bandgroupie

Dr. Miranda, the nutritionist, told me to avoid soft breads, pasta, sticky rice, tortillas, etc.

She did say if we ate let's say a tortilla, to eat that last.

She also said to toast the bread.

So based on the advice she gave me, I will be having a sandwich on April 25th bread toasted, of course

Hi Ladies,

For those bandsters who are well on their way to eating healthy...my Dr. said no bread, too sticky and could get stuck....but can you have crackers, melba toast etc. Is that ok? What if you were to eat a small peice and wash it down with some water?

I haven't been banded yet...but I am researching everything I can, and cannot have when the big day comes when I can eat food.

Thanks everyone! Cathy

I think that is the mental hunger we were warned about!!!!

Seriously, the other day I could smell McDonalds chicken mcnuggets and I was no where near a McDonalds!

My best band buddy sucked the juice out of a hot dog!

We are getting past the mental hunger by making a list of what we want to eat after we're finished with the liquid diet.

Trust me, our lists are pretty wacko and McDonalds chicken mcnuggets are tops on both of our lists! WAY TOO FUNNY.

:dash1: :girl_impossible: :help:

OMG...All I want to do is eat!

I've done just fine since being banded, but all of a sudden two days ago, I lost my mind and can think of nothing else.

I stay busy, go shopping with friends, play mah jongg, movies with hubby........and all I think of is what can I eat.

I have had a terrible problem with beef, cannot eat it without getting stuck, what an awful feeling. Do really well with sea food, thank goodness I love fish!!!

Any suggestions....please!!!!!

Glad your surgery went well and that you get a week to recuperate.

I had surgery on April 4 and returned to work under my normal full time schedule April 8. I had no problems with returning to work. But again, everybody is different and, of course, some have jobs that require more activity than mine.

I listened to an author talk up her book on a radio talk show today. I cannot remember the name of her new book which was a spinoff of an earlier book, but I did remember the name of the first book - Good in Bed. Go get the book, read it while you're recuperating and let me know if it is as good of a read as they made it sound

Good morning gals (and guys),

I had my surgery to remove my ovarian cyst yesterday. The dr. said to use this as a gauge as far as time off for my band next month. It's crazy. The worst part is the incisions and the sore throat. I had a partial hysterectomy a few years ago, but it was done vaginally. Anyway, I feel pretty good and could probably be at work today already if the stinking incisions didn't hurt so bad. I'm already doing laundry... not lifting just scooting the basket with my feet. My incisions are much larger than I anticipate them being from the band, though. I have THREE that are about 2 inches long and one in my belly button... what the heck? My gyn is a cutie pie and single, but come on, couldn't he have made smaller holes? I guess I'm just lucky to keep getting fine doctors. He's quite a catch so I'm not sure why he's still single. Could be because a lot of women don't want their man looking at other women's coochies all day

Anyway, not sure why I'm rambling on. Could be because I'm bored and will be stuck at home for a WEEK!!!!! RRRRRRR

BUT, I'm very excited about becomming a bandster now and looking forward to a better quality of life

Welcome neighbor! Well sorta neighbor

If you are considering lap band surgery at the OCC in Tijuana, here are my two pointers with regard to keeping the cost down:

1. If you opt for a semi-private room at the OCC, there is a possiblity that you could save approximately $500. Remember to ask Lori (patient coordinator at the OCC) about this. The $500 will pay for your plane fare and give you money to spend on Revolution Boulevard.
   
2. If you pay for your surgery via credit card, consider paying it all at once, up front, (instead of paying the deposit and the balance later). If you pay up front with credit cards, there is a possibility you could save a couple hundred dollars by avoiding the charge to use a credit card. Again, enough to pay for a plane ticket. Ask Lori!
   

And I am speaking from experience

I have two choices for my first fill. Go to Roswell, GA (which is probably a 3-4 hour drive for me) or fly to San Diego and go to the OCC. I am opting to go to the OCC for my first fill because the cost will not be that much more to go to Tijuana. I'm pretty sure that I'll return to the OCC for any additional fills.

I'm returning for my first fill in May. Arriving May 16 with the fill scheduled for the 17th. The cost of plane tickets seem to be rising!

I'm located near Cedartown,Ga & will follow through with LB in May-June.I will be paying cash as i'm self employed & have no insurance.

I was hoping some people would post their costs + fills.I'm considering Tijuana but want to make sure i can find a doctor within 60 miles of me here for fills etc.

Thanks

Healthy Honey Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  
• 1/4 cup honey
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1 tablespoon water
  
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (all-purpouse is good too)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oat (aka oatmeal)
  
• chopped dates (optional) or fig (optional) or raisins (optional) or currant (optional) or chocolate chips (optional) or chopped nuts, etc (optional)
  

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray (just for convenience :]). 2Using a mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter, brown sugar, honey, egg and water thoroughly.
  
• Sift together the dry ingredients then stir in the oats. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix. Add any additional ingredients you've chosen.
  
• Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
  

After our first fill, we are not supposed to eat liquidy things. Does anyone have a recipe for oatmeal cookies that would be good for breakfast? (protein, fruit, grain)

Glad you liked it!

I went out to lunch today at a Mexican restaurant and ordered their torilla soup. There's wasn't as good as what I made from the recipe!

I'm making it again tomorrow night and am going to add a tablespoon of sour cream to it......

I made this soup for breakfast and it was just yummy!!! Kicking off my soup phase with a bang!!!

Kimmie,

I cannot wait until I can have a Lean Cuisine .... I want the meatloaf and mashed potato meal

I think I will be in heaven.....

sorta how I felt once I had my first can of creamy tomato soup :0

Life's simple pleasues, eh?

I actually had a Lean Cuisine for dinner just now and it went down fine. Who would have ever thought a Lean Cuisine would taste so good?

I am scared about not losing anymore or gaining some back, but I have this new amazing willpower so I am confident it won't happen.

I recommended the gum and was told that it was okay to chew.

I hope I wasn't given improper information. In any event, it has come in handy and has been helpful for me to chew gum.

I guess, check with your doctor, but I'm "stick"ing to mine!

I was a big fan of the hot tea that the OCC gives you, I asked for a couple of tea bags as I was leaving and they gave me 5 or 6 to take with me back to the hotel..

Someone mentioned Gum? I don't think that is a good idea (unless you're using it to release the pressure in your ears on the plane ride to SS) and some doctors don't allow banded patients to chew gum ever again because you swallow a lot of air when you chew it..

Hi there!

I guess we were banded near the same time. I'm scheduled for my first fill on May 17. We'll arrive May 16 and will be staying at the Lucerna.

I had a lot of swelling afer the surgery and only noticed some weight loss a couple of days ago. I expect we'll notice more as the swelling goes down.

And remember, they told us not to expect great weight loss until our band was fill!

I'm wondering if the reason why many don't see much weight loss is that they are consuming too few calories/protien.... I'm guilty of that.

Anyway, hope to see you while you're in Tijuana!

Hey, I am a little bumed out. 9 days out from being banded and I have only lost 1 pound. I was doing better than this on my preop diet...sure would like to see some scale movement. I have scheduled my first fill for May 16. Really looking forward to that for inspiration and proof. I have been very faithful to the post op diet, but broke my foot a week before banding, so movement has been limited. I will try to walk more today. It's not even worth changing my ticker... Anyone else experience this?

This is what I would recommend you take:

1. Socks
   
2. Gas X strips
   
3. Gum
   
4. Comfortable clothing (cotton shirts)
   
5. Chicken Boullion cubes
   
6. Special K Protien water mix (Pink Lemonaide) or Crystel Light
   
7. Digital camera w/batteries!
   
8. Magic Marker to get Dr. Ortiz to sign your paper thong
   
9. Bandaids
   

Not sure if you can pack these items in your "checked" luggage, but if you can:

1. 1 4-pack of Jello
   
2. 1 4-pack or 6-pak of apple juice in cartons
   

Hi Caro,

My husband and I were picked up from the airport and taken to the Clinic for preop testing and then we were taken to the hotel.

The next morning, Ms. Ortiz picked up the patients first and then returned for the family members. When visiting hours were over (4:30 p.m.), Ms. Ortiz drove the family members back to the hotel.

The day after surgery, Ms. Ortiz brought my husband to the clinic bright and early that morning, and he rode back to the hotel with me in her car.

We needed transportation (via cab) only to go to the restaurant the evening before my surgery and to go shopping (Mall and Revolution Boulevard) after surgery.

We chose to stay one extra night (Thursday-Sunday) so we paid for one night's stay at the hotel. We were taken to the airport on Monday morning.

They make everything easy!

Hi all...I'm getting banded on the 14th of May and I think I read that OCC covers two nights in the hotel, right? Do we need to make arrangements for my husband for the night(s) that I'm at center? That wasn't really clear. Also, will he be able to get a ride from the hotel to the center the next morning to see me and possibly take me back to the hotel?

What do the traveling companions do; can someone give me some of their experiences please?

:lb12:

Thanks!

Caro

Careful with the enchilada sauce - remember MILD or only 1/2 can!!!!!

It is freakin good :) H O N E S T !!!

You are an angel!! That sounds fanfreakentastic!! I think that I can start soups tomorrow...I will have to check. Thank you for the great recipe!!!

> Brook

I did not bring my own food and regret it. I spent way too much money in the hotel restaurant after surgery and "drank" very little. I drank about 1/4 of my apple juice, about 4 spoons of my broth, and about two bites of jello. It's expensive!

I now wish I would have prepared better. To do that, I would have brought the following:

1. Chicken boullion cubes

2. Special K Protien Water Packets - Pink Lemonaide Flavored (or Crystal Light packets)

3. 1 4-pack of jello (not sure if you can pack this in your checked baggage)

4. 4-6 Apple Juice drink cartons (remember you only mix 50/50 with water) (not sure if you can pack this in your checked baggage).

If you bring those items, you won't spend any money on food postop until you get back home! The hotel left us 2 bottled waters a day in our room.

Makes sense to me!

Did you bring your own food to the hotel? Does the hotel provide broths and such? How about on your flights back if you can't take liquids through security what did you eat? I'm looking at 3 different flight transfers and 15 hrs of flight time (that will be rough)

Chicken Tortilla Soup:

1. 1 can of Cream of Chicken soup
   
2. 1 can of Cheddar Cheese soup
   
3. 1/2 can of MILD enchilada sauce*
   
4. 1 can of skim milk
   

Mix ingredients in saucepan and heat on stove, stirring until the Cream of Chicken and Cheese soups melt and combine well with the other ingredients.

*The original recipe calls for 1 can of MILD enchilada sauce but I would urge you to start with just 1/2 the can and only add the other 1/2 if it does not taste too spicy.

I also used store brand soups. They were cheaper and I didn't miss any taste! If your family is eating with you, offer them some tortilla chips to crush and put on top of their soup.

This recipe was provided by my niece who made this soup for her husband during his postop surgery and she said this is what got him through it!

If anyone knows why this recipe would not be good during the postop "creamy soup" stage, please let us know. Otherwise, ENJOY!!!

Thanks everyone >

iwas banded last night instead of today. Everything went well. will fill you in soon.

brook #-o

Thanks for reassuring me re: hematoma.

Also glad to know that you had the willpower not to tackle the Easter basket

I'm on day five of liquids though I'm not hungry, I think I'm smelling McDonalds even though I'm no where near one

Hey - that is too funny about the basket. I was banded on March 17th (Monday) - well the next Sunday was Easter (which was hard enough - I love boiled eggs!) But when I got to work the next day - there it was - a beautiful easter basket from my secret pal full of tootsie rolls, chocolate, candy corn, etc. It was so depressing.....until I got on the scale and had realized I lost 8lbs. in one week. I put the basket up (after getting the sugar free gum out of it), brought it home to my husband and let him dig in.

Sorry about the hematoma. Hope you are feeling better. The bruise is normal after a hematoma and will probably look worse before it looks better. It will turn brown then this ugly green-yellow. But that is normal and it will go away shortly after that.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Hello fellow banditos!

I did wanted to give you all an update after my 4/4 surgery. I was discharged Saturday around 9:00 a.m. and a group of the girls went shopping. While Calicat and I were shopping, I noticed that my port site had protruded - a great bit. It was scary looking. One of our banditos was a RN and she suspected it was a hematoma.

Dr. Martinez (who I absolutely love!) came to the hotel the next morning and looked at my port site, my skin color, my hands, my eyes, my tongue. He said it was a hematoma and made arrangements for me to go back to the clinic that day (Sunday) to be wrapped and for an antibiotic. Nurse Sophia was there on her day off with her beautiful daughter. Sophia wrapped my stomach and filled the elastic wrap with gauze so I could safely fly home the next day. I was given Keflex which is the worse tasting antibiotic made. Bad thing is - we can't swallow pills so I had to crush and swallow. Y.U.C.K.! I was also given a prescription for additional Keflex and Sophia and her daughter drove us back to the hotel.

We flew home yesterday and I had a comfortable-enough flight. The elastic band wrapping made it more comfortable and I believe did the trick because my port site looks so much better. I don't look 9 months pregnant on one half of my belly anymore. However, I do have a huge bruise which is scary to look at. I think now the bruising will change colors to brown and then eventually go away.

I did go back to work today. Remember I was banded Friday around 2. p.m. I'm a paralegal so the heaviest thing I lift is a file (not too heavy, eh)? Managed the day with some white grape juice, a banana popcicle, and some chicken broth. I think I'm starting to like the chicken broth! No rush for me to start the next phase (drinkable yogurts).

I'm not hungry and have to force myself to eat/drink. I'm still sore, especially when getting up and down out of a chair. I'm SO freakin excited about the upcoming weight loss that I cannot stop talking about it

Ohhhh here's a funny. You all will just love this.....I arrived at work today and was called to the front desk to pick up "something." Got there and there was this H.U.G.E. basket of goodies delivered to me from my firm. How hilarious is that!!!!?? There were pretzels, candy bars, cheese, crackers, candy, ohmygawd did I just want to slap the office administrator who ordered it!?!?!?!? Heck yeah .. but I did imagine eating some of the pepper cheese for about 20 seconds.

We're going to open the basket on April 24th!! but hopefully I will be full from some real food and won't care one bit about it! Toodles!

Her name is Carmilla or Carmaletia

I forgot to ask, do you happen to rememebr the name of the nurse who did your stockings?

NOTE: This was edited after the pain medication wore off. I read this after I got home and realized that I type like poopoo while on drugs

MY BANDING EXPERIENCE: Using the computer at the OCC nurse's station. It's the day after surgry 7:13 a.m. and everyone is sleeping. Everyone except me. I waddled to the restroom and then came back and got dressed. Had my surgery yesterday about 2:00 p.m. I believe I was te 4th surgery. I have not had any pains of any type so far so I am crossing my fingers.

Everything went just as I expected from reading the forum. Great experience.

Have met some of the funniest, coolest and nicest people here. We laugh so much. Out of the 8 who had surgeries, I believe everyone is good. We had everyone walking last night around and around again.

The doctors and nursing staff are great. Yes Dr. Ortiz is handsome, smooth and a little funny. But I had something funnier to say to him. My ankles are skinny so when he came in, I told him I came for the body to made my ankles:)

Dr. Martinez is handsome as well!

I remember going into the operating room, and asking for my favorite nurse Josefa, and was looking around the room for her and then I remember waking up looking at my husband's handsome yet concerned face. It was all over!!!!!! Works for me.

Today we get to go back to the hotel and most of us are going to go shopping. We'll drink broth and shop.

Our first night in Tijuana, several of us went to an authentic mexican seafood restaurant. The food was great but the atmosphere better. I have not had any reason to be scared of anything or anyone yet. Just looks like a big City to me, lots and lots of houses and stores. IThe palm trees remind of Florida.

DAY1

Airport to clinic

Meet with Nutritionist, Dr. Miranda who is a cutie

Get blood drawn

Get taken to hotel.

Out to Dinner

Day 2

Hotel to clinic

Meet with cardiologist (had to blow out for 6 seconds so blow HARD and LONG)

Met with dentist (just looks and tells you you're good candidate)

Get called back to your room.

You put on your gown and a paper thong

Nurse came and put on those long stretchy hose. Not so bad.

They give you two pills under your tongue.

I took a small breathing treatment

They hooked up IV and gave me three things in it. Pain, Nexium, etc.

One small shot in belly, didn't hurt

Then was given a cap for my hair and put in a wheelchair.

Rolled back to O.R. where I got out of the chair and crawled up on the table.

Met the anthesiologist and Sophia another kind nurse. I told her that her name was SSSSSexy, and repeated SSOOOPHHHIIIA sex-like ten times. I bet she got tired of it and that's why they put me to sleep.

As I said next thing I know I woke up with my husband looking at me. I played a joke on him when he asked me if I knew who he was. I told him - yes you're my first husband. I thought he deserved that because he had been telling all of the girls his lame jokes!

Dr. Ortiz came by and told us that I had two hernia(s) and he had only seen one like the second one just one other time in 5000 surgeries. Didn't know I had one henria let alone two! Thank you Dr. Ortiz.

Everyone is still sleeping But I'm anxious to go back to the hotel, and then do some walking. I want to beat the gas pains before they get a chance to arrive.

NO KIDDING, they are all wonderful. The Doctors sing. The nurses sing. The nurses hug and kiss you. I want to take Josefa home with me.

My experience so far has been awesome. I'm returning for my fill in 6 to 8 weeks. And hopefully some of the friends I've met on this trip will return with me. They are great people.

Going to walk a bit.

Good Luck Kimmie!!!!!

Don't forget to write "home!"

and I'm double freakin excited for all of us!

I leave for Mexico! I am so freaking excited! =D>

Ok Ok, I read the postop diet and it does say you can have slimfast after the first week.

Gosh this is a lot of information

I do hope you get to feeling better very soon.

Are you supposed to have slim fast shakes one week after surgery? I'm a newbie and have no information. But I thought the first week was liquids .....clear broth, juices, etc. I think I need to go look at the post op diet

I hope you start to feeling better!!!!!!!

Hi Kimmie

Hi, this is my first post after reading the forum for quite a while.

I scheduled my surgery today. I arrive on April 3 and my surgery is scheduled for April 4. I'll return home on the 7th.

Tickets are booked. Surgery is scheduled. I'm not nervous yet! Just give me a week or two before the nervousness sets in.

Cannot wait to chat with you and the others arriving at or near the same time.

Dawn

I am getting banded April 3rd...anybody else being banded then? I am very excited but very nervous. Good luck to all of you April Bandsters, we can all get skinny together!

God Bless,

Jacklyn