JoanieP

QUOTE! Hi Joanie, Have you checked on this with your doctor? I'm no longer taking medication for osteopenia because after several years of Fosamax my bone density had improved to the point where I was no longer deficient. I have it checked every year or two to make sure I'm not going the other way. Taking Fosamax and the others is a great benefit to us, but there are risks and you are right in being careful. I would discuss this with both my primary care guy and also my LB surgeon and work something out with them. Since your pouch does not allow the usual fast-track they need to advise you about this medication. This is a very common medication for pre and post menopausal women - so lots of LB patients - docs should be able to help you out here. Good luck. __________________ Joann Not yet banded, but working on it! :thumbup: end quote! Thanx for the advise! I am planning on talking to my LB surgeon and my gyn (who had originally ordered this stuff) next month. I feel a little better knowing it actually worked for you. thanx and I will let ya'll know what I find out from my drs. Joanie )

:confused2: Wow, how frustrated you must be!! I get upset when I get stuck at the same weight, give or take a lb or 2, for a month at a time. My sister was banded Jan'07 and has had the same problem as you. She has only lost 30lbs. and has been the same weight, more or less, for almost a year. She too is quite upset. She just called me after seeing her drs dietician and they agreed she was not eating properly. Too big a bites and not eating slow enough. She too loves her ice cream and has a hard time staying away from it. It sounds like your eating too many carbs to me. Do you think the problem is that you are eating too fast and not chewing well enough? How big are your bites? Do you walk or do any cardio? Walking for 30 mins /day is a great cardio. but you can't just meander along, you have to walk at a fairly good pace, but not so fast that you have trouble breathing. Keep in touch and I wish you luck, Keep trying! You can do it!:thumbup: Joanie :crying:)

Sounds like you've gotten plenty of feedback, so you don't really need anymore, but here it is...Dr. Spiegel did my band may, 12 2006 and I have been very satisfied. He is an excellent surgeon, but like some others have said, he doesn't hold your hand and your pretty much on your own when it's all done. I would recomment him without hesitation. I have recently switched drs. ,because I live in Beeville which is quite a drive, to Dr. Chang in Victoria. I like the personal touch I'm receiving from him. Good Luck to you ! Joanie :thumbup:)

:thumbup: Sounds interesting....I'm gonna ask the hubby as soon as he gets home to see what he thinks. I'll figure out the cost of everything to see if we can swing it. We live in Beeville...5-6hrs from Dallas. I can still get the discount if I sign up today so looks like I saw this in time, huh? Thanx for the info, maybe I see ya there! Joanie )

:thumbup: My drs have all told me the same thing....cardio, cardio, cardio! Walking, swimming, best ways to take the lbs off. At least 30mins or longer works best. Good luck, Joanie )

:thumbup:Just wanted to wish you luck...it's a wonderful journey and it will all be worth it. Keep us posted on your progress. Joanie :thumbup:)

:thumbup: Howdy ya'll, I have a question to throw out here to anyone that has a lapband and has been diagnosed with osteoporosis or osteopenia. Were you put on medication and if so which one, cause I have not been able to do any of the pills since they can't be cut up and the liquid scares the hell outta me, with all the warnings about burning the esophagus. You have to take these medications 1st thing in the am on an empty stomach with nothing but a little water for at least 30 mins. I just picked up the liquid Fosamax from my pharmacy yesterday and was gonna try it this am, but thought 1st. I would drink the same volume of plain water and see how well it goes down.....glad I did cause it didn't, at least not for 5-10 mins. So, anyways....there it is... suggestions? I have been taking calcium and vit D for the past year, but don't know if it is doing me any good or not. I see my Dr. next month for another bone density test. I guess I'll know then right? Thanx everyone for listening to me vent alittle. Joanie )

My dr here in Texas says if you are at least 50 lbs overweight you qualify, so sounds like you do. Best of luck to you, been there! Joanie :thumbup:)

Hi Gwenn, I too can get moody, but I believe I was worse before I lost the weight. I was foolish enough to believe that if I could only take off the weight I would finally be happy with me....but alas, I have discovered that the fat was just one of the things that was making me unhappy. Now I have to contend with the sagging skin. Haha!! Joking aside, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I feel soooo much better now, but the weight loss did not fix everything in my life that causes me to bet moody. Sorry if I rambled on... and I totally see where you're coming from with the " you took my food away " moodiness. I still get pissed off if my husband or anyone tells me something about what I'm eatting. If I want icecream, than dammit I'll eat icecream. Ya know? Well, anyway...point is welcome and you're not alone and good luck with your weightloss journey!! Joanie :tongue2:)

Best of luck to you on your surgery...it is a wonderful tool and one I plan on using to it's full potential. I too am a newbie quilter...I'm not sure I can even be called a quilter, but I'm gonna give it a try, whenever I get the enthusiasm. haha! Can't wait to hear how you do! Joanie :incazzato:)

Howdy ya'll...I haven't been on this thread yet, but I guess I qualify...I have already lost 92 lbs. since my surgery 5/12/06, and am looking forward to the last 18 or so to come off soon...I hope, I hope!!!!! I've picked 130 as my goal but will see how I feel when I get there. In my younger, thinner days I used to feel fat at 130, (I am only 5') but after being well over 200 for so many years and keeping my age in mind...I think 110 or 115 might be too low. I wish I had done this 10 yrs. ago and maybe I wouldn't have all the sagging skin. At 54 and being heavy for so many years ( at least 15) my skin just doesn't have the elastisity it used to. :driving: But all in all life is great!!! :incazzato: I'll be back.....Joanie :huggie:)

Welcome to all the newbie bandsters :incazzato: and Happy Birthday Lynlyn:huggie: I wish you all the best of luck in your weightloss journeys. I for one have never regretted getting my lapband. I'm still not at my goal weight, but it's my own fault for straying from my eating and excersize plans. I'm back on track now and have dropped another 3 lbs. this week. :driving: I agree with the protien drink advise...test different brands till you find some you like. I had found two types I really like over the last 2 yrs. but alas, they stopped making them and I have had to find something else. Everyones tastes are different. I'll check in now and then and see how ya'll are doing! Joanie :sad:)

Thanx and congrats to you for your weight loss as well,and the plastic surgery.....Wish I could afford some of that myself. Looking good!

:confused: Hey ya'll, I just wanted to share my good news...I finally got below 150 lbs. Besides trying real hard to eat right, I've been going to the gym and our pool just opened and I've already gone 2x. Did some laps and walked in the shallow end, and also layed out for some sun. I'm really excited to have the weight dropping again...it seems like forever since I got down to the 150's. Thanx for listening, and I hope ya'll are doing as well. later, Joanie :thumbup:)

Howdy from Texas...I was born and raised in Hicksville, Long Island, NY and saw that there was a lapbandtalk thread for ya'll and just had to join in. I had my lapband done in Houston,Tx. Anyone on this thing from Hicksville? That would be so "small world" huh? Apparently this dr Geiss is pretty popular up there. I wish everyone up there all the best. Later, Joanie )

Have you heard anything back yet about your insurance? I hope so and I wish you all the best on your surgery. Looks like you've already lost some weight....that's fantastic. Later, Joanie )

Sorry I can't help about the dr question, but I wanted to wish you all the best. I'm 2 yrs out now and have lost 90#s and don't remember the last time I felt this good. Worth every penny and worth giving up some of my favorite foods for. How did the seminar go for ya? later, Joanie )

Looks like you're doing great...15#s already and it hasn't even been a month yet. Congrats. I only lost 15 the first month, but felt great. Everyday gets better...Good luck to the 2 of you. It's wonderful to have a partner on your journey! later, Joanie :eek:)

:confused2: I have been having alot of trouble the last few days with just drinks feeling stuck. I decided to do liguids only for the last couple of days to see if whatever is causing the problem will pass, but in the meantime I have this gurgeling in my throat. (some say it's little burps) The last 2 nights I was doing that even at bedtime. I believe I have a stuck b-complex caplet and hope it desolves soon. I've been drinking alot of hot tea and added lemon juice to my iced tea thinking the acid would help. Getting tired of it. I am in the process of switching drs. (one closer to home) so I hope to have an appt soon. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears. Thanx! Joanie

Well, I'm working on getting it together....went walking with a friend this morning and may go to the gym with the hubby when he gets home from work. Gonna walk again in the am. I feel good. Had a good lunch and just am feeling generally good about being back on track. Aren't friends wonderful.

I think it's so cool that you all seem to know each other. Maybe I can squeeze in here and get to know some of you and let you get to know me. I too was banded in May of 2006. The 12th to be exact. I was hoping to have lost 100#'s by my 1 yr mark, but it's been 2 yrs now and I still haven't made it. My fault I know. Old habits die hard. I have lost almost 90 #'s now and feel so much better, and I also am much happier with the way I look. (baggy skin excluded) I'm 54 yrs young now and had been over 200#'s for over 10 yrs. so that was to be expected. I gave some thought to having some tucks here and there, but I really can't afford it so... Well, I guess this is a good start and I look forward to getting to know you guys and hearing from you. Later, Joanie :frown:)

Thanx for the quick reply...I do sleep on my stomach, but this was when I was on my back. I don't even know what posessed me to press on my stomach, but I did and that's when I felt the pain. It is slightly to the left of center, right over where my stomach should be. Just below the rib cage. You may be right about feeling something else because there is less fat there now. haha!

Hi to all! I had my lapband for almost 2 yrs now and doing pretty well with weightloss. Here is my problem...Some nights when I lay down in bed on my back and press on my stomach, about where my band would be, I feel like a hard knot that hurts like a bruise or a like when you break a blood vessel in your hand. It's pretty localized and I only feel it at bedtime so far. My dr. says I'm too compusive about my band and worrying about complications, but I just can't bear the thought of losing it and gaining all my weight back. Has anyone else out there ever experienced a pain like what I decribed? I know I do worry too much, huh? :confused2:

You are probably still experiencing the post lapband pain from them filling you up with air so they can perform the surgery easier. If I had not been told to expect the shoulder and chest pain after surgery, I would have thought I was having a heart attack. I honestly don't think I ever want laproscopic surgery again if that is what it will feal like afterwards. It will pass, although I do still get pain in my left shoulder, from the gas in my stomach I've been told, it is nothing compared to the first week or two after I had my lapband put in. I love it, and my biggest fear is having something go wrong and have to have it removed. I know I would gain back every pound. I wish you all the luck you deserve and hang in there! Joanie :huh2:)

:biggrin: I am so sorry to hear that you have to have your band removed after only a year. I have had mine almost 2 yrs and my biggest fear is having a problem with it and that it would have to be removed. I just know I would gain back all my weight. I do hope that after they remove it your problems go away so that you didn't get it taken out for nothing. Good luck and let us know how it went!!!