leatha_g

Great news!! Congratulations! Read, read, read, so you'll know exactly what to expect, before and after! Wow, and only two weeks away!! Awesome!

Mine was originally located right at my waist, left side. It has since migrated further toward the center of my stomach, thankfully. I have heard of sternals, which are farther up, usually between the breasts, right over the breast bone/sternum. I don't think I've ever heard of the right rib cage... interesting. Also, just FYI, the 10cc band (vanguard) is not simply just for higher bmi patients. It does accomadate them, but many doctors are using them on all patients due to the higher level of adjustment capability.

I had heard Jessie Ahroni going on and on about the Tillamook brand jerky. I thought it was something only local to Washington state, but lo and behold I ran across some in the local Tom Thumb. I had it this morning and she's right, it's about the best I've ever eaten. Me and my sabotaging co-worker ate the whole bag! (Instead of candy, cookies and chips for breakfast). I may even go online and buy it in quantity as it's a really good thing to have during those times you just feel like you need something to eat. Much better than carb/fat laden junk outa the vending machine.

Did your doctor also tell you that during the Un-filled period you may regain your initial weight loss and that this is fairly common until one begins getting adjustments/fills? This is a very common complaint from new post-ops. Once their pain seems to have subsided and their healing begins. Their hunger returns and they move out of Clear Liquids. You will not lose 1lb a day with the lapband. 1lb a day is not even healthy for you. The lapband average weight loss is 5-10lbs per month overall. This does not mean that you're guaranteed a minimum of 5lbs per month. This means that one year from now you will have lost anywhere from 50-100lbs depending on your food choices, exercise and Water intake. Please do not set yourself up for disappointment thinking you can maintain a loss of 1lb per day. It is unhealthy and it is simply not the way the band works. Most doctors with any longevity require you to do clear liquids in the beginning, then move into full liquids, onto soft/mushy foods - all of which are not great weight loss choices. Inamed states very clearly that unless the patient uses their own good food choices during this period they very well may not lose weight. This time is meant strictly for healing, to allow the band to get seated into scar tissue so that slippage may be harder later down the road. Take care of yourself. Remember this is not a race. You have the rest of your life to lose your weight in a healthy manner. Good luck!

I loved Chicago and Lake Michigan. I definitely might be interested, depending on the schedule.

That's worriesome to me. You are not supposed to be vomiting/pbing this often. I do hope you're doing liquids only after you do this. ?? I do hope you get Dr. Rumbaut on the phone. I'm a bit concerned that your band will slip with all this vomiting.

You know what? I was just thinking the very same thing the other day. lol. It's really funny. I used to smoke, so I was in the convenience store on occasion and might buy myself a lottery ticket. Now, I don't smoke, so I never go inside a convenience store, so no lottery ticket. Like you. I used to frequent the drive thru fast food places and always had napkins on hand. No more. ... and I'm okay with that.

Judy, I can sympathize with you regarding the smoking. I too was a smoker. However, I sort of got the idea of regaining my health in the back of my mind and I actually quit smoking 8 months before my banding. I knew that this was one thing I absolutely DID have to do even if I was unable to be banded. My lung capacity was so bad I just had no choice. I really enjoyed smoking and believe me, the first year I missed it alot. This second year has been so much easier and today I am GLAD I quit instead of resenting that I had to. The best part about that is that when I actually did get to have surgery, that was one less thing that I had to be concerned with. Anesthesia is tough on you anyway, but being a smoker makes it much harder. Of course this is your journey and you'll do what is best for you. I wish you the very best.

Sorry to hear you're feeling bad, Melanie. Sometimes the 2nd or 3rd day are the worst, but I promise you by the end of this week, you'll be feeling MUCH better. Take it easy, walk as much as you can, be sure to drink your fluids.

Not a problem, Penni. (((((((((hugs))))))))))). I believe I was one of the first to get sucked in and I still stand firmly for what I believe, but you're right. We have energy better spent on the positive and hopefully helping others journeys to be less rocky. No one here knows where they will wind up for sure, band-wise. All we can do is live each day and be thankful that we have this device to help re-gain our lives. Thankfully, our motives are good. Our hearts are in the right place and not for monetary gain. It's nice that the truth is free and so are our consciences, which is worth more than gold anyday in my book.

Good to hear everything went well!! Please keep us posted on your progress! Welcome to the banded side!!

Very good, Natalie!! You got this band for a reason! Don't let your head get in the way of that. Keep up the good work!! Not too far to One-derland now!

Good luck to you Fran! Hope to hear from you soon!

Well. I got my recumbent bike today. Wound up staying home all day waiting on UPS to deliver. sigh... Now, it's all over my living room and I'm trying to figure how to make things fit. I really could use some help, but I am NOT a quitter. I'll get it together. While I was waiting, I went ahead and pulled my itty bitty 4ft tree out and put it together. It's pre-lit and little, but I'm glad I got it. I haven't put one up now for nearly 6 yrs, since my divorce. I wanna go to Penni's...

They call it 'bluffing' in poker, Lisa. They call it 'threats' in law. This woman has clearly let her typing overload her derriere and she doesn't know enough to just disappear.

It's really too bad that this thread has become hostile. LBT is here for support of the band and the bandsters who choose it. We have a reputation for being one of the most helpful, most down to earth, honest and supportive boards. I resent that someone should come here with some plot to raise an unethical man to level higher than he deserves and then insult those who tell their truths in order to help newcomers make a wise decision regarding their healthcare, their lives!, not to mention hard earned money which this guy seems so happy to take despite his follow-up or aftercare of patients who have trusted him. Margret, please just go away and exalt this man somewhere else, so that we can get on with the reason we come here. I sincerely hope that you never have to eat your own words about how great he is. You are still very early out...

I don't think anyone is 'hatching up' anything. We were all merrily continuing our band journeys, such as they are. Glad, grateful for the band, even those who have been extremely neglected. Facts are, if this man continues to have such bad outcomes, he won't need the help of any harmed patients, his work will taint the whole idea for everyone. Reputation is a big thing and if he truly is doing more bands than anyone and continues to have this type of outcome, we can all just sit and wait because eventually he'll ruin it for everyone, including Inamed. That's a shame.. a sad sad shame.

This sounds exactly like erosion. Once the stomach has migrated inside the stomach wall, you can fill it all day long everyday and still get no restriction. She needs to be scoped to see if they can see erosion.

Amazing. She started it. I guess it backfired. Like I said earlier. Sometimes it's best to let sleeping dogs lie. Sometimes, they tend to wake up and bite you on the ......

Maybe you could go ahead and begin with the exercising to strengthen your muscles before banding. It sure helps if you can do more of the lifting than the nurses. 12-15 is only 2 weeks away.

Slippage can be dangerous if the stomach is totally blocked off by the band or the stomach becomes folded over the band. In extreme cases there can be some damage to the stomach or you can become badly dehydrated due to not being able to keep anything down, even water. Otherwise, most slippage is caught pretty quickly and remedied before much damage is done. Often, it is a case of being able to un-fill the band and allow it to slip back into place. Since it is about a 3% chance, it certainly would not be enough to stop me from getting a band. My chances of having a major cardiac event or stroke was much higher.

Great job! Thanks for posting pics! It's always so good to see that this is REALLY working! Congratulations on regaining your life!

It got deleted? hmm..

I lifted this from Jessie Ahroni on Smartbandsters. I think someone may have posted the link already, but nobody tells it like Jessie. ************************************************************ In diabetes education we figure a person's calorie needs based on 10-16 calories per pound of ideal body weight. If my ideal body weight were 135 pounds I would need to eat between 1350 and 2160 calories per day -- depending on my age, body fat, lean muscle mass, gender, activity, medications, etc. I ALWAYS use 10 calories per pound of ideal body weight in formerly obese females at the usual activity level. Only if they are very small or losing more than 2 or 3 pounds a week would I start to worry. I don't recommend people drop below 1,000 calories a day for long. You can actually meet all your nutritional needs in 1,000 calories a day if you make perfect food choices. But nobody does that. In my case I'm obviously eating enough since I'm not losing. Here's a place where you can calculate it. Remembers these numbers are estimates. Protein (15%) for your Basal Caloric Rate 187.95 grams of carbohydrate (55%) for your Basal Caloric Rate

Try some warm apple juice. Sometimes it takes awhile for our tummy to 'wake up' after surgeries. The apple juice may help to soften things up and get them moving. Then, the liquids kick in and everything is too loose for a few days. It'll all get back to normal after a few days. Glad to hear everything went well! Please keep us posted on your progress!