carolel

Hi, I drink at least one ( sometimes 2) bottle of clear Isopure drink (40 g. of protein each) from GNC daily and also take a Centrum chewable. I haven't felt weak at all except the days I don't get enough protein.

Hi frightenedman, Don't be afraid.It's been 2 weeks and 3 days and I feel great! I've lost 24 pounds since the beginning of the pre-op!! I was on the pre-op diet for 6 days before surgery.I had a very hard time waking up after surgery and they had to give me a breathing treatment so I'd begin to breathe deeper. That has happened before after surgery. I was up and about soon and not very sore at all. Surgery was on Tuesday and I went back to work on Thursday for 1/2 day and all day Friday. I'm a teacher. I was very tired and slept all weekend but was ready to go on Monday morning. I even ate a little soft food on Sat. night. A small piece of soft fishstick. I was afraid but was soooo hungry. Then I cooked chili on Tuesday night and was dying for some. I blended it up but it still looked really thick so I decided to call the nutritionist. She told me to go ahead and eat it and go to the 3-4 week stage. YIPPEE!! Since then,I've gradually expanded my menu. I can only eat a few bites before I'm full. You'll be fine. The worst part for me was that my hip was sore from the way I laid on the OR table! Honestly! I took a couple of the pain pills and was fine. You go for it and don't be afraid! llewis

Hi all, I went to a support group meeting last night which is held by my physician twice a month. the in-house psychologist is also there. I'm 2 weeks and 2 days out and was telling him about alot of the stuff I read here on eating too soon, band slippage, stretching, etc. This is what he said and I quote.." If you're a few days out and you're hungry,eat something soft. Whatever YOU feel you can tolerate. Don't overeat like before, but eat until we feel satiated. It won't hurt as long as you don't try to stuff down a slice of bread or a chunk of steak." I was SOOO glad to hear this. We don't have to starve for 2 weeks...we can have soft foods. He's been doing this surgery for 6 years and I have great confidence in him. So last night I stopped at a restaurant and had a 1/2 bowl of chicken and dumplings and nibbled on some cornbread. I was happy with that little bit. Before, I could have eaten the whole bowl plus a dinner. I brought the other 1/2 for lunch today and couldn't hold all of it. Hey this is working and I'm not floating!!

sweetrepose, PBing is productive burping. You burp and the last bit of food comes with it. llewis

Fo all the insensitive and rude people in this world.......Some people are like slinkies. They really have no purpose in life but they still make you smile when you push them down the stairs. I just sometimes wish we could!!! llewis

Hi, last Sunday we were out shopping and my husband and son just HAD to go to Ryan's for lunch. Boy!!!!!! My willpower really had to kick in. I had only been banded 12 days. I thought...OK...I'll just have some broth from the soup on the bar. Well....I asked the waitress if I could get a cup to get broth in (they had to weigh it so I wouldn't have to pay $9.00) she said sure but never brought it. Finally after about 10 minutes I asked again. Her response was that she thought I wanted to take it home with me. Duh!!! Why would I want to take their broth home with me? I guess she didn't know what to think. But then she kept checking back and asking me over and over if I was alright and couldn't she just PLEASE get me a glass of tea or water. I told her no repeatedly. I'm like.."I'm trying to be nice but you're really getting on my nerves! No is No. Then there was a guy ( A BIGGGGG GUY) across from us who kept watching me. I guess he was thinking "what kind of fool comes to Ryan's to eat broth! especially when my family was having steak! My point is....... I guess our society is so accustomed to people eating and overeating that it's really strange to see someone who doesn't want to eat.

derbygirl, what an insensitive jerk your boss is!!! i'm sorry you have to work for someone like that. What do you do for as living? I think I'd look for another job. llewis

Thanks so much Leatha!! My fears have been alleviated. Maybe I can enjoy some ground beef now and not be afraid so much. And Bella, I'm right there with you. We read so much about other prople and the problems they have, that I think we sort become afraid to put anything in our new pouches. Good luck on beginning your new life Bella and thanks again Leatha. BTW.....are you a member of the HGTV board? There's a Bella there too. llewis

Thanks Letha, You answered many of my questions. I had searched several times by entering keywords but never really found any answers...just similar questions to mine. What I'm afraid of is.... I'm 11 days out and became very hungry at 7 days out. I called my nutritionist and she said to go ahead and advance to my 3-4 week diet of ground meats because I was doing very well. No nausea, vomiting.....nothing adverse. Anyway... even with her telling me this..I'm afraid to advance...and still hungry.... Fear is keeping me from enjoying... Thanks again

????? I guess no one has any answers?????

Hi everyone, I'm new here and recently banded. I'm so afraid that I'll cause my band to slip or stretch it? Does anyone know of signs that would indicate either of these happening? Thanks, llewis

OMG!!! I'm only 10 days out and I'd do it again! What a differnece it's made in my life in just 10 days! I'm already 20 lbs. lighter. I know it's because of all the liquids but hey 20 pounds is 20 pounds no mattter how you lose it. I feel GREAT!!!! In fact I don't remember ever feeling so good!!!!

Hi, This could be from a lack of a certain vitamin. Not sure which. Lynn

Hi Dawn, I was just recently banded on Oct. 3rd. but my pre-op breakfast is what I have now too. A Yoplait Yogurt smoothie is quick and portable and has always held me over until lunch. I know it's not much but it has protein, is good and also quite filling... to me anyway. Also, another quickie is the pre-cooked scrambled eggs that are sold in the freezer section of our Walmart. They're pre-formed into little patties. Pop it in the microwave and it's good to go in 30 seconds. Wrap in a napkin and take off. I eat on the way to school every day. I'd rather sleep in than get up early enough to fix anything elaborate. Lynn

Hi Jack and everyone else. Thanks for your support! I'm coming to the point that it doesn't bother me at all to have people eating around me. It's like food is just something I can't do....like drugs...I'm not going to partake, it's bad for me. (Now that smell of fried chicken got to me this morning though!) I have another hurdle tom. morning but I don't think it's gonna be a biggie for me. I'm on the comm. here at our office to provide snacks, breakfast, etc. ever so often to the entire staff of 70 or so. We're having biscuits, fruit trays and I've been asked to bake 3 cakes! I'm known for my delicious ( if I must say so myself) cakes. OH MY!! 3 cakes to bake tonight and can't touch a one. Oh well.... just have to remember that $16,000 I laid out last week and it'll keep me away from even tasting.

HMMMMMMM ......:bandit just a little white lie :heh: :heh: :heh: I told them that my liver enzymes were outa whack and the doc. placed me on this liquid diet for a month to get them straight!!!!!!:heh: :heh: :heh: He did place me on this diet pre-op.to shrink my liver......so it's not totally a lie. Before the pre-op diet I had already began eating Lean Cuisine, not finishing the lunch or having yogurt ... so to them it looked as if I was already on a diet. Hopefully when I do begin to eat again, they won't notice the amounts have reduced too much. It's already been mentioned that when I get off these liquids how I'm not going to be able to eat very much at first. They all agree that I'm probably going to have a hard time readjusting and feel sorry for me at lunch. I HATE that! I don't want or need their pity but I know if I told them that I'm banded that I wouldn't get the support I need.

Thank you all! I did it! I made it thru lunch with my Isopure drink and SF jello. I kept thinking.....it's just food and about how much better I already feel without all that sugary and fat food in my body although I haven't lost but 4lbs. since the surgery. (17 lbs.total with pre-op diet) I'm so glad this board is here. Without you all, I might have jumped right into that pan of mashed potatoes!! Lynn

I'm a elem. school teacher.Self-pay too by the way!

Thank you all!! I think I'm going to hold out and not have anything at all although it does smell SOOOO good!!! I'll just have my isopure. I've been psyching myself up in the last few minutes and telling my head that this fried chicken, pot and rolls are what put me here in the first place. Even though they're inamnimate objects......I WON'T let them win. I think I could stomach the pot. but I have a problem with starches....I always want more!!! So I'll just stay away from all of it. I'm looking at this as one of my first major trials in this pursuit. Thanks for all your support! Lynn

:help: HELP!!!! I work at a place where the kitchen is right across the hall from me. They're having fried chicken, mashed pot., string beans and yeast rolls for lunch!!!!! I've been smelling it all morning. :hungry: I eat with a group of friends and they'll all have this lunch. We eat in my office every day!!!! None of them know I've been banded. I'm only 9 days out and my dietician has told me I can have mushies but fried chicken isn't a mushie!!!!! Help me get my head on right before I cheat!!!!!:help:

HI heyyoubigguy and all, I'm 1 week out today. I've been having jello and yogurt from day 1 along with the broths. Last night I made chili for my family and was fine for awile and then my stomach actually was rumbling LOUD. I haven't heard that since 2 weeks before surgery when I first went on liquids. The smell of chili was almost too much for me. :faint: So I blended some up to see what it would look like and if it'd be thin enough to drink. It wasn't. So I called my nutritionist and told her how I was feeling. She immediately told me to progress on to my 3-4 week diet plan of soft foods. YEAH!!!!! :clap2: She said if I'm still getting in the right amounts of protein, then it should be ok for me to have 3-4 ozs. ground beef, turkey,chicken and soft scrambled eggs, etc. I won't need to blend it either. Funny thing though.....now that she's told me too, I'm afraid of eating. Crazy huh!? :paranoid I did taste the chili I had blended but I'm too afraid of eating too much. I've only had my liquids today although I brought 4 oz. of my blended chili to work with me. You hear so much about overfilling the pouch and stretching it and slippage that I'm hesitant. Anyone elase ever do this? Been given the freedom to eat and won't? Such an unusual behavior for me! Lynn

Emily, I agree, it may be from the tubes. I was banded last Tuesday and my throat hurts alot. On the left side too. Mine is from the tubes I know. I awoke with the pain. It hurts worse than the incisions. I've had lots of surgeries and always had this pain in the throat. Must be the size of my throat or something. My doc. told me to gargle with salt water and use Cepacol Spray on it. It also helps me if I take one of the pain meds. that was given to me. Did yours begin hurting right after surgery or did it develop later on..as in days...after surgery? If it developed later, I'd definitely get in touch with my doc. Hope it gets better soon.:cry

HI Willow5880, Now don't you be fretting the date there. I got married on Friday, the 13th of Dec. almost 32 years ago and we're still going strong! Love him more today than ever before. And we were babies too..17 and 19. Nobody said it'd last. We now have two wonderful sons ages 21 and 15. So it'll be fine!! I was just banded on Oct.3rd. My original date was Oct.13th too but I upped it cause I wanted to be ready to eat "something" besides mushies at Thanksgiving when we'll be with family so much ( nobody knows I'm banded but hubby, not even my 2 sons right in the house with me). Maybe the extra 10 days will help me out some. As for the process...the worst part to me was the pain from the tube down my throat. Really. Isn't that crazy? My throat is still sore. I know it's from the liquid diet but I've already lost 16 pounds too. No matter how you lose it...it's gone and that's a good feeling. You hang in there and don't let those right-before-jitters get to you. Soon you'll be over on this side headed for your destination. Good luck, Lynn

HI, I was in the same predicament. I work with a lot of people and have a huge family. I hear how all of them talk about bandsters behind their backs. I was determined to keep mine a secret and nobody knows but hubby. Not even my children who still live at home. It's your business and yours alone. I just told work that I was having some medical problems and needed a couple of days. I intended to do it on Friday and my doc. said I'd be able to return on Monday but as it worked out, I had it on Tuesday and went back to work for 1/2 day on Thursday and back fulltime on Friday. That's today and I feel fine! You do what you feel you have to do and don't suffer any guilty feelings if you choose to fib a little. This is for your health and no one knows better than you how you need to do this. Good Luck! Lynn

HI Candace, I have the same fear. It's funny we weighed the same (294)when we began this journey. Mine just strated though on Oct. 3rd. I remember long ago ( like 25 years ago, I'm 49) when I had lost 80 pounds on my own and me and my hubby were sitting in our truck at a fair. We were talking about my journies thru weight loss and he had promised me that he'd never let me reach 200 lbs. again. HA! Anyways...we were there watching people walk in and I kept asking him..."am I as big as that girl?, does my butt look like that?, am I really as small as she is?, etc.,etc,". I weighed 117 and thought I still looked to be over 200. I couldn't get my mind around how small I was. And you know what? I didn't have any pics made at that weight. It was like I knew that this was a temporary thing and I was protecting myself from the knowledge of success and failure once again. Our minds are incredulous aren't they? Good luck though and like others have said, it won't hurt to see our psychiatrist once in a while. I plan to do just that. Good luck! Lynn