BJean

Very cool. I hope you get your date set up so you can prepare, both mentally and physically. I hope you will keep us posted on how it goes. I'm going to try to give feedback after my surgery on the 28th for those of you who haven't been there, done that, yet.

And the tea bags just keep defending our subsidizing huge conglomerates like GE. All the while, if they are middle income folks, they're carrying the tax burden for GE. Why oh why aren't they demonstrating against that instead of bellyaching that they're paying too much in taxes??? They may be paying too much but as long as they support the way we tax (or don't tax) big business, they might as well shut their yappers for all the good it's going to do.

I read somewhere that the reason for that is because you're not eating solids and you're drinking so much Water, but I don't know if that's true. How long are you having to be on liquids or mushies? I found out today that I'm only on Clear Liquids for a few days and then just regular liquids for a few days and then mushies. By day 14 I'm supposed to be on regular food.

I'm not sure what Peak Nutrition is sweetened with. On the ingredients list it only says, natural sweeteners. I spoke with the dietician today and she told me that I can't use skim milk, at least for a while because it has sugar in it. I don't know how the natural sugar in milk is different from the natural sweetener that is in the Peak Nutrition, but that's what she said. I don't know if at this point you want to even mess with ordering it, but honestly it is the very best tasting nutritional supplement I've ever tasted. I've used it for Breakfast lots of times long after I got the band because it is so good. I only use the chocolate now although when I first got the band I bought vanilla and mixed it with various other things for a different taste. I always come back to choclolate.

We find people for companies who need to fill jobs. Many companies are now trying to hire one person for a job that would normally be done by two people. The people we place are working as much as 16 hour days sometimes and aren't going to last very long at the pace their employers are demanding. These are either high tech jobs, engineers or management to upper management jobs where we're seeing the problem. And the companies aren't paying higher salaries - they're paying as little as they can possibly get away with. And they don't want to cover all relocation expenses these days - only a percentage of the costs and they want to cut vacation time. So somebody is making some money - and it sure doesn't look like it's the employees.

I'm cheerfully hoping that everyone gets their taxes paid on time today.

My doctor uses a whey Protein powder that is amazingly good tasting. It may be expensive compared to stuff you can get at the grocery store or GNC, but for me, it's well worth it. Besides, I'll be saving tons of money on the usual food I won't be eating. It's called "Peak Nutrition" and it is a bioengineered ion-exchange whey protein. Lactose free whey. They claim it is 68% better than egg white and 97% better than soy. You can order it online I think although I get mine from the doc. Their address is: Peak Nutrition, Inc., 1877 Midland St., P.O. Box 87, Syracuse, NE 68446. To get a good jolt of protein I mix chocolate with skim milk and it is better than the usual chocolate milk drink mix. But they have different flavors and vanilla can be mixed with lots of flavors to make something you like. Please let me know if you try it. I'd love to get someone else's take on it.

Swiftflow, thanks for the information. It is convincing data and confirms in my mind that I'm making the right decision. I haven't had my BMI assessed in a long time so I'm hoping that I'm still in the mid 30 range like I was a couple of years ago. If I am repeating myself please forgive me. I've been on quite a few threads trying to get infomation. My question is what does your pre-surgery diet consist of? I remember one person saying that they are only doing a liquid diet one day before surgery and nothing from midnight on. I'm not certain if that was you. I am meeting with the dietician this afternoon. I will post the info I get if you are interested. Although you sound like you've done your homework and are well-informed already. I made this decision just a couple of weeks ago and my surgical date is coming up fast. So I'm scrambling to get my head wrapped around all the things I need to know.

gatorman, we'll look forward to hearing how your appointment goes tomorrow with your surgeon and whether he suggests the band or sleeve or bypass. Good luck!

Thanks for the info on Reglan. Glad it has helped! fancyp, what exactly did your body do to let you know that you were going too fast? Man from everything I'm reading I can see that I need to get ready for at least one week of rough going. I think it's great that you all are posting here and getting some encouragement and feedback. It's good to know that going to work and getting busy is helpful in coping with your new stomach. I'll sure try to remember that. It's easy to think that lying around is a good thing but sounds like just the opposite is true. I go for a consult with the dietician tomorow. I hope she gives me a food plan so that I can see what my doctor says that I should have on the days before and the first weeks after surgery. Btw, the suggestion of thinning the cream of chicken Soup is cool. I wouldn't have thought of that. And I'll bet it goes down much easier.

The woman president of her Tea Bag group that I heard speak is against the government - period. And they think that big business is getting a bad rap. She says that big businesses provide jobs and so we should give them breaks and subsidies. Nevermind that many of the corporate conglomerates take their manufacturing overseas. Plus I heard today that they pay taxes in those countries and often do not pay taxes here. They like this because the taxes they pay in the other countries are less than what they might have to pay here. So by not requiring them to pay taxes here we're essentially rewarding them for taking their jobs out of this country. Republicans and big business backers say that if we tax them like everybody else, those big businesses will move their entire company out of the U.S. But you see since they are not providing many jobs here and they aren't paying taxes here what the heck good are they to us anyway? They're actually harming us. But don't try to tell it to the Tea Baggers. They have no capacity for serious logic.

Well isn't that special!

Hey phat, I think that people who haven't yo-yo dieted most of their life and who are able to exercise a lot will probably be successful with the band. The young, energetic patients with a lot of resolve seem to be able to make the band work for them. But for many of us, we have the same result that you experienced. So it's an intermediate step at best. And who needs an intermediate step anyway when they want and need to lose a considerable amount of weight? The problem with the band is that you won't know if it is for you until you've already gotten it placed. They don't talk about that, usually. And it's like you said, the doctor won't be all that disappointed if he has to do another procedure on you. And there are many reasons for that possibility. So after living with my band since '06 (I see you were '05) I am not a big proponent of the band. And I guess it isn't too surprising that's what you read most often here at the Sleeve site. All the great and wonderful band stories will be over at Lap Band Talk. Good luck with your revision in May! I'm scheduled for the 28th of April.

Andrea what is Reglan used to treat?

Thank you all for taking the time to post about this. It is extremely helpful to know that we should expect some depression and second guessing of our decision. I noticed on another thread that someone said they thought it might have to do with the hormonal changes that occur with having a part of your stomach removed. That makes sense. So expecting it should help with being able to cope when it happens. I will warn my husband and kids. We have a no whining sign in our house but if you're depressed, whining is a normal by-product. So nobody gets to throw me out if I whine and cry for a while. LOL The making your own broth idea sounds like a good thing. It helps you be pro-active in preparing some food instead of just feeling like you're limited to something that comes in a jar. Has anyone tried making Jello and sipping on it when it's warm? I had a doctor who suggested that for one of my kids who had been sick and couldn't get enough Protein. She said that jello has a very easily digested protein in it. I guess you'd have to do sugar free though, right? Is using sugar free foods a suggestion so that you'll lose weight or is it a requirement because your new system can't tolerate sugar? I went on a very restrictive diet once - 300 calories a day - and I was cold all the time like pumpkin. I lived in a very hot climate but it didn't matter. I'm usually hot all the time so it was very odd for me. The doctor told me that it was an indication that I was losing weight. So I considered it a good thing, even though it was uncomfortable.

goodlife, I agree with you about the band and I have one. I don't know anyone personally who has actually reached their goal with the band. But at Lap Band Talk website you can find lots of people who were able to make the band work for them and they have reached their goal and are so happy with the band they think it is their best friend. So obviously the band is good for some people. Unfortunately you have to get the band to know if you're going to be able to work with it or not. And then if you do have problems, you're right, you must undergo another surgery to either correct the problem or get it removed. I got mine in 2006 and am scheduled for revision surgery to the sleeve later this month. I am very nervous and have read all kinds of great stories and some fairly scary experiences about the problems with adjusting to the sleeve since your stomach is sensitive and swollen after surgery. But the one thing that seems to be consistent across the board with the sleeve is that people do lose a significant amount of weight. If there are people who have not been able to lose weight with the sleeve, I haven't seen their posts. So it's a lot to think about but I'm with goodlife... and everything I have experienced and read leads me to believe that the success rate is better with the sleeve. Whatever decision you and your doctor make, Di, I wish you the very best outcome!

This is the first time I've heard of the stomach spasms. I'd heard about nausea but some people say they didn't have any nausea. I'm beginning to think that more people do experience it than people who don't. What do you think? Is the nausea something that you can figure out how to calm it down or do you just have to ride it out? Do you throw up? Do you get the dry heaves? The spasms sound more scary. Like if you can't tolerate anything without your stomach having a spasm I can sure understand why you'd be second guessing your decision to have this surgery. Some people say that ice chips helped. Some seem to say that something warm helps. This is making me worry a little. Does it generally last a week? or two? or more?

pnw218, I'll keep you posted if I eventually try some alcohol. I'll probably post something if I'm feeling no pain 'cause I usually think things like that are pretty funny at the time. What a goof ball.

Lee I hope today is lots better. That is such an odd feeling and so unpleasant. If I remember correctly it only lasted a day or two for me. Who knows, maybe it is something that sleeve patients get on a regular basis. I guess I could get used to it and just try to ignore it. Anyway, hope you're feeling fine now!

That's a little sad. :-) I don't drink a lot but if I can't drink at all I'll be a little disappointed. I've read that people can get really looped on one drink. I'm a cheap drunk so that probably means I will need to completely steer clear of alcohol. Good luck on your trip to Mexico. I hope you get some definitive answers to the questions you have.

You're sure right about that. I actually expected at least a 2 week liquid pre-op diet. So I'm not complaining! Good luck with your surgery. I don't have much time to think about mine.

Hi right back, Lee! Ok on the protonix. I'll get my head wrapped around that possibility. The best word I can think of to describe that feeling is - HOLLOW!

9 lbs. - that's great. Sorry your boy has an ear infection though. That always makes for an unpleasant time for the little tykes. Hurts! I know you must be really tired, but you sound good and I am happy that things are going well there overall. I always enjoy reading your clever posts so I'm happy that you're posting again.

After my lap band surgery when I was only liquids only I reached a stage where I had that very uneasy odd feeling that you're talking about. Not exactly starving hungry but empty and feeling like you need to put something in there to make you feel better. I called the nutritionist and asked if I had developed a problem with the Protein powder (which was about all I was eating.) She said that it was something that would pass but I didn't really believe her. But it actually did go away pretty quickly and it didn't come back. Thank goodness. What is Protonix and what does it do for you?

I don't have a schedule for food intake post-surgery yet. I had a feeling that it wouldn't take as long as 7 weeks before regular food. Do you all think that's the same with every doctor?