Hey all.

So there's a bunch of us in this group, all split up into our different banding days. I was thinking that it might be a good idea to have one master thread as we move through the month, in which all of us could post as we go, from the pioneers going on March 1st to the finalists on March 31st.

I'd love to talk about our anticipation and any worries as we approach our banding date, for people to talk about exactly what happened from the moment they walked into the hospital door until the second they walked out, about how recovery is going, about weight loss and plateaus, about non-scale victories and challenges.

I was thinking that if we all contribute to one thread, it'll form a more substantial channel for information and support. At the moment, I was thinking that we might be too spread out into individual date, and that a central thread would be a really good backbone for the group, in addition to the date-specific threads.

What do you think?

Fenton

THANK YOU, Amanda! I saved it this time.......

I love my bike....I've been riding for about seven years...it's a great stress reliever for me!

This is mine all loaded down (the black and white one), we took a 3,000 mile trip through Southern Utah, Arizona and Nevada last year.....it was glorious!

Do you have that helmet with the walkie talkies in it?:confused2:

Congrats to all the major achievers around here! And WOW, Kerri - you look great!

And WOW Ajoneen - your husband sounds like a keeper!

I've been feeling a bit of hunger lately. I think I'm going to slide back into liquids for a little while, see if I can shrink the stomach again and ease up on the hunger pains. If not, I guess I'm due for a band adjustment...

Edited April 8, 200818 yr by Fenton

He couldn't wait until you could fit into a Bikini!!!

Have a great time!!!

sharon:)

WOW, a trip to Bermuda, what a sweetie of a husband

Those bikes look fabulous, Harley. I have only riden as a passenger, never been in control of one myself.

Thanks for the quidelines. I always can use a quick reference to keep me on track.

Back to work tomorrow, UGH!!!!! and just in time for the weather to make an upswing to warmer weather and I'll be couped up indoors all day.

And thanks for the ideas for lunch ideas. I am hitting the grocery store today to find things easy to prepare or tke with me to work. I do find moving to mushies/purees, that I have trouble getting in protein, so I am still taking in a few protein drinks.

Do you have that helmet with the walkie talkies in it?:confused2:

NO!! Remember the part about it being a great stress reliever......it is a good time to NOT talk to each other.....:thumbs_up:

Fenton you mentioned shrinking your pouch. Check out this link:

Surgical Weight Loss 5 Day Pouch Test

The whole site is pretty informative. Living After Weight Loss Surgery

I think you should go have one of those hot stone massages for losing 10% of your total. Not a nifty new toy but nice all the same. :drool:

Harley- LOL

For a quick lunch I like the Sunkist tuna medley. Spiced up tuna in single serve portions with a few crackers. Just enough. I think there are 5 flavors. Between 200-250 cals.:frown:

Well, I clearly need to get me one o' them Supportive Husbands!

Thanks, Amanda, that was kind of along the lines of what I was thinking of doing. The liquids-for-a-while thing, not the "hot stone massage" - Jeez, I'm a dude! I'm not getting a "massage" unless I know there'll be a Happy Ending!

I jest. Well, not about the liquids. But the liquid thing will be limited, for tomorrow night I'm taking two friends out to dinner, where I have every intention of having a slab of New York Strip with Bordelaise Sauce and Beer-battered Onion Rings and Bone Marrow and Mustard Custard! Which means, since I shall only eat half of my steak, that I shall have steak for the next two days...

Oh, wait - that's not until Friday. OK! Liquids for two days, then mushies for two! It's ON!!!

I have a confession.... I've had a blast updating this thread with all the bandster dates on it since someone asked Gee, I wonder how many Shrinking Shamrocks there are?? The list is over 228 now!

I'm only adding as I spy one I haven't seen before so if you're posting on the Master thread I'll pick up on it from here.

Yes...I do have a life! LOL.... just started it for fun and now it keeps growing.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f114/march-2008-bandster-dates-57036/

Edited April 8, 200818 yr by SpecialK
Link added

thin2bme

I notice we were banded on the same day. Thanks for the tip on the CalorieSmart the other day. I just bought 1 on Ebay becasue you spoke so highly of it. Got it for $67 (including shipping). Will let you all know how I like it later.

Ummm, okay, can we all say crash and burn? One week out, and I was doing sooooo very well. And I even avoided the BBQ Debacle of 2008 this weekend. Yet the sister and her fast food fanatic boyfriend strike again. They went to McDonald's again this evening. They are the true Dollar Menu-nairs! They come home, I am safely ensconced in my computer room igorning them. I guess that they forgot something, because they left again. I go downstairs just as innocent as can be, intending to get a bottle of water. And there, on my dining room table, is 2 very large bags of McD's. I open them in a trance, and I find a starving womans paradise: two very large piping hot fries, three double cheeseburgers, 3 5 piece nuggets, and two salads.

O

M

G.

Seriously. Before I could even blink, I think that I inhaled at least 10 fries. Not sure if I actually chewed, that point is up for interpretation. But what shames me the most, is that I actually took the bun off one of the doubles and took a small bite out of the middle of the burger. Then I promptly put the bun back on and placed it back in the bag. All in all, I really only ate a small amount, but I am totally crushed right now. I was doing so well! And I am only a week out, how on earth could I possibly make it to a fill? I know that so much of this is head hunger, because my body isn't really hungry. Okay, it really kind of is, but I like to lie to myself to get through the day. But it felt good, sooooo sinfully sinfully good, to freakin CHEW AND SWALLOW.

Can anyone spell shame spiral????? ugh :thumbup:

Edited April 9, 200818 yr by BrandNewLisa

Well, my incisions are not infected, but I have some raging allergic reaction affecting the skin around them. At least this is what the doctor and her resident "think" is going on. They think it's a reaction to the adhesive on the steristrips which have been off for a week tomorrow.

I drove 2 hours with my 3 kids to her office this afternoon and then waited 2 hours to see her and then drove home almost 3 hours nearly getting into an accident with someone who swerved to avoid someone and then lost control, crossing 5 lanes of busy traffic and crashing into the cement divider and stopping his demolished car right in front of my 1 week old minivan. He then rolled out of his car onto the road. I called 911 and got out to help the poor guy. He had just had heart surgery in Sept and was having chest pain, the police arrived quickly and I was able to drive away. No one else was hurt, no other car was ivolved. It is truly a miracle. My car was stopped right on top of all of his car's bits and pieces and all the fluids that ooze on a scene like that, but no damage. I feel so blessed. I was able to get to a pharmacy just as they were closing to get my prescription. They say I should see improvement in a couple fo days. If not I need to see the doctor again.

I pray the guy in the accident is just shaken up and thank God that no one else got hurt.

Christine

Lisa, I am so sorry that you have to live in the situation you are in right now. I know how hard it is to have others eating anything and everything right in front of you. This is just a short phase in this journey. If we can stay strong for a little while longer we will get out fills and hopefully feel the restriction we need to make this easier.

Right now I have no restriction. I really struggle to keep my intake down. Last night I had a horrible binge and hope I have not done damage that may hit me in a few years with a slip or erosion. I'm only 2 weeks out. I have my fill scheduled for the 22nd. I went back to fluids today and will continue that this week. I have more control with the fluids than the mushies.

I wish there were some magic words I could post to make it easier. Just know you are not alone.

Hugs!

Christine

Edited April 9, 200818 yr by nycm00

Lisa! Ten fries and a little bit of patty? Big whoop. Seriously. A couple hundred calories? 300? That's nothing. And those are soft foods, so they didn't stress your band or anything.

I think the big risk here - and I'm projecting now - is that you say "Oh, well, that's IT! I blew it! Oh, well, might as well go down and finish off those fries and eat the rest of that burger!"

Because it's not like that, not like that AT ALL! You had a little calorie bump, took in more than you were intending. Tomorrow you can walk a little bit more to make up for it.

Just don't use this as your excuse to fall apart. It sucks that they bring that crap in there, but you're going to have to stay strong with it.

If you really wanted to stir things up, the next time she's down there chowing down on the McD's, go downstairs and say "Doesn't doing that disgust you? I mean, eating that crap, ruining your body and your health? It's just DISGUSTING!" I'd wager she'd be more likely to start eating her meals in the restaurants or in the car...

CHRISTINE! You are the Jason Bourne of the March Bandsters!

I'm glad you and the kids (and the new minivan!) are OK! The whole afternoon sounds like a nightmare. I told Fielding they should open up a freestanding institute, so there'd be more people to look after everyone; I imagine it's a question of time before they do something like that, because I think banding is going to continue to explode, particularly when more of the diabetes studies come out.