Sharpie

I live in McAlpin, between Live Oak and Lake City... I had my surgery in Gainesville? where do you live?

Happy Easter to all my banded brothers and sisters.. It is a beautiful, sunny and warm day here in North Florida.. I am so lucky to be able to report that I rode my horse today.. It has been over a year since I rode.. I got to the point that I was too heavy to get in the saddle.. then I worried about my poor horse lugging me around.. after losing 30 lbs since my surgery on January 15, 2013 I have the energy and confidence to start riding again... I had about lost all hope of ever being able to pursue my favorite pastime again.. Today we will have a family dinner to celebrate Easter and I plan to stick to my plan, 3 oz protein (including a deviled egg) and no fattening breads or potatoes.. I am making Strawberry "Shortcake".. I use splenda in the berries and angel food cake . I will have some strawberries and maybe a little whipped cream ... I am so looking forward to losing the remainder of my weight and getting back to doing things I love... I hope all of you have a blessed Easter Day..

while your friend may lose faster she may not be healthier. I have people in my support group who have had bypass and sleeves.. they have problems and to me look sickly... I am convinced that losing slowly is the best way.. but complications can happen with anything.. I know for me the band was my answer. so far I am happy... I can eat most anything I want to, but don't want to eat like I did before banding... I have lost the urge to pig out and my energy level is better than it has been for years.. you will be happy especially at your age that you chose the band... keep up the good work .

maybe the Australians do things differently.. my Surgeon explained that the food in your pouch is what signals your brain that you are satisfied.. if you wash it down quickly not sure you would get the benefit of the band.. also I can only assume that washing it down would leave more room for more food.. I will do whatever my surgeon tells me at this point . I am not suffering by not drinking while I eat.. but my theory is, if it works for you that is great... As in all cases, if you are in doubt please consult with your surgeon....

I only use Truvia .. it's made from Stevia and it does not contain aspertame or nutrasweet or any chemicals.. when I used to use Equal my memory was shot.. I am not sure about the calorie thing, it says it has zero but I don't use a lot of it.. only in my coffee in the morning.. sometimes in tea...

same for me,,, If we go out, I order water, sip until I get my meal, once I eat, I usually have a to go container anyway and I ask for a to go cup.. so once my time is up I can drink...sometimes we run errands while in town (we live 25 miles from town) so by the time we do that it's okay for me to drink my water...I had to re-train my brain about the drinking while eating ..but it's okay now I'm used to it.

I would not let my husband take out my stiches... make the trip to your doc.. I did not have any stiches but I went back for my post op check and they removed the steri strips.. how are you going to get your fills if you live so far away from your Doc>?

B52- I love your posts and frankness... really I need positive feedback.. I am fairly new at the banded life.. I don't want to read about people puking, people who are eating pizza's and wondering why they are not losing, people who continually attack anyone who tells it like it is.. I am a optimist and went into this adventure hoping that I will get to the point of not worrying about counting calories, fat grams, etc. and just eat smaller portions and be healthy. so whatever anyone else thinks about what the heck "normal" means , I don't care, please continue posting.. You are to be commended for your success....

okay I have never perceived tmf as being rude.. I think he was direct, but not rude.. I too wondered if there was a mistake during surgery like leaving the old port.. but I truly do not think he is repeatedly rude... everyone needs to lighten up and if you need help give as many details as you can so advice can be given ... I have found everyone to be very helpful...jmo

I have cast iron skillets that I have had for 40 years... you do not use soap on them, clean them with water, then oil them ... nothing cooks like iron skillets... lamb sounds good.. I made a boston butt roast on Sunday, it was really good and tender.. I have not tried pork chops...

Your Dr. should be very happy with your success... As you know it's not easy by any stretch of the imagination..but as you say if you Want TO you can do it... losing as much as you have is a big deal... Thanks for what you do...

be sure you let us know about the recipe book... I have a lot of cookbooks but one specifically for us "bandsters" would be great....I found some really good recipes on BandedLiving.com if you want to explore that...it's also a good site for motivation and good advise...

I know I was very anxious the day before my surgery.. after my surgery I was a little down the first week feeling that I had made a mistake.. however that feeling soon left and I was involved in eating right and starting to walk and move... I am very happy I made the decision to get my band.. I have not felt this good in years.. You will do great.. and will be posting your accomplishments soon...

thank you for clarifying your answer... I did not see in his post that he was taking a time released pain med.. most Dr's would tell you not to crush or cut them... I think the tylenol worked good for me after the first few days....

Okay, my Dr. gave me Loritab and told me to crush them... don't think he would tell me to do that if it was fatal... the tylenol is children's liquid, grape flavor.. I only used the loritab for 2 days and I put it in some juice or something but it was really bitter... My pharmacists also told me it was okay to crush them... in fact they even did that in the hospital so, don't know where all this information came from but it's not true for loritab...

I crushed my pain meds.. then after a few days I did liquid tylenol... it was easier for me to swallow without getting stuck... I have a real fear of that...

at 4 days post op I was sore too, had to stay on my tylenol for a week.. things will improve so much in a few days.. don't try to do too much this is the time to heal... milk of mag made me feel like a new woman... don't let that go too long.

congratulations to all of you for making the decision to get your lives in order... you will be very happy with your results... it's not going to be easy but it does get better in time.. you adapt to a new way to eat... I hope you all have a easy surgery and a comfortable recovery.. I had a few days that I wondered why I did it but after that I was fine. don't worry about dropping a lot of weight at first.. just take your time and get lots of rest, take your pain meds, move around and take care of yourselves.

it's a whole new world for me.. I used to never feel satisfied.. and full was when I was ready to explode.. now, I don't think about food 24/7 only when it's time to eat .. I am trying to only eat if I feel hungry.. hunger for me now is totally different.. I eat 3 meals and sometimes a snack . I try to stay at around 1000 calories a day.. I'm very happy and feel free from the stress of "dieting"...

I went to my support group last week.. most of us are band patients.. there are some bypass people there as well. no sleeves... from what I can tell , the bypass folks looked sickly.. I am convinced that no matter what surgery you have you have to be 200% committed... I know a few bypass people who have ate back up to their original weight and I know there are some who have had lapband over the by pass so it's how much you want it....change is hard and most of us being human don't like change...

My Dr. scared the heck out of me.. he said I had to do the liver shrink or he would not operate or would close me up if the fat was too much.. I followed that diet strictly ... first time in my life I stayed on a diet longer than a week... now with the band I am following his instructions and the nutritionists advice... I do not want to fail.. or do something damaging to my band.. go back to what they told you and you will do fine.

I read that article too.. she sounds like she had some issues that she should have worked on prior to her surgery.. like all of us reasons for over eating are varied.. I love food, grew up on fried chicken, gravy and banana pudding.. still love those things and I relate to those kinds of foods , it brings memories of Sunday dinner at mama;s and special holidays all involving food.. but I would rather be thin and healthy then fat and unhealthy... the girl in the article is young and has had some tough breaks but losing 180 lbs is a big feat...so she needs to fix her head before she regains it all...

oh I just noticed you said having your staples removed? what kind of incision did your dr do? I didn;'t have anything that required staples.. my port site was the largest incision it was about 1 " and had a steri strip on it.. that;s it...

I was thinking oh poor dear she hasn;t been able to wear shoes? I know I have graduated from crocs to real shoes since losing 30 lbs.. but I couldn;t figure out why she couldn;t wear shoes... lol anyway congrats on mushies,, it just gets better after that...

I live in Florida and today it was 80 deg. but I am colder than I used to be but when you lose your insulation that happens... I am really happy to see some warmer weather again. We actually do have cold weather here but probably not what people up North have... I am not a cold weather person so I am happy I live here... but the Summer's can be brutal....it's all in what you like.