LynneB

All of my birds are rescues except for the macaw & grey. The other 8 are from the rescue & the are wonderful once they realized I was their forever home, they had been discarded so many times that they all came w/issues. But now they are all loving. The U2 is my only screamer & she has only been w/ me for about 2 months after having 12 homes in 3 yrs just that we know of. Its so sad. They are huge commitments, macaws, toos & greys can live up to 80+ yrs.

What is not to agree with? I dont want my daughter to think that just because mom did it that its ok to eat any way she wants till she is old enough to get banded. She is 8 yrs old, not 15 or 16 & she should not expect to be able to just not "worry" about her weight just because someday she can get banded. Banding is not by any means an easy way out. There is nothing wrong w/ educating her on healthy ways to eat to possibly avoid being overweight as she grows up. If there ends up being a thyroid or other issue then of course that will be addressed when the time comes. She has been tested for thyroid and anything else that could effect her weight & it is not medical. It is because of years of unhealthy eating on my part, and rewards of food for report cards, etc. by me and my family. I dont view being banded as any type of failure, so I dont know where that came from. Quite the opposite, its my life saving tool. But do I want my child to think that she can just fall back on surgery later in life if it can be avoided? Hell no. I dont want her to go thru school being teased, or not being able to participate in sports or whatever her heart desires because of her weight. Education of a healthy lifestyle is important. I wish I had been taught that. I believe that if I had not grown up in a "clean your plate" family mentality that I would not have had the weight problems that I do now. No one ever read labels or counted calories when I was growing up so no one ever taught me about eating healthy or exercise being important, I want my daughter to learn that WLS is not the answer if you learn right from the start, it can be avoided. WLS does not fix your "hunger thermostat". Your mind telling you that you are hungry is mental and is about control. Thats why so many ppl learn to eat around WLS. Whether its bypass or band, if you eat everytime your brain tells you to, you arent going to lose weight & you are going to cheat the surgery. You have to mentally re-train that thermostat, your band is not going to help w/ that. Nothing wrong with wanting better for my child than what I have had.

Congrats!! I have a congo grey too. She was hatched on Halloween so we named her Casper. They are great talkers. Just today she told our umbrella 'too to "shut the hell up" & I have only said that 1 time when the kids werent home. Altogether I have 10 birds, Casper, Frosty (the U2), Ariel (b/g macaw) Snow White (Tiel), Jocko (tiel), Kiwi,Spirit,Lucky,and Daisy (all budgies)and Peek-A-Boo (or Gator whichever he feels like answering to who is a quaker) He got the nickname Gator cuz he goes nuts over anything Florida Gators & screams "Go Gators" when he sees anything w/ that logo. Tell your daughter to be prepared for this bird to possibly not be "her bird" Greys are notorious for being 1 person birds so make sure she spends the most time w/ him/her. It's really hard to give name ideas cuz after the bird has been home for a few days his personality will give you the perfect name. Let me know if you need anything, I work for a bird rescue & I know tons about birds & I would love to help you out if you need anything. Good luck, you are in for a world changing experience w/ this bird, they are like no other & will keep you laughing for hours on end. They are really big comics & very acrobatic so make sure he has tons of toys, especially shredders. But they love to hang & pull off a whole "rescue me" routine that will have you rushing to their aid just for them to jump down & laugh at you. Make sure you post pics when he gets home!

I know exactly how you feel. My daughter is 8yrs old and slightly chubby. I can tell she will be just like me & ALL the other women in my family. We all have had to struggle w/ our weight our whole lives. I was banded 16 days ago & everyone knows I am banded, including my 2 kids. My son is only 14 & he is 5'11'' tall and weighs maybe 160 soaking wet so he is the lucky one. My daughter however, excersises, does dance, acting, and singing and is a member of a very prestigious dance troupe and theatre company, so she is constantly surrounded by "ballerina" types and she is already very self conscious of her weight. I tell her all the time that she is beautiful and talented, and that over 200 kids auditioned for this troupe and only 25 made it, so she should not worry about her weight. I have taught her about the food pyramid and what is healthy & whats not and how to read labels and count calories since she was interested from watching me prepare for my surgery over the last 6 months. It is very tough for a child to lose weight, even being so active, she still has trouble losing. The group spends so many hours a night practicing that most of them bring frozen dinners to the studio for dinner or drive thru a fast food place on the way there, we have started bringing in either lean cuisine meals or fruits & veggies for her dinner/snacks, but then the other dancers notice that more than they do her weight. She has made the comment a few times that she will just have the surgery when she gets older & I have told her that is not the answer. Even though thats what I have done, had I known at her age how to control my eating habits I would not have had to put myself thru all the diabetes and other health issues I have had to live with to cause me to need this surgery. This past Monday my son, who will be a freshman in high school next year, made the football team & we have now started walking every night while he jogs to get in shape for training which starts June 2nd, so hopefully that will help her lose weight too. Like other posters have said, without singling her out, change the whole familys eating habits & get everyone moving. Go for walks w/ her & make it a special mommy & me time even if no one else wants to go along. We have to do it for their futures and ours. Good luck sweetheart, you are a great mom!!

I am craving a spinach salad, you know the good ones w/ berries and walnuts and some vinegarette dressing. Or a good chef salad w/ some croutons & blue cheese dressing. I am starting solids on Monday. Are salads hard to digest? Please say NO!! LOL

My port was swollen because for some reason I had alot of internal bruising. Just they way my body reacted I guess. I was tired the first 3 days but not really weak. I was hurting pretty bad (general soreness) the first 4 days, but you may be different. Good Luck!!

OMG I LOVE THEM!!! I had no gas pains at all, I specifically asked them to get out as much gas as possible & they went above & beyond my expectations. My surgery day was a little screwy, they had a fire in the hospital that same time so I was delayed a little bit. I was there at 7:15 & in recovery by 10am. Surgery only took about 30 mins. Dr Fleck was my anesthesiologist, she was super sweet. The nurse anesthesist (dont remember his name) was a MEGA HUNK!!! What a wonderful face to go to sleep to!! LOL Are you going to Blake Hospital? They have the BEST support group here, I just love them, very small & informal but very informative. Its the 1st Monday of every month at 6pm. I'd love to meet you, try to come if you can. You will love both docs they are so wonderful. I dont work but I would have felt like going back by about day 6 or 7 if I did. Days 3 & 4 were the worst for soreness. I am a single mom so I stayed the night voluntarily, but they would have let me go home by 2pm if I hadnt.

It is totally normal. My doc warned me today when he told me to start mushy/pureed. He told me to expect to gain some back & that I may not start lose again till after several fills when I finally get restriction. Dont freak, its a time for healing not losing. Just watch your calories & carbs & u will be fine.

I had the best dinner for my first time on mushies!! Went to Red Lobster & had clam chowder, applesauce & lobster sauce topped mashed potatoes!! I could only eat about 3 bites of each & I am sooooooo stuffed!! Brought home leftovers for tomorrows lunch & dinner though!! OMG IT WAS SOOOOOO YUMMY!!!!!!!

Good luck tomorrow!! Make sure you have throat lozenges, I used Halls Breezers & they were wonderful for the sore throat from the tube. They also helped the dry mouth issue too. My throat hurt really bad the first 2 days. Also ask your Dr & anesthesiologist to get out as much of the gas as possible, I had zero gas pains because they went overboard making sure to get it all out. My doc said they wouldnt go the extra mile if they arent asked.

Wow you were really pretty before, and now...wow!!! I wish I had your face, you are gorgeous!! Congrats & keep it up!!

I was on clear liquids for 1st 72hours then full liquids. I have also been walking every night up & down my street, probably about a 1/4 mile a night. My meals were 1/2 a packet of very thin cream of wheat for breakfast, a small can (Campbells soup at hand) cream of broccoli or tomato, and for dinner a 1/2 carton of Campbells Gold Select creamy tomato parmesean, or butternut squash soups. In between I have protein shakes. I have not been hungry at all. So far it has been really easy except for my cravings for hard pretzels, I want something to crunch SO BAD!!!!!!!!

I am 11 days post op. So far I am not hungry at all. What is getting to me is not having anything to crunch or chew. I am so sick of eating meals that are drinkable. I desperately want some hard pretzels!! But I know its all mental & I am strong enough to beat the cravings. Luckily I can move on to pureed/mushies today so hopefully that will help the need to chew. As far as hunger goes, I have to force myself to eat & drink & I feel super full after 1/2 a can of cream soup or 1/2 a packet of cream of wheat. I have no fill yet.

Went to the Dr's today to have the port looked at since it was swollen up so bad. They did an ultrasound on it & it is perfectly placed, all stitches & mesh are intact. There is alot of internal bruising which is causing the swelling. Nothing to worry about, it just may take another week or so to heal. I was so relieved!! They were concerned that I was losing weight too fast. I have lost 21lbs since preop diet & 12 of that has been in the last 11 days since surgery. So I get to move to pureed/mushy 4 days early!! I cant wait to eat something that I dont need to drink!! I am going to red lobster tonight w/ my family for my SIL's b-day & I am so looking forward to a bowl of clam chowder & some cheddar mashed potatoes!! Is there anything else you all can think of to eat there on this stage?

Swelling is down a little bit today. More like a large golf ball now but it is still extremely hard. I am going to call my doc in the morning. Overall I feel alot better today (day 10) But the hardness and swelling is odd & I am going to go get it looked at tomorrow for sure. I will let you all know what happens.

Sorry I havent responded, been super busy...yes that sounds exactly like my pain, which is better today finally. I did have the procedure in the hosp & I stayed the night voluntarily. No, the pain did not start immediately after surgery, it was day 3 when it got really hard to take a deep breath. I do finally feel somewhat normal today though & I am on day 10.

Did anyone else have their port swell up and get super hard? I am day 9 (been swollen for 3 days now though) post op & my port site is super swollen & hard as a rock. No redness or pain (just typical soreness), just hard & feels like a baseball cut in half & put inside me. I have also been sneezing like a lunatic for some reason today & man does that HURT!! Thank God I didnt start sneezing before now!

My doc suggested Colace stool softener...and he was sooooooo right! 1 dose on day 4 & 2 hours later...well, u get the idea!

Hey sorry I havent been online in a few days. Everything went SUPER! I am 9 days post op now & feeling pretty good except for some lung pain & a swollen baseball sized port. I just love the whole Bunch/Erbella crew too!

I'm still waiting for belly, but I was finally able to sleep on my side last night w/ a body pillow!! Cant wait for belly!!!

Yes it was from the surgery. Dr said its something that happens sometimes & nothing to be alarmed about. He just said someone should have told me to begin breathing in very deeply immediately after surgery to prevent it. He said to take in very slow deep breaths and count to 30 while I am sucking in as much air as I can, hold it, and then exhale slowly. Do it as many times as possible or until I get lightheaded or the pain is intolerable. Repeat as many times per hour as possible. Should take a couple weeks to heal. Small price to pay since I have had zero gas pains, and just minimal muscular and incision soreness. Nothing like I had prepared myself for. I have had it pretty easy right from the start. No trouble getting in protein or creamy soups either. Overall, I feel pretty blessed to have had such an easy surgery.

Well, 1 week post op check went really well. Incisions healing really fast, Dr was surprised. Did find out that pain in my left ribs when I breathe is from a partially collapsed left lung. Nothing I can do about it except force myself to take deep breaths thru the pain to force my lung to re-inflate itself. Dr gave me a respiratory spirometer to use & that does seem to help even though it hurts like hell. But good news was no pneumonia or blood clot. I have also lost 6 more lbs!! YAYYYY!!!!!!

I am day 6 post op & jello still feels very heavy to me too. I am on full liquids now & soups & protein shakes go down very easy in very small quantities. It still hurts in my left ribs to take a deep breath, but they gave me a respiratory machine to beathe into & that helps some. Each day gets better.

good luck!! I hope yours goes as easy as mine did. Tomorrow is 1 week postop for me & I feel great! No gas pains at all, & soreness is getting better. You will do great!

I was banded Thursday & drove home from my moms house on Friday after getting out of the hospital. It was about a 10 min drive & it hurt like hell. I hadnt had pain meds since 930pm Thurs night in the hospital & I took some as soon as I got home from driving. Then Saturday I drove back to my moms house & went with her to the movies. Again no pain meds other than the ones I took Friday around 5pm. I regret both times driving as I dont think I would have needed pain meds if I hadnt. It was more the pain of operating the steering wheel that was the main reason I wish I hadnt.