dancinglamb

Yes, but FLUSHABLE ones. Otherwise, it will be a *very* bad time to have a clogged/overflowing toilet! -m

A poo pill! What will they come up with next?! How awesome is that? I wish... Nope. Got the instructions for the Phosposoda. :biggrin: Thanks for the headsup on the lemonade. I was going to go with gingerale. -m

Maybe you need to have a talk with your husband about what's going on - both from your perspective AND his. But not when tempers are flared or when emotions are running high. Tell him about how you feel he (and your other family members) are sabotaging your efforts by doing stuff like bringing home ice cream, etc. I would just be careful to do it in a manner that's not accusatory. Make certain that it's coming FROM you, but not AT him, kwim? Then ask him what his deal is. Is he threatened? Does he feel like you're going to leave him once you're thin? Maybe this is his underhanded way of ensuring you won't do that. People don't like change. Positive or negative. It's much easier to just 'be'. But I think that if you put it in a manner of, "look, I'm doing this with or without you - BUT, it would be a hell of a LOT easier if you'd support me. And I know that you love me, so I can't understand why you wouldn't", he might be more willing to do so. As far as the Subway thing goes, a deal isn't a deal if it's not the best thing for you. Kind of like buying something at costco on sale isn't saving money if it's not something you would've bought in the first place. :biggrin: Right now, you need to think with your brain and not your pocketbook. I know, I know. It kills me too. But you'd be a lot better off with Protein than veggies. Not only will it keep your blood sugar and hunger level constant, it will help you lose the 14lbs faster. And finally. The restaurant. What kind was it that you couldn't eat the food? Unfortunately, we - as bandsters (future or otherwise) are ALWAYS going to come up against this sort of thing. We just need to make smart choices. There's nothing wrong with asking for one or two appetizers instead of a big fat entree, or having Soup and a salad. Or just asking them to put sauce to the side. Yeah, it might seem a little like "When Harry Met Sally", but right now, who cares. Chances are, you'll never see those people again. And what's more important? Somebody in the kitchen thinking you're a bite in the ass, or meeting your goal? Hugs! You'll get there!!! -m

I've been doing the Airborne twice a day and upon the recommendation of my pharmacist, started Claritin yesterday. I'm feeling a LOT better, so I'm kind of hoping/suspecting that it's allergies and not actual sickies... Whew! -m

Good, God. Drink it fast. It's not tasty. Kind of salty, if I remember. Get it as cold, cold, cold as possible. And then put it over ice and drink it with a straw to bypass as many tastebuds as possible. Then look out!:scared2: 4:00?? Girlie, I hope you don't go to bed early. You can't push it to around 2pm? Seriously, the last thing you want to be doing is running to the bathroom every ten minutes when you're trying to get to sleep (like you'll be able to sleep, but you know what I mean). I'll be doing the same exact thing next Sunday and I already have my four magazines (two for each bathroom depending on where I end up in the house at any given moment ). And be prepared for a somewhat raw bottom.:sneaky: Good luck! -m

Yep, have to do the Phosphosoda. It's a saline laxative. NOT looking forward to it. You might want to mix it in with some Gatorade (just not a red or purple coloured one), to make sure you don't get dehydrated from the uh, associated effects of the laxative. Whatever you do, make sure you do it early enough in the day so that you're not up all night running to the bathroom. Oh, and get some good toilet paper and magazines. You'll be spending a lot of time on the potty. (And from previous experience, the colder you can make the stuff, the easier it is to drink it. I'm talking just short of frozen. Seriously.) -m

JerseyGirl- Where are you having your surgery done? I see your doctor is in Glen Ridge. I live in West Orange :biggrin: -m

Today was Day 5. I'm down 6lbs (woo hoo!), and am nowhere near as hungry as I was in the beginning. Honestly, those first two days really were the worst. It was like some sick game show.:thumbup: I have it down pat to three Optifast shakes, about 2.5 oz of turkey, one slice of low-fat/low carb muenster cheese and a freakish quantity of Crystal Lite iced tea (40-80oz depending on how often I feel like peeing:thumbdown:). Today I threw in some sesame rice crackers and some Swanson's chicken broth because I think I feel a potential cold coming on and I really suspect it's directly related to the huge drop in food intake. The Bolthouse stuff sounds good, but I'm only allowed Clear liquids other than the shakes. *sigh* Almost there, almost there, almost there, almost there......... -m ETA - I do have to tell ya, I was SOOOO proud of myself today. We were in Target and my 5yo wanted one of those big honkin' hot pretzels. I didn't have even one nibble. Do you know what kind of restraint that took?! I SWEAR. I heard it calling me. Really.

It may also be seasonal allergies (can't tell since everything started blooming in the past three days). I'm scheduled for surgery in 9 days. What do I do? I took Airborne this morning (I figured it couldn't hurt, right?), and I've been taking the Vitamins the surgeon had my buy. Has anybody had any experience taking Asmanex inhaler meds pre-op? Sudafed? I'm kind of wondering if I successfully stop the postnasal drip, maybe the other symptoms (losing voice, sore throat, occasional dry pestering cough, nasal congestion) will abate... Thoughts? -m

I received confirmation yesterday that the Proctor was scheduled and I'll be getting the Realize band (I'll be the first one at my Surgeon's practice to have it). I asked if I'd be eligible for a discount since I'd be his guinea pig. I don't think he appreciated the humour.:thumbup: -m

(emphasis mine) Jill- If you're doing this to yourself *now*, what are you going to do after the surgery when you absolutely CANNOT cheat without risking serious injury to yourself and/or your band? I won't lie. Yes, the pre-op diet sucks big time, but it's only a couple weeks. I figure I can do just about anything for a couple weeks. It does get progressively easier as the days go by. And if you have to take it half hour by half hour, then so be it. Today was day 5 for me, and as of this morning, I was down 6lbs. Just because somebody else is cheating, it doesn't make it OK for you to do it too. Presumably, you're an adult. You need to make your own choices. Make them good ones. Maybe you should watch the live video of the procedure in the FAQ section so you can see just how important it is that your liver is small for the surgery. Either that, or maybe you're just not ready. There's nothing wrong with admitting that you're not there yet. Better to find out now than after the band is in place... hugs -m

T- I've been thinking about you nonstop through all this. I have no idea how you stuck it out on the paltry meat diet. Seriously. Hats off to you. How are you doing? I see you're progressing through the approval. Lemme know if you ever want to meet halfway (Westchester ???) :redface: hugs -m

Yep, this describes it almost exactly. Know what though? Today is day 4 and I"m not nearly as starving as I've been. It's 6:30pm, and all I've had today is two Optifast shakes and about 48oz of Crystal Light. I've still got one more shake today, and will probably have some hot tea to warm up. It's a beautiful day outside and I'm inside wearing a sweatshirt (I'm normally ROASTING ). -m

Oh, definitely not dehydration. My teeth are floating from all this Crystal Light!! :redface: -m

This is day three of the liquid pre-op diet. I had migraines back in highschool, and then had then crop up 8m ago. I"m followed by a neurologist for them (in fact, I just saw her on Monday), and have a protocol in place for their treatment (Topomax, Maxalt, 800mg Advil, Reglan PRN). The dragon breath/taste is well on its way, and I can't tell about the urine because it's so diluted from drinking 64+oz of fluids/day. I haven't looked at my tongue, but will the next time I pass a mirror :huh2: I'm about to hit the sack, so I'll take some Advil and call it a night. Hopefully that will help. -m

Harley- I had a sample of the nectar Iced Tea sitting in my kitchen and decided to mix it in with my Crystal Lite this morning. I don't know if the sample was old (I only got it in the mail about two weeks ago), but it did NOT mix up well at all. When I went to take a swig of it, hooooooo boy. That was a mistake. It was like getting a mouthful of oatmeal in with my tea. ICKIES!!!:huh2: I *so* wanted to like this stuff. But between the problems I had trying to get it to mix (I even went back and added some hot Water to try and get it to dissolve before finally giving up and tossing the entire batch), and the smell of milk from the whey, I think I'm not going to have luck with the Nectar. I still have one sample of the Tea left, but I'm really scared to try again. It really was that bad of an experience. (I do have to say that I like the Muscle Milk Lite chocolate shakes though!) -m

Holy cow, my head hurts! I do get your average migraines, but these are something all together different. These new ones are coming with dizzy spells, and there is a distinct correlation between them and the liquid diet. Maybe it's the aspartame in the Crystal Lite? Maybe the utter lack of, uh, food?:huh2: The lack of concentration and lethargy is kind of bugging me, but I figure it's par for the course. It couldn't happen at a worse time (I've got two final exams new weeks, but what are ya gonna do...). The headaches, though. Not good. Anybody else dealing with this? TIA -m

16lbs!! That's AWESOME!!!! Woo hooo!! You've got to be just thrilled. Congrats and good luck next week. :thumbup: -m

I normally don't consume that much aspartame, either. I've been getting some seriously nasty headaches, mood swings, and my back/hips have been bothering me much more than usual (oh, yeah - I'm a real Little Merry Sunshine to be around at the moment :crying: ). I don't know if it's due to the artificial sweetener/chemicals or from the extreme change in diet, but it's pretty awful. I take migraine meds to begin with (Topamax daily), but even worse, I'm finding that I'm having a hard time concentrating. NOT a good thing one week before Anatomy finals.:thumbup: Good luck with the Dr appt! hugs -m

Feteiha is doing my surgery at Overlook Hospital in Summit. :thumbup: -m

Cheryl- Sounds like it was a relative breeze. I had hand surgery at NYU and they really are great there ( the view from the room wasn't too bad either ). Are you hungry at all? How are you able to sleep at home? Are you in your bed? hugs! I'll be right behind you in less than 2w! :sigh: -m

LOL, yeah, with two kids at home, that's not gonna happen. Besides, I'm kinda excited to have the relative peace and quiet of having a bed to myself! No husband, no dogs, no kids! Sounds like a kind of heaven, believe it or not... -m

In terms of food, comfort, stuff from the pharmacy what were you glad you already had at home? What made life a little easier for you in those first few days? My husband doesn't drive (once a NY'er, always a NY'er...*sigh*), so I'm trying to assemble everything now. Anyway, now that you're on the 'other' side of the proverbial band, what do you guys recommend I have waiting for me at home from the grocery/pharmacy? So far, I have, From the pharm: Gas-x strips Rx filled for painkiller Pill cutter/crusher Kelo-cote From Target/Grocery: Jello pudding (I hate regular clear jello) Applesauce Tea broth Cream Soups (mushroom, chicken, tomato - all without stuff in it) Crystal Light Muscle Milk shakes Water (obviously) Little 3oz cups to put the stuff in I know that I'm going to need the pillow fort to sleep at night. Thankfully, I'm pretty good at building one from all the experience of the pregnancies . Anything else? Can I do small amts (think 1-2 tsp in a 2c.) of tiny well done pastina in broth if I blenderise it just to give it some oomph? Thanks! -m

Gotta say I laughed when I saw the word "menu":wink2:. My 'official' menu is supposed to be three Optifast shakes a day and with up to 64oz of Clear liquids to accompany (broth, tea, Water, Crystal Lite, etc.). I was told that if I was going out of my mind, I could add "a small salad, a hard boiled egg, or a very small piece of chicken or turkey". Well, lemme tell ya. I've never been so freaking hungry in my life. I'm on day three of this preop diet. Today, so far (it's 11:15am), I've been OK, but the past two days, I did have to give in and have some turkey. It was to the point of being nauseous. And last night, I even got a little dizzy. I have been switching up the Optifast with Muscle Milk Light chocolate shakes (Dr ok'd them), and since they are higher in Protein, they've helped), but it's definitely hard. Good luck and Godspeed, Girlie! hugs -m

I've been chugging the Crystal Light like crazy. In fact, I don't think I've peed this much since doing Pub Crawls back in college:blink:. Good idea about adding the protein to that. I do have a couple samples of that nectar stuff, I could try that tomorrow as well... I've not been able to find the sugar free popsicles (only the sugar ones - I have to try Whole Foods), and I honestly can't stand Jello. It grosses me out. -m