ljv52

Katy, yeah, it WAS ground sirloin, now that I think about it. Probably would go down easy. Linda

Katy, I feel so sorry for you and pray for you to have resolutions to your problems soon. I know here in the states, if your surgeon calls for the appt. they will sometimes get an earlier date than when the patient calls. If I were you I think I'd tell my surgeon that you would appreciate him trying. Or call them back and tell them if they have a cancellation, to call you, sometimes that works too. Glad you are not near to the awful fires, hope they prosecute the fire bugs -- the loss of life is terrible, not to mention the billions in property damage. Good luck to you Katy. Linda

I've also heard that mashed cauliflower is a good way to thicken soups and make them "creamy" rather than adding flour, butter and milk. I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to.

I'm originally from Ohio and this reminds me of a childhood favorite -- we used lean ground beef made into a patty and topped it with onions, potatoes and carrots and seasonings and baked it. Much more calorie friendly with chicken. Can't wait to try it. Thanks for sharing!

I just made these delicious salmon patties which are appropriate for pureed foods or mushies. 1 10 oz. can salmon (no skin or bones, I used Members Mark from Sam's), drained 1 whole egg, 1 egg white (beaten together) 1/2 cup chopped onion 1 tsp. parsley (or 1 tbls. fresh chopped parsley) Black Pepper Progresso Italian bread crumbs and Panko italian bread crumbs Chop onion in food processor, add salmon, beaten eggs, parsley, pepper and 1/4 cup Progresso Italian bread crumbs. Pulse until well mixed. Pour a couple of tablespoons of Panko Italian Bread crumbs (or use Progresso as well, I like the crunch from the panko) onto a paper plate. Form into 6 patties and roll patties in bread crumbs. Heat 1 tsp. oil oil in large teflon skillet over medium heat -- when hot add patties and brown about 3 mins. on each side. I didn't add any additional oil and they still browned nicely on both sides. Serve hot with tarter sauce. Tarter Sauce: 4 Tbls. lowfat Hellman's mayo (1gram fat per 1 tbls.), 1 tsp. dijon mustard, 2 tsp. lemon juice and about 1/2 tsp dill relish. Mix together and serve with patties. You could also make tuna patties by substituting salmon for tuna. I am 13 days since surgery and could barely eat one of these for my meal, but it was very tasty after liquids for 3 weeks. Including tarter sauce, per recipe there were 19 grams of fat divided into 3 servings (2 patties each), comes to about 3.1 grams of fat and about 12.4 grams of Protein per serving of two patties. The only fat I am not counting is from the 1 tsp. of olive oil.

Barb, Congratulations -- March 10th is right around the corner. Doctor appt. went well. I've lost a grand total of 31 since I started the process, and couldn't feel better. Dr. Smolik says okay to go back to Water aerobics and I have no restrictions at all on exercise, which surprised me. I plan on going back next Monday, for now just been walking. I started some pureed food today -- so far, so good. I'm a little scared about eating after being on the liquid diet for almost 4 weeks. Good luck and keep me posted! Linda

I'm surprised your doctor's office didn't provide you with a list of full liquids. Mine did and on my list are non-fat yogurt and sugar free/low fat puddings and jello.

Hi Barb, Welcome and the best of luck to you in getting that insurance approval. What insurance do you have? I have Alliance Select. They didn't make me jump through too many hoops. Hope it goes smoothly for you and your approval comes through soon! As I said in my last post, surgery went great and I feel wonderful. I have absolutely no hunger. I've lost about 15 lbs. since I started the pre-surgical liquid diet (I go for dr. appt tomorrow so will find out my weight officially then). I already have improvement in many of my life quality issues -- my lower back and hip pain in my left leg are already much better. This keeps me motivated to stay on track. My history has always been that I can lose weight and stay on a diet, it's when the diet is over. I was so excited to discover the lap band as a tool I needed to know that I will have help in keeping the weight off. If the weather is good I plan on being at the support group meeting next Tues. at 5:30. I live in Oskaloosa, so if weather is bad, I won't be making the drive. Keep me posted on your progress. Linda

My doctor's office says that if your urine is light yellow, you know you are getting enough Water. As Tiare said, just keep a bottle and sip, sip, sip all day. Linda

Hi to all! I am just one week post op and already feel so much better than I have in a very long time. I had 2 weeks liquid pre-op and now finishing up week 1 of 2 of post op liquid diet. I have lost enough weight already to have a better quality of life already. I've spent the past 10 years after major back surgery miserable and in daily pain in my lower back. The last 5 years I have had brusitis in my left leg so badly I was unable to walk or stand more than a few minutes at a time. I've had countless cortisone shots in that leg, and nothing ever helped. Every few months it would get worse and more painful. I was starting to have to take Vicadin on an almost daily basis the past year or so and my leg would still wake me up throbbing when I was asleep. If you can believe it, I haven't had pain in my leg for the past several days. I lost 30 pounds since last summer and 12 or so since I began my pre-op diet. The pain in my leg is almost completely gone. I also already have more energy than I had even the week before surgery. I read in the Lapband Companion Handbook -- "you won't be better next year, you'll be worse." That really inspired me because frankly if I was worse next year, I would be in a wheelchair. That got me through the fear of having the surgery. I've also had pretty bad bladder (leakage) problems the last year which have already improved greatly as well. food does not taste better than being pain free feels. Janet, thank you so very much for both your story and the break up letter. I've printed them and will keep them in my lap band notebook for future reference. Thanks and good luck to everyone. Linda

Hi Twiggy and congratulations on your success! I live in Iowa and when we have snow/ice storms, I turn on the music channel and just dance for awhile -- it's better than nothing.

Hi everyone! I was banded 1/27 also and had an easier time than most of you seem to have had. I feel lucky after reading your posts. I'm sorry some of you are having so much pain. My surgeon prescribed liquid Vicadin which I used only once. I did get up and walk a lot the first couple of days. Don't congratulate me on being wonderful, though. I HAVE to get up a lot because I have urination problems and have to pee a lot. But i think it helped me. As for the diarrhea, I too have had it since I got home on the 28th. I called my surgeon's office on Friday and was told it is normal, but that it should be stopping soon. Today is the first day it hasn't been "constant" but I am still having episodes of diarrhea even after taking some small diarrhea pills. Makula I can't trust any farts either! LOL. Best of luck to you all and hang in there! Linda

Hi everyone. Just wanted to check in and let you know I'm doing great since I was banded on Tues., 1/27. I didn't have as much pain as other people have described. I am thinking it could be because my doc had me on liquid diet for 2 weeks before surgery (and I never cheated) and of course, I walked a lot also, which I know helps. Anyway, no real problems -- enjoying my feeling of fullness -- and looking forward to my journey. Happy Birthday Janet -- your edible arrangement was a great gift -- much better than flowers. Someone at my office had one too and they very nice. Long, so glad you posted those pics -- you look great and are an inspiration to me!

Just to clarify my last post, I drank the carnation breakfast for breakfast and then drank the Unjury protein Chicken soup at 9:00 p.m. Linda

Hi everyone! I'm doing great, actually went back to work last night. I work at a call center and only had to work a few hours, and it went well. I only had really bad pain one day and that was Thursday -- other than that the only other problem I had was diahrrea -- started Thurs. and finally ended today. I called my surgeon's office as I never saw that listed anywhere as "normal" but they assured me it was a normal consequence. The nurse said, "first we make you drink the Magnesium citrate and then you had to drink the stuff (not her term lol) for the swallow test, so it's not unusual. She assured me it should quit by today and sure enough, it did. I took only a few gas strips, but they did seem to help. My port area is only sore if I lay on it, other than that, it's been fine. This was not nearly as bad as I expected it to me (thank goodness). Yesterday all I could hold down was a glass of Carnation instant breakfast and some chicken broth about 9:00 p.m., which then made me feel full again. I'm able to drink water with no problems -- it could be because I've been a water sipper for years and years -- just take it slow and easy Pen and you'll get it done. I go in Wednes. for my one week checkup. I've been keeping everyone in my prayers and hope you are all doing well. I feel very lucky too.

Great! I'm very happy with mine too. i had nausea after surgery after they gave me some apple juice. I was lucky to stay in hospital overnight as I live 2 hours away, they make you stay first night. I was glad to be there. Just got home last night. All in all my experience was also great -- surgery was quick and I woke up quickly in recovery room. Hopefully aches will be gone soon. Linda

Hi everyone, the surgery went very smoothly -- yes, I 'll admit it now, I was quite nervous a couple days befoe -- but I'm glad I went through with it. My surgery got pushed back to 10:30 a.m. I woke up in recover around 11:30 and in my room by noon. I felt great -- walke a lot in the hopsital, but after my 2 hour car ride home, have some muscle aches, but not too bad. Have no feelings of hunger and broth and Jello are actually tasting fabulous and are satisfying me. Hope everyone is doing well too. Linda

try www.thedailyplate.com

Well, I'm home from hospital -- the procedure went so smoothly and everyone was so nice. I'm so glad I found lapband!

Yes, I'll keep in touch. I'm a bit nervous tonight, but am looking forward to beginning my new life tomorrow. Good Luck to all, hope to hear from you all very soon. Linda

I'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon to go to Des Moines to spend the night before surgery since I have to be at the hospital at 5:00 and we have a little over an hour drive and it's supposed to snow. Good luck to you all! Looking forward to sharing experience stories with all of you. Linda

Hi and good luck on your surgery! My surgery is Tues., 1/27 and I'm looking forward to it. Like you, I can't say I've enjoyed the liquid pre-op diet, but I've actually kind of enjoyed not worrying about food these past 2 weeks. My fabulous hubby is fending for himself (kids are all adults). I made sure I was well stocked with everything I needed in advance. I use dailyplate.com to keep track of my diet as well. It's very easy to use. Good luck!

Congratulations on your weight loss. Thanks for sharing. I have surgery Tuesday, 1/27 and am looking forward to my new life. Linda