Jenfs5

Hi everyone!
I’ve been reading a lot more about what to expect lately and kept stumbling on this website and decided to join! I had my my surgery on July 8 so about almost at a week post op and just excited filled with emotions since this journey began.

Welcome! I had my surgery on the 8th as well. I'm so ready to move to the puree stage.... how are you handling the liquid phase?

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I am pre-surgery and have used Egg life wraps to make Lasagna. They work great.

Do you know if they would work to make quesadillas? I only like other wraps if they are cooked. Also where do you buy them?

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Jenfs5, I'm so happy to hear that your surgery went well and that it is getting easier to drink your fluids. It sounds like your hubby is taking good care of you as you recover![emoji175] Hoping it continues to get easier to get the Protein & liquids in.

Thanks Candace! I'm getting better at liquids but protein is still way too low.... gonna keep trying though!!

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Soooo…I’ve been sleeved! Overall, everything went well. I was in some pain in my abdomen when I woke up from surgery…and nauseated, too. Both of those sensations lasted for a few hours, but eventually went away (for the most part). I haven’t had much difficulty getting my fluids in. I believe I’ve consumed a total of 47 oz. since the surgery this morning. I’m just so relieved to have the surgery behind me!

Thanks Jenfs5 & Candace76 for sharing food ideas! Jenfs5–how did your surgery go? [emoji3590]

Glad to hear your surgery went well.
My actual surgery, according to my Dr, went well. I barely remember being in recovery. The only real thing I remember was seeing someone I remember from when I worked at that hospital and saying that I remember her. She said she remembered me too lol. But I also remember tapping my hand on the bed rail saying help me help me... I believe I was in quite a bit of pain. But they gave me some pain meds and I guess it knocked me out. I didn't get up to my room until about 4pm. They were giving me toradol every 6 hours so i slept a lot. I had quite a bit of gas pain in my shoulder and neck. And my upper back was killing me, I though it was from laying so long but then realized it was the gas too. I did get up to walk some but not as much as I would have liked. I was hooked up to so many things it was a hassle getting up. I ended up staying 2 nights due to some sort of confusion with my discharge. But overall I think it was a good thing. It gave me an extra day of iv fluids and I was barely able to get anything down due to the cramping pain whenever I tried to drink. It also gave them time to find the blood clot in my arm. My whole hand and forearm swelled up so bad. I assumed my iv had infiltrated but when they finally listened to me and checked it it had not. So I had an ultrasound and they found the clot by my iv site. Luckily though I was already anticoagulated since I have a clotting disorder and once the iv was removed it only took a day for the swelling to subside. I'm still not getting enough liquids or Protein on but its slowly getting better. And my hubby made me some really good homemade broths. He has been so great taking care of me.

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Surgery in the AM.... its starting to get really real. I've even had doubts today but I've wanted this band out for a while so I'm trying to keep positive.

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I was hesitant at first too, but they are really good. There is no eggy smell or taste. I used olive oil spray and browned them in a skillet. My family even enjoyed them.

Where do you get these? And would they work for quesadillas? I don't like tortillas unless they are cooked

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Tomorrow is my last day of work before surgery. Then Tuesday I'll be having a lunch/shopping date with a friend, and Wednesday is my day of Clear Liquids only.... its getting close!!!! I have to find some non red sugar free popsicles and gatorade for Wednesday.

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EEK! I just have ONE WEEK left until surgery (next Thursday, the 8th). Starting to get NERVOUS! [emoji51]
I'm so uncertain about what eating post-op will be like (both in the weeks following surgery and in the future). I haven't stocked up on anything yet (like broths, shakes, popsicles, etc.) because I just don't know what I'm going to need/want! Anyone else in the same boat?

I did find a recipe that looks good, though...I guess it's for the full liquid post-op stage? Here it is, if anyone is interested:
HIGH Protein CREAM SOUP
1/2 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
2 tbsp. non-fat powdered milk
1 cup fat-free milk
1 can low-fat cream Soup (cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, etc.)
Mix all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Pour through a wire mesh strainer to remove any chunks or pieces still left. Gradually heat in the microwave. Makes 2 servings.
Per serving: 14 grams of protein

Congrats!! My surgery is also the 8th. I'm getting excited. I have a ton of Protein Shakes from over a year ago when I tried to go back to them... but I'm not sure if I will use those. My favorite are fairlife shakes... totally the best I've ever tasted. I also ordered some Bone Broth mixes and some other stuff from the store on here but I have yet to actually try them lol. Hopefully I have enough stuff to at least get me thru my first 2 weeks post op. I'm actually worried most about they day before surgery where it's Clear Liquids only... anyone have any good suggestions for that day?

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My surgery is July 7th. Having revision surgery from lap band to gastric sleeve. Has anyone had that procedure?

My revision is july 8th!! Good luck!!

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My surgery is scheduled for July 8th. I will be having my lap band removed and converting to a sleeve.

I had Fluid removed from my band when I got pregnant. I noticed that I had terrible gas pains and bloating. I attributed it to the pregnancy. I miscarried the pregnancy but never lost the gas and bloating. That was four years and 4 miscarriages ago. I feel it has to do with having the fluid removed from the band. I had most of the fluid put back in but later started having esophageal spasms and had to then have it all removed. I now have 4 of the 6 cc's back in. I'm going to get 1 more put in. But all thru this I never lost the horrible gas and bloating. Now we are assuming I have IBS but I think its funny how it all started when we started messing with the band.

Now my sister has also just had to have all her fluid removed. As soon as she did she started having horrible gas and bloating and gained 10 pounds in a week. She mentioned the gas to our surgeon but he acted like no one has ever had this issue. I am going to bring it up again to him next week.

That was just too cute......

Glad to hear all is going well and congratulations on your loss. There are still times for me that I feel like I eat too much. It think when it happens though, that I am gong past the 30 min time frame. But I am still losing so I guess I am still doing ok. If you have any questions feel free to ask. And keep us posted.

Welcome and good luck. I dont really remember much from the day of surgery so I dont know if I will be of much help. But what I do remember is going to the hospital, getting checekd in then going back to the OR area. They make you get into the gown and pee in a cup and start the IV and all that stuff...LOL. Then Dr Zarif and the anesthesiologist come see you to say hi and then when they are ready they wheel you back to the OR. They tell you to scoot over to the operating table and put your arms out like a big T and strap them down. Then they give you the drugs to knock you out...LOL. I dont wake up very easily from anesthesia and I dont remember waking up at all. I dont even remember going up to my room (stayed over night). I barely remember much of anything from that first day at all. prob due to a comibination of the anesthesia and the pain meds. I do remember they tried to get me up and moving and I almost fell down I was so woozy. So they did a STAT hemoglobin to see if I had lost a lot of blood, but I had not was just from the meds. I dont remember being in very much pain except when I tried to sit up too fast. That is not to say that I was not uncomfortable for a while, I was. Partly due to some pain (not too bad but there was some) and partly due to the gas pressure. But by about the 4-5 day mark I was feeling almost completely fine.

I hope this helps. it seems kinda blunt but that is all I can really remember. I still have no regrets to this day and I am very happy with my decision to have surgery. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. Also I dont know if you come to the support group meetings, but the next one is Tues Dec 8th from 6-8 at AGH conference room 2.

There is a Vitamin called One A Day Essentials. It is a very small vitamin about the size of an aspirin. But it does not have everything that the regular Vitamins have in them. One thing it lacks in Iron. The vitamin is hard to find. Last time I got them I ordered them from Amazon. My iron dropped low though so I did switch back to chewables instead of getting a seperate iron pill. Hope this helps.

Wow, that sucks. But I am curious, why didnt you go back to your band doctor much sooner if you were vomiting? Vomiting with the band means you are having trouble and need to be seen.

As for the 55 pounds I think that is great. I am a slow loser and have only lost 46 pounds. But 8 of that has been in the last 5 weeks so I think I am at a good point with my fill level now.

Hope you get everything straightened out. Good Luck

Jen

OMG, I eat used to eat these things all the time. I like this flavor but it is not my favorite. I cant remember what the other one is called but it has little bacon bits and pepperjack cheese in it. My nutritionist said they are good calorie and fat wise but a little high in sodium. So now I just dont eat them as often. But yummm they are delicious.

For the person who asked about microwaving them, no they have to be cooked in the oven because they are raw chicken. And they are not breaded like all the pre-cooked chicken cordon bleu varieties. We have like 4-6 diff flavors at my Walmart. They are located near the meat section in the open topped freezer cases.

Sorry thinner to hijack your thread...lol. But I used to tell everyone I know about these things because they are soooo good. Do you usually eat a whole one or do you split it into two meals? I can eat a whole one but I am not sure if I am supposed to be able to :tongue2:

I dont have a scientific answer for you but all I can say is that everyone is different. There are some people that all they get is the band with no saline and that is enough restriction for them. I know someone who is like that. She had some saline put in and she was sooo sick that she had it taken right back out and never got any more put in. She has lost all her weight and went from I think a size 18 to a size 2.....go figure. I was hoping that would be me since I have a needle phobia, but no such luck ...LOL

Well congratulations on your 3 pound loss and on your willpower to eat well without restriction. I still have problems with that even after haveing some fills...LOL. IF you ever do decide to come to the meetings just know that you are always welcome. We have people there in all stages, from those still in their 6 month pre-op phase to those of us that are already banded. Have fun on your vacation. Are you going anywhere special? I know I cant wait for my vacation. I am going on a cruise in November. I have one more apt with Dr Zarif before then but I dont know if I want to get a fill or not. I would like to enjoy dinners on the cruise at least a little bit...LOL. Then my next apt after that will be the Wed before Thanksgiving. I am not a big turkey or "traditional" thanksgivig dinner eater, so I dont care if he fills me then. Well good luck and keep in touch.

Hey guys. It has been pretty quiet in here. How are you all doing? Hope all is well. I just had my 4th fill on Wed. The good news is I found out that I do not have a leak, all the Fluid was there that he had put in last time. I lost 5 pounds since the last visit. I would have liked that to be more, but 5 is better than none i guess.

Are either of you guys going to the meeting this month? It will be on Tuesday the 8th at 6pm. If you come then I will see you there.

thanks for the replies. I am not worried so much about what to eat but about the time frame. Since we are not supposed to eat for more than 30 min, cruise dinners usually last 1-2 hours. That would mean a lot of time just sitting there and looking at all the yummy tempting food...LOL. I guess I will just have to wing it at first until I figure out the time thing.

Newdicarlo - how did you do with the time factor? Any tips for me there?

Xandria, I am going the week before Thanksgiving so unfortunately I will not be back and posted before you go, but have fun on your cruise too :frown:

Wow, I hope I dont have to go that far and drink only warm drinks...yuck...LOL so far it seems to be the really icy cold ones so maybe I will be ok if they are just cold with no ice. And I just cant imagine not eating breakfast. Maybe that is because I love Cereal and toast and eggs... Breakfast is usually one of my biggest meals and I just cant seem to grip the fact that I may get too tight to eat it. I guess instead of worrying about it I will just have to wait and see if it happens.

OK, I now have another question. Has anyone on here ever gone on a cruise with the band? I am an avid cruiser and my first cruise post band is coming up in november. I am not sure what I will do at dinner. Usually dinner can take anywhere from 1-2 hours depending on table size and your wait staff. I am a bread lover so I would usually of course start with the bread, then move on to appetizer and sometimes a salad, then the main course and last of all the dessert...Yummmm....LOL. So now with the band I have to figure out how to do this. I know I will def skip the bread. I was thinking that maybe I can sit down and order with everyone else, maybe tell the waiter to bring my appetizer (if I have one) at the same time as the meal, and then while waiting for the food to come out maybe get up and take a walk down the promenade or something so I am not just sitting there watching everyone else eat.... and never hurts to get a little extra exercise. Do you think people would think I am strange or rude if I do this? I am at a loss, I am hoping someone has some good ideas for me. Please help

Thanks guys. It does seem to be the really cold Water that goes down the slowest. the problem is I really only like to drink my water really cold...LOL. I dont seem to have a problem drinking my crystal light drinks, they are cold from the fridge but have no ice in them so I guess they are not as cold as my water. I would just drink more of them but they seem to make me very gassy so I just tend to drink them on my way home from work (at 9pm) and then after I am home too. I guess I will just play around with it some more and see what happens.....

OK guys I have a couple of questions. First off let me say that I got banded on April 16, so it has been about 4 1/2 months and I have had 3 fills so far. I go in this wed for my next apt with my doc and to get another fill (and find out if I have a leak like he mentioned at my last apt) and I do plan to ask him questions too. So here goes...

First off I "hear" some people on here talking about being tight in the morning and then loosen up as the day goes on. They say they can only drink a little Water or a Protein shake for Breakfast. Well for those that have experienced this I hope you can help. When you are this tight in the morning are you not hungry in the morning or are you hungry and just too tight to eat? Im not really sure why but the thought of being hungry and not able to eat kinda bothers me and I am afraid to get that tight if that is the case. This is probably a mind thing and part of the reason why I was fat to begin with....(the afraid to get hungry thing) Like it surely is not going to kill me if I actually get hungry...LOL

Ok and my other question is.... I do not really feel like I have restriction with food. Well except maybe french fries. And no I have not made it a habit to eat them after being banded...LOL.. I have had them I think like 3 times since surgery and every time I eat them I get that pressure feeling in my chest so I really dont choose to eat them. But the times I do feel what I think may be restriction is with drinking. When I drink I either have to wait a few seconds for it to go down or it will make that gurgly noise as it goes thru the band. This seems very strange to me that I would feel more restricion with liquids than food. Does this make any sense to anyone? I mean I do notice that I eat less and get fuller faster but I dont feel that "restriction" feeling. Is this what it is supposed to be like? I can eat way more than the one cup of food that I am supposed to eat, but if I get tightened more is it going to make drinking liquid even harder??? See where my confusion come in? So if anyone can give me some advice or it they have a similar situation please share. And dont worry I will be talking to my doc about it on Wed too.

Thanks