julieburns

:lb9: Stormy and Charlie, you are true bandsters now!!!! Can't wait to hear the whole story. So glad you seem to be doing fine. Keep us posted! And the hunger thing is in your head and it can be rough at times these first few weeks. Stay focused on your goal....liquids only as much as you can tolerate.

I was just thinking of you. I knew you would be there. I called your house and left a message as you had left yesterday. Have a great day. this is the beginning of the new you!!

The most often used pre-op diet consists of using any kind of weight loss shake, not specifically optifast so you do have a choice here. I used slim fast optima and Atkins advantage. There are numerous types of these on the market. Some people love certain ones and another person can say they couldn't stand the same one. Be careful and look at the carbohydrate and protein content so you know what you are getting.

Anxiety is a tough one to tame, especially under these circumstances. Try and turn it into POSITIVE energy. Everyone here has made it through this "night before" place. We all have our own issues. I've never read "Geee I wish I would have packed more" so take out even more from your suitcase. Have your liquid toiletries, if you have any, in a 1 qt. ziploc bag to take out quickly and easily at the airport security checkpoint, 3 oz. or less. Wear shoes you can slip on and off easily for this too as well as after surgery you can't bend over to tie shoes. You don't need your ID to cross into TJ just for the trip coming home so have it ready then. Don't forget your sunglasses!! Relax, kick back and stop stressing yourself out. Your surgery and recovery will go much smoother for you if your body hasn't been in "frenzy" mode for 48 hours. You release adrenaline and histamines that are counter productive to the healing process. Hang in there sweetie, you will get through this. Oh and take the number for the OCC with you. You should have it on your original paperwork you have to take down but just in case at the airport you get lost or the feeling they arn't coming,you can give them a quick buzz easily.

I just got a catalog in the mail today for "Jessica London". They have " buy now and no payment until 11/08 " on the front cover. Check it out.

I love "silhouettes.com". Yes you do have to pay for shipping which always seems too much. Although for the convenience of ordering from home sometimes this is worth it. They do have clearance items and I've gotten great deals in those section. Other items are reasonable priced.

No you don't have to give up beef. SOME people have trouble with certain types of beef, others don't. You won't know until you try it. Use the rules, tiny pieces, pea size at first and go slow and chew, chew, chew. Stop between bites like 2-4 minutes and see how each single bit goes. If you go this slow you will know as soon as you start to "feel" the lump of food go down and will be able to quit BEFORE you have this severe a problem. The problems come when you have tested things and then forget the "rules" and go to fast and don't chew well enough.

There is the absolutely best authentic Mexican restaurant like 5-6 blocks from the hotel. It's a huge bright yellow building that if you ask the driver beforehand he will point it out to you, he usually points it out to everyone anyway. It is walking distance, on the same side of the street as the hotel. Now this is the best for authentic mexican and they have a huge variety of stuff that isn't "gross", just good. Now at the Hotel though is a fabulous Italian restaurant. You go outside and can sit by the pool in the evening and again it is fabulous. You can't get the broth soups there so for that you have to eat in the restaurant in the hotel lobby after banding. I highly recommend the Italian place though, the name isn't coming to me right now but it is delicious!! Kisses

Yes I forget to mention these as I tried all of them and they didn't make a difference for me. I am glad you mentioned these as something to try first before any sort of OTC "medication".

I don't quite understand what you mean by this? Taking fiber EVERYDAY is crucial to those whenever intake is reduced, such as by the lapband. My favorite is benefiber but metamucil and many other types of daily fiber supplements are out there. They will not constipate you when taken as directed EVERY day. Also a daily stool softener can help in the same way. Choose one though not both. When I forget a few days then I notice it as you describe but within a day or two of starting it again things "equal" out so to speak. It sounds like you currently feel "bloated" but not by water? If so then yes for sure start a stool softener and the fiber supplement today and use a few doses a day to get thing moving. Hope this helps Cathy, I know how uncomfortable this can be. I have suffered from alterations in bowel output for years and it didn't get any better once I got banded until I started using Benefiber every day. It's a miracle for me.

So glad you were able to check in...yes I'd never thought I'd be so dependent on the internet. Don't be too worried about our weight loss although we all want to lose as much as we can during thi liquid phase. Remember this is a time to heal and they say any weight loss is good but not to focus on it. Easier said than done I know. :lb4:

What a goof ball Dr....well we knew that already!! I hope this fill is the one for you Kim!!

OMG Michelle you are model material for sure....what a wonderful supportive hubbie!! And Linda what a great new pic of you too. That suit is darling on you!! :lb21: :lb21: :lb21: =D> =D> =D> :lb10:

Your day is finally here!!! Have a great trip. Think of it as a "spa vacation" just for you. And yes the benefiber is so critical for the liquid stage. I am so excited and happy for you Cara. There is a computer at the OCC as well as at the Hotel Lucerna so keep us posted if you feel like it sweetie. Hugs to you on this very special day...

Try and focus on one thing at a time. As you know there are so many houses on the market right now and if you found 1 you will find probably 20 more that would be perfect, trust me. Your surgery should be the most important thing to you and the recovery time so you get off to a good start by not having a stressful distractor to mess your success up!!

Thank you Carrie for the suggestion of what sound to be, literally, some great tapes. I have trouble shutting my mind down at night and these may help I don't think this restriction thing is ever predictable, even after several months or even years. To all who are having trouble I hope it gets better soon so you can eat like a "normal" bandster again!!

Two things to consider about which day to do your lab and pre-op work: 1. Think about what time your plane gets in and then add about an hour or so until you get to the OCC if all goes well. You have to arrive FASTNG since MN so nothing on the plane or before you arrive. I was told only a sip or 2 of water if I absolutely had to have it to take pills or something. Ask them to be sure, they may let you have water I just don't think so but could be wrong. So depending on if your plane comes in early or later think about how long you will be Starving!! Since the van tries to pool folks you may have to wait at the airport for someone elses plane to arrive or someone who is lost. If you are a diabetic or prone to hypoglycemia it can be too long to go until the afternoon to eat. Once your testing is done it's still maybe an hour or so(?varies) before you get to go to the hotel and before you can get to any restaurants. BRING snack type food to eat at the OCC as soon as you are finished with the testing so you are not still starving for another hour or more. You have to wait sometimes for whomever else is with you having the testing before you go to the hotel. Now I also no sometimes they rush you right through as you may be alone or only 1 other person so I am not saying this is the only way it goes. Just trying to help people know what to be prepared for. 2. I've read more than a few folks that get there and on that day when they think they are just going to have labs they are able to go ahead and just have the surgery that day for some reason. Maybe find out what the schedule for the day you arrive looks like and if it's not full be aware they may ask you to move up a day. This certainly may not happen also as I know they are very busy and do many surgeries each day. 3. The advantage of just having it done all the same day is you only have to fast once. You only have to be stuck once for your IV and blood work as opposed to 2 times. And for me the day I arrived I was happy to just go to the Hotel and chill until the next morning. You may not be the first one to go into a patient room the morning of surgery because you have to do the pre-op stuff but there's alot of waiting time no matter what. You don't start getting into rooms until 9 or so and they have you there at 8 so be prepared to wait in the waiting room also the day of surgery so they can discharge the previous day's patients, clean the rooms and start all over again with you. There seemed to be no order to how they take you back one by one whether you had your pre-ops done the day before or not. Hope this helps. Counting down to October for you Dana and others in October!

When I hear a story like this it makes me crazy :lb20: As a nurse I can't believe how health professionals can be so ignorant and out right rude to patients. It takes all kinds I guess. I am glad your Dr. responded appropriately and even made you feel more assured with your decision as he should!!(if he's informed which he must be, lucky you).

I posted on another thread how great your new avatar pic is and then saw this one. Man you have come a long way and you look so SKINNY!!! What an inspiration to all of us.

No worries as the others have said. I used the bottled water to brush my teeth on my tooth brush at first and then forgot a few times and used the hotel tap water and had no problems. I bet you could drink the hotel tap water if you had to and not get sick like Mona said. It's a nice Hotel. Now NicoleK I love your new avatar picture....You look HOT!! =D>

Kim what a cute new pic of you by the tree. You look so good!! Those legs of yours are beautiful as well as the rest of you too. Keep up the good work and hang in there!!

Glad he numbed you up!! I think without fluoro that' the only way to go. I am glad you have restriction and sorry you had to experience the effects of new restriction with the PB episode.

Yeah me too!!. Thanks for the well wishes.

My darling in-laws live in Housten and have 2 rental properties right on the coast south of Galvaston. When I say right on the gulf I mean like 1 1/2 blocks from the water line!! This is a very small town with no barges or anything to prevent the water from just washing ashore and causing massive destruction. Yikes!! Actually they are here in Portland with us currently as after our lovely vacation together they came in their motor home to spend a few days here. They have property they need to check on in Seattle today and will hurry back to Portland to head home depending on the severity of the storm. Their rental property area was totally evacuated by the bus load yesterday and everything is boarded up. They just last week had gotten the news that a pipe at their residence home in Housten had broken in the living room so they already had a flood there. We are closely watching the news and praying for all others in that area to be safe and for as little to no damage as possible to come out of Ike!

Ok now that I can speak I am soooo glad I have my band. I too was on "the list" to have a RNY and then lost my insurance....At the time I thought it was the end of the world but now I know I was being taken care of as I was choosing a very risky surgery with numerous complications. Cathy I wish your friend all the best for a speedy recovery and on to good health!!