Hey everyone! I hope you guys don't mind that I've started a new thread. I've been talking to Terri from Dr. B's office, and she wants to email all of Dr. Bagnato's patients about this website and this support chat that all of us Bagnato Bandsters have going on. She was really impressed by how we've been supporting each other and wants all of Dr. B's patients to be able to come here and get support.

I wanted the title of the thread to be clear and make sure everyone who was banded by Dr. Bagnato knows that they are welcome here, even if they don't live in Albany.

For anyone who is interested, we have formed a support group and have decided to meet once a month.

Our first group meeting will be Feb. 7th at Ruby Tuesday in Tifton, Ga at 6:00 pm. This meeting is basically just a "get to know each other" meeting. I hope to see all of you there!

Brina;

I'm glad that you came through your surgery fine. I had no doubt!! Be sure to put the little ointment in the tube on your band when the vibrations become more intense. It really did help me a lot, as I have never heaved once.

Get some rest, remember to try and walk as much as possible and I'll be thinking of you. Take care.

Brina,

I am so glad you home and doing so well. If you get nauseated again, you can call Dr. B's office and they can call you in some Phenergan suppositories (not fun to use, but it really helped me). Beware if you use it, it will make you extremely sleepy, so you can't forget to wake up to drink your fluids. Let us know if you have any questions and we will be glad to answer what we can. Take it easy.

Allykat,

The zappy wrist thing looks kinda like a watch that goes around your wrist and it sends tiny shocks through your wrist and it help with the nausea. Everyone else said it worked wonders for them, but I was still nauseous. Bamboobabe is right, keep that ointment on your wrist and it's not that bad. It starts to hurt slightly if it gets too dry.

Good luck with your surgery tomorrow. Try not to worry too much and get a good night sleep tonight. Your in my prayers and please let us know how you are doing as soon as you feel like posting.

Hitman,

Good luck with your procedure too! Try not worry too much. I assure you, this is the best decision I've ever made regarding my health. Where are you from and where are you having your sugery?

hello everyone:

i am still doing well. Jsut not zipping around the house like i normally do.

I have been sticking to the liquid diet, but it seems like i have to force myself to eat it. I am not trying to complain about my lack of hunger, but i was wondering how long it took you guys to actually fell hungry.

yes, i know that i *just* had surgery the other day, but i have no idea how my body is able to sustain itself on what I am (more like, what I am not) eating.

I guess it it just weird for me to have to force myself to eat or drink.

Thanks Georgia Girl! I am starting to get nerves but I this to will pass. I am from Florida (Gator Country, Gainesville). I am a transit from Jacksonville, Fl. I have been here for about 5 years now.

Well, I am home and it is done. I will confess to a few tears as they wheeled me into the holding area just before taking me into the OR. I was just so scared for some reason. Dr. Bagnato did not come by to talk to me but talked to my DH and sister. Said everything went fine. I am coming out of the fog okay...just took some pain meds. My upper abdomen, just under th ebreast bone and my back are what really hurts. I'm sure it is just gas. I have walked around a good bit today but I'm still in pain. nures said Gas zx strips would not do anything...did they help anyone else?

hello everyone:

i am still doing well. Jsut not zipping around the house like i normally do.

I have been sticking to the liquid diet, but it seems like i have to force myself to eat it. I am not trying to complain about my lack of hunger, but i was wondering how long it took you guys to actually fell hungry.

yes, i know that i *just* had surgery the other day, but i have no idea how my body is able to sustain itself on what I am (more like, what I am not) eating.

I guess it it just weird for me to have to force myself to eat or drink.

I'm pretty sure I didn't start to feel hungry for at least 4 weeks, maybe 5 (I don't remember exactly). I do think I had more swelling than most people though, so maybe that had something to do with it.

Well, I am home and it is done. I will confess to a few tears as they wheeled me into the holding area just before taking me into the OR. I was just so scared for some reason. Dr. Bagnato did not come by to talk to me but talked to my DH and sister. Said everything went fine. I am coming out of the fog okay...just took some pain meds. My upper abdomen, just under th ebreast bone and my back are what really hurts. I'm sure it is just gas. I have walked around a good bit today but I'm still in pain. nures said Gas zx strips would not do anything...did they help anyone else?

Glad to hear your surgery went well Allykat! I really didn't have a whole lot of gas right after surgery. I did notice I had more gas when I began eating, I took the chewable gas-x for that and it seemed to really help. I've heard that walking helps more than anything, so you're on the right track. Get lots of rest and take it easy for a while. Let us know if you have anymore questions.

Well I know why the area by my belly button hurts. When I first got home I thought i had only three incisions on my abdomen. then i saw the tiniest pice of sting hanging from my belly button and realized i had four incisions.

I meant to ask about the back ache too. I still ahve that. I wont say I am in dire pain, but is is aggrivating!! i feel like i have the burp of the century waiting to come out. Matter of fact, I think all i need is one giant, grown man who has been drinking hot beer for three days kinda belches and all will be well. :smile2:

AllyKat, i am very happy to hear that you did well. Told ya' that you'd do great!

i guess the gas thing varies. I think i had a moderate amount. I have not taking any gas-x yet, but i am gonna start to try it. I jsut HATE chewing pills! i dotn care if they are the flinstone vitamins that we are supposed to take or the strawberry flavored gas-x that i might try to take. Yuk!

but get some rest. take it easy and walk around when you can.

Let us know how you are doing when you ge the time.

Georgia Girl: No more pain for you right? that whole urinary/gallbaldder /what the heck is it thingie has resolved, right?

Well, I am home and it is done. I will confess to a few tears as they wheeled me into the holding area just before taking me into the OR. I was just so scared for some reason. Dr. Bagnato did not come by to talk to me but talked to my DH and sister. Said everything went fine. I am coming out of the fog okay...just took some pain meds. My upper abdomen, just under th ebreast bone and my back are what really hurts. I'm sure it is just gas. I have walked around a good bit today but I'm still in pain. nures said Gas zx strips would not do anything...did they help anyone else?

Welcome to band land allyKat!! The gas-x strips never help me at all- in fact the only thing that did was walking around and moving around in bed. The back and upper abdomen pain sound like gas so try and move around as much as you can. Congrats on a successful surgery! Keep us updated!

I've been having a rough time of it lately watching the scale go up, then back down with the same few pounds. The zero restriction is tough. Sometimes I have such great will power and then other days, not so much. I mean I obviously suck at long term dieting because I knew I needed help and had WLS. I had a terrible day today and just felt like emotional eating everything in sight. I spent my whole lunch hour crying to my fiance about what a crappy day it was and how it was one thing after another and how I had spent a fortune and was STILL gaining weight. I had such a defeatest attitude. After work I begrudgingly got us all fed and ready for church tonight as we are having revival. What a blessing it was for me. I have been going at this the wrong way totally. I have been putting this stupid weight loss first above everything. And when I'd find myself depressed about the scales not moving, I would let it affect my entire life. I have been down right awful lately. I keep hearing those words in the back of my head that say 'you'll never be thin, you can't even do it with WLS' and honestly that is how I've felt. I realized tonight that I just need to trust that God has a plan for me and that if I put HIM first above everything then he will give me the strength to get through anything that I cross. Even stupid plateau's and those evil carbs! I know it won't all be roses and I'm sure I'll struggle some more, but I want to be able to look back on this post and remind myself that I just have to have faith. I will be more than just the fat girl. One day I'm just going to be Mia. What a great day that will be!

My weight (gain or loss) had been the center of my existence ofr years. I mean you could pretty much tell where i was in my eternal "diet" by my mood. If i got on the scale and I was down a few pounds...I am ready to break out the streamers and the champagne cuz all was well with the world. if the scale (liar that it is) had the *audacity* to tell me that I had gained weight.. then Off with It's head and cancel Christmas. I had to stop living like that. It was "this would not be (insert problem here) if i was not fat. it sounds really dramtic to me now...but every once in a while it seems like the purest logic in teh world.

even before i decided to have this WLS i was telling myself that everything would be all rainbows and kittens once I lost this weight and started looking more like an "after" photo than a "before" photo. I have to give myself reality checks quite often. I am not a huge fan of Dr. Phil, but I will give him credit for this one.

Reality check: you can never, ever, use weight loss to solve problems that are not related to your weight. At your goal weight or not, you still have to live with yourself and deal with your problems. You will still have the same husband, the same job, the same kids, and the same life. Losing weight is not a cure for life. ~Phillip C. McGraw

I am slowly teaching myself that I can not use the scale as in indicator of my happiness. I am not going to act as if i have perfected this, but i am trying very hard to not do it. I have already accepted the fact that there will be times that I will still be unhappy with my weight, but i cant let it pull the rest of my life down. I have also realized that my weight will always be an inssue for me...it WILL be something that I have to manage for the rest of my life. However, the key thing is that I won't let my weight completely manage my happiness. It will be a factor in my happiness...i cant help that...but it will not be the sole captain of my happiness.

Mia, i honestly think if you keep the attitude that you have you will do great. I can tell by the way you brought out that "S" on your chest and your cape near the end of your post! :blushing: Not to mention you have the support of some of the most fantastic people in the state of Georgia :cough: bagnato bandits :cough:.

Note: I do apologize for the length of my posts and the fact that i think i sounded like a psychiatrist..but none of my freinds who are of normal weight have this "the scale rules my life" attitude and they jsut dont seem to grasp it. it still hurts me when i see people doing that because i was the Ultra Princess Diva of allowing my happiness to go up and down with the scales.

Brina;

Thanks for the post. Your words were expressed beautifully. So much so that I felt as though I was speaking them. Thanks again, and I'm glad you're healing well.

Mia;

Sometimes we just have to step outside of our "woe is me box" and be grateful for all that we have. And this includes the extra weight. The way I see it, some people have crack, alcohol, gambling, etc. I have food. That's my addiction, but it can be managed with this wonderful new tool. Isn't a good sermon just wonderful when you need it most? Thank God for Jesus! Take Care.

Georgia Girl: No more pain for you right? that whole urinary/gallbaldder /what the heck is it thingie has resolved, right?

No more pain right now, thank goodness! I'm not exactly sure what was going on, but I feel great right now and I hope it stays that way, lol. I'm sure if it's gallbladder, it will come back. I ended up cancelling my appointment because all the symptoms went away.........decided I would wait it out a bit. Other than the back pain and soreness, are you doing okay?