Band_Groupie

Congrats! What a great feeling!

It WILL get better. Things will turn around after you're allowed soft foods and you can get your energy back. Call your doc about taking a laxative...I was allowed and took one a few days post-op and felt like a new person (I don't know why the docs don't tell you to do this routinely as many here are giving 'birth' weeks later...more pain you don't need). Best Wishes! -BG

Good luck today (nervousness is natural). It's the start of a whole new life! Go where it's most 'peaceful and comfortable' (and where someone will wait on your every whim without making you feel guilty). You'll do great! -BG

Whooo Hooo! I'm so glad to hear the good news!!! I've been on pins and needles waiting for an update! You know DH will do great and make the most of this opportunity!!! YAY!!! I'm so happy for you all!! Sweet relief. -BG

I've lost 2.5 pounds of the 4 lb. I gained in the two weeks gone. My stomach is pretty much back to normal (had a few burning issues yesterday, but I'm staying on the Nexium until I see the doc next week). We're off to Columbus again for a nephew's college graduation party (from OSU). Yay, college football starts again! Mom's cooking all weekend...help me! Have a great loooong weekend all! OK, here's my journal from the week before last when I was swamped with getting ready for the college move and then vacation the next day. 8/18 I just got a call from my sister-in law. My niece/goddaughter is off to PSU tomorrow for her senior year and they're packing the car. She's so excited our DS1 is starting at PSU this year and she's meeting us Friday to help with his move in. I'm 'nesting'. I've been spending days buying and returning items (when I find something better) to stores, checking things off lists and organizing it all. He'll be almost 4 hours from home and it helps me to know he'll have everything he needs. I'm a self-admittedly almost OCD organizer. I've got plastic bins all organized and labeled…I've written our last name in sharpie on most of his more expensive things…tiny, where no one will notice, but this totally irks DS1…it's not like I'm labeling his underwear or anything (although that isn't a bad idea LOL). I bought some more bins yesterday and I'm disappointed he doesn't seem to have anything to put in them…boys just need less than girls. We took the car and the van to move DD in her freshman year. I'm thinking we're going to get everything in the van…and probably without the roof-rack and car-top carrier. I spent half a day trying to find pics of his dorm room setup online (finally found a few on Flicker). PSU missed the boat on this one…no pics, just a drawing of the layout with mislabeled room sizes (one dimension says 12'15"…took me finding other sites to realize it's 12'5" and it was a typo, like I suspected). The furniture isn't even to scale on their drawings (yeah, I plugged the room info. into my architect computer program to see how his things would fit). These freshman dorm rooms are TINY and the furniture is all bolted down, so correct dimensions are important when you're trying to figure out if the rug you bought will fit in the room (I think I have an inch leeway on one side as long as the radiator isn't deeper than 12"…no dimensions given). Luckily, I also got a 'heads-up' on a few things from my niece…like you can request a Twin XL bed instead of the Twin given (big deal if you're over 6' like DS1 is) and that the beds have 6 legs and not 4 (important if you're buying bed riser feet in packs of 4 so you can put big bins of things under the bed). We've got 'extras' of several items…no way will we be standing in the 2 hour lines at Wal-Mart for more extension cords. I'm such a visual organizer that it helps me to feel that he's settled before we get there. I know where most things go and then when we're done placing it all I feel like the Momma bird who has feathered the nest and made it all cozy for her baby. Leaving your child at school for the first time is hard enough without feeling like you've left them without something they'll need. Do I get that he's a big-boy now and can certainly get to the store and buy things if he needs them…yep, of course I do, but it makes me feel better…and so I'm nesting… ---- 8/19 Side note; we finished the art projects for his room (I may have told you about these already, so sorry if I'm repeating?). DH and DS1 made a batik for the big wall over his bed. DD and I did a decoupage tissue paper triptych for her first dorm room with all her room colors, so I was trying to find something that DH could do with DS1…DH can't draw a straight line to save his life, but I remembered seeing some batiks that he had made in HS. I helped DS1 draw out the Nittany Lion paw print logo on the white fabric we bought and then they painted the wax and dyed it the PSU blue. I ironed it out and hemmed the edges (It was my sneaky way of getting a little color in the room with all the black, black, gray, and black…and now blue! hee-hee). I also surprised DS1 with taking some indoor/outdoor lights (just round white bulbs) and painting some little paw prints on those too with some glass paint…yes, you can bake light-bulbs in the oven. ---- 8/21 The move into college went well. We got permission to move in with the locals on Friday since we leave for vacation on Saturday morning. It was a super Looooong day....up and out by 5am, 4 hours there, unpack and lunch, 4 hours home, then repack the whole car for vacation. Everything for his move went really smoothly though. We arrived there 15 min. before the start of check-in time and thankfully they were already ready and unloading cars. PSU was very organized…we were sent right onto the grass parking for his dorm and students were there with dollies to take loads up to his room (we'd borrowed one from a neighbor also). Lucky for us I'm a little OCD about things as I'd looked and knew there was a good chance of rain in the morning and insisted we put everything not in plastic bins into plastic bags. It was drizzling when we arrived and then we had a hard shower while DH and DS1 were taking loads up as I unpacked the van. When they came back, they were happy that his giant pile of stuff on the sidewalk was protected from the rain as everyone around us was trying to hold umbrellas over their stuff. My niece/god-daughter (also at PSU) came to the room to help and she was great. After struggling to get the rug down and under both beds, the rest of the move went smoothly. We got his batik up on the wall and my niece put up the lights I made him up on the ceiling. The two body pillows fit well along the wall and made the bed into a nice 'couch' of sorts. My son had insisted that he didn't want a bed-skirt as anything with the word 'skirt' in it had to be bad and he feared getting made fun of…I tried 'dust-ruffle', but that was even worse LOL. I whispered for my niece to come over while he was busy and we took the 2 curtain panels I'd bought (for the 'bed-skirt'), folded them and hung them from the bed frame/springs to the floor and overlapped them in the middle. Looks much nicer than seeing the bed risers and the big bins of food and stuff that are under the bed. He was really pleased with how everything turned out…and I don't think he even noticed the bedSKIRT! *Pic 1 Attached: DS1 in the bed portion; note you can see part of the paw-print batik on the wall and the string of lights hanging (and see how you don't notice the bedskirt with all the other black?). *Pic 2 Attached: DS1 and I in the desk/closet portion; note I also got some more color (blue) in with some wrapping paper on the bulletin board. *Pic 3 Attached: Here's the lights up close with the little logos I painted, it's a 24 set (I made another set to send to my god-daughter as a surprise since she liked his so much).

Sorry I don't have time today to read all the posts here. I wanted to let you know that I have BCBS PPO, they're different from state to state and even city to city. Here, you need to meet whatever criteria they have at the time of approval submission. I could not go below the 35BMI at any time during the 6 months. Luckily I knew from reading here that this was important and I confirmed it with my surgeon's ins. expert (or I would have gone below the 35 BMI easily- I'm a professional dieter too). So even if you lost a lot of weight and you're still above your minimum BMI (35 with comorbidities or 40) then you should be fine. I was approved within 48 hrs. and my surgeon's office saif BCBS PPO is the easiest to gain approval from here. Good luck to you!

I agree- call. The first six weeks are the time you really don't want to cheat at all. That said, I started on my 2nd phase two days early...but my 2nd phase is what you're able to have now. I had 3 weeks of Clear Liquids only and skim milk. You can do this!!! Good luck. -BG

What a perfect day and everyone looks so happy. It's such a milestone- we had my Dad's 80th surprise party this summer too. Your family is beautiful, and yes, you have several beautiful 'mini-me's' there!

Congratulations!!! Welcome to Onederland!!!

Great job on the WL! Just a note on the adhesive allergy for the future...I do best with the Nexcare brand-can tolerate those for a short time.

194.5 Down 2.5 of the 4 pounds I gained...sigh. I'm off to Columbus for the LD weekend...my Mom's cooking...MUST NOT BE TEMPTED! Have a great weekend all!

You're building muscle girl...weighs more. Inches count! Good for you! -BG

Yes folks, it’s that time of year again! School started today and finally…I’m home alone! DS2 went off to 8th grade, DS1 is safely tucked in at college and is having a blast, DD and DH went off to work. I don’t know what to do with myself! Sure, there’s the pile of supplies and stuff we brought back from DS1’s college move and the pile of stuff from our week at the beach that all needs to be put away. My white tiled kitchen floor (I must have been in a coma the day we picked white tile for a kitchen floor…one suggestion…DON'T) looks more like my lawn right now. The laundry is done only because DS2 made me do all his clothes yesterday because he needed everything to select from for his first day of school (I’m guessing all those girls who were texting him day and night last year are going to be a big distraction this year LOL). I have a pile of mail to catch up on and the bathrooms all need cleaning…but what to do?! I’m making it a fun first day alone. I think I’ll start with painting the lights I want to make for my god-daughter (I’ll post my catch-up blog from two weeks ago on DS1’s and her move to college tomorrow, which will explain the lights). Then I’m going to bake some cookies to include with small gifts we bought DS1 on vacation. I’ll mail both their college care packages off tomorrow. But right now…excuse me while I run naked through the house…weee....

Yes folks, it’s that time of year again! School started today and finally…I’m home alone! DS2 went off to 8th grade, DS1 is safely tucked in at college and is having a blast, DD and DH went off to work. I don’t know what to do with myself! Sure, there’s the pile of supplies and stuff we brought back from DS1’s college move and the pile of stuff from our week at the beach that all needs to be put away. My white tiled kitchen floor (I must have been in a coma the day we picked white tile for a kitchen floor…one suggestion…DON'T) looks more like my lawn right now. The laundry is done only because DS2 made me do all his clothes yesterday because he needed everything to select from for his first day of school (I’m guessing all those girls who were texting him day and night last year are going to be a big distraction this year LOL). I have a pile of mail to catch up on and the bathrooms all need cleaning…but what to do?! I’m making it a fun first day alone. I think I’ll start with painting the lights I want to make for my god-daughter (I’ll post my catch-up blog from two weeks ago on DS1’s and her move to college tomorrow, which will explain the lights). Then I’m going to bake some cookies to include with small gifts we bought DS1 on vacation. I’ll mail both their college care packages off tomorrow. But right now…excuse me while I run naked through the house…weee....

Like others have said, we all need to do what works for us. I'm no longer on a 'diet' (yep, I've been thin many times...been up and down that yo-yo for too many years) and there is no food or drink that is off limits for me. I'm glad I was able to find a doc with the same philosophy (straws, carbonation-he says the 'stretching the pouch' thing is a bunch of bunk, alcohol, caffeine all are allowed after healing). Everything in moderation. If I had a bunch of off-limit foods/drink then I know I'd be feeling deprived and feeling like I was on yet another diet that I couldn't do forever. I don't feel deprived...sure I some weeks lose more slowly than others, like when I drank lots of alcohol on vacation last week, but it's a lifestyle I can live with forever and I'm still losing. So, like others with not many rules, the only one I break sometimes is drinking with eating or too soon before/after meals, but even that doesn't usually effect how much I eat or how hungry I get. Best wishes all!

Good for you!!! Two new life changing events...on to a new life! -BG

Yes, this needs to be treated or you can end up damaging your pouch or worse. My doc prescribed Nexium (antacid) and although I've only had to take it a few times since banding I've read some here who are on something daily. Reflux can also be a sign that you are too tight so discuss your symptoms and diet/restriction with your doc. Good luck! -BG

Call your doc or go to the ER now. I had the same problem 5 days post op and it hurt a lot to breath. My doc sent me to the ER to check the lung for a clot (can be life-threatening). It's a few simple scans/tests to check it. Mine wasn't a clot, but better safe...

Why do you need your band so tight you can only drink your protein? If it's been 2 weeks and you're still that tight it sounds like you need a small unfill if you can't eat solid proteins. Good luck to you! -BG

Softer proteins...refried beans, greek yogurt (I love the SF preserves ontop), cottage cheese, oatmeal or another hot cereal with some soy protein mixed in (I have this most mornings...about 20g of protein with 2T of the soy p.), thick bean soups, meat stews, chili. Some have problems with eggs actually as they are rubbery and don't break up anymore than you chew them in the pouch so chew. Stick to the things you know you can eat the first few weeks back at school and you'll do fine. Even as much as chewing sometimes it's how fast you eat, so take it slow.

Erin- Sounds to me like you're swollen. I just had an escalating week of problems (5 mo. out) and got to the point like others here that I was PBing anything solid. As someone said, it feels like a bubble in the back of your throat or a big burp you can't let out. My stoma hurt even to drink. I went to liquids for 2 days and that helped. Slowing down the eating helps too. If popsicles work...then eat a ton of them to get hydrated again. Dehydration causes your stoma to tighten even more. Try some softer proteins for awhile until things calm down (but it sounds like the meatloaf stayed down alright?). I wouldn't worry as much about 'solid' proteins right now as you're still healing...if liquid proteins stay down better use them for now. PBing can be a vicious cycle that escalates quickly and takes awhile to calm down. If you're feeling any burning like you say you are then you should ask the doc for an antacid prescription (it can't hurt and may help a lot). My doc gave me Nexium and I've only had to use it for a few days post-op and then with this recent PB event, but it helped a lot. Good luck to you and keep asking questions...that's the whole premise of LBT...answers, sharing, and support. I just sent my 19 yr. old (boy) off to college, so I know you've got enough worries with Sr. HS and this must be a difficult time for you without all the LB stuff...you're a wise girl to do all this now. Best wishes. -BG

elcee- Thanks for the link. It was interesting...mine had a wide goal with a range of 20 lbs. It was funny that when I changed my 'current' weight down to the high end of my goal the 'people's choice' gave me the exact low end of my goal...interesting. It reinforced that my 10lb. range should work out pretty well...but I'm not stuck on a specific no.

I was 160 about 7 years ago and I wasn't stick thin then (I'm 5'8.75"). I'm aiming to be somewhere in that normal/healthy BMI (even 10 lbs. overweight increases health problem, so I figure if I'm doing all this to be healthy then I need to go for a healthy BMI). I gave myself a goal 'range' of 148-158 (148 is a 22 BMI for me)...I figure I'll know it when I get there.

beatriz- Have your PCP do a full blood work up and check your BP. I had a history of being 'close' with the high BP, and then at the start of my 6 mo. I had high BP at my first visit so they put me on meds. (I'm sure part of it was that I was so nervous about this initial visit). I've seen many here who didn't even know they had a comorbidity until their doc looked for them. Mine needed to be one of the 'big 5' to count for insurance (most insurance is the same, but not all): high BP, high cholesterol, Type 2 Diabetes, sleep Apnea, or obesity related heart disease. The other things I have (osteoarthritis, stress incontinence, adult onset asthma) don't get you approved, but will help your case. I was just at 35BMI when I first started looking into this and gained a few pounds before my first weigh-in (have about 100 to lose total and I'm down 55 now). No one knows about the LB (except DH) and I tell them "I'm no longer dieting...I now eat anything, just with portion control." It's easy for them to accept as everyone has seen me lose big amounts of weight many times over. This time I'M KEEPING IT OFF! Best wishes all!

You should know if your doc put a 'primer' fill (enough to just fill the port and tubing) in at surgery (many do). Everyone has different 'tightness' after surgery because most of it is due to the stomach tissue swelling from the trauma of the surgery. Some here ate mushies the same day and others had a hard time getting enough liquids in (me). I'm guessing you don't feel too tight as there was no way I could sip more than a cup in an hour right after surgery. I would only take 2-4oz at a time and sip it slowly. Hot things usually go down more easily. Even if you can, you shouldn't eat/drink any faster because you have stitches now in your stomach and you don't want to overload your pouch and hurt them. It takes a good 6 weeks to completely heal...so the focus of this time is healing, not weight loss. Best wishes! -BG