Davyna

I too was banded on 2/28! I felt so great yesterday I cleaned the bathroom (just the countertop and the toilet, not much). But last nite, I woke up in pain again. Hadn't done that in a couple days. I guess I overdid it a little. I think most things you did were fine. I would not suggest vaccuuming tho, that seems a tad too strenuous. I went the bookstore yesterday and got some new books to read. I've also been catching up on all the pay-per-view movies I've been missing. But walking is very important, and I just try to do three short walks a day. My mom and I have gone shopping the past two days, and walking around the store looking at things seems to distract me. I try to hit a new place to walk every day- a new park, a new path. Whatever to keep things interesting.

How nice of your boss to put you on the spot like that. I'm sure most of us will be put in a similar situation some time or another. It's embarrassing too, to be the only one not eating cake, to be the only one with most the food left on your plate, to be the only one who doesn't drink something with dinner. I would have just smiled and said I was trying to watch what I eat. If these social events are something that happens frequently and you can plan for them, try to have something else on hand you can eat, so you don't stand out as the "empty-handed" one.

I should have mentioned that skim milk is on my doctor's approved clear liquid list. I'm not sure why, I agree it's not a clear liquid per se, but I do seem to be tolerating it all right.

I'm afraid I have to concur. I tried the Fruit Punch flavor today and thought it was horrible. I didn't buy the Strawberry Kiwi because I don't really like either of those flavors. The Lemon flavor tastes like a tart lemonade with a bitter sweetner taste in the background. The problem with these drinks is they seem too "syrupy" to me and I find myself wanting to dilute them. But for $6.00 per 4 bottles this isn't going to turn out to be a great way to get a little extra protein after all. :speechles

I'm glad to hear you're going to get more help. If you feel up to it you can always call off the extra help! I kept the surgery from most people I know as well. Only my parents and my husband know (and a couple of irrelevant people DH told before I told him to be quiet!). My siblings know I got surgery but they don't know what kind. I have to stay in contact with my eccentric former mother-in-law because of my son. I had to tell her I was having surgery so she would help me with the kiddo, but I didn't want to tell her what kind. She actually had the nerve to tell me she was "insulted" that I won't tell her what kind of surgery I had. Well too friggin bad!!

I didn't even know I was going to be intubated. In all my research, I never found this bit of information, and my dr sure didn't bother to tell me. I didn't wake up with the tube in me and didn't really have any throat discomfort. Right after surgery tho, they wanted me to breathe into this apparatus that prevents you from getting pnenemonia in your lungs by forcing you to cough up mucus. I sure wish they had told me to hold my incisions when I cough. FYI- If you have to cough- Hold your abdomen very close (I even used a small pillow) and cough repeatedly to get stuff up. As my mother, a former RN, states, "Clearing your throat doesn't count!"

Just FYI, I was not able to get down and up off the floor until about Day 5. Hoping your hubby is planning on taking some time off those first crucial days? My dr also said no lifting anything over 10 lbs for 2 weeks. My kid is 5 yrs old tho and weighs 50 lbs; I stopped lifting him ages ago!

Hi there! I was banded one day before you I too feel pretty good, except for some discomfort around the port area. But I'm only taking the pain meds in the morning and at bedtime now. I'm no longer waking up in the middle of the night in pain, so that must be good! Clear liquid diet is rough, but I'm doing it. Still havng gas pains. Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision in this whole thing, but then I tell myself it's too early to tell. Anyway grats to us!! I'll be thinking of ya

I have steri-strips which were covered in bandaids. My dr told me to take off the bandaids the day after surgery and take a shower, and do not scrub the incision sites for three weeks.

Same problems here!! I was starting to wonder, is this how it's going to be forever? I feel like I have to burp but it's really painful, so painful I have to stop dead in my tracks, and then nothing comes out half the time! And I got the hiccups four times today. What's up with that? I worry all this violent movement will upset the band, but surely not.... And yes, I still have chest pains too. So this burping thing goes away, eh? Looking forward to that!

I forgot about the Special K Protein Water!! Thanks for the reminder! Does that stuff taste any good? What kind of protein is it?

I hear you. Boy, do I hear you. I think it has to be normal. After all, you're not really putting anything with any substance into your body, how can we expect something of substance to come out? "Liquids in, liquids out" is what I've been told. My mother is also a former RN and she says it's normal too. Make sure to drink enough Water. If you still have concerns, of course contact your dr.

I used Dr. Robert Powell in Richardson, Texas and am happy with the surgery. He's done many successful procedures and has a lot of experience as a surgeon. I believe Dr. Benevides and Dr. Powell work out of the same surgery center, The Surgery Center of Richardson. Dr. Powell and Dr. Benevides' offices are right next to each other in a building across the street. There are also several other doctors that work out of that Surgery Center, all doing lapbands I believe. The surgery center is run by the American Institute of Gastric Banding, so I'm assuming Dr. Benevides and Dr. Powell are both members of that Institute. You can check out more about AIGB at www.aigb.com. They also offer informative seminars. Dr. Powell's website is www.weightnot.net. Dr. Powell's flat rate for the surgery and a year of follow up and fills was $15,000. I believe Dr. Benevides is the same. In fact, the only difference I have found between the two of them is their post op diet instructions. Dr. Powell recommends a much longer clear liquid stage. I hope this helps! Robin

So far the only thing getting banded has done to my marriage is it has made my husband realize he too needs to do something about his weight. We can't afford another lapband (and being ex-military he eats like there's a tornado coming, and I don't think he could give up soda anyway) so unfortunately he's going to have to do it the old-fashioned, difficult way. He, like me, has about 100 lbs to lose. But I expect, like others have mentioned, that I will have more energy and be a happier person to be around, and of course this is going to have a reflection in the marriage. It can only make things better. Here's the ironic thing. Even tho he's heavier than me, I had a higher BMI than him, which means I was the fatter one!! (i've lost almost 20 lbs pre and post op, which finally brought us down to the same BMI)

How much Protein could possibly be in a cup of broth? I'm going to sub one serving of broth a day with a cup of skim milk. At least there's a decent amount of protein in the milk. Oh and by the way, I'm starving too. Clear liquids till 3/14 :cry

I just need to vent this, I'm sorry.... I am 5 days post-op. I'm feeling okay, and was finally up to my first public outing. And that's where the trouble began. I've been recuperating at my mom's house. It was unusually cold yesterday and I didn't bring anything warm to wear. I ended up having to wear a multi-colored wool pullover sweater that belongs to my father and a pair of windpants. I felt absolutely rediculous, but I knew we needed to go to the store to find something else to eat before I threw every can in the house marked "broth" into the trash. So off we went. We ended up at a grocery store in my home town... a town where the average salary is probably close to $75,000 and there aren't any apartments... for a reason. These people are elitists. One of the reasons we moved away. We pulled up into the parking lot, looked to be a pretty busy day. There's probably about 50 cars in the parking lot. I pushed myself out of the car and started walking up the row towards the store. Then I noticed both of my shoes have come untied. I looked around. I can't bend over that far. What am I going to do? I propped my foot up on the front bumper of a nearby dirty, dusty 90's style Mercedes. My mom has to tie the shoe on my port side, but I am able to tie the other shoe. I am embarrassed already at the fact my mom has to tie my shoe. "God I hope no one sees me," I said to my mom. "No one's around, it's okay," she said. I felt bad about having to prop my foot on someone's car, but it was either that or walk all the way back to our car to do this. And I figured... what are the odds the owner of this car will know any different? Sure enough. Just as soon as I get my foot off the car, I hear laughing. I turned around. Here comes a middle aged, thin blond lady pushing her cart and coming directly at me, and a cute female teenager who works at the store, who probably came outside to collect grocery carts. I can't believe it. The blond owns the Mercedes. What are the freaking odds. 50 cars in the lot and this one is hers. I started to walk away, even more embarrassed. I can only imagine what she must have thought of this whale in a wool sweater tying her shoe on the bumper of her car. "I guess she didn't want to put her foot on her OWN car," the blond said, loud enough for me to hear. The teenager laughed. I whipped around, and a stream of words came out, "I'm sorry I just had surgery I can't bend over I apologize." "It's okay," the blond said quickly, not even glancing in my direction. She didn't say it rudely, but she didn't sound sincere either. I started crying the minute I got into the store. I just wanted to disappear. My mom couldn't really understand why I felt this way, and told me to just forget about the blond, that I would never see her again. That wasn't the point. The point was I felt so awful about myself at that particular moment. I didn't want to attract any attention to myself but I had anyway. And that just ties in to how I feel in general, being overweight. Talk about hitting rock bottom. :faint: /rant off

Thanks for posting this. I was about to post the same thing. It seems every doctor has their own opinion of what the post op diet should be. For example, my doctor wants me on clear liquids for TWO weeks, while other doctors say clear liquids for only three days. I am really sick of broth and am thinking of giving up my clear liquid diet a few days early. I'm really not eating enough because I am sick of everything I am allowed to eat. Here are my doctor's orders post op- 1st two weeks- clear liquids 3rd week- full liquids (through the straw type stuff, puree) 4th week- full solids

I didn't want to seem rude and suggest the same things about Carlos but I felt the same way. The grammatical errors in his posts send up a red flag to me. So yes, I would take his advice with a grain of salt as well...

I'm starting to hear more and more stories of flipped ports. How common is this problem? On the day I was banded, there was a lady there whose port had flipped over. I'm not sure how long she had been banded but I got the impression she did a lot of crunches. Not sure if that had anything to do with it... I guess I just don't understand how this happens. The port is stitched to the abdomen wall. Does half of it come loose and then it flips over?

Hi all! I visited this site a little over 6 months ago when I was doing research to determine whether or not I should be banded. Well, I chickened out last year, but not now! I was banded on 2/28/07 by Dr. Robert Powell in Richardson, Texas. Recovery has been going along pretty well. I'm glad to be visiting this site again from a new perspective. Looks like I missed a lot of drama tho! :eek: Looking forward to knowing you all better, and walking this path with you! Robin

I was curious what all of you would say is your average caloric intake per day, past the 6 week healing stage. :scared:

Hi all- I've been reading your website and some other information and I'm scared a bit of course but encouraged by all of your successes! I just had a couple of questions that I haven't seen specific answers to... I'm sure they are out there somewhere but here goes- 1) Is a lap-band permanent? I've read that it is "long-term," and I see ppl here with 2+ yrs, but I wasn't totally sure. 2) What happens when you reach your goal weight? I guess you get a fill or unfill that keeps you at your goal weight, assuming the lap-band stays in? 3) Are there any foods that you have found that, for whatever reason, you just absolutely can't eat anymore? And why heh... I'm curious what happens if you eat these foods (I've read that vomiting, diarrhea etc. can occur and I'm curious how often this happens... only when you eat these foods or just whenever or what?) Thanks in advance for any help and congratulations to those who have found what they are seeking.