March Bandsters: MASTER THREAD

[SpecialK 22]

well I am on day 2 of Clear liquids and I thought my head was ready to blow. I have had the worst headache but it is finally starting to go away. I have one day left of Clear Liquids and then I am off to surgery on the 26th I have to be there at 8:30am so I am starting to get a little nervous but after reading this site I am feeling better after reading this site. I am now just getting things together to take with me to the hospital. I figure I will wear their gown (why pack more than needed?) also the clothes that I wear there I will wear home. I will pack up my breathing gadget that they gave me and maybe a crossword puzzle. any other suggestions out there?

Okay, I'm really not that bad of a caffeine person (I'm not a Starbucks junkie) but I really enjoy a good big cup of coffee in the morning so when I went without coffee or any caffeine from Sunday until going to the hospital last Monday, I was laying in pre-op with a big headache and the nurse said, yep, lots of folks get that caffeine withdrawal headache when they have afternoon surgery and haven't had coffee or whatever. Then after surgery, they only gave me decaff tea to drink and the next morning decaff coffee to drink on Tuesday. The first thing I wanted at home was a small cup of 'real' coffee with sugarfree Creamer in it.

[lrhishere 0]

good luck to everyone, I just had my surgury on 3/20. I guess I am very lucky so far I have even been able to swallow my normal meds... I drink my Protein, but I know I am not getting enough in yet. I guess my test will come more after my fills and I have some restriction, right now I just feel a little full and puffy in the tummy....

[scrappy_friend 0]

have u all been told not to drink from a straw? i think the reason was cuz it adds extra air. ive been drinking out of a water bottle with a end on the lid that can sort of spray into my mouth. Do u think that is adding extra air to my belly and maybe making me still have this gas pain??????

[hopeinapril 1]

Good Morning Shamrocks!

It's my turn now! So, I leave for the hospital in less than an hour and will be on my way.

Fenton - I did watch TLC on Sunday and saw that show. Good thing you warned us about the infomercial way the show appears. I almost turned it off because of that, but I did watch it all. The process he taught to deal with emotional eating is called EFT. What is odd is that I learned that process just two weeks ago. I think I will continue to watch because he has some good things to say. I think it can help with the eating issues that I obviously have!

Anyway, as I sit here, I am not overly excited or worried, just ready to go. I have to admit that I slept 6 hours last night, which was good for me. I took a percocet and it helped knock me out. I have them for knee pain, but my knee wasn't really bothering me that much. I just didn't want to be awake all night.

I have a small bag of stuff. I would imagine that I won't need much of it. I have a rubick's cube to keep me interested as well as a book, magazine and newspaper. I figure I won't need much else. I did toss a small pillow in the bag for the ride home. Otherwise, I think I am set.

I did loose some weight on the clear liquid diet. I had last supper syndrome for 2 days prior to that, so my weight loss wasn't that great. But, I am almost 20 pounds down prior to surgery, so that is a good thing. Bye, bye 270's!

Well, I'm off for now. Not much else to do now, except wait to get my family up and moving and get me to the hospital! See ya all in a day or so.

P.S. Anyone that is still not banded might want to slowly decrease your caffeine intake to avoid the headaches. I can't imagine having to deal with that as well as the liquid diet.

Edited March 25, 2008 by hopeinapril

[Charity 0]

Good luck and keep us posted Hopeinapril!

[k_podski 2]

congrats, and best wishes hopeinapril!!

You go girl!:biggrin:

[Busy 0]

Good Luck HopeinApril, we will be thinking of you and will be here waiting when you get home.

[lynnt1215 1]

you go girl. I know in life skills classes you were anxious to get this done. So glad your day is here.

[Fenton 3]

HOPE!!! A *Rubik's Cube*??? OMG!

I've never been able to do one of those in my life.

I'm glad you slept well - we'll see you soon.

I haven't watched last night's I CAN MAKE YOU THIN yet, but the first ep, where he introduced the principles of conscious eating, was very good, I thought (once you got past the cheez-ee set and all around icky infommerciality of it). I'll watch it tonight - it sounds like a technique I might need.

I've been doing badly, I have to say - by which, I mean, no weight loss this week. Indeed, since coming off liquids 10 days ago, I've actually put on a pound. I was surprised by this, because I'm sure my intake has been less than 2000 calories a day. Perhaps the liquid diet turned down my metabolism or something, because my body's clearly jumping on every calorie I take in.

I'm going to have to tighten up my intake. Also, I realized last night that a Soup I'd been enjoying and thinking was 200 calories actually is 200 calories PER SERVING, with the single-serving-looking container actually being 1.5 servings. So that's an extra 100 cals a day right there...

Anyway, yes, more vigilant about the intake, more vigilant about walking and whatnot.

[Fenton 3]

Rhonda, do you hate to sip or something?

I doubt squirting Water into your mouth gives you extra air, but I'd have thought that was a good way of guzzling Water, rather than taking fluids in slowly and steadily, which is what we should probably be aiming for. I think sipping water slowly would be the best way to do it, but I don't think that squirting water into your mouth will do you much harm, as long as you don't have too much at one time.

[Fenton 3]

And hey, lrh - glad to hear you're doing well.

[chica 2]

I've been doing badly, I have to say - by which, I mean, no weight loss this week. Indeed, since coming off liquids 10 days ago, I've actually put on a pound. I was surprised by this, because I'm sure my intake has been less than 2000 calories a day. Perhaps the liquid diet turned down my metabolism or something, because my body's clearly jumping on every calorie I take in.

Fenton, I'm just starting mushies and I was warned not to freak out if I gain a few pounds during this stage. :thumbup: Our bodies have been getting mostly just Protein, very limited carbs and fat, on the liquid stage, so it's a big adjustment going into mushies. We tend to get much more in the way of carbs and fat, in particular. Plus, this is a period where we're unrestricted other than texture...

By the way, have you tried your yogurt smoothie for Protein in the morning? Just checking to see if it gave you an energy boost. Me, I've always been a Breakfast girl, just now it's in the form of protein shakes!

[thin2bme 2]

Well today is 7 day post op for me and I have to say that I have actually been hungry today, first time since surgery. I've been sticking to my menu of liquids and Soups, yogurt and Protein Drinks, but I am so ready for tomorrow to come when I can add some different more solid type foods, i.e. the mushy stage, yippee!! DH went to the store and bought some lunch meat type turkey and chicken for me even though the dietician's book that I was given shows deli sliced thin meat which to me is meat such as Buddig brand paper sliced meat. I got mad at him for not getting what I asked for, but I just don't want to hurt my band. Does anyone know if the regular sliced luncheon meat is ok for the mushy stage? He also bought some fresh pears which I absolutely love, but my book says only canned fruit beginning tomorrow and that I can't have fresh fruit for 6 months. Anybody else have to wait 6 months for fresh fruit?

[Fenton 3]

The thing is, over in the Men's Room, I see all the lads with this great weight loss, and I'm frustrated that I'm not accomplishing that. Particularly because my high starting weight should mean that I'm ploughing through the calories.

But I think you're right - this bump reflects the return of carbs, and some change in Water weight. Even so, I'm going to be hypervigilant. I wish I could be filled sooner. And I"m increasing my activity.

My new blender arrived yesterday: tomorrow I shall branch out into Protein shakes for Breakfast. I have been having a bite in the morning, but haven't noticed any change in my energy levels or whatnot. Perhaps I should be taking in more - I shall try. There was actually a piece in the New York Times today about how children who eat breakfast are statistically far more likely to be normal weight than those who routinely skip it.

[thin2bme 2]

Fenton, you might also be retaining Fluid from excess sodium that you are probably taking in now. I have found that my average sodium intake during the day is normally around 1000-1500mg and much over this amount causes me to retain Fluid. Do you track your sodium contents when you're tracking Protein and calories, this might be something you could watch out for.

We women, need to help keep you encouraged, just the same as you do us, so I'm here to tell you that you have done so well and you're so awesome to help keep us on track with your words of encouragement and advice and I just want to send you some encouragement and kind words and support your way and let you know that we also care about how your journey is going. We will get through this, we are the Shrinking Shamrocks.