leatha_g

Yes. I am very familiar with DFW Bandsters. Great source of information.

You DO have someone who'll take you there and drive you home, right? ??

You'll be resting and learning to get out of a bed with fresh incisions. They'll have you on an IV and you'll have self administered pain medication which you can inject every 10 minutes or so. They'll have you walk. Hopefully, you can sleep.

Welcome Shawn!! Great job!!

They definitely do put us in some precarious positions, then someone moves us off the OR table onto the gurney in recovery. Check out the below link for some real informative information. lol http://www.obesitylapbandsurgery.com/tectec.html

have you looked at the sodium count in diet coke? i doubt it's 50lbs worth, but you could be retaining fluid. are you exercising on a regular basis? you might try tracking every thing you eat in www.fitday.com just to see if you what you think you eat and what you really eat all add up. it's a very handy tool to just see where you stand. i never drank water either, and i can tell it has made a world of difference in many things, my weight, my skin, my swelling ankles. water is probably the most important part of any weight loss effort or lifestyle change. good luck to you!

Thank you ladies so much for being my cheering section. What would I do without you to encourage me and send positive vibes? I know it is considered a minor surgery these days and everything will be okay, but each time I put my system under stress like anesthesia/surgery, I not only have the everyday risks but I also have the risk of Lupus flares or issues with my blood clotting tendency, so it is a bit nerve-wracking (almost like Russian roulette. ) I just know I have to be very diligent about walking and moving about after surgery and the least possible stress for the lupus issue. So far, so good. It just seems a bit quick to be putting myself under that stress again. If I can just get through this, maybe I can stay away from the docs for awhile. That's my hope, anyway and I'm sure that of my employer and insurance provider. lol

This is exactly why it is so imperative to have local follow up care already arranged BEFORE having the band implanted out of the country OR moving away from your original band surgeon. Emergencies do arise. I would definitely recommend you to ask for a script for Phenergran just in case, but if you vomit repeatedly, your band needs to be unfilled immediately.

My port bothers me anytime I wear jeans or tight fitting clothes around my waistband. It also bothers me during exercise. It's right where I need to bend to do certain machines or stretches.

Definitely, in the event that you develop a stomach virus, getting your band unfilled is imperative. Many slippages have been caused due to a 'bug'.

Trial and error. Green peas were one of my first 'hard stop' foods. Fresh pineapple wound up stopping me in my tracks too. I've eaten asparagus, but I'd recommend you cut into very small pieces. Things change as you get filled.

It could be the stress, Tellie, but frankly, my advice is to call your surgeon and ask for an Upper GI. You need to tell him exactly what you have told us, about the sudden onset of reflux/aspiration in the night. They say that under stress our bands react by tightening, sometimes. Hopefully, this is all it is and it will resolve itself, but I'd feel better if you had it checked out - reason being some slippages have made themselves known this way. It might be that you need to have the band unfilled for a few weeks to let things straighten out. That you are not vomiting repeatedly, or in severe pain is a good sign that this is NOT the case. I don't want to alarm you, but better safe than sorry, right? Please let us know what you find out.

I wanted to go to Jamaica mon!!

Congrats Betty!! Keep us posted about when and where this is going to take place!! Very cool!

I think acting 'as if' is probably the better route to take. You will have to get used to chewing more, eating less, choosing Protein over other foods, drinking more Water EXCEPT for during meals. Any exercise routine you can implement ahead of time will only be to your benefit also. Many people go off on a 'last supper' binge only to find out they can still have many of their favorite foods after banding - just in moderation. Any weight loss before your sugery just helps your surgeon to maneuver better inside. Good luck!!

Hehe. Glad to be of service. You think that's funny. You oughta see how excited I get about getting pantyhose on without calling for the 'jaws of life'.

It definitely crosses the boundaries of support. These boards should be a safe harbor, not some place for docs to spy on their patients, otherwise the patient will decide not to ask for help or discuss the issues they are currently having.

Works for me, Babs! I'm looking forward to meeting you anyway. Just keep me informed. The more the merrier! Leatha

I got to Curves and I love it. It is a low impact circuit workout, easy enough for older women, larger women, those of us not in great physical shape and you sort of set your own pace. I love that it's in the door, 2 rounds on the machines, a few stretches and out the door. My first month there, I lost 14 inches. I was ecstatic! Ever since, I've been riding this roller coaster of rebanding/liquid diets, healing and learning I've got to have another surgery. It's very inexpensive here and it's the only workout I've ever been able to stick with. If you're happy with your current workout, it may not be necessary, but anyone who is looking for a relatively easy, do-able workout it's a great place to begin.

It's VERY common to suddenly find yourself with no restriction and even gaining some of your initial weight back during the 'pre fill' phase. Most of the initial weight loss is Water to begin with. Once your body catches up from Clear liquids, it's very easy to gain on full liquids. Full liquids are just not real weight loss oriented. This is why they say once you've moved onto solids NO LIQUID CALORIES. It's tough during this time because your hunger kicks back in and your mind knows you have a band, but your body doesn't understand this band may not do a thing until it's actually set into motion. Even the first fill or two sometimes leaves you wide open. This band journey is a complicated one, but with patience and determination it works. Try to focus on Protein, exercise and water. www.fitday.com might help you to see where most of your calories are coming from, just for reference. Most of the time on full liquids, the carbs could be your culprit. Remember, any weight loss during this period is purely bonus. We've all been there.

I'm going. I believe Ginny is sharing a room with me. The rooms at the Howard Johnson's are really cheap, but I'm open to sharing a bed. I promise I don't kick. (as if we'll get any sleep. ) lol

dear husband, dear heart, d***head?

laugh out loud.

Been there, done that!! You are not alone. I'm still waiting to get my first fill after being Rebanded, but yes, you CAN stretch your pouch. Stretching your pouch just enough to have it feel full is one thing. This is good. You want your food to take awhile to move through the stoma and cause you to feel empty again. Stretching your pouch by consistently OVER eating is totally another. It is very frustrating and I curse my lack of willpower everyday. However, I'm doing so much better than before. Don't beat yourself up. Change ONE thing. You can't tackle it all at once. Maybe you can just say okay, I'm limiting my intake to 1 cup of whatever it is I'm going to eat. Make protein first. If you find yourself hungry again 2 hrs from then, half the amount. Change the things you eat. Carbs seem to cause you to crave more carbs. Instead of toast in the morning, switch to just a protein shake or a boiled egg. If you're hungry again at 10am, have a small snack - no carbs. I promise you you will not starve. Your body will actually become accustomed to less food and it will respond by losing weight and feeling less sluggish. This is a learning curve and the first 6 weeks is definitely hard. We're conditioned to think our tummy growling means we're hungry and we might starve. Well, we all have plenty storage on board. We're not going to starve. lol. AND our tummy growling is NOT necessarily telling us we need to eat. It makes noise just doing it's job of digesting. I think I rambled all over the place here, but you are definitely not alone. It will get better.

Awesome job Carol! Bravo!! You look years younger!!