suzieschmoe

I use a variety of whey Protein .. hooked on the ice tea flavor from nectar - "Lemon Tea" right now .. you can get this from www.vitalady.com or Super supplements. Also, Super Supplements has a canned protein (35 g protein per serving, no sugar, highly available protein) that is fantastic .. called Worldwide Sports Nutrition Ultra Pure Protein shake .. great flavors (the chocolate is thick, rich and decadent) I would believe other health food outlets carry these brands as well ...

Just thought I would share the "factors" I used in making my decision. Best wishes to you in your journey! I am a Srikanth/SWLC patient with high praise for Dr. Srikanth. He did WLS on myself (band) and my 2 sisters .. so we trusted him with the whole family! I wanted a surgeon with more than 100 band surgeries (he has over 300), no lawsuits and a proven track record (he has no fatalities - including RNY and WLS revisions) - He fit the bill. In addition - I needed positive interaction with the office/staff, a critical component in my decision as I would work with them as much if not more than the doctor post surgery - and the SWLC staff are fantastic. Lastly - I personally needed a well documented, proven aftercare program. Take care - sending postive thoughts your way!

Welcome home and congratulations on a great start on the journey. PS and WLS - wow, superwoman lives! Take care, take it easy and best wishes!

Hi .. My surgeon is Dr. Srikanth and he works in the same clinic as Dr. Fox. My band buddy gets her fills from Dr. Fox and she says he is great for fills. Both Dr. Fox and Dr. Srikanth are passionate about helping those of us with this disease of morbid obesity. Take care and great success in your journey!

Hello ... Did you have your surgery? April 7th yes? I hope all is going well. I live in Lakewood (neither NW or SW WA ... Puget Sound I guess ..LOL) .. Congrats on your presurgery weight loss! Keep us posted and welcome.

Hello everyone - I am 4 weeks postop and just moving from liquids to "mushy foods" I have been reading posts for awhile and decided I should introduce myself. My name is Gloria and I was fortunate to have really good doctors that insisted on very thorough lab work prior to surgery. They saved my life. I didn't have high BP or diabetes (was very tired, thought the "Big D" was sneaking in) or other "classic" co-morbidities - instead I have severe Iron and B-12 anemia. By starting on the banding journey, I was able to have some potentially disabling conditions uncovered and treated. I am a morbidly obese, morbidly malnourished gal .. but not for long for either of these issues! I am due for my first fill on Feb. 2nd. I have a combined Atkins, pre and post surgery eating plan weight loss of 46 lbs so far (as of Nov.'04) I start my first session with the personal trainer tomorrow (yikes!!) ... looking forward to many chats with other Newbies and especially with folks farther along the lapband weight loss path. btw .. love the "ticker" Cheers, G

Babs - as a fairly new bandster (4.5 weeks postop) I am watching my RNY sister (she had her surgery 1 day before me) lose weight at twice the rate I am .. and then I see that you have lost 148 pounds!!! .. ... you give me hope that this band thing will work .. not as fast as the RNY, but I can take off the 95lbs I still have to lose. Congratulations!

Congrats Leatha and Nancy! .. your victories are inspiring ..

Thanks again everyone! Had first session with my personal trainer - YIKES. She is so good .. the club has a weight management program, she is one of the trainers for that as well ... i.e. she is not a fat bigot.

I am going to attend - I am a newbie and it will be my first "big bandster" event. If others are attending, would love to meet folks face to face!

Hi Lisa .. I live in Lakewood but when I drive into the office .. I work in Redmond. I had my surgery in December as well, on the 22nd. Are you going to the Splash in Seattle in February? Take care ..

Hi Ellen .. I am new to this site and 4 weeks post-op .. I don't live up north, but I am at least in Western WA Did you find any other bandsters up north yet? Have you had your surgery? There is a yahoo group that just has a schedule of bandster support group meetings for the Pacific NW (http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/PNW_Bandsters/?yguid=165264475) .. it is used just to relay schedules .. that might be a good place to look for support meetings in your area. I have been going to the SWLC support meetings and will be attending my first LapBand only support meetings in Feb. There is going to be a gathering in Seattle (Seattle Bandster Splash) in February .. there is a website with information that you might find interesting as well - http://barbooch2.homestead.com/SeattleBandsterSplash.html .. I am going to this event - sounds like it should be informative and fun. Take care and best wishes,

Welcome! ... I agree with you this site is fantastic - so positive, so much information and very friendly. Congratulations on your successes so far. Have you set some "interim" goals other than weight loss? My sisters and I are going to Vegas in August to Celebrate the 2 summer birthdays, going to Hawaii in December to celebrate mine - and oh yeah, the other big event in December too :laugh ... so yes, I have both fitness and weight goals for those milestones. Have a couple of "milestones" between now and then as well. Best wishes ... see you around the various LBT forums!

Thank you for the warm welcomes! .. I am so excited to see so many successful folks on this site. It is so encouraging.

I am new to the site as well - but extending my welcome and wishing you the best with your surgery. Looking forward to hearing how well it went for you! Cheers,