Sue Magoo

Sam: I just looked back and I didn't track it that closely back at the beginning, but I lost 17.5 pounds the first month after I was banded. I lost 38 pounds in the three months before banding so that's why only (ha ha) 17.5 the first month post band. I'm not sure how much you weigh, Sam. I recommend that you think about it a pound at a time, or a day at a time, if you need to lose alot. It can be so overwhelming to think about it if it's a big number. I started by needing to lose 164 pounds, and now I'm down to needing to lose 40. If I had to keep thinking about 164 I don't think I could have done it, mentally. Good luck, and let me know if you have any more questions. I have a daughter whose just 3 years older than you. Take care Sam. Sue

hollygurl: Hope all went well on the 9th. Take care. Sue

Hi Christy: My doctor had us on all liquids ten days pre-op. That meant having sugar free drinks, clear broths, sugar free popsicles, sugar free Jello. I cannot tell by your posting how much you weigh. Maybe your doctor isn't concerned with you losing weight before your surgery. Best wishes for your surgery and weight loss. Take care. Sue

Pen: I haven't got any experience with this, I just wanted to say that I hope everything goes well for you. Take care. Sue

ifonly: I read somewhere on here that getting your band is surgically similar to getting your band put in. I recall alot of swelling for about the first ten days when I got my band. The Water weight when I got banded almost sent me over the edge - I gained 9 pounds in 3 days. It took about a week to ten days to get those nine pounds off and it's been going down since. Take care. Sue

dewthedew: I haven't had much luck with the pedometer feature yet, but the heart rate monitor and time work good on a sportline watch that I bought. My problem with the pedometer is that I accidently turn it off several times during the day. Good luck with your weight loss and fitness watch. They have quite a few to pick from at Dick's sporting goods. Take care. Sue

Samantha: You'll probably feel almost as good as new in about a week. After that you might not have the energy you used to have, but it comes back over time. Then you can do everything you always did except overeat. If you try to overeat you will puke it back up and have pain, so don't bother. As far as your family issues, I hope things get better. I cannot imagine having my Daughter living far from me. Take care and hope you feel well soon. Let me tell you that getting some of the weight off makes you feel better both physically and mentally. I think that exercising helps too with both the mind and body too. Sue

miamipeaches: Two things come to my mind. Is it possible that you are constipated? I had issues with that when I first started eating solids again. Another possibility is your gallbladder. I got pain in my back and also on my right side under the ribs area with my gallbladder. I hope you feel better soon and get in to see the doctor. Take care. Sue

Cindy: Admitting that you're struggling is half the battle. Seeing the nutritionist and remotivating yourself will do good. Stop looking back and just look forward. Try setting a weekly goal of just to lose 1 to 2 pounds. Try to remember what you did to make the 140 pounds go away and do it again. I know it's so much easier when you have restriction, so keep working on that too. I've been playing around with the same 4 pounds for 3 weeks and I decided to journal to get me past this. So far, so good. Take care and best wishes. Sue

Hi Sueaz: I recommend an overnight stay. My doctor requires one. However, I had issues with nausea that would have been a real problem if I had been sent home the first night. Good news about losing weight though because I had very little nausea when I had my gallbladder out a couple of weeks ago. I asked about this, and my doctor said that heavier people have more issues with anesthesia and nausea. Good luck. Best thing I've done for myself in the past 20 years. Sue

Hey Carla: You are not alone, just posting at a late hour. Stay focused on you and your goal to lose weight and some of the other things will fall into place. My BMI was 51 when I started and now I'm within 40 pounds of goal. I know how feeling lonely can be. It sucks! Taking walks with headphones on helps because good music helps the spirit and the walk helps the body. Perhaps you could join a local gym, or curves, or something like that? Another thing that helped me is to go through your closet and all of your bureaus and put the clothes together in sizes so that as you go down in sizes you can donate the clothes that are too big to charity. You're in school, so that must be taking up alot of your time. Enjoy it. At first when I was banded I was exhausted so going to bed early became a requirement and it killed two birds with one stone - sleep is good, and there's no eating when you're sleeping. Another thing I did alot of was take baths with a good book. Take care. I can tell you, from experience, that getting the weight off takes care of some of the depression and lonely feelings. Gotta go to work. Hugs. Sue

Lucy12: They're great over there. I think there's another LBT'er being banded on the same day as you - Allison. Good luck to both of you. Looks like you live too far away, but maybe some time I'll catch you at support group, or bump into you when I go in for weigh-ins or fills. Take care. Sue

So, I'm at a plateau and I'm constipated way too often. I'm going to journal my food intake for a couple of weeks and see if I'm where I should be. So, I'm thinking that I should have between 1000 to 1200 calories per day. I exercise up to 2 hours per day, so to go below 1000 would be bad for me. I'm guessing that my dietary Fiber is too low, which is causing constipation. For an adult woman (48 years old) how many of the following should be my goal based on 1000 to 1200 calories per day? Total Fat Grams Dietary Fiber Grams Protein Grams Thank you for helping me with this. I googled for a while and couldn't find the answers. Sue

Sue, excellent idea! I've heard a lot of people do that. I went to visit a friend of mine who just had a gastric bypass, and she swears by it. Thanks ... any suggestions on which is the best? I like the Lifesaver popsicles. They don't taste like lifesavers, but they're really yummy. I go through about 4 boxes a week.:frown: Enjoy!

Hi: The only thing that I've found that works is to use a one minute (hour glass type) timer. I bought them at unclesgames.com They're cheap and the shipping is cheap too. I got five of them so I'd have them where I need them. So, I take a small bite, flip the timer over. Then chew like crazy and cannot take another bite until the timer's done emptying the sand. Good luck. Sue

Hi gadgetlady: I had a full hysterectomy back in 2004. I had the vaginal kind. I had an incision in my belly button and all the rest of the cutting was through my vagina. I was in the hospital two nights and came home on day 3. I recommend that you think long and hard about hanging onto your ovaries. By having everything removed I went into instant menopause with horrible hot flashes. My sister kept her ovaries and didn't have the hot flashes issue that I had. Please talk to your doctor about the choices. Recovery was easy, similar to the lap band, not much pain at all. Good luck. Sue

Congratulations! Sue

First off, don't give up. Second, find a new doctor or fill center nearby and get fill to the right level. Third, start a food modification plan - weight watchers might help. Fourth, get walking to burn calories and speed up your metabolism. Good luck. Sue

Hi: I do think that chicken broth is considered to be Clear liquids. As far as the Jello goes, I think it's okay as long as it isn't red jello. Something about the color going through your system and having it color your pee. Good luck tomorrow. Sue

Mavis: I eat sugar free popsicles at night. They are very low calories and taste great! Good luck getting off of your plateau. I feel for you because I'm at the same place, but it hasn't been that long (2 weeks for me). I'm not going to let it bother me until it's been a month. Take care. Sue

Marypetunia: I checked out your blog and couldn't find the answer. How did you get BCBS to cover your panniculectomy? Did you have to pay extra for your ps to tighten your ab muscles? You've done so well with the band. Congratulations. Sue

Hi: I had a colonoscopy a couple of months ago. When you prepare for that they have you do this cleansing thing. It's all stuff that's available at all pharmacies. It tastes horrible, but it surely clears out your intestines. I forget what the nasty stuff is called, something like phosphate. Anyway, if you do a search on colonoscopy and the prep for it you'll find the names of it. I think you do a liquid diet for a day. Then, the second day you drink the nasty stuff and a few hours later the bathroom trips start. Make sure you've got access to the bathroom for 12 hours before you take it. You wouldn't want to be anywhere but home. Drink lots of liquids too. Good luck. Sue

mamato3: Sorry you had this happen. I think that sometimes it takes more than 3 hours for food to flow out of the pouch to the stomach. So, you may have actually pb'd both breakfast and lunch. Especially if you started irritating things in there because I heard that it can swell. Swelling can cause the food to stay in the pouch longer. I've had issues with eggs before. Scrambled was fine, but make it into an omelet and I had a hard time getting it down. Hope you feel better, time to baby the pouch with liquids. Take care. Sue

Love: I have my port just below my ribs, near the middle of my body. I have lost 125 pounds already and other than a scar nobody would be able to tell my port is under there. My upper abdomen is getting to be pretty flat now and my port isn't going to show unless I lose enough to look like a skeleton - not happening! Best wishes. Sue

Hi: I can tell you that either way it's hard. But it can be done. I started at 324 and now I'm 199 and it's been only a year. Do you really want to consider altering your anatomy? Taking alot more risk if you go the Gastric Bypass route. The little voice in me tells me that those smart scientists are going to come up with a cure for obesity that works with a pill in the next 20 years. That's when I plan to have my band pulled out and be able to eat like I used to without a problem. Don't know if this will ever really happen, but the band is completely reversible. Hope all works out for you. Sue