jena

Good for you!!! The A and 3 inches are a lot to celebrate!! I'm old , single with no kids and make a pretty good income, so buying clothes and manicures, pedicures and massages are part of my normal routine. So, to treat myself I've been buying *smaller* clothes (on sale of course) that I will fit into later. There is so much stuff on sale right now and living in the South, there are only a couple of months that we have to wear sweaters and warmer things. I wear jeans and t-shirts all year round. So now I'll have some things to wear when my clothes get too big. This is a treat for me because I've never had the hope that the weight loss would continue so I never planned for more weight loss. Until now!! So, how about finding another big sale and buying some outfits in one size smaller? Another thing you can do to celebrate is to get with your friends and/or family and do something fun. A game of touch football, badminton, rollerblading in the park, going to a museum, take a little road trip for the day, go to garage sales, just spend some time together without it being centered around food. How about you and your friends all go and get a tiny tattoo? Jena

Hi Lauren, I see you're from Atlanta too! There are several of us who were banded by Dr. Ortiz who live in and around Atlanta. A couple of us had fills scheduled the same day in Roswell and a couple of others came and joined us for lunch. Send me a PM if you want to join us or just need some support. I've been through what you are going through with your husband. My husband had addiction problems too and was always the victim. After we split and I made it clear to him that I would no longer be his support both emotionally and financially he got his life together, got his BA, got his Masters and is working on his PhD. You will get through this and so will he. You just have to keep taking care of yourself and let him worry about himself. BTW, your picture is beautiful! You are already a knockout. Hugs to you, Jena

I have bi-polar disorder and if my medicine is off I'll have anxiety attacks, or if I'm under really bad stress I'll get them too. I feel for you girl! You have all the symptoms. Here's some tips for you when you feel it coming on... 1. Acknowledge that you are having an anxiety attack and know there is nothing you can do to stop it. It has to run its course and if you try to stop it it just makes it worse. 2. Get your 8 hours sleep! Easier said than done, believe me. I'll take a couple of Tylenol PM's and that usually does the trick. If you can, get one of those CD's that are just relaxing sounds - you know, a thunderstorm, babbling brook, waves - and put on your headphones and lose yourself in it. Lack of sleep only makes your anxiety attacks worse. 3. Have you ever done guided imagery? google "guided imagery" and you'll find lots of information and instruction on how to do it. It really helps you relax and feel good too. Take care of yourself, lots of hugs to you Jena

Now that I've got really good restriction I find I can really focus on changing my habits. This darn band for me is like antabuse for an alcoholic. I CAN'T give in to those feelings for the first time in my life. If I do I'm rewarded with pain and/or vomit. Before I was banded I was afraid of what would happen when I couldn't give in to the pressure and overeat/binge. I'm not afraid now because I feel so physically uncomfortable if I eat more than my pouch can hold it is a real deterrent. My mind isn't really going there anymore. It's actually an empowering feeling. My downfall of any diet I was on was always the "just this once" binge. It was all over after that. Now there is no "just this once" binge. I'll never be a slave to food again. This time I mean it!

I KNOW!!! What's the deal with eggs?? I can eat pork, chicken, beef cut in tiny bites and chew well, but a tiny bite of scrambled eggs or boiled eggs will stick in my pouch until it comes out on its own! Makes it hard to find some breakfast protein. That's why I go for the Chick-fil-A nuggets. I can eat them, each one is about 3 bites for me and 3 of them fill me way up. I usually eat 2.

Get a fill girl! I got my second fill last Saturday and the world has changed for me. Sounds dramatic, but it is! It's been a tough week but I'm learning some good lessons. I'm learning what I can and can't eat. What I can't eat hurts going down or sits too long in my pouch. I HAVE to eat slowly. I don't have any choice. I've found so far that I can handle most protein, but not scrambled eggs. I can eat a toasted English muffin but not pizza crust. I can eat banana and blueberries but strawberries are a little tough. I have to cut them in small pieces and chew a lot. I can eat Chick-fil-A nuggets but not the Chicken Mini's. (Nugget in a tiny yeast bread roll) If I go by Chick-fil-A for breakfast I'll get 8 nuggets, eat 2 for breakfast, eat 3 for lunch and if I get hungry I have 3 left. 8 nuggets have 260 calories, 27g of protein and 13g of fat. I guess what I'm trying to say is just take it easy. When you get the right fill, you won't have to worry about eating too much!

That is so funny Cathy! When I read the topic I thought about it and decided getting my hair cut and colored! Yours looks fantastic! This time last year my hair was down to my hips. long enough to sit on! I had been wearing my hair long for about 20 years. Last December I decided to get it cut. I donated my long hair to Locks of Love. (enough to make 2 donations!) I'm getting it trimmed tomorrow and the color touched up in a couple of weeks. I love my new short hair. You look 5 years younger with the blond hair!!

Hey sweety. You've been through a lot of emotional ups and downs haven't you? Here's my experience, maybe it will give you some hope. The pre-op diet was so hard the first few days. I did the lean cuisines, but I have the healthy choice/weight watchers dinners a few times. It depends on what was on sale. I love the Lean Cuisines. I would have a Slim-Fast optima in the morning, LC for lunch and dinner, and Kellogs protein water at least once a day. For snacks (if I needed one) SF Jello, SF Jello pudding, sugar free banana popcicles, Fiber One bars. Hang with it the first 3 or 4 days. After that it was a piece of, well, sugarfree cake. Each day that went by made me stronger for the next day. I just got my second fill in my VG band and it was quite agressive. I've now got over 8cc's in my 10cc band. Now that I've finally got good restriction, I HAVE to deal with the head hunger. I CAN'T overeat, even if I wanted to. Yes, the band is doing its job! I'm finding there are certain things I can't eat because they are painful and it's just not worth it. Stick to your pre-op, no matter how hard. You will be rewarded in the end. Hugs to you!

Are you sure you don't have the 10cm band? That is the 4 cc band. The 10 cc band is the VG band. I have a VG band. It had 1cc in at the time of placement. My first fill I got a little of 3cc's that put me a little over 4cc's. I just had my second fill and now I'm a little over 8. I think this is going to be a good fill for me. I've started losing weight again. Double check and make sure about your band size. I'm guessing because of the size of your fills you have the 10cm/4cc band.

When I told my doctor he was thrilled! He said he would do anything I needed him to do to get me approved by insurance. Didn't help - they wouldn't cover it, but he wasn't put off at all when I told him I was going to Mexico to do it. I'm going to talk to him about having someone in the office trained to do fills. I love Darlene, but driving to Roswell is such a headache on Saturdays. My doctor is 5 minutes from my house. My Psychiatrist also thinks it's great. He keeps asking me questions about it. I wouldn't be surprised if he is asking me this information to share with other patients.

Wow! There must be 2 Dr. Miranda's working there. She was nothing but kind and supportive to me. When I met her she was darling. As a matter of fact, I had pictured her as a kindly older woman and when I got there she was a beautiful young woman. My BMI was over 50, so I had to talk to her on the phone about my weight loss and which diet to follow and then email her every week. Here are some quotes from her email replies... "Hi Jena That means you are 50% done with the preop weight loss, a little bit more Dr. MIranda" When I emailed her my weight, I told her I was taking swimming lessons..."SWIMMING I LOVE SWIMMING!!!!! they sell some ipods now for under water there the best!!! Dr. Miranda" "JENNA!!!! you are doing GOOD!!!! Swimming huh? is allways a plus I love swimming too. You are fabulos. Dr. MIranda" When I met her I had my stepmom with me. My step mom talks to everyone like she's known them forever. (Everyone who was getting banded with me called her Paula Dean because she reminded them of her. She's from Savannah too and has that same accent.) Anyway, she asked Dr. Miranda lots of questions and Dr. M was as nice as she could be. I think some of her "coldness" comes from her belief that you really have to change your lifestyle and she doesn't tolerate breaking the rules very well. She told us that everything the patient goes through in the weeks before getting banded is a direct correlation to how well they will do once banded. They have seen enough patients walk through their doors to know what they are talking about. You are doing GREAT! After I lost 3 pounds more than she wanted me to, she told me to keep it up and to lose another 10 pounds. LOL!

Here's my take on what Dr. O said. He's the expert on this. He's seen thousands of patients that he banded. His office keeps up with everyone and he has statistics on his patients. He's continuously examining what works best, what works and what doesn't work. He said what he said with love. Trust me. He also said what he said because unlike all of us, he has the statistics to back him up. He only wants for you what he wants from all of us - SUCCESS! Now, our job here is to comfort you when you fall, share our successes AND our not-so-successes. I've just had my second fill and I must say it was very aggressive. I know what the "sweet spot" is. (For the time being) I absolutely CANNOT overeat (as long as I stay away from soft foods). I CANNOT drink while I eat. I've experienced the pain of food passing through my band that was not chewed well enough. I've experienced the panic when I've eaten too much too fast. The food has no where to go but up. I've experienced water coming right back up when there is still food in my pouch. I've experienced "getting stuck" and it ain't fun! All of this in the last 4 days!! Dr. Ortiz is right, until you get to where my band is now, it does take willpower to stick to the guidelines. Learn it now or learn it later, it's much easier to learn it BEFORE hitting the sweet spot.

In addition to the issues pointed out above, smokers do not heal as fast as non-smokers, especially bone and soft tissue. That leads to more complications from surgery. Your stomach has to heal after the surgery, as well as the band settling down and staying in place. You don't want your band to slip! There are now some wonderful drugs out there that will curb your addiction to the nicotine and there are always the patches. If you are thinking about doing it, call your primary care doc and let them know you are interested in the new smoking cessation drugs. It looks like before surgery is an optimal time to quit! check out this article (from 2006) http://www.asahq.org/news/news020306.htm Here's a quote from it, "According to a new comprehensive review of existing studies in the February issue of Anesthesiology, surgical patients who are nonsmokers, or who stop smoking prior to surgery, tend to fare better in the recovery period than smokers. This is in addition to the benefit seen during the actual surgery, when anesthesia is safer and more predictable in nonsmokers due to better functioning of the heart, blood vessels, lungs and nervous system. Add to all of this another bonus: smokers who have quit around the time of surgery may have fewer problems with nicotine withdrawal after the operation than they would have if they had tried to quit at other times. This may be due to medications and therapies commonly used during surgery and recovery, which may suppress nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Even if patients do have problems with nicotine withdrawal after surgery, they can safely receive help such as nicotine patches. "

Good job Cathy! You're about to catch up to me!

I second the brining boneless skinless chicken!! Just Google "brining chicken" and you'll find tones of recipes. Basically it's water, salt and a little sugar. You can let it brine in as little as 15 minutes to several hours. You don't want to leave it in too long. You really should pound the chicken so that the thickness is even. That way the thinner parts don't overcook while the thicker part is cooking. Brining makes all the difference in the world! Here's another recipe you might like. I'll bake some boneless skinless chicken then when it cools slice it into strips. Take your favorite spaghetti sauce and pour some over the chicken to cover it. Throw on a little low fat mozzarella and low fat Parmesan cheese and bake it until the cheese melts and bubbles. Yum! I also like it with salsa instead of the spaghetti sauce and low fat cheddar. If you like beef, try a flat iron steak. A little salt and pepper and grill it or bake it or even fry it. It is a super tender cut of beef without a lot of fat.

I'm 50, I had a complete hysterectomy 2 years ago and I've found that I don't lose weight like I did when I was 21, it's the same as in my 30's. I always start off fast and slow down after the first 20 pounds. The biggest difference between then and now is that I have no doubt in my mind that this time it will come off and stay off. I'm not so much in a hurry to take it all off fast because I know it's coming off. I love my band!

Hi Mona, I just got home from getting my fill and meeting with several of the folks from here for lunch. I couldn't believe it but the scale said I have lost 12 pounds since my last fill about 4 weeks ago. Maybe it was a couple of weeks longer. Anyway, I just thought I might have lost 3 or 4 pounds. Darlene got all but .1 cc out of my band! She put the 4.something back and added another 3.something. So I have a little over 7 cc's in mine. I can really feel this more than the first fill. I had a little soup and frozen yogurt for lunch. I am drinking a bottle of Special K protein water right now and I absolutely cannot gulp it like I usually do. I know it's swollen, but I didn't have this sensation after the first one. When you get your fill, does the doc use floro? I can see that my pouch is really small. Darlene mentioned it both times I was filled. Hang in there girl! You'll get to the right spot. I think you've got a great attitude. You're being very aggressive making sure you get what you need. I've seen so many who get one or two fills and just give up when they aren't losing weight and never go back and get a fill. With your determination to make it work I have no doubt at all that you will find that sweet spot.

Hey Girl! I'm going for my second fill today. I've got 4-point-something in mine now. It's funny how from week to week the restriction changes. Right now I have pretty good restriction during the day but not so much at night. I'm hoping a little bit more will do the trick. Jena

Don't forget everyone! I can't wait to meet you.

Thank you so much everyone. Your words mean more than you know. I've heard that binging is a way of stuffing your feelings down your throat, and this is true in my case. Thanks to your support I marched into the office today and when the person who is causing me such grief started in on me again, I very tactfully and professionally told her in the nicest way to shove it up her arse. Heh! A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders! I feel great! Like I said before, all of you are priceless. Jena

Someone should call Sweet Tomatoes and let them know to make lots of extra soup on Saturday! Heh Can't wait to meet everyone!

I can't wait to hook up with everyone! I'm at 1, bandgroupie is at 1:40 right? Who else is getting a fill?

I haven't written in a while. Truth is, I just don't have a lot to say lately. I've been having a rough summer. Got laid off the end of June, started a new consulting position that I absolutely despise. I've been upset and angry about my situation and everything was ripe for a pity party binge. I had made pasta for dinner - one of my old, best binge foods for dinner and there was lots left. When I went in the kitchen to feed the cats, I shoved in a couple of mouthfuls. Then I shoved in a couple of more. Then my eyes bulged out of my head and I got a tightness in my chest and the last bite I took didn't get any farther than the back of my throat. There was no where for it to go. What did I do? I put another bite in my mouth. Old habits die hard. While I was chewing and chewing (I realized I couldn't swallow it) I thought how stupid I'm being. I spit out what was in my mouth and started walking around trying to get the lump in my chest to go away. Then I realized that this is my band doing its job. I could have eaten enough pasta for 4 or 5 people. Strike that. I WOULD have eated all of the pasta and then anything else I could find. Yes, it's there helping me on a day to day basis, but what it did for me tonight is priceless. Oh, you're probably wondering what I did instead of binge. I sat down and wrote this and I feel so much better. Thank all of you for being here. That's priceless too. Jena

That sounds good to me too!

Cool! And I'll stay late.