three sixty six

I'm finding that I'm 'gulping' more without straws. I think I have a lot of air in me right now ('cos I'm way uncomfortable). I think tomorrow I'll experiment with straws to see if there's a difference.

Question....

Farina for full liquids... not a good idea, right? Wait for mushy stage?

YUCK! I just tried the unjury flavorless (my ass!) in crystal light. First, it turned the CL a nasty color. And it SMELLS!

I tried three sips but I GAGGED. Can't do it. There goes $20.

I'm going to switch to Isopure now and see if that's any better. Blechhhh.

I'm home! I'm alive!

Thanks to all for your well wishes. Surgery was textbook, however for some reason I was in recovery for over 2 hours. Not sure why.

Hospital stay was not fun. I hate hospitals!! I had a lot of trouble walking on Friday b/c I got very dizzy and nauseous. I could barely make it to the door without feeling so sick. Saturday was a lot better. I had my gastrografin study (yuck! but only 4 sips so not THAT bad) and they started me on Clear Liquids.< /p>

HOWEVER, they only let me drink 2oz/hour on Saturday. Is that normal???

I wasn't released until almost 7pm on Saturday b/c my temp was 99.4. Finally got home and had a shower (yay!). I slept well on Sat night.

I stayed on clears yesterday until dinner, when I had some blended/strained cream of chicken Soup. It felt really good to "eat." I even sat at my dining room table! I felt normal again.

I've had some.. erm.. bathroom issues. I wanted to ask you all about.. is it normal for number 2 to be all liquid right now???

A lot of gurgling going on in my belly still. I am sure this is normal.

That's my update for now! I'm going to enjoy some sugarfree carnation instant bf now

i hear ya. liquids are rough.

i try to chew some flavored sugarfree gum (like orbit) when i want to chew something. it's not the same, but it helps.

also, today i have major cravings for sushi (oh yummm). my buds wanted to go get some for lunch today, so that's probably where it started. i sipped my chicken broth as i scrolled through the sushi place's website. i felt a little better knowing that i didn't spend $20 on sushi today, and the craving subsided a little bit.

you can do it!

I just watched the last episode. I Tivoed it...

ANYHOW...Seriously? REALLY?? I can not believe they ended the show like that! My damn DH is saying McDreamy is going to die in a car accident or something. I am going to kill him now!

HOW COULD THEY DO THAT???

that's EXACTLY what I thought!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm finally there! My surgery is 48 hours away!!! I bought so much sugar-free Jello and chicken broth last night that the supermarket folks probably think I'm nutters. SF Jello kinda has a funky aftertaste that I'm not loving, but whatev. I will survive. I did buy every flavor, so I can experiment. :sad:

Yay for clear liquids! It means I am nearly there! :biggrin2:

I just finished my Optifast diet yesterday. It was pretty rough, BUT, like everyone has said, the first three days are the worst. Stick through those and the rest will fly by. Trust me!!

thanks!! i'm sooooo excited. i just want this DONE already. gimme my band!

i've been on Optifast for the past -almost- two weeks. i did not enjoy! loved the juice box shakes, hated the powders. Soups were pretty good. bars were GROSS.

i felt really weak a lot so i've been having some "real" Protein here and there - like skinless grilled chicken (no oil, just pam) or ground turkey. no fat anywhere. no carbs. also didn't do that everyday, but some days i felt like i was gonna pass out.

i went to bj's and got a six-carton box of organic free-range chicken broth (i'm big into the free-range stuff, believe it or not. i'm sure those mcnuggets i'm used to are so not free range. or even chicken. but that's neither here nor there). also got 5 boxes of crystal light (looove that stuff anyway - the iced tea. also got raspberry and lemonade).

today i went to shoprite and got sugar free popsicles, sugar free Jello, cans of creamed (healthy request!) soups, sugar free carnation instant Breakfast, and gas x strips (i read somewhere on this board that they were important).

i've got tons of stuff from the chrias store - i got soups, Isopure drinks, Unjury, and Healthwise hot chocolate (15 gms of protein in that!)

i had my GP fill my regular Rxs in liquid form. i've written my advanced directive and had it notarized (GP has a copy; i'm bringing a copy to the hospital).

i'm cleaning my house, doing laundry, and expanding my netflix queue.

tomorrow i inflate my brand-spanking-new double-high aerobed that i got just for Mom! she arrives thursday. the bed is a surprise. she thinks she's sleeping on my couch, which she says she loves, but i want her to have a "real" bed for her week here. i'm setting up my office for her. definitely nesting!

i think i am nearly ready. let's GO!!!!

~megan~

I'm self-pay because my insurance has a bariatric policy exclusion.

Doctor's surgery fee is $6,000

Hospital fee is $11,000

Program fee is $550

Pre-op visits, consults, and tests: so far, over $5,000(!) luckily, my insurance picked up most of that.

three days! three days! three days!

now that post deserves rep power, haha!

i agree!!

I went home to the shore for Memorial Day, and a family visit... that meant the annual family barbecue. Fresh lobster with drawn butter, all the Jersey corn one could imagine, my Aunt's FAMOUS and so so so wonderful potato salad, my favorite hot dogs with lots of kraut, fresh hamburgers, cole slaw, and, of course, fruit and whipped cream on angel food cake.

YUM!

Too bad I didn't eat any of it :smile2: Yesterday was the hardest day of my two-week pre-op Optifast diet. I had a diet coke. That felt like cheating enough for me! No caffiene, but I haven't had soda in ages.

I'm still starving!!!!

Ugh I can totally relate! I'm doing my preop Optifast now. I started last friday and I've slipped. I felt really weak, so I've been "cheating" with some grilled skinless chicken grilled w/Pam -no oil! I still feel bad. I've done it 4 times. But I still get under 1000 cals/day. Don't worry about one bad day. Its not even that bad - from what you've posted, you didn't go all out. It could have been worse. Just get back to it NOW. Don't wait for tomorrow. Best wishes.

three sixty six,

she was taking a dosage that was under the danger zone for addiction and everyone is different. She's working with a psychiatrist and is finally getting her panic attacks under control. Lexapro and other similar drugs by themselves maybe helpful as an antidepressant but when it comes to anxiety and panic attacks they don't work for all people and they may need more assistance.

Actually Lexapro is targeted to people with anxiety problems, not depression. It's a bonus that depression may be helped by it.

Benhangal - I have been on anti depressants for 17 years for panic attacks. I have an occasional attack now usually brought on by hormones, and usually in the middle of the night. My doctor gives me 30 xanex a year. 30 period!! He does this, because he knows I have to have them with me at all times because of the horrendous fear of a panic attack. He knows I don't take them. The reason I say this is because Xanex is a highly addictive drug that is not presribed to be taken on a continual basis.

So one doctor is giving them to you, and another lapband doctor knows you take them continually. Unless the Xanex from your area is different from here I can't believe someone is prescribing you this. If this is what you are really doing, I think you should get your panic attacks controlled with the proper medication before you get a lap band.

I AGREE!!! Xanax is a controlled substance that should NOT be taken four times a day, every day! You need a medicine that will control, like Paxil or Lexapro.

PLEASE get a new doctor - I would not trust a doctor who allows his patients to take a highly addictive drug so often!

This isn't your fault; your doctor (and frankly, your pharmacist), should know better.

{{{hugs to BBK}}} deep breaths now!

thinking of you!

yayyyy Nicole you did it!! so happy for you! i was thinking about you on your surg date. i'm glad your hospital experience went so well. dilaudid is so the good stuff. i'm looking forward to the drugs (!)

it sounds like you're all set up at home. that's great! keep us posted on the next few days.

your incisions look really tiny!

congrats on getting through the yucky part in 1 piece :tt1:

hey everyone,

hope all are well. i've got 20 days till the big day and i have some questions...

1) i ordered two Vitamin supplements: (1) Centrum chewable, and (2) twinlab Calcium citrate chewables. Is that it/is that all I need?

2) does anyone have sam the dietician's email address?

3) is there anything else i should order? i bought the sampler pack at chrias so i'm going to be trying the unjury and Isopure this week, see what i like so i know what to order.

i'm gearing up! i finish school on wed. thurs i meet w/dr. irgau, then maryellen, then sam, then off to st francis for my PAT.

i ordered a double-high inflatable mattress for mom, who is coming to be with me (she lives on the jersey shore, where i'm from) for a whole week when i have my surgery. i feel like i'm nesting and getting ready to have a baby!

i'm going through a lot emotionally right now. i am mentally preparing myself as though someone i love very much is dying. i'm gearing up to mourn my dysfunctional relationship with food. i know this sounds over-analytical, but i really feel the need to go through this all the way. to make things more complicated, my only sibling, my older sister, is not supportive of this (lucky for her her "biggest" weight problem has been a size 14 - and that was for a month and she looked incredible at that size. she's been a zero, too. b!#ch). she thinks i am taking the easy way out. extra-unfortunately, i moved here to go to school, but i chose this school b/c of her living in the area. we're not even remotely close. i guess i was sort of hoping for her support in this so i could have family local for the journey. and that's not happening.

plus, i haven't told any of my friends yet. i feel like it's a really big deal, telling them, because of the way my sister reacted. i'm going to tell my two best friends from law school this week, after finals are over. i picked them to be my friends - and i didn't pick my sister. my friends will be supportive. i just know it. that's why they're my friends. my skinny, beautiful friends :thumbup:

sorry for the rant/outpour of emotion here. i guess i needed it!

-megan

"I just stayed with the same lunch time), and that whatever I told her was confidential, and so forth. A week later I found out that she mentioned it to the HR Manager, which I thought was fine, seeing that he is the HR Manager. Now, a week after my surgery, I find out that that isn't the only other person she told. A friend of mine, is an assistant to one of the producers, and he asked her how I was doing, and she acted dumb and said, well what do you mean? and then he said, well you know what I mean, her surgery. Everyone knows she had it done. I am soooo upset and hurt by this."

Of course you should be upset and hurt by this! They have NO RIGHT breaking their confidentiality. People in management scare me sometimes - they know a lot of personal information - and they are often the chattiest people. GRR!! (can you tell this happened to me?!)

Who's the absolute highest boss/manager where you work? If I were you, I would make it a point to sit down with him/her and explain how you feel that employees' personnel files are being breached - that's what this is!

I'm sorry this happened to you. Good luck - keep us posted on what happens.

I agree - switch if you can. I sure would if I could. An hour is not that far away.

Good luck!

I'm with ya, Nicole. I have some serious anxiety (ahh, drugs!). My main question at the first seminar was "The drugs.. tell me about the DRUGS! When do we get the happy calm DRUGS?!" People laughed but I was serious! I am not going under the knife without some serious happy shots!

Anyway, I know tomorrow is your date and I am thinking of you. Sending CALM thoughts your way.

You've prepared all that you need; there's nothing left to do. You've done more than you need and so you'll be great.

Best wishes!

Realize bandster here! May 30, baby!

holla!

bmi is 59 at the moment. my doc didn't say anything about 60+ bmi - just that if anyone gains 20lbs between first appt and surgery they cancel it.

I'm in the same boat! I start my Optifast next Friday. I'm worried that I'm going to be such a bear, and/or that I'll be starving and cheat.

The one thing that keeps me going forward full-speed? Knowing that the Optifast diet will make me drop some weight, fast! Think of how good it's going to feel to lose several pounds in two weeks!!

Keep us posted on your optifast!