DLW

Thanks drkel for sharing. I hope that my band will be a permanent "fixture" for me. I'm just starting out and it is a slow go but I'm hoping for the best. I am on my way! :-) Thanks again. Dianne

drkel, you had to have the band replaced after 5 years? It slipped? Was it because of the weight loss? I'm concerned about it. I had the band put in Nov 07 and am really worried about it getting all messed up come 5 or even 10 years from now. That would really stink. I didn't fare too well as far as hospital stay for the band. I was in there for 4 days. I guess I just had a slow go of it and thought that maybe it was because of my age. I couldn't imagine having issues 5 or 10 years down the road. Just is pretty tough and scary to imagine. What exactly happened to your band and why? Is it a common thing to happen? Thanks for your imput drkel. Dianne

Yes, my doc also advised me to take the Tylenol. It works okay but the Advil just worked so well for me. Kind of a bummer to not be able to take it anymore. Do you think that occasionally would be okay or should it be avoided all together?

Advil? My doctor told me no more advil or any form of Ibuprofin. I really liked advil too for fever and or pain. Why did he say no more? Stomach irritation? Maybe I could take an antacid when I take the advil? :-) dianne

I have a 10cc band also. I'm at 6.5cc's now. The doc wanted to bring it up to 7.5cc's but I said no. I don't want to be throwing up everything I eat either. It seems to be doing okay. I had a 1cc fill on February 19th to bring me up to the 6.5cc's and have lost 5 pounds since. I can eat "normal" foods and really try to stick to the 1 cup per meal rule. You really have to know what your "full" feeling is. It surely is not what used to be the "full" feeling for me anymore. It's more like a "if you put one more bite down here it's going to hurt like hell for about 15 minutes" kinda full feeling. And smilin apple..... I too have had those long stuck moments! Like the first time it was 3 hours of slimming torture. Spitting out the saliva bubbly type stuff every minute or so. It was pure hell. Sorry I'm being so graphic but I'd like to let anyone out there whose been having the same experiences to know they are not alone. I have had 2 experiences since also. One of them was for only 20 minutes and the other was for 1 1/2 hours. I am one who really, really does not like to throw up so maybe it lasted so long because of my unwillingness to throw up? I don't know, but what I have learned from it is to eat very, very slowly and to chew, chew, chew. Swallow and wait a minute to see how the band is going to react. This has worked for me for the past month. Thank goodness. Enough rambling on. Good luck to you all and you can do it, just slow down and think about what you have in your mouth and should you swallow it or just spit it out if necessary. Better then having that huge lump feeling in your upper chest for a half an hour or more that's for sure huh. :-) Dianne

I have a question about the PBing. I've had it I think 2 times since my banding 11/5/07. My question is... does it happen to anyone else like it does to me. The slimming lasted for 3 hours the first time with very little coming up. The 2nd time it lasted 1 1/2 hours. Slimming, spitting the foamy stuff up and then I literally got sick to my stomach and threw up just a very little. It was a piece of meat, very small. I did make sure to chew well too. That is why I don't understand why it happened. I haven't heard of anyone on here having this last so long like me. Am I just fighting the throwing up part too much or is there some other issue I don't know about. It was pure hell the first time and I was exhausted after. The 2nd time I was just pretty much spitting up the "foamy flem" until I finally got sick. I'm sorry about being so graphic but it was the only way I could explain my predicament. Please forgive me for it. Dianne

I will be going for my first visit with Dr. Moon on June 7th. He is in an office with 2 other physicians. Dr. McKane and Dr. Cole. My daughter had the gastric bypass surgery by Dr. McKane a couple of years ago. I'm trying for the lapband surgery. Has anyone been to Dr. Moon and can you tell me a little about him?? Thanks! Dianne W.:help:

The decision is not up to Dr. Moon. It is totally your decision. You should talk with the counselor about it though. You should be sure which one is best for you. You have to remember that with the RNY you should not get pregnant for at least 2 years after the surgery either, if you are planning on having any children right away. I see that you are 34 and maybe would be thinking about that too? Sorry about not replying sooner but I was out of the office yesterday all day. I hope that you can make the right decision for yourself and that it will work wonderfully for you. ps...congratulations on your upcoming marriage!! November what? I was banded this past November 5th. :-) Take care smd... Dianne

It's all according to your current weight, insurance coverage and so on. You'll have to see the nutricionist (Colleen) and the psychologist, I don't know her name though, I only saw her once. I think my first visit was in May and had the surgery in November. If you have to lose allot of weight I think he has you lose some before surgery. Where do you live? Near Elmira? I live in Newfield. Good luck to you smd. Dianne

You know you guys make me want to have been a July Banster! I've been reading here and find you all very supportive of each other not to mention so very funny. Keep up the good work fellow bandsters while really enjoying each others support! Dianne

Alyson, What's the update on the bubble gum issue?? Hopefully it has either gone down or come up for you. Good luck to you. Dianne

Hi Hlenoble, My name is Dianne and I've had my surgery back in November by a Dr. Moon in Elmira. They are very nice people and I would recommend him. However, you said in Ithaca. There is a Dr. John Mecenas whom I would have chosen because I live in Newfield but because of my insurance I had to go to Elmira. I have a few friends who've gone to him and really like him. His number is 607-273-3161 if you'd like to give them a call. His address is 1301 Trumansburg Rd. Ithaca, NY 14850. I think that his office is at the hospital - Cayuga Medical Center. I hope this helps you out. If you would like Dr. Moon's number and address just let me know. Good luck to you Hal. Dianne

Hi Joan, I had my surgery November 5th. I had Dr. Moon. The surgery went fine except that he "nicked" my spleen and had to put a couple of stitches in it. I was in the hospital for 4 days. It was a slow go for me. I don't know if it was my age (50) or just that I just had a slow go at it. I couldn't lie flat in my bed for a week after. I had to sleep sitting up on the couch. That is expected though, the sleeping in a recliner or any other comfortable position you can fine. :-) I just now started losing some weight. I wasn't really following the program for the first month and a half and didn't lose anything. I've had 2 fills since then. I now have 5.5cc in a 10cc band. It has given me restriction. I lost 8 pounds last week (mostly Fluid I'm sure) and 2 pounds this past week. So, I'm starting to see results. I'm now following what Colleen has told me to do and keeping a journal of what I eat. Makes you more consious (sp?) of what you're doing. Anyway, I wish you well with your surgery and you will go through all of the feelings as the time approches. Scared, excited, nervous, can't wait, anxious and all the other normal fears. Don't worry, go in with a possitive attitude and a determination to make this thing work and you'll be fine. Just like me! :-) I had all the above emotions too and almost cancelled, but am glad I didn't. So far that is. haha Take care. Blessings, Dianne

I started having the hot flashes about 3 months after I turned 50 this past May. They were happening about every 45 minutes. They were driving me crazy. I also didn't want to take a prescribed drug for menopause either. I asked some friends for advice.... I started taking the Walmart brand of Estrogen for menopausal symptoms - it is called Estroven. It took about 1 month to work, but it did and still does. I would highly suggest trying it out. It is an all natural herb. Good luck to you and "stay cool". :-) Sorry, couldn't help it. lol Blessings, Dianne

I had the band put in on November 5th, 2007. I went for my first fill on December 12th. It is a 10cc band. After my first fill I had 4cc in the band. I ate pretty much the same amount of food after the fill as I did before the band. I wasn't feeling much of a restriction. The 3 eggs?? I would have a bagel for breakfast, a large tossed salad for lunch and something like a pot pie with a side of veggies for dinner. I was hungry and didn't have much restriction. I went back to the doctors on January 15th. I hadn't lost anything, nor gained anything thank God. The nurse asked me if I was keeping a journal of what I was eating. I said that I wasn't. Should I be? The answer to that would be, "yes". I told her what I had eaten for the 2 previous days. The doctor came in and lectured me a little. I was feeling like a failure. I was really, really sad. But I had been feeling like this for several weeks. Like a failure. I told the doc this and he said, "no, you're not a failure, maybe all you need is a little more fill - and stay away from allot of the foods I had been eating." I felt like just bawling. He put in another 1.5cc which brought it up to 5.5cc. Since this I have lost about 12 pounds! In one week. I know that most of it is probably water weight but it is very exciting to start losing something!! I have been keeping a journal now and watch what I eat. Eat slowly, chew, chew, chew. Take a bite of food, swallow and wait about 30 seconds to a minute to see how it feels before having more. Like someone else said, I now eat about 1/3 of what I had been. An example: 1 scrambled egg with cheese for breakfast. Lunch - 2-3oz whitefish broiled. 1/4 cup mashed potatoes. Dinner: 1/2 c. shephards pie (mashed potatoes with hamburg and onion) and 1/4 c. peas. I try to get in at least 2 8oz glasses of skim milk too. I do have a snack in the afternoon like 1/2 an apple with 2 Tbs peanut butter. It's funny, because the broiled whitefish I got was from last Friday night when my husband and I went out for dinner at a fish fry. I ate about 1/4 of what was brought to me. I had enough left over for 3 more meal! Pretty cool huh? I'm carrying on too long here maybe but I just wanted to let Mindyempt08 know that it could very well be that you do not have enough restriction yet. When you do, you will really know it. I am no longer sad and feeling like a failure. I feel like I now have a fighting chance at this and I am planning on making this work. Good luck to you and don't beat yourself up - hang in there. Dianne

Hi Joan C. Actually, I was banded by Dr. Moon on November 5th. It's taken awhile before I actually started to lose any weight. In fact it has been just in the past week. I didn't have any restriction for the first couple of months. Some people do though. I didn't. I felt like a failure but after my second fill I am now losing. The bands are 10cc, I have 5.5cc in my band. I hope that all goes well for you with your upcoming banding. Dianne

I was banded 11/5. Christmas Eve my husband and I were rushing around to get things ready to go to my Dads for a family get together. We had all the munchies and platters to take there with us. I was also trying to wrap a few more presents for the next mornings visit to my daughters. I had prepared some chicken wings while my husband took a shower. By the time he got out of the shower the wings were cold. I ate 2 of them. Then on the 3rd one I felt that, "you better not swallow" feeling. I spit it out into the garbage. I told my husband, "I shouldn't have eaten them, they are not settling in my stomach". Then the pain hit and I kept burping but whatever was in my stomach would only come up to a certain spot in my throat where it would make me swallow. I kept doing this and then having a bunch of "slim" coming up. No food. I just kept having that swallowing feeling. I didn't want to swallow because I knew the spit was going down with it and then I would have that glob of flem coming up. I kept doing this for would you believe 3 HOURS!! I had my husband call and cancel us coming to the party. Then I thought I'd better call my doctor. I did and there was a doctor on call who doesn't "do" the lapband surgeries. He only does the gastric by-pass surgeries. He made it clear by telling me this. Like I could give a crap at the time?? I WAS DYING HERE AND DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!! He said maybe you should go to the emergency room, then they'd call me and I'd come to the hospital. I thought, "no way in hell do I want this man touching me"!! I waited it out and it finally went through in about 3.25 hours. I was exhausted from the gagging reflex, trying to throw up but not being able to. Mind you, I wasn't inducing the trying to throw up, it just came naturally. I told my husband that I needed to take a nap and fell asleep for an hour on the couch. This was the worst experience for me. I am really afraid now of things getting stuck again. I am going for another fill today because I have been eating pretty much as before my surgery with 1 fill of 4cc in a 10cc band. I'm afraid that even a smaller amount of food will get stuck like that chicken wing!! Augh! I do know about the chew, chew, chew thing and it has certainly been part of my eating since the Chicken Wing incident; however, sometimes we are not consious of our eating and realize we've made a mistake right after we swallow. Stinks. Anyway, I just wanted everyone to know that I'm a little depressed now about getting the band. I'm afraid of my fills and am really afraid of what it will do when I swallow my food from this afternoon on. Any incouraging words would be soooo appreciated. I got the band for a reason and want to get excited about it, I just can't right at the moment. Thanks for listening everyone. :-) And by the way... the "full" feeling everyone talks about? I don't have a full feeling. What I feel is, "one more swallow and it will hurt". It's not full, it's a lump at the top of your stomach feeling to me. No way have I had a full (satisfied) feeling in my stomach. It is just really uncomfortable. Anyone else like that? Thanks for listening, sorry so long. Dianne

Boy JennJenn I can relate to that. I can't wait for my first fill either on the 12th! I'm hoping it will cut my food intake to about 1/2 of what I'm having now. Good luck to you on the 10th!

Hi everyone! My name is Dianne and I am 50 years old. Married for 8 years this coming New Years Eve to my 2nd husband, who, by the way, is a wonderful companion and friend to me. I was married to the father of my 2 daughters for 21 years. We lost our daughter, Nichol in a car accident in 1996. She was 19. I miss her terribly sometimes. :-( My other daughter, Danielle is 27 years old and married, she has a son, Alex who is 9. She had gastric bypass surgery April 2005 and lost 110 pounds. She is now pregnant with a little girl! She is scheduled for a c-section on December 17th! I'm very excited about it. They have been trying for 8 years to become pregnant. She would not have been able to conceive if it weren't for the bypass surgery. Such a blessing. The baby's name will be Brooklynn Nichol. She named her after her sister, so sweet. I live in NY, near Cornell University. I work at a place called Claritas Inc. It is a demographic, geographic data company. We are owned by AC Nielsen. I've been here for around 24 years. I love my job and the people. There is around 100 employees here in this office. We have 7 other offices across the US. This was a great idea Linda, I found it right after I sent you the personal e-mail. LOL Sorry. :-) It's nice to meet everyone and good luck to everyone!! Blessings, Dianne

I've been eating "normal" food for a week now. I was banded on the 5th of November. I had the clear liquids the 1st week, mushies the 2nd. I have oatmeal and a piece of toast for breakfast with peanut butter. Lunch is like a soup and some protein. Dinner last night was spare ribs and butternut squash. I cut the rib meat in very small pieces and chewed, chewed, chewed. I have about 1/4 of the amount of food i was having before the banding. My first fill will be on Dec. 12th. I'm sure the toast may have to go with the peanut butter, hopefully not though. I really feel for everyone who have to be on the mushies for a month or more. I'm planning on asking the doc to give my fill in a small amount. I want to take it slow so I can feel the "full" sensation without overdoing it. Right now the full feeling is like having a dry hiccup. It's a little weird but I know when to stop for the time being. The hiccup stage is what I call it. :-) Good luck to everyone!! Dianne

Hi everyone. I was banded November 5th. It's my first day back to work today. I'm 50. I had a bit of a tough time getting well. The doctor "nicked" my spleen during surgery. It had to be stitched up. He said that there was a bit of a bleeding issue during the surgery. I was in the hospital for 4 days. Got hives from the pain meds and had to take double doses of benedrill for a little over a week. I quit taking it because it made me so very tired. The hives have pretty much cleared up though my butt hurts from being on it so much and the hives liking it there. *sigh* Kandi, hang in there. It is a slow go for me too. I'm not wearing a bra to work because it also rubs wear the port is located just below my left breast almost right in between the two. I'm hoping that when the scar tissue covers the port this will pass. I don't like the idea of going braless for the rest of my life. lol I don't have any restriction yet. My first fill will be on Dec. 12th. I have been eating all the "normal" foods I ate before just a smaller amount. I do get hungry about every 3 hours though. The nutricionist told me this was normal and to drink fluids at this time to eliaviate the hunger. I gained like 15 pounds while in the hospital. From the IV's. As of yesterday, I've lost the 15 pounds of Fluid plus 5, so that is good. Every day does get easier. I remember when I was able to sleep in my bed for the first time after the surgery. I think I was sitting up for like the first 5 nights. It was heaven to lay in my own bed!! Turning over was a bit of a chore though. Certainly woke me up out of a sound sleep that's for sure. haha. It's getting easier though and I can't wait for my first fill. Blessings,

Heading home from work now. Wish me luck on Monday! I'll try to post when I get home. Good luck to you guys and I'm planning on getting a heating pad this weekend that's for sure! Blessings to you, Dianne

I didn't really cheat on the Atkins to tell you the truth. I had no cravings after the first couple of months. I did go off during the summer months though to enjoy the summer foods. I did gain some, like 10 pounds or so during June, July and August. I'd go back on the Atkins because my stomach really began to hurt having the carbs. It felt like I'd bloat up and the top of my stomach got really hard too. It got to be unbearable. This last time I gained the most because I went off a little earlier and stayed off a little longer. I think Dr. Atkins died from a fall and hit his head. I think he was a larger man though. That's what someone told me. He probably followed his own diet then went off, just like everyone else who tries to diet. Go on them but once you come off.... BLAM! He comes the weight back and then some. I'm hoping to no end that the banding will help me get control of the quantity of food. I don't think the quality of food I eat is too bad. On the Atkins I ate allot of Broccolli, collard greens and brussels. I love all three. It wasn't all meat, cheese and eggs. To tell you the truth I don't think that it could be good for your heart and arteries either. I stayed on it because it kept me away from all the carbs and I didn't have the cravings. Not to mention my stomach feels fine on it. Just no weight loss, which I need to happen. I went to the place I think you mentioned about the bananas and got one. Isn't he cute? LOL

Stranger, I was on the Atkins for like 3 1/2 years. Low carb worked for me because I really love meat. It just really seemed wrong at the beginning because I was thinking, how can i be having all these eggs, bacon, butter, creams and such and it be a "good thing". Well it was. I lost like 65 pounds within the first year. The problem is that I plateaued and was limited to know, pasta, bread, rice, summer foods like potato and macaroni salads and such. so i went off this past summer and had a blast with all the foods. Not too much though. I did gain back like 25 pounds though. It took some getting used to at first without the carbs because I was addicted to them. It took about a month or so before the cravings for them ceased. Having to eat totally different will be different for me. Like having the fruit smoothies? Milk? Cream soups? Just doesn't seem right now. haha. I've been back on the Atkins for the past 2 months. Now I'll have to flip flop again? Hopefully it will set okay on my stomach. Dianne

I wonder if I should just pick up a can of powdered Whey protein - chocolate or not. I'm not sure if I'll like it and what would I mix it with? The SF carnation instant breakfast or just in the milk? I don't want to waste like $20 on something I'm going to hate. Guess it will be just trial and error. Thanks for replying Nessa. I'm looking forward to chatting with everyone this month! Dianne