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hi, not sure if the Schwan Company has a truck that visit's your state or area...you can order online. I found a yummy treat too. Trim Creations chocolate Fudge Sticks serv size: 1 Calories: 50 Total Fat: 0 Cholestrol: 0 Sodium: 45 mg Tot Carbs: 14 g Dietary Fiber: 5 g Sugars: 4 g Sorbitol: 2g Protein: 3g Calcium: 10% They are a creamy chocolate, they come in a box of 24 for $9.99. Made with nonfat milk. They are also a good size about the size of frozen fruit bars. :smile2:

Hi Audrey, I have Regence Blue Shield and they just changed their policy on Jan. 2 to include LapBand, BUT you have to have one year suppervised diet. That's what got me! I had 10 months of LA Weight Loss. No good. Hope this helps. I finally bit the bullet and just got back from Mexico :clap2: :clap2: Megret

Hello everyone. I just wanted to relate my surgery success. I'll start off by stating that I am not the norm when it comes to surgery. Results vary with everyone. I have many relationship es and friends that range from 2yrs to 5yrs post op. They're all amazed at my transformation. I'd like to think it's due to the extreme motivation I've had. My sister passed away at the age of 42. I was turning 42 in February of 2014. I weighed in at 397lbs. I consulted with a surgeon that month and was instructed to lose 20lbs prior to surgery. I lost 51lbs prior to my surgery date on 4-25-14. To say I was motivated is understating it. I was scared I was going to die like my sister did. She was overweight and had a massive cardiac episode during her sleep. I didn't want to leave my wife and children. I am truly blessed. I had the surgery and started walking the hospital halls non stop 3hrs after recovery. The nurses thought I would wear a path in the floors. I didn't sleep well and I had an issue with my blood pressure dropping too low. I was taken off my BP med while still in the hospital and never went back to them. My BP was around 98/50. It has stabilized now. Normally around 108/64 or so. I was released after 2 days and went home to start my new life. I was and am very strict about my diet. I followed everything my doctors and nutritionist told me. The surgeon stated that I would lose 100lbs in a 100 days. I thought, sure buddy. Well the pounds just started melting off. I was exercising religiously. I started by walking 6 minutes twice a day for the first week. I quickly realized that I could do more. I started increasing my time every walk I took. By the end of the first month I was walking 45 minutes twice a day. The length of the walk was lnt the only thing increasing. My rate was too. I started walking faster and faster. I then started to enjoy yard work. I used to hate to mow the lawn even on my riding mower. I went out and purchased a simple walking mower with manual controls. No self propelled wheels or anything. The rider sat abandoned in my yard. What used to take me a half hour on the rider took me 45 minutes walking but it was great exercise. Every week that time went down until it only took me 23 minutes to cut my lawn. Well that's no work out I thought so I brought it over to my parents house and started cutting their huge yard too. So now I was upto 2hrs of lawn cutting and I was itching for more. I st at yed doing all kinds of landscaping jobs in my yard and theirs. Still not enough. I would pack up my mower and drive it a half hour down the highway to do my younger sisters yard. She needed more than mowing too. I did field clearing in her yard as a full acre was covered in brush. By July all of this was easy. I was down the 100lbs my surgeon said I would. At 245lbs or so all things became easier. Especially breathing! That's when I decided to ask my surgeon if I could go to the gym. I got clearance from him and I was off. I started a little shy because I was still that fat guy in my head. I quickly got over myself. I set goals. One goal was to be able to run a 5k this spring. I started on the treadmill but just walking at a 3.5mph clip. I increased that speed to 4.0 by the end of my first week there and went for 3 miles. Then I st at Ted really challenging myself. I started to increase my walks 1 mile a day over the next week. I kid you not, by the end of the week I got on the treadmill and walked 10 miles. It took me just over 2hrs but I did it. I had the bleeding nipple to prove it. I learned my lesson there. Always protect the nipple. Lol. I then started running at a 5mph clip every other day. 1 mile then 2 then 3. Of course I was elated to have hit my 5k goal so soon. I have increase the distance over the winter to a 10 mile run so yes I will be running a 10k next month instead. Now I have cut back on the running as I've developed a major addiction to weight lifting. The last day I took off from the gym was Christmas morning and that was only at the kids request. I only work out with low weight exercises as I'm not looking to bulk up. I've been bulked up all my life. The gym is my second home now though. I do know my limits though. I've been studying the science of exercise and am using the OPT techniques. I also know when to say when. Some days are easy days and some days I flat out get after it. I listen to my body. I am now working towards my certification to become a personal trainer. NASM certification was my choice. I have multiple job offers already on the table and I'm deciding which to take. My ultimate goal is to work with post op patients or people that were in the same situat I n I was in. Ok, I'm sure you're wondering about my stats. If you've taken the time to read this long winded diatribe then you deserve to know. This is no B.S. either. I started my journey at 397 lbs on 2-6-14 at my first weigh in at the surgeons office. I was 346 on 4-26-14 at the St Elizabeth's Hospital on surgery date. It's now 3-28-15. 11 months later and my weight is 186. I went from wearing 52x30 pants to wearing 30x30 and they are a little loose in the waist. I was wearing 4xl shirts and now wearing mediums and smalls in some cuts. Here are some pictures of my journey. IT CAN BE DONE! Be healthy, your life may depend on it. Mine did.

Same experience here before pregnancy. I am the world's worst morning person. Seriously, I'd rather slice a person's throat than get out of bed in a good mood. I used to sleep 10+ hours and barely function. For the last year or so, everything has changed. I wake up with my husband around 6am, make coffee, take care of our 2 large dogs, switch over laundry, pack his lunch, and then I lounge for a couple of hours. I still enjoy my quiet time in the mornings, and started getting up with him because the kiddo was still asleep and I could have some alone time without the mister or kiddo asking for something. I typically crash out around 11-Midnight, and I'm up and moving by 6pm. I never stop once I'm up and running. I'm typically out of the house no later than 9am, and pack my day full of activities to keep myself busy. My husband says that I lie still, do not snore, and don't have that weird breathing pattern I had while I slept at 270lbs.

The first day was horror . Gets easier . OMG you could eat:scared2: After 10 days i had some soup and was sick . well lost 16 on diet . It showed me i was eating too much when i thought i was eating ok.

Rob, you are not alone. I was banded on 10/22 also. I have not lost a pound since, OMG, I don't know when. For a minute I really thought my scale was broken. Like the numbers were stuck or something. As I read some of the post op forum comments and blogs, it's normal. Once you get a good fiil, you'll start loosing again. Just hang in there. I go for my 1st fill on Friday. Now, since I am able to eat with no problems, I AM EATING....LOL

i was banned on 10/24 and have weighted the same now for a week but i get my first fill tomorrow and hopefully will start losing again! Good Luck!

I had my final visit this morning with my surgeon before surgery 10/9. I was surprised too as he said the only day I would be doing liquids only was the day before surgery. These next 2 weeks will be low fat low carb. He sad he didn't do the liquid diet because it's not good to put your body in shock like that right before surgery.

So it’s been 3 weeks since my VSG surgery. And can I tell you, WHAT a 3 weeks it’s been. I feel like a completely new person!!! I have energy, I willingly take my kids swimming (in a bathing suit… gasp!) and I look forward to the gym. Now for the (impressive, if I do say so myself) weight loss stats: I have lost a total of 22 lbs in 3 weeks!! I have stalled for the last week or so, but I’ve lost inches, so I’m not super concerned. In fact, I’ve more than 4 INCHES off of my waist in 3 weeks. So yeah, awesome to say the least!!! And I've experienced literally ZERO hunger since surgery. food just isn't exciting to me anymore. I did the 2 week pre-op diet, had surgery and had to modify my eating after surgery and I had to deal with my husband and other family members. I’ll go ahead and describe each of those items in a bit of detail. First, the pre-op diet: I had a strict 3-4 Protein shake menu, plus 1 small “Lean Cuisine” type meal per day. All in all, my diet is less than 1,000 calories per day. Since I had done the HMR diet in years past, which was surprisingly easy for me, I just went ahead and did that diet again – 5 shakes and 1 small pre-packaged meal. Very easy. I’m not saying that I never got hungry or had cravings, but with the volume of protein that I was ingesting, it was hard to stay hungry for long. And I had a big goal in mind – my surgery date of 8/8/11. Right after starting the pre-op diet, I attended the pre-op class. It was ALL DAY and went through blood tests, hospital check in, the post-diet surgery, the hospital stay and all post-op prescriptions. It was very thorough and thankfully they gave me a binder with all the info in it, because there was a guy in my class who (I kid you not) was the most annoying person on earth. He interrupted the doctor and nurse about every other minute with some personal concern (I knew his entire life history after this class), and he asked the same question multiple times. Now, I GET wanting to get your questions answered, but I made sure that I had asked all my personal questions ALONE with my doctor during my individual appointment. Anyway, it was hard to listen to what they were saying when that guy kept talking – I sort of stopped listening. But when I got home, I made sure to review the binder in detail. The day before surgery, I was allowed to eat a REAL Breakfast but only liquids after that. I was too nervous to eat honestly, so I just had my normal Protein Shake day but I skipped the “real food” dinner that night. I also had to shower the night before with Hibicleanse antibacterial soap, sleep on clean (washed in super hot water) sheets and PJ’s, and then take another Hibicleanse shower the next morning. They weren’t taking any chances with infections, thank goodness. I was scheduled for surgery at 8 am the following morning and I had to arrive at the hospital at 5:30 am. I ended up having a coworker drive me to the hospital and drop me off (she’s totally awesome, like an older sister that I never had). My husband had to get our 2 little girls ready for preschool that morning, so he was going to come to the hospital when I was still in surgery. So, I arrive at the Sharp Memorial Hospital at 5:30 am and I’m called back to the “S.P.A.” area to get prepped. Basically, I took off my clothing, they made me take another pregnancy test and they hooked up my IV. Then I sat and waiting for another hour or 2. The anesthesiologist came in to talk to me. Now, the one thing I made SURE to do was to tell him that during my last (and only) other surgery, I felt awful for about a day afterward because the anesthesia had made me so nauseated. Like I couldn’t walk without barfing – think seasickness or morning sickness times a thousand. And with a surgery on my stomach, I imagined that throwing up was NOT a good thing. And thank goodness I did that – no nausea at ALL after surgery. It was night and day different from my last surgical experience! Then my doctor came in, made sure I had no questions, and we were off to the operating room. I then moved over to the new bed in the room and the doctor told me he was giving me something to make me calm down a bit. Boy did it ever! I felt a bit drunk for about 2 minutes…. Then I woke up in recovery! Recovery: Now this was weird. I knew where I was and what was going on, I could hear everyone talking (nurses and doctors) and my brain felt like it was working OK… but I couldn’t open my eyes. Very weird! I lay like that for a few minutes before I was finally able to open my eyes. Then I got some pain medication, even though I wasn’t in pain, and fell asleep again. I woke up while being moved to my new room. And let me tell you, my room was AWESOME! Totally private and in the new wing of the hospital, and it was a corner room with ceiling to floor windows that overlooked pretty much all of San Diego. I totally lucked out with the room! My nurses were great, too. I was up and walking within an hour or so of getting to my room, and I had little to no pain. It was very surprising and, like I said before, a completely different experience from when I had my gallbladder removed 2 years prior. I had 5 very small incisions that really didn’t hurt. I was able to suck on ice chips for the first day with no problems, and then I was moved to Propel Water the next day. I did manage to disconnect my IV line (there was a connection in the middle of the line from the bag to the needle in my arm) while in the bathroom. I didn’t notice until I saw blood everywhere on the floor. That was a bit scary! But the nurse came right away (like within 10 seconds) reconnected me without having to run a new IV and I was as good as new. I was discharged the next day. OK, now for the family drama. I didn’t tell anyone about the surgery with the exception of a few people – my husband, my awesome coworker, my boss and my Aunt who has gastric bypass a year ago. That was it. I didn’t tell people because of my husband’s reaction. He was 100% completely and TOTALLY against the surgery. We fought about it for over 6 months, and he went so far as to schedule a shoulder surgery the WEEK before my surgery in an attempt to get me to cancel. (A side note, he’s needed shoulder surgery for years, but he decided to do it right before mine at the very last minute). Poor guy – not only did I not cancel, but he was left taking care of 2 preschool girls with one arm in a sling. That backfired for him badly. Anyway, now that the surgery is over and I’m not dead (that was his big concern obviously) and he can now see how great I feel, how much more energy I have (especially for certain “things” that I didn’t have much interest in before.. wink, wink) and how much better that I look, he’s much better about the whole thing. He’s turned from 100% NOT supportive, to completely supportive. Thank GOD! The other family drama that I had was with my Aunt. She knew I wasn’t telling anyone – I made it a point to tell her right off the bat that I wasn’t sharing with ANYONE until I was ready- but what does she do?? She calls my SISTER and tells her. So my sister was frantically trying to reach my husband to find out what’s going on with me, how I’m doing, etc. So now the cat’s out of the bag. My sister is very supportive, and I was going to tell her, but I wanted to do so on my own time, and I kinda wanted to surprise everyone in a few months with the “new” me. Now I also have to tell my parents because they would be devastated if they found out second hand. But, whatever… nothing I can do about it now. Anyway, that’s my story in a nutshell. I really can’t believe I’ve done it, and it was SO incredibly easy for me. I was expecting some problem, some complication or lots of pain, but I got nothing. No energy loss, pain, nausea, nothing. I was back to work a week early (after only a week) and I actually worked from home starting on the Thursday after my Monday surgery (I was bored and I’m a bit of a workaholic). This whole process has been a dream. I just wish that this DAMN 3 week stall would let up!!!

I was banded in May 2009 and found out i was pregnant in August; with a conception date 2 weeks after my surgery!! I gained 36 pounds; going all the way back up to what i weighed when i first started everything. I was very nervous needless to say. I kept my fill during the whole pregnancy i think i had about 3 something in my band. Anyway at three months since the baby was born on March 7th 2010, i am breastfeeding and down 50 lbs. I just started exercising a week ago. The band has made a difference and i have had 2 fills since i had the baby, very conservative fills ; in fact i am just now feeling a real restriction at 5. Also i did not go gonzo during pregnancy ,but i wasn't an angel either !!:thumbup:) The pregnancy was the best of 4 and i felt the healthiest ever; i think this can be attributed to not overeating and gaining 50+ i usually gain. My son was healthy at 10 lbs. 3 oz. and i am looking forward to this summer and how exercise will play into my weight loss.... So do not worry is my advice ;;instead~~ eat healthy, get plenty of rest, enjoy being pregnant, and breastfeed! :smile:)

wow in 10 months u lost so much congrats on doing that. I also have the big fear of weight gain during pregnancy but in know that i have not been as strict as i should and have been using pregnancy as an excuse and im accually fitting quite a bit of food in. My first few weeks of pregnancy i accually lost like 8 kgs which i was so happy about because i wasnt budging on my weight for so long. But i lost due to having so much morning/ all day sickness.. now that i have passed that ive been eating n eating and have put almost all that 8kgs back on. I was very upset as i know it cant be all baby. People are telling me to stop being so effected by my weight while im pregnant, but i know i could do better.

Hey all. I'm 3 days post-op and can't feel the difference between trapped gas and being full. What should I be looking for? The trapped gas has improved a lot, but I still have an uncomfortable feeling under my left rib cage. I'm shooting for an ounce of liquid every 10-15 minutes. I also have to use a spoon full of applesauce to get some of my medication down.

I hope I can do mine at home, I have a 10 month old. And although he will sleep through the night, I don't want to have to find a babysitter just so I can go sleep lol

I’ll make this quick. I am 17 days post op. I see the dietician on 8/22. 4 days away. Zero complications after the surgery. I’m still on liquids. I’ve read other ppl are on puréed phase after like 10 days…etc. I’d like to start before Tuesday. I’m not hungry, just tired of only water and protein drinks. Thoughts. I have a feeling what most posters will say but wanted to put the question out there…lol Thanks!

Hootiebelle, I did have the band removed and converted to an MGB. I've had a great experience with the MGB and I have also had great success. I've gone from a size 20 to a size 8 in 10 months. I am very happy with my decision to convert.

Maybe your husband could be a little more sensitive and not eat them around you. Atleast during your early stages here where you haven't broken your bad eating habits and you are still learning how to eat with the band. I am lucky because even though my husband is thin, he prefers to eat healthy, which makes it easier for me. I'm only 10 days banded and just started mushies. But I didn't go through this surgery to not be successful. So good luck to you. Take care of yourself.

good luck with your ops,,,, i am 6 week post op.. apart from being fed up that despite my first fill i have no restrictions yet - my body is happy. I joined the site yesterday. I am learning that i am no longer alone in the world of lap banding.. hooray !!!!!!!!!! and it may take several fills for restriction to happen... so i have to be patient. now the op.. on the morning i was nervous and excited.. but it went so well.. i was back at work after a week.. i didn't drive for 10 days, and my scars have healed so well... bit of rubbing under my bra on the top scar which took a bit longer to heal.. but honestly i have felt so healthy. also a bit of a numb feeling but that has all but gone too. i get a little discomfort on my right side if i squeeze my body to pick something off the floor or do up my shoe. i guess its the port ? but its minor !!!!! i hope it goes well for you all..

@antoinette85 How much you lose after surgery is basically based on you and how you eat/live. I have lost more weight with the sleeve than most people with RNY. That is because of my lifestyle choices. I was diabetic. Completely reversed it. The one person I know that had RNY with a family history of diabetes had cured their diabetes with surgery. Then they started eating poorly and regaining, and now they diabetes is making its way back. It is really a roll of dice if RNY will cure you of diabetes or prevent you from every getting it. It isn't a guarantee. The only reason to choose RNY over Sleeve is if you already have GERD and that GERD is not based on a Hiatal hernia. In the end you have to live with the choice not the surgeon. A lot of things that claimed to be guarantees with RNY don't always apply like dumping, most people don't dump long term. People with RNY supposedly lose like 10% more weight, but that 10% isn't really worth having your intestines touched. JMO

Hi all, My sleeve surgery is scheduled for May 8th. When I met with the surgeon last week to schedule the surgery, the first thing he asked me when he walked in the room was "so why the sleeve?" I answered him and he proceeded to tel me that he thinks bypass would be better for me because on the sleeve, I will most definitely get heartburn for the remainder of my life, also that bc i have a family history of diabetes, that with the sleeve I am more likely in 10 to 15 years to still develop diabetes, and lastly that with my height and weight and getting the sleeve, I will only ly lose about 5 lbs but with the bypass, i will lose around 60 to 80. I have foe a lot of research and found that the sleeve is the best option for me and I stuck to my guns, even as he stared me down waiting for me to change my mind. But now I second guessing my sleeve decision and thinking the bypass would be better for me. Anyone have any experience with this dilemma? Thanks in advance

How much pain do you have? On a scale from 1-10 I am a 3, that's because if this same gas bubble on my left side under my ribs. It SUCKS!

Oct. 2008 4cc band placed (243lbs), after 5 small fills a total of 1.5cc in my band I had very little restriction. Having 2 kids it was hard to keep going for more fills so I tried to just keep eating healthy. After losing a slow 30 pounds then gaining about 10 of it back, I found out I was pregnant with my sweet baby girl in May (now 223lbs)! I didn't have too much restriction I could eat any food with no problems (example steak was an ease) so I'm guessing that's why I was able to go through pregnancy without an unfill. I was teeny bit more restricted while pregnant but not enough to really notice, I still think it really helped. Luckily, I didn't have morning sickness. I didn't have any problems with the band whatsoever. I started thinking that I might have problems toward the end of my pregnancy once my baby was bigger and I had gained more weight. But, even at the late stages it went really smooth and able to go through my whole pregnancy without an unfill. No, problems! I gained 36 pounds while pregnant ( now 259lbs), omg, I quickly dropped back to 223lbs and stayed there for about 5 months and started gaining again after gaining about 5lbs (now 228lbs) in July of 2010 I finally went for another fill...my first fill after pregnancy which was my choice to wait .5 was added (2cc now in my 4cc band), I was starving! Didn't make it back to the doctor till Sept. of 2010 another .5 was added (2.5cc now in my 4cc band), I was still starving and not eating the healthiest gained 11 lbs. So, December 22 I weighed a total 239 pounds almost to the point of where I started! I went back to my doctor who is great, she will fill the band till she feels pressure, makes me sit up and drink Water, will add or subtract till it's just right. Another .5cc was added to the band for a total of 3cc in my 4cc band. It feels so great, I finally feel what restriction feels like! I don't really have to chew chew chew and can eat regularly I could probably still eat steak but haven't tried it yet lol but the hunger is gone..so I'm definitely at my sweet spot and loving it. I've lost 2.5 lbs and never been so happy because I know that after a little over 2 years I'm finally on my way. I'm eating right and trying to walk/jog 1 to 1.5 miles a day and feeling great. I love my band and I will eventually get to where I need to be in my own time.

Hey there... Lisa's back and ready to chat, chat, chat.. Where O where do I begin ?? My "last meal". I felt like Jesus at his last supper. The Friday before my surgery after eating very good for two months I had the wonderful " I will never eat like this again meal". I went with my daughter to Hurricane Grill and had 3 Conch fritters, 1/2 chicken wrap, few chips, 1/2 chicken fajita and OH YES a Sangria... TOTALLY off my diet but I was going to go out with a bang if I wasn't going to eat for the next two days. Saturday was an OK day. I got to have a "no chew" diet of Yogurt ( with no fruit in it), Protein shakes and sugar free pudding. Sunday was a little harder as it was a "clear liquid" diet of Chicken broth, Water, sugar-free Jello and Vitamin waters. I ate my last bite of jello at 12:02 and then that was it until after the surgery. I didn't have to wash with any special soap or use listerine to cleanse my mouth. I showered, shaved and went to bed. OH on the bag note.. YOU will pretty much need NOTHING in the hospital. What did come in handy was pull-up toilet wipes ( for personal hygeine), Lip Balm b/c you can't eat anything at all for two days, No slip shoes b/c you will be walking and about 20.00 for the phone/tv hook up. Other than that you are provided with a gown, socks, tooth brush, tooth paste, lotion for your legs and arms, any "food" your allowed to eat. You sleep 75% of the day and the rest of the time you are being poked, prodded and bugged by nurses. Woke up early on Monday morning, dropped my daughter off at cheer camp and had my husband drop me off at the entrance to the hospita at 9AM. Some people invite people to sit with them.. I just wanted to have peace and quiet. He was a nervous wreck. Advice... if your spouse/parent/sibling is more nervous than you don't have them with you unless necessary. I walked over to admitting and got my paperwork put throu, went to the admittance area and had my urine tested for a pregnancy test ( NOT ). Ended up waiting for 4.5 hours in the waiting area. About 8 other people were taken for various surgeries before mine. UGH what a LONG wait. Finally was called at 1:20. Was given a great comfy cozy blue gown with these terrific interesting slits in them ( for surgery ??) and some fuzzy "no slip" socks. My stuff was put in a bag and labled with my name. I went to sit in the nurses office where I was poked and prodded trying to find my vein. And this was the "good nurse". Finally the officer came to take my things, I was given a blanket and reclined back to take a nap until my name was called to go back to the Operating Room (OR). Apparently my name was called but they couldn't find a stretcher for me b/c the next thing I knew the OR nurse came to the front nurses station asking how long I was going to take. UH.. I had been ready since 2:10 and it was now almost 3PM. My Doctor and Anestesiologist came to the nurses station to ask if I was ok. Doc made me sign my last consent form to do the surgery and the anestesiologist asked if I had any concerns. I said " Uh yeah. When are we going to get this show on the road?? Can't I just walk to the OR ".. He laughed and said in his Russian accent " I like this one. You want to walk... well lets go". What a nice little parade it was me being led by the Doctor, Anastesiologist, Head OR nurse and an assistant. It all seems like a dream but I walked right into the OR, smiled at the attending nurse as she said " SHE WALKED ??!! Never in 10 years have i seen a patient WALK into the Operating Room" LOL. I hopped up onto the table and said " Now what??" They told me to lie down with my feet against the foot pads, I put my arm out onto the extendable arm rest and the anestesiolagist said " We're going to give you a cocktail mairtini now" I said "Sir... If its a chocolate martini give me a double".... AND THAT WAS THE END OF MY PRE SURGERY LIFE... According to the calls to my hubby from my doctor I went into surgery at 3:20 and was out by 5:10. Apparently I got the 2 for 1 special... I had a hernia in my abdomonial wall and my intestines were poking out... in addition to the gastric sleeve. Come three hours later I wake up super groggy like "Holy Cow it was over !!" I looked at the clock and it was about 8PM. I was not feeling any pain at all just super groggy from the anestesia. I woke up about an hour later with a clearer head and just remember asking for my cell phone. I planned to call my hubby to let him know I was OK and tell my daughter goodnight. By 10:30 the phone still hadn't come so I asked the nurse to wheel me to the nearest phone and let me call my daughter. LOL Persistant little bugger I was. She got me a phone and I spoke to the hubby. Daughter and mom were sleeping. I have NO IDEA what my conversation was about I was still out of it. My throat was a bit sore from the breathing tube they put down my throat but not worst than a dry throat. Next thing I know I was being wheeled into my room and my roomy ( who was one of my nurses at the baratic center who also had her's done the same day) was calling my name. I said " Hey Stacy.. welcome to the other side" and passed out again. The nurses do not leave you alone for the entire first night. They check your blood pressure and temperature every two hours. They poke you will small needles every six hours to give you medicine to thin your blood ( choice arm / belly ) and you are not allowed to eat anything. UGH. Thank goodness my "swallow test" was the next day. I was given 3 cotton swabs flavored with Lemon that tasted delicious ( but later when I tried them taste HORRIBLE ). I slept on and off that night and the next morning. Funny thing was.. there was no pain. I read this on another persons report but really aside from the "fear" your going to rip something you don't feel any pain. it is mostly just an ache. Mainly in one area where they remove the remaining stomach from. Mine is still tender three days later. You do get a little button to push to get meds when you need them but for the most part the only real uncomfortable feeling is the gas left in your bloated stomach. Oh the other gross thing was the catheter. I mean it didn't really hurt persay but its not comfortable. When they wake you up in the morning the nurses made me sit up in a chair to get my blood circulating and that damn thing hurt when I sat down with it. In the morning the doctors came in and looked at my gross belly then it was time for my test. Woo Hoo. The swallow doctors took a general xray of my belly area. They then handed me a cup, laid me on a tilted table and told me not to drink it until they said. They left the room and I swallowed it. The doctor could see the gross tasting 1oz of liquid run down my esophogus and into my stomach. She repeated the test and then it was over. I was cleared to eat. NO leaks. YAY !! Good news one.. good news two I got to get the damn catheter out. OK so we don't feel it going in ( for ladies) b/c we are sleeping but when they deflate it and pull it out feels like a burning UTI. So not comfortable but it's only for a second and then its gone. Only sucky thing is its replaced with peeing on a "hat" thing that fits into the toilet so they can measure how much you are peeing and how much fluids you are intaking. Back up to my room. More blood pressure and more temperature taking then it was lunch time. Ohhhh what's for lunch... Oh joy... a 3 oz cup of yellow jello, a 3 oz cup of chicken broth and 3 oz of crystal lite lemonade. Ohhhh before you get so excited you can only have 3 oz TOTAL of these three. So the first meal was 1 1/2 oz of chicken broth and 1 1/2 oz of jello. I was also allowed to drink water non stop as much as possible. That night I was able to sleep a little better and was only bothered twice in the night by the nurse. The day passed pretty uneventful with another visit from the doctor and not too much sleep. The next morning my doctor cleared me to go home so after another Breakfast and lunch of broth/jello I got to go home. WOO HOO !!! And so begins my new life after Vertical Sleeve surgery... Short recap of since I've been home... Got out of the hospital and told my hubby to go to McDonalds... ( GASP.. Not for me silly people for him... LOL). He ordered a Big Mac meal with a soda and large fries. I sat there with my bottle of water and watched him eat. What I used to love now became disgusting. I have been eating just my Protein Shakes for the past two days and haven't been hungry at all. It's all been fine and you will be fine too. Still a little sore on my biggest scar but it will pass in time. Hope you all enjoyed my story. Take care and Good Luck to all.. OH BTW... I've lost 8 pounds since Monday. WOO HOO !! I'm on my way !! Oh kind of what to expect after surgery. The two incisions on my left ( close to each other ) are where they took the rest of the stomach out and are the ones that bother the most. The other 4 I don't even know are there. I was closed up with surgical glue so it will fall off over the next two weeks. No scars except 1/2 " to 3/4" lines. YAY !!!

I agree with other posters that you should quit smoking immediately. Not only is smoking going to increase your risk of having the complications mentioned, but it is going to hinder your body's ability to heal quickly and correctly. I would also start walking at least 30 minutes per day now, and drinking tons of water. You want to build up lung capacity, and start getting into shape. I was already working out 6-8X per week before surgery, and everything was super easy for me. I could have returned to work after 2 days. I smoked for 10 years, and I understand how stress makes you grab for that cigarette. Don't do it though. You are doing this for your health, so why not make a complete change starting tomorrow? You can do this, and will be better off for it. Good luck to you.

Today was a great day! My "case worker" has all my stuff finally...My insurance does not include banding until 3/01/08. We were going to submit on 3/3 (Monday). Anyway, the director of my benefit department e-mailed me (she said with the new language she didn't want my file to accidentally get denied) so she gave me the info for the contact person for my insurance and then she e-mailed me too. My case worker then sent on my file today!!!Yea! I hope it all goes smooth and I get approved so I can get the date!! How much school will you miss..if any???

Alisa, I completey understand what ur going through... I had my consult today and have a tentative surgery date for 10/30. I was surprised that I didn't have to do the supervised diet due to attempts in the past year to lose weight. All I have to do is get my psychological evaluation, nutritional evaluation, medical necessity letter written by my PCP & my labwork. I work at a high school as a social worker in the school based program. So, I am a little on edge about being out of work so early in the year but was told I should be able to return in about two weeks so that was comforting to know. Plus, I've only been in my position at this site for about 5 months as of this month. I was so excited about my consult I didn't ask the surgeon any questions but I've been researching the lapband procedure since it first came out. I know it's scary and exciting at the same time. So happy I decided to take this step in my life. Keep me posted on your progress.