HelloPenny

Hello All... Got a question. How does everyone do with rice? Mom is making Broccoli, Rice, and Cheese Casserole just for me, and I don't want it to go to waste. I've heard some people have issues with rice. I think I may have to have some liquid taken out. I can't eat anything, but I'm not really eating anyway. Can't decided if it is going to get better or not.

Hi everyone. Doing good. Still can't really eat anything after the fill. Crunchy stuff goes down best in my opinion. Lots of Triscuits with laughing cow cheese. Lots of eggs, too. I'm pretty happy with the weight I am losing, too. Still not excising. I'm so bad.

Hi All! Long time, no type... I'm bad! But, I am doing good! I finally could eat the week of Thanksgiving! And, if you recall eating and me were not friends! So, I had my fill on the 1st. Went great. Took less than 5 mins. Didn't even see my Doctor, just his PA. I got 3.5cc. And BOY HOWDY I can feel the difference. I am not really eating again. Just some eggs and protein powder in my coffee. So far down 67 lbs. Someone kick me in the ass... I'm not exercising!!!

I could eat a freaking house right now. I'm seriously freaked out that nothing makes me feel full. The Protein shake however does work. It does make me feel full. Anyway. I take liquid Vitamins. I take a liquid multi and a liquid CoQ-10. They don't taste terrible. They aren't my favorite thing to swallow in the morning however. The smell gets me more than the taste. But, like I said it's not too bad. And, it's a quick swallow. Now... it may be different once I have restriction. but, I think I should be able to throw back one ounce. I did have a liquid omega3 but my coocoo doctor made me stop it. Forgot to ask him why. I am going to start taking it again though. It's so important for your body. I have to take a prescription Iron pill because I am anemic. It goes down just fine... right now. I can always split it inhalf. I take chewable Calcium + Vitamin D. They are these little malted milk balls. They don't taste too bad either. I am a supplement freak. But, this is way less than I use to take when I could swallow horse pills. I would like to take my cinnamon supplement still, but I am scared that the cinnamon will repeat on me, and I am not sure how that will react with my band.

I hear you! Mine is not till December 1st. I need one, too. I am very hungry and have ZERO restriction. I can eat way more than 4oz.

It's totally COOCOO! But, I know why he does it. He wants it all to heal and the scar tissue to form, blah blah blah. I am just a whiner and jealous.

Those noodles are pretty cool looking. I have some of the fettuccine ones in my refrigerator. Have not eaten them yet. My Mother does the grocery shopping in Dallas (we live north of Dallas out in the country, no neato grocery stores here) when she goes into work. So, I don't know where in the store the pizza crusts are. But, they are in a Green wrapper that says "Organic" on it. I think it is the Whole Foods brand too. I am sure they will know where they are in the store. Maybe the bread area? I recommend a pizza stone or cooking on the rack. If you use a pizza stone let it get blazing hot in your pre-heated oven. I like my crust crunchy and this helps it get that way. I know I need to EAT! I did have some eggs yesterday. I always have Protein in my coffee and special K protein mix in my Water. So I know I am getting some protein there. I am addicted to Popsicles but that is hardly anything to talk about as far as calories or protein. Just frozen flavored water! I try and eat some Soup at night. I have had some crackers in my soup too. I just feel compelled to follow my Doctors diet and at the same time his diet SUCKS! So technically I am cheating! I should only be having full liquids still! The drinking thing is killing me. I am so freaking thristy and I would rather drink than wait the 20 minuets to eat. I am going to have a serious issue with not drinking I think.

Have you had a fill yet? How did the shrimp go down? I read that shrimp and lobster are usually hard to get down because they are rubbery.

I am a little late to weigh in on the pizza controversy. However.... Ms. South Beach to the rescue! Don't EAT regular pizza crust! BAD CARBS!!! Whole Foods sells an EXCELLENT whole wheat pizza crust. They are pre-made like the boboli ones. They are yum yummy! And one serving is 2 slices or 1/4 the pizza!! Then just top it with turkey or chicken sausage, veggies, part skim mozzarella and provolone (lucerne makes an excellent 2% cheese). I make my own sauce and store it, but sauce from a bottle is fine. Just make sure it doesn't have any of that HORRIBLE high fructose corn syrup! YUCK!! Watch the sugar content too. This pizza is GOOD for you! Now good for your band? I am not so sure. This crust is more chewy than thin crust from your pizza chains. And you should always think crunchy over chewy. Chewy bread turns to dough balls in your tummy. Hard to pass those. But, that depends right now on how much restriction you are felling. I feel none. I could probably eat it... maybe. I would be scared to. BUT... THAT IS IF I COULD FREAKING EAT! I am so JEALOUS! Does anyone have this problem? I am very thristy. It comes time to eat and I am parched! I must drink! So I drink some Water instead of eating... and then keep drinking my water because I am more thristy than hungry. Does this happen to anyone else?

Karen - No Lidocaine! WTH! You are a trooper. I want a fill!! I want to eat too! This is so COOCOO how different every one's Doctors are. COOCOO! Did I mention I want to eat?

I totally forgot to ask him! Grrrr! He's so good looking and laid back that I forget everything I wanted to ask him!

OMG I need to exercise! My SIL has a wii fit. I watched her do it. Does that count?

I am so freaking jealous! That is awesome!!! I am so happy for you. Can I rub up against you, so maybe some of your good habits will rub off on to me?!?!?! LoL j/k!

Just checking in! I am not getting on the scale today. I'm scared my 283 was a fluke! So not going to weigh!!! I'm keeping that 51 lbs! Everyone says I look good. I can't really tell a difference yet. Clothes are fitting loser/better. Maybe have to get some new jeans soon. The ones I have are so nice but they are stretch and after like an hour they are falling off me. They fit nice when they go on right out of the wash/dryer! I have to share this story because only you guys will appreciate just how thoughtful this was. I belong to a Mommy/play group. One of the Mother's Husband is an Oncologist. I had read that cancer patients and bariatric patients drink a lot of the same protein drinks. So I asked her if her husband had any samples or anything in his office for his patients. He didn't have anything that was good for me, because he is encouraging weight gain usually and not weight lose. So, yesterday we went to their house for their son's first birthday party. He was so excited to see me, and he bought me 20 of the pre-made EAS drinks from Wal-Mart!! Now, we all know how much the pre-made drinks cost. How sweet was that???

I have read a lot of people say 3 times.

Don't get down girls! MOST people are counting their pre-op weight lose too. Me included! I am evening counting the weight I lose when I started a healthy lifestyle back in August. I weighed 296 on October 21st the day of my Surgery. I weighted 291 (Fully Clothed w/ Jeans!!!) @ my two week checkup. So I only lost 5 lbs after my surgery. I weighted today and my scale said I was 283. I was naked though! I'm counting it! So that makes 51lbs for me total.

I think it's very normal. The swelling is going down. There is very little to No liquid in your band. So everything should be passing through your stoma (pouch) easily. Once you get your fill you should feel the restriction. But, lots of people say it takes them 2 to 3 times to get the right restriction. I am freaking starving to death. My Doctor told me to try thicker stuff to fill the stoma. My Bariatric Coordinator told me to drink another protein drink. I think the fills are pretty pain free, except for the lidocaine. That stuff freaking burns like FIRE! But, it doesn't burn once you go numb. Just like getting a novacaine shot at the Dentist.

The last thing my Bariatric coordinator said to me was.... "PROTEIN, PROTEIN, PROTEIN" She said "If you are hungry, drink another protein drink." Now, am I following that advice? No. I am just not eating like Julie. I just can't bring myself to do it. I had my post-op appointment with my Doctor yesterday. I told him I was starving to death. He said I could try thicker things. He said oatmeal and applesauce, but I heard eggs and cottage cheese!

Let us know what he gives you! We are all about the weight lose! But, the Protein drinks are all over the board, just like the pre & post-op diets. Silly Doctors!

You guys are doing great. Nazzy - That is awesome you are walking so much. I need to get out and go walking. You are inspiration to us all. Julie - Good to hear everything is moving! I was just as paranoid as you were. Bridgette - My Doctor said if I had not gone by Sunday (banded on a Tuesday, so 5 days) to take some! And, I did. Now everything seems to be normal. NFaith - I think the treadmills is a great idea. We have one out in the garage gathering dust. Think I will get my Dad to bring it back indoors for me. My Mother will probably use it too. She's doing really great on South Beach, by the way. If you know anyone struggling with their weight who do not want a band or can't be banded, recommend South Beach! It's so easy and so healthy! I am like the new cheerleader for it! We have a real life friend who was banded in Mexico about 9 months ago, and she just let my Mother clean out her closet! She has a whole new wardrobe! I can't wait to get all the hand-me-downs! Maggies - My port hurts too. All my incisions have healed but the port on, and the biggest one in the middle of my stomach. Mine were glued shut. The ones that have healed, healed great. These last two don't look so hot. Hopefully my Doctor will do or give me something for them tomorrow at my post-op appointment. I ate two bites of my Daughter's scrambled eggs! :cool2: Didn't hurt! Nothing bad happened. But, I'm not pushing my luck.

I'm so angry. My Doctor out of all of my supplements I take made me stop taking Omega3!! It was my favorite supplement too. I even bought this awesome flax seed supplement that was in a smoothie form, where you only took 2 tsps. I got the strawberry-banana flavor. I took it back because it was $15. I have an appointment with him on Monday and I'm asking about the Omega3 again.

I am so jealous. I can't eat any of your mushie foods for 5 weeks!!!!!!!!!!! It's protein shakes for me too!!! I agree about the unjury smell. But I like that you can add it to stuff and not taste it. I use EAS a lot. Got a HUGE bag at Sam's for $20. Haven't even made a dent in it. It's chocolate flavor. I don't think it smells at all.

I hear ya! I took MoM last Sunday. Oh it was terrible tasting! My Mother bought be some, and she got the unflavored kind! My Aunt scolded her, too! LoL. Anyway, I was paranoid too, because I "KNOW" what narcotics do to me and I was not going down that road again!!! But, the MoM worked. Everything has been pretty normal since I laid off the narcotics. I too hope that we continue to support each other. It is well documented that Individuals are more successful at losing weight when they have a support group. They even site that online communities are excellent support groups that provide a place to share, vent, be held accountable, etc. I think real life support groups are important, too. But, I like it here and hope to make some good buddies from my Pumpkin friends!

You will find the the after care and post-op diets vary greatly outside the United States. Even the Mexico Doctors are a lot more lenient. Usually it's liquids for the first three days to a week and then they start introducing full liquids and mushie solids. I have a friend that was banded in Mexico and was having full liquids on the 3rd day. It's all over the board. And here in the USA. Doctor's are ULTRA-SUPER cautious because of malpractice. If you do what they instruct you to do, then you should heal with no issues. If you start eating too soon and it causes vomiting, which in turns causing slippage. Technically you could sue and say "They didn't tell me not to eat that !" Malpractice is a real issue in the USA.