mom2smc

Good Morning! I hope everyone who has had the surgery is feeling well! Congratulations!! Those of us almost there, WE ARE ALMOST THERE!!! Yay! I'm starving, but can't wait until Monday. I have been on the Medifast diet since the 28th. I have lost 14 lbs:thumbup: but my stomach is still growling and hurting so bad! :thumbup:. But I am in the home stretch and am dedicating to ignoring that!! The 14 lbs are a good incentive too!! I was just wondering for those wonderful ladies who have had the life changing surgery did you chose Realize or Lap-band? I still have no idea which one to choose, and at the doctor's office everyone keeps saying "they are both great choices". I was going to let the doctor just chose when he was in there, but I was wondering what your thoughts were? Also, for those who haven't had the surgery yet, do you know which one you are going with? I hope everyone is having a great day!!

I had my surgery yesterday (yay!) and I also chose Lap-Band AP. I liked the look of it better than the Realize. Have a great day!

Good Morning Everyone!! My date was yesterday (13th). I woke up pretty nervous, wondering if I was doing the right thing. But I quickly said absolutely!! I woke up my husband (not an easy thing to do) and we had to take our 5 year old to the sitter (my sister) then started on our way. He is such a slow driver!!! He also had to stop and get something to eat!!! I said it was okay, but the McDonalds smelled pretty good! (and I don't even like McDonalds) anyway, we hit TONS of traffic on I-75! I was getting so antsy...He doesn't change lanes or anything to try and get around anyone. I was getting really irritated. I drive that road everyday to get to work, so I guess I am used to it. I had to call the Drs. Office and tell them we were running about 15 minutes late because of the traffic. So, it was about 20 minutes late when we got there. They took a later appt ahead of me so we had to wait in the waiting room for a while. They took my back at 10:30, (my original appt was 9:30) everything went pretty quick after that. I changed my clothes they asked all kinds of questions (again) they got an IV started (which was not easy either, my veins are small and deep), the anesthesiologist came in and I told him (again) that I have heard I am a hard intubation. He looked in my throat and said he didn't see any issues, especially since my uvula and tonsils were gone (last year's surgery for sleep apnea). They rolled me into the surgical room, I slid over to the surgical bed, they started to strap my arms down at the same time the anesthesiologist said good night and that was it. I forgot to mention Dr Curry and his nurse came in a few times to check on me during the whole prep time, gave me re-assurances, etc. That was nice. I woke up and my stomach hurt pretty bad, but my mouth and throat hurt too. I looked at the clock I had been out for over two hours! When they noticed I was awake, the anesthesiologist came over and said "You are right, you are a hard intubation!!! Your vocal cords are on the opposite side they are supposed to be!" So my mouth was traumatized from all that! I have sores on my tongue and lip. But the lap-band was inserted successfully and all is well. I have five incisions. I get to take off the gauze later today and see what they look like. Looks like they did use one of my 15 yr old scars from where they took out my gall bladder. I'm not sure because I was still out of it but I think they said the port was the top scar. Which would mean it isn't anywhere near where the pictures in the literature said it would be. Anyway, we left the surgical center about 2:45-3:00 and I fell asleep in the car and went to bed as soon as I got home. I woke up at 6:00 when my sister brought my son home and I felt really good! No pain! I stayed awake for a couple hours; pain started a little bit, so I took some Lortab, a nausea pill, and went back to bed. Woke up a couple times to take more medicine and woke up about an hour ago. I feel pretty achy today though. When I am sitting still, I feel achy; my stomach doesn't really hurt until I start moving. I started out with some warm de-caf tea, which tastes really good, and some pain medicine. But, I think that is the last time I will Lortab; I just don’t think it does anything. I have never thought it helped me, I have been given that when I had the few surgeries I have had and I never felt it helped. But I didn't say anything, because I thought maybe it would this time. So I am going to stick with the liquid Tylenol and Aleve. Those are the two over the counter meds they suggested. One more thing..... I have NO GAS PAINS!!!! Isn't that crazy! They asked if I did at the center, and I said I don't think so, they said I was one of the lucky ones. I did have gas from the time I woke up from surgery until last night. Maybe that is the last of that! I think I'll try the heating pad today for the achiness with the Tylenol and Aleve. All in all, it was a very small inconvenience for the huge benefits I will be receiving! I went to surgery starving to death, and not one growl since I woke up from surgery!!! I am so happy!!

Thank you for all the info so far!!!! I really appreciate it. My Dr had the bands at seminar as well. I kind of liked the newer Lap-Band because of the "pillows" and the port was more flexible and smaller than the Realize one. But I still am not sure. I would hate to choose the wrong one and say in a year, "Why did I chose that one!!" I don't like the idea of "stuck" food...... Anyway, thanks a bunch for answering! I hope you are all doing well today:smile2: Melissa I can't believe I didn't sign my actual name last time!:thumbup:

Yay!!!! We have our own forum now!! Go July Jewels!!:thumbup: Go Freedom Fighters!!:confused:

I was browsing the July threads and saw one talking about the 2005 bandster's who are struggling. I got curious, (and worried) so I started browsing some other threads. I found this one......http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/before-after-lap-band-surgery-pictures-only-4642/ VERY INSPIRING!!!! This will be us really soon!

Hello Everyone!! I am 38 yrs old and have been married for 18 years. I have three great kids, a 15 and 10 yr old girl and a 5 yr old boy. (Yes, I'm tired:smile2:). I was not overweight until I was about 16-17 yrs old. We always ate at home, rarely any fast food, so I think that is what started my problems. As soon as I got a job and started going out, I started eating out a lot more. That is when my weight issues started. Then I was married young and we had a crazy schedule going to college and working, eating out almost all the time. So got up to about 160 and then had my first child, ate out more, 2nd child, and finally third child, keeping the weight from each pregnancy and here I am at 236 lbs!!! I'm only 5.2!! Between the first and second child I was successful on Phen-Fen - got down to under 150 lbs, but that came back. I did Atkins after my second, didn't loose as much, but did well. Gained it back of course! So then my third child came along, and believe it or not I weighed less after delivering him than before I got pregnant!!! Nice surprise, but wasn't very successful at keeping it off. So I have been going along with really no worries. I was basically happy. Last fall though, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and hypothroidism. And then I started looking at my life, and realized I had been on Zoloft for eight years for anxiety and I was taking too many meds. Also, my girls are both extremely overweight as well. So I realized finally something had to be done for me as well as my girls. So I started my journey in April, and surgery is July 13th! My daughters are even using the myfitnesspal.com with me to track their calorie intake and exercise. It is REALLY helping all of us. I started making a list (before I decided to do this) of all the activities I couldn't do because of my weight and the issues I was starting to have and it got to be pretty long! Also, some of the most simple tasks like comfortably tying my shoes and crossing my legs ended up being what prompted me to really do this. I'm just so glad and thankful we have this site. It really does help! Good Luck to all! Melissa

Thanks Daqui! Great Idea! This is my list - I still have a lot of shopping to do! -Liquid Tylenol - maybe liquid Tylenol PM as well -Chewable Vitamins - My doctor wants the Bariatric Advantage -Sublingual B complex -Magic Bullet - or personal blender -Protein drinks - haven't decided what kind yet -Aleve -Protein Bullets -Sm Plates - (helps with the visual of a full plate!) -Baby food -Calcium chews -Food to use for puree stage -Baby spoons (already mentioned) -One of those shot glass measuring containers for all the liquid stuff we need to measure That is all I have on my list right now. A lot of this was suggested at my nutrition class and in the paperwork from my doctor's office.

I can't wait until we all have our stories posted. Good Luck everyone! I'll be thinking of you and wishing you no pain. :-)

Okay, yesterday was my first pre-op diet day. My stomach has not stopped growling, but I did good. I'm not completly using the Medifast stuff, but I am tracking my eating on Fitday.com and using the free foods and some of the Medifast :thumbdown: (so nasty). My daughters (10 and 15 yrs old) have decided to do a modified diet with me. They are both really overweight too, so that is great! I wish I had realized if I got serious about losing weight, that they would too!! We exercised for an hour last night and they were both in better moods today, and I feel really good too. GO ENDOPHINES!!! I am so glad I have this web site and everyone on it too!!! Good Luck everyone!

I went for my pre-op appt yesterday and had the 2 hour nutrition class. We also "had" to buy almost $200 in Medifast/Healthwise food for our 2 week pre-op diet. It all looks really gross, and I have not been able to find any positive comments about the taste of the product. I kind of wish we were given the choice to stick to some other kind of diet that didn't cost so much!! Anyone else try the Medifast Diet?

Yes!!! This is my first online "friend" experience really. I do have a myspace and facebook, but I only use it to keep tabs on my 15 yr old daughter. I haven't logged on in a while. Looks like we want to loose about the same amount of weight! Now that I am approved and have everything scheduled I'm getting scared! What if it doesn't work?! I know I am being silly, but after being overweight for over 20 yrs, and never being able to keep it off for more than a few months, it is hard to believe this may work! Good luck to all of us!!