riley4183

Just had to come on this morning & change my ticker!!!! 50 pounds lost in 4 months 6 days!!!! Lovin it . . . . .

Well hi everybody, I was banded Feb. 23rd so I guess this is my group! I'm an avid walker, I was walking 8 miles a day right before surgery and had gotten back up to 4 miles last Thursday, but developed an infection in my port incision so was back to the hospital and feeling puny again for a while. I went back to work yesterday and did 10,000 steps today so I feel like I'm getting back on track. Still awfully weak for lack of food! I am still on liquids, this weekend I get to go to pureed foods for most of March, and THEN soft foods & mushies. Outside of the infection, I have had zero problems and very little pain, just no energy at ALL. Hoping that will return soon. Nice to meet 'yall! Riley

Thanks Tina! Yeah I'm almost at 50 lbs - actually if I waited and posted this tomorrow morning, I would be - but 42 of that was pre-surgery! I couldn't eat carbs either, not so much because I'd gain but because I'd get so hungry! Carbs were a trap for me. Still not eating them! And yeah, the band is GREAT for feeling full! I can home after work today, starving, and had my 1/4 cup of soup (chicken tomato) and walked down to the store, but it felt like I was waddling, I was SO STUFFED!!! The sensations are all very different - I feel hungry right now, but I don't feel like I could actually eat anything. It's so weird! That's when I rely on chicken boullion and diet jello! It is hard to not eat a little bit more often, and it's really hard to not drink for at least an hour after eating - but you really do stay full longer if you wait before you drink (or eat jello or popsicles)! We had a clothing exchange at my support group meeting Tuesday night, it sure did feel GREAT to hear myself keep saying "oh darn, it's too big"!!! LOVING THIS BAND!! And so far I am losing at the same pace as a groupmember who had RNY - happy dance!!! I know it will slow down when I start on mushies/soft foods, but that's not for weeks yet so I'm just goin' with this thing! What a ride!! :cursing: Riley

Hey Reggie, I gained 8 lbs. during surgery and the day after! Liz tells us at the pre-op class to NOT get on the scale until a week after surgery, but of course I had to do it as soon as I got home - I gained 4 lbs, during and 4 lbs. the next day! Of course I admitted it to her when she called, she laughed and said everyone does it, I'm just admitting it (!) The average "gain" (which is just your healing body trying to hold on to fluids so you don't dehydrate!) is 7-15 lbs. I did NOT lose it by a week after surgery; I didn't lose it until the last 2 days, but now I am 11 days out and have lost 7 lbs. since my weigh-in on surgery day. Happy dance! Nicole, I love your suggested script! They are really SO nice down there once you are in the system and proving yourself. I like to try and make them laugh; when they answer I say something like, "and how are you today? Are you thriving?" They have great humor genes.

Welcome Stephanie! You lucked out getting Kaiser Richmond, we have excellent care there and I think it's the fastest facility, too. We all really like it! I'm so glad you found us. And I agree with Christine, the more you go down there & the farther you get in the process, the better & more exciting it gets and the people get nicer too! Don't be put off by the attitude you may see at orientation; that is to weed out the folks who are not serious. Liz, the Case Manager, is an absolute sweetheart when you get to your pre-surgery goal weight! Congratulations! Riley

Good morning everyone! I feel GOOD. Went back to work Monday, am I sick or what? The binder post-op diet section has when the different stages start and end. Liz advanced me from Stage 1 to Stage 2 (full liquids) with a phone call on the 3rd day after surgery; Robin is supposed to call me this Friday to go to Stage 3 (puree), which will be almost 2 weeks out; then I am on Stage 3 through most of March when Robin will call again to advance me to Stage 4 (soft foods), and that's going to last a while too. In fact I will have had a fill (April 10) before I get to eat a regular diet (Stage 5). I am not finding Stage 2 difficult at all; I honestly get full with very very little - and yet I feel no actual restriction or backing up or anything like that. I did get really really weak from not eating on Tuesday, and went home and had 1/4 cup of the tomato/red pepper soup from Trader Joe's and felt much better within minutes. That has added sugar though so it's not normally a choice I would make, but I could tell that my body needed a few carbs to perform essential functions or I was going down! Generally though I am avoiding the carbs. The weight I gained at surgery finally went away, and took some more with it! Stepped on the scale this morning and was the lowest I have been in 10 years. Happy dance!!! Riley

Feeling better, I am at work this morning but Rr. Baggs called me at 8 and told me I could only stay for an hour . . . . the antibiotics make me feel like puking (I haven't), really lousy but only 1 more week of that. They smell exactly like my cat box . . . . TMI??? I had to quit taking the pain meds because they were giving me hallucinations! So Jr. Tylenol chews for me - grape flavored, YUCK! I am on full liquids but try to make it protein, so soup soup soup. If it's thick (like spilit pea) I can only eat 1/4 cup or a little less; if its thin I can drink 1/2 cup. Clear liquids are no problem, I get in 50-60 ounces easily. Still rely on my sugar-free jello a lot to take away the hungry feeling. I am avoiding cream of wheat, etc. because carbs just make me hungrier. I won't get to go on to Stage 3 (pureed foods) until this weekend. So I am eating well under 500 cals per day, but I still am 4 lbs heavier than when I went into surgery!!!:party:

Yes you can do it for SURE, Nicole! You are a losing superstar!!!

A word to the wise post-surgery ladies . . . . stay away from that darned Food Channel! I was watching it while waiting for the Vegas NASCAR race to start (where all of my friends are without me!), and my favorite, Paula Dean was on doing long-lost dishes, and she just had to make my fave, biscuits & gravy. Well my stomach got to grumbling and my belly got to rumblin and I convinced myself that I could cook up SOMEthing Stage 2 to see me through . . . and i invented a recipe and went to the store and cooked up something that I will call "Cream of Jimmie Dean" which SOUNDS like it should be allowed on Stage 2! Can't be any worse than canned cream soups, and I pureed the cooked sausage (which was reduced-fat) and it went down just fine at first, and definately satisfied the throbbing head hunger that the TV had brought on. But then it sat like a big sausage brick above my band for hours!! Whew I'm happy to be back on diet jello and chicken broth. Darn that Food Channel! I know better!:party:

I was worried that they would cancel my surgery all the way up until I walked into the OR and they were all waiting for me! It was just surreal and I could not believe that it was happening so quickly, and so easily. I have 2 support groups that I attend weekly - a Tuesday night check-in and a Saturday AM activity group - and another huge one that I attend monthly. There is one gal in all 3 groups that is 11 YEARS out, boy does she have stories! She had bypass back when it was new, she had to stay in the hospital for a month and have drain tubes in her, and she has had 2 bowel obstructions that required surgery since. Boy has BS come a long way! Still, she swears she would do it again in a second. Her husband is awaiting his surgery at Kaiser Richmond, his appt. with Liz is April 11th and he has had a horrible time because his apnea is so severe. Anyway, I can't stress enough how important a support group is. I get to share my triumphs and my breakdowns with people who totally understand and totally care. I rely on them for everything, we cook and clean for one another and drive one another's kids around to school and activities and etc. It is EVERYthing to my success. So you girls keep meeting and keep searching for other groups that you click with, there is tons of support out there and it WORKS. Having my sugar-free chocolate soy decaf latte, like I did every morning before surgery. No problems! I was hungry when I woke up this morning, but so far the latte seems to be taking care of it. I have an insatiable urge to just lick a grilled hamburger patty! Pretty weird huh? Now THATS a new craving . . . . Riley

I don't think that it happens very often - if it did, it would be in the binder - but Dr. Baggs had definitely seen it before. When he called me the day after surgery and I mentioned that it felt like he'd sewn a baseball in there, he specifically asked if the skin was red and warm to the touch. It wasn't at that point, but I'm glad he asked because of course when that happened later I knew to call. Here's to communicating with your surgeon! How it happens - we will never know for sure, but I think I am predisposed to this kind of thing because I am allergic to iodine. The team was aware of this and did not use iodine or betadine or anything, but there are so many things in an ER that have it or some derivative of it on or in them - from instruments to sterile drapes - that it is impossible to avoid any contact whatsoever. And sometimes it just happens. Web MD has a good article on it. And I only needed the 1 round of IV antibiotics and 10 days of oral, and I never got a fever, so it was caught early and I did not have to stay in the hospital. In retrospect, no big deal - but it sure scared me at the time!! Glad it's over. I started eating my jello and I forgot to finish. Sometimes I feel hungry, but it is different and it generally goes away. When I eat (full liquids), I really do have to stop and re-assess after 4 baby spoons. sometimes I can eat 4 more and them wait and eat 4 more (that's the most), but sometimes I am uncomfortable after the 1st 4 baby spoons. Stopping after 4 bites is very very new to me, but it is keeping me from getting sick. I am still hanging on to 5 lbs. of the 7-15 that you gain in surgery, boo hoo! I am going to stop the narcotic pain meds when I get some liquid tylenol tomorrow, and hopefully that will help wash out that swelling and I'll like my scale again. Goodnight all! Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers. Mine was a freak thing, and you will all do great! Riley

Hey all, Well here I was sailing through post-op, happy as a clam, walking every day etc. when the area around my port incision became red and warm to the touch . . . just healing, right? But the area grew and by yesterday early afternoon it was about 3" x 4", Liz called twice the second time after she had talked to Dr. Baggs, and he said get down there NOW. So I spent last night at Kaiser Richmond in the ER hallway with IV antibiotics, and it is a darned good thing I went in because I could have lost the band if the skin infection (cellulitis) had spread. So I am home again now, on awful liquid antibiotics that make me sick but the redness and heat is gone . . we will not know for sure if the port has been infected and needs to be replaced for a couple of weeks, but Dr. Baggs is very positive that it won't, and assures me that it will be fine even if we do have to replace it! The moral here is that if your skin turns red and gets warm around an incision, get to Kaiser RICHMOND (NOT local) right away. Dr. Baggs said that if someone not familiar with a port site at my local Kaiser had introduced anything into the site to drain it - which apparently they often do - I would have lost my band. SCARY!!! I ate 4 baby spoons of split pea soup today, and was STUFFED for 4 hours! Like after thanksgiving stuffed. This is great! I am sorta feeling like I might be hungry enough to eat again now, but a diet jello will fill me up. I kid you not girls Riley

Hey all, thanks for all of your thoughts & prayers! I didn't mean to worry anyone; I managed to post the surgery day story and then I could not get back on this website to post again! Let's hope this one makes it. I am doing great; only the port hurts and my body sure does make weird new noises!!! And lots of hiccups. Strange . . . . I am taking my pain meds so I'm not out driving around yet, but I walked to the store yesterday. I get dizzy easy from the meds, and tired . . .the more I do the more I hurt the more I need the meds . . but that's OK! Here's the big news girls: I have had a total of < 2 minutes hunger since Monday. I am cleared to go from Stage 1 to Stage 2 today, and I don't even care - I'm not hungry! I sure hope that lasts! Take care all! Riley

Nicole, I get the "you don't need it" every day too, and I wish it was true! We discuss this in my 14 week class, and come up with comebacks to try . . like "yes I'm a GREAT dieter, in fact I have lost over 500 lbs! Unfortunately I have gained back 600, which is horrible for my health and contributed to (hypertension, diabetes, etc.) so I'm going to do it for my health. That OK with you?" one of my faves that the class came up with, when someone tries to get you to eat birthday cake or a cookie or whatever, "oh you can have a bite don't be silly," that sort of thing, you just exclaim loudly and gleefully, preferable while touching the person on the arm, "oh I've had that, it comes right back up!!!" I am finding my inner b&tch! :-) Riley

I've heard that only about 10% of some orientation classes make it through the process . . . . clearly those of us with GREAT SUPPORT make it faster! Thank you ladies!!

I don't know how often she does them. But I can tell you that there were 14 people in my class, and they had surgery dates from the middle to the end of February, so I would say every 2 weeks.

Oh I would love to have visitors, my BFF Mary Jo and my son Daniel will be there, and they said that they won't let them in to see me until after I have gotten out of recovery and been down to have my barium swallow, then they park me in a recliner in a room until I can walk around and keep liquids down. I can have visitors then! I would finally get to meet you! I hope I'm not too out of it to remember you . . . LOL They schedule the pre-op classes, the pre-op lab work, and the last visit with the surgeon at the end of the CM appointment - and you get your SURGERY DATE during the appointment! You get the surgery date then they work back from there, they want you to do the last surgeon visit and the 2 classes and the final medical pre-op with Tom Greenwood about 2 weeks before surgery. You won't get those appts. any earlier, and the labs are only good for 30 days. They did give me another visit with Dr. Baggs that same day (it was Monday, and I had just had my first visit with him on Friday!) and they set my surgery date 30 days out. They actually tried to give me an earlier date (Wednesday the 18th), but I already had the week of the 23rs off work so I asked for that date and got it. I feel really spoiled!

You gals have hit on the #1 reason for success, and that it SUPPORT!!!! Keep it up, you are ALL doing great! Christine, you had better bop on over to the hospital wing and visit me on Monday the 23rd!!! My surgery is at 8 and they said I should be out of there by 2. Tina, pre-op classes are VERY informative, they tell you all of the stuff you really NEED to hear . . .for me, the #1 thing they said was that they had never lost anyone of the table, ever! My #1 fear is not waking up from surgery, and that's just about eliminated now. I was irritated by a few folks in the class who asked really lame-o questions that normally would come up in orientation class, not in the very last class before surgery . . . . My orientation was November 2nd, my surgery is February 23rd. When I went to orientation, Liz said that about twice a month they had a superstar that did everything they were supposed to do and lost their weight by their surgeon appointment, and they were rewarded by fast-tracking. I vowed to be one of those people - and I was! So are you!!!

Woo-hoo-hoo is right Christine!! SWEET!!!!! Keep it up! You are so motivating me right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Nicole, I love my Mirena and I'm so glad I can leave it in for surgery! When I had my CM appt with Liz, there were 3 other gals in there too (she was trying a "class" thing). Two had had hysterectomies, 1 was post-menopausal and I have my tubes tied AND have a Mirena IUD! She got a good chuckle out of the fact that she did not have to preg test any of us :-) So no, that was the one test that I did not need to have!:crying: Not having periods can be caused by obesity too. I did not have any for the first year I was on Mirena, now that I have lost 40 lbs. I have a very light one (like, I spot for a week). I love it!

They just posted my lab results, they were the tests I pasted below - pretty much the same ones that they did a month or so ago, except without the HgA1c and pylori (ulcer) one. Mine were all normal except the Blood Urea Nitrogen was out-of-range too high, but that goes up when you are on a very high-protein diet which I of course am. The smart card in my CPAP said I have only .9 apneas per hour, and they said that up to 5 is nromal, so I am fully treated - with the machine set at its lowest level (5)! I still think it's all a crock. It waked me up all night when it blows too hard, it causes morning headaches, I feel MORE TIRED instead of better rested, and it is just a royal pain. But I am 100% on that thing every night, they said I had to so I'm doing it! I do like that it resuces the bags under my eyes, the co-pay is worth it just for THAT benefit! LOL. I do not officially get my surgery time until next Friday, but unofficially it's at 8 am and I have to be there at 6. Supposed to go home by 2! :smile: 02/10/2009SODIUM, SERUM AARON GEOFFREY BAGGS MD02/10/2009CBC (COMPLETE BLOOD COUNT) WITHOUT DIFFERENTIAL AARON GEOFFREY BAGGS MD02/10/2009POTASSIUM, SERUM AARON GEOFFREY BAGGS MD02/10/2009CREATININE, SERUM, WITH GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE AARON GEOFFREY BAGGS MD02/10/2009GLUCOSE, RANDOM AARON GEOFFREY BAGGS MD02/10/2009BLOOD UREA NITROGEN, SERUM AARON GEOFFREY BAGGS MD02/10/2009CARBON DIOXIDE, SERUM AARON GEOFFREY BAGGS MD02/10/2009CHLORIDE, SERUM AARON GEOFFREY BAGGS MD02/10/2009ALBUMIN, SERUM AARON GEOFFREY BAGGS MD

Tina, yay! I know you were worried about your CM appt. with Liz because of the vegetarianism, but she was great about it wasn't she! Folks chose to stay away from flesh foods for a variety of reasons, including religion, and none of us do it just to make our lives harder . . . I have found that the staff there are very respectful of differences. In fact Liz blows me away with her level of patience with a variety of folks. Kaiser Richmond ROCKS!! :-) Today I have to have my CPAP read by the pulmonologist and set at whatever . . I hate it, it wakes me up all night and gives me morning headaches, but I HAVE TO do it so I am 1000% compliant!! Oh and I have also noticed that the bags under my eyes are much less pronounced, don't know if it's from a different sleep pattern, or from my mask leaking and blowing cold air over my eyes all night, LOL! And I have to have my final lab work done today and pick up my pre-op nasua medication script. It's less than 2 weeks away now!!!:thumbdown:

Hey Tina! I went to the pre-opp classes today with Liz & Robin, and I asked specifically about vegetarian eating, getting enough protein when soy protein is so much less dense, etc. Robin says it's harder but it can be done, she says that the plant based protein foods (i.e., soy) slip through the band easier and faster than the animal-based proteins, but you can eat eggs and cheese and cottage cheese and the regular-style boca burgers, but NOT the california burgers cause they are all grain and veggie. Seitan is good, too. She said she met with vegetarians one-on-one and she would meet with me before I went to stage 5 (rest of life diet). I have already agreed to eat chicken and fish for a year but no more . . . anyway, she was not negative about it and neither was Liz. The only thing Ronin didn't answer was if you can eat too much soy (I get over 35 gr soy protein a day) and she just said that's really controversial So nothing came up in my pre-op medical exam with Tom today about the apnea treatment, I guess Dr. Fisher is not as worried about treating it for a long time if you have lap band (cause you are under so much longer for RNY), but Dr. Baggs is my surgeon! I need to ask him but he's gone through the 12th . . . . so I am going to just proceed on to surgery on the 23rd unless someone stops me! I had to lose more than 10%, I stared at 285 and I was 250 when I first saw Dr. Baggs, he set my goal at 255. Whew! A little breathing room. Still, I want to be down 40 lbs before surgery, and it's within reach. :thumbup:There were 2 or 3 folks in my class today that were almost 20 lbs below their goal weight, Liz was VERY happy :-)

Nicole, is Liz your Case Manager? She can be a little hard to warm up to, but she's only so strict because she wants you to be safe and successful. She really does . . .

The labs that have the 30 day window are the final ones, which Liz orders for you at your CM appointment when you get your surgery date. She puts a lock on them so they do not show up as required until 30 days before your surgery date -so you will be fine. The ones that you just did are the ones that you HAVE to do to see Liz; she reviews them with you. You are SURE to lose weight in Africa, you will be working hard, drinking a TON of water, and probably scared of lots of the native foods! You're going to lose, I'm just sure of it!:tongue: