tbird1211

LIVE from my hospital bed..... I'm a newly banded girl now! :w00t:

Surgery at 8:00 am this morning. Procedure took about 2 hours total. Now out of recovery and in a room for overnight.

Pain is very manageable so far. Lot of pressure and hard to move around, but I've been up and walking so far and it's much better than I anticipated.

Best Wishes to everyone else who is today and tomorrow!!

Congratulations to everyone who was banded between 11/30 and 12/2!

Best Wishes to everyone who will be entering the world of bands with me tomorrow!! :tongue2:

My stomach just turned into knots. I just realized that by tomorrow this time I will either be banded or still in surgery......

GULP! Ok, now I'm more nervous than excited....:tongue2:

Good Luck to Electrawoman who's big day is TODAY!

Best Wishes to RandaPanda, TheCutestFatty, terriamn who are scheduled for tomorrow! :confused:

As everyone starts their own journey toward a new life, I just wanted to say thanks for all the information and support so far on this forum and I can't wait to see everyone's progress!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

For everyone currently on a liquid diet (myself included), good luck getting through today!

For everyone that this is their 'last meal' - ENJOY!

KarynA - I also did my "BEFORE" pictures over the weekend. All I can say is, I never want to look like this again. :biggrin: Great motivation for anyone who hasn't done this.

Now, I'm just not sure I want to post those anywhere.... Not sure I EVER want anyone looking at those.

I know some people have started their pre-op diet and some will be doing this soon. So far I've tried a few Protein Drinks and I have to say most are pretty awful :biggrin:. So, I did a bit of research and looked around a few forums and found a bit of information on some sampler sites if anyone is interested:

FREE Sample Pack - 8 Bariatic food samples for cost of shipping

Chike Nutrition - Best Tasting Meal Replacement shake. Guaranteed. Pour, shake, Drink & Go! - 5 Protein Shake samples for Shipping ($6.95)

https://eas.com/Registration - Sign up for their site and you can get free sample shakes.

Free Sample - Sign up for site and get a free sample

Spiru-tein Samples! - Free sample Protein shake

Nashua Nutrition - Single Serving Samples for $1.95 each

Vitalady.com - Protein supplements, Vitamins & Minerals, and Safe Snacks! - Single Serving Samples for $1.79 each

https://www.unjury.com - Single Serving Samples for $1.75 each

Netrition.com - The Internet's Premier Nutrition Superstore! - Protein Sampler Pack - 14 packets for $17.99

https://www.smartforme.net/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=6 - 12 Samples of Bariatic food - $19.99

nectar Syntrax - You can get a box of all 11 nectar protein flavors directly from Syntrax for $4.99 plus $5.99 for shipping. Contact Rick Davis Medical Sales Manager nectar@si03.com 1-866-333-7403 ext. 803 - Just email on this today, so I'll see how it works.

BariatricEating.com - BE, Inc. The number one bariatric website for protein, Vitamins, and success. - Has a sampler - but it's expensive at $59.99 (comes with a book). However, they might be a good site to buy from eventually.

Best Bariatric Surgery Diet supplements, Bariatric Foods, Vitamins for Bariatric Eating - No samples except if you buy something, but again, may be a source to get some products that work for you.

Bariatric Diet - Achievone - Bariatric Vitamins - Bariatric Protein - Post Surgery Diet - Multiple sampler packages you can buy

tbird - your post ("two weeks") made my stomach drop!... December's just a heartbeat away.

I'm so excited. I can't wait. Two weeks to get through of liquid hell with Thankgiving thrown in the middle for extra torture and then onto my new life!!

For all of us December 3rd Bandsters - TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY!! YAY!!! :confused:

hey girl, where you having surgery done. i/m having mine u mass on dec 7, good luck larry

Good luck with surgery Larry! I live right near worcester, but an actually having the surgery in Norwood as it closer to my work for fills, etc.

My surgery date is Dec 3rd.... I'm a bit nervous... Excited about getting smaller and healthier... A little worried about giving up my well-loved Diet Pepsi... It will be nice to have people to share with who are going through the same thing at the same time. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all.

I hear you on the Diet Pepsi. I'm absolutely addicted to Diet Coke!! I am now on my 3rd day without any Diet Coke and craving it badly!!

I'm also scheduled for a December 3rd date. Good luck!!

YAY! I'm all approved. My tentative surgery date of December 3rd, is now confirmed! Can't wait for my surgery, but nervous as well. Starting on a new me, exhilarating and nerve wracking at the same time!

There are so many of us December Bandsters now, it's pretty exciting to see so many people going through the same process at the same time. Trying to catch up on all of the posts after vacation and there are a lot of them! A few things I wanted to add my thoughts on:

Thanksgiving - I'll be right in the middle of my liquid diet on Thanksgiving, so I decided to opt out of the trip to my Aunt's house this year and concentrate on me. I'll be stopping over to visit some family friends after they are done eating their meal to have some holiday, but will be working on my diet. I figure missing one holiday is well worth it for good results.

Pre-surgery - I'm liquid for 2 weeks, trying out shakes now - so any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Welcome Suzy! So far three of us to be banded on the same day. Can't wait for mine, but I'm nervous too.

Hopefully, we can all keep in touch and let each other know how our journey is going, share successes, questions, issues, etc!

It's really nice to have this forum and hear from people going through the same things as I am.

J-Mae - I've asked a ton of questions of my surgeon on nutrition person.... here are a few:

1) Pregnancy after surgery - I did a lot of my own research on this as it's something I am looking to do in the next few years? This should be no problem, many people have been very successful with this. In fact, it should be easier to get pregnant after the band and weight loss.

2) Travelling after surgery - I travel for work to both Ireland and India on occassion? This should not be an issue. In Ireland, there are plentyof hospitals and surgeons familar with the band who can assist with any issues. For India, my surgeon may preventatively remove my fills to make sure if I get sick over there I am ok. He believes there should be surgeon who can handle, but personally, I'd prefer to come home for treatment of any issues.

3) Pain after surgery - I have a friend who had lap band and was in a ton of pain in her shoulders? This was due to the inflating of the abdomen that is done during surgery. Some people (approx 1 out of 5) had a bad reaction to this as the pressure affects the nerves in the diaphragm which run up to the shoulders causing the pain she felt. This can be managed with pain meds as needed.

4) When I'm on mushy food, can I use baby food? Yes, stay away from fruits and dessert type ones, but veggies and meats are fine.

5) Availability - if I have an issue, what is my surgeon availability to me? He is always on call and his service will find him. For any critical issues, he or his partner will meet me at the hospital.

General questions I asked that will be specific to your surgeon:

• Number of procedures done?
  
• His complication rate for procedures he has done? how many slippage? how many erosion?
  
• Success of his patients?
  

Pre-op Diet

10 days before surgery:

liquid diet consisting of juice, Jello, Milk, Protein shakes, Borth, etc

Post-op Diet

1-2 days after surgery:

Liquid only - same as pre-op.

2 weeks after surgery:

Mushies - yogurt, oatmeal, baby food consistency stuff

According to my surgeon, the pre-op liquid diet is supposed to decrease the size of the liver to allow more room to work in the abdomen.

I'm doing my own pre-op diet right now.

Using Calorie Counter - Free Online Diet Journal to watch my calories. When I'm really diligent about counting my calories and keeping a food journal I do pretty well.

Starting November 23rd, I'm on the pre-op liquid diet - not looking forward to that.

Thank god, I'm not a smoker. Can't imagine trying to diet and stop smoking at once. :wink2:

Good Luck! :cryin:

I have a tentative date for December 3rd.

Waiting for insurance approval because I just switched insurance companies. Hoping this comes through soon! :-)

I have my pre-op on November 23rd and start my pre-op liquid diet the same day.

I'm a bit nervous and excited at the same time. Went shopping over the weekend and it was nice to think that maybe someday in the next year or two I can shop at the 'regular' stores and not at Lane Bryant or somewhere similar!

Thanks for the support. I'll definite post updates here and track my journey.

Hi all -

Well, let's start at the beginning. I'm 31 years old and I've been overweight my whole life.

Seriously! I remember being on a diet in Kindergarten. What that does to my views on food and dieting, we'll leave to another discussion.

Anyway, I've lost and gained over the years. Sometimes I've done really well on my own (40 lbs. once). Then I gain it all back, plus++++!!!

So, now, here I am. Ready and Waiting to get Banded.

First Appt with Dr: Sept 14, 2009

sleep Study: Sept 30, 2009

Nutrition Consult: Oct 13, 2009

Second Sleep Study Scheduled: Oct 26, 2009 :sneaky:

Psych Eval: Nov 9, 2009

Provided those are all good:

This all means I will be on pre-op diet for Thanksgiving and post-op for my Birthday and Christmas in December. I'm a bit worried about that, but I won't let it stop me from getting my band.

I'll post updates as I go along and troll this board for advice and inspiration.