krtork

Karen~ What a great description. I have felt the pulling when I walk. That makes sense, I have had a hard time describing it! I felt pretty good after surgery, I was up and about and went for a short walk that evening. I was really pretty active and I didn't have much trouble with gas pain - I feel lucky about that, because the last couple of surgeries that has been a real bear! I think everyone has their own experience and it varies by what your pain threshold is and by how aggressive your surgeon was during the process. I wouldn't change my decision for anything in the world, I want to be healthy and participate in life!

Welcome to the group! You will find lots of support here and answers to your questions. Make sure you click around and see what is available and don't be afraid to ask questions!

Way to go! Down 18 lbs. That is great. Remember to get your Protein in, that is important. I have found when I get busy I just go without and I really start to drag. I finally felt like myself yesterday - so wtg with getting back to work, and a physically demanding one at that. I still won't pick up the laundry basket! Hope you are feeling stronger, I know you are feeling thinner!

Keep up the good work! Woo Hoo! This will really help with the surgery and make your liver more pliable - you are on the way to a new healthy you!

Claudine - WTG! Woo Hoo! I have been finding the same thing with my clothes, the hope was to get through this winter without having to spend much on new clothes. I don't know if that will happen or not, not a bad thing though! I went to LB and got two pair of work pants for 1/2 off the 1/2 off price. I bought them in a size down and hope they will be good for a few months! I met a gal at the doc office on Thursday and she goes to Ross and the Goodwill for her clothes, she has dropped 2 sizes in the last 3 months! Crazy. Anyway, ideas for clothes if anybody needs them!

I have found that warm broth really makes me feel better. It seems to be more filling for some reason. Try to be creative with your liquids, change them up so you aren't having the same thing all day everyday, that gets old really quick!

Heather~ Welcome to bandland! Sounds like everything went great! Keep up the walking and the sipping!

My first fill is scheduled Sept. 3! The next new adventure!

Judie~ Welcome to bandland! Sounds like the surgery went well. You will get through the head hunger, it is a tough one. I think we will all have to battle that demon for awhile! I really noticed how many food commercials are on tv! Wow, kind of like being pregnant and noticing that everybody else is too. I have tried to not watch as much Food Network in the last week - it is killing me, everything looks so good! I was allowed cream Soups yesterday and thought I had gone to heaven.

Yeah! To everybody that was down this week! Keep up the good work to those that weren't, it will happen! I can imagine that we all will start to slow down as we get back to eating again! This week: 8/15/08: 237 (down 6lbs) Walking: 5x @25min Mowing - more then I care to count!

Marie~ Go, do it for your health! You will be so glad that you have taken this step to improve your health and start a new life! Surgery is a big step and it should not be taken lightly, you have every right to be apprehensive. If you weren't that would be strange. I had my surgery last week and felt very nervous right before it happened, but I am so glad to have it behind me and I am now looking to a new future where I get to participate in life, not just watch it pass by! The surgery doesn't fix all of it, but it gives you a tool to work with to help improve your life. I hope this helps! Look forward to Thursday as a new start.

On another post, I read that someone used an eraser and it took it off really quick!

Moe, great to hear from you! I was wondering where you had gone! Have a great trip! I am jealous that you get mushies this week, I have one more to go!

Angela~ Good luck tomorrow! This will be the best thing that you ever do for yourself! I am one week out and I am so glad to have this tool. Make sure you have your meds before you leave the hospital, you will be glad that you have them. You need to be sipping your Water and moving as much as possible. The movement will really help with the gas pain after surgery. I wasn't really hungry until about the 4th or 5th day out from surgery. It is crazy how you will not be hungry and how a little bit of broth will make you full! Good luck!

OMG! What a thoughtless jerk! I can't believe that he would wait for you to get out of surgery and spring this on you! You hang tough girl! We are all here to support you. If he was cheating you will be much better off without him. There is somebody much better out there for you! I hope you have friends and family nearby to support you! The next couple of weeks are going to be tough, but you can get through it and you will be better off in the long run. You will be healthy, thin and gorgeous!

I am so envious! I can't wait for that stage, one more week to go!

Welcome! You will find a lot of very useful information here as well as a lot of support from people that know exactly what you are going through! I am newly banded and I am so happy I have had this done! I agree with Deanna, this is an opportunity to lose the weight and get to do the things you have always wanted to do, to not have to watch life from the sidelines. Number one is knowing that you will be healthy and be around to watch your children grow up and to grow old with your spouse! I don't want to miss that! A couple of weeks ago I also realized that I was losing this weight for the last time! I don't have to lose and gain, lose and gain. The weight will be gone forever! It does take a lot work and I know that, but I am at a point where I want to get healthy and get my life back! Good luck to you with your decision, I vote Lapband!

My doc had a full blood panel run. They want to make sure that you don't have any underlying issues that need to be dealt with first. Welcome to the forum! You will find tons of information that is very helpful!

My nutrition info from my doc says you should be moving from 60-90 grams of Protein over the next couple of weeks when you get to the mushie stage. Of course that may vary from your instructions, but that is what I was told to do when I move to that stage. Hope this helps!

Bowel prep, agh, how fun. I did have to do a bowel prep for my surgery, I noticed it varies from doc to doc. You get to drink some really salty nasty tasting liquid that cleans out your bowels. It is supposed to kick in after 6 hours, well mine took longer than that and it wasn't until the morning of surgery - oh my! You then have many lovely very liquid BMs that clean everything out!

Ok, ok, I did sneak in a few things pre-op. I have a horrible addiction to all things crunchy and salty - the Cheez-Its looked to good, I couldn't help it! I did have potato chips with my sandwich a few times too. I agree with the word use, Lanakila, we really do need to make that a priority as we make this change. Beating ourselves up isn't going to help! We need to be able to move ahead and keep ourselves on the right path, which will not be a straight path for any of us, we are all human and we will stray. I found with my pre-op diet, I was starting to get the hang of moving back on track and not feeling so guilty. I really wanted to have this surgery and be able to say good bye to the weight for good, that was a huge motivator. But the verbage and mindset of guilt were still there. I will really have to work on that one!

Good Luck 15s! See you on the other side!

Lauralee~ too funny! I felt the same way! My bloating has gone down considerably since last Tuesday. I have only had one BM, but I am still on liquids and haven't been too worried. I have been using the Crystal Light LivActive, it is pretty good tasting. I used pre-op (2x a day) and it really seemed to help get things moving!

Lanakila~ thanks for the translation, most of it I can figure out as I read - nice to know I was on the right track! I think it is crazy how different everybody's pre-op and post-op diets are. Everybody has the same sequence, post-op, it just varies in length from doc to doc. Pre-op is really all over the place. I was on a low cal diet for a month, I saw the nutritionist really early in my process so I was able to get that started and then I had to be on Clear liquids the day before surgery.

Shelby~ I am right there with you. I had some discomfort but breezed right through. I was on Lortab, but used it for a few days and was off of it by the third day. I am glad it was 'easy' for me, I have had a rough surgery, and that was no fun!