kacee

<p><p>I absolutely second that!!! I use the FitDay software (opted for the whole 9 yards) and it's funny, because I am now addicted to my FitDay charts!!! I RUSH home from work to fill it out for the day. I mark down the good, bad and ugly faithfully. I weigh everyday and put it down, bad or good. I can graph to the "nth" degree exactly where I sit!</p></p>

Are you logging your caloric intake and weight somewhere? This will give you an excellent idea of where you stand. FitDay is good, and there are others. I find I cannot take in more than about 900 calories or the weight loss stops completely (I went through three weeks of that before I got SERIOUS about the logging). Now every minute of the day I know exactly where I am and exactly how much I can have the rest of the day. This is something they try to teach you at Weight Watchers, but I never listened and didn't do it. No wonder I didn't lose anything. I can tell by the graph when I have overstepped and messed up because the line goes flat on my weight. IT WORKS.

You're gonna love him. I am 60 days post-op and amazed at what I have accomplished! He's wonderful, the office staff is outstanding, the procedure was worth EVERY PENNY of my self pay (wish it had bee available 15 years ago)... You will not be disappointed.

<p>Terry, you and I seem to be almost mirror patients. At surgery I was 218, I am now 190 and my goal is 150. I was banded 5-23. We're also not too far apart in age (I'm 55).... :-) </p> <p> </p> <p>I hit a major plateau the last several weeks and finally got SERIOUS about logging my food and comparing to my weight and it makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD!!!!! I can track Exactly where I am (I highly recommend for "slow losers")...I KNOW now that if my caloric intake goes much over 950 the weight loss STOPS dead. 750-900 I'm in good shape. I use FitDay and I can track the weight right beside the caloric intake and it is absolutely reduced to a mathmatical equation! If you log ALL your food you will know eactly where you are...NO SURPRISES. I don't think that if you are really dedicated and accurate about it that you can go wrong. I chuckle to myself because this is something Weight Watchers tries to drum into your head and I always thought it was just too much of a pain in the a** to do (so I didn't). With FitDay, I can't wait to get home and fill it in each day, can't wait to look at my overview and see how I graph out for the week...</p>

Things have kindof come to a crashing halt. I have been sitting at 24 pounds down from original now for about two weeks. In looking at my stats on FitDay (got the software) I see that I did NOT lose weight, or gained, when I went about 1000 cal. Around 700-800 I lost. It was VERY evident in the graph, so I've cut down considerably and anticipate some loss. Had my last fill 6-27 and I am finding I can eat a LOT right now, and am thinking about food a lot....bad sign. Need to get in for a "top off" I think...

Check out food storage containers and kitchen tools, fitnfresh, fit fresh, nutritional links, recipes links, health links, lifestyle links, medport I got the snack clip at Bed Bath and Beyond. This is really neat! It's about 4 inches in diameter, has a cooling ring to freeze in the lid, and a separator that is removable. It's mainly for "kids" but the portion sizes are great. They have a whole bunch of different kindof snack totes. BB&B didn't have them all so I went to the site. This is going to be GREAT for work!!!!!! Check it out!

<p>I just got back from getting my second fill. The first one was done without the fluoroscope and I had no response to it whatsoever. This time they used the machine and I drank the barium and it was filled, then I plugged up, then unfilled a little, then the barium went through, and then filled a tiny bit after that. They think they got my "sweet spot". I am really wondering how on earth you could ever possibly accomplish a successful fill WITHOUT a fluoroscope! Watching the adjustment on the screen...it was VERY EXACTING. There's no way you could just guess at that kindof thing because we were also watching the degree and speed at which the liquid and barium flowed through the opening. I went from a 1.8 to about a 2.2 (omni). We shall see how long it lasts.</p>

You're fixin' to climb over the fence kiddo! Congrats!

Wow, it's GOTTA be an art form without the fluro. I watched as they put a tiny bit in, drank, watched it go down, pulled a little out, drank watched it go down, put a little more in, <repeat>. At one point when I was overfilled and it showed it, you wouldn't have been able to tell by drinking because the drinking went down fine, but we could SEE the restriction on the screen and knew it was too much. Man, Kudos to those folks who can get it done right by just guessing!

How much is the service? I went through the entire website but they don't seem to say anywhere (until you join).

I also think that secretly a LOT of people are extremely interested in the procedure. I have people who initially get the news and go...Oh, gee, is that what you really want?...(I say HELL YEAH) and then I find them sidling up to me later and going, "Eh....so tell me more about this thing...what does it do? How does it feel?" I am all for education. When I was at my GP's the other day I had to explain the lap band to the medical assistant. She had never heard of it (that's scary) and I had to explain it was NOT gastirc bypass.

I too told everyone who asked or seemed interested. I also explained that my initial weight loss after surgery was due to the healing process and restriction to liquids and mushies during healing, more than the typical weight loss that you will see when you get in the full swing of things. When folks ask how it is going I tell them now that having knocked off 22 pounds I am well on my way to a head start and now the regular effect of the band will take over and I will not expect any more weight loss than about a pound a week, and anything more than that is just gravy! I also explain that this is the only SAFE and HEALTHY way to lose the weight....FAST weight loss causes a myriad of problems and the band is designed for slow healthy weight loss over a period of time, unlike the immediate results of gastric bypass. I tell them I will be happy to reach my goal within two years. That certainly seems to satisfy them.

<p>You hear differing explanations....that it is referred pain from disrupting the muscles over the chest cavity, that it is gas. I had it off and on for two weeks after surgery and I think because of the sporadic-ness of it, I would go with gas. Sometimes it was there, sometimes it wasn't and sometimes it traveled into my neck, etc. Suffice it to say, it will probably be the single most bothersome thing you go through after surgery. The surgery site itself (at least for me) was a real non-issue (and I think that is because they were all surface cuts, and none of the gut was sectioned or cut). That area was more like getting over an injury (I ran through a plate glass window in the 5th grade and had 150 stitches in my legs to close them up....this was more like that rather than feeling like your insides had been invaded....like an appendectomy or c-section or something).</p>

I was banded by Dr. Spivak and I think that folks who go to his support groups need to bring this up in discussion and emphasize this. I certainly will when I go in July.

bumpin' it up...

Food addiction is a disease, just like alcoholism and drug addiction, though we don't like to think of it as such. Obsession and addiction to food can be similar to addiction to alcohol or drugs. Food addiction is a disease in which the addict craves refined sugar, flour and fats just as a cocaine addict craves cocaine. Food addicts get a feeling of pleasure and comfort from these foods and therefore continue to seek out the pleasure/comfort feelings. They use food to numb feelings of pain, anger, or depression. The food addict is often obsessed, unable to control the behavior even when they know intellectually of the negative health consequences. The physical craving overrides the power to make better eating decisions.

I've also heard that a major factor is the fact we chew our food so much...apparently it works air into the food, which we swallow.

Get with your provider of the machine. They should have MULTIPLE masks for you to try. Keep trying (use it about a week before you decide it doesn't work unless the initial fit is just ridiculous). These masks are not cheap, so you don't want to go past your exchange period and have to foot the bill yourself. I use a 2 prong nose mask. I wonder if you have the same thing I do. What is the mask name? Mine blows out (but not in my face, unless I really get my face squashed down in the pillow and smush the nose prongs. At first I thought it was a faulty mask, but they said it was supposed to be that way. My machine is absolutely quiet and the air escaping (correctly) from my mask I consider "white noise" which helps me sleep.

Okay, your insurance should cover the changing of your mask withint something like the first 30-60 days. Don't wait. Contact the company you got your CPAP from and tell them that the mask is not right for you. It should be totally included that they will bring you back in and try on several masks until you get one that works. You don't want obvious leakage around your face (though some, like mine, do blow out in front of my face because that is the way they are made, but you should not have any leakage at the sides, etc.). This should all be covered by your insurance...but do NOT wait.

I also find that "mini-goals" are really the answer. Don't look at a long-haul....divide your loss into sections. My first section was to get down to 199 by the time of my first fill. I did it and I was jumping around as if someone had told me I weighed 130! My next goal will be 190. Otherwise you wind up looking out over this vast expanse of poundage to lose and it can be pretty overwhelming.

I am 5'3". I was 217 at surgery time. I am now 197 one month later prior to first fill. Doc wants me down to 160....no way....I wanna be down around 145.

You are giving them power by your thinking....they may think they are superior to me being in their upper class group...and what does that entail? They're in a higher tax bracket? They drive a Benz? They wear Prada shoes? Excuse me but BFD (expletive deleted). That means nothing. The measure of a man is his heart and nothing else.

Well, I have found in my life that there is no such thing as a secret unless you are the only one who knows it because someone somewhere....and I don't care how much you trust them....will inadvertently spill the beans. And then also....a lie perpetuates a lie and it can get very convoluted and messy until the lie and the fallout from it takes over your life. That's why I am up front about everything having to do with the band. If they cannot take it and have a bad attitude about it, it is up front and in my face and I will deal with it and that's that. Your husband was wrong but you just learned a lesson about trust and secrets, unfortunately. Best thing you can do now is go on with your head high and ignore everyone, husband included. Do not give them any power over you by worrying needlessly about their reaction or judgdments.

I believe I had dissolvable sutures beneath the skin with possible glue, and then steri strips on the outside. The incisions were just too closed up to be totally steri strips, so they must have used some kind of glue too.

Also, if you are a beer drinker and you find it "doesn't work" for you....you certainly WON'T be a beer drinker after that!!!