bandpal

Hey towens, good to hear from you and glad to hear you are hanging in there. I'm on clear liquids for a week, so mashed potatos and tomato soup are not on my mental horizon yet. I'm glad I don't have to deal w/ Thanksgiving where I live! I just have to stick to my Docs plan - have this big family wedding comming up in a week and a half and I am going to commit not to eat anything i'm not supposed to have. One look at my incisions should remind me that I've come to far to mess this thing up. Hope your headache goes away

"Just curious, has anyone else been told that they had a fatty liver, but their surgeon went ahead with the surgery anyway?" Yes, that's me, Tishbite - banded on 20.11 in Israel despite elevated liver enzymes. My GP was all ready to pull the plug, but that night, my surgeon called and said " so you have a fatty liver - what do you expect at your weight - that's just another reason to have the surgery!". I was scheduled to have a pre-op ultrasound of my stomach the next day, so my GP phoned the technician and asked him to make a pass over my liver, too. When the results came back with no abnormalities except for the aforementioned fatty liver, my GP gave me the green light. I hope everything gets straightened out for you over there - good luck!

Hi SkinnyJill amd Firebolt, Nice to hear things are going well for you both as Day II draws to a close here. I have a bit of itching going on too, but like SkinnyJill said, that's all for the best. I still have a "stitch" in my side but it's definitely less intense than it was yesterday - in fact, I didn't take any pain medication today. Made it throught the day on water, herbal tea, chicken broth and decaf coffee (yes, Firebolt, that was a pleasure, thanks!). I also napped, which felt real good, and took short morning, afternoon and evening walks around my neighborhood. I'd say the highlight of the day was sitting around the table at dinner enjoying my family sitting there eating a good Friday night meal while I sat there sipping at my cup of broth, not feeling the slightest bit tempted and jealous. So good to get my head out of the food. Have a great restful, recuperative weekend, everyone - and let's hear from TLWEMPEN, CANADIAN COMFORT, NEWLIFE35 & TOWENS - how are you all doing?

... in the end we act on the interpretations we choose to give to our perceptions - a feeling of tightness in my stomach doesn't mean I have to eat the fridge. Thanks!

I really feel for you, Ovahkummer... hope it goes well the next time. I came close to not having the operation because my clinic didn't send all my blood work with me up to the hospital - they had to fax it straight to the anesthesiologist. I say you're still a member of the club in our hearts - once you get the incision, there is no revision! Please keep us posted!

47.6 here, banded two days ago, sipping shotglasses of decaf coffee, water, herbal tea and clear broth and loving it. Food, the demanding lover, the dreaded tyrant, the overwhelming comforter, receeds into the background, ignored, irrelevant, relegated to being just part of the view. Good luck to all!

Mbanja and Stacy73, congrats to you both. No Thanksgiving here in Israel, and I'm glad I didn't have to deal with it. I have a big family wedding up in Tel Aviv on 3.12 and I swear I am staying on my Doctor's instructions. I didn't go through all this to mess it up.

Good Morning Firebolt! Congratulations on the 2 for one surgery , got my fingers crossed for you on the liver biopsy. My pre-op blood work showed abnormally high liver enzyme activity and my wonderfully cautious GP, who had originally recommended the lapband pocedure, was all ready to call everything off and set me up for another round of tests. Fortunately my surgeon called to check in on me that night and explained that the results were almost surely due to a fatty liver - just another reason to have the procedure in the first place. An ultrasound the next morning confirmed this diagnosis and we were back to all systems go for surgery. I like you description of the post-op pain; managable is exactly what it is. No nausea, and no painful gas (I'm not talking about anyone around me, it might indeed be painful for the wife and kids...). Life is different, that's for sure! Here I am sitting in front of the computer sipping decaf coffee from a shot glass -and filling up from it! Have a great day three, Firebolt -thanks for saying hi!

Hello, big brothers and sisters - I was banded on Wednesday, November 21st in Israel, at Assuta Hospital in Tel Aviv. Now I'm back home with a stitch-like feeling in my side, five small but impressive bruised incisions studded with staples on my belly, and hope in my heart. I'd like to point out that while my banding took place on the 21st, it was still the 20th at the following locations: Honolulu. Papeete, Apia, Pago Pago, Alofim, Adak and Rarotongo. Good luck to us all!

Even though you are experiencing pain, I want to congratulate you - I hope this is the most meaningful Thanksgiving in your life. May we all remember that less is truly more!

Thank you, Donna. Wow, was it great to come home and find these messages.I really appreciate it. Congratulations on your weight loss!

Thanks, Worth - time to rest up from a long trip and contemplate a new beginning. Looking forward to posting more and getting to know everyone here,

Thanks, Kara... the journey begins. Where do your Israeli relatives live?

Thanks, Alberto - I am sore and tired but hopeful. Good luck with your goal - I'm rooting for you.

Shukran, Hijabgirl! It's really moving to see so much empathy and concern on this forum. I'll keep posting and hope to hear more from you, too. Ma'as salaama!

<p>Hi from Israel, everyone - well, I am truly one of you now, having just returned from being banded up in Tel Aviv yesterday. Wow, am I sore (coughing and sneezing are especially not fun) - and my kids are going to be very impressed with my scars; hopefully they'll remember that the days of jumping on Daddy's belly are over. Wait untill Daddy doesn't have a belly to jump on anymore! Then we'll all go out on the lawn and jump around together. I'm subsisting on water, herbal tea and chicken broth as per Doctor's instructions, and am not experiencing significant hunger. I'm exhausted and am going to sleep, but no doubt about it - something new has begun.</p>

I'm getting lap-banded tomorrow at Tel Aviv's Assuta Hospital . My doctor is Dr. Avinoach who works out of Soroka hosptial in Be'er Sheva. I fly up to the big city at 0830, start fasting from 0900 on, show up at the hospital at 1200, spend the night at the hospital and, if all goes well, should be discharged around noon of Thursday and will fly back to my little desert home near Eilat. I'll have a friend along with me for the trip, which is a big comfort. I'm a 47 year-old man, weigh 130 kilo, (286 lbs) and am 1.68 (5'5''). Right now I have trouble tying my shoes and putting on my socks, feel like I am on the verge of dislocating my shoulder every time I wipe myself (that's probably too much information, but that's where I'm at) and am startin to notice how narrow they are building doorways these days. I have tried Weight Watchere, OA, cognitive therapy and Atkins and only end up getting fatter. I'm excited and hopeful about tomorrow. I realize that there's no magic involved in this and that I'm still going to have to work hard, but I'm counting on the lap-band leveling the playing field and introducing a new element in my effort to free myself from my obesity. Thank you all for being here- I welcome your comments, questions, advice and support.