dawns

Just some food (or milk) for thought. I saw that you stated that you are really a milk drinker -- there is such a thing as milk anemia. If you drink too much milk it can lower your iron level which of course means anemia. In the clinic I work in, our dietitians and nurses only recommend three 8 ounce glasses of milk a day. Just an FYI. Have a good day, dawn

I agree with the other girls. If you read the bottom of most everyones posts, you will see that most people have 3, 4, or more fills. It takes a while to get there but the payoff is wonderful once you do. Stick to the rules of protein, veggies, fruit and the carb and you will do fine. Good luck. dawn

Hi Sabrina, I know exactly what you are talking about. Most days I can only eat a very small amount. I struggle to get in over 1100 calories, if that much. And then some rare days it feels like I have no restriction and I can eat anything. On those days I let myself go for it but in moderation of how much I eat at a time and I try to make sure that most foods are good for me. I don't know but I would think, and I could be wrong but I would think that the band is loose enough to let food pass through much easier so it doesn't sit in the pouch. I didn't get this band because I have been in control of my food intake! So I think probably there are a few people that have those days of just wanting to eat everything including the kitchen! Have a great day, Dawn

You are a ROCKSTAR! :cheerleader: :lb10: :lb13: CONGRATS dawn

Hi everyone, Just a quick question, did all of you go in to your doctor and ask for the blood work for vitamin deficiencies? I just had a physical and I was talking to my doctor about his opinion on how much vit d to take and he just said that it is really hard not to get vit d in the foods that you eat and the sun and to not worry about taking any extra. Now I think I may call back and ask for some blood work done and see what it comes out to be. dawn

Hey Jude, First off thanks for the nice comments and words of encouragement of my sparkpeople page! I want to know how big you Omega 3 capsule is? The ones that I buy at Sams are huge, about 3/4 in long. I haven't been taking them since I have been banded and now my cholesterol has gone back up. I took one today but it makes me really nervous to take them because I am afraid they are so big it will get stuck, but so far so good. I have looked and looked for some that are smaller in size but have had no luck, so interested to know about yours. thanks dawn

ckiki, Wow you have made wonderful progress! You have removed 40 pounds of fat off your body. That is 40 pounds you probably wouldn't have lost all by yourself w/o the band. I think that it is very very easy to get caught up in that comparing game. We all want to be the "best" bandsters and when it looks as if someone is doing better than us then it easy to feel like a failure. I got caught up in that very quickly when I was first banded. And I felt myself getting very discouraged and feeling like I wasn't doing something "correctly". But the thing is, if you really read through the posts, I don't think this has been an easy quick fix for anybody. And it appears to me that almost everyone goes through cycles where you plateau and just don't lose anything for a while. I did. I went about 4 months where I only lost about 2-3 pounds. It drove me crazy, but now I just know that it is going to happen during this journey. Doesn't mean that it won't drive me crazy again and test my will power, but at least I know to expect it and try to have some patience with it when it does happen. Unfortunately it takes time and money to get you where you need to be with your fills. And until you get there you really have to work with your head hunger/head issues during that time. If you stay the course with the fills you will get there. I am only 3 pounds away from removing 50 pounds of fat from my body and I am almost to my one year mark in Sept. I can guarantee you it wasn't simple, but I think that I have finally learned to use my band as the tool that it is. My mom does the same thing to me only she doesn't have another person to compare me to, however each time she starts questioning why I am not losing more and faster I have learned to say to her "you know I am pretty happy about how much I have lost, and it would mean a lot to me if I know that you are happy for me also" You did this for yourself for a reason and only you know what that reason is, but I suggest you go back and revisit time and time again why you got your band. And then take baby steps in the other things that you are doing that you don't feel right about. I would suggest dealing with the drinking with meals first. Its a decision that you have to make that you are just not going to run the risk of slipping you band or stretching your pouch by not drinking for 1 hour after meals. You might not be losing right now and you might not have the money or your passport to get to the OCC right now, but you have the power right now to make sure you are not doing something to your band or yourself that could be harmful so that when you do have the money and your passport and you do go get that next fill, you will be able to say to yourself that you are glad you didn't continue to do things that could have hurt your band. Stick with it because in the end I believe that it will all be worth it. Good luck to you dawn

I am doing pretty well, thanks. I had that little unfill of .2 and I have started losing again. It feels wonderful. I am only 3 pounds away from hitting the 50 pounds gone mark. I would love to be 199 by my one year date on Sept 1 but I will just have to wait and see. Take care, dawn

Greg, if you go to my controls then go to its either add avitar or edit avitar that will let you post a side picture. As far as adding pictures, I have used photobucket to add pictures on this board. dawn

I recently had to have a unfill of .2cc because I was too tight and everything hurt going down, even my hot tea in the mornings. I let it go for about 8 weeks because I kept thinking that this must be what restriction feels like. But then after it becoming pretty uncomfortable to eat and having the desire to eat but reluctant because I knew it would hurt going down, I decided to go back to my fill doc and he took out .2. Now it doesn't hurt when I eat and I am back to eating about 3/4 to 1 cup of food and feeling full for about 3-4 hours sometime longer, but the main difference is I feel satisfied after I eat and I get a tell tail hiccup when I am full. Now I know that it shouldn't hurt to eat and I am pretty sure that this is what restriction is supposed to feel like. Also I did not lose anything while I was too tight, now that I am not too tight I have started losing again. Good luck. dawn

Welcome to bandland!!

OMG Shelby, You are one hot mama! You look so healthy and happy in your new picture. You should really be very proud of yourself. You look great dawn

If you were banded by Dr. Ortiz then you should have instructions on which liquids you can have including drinkable yogurt during week two. Look at your discharge paperwork.

Hello, Just wondering if anyone has tried the Matrix protein powder or the Nectar protein drinks from Bariatric Advantage? My fill doctor gave me a sample of the Bariatric Advantage protein powder in vanilla flavor and it was actually pretty good so I was curious about the other two protein products they sell and if anyone could recommend a flavor? Thanks, dawn

Susy, Dr. Malley does Mexican lapband patients. I had my surgery done by Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Malley is now doing my fills. Good luck with boards! dawns

Hi Cristy, Hope things are getting better for you. I totally agree with Dana. For at least a month I had a heating pad on my port site. Especially when I was lying in bed at night before going to sleep. Also have you tried taking Tylenol, you can buy the jr. strength ones for children ages 2 to I think 11. They dissolve in your mouth, six disolvable tablets is about equal to 2 extra strength Tylenol. Also you might want to talk to your doctor about taking Prilosec over the counter. It will help with the heartburn/burpy urpey stuff you mentioned. Feel better and remember heat to the port site will help tremendously. Hang in there. dawns

Hi, Gallstones after weight loss is common as is gallstones with being overweight. Not fun either way! I had gallstones prior to being banded and had my gallbladder out. Best thing I ever did! I also live in Kansas, Manhattan actually, and I have had fills at both places that Smiley mentioned. I personally think I like Dr. Malley the best b/c he is actually a surgeon who does the lapband and he is cheaper, but I liked the WLSC also. Where are you at in Kansas? I am also a nurse and I know exactly what you are talking about being so involved in school and now boards. Once boards are over you can take a deep breath and just chill for a while. Try not to stress yourself too much over boards. If you have done well in school, you will do fine on the boards. And for now try to avoid as much fatty foods as you possibly can to avoid a gallbladder attack. And just take baby steps with your band right now until you get your life settled after boards. Good luck to you. dawns

Hey Shelby, I have noticed since my last fill that I have the gurgling sensation also. I still am struggling with my eyes being bigger than my stomach syndrome. I go see Dr. Malley on Monday for my first fill with him. I will let you know how it goes. Dawn

Sorry but I have another view point. I lost about 20 or a little more from surgery to 1st fill. When I started solids I made sure that I ate between 1400 to 1500 calories daily and had consistent weight loss. I also stuck to the 3 to 4 oz of protein, 1/4 cup of veggies, and 1/4 cup carb or fruit. Dr. Miranda told me that if you are exercising you need at least 1400 to 1500 daily or your body goes into starvation mode and you won't lose. Worked for me. dawns

Hi, I have had my gallbladder out after losing a large amount of weight but not after LBS. As far as the gallbladder starting to function again after things settle down is not very likely. Basically what your test results are saying is that your gallbladder is pretty much not functioning at all. If you don't have it out you will continue to have issues and most times non functioning gallbladders can make people pretty sick and miserable. Gallstones have that potential also but generally you will have right upper quad pain that is intermittent unless a stone becomes lodged and then a person will have severe pain and nausea and vomiting. I would suspect that as your gallbladder becomes more sick you will start having lots of nausea and just feel pretty yucky. As far as having issues after having your gallbladder removed, most people that I have taken care of have said they didn't realize just how miserable they were until they had it removed and they feel so much better almost as soon as they recover from the anesthesia. I have never had any lingering issues since having mine taken out and wondered why I didn't do it much sooner when I knew I had stones. Hope this answered a few of your questions and good luck.

Hi, I had a fill at OCC on 10/17/08 with Dr. So. He told me that you can drink up until you eat and then not for one hour after. Hope this helps. dawns

Why don't you call your rep and ask or call the OCC so you know for sure.

Hi, it is not uncommon to go up and down with water retention and your body trying to catch up with the amount of weight you lost in the beginning. I have gotten on the scale and gained 5 pounds then gotten back 2 days later and it is gone. Just be patient it will work itself out. Make sure you are still drinking plenty of water and 1200 calories a day if not exercising yet, or 1500 calories a day if you are exercising. Good luck and don't stress too much about it. dawns

You are probably not giving your band a chance to work because when you drink with food you wash the food down very quickly into the lower stomach, never giving your pouch that full feeling. The other thing is, Lisal is right, Dr. So told me when I went for my first fill -- the Number one way to stretch your pouch is by drinking with meals. Your body is trying to heal and you are fighting it. Look at the clock as soon as you take your last bite of food, don't have any liquids near you and wait one hour before having something to drink. If you do this every time then it becomes your new habit. As far as being sick you do need to drink more liquids but not for one hour after eating. You can do this. Make the decision right now that you can do this. Tell yourself You "Can't" and you won't, Tell yourself you "CAN", and you will. And one last thing CONGRATS on the 23#s down. Wow, won't 30#s feel fantastic! Take care, dawns

Hi Sabrina, When I went for my first fill, Dr. So told me that you can have port pain on and off for up to 6 months. Take care, dawns