canuk98828

Can you please tell me how important it is to be checked yearly? What is it they look for?

I was hoping to just travel light and not have to check any bags so I don't want to drag the shakes and broth etc with me - what did ya'll do for meal time? Want to be prepared and know what to bring - leaving Sunday and can't believe its time!

If you are staying at the Marriott, they provide clear broth and popsicles for OCC patrons. There are also restaurants near by that will let you order broth. There is also a grocery store within walking distance (a Mexican one and a walmart)

Hope that helps

It takes more than Band adjustments to be successful

March 2011

Reprinted with permission from Synchrony Chicago Weight Loss.

Losing weight can be overwhelming. When weight loss is not happening, the first instinct to most band patients is to get their band tightened. That may be one of the ways to get on track, but it may take other lifestyle adjustments, also. Plan for weight loss the same way you would plan for any other life overhaul, such as marriage, having a baby, or starting a new career. Changing your life for the better deserves just as much of your attention as another huge life change.

-Decide what you want to accomplish, make a plan, and take action. Get up earlier so you are not rushed in the morning. Burns calories at least 3 times a week. Schedule down time for TV, reading, playing a game with the kids.

-If you are food logging (if you are not losing weight, you should food log), be honest about what you are logging. Realize that you may have withdrawal symptoms from sugar, salt, and fast food, and be prepared to deal with those feelings. Identify if you are night eating, or eating in secret.

-Give yourself credit. Deciding to have surgery, and going through with it, was a huge first step. Think of all of the other things that you have also achieved!

-Don’t let yourself make excuses. I’m busy, I will get around to it someday, My family likes junk food, It’s no big deal, I’m not working, I want to celebrate with my friends. These are all excuses. Real life is going to happen all around you all the time; you only need to be in control of you.

We see patients in need of weight loss every day. Some are in poor health, and wish they had done something earlier in life. We cannot do band surgery in an attempt to reverse cardiac damage-we can make the likelihood of another heart attack less, but we can’t take the past back. We can make diabetes go into remission, but we cannot restore vision or regenerate a limb lost to the effects of Diabetes. Most health problems are caused by, or linked to, obesity. Making good choices and taking care of you is a priority today. Someday is today!

thank you for the post. I needed this kick in the pants.

Scheduled for April 4th! it cant come soon enough!

Have only told a couple family members, how have some of you planned to tell your friends or family? Or do you plan to keep it to yourself?

I had only told a couple of very close relationships prior to going. Once I came home and it was apparent that I was really losing I was honest about how I did it. Just did not want to hear the negativity prior to going through with the event.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41886107/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/

Wow, thanks for sharing. Like the choice I had made but love the new info

Ok, I'm scheduled for March 18th. I haven't weighed for a week, I'm not sure I want to know. This has been a very hard decision, not because I don't need the change in my life but because I feel bad about taking the money that I would rather have my family use. However, I have walked through the steps, paid the deposit, filled out the forms, financed the cashiers check, started the diet. I have to say if I didn't have the support from my wife, I never would have made it this far! So, here goes for a better life!

Dont think of it as taking the money away from family use. Think of how enriched your family life will be once you get healthier. You will be able to do more, live longer, play harder. I firmly beleive it was the best money I have ever spent.

I am coming from Washington State. Looking forward to the warmer weather down there!

I started option 2 (2 shakes and a healthy choice) 8 days ago. So far, I am down about 10 lbs, with 5 more to go. Some days are much easier than others, but Progresso Italian-Style veggie soup really helps!

See you soon, and best of luck!

where in WA state, I live in Eastern WA

April 29th HERE!!!!! I am so excited, freaked, anxious, etc....

all the emotions are extremely normal, I think we all went through them. Congrats on the date

I had my fourth fill today and i am at 6 cc's. I still dont have restriction and still eat like a horse. Just wondering what kinds of foods everybody finds keep's them the fullest??

Protien definitely stays with me longer. I am trying to start every day with a Whey protein shake. I do not really like them so I "doctor" them up a bit. This morning I did a chocolate peanut butter protein powder with water, 1 tsp chocolate syrup, 1 tsp peanut butter powder and 1/2 banana. This comes in at about 450 calories and keeps me through the morning and actually allows me to eat really lightly at lunch. Hope this helps

I had the Plication on Nov 17,2010 and had 110 lbs to lose I am now down 60 lbs and losing anywhere from 3 - 5 lbs per week... Just stick with the program eat good and exersize as much as possible and you will be fine.. And drink a crap load of water everyday..

Kevin

great job, major congratulations and keep on with the hard work and great results

Thanks for everyones feed back, Dr. So called me tonight and said it sounds like I just have a build up of pressure around the port that needs to drain and gave me instructions on what to do from here so I feel much better now. He said if it gets worse or I start feeling alot of pain then to get checked but he said this is just normal for some people. If it gets worse and I have to go in I will let you know.

so glad you have your answer. We all worry about each other

They did put glue on all of the incisions and then they put tape over the large incision where the port is. Right before I left the clinic the large incision started bleeding through my clothing and the nurse took me back and just stuck another piece of tape over it. I haven't had any problems until yesterday and it started bleeding again. I tried emailing Dr. Ortiz but haven't heard back from him yet and I hate being an over perinoid patient that bothers him all the time. Right now I just put a large bandage over the whole thing to keep the blood off of my clothing. It's not bleeding alot but I don't think it should be at all. Is it normal to feel the port under your skin? I can feel the entire shape of the port under where the incision is.

I also can feel the complete port, so I think that that is fairly normal. But I DO NOT beleive the bleeding is normal. Take it from the previous responses and get it checked out. Good luck and let us know how you are doing

Thanks for the info.....I tried a power shot from Baractic Advantage, OMG....it was so thiick and smelt horrible.attempts to drink it ended up with a fast run to the bathroom. I was going to use the containers for travel but no matter what I did(soak in baking soda....boiling in vinegar) and nothing took the smell away. Is that sort of what those ones you use are like??? Thx

the ones I buy at Wal Mart are not as thick as some I have tried. It is a "fruit flavor" and although not necessarily something I would rush out and exclaim over, when I chill them I find them consumable with out any smell or gagging. I would suggest you purchase one and give it a try. You can buy them in 6 packs as well for a little less $ but if you are not able to tolerate them why have the extras. Let me know what you think of them. I do know I have tried other brands and found the same problems you speak of

Do you happen to know the name of it?

I don't remember the brand name but it is a whey liquid protein. You can usually find it with the liquid diet shakes near the pharmacy counter. It has been my experience it is on the bottom shelf, kinda out of sight. It is in a bullet like plastic container and here in WA sells for about $1.89 a 3 oz shot.

As I was writing this post - Dr. Miranda emailed back her response!!!!

Apparently, every 20 lbs we lose, we can expect to plateau. She thinks this is what the problem is.

GREAT!

So now my questions to all of you are:

1.) How long does a plateau last?

2.) How do you overcome it, is there anything you can do to power through it?

Any help would be greatly appreciated by anyone with any knowledge of how to get through this gracefully or not?

Thanking you advance for the advice! Karen.

........................................................................................................................................................

As with pre WLS - are you getting in any exercise. By exercise, at this point walking is your best course of action. From what i have read/seen/experienced 5 miles a day does wonders. Stay strong

Oh okay! I'll have to try that.

You can also get the liquid protein at WalMart for a much lower price and can buy single units to make sure you can tolerate it.

Just made the big decision and scheduled plication - terrified and could really use some reassurance. I'm more scared of what happens if I do nothing - single mom, two kids and I want to be here for them, tired of being the fat one on the sidelines and want to fix this. With plication being the newer procedure, I'd really appreciate guidance, feedback, success stories, warnings, precautions, - hoping to find some friends on here as I start this journey. -- Yolanda

I am a bandster but still wanted to reach out and congratulate you on your new journey. It will be awesome

I'm 1 year and few months into WLS... I had the lap band and lost 49 lbs. I've currently noticed that I've been really bad at portion control and pretty much stuffing my face to the limit of sliming. I really need to stop this behavior, I know. I really don't want to damage myself or my band so I'm going to give it a break and go back on the liquid diet for a week. I think that every once in a while it needs a break. I irritated my band once in the past and I would not want it to get back to that again. Does anyone else do this? Go back on protein shakes to give it a break?

Once again, you and I are at the same spot. I also have started to not be good about portion control and have been thinking of doing a liquid diet to regain control. Thanks for the reminder

http://www.king5.com/health/lap-band-surgery-116439994.html

thanks for the post, I had heard this was on the air but had not had the opportunity to see it.

Yeah actually I found this website by accident. No I didn't have surgery through them. I had mine done at Orange Coast Memorial in Fountain Valley. My starting weight was 308 and I am 5'9. I lost 8 before surgery and had to go to the doctors today because I had cellulitis in the hand they placed the IV( very painful). My hand and arm are swollen so I started on antibiotics. I got a b12 shot yesterday and that helped me some. I was using procel and drinking carnation sugar free as long as I could tolerate it. Right now I am eating cottage cheese. That seems to have helped. I know it's all new. I figured since I was a nurse it would be a little easier to work through everything. I forgot we make the worst patients.

Glad you found this forum, it has been extremely helpful and supportive to all of us. Keep on reading and posting and once again congrats on you new journey

Pre-op/Post op diet - I followed pre-op #2 for 2 1/2 weeks and lost 20lbs. I had a protein shake for breakfast & dinner a Healthy Choice Steamer (under 260 cals) for lunch and cucumbers mid-morn and afternoon. The first two days were brutal because I was addicted to simple carbs. But once my body was not used to them it went away. I also drank a lot of diet sundrop. I did cheat a couple of times and have cheese. I love cheese.

I also cheated. I took HCG shots daily. www.advancehcg.com

The HCG makes your body think you are pregnant so it burns fat when you are taking in such low calories and keeps up the metabolism. It was a choice I made and Dr. Miranda told me that quite a few patients come to the clinic having don those shots. She did not know much about them. The clinic has looked into the shots but they don't have enough evidence yet to decide if there is a benefit or not so she said that they are not currently pusuing them. However, it is a personal choice and I would neither recommend nor discourage anyone. You would need to do the research and decide for oneself.

I am also taking them post-op so my metabolism doesn't slow until I can get back on regular foods and I can intake higher calories. Right now I am struggling to get enough calories in a day just on liquids. I am choosing low sodium soups but it is still a lot of sodium for me. I am having a hard time balancing water intake and liquid foods.

Gas - X strips also helped me with excessing gas. I am still trying to figure out pooping. Let me know if someone has a tip. I don't have much to expel since I am not eating much that has by-product, but I feel like I need to go frequently but after I struggle, I drop a pebble. Sorry for the graphics, but this is an issue for me and I have never had a constipation issue before. I could resort to Miralax or something but I would rather it be a last resort. I have been keeping up my H2O but it is not helping.

Bowel movements have been an issue for a few of us at the beginning. I chew fiber gummies and that along with a bit of time seemed to even it all out. Good luck

Ok so here goes. I had my surgery February 7,2011. It was not as pleasant as I had read. Actually it was worse. I went home feeling like a MAC truck hit me. I spent the whole night being nauseated which lasted until Friday. Thank goodness my mother came over to help me. I am sure I was dehydrated but was too weak to do anything about it.This weekend I was finally able to get in fluids. The protein shakes are gross and I can't seem to stomach anything that has the artificial sweetener taste. Which meant all the pudding, jello, popsicles were a waste. I should have tried all those things prior to the surgery so I would have known. I don't know I feel very frustrated right now because I am not out there energetic and wanting to do things. I only want to go back home and sleep. I had to go to work right today because I have been gone longer than I anticipated. So I probably will work a half day. Oh yeah I am not physically hungry( a good thing right) but that doesn't change the mental hunger. ..So yeah I start mushies today and all that but what to eat. I need to replace the infamous protein so that I am not gagging..Ugh.. sorry needed to vent.

Jae

I'm sorry things are as rough as they are for you. Did you go to the OCC for surgery as the time line looks different than what I remember. Be good to yourself and hopefully things will take a turn for the better.

I am scheduled to have surgery on the 16th with Dr. Ortiz and I am doing the 9 day pre op diet of only protein shakes an green veggies. I am already freaking out and it is day 1! I can't imagine not eating anything for 9 days! Any tip on how to get through this period?

this probably won't be of much help but I just focussed on the "new me" and did not have many issues getting through my pre op and post op strict weeks. The idea of what I was becoming was encouragement enough. This forum also provided me the support I needed. Just stay busy and keep the end goal in mind. Good luck

I've lost a 5000 BTU air conditioner but still need to lose an elephants heart

this was precious, thanks for the giggle

Hi there,

Today is my 3 year bandiversary. I have had a long and interesting journey.

I have not reached my original goal weight of 135 yet, The closest I have gotten is 138. I have gone from 226 pounds to 146 today. My clothes sizes have gone from 28 or a 3X to a size 8-10 pants and a medium top. Most times I feel good about that, sometimes I feel I should be doing better.

At my best times, my weight loss has been any where from 1 -3 pounds a week. sometimes I seem to lose and gain the same few pounds week after week, depending on how my life is going.

I look at food totally different now. Its not fat free or carb free. Its definitely all about protein, I try look at fiber too. I add extra fiber by using splenda with fiber in my tea, and on my oatmeal..I eat alot of chicken, tuna and drink flavored waters. I love crystal light and I also love the vita coco coconut water (those are a bit pricey though)

I have a gym membership but don't make it as much as I should. When I get there I do well, but I let life get in the way alot.

I know that having a very drama filled life before made food my best friend. There is so much emotional issues that tie into the overeating for me. But I have a great support system with my husband and my mom who both say I look great but I don't see myself how they do. My honey thinks I am fine and don't need to lose any more but I still see a fat person in the mirror. After being overweight my whole life I have self image/self confidence issues. Losing weight alone isn't always the answer, I have needed counseling as well. I think I still need it.

The band has been one of the best things I could have ever done. My doctor says all of my blood test are perfect now. No borderline diabetes, no high cholesterol, everything looks great. I am healthier now then I was my young adult life. I have more energy I do not get winded doing housework, or walking up stairs. I can play with my kids.

I read here frequently but don't post much. I see everyone here works hard and has many of the same struggles and issues I have had.

But its all about making the right food choices and getting more exercise. There is no magic pill or lazy way to lose weight. Its about finding the balance that works for you. Even if your weight loss is slow...it is still weight loss.

So many of you are doing so great, congrats to all of us..Keep up the good work

Oh, I forgot to add that I have only had 3 fills done. The first six weeks after the band, and the second a few months after that to adjust it a bit. The last one was done April of 2010. I still have great restriction. My band seems to always be tight in the morning, lunch is the meal eaten the easiest because night time eating, the band does not like well. It's got a mind of it's own LOL

Congratulations on your successful journey and thank you so much for sharing.