Paula Bee

LOL.. stick your little finger in and stir... it will be plenty sweet after that. omg.. did I say that out loud?

I think 10 pounds in a month is probably a little ambitious, but if you up your exercise you will have a better chance for it. It is a good goal; reach for it!

I want a small tushie!!

WOOT! I am so proud of you!! GREAT BIG HUGS! Wishing you continued strength in all ways.

Kim, My first fill was 1.1, and I was so angry (ask anyone on this forum!) I couldn't understand why everyone else on the boards seemed to be getting bigger fills and better restrictions than me. My second fill was a month later, and two different Dr.'s at the clinic gave me the same amount.. up to 1.5. (I wasn't happy with the first dr.'s fill and went in for another Dr. to re-evaluate. He left it the same.) The second, Dr Marco, explained that my esophagus was stretched and allowed my pouch to fill up and "flow over" the top of the band, like an overfilled cupcake. He said that medically the solution was to use a small fill to allow the esophagus to shrink back down and for me to follow the rules rigidly and come back in 6 weeks. If my esophagus/pouch had shrunk down toward normal size, then I could have a normal fill. I was very dissappointed, but I did understand for the first time. Somewhere, on this big, wide, forum, is the whole post, but I couldn't tell you where. I would suspect that your situation is similar. I also learned that if you don't ask why, and then ask why again, then you might not understand why they are doing what they are doing. I let it pass me by on the first fill without asking, the 2nd fill without checking, and finally, upset enough to press the point, got an understanding on the check of my 2nd fills. Maybe you could just call and find out why they didn't give you a bigger fill. It is the philosophy at the OCC to give patients agressive fills IF THEY CAN HANDLE THEM. Let your feelings about that fill cool down completely before you make any decisions.. HUGS, hugs, hugs

Nope.. they use a special needle designed not to damage the port.... can't remember where I read that, though... probably in one of the posts about letting someone other than a trained lapband nurse or Dr. perform a fill.

I am so glad you were able to sip something warm to help alleviate that pain. Feels like a heart attack, doesn't it? That is the same pain you will feel when you need to pb.. enough to remind you not to eat whatever it is you were eating again. Hugs and firm pats on the back... there it comes.. **burp** Paula

Evette, dahling.... you look WONDERFUL! I am also so happy for your bloodwork and tests to come back normal. I pray God gives you the desire of your heart.

Yay for you, Jim.. wish I could find one that close. Hooray for saving a buck!

LMAO

Here are a few exerpts from the book, The Vicar or Nibbleswicke, by Roald Dahl, that, intentional or not, apply to our questions about sipping an gulping. This book was written for the Dyslexia Foundation of Great Britain. Once upon a time there lived in England a charming and God-fearing Vicar called the Reverend Lee....As a boy, Robert Lee had suffered from severe dyslexia... by eighteen, Robert Lee had made such splendid progress that his writing and reading were both more or less normal...At 27, Robert Lee had become the Reverend Lee and had been appointed to his first important job as the Vicar of Nibbleswicke...He began to get nervous... It is clear now that sometime during the night that something must have gone click in his brain and stirred up in some way vestiges of the old dyslexia that was lying there dormant...The next morning it was apparent that that he was suffering from a peculiar illness. The way it affected him was as follows: He would be talking to someone, and his brain would pick out the most significant word in the sentence and reverse it. By that I mean he would automatically spell the word backwards and speak it that way without even noticing what he had done. For example: trap became part, drab became bard, God became dog, spirit became tirips, and so on.***** *****Matters came to a head on the following Saturday when the Reverend Lee met a small group of women who he was supposed to be preparing for their First Communion. "The only thing I'm not sure about is whether you are suppposed to drink the wine when the chalice is offered to you. If so, how much should one drink? What I mean is, should it be a good gulp or just a little sip?" "Dear lady," cried the Vicar,"you must never plug it! If everyone were to plug it the cup would be empty after about 4 goes, and the rest of you wouldn't get any at all! What you must do is pis. Pis gently. All of you, all the way along the rail must pis, pis, pis. Do you understand what I mean?"******* Another, non lap-band passage cracks me up.. call me demented.. I am including it for your reading pleasure. ..."Then came the bombshell. When the service was over and "the blessing of Dog Almighty" had been given, the vicar stepped forward to the front of the altar rail and spoke as follows: "Dear people, it is hardly my place as a newcomer to start making rules so early in my incumbency, but there is just one thing I feel I must mention. The road outside our little church is exceedingly narrow and, as you know, there is hardly room for two vehicles to pass each other. Therefore I feel it is only right to ask members of the congregation not to krap all along the front of the church before the service. It is not only unsightly, but it is also dangerous. If you all krap at the same time all along the side of the road you could be hit by a passing car at any time. There is plenty of room for you to do this alongside the church on the south side if you feel you must." So, from now on you will think of pluging, pising, and kraping in a different light. This certainly also answers the questions about pluging or pising water each day, which also could affect your daily kraping. Pising a cup of water as I type, Dog bless us one and all! Aluap (Man, I am just terrible!) Vicar of Nibbleswick by Roald Dahl, published by Puffin Books

yep.. health is first.. And worm burgers? gross... even if it is an urban legend, the image of it is burned in my memory. ugh.. (Actually, the owner of our local meat market delivers the beef fresh every day to Wendy's. I know his is pure, delicious, beef.. Shut up, Paula.. you are making yourself hungry.

Congratulations, Cedar! You have lots to be proud of yourself about, and I am certainly proud for you! As a former WW leader, I know that statistically, by depriving yourself of foods, you run a greater risk of falling off any wagon that you happen to be riding on at the time. (I do feel that I wasn't even successful as a WW member, let alone leader, as I regained the weight over a year and a half, but not because I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing.) Realistically, there is no way to predict that one would never eat certain foods again. While I am not an expert in the lapband, (not by any means,) I do think that there is cheating and there are real life expectations. 1. Cheating is not following your doctor's instructions for the pre-surgery diet or the 21 days post operative. These are really non-negotiable for a safer surgery and band health. 2. After the 21 days, what you eat is your own business, but not cheating. Directions for success are given by Dr. Miranda, but the true purpose of the band is to reduce your food intake to 1/3 of your former, (meaning before lapband,) amount of food. For example, as given to me by Dr. Miranda, if I was eating 3 enchiladas prior to surgery, the goal is for me to be eating one enchilada after the band. That doesn't make the enchilada cheating.. just achieving the band goal. 3. With only 1/3 of your former food intake, you have to be really careful about protein intake. With no liquid meals allowed after the initial 21 days, The divided salad size plate becomes an important reminder of the amount of protein and green vegetables you should be eating. Not enough protein will lead to hair loss and other problems. The goal is 2 to 3 oz of protein per meal. 4. Since you are supposed to have 2 calcium products a day, yogurt is both a good source of calcium and some protein. It is also considered a liquid, so it can be eaten between meals. (As per Dr. Miranda) 5. If you absolutely not a breakfast person, (like me,) Dr. Miranda told me to just eat a "leetle" something.. a half a banana, a little cereal and milk, little piece of toast, etc. I can manage the half banana. 6. You will lose weight on the divided plate example, no matter what you choose to put in the spaces, but you will lose FASTER by following the lower calorie choices. While anything not considered low calorie is not technically not cheating, it is not the wisest choice for weight loss. 7. Without arguement, drinking around the band will ruin your weight loss prospects. There is no exception to this. 8. Desserts will destroy your projected weight loss if they are not tightly restricted. They don't fit in any quarters of the salad plate. If you consume one, don't expect to lose any weight for a day or two. 9. It takes 4000+ calories to gain or lose a pound. How you handle those calories will control your weight loss. 10. Lori, herself, told me that she had hot wings and some bbq at a family outing. She just was limited by her band to the quantity she could consume. 11. Weighing every day is a pointless activity, since so many factors effect your weight loss every day. Food you eat today could take as long as tomorrow to digest and convert to energy or fat. Blundering today will not result in a noticable weight gain unless you eat 4000 extra calories the entire week. Factors that better impact your weight loss are medications, salt intake, failure to drink enough water, time of the month, etc. Put your scales in the closet and weigh only once a week. One area that I am unsure about is soup with solids in it. Is it a liquid consumed with your solids? (Juice plus soup solids?) If you blend it it will become a liquid, so is it a liquid? Has anyone discussed this with Dr. Miranda? All the above statements are solely my own understanding of the management of band weight loss. In all, Cedar is right... why spend the amount of money that we have all spent and not work on the greatest weight loss during the shortest amount of time. I choose Cedar's way, even though I refuse to limit myself to only lowfat choices for a special occasion, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas. The band will impose the limits I need.

I think it would be wonderful if anyone who was organized enough would post their weekly menu for the rest of us. It would help a whole lot with shopping, etc. I am working on getting that organized. Funny, I could do that when I was in WW.. I need to get back in the habit.

I use the divided plate method that Dr. Miranda showed us, and I put a smallish portion on each spot. I eat and chew carefully, put my fork down between bites, eat slowly. As I finish the smallish portions, I ask myself if I am full (which is now what I want to happen) or no longer hungry. Of course, I stop at the no longer hungry, or what I perceive to be no longer hungry. I get up, walk around for a few minutes, If I think I am still hungry, I get a little more The problem is that I get hungry about 2 hours before the next meal, especially for supper. I think this means I am not eating enough, but where is the solution? Where is the fine line between not hungry at lunch and hungry before supper? I don't know....

Laffing... old time dieting dies hard. Besides, I like to know what I am eating Like the time I got one of those ice cream thingies from Jack in the Box, and the dang thing was 800 calories for the small one. I nearly fainted.

Ooohh.. don't know, Cathy... wish I could talk.

Yay! It is wonderful when they hit it at a reasonable first fill and you feel restriction.

I would say good luck, but you will not need luck with the wonderful surgeons at OCC. Have a relaxed and anxiety free time.

Welcome and congrats! You will not regret it at all.

Welcome, Jeremy and congratulations on your decision. No regrets, no regrets.

This is funny, but I would pack up my fat clothes and drop them off at her office, along with a note stating the above suggestions.

HUGS, HUGS, HUGS! I am happy for you and see the same as a possible future for me.

No snacking, though.. you would have to include them as the veggie or protein in a meal.