Longhorn

You're right! It stands for "non-scale victory." I'm hoping for some NSVs today as I need to go through my clothes and pack up summer clothes and unpack winter clothes. I've kept all sizes down to size 10 when I lost weight four years ago. I'm nowhere near a 10 but I'm hoping maybe a few things will fit that I haven't been able to wear for awhile. I've already been wearing some things that technically fit before but didn't look good. I'm not as lumpy as I was before the surgery so I can wear them now.

My four children are 23 to 28. I was on a trip to Colorado, hiking with two of my daughters, my husband, and a daughter's boyfriend when I first brought up that I was considering getting a Lap Band. I wanted to know what they thought about it. All of them were supportive. After more research, I told my husband and all of my children what the surgery entailed, how the band worked, etc., and they were still supportive. My children are all adults but I've always valued their opinions and discussed impending decisions with them, when appropriate.

I told the people with whom I would normally share such information -- that is, my family and closest friends -- and I haven't told people for whom it is none of their business. However, it never occurred to me to tell people to somehow keep me accountable! I just don't operate that way. I don't make decisions about my life based on what other people think or know about me and I wouldn't find it motivating. If some do, then that's exactly what they should do! As members of a support board, we share our own experiences, both mistakes and successes, and that sometimes helps others make decisions. But there's a difference between sharing one's own experience and judging others for making a different decision.

I've never had any problems before or after the band but my doctor prescribed Prevacid or Nexium for me as a preventative measure. I thought they were both too expensive ($98 copay for one and $58 copay for the other) so he told me I could take Pepcid Complete or Prilosec instead. The first is chewable but my mother takes the second and she said the pills are very small so I may switch to the Prilosec when I run out of the Pecid Complete. I already take so many chewables (Calcium, multi-Vitamin, glucosamine, Fiber Choice) that it amounts to a small meal!

It's really hard to believe because, physically, I don't feel any different than I did before the surgery. I have no pain or discomfort at all, in any position. I can feel my port with my fingers but that's the only time and even then, it's much less prominent than it was at first. I'm no longer tired, either. Today I get to begin exercising again and I'm really looking forward to it! I already feel smaller and more nimble. I still don't feel hungry unless it's time to eat and even then, it's different than before. It's not that overwhelming feeling that I'm starving. It's more physical -- I feel a little weak and even lightheaded. It feels more like a "need" and less like a "want." I enjoy food when I'm eating it but it doesn't take much to feel like I've had enough. I don't have to cut myself off -- I just reach a point of knowing that's enough and it's hard to describe how it is that I know. I won't know officially how much weight I've lost until my next appointment December 14 but I did step on my scales last weekend and I'm definitely on the way down! But I don't know how my scales compare to the doctor's and I could gain between now and then so I'll stick to the official monthly weigh-ins rather than set myself up for disappointment getting attached to a number. However, my clothes are fitting so much better and I'm wearing some things that I wouldn't wear before because they showed too many bulges. I've gone from XL to Large on a few things. :clap2: My conclusion: I'm very happy with the band! I don't know if I'll get a fill at my appointment. I don't start soft foods until the day before. If my hunger has returned, I'll get a fill but otherwise, I'll probably get used to soft foods and see what things look like at the next appointment in January. I realize it may take me longer to lose but I'd rather be comfortable and lose slowly than experience the negative side-effects of adjusting to a fill that I don't need. Guess we'll see two weeks from now! How are my fellow bandpals doing?

That's great! I hope to get there before the end of the year. I'll have a better idea after my appointment next Friday. Keep up the good work!

Glad to hear you're okay, TX! What did you think of the hospital? I've had two small issues with them. My doctor's office had given me the checks that came from the finance company, one for the hospital and one for the anesthesiologist. The office manager didn't really give me any directions so I gave them to the hospital and the gal there said she would leave the check for the anesthesiologist in their "box." A few weeks later I got a bill and it was for $1530 when the check was for $1000. After a few phone calls to straighten things out, the check was found at the hospital. Apparently, they do not take checks for the anesthesiologist. The difference in the amount was the discount for prepaying. The second issue hasn't been resolved -- I received a bill for the barium swallow after my surgery from a radiologist. It's only $105 but as far as I'm concerned, I was told that my fee included everything and anything that wasn't covered in the fee was spelled out ahead of time. I've called my doctor but I haven't heard back from him or the manager. This issue isn't really the hospital's fault and even the first issue could have been avoided if my doctor's office had told me what to do with the checks. I was surprised that this wasn't all handled through the mail! I thought the nurses and other staff at the hospital were very kind and professional and helped me feel like I was in good hands. I hope you had a good experience, too!

My BMI was 35 so my doctor also said he wasn't too worried about my liver. For that reason, he just put me on a low-carb, low-fat diet. Then I was on clear liquids the day before surgery with no bowel prep required. I got the feeling that he has a different diet for his higher BMI patients.

I have to really think about it or I'm back to inhaling my food! One thing I do is put my food down between bites, especially when I'm doing something else. For example, yesterday I was eating a Luna bar (soy Protein bar) and was also grading papers. I put the bar down a an arm's length away between bites and I found that I got busy and had to remind myself to take another bite, so that really helped slow me down. When I'm not otherwise occupied, I use a one-minute timer between bites. I've "tested" myself by not looking at the timer and then checking it when I think it's been a minute and the "sand" is only halfway through! It seems like it takes so long but that's why I need something like that to pace me. I really think slowing down helps keep me from eating too much, though, so it's worth it. And once I feel full, I really do stay full until the next meal. I must have some restriction because I'm just not hungry, not even in the morning when I first wake up! I had some mashed potatoes with Protein powder the other night and I reached a point where I suddenly felt a little uneasy. It's hard to describe -- I wasn't in pain and I didn't feel full like I used to but I did feel like if I took one more bite, it would come back up. I waited a minute or two and the feeling passed and I took a couple more bites but then I did feel like that was enough. I think I got my first real test of how the band can work!

I think they base their diets on their experience with their patients. For example, just before I was to meet with the nutritionist, I heard my doctor tell her to change the post-op diet and move full liquids to the second phase, leaving Clear Liquids for the first two weeks. I heard him tell her that too many of his patients were having trouble too soon. Some of us follow the diets to a T and some stretch things a bit. I'll bet that some doctors make the diets more conservative so that those who stretch it will still have fewer problems. I've certainly read plenty of posts on this board about people who got a fill and immediately ate regular food and got stuck or PB'd, which can cause swelling, causing them to PB again. After a few days of this, they go back and demand an unfill. The gradual approach makes sense to me. I don't know what my doctor's post-fill diet is but I'm such a wuss, I'll probably do the same as your doctor advises!

Wow, that's amazing! I'm not weighing myself at home but I'm pretty sure I haven't lost that much and I was banded on November 1st! Way to go! :clap2:

Good for you, Steph! I have a top that I bought online several months ago that I loved but it was too snug. Now it fits! I'm wearing it tomorrow!

Congratulations and welcome! I know how you feel about exercise. I have a tough time fitting it into my schedule but the semester ends next week (I'm a community college professor) so I should be able to spend some time getting a routine going before the next semester begins January 14. Now, your weight loss sounds great, but since I teach math, can I ask how 12 plus 12 = 30?

Have you ever lost weight before? Most of us have lost it several times but once the body loses weight, it usually regains the weight, and more, on fewer calories than before. That's what I'm fighting. I can't stay on a 1000-1200 calorie food plan without help. I had no trouble with 1600 calories a day but I couldn't lose weight on that, even though my resting metabolic rate (BMR) is in the mid-2000 range. There are studies that document this fact and they didn't even ask me! If this is your first time to lose weight, you may be one of those who can keep it off and perhaps getting the band is premature. If you've been on the roller coaster, then the band can help with portion control and hunger, but it will not help you with making the right choices. There was a time when I had no trouble losing weight but now I can't even do that. I am no more addicted to food than I am addicted to sleep but, like it or not, my body has become very efficient at storing every morsel I eat as fat! Good luck with whatever you decide. If you don't do it now, it will still be there if you need it later.

For me, it was keeping the 18-pound poodle mix off my lap. I kept a pillow over my stomach the first few weeks because he can spring up out of nowhere!

I don't know what my doctor's after-fill diet is but I'm going to my mother's 75th birthday party the next day and I will also just be starting on soft foods. It will be much easier for me at the party if I can eat soft foods rather than be back on liquids or mushies. If his post-fill diet is too severe, I might wait until the next visit for a fill. I want the focus to be on my mother and this will be the first time most of my family has seen me since I emailed them about my surgery. I just don't want to call attention to myself by the strange way I'm eating (or not eating!) I want to look "normal."

I tried but I can't feel the band. I can definitely feel the port, though it becomes less prominent with each passing day.

I'm confused! Does St. David's have a branch at 38th and Lamar now? I thought that was Seton and St. David's, where my first three children were born, is at 32nd and IH-35. But the way these hospitals keep merging, maybe I haven't kept up with the times! I wonder if the self-pay charge would have been lower. My surgery, if I add in the labs, psych, nutritionist, etc., including a year of free fills, came to about $13,500. But I suspect it would have been more if I had insurance that would cover it. I don't know if that's a discount for us or a gouge of the insurance companies! (Not that they don't deserve it. )

I was banded the day before you. I don't have an official weight loss total because I only get weighed at the doctor's office. I'll see him again on December 14. But I'm definitely getting smaller based on how my clothes are fitting (and my husband's occasional surprised comments!) My diet is going pretty well. I probably have more liquid than mushies just because my schedule is such that I have to eat while driving a lot. I'm looking forward to soft foods (a week from Thursday!) so that I can take some other foods with me. There are several of us who were banded around the same time as you so you should feel at home here.

I had LASIK in 2001 and my husband and two of my daughters had it within the next year. Our son will be getting it done soon, too. Only one daughter out of my four children doesn't have to wear glasses! I am SO glad I had it done! Even though I'm 52 and was wearing bifocals before the surgery, I never need glasses now, for far or near vision. I got monovision at first but I couldn't adjust to that so they corrected the "near vision" eye to the same as the other eye (for free) about three months later and it's been great. I started wearing glasses in the third grade and never really cared for contacts so I couldn't be happier! Good luck!

I specifically asked my surgeon if he would be using the new AP band and he said yes and showed several bands to me and explained the differences (which I had already learned on this board. )

I think you'll be surprised how much better you'll feel by then. I can bend over completely and not feel my port at all and it's been this way for awhile. You might take a small pillow just in case and make sure you have plenty of whatever foods you're allowed to eat then, as well as fluids. Have a great trip!

Wow, that took a lot of patience and persistence! Congratulations for seeing it through and good luck tomorrow! Hook 'em, Horns!

If I don't use a one-minute timer between bites, it's very easy for me to start eating too quickly again. I carry one in my purse and keep a couple near the places where I eat at home. (I had a fourth but one of my dogs chewed it up!) They were only $1.50 each from a site online that sells game stuff. When I use it regularly, I find that I get more used to the slower pace and it doesn't seem like it takes as long for the sand to go through!

I was supposed to wait four weeks before I exercised so I just started yesterday. I'm using my recumbent exercise bike at first and then I'll graduate to my elliptical and/or home gym for strength training. Eventually, I'd like to start riding my bike again but I live in a pretty hilly area so it will take more muscle and stamina than I have now.