LapBand4Me

Hi everyone! My name is Patsy. I had my lap band done on 9/13/07 by Dr. Nirmul of True Results, so far I have lost 40 pounds. I go for my third fill next week and I am consulting with a nutritionist. I don't have any problems with food getting stuck but my weight loss seems slow so I probably need more fill. The funny thing about band surgery is that sometimes I feel like I ate so much, but when I write it down it really wasn't! I eat about 1/3 or less of what I used to. I live in NW Glendale. Anyone interested in having a get together some Saturday or Sunday? I also have a bunch of jeans and work slacks in size 24 and a few size 22 if anyone is interested. I have to go through my closet again. Some of the pants are brand new but now that they fit I don't like them! I haven't had to buy much cause I had so much in my closet that were too small. When I go down one more size I will have to start buying again. At least now I have more room in my closet. I also have some size 24 and 26 bathing suits if anyone does swim aerobics or is lucky enough to have a heated pool. Patsy

I am glad you got to get the approval for TT and breast lift. I am a bit saggy, but found the Tuxedo bras from Avenue are almost like having a lift! I lost weight from 307 to 284 before I decided to have surgery. I was having problems then with digestion, pancreatitis. Now I am about 245 so I am a lot lighter than I was at 307. I do feel a lot better. I have moved to another state and have to set up an appt. with the bariatric people here. I think they are better than the place I went to with follow up care etc. I throw up about 1 or 2 times a week. Usually from chicken or eggs. I still can't eat much, I just eat the wrong things and need to get back on track. Patsy

I have stopped losing. I have had a stressful couple of years besides the lap band about 18 months ago. I couldn't open your attachment. Patsy

I have to tell you I am a little discouraged too. I don't think that I got the after care I should have. It all seemed so disorganized. Now I live in another state with different insurance and I went to a Registered Dietician here. She was a lot more knowledgeable than the one I saw in Scottsdale. I have only lost about 45 lbs. I know I don't eat the right things. I have things like chicken and eggs getting stuck. Toast is a no no too. So I eat the things I can, which are usually not good choices. My blood work came out ok even for not taking Vitamins. I am going to go to the support group here in Wisconsin. Patsy

I am also from NW Glendale and I don't know of any. I was banded in Sept. 2007. How are you doing? After quite a few adjustments I think I finally have it right. I am one pound away from losing 50 lbs! I thought I would have lost more by now. I have gone from a 26 down to a 20 (just last week) in pants. Patsy :thumbup:

What area of Phoenix did you live in? We live in NW Glendale near Arrowhead. Yesterday was our first 100° day and today was our first day to reach 110°! It is supposed to cool down to the 80's on Thurs and Friday. We are pretty used to the heat, we were complaining not long ago that it hasn't been hot enough to heat the pool up to 80! We will only be in GR for about a week. It is my husband's oldest daughter that is getting married. His relatives live out of state and if they can't make it to the wedding (because of health issues) we will also go there for a couple of days (in a neighboring state). So it will be a busy week! No one in his family knows I have had the surgery. They know I have lost some weight, but don't know how...LOL We used to live in Wyoming, MI near the library. Patsy

Hello! I hope you are feeling well! Let me know how it went. Patsy

I used to live in the Grand Rapids area. I have also lived in Holland, Shelby, Whitehall and Grand Haven. Now I live in HOT and sunny AZ. We just had our first 100° day yesterday. :leaving: I was banded in Sept. '07, I am 58 years old. I will be in the Grand Rapids area for a wedding this July. Looking forward to the cool temperatures and the GREEN! Patsy

Thank you Susan!

I sometimes used to hide the fact that I was dieting. I didn't want all the "are you sure you can have that?" comments and keep the saboteurs at bay. Some people just can't wait to see others fail too. I guess they don't feel so bad about their shortcomings then..

Hello! Good luck on your new adventure!

I know I get "lost" when trying to find forums! I have a couple of subscribed forums on my profile, but I can't remember how I got them there. It seems like there used to be an option you could check to subscribe to a forum.

I did tell my family after I did it. I have not told my husband's family, it will sure be a surprise when the see me again. I got some weird reactions from people, but most were positive. I even get a lot of I am so proud of you comments. Why are they proud of me? Because I am doing something about my weight. I also get some funny comments. People will not actually ask me how much I have lost but "How are you doing?". I tell them I am fine and never felt better. Then they usually say, "How are you doing with that weight loss thing?". It cracks me up.

I had a fill that was too tight and I ended up choking on meats and stuff like that. I threw up a few times too. It made me eat things that I knew would go down easily! They took some fill out and I went back this week and had gained 1-1/2 pounds. I could eat just about anything and felt hungry and wanted sweets! I got the fill put back in and really took it easy and had only liquids for two days after. They also recommended that I get my 60 gms of Protein a day in. It would help with the cravings. The P.A. told me to try Protein Bars if I wanted for a snack or a bit of chicken salad or tuna salad. I must say it's been working totally different this time even though I have the same amount of fill. I would go back in for another fill if you are too hungry. Did they take out all your fill or just what they put in the last time?

I found I was craving sweets. Ice cream and Cookies and cake! They all went down easy for me. When getting a fill this week I talked to the p.a. about it. She said I need to make sure I get my Protein in. She told me 60 gms a day! I am now having a Protein shake in the morning and a Protein Bar in the day. The protein bar makes a great snack and may satisfy the sweet tooth. I had my band too tight before and ate ice cream because I knew it would go down with no problem. I was hungry and meats, etc were getting stuck so I wasn't getting enough protein. It does seem to be working better now. Try a protein bar instead of the ice cream. I like the MetRx Peanut Butter chocolate one.

I took up two new things.... crocheting and buying yarn, books etc. I have a huge stash of yarn and pattern books now. I made 5 afghans, about 40 dishcloths, a dog sweater, etc. It could be worse... I could be gambling!

49 LBS lost since 9/13/07

Hello..... I had lap band surgery in 9/07. I also live in the NW Valley and have BCBS insurance. I did self pay, I financed it. I had a hard time finding a doctor that would do a 6 month supervised diet. It's like doctors don't know anything about dieting! It was so frustrating. All I wanted was some basic plan and to go there and get weighed once a month. I love my Dr. and would recommend him for anyone. He did have some advice about dieting and recommended that I try the glycemic index diet. He is a sports medicene D.O. My husband thinks he is great too. Even though I like him I don't think he understood about dieting. I did get the name of a Dr. in Scottsdale from a pulmonary specialist I go to. If you want her name let me know. I went to True Results in Scottsdale. They are getting better, but they were new here in the valley last year when I went and they seemed a bit disorganized. It's like they got too big too soon. I went for a fill last week and I have noticed some great changes. I think if I had it to do over again I would go to Dr. Terry Simpson of Phoenix. I have heard from his patients that he is awesome and their followup care and program is great. He has a website if you google him, just type in Dr. Terry Simpson, Phoenix AZ. Good luck!

Hi everyone! I have lost 40 pounds so far and go for my third fill next week. I have had very little fill put in so far (2 CC?) and can eat anything without any problems. I do eat about 1/3 of what I used to! I am exerpiencing some hair loss and have an appointment with a registered dietition next week when I get my fill. She said hair loss is common with rapid weight loss. Anyone else have this problem. Vitamins.. I haven't taken them much, they make me constipated so I avoid them. Anyone else find something that works for them? I think it's the Iron in them. The weird thing is that when I went to donate blood my iron was higher than it had ever been. Sometimes I don't have enough to safely donate. I have also found that if I have a cup of light cranberry juice everyday I don't have constipation issues. Unless I take vitamins....! Patsy

I experienced some hair loss about 39 pounds down and 3 months after surgery. I have a ton of hair, but it was starting to worry me. I go for a fill next week and will be seeing a nutritionist then too. She told me rapid weight loss will cause some people to lose hair. I think I can start seeing new growth near my hairline now too. As for the anethesia... I had a endoscopic ultrasound a Aug. 31 and had lap-band surgery Sep. 13. So, I had anesthesia twice within two weeks. I think that is a lot of stress on the body too. I know I should eat and chose my foods more wisely also. I eat about 1/3 less than what I used to! I have to think quality, not quantity. Patsy

I had my lap-band done by TrueResults in Scottsdale. My surgery was in Phoenix by Dr. Gowen Nirmul. I got in on a special price because they were just opening or something like that. Mine was $14,500. I think it is $16,500 now and financing is available. I financed mine and got approval very quickly. Whenever anyone asks about how much it costs I tell them "It's like buying a small economy car"! My payment for 5 years is about $325 a month, but I just send them $350. I have lost 40 lbs. since being banded on Sept. 13, '07. I live in NW Glendale. It seems like we should be able to get a big group together in Phoenix.

Looks like we have something in common! I am also 57 (for a few weeks anyway.....!)

I have lost 32 lbs. ! I had my first fill on Wed. Patsy

HaHaHa.... I just moved here in 2004, it's GROWN since then! If it's been 30 years you won't recognize it for sure!

I just saw this too. Did you go?