Lucky # Sevens- July 07 Bandsters

[Patti C 0]

Hi all,

I am on my pre-op diet too. My doctor requires a 4 week diet with only Protein shakes, a little fresh or frozen fruit. SF popcycles, SFJello, a little Gatorade or power drink. Nothing over 200 calories at a pop. 3 or 4 shakes a day. I have been doing it for 1 week getting ready for my July12 surgery. It it to shrink or get rid of the fat in my liver. It has been rough, but I am thinking it may make the clear liquid days after surgery a little easier. Maybe I won't be so hungry cause I am so hungry now! It is just that I want to CHEW something. But I will do this.

Thanks for all of the info and positive stuff you all put on here. I read every post. Good Luck to you all and I will try to keep in better touch.

Patti C

[sunshine6855 0]

Good Morning everyone! Its a beautiful day here in Georgia.

IndioGirl, thanks for updating the calendar. There are so many of us. I should have a date shortly.

Dini, you are ours and we're not giving you back to June. Their loss, our gain:D I can't believe you only have 4 more days. I am getting excited for you.

Lynette, hope you can pop in for a minute sometime during the weekend. Good luck with the relay walk for life.

BreadLady, good to know you are up and walking. Can you start Protein shakes to help with that wicked hunger? Hope the gas pains get better.

Nelli, you and I are playing the same waiting game...sigh

Cherrybomb, 700cal??!! That is probably the total calories in that tsp of peanut butter:D Hang in there. You can do it. of course, that is easy for me to say...:heh:

Hello and have a great day, Marcy, Quinn, Chimboree, and patti C.

[BreadLady 0]

Hello all,

Let's see I had my surgery on Tuesday so this is day 3 post-operative.

Sleep-Last night I slept great. First night thus far I have. I believe I slept right though. Maybe I got up once for the bathroom but that is great compared to every hour on Tue & Wed nights.

I will tell you that I have to sleep in an elevated position. When I lay flat then try to get up it feels as though I have been stretching all the muscles in my abdominal area.

Pain - I haven't used the pain meds since I got home. The Tylenol liquid has been sufficient. I no longer feel like someone beat my stomach area up. Still some pain but it's minor.

Eating - We'll see how it goes today. It's 8:30 a.m. and all I have had thus far is 2 of my prescription which need to be taken at least 1 hour before eating. I didn't wake up starving so maybe that part is gone. I hope so.

Notes for you all that are coming up for surgery:

• I brought loose clothes to come home in but that was not what I needed. I thought they wanted loose fitting clothes because you didn't want anything tight around the abdoment. What I learned as apparently the stomach swells up quite a bit so thee pants I brought I had to keep unzipped. I did not even attempt a bra. Still haven't attempted a bra. Tomorrow I have to go to a wedding so I have to wear one.
  
• I was up walking the night of surgery. The hardest part of the walking is getting out of bed. Truly.
  
• I was not allowed ANYTHING (not even ice chips) until I had my Upper GI the day after surgery. This was to make sure I didn't have any leaks before I started putting stuff into my body. When I say nothing I mean I was lucky to get the little sponges you put in your mouth. My mouth felt like it was full of wet glue. I asked if I could have a Tic Tac and the answer was no. So be prepared.
  
• I did't even really watch TV the day I was there. I just dozed off and on all day. I am sure that was due to my friend Mr. Morphine .
  
• If any of you have a weakish bladder I would definitely recommend bringing pads so you don't urinate all over yourself every time you try to get out of bed. :omg:

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer.

[Quinn 0]

Thanks guys for the congrats messages!! I'm so excited. I can't wait.

Breadlady - You are doing a great job. Keep up the great work and positivity!! Definately keep us informed of your progress. It helps me know what I will be dealing with in a few weeks!! Thank you so much for all of the information....little tibits people might forget to mention. Good luck!!!!!!!!

[BreadLady 0]

Pills - I am able to swallow my prescription meds. I cut them in half and they go down no problem. I don't know what it will be like once I get a fill.

Pain Meds in Hosptial a.k.a. Morphine - I highly recommend using the morphine. I really think that is why I was able to walk so quickly. It did make me sleep alot but that's fine.

Pain Meds - I read so many times on this site how people didn't need the Rx meds that Tylenol was sufficient. Well Tylenol actually is sufficient. I was quite surprised since I am not a Tylenol girl. I use Ibuprofen and lots of it. No more my doc doesn't want her patients using Ibuprofen. Another thing about NOT taking the Rx pain meds you have less chance of Constipation so that is good.

Hunger Day 3 - I am not nearly as hungry as yesterday. I was hungry in a.m. and had a Protein Drink then I got hungry around noon today and am slowly drinking my Protein drink. Next hour I will go to drinking 8 oz. of Water.

I still haven't taken my Multi-Vitamin and my Calcium. I hate chewable pills so I have been putting it off. I may try later today. It was enough of an adjustment to be drinking my Tylenol. I am used to it now.

Hope this wasn't too long everyone. I hope what I write helps someone out in some manner before their big day.

[Snaggletooth 0]

Hi breadlady ~~~

Glad to hear you're moving along nicely.... I've been soaking up all your info... thanks so much for sharing it does help !!!

I'm feeling butterflies.... the time is going by fast....

Still waiting for my approval from insurance....hope it doesn't mess up my date.

I tried to chat with you last nite....but you didn't stay in the chat room...?

Anyway....good to see your posts... thanks....

Regards, Lo

[BreadLady 0]

I was wondering if anyone else is interested in trying a chat. If so this is what I have figured out thus far. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I believe we have the following time zones represented in our group..

Eastern Time Zone = 0

Alaskan Time Zone = -4

Pacific Time Zone = -3

Dublin Time Zone = +4

The way this works using ET as a default as that is where I am.

ET = 9 p.m.

AT = 5 p.m.

PT = 6 p.m.

Dublin = 1 a.m.

PM me when you think would be good and which time zone you are in, keeping in mind the other time zones included in our group. I will compile the list. Please keep in mind that Dini is in Ireland. So if you live in say Alaska (who lives there??? Just kidding marcyinak) that means if it's 5 p.m. your time it is 1 a.m. her time. Granted Dini does stay up late but we probably don't want to take too much advantage of that.

If there is no interest then I will not pursue it but I thought it would be fun if we could get a chat going.

I keep trying to open a new chat room but the rooms are always taken. Even if no one has been in there.

Hope to hear from you all.

[BreadLady 0]

I am going to try to post a poll so we can get an idea of the time zone groups represented. Look for it in a bit. Not in this thread under our main thread. Monthly Group/July 07

Correction: The poll is now up.

[Roc 0]

I, too, will be banded this month~YIPEE!! 7/20 the big day for me. I thought because of insurance I'd have to wait, but it turns out they approved right away. Good Luck to you all!!!!

[Karen2539 0]

thanks Breadlady for the notes! You answered a few of my questions already, especially the clothes... I too thought it would be becasue the port area would be very tender, makes sense though that your stomach is swollen so your clothes need to be roomy. good luck.... I have just a little over 2 weeks to go ( July 9th).

Karen

[tanzycoffeelady 0]

Hi Y'all,

I am so envious of all of you that receive coverage from insurance! I myself am selfpay $16,000.00 plus flight & accomodation, plus Optifast, plus fills - (I am grateful that I have RRSPs that I can cash in to pay for it all) Self pay is a great part of my motivation and what will be a successful rewarding journey.

I am also grateful to be a part of this group of Lucky #7s as hearing about your experiences really helps me to prepare for my surgery on July 12th @ 8am. With the time change of 3 hours from B.C. to Ontario means my body will feel like its actually 4am when I arrive at the Hospital and 5am when I have surgery - I don't know how I'll even be able to sleep. I think I'll stay awake all night - perhaps I'll sleep on the plane (5hrs) then when I arrive I'll have my night and morning showers with the surgical soap leaving a few hours in between to watch T.V. or read - funny things our brains can get consumed with - well atleast it's not food this time (I'm on day 2 of my optifast pre-op diet).

Breadlady, Did you end up getting much sleep the night before your surgery and how did that effect your recovery. Any recommendations on the amount of sleep the night before surgery? How soon do you plan to go back to work?

Thanks - Corinna

[marcyinak 0]

Although I'd love to do this chat thing, unless it's in the middle of the night here in Alaska, it just isn't feasible...kids under foot, etc. They're good kids, but they are that way because I give them attention! LOL! I don't mind if you go ahead and set up a chat and I'll see if I can join.

I get constipated when I'm nervous and it's started today! YIPEE! I'm looking at starting my pre-op diet next week and getting ready to travel for the surgery. I have to fly to Fairbanks first to pick up my sister and then we'll both fly to Denver together. I'm glad we'll be staying with some old friends...they have a guest room so I'll just camp out there. I DO have some concern flying home two days after surgery...but I think that's where pain meds will come in handy!

I'm glad to see all the new folks...boy July is filling up! Does this mean there will be some lean, mean hotties for New Year's?

[anonemouse 1]

I so understand Laurend! Are you on liquids for 2 wks? I have a hard time after 3pm. And I go into grazing mode, so I'm trying to keep busy.

I go in at 5 on the 3rd. It's so hard when I make dinner for my family and I don't get to eat it. I went to the grocery store the other day and that was a huge mistake! I was like oh I want this, oh I want that just longing for one more binge. I got out of the store with only what I came for but I'm not going to go back.

Take Care,

Abbey

I am not on total liquids, but I am restricted to two Protein Bars or shakes per day, one good meal (protein, veggies, fruit, carb), and several pieces of fruit per day. Low-fat/low-carb/low-calorie, I guess. It's not as bad as it could have been, but I'm still pretty hungry, since I'm not very fond of a lot of raw fruit. I've been playing with the schedule, though, to see if there is a way to keep myself from being hungry. The schedule the doctor gave was to have Protein shakes/bars for Breakfast and lunch and then have the meal for dinner. I've found that that makes me very hungry during the day. I've been doing better since I switched the meal to lunch-time and eat the shakes/bars for breakfast and dinner.

[chimboree26 24]

Hey everyone! Just wanted to drop in and say hello. I love our group.:love:

Lauren, keep it up. You sound like you're doing pretty well w/the pre-op diet. And yes Marcy, I'm gonna be a 'Hottie Jalottie' come January!!! Woohooo!!! What does Lynette say??? It's gonna be great in 2008??? Well yes indeed it is. Just wait and see.

Roc, welcome and congrats on your date! I know you've got 2 be excited!!!

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend. Stay encouraged! :bounce:

[phyllser 3]

Hey everyone! Just wanted to drop in and say hello. I love our group.:love:

Lauren, keep it up. You sound like you're doing pretty well w/the pre-op diet. And yes Marcy, I'm gonna be a 'Hottie Jalottie' come January!!! Woohooo!!! What does Lynette say??? It's gonna be great in 2008??? Well yes indeed it is. Just wait and see.

Roc, welcome and congrats on your date! I know you've got 2 be excited!!!

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend. Stay encouraged! :bounce:

Ditto for me, Chimboree!! An email penpal of mine who is also going to be banded soon directed me to this site & I am so grateful!! I've learned so much already & feel I'm so much better prepared for what is coming. Everyone is so supportive and caring!