sistasassy

I didn't even have to take my shoes off. My doc just had me lift my shirt enough for him to see my tummy. He kind of pressed on it a bit and that was it. Sweet and simple.

Hang in there, Randy, pre-op jitters and doubts are normal. I had them. I think most of us did or do have them from time to time. You have very good reasons to have this surgery and I believe you will succeed. You are very close to the banding finish line now. From there you will start on the journey to the healthier you. I am six day post-op now. I am only a baby bandster myself. I can offer a few words of advice though. 1. Don't get too nervous. It is easy and you are banded before you realize it. 2. When you are banded, get up and walk walk walk, even if it is only ten minutes or so at a time as soon as you can. It takes those back and shoulder pains away. 3. Listen to YOUR doctor. He is in charge of your care and he can only give you his best treatment if you are an awesome listener. You are going to do great! Let us know when you are banded and back home!

My doc said not to open the ones in capsule form. They may be time released. I would buy a pill splitter and split the big ones. They may not go through quite as fast as smaller ones.

Every doctor is different so be sure to listen to yours. Mine never stopped my medication (even in pill form). I did switch to chewable Calcium and Vitamins but that was just my preference because the swallow kind were giving me a bit of indigestion.

Since you have a surgeon already, you will need to go through their process. There are very few doctors in Illinois who take Medicaid so it does take some time to get everything rolling. Talk with your surgeon. Perhaps they can fit you in before then. See if they can call you if they have a cancellation perhaps.

I am four days post op and my doc had me on clear liquids for the first 24 hours and then on liquids for the next two weeks. I have had broth, jello, thin tomato soup, grape juice, decaf tea, cherry shaved ice, and thinned chocolate pudding with a scoop of protein powder in it. I can't seem to eat much at any one time but have tried to be sure to push the fluids. Hang in there fellow bandsters from this week. We will make it! :Dancing_sorry:

Surgery date: November 11, 2008 Highest Weight: 243.5 Preop diet starting weight: 243.5 Surgery weight 233.5 Current weight: 230.5 Goal weight: 150

I have TWO Magic Bullets and LOVE them. We use them for everything. Definately worth the money you would spend on one.

Hi Denee. Where did you husband have his surgery? I had surgery on Tuesday as well. Mine was in Decatur, Il.

I will just be starting my mushie stage so I will be eating anything that can be pureed! :thumbdown:

My doc says Advil and Motrin are fine. That is even what I was given in the hospital while I was there. HOWEVER, I would follow the advice you YOUR doctor. Afterall, he is the one you will have to answer to.

Hang in there Anne. I think we have entered into the "Bandster Hell" stage. It will get better over time but for now we will have to learn to control that head hunger. From what I have read, learning to overcome this stage will help to make us successful later. This is when we are learning not only to change our eating patterns but our thinking patterns. You are strong and you can do this. I know you can. My prayers will be with you. I was only banded two days ago so I am right behind you. Think of me as the one behind helping to push you up that hill. :thumbdown:

Surgery date: November 11, 2008 Highest Weight: 243.5 Preop diet starting weight: 243.5 Surgery weight 233.5 Current weight: 232.5 Goal weight: 150

Well, my story is rather boring. Nothing eventful other than arriving about 20 minutes late due to heavy rain on our drive and then being attacked by a fleet of nurses to get me into surgery on time. Other than that, I was in and out of surgery and put on Clear liquids immediately. I was served up a tray of about eight different types of clear liquids and given my choice and told to have as much as I could tolerate. I am still tolerating liquids quite well today although not as well as yesterday and am able to have full liquids now instead of just clear. My recommendation is just as all of the others have said and that is to get up and WALK WALK WALK. If you are in the bed and begin to get this horrible back ache or shoulder ache, get up and walk. I walked the halls during the afternoon and early evening and then walked in my room later in the evening. I am not talking about 30 minute walks but get up and walk for about 10 minutes every time you hurt or you think about it. It made a HUGE difference in that ache. Today, I don't have any of that aching. Now, I just have the tummy aching where my incisions are. My doctor has me on Motrin and said not to worry about erosion (said they have learned it is not a factor with the band). I had two doses last night and have only had one dose today. I have been sleeping in between all the walking both yesterday and today. Just feel drained. I do feel a bit like I am retaining some Water and my tummy is a bit swollen but I figure that is all from the surgery and the massive amounts of fluids they pumped into me. Overall, it was not bad. I have slept most of the day and am planning to go to church tonight for our Wednesday evening service. I can sit and then get up and walk the halls (our building is massive) if I need to. I am on liquids for two weeks, then mushies for four weeks. At that point, I get my first fill and then start on solids. I am just so glad to be home and glad to finally be on the road to being healthy. Thank you to all of you who are banded and offered so much support and good luck to all of you who are to be banded this month! I am so excited for all of us!

Sounds a bit unreasonable to me if you have no restriction. If you were well restricted and further down the road, I would think it would be ok. BUT, everyone is going to vary in their pace of weight loss.

Definately sounds like an ad to me.

Oh my gosh! That sounds good!

I am in the final countdown. I am to be at the hospital at 6:30 and my surgery is scheduled for 7:30. I am first one up. They originally said I would automatically stay overnight but now say I will most likely come home as long as I can swallow. How nice that will be to be able to sleep in my own bed! I also did not want to leave my kids alone all night. They are all teens and my oldest is 17 and more than capable of being in charge all night but I just like to be there when they go to sleep and when they wake up. I am excited :willy_nilly:and nervous :willy_nilly:and jittery :willy_nilly:and fidgety :willy_nilly:and everything else you can think of! Pray for me!:eek:

Surgery date: November 11, 2008 Highest Weight: 243.5 Preop diet starting weight: 243.5 Surgery weight (Your weight the day of surgery) Current weight: 235 Goal weight: 150

Oh my gosh! I have never laughed so hard while feeling so bad for anyone in my whole life. You have a total gift for words. When you finally "got the deed done" I almost cheered! I am so glad that you made it and that you have such wonderful support. That is what will help us to succeed. Pray for me. My turn is Tuesday (Nov. 11) morning bright and early. I am hoping my nether regions stay out of the picture! Congrats on being a bandster!

My diet has been mostly liquid with a bit of yogurt, cottage cheese, and fruit. I did have a bit of Italian Beef yesterday and today with no bun though. I have lost 8.5 lbs since Tuesday (that's five days). My surgery is Tuesday morning (Nov. 11).

I heard there is a low carb recipe to mske your own crackers. I bet they would be good with cottage cheese.

Okay, I am simply astounded at how many grams of Protein are in cottage cheese. Un-freakin'-believable! Why wasn't I eating this earlier??? My hubby picked up some FF cottage cheese for me on my pre-op diet and I was just poking my nose in the frig for a snack. Looked at the nutritional info and about dropped to the floor. I have been really working on ways to beef up my protein and just completely missed this one. It has 12 grams of protein per serving. Just crazy good news for me!

How exciting! I am glad it went well. Sorry for your gas pain. Get some rest and let us know all about it soon! Congrats!

I live in Illinois and have no comorbidities and barely reach a BMI of 40. I am under 40 now that I am on my one week pre-op diet. Medicaid only took a week to approve me once they had my paperwork. Very easy to get approved. It means a healthier you and less bills later on if you are thinner.