jhawkchick75

I had a bit of trouble at first too and I think it just took my tummy a day or two to adjust. I also make sure I was chewing my fiber choice capsules too. Are you taking anything like that? Those help to "balance you out" so to speak. When I went on solids I had just the opposite happen but it has evened itself out too. Hope you get to feeling better!!

Congrats and welcome to the group! My mom came with and she just went back to the hotel. Didn't bother me a bit it was nice to relax and I was groggy for quite a bit anyway. That is so nice that your turnaround time is so quick. From decision time to surgery I had to wait about 4 mos, but that was the first time I could take off work for a week. Good luck!!!!!

Sorry, I am way behind on threads so this is a bit out of date, but congrats! I broke my heart the first time when you had to cancel, so I'm so glad you finally got it done. Now the fun really begins!

So this thread made me think and I checked and mine does say 10cm, so I have a 4cc band! I kept telling everyone I had a 10cc band! Thanks!

I"m really sorry you had trouble, but at least you know that everything is OK. I get those nasty pains in my shoulder as well. Now that I can eat solids, I get bad heartburn and a tightness in my chest, but that doesn't happen until about an hour after I eat - not sure why. This band is a funny thing! Congrats! You will start feeling better every day!

Congrats! Glad to hear that everything went well!

I agree, I would not drive back the next day. I would give yourself one day there and then if you are going to drive i'd have someone drive you. Your pay includes 2 nights at the OCC, so take advantage of it! Could someone drive you to the border and you could have Francisco pick you up and then two or three days later do the same back? I know many people that have gone it alone down there and so I think you'd be fine. Or some have taken the train i've heard. I know everyone is different, but I was pretty sore and wouldn't have wanted to travel the next day.

Sounds like you all did fantastic! Congrats! Welcome to the other side! Wow, it still feels wierd for me to say that!

Congrats! That is absolutely fantastic! Way to go!

Hi there! The key is to take very little!!! I thought I packed light and I ended up taking way too much. Here is what I suggest: -VERY loose comfy clothes. Sweatpants, etc...and comfy shoes -Gas X strips - necessity! -Kellogs H2O powder packets that you can put in a bottle of water. -If you have a laptop take it with you - Lucerna has free wifi and it kept me sane. Only a few of the stations were in English and it was either my computer or a Sunset Tan marathon. - Many people take bullion cubes and I did as well, but never even opened them. I just ordered jello and broth from the hotel and it did me just fine. - Make sure you have your birth certificate, another form of ID or your passport for when you cross the border. - All your OCC paperwork and your money unless you do paypal. Camera - hotel is pretty and there are some great opportunities for photo ops. - You can buy bottled water and gatorade when you get there. There is a convenience store right across the street. - Liquid Tylenol for pain. Am I missing anything folks? Again take as little as possible and if you have luggage with the wheels on it be sure and take that. You won't be able to lift anything so being able to pull that saved me. Good luck!!!

That sounds like so much fun - i've never been on a cruise and can't wait to go someday. I know you will do a great job and also have a blast!!!

It is very rough at work. I work at a university and we have 4 schools in our system. We got word this week that we are in a system wide hiring freeze. Which really stinks b/c I had the paperwork put together to offer a job to someone the day the freeze notice came out. So we are all in the office going to have to split up the responsibilities of that job. We are already 2 short so that really hurts. I have several family members and friends that have been laid off recently and the jobs just aren't out there right now. I hope the impact for you all is minimal. I really see things moving up, but it's gonna take a while unfortunately and sadly it's gonna get worse before it gets better i'm afraid.

Hey there! I'm doing pretty well how are you?! I have absolutely NO restriction which stinks, but my appetite has gone down a TON! I just have to listen to my body and know when to stop when i'm content. I keep ordering and making wayyyy too much food and I can never eat it all which is good. But of course the scale has stopped now that i'm on solids. So i'm being as good as possible until that 1st fill and hoping for the best. I know i'm eating too many carbs though so I need to lay off that. I've been getting that real tightness in my chest everyone talks about, but it doesn't kick in until like an hour after I eat and then it just hurts like hell, so the thought of that is really helping me not eat too much. I can now sleep on my side (yea!) but not on my tummy that hurts. Otherwise I have no pain except gas and I think that is just a part of our lives from now on huh! How are you holding up? Good I hope! I'm so glad not to be eating soup but it's funny, food doesn't taste nearly as good as it used to which i'm fine with. Keeps me from eating as much. Take care - talk to you soon!!!

You know what is funny....all my life I was never able to burb and I hated it! Even the first couple of weeks on post op I couldn't either and i'd be miserable. Gas X strips helped sometimes, but not always. But now, for some reason now that i'm on solids I can let them rip just like my brother. Kinda cool! And it sure makes me feel better! Hopefully it will kick in for you. If not, i'd say try different types of GasX type stuff b/c from what I understand we will be a gassy mess the rest of our lives!!

What a great feeling huh! I have a whole closet full of clothes just waiting for me to drop some more weight. Congrats!! And hopefully you won't have to use that coat very often. That is why people move to Florida right!?

Yea congrats! That is such a great accomplishment! I know I have a weight in my mind that when I hit it the tears will definitely flow. You deserve it!

I'm going to have to be very careful because I won't have a fill yet and I have no restriction. I feel content pretty quick, so I just need to listen to my belly and stop when I am. My worry is drinking. At my aunts, the second you walk in the door you are handed a Miller Lite. My family will really wonder about that and none of them but my parents and brother know what i've done. It could make for a funny though - they will all think i'm knocked up!!

First off, please know that you are NOT alone! Everyone in this group is very supportive and here for each other. To be real honest, I never look in the "month" surgery forums. I did in Oct when I was banded and that was it. I unfortunately wasn't able to "bond" with my bandmates like everyone else b/c it was decided at the last minute that they would put me through a day early, so I didn't get to meet everyone as much as the others did. I got to meet some great gals in the car on the way home, but that was about it. But I still feel like I have these wonderful men and women that I've never met, but we have been through the same thing and that is very comforting. It took me a bit to really feel a part of the group, but it will come I promise! You just have to keep posting and let yourself go a bit. Although I do have friends that are somewhat supportive, I am on my own on this one. I basically live alone and I work about 60 hours a week so this is a struggle I must manage day to day alone so that is why you find me in here a lot. And I hope down the road i'll be able to be of assistance to others. I had a woman find me on myspace and ask me if she could add me and get advice and of course I jumped on it! Anything I could do to help someone else through the process. I think doing this with your hubby will be more than you realize. I have nothing to back that, but perhaps Stormy or others can add to that who have. And for the friends that talk like that - they are either ignorant, jealous, or trying to be a friend but doing it in the wrong way. So just let them be and focus on YOU! It is very natural to have a wide range of emotions before hand. I know it sounds wierd, but I went through kind of a mourning process thinking about all the things I felt I would miss out on. Those Thanksgivings where we just gorge ourselves silly, going out to eat and pigging out with my friends, even when I drive past McDonalds I get this wierd feeling that i'm missing out. But you know it really hasn't been that bad. I went to BK today and all I got was a cheeseburger and sm fries and didn't even finish it and that felt so GREAT! Heck, I used to get the 2 cheeseburger and 2 fries deal and still want more. Maybe that is why I have a 10cc band! I find it interesting how many of us in here are either in helping professions or our lives revolve so much around others, yet we don't practice what we preach and take care of ourselves too. I joke that I have hundreds of children (work at a university) and I work so much with them on life balance, time management, etc... but I am about the worst example of it. So now i'm taking some baby steps to work towards that. OK, sorry i'm rambling now. But please know we are all in this together - the good, bad and ugly! So please don't let your range of emotions get the best of you. We have ALL been through it in different ways I promise. And we will continue to have more I promise! Take care and good luck!!

Awesome! I'm definitely going to order them online. I've been to 3 GNC's now and they don't have them at those ones. I don't need my hair falling out - it's so thin and fine as it is!

I would love to hear your story! Definitely send it out when you have it done. That will be great! I'm sure as long as you try your best right down to the end they will do your surgery. Don't lay off, lose as much as you can, but I didn't lose all the weight I was supposed to but they did mine anyway. I lost a good chunk of it and I think they could tell I tried. Good luck!!

Same problem here...when I ask at GNC they seem to have no idea what i'm talking about. I might call them first and save me a trip to another one. But if I can find them online i'll just do that - so much easier. So if anyone else knows the brand name or where I can find them online let me know. Right now of course I have no restriction so I can eat whatever I want, but I know that won't last so i'm trying to prep for it now. Trying to avoid a lot of bread b/c I love it too much and i'm not sure I can handle going off it twice. But I am still having more than I should. Fon instance, had a healthy choice pizza today which i'm sure won't last once fills come along. But that will be a good thing!

Welcome to the group! You already have passed a major milestone....post op diet! Yea!! Look forward to hearing about your success. You and I were banded less than a week apart. I'm struggling with portions and good choices, but I'm trying very hard. Good luck!!

Wow...that is absolutely fantastic! Congratulations on all your success! I agree with everyone else...we want pics! I am starting to experience "bandster hell" so I could really use some motivation. This whole being able to eat whatever I want is killing me!!

Ohhh that is really unfortunate! I am so sorry you had to go through that. Thinking happy thoughts that it is just the port! Keep us up to date!

Now that i'm on solids we aren't supposed to do any protein shakes right? I think I heard that but wanted to make sure. I heard of someone mentioning protein bullets that you just put in a bottle of water? A berry flavor I think? Is that the ones listed on here or are those another one? I tried to go to GNC and get some, but they had never heard of them.