Hi all,

I've really enjoyed your post but I have only seen one other person for the Cleveland area, so I would like to start a place for all of us die-hard Clevelanders to come together and talk, and share information. What do you say????

Hey Forestcat-

I think the crushed ice and sponge thingie are standard if you ask for them. I swear I remember reading or hearing about it somewhere, which is how I knew to ask.

ok, i had some halloween candy today..ugh...not a ton, but a couple pieces. Really healthy dinner and breakfast, though. This is a rough time of the yr not to have a fill!

Let me know how it is going w/the optifast!

terrisch,

The Optifast is deee-lish ......and I've managed to make it through the first day. The only problem I had was I only took 1 to have for lunch, and I REALLY needed another one around 3:00, so I'll do that tomorrow. The chocolate bar wasn't too bad if I drank water with it. Did you like the bars?

Don't beat yourself up about the candy - it happens. The guy who works in the office with me brought in a bucket of candy, but I didn't have a problem with it once the Tootsie Pops were gone. I love those things, but apparently so does everyone else because they were gone in a day. And the stuff that's left isn't chocolate, so as far as I'm concerned - why bother?

Good Luck with your fill! Let me know how it goes.

Hi terrisch and sbee! How are you both doing? terrisch - how was your fill?

I wanted to let you know my good news - my surgery has been moved to Nov 1st! The surgeons office called me at work today and asked if I would be able to do it, and I immediately said YES! I'm so glad now that I've managed to stay on the liquid diet - although today I forgot to take an Optifast bar to work and I was starving and I starting thinking maybe there was something I could eat from one of the vending machines.....but after the phone call I gave up that idea!

So that's my news! I hope you both are doing great!

Hey Forestcat

That is fantastic news!! Next week!!!! I am so excited for you. You'll be able to eat blenderized thanksgiving dinner!

I hope you have the same easy recovery that I had...only needed narcotics for pain the night of and day after surgery. Tylenol was enough starting Saturday (Just don't forget to crush the pills!!)

Got the fill this morning...what a breeze! And I can tell it is helping. I am staying full longer. Have to go back to full liquids for 2 days. I really wanted a fill b/c I just wasn't staying full long, and could eat anything. Amazingly my wt stayed the same even though I didn't have any restriction.

I am a big needle wuss (I didn't look at the needle), but I swear it was painless. The port site is very mildly tender, but definitely tolerable.

Gotta get back to exercising. Was doing great until I caught a bad cold last week.

I thought the chocolate Optifast bars were ok, definitely better than thte pb. But to be honest I didn't think they were so good that I was able to eat as many as I was supposed to!

Terrish

Great news Forestcat!!!! I am so happy for you. All is going well on my end. I"m back to work and it feels like I never had the surgery. I was getting bummed out since I am eating food now and am having a hard time feeling full. (when I realize I'm full, it's too late and I am stuffed) The good news is even though I think that I am overeating, I'm still eating less than before. I get my fill on the 7th (can't wait) and I need to get back to exercising so hopefully the pound will start flying off again.

It funny how I'm getting upset that I only lost 2 lbs in two weeks when I wasn't losing before.

Good luck and keep us posted on how you're doing.

Terrish-thanks for the fill information, I was starting to worry about that upcoming experience. Do you think you have enough in your band? Did you feel tight immediately? Can you tell when you are full better than before? Thanks?

Hi Sbee

I really didn't notice anything right after the fill. I had to drink some water in the office to make sure it wasn't too tight and had no symptoms. The surgeon told me that it usually takes at least 2 fills before noticing a significant difference in fullness. I go back in 4 wks for another fill, but he told me if I don't notice any difference to come back sooner.

I noticed this afternoon, after eating some chicken too quickly, that it felt like it was stuck. Nothing too awful, but uncomfortable.

It has been a tough weekend b/c I have PMS and am craving chocolate and sweets!

Will be back at work tomorrow and will have very regimented meal times, but Halloween week is hard for everyone, I think!

hi sbee and terrisch -

Just a quick check-in to see how you are doing. terrisch-how is the fill feeling? And sbee - are you looking forward to your fill?

I'm getting things ready for Thurs. Still doesn't feel like it's real. But the liquid diet feels VERY REAL! What time were your surgeries, and what time did you both get to go home the next day?

3 more days!

Hey Forestcat!

Wow, 3 more days!!! So exciting!

My surgery was scheduled for something like 9:30, but I didn't go in until after noon. Apparently the surgery before mine was longer than expected due to complications (pt had bypass, not a band). So I had a LONG wait, alone, in the pre-op waiting area. That wasn't fun. But hopefully that won't happen to you.

I left the next day around 2 pm. Couldn't wait to get home!! I was in the telemetry unit instead of bariatric unit (moved there thurs night due to my slow heart rate), so it was a bit unorganized, but went just fine. You are going to do great!

My fill went fine; I can tell I still need another one to make this band really effective. But I have had that "stuck" feeling a couple times. This week has been TOUGH between PMS and halloween (2 parties this week). Too many tempting foods, but I still don't eat as much. And I have started exercising again which should help.

Thursday will be here before you know it!

Tomorrows the day Forestcat!!!! :whoo:I just wanted to say good luck and welcome to bandland. I was suppossed to be at the hospital at noon but didn't go into surgery until about 4. (I also has a long surgery before me.) Again good luck and don't forget to check in when you get home and feel up to it.

Terrish-With the PMS and the parties have you cheated?? I am also PMS-ing and I teach kids so these past few days have been super difficult. I have cheated and feel so bad, but I have noticed that my cheats are not as awful as before the band. I ate 3 Doritos, and a Tootsie roll.

Hey Forestcat have you checked in with the November monthly group? I know the October threads help me out sometimes. Just a thought....

Forestcat, it is almost here!!! Good luck w.everything. Hope you will get a chance to check in with us sometime soon.

Sbee, yes I have cheated, and more than your cheat, but still less than what I would have eaten last yr at this time. We had catered lunches x 2 days at work, and I ate mostly salad and fruit, but did have small pieces of dessert. I have noticed that I have trouble eating potatoes (not mashed, but roasted red potatoes, wedges, etc). They get stuck and it is very uncomfortable. Will avoid those in the future! But amazingly I can eat everything else...all veggies (even asparagus, which is one of my favorites), bread, Pasta, etc. and avoiding fluids w/meals really hasn't been as challenging as I thought it would be.

I definitely will need at least one more fill before this band really starts helping!

Happy Halloween!

Hello!

I'm home and doing pretty good! The surgery went fine, the Dr's and nurses were ALL great. I had a large hiatal hernia that was a surprise (it didn't show up on any of the xrays) so the surgeon fixed that also.

I'm doing all the walking and sipping and coughing - along with the pain meds, and feel like I'm right on track. The only thing out of the ordinary I have to do is give myself a shot of blood thinners for 7 days. This is because my sister had a blood clot once, and they feel they run in families. They had me do the shot before I came home yesterday. I've never had to do such a thing before - but I'll do what I gotta do!!

It sounds like you both are doing well and working with your bands until you hit your "sweet spots".

My pain med is kicking in, so I think it's time for a nap! Talk to you soon!

Welcome Home and welcome to bandland. I'm sure you're tired and sore but believe me it will pass. I'm sure your resting but thanks for checking in. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

Day 5 after surgery and feeling better every day. The only issue I'm having, and it isn't too bad, is my crushed meds making me nauseous and a little woozy in the head. I'm on 6 different meds, some I have to take 3times a day because I used to take time released. I've tried mixing the meds with different things, and found that the Optifast is pretty good, and so far SF hot chocolate is the best.

I've made my 3 week checkup appt, plus I have to see my PCP before that for a BP check. So things are going well, and I'm using this time to heal and rest, and plan for the next step on my journey.

Hi Forestcat!

Happy to hear things are going well so far. I also had to get the shots to prevent blood clots. Was so happy when that was over.

You've lost 30 pounds so far!?! That is great!!!

I need another fill...have one scheduled in 3 weeks, but might try to get in earlier (he suggested I do this if I didn't have a response to the first fill).

When are you returning to work?