake pudding I may throw in to my shake to make a chocolate cheesecake shake - Yum!

Pureen and strained sounds like it may be full liquid - are they requiring you to strain out any chunks? This is my full liquid menu: Beverages: Skim or 1% milk Low sugar, decaffeinated, non-carbonated Fluid (crystal light, Fruit2o, etc) Low sugar, low fat, high Protein supplements (CIB, Protein shakes) Dairy products Low fat, light yogurt SF, FF pudding & custard Low fat cottage cheese (blended) Soup Low fat cream Soups thinned down with 1 cup low fat milk (strained of chunks or blended) Low fat broth Miscellaneous Plain hot cream of wheat or otameal (must be pourable consistancy) SF popsicle unsweetened applesauce SF Gelatin I am on this diet until 3 weeks post op. Good luck,

Thanks for that addition La Madam - as I haven't eaten solids yet - that will be enough to keep me from even thinking about cheating a little - I'm a pain wimp.

Hi, Yes that is true. The amount of time after eating before you can drink is kind of debated 1/2 hour or full hour but NO drinking with or right after meals. You have to chew your food really well so that it is small enough to pass through your stoma (small opening from pouch to stomach) but you want the food to stay in the pouch as long as possible to keep your full. If you drink while eating and up to an hour after you are just going to wash the food out of your pouch into your stomach and you will be hungry right away. Kinda counter productive. Hope this helps. Good luck with your decision,

LOL, I don't think home insurance covers acts of God, Nature or Gastric Instability. Sorry!

Ahhh. Note to self - bring extra undies to work!

Welcome aboard - good luck on your surgery (just had mine 9/12/05)!

Welcome aboard - good luck with your approval - I have BCBS and was told that I would have no problems (which I didn't, they were wonderful) but I was still on pins and needles until I got the official word. You'll be fine - just stay relaxed.

It is great when you realize that you are not "the only one" even if it is poop that we have in common. Hot Like Her - Please tell me this isn't really going to last that long - I have to go back to work next week and my excess gas is not going to go over well there - We have really bad ventilation and none of the windows open - I'm doomed!! I would try to blame it on someone else but the rumbles that proceed the release sound like thunder in a closed room - Oh Well, maybe they'll send me home with pay just to get their sense of smell back??

Hey all - another Sept 12th here. Sounds like everyone is doing wonderfully! I also have 6 insicions - one at 1.5", one at 1" and the other 4 are just punctures. Add those to the 2 from my gallbladder last month (he re-used one of the holes) and I am starting to look like a human pin cushion. So is everyone getting in their Water and protien - I believe the liquid diet is held in high contempt with most of us. I am drooling at comercials now - not good. Keep in touch,

Here is a list of message board terms - PB is included: 250/175/130 = Was/Am/Wannabe = starting weight/current weight/goal weight BTW = By the way CUL8R = See you later CYA ( cya ) = See Ya CYA = Cover Your Arse (In addition to "See Ya Later") DB = Darling Brother, Dear Brother or whatever “D” word depending on mood DD = Darling Daughter, Dear Daugher or whatever “D” word depending on mood DH = Darling Husband, Dear Husband or whatever “D” word depending on mood DS = Darling Son, Dear Son or Darling Sister, Dear Sister or whatever “D” word depending on mood DS = Duodenal Switch DW = Darling Wife, Dear Wife or whatever “D” word depending on mood FAQ = Frequently asked questions. FWIW = For What It's Worth FYI = For your information. HTH = Hope this helps. or Hope that helps. IMHO ( imho ) = In My Honest Opinion, In My Humble Opinion IMO ( imo ) = In My Opinion IT = Information Technology. KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid. LAP = Laparoscopic Procedure L8TR ( l8tr ) = Later ( Like see ya later ) LMAO = Laughing My A$$ Off LOL ( lol ) = Laugh Out Loud MB = Message Board. NEWBEE ( newbee, newbie ) = New user of Internet and or computer. NICK ( nick ) = Name used by people ( Individual ) on the Internet. NSV = non scale victory (a change other than the scale…something suddenly fits, others notice your weight loss, etc.) OMG = Oh My God, Oh My Gosh OP = Original Poster OT = Off Topic, used on message boards when the post is not on the threads subject.. PB = Productive Burp (quick vomit without the stomach acid since it is just the food in your pouch) PIC ( pic ) = Picture PPL ( ppl ) = People PS = Plastic Surgery RTFP = read the fine print RNY = Roux En Y (Gastric Bypass Surgery) ROFL ( rofl ) = Rolling On Floor Laughing ROFLMAO = Rolling on floor laughing my a** off SNAFU = situation normal, all fouled up SV = scale victory (when the numbers on the scale actually show a change) TT = Tummy Tuck TTFN = Ta Ta For Now TTYL = Talk to you later TYFS = Thank you for sharing URL ( url ) = Uniform Resource Locater, Internet address of a web page ( http://sitename ) YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary WTF ( wtf ) = What the Freak or your other favorite explicative WLS = Weight Loss Surgery ZZZZZZ ( zzzzz ) = sleeping or Bored Good luck,

Do they offer free care? If they take any state or federal money they must offer free care to people who meet a certian income limit (sometimes these limits are a lot higher than you would expect). Good luck,

:rolleyes OK so I am 3 days post-op and suddenly the dreaded BM is on my mind - a lot. Nobody likes it but it needs to be done. I'm sitting at the computer this morning with my feet up on a chair so that I'm comfy - well if you could have heard the noises I was making - it would have scared small children. I'm tooting away happy as can be when I get that "Oh oh this may be more than ordinary gas" feeling. So off to the WC I go. Sit comfortably and ..... nothing ...... not a wimper, not a sigh, nothing at all. OK false alarm, back to the PC I go. No sooner do I get comfy - feet back up - when the special effects tape starts again - such noises. So off to the potty I go again with the same results - silence. Back to my chair - you get the picture. Well I had had enough the next set from the bowel orchastra that sent me scrambling to the WC - I brought my chair with me - fully intending to sit back, put up my feet and wait this thing out. Needless to say - the mere threat was enough to get my bowels doing their job - I am in happy BM status now. I know - just a little to much info - but it had to be told. Have a good day!