StaceyM

Hi. I don't have Tricare but I am in WV so I wanted to say hello. I'm in the Charleston area, where are you?

I was banded on 4/16 and I went out to eat for the first time on 5/3. We went to Ruby Tuesday and I got the Cajun Tilapia, broccoli and mashed cauliflower. I ate REALLY slow and only about 3 or 4 bites of each but it was great and I didn't have any trouble with anything.

Thankfully I only had to have one shot in my stomach pre-op, I am the world's biggest baby when it comes to needles. I am not vaccinated and I nearly had a panic attack in my dr's office when this whole Heparin topic came up. So we compromised. I begged him to give me the shot after I was knocked out but he said it had to be done before I was under. So we agreed that it would be given after the CRNA had pumped me full of happy drugs but just before they administered the anesthesia. I don't know if I felt it or not and frankly and that point, I didn't care. If the shot is a worry for you I highly suggest you working out the same arrangement with your dr, it worked great!

Mine was in when I woke up. I was still pretty out of it so all I remember is the CRNA saying "Stacey it went great, cough so we can remove your breathing tube". I coughed and the next thing I remember I was waking up again in the recovery room. I didn't feel a thing and I promise, you are pumped so full of stuff it won't matter.

These are what I'm using too and I LOVE them. I bought the fruit punch, grape and orange flavors and I swear they're a life saver! Two swallows and I've got 42 grams of protein out of the way for the day. I was really struggling with getting all of my protein in until my dietician told me about these "shots". I also add a scoop of vanilla unjury to a sugar-free Carnation instant Breakfast for a little something sweet in the evenings.

This is the list of foods my dietician gave me that I can eat during my "mushy phase". It includes ALL foods that I'm allowed to eat, not just mushies. Scrambled egg Low-fat cheese Creamy Peanut Butter Blended fruit (phase 1 and 2 baby food) Mashed potatoes Light yogurt Skim milk Cream of vegetable soup (ie: cream of potato, cream of broccoli, etc...) No sugar added Carnation Instant Breakfast (I've found this the best thing to add unjury to) vanilla yogurt made with Splenda sugar free pudding Sugar free Jello Sugar free popsicles

Make him a basket and put different non-perishable foods in it. Hickory Farms meats and cheeses, crackers, some sweets. My grandfather always loved if we would get him different jams and syrups. We always went to the Amish store to find unusual flavors. Also, since he is elderly he probably gets cold so how about adding a nice pair of slippers? If he likes tabloids then go pick up one of each that is current and give him a lot to read. My grandmother was very in to the word search puzzles and they make those in jumbo print in case his eyesight isn't so good. At work we always adopt a person from a local nursing home every year for Christmas and I know they always want new PJs and also suggest lotions. As you age your skin becomes very dry so a good moisturizer is very soothing. One more suggestion: my mom made my grandfather a small flip photobook of our family through out the years.

Ok so has anyone ever heard of this in the right shoulder? For 3 days now I've had a horrible pain running from the side of my neck through my right shoulder. I was blaming it on the fact that I can only sleep on one side but Icy Hot and a heating pad haven't helped me at all. I was banded a little less than 2 weeks ago so now I'm wondering if this could be left overs from my surgery.

There is a website (sodaclub.com) where you can buy just the syrup and add it to tap water and make your own flat soda... zero fizz. I haven't been able to drink carbonation for years due to a medicine I'm on so I've been making my own soda like this for a while now.

I didn't but my dr warned me that it happens a lot. They said not to come home and get weighed after the surgery as a lot of people gain weight due to swelling and Water retention. It's probably not actual weight so don't worry about it!

My dr told me to take chewable Flinstones, I take 2 inthe morning and 2 in the evening. However, I was at Walmart picking them up the other day and I saw liquid adults Centrum. I'm going to ask him about possibly switching to that because Centrum is what they've told me to take once I can take pills. The Flintstones don't taste nearly as yummy as I remember from my childhood. In fact, I gag while chewing them now!

It really does depend on your dr. My co-worker and I were both banded on the 16th by different drs. I was on Clear Liquids for 3 days and then on full liquids for 2 weeks. She was on mushies after only a week.

One thing I do want to mention to you Beachy, you say you want the band so that you can have it adjusted for vacations. One of the first things my dr said during my initial seminar was that he absolutely would NOT unfill the band for things like that. This is a part of me and a part of my life, it will only be unfilled if medically necessary. I know every dr is different but I thought I should mention that in case it is part of your decision. You may want to discuss it with your dr.

I've been banded a week and 2 days and am also stalling. I know that I'm not eating enough calories but how in the world do you eat 1000 or even 800 calories a day when 1) you're on a liquid diet and 2) you have NO desire to eat anything at all. I'm probably getting around 500 calories a day. My dr. told me on Tuesday that I'm dehydrated so I'm concentrating on getting plenty of liquids but you can't drink while you eat so it seems like all I do is watch the clock. There just isn't enough time in the day or room in my teeny tiny stomach for all the Water and calories I need to consume. This is a whole new world for me. I went from obviously eating WAY too many calories every single day to now, not being able to find enough calories to eat. Help!

I'm pesca... and was banded in the 16th. So far the only thing I've had to do differently was on my pre-op and immediate post-op diet, I had vegetable broth instead of the suggested chicken broth. I talked to my dr about it and told him that I would do the veggie broth but add protein to it, he didn't have a problem with it at all and said in fact, it was probably healthier.

MySpace.com - www.myspace.com/88577232 But so you guys are warned, I'm addicted to those dumb surveys!!! =)

Yes racism still exists. I grew up with a racist father whom I fight with every time a bad word that I despise with every Fiber of my being comes out of his mouth. I personally believe racism to be ignorance. Affirmative action.... oh a whole other topic that I just won't even get started on. As for sterotyping... AUGH! Let's just say I am from WV and get this: I own many pairs of shoes, I have ALL of my teeth and I have never dated any member of my family. How's that for debunking sterotypes? I'm also a natural blonde who is not stupid. Man I hate stereotypes! K- I'm finished ranting now.

I don't know how accurate this is but according to a couple of women I talked to at my dr's office, taking a Vitamin called Biotin helps with the excess skin. One of the women I talked to said that she took it from day 1 and I saw that her arms looked great, she has lost 125 lbs. She said that she did have some stomach skin but maybe that's because like someone else said, your stomach doesn't have as much elasticity. Like I said I don't know how accurate their claims are as I haven't researched the Biotin yet but I did stop at Walmart that same day and buy a HUGE bottle. I'm a sucker.

I am so jealous! I was banded on the 16th and still unable to sleep on my stomach.... God I miss that.

Wondering if this happened to anyone else... Today I decided to venture out for the first time since my surgery on the 16th. I took a shower and started getting ready, suddenly I got so hot and dizzy I thought I was going to pass out. I had to rush to the couch to sit down. After sitting for about 5 minutes I was ok and finished getting ready. This happened all day, everytime I stood for any length of time I would get really hot and dizzy until I could sit down. I go to the dr for my follow up tomorrow so I'm going to talk to him about this but I was just wondering if anyone else experienced this?

Dr said I was dehydrated and my blood pressure is too low. I take bp medicine (it was too high) so he told me to stop taking it. Hopefully that and more water will take care of everything.

Thanks guys... trying the apple juice right now! I'll try to pick up the G2 tomorrow.

I know, I posted this and then saw yours. I just got finished reading the replies to your post. I unlike you, am not drinking that much Water or getting that much Protein. I drink constantly when I'm awake but it doesn't come to that much because I have to drink so slow. The protein I'm using (Unjury) is making me run to the bathroom like crazy and that's with me only eating 20g a day. If I ate 60g a day I would have to move into the bathroom. This is probably my problem but I don't know how to fix it, I already have a pain just below my sternum from what little bit I eat now. Today I had (I'm still on liquids): Orange Crystal Light (4 oz) sugar free Carnation Instant Breakfast made with vanilla yogurt and a scoop of unjury (4 oz) Grape sugar free Hawaiian Punch (16 oz) Cream of Broccoli Soup w/ fat free cheese (4 oz) Water (working on 21 oz now)

Sorry if this has already been discussed but I did a search and couldn't find anything. Is anyone here a vegetarian? I am (hopefully) being banded next month and am nervous about the 1st few days. My doctor has a few "rules" about what you have to do before you leave the hospital and drinking chicken broth is on that list. I haven't told him that I don't eat meat so I'm scared we will battle it out in the hospital. I did buy some vegetable broth and have unflvored powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury to add to it for when I get home. Any suggestions? Also any high Protein post-surgical suggestions would be great. I do eat seafood and eggs, and I have already stocked up on protein Water and Unjury. Thanks! -Stacey

Thank you so much Shell, I will search online for that soup. Unfortunately I live in WV and we don't have ANY of the stores you mentioned. I do go to Trader Joes's whenever I visit Ohio but that's like 4 hours away.