donali

Angela - If you are disappointed now, I fear for your state of mind in the future. 15 pounds a MONTH!! And you're disappointed?!?! This is very fast weightloss, my dear. If you are lucky, you will AVERAGE 10 pounds a month. Sometimes it will be less, sometimes it will be more. I have been averaging 6.5 pounds a month. Some months I haven't lost at all, or very little. Other months catch me up some. I pretty much do the same thing all the time, so I take this as the natural course of things. Try not to be so hung up on the scale (and recognize fabulous loss when you see it!!! ). This is NOT a diet - this is for the long haul. This is not something you are going to do for 6 months, or a year. This is now your LIFE. Congrats on 30 pounds in 2 months!!! Whoo hooo!

Hi All - I have been so inspired by the various personal websites I have been to, and have always vowed to give back by doing the same. However... Miss Procrastination that I am, I have never gotten around to it (nearly a year later!!). But, FINALLY, I at least put up some pictures. No after pictures, yet, but some before pictures. lol So hopefully the site will grow into something useful and inspiring, but for now at least I've made a small start. Baby steps, baby steps... I don't have to be perfect... lol :sick http://donali.tripod.com/mylapbandpix.html I will work on it more, although probably not until late January. For now, inquiring minds will just have to wonder about what I look like now, -70 pounds. lol :cool:

Hi Harleykat - Congrats on your banding! Is all the stuff you're eating on your doc's post-op instructions, though? You want to make sure you give the band as much time to heal as possible before making your stomach digest food. Has nothing to do with what goes down. Good luck!

Yay, Jennye! Sounds like it went well, and that you were beautiful. If the guy's as smart as he should be (being an anesthesiologist, and all), he will have had a wonderful time as well. Thanks for the update!

Ditto on what Sue said. This is not about feeling guilty or controlled - this is about giving yourself the very best chance to succeed. I find it interesting that you would value our opinions about what is safe for you to eat more than what your very own doctor told you... :cry I would think about that for a minute... Your doc's eating schedule is quite a bit more aggressive than most as it is. I was on "clear" liquids for 2 weeks, "full" liquids for a week, then mushies a week, then regular food. There are no guarantees that any of us will escape problems, following our doc's advice or not. But... you have to ask yourself how important it is to you to do what is in your control to give you the best chances of success possible. No one can make you follow your doc's orders except yourself. So if you choose to not follow his advice, that is certainly your decision - the outcome is your responsibility, and you must do as you see fit. Compliance is something we all struggle with at one time or another, with varying degrees of success. You certainly are not the only one who has been unable to follow the post-op diet. How this one incident will or will not affect you in the future is impossible for any of us to say - I don't have any stats to provide, or even any good anecdotal-type info to provide. Drinking hot fluids like broth and boullion can help stave off the hungries. Drink as much Water as you can. Good luck!

I have had all my fills under fluoro, so cannot imagine how a fill could safely and confidently be performed without. I do realize that is seems as though most people have their fills without, but again, I don't think I'd ever want to try it. Particularly as people are creeping up to their "perfect" restriction, where .1 cc can make or break you. Even under fluoro nothing can be guaranteed, as Sue says, but you can see whether the barium is flowing or not (and how quickly) before the doc removes the fill needle. And it's always a nice reassurance to see that the band is still perfectly placed.

Congrats, Melissa! What a wonderful Christmas present, and a great way to start your new year!

Good luck, Al! I was most frightened of the IV (my veins are small and deep and roll, and most healthcare professionals have a heck of a time finding them at all, let alone on the first stick!). It is a little surreal coming out of anesthesia (I've done it three times now - the first was the worst). Just remind yourself to stay calm, and if you're uncomfortable it will just be a passing thing. Hope all goes smoothly with your insurance!

Congrats!! Welcome to the journey....

Uh, maybe after I grew some hair... lol Thanks, everyone for your wonderful comments and support. I will try and add more substance to the site sooner than later. :cool: And I agree that pictures speak a thousand words! Or is that, "take up a thousand bytes"? lol So I challenge the rest of you to get with the program as well! Post those pics!! We'll bring the internet down yet! lol

whooo hooo!! You go, Mike! Congrats on your wonderful success. Nice to see your picture, too, after reading so many of your posts.

Michelle - Do you mean more food, or more fill? Sounds like you definitely do NOT need more fill to me, particularly with your loss over t-day - whoo hooo!

Just hopefully not together... lol

Hi Jennifer - Congrats on your terrific loss to date. I agree completely with Alexandra re: referred pain and unpredictable changes in restriction, and with Elizabeth's caution against being TOO tight. I read a lot of posts in many different forums where people are looking for the "1-3 bites/I'm done" feeling. My take on this is that these people are likely TOO tight, because I doubt they're able to get in the calories their basal metabolism requires. Yes, they're losing weight... but what kind of weight? Muscle or fat, and what percentage of each? Muscle burns fat, and the more muscle we have/keep, the better our metabolism works. Just food for thought... :cool: And congrats again!

Bright - Of course you are looking gorgeous - you go girl! I've been missing your posts, but haven't wanted to bug you. Sometimes we just need downtime to adjust to life. But hey - if you're lonely... then screw that! How do you feel your experience has been different than the Am/Mex experience? TALK to us, girl! And a belated, very, very, very happy birthday to you! I have a funny story I'll PM you with later today... lol

You go, Jennye!!! Please keep us posted - oh, how I LOVE romance!

Michelle - You're looking fabulous!!! Congrats!! Whoo, hooo!

I practically lived on blended low-fat turkey chili by Hormel. yum, yum. Refried Beans thinned a little with tomato juice, tuna whizzed in the food processor with mayo, egg salad whizzed in the food processor (although that was not so fab texture-wise - the egg whites, even though chopped very small, made it grainy - yuck) Just about anything you think of as regular food can be food processed into mush - thin with a little boullion or tomato juice or milk or Water - whatever goes well with what your blending to make it a little mushy.

Best of luck!! We'll be thinking about you!

lol - Sue, what a great story! I will email you my number just in case your re-fill turns out to be just as exciting. :cool: It really sounds like a wonderful adventure, except for the stress about whether your car would be towed or not. And triple kudos to you for taking care of the reflux issue! I know it will be a huge decision for me if I ever have to get an unfill, and hopefully I will remember that my HEALTH is more important than a few months of less restriction. You go, girl!!

Please, please, please don't change your mind, Nancy! You're doing so well! lol

Hi Tacy - I have to confess that I am intrigued, even though I know that except for the liquid/mush stages, bandsters can eat pretty much anything they can tolerate, and that our nutritional needs are no different than before (since we have no malabsorption issues). If I saw it in a bookstore I definitely would have a sit and thumb through it, but I don't know that I'm willing to pay $16 +shipping and handling for a book that I'm relatively certain won't tell me anything I don't already know... :cry That's the great thing about marketing - people are convinced that there is a big secret they haven't learned yet, and even though we are constantly being disappointed by spending big bucks to learn stuff we already knew, there's always the possibility that it could be life changing, particularly if one has not become completely jaded with the whole game. I guess I am not yet completed jaded with the whole game, but I am a little more picky about what I allow myself to get sucked into...

Nancy - A thousand congratulations! I am so proud of you! I know exactly where you are coming from when you say, It wasn't until I had my counseling that I realized I felt I had to earn love and approval. When I go back and read what I wrote about how I felt about myself I am appalled. I still would like to learn to be more assertive in my life. I think part of my problem is that I feel a need to be somehow diplomatic, and if I can't figure out a way to say something in what I think is a non-offensive way, I tend not to say it. I do believe it is possible to be assertive without being offensive - I see people do it all the time. In my work arena I have no problem being assertive, even aggressive, but in my personal life I am definitely more maleable. Thank you again for sharing such an important milestone in your journey.

Alexandra, I'll have to give the Benefiber another try. I did buy some once, but don't recall why I stopped using it.

Hi Gabby - I have had four fills, and am pretty restricted. I cannot guzzle Water anymore, and even got slimed yesterday on a swallow of ice water (nice surprise - not! :sick lol) Also, I am very hit and miss with my supplements. However, when I DO take them, I get out my little mortar and pestle and grind them into a powder. Then I either pour that onto the back of my tongue and wash down with water, or I put into a Protein powder mix and blend that up with some water and drink it down. Nothing gets stuck this way, but I have to admit it's not the most pleasant taste. (perhaps that's why I'm hit and miss? lol Actually, I was always hit and miss, so that's not it.) It's over quickly. There are liquid and chewable Vitamins available - I'm cheap, so I buy the bulk tablets and grind them up. Before you have much restriction you may be able to get away with whole tabs, or just cutting them in half. I just prefer not having any surprises. Plus, if they don't go through right away, even if they don't give you a stuck feeling, they're not sitting in liquid, so there's nothing really to help them dissolve. Even before I was banded I ground my vitamins up for that very reason - I heard too many stories about pumped septic tanks and all the pills found there at the bottom. I know, gross, and TMI, but that's why I'm scarred for life on this matter and always grind up my tabs. Now, very, very important - you must NOT crush or break anything that is "time-released", as that counteracts the time-release effect and you will get too much of the med at one time. Always best to check with your doc before crushing or breaking any prescription meds, or anything you're unsure of. Onto fiber... If you're anything like me, you will definitely want something to help in this area. Before I was so tight, I messed around a little bit with psyllium husk type powders (like Metamucil sugar-free). I was SO nervous about that stuff gel-ing up in my pouch, however, that I never felt as though it was a safe thing to do. One time I got distracted for about 15 minutes, and when I went back to drink my fiber it was a solid mass in my cup, and I'd only used a teaspoon. So, if you want to go this route, I would recommend using extreme caution, only a teeny-tiny bit at a time, and flush, flush, flush with water right after to make sure it all gets through before it gels up. Now, I know what you're thinking... hmmm, if I have a pouch full of gel, I'll feel full, but won't have ingested any calories. Okay, well maybe you're too smart to think like that, but that was what I was thinking. Trust me, you don't need that kind of help, and if it goes bad... well, I don't even like to think about it. So, I turned to my good friend prune juice. (I heard all those snickers out there!) Seriously, 6 oz of that in the morning, and I was good to go. Literally.:guess True, prune juice is liquid calories, but in the scheme of things a miniscule factor in my daily intake. Something I've found to work just as well (GASP! ) is 2 cups of salad at lunch and 2 cups of salad at dinner. (Can you tell consuming veggies has never been my strong point? lol) Now, some people have problems with lettuce. I was told by my doc's assistant that I wouldn't be able to eat lettuce - it would make me feel bloated. For me that's just not true. Even at this great restriction, 2 cups of salad slathered in bleu cheese dressing goes down fab. I do chew, chew, chew - and I do make sure it's lubed up with dressing. Salad has never given me problems. Same with veggies, although I've heard cautions about fibrous veggies. Celery, for example, I eat - but I chew very, very well, and the fibers that get matted up I spit out - same with meat gristle. Obstruction is nothing I want to play with! As you will find, however, each person's band is individually finicky, so what does or doesn't work for one person may not have anything to do with what works for you. :cool: