Denamara

Of course everyone is different with their fills, but the majority of people have very little restriction after the 1st fill and can eat too much. It usually takes a few. My Dr told me I will probably need more fills, even though I felt I was at my "sweet spot" for awhile...for the same reasons noted above. I would guess after you are at your goal weight and hit a sweet spot that will last for MUCH longer, but I still have quite a bit of weight to lose. SO it definatley is not surprising you can eat a large quantity and those types of foods at this point in your journey. Good luck!

I believe it is widely known that PETA is full of whack jobs, even most animal rights activists would agree...They are WAY to far over the top to be able to help anyone/or creature.

wine, vodka cranberry, Malibu w/pineapple juice, or strawberry daquri's. That way you don't have the carbonation, but still LOTS of calories! I tend to get buzzed faster, but I attribute it to the weight loss not necessarily the band per se'.

My Dr said to try & stay with 800-1000 calories per day while losing weight. It will increase a little when you are starting to just maintain the weight you are happy at. I felt I was at my sweet spot for a while, but the Dr said it will loosen over time (they predicted 12 weeks for me) since I was still losing fat around my stomach and that your body just "gets used to" the band and adjusts accordingly. So I will eventually need another fill.

OK a little background. My sister gave birth to a baby boy on the 19th. She was only 25 weeks along. He was 1 lb 8 ounces at birth. So he has been hanging in there for almost a week now. He is on a respirator (which I understand is normal at that stage). He developed a problem called P.I.E in his lungs and they switched ventilators to try and improve this condition. It has not been helping much so far by looks of the X -Rays. Can someone explain what PIE is, and if it is a common condition in premature babies, and how concerned we should actually be. They also keep taking almost daily pics of his head, they say they are checking for bleeding since his skull is not developed yet. Is this normal to check so often or are they concerned about something they are not telling us about? How about the mortality rate after they make it a whole week...when do you usually consider them "out of the woods?" I would love to do some Christmas shopping for him, but I am to scared too at this point. any input is appreciated!

Thanks for the replys. He hit 2 lbs yesterday so that is encouraging. He developed some Fluid on his lungs so they are giving him diuretics & changed respirators again. He also has a slight heart murmur but they seem to think it will correct itself. He had his 3 week birthday yesterday too that was a milestone to us....The PIE seems to be much better though. I broke down & bought him a couple of X-mas presents, it was too hard to resist. I am from North Dakota, so the poor little guy doesn't know how lucky he is to have to stay inside! Thanks again for the info, it is very comforting to hear happy endings.

I guess what everyone is really wondering is when do you consider them "out of the woods" for surviving? We can deal w/any health issues that come after the fact as long as he makes it, we have a large very supportive family in every way.

It is of course a personal decision, but you said you wanted to do it for your health. Using the lap band as a tool along w/the new eating habits, could greatly increase your health in the long run. It is not gonna help overnight, it is a long hard journy either way. If portion control is an issue for you, the band almost always helps the process. If sweets/snacks are your downfall the band is not always as helpful. Good luck on your journey!

Thanks for your thoughts & prayers, I just got an update and he pooped for the 1st time on his own this morning! Apparently that is really good! :clap2:

Thanks for the info, it was very interesting & shocking at the same time!

Definately! I never liked sweets before, but now I eat small amounts of icecream & chocolate. It has worked the other way w/me too..I used to like wheat bread much better than regular, and now I hate the taste of wheat bread! I thought that was weird.

I think that is where you are getting confused. There is a 10 cm & a 9.75cm band and these hold 4cc (some docs go a little over that though).

Hello all, I was just wondering if any of you have come across any websites where you type in ingredients you have made at home & it calculates the nutritional values for you. Such as, the other day I made a pot of chili & could not for the life of me figure out how many calories, protein, carbs etc..were in a cup of it. I also make a lot of cassaroles and would like to know what portion is approptiate for me (some of them go down too easily:)). Most of the sites I have come across just have pre-packaged amounts etc., and apparetly I cook w/weird food combo's. Any insite would be very helpful! Thanks!

I watch it when I can, but I missed what happened to Tiffany?? Did she ever get her surgery? Last night I fell asleep when they were talking about the 650 lb bed ridden man who had RNY last week, how is he doing?

It is just you, you definately lost that double chin!!! you are looking great!

OK maybe it is just me, but I can only see one photo, you in a light blue sweater....

I had to be on strictly Optifast for 2 weeks pre-op & 2 weeks post-op, the first couple of days were hard, but not bad after that. We had to choose between Strawberry, chocolate, & vanilla...I thought the Chocolate was the best, but Strawberry was alright too. I am not a vanilla fan for anything so I may be biased. We got to try them before buying them in our nutrition classes. We also had protein shakes for 3 weeks post-op called Optisource, and I could not gage those down. I thought they were terrible.

Hello everyone! I was just reading some other threads and it got me thinking to myself about my goals. They were discussing being able to cross their legs at a certain pants size, and another about certain sexual positions not acheivable the size they were at the time. I do not have an actual weight goal, I just wanted to go down a few sizes and keep the weight off this time. I usually tell people my true goal is to beable to sit on my hubbies lap w/out feeling like a "blob". So lets hear it, what are your "goals"???

great ones gals! A friend of mine said last night fitting into a pair of jeans from highschool!! I don't think I will get down that small, but a nice thought!

too bad about your parents, i agree a big part of it is that they are not informed....any friends(friends are just like family!), husband, etc. that you could go to for support? if you are a patient person, my doc's office does a payment plan to the hospital, you just have to have it paid off before the procedure...maybe your does something similar...good luck in your journey, I would try to appeal your insurance company too, even though your boss discourages it, it never hurts to try!!

Congrats on the 1st day of your new life! Glad things went well, and you are feeling relatively good! :clap2::whoo:

Everyone on this site has food issues or we would not have to of had the surgery, so you definatley should not feel alone...as far as not being able to eat what you enjoy, I think the majority of people can eat almost anything they enjoyed before surgery (except soft breads) you just have to re-train your brain that smaller portions are OK. I still order large meals at my favorite restuarants, but the band keeps me from over eating that favorite meal and i will always need a doggy bag. Over the weekend I had part of a cheesburger & fries, and went to a mexican rest. & had some nachos & pizza toppings. Of course you will learn to eat healthier and most people find things they like that are good for you too, you should not think of it as missing out on what you enjoy, just less of it:). If portion control is your main issue the band would work very well for you, if you have more of a sweets, or soda issue it won't work quite as well. Good luck!

I of course would follow your Docs instructions, but I could eat mushie food very easily w/no problem 1 month out, soup, mashed potatoes beans, salad, etc...GO OUT AND ENJOY!!:whoo:

My Dr office is the same way, the PA does 100% of the fills unless there is a problem. They know what they are doing and are probably better at it than the Dr's!

Thats not all either, I also opened my own pet grooming salon May 25th, and my husband & I bought an acreage this month, that has to totally be developed, we started making a driveway last week. So the sx was just a drop in the bucket, i figured I might as well get every stressfull thing imaginable done at the same time! ha ha