the~new~nikki

I REALLY NEED SOME HELP GUYS. I GOT BANDED ON TUESDAY AND TODAY IS ONLY SAT. MY STOMACH WILL NOT STOP GROWLING. ALTHOUGH I KNOW WHAT I CAN DRINK I DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH. THE FIRST TWO DAYS WERE EASY BUT NOW MY STOMACH IS GROWLING SO MUCH IT HURTS. I DO NOT WANT TO CHEAT. HOW MUCH DID YOU SUCESS STORIES DRINK IN THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAY? YESTERDAY I DRANK A BOTTLE OF VITIMAN WATER A CAPRI SUN AND ABOUT 4 OZS. OF BROTH. TODAY I DRANK A GLASS OF TEA ONE OF THOSE LITTLE LIQUID YOUGURTS AND A GLASS OF GATORADE. THE YOUGURT ONLY HELD OFF THE GROWLING FOR LIKE 30 MINUTES. GIVE ME YOUR ADVICE AND SUPPRORT AND WHAT EVER ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF. THANKS GUYS. DAWN

I went through the same thing...it was like the minute I woke from surgery I felt hungry! I know they say it was "head hunger" but I gotta tell ya...hunger feels like hunger and if I was good at fighting that feeling, I wouldn't be here in the first place! LOL

I felt hungry ALL THE TIME for the first 10 days or so.....then I felt a bit better with the creamy soups but not completely satisfied ever. I just suffered through...I don't know how....until I could EAT! That shaved ice machine sounds like yummy fun!

Just know you can vent, cry and whine to us all you want and we actually know how you feel!

Thank you!! THis post has really given me a lot of encouragement. I have been quite upset that my first fill did nothing. I am scheduled for my second fill on June 27th and am hopeful it will be like yours this time. Thanks so much!!!

I am glad it helped! I was feeling really, really nervous about this whole thing before I got my second fill. I was starting to wonder if I did the right thing by getting banded....but now I see how this tool can help....just a slower process than I expected. I feel like I did a lot of research about the surgery, what foods we can eat and so on...but I just didn't think it would take multiple fills right out of the gate to get this thing going! Now that it has been 9 days since the 2nd fill, I can tell you that sometimes I can eat easy things like eggs with no problem and I am sitting down to eat some now and they are not going down well. It is just a really weird thing...no predictability whatsoever....all I know is that I am eating LESS and feeling hungry LESS! That is all I want! LOL

Hey, Paula!

I had no restriction whatsoever with our first fill. I went to the closest Fill Centers USA location which was just outside of Charlotte, NC (4 hours away thank you very much...) and the doctor there was SUPER nice and seemed REALLY knowledgable. I believe I was his 20th fill just that week! Anyway, he told me that it is a misconception that everyone will have restriction with their first fill. He said that it is better if you don't. It is safer and getting a huge fill right out of the gate will only lead to bad things. He wished that we all knew that it was a slow and tedious process to get to the proverbial "sweet spot". Anyway, I got 1.2cc on my first fill in TJ. This doc gave me another 1.2cc and made me chug tons of water to make sure I was getting the right feeling with the water. He wanted me to be able to drink pretty rapidly and then feel it kind of stop....I felt waterlogged but he wanted to get it right! So I did the 2 days of liquids and let me tell you the 2nd fill is NOTHING like the 1st. I eat 3 or 4 bites of food and I am STUFFED like I ate a whole rack of ribs with all the fixin's! And it lasts for 4-5 hours before I feel a twinge of hunger. This is SO new to me. I am used to living in hunger. I was like a bottomless pit! So don't be stressed....we were just under the assumption that 1 fill would be some sort of miracle....the doctor stressed to me that if I got a huge fill right away I would have had many problems and really could have hurt myself. Keep in mind that your health and using this new tool in the correct fashion is WAY more important that losing weight quickly. We want to lose the weight in a good manner and KEEP IT OFF! You will get there...just know that it may be 1 or 2 more fills to get to the sweet spot.

Nikki

Be careful about sharing ride costs! Paula and I did this and notified Lori at the center, had her confirm it and they wanted to charge us the full price of the ride!

I am not home, so if she called, I am not there to get the call anyway. I had my first meal today, and nothing.. not a thing.. I guess the same ole weight watcher's meals until the fill kicks in or I get a new one.

I think they shouldn't tell us we can split the price of the fill if they didn't have it organized. Frankly, the whole organizational experience sucked. Our weights were not even checked. I did figure out why they nearly made miss my plane; They STILL thought we had come together. That is why there was no room reserved for me and why Claudia may not think we "qualified" to split the cost. The driver of our van was the person who figured it out when we had to go to different terminals.

I love, love, love Dr. Ortiz, but I had some annoying and disappointing stuff happen for the fill visit.

I think I will go to St. Pete for the next fill, then go to OCC for the one after that; maybe hubby and I can make a vacation out of it while we are there.

Yes, I love the clinic, happy with how the surgery and hotel went, but this fill trip was unorganized. Even if they didn't have you listed for a room, you paid for it! We both paid the same amount! I am going to email Lori...I think you should too so she knows that they are backing out on their offer!

I believe they are just shrinking, I think my husband is just trying to make me feel better!! LOL He's a sweet guy!

You look UNBELIEVABLE! What an inspiration!

Little off topic but, Paula, have you received a call from Claudia? She left me a voicemail message about our "issue" with sharing the transportation cost. Message sounded like they still think we should have paid more. I am NOT happy....and haven't called her back yet. I wanted to see if you had been contacted.

By the way, I had my first "meal" today. I had a salad with some chicken on top. I was scared TO DEATH that I was going to PB or something at work but so far so good. Ate 1/2 the salad and I am STUFFED.

Are you feeling it yet?

Nikki

I am sure you are right. Sounds like the fills are done so quickly that they just take you when they can. See you both tomorrow!

I land in San Diego at 10am and my fill is scheduled for 1030. :-? Crazy Huh? Well that's when Carolyn scheduled me!! If you guys are planning on going shopping or doing something fun I would LOVE to tag along!! :-h

I am the one meeting Paula at the airport! Yippee! Now there are 3 of us....let's see what kind of trouble we can stir up! LOL

I am kind of wondering how we are all going to get back there in time, I mean you are arriving at 10 and Paula and I are closer to 11 so I would think he would wait for all of us before heading back down to TJ....

Nikki

Speaking of scars, does anyone know if getting some sun on them make them fade faster or make them show up worse in the long run or no long term effects? I was banded on 3/26/08 so I am only 6 weeks post op.

I am trying to not look so pasty but I don't want to do inhibit the healing. I know, I know, we are supposed to be staying out of the sun ANYWAY...but...hey, a tan always makes you look thinner!

When Dr. Miranda told me that the sticky rice won't go down, I immediately thought about how to get my sushi fix (I eat it twice a week at least).

I have been ordering edamame, house salad with ginger dressing and a variety of sashimi. I have been thinking about just getting hand rolls and having them put my favorite stuff in them and skip the rice but then I was wondering if that much nori (seaweed) would be hard to break down and get stuck like the rice!

This is a dilemma we MUST figure out. Life without sushi is a life not worth living....(being a bit dramatic but you know what I mean!)

I don't wear pj's but instead a tank top to bed. So I have this beach cover up ( has a sexy bikini body picture on it soon to be what my body will look like) which is like a long shirt that goes down to just above the knees. Will this be good enough? How about slippers?

I changed into some sweats a t-shirt and socks when I woke up and could function. Just keep in mind that you are going to be getting up and walking a lot.

Yeah, this whole thing is super confusing. What Lori told me is that if you just get the fill w/floro it is $100. Just transportation is $100 (that you can split with people) and then the Lucerna is $79. You can do all three together or use whatever services you need.

Oh yes I am hoping for Monday May 5th but its a little early. I am debating on whether or not I should fly out the next day or the same night. Yes I have heard that the border is the worst part. We left so early after surgery the very nice guy at the border let me and the other surgery patient wait in the van while the husbands went through customs. How did you get from the airport to the OCC? How much did it cost? Thanks for helping me with my freak out haha!

It is 279 for the fill w/floro, 1 night in the Lucerna and transportation from the airport and back. Me and another bandster are getting filled on May 6. We are splitting the transportation cost (which makes it 229 for each of us) and flying back early the next morning. Might be a good idea for you to stay the night just in case something doesn't feel right. If you went with us you would pay about 200 as they actually charge 100 of that original 279 for the transportation and you can split it with whomever shares the ride.

Nikki

Nikki, I am going on the 6th, too, and my fill "Package" includes transportation to and from the airport, one night at the Lucerna, and a fill with fluroscope for $275. Have you talked to Lori about it?

Maybe you can share my ride.. ask Lori.

I get there at 11:00 am, and my fill is at 3:00.

Perfect! I get there at 10:20 and my appt is at 1:30 so we can easily share the ride! Yippee! Yeah, I booked the same deal. When does your flight leave on the 7th? My flight out is at 1pm. I just emailed Lori to get the ball rolling on the cost share.

(I had replied to your other post, but I reposted this under (fill trips to TJ) hoping we could round up some more and lessen the cost even more!)

Nikki

I have scheduled my first fill for May 6th and will be spending one night at the Lucerna to make sure everything is all right. I will be flying in to San Diego at 10:30am and leaving on the 7th at noon. Anyone want to share the price of the transportation down there?

Nikki

I am flying to TJ on May 6th to get my first fill. Is anyone else going at that time?

I am trying! I tentatively booked my fill for 5/6 at 1:30 but now I have to find a flight....I just contacted OCC to get the straight scoop on the costs....

279- fill, transportation, hotel 1 night

199- fill, transportation

100- fill only

So if we are splitting transportation, it would be $50 each! Not too shabby. Are you going to spend the night there just to make sure everything is ok?

Nikki

Could you possibly wrap an ace bandage around your abdomen? That would keep a little pressure on it and maybe help with the pain....

I have thought about it but it seems to be getting better. I am almost at my 3 week post op point and I am being smarter about what actions I take.

hey all!

I don't know about any of you, but I am lactose intolerant and this whole liquid thing is difficult as many of the protein shakes/yogurt/creamy soups have dairy (i know there's alternatives available, but I'm on a budget!) anyway I just made the most amazing soup..

That sounds SOOO good. I am also lactose intolerant and have had a really hard time with the yogurt and protein shakes. I have had NO problem with cream of chicken and mushroom soup. Thank God because I am so picky, I really didn't like anything else!

Do you ladies notice if you hold your hand on the area and apply pressure, does it help? It seems to make mine feel a little better, like I'm holding it in. The lumps aren't protruding, but when I bend over it hurts more. Thanks for the replies, let's keep each other informed on how this turns out. Mine feels a little better now, but still grabs at times.

I was banded on 3/26 and I have a real tenderness at the port site as well. You aren't alone....I do notice that if I gently hold that area, it feels a bit better. I know I pushed the limits a few times with trying to wash the dog in the tub and using my abs too much. So now I have a stinky dog! Stinky dog is MUCH better than that pain!!!

I was banded on 3/26 so I have a ways to go before solids. For some odd reason, I am doing FINE with all liquid. No cravings...yet. During my meeting with Dr. Miranda, she told me the "ouch" foods were bread, bagels, flour tortillas and sticky rice. Can an experienced bander tell me if we can have pasta, couscous, regular rice and other types of carbs without having negative outcomes? I have heard that corn tortillas/chips and toasted bread or melba toast works fine....just trying to figure out my limitations without finding out the hard way! Thanks all!!!

Thanks for the help! I will go get some IMMEDIATELY....

That is what I have heard....walk.....but when I walk it gets exponentially worse! I MADE myself walk and walk and I about passed out from the pain. It seems if I lay flat and slow down my breathing and heartrate it goes away after a while....I am day 7 after surgery....I hope this goes away soon!

I was banded on 3/26 and think I have done relatively well with all aspects of recovery/healing/nasty post-op diet.....HOWEVER about 4 days post-op I unfortunately got the dreaded shoulder gas pain. If I drink even one sip of ANYTHING I immediately get the sharp knife in the left shoulder. I walk and it gets worse, I breathe and it gets worse. The one and ONLY thing I can do to get rid of it is to lay flat down for 10 min or so....kind of hard when you are at work.

Gas-X strips do nothing...any suggestions?

UGH,

Nikki

Don't worry at all about that. They don't discuss your weight, goal or any gory details. They just explain what they are going to do and mostly just ask YOU if you have any question....rest assured...it is a great experience! I just got banded yesterday and I am up and walking around town!

Nikki