showmepat

I had it last week, went to the doctor and he did an unfill, I'm much better. He said that if I get into the red zone, which included acid reflux that it was important to get to the doctor. Good luck!

I hope all the November bandsters are doing well, no one has logged into this board much lately. I guess we're all busy with work, family, etc. I'm doing good, slow and steady as they say. I've found that breads are harder for me to consume lately, which is okay for me, as I loved them and needed to step back from eating so much. I find that I'm enjoying my food and have adjusted to eating slower. No sodas for 3 months, something I didn't think I could give up.

I'm with you the second fill made some foods previously okay no longer a possibility. This is okay, as one of them were pork chops on the grill, the meat just wouldn't go down comfortably. I find myself enjoying the conversation at meals, where before I would just be so focused on the food, it's refreshing. I sure enjoy each pound that I lose, it's so nice to be going in this direction, rather than gaining.

I'm in that wonderful time of life called "para menapausal" and all I can say is that I've stopped totally it seems. A blessing in disguise.

Slow and steady wins the race, another couple of pounds have come off, thank you! Summer is going to be here before you know it. I live in a cool climate so right now we're wearing layers. I hope to be in a better place when I have to pull out the shorts this summer. Since getting the lap band, my daughter has begun making changes, she's overweight also (thanks to me). I'm a single parent (widow). This summer she's going to a weight loss camp in Pennsylvania. She's excited to be going, probably as excited as I was about the lap band. This is the year for both of us to lose weight and get to a healthier place. I'm proud of one accomplishment - I've only had one small soda since my surgery. I used to drink sodas everyday.

Okay, I went and bought a new pair of pants yesterday, I'm now fitting comfortable in a 20, down from a 24, that was a nice feeling as I've been wearing pants that were real baggy on me. I hope you're all doing well. I will be getting my second fill in two weeks. Take care!

Okay, the fill went fine, the doctor did a great job, didn't feel much. He gave me a 3 cc fill in a 9 cc band. I thought I had a 5 cc band. He said the 9 cc is one of the newer sizes. He told me I was doing well and encouraged me to keep it up. Yesterday I was on clear liquids, today on protein shakes and clear liquids, tomorrow on mushies and then Friday back on regular food. He reminded me to look for the signals of fullness, hiccup, cough, etc.. I have experienced a tightness in my shoulder when I have hit the limit on food intake, kind of reminds me of the feeling after the surgery when I had the gas pains, though not as painful. I'm good overall and look forward to the restriction. I do fly to NY in two weeks so he asked that I wait for the next fill till after I return. He said sometimes air in the band can cause some problems at high altitudes. All for now!

Well today is my first fill, I'm not looking forward to it, but am looking forward to it, if you know what I mean. I am having a hard time getting the butt in gear to start the exercise routine. How's everyone doing?

Hockeyson, Sorry to hear about your dog, we have a dog and a cat, I know it will be hard to put your dog down, we had to put our other cat down last summer, she was 18 years old. Hang in there. I'll look forward to hearing from you after your appt. Pat:thumbup:

Hi Ginny, I'm going to send you a quick private email.

Okay, I have a question, what size bands do you all have? I have a 5cc band, and the doctor scheduled me for 3 appts. two weeks apart, so over 6 weeks I guess I may get 3 fills or maybe 2, don't know, guess it depends on how I'm doing. Did your doctors schedule appts. like that? My 4th visit is then one month after the 3rd. I hope you all had a good Christmas holiday, I'm enjoying the time off work, but not the excesses of food available, too tempting. How about the rest of you?

Any Cold Weather problems? Weird, the past few days when it's been really cold, (and yes I'm bundled up), the wounds where they opened me up for the surgery seem to ache, has anyone else in a cold weather climate experienced this? I know the wounds are only 4 weeks old, so this might be normal. Any thoughts? Pat:confused_smile:

Thanks Jaime for the link, I'm going to order the sampler pack. Great price and gives some flexibility, which I like. Hey I have a link for you - if you are eating out, this link gives you the protein content of foods at restaurants - they have a boat load of them. So if you're going out to eat, you can plan in advance - go to CalorieKing - Calorie Counter - Fast-Food Chains & Restaurants Pat

I don't have a fill until mid-January, so the monkey's on my back. I really rarely am hungry and I'm trying to pay attention to that. I need to keep track of the protein, I'm not doing that right now, just guestimating and I'm sure it's hurting my weight loss. I have eaten a few cookies and don't know why, just bad habits, cause I really don't need them. At work I've been able to ignore most all of the food they've had and trust me there's been a lot. I will seek out the whey protein powder, as the whey powder I have is nasty tasting.

Well I went out Saturday night and had the glass of wine. No noticeable difference in how I felt. But, Jaime, I'm with you I don't feel restriction, but I'm not really hungry. I don't get my fill till January so hopefully the hunger will stay at bay!

Thanks Gentylwind, I think I'll do the same, it would be nice to have an adult beverage, even though a small quantity.

Well I don't have much to say, but wanted to check in with ya'll. I'm down 20 lbs and boy it's so nice to be going in this direction rather than gaining. I'm on mushies for a few more days. I plan to make some eggs with grilled onions, green chiles and ff cheese this a.m.. As long as I keep some things at the office to eat, I'm good, ie PShake, sf jello, sf popsicles, peanut butter. Our office always has food around, so it seems. I'm going out tonight with some friends to listen to some blues/jazz. This will be my first night out with friends that don't know I've had the surgery. I've already scoped out the menu and there is a soup on the menu. Now as for a drink, has anyone any ideas of something to order? I'm thinking cranberry juice or stick with water and lime or lemon. I heard that now when you drink it really gets you. Has anyone tried to have a drink?

Well it's not that exciting, I'm still on mushies for 6 more days (which is 2 weeks post-op) than start to introduce some very simple meats - like ground beef, 1/2 cup of food (1oz) at a time, then at week 5 I'll go to 1.5 oz. Chew, chew, chew. If I get nausea I go back to liquid. I really think that each person has their own particular health issues prior to surgery so just ask lots of questions when you go for your post-op. At my appt. there were two women in the waiting room, I spoke to them. One woman had been banded last March and had lost 100 lbs., the other one had had her band for 2 years and had lost nothing to speak of. The second woman just kept saying whatever you do don't cheat, I assume she did quite a bit. I think if solids are introduced too soon you can compromise the band, and my guess is it won't ever be the same again. Ladies let's be like the first lady, be smart and "stay the course". A year from now we can be 80-100 lbs thinner and of course much healthier!:smile2:

Today I went for my follow-up visit, which was great! I got my staples out which makes my tummy feel so much better. My doctor told me I was doing super, I've had a 16 lb weight loss in the past 3 weeks (2 weeks pre-diet and one week post surgery.) I asked him some questions about diet and he recommended to stay away from the fruit juices and fruit as it converts to carbs. I'm to have 60 grams of protein each day. He basically said to use good judgement about exercise. It's so nice to be a week out now. :smile2:

Well, I woke up to a nice bowl of Malto Meal. This was the first day of mushies. Wow, what a nice change from the past two weeks prior to surgery and the five days post. I did fine today, not really hungry, but ate, so I keep getting better. I had a little more gas pain in the shoulder, but it seems like I've found when I lay down, ie. take a nap, the pain goes away, not sure the correlation or if there is one. Each day I am feeling much better and I know I'll be ready to go back to work on Monday. I hope everyone out there is doing well and enjoying a positive recovery.:thumbup:

Ginny, I can relate to what you had to say, my parents have been gone for many years and I could have enjoyed their support trying to raise my daughter Katie. Being a lone parent is lonely, though I have some great sisters and a wonderfully supportive cousin. Some of my friends know about the surgery but no one at work or church know. We are all on a journey and will be learning lots of lessons over the next months and years. I spent some time praying for God to help me through on this one as I was feeling prior to surgery "how in the he.. did I let everything get so out of control. I know that my depression since Walt died allowed me to escape through eating whatever I wanted. Without food I'll need to channel my emotions into something new, something more positive. I know you can do that also, set your mind to it Ginny. Together we're all walking into our new lives!

Thanks for the wisdom, guess I was mistaken, now I'm not looking forward to day 3 so much. I'll continue to get out and walk. Today, I started to have congestion in my lungs, so am working to breathe deeper. I'm so glad I have the week off work.

Well, it's done, got the band today, surgery was 7:30 and I was home by 2:15. I would have to say that I'm doing much better than I thought I'd be doing. One suggestion for those who have gas, try to belch as much as you can, it's worked wonders for me. No gas pain today to speak of, I forced myself to belch as soon as I woke up in my room. Walking around the house and outside briefly today, helped to relieve the gas (belched) :thumbup: also had lots of water - sipped per instructions, apple juice, two small sf popsicles and one cup sf jello. Oh yeah, I made a great holiday treat Hot Wassail (applie juice, pineapple juice, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks and whole cloves poked into an orange and all heated). This is a great holiday treat. Also planning to have turkey broth on Thanksgiving - found it in a box in the local grocery store. My sister was such a great help and my daughter did fine, though she was very scared when I left the house this morning. I ended up sending my cell phone with her so she could call my sister. I think this helped her a lot. The pain is very low, only hurts when I try to get up from bed or a sitting position. The heating pad is helping relax my tummy. Happy Thanksgiving to all November banders' out there!

Well tomorrow's the day! Guess I'm one of the group holding up the rear (surgery date that is). I have to tell you that all of your posts have been helpful. Thanks everyone. I have tried to prepare everything, ie have all the grocery needs here, so I won't have to go to the store till the weekend. I have an 11 year old and she is worried a lot about the surgery, I'm a widow and so there's no Dad to go to for comfort. My sister is coming to stay with me starting tonight, she'll drive me to the surgery center and pick me up and she said she'll stay as long as I need her. Just curious about mobility, 1, 2, 5 days out? Do you pretty much lay around the house or are you all doing stuff? I know lifting heavy stuff is out. Joining you all after surgery tomorrow!

Jenny and Jaime, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I know that what you both said is the core issue. I had a talk with my sister, who is a recovering alcoholic. I told my sister that I now have a better understanding of what she went through when she walked through the door at AA. She can so relate to what I have to say. Food will no longer control my life. I know the journey will be tough some days, but so is carrying an extra 100 lbs. I will find fun new things to fill the voids left from this addiction, exercise being one. A hobby would be good, all I do now is focus on raising my daughter. So here's to motherhood and also to getting the priorities right when it comes to food.