Sue Magoo

Crazycat: How about being very proud of being 48 and not having any wrinkles, losing 80+ pounds, and all of a sudden you get a few wrinkles where your third chin used to be. Don't know which I'd rather have, the third chin, or the wrinkles. I guess because the third chin comes with all of the other crap, I'll take the wrinkles and save up for plastic surgery later on. Take care. Sue

Aubrie: I'm almost 6 months out from band surgery. With the decrease in consumption you can certainly expect alot less "outflow". I have been having some issues with constipation too. I tried Activia yogurt - helped some, but then I forgot to buy it. I think it would continue to help if eaten every day. Second thing I tried is that I eat two prunes every day. Even with this I only go twice a week now, but I'm not very uncomfortable with it. Hope you feel better soon. Sue

You probably need an unfill. My fills tend to tighten as time goes on for the first week to ten days. You need to be careful about dehydration because that can cause serious problems. Please call your doctor and take care. Sue

Hi Everyone:): My name is Sue. I started at 324 and was 230.6 this morning. So, that's 93 down, with seventy to go. I'm thinking that I'll be happy at 160, thinking that I'll be a size 12, but I may want to stop sooner if I get to the magic size 12. Oh yeah, I'm 5'7". I started my journey last April and decided I couldn't stand living in the huge body anymore. I dieted before banding and lost 38 pounds pre-band. I was banded 7/26/07. Most days I love my band. I think I need another fill. I just ate a smart ones frozen chicken, broccoli, ziti (yummy) and was still hungry, and had room for a half an apple too. Too much for one sitting as far as I'm concerned. That's probably why I keep playing with these 3 pounds. Overall my weight loss has been great averaging about 10 pounds per month. I guess I was due for a plateau. I see my doctor again on the 18th. I walk quite a bit. I usually walk 4 to 5 miles 6 days per week. I enjoy walking with my MP3 playing rock'n roll. I find that if I walk to slow music I walk slow, fast music I walk faster. I have an office job, so I need to do something for exercise because I sit on my butt while working. Nice to see the new weight categories on this site. I hope that I picked the right one. I'm probably going to need plastic surgery by the time I finish up, so I look at that thread alot. So much scarier than the lap band surgery - yipes! Nice to meet you and join the 100+ group. Please let me know if I'm on the wrong thread. Sue

Irene: How did you make out with the surgery? It's been a couple of weeks now. Hope you are feeling well. Sue

Jigglepuff: Cute name. Night time is my most trying time too. I try crunching on ice cubes. sugar free popsicles are good too. One of the doctors at my lapband support group recommended these rice crackers that are pretty good too, and I think they're less than ten calories each. Going to bed early helps too. Any activity that didn't involve eating before banding works great after banding. For instance, sitting in the tub soaking with a good book. Long, hot shower. Take a walk if you have the energy as long as it doesn't wake you too much before bed. Good luck. Sue

Tracie: Dr. Glasgow did measure my height and my weight. I know that he did the surgery for someone whose bmi was only 35 because she had other obesity-related issues. I originally went to Dr. Glasgow in April after attending a seminar in March. He sent me for a variety of tests and my surgery was done at the end of July. So, it does take some time. His staff schedules all of the appointments and submits all of the paperwork, so I don't really know how long the BCBS approval took. It was being handled in the background. They're very efficient, professional, and friendly over at their office. Good luck with your appointments. Sue

Hi: I try to eat an easy lunch too because then I have enough time to walk two miles during my lunch hour. A half of a Protein bar and a half of an apple works good. Soup works good, but doesn't stay with me. Instant oatmeal or instant cream of wheat is nice on a cold day. A 1/2 cup of oat Cereal with apple sauce, or some kind of fruit. Leftovers from supper the night before. Good luck. Sue

Tracy: I can't wait to see that sight near my own piggy-toes! Congratulations. Sue

Harmony: I have a ProForm eliptical. I was very fortunate that my Sister gave it to me because she was using it like a clothes hanger. I love it, and hate it. It's very challenging. I've been using it for about 3 or 4 months and I can only do up to 15 minutes at a time. That's progress though because I could only do 3 minutes at first. Good luck. Sue

Lauren: Sounds like a good idea to get medical attention. You can have serious problems if you get dehydrated. Does your lapband doctor have 24/7 answering service? Mine does and he tells us to make sure we call him if there's a problem, no matter when. That's what they're there for. I hope all goes well. Let us know how you make out. Sue

Anyalee: I wouldn't bother with buffet because I can eat so little. If you really want chinese why don't you order a couple of your favorites, take them home, and divide them up into zip loc bags for some very small meals. You could probably get three or four things and put them together to eat for a week of suppers. Or, if you don't mind wasting money go to the buffet and have a bite of this and a bite of that. Small bites, chew chew, chew, wait between bites, and enjoy! Sue

Thanks for the inspiration and congratulations on your success. Sue

Hi Lori Ann: I go to Dr. Adam Glasgow. Dr. Arthur has helped me a couple of times when I had minor problems. They're both very nice. Maybe I'll see you at support group some time in the future. Hope all of the testing and surgery goes smoothly for you. I live in Norwood, so we're practically neighbors. Take care. Sue

Hi: Thanks for the challenge. I'm in too! Big day today into the 220's. I'm now within shooting range of 100 pounds lost since April. Yippee! name ...... starting# ....... current#.........goal#.......togo# Rainer...........264................264..............248.........16 wombat712....154.8.............154.8............140.........14.8 LessnLess......172................172..............164.........8 metawnny......252................252..............240.........12 Skinny_Jill......195.................195.............180..........15 Candle .........218.................218..............207.........11 KarenG..........207.................207.............199...........8 Hopping to it .350.................314.............294..........20 SWEETY........180.................180.............170..........10 juliegeraci.......220.................220.............210..........8 Trystelle.........219.................219.............205..........14 Susan4794......240.................240............225..........15 rharriet...........367.................256.............248..........8 nip50.............250..................250............238..........12 keekahari........220.................220.............205..........15 Hollyberries.....298.................298.............285..........13 Stacy73.........230.................230.............222..........8 Irishmae11......233.................233.............219..........14 jfran...............187.................187............177..........10 liz_hager.........202.................202............190...........12 Sue Magoo......230.................229............220............9

Great start Big-D! Congratulations and welcome to bandland. Sue

Yes. They are very nice over at Glasgow & Glasgow LLP. I have BCBS too. However, my BMI was 51 when I started. I went to the first seminar in March, appointment with Dr. Adam Glasgow in April, many tests between May to June, and finally banded end of July 07. Now, 93 pounds lighter. However, I still have a long way to go. Have any more questions, just let me know. I'll try to answer. Sue

Hi Tracie: I am a patient of Dr. Adam Glasgow. Can't say enough good things about both Dr. Adam and Dr. Arthur. Their staff is very good too. Let me know if you have any questions. I'm considering myself to be an experienced bandster at this point, but I'm still in my rookie year. Sue

Can someone please offer some suggestions? I already got the pineapple juice and don't seem to be able to hold it down. It goes down, but I keep on throwing it up after a few burps. What should I do? I haven't been this kind of stuck before. It's not horribly painful like first time I was stuck. Just keep on burping and then throwing up a little - including my spit/slime. Suggestions....... Thanks. Sue

Fairydust: Bella seems to be doing a great job. I think what they say about hitting a plateau is to change things. Exercise more or journal what you are eating to make sure extra calories aren't slipping in and increase the Water you drink. One of my friends told me to change the foods I was eating and that seemed to help. I know that I get into ruts with my menu sometimes because I think of eating as a requirement, not something that I enjoy anymore, so I just try to make it as easy as possible. For instance, I buy a box of Cereal. I portion it out into plastic cups with covers and throw them in my bag for work. I will eat one of them each day at work. So, though convenient, I get into these ruts of eating the same things each day. Good luck getting past your plateau. Sue

Stephanie: Congratulations. I'm looking forward to being in your size. Sue

WillyWonka: My port incision is below my breast bone - down about an inch from there. I have a bigger scar than you though - mine is 3 1/4 inches. I had a hiatal hernia too, maybe they opened up there to fix it - don't know why my scar is so big. Sue

I was on all liquids for two weeks post surgery. Didn't feel like eating, but forced myself to have Protein shakes & lots of snapple sugar free peach tee - yummmm. At the beginning of your post you asked for suggestions. I wish I knew that my doctor would be using staples because I would have requested stitches instead. Second, I wish I had more anti-nausea meds, or stayed with them longer because I had nausea issues the first 24 hours. Good luck. You are on your way. Sue

Teresa: When I asked my surgeon about it he said it is referred pain from the esophogus. He said there's a nerve that runs along the side of the esophogus that goes up through the left shoulder. He said I must have irritated my esophogus and that caused the pain in my shoulder. I've had it about ten times since I was banded and it can be very painful. Thankfully, it doesn't usually last too long. I hope it doesn't happen too many times for you. Take care. Sue

Candi: I didn't have diarrhea issues. I suppose though if you've been on all liquids that would make sense. I did the sugar free carnation instant breakfast too. I drank a ton of snapple diet iced tea, but my band being done in July made me want to drink cold stuff anyway. I can remember how tough the post-surgery liquid diet was. Those first mushy foods were the best! I got my band done at Caritas Norwood Hospital in July. I go to Dr. Adam Glasgow. He's part of a Father and Son team. He's the son. He and his Dad are wonderful. They seem like they genuinely care about their patients. Their office staff is very nice too. They have a monthly support group. Hope all goes well for you. Remember, take it easy as you're still healing. Sue