NoWorry

See http://www.themouthdoctor.com/badbreath/3-...etbadbreath.htm

THURSDAY JUNE 14 60 mins on treadmill, heart rate 118, 5 mins cool down, 5 mins stretching.

Do you weigh yourself everyday? I wind up getting on the scale every morning, but I am going to force myself to stop. It so hugely impacts my day, especially when I have gained a little weight and even though I KNOW it's just water gain, I get depressed and often wind up making bad decisions throughout the day. I know I have to stop doing that. The only thing I can think of that would be worse would be to record a 3 lb weight gain into a software chart and have it show me a projected weight gain of 90 lbs over the next month!

Congratulations! And my hopes and prayers are with you. You've kept the faith so long; it's time for a BIG payoff!

That's definitely fine with me. I and 3 others are involved in a fairly big bet and our weigh-in is on July 16th. I have another 7.5 lbs to go to hit my target and I'm seriously motivated. I'll save my celebration for July 4th next year!

Donna, It certainly sounds like he totally fine tuned your first fill to your exact needs on that first trip! Turns out that I'm getting my first fill on the same day as you get your second one - the 22nd. And I'm definitely staying overnight to ensure that I have as many opportunities as possible to get additional adjustments, if necessary. (My itinerary is posted at http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?showtopic=3310) I'm going to stay on the San Diego side of the border and take care of my own travel and logistics. However, that means that I won't have the option of eating my first meal after the fill in private in my hotel room. It's going to have to be in public. :shrug: I'm pretty sure there's a McDonald's right around the corner from the clinic and I know exactly what my old capacity is at McD's which should help me make an accurate comparison of my new capacity after the fill. Just no soda. And then, if I walk back to the border, that should take care of working off some of those bad calories!

You're very welcome. It does sound a lot more exciting, doesn't it? Let me know how it works out. BTW, the Wellesse brand items we had previously discussed on another thread both taste really great, so no tricks required to get them down.

Wow, I never once thought about slippage in connection with anything other than vomiting. I've had a few problems with irregularity too - and my usual fiber supplements are not helping the way they used to - but I still never once considered slippage. The way I look at it, I guess, is that it's surgically implanted and sutured into place. And after three weeks, scar tissue has fully formed to hold it in place and ensure that it doesn't move except for something extremely dramatic. :shrug:

Excellent subject. When I got back from surgery, it was too hot to walk outside every day, so I headed to the gym to do a low intensity (2.5 mph, 0 incline) treadmill walk for 30 mins each day. There has to be a connection, because I had absolutely NO gas pain at any time following surgery. I felt terrible when I read about other patients who had back and shoulder pains, but absolutely could not relate. As soon as my two weeks were up, and I was okay to exercise every day, I started increasing length and intensity. Now I'm up to 60 mins per day, keeping my heart rate at around 110 bpm and alternating between treadmill and elliptical (more treadmill, though). I missed my workout today and I feel terribly guilty. Gotta get back on the horse again tomorrow! My goal is 60 mins of some aerobic exercise everyday, min 6 days per week, preferably 7. I'm looking forward to adding 15 mins of weight resistance training on Monday. I haven't ever tried Taebo, but the ads make it look like a really tough workout! I'm going to hold you to your promise. Did you do your full 45 mins today?

I'm delighted that my journal helped you with your expectations. Congratulations on your successful surgery! .

I've been to the eStore a couple of times, but have never been able to find shipping charges listed anywhere. Do you have a link to shipping options and costs? .

Hi Cheryl, There are a few threads here discussing different brands and prices. My doctor says that Flintstones and Centrum are not even worth the bother - the ingredients are so inferior that you might as well have a tic-tac (his exact words). In the meantime, though, try mixing your liquid vitamin with half a glass of any strong-flavored juice, such as Cranberry, Grape , Cherry or Lemonade. The tartness of the juice should disguise the taste of the medicine. Once you get the mix just right, you won't even taste the medicine any more. Another solution (this from a wilder type) is to take the medicine just like a shot of tequila - lick some salt, knock it back and suck on a lime or lemon. I haven't tried it, but it does sound like more fun!

That's a bummer. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope that I don't need another one that soon after. In addition, I have the VG band which is supposedly a bit tougher to get to the sweet spot. Do you think it might have something to do with the experience level of the fill doc? I know you did a lot of work to find a good one, but do you think it's possible that Dr. Romero's high degree of experience makes a difference? I'm certainly hoping that that's the reason you need another fill so soon... so it won't apply to me. Thanks for the info.

I thought that they flush the air out during the first fill. Did I get this wrong? I'm hoping that a second fill won't be necessary until either significant weight loss or one year after banding. Second question. When you say 'loose again,' are you describing a physical sensation from the band? Or is it that you can now eat more so you are concluding that the band is now loose? Just trying to prepare for my own experience with my first fill coming up.

How are you handling not drinking anything during and after your meals? It feels terribly unnatural to me.

I found a printable (pdf) map of Tijuana at http://www.advantagemexico.com/tijuana/ima...tijuana_map.pdf .

In Dr. O's book, he says that most surgeons use the rule of threes. 1/3 of all patients need 1 fill, 1/3 need 2 fills and 1/3 need 3 or more. It's just that the patients who need only 1 or 2 fills have little need for posting their experiences here, while those who need 3 or more require more support. So the results seems skewed if you look only at the users posting in this forum. The vast majority of patients never need an unfill at all.

All three are combined in one mixture. Glucosamine is only effective when combined with Chondroitin. MSM provides additional benefits. So you should only take a joints supplement that includes all three ingredients.

Amazon still has it in stock. I don't know if most people are aware of this, but only a tiny portion of the book is written by O. The majority of the book is written by various contributors.

I've been a big fan of Atkins Advantage shakes for the last couple of years. It's one of the lowest in carbs (even lower than Glucerna, which is the recommended brand for diabetics, and lower also than Sugar-Free Boost). But it's rather expensive. For powdered protein shakes, I use the GNC house brand of Whey. It comes in 6 different flavors. My favorite is Chocolate Caramel (yum!) I tried Centrum chewable vitamins until some research revealed that it's fairly low-grade in bio-availability - about the same as Flintstones (which is really more of a candy). I found a brand of liquid supplements called Wellesse that is very highly rated in health magazines. It's available from drugstore.com and shipping is free. In addition to their multi-vitamins, I was also delighted to find that they have a liquid Glucosamine, Chondroitin and MSM blend for joints, and I've added that to my daily supplements. Multi-vitamins is $12.99 and Glucosamine is $18.99, I think.

I don't believe it will. But be clear about your reasons for doing it. As I'm sure you know, Greed often has a way of coming up with justifiable explanations. Although many users here have reported different degrees of restriction prior to their first fill, the overwhelming norm is a total absence of any restriction at this stage (especially if you got the VG band). But, yes, there is the possibility that you will feel restriction. And, yes, there is the possibility it will lead to an embarrassing incident if you leave your first meal for Monday. It's just not very likely. And you can compromise by leaving your first meal for dinner, after you get home from work. Having said that, I had my first solid meal on day 19 and it did no harm. I had a monster meal on day 22 and I felt no restriction at all.

I ordered it from Amazon, along with Dr. Ortiz's "Lap-Band for Life" when I originally booked my surgery. Just remember, it covers all WLS, including RNY, so you have to skim the by-pass advice and pick out the Band advice. O's book was very helpful pre-op and describing the op, but is very weak when it comes to post-op (especially long-term post-op) information. You should be able to find Dummies at any (big) local bookstore - I saw it at B&N. O's book is very hard to find (it was unavailable even in the OCC eStore).

I've just finished my three weeks of liquids and tested my level of restriction with a pretty sizeable meal and it all slid down exactly the same as before my surgery. So obviously my band is not causing any restriction at this point. Now I have to wait 3 weeks until my fill (and before my band can start assisting me with my weight loss). So what to eat during this period? I don't think I can handle regular dieting (e.g. eating Lean Cuisine meals). Quite frankly, if I could, I would never have needed the band in the first place. And I'm really worried about slipping into my old habits of eating bad choices, eating too much and eating too fast. Then I'll only have to retrain myself all over again after the fill. Right now, I'm in a pleasant groove created by the pre-op and post-op liquid diets. Yeah, I'd love some 'real' food, but having done without carbs for over a month, I've kicked my carb addiction for the time being. If I start eating carbs and the carb cravings start, I can see myself rapidly falling back into the old patterns. The only real solution I can see is to stay on liquids (protein shakes, broths, jello, soups) until the fill. Has anyone come up with another solution?

In "Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies," the authors strongly recommend driking a hot beverage in the morning to expand the stoma (although their explanation is a little less graphic that "grease the skids" )

The car rental is only $30. When I factor in the time it will save me, I think the extra few bucks will probably pay for itself. Besides, with the total surgery costs well over $9000 by now, what's an extra $21? Plus I'll have all of Saturday to explore around San Diego and I'd like to have some flexibility about where to go without having to check trolley schedules. Thanks very much for this info. Unless I'm running late, I think I will walk. I love the idea of checking out the city in the process of getting there and back. Any idea where to get a map of Tijuana? Neither Yahoo nor Google have maps of Mexico.