whimsy

Awww, Jenna! I'm right there with you, woman. You know I was ready to leave my doctor visit and run out for a cheeseburger or a nice steak. :thumbup: We've got to lean on each other! Vent as much as you need, you know I'll listen!:thumbup:

*SO* glad you are doing well, hon! You can do this!:thumbup:

My post-op instructions were 2 ounces of liquids per hour and that does not include the constant sipping of Water to stay hydrated.:thumbup: My suggestion to you is to call your surgeon right away. If you are not sure what you should be doing, then they need to tell you. Every surgeon is different and while all of us can tell you what *we* were advised, it's best to follow the advice of your doctor. At my 2 week post-op visit, my surgeon advised me that my extensive full liquid phase is conservative to not only to have my body fully heal but to also re-train my mind and my stomach. Many of us are overweight because we eat far more than we should - like they say, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. :tt2: Good luck to you, hon and please keep us posted on how you are feeling! :thumbup:

I have 7 pets total, so I don't know if there is room for all of their pictures here. :biggrin: Here are my two French bulldogs, Joey & Chandler:

Yep! Been keeping it since the first day. It helps me track my Protein intake as well as gauge my intake for the day. It's a great tool for bandsters, that's for sure.

I got to the hospital at 6am, had surgery at 7:30 and left the hospital just before 6pm.

Glad to do it, hon! I accepted your friend request, too! Best wishes to you for your surgery and a very speedy recovery! Let us know how you are doing!

Got it and accepted! :biggrin2:

So good to hear you are doing well and congratulations on moving on to soft foods! Color me jealous! From what my post-surgery paperwork states, my meals should be no more than 4-6 ounces. I think it's best for you to just take it slow, especially as you introduce new foods. Listen to your body so you'll know when the full sensations is kicking in. And congratulations on the weight loss! That is fantastic! I've lost 12 since our surgery date, so I'm right behind you. :biggrin: And please think of me as you munch on yummy soft foods. Since we're two weeks post-op, I get to introduce...crackers to my Soup. Hooray? I mean, HOORAY!

For me, I guess I'd say travel. I was an Air Force brat in my younger years. We lived overseas in a few different countries - but I was a child and I couldn't really see the incredibly opportunities I had. As an adult, I'd love to travel to the places I once lived and to other places I still want to go. Being overweight, I can't travel comfortably and I am embarassed at the idea of possibly having to have two seats or a seatbelt extension. My best friend and I have planned a trip for next year - we're going to Thailand. I am part Thai and I have not been back there since I was 2 or 3 years old. I cannot wait to go back to my mother's native homeland and experience the exotic side of life. In addition, I really just want to be able to LIVE life. I've been overweight for about 10 years now. I wasn't able to enjoy most of my 20's due to my massive weight gain. I became a recluse and a wallflower. I am *so* ready to live out loud and enjoy life to the fullest. :biggrin2:

I just want to add - it would be so great to visit this thread a year from now to see where we were and where we are. :biggrin2:

Lise! Welcome to the family of March Bandsters! Great to have you with us!

Today is a small celebration...I can add crackers to my creamy soups! I will feast on Campbell's Select Tomato Bisque with crackers tonight!

Since I have a tendency to bite my cough drops, I bought Chloroseptic for the post-surgery sore throat. I found that it helped a lot.

((Just FYI - if you haven't read the loooong, master thread, you should! Lots of post-surgery info to be found there. :biggrin: )) My surgery date was March 3rd, so today I'm exactly two weeks post-op. I've lost 12 pounds since surgery, although I haven't officialy weighed myself today. Ups: Weight loss, not having to really plan meals (I'm on liquids for 5 weeks post-surgery so most everything is a Protein shake or soup) Downs: *grins* Sticking to full liquids for 5 weeks, the moments when hunger really kicks in. Things to stock up on: Protein shakes! Protein is going to help you feel full and aids the healing process. Very important to get your protein in, so find what is appealing to you and stock up!

Welcome to the March Bandsters! It *can* be intimidating and confusing but there is some great information to be found here. If we newbies can help in any way, let us know!

Good luck and speedy recovery for everyone getting banded this week! My thoughts and good juju are with you all! I'm here! I've been reading diligently but I just haven't had much to say. I end up purging most of my lapband thoughts on my myspace blog as it is. I go for my two week post-op tomorrow and I'm hoping he'll let me start "mushies" early although I somehow doubt it. :biggrin: For the most part, I don't have much of an appetite but there are moments when I want to eat my furniture. My mind is always racing to think about what my first "real" foods will be. My bariatric nurse advised me to start with soft texture foods and slowly phase in other foods. So far, I've come up with baked Beans, black-eyed peas, green beans (see the theme here?)...chinese BBQ pork, chicken from the neighborhood hibachi restaurant...*homer simpson drool session* My husband took two weeks of vacation to help me with recovery, so today is his first day back and I miss him terribly. Other than that, I'm good. Just a bit more quiet as the hunger sloooowly starts to creep in. I have 3 more weeks of full liquids to go and I am so ready for it to be over!

Hi there! Yay! I love finding more D/FW folks, especially those with surgery dates so close to my own. :biggrin2:

Gotcha too! :biggrin2:

Ack! I have no idea what is going on there. Which image are you trying to use? There are currently 3 different shamrock images that I know of. :thumbup: Yep - no eating or drinking after midnight for me. More than likely due to the barium swallow and upper GI. Wow, you really are a busy woman. Not just busy, it sounds like you are a superwoman. You've got to be incredibly strong to be able to juggle all of those responsibilities. You definitely deserve a vacation, hon.

Doing pretty well here. I'm starting to feel like my old self, save for the lack of appetite. I still have 2 more weeks on full liquids, then I can introduce some mushies in preparation of the next week of "regular food". There are days when my hunger is next to nothing, so I don't mind the full liquids but then there are days where my hunger is out of control and I want to kill people and eat them. I still can't sleep "normally" - it hurts to lay on my left side. That was the side I always slept on. I do sleep on my right side on occasion and it helps a little. I go for my two week follow-up on Tuesday. I'm hoping he'll tell me that I can start mushies/regular food EARLIER. How are the rest of ya'll doing? Hanging in there?

Hi there, Duke! (Love the name...it's my maiden name. :biggrin: ) You get the weight graphic by clicking on any of the ones shown. It will take you to the website that allows you to customize your own. Then you'll need to copy the code it gives you and paste it in your signature. Hi hi! Mine took about 4 hours BUT only because they wanted to confirm that I was not pregnant before I did the barium and upper gi. The EKG and chest X-ray were pretty fast. I think it just depends on where you go and how on the ball they are. If they are busy or slackers, it may take longer. My poor hubby had to wait on me, too.

Let me see if I can remember that far back. :biggrin: My memory is just horrible! I had blood tests, chest x-ray, EKG, barium swallow and an upper GI. Barium is not pleasant but just remember "this too shall pass"!

Haha, thank you! They are real sweethearts, usually. They just don't understand why they can't jump up on my lap and gut like they used to. I've had furry cannonballs in the gut a couple times since surgery and while it didn't hurt as bad as I imagined, I just don't want them dislodging something. :angry_smile: I tend to blog just to purge my thoughts. Sometimes it helps to just get that stuff out! Especially when I'm feeling especially cranky due to head hunger and liquid diet woes. :cursing: Plus, I have a few friends on my lapband account who are considering WLS (one lapband, the other gastric bypass) and have been curious of how things are post-surgery. So, I figure I'll be honest as possible there because I think they should be able to see both the good and the bad.

I just wanted to wish all of you lucky Shamrockers good luck on your surgery and a speedy recovery post-op. Please us know how you are all doing! Congratulations on this first huge step toward a healthier you!