JeweI

As far as BM"S go I didn't have one till I went on full liquids. The whole time I was on Clear Liquids I didn't have one. Then when I finally did it was small and soft. So I didn't really feel constipated or anything. I was in pain but not enough to make me regret what I have done. I would do it over again so it's not like it was more than I could handle. I never really had nausea. The best position for me was in the recliner. Laying down but not totally flat. But don't spend too much time laying around. Walking around will help get the gas out. I was up and cooking dinner after I got home from my surgery. Doctors say it helps to get moving so I did. Also, you may want to try some gas-x strips. My doc told me to get some for the postop gas pains. You may also feel burpy which causes sharp pain. My doc told me to use a straw to help. Some docs say don't use straws. You may want to try both and see which works for you. I would get a bag of straws, gas-x and your prescriptions filled all before surgery. It maybe a little weird when you first try to pee. A little hard to get things flowing at first but that will wear off. Don't get off your pain meds too early. I didn't take mine on day 4 and I regretted it. I took them til day 6. Take a travel pillow with you to the hospital. You can put it between you and the seatbelt on the way home so you'll be more comfy. The hospital gave me a pair of sexy white thighhighs I had to wear for 2 days. It was to prevent clots. It was hard keeping them up. That is all I can really think of right now. Hope this was helpful.

I had the burps and they hurt like hell. I burped all the time and could really feel it in my left shoulder. I felt horrible from the minute I woke up. My pain didn't really feel worse on day 2. My first day off the pain meds was pretty bad. I quit them too early. Stick with them as long as your doc approves and your not driving. Sorry your hurting but congrats on starting your journey. Oh yea and my largest incision is in my belly button so it is not noticeable. Plus my Doc used the smaller port. So really my incisions look pretty good.

I am still in Lane Bryant sizes too so we may be shopping buddies. Apples one of our puppies is a chocolate Lab. Just to let you know.

We actually have 12 dogs right now. Our black lab just had a litter of 11. They will be ready to leave their momma soon. They are just today starting to emerge out from under the house. It was freezing a few nights so my FIL let them stay under there but now that it is warming up they are starting to wander out. I want to keep at least one of them because my 7 year old cocker spaniel died a year ago in august. He was snakebit. I miss him so much. But I have to pass on a puppy. I am so busy right now I don't have time to train one. I got so attached to my cocker because I have been home now for 6 years. He kept me company since before my son was born.

Good morning Ladies, I didn't realize ya'll were such a talented bunch. Plus those who made quilts, scarves and ornaments. I am so glad to get to know you all. My mental condition hasn't allowed me many friends. Ya'll are awesome though. I have already learned so much from you. Before I got sick and couldn't work, I worked for a company that made handmade jewelry. I was a artist. They gave me beautiful (and exspensive) stones, gems, and beads and I would make jewelry out of it. I am not so great at picking out the colors that go together but the owner was. We were a perfect combo. It was the perfect job for me. I sat home and made jewelry all day. If you wanna see samples you can go to Kdasdesigns.com. I was amazed at what I could do with the little training they could give me. Plus I made about 500 dollars a week. I got paid per piece so if I needed more cash I just made more jewelry. I cried when I had to leave. Now I make jewelry every christmas for my MIL. Thats where I got my screenname from JeweI. I wish I could go back but I have moved out of the town that the company is based in. I got off track a little with my eatting plan (or should I say lack thereof) and have gained a little weight back. I am going to get groceries today for my plan so I have no excuses for not sticking to it. My MIL was doing southbeach diet. The first 2 weeks are low carb. So she was buying everything I needed. Now she has moved past the first 2 weeks and is almost back to normal eatting. So I gotta get to the store now. It was nice while it lasted. I am just so disappointed I gained but I can't blame anyone but myself. Today I am getting back on that horse. Well I gotta get to class. Talk to you later.

Great Job.

I felt the same way after my surgery. I was banded 1-4-10. I couldn't believe I had actually gone through with it. I am losing weight though which was my goal. I am thankful I had the courage to see it through. Seeing the scale move every few days is awesome. I haven't even had my first fill yet. I can't wait to see the band in action in my life.

Hey everyone, Still doing good today. I am very tired so I think I am gonna take a nap. I don't know why I am so tired today. It was hard not to fall asleep in class. I hate to take a nap though when I could be studying but I just don't think I could really concentrate feeling like this. Hope I am not coming down with something. Well just checking in anyway.

Wow 4 pages, Yall have been busy. We just got back from the circus. Boy was it beautiful, exciting and awesome all at once. This was my hubbys first time at the circus. It's amazing the things his mom wouldn't let him do but really wants her grandson to do. Kinda funny. I tried to take my own food into the show. They only allowed me a bottle of water and my son a water and some pringles. My hubby couldn't get anything in. It was a 4 hour show. I tried to explain my situation but I could only convince them of the water. Oh well, We still had a blast.

Mine is in the umbilicus region. My largest scar is in my belly button and I have 2 other tiny little scars. I can feel it a little. I first notice that I was really swollen right there. If I look at myself in the mirror from the side, there is a big lump there.

If you do go try focusing on the fun your having and not the food your missing out on. Food use to be my fun but now I have to focus on time together. I would love to have gone on a trip at that time. I was already on our motorcycle by then. I just carried liquids with me and when we stopped at a restraunt I ordered soup and just sipped the broth. Take your doctors # with you. Good luck.

There is still hope for you. Just click redo in your mind and forget about the time that has passed. Set a short term goal and go for it. At the begining you should be keeping a food diary. This has helped me tremendously. The 2 months before I was banded I lost 18 pounds just by doing the diary and low carb. Even though you live on carbs it will help for you to see you portion sizes and how many calories you are taking in. My Doc also has me starting at 10-15 minutes of excersize everyday. You can still make this work. I will encourage you to get to the doc but you already know that.

I read on LBT that someone put a towel under their wii board and it offset the weight. That way even though she was over the weight limit the wii didn't know she was and allowed her to play. Just a little trick you may want to try.

Lokks like you gonna need to change your name from BigMomma to Lil Momma. That is so awesome. Congrats.

My doc told me to expect to be tighter in the mornings and more loose in the afternoon. I haven't had any fills yet so that's the best I can offer you sorry. I do believe it is normal though as I have read about others having the same issue.

I have been slimed too. It always makes me vomit. Once in a cafeteria. Couldn't make it to the bathroom. If I eat and take time in between each bite it usually won't happen because I will recognize I am full. Then I can never take one more bite or I get the slime. Once after sliming I got so tight I couldn't eat for a day and a half. Definitely learning here.

Janet, have you ever considered just sponsoring a child. We use to sponsor one (till hubby lost his job). It was 32 dollars a month through Compassion. We even got to send letters back and forth. We picked the little guy we sponsored because the poor boy was wearing sandals with flowers on them. We got to send him 10 dollars for his birthday. It was amazing how far it went. Lots of new clothes and even 20 pounds of rice for the family. They sent us pictures all the time. They were so grateful. It is amazing to change a families life that way. Good morning gang, Everything going great today. Eatting well and down 3 more pounds. I found a program through social security that they will help me get through school. Not sure how much I can get but every little bit is something. I have to write out a proposal though. It is quite lengthy and detailed about how much everthing will cost. From laptops to uniforms and pens. I have to explain how every little thing is neccessary and how this will help me get off disability. Then it has to be approved. I hope I do a good job with it. I am thinking about meeting with my therapist and seeing if she can help me through the proccess. Just to make sure I think of everything I will need. Talked to my hubby last night about the financial aspects of school. The first semester may cost us about 2000 dollars. We were planning on sending my son to private school next year but may not be able too if we have to pay that much. My husband was kinda spoiled in the way that he only spent a year in public school. I was in it for 10 years and was homeschooled the last bit. I don't see it as such a terrible thing but he thinks it is almost abuse to send him to public school. Plus it will only be for 1 year. Then we will have the money for private school. My son had some behavior issues at other schools. Thats why my hubby wants to keep him in the school he is in now. They keep better control of the kids in a healthy way. Without threats and negative reinforcements. My MIL has offered to pay half the tuition but we still don't think we can afford half. Plus, We want to have financial independance from her. Anyway that's what's going on here. Hope you all have a great day.

Apples, The club has nothing to do with the scholarships. I just got alot of info from the guest speaker they hosted. She gave us a breakdown of the cost and I realized my pell grant won't be enough. But I do think it looks good on a scholarship application to be involved. Plus, they do their community service hours together and study groups. I think I could learn alot from them. Many of them are paramedics or medical assistants. I called and scheduled my entrance exam. It is next Friday. Now, I am getting nervous. Studying for my film class seems unimportant compared to studying for this test but I gotta get them both done. Plus, Micro and Anatomy. Busy week for me coming up. My MIL got a really good deal on tickets to the circus this Sunday. So we will be taking my son. Last time we went he really enjoyed it. I love the olympics too. I got into it when I was pregnant. I could hardly move so I just watched the olympics all day. I think I got my in-laws hooked on it too. We all watched the opening of the Bejing games and they talked about what they saw on there for weeks. It was an awesome show.

Hey Gang, I finally got some food down this morning. Yay! I am getting a bit tired of the protein shakes. Yesterday, I was so embarrassed. I tried eating tuna in the cafeteria and didn't make it to the bathroom. I got sick right in the garbage can. I only had 2-3 bites. Thankfully noone seemed to notice. I hope. I joined a club at school yesterday. Feels kinda childish to be in a club but there were older people there. The director of nursing came in and gave us a talk about the selection proccess. I think I have a good chance. I would start clinicals in sept-oct. You need 120 points to get in and I already have 102 and haven't taken the entrance exam yet. Which counts for almost another 100 points depending on your score. I am concerned about my disability though. I don't know if they will let me keep it if I am able to do clinicals. I have a review at the end of this year. It is a 16 month program which is less than a year and a half. I am so excited. I do have a pell grant to help with finances but will still need a scholarship for the rest. I will be taking the entrance exam next month and then again in May. They will take the highest score of the 2. I hope all this hard work pays off. My family really needs this.

Thats great! Congrats on getting the weight off.

I get that feeling too. When I crave something and feel let down after I eat it. Then feel it wasn't worth it.

Hello everyone, I am struggling to keep food down today. Even my protein shake took forever to get down. I think tommorrow I will stick with the shakes and give my tummy a rest. I really am following my doctor's instructions. I wonder if all his patients have trouble like this. Just getting frustrated today.

Yes, I do get stressed eatting with others. I have always been that way. I wonder what people are thinking about the food on my plate, do they think I am pigging out? I hate when people make a comment about what I am eatting. Even more so now that I have the band. I feel like I am surrounded by food police. I have a bit of paranoia as part of my mental issues. It just plays on my insecurities. Thanks Charlene and Apples2 Your right about the trapped gas. I feel it almost everytime I eat. And yes it is usually the first bite that gets me. I was doing so well guess I got careless.

Good Morning Ladies, I have been really good the past few days and it paid off. I lost another 3 pounds. My doc has cleared me for solids again. Had a little hiccup yesterday. I vomited at lunch time. I am not really sure why I was eatting something that was pretty soft. Then at dinner I ate 2 bites and got some pain in my chest so I just stopped. I think dinner may have been over cooked. Is it harder to get meat down if it is a little burnt? I am wondering if my pouch was just irritated. Hope you all have a great day.

Congrats on such a wonderful weekend.