mjm2009

I am glad to read this. I am just over 3 months, and have lost a total (including preop diet) of 43 lbs. I feel that I have been doing it all "myself" by dieting and making good food choices, etc., not by the band helping me. I have been stuck a couple of times, but only when I make a big mistake do I feel the food going through the band. I will be looking forward to my next fill! Congratulations!

My RN says 10,000 steps a day is the goal.

My heating pad became my BFF. And a nice warm shower felt great, too. The shoulder pain gradually goes away.

I TOTALLY get it! A couple of days before I got into mushies, I obsessed about food. I would get up in the middle of the night and look up recipes on the internet, and would watch Food Network endlessly. Finally, I had to have a talk with myself, as I was getting a little crazy. My first mushy food was scrambled eggs, soft, with ketchup. It was heaven. I also loved egg salad and really smashed up tuna salad. I swear, food never had tasted so good!

I was, and am, scared to get too full, so I eat maybe 1/4 cup of whatever it is and stop. (I was banded 3/12 and started mushies today -- was on "full liquid" for 5 days.) Then, about 3 hours later, I will get hungry again and I do the same thing. This is VERY different from my historical eating pattern of 1-2 oversized meals a day. My doctor never said how much to eat, I just am thinking it is better to get the protein, etc., into me in small batches rather than try to cram it all in 3 times a day! Hope that helps.

My surgery was on the 12th (4 days ago) and I am still sore at the end of the day. I wake up in the morning feeling pretty good, perhaps the Vicodin I take before bed, but by late afternoon, I have the worst pain in my rib area and in my shoulder. However, I can get up and move around with no problem today, and I am sure that every day it will continue to get better. I have to say that this was much more painful than I had expected. I am glad that I took 11 days off work.

I have been on clear liquids since my surgery (Friday) and I'm going on "full liquids" tomorrow. I can't tell you how excited I am to eat the Cream of Wheat I can have tomorrow! And even the protein shakes I was so sick of last week are sounding fabulous. Cream soup? Oh, yes, that will be awesome!

Mine was pictures. I guess I have some sort of "reverse anorexia" where I see myself as thinner in the mirror than I actually am so I never realized how obese I am. But then I saw myself in photos from a work picnic, and it was horrible. OMG, just horrible. I started looking into the surgery and just had it done last Friday. I can't wait to be one of the normal people in the picture.

Hi there, I have Tricare Prime also, and I am not staying overnight. My surgery is Friday 3/12.

Thank you so much for posting the information on Tricare. I am in Texas and have Tricare Prime through Humana. It all seems so vague as so the process, so I really appreciate your step by step info! Good luck on your journey. I am waiting for my referral to come back and it looks like (according to my nurse) I will be having the surgery at Fort Hood, Darnall Army Medical Center. I guess this is where they are sending the Tricare people in this area. My nurse had Lap Band surgery in May there, and had great things to say, so I am pumped and very impatient!