Banded June 5, 2008

Thread Starter  

This hasn't been too bad so far. How is everyone else doing?

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Hello,

No, it hasn't been too bad...but I am dying to move on to the mushy stage!

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Romy
Surgeon: Joseph Johnson
Date: 6/5/08
210/202/196/130
start/pre-op/now/goal

Romy...me toooooooooooo!!!!!!!! I'm soooo sick of having broth!!! I need some flavor!!! Can't wait till tomorrow!!! :)

What do you get to eat tomorrow?

I have a post-op appointment tomorrow - I am so hoping to move on to mushies!

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Romy
Surgeon: Joseph Johnson
Date: 6/5/08
210/202/196/130
start/pre-op/now/goal

So today I've started my SF FF pudding, cream soups, V8 juice and LF yogurt! How excited I was to finally get some flavor...but now I have no appetite for some reason...I'm not even hungry! I forced myself to have some soup and I've been sipping on the V8 and that's about it! I go to see my Surgeon in an hour...let's see what he says. How's everything with you?

I've added scrambled eggs and refried beans. Will have some pudding lately. It tasted so good to get a little flavor. I had my post op yesterday and lost 9 lbs since surgery!! But I feel rather dizzy at least once a day.

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Hi Everyone,

I am doing really well. Had my post op appt yesterday and was promoted to full liquids - still another week before mushies.

I am totally full on 1/4 cup of soup and 1/4 cup of V8

Love having a bit of flavor that isn't sweet! You all sound great!

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Mary in Las Vegas



Banded: June 5, 2008

I just banded on Monday and have been on the CIB liquid diet for 3 weeks now. I have always hated V-8, but I tell you, it sounds so good right now. I think I may have to give it another try and appreciate what it has to offer - flavor and nutrition!

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Rxdspncr
Minnesota


"Banding" date - June 9th, 2008

Hello all. I was banded on June 9th. I'm drinking protein shakes and drinking vitamin water and Propel. Today, I had a baby yogurt and ensure and was so full and sleepy afterwards. Question...does anyone else constantly dream about food. Since being home from the hosp. I dream about food everytime I sleep. Is this normal. My preop weight was 250. Haven't had a weigh in yet, but I feel smaller already.

Oh, and also, my sister had the band back in 06. She said she wasn't able to drink in gulps, but I still can. Is this ok? Also, what will happen if I introduce baby food into my diet b4 the mushy stage?
I also find myself asking my friends and family constantly about what they're eating. It's almost like I'm living vicariously through them.

all of you that were banded on the 5th, how is your healing going? what is your level of activity? I haven't had too much of an appetite, but i think it's more boredom with what i can have, that i'd rather have nothing. my husband was banded a month ago, and is also a nurse. he told me today he thought it would be fine to have a scrambled egg and grits. i also had a pudding for the first time since surgery. it all went down fine, i just ate slow, just in case. i wish you all the best!

Hi all. It is so great to have support on line. I was banded June 6th so I'm 1 week out. I'm on the stage 3 puree stuff/soft diet too. It's so boring but so worth it in the end. I'm making oatmeal, soft scrambled eggs, smoothies, and low fat creamy soup. Trying to have fun with all this but have to be creative. Best wishes to everyone!!

I'm doing much better now that I can have mushies. I was having a hard time watching food commercials, let alone being around my husband while he was eating. Now, I'm eating cream of wheat, scrambled eggs, a yummy zucchini custard from the wonderful "Eating Well after Weight Loss Surgery" book, tuna pulverized with light ranch dressing (a kind of tuna pate)...now I feel satisfied.

I still have pain around my port area - but I understand that's not unusual.

I go back to work tomorrow....unfortunately!

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Romy
Surgeon: Joseph Johnson
Date: 6/5/08
210/202/196/130
start/pre-op/now/goal

Hi June 5th mates,
I've been doing great. Haven't had any issues with food yet. Though last night I think I had my first case of 'head hunger'. We went to my husbands favorite mexican restaurant for Father's Day. And those chips looked so good and tempting. It was the first time I wanted food that I couldn't have. I ordered me a side of refried beans and was fine with them but oh those chips!

I'm off my b/p meds already so that is cool. My incisions itche some so guess that's a good sign they are healing. I'm still tired a lot. The hardest part is getting in all the liquids and protein. I'm not to eat more than 4 oz at a time and allow the pouch to rest 3 hours, well that's hard to get in the required amounts then.

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I was banded April 3, 2008 in Monterrey, MX. I am a male, a former athlete (college football) and used to be in pretty good shape at 215 pounds. I do not not have advice for you all, because everybody's different. This is simply a telling of my experience. No one, except the medical people, know that I had the surgery, not even my wife or teen-aged daughter. I keep my shirt on or the lights off, if you are wondering. I would like to recommend banding to my brothers and one of my fat nephews but I will not because, first, I would be labeled as "goofy" and second, my weight loss success would be viewed by them as "cheating." Over the years I have lost weight through Atkins (40 pounds) and most recently Weight Watchers (55 pounds). Of course, because of the emotional nature of my eating patterns, I gained it all back and more. Banding is working for me. I have not had a fill and will not, unless I suddendly have serious problems overeating. At first (for about two weeks) I had trouble keeping food down. I told my wife I was going on a fast. About a month later I ate a small meal 1/3 chicken breast (chewed very slowly and swallowed in teeny bits) and a little cottage cheese and it stayed down, so that satisfied her that I was getting "nutrition." The thing I like about this is that if I try to gorge because of emotional turmoil, I immediately feel ill and it comes back up. After that little experience of "erping" I lose the desire to eat. It seems I read a lot about posters who about obsess over food, dream about it and so on, so I guess I'm lucky in that respect. I will not have a fill until absolutely necessary. I do chew sugarless gum and munch on a small chunk of beef jerky like its a chaw of tobacco, until there's nothing left but some grit that I spit out into a plastic cup, like a chaw. Sounds gross but the craving disappears. I do carry bottled water and little packets of sugarless crystal lite with me around in my car. I also daily drink an 8 oz protein drink mixed in crystal light, take vitamins, and a packet of vitamin C mix stirred into water. If I want a real taste treat, I will pour a plastic cup full of bran flakes or corn flakes and stir in milk and splenda and skim milk. I don't blend it, just stir it and then sip the milk. If you're worried about swallowing the cereal, use a strainer and just drink the milk. Another sweet treat is the sugarless "Popsicle" brand ice pops. 4 carbs, 15 calories. These are just some of my tricks I invented. I have lost 23 pounds, from 310 on April 3, 2008 to June 16, 2008 (2 months and 13 days). Yesterday, for Father's Day, my wife and daughter treated me to a restaraunt meal (brunch) after church. I had 3 strips of bacon, two eggs topped with hollandaise sauce and coffee and water. That special order was not on the menu, but the restaurant staff had no problem with preparing it. I ate very, very slowly so there would be no ill feeling or running to the bathroom. My family was done quickly and sat chatting while I chewed, chewed, chewed and sipped, sipped, sipped. I am so aware that there are repercussions from stuffing my face. I am okay with all this. I also started bike-riding this past week and am playing golf four times a week with my daughter (and even alone when she can't go). I have rarely played golf my entire life.
As I say, I have not had a fill, but the band is working for me. I am not "trying" to lose like before, because I know I can't do what I used to do. It's easier to live like this. Most of the time I don't even think about having this thing inside me, which is good because that thought of a foreign object within me bothered me a bit before the surgery. I thank God I found a good doctor who was competent (Dr. Rumbaut in Mexico). I do sincerely thank Jesus, for providing me with the money and the oppoturnity to do this surgery. When I saw the poverty in Mexico, I was shocked. I realized how blessed I really was and that this weight problem was minor compared to the lives many of those folks live. I gave away all my money I had in by billfold to people in stores, and the nurses and the airport. I wish I had taken more cash with me. That is all. Thanks for listening to my ramblings.