Juniper

man.... i'm right there with you guys now on this one! my fiance and i actually CHEER when i burp now, though, cuz it means less pressure! i've always been pretty "lady-like" around him, and i'm not quite sure how long he'll think it's "cute" for me to be belching every time i move. but after reading this thread, i'll have to tell him he's lucky it's coming out the top and not the bottom! :tongue_smilie:

Hello my Mayo Bandito friends!! I am sooooo excited for all of you!! My eyes got all teary reading through your posts... this is all just so awesome! :tongue_smilie: :thumbdown: I can't wait to be experiencing some of the same things you guys are! Keep the NSV's coming! It's so encouraging to those of us struggling with the early days of the band!

Bashful, For me, my bio in a year will sound like a lot of other people's current bios. I have about 200 pounds to lose, so in a year, I'll be where a lot of others are starting. That's sort of hard to wrap my head around. That I have such a long journey ahead of me. But I'm glad I finally started. And I bet in a year I'll at least be able to say that I'm exercising regularly WITHOUT the pain I have now. :tongue_smilie:

Well, this time will be a little different, because I'm engaged, and so it really won't matter as much if I get more attention from MEN at least. Or that's what I'm thinking. I will still be nervous about it in general, because I don't like having attention drawn to myself. Even when I was not overweight, I liked to be the fly on the wall, not in the spotlight. I'm a little anxious because I KNOW I'll get comments as I lose weight, but I'm going to come up with some "canned" responses to minimize the discussion. hehe Hey! Look over there! Was that Bigfoot?? :tongue_smilie:

Good luck to all of you!

Stacy, nice to have you with us! I, too, lost weight with MediFast, several times in fact, but it just kept coming back. And I also know what you mean about having men pay attention to you when you lose weight. I was totally unprepared for it the last time I lose weight, and found myself wanting to hide... and wondering if my weight hasn't always helped me hide in a way... I wish you the best!!

ah, yea, i remember the swine flu issue! i'm glad you haven't given up after all you've waited through! i was banded on july 1st, and i'm doing well in my recovery.

I did weigh myself yesterday morning, and I had lost all the fluids from the surgery, plus another 1/2 lb, so I'm happy! I'm trying to not be completely obsessive about weighing, cuz I know I can get that way, so I'm limiting myself to one weigh a day. hehe

I've wondered about this myself a few times, about how many people are actually happy with their band long term. I met a nurse in the hospital who had a band, and then had it removed, and she told me that as long as you "follow the rules", you'd be fine. And she's only one of several who have said such a thing to me. So it almost makes me think that people who are not successful with the band are the ones who have trouble "following the rules". Of course, there are probably others who have some extenuating circumstances... but it really is just a tool, not a magic wand. I also think getting the right restriction is a big part of a person's success. If your band is too loose, then it's like not having it at all. Ah well. Just my thoughts on it all.

ocotillo, glad to hear you are doing well!! you can resist those nibble urges!!

headin, welcome! i was rescheduled, too, and moved over from my honorary mayo bandito place to join my fellow freedom fighters for the same reason. it really does help to talk to others in the same place as you. wishing you the best!

last night i went to the grocery store and walked around some, but i didn't drive myself. it was very nice to get out! and i bought some of those italian ice things, too! the strawberry is the one i've tried so far, and it was okay, but it wasn't as good as what they gave me in the hospital! hehe my discharge papers said i could slowly transition from clear liquids to thicker liquids, so i tried some pudding today, and it went down fine. i am just eating/drinking everything super slow, one tiny baby spoon at a time. i've had some incision site pain where my port is, but haven't had to take any pain or nausea meds all day. my port is right about where my jeans hit my waist before so i'll have to wear my pants lower, probably. all in all, doing okay, and eating okay. way better than i expected. funny thing... i actually had a moment earlier where i understood why people would take something like a cheeseburger and blend it. that always seemed so disgusting to me, but now i get it. :smile2:

my doc suggested the infants mylicon instead of gas-x. it seemed to work better, but it's hard to say. i also bought some milk of magnesia, in case the constipation gets too bad.

phew. finally made it back online. my surgery was scheduled for 7:15 on wednesday. i checked in at 5:15, signed all my consents, and got blood drawn. my heart rate was kind of low, and they asked if it was usually that low, which it's not. i was taken to the holding area, and waited there for quite awhile for the anesthesiologist to come. he started my i.v. and my doctor talked to me a little while. they wheeled me into the o.r. and had me slide over to the other table. the anesthesiologist had me take some deep breaths with a mask on, to fill my lungs with air, he said. then he said he was going to give me something to relax, and a few seconds later i started feeling woozy. after about a minute, i was out. i woke up and remember not being able to talk because my mouth was so dry and my throat was sore. they said something about going to x-ray, and i was on the move. they took me to x-ray and asked if i felt okay to move myself over to the x-ray table. i said no, so they slid me over. i had to drink some barium, and they took an x-ray, then raised the table so i was practically standing, and did it again. then i was taken to my room. they wouldn't give me anything to drink, no ice, so i finally just said can i have a wet washcloth, anything to wet my mouth. she brought me some of those little sponges on sticks, and i was able to wipe my mouth out. THAT felt sooooo good! i ended up staying in the hospital until thursday evening because the anesthesia and/or the pain meds gave me migraines, and they wanted me to have the migraines under control before i left. also, i had the same problem as tessiekay about my oxygen levels dropping, and my heart rate dropping while i was sleeping, so they had me wear a heart monitor. they did give me medicine for nausea, and that helped, and i did take one shot of morphine, and some hydrocodone/tylenol, but they just made my headache worse, so i stopped taking the morphine and only took the other when i really needed it. i had lots of gas pain, in my left shoulder, and later in my lower abdomen, but once i got up walking, i was able to burp, and that made me feel better. i did have sharp pains where the port incision was, and it would get pretty bad every now and then. i came home last night, and went to sleep pretty soon after. i pretty much slept all night, and woke up this morning with some pain, but it's tolerable. i made some veggie broth and put some Protein powder in it, but i'm really not interested in eating anything. i've been sipping Water and seem content with that. when i was in the hospital, they were giving me broth, frozen fruit flavored stuff, tea, and juice. i would usually drink all the broth and eat the frozen stuff, but it took me about 2 hours each time. if i drank too much at once, it sort of felt like pressure in the area of my left lung. i was pretty much only eating a medicine cup of food (1 ounce) at a time, and that was enough to fill me. okay, i think that's about it. i'm glad to hear everyone is doing pretty well! i think my recovery from this surgery is going much better than my gallbladder surgery *knocks on wood* so i'm pleased. oh, one other thing, while i was lying in bed after the surgery, i had a lot of thoughts about "why did i do this?" and felt bad about having had the surgery, and feeling like i had failed at losing weight by myself. but now i'm feeling much better. i just wanted to mention it, in case anyone else has the same feelings, you'll know you're not the only one...

Okay, my fellow Freedom Fighter First'rs... Melinda_205 tessiekay leshers2x2 hot tea and lovely9257 We're down to 2 days now, so I thought I'd make a place for us to come back and share our surgery stories. Feel free to share as little or as much as you'd like. Here's wishing us all safe surgeries and speedy recoveries!!

Here's an updated list of surgery dates. Hope I got everyone! (If not and you want to be added, see link at bottom.) July 1st: Juniper, Melinda_205, tessiekay, leshers2x2, hot tea, lovely9257 July 2nd: Ocotillo, psj71, slpcat, Iris_L July 3rd: Tish5632, somedayslim:) July 6th: mcb2009 July 7th: Bstone, Mary on a Mission, Aivey, Barbie1978, Bonbellrussell, Bobbie045, waiting4, psj71, thatswhatdefinesme July 8th: Deedee747, kellyb1007 July 9th: MiniTam July 10th: jimofthejungle, healthy-me-in-Az, writeonamber July 11th: bjbardave July 13th: Mom2smc, Sweettea25 July 14th: wonderwoman2009 July 15th: Lindz92 July 16th: gitrdone, ksb37us July 20th: KayVee, UnforgettableRN, JacquieOC, 1hotchocolate, mom2trips06 July 21st: Berna, Neonatalicurn July 22nd: Jerzyshore, Big Mama 514, RobinAnn, Ayyypapi July 23rd: Daqui26, Toot July 24th: CantB2noty July 28th: mil51 July 29th: d4lussier If you want your date added to the list, please post it on the July 2009 Dates thread. Thanks!

When I had my gb surgery last month, they didn't even look at my toes, and I had them painted up real pretty with little flowers. :rolleyes2: I've decided to wait until after the surgery to do a manicure and my hair. It's just all about cleaning the house right now. I got my recliner in place, and the kids helped clean up the house, so things are coming together. I'm thinking about hitting a pool tonight or tomorrow, since it'll be another month before I can get in the Water, probably! Otherwise, I'm ready!

Gitrdone, Your pre-op sounds just like mine. And I've noticed the same thing. I've eaten a couple things that used to be my favorites, but now it's like EWWW! I figured it was from having my gallbladder out, but it's probably also a result of having so much less sugar/carbs in my body, too. Good luck to you!

i used to question myself every day whether i really wanted to do this or not. but i made myself stop dwelling on it, and just accepted it as fact that i would be doing it. i did tons of research, thought about it for a long, long time, and while i'm still scared of actually going under anesthesia again, i'm not scared of having the band put in. it's going to be the tool i need, the control i never had by myself. and it's going to help me live a longer and happier, healthier life. i do worry that i won't do things perfectly. that i'll eat things that slide right through, and that i won't lose weight as fast as i could if i did everything perfectly. but i'm no longer afraid of failing. maybe it's because i have SO much weight to lose, that i know that even if i only lost HALF, hell, even a THIRD of my goal, i'll be so much better off! and it will all be worth it. :thumbup:

Just got back from my pre-op! Everything's a go for next Wednesday @ 7:15 am! I'm down almost 20 lbs since May, despite the gallbladder issues, so I'm happy about that! And since I have 5 full days left before surgery, I'm thinking I'll go full liquid for the rest of them. It will give me a chance to really see what I like and what I don't before I'm feeling to ill to try anything. :thumbup: This weekend I'll clean the house, get my "liquids" for post-op organized, pack my bag, and try to relax a little. I'm thinking about renting a recliner, cuz a lot of my Mayo Bandito friends said it was much more comfy sleeping in a recliner after the surgery, and I don't have one. So I guess I'll check into that, too. What's everyone else doing to prepare?

Happy Monday everyone! I'm excited to say we have quite a few new Freedom Fighters!! Here's an updated list of surgery dates: July 1st: Juniper, Melinda_205 July 2nd: Ocotillo, psj71, slpcat, Iris_L July 3rd: Tish5632 July 7th: Bstone, Mary on a Mission, Aivey, Barbie1978, Bonbellrussell, Bobbie045, waiting4, July 8th: Deedee747 July 9th: MiniTam July 10th: jimofthejungle, healthy-me-in-Az, July 13th: Mom2smc, Sweettea25 July 14th: wonderwoman2009 July 15th: Lindz92 July 20th: KayVee, UnforgettableRN, JacquieOC, 1hotchocolate, mom2trips06 July 21st: Berna, Neonatalicurn July 22nd: Jerzyshore, Big Mama 514, RobinAnn, Ayyypapi July 23rd: Daqui26, Toot July 24th: CantB2noty If you want your date added to the list, please post it on the July 2009 Dates thread. Thanks!

IndigoGirl, Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your experience and wisdom with us! And congrats on your success! It's so nice to hear from people on the other side of our journey. :w00t:

Bobbie, the caffeine thing seems to go either way with most docs, but i will tell you, go ahead and prepare for withdrawal headaches. the protein did not help at all with that for me. oh, and if it's powdered creamer, it's usually non-dairy. :blushing: as for the cool whip, since the idea is to get rid of the fat, think fat-free cool whip for that jello. (i know some will argue that calories are calories, but i'm just saying what my doc told me.) also, my doc was fine with fat-free yogurt. in fact that's one of my allowed Snacks. funny how different docs are. one more thing... if you haven't read up on it yet, check into what they refer to as "bandster hell". sometimes it takes a while to get restriction, and you may be able to eat as much of whatever you want until you get there, so now's a good time to prepare yourself for that mentally! two weeks... we can do that with our eyes closed! :w00t: and you've got lots of support here to help you!!

Yeah, it really wasn't that bad when I did it before, but this time I think I'm going to skip the Snacks and do an extra Protein shake if I get hungry. The snacks are way too easy to overdo if you're not careful!

hi jana! feel free to come visit some of the other folks getting banded in july in the freedom fighters forum! welcome and best wishes!