Amanda2008

Today was better, although I was much more tired than I was the first week post-op :-( I had so much energy about 7 days after surgery! I couldn't find any protein bullets at the store but I had a protein shake for breakfast and one for an afternoon snack (took me about 2 hours to drink it!). Other food was a bowl of tomato soup for lunch and another for dinner, and some orange juice. I can't wait till my fill!

I feel a little bit better today. Will get in more protein.

It's been a very, very uncomfortable day... A lot of pain. I had a Danon Frusion, some chicken broth and a Muscle Milk protein drink. I'm going to bed with a heating pad. It's weird because I didn't think I had much restriction. What happened? Why so much pain? (Do NOT push your band and overeat!)

I have the worst gas pain today after overeating last night (I am pretty sure it is gas because each time I burp or fart, I feel much better...) All I ate yesterday was three bowls of soup, but I had two bowls within about 90 minutes of each other last night. I think it was psychological - I just wanted it! (It was broccoli cheese and amazing - but NOT worth this pain). I felt very stuffed last night but thought I would be OK. Today however I have some pretty bad pain in my abdomen and my stomach is making a ton of noise grumbling. I'm taking Gas-X which helps a bit. I'm hoping I didn't stretch out my band. I have been doing so great, but I forgot to stay vigilant. Just posting this to remind other newbies (and scold myself publicly)... the yummy is not worth the pain that follows.

I'm on day 16 of liquid diet, and starting to get hungrier and hungrier. What kind of food and typical amount of it did you eat starting Day 21? Did anyone stay on soups?

Oh I remember the pain of burping, and that's nothing compared to a sneeze!!!!!!! If you feel one coming on, grab a pillow to your chest as tightly as you can to minimize the shaking.

hey Dr. Miranda told me PB means pre-barfing! I don't think the pre-filled band gives restriction necessarily, but I will say that for the first four-five days I was not hungry at all. My appetite has returned but I have not been as hungry as before. The band is "hugging" the stomach which I do think gives some slight restriction in that you might feel full faster. The real restriction and weight loss come after the fills...

congratulations Kristy!!! And now you will get two days of recuperating post-surgery before traveling back, right? very cool!

My trip back was quite awful, but it was my fault. I bought my airfare on Orbitz, and paid so much attention to getting the right outgoing flight that would suit my schedule on Thursday that I must not have paid attention to the return flight. I must have clicked the wrong one because I meant to leave at 2:50 p.m. from San Diego on Sunday. Well on Saturday at the Lucerna I checked my flight again to find out what time I would need to leave, and saw that it was leaving San Diego at 8 pm for Denver. Then my next flight was at 8 a.m. the next morning!! So I would have to spend the night in Denver before going back to Oklahoma City! Aaaa! I called Orbitz and they said the fee to change the flight to the 2:50 one would be $180. I said forget it, and instead went online to buy a one-way ticket instead, which was only $99 for the 2:50 flight. Well again I was not paying attention. Apparently it would not let me purchase a flight within 24 hours online, so even though I put in my search date as 11/23, it instead gave me all the options for 11/24. I was so intent on the flight times and prices that I did not check to see if the date was the same. The driver picked us up at the Lucerna at 10 a.m. Sunday morning, and dropped me off at the San Diego Airport around 11:15 for my 2:50 flight. Well guess what - they said I was not on that flight but only on the 8 p.m. one. I insisted I had just bought a one-way ticket on the 2:50 flight. They finally found me on MONDAY's flight. Everything was booked solid for Sunday, and there was no other way back to get me to Oklahoma City that day. I should have just gone to the nearest motel so I could rest, and take Monday's flight home. For some stupid reason I decided to stay at the airport all day until the 8 p.m. flight. It was a very long and rather uncomfortable day at the San Diego Airport. I had terrible shoulder pain and gas pain and I needed to do a lot of walking. Unfortunately I had to walk around with my luggage too because they couldn't even check it in until 4 p.m. I dragged it around with me from terminal to terminal. It was awful and I was so mad I didn't just stay at the Lucerna another day. Fortunately I had my laptop with me and I was not hungry at all. All I ate all day was some juice and fro yo that I melted in my mouth before I swallowed it. I went online and booked a cheap hotel in Denver that had a shuttle to the airport. On the flight to Denver, I was fortunately able to move up one row into the emergency exit row which was empty. This gave me a little more room. My stomach was very distended and for the first time I was unable to fasten the seat belt on an airplane. It was freezing in Denver! I waited outside for about 30 minutes until the shuttle came. I walked around in circles around the bench to warm up and get rid of the gas. When I finally got to my warm hotel room with its soft bed with pillows, it was probably the most amazing feeling. I slept soooo well. Fortunately I was able to get a $120 voucher for the ticket I didn't use on Monday, which I will use toward my trip back for my first fill, but I spent about $65 on the hotel. The lesson from this story is 1) Always make sure to triple check your date and flight times before you buy 2) Consider staying at the Lucerna another night before you leave, I think the cost is quite reasonable 3) Never let me book your reservations! Amanda

Of course surgery is scary, and traveling to another country for surgery is even scarier. BUT you have to think about the scariest of all - what would happen if you did not get this done? Obviously you and your doctors have made the decision that you are in medical need of this intervention. Without the surgery, you will probably continue to gain weight. What that means for your health and quality of life is VERY scary. The OCC is filled with wonderful people who know exactly what they are doing. I imagine they have done more surgeries than any other clinic in the world, and are prepared for anything that can happen. Trust that you will be in good hands!

Pre-surgery story - published the day I left: http://oudaily.com/news/2008/nov/20/why-im...y-south-border/ Trip diary - published a week after I got back: http://oudaily.com/weblogs/newsroom/2008/n...og-back-mexico/

I did use a vacuum cleaner!!!! I really hate my roommate even more now. He refused to help clean!

No exercise for 3 months!!! I have to be able to clean! That wasn't like going for a run or doing an aerobics class... I still have some pain after eating, and I'm only eating soup.

I've had lots of tomato soup, some brands of which have the occasional tomato lumps. When I come across one I chew it to smithereens! The broccoli soup I've been buying is just creamy, no broccoli lumps. I'm addicted to tomato soup! It is the best!

I was there the week before last and everything was fine. I was either with the driver, at the hotel or at the clinic. In fact I thought TJ looked much improved in the areas around the hotel! Starbucks, new banks, etc. I wouldn't advise going out at night by yourself, but I would imagine you're more likely to face the usual dangers when traveling anywhere (pickpocketers, scammers, crazy traffic) than any gang violence.

The worst for me is the pizza commercials. I never noticed how many there were until now!!!

Argh me too! Except I'm on Day 10. The first week was a dream, and I hope a glimpse into what the future will be after I get some fills. Maybe I am not getting enough protein. What is a high-protein soup?

I think most creamy soups are OK, but I would avoid cream of potato soup. I would imagine it's rather thick and starchy. I love cream of broccoli and tomato basil soup. I could eat those nonstop! My hunger has returned unfortunately (I'm on Day 10) and I've been craving that tomato basil soup.

Campbell's has some great one-serving soups you can microwave in the cup. I like creamy tomato and the Soup at Hand creamy chicken. I also love Muir Garden's organic tomato with basil. Amazing! But too tempting to overeat because it's so yummy!

Yesterday was my first day of creamy liquids, and I feel really in pain today! I had creamy soup, plus drinkable yogurt and pudding. I also cleaned for about two hours. Last night I went to be in some discomfort, plus today I woke up with some strong pain in my stomach, especially in the port area. Did I eat too much? I think I might have overdone it on the pudding, which isn't really that liquidy... I'm back to broth today. I'm not hungry at all fortunately. Did I stretch out my pouch?

They really are wonderful there. I can't wait to go back for my fill! The only thing I would have changed was to stay one more night at the hotel before flying back, but that's because I screwed up my itinerary and was stuck 8 hours at the San Diego Airport and then had to stay overnight in Denver! I was really in misery and wishing I was still at the Lucerna. I don't know how far you have to travel to get back home, but you might consider staying an extra night if you still feel in pain. And take lots of Gas-X and Advil!

Oh wow, was that what that funny scale was in Dr. Miranda's office? It was like a bath mat... My friends are shocked (or good actors lol) when I told them I weighed 265. Dr. Ortiz also told me I carry it well. Maybe I do have really heavy bones. I know I also have a lot of muscle underneath my fat in my legs, because they are really strong. I also think I might need a good colon cleanse in case I'm hiding 20 lbs of gunk in there...

I'm only 5'3" and Dr. Miranda suggested I should be around 160 or even 170! That's a drop of 100 lbs, but still, I was thinking I need to be around 130. Whenever I've dieted as an adult, I've always plateaued at around 170. Was she being conservative with me? I know it's early on but just wondering if anyone else was surprised by what they were told their weight should be. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

I'm still on the liquid diet phase of the diet, so no food yet. It is really hard to sip slowly. I've been drinking so fast for so many years, it will be a hard habit to break.

Don't beat yourself up. It was a moment of weakness. The pre-op diet was really really hard for me too, and I'm sure for other people. I felt like I was starving, and the hunger brought back so many bad memories of past diet failures. If I had made cookies on day nine I probably would have eaten half of them! I think you can just tell your children, "Oh mommy's not hungry for sweets, because she already had her dessert today" or something to explain why you don't want cookies or whatever in the future. That's a great way to teach them about moderation - there's no "bad" foods, but mommy eats a balanced diet to be healthy! I'm on day six of the post-op, but I'm so excited about the band and so motivated about losing weight that it's helping me not cheat. It will be hard with all the talk of Thanksgiving food and pie, but I'm planning to spend tomorrow organizing all my clothes in order of size, so I can look forward to wearing all of them again!