*Love*

For those of you that use them, where did you get them? I didn't want Pocahontis, cars, or Mickey Mouse plastic handles, so I bought a sterling plate gift box set from an engraving store. They are great but cost $30 for the 3 pieces & the box. I am hoping to find something cheaper, preferably in multiples, so my honey doesn't have to was my tiny dishes every time I eat. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

We will be eating in restaurants or family members homes for breakfasts & dinners. This is a motorcycle trip. The portable food is for between those 2 meals, at the gas & pee stops, while on the road.

I have a 3 day road trip coming up. We will be in restaurants or with relatives for breakfasts & dinners. What do you pack for stops along the way? I am taking protein drinks, but I don't know what else will travel well, as well as work to keep my energy & protein levels up. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

How are my fellow TLBCers doing? I am doing well, though weaker than I feel I should be at this point. I also don't think I will need my 1st fill at the 5 week mark, as I still have to eat carefully.

My first fill date is June 23rd - about 5 weeks post op. I don't think I am going to be ready. I still have to eat quite carefully. I also don't think I am getting enough calories in yet, as I am still a little weak. I am thinking of pushing my appointment back 2 more weeks. Has anyone else had to do this?

Hi There Fellow 'May Flowers': I was banded on May 22nd. I think I am doing quite well, except for the first half of every day, I am still weak. I am eating the way my surgeon's menu states. I am finishing mushies today & start solids tomorrow. I haven't had work the last month or so & I start a new part-time job tomorrow. Is anyone else this far out still weak?

I was banded the same day you were & am getting my fill the day before you. I still have to be careful getting things down. I haven't been physically hungry yet. My doctor gave me 3 rules: eat healthy foods, always eat the Protein first & don't let yourself get hungry - eat every 3-4 hours. I make up a cup of food at each sitting & slowly eat all of it. I don't get the feeling of 'oh, that's enough', but I don't feel hungry either. I am not up to full strength yet. I still find myself week for at least the first half of the day. I am likely not getting enough calories in per day.

I have "Weight-Loss Surgery with the Adjustable Gastric Band" by Robert W. Sewell. It was quite informative. For recipes, I found "Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery" by Patt Levine & Michele Bontempo-Saray. The recipes sound yummy. They also give portion sizes for how many weeks after surgery you are, calories, protein etc.

That is not me in the video.

"Things Men don't want to know about Women."

Carbonated drinks - Why we shouldn't have them -Explained See video, about half way through: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3tYliTpDiY]YouTube - Third Fill Appointment - Part C - Lap...[/ame]

If you sip, feel full, then gurgle & feel okay, this is just the Fluid slowly passing through the band into your stomach. Take smaller sips.

I find that my iron pills are tiny enough to swallow. So are my insomnia & ulcer pills. I solved my ibuprophen problem by using my pill crusher. I just turn it enough so the pills crack into 5-6 pieces. Those go down fine.

I did that for 4 weeks, then was good for the last week, so my body wouldn't be as shocked.

Has anyone heard of a liquid Ibuprofen that is not for kids? I have headaches pretty much daily & am allergic to Tylenol products. I think my advil tablet got stuck tonight, so I am hoping to find another option. Before banding, I took Calcium-Magnesium 'horse pills'. My husband found that in liquid form for me today. I am taking the chewable Flinstone vitamins, because I don't like the generic adult chewable vitamins I found. *yuck*

If you are still taking you pain meds they can really mess up your stomach. (Mine did today.) After being off them a day or two, it should improve.

I had my first BM this afternoon on my 6th day. I was actually surprized to have it. I was on clear liquids 2-5 days out & switched to just liquids today. Not sure were solid matter would come from. :sad:

I am at the end of my 6th day out. I have been finding this too, but I know it is the pain medication, on a fairly empty stomach, making my head feel wonky, making my hands shake & increasing my heart rate. The lower calorie consumption contributes to my lack of stamina, energy, hot flashes....I do small windows of things & lay down alot. I felt almost human yesterday, only 1 of the pain killers in the early morning. Last night I had a migraine & ended up taking 2 consecutive doses of the pain meds. Since with big head pain + the med head disruption, & the restarted nauseau from the meds.....today SUCKED. Tomorrow will be much better = there will be no more pain meds. :sad:

I was banded the same day as you. The 3rd day was the worst for me. I have been feeling almost human since yesterday. I do get the odd head spins from the meds & still have shakey hands. As for the nausea, I have an ulcer, so I went into this process nauseaus. After the first day & a half, I replaced the broths with skim milk. It has really soothed my stomach & I have no more nausea.

Getting out of bed to have my shower, I realized I am getting the twinges at my port site, not my incisions. Most of the shower went well, but we may have been in too long. I had to get out fast because I started to feel strange, not dizzy...but maybe close to fainting. I have never fainted, so I am not sure what that feels like. It passed in about 10 minutes once I was back in bed. As I wrote this, I had a similar feeling, but on a much smaller scale & it only lasted a couple of minutes. I guess it's time for some more electrolytes.

I do. So far only my husband knows. My step kids are use to seeing me on some kind of diet or another, so we have been figuring out a few things to say about why I will be eating differently. They have already seen me start to eat less, cutting into small pieces, putting the fork down or eating with chopsticks. We only have them on alternate weekends. I won't lie to them, but I won't tell the whole truth either.

Well,….I survived. I am banded! I have a Cousin – Bioring band. I am assuming 10cc, since my wallet card says maximum recommended fill of 9cc. My husband & I left Waterloo around 8am & made it to the clinic in Toronto by 9:50. I was to check in at 10am. We had to wait for a while. Then we were taken to another room where I changed, got weighed, spoke to nurse Darrel, Dr. Yau, the anaesthesiologist, nutritionist Jill & surgery nurse Stephanie, with more waiting in between. I was dreading being force to take of my index finger nails. It’s painful & leaves them very sensitive. No one said anything about my gel nails (which are very transparent) with clear polish. I guess it wasn't a problem after all. I didn’t have a watch on but I think I was walked to surgery a half hour after the 11:00 scheduled start time. I felt the blood pressure cuff was on too tight & that I would bruise (did I ever). Apparently, it had to be that tight. Nurse Stephanie was a sweetheart. She held my hand while I whimpered as the 2 nausea drugs & the sleepy drug where put into the i.v. in my hand. It was quite unpleasant. Then I was out. No counting or anything. The next thing I remember was being asked to get up & walked to my double room. I have no memory of where I walked from. I assume it was the recovery room. I could not get warm, even with all the blankets they put on me. I had no pain, & surprisingly no nausea. My head was messed up though. At some point I got a roommate, who snored, so I didn’t sleep anymore. I had 2 little sips of Water. The surgery part seemed to be a breeze. I had felt the recovery would be a breeze too or hell. Well, it is not a breeze, but it is not hell either. Closer to a breeze then hell I’d say. J I was then dressed & walked out to the waiting room to my husband & then out to the car. I started coming out of the head fog about ¾ of the way home. I just wanted my bed. Important: When they tell you to take small sips, they mean tiny. The first thing I did when I got to bed was to take the crushed Demoral. My husband put a little water in a medicine cup & I took 3 small sips. Not good. L I can’t remember the feeling enough to explain it, but it didn’t go down. I thought I would throw up. There was a bit of foaming. I do remember I urgently needed my husband to burp me 3 times. Then I was fine. I think the rest of the day went well. I actually slept ok that night & didn’t need the pain meds during the night. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2nd day was shoulder pain & some nausea. If I moved the wrong way I’d get a twinge at incision sites. Rolling out of bed helps. I don’t like the shoulder pain. It is definitely not gas related. I haven’t had much of that. The shoulder starts aching when I’ve sat up for a while, burp, hiccup, cough & sometimes when I swallow. I don't have any chest tightness. Somehow it is connected the band / stomach. I started the day on the clear fluids. The apple juice went down fine. The didn’t have the Endura at the clinic (they are couriering it), so I had the Pedialite the nutritionist suggested. I forced 3 servings of that down during the day, well actually my husband made me drink it. The chicken broth went down okay & I could only finish ½ the beef broth. I found them both strong. Half a cup of Jello seemed like a lot. The amount of liquids we are supposed to consume seems like way too much. I guess the meds have my head a little less clear than I though. I’d asked my husband the same question twice, with no memory of the first time. He walked me 3 slow laps around the back yard. I found out the hard way, that when you already have an upset stomached (ulcer) That certain crushed meds are horrible enough when they touch your tongue to make you gag. My insomnia medication is the worst thing I have ever tasted. The gagging set me off into uncontrollable dry heaves. My husband tried burping me again while I retched. It was awful. I just eventually stopped. I did end up having a rougher night after that, I hurt everything. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 3rd day, my husband was away on a course. He has everything set up for me on his bed. I had strict instructions that if I had any trouble I was to call 911. I was also to carry a phone if I went for a walk. I think the 2 eposides spooked my husband. He has been taking great care of me. I was still in pain all day from the incident the night before. I had more nausea. I was done with crushed medication. I make sure I can get a couple of sips of water or milk down before I swallow the pill, then I follow with a couple more sips. So far so good. I kept medicated & replaced the broths with skim milk. It helps sooth my ulcer. I also couldn’t stomach the Pedialite again, so I had one of the Pedialite freezies. They aren’t great, but much more tolerable than the liquid. I am also finding the Jello too sweet. But I am eating it, to put some volume in my new stomach. I did the 3slow laps around the backyard again, while my husband kept a close eye on me form the hot tub. I slept pretty well for about 6 hours last night, then on & off. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Today, day 4, I feel pretty good. Still medicating my shoulder pain. I am more alert, faster moving, better head space & stronger. I found my port. It’s under the bruise low in the picture on my profile. Well, I didn't get my port under my tattoo like I wanted. The band fastens to your stomach on the left side of your body. My tattoo is on the right side. My doctor pointed out that the tube would cross my body & would be cut if I ever needed a mid-line cut for surgery & would also be cut for appendix surgery. We agreed to putting it on the opposite side in the same position. I do know it is on my left side, but I don't think it is a low as I had hoped. I am a bit worried that it will be behind my belt...where I wanted to avoid. Today, I will shower! Yay! I was allowed to yesterday, but just wasn’t up to it. I will post a pic of my unbandaged belly in my profile, later today. I am no where near ready to wear clothes. I wear really pig flannel pj bottoms, a jacket, flip flops & sunglasses to go for my walks. I don’t understand why some people don’t lose weight in the first 4 weeks. I don’t see how I could possibly get enough down to gain. I am struggling to get enough in to keep my strength up.

Well, I didn't get my port under my tattoo like I wanted. The band fastens to your stomach on the left side of your body. My tattoo is on th right side. My doctor pointed out that the tube would cross my body & would be cut if I ever needed a mid-line cut for surgery & would also be cut for appendix surgery. We agreed to putting it on the opposite side in the same position. I do know it is on my left side, but I don't think it is a low as I had hoped. I haven't poked around to check yet. I am a bit worried that it will be behind my belt...where I wanted to avoid.

On surgery day, no one said anything about my gel nails (which are very transparent) with clear polish. I guess it wasn't a problem after all. :biggrin2:

I have gel nails, which are clearer than acrylic & I wear only clear polish, so I am hoping the next person I run into is more linient than the nurse I spoke to today & won't make me rip them off. It will hurt & my natural nails are very thin & sensitive afterwards. I also won't be able to get out to get them fixed...cuz I expect to be in bed a lot. I will take the appropriate tools just in case.