WASaBubbleButt

But the real question is... Are your clothes loose? <goose> You watch, I'm gonna catch it from someone for this and I'll end up removing it. It's just one of my pet peeves and makes me crazy. Amazing how my own spelling doesn't seem to phase me. Funny how that works.

Oh Chimboree... You would be SOOOO good at that! I'm serious, you would be great! I can see you doing that, without a doubt I can see that. What is the other degree?

You really should work on the Water bit. When you burn fat the burned fat turns to chemicals and a majority of them leave the body through the renal system. You really seriously need to drink fluids to flush out your kidneys. You might find that with increased water you'll lose weight too. Each person is different. Just try the water thing for one day. Drink 5-16oz bottles of water. Use S/F Crystal lite, anything if you can't get it down plain but watch the sodium intake so you don't swell up like a tick. Change the cardio around. If you are running then walk instead. If you are walking then run. If you are doing incline then go to 0%. If you aren't using incline try just 2%. Try changing things around. If you are doing slow to moderate cardio then try this, do your usual routine but every five minutes bump it up to running as fast and as hard as you can for just one minute. Do this one minute out of every five. There are people on the "at or near goal" forum that swear by this little trick. They promise it's a good plateau breaker. I've never tried it myself since I already run anyway. Or, here is a link that actually should work for breaking a plateau: Plateau Busting

Heh... not many.

I don't know anyone that has been banded by him but I know someone that went for a fill by him and she really liked Dr. Berger. Another up-side to him is that he will see Mexican banded patients. As will Orris and Debarros. If I had it to do over again and I didn't want to go back to Mexico (and I WOULD go back to Mexico!!) I would go to DeBarros and I would avoid Blackstone. I'd rather place my own band than go to Blackstone, it would probably be safer.

Clears are anything such as broth, Jello, Water, gatorade, etc. Full liquids are virtually anything that will go through a straw. You are lucky, my doc had us doing two weeks of clears, two weeks of full liquids, two weeks of soft foods, then gradually introduce solids. Gahhh...

What do you mean they won't go down? You can't swallow them? You PB'd them back up? What happened?

I did, just did it today. I weigh exactly the same before and after a shower and my hair was still wet.

How do you weigh 3-5 pounds more after showering? I mean, I can see an ounce or so from wet hair, but how does washing oils and dirt off your body add 3-5lbs?

The real key isn't how much you CAN eat but something different. The idea isn't to be Thanksgiving Day full, the idea is to be not hungry. That's how skinny people eat. When they are not hungry they quit eating. That's really what you are striving for. Part of our problem as fatties is that we are always looking for full, stuffed, overeating. With the band you have to stop and think every few bites, are you hungry? Satisfied? T-Day full? You want to shoot for satisfied. I usually drink a Protein shake for my first meal of the day. So, 8oz around noon. Something like tuna salad around 4PM... maybe 4-5oz or another Protein Shake. I take forever to eat a meal and I LOVE salads so I have a big mega salad in the evenings. Usually about 4-5 cups or more. But it takes me a good two hours to eat it. This keeps my calories around 600 per day and I'm good with that.

Did you get your unfill under fluoro? I ask so that I know if anyone was able to evaluate your pouch and esophagus.

There are a few different theories on that one. The most common and accepted theory is that there is a Fluid shift throughout the night and your stoma is tighter in the AMs vs. PMs. I have found that if I am really tight if I go running for about 10 minutes things are better but everyone is different. I find that I am really tight in the AMs and PMs. My window for food is around noon to 8PM. After 8PM nothing goes down but Water.

I seriously need a new scale and I'm afraid to get one for fear it will show I weigh more than on the scale I currently have. When I was first banded I even took into consideration the weight of the band!

Might want to talk to the staff at Dr. Ortiz' office and tell them what you want to do. I'm sure they would encourage this and might give you some email addresses of others around you that want to do the same thing. At least they can contact others and have them contact you. Going to a large support group isn't all bad. You might find a couple of people there that you really relate to and you can talk to them one on one.

Good, I'm glad. Sometimes people just need a little time to work things out. Getting a band means a lot of head work. You have to come to the realization that you can't do it by yourself anymore. Then you have to decide how to proceed. Then you have to admit and accept it means surgery. None of it is easy. A little time means everything in the world. You should be excited, you have a whole new world ahead of you. A new life, a new way of doing things, a thinner and healthier person. It's all good!

Oh my goodness, everything is wrong with them! If you drink Jello you are getting exactly the same product and a whole lot cheaper. However, neither will increase your protein stores. Check out this link, it's easier than typing it again. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/pre-digested-liquid-protein-supplements-40014/#post546569

Gurk... I mean clindAmycin.

Ahhh, you must be in Canada! I wasn't sure if Novo Clindomycin was a different version of Clindomycin or a brand. It's a Canadian brand name. Clindomycin comes in liquid. The capsules might get stuck and if you open it and dump it in something the taste will be likely be horrible. Liquid Clindomycin is not a popular drug so it might be something that has to be ordered vs. sitting on your pharmacy shelf. Here in the states it comes in 75mg/teaspoonful and you are likely taking at least 150mg so your pharmacy would have to adjust the dosing. If you are taking 150mg it would be 10cc. If you are taking 300mg it would be 20cc. If you had dental work done you really need to take all those meds. Pain is usually easier to deal with if you get to it before it kicks in full force. In other words, don't wait until you are in agony before you take pain meds. Try to head it off before it kicks in big time.

If you can eat bread I'll bet you are okay. With the Endocet you can break those in small pieces, like quarters and swallow them. I have to research the Novoclindamycin. I'll do that now.

Never say never. Last time you told me you could never lose weight you lost more. I sincerely don't think you look like 170, you look very good. Good job on busting your butt, that's fantastic. It's the best way to lose. Be careful about which protein product you are drinking if that is all you are going to consume. Just use a quality product and NOT the shots, shooters, or bullets. Try to get something else in, a little salad and some l/c veggies, anything. While I fully understand what you are doing, just don't get so hungry that you binge and don't get in too much protein and... don't do it for long. Remember, two cups of iceburg is 35 calories. That's nothing and it will help a little when you want to poop.

Congrats to you! I'm thrilled for you. In four days you will start your new life and you really will too. It will honest to goodness be the first day of your new life. Good job! BTW, please be verrry sure to get a hard copy of the approval. The one that your insurance co writes explaining they WILL pay for the procedure. Get a copy for yourself and don't put up with the hospital not giving it to you for ANY reason!

BTW, do you have any restriction? Can you eat bread, for example?

What drugs are you on? Please post what the label says, does it say "Amoxicillin 500 mg caps #30" for example? Read the entire sentence of the drug on each bottle. A great deal depends on which drug you are getting. I'll bet a cyber dollar both of those come in liquid and if not, we might be able to help.

At your BMI you are obese and at a high risk for various problems such as diabetes, etc. So it doesn't really matter if it is 85lbs or 115 lbs. For your questions... My process was a piece of cake. After my research and choosing a doctor I scheduled surgery for six days later. Getting surgery is really quite easy if you aren't battling an insurance company. I went to Dr. Aceves in Mexico. Best thing I ever did. If you go to Mexico please let us know so we can tell you what and how to do your research. It's a very safe process but you still need to know what you are doing every step of the way. Yes, I felt the lap band was my last ditch effort to lose weight, and it works. Yep, I approached my family doc about it and I was pretty sure he would be anti-surgery and anti-Mexico. I could not have been more wrong. My doc specializes in sports medicine and family practice. He's quite the athelete himself. He runs daily, works out, sugar wouldn't pass his lips even if he was restrained and force fed the stuff. You know the type I'm talking about. I thought he would think I was taking the weenie way out and instead he was very supportive. I had to have a back up plan in case of complications since I went to Mexico. He said he would do anything necessary and he has. He's been great. MUCH different from what I expected.

Your doc sounds great as well as realistic. There are no band "rules" there are band "guidelines". What works for one does not mean it will work for everyone. Rules say: Eat within 20 minutes and when your 20 minutes are done, so are you. Guidelines say: Eat a reasonable amount of food and get your nutrition in. If I ate all my food in 20 minutes I'd starve to death. I am a person with a verrry picky stomach and if I ate that quickly I'd get 5 bites in at best. That's just one of many examples. Don't worry about what the rules say, follow your docs advice and do what works for you.