georgia girl

Jeannie, You can vent to us anytime. If you're anything like me, if one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong. I know that probably sounds negative, but it's true. I hope your first day back at work goes well. Just remember to take it easy and don't over-do it. I'm glad to hear that the pineapple juice works. I'll have to get some to keep at home. I have not had the "stuck" experience yet and hope that I don't. But I was reading another thread the other day, and there is a chewable pill called "Super Papaya Enzyme Plus" that works as well, and it would be easier to carry in the purse. I ordered a bottle yesterday by Puritan's Pride. It's worth a try and the bottle only cost $1.42 plus shipping. Hope your evening has gotten better and good luck tomorrow!

Congrats Buttercup! Hope everything went well. I hope you feel up to posting soon and hope you have a speedy recovery.

Julie, you look amazing!!! I am in shock....... you are truly an inspiration to me. I have close to 200lbs to lose and seeing your transformation has given me hope. You truly are someone I look up to in this journey. This is the most inspirational thread I have seen yet.

I agree, I think it would be a wonderful if we could start a monthly support group and meet once a month. I do not know anyone personally who has the band, so it would be nice to have people to talk to, face to face, that are going through the same things.

I have had 2 fills and I only had restriction for about a week with the 2nd fill. I have found that keeping up with calories has helped me a lot. I use Calorie Counter, Diet Tracking, food Journal, Nutrition Facts at The Daily Plate It helps me if I am accountable somehow, and the daily plate website has a huge variety of foods stored on the site. Good luck with everything.

I use the daily plate as well and it works really well for me. They really do have just about every food stored on the website.

I was told to do 3 meal a day with no snacking as well. For the most part, I stick to that pretty good. If I do have a snack, it is usually 1 oz. of nuts or a 100 calorie pack.

Hi Meredith. Welcome to LBT. I'm glad to hear you are doing well. You will find a lot of great info and support on this site. Good luck and take it easy.

Hi Jenn! Congrats on the surgery. I felt the same way too. I had never been put to sleep for surgery and was very nervous. I have sleep apnea too, and that made me even more concerned but everything went really well for me. Like Txchloe said, just sleep soundly. The hard part is after you wake up. You'll be sore, but I was really expecting it to be worst than what it was. Just take it easy and follow doctor's instructions. Good luck and I hope you recover quickly.

Congratulations and good luck with your surgery

Congratulations on your insurance approval. Good luck with your surgery and take care.

I forgot the last two questions..... I don't drink alcohol but I have read that others enjoy the occasional glass of wine. When I dine out, I just make sure that I order something that I have had before, that way I know it will probably go down okay. Many times I order an appetizer so there won't be so much food left over and because it is a smaller amount, I won't feel like I need to eat all of the food. Sometimes I even have some of the appetizer left over.

Welcome Kayla. It varies from person to person with what foods they can tolerate. I've had two fills and had pretty good restriction with the second one for about a week. During that week, I was really restricted in the mornings, so I drank a Protein Shake for Breakfast. By lunch I could tolerate softer foods like oatmeal, yogurt, etc. (anything mushy). I ate Snacks in the afternoon like: nuts, granola, those 100 calorie snack packs. And by dinner I could eat pretty much whatever, as long as I chew very well. I usually eat fish and vegetables. I have eaten some bread, toasted goes down easier for me, but I try to stay away from bread just because I could easily get addicted to bread again, if I'm not careful. I haven't had any problems with cheese, I love it. I have been too chicken to try steak, but ground beef did okay with me. You could also try substituting ground turkey or chicken for the beef. It's probably going to be different for you, just remember to take it slow when trying out new foods. Good luck with your surgery and hope you have a speedy recovery.

When I was first banded, I used Pro Performance Whey Protein Powder (chocolate caramel)at GNC, and mixed it with skim milk. It tastes really good to me and I found it was less lumpy than others. Now that I am on solids, I use Bolthouse Farms Perfectly Protein drinks, they are pre-made and have less protein than the powder, but now I don't need as much protein in the form of shakes now. Good luck with your surgery and take care.

Amy, that sounds great. Maybe you could PM me when you're going to be in town and we could meet up. Take care.

I don't know, but you would probably get more responses if you posted in General Lapband Discussion or Pre-op/Post-op Questions. I hope you find what you are looking for.

You can send me an anonymous gift certificate for laser treatment..... I won't be offended. Just kidding, lol. My hairs are dark and stiff and it totally sucks. When I get to my goal weight, I am going to reward myself with laser hair removal, and believe me, I'm gonna get the works. I would be perfectly fine with absolutely no hair on my body, except for my head, I think I'll keep that.

Hello everyone. I've been posting on the site for a while now and I can't believe I just found this section. I was banded by Dr. Bagnato as well on 9-20-07. Things are going great for me and I love, love, love my band. Nice to meet ya'll and take care.

Yes, I remember you. How are you doing since your surgery? Your weight loss is going great! I absolutely love my band. I haven't had any problems so far (knock on wood). Thanksgiving went really well. I didn't count calories or anything that day, I just ate a little spoonful of a lot of different things. And I completely stayed away from the sweets. That was an accomplishment in itself. I'm so glad you posted this and maybe all of us who used Dr. B can get together one day and chat. I hope you are doing well and take care.

I used to love to jump rope! In elementary school I was the "Jump Rope for Heart" champion 5 years in a row. Once I started gaining weight, I stopped doing any exercise. The other day I was thinking about how much I used to love jumping rope, so I went out and bought a jump rope and started. Well, it's a lot harder than it used to be. The first time I did it, I was only able to do 10 jumps. I know, thats sooo sad. But I continued doing a little every day this week and today I was able to do 100 in a row, although I thought I was going to hyperventilate afterwards. I was doing some research on calories burned per hour and based on my weight, jump roping burns more than jogging. Are there any others out there that like to jump rope?

I felt the same way before I was banded. Looking back I realize that all that worrying was for nothing. I have a wonderful experience so far with my band and I love it. It's definitely a lifestyle change, but it is so much easier that having to do it alone. Good luck with your upcoming surgery. Take care.

Hey Amy. I was banded by Dr. Bagnato on 9-20-07. I would love to meet up with you guys but I live in Moultrie and I am a stay-at-home mom so I won't be able to. Which ones of you are meeting up? If something changes, I will let you know. I would love to meet you guys, so maybe another time?

There are about 5 or 6 women in my family that go every year (I am NOT one of them). Tonight at my grandmothers house, they were going through the sales papers, making their list, and planning, planning, and more planning. They actually use walkie-talkies and spread out at different stations and talk back and forth with each other until they can get everything on their lists. They had a run-in last year with someone who tried to steal an entire buggy. No price is worth going through that, in my opinion, although I love hearing about their adventures each year.

Hi Squishee and welcome to LBT! I know it's hard right now but I promise, it does get better. It's really hard to train ourselves to get over the head hunger issue. I am still dealing with it, but it has gotten a lot better. Have you tried a heating pad for your shoulder pain? I didn't have shoulder pain but I've read about others that have used them and they seemed to work well for them. Hope you have a speedy recovery and good luck.

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! This Thanksgiving was so different from any other. I was very proud of myself. I completely stayed away from the sweets (which was my biggest downfall in the past). The band has totally changed my life.