HeatherA

Welcome home SpecialK! Glad to hear all went well and you are home in your own bed!

I keep giving away my stuff as it gets too big on me. The only down side is I'm now running out of warmer type clothes to wear as most of my smaller stuff is summery because I was living in Florida the last time I weighed what I weigh today! I have summer stuff all the way down to size 13... I just wish the weather would change and give me a chance to wear some of those things!!!!!! I refuse to spend much on clothing and I am stopping myself from buying smaller sizes because I'm not sure what season I'll be wearing them in. LOL One thing we do here is take our too big clothing to our monthly support group meeting to share with others in different stages of this journey. It's been really nice to help others out and also occasionally get some smaller clothes in return.

Hi everyone! I just got back from Nashville and restriction saved me again! I actually weighed in 1.4 less than 3 days ago when I left! Not too shabby and I passed right by that 40 pound mark! I'm a happy camper today. My next goal is just 3.5 pounds so I can get into the 230s! I wonder if I can do that before next week when I go to get my next fill? Speaking of my next fill, at this point I don't think I'm going to have him give me one. I seem to actually have really good restriction right now. We'll see what the week brings, but I do know that I would not want to be any tighter than I am right now. It's hard to imagine I might actually be at my sweet spot with only two fills, but it seems I might be at this point... even if it's only temporary. Here's an example of my restriction kicking in from my trip to Nashville... Ordered a turkey/bacon "club" omelet at Perkins. The omelet is basically small bits of turkey and bacon inside the egg with hollandaise sauce on top. I asked for the sauce on the side. Usually this comes with potatoes so I asked for fruit instead. I also ordered a mammoth muffin (to take home to my DH). In the past I have eaten this with the muffin, the potatoes and still have wanted more...not to mention I'd have guzzled at least three glasses of diet coke. Well, yesterday I ate just the meats from the omelet, one bite of the egg itself and most of the hollandaise as my dipping sauce. This process took me an entire half hour to accomplish. another example was a trip to Ruby Tuesdays where I ordered Quiche and salad Bar combo. I went to the salad bar and made a lettuce-less salad (I have trouble with lettuce) consisting of peas, edemame, ham, bacon, cheese, egg and then used honey mustard salad dressing. I also got a 1/2 cup serving of the pea/ham Pasta salad that I love and 4 grapes. I sat down to eat it and focused on eating just the Proteins first and then I was going to eat the veggies and fruit and if I had room then some of the pasta. I never made it past the proteins. My Quiche comes out and I take a tiny nibble and call it a day. I get a to-go box and take it back to the hotel with me to eat later. After we left I felt like I had eaten Thanksgiving dinner... I was so stuffed. I doubt it was a cup of food. BTW... when I ate the Quiche later that night, I had to pull out all of the chunks of chicken and just nibble on the egg. I didn't eat any of the crust and only about 1/2 of the Quiche itself. The rest went into the trash. It's still shocking to me when these things happen. This is only two examples, but it happens every time I eat out anymore unless I order a Soup. Now, there are foods I know I can eat more of. Mostly soft things and liquids. I still struggle with feeling as if I've not had enough to eat because my mind hasn't caught up with the fact that I can survive on small portions. The other thing for me is that I don't feel "full" per say while eating, what I feel is more like a dull pain (discomfort) in my chest/back and when I feel that I know that if I eat another bite before that pain goes away I will end up stuck and in much more agony. I have gotten this "pain" while drinking my Protein shake or even my Water. I was sorta expecting to just feel full... but that comes after the discomfort goes away. Anyway, I hope this post helps those of you just starting the journey. I'm trying to write about things that I wish I had known so that I could have been a bit more prepared. P.S. I haven't lost 40 pounds since surgery, just 40 pounds since starting pre-op. I've lost 26.2 pounds since having surgery on December 18!

Columbus Support Group 3/18 - Riverside Just a heads up for you Columbus bandsters there is a support group meeting Tuesday at 6:30 at Riverside. It's located at the building at 500 Thomas Rooms H&I (Next to Riverside Hospital). There is also a meeting for Gastric Bypass patients just prior to the bandsters meeting. It starts at 5:30 in the same rooms. Hope to see some of you there!

Mods... I posted this in the wrong area. Can you please move this to the Ohio board. Thanks!

Good luck today guys!!!! I'm thinking of all of you and wishing you speedy recoverys! {{{HUGS}}}

That's what my thought is also... I definitely don't want to be over filled! Thank you! I just hope it stays around for a while!

Thank you! I actually feel as if I'm losing super slowly. LOL. I just figured it out... since starting this process I've lost about 8 pounds a month. If I average just my weightloss since surgery I'm at about 8.75 pounds a month. So I am right about where I wanted to be losing at a rate of about an average 2 pounds a week. I'll take it! LOL Hi Barbara, I enjoyed my time in Nashville. My daughter was considering going to Belmont University and got accepted there so we thought we should go for a visit. It was my first trip to Nashville and we spent lots of time doing our favorite thing... shopping. We visited Coolsprings Galleria twice and spent the day at Opry Mills. Great place to walk! As for eating after banding, as long as you don't keep your fills too tight you will be able to eat. You will just not be able to eat in large quantities. Some people keep their fills way too tight and that scares me because I like to eat. :-) Good luck to you!

Kim, I second everything SpecialK told you. The most important thing to get started is to go to different seminars. they are all free so you can go to as many as you want. I'm including information for you on seminar dates that I could find from the programs SpecialK mentioned. Keep in touch with us and let us know how it's going! Fresh Start Bariatrics (Riverside) Seminar Schedule Mount Carmel Bariatric Center (Looks like you have to call for their schedule) OSU Medical Center Bariatrics Barix Columbus (No seminar info, but they'll send you a brochure)

Susan, Welcome home! I can imagine how easy it would be to gain while out of town, living in a hotel and studying for a test! Major stress is right!!!! I'm sure you're already back on track and shedding that weight as I type :-) I look forward to seeing you at the next gathering!

I am thinking of all of you getting banded tomorrow! You're all in my prayers and I'm sure everything will go swimmingly! I even bet you'll be more motivated to walk the halls knowing you have each other there to walk with! K, I wanted to come visit you tomorrow but unfortunately my Aunt was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last week and I am going to be picking up extra shifts at work to cover for her so I won't be able to make it. I'll be with you in spirit though!

Thanks for the update K... I bet she was glad to see you! Niki, I'm glad you're doing well! Good luck with your post-op recovery. The seven weeks before your fill will fly by... just make sure to watch your calories and eat as if you have restriction and you will lose long before you get anything added to your band!

Niki should be in surgery now! I'm saying a prayer for a safe procedure and speedy recovery.

Carnie also did a season of Celebrity Fit Club after her baby was born. My heart goes out to her... for some reason I really relate to her and intently watch her struggle with this disease.

That's awesome Juli! I look forward to meeting our guest next month!! Thanks for letting us know :-) Now we just have to hope that we don't have another freak blizzard! LOL

Hi everyone! This month's meeting was such a success that we have decided to have another get together next month and would like to invite anyone that'd like to join us! Whether you are pre-band, newly banded or an old band pro. Everyone is welcome! Where: Polaris Mall food Court When: Saturday March 8, 2008 Time: 2 p.m. Look for us near the entrance to the Great Indoors store. We will have a helium balloon marking our group. All you have to bring is your smile... but if you want to you are welcome to bring outgrown clothes to share with those that might need/want them as well as a "before" picture to add to our group photo album. I hope to see you there!!!!

Hiya! We just gather to give each other face to face support. Yesterday we talked about our weight issues and whether our families were heavy as we are/were. One member brought a terrific chocolate mint flavored Water for us to try (yummy!). The rest of the time we discussed things like fitting in airplane seats, things that have changed for us as we've lost weight and other issues that we've faced in our bandster journeys. After the meeting we shared the clothes we had brought that were too big for us. It's hard to describe, but the sense of being with others that share the same experience and forming friendships with them is just amazing! I hope you'll join us next month!

Hippiegirl, you were on all of our minds yesterday at the get together. I'm glad you checked in... we were starting to worry! Glad all is going well for you! Welcome to the band wagon :-)

Hi guys! Today's meeting was intimate but quite fun. We had about 5 of us and ended up hanging out for about 2.5 hours! LOL I'm only sorry that more of you weren't with us! Our next meeting is scheduled for April 12 same place, same time. I'll post the reminder message when I'm done here. Hope to see everyone there!!!

Yay!!!!!!!!!! See you guys in a little bit then :-)

My roads were plowed early this morning... I can get out of my neighborhood!!! WOO HOOO! I'm heading up to Polaris and will be there at 2pm in the same place we sat last month. Hope to see some of you there. I am so ready to get out of my house! I'm feeling very cooped up!!!

Ok, this might seem weird but... my port and port scar seem to have moved. My scar is just below my bra band and the port was just below the scar. Well, this morning I noticed that my port is now above the scar rather than below it. I don't feel as if my stomach has shrunk that much... I just had a fill a few weeks ago (still have a bruise as proof!) so what could have caused them to trade places? Should I be worried?

I started at Fresh Start last fall... I went in knowing a lot about the lapband and the possible complications (such as maybe not being able to tolerate breads/some meats) and I guess I didn't pick up on a lot of those kinds of things being said at the seminar. However, those are definitely true possibilities. Some people can tolerate them, some can't. You won't know until you are banded. The same can be said for GB patients also. They can't eat sugar in most forms which cuts out a lot food choices. They also have so many other complications just from the surgery itself. Ultimately you have to decide which is the best surgery for you. Which risks are worth taking for you. What type of work you are willing to put into this process to get yourself healthy. What long-term plans you have put in place to help you not gain the weight back once you hit the goal you set for yourself. I think Dr. Myers still may have a preference for GB... it's easier in the short run for people to drop the weight having that surgery. But if you go to him and say you want the lap-band I do not think he'd try to talk you out of it. Like I said before he's been super supportive of me and has done all he can do to assure that I'm successful with this tool. The others I know that have been banded by him all seem to feel the same way. He's like a rock star at our support group meetings. Everyone's excited to see him whether they've been banded or had GB. Personally for me, I had no doubts. I did NOT want my insides cut up and rearranged. I knew I'd be willing to do the work and I prepared myself for a slow and steady walk to the finish line. I wanted to do it in the most healthful way I could and not set myself up for issues with things like malnutrition. I also did not like the higher risk of death with GB and the percentage was significantly lower with LB. So I'm rambling now, but those are my thoughts! Good luck to you.

What a picture SpecialK!!! We have about 12 inches on our driveway (had) and we had just shoveled everything from yesterday last night, so that's what we got after bedtime. It's crazy... but we're shoveled out and I've been watching cars (mostly trucks and suvs) drive down three this afternoon. Luckily the snow seems to have stopped... now it's just blowing. We're just waiting for the plows to get out and clear the roads. Whoever can make it tomorrow, please try. It's funny to think that I had dreams of warmth when we scheduled this month's meeting last month... I was SURE it was going to be much nicer than it was then! LOL... anyway. Stay warm and safe!

It's just strange that it seemed to happen over night. LOL