Lynn B

As far a carbs go - there are 19 g of carbs of which 14g are sugar but it is from the natural milk sugar - straight from my nut: "Keep in mind that is no such thing as sugar free dairy or fruit and the sugar content may go up to 15 grams of sugar per serving. " So its natural sugar opposed to refined sugar and according to the yoplait package "The only yogurt clinically shown to help you burn more fat than just cutting calories alone" Sounds good to me and the taste makes it all worth it!

Most surgeons follow the NIH guidlines for surgery qualification: Must have been obese for at least 5 years Must have at least 100 lbs to lose BMI of 35 or more with co-morbidities, or BMI above 40 no co-morbidities needed Documented attempts at weight loss in the past 2 years No physical or emotional limitations to prevent participation and understanding of follow up care and eating expectations. From what I understand, if you are self pay some doctors give you more wiggle room but if you want the ins. to pay then you will need to qualify. Good luck!

The yoplait thick and creamy is wonderful....I just discovered recently and I am addicted (2 a day). The regular lite yoplait although it has a thinner consistancy they have an apple turnover flavor that is to die for. Little chunks of apple, so creamy - it is a 100 cal fat free desert that is good for you. Yum!

do you eat anything with sugar alcohol in it? Most sugsr free foods have some. My protien bars had 9g and I was having the worst gas ever. I switched bars and it is a lot better now. Just something to look into Good luck,

have you tried warm beef broth? Igot so sick of all th sweet stuff, that broth tasted like drinking a steak! It will be over soon, hang in there.

Hi all, Starting weight 300lbs 5'3.5" BMI 52.something Almost 7 months post op, still 5'3.5" weight 225 BMI 38.6 Funny to think that with no co-morbidities, I would no longer qualify for surgery. My goal is 140 (the top of my normal range) That gave me 160 lbs of which 75 are gone. Good luck to all!

The PC version also tracks your measurements, It has more reports then you could ever use, you can graph just about everything. It will predict future loss based on the info you put in....the only down side is you cant interface between the two....if would be awsome if you could use the online version when you were away from home and when you returned just download the info to the PC version - hey maybe some day?

I was also getting horrible gas that started in the afternoon - it was my Protein bar in the morning. I guess that I am sensitive to sugar alcohol because once I switch to a brand without the sugar alcohol the gas went away. I think your 50 lb loss is awsome and you should be proud of yourself!! We may be a little slower but in the end we are a little firmer. Good luck,

Date Banded: 9/12/05 Country: USA Doctor: Daniel Jones Erodoed: No If Eroded Date Removed:

This thread is one of the reasons that I have not visited this site as much as I did in the past - it seems that there are some very bitter people here. As to the question - would I remove my band to be proactive? I personally would not. With a 1% chance of erosion (and even as more people are banded, its not the percent to goes up just the total number of people ex. 1% of 30 is 3 - 1% of 300 is 30 - more people same percent) When you consider that 4 out of 5 people will be in a major car accident (that is 80%) should you proactively stop leaving your house? Of course not! I know that it is hard to stay level headed when people that you feel close to start having major problems like this - to all that have eroded my heart does go out to you - but it is not time for everyone to panic yet. I don’t blame those who have had problem for being angry, upset, sad, etc....I would feel the same way if I had been in pain and then ultimately lost the tool that had given me hope. I wish there were rules - do this, don’t do that - and you won' t erode but that it not the case - we don't know exactly why it happen to those it does so there is really no way to prepare or prevent it. For those that are PBing often or who can feel the band I would see your doctor - that doesn't sound right to me. The only time I have ever felt the band itself is when the doctor filled me to 4ccs during my second fill to see if the band returned the same amount of Fluid (my first fill disappeared). Although I felt pressure I did not feel pain, even at that I could not imagine my band feeling like that all the time. I thank those that have eroded for staying and providing advise for those that are still banded, I also hope that which ever road you chose now (re banding, alternate surgery or au natural) that you have great success and no more complications down the road. To date I have not experienced any problems with my band - I don't know what the future holds - I hope that I will live happily ever after with my band, but if I don’t, I would not tell anyone "don't get it done". If I end up part of that 1% then my best wishes for success will go with the 99% who do fine. Peace,

6/3/05 Hi all, I have been lurking here for a few days and thought it was time to fill some of this in. First some general info - I am a 31 year old mother of two children. Joshua 14 and Elizabeth 12. I have been married for 15 years and have struggled with my weight most of my life. I was always a big girl (pretty plus clothes from Sears most of my childhood). I did thin out a bit in high school but was never average. I gained 60lbs with my first pregnancy and have never dipped below 200lbs since then. I have done all the diets - Weight Watchers, Diet Workshop, Slimfast, Atkins, The Zone, Body for Life. I think in the past few years I have become complacent - I felt because I was married and a mom that as long as my weight didn't interfere with my daily life then I would just live with it. I guess that what I didn't see was - even though I have very few weight related medical problems, it was still getting in the way of living. I had thought about gastric bypass in the past but the thought of having my insides arranged in a way other than what I was born with scared me. I wasn't aware until very recently that there was another option. I made my reservation to attend an informational meeting on the LapBand at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston on 6/8/05. I'm very nervous - I probably do not meet the criteria for "medically supervised diets" so I doubt I will be able to have surgery as soon as I would like. It is kind of funny to think that I will have to spend another 6 months doing what I have done for most of my life before I can receive the tool that I believe will save my life; but I am committed and will do what it takes to get there. I guess that is enough for tonight - I will add more as I begin this phase of my life. Good night! 6/25/05 2am - Yes I am a night owl. I didn't realize that it has been so long since I've updated. I went to the info meeting on 6/8/08 and fell in love with Dr. Jones and Angi. I felt so comfortable with both of them that I am really excited about starting this process. I left v/m on 6/16 because I had not heard back from them on what I should do next. I then sent email on 6/21 as I still had not heard back from anyone. On 6/22 I got a call from the office. Everything looks good I need to call on Friday and schedule my first Dr. meeting (2.5 hours long). Wasn't I surprised on Friday when I called to schedule my first meeting... they can get me in on Monday 6/27/05. WOW. Now I am starting to get nervous. There is a $500.00 fee to join the program....they wouldn't tell me to start the process (blood tests, EKG, etc....)and pay the fee if they weren't pretty sure that I am going to be approved? Right? In the mean time I have given up soda and the majority of my coffee (I still have one or two a week). I have also given up smoking for the most part - but that has been hard!! I have had a couple of slips but I keep trying. I cant wait to see what Monday brings...I will keep you updated! TTFN 6/27/05 I had my first meeting today with the nurse and MD. 6 tubes of blood, a review of my application and a physical with the programs MD. Everyone seems to think that this will go smoothly and quickly for me. Next on my list - July 11th meeting with the dietician. July 21 - gallbladder ultrasound and psych eval, I think I will stay in the city after my tests to attend my final support meeting (another requirement done). So if all goes well with the next two meeting I will be setting a surgery date and having my meeting with the surgeon. I was aiming for surgery in September but if all goes well and dates are available (with the surgeon and my work schedule) I could be looking at late August. Oh I forgot - all pending that pesky ins. approval. Wish me luck! 7/15/05 The nutritionist meeting went well, I did find out that I a B12 deficient and will be following up with my PCP but everything else seems fine. They gave us guidelines for eating after surgery and the preop diet. I have psych and gallbladder ultrasound on 7/21/05. I will keep everyone updated on how it goes....getting close. 8/6/05 Hi, It has been a while again. I should update more. Let me see - Psych and gallbladder ultrasound went fine and I now have a meeting with the surgeon scheduled for August 10th. I spoke with Debbie in the office and she said that by the time I get to pick a date they will be scheduling for mid to late September. Kind of what I expected but as I went through all of the testing I started to get my hopes up for something a little sooner. Oh well....Good things come to those who wait...Right? I will check back in after my surgeons meeting. TTFN. 8/13/05 Well, my surgeons meeting went well. I love my doctor!! I have a date - I will be banded on 9/12/05. Yaaaaay. I also found out that I have gallstones - grrrrrr. I will be having my gallbladder out on 8/18/05. I guess it can be a practice run for the band as I have never been under general anesthesia before. It is funny...I am more nervous about the gallbladder surgery than the band. I guess I am worried about having parts removed - it doesn't bother me to have them added. I keep thinking, "what if something goes wrong with the gallbladder that prevents me from having the band surgery...then everything that I have done up until now has been for naught. I guess that is just normal pre surgery jitters-I hope. Well wish me luck, I will update when I have more news. Lynn 8/21/05 Hi all, I'm back from having my pesky gallbladder removed. It wasn't as bad as I thought (don't get me wrong - I wouldn't sign up to do it again just for fun). So for those of you who may need to have this done I will chronicle my day. Arrived at 10am on 8/18 for a 12:30 surgery - it turned out the my surgeons first case of the day was a bit more involved than anticipated so I didn't end up going to pre-op until about 6pm. I was a bit crabby but I understand that we can not control all aspects of life. So, I go into pre-op, chat with the anesthesiologists, get my IV and my hat, booties and rear air conditioned gown. Right before we go to the OR my anesthesiologist give me a "cocktail". We roll into the OR and switch tables and then everything goes real fast. I had people bustling around but mostly I remember the two anesthesiologists, one on each side adjusting my IV - attaching electrodes, etc.. Then on with the mask - "take deep breaths". Well I think I fought them on this because after the first few breaths I couldn't exhale anymore and I panicked. The good news is I don't remember a thing after that until I heard someone say "OK she's responsive" (I'm glad they thought so because I don't remember responding to anything.) I was wheeled down to recovery about 8pm. I wasn't in any pain but I was dry and fuzzy (good for club soda not for me). I would say that I felt myself or as close to it as I could around 11pm but the nurses had decided that it was to late to send me home so I would have to spend the night (my wonderful Mom who came with me spent the night in the family waiting room of the hospital on a couch and the liaison got her some pillow and blankets - she was more comfortable than me I think). I was in my room at 1am and got no sleep - partly because I couldn't sleep and had really wanted to go home and partly because there was always someone in and out of the room for either me, my room mate or the trash barrels. The nurses were wonderful and brought me Jell-O and tea at 1am - I was starving as I had been "nothing by mouth" since 7pm on 8/17 and here it was 1am on 8/19. I was discharged around 10am after a lovely breakfast of eggs (I think), tea, oatmeal (I didn't chance it), sausage and cranberry juice. I have been home for two days now and all systems are operating within normal parameters (no colace for me - yay). As for meds I had one percoset at 9:30pm the night of surgery and have been fine with Tylenol since. Hopefully my band goes as smoothly! Time for a nap - I'm giving work a shot tomorrow so off to bed early tonight. TTFN 9/11/05 3am Well, it is offically the "day before" and sure enough I can't sleep. I am not nervous more like excited with nerves on the side. I am forcing myself to go to bed now so that I am not a mess when I go to the hospital tomorrow. See ya'll later. 9/16/05 Well I am home and banded - Yay!! It is day 4 and I am feeling soooo much better. Here is my story 9/12/05-10:30am Arrived at BIDMC, waited about a half hour before being brought into pre-op, one of my anesthesiologist came and started my IV (BIDMC is a teaching hospital so although he got my IV in with no problems you could tell that he needed to practice more - he almost forgot to put on gloves - but he did a good job). 2pm still waiting to go into the OR - they were cleaning the room - must have been the cleanest one around when they were done. The anesthesiologist came and wheeled me into the OR - My main anesthesiologist is also my surgeons wife - Stephanie Jones, she was wonderful - she went out and talked with my Mom after surgery and told her that I wake up very well. 3:45ish Surgery went great - no problems, I lost 25lbs before so my doctor was able to fit me with the smaller band. Recovery - my first though "What in the hell have I done" I was in pain but that was quickly remedied. 5pm Into my room (my room mate had been taken to brain surgery and did not return until the next day) I rested comfortably - had a morphine pain button that I could dose myself with - Wonderful. Nothing by mouth until tomorrow but the mouth swabs are great for getting that dry feeling in your mouth and throat to go away. Vitals ever hour or so - I don't remember what time I got up for my first walk - it must have been around 8pm. One lap down the hallway and back - the nurse said that was enough for day one. 9pm-7am I don't sleep well away from home and this was no exception I was away every hour and the night crawled by but I wasn't in any pain. 9/13/05-9am my IV stopped flowing - I was getting back in bed from a walk and bent my arm and that was it - no more IV. A nurse tried to start one in my hand but couldn't get it - no fluids and no morphine - but still OK. 10:30am Transport came to take me down to have the barium swallow done - still no IV but my nurse got me a couple of Morphine injections - oww. Fluoroscopy was awesome (barium is not as bad as the clear stuff they make you drink first - gag) I got to see my port and all my plumbing - pretty cool! Back to my room - more walking - went to the solarium to read. Got to have my 1oz of water by mouth - it was sooo good. 12:30ish tolerated water well so I got to have 1oz strawberry CIB per hour. Not bad. Walking & resting. IV nurse came to start an IV - tried two additional locations with no luck - said that they should put a long line in my whole arm (I think not) - feeling like a human pin cushion. Got my catheter out - Yay. 1pm another IV nurse arrives - told her to go away that I was leaving in a few hours and she wasn't poking me anymore - she left. 3pm Peed - cleared to go home!!! 5pm Chocolate CIB for dinner - Yum. 6pm My surgeon stops by to check on me. Told me I could stay and leave tomorrow. I had to convince him I was good to go (I needed to get some sleep and it wasn't going to happen there). He reluctantly agreed (Dr. Jones is so over protective - I like that in a doctor) Home by 8pm exhausted, sore but happy. (all times are approximate as morphine has a way of making you a little fuzzy) More to come.... 9/24/05 Time to update - My BMI has gone from 51.5 to 45.4 since surgery so I am no longer super morbidly obese! My unoffical weight at this time is hovering around 265. I have a follow up on 10/5/05 at which time I will get my offical weight. So it has been 12 days since surgery and I am finally feeling about 98.2% myself. I no longer have insicion pain and can easily get out of bed or in and out of chairs with no problem. I am still having trouble bending over to pick stuff up off the floor but it gets better every day. I can sneeze and cough with no pain. I have gotten my hunger back but I am so disgusted with all of the foods on my list that I am struggling to down my protien shakes. Just 10 more days and then I should be on to mushies - what a relief. I'll check in as I have more to share. 10/5/05 Had my first follow up appointment today and everything is going well. I have lost 34lbs and been advanced to the stage 4 diet (mushies/soft foods). My incisions are healed and looking great according to the Doc. So far I can't complain about anything except the liquid diet. Boy that was rough. Well I'm off to try some Tuna.....wish me luck! 11/2/05 Got my first fill today - 1.5 cc's in my 4 cc band. It was pretty cool my surgeon had one of his fellows do it and it was absolutely painless. Then he had me chug some water to see if it was to tight - I'm chugging away and he looks at the fellow and says "You might not want to stand there" - Luckily the water stayed right where it belonged - in me not on the floor. Also got weighed - down to 257.2 so that is -42 lbs. Yippeee. My scale has been lying to me for weeks (tonight when no one is looking I am going to chuck it out the bathroom window!). 11/7/05 OK I'm 1 week shy of 2 months but I felt like taking pictures today so I have some new ones. I am starting to be able to see the loss now - My clothes don't fit any more. This is a size 22 top and my baggy 24 bottoms (I didn't fit into the bottoms 6 months ago) I have been wearing 26/28 's for so long that I forgot that I owned some of the stuff I'm wearing now. 11/21/05 I haven't done a lot of self analyzing to this point but I read a good post this afternoon. "How do you change your eating habits". My response turned into a personal insight so I thought I would post it here rather than take over someone else’s post. My thoughts: Cool, I have been wondering the same thing lately. I have a 1.5 cc fill in my 4 cc band and I don't think that I have any restriction - I go back to the doc on 1/4/05 and told DH that I was going to get more fill even if I had to fight for it (I have a feeling that because I am losing at the rate that I should my doc will not want to give me an additional fill) But then I started asking myself - "what is restriction?" I don't want to be so tight that I can't eat the thinks I like - chicken, tuna, bread occasionally. But I have this mind set that says I need "restriction" - maybe we should change that word - to me restriction means a physical inability to do something. I follow the rules - eat how and what I should - I only eat when I am hungry (depending on what I ate last that can be 2-4 hours between meals), I don't drink with or right after meals and I eat until I am full (about 1 - 1 1/2 cups of food). I am losing 1-2 lbs a week on average. Funny - sounds like I may have restriction? I have had bad days where a bag of pita chips and hummus go down no problem. So I figure - oh well its not like I have restriction. Instead I should be saying "that was a bad choice - don't do it again just because you can". If I get tightened up to the point where I can't eat a bunch of pita chips and hummus chances are I won't be able to eat chicken at all and that is not what the band is about. Everyone is right - the band is a wonderful tool (I am down a total of 55 lbs since preop and feel great) but I need to wrap my head around the fact that the band will not do it for me - and that has been the hardest part. Just because I can eat like I did before - doesn't mean I should. And the band isn't going to help with that unless it is to tight - thus taking away my ability to choose what I eat. 12/12/05 Well it has been exactly 3 months since my surgery. I was feeling kinda down - didn't feel like I have lost much lately (gotta get another fill in 3 weeks) so I did my monthly measurements and pictures - now I can see it. Normally I wouldn't put these up on the web (me in a bathing suit....faints) but I couldn't resist - some day I will look back at these pictures and go - OH MY GOD, I'm awsome!! For now I just go.....Ok, I can see it, I think. Warning to those who are faint of heart and small children.......you might want to look away. Picture one is the day before surgery and each picture is at a one month interval ending with today - I can't believe I just did that.....argggggh (trust me they will just keep getting better!!) Sorry about the wardrobe change...the first suit doesn't fit anymore....the girls just flop right out and this is a PG site! Lynn 12/16/05 - Got a new hair cut yesterday - love it. 2006 1/4/06 To fill or not to fill - that is the question....well not really the question is where the heck did my fill go? I am a victim of the disappearing fill. I received a 1.5 cc fill in November and was going in for my second fill today. When the doc got the needle in he was unable to pull any fluid from my band. Where does 1.2ccs go?? Inquiring minds want to know. I have a feeling that my first fill was not a great success (rather then there being a problem with the band itseld) maybe this is wishful thinking but I am going to ride with it a while. I do feel different after this fill (I now have 1 cc for sure) than I did on the first one. Life is a learning experience but next time I go in I better have at least 1 cc in my band!! On a happy note - I am officially down 59 lbs 34 of those since surgery. My B12 is fine now and my cholesterol has gone fro 207 to 196 (baby steps). Speaking of baby steps - time to throw my but on the treadmill, like it or not!! TTFN 1/13/06 Hey - its been 4 months now so here are the new pics - left to right - day before surgery 275lbs - 2 months out 250lbs - 4 monts out 235lbs. 1/26/06 OK so how about some pictures with my clothes on?? Set one is one month post op, set 2 is 4 months post op. From a 26/28 now an 18/20 and still shrinking! 2/4/06 So here is my new band and resized solitare...aren't they beautiful!!! From a size 10.5 to an 8.50

There are 3 medical centers in my area that do the band and each has several doctors. As I researched on line I started leaning towards one facility....I went to their info night and met the doctor I had selected and knew immediately that he was the one! It helped that he was the chief of the whole minimally invasive surgery dept and I did research his past both since he had come to our area and when he practiced in Texas. His wife is also a doctor (anesthesia) and I looked up a ton of studies that they had done together mostly on ways to treat nausea after lap surgery. As it turns out his wife was my anesthesiologist during surgery (he asked if I had arranged that). I have not regretted my decision, once you have done the research and found someone that has the skill and background to do your surgery (if you find more than one) meet them all and go with the one that you feel more comfortable with because its a long journey and they are your partner for the duration!! Good luck all,

Well I couldn't have done it. That would be surgery day, day 2 in hospital and then one day at home - I could barely pull up my own pants on day 3 forget about going to work. I couldn't even post on the internet until day 5 when I could sit in a chair for more than a few minutes - personally I would take at least a week off (I took 9 full days but wished that I had done the full 14). Everyone is different but you don't know how you will react to the anesthesia etc. (you can check out my journal for all of the details) If you need more time and you boss wont give it to you then look into FMLA (Family and Medical leave act) You have up to 12 weeks I believe to care for yourself or family due to medical issue and your boss can not fire you - your job must be held for you. Good luck!

6/3/05 Hi all, I have been lurking here for a few days and thought it was time to fill some of this in. First some general info - I am a 31 year old mother of two children. Joshua 14 and Elizabeth 12. I have been married for 15 years and have struggled with my weight most of my life. I was always a big girl (pretty plus clothes from Sears most of my childhood). I did thin out a bit in high school but was never average. I gained 60lbs with my first pregnancy and have never dipped below 200lbs since then. I have done all the diets - Weight Watchers, Diet Workshop, Slimfast, Atkins, The Zone, Body for Life. I think in the past few years I have become complacent - I felt because I was married and a mom that as long as my weight didn't interfere with my daily life then I would just live with it. I guess that what I didn't see was - even though I have very few weight related medical problems, it was still getting in the way of living. I had thought about gastric bypass in the past but the thought of having my insides arranged in a way other than what I was born with scared me. I wasn't aware until very recently that there was another option. I made my reservation to attend an informational meeting on the LapBand at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston on 6/8/05. I'm very nervous - I probably do not meet the criteria for "medically supervised diets" so I doubt I will be able to have surgery as soon as I would like. It is kind of funny to think that I will have to spend another 6 months doing what I have done for most of my life before I can receive the tool that I believe will save my life; but I am committed and will do what it takes to get there. I guess that is enough for tonight - I will add more as I begin this phase of my life. Good night! 6/25/05 2am - Yes I am a night owl. I didn't realize that it has been so long since I've updated. I went to the info meeting on 6/8/08 and fell in love with Dr. Jones and Angi. I felt so comfortable with both of them that I am really excited about starting this process. I left v/m on 6/16 because I had not heard back from them on what I should do next. I then sent email on 6/21 as I still had not heard back from anyone. On 6/22 I got a call from the office. Everything looks good I need to call on Friday and schedule my first Dr. meeting (2.5 hours long). Wasn't I surprised on Friday when I called to schedule my first meeting... they can get me in on Monday 6/27/05. WOW. Now I am starting to get nervous. There is a $500.00 fee to join the program....they wouldn't tell me to start the process (blood tests, EKG, etc....)and pay the fee if they weren't pretty sure that I am going to be approved? Right? In the mean time I have given up soda and the majority of my coffee (I still have one or two a week). I have also given up smoking for the most part - but that has been hard!! I have had a couple of slips but I keep trying. I cant wait to see what Monday brings...I will keep you updated! TTFN 6/27/05 I had my first meeting today with the nurse and MD. 6 tubes of blood, a review of my application and a physical with the programs MD. Everyone seems to think that this will go smoothly and quickly for me. Next on my list - July 11th meeting with the dietician. July 21 - gallbladder ultrasound and psych eval, I think I will stay in the city after my tests to attend my final support meeting (another requirement done). So if all goes well with the next two meeting I will be setting a surgery date and having my meeting with the surgeon. I was aiming for surgery in September but if all goes well and dates are available (with the surgeon and my work schedule) I could be looking at late August. Oh I forgot - all pending that pesky ins. approval. Wish me luck! 7/15/05 The nutritionist meeting went well, I did find out that I a B12 deficient and will be following up with my PCP but everything else seems fine. They gave us guidelines for eating after surgery and the preop diet. I have psych and gallbladder ultrasound on 7/21/05. I will keep everyone updated on how it goes....getting close. 8/6/05 Hi, It has been a while again. I should update more. Let me see - Psych and gallbladder ultrasound went fine and I now have a meeting with the surgeon scheduled for August 10th. I spoke with Debbie in the office and she said that by the time I get to pick a date they will be scheduling for mid to late September. Kind of what I expected but as I went through all of the testing I started to get my hopes up for something a little sooner. Oh well....Good things come to those who wait...Right? I will check back in after my surgeons meeting. TTFN. 8/13/05 Well, my surgeons meeting went well. I love my doctor!! I have a date - I will be banded on 9/12/05. Yaaaaay. I also found out that I have gallstones - grrrrrr. I will be having my gallbladder out on 8/18/05. I guess it can be a practice run for the band as I have never been under general anesthesia before. It is funny...I am more nervous about the gallbladder surgery than the band. I guess I am worried about having parts removed - it doesn't bother me to have them added. I keep thinking, "what if something goes wrong with the gallbladder that prevents me from having the band surgery...then everything that I have done up until now has been for naught. I guess that is just normal pre surgery jitters-I hope. Well wish me luck, I will update when I have more news. Lynn 8/21/05 Hi all, I'm back from having my pesky gallbladder removed. It wasn't as bad as I thought (don't get me wrong - I wouldn't sign up to do it again just for fun). So for those of you who may need to have this done I will chronicle my day. Arrived at 10am on 8/18 for a 12:30 surgery - it turned out the my surgeons first case of the day was a bit more involved than anticipated so I didn't end up going to pre-op until about 6pm. I was a bit crabby but I understand that we can not control all aspects of life. So, I go into pre-op, chat with the anesthesiologists, get my IV and my hat, booties and rear air conditioned gown. Right before we go to the OR my anesthesiologist give me a "cocktail". We roll into the OR and switch tables and then everything goes real fast. I had people bustling around but mostly I remember the two anesthesiologists, one on each side adjusting my IV - attaching electrodes, etc.. Then on with the mask - "take deep breaths". Well I think I fought them on this because after the first few breaths I couldn't exhale anymore and I panicked. The good news is I don't remember a thing after that until I heard someone say "OK she's responsive" (I'm glad they thought so because I don't remember responding to anything.) I was wheeled down to recovery about 8pm. I wasn't in any pain but I was dry and fuzzy (good for club soda not for me). I would say that I felt myself or as close to it as I could around 11pm but the nurses had decided that it was to late to send me home so I would have to spend the night (my wonderful Mom who came with me spent the night in the family waiting room of the hospital on a couch and the liaison got her some pillow and blankets - she was more comfortable than me I think). I was in my room at 1am and got no sleep - partly because I couldn't sleep and had really wanted to go home and partly because there was always someone in and out of the room for either me, my room mate or the trash barrels. The nurses were wonderful and brought me Jell-O and tea at 1am - I was starving as I had been "nothing by mouth" since 7pm on 8/17 and here it was 1am on 8/19. I was discharged around 10am after a lovely breakfast of eggs (I think), tea, oatmeal (I didn't chance it), sausage and cranberry juice. I have been home for two days now and all systems are operating within normal parameters (no colace for me - yay). As for meds I had one percoset at 9:30pm the night of surgery and have been fine with Tylenol since. Hopefully my band goes as smoothly! Time for a nap - I'm giving work a shot tomorrow so off to bed early tonight. TTFN 9/11/05 3am Well, it is offically the "day before" and sure enough I can't sleep. I am not nervous more like excited with nerves on the side. I am forcing myself to go to bed now so that I am not a mess when I go to the hospital tomorrow. See ya'll later. 9/16/05 Well I am home and banded - Yay!! It is day 4 and I am feeling soooo much better. Here is my story 9/12/05-10:30am Arrived at BIDMC, waited about a half hour before being brought into pre-op, one of my anesthesiologist came and started my IV (BIDMC is a teaching hospital so although he got my IV in with no problems you could tell that he needed to practice more - he almost forgot to put on gloves - but he did a good job). 2pm still waiting to go into the OR - they were cleaning the room - must have been the cleanest one around when they were done. The anesthesiologist came and wheeled me into the OR - My main anesthesiologist is also my surgeons wife - Stephanie Jones, she was wonderful - she went out and talked with my Mom after surgery and told her that I wake up very well. 3:45ish Surgery went great - no problems, I lost 25lbs before so my doctor was able to fit me with the smaller band. Recovery - my first though "What in the hell have I done" I was in pain but that was quickly remedied. 5pm Into my room (my room mate had been taken to brain surgery and did not return until the next day) I rested comfortably - had a morphine pain button that I could dose myself with - Wonderful. Nothing by mouth until tomorrow but the mouth swabs are great for getting that dry feeling in your mouth and throat to go away. Vitals ever hour or so - I don't remember what time I got up for my first walk - it must have been around 8pm. One lap down the hallway and back - the nurse said that was enough for day one. 9pm-7am I don't sleep well away from home and this was no exception I was away every hour and the night crawled by but I wasn't in any pain. 9/13/05-9am my IV stopped flowing - I was getting back in bed from a walk and bent my arm and that was it - no more IV. A nurse tried to start one in my hand but couldn't get it - no fluids and no morphine - but still OK. 10:30am Transport came to take me down to have the barium swallow done - still no IV but my nurse got me a couple of Morphine injections - oww. Fluoroscopy was awesome (barium is not as bad as the clear stuff they make you drink first - gag) I got to see my port and all my plumbing - pretty cool! Back to my room - more walking - went to the solarium to read. Got to have my 1oz of water by mouth - it was sooo good. 12:30ish tolerated water well so I got to have 1oz strawberry CIB per hour. Not bad. Walking & resting. IV nurse came to start an IV - tried two additional locations with no luck - said that they should put a long line in my whole arm (I think not) - feeling like a human pin cushion. Got my catheter out - Yay. 1pm another IV nurse arrives - told her to go away that I was leaving in a few hours and she wasn't poking me anymore - she left. 3pm Peed - cleared to go home!!! 5pm Chocolate CIB for dinner - Yum. 6pm My surgeon stops by to check on me. Told me I could stay and leave tomorrow. I had to convince him I was good to go (I needed to get some sleep and it wasn't going to happen there). He reluctantly agreed (Dr. Jones is so over protective - I like that in a doctor) Home by 8pm exhausted, sore but happy. (all times are approximate as morphine has a way of making you a little fuzzy) More to come.... 9/24/05 Time to update - My BMI has gone from 51.5 to 45.4 since surgery so I am no longer super morbidly obese! My unoffical weight at this time is hovering around 265. I have a follow up on 10/5/05 at which time I will get my offical weight. So it has been 12 days since surgery and I am finally feeling about 98.2% myself. I no longer have insicion pain and can easily get out of bed or in and out of chairs with no problem. I am still having trouble bending over to pick stuff up off the floor but it gets better every day. I can sneeze and cough with no pain. I have gotten my hunger back but I am so disgusted with all of the foods on my list that I am struggling to down my protien shakes. Just 10 more days and then I should be on to mushies - what a relief. I'll check in as I have more to share. 10/5/05 Had my first follow up appointment today and everything is going well. I have lost 34lbs and been advanced to the stage 4 diet (mushies/soft foods). My incisions are healed and looking great according to the Doc. So far I can't complain about anything except the liquid diet. Boy that was rough. Well I'm off to try some Tuna.....wish me luck! 11/2/05 Got my first fill today - 1.5 cc's in my 4 cc band. It was pretty cool my surgeon had one of his fellows do it and it was absolutely painless. Then he had me chug some water to see if it was to tight - I'm chugging away and he looks at the fellow and says "You might not want to stand there" - Luckily the water stayed right where it belonged - in me not on the floor. Also got weighed - down to 257.2 so that is -42 lbs. Yippeee. My scale has been lying to me for weeks (tonight when no one is looking I am going to chuck it out the bathroom window!). 11/7/05 OK I'm 1 week shy of 2 months but I felt like taking pictures today so I have some new ones. I am starting to be able to see the loss now - My clothes don't fit any more. This is a size 22 top and my baggy 24 bottoms (I didn't fit into the bottoms 6 months ago) I have been wearing 26/28 's for so long that I forgot that I owned some of the stuff I'm wearing now. 11/21/05 I haven't done a lot of self analyzing to this point but I read a good post this afternoon. "How do you change your eating habits". My response turned into a personal insight so I thought I would post it here rather than take over someone else’s post. My thoughts: Cool, I have been wondering the same thing lately. I have a 1.5 cc fill in my 4 cc band and I don't think that I have any restriction - I go back to the doc on 1/4/05 and told DH that I was going to get more fill even if I had to fight for it (I have a feeling that because I am losing at the rate that I should my doc will not want to give me an additional fill) But then I started asking myself - "what is restriction?" I don't want to be so tight that I can't eat the thinks I like - chicken, tuna, bread occasionally. But I have this mind set that says I need "restriction" - maybe we should change that word - to me restriction means a physical inability to do something. I follow the rules - eat how and what I should - I only eat when I am hungry (depending on what I ate last that can be 2-4 hours between meals), I don't drink with or right after meals and I eat until I am full (about 1 - 1 1/2 cups of food). I am losing 1-2 lbs a week on average. Funny - sounds like I may have restriction? I have had bad days where a bag of pita chips and hummus go down no problem. So I figure - oh well its not like I have restriction. Instead I should be saying "that was a bad choice - don't do it again just because you can". If I get tightened up to the point where I can't eat a bunch of pita chips and hummus chances are I won't be able to eat chicken at all and that is not what the band is about. Everyone is right - the band is a wonderful tool (I am down a total of 55 lbs since preop and feel great) but I need to wrap my head around the fact that the band will not do it for me - and that has been the hardest part. Just because I can eat like I did before - doesn't mean I should. And the band isn't going to help with that unless it is to tight - thus taking away my ability to choose what I eat. 12/12/05 Well it has been exactly 3 months since my surgery. I was feeling kinda down - didn't feel like I have lost much lately (gotta get another fill in 3 weeks) so I did my monthly measurements and pictures - now I can see it. Normally I wouldn't put these up on the web (me in a bathing suit....faints) but I couldn't resist - some day I will look back at these pictures and go - OH MY GOD, I'm awsome!! For now I just go.....Ok, I can see it, I think. Warning to those who are faint of heart and small children.......you might want to look away. Picture one is the day before surgery and each picture is at a one month interval ending with today - I can't believe I just did that.....argggggh (trust me they will just keep getting better!!) Sorry about the wardrobe change...the first suit doesn't fit anymore....the girls just flop right out and this is a PG site! Lynn 12/16/05 - Got a new hair cut yesterday - love it. 2006 1/4/06 To fill or not to fill - that is the question....well not really the question is where the heck did my fill go? I am a victim of the disappearing fill. I received a 1.5 cc fill in November and was going in for my second fill today. When the doc got the needle in he was unable to pull any fluid from my band. Where does 1.2ccs go?? Inquiring minds want to know. I have a feeling that my first fill was not a great success (rather then there being a problem with the band itseld) maybe this is wishful thinking but I am going to ride with it a while. I do feel different after this fill (I now have 1 cc for sure) than I did on the first one. Life is a learning experience but next time I go in I better have at least 1 cc in my band!! On a happy note - I am officially down 59 lbs 34 of those since surgery. My B12 is fine now and my cholesterol has gone fro 207 to 196 (baby steps). Speaking of baby steps - time to throw my but on the treadmill, like it or not!! TTFN 1/13/06 Hey - its been 4 months now so here are the new pics - left to right - day before surgery 275lbs - 2 months out 250lbs - 4 monts out 235lbs. 1/26/06 OK so how about some pictures with my clothes on?? Set one is one month post op, set 2 is 4 months post op. From a 26/28 now an 18/20 and still shrinking! 2/4/06 So here is my new band and resized solitare...aren't they beautiful!!! From a size 10.5 to an 8.50

Ahhh...smoking....boy do I miss it!!!. My doc says no smoking for 2 months before surgery (I fibbed). I cut way down and stopped about 1 week before - my surgery went fine and I have healed wonderfully but I was only a 1/2 pack a day smoker. I started right back up after surgery and have been smoking ever since with no ill effects. But the reality is that (and I forget where I saw this but I believe it) in the US Obesity is the second largest factor in premature preventable deaths - can anyone guess what number one is??? Bingo - smoking. I have been thinking about this since surgery and it has taken me a while but I have to quit. I tried on New Years Day and almost killed my husband - I had to lock myself in the bathroom so that I wouldn't yell at anyone - and then I started smoking that night after quitting for a whole 10 hours. For me it is not the physical craving that gets me but the emotional stuff. I went to my PCP and she put me on Wellbutrin - take for 2 weeks while smoking and then quit. I spent the two weeks going "OK I feel no different - this isn't going to work" but I gave it a go. Here are my stats so far: <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="358"> <tbody> <tr valign="center"><td colspan="4" align="left" valign="bottom">My Stats: Your Quit Date is: 1/30/2006 1:00:00 AM <table summary="*" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><!-- START: spacer --> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="4" height="1"></td></tr><!-- END: spacer --></tbody></table></td></tr> <tr valign="center"><!-- Dynamic: time smoke free --> <td colspan="4" align="left">Time Smoke-Free: 6 days, 9 hours, 59 minutes and 3 seconds </td> <td align="left"> </td></tr> <tr valign="center"> <td colspan="3" align="left"></td> <td rowspan="9" align="right" valign="bottom"> <table style="background-repeat: no-repeat;" summary="" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="50" width="179"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="reg" align="middle" background="http://images.quitnet.com/images/q2001/trans_big.gif" height="35" valign="center" width="19%"> </td><!-- LINKS: is this still your med plan --- keep the non-breaking spaces in there --> <td class="statsDataBlack" background="http://images.quitnet.com/images/q2001/trans_big.gif" width="117"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr> <tr valign="center"><!-- Dynamic: cigarettes not smoked --> <td colspan="4" align="left">Cigarettes NOT smoked: 96 </td></tr> <tr valign="center"> <td colspan="4" align="left"></td></tr> <tr valign="center"><!-- Dynamic: lifetime saved --> <td colspan="4" align="left">Lifetime Saved: 17 hours </td></tr> <tr valign="center"> <td colspan="4" align="left"></td></tr> <tr valign="center"><!-- Dynamic: money saved --> <td colspan="4" align="left">Money Saved: $22.50 <!-- LINK: Open Gadget --></td></tr></tbody> </table> You can get this cute gadget at quitnet.com Good luck - if we need to start a smokers support thread - I'm in!!

Hi all, I found a site with a bunch of Lap Band videos - mostly from Australia. There are some before and afters here starting above BMIs of 100. Enjoy! http://thinforlife.med.nyu.edu/media/tv.html

I never chugged water after being banded - I was afraid to. Then I go to the doctors for my first fill. They poke me and then sit me up and hand me a glass of water. He tells me to drink it - so I start a sip at a time. He says "OK - a whole bunch at once" so I take a couple of big mouthfulls which leaves me with half a glass. He says "OK- the rest all at once" so I downed it. My doctor then tells me I'm fine, not to tight, I am all set. I haven't sipped water since - I dont gulp it but I can down it pretty quickly. Does anyone else not "sip" their water anymore?

1. How difficult did you find the pre-op diet? I didn't have a "preop" diet but I was required to lose 10lbs and then light dinner the night before surgery and nothing after midnight by mouth. I did a modified Atkins anyways and dropped 25 lbs before surgery (my doctor removed my gallbladder 3.5 weeks earlier and said that he could see much better inside due to dropping the weight. 2. I have had 3 cesareans and my gallbladder laproscopically removed. Does anyone know how the pain and/or recovery is in comparison? I had 2 c sections, one lap gallbladder removal and the band. The C sections were the worst, I had stones but no symptoms so my gallbladder was a breeze - the band would fall right in the middle for me. I went back to an office job with modified duties (no filing) at day 9 and did just fine. 3. Now this is one I really haven't seen at all and am a bit shy to ask, but it's better to ask now then end up in the ER. How soon can one umm hmmm be intimate and are you limited in well you know <WHISPERS>positions? I have to agree - when you feel up to it. One week is the most I could get away with! 4. After going on solids, is there a weight gain? I plan on eating only healthy (low carbs) on the liquid and solid stages and fear that once I go on solids I may actually gain weight. Should I jus eat whatever I can tolerate on liquids and solids and worry about losing the weight and low carbing after I go on solids? I did not gain any when I went over to solids but I was a chicken - I am afraid to test the limits of my band so I did just fine. 6. For some reason it is very easy for me to lose 40lbs (after each of my 3 pregnancies I have lost all of my pregnacy weight which has been 40-45lbs within 2 weeks after delivery AND each time I have done Atkins I have lost 40lbs and then I stall). Do people stall on this and if they do and it has nothing to do with the restriction, how can you tweak your program to break the stall? Or is it a matter of just being patient and waiting it out? I'll let you know when I get there. Good luck!

Welcome to the band wagon. I was also banded at BIDMC by Dr. Jones. Which doctor did you choose? The program there is great - lots of support and follow up care and all instructions in writing so that you always know whats going on in terms of your diet. If you have any questions feel free to email me. Good luck!

I have a link in my signature for my OH profile which tells all about my gallbladder surgery. For me it was easier than the band. I had my gallbladder removed on a thursday and was back at work on monday. As for doing them at the same time - my doctor also said that if there were any complications with the gallbladder you would be endangering the band also. Good luck,

For my Medical Savings plan you specify the amount that you want to put in the account - say $1000.00. They take $19.23 out of your check each week but you acctually have access to the whole amount committed (in this case $1000.00) on the first day (for me that would be Jan 1. when benifits re up) Good luck!

Penni - My heart goes out to you and the others that have had problems with the band. I hope you are recovering well. When you feel up to it and if you know the answer - you pictures are looking from the inside...why does it look like the band is curved the wrong way? Shouldn't the inside of the band curve the same way as your stomach - in your pics it looks like the band collapsed in on itself? Take care and get well soon!!

OK I'll do my best - the difference between and HMO and PPO is with an HMO you need to get your PCPs referal to see a specialist or another doctor. With a PPO (at least mine) I can go to any doctor I want. As long as he is "in network" all I pay is my copay. I currently have BCBS MA PPO and do not have a deductible (I guess that depends on what plan your company opted for). All routine and office visits for "in network" are $25, ER visits - $100.00, Outpatient surgery $150. - Inpatient surgery $250. If I went to an "out of network" doctor it would basically be like a 80/20 plan - insurance would pick up 80% of the bill and I would be responsible for the rest. All in all I love my PPO - I paid $250 for my band surgery (plus the program fee of $500) and $25 for each of the 3 pre op appointments...Oh and $100 for the psych eval which was not covered. So it looks like once you meet your deductibel (the first $400. worth of services) you pay co pays and 30% of the remaining bill until you hit $4000. for the year - after that everything is free. So if they are going to cover your surgery you are probably looking at paying the $4000.00 in that year. Does your company offer a medical savings account? If so and you know that you can get approved for surgery you may want to take advantage of putting the max away (tax free) to help cover your sugery costs. Good luck - I hope I helped a bit. My employer is changing ins in January and the new plan kinda sounds like yours - you have a $200. deductible so first appointment you basically pick up the bill - after that they pay 90% of all future in network charges - I pay a copay plus the 10% balance.

Awwww, poor Barbara!!! Left over turkey got me the day after Thanksgiving (my first PB). I was told by one member not to count out a food until it disagrees with you three times - so - ya wanna give it one more go?? Just kidding - enjoy your turkey free time!

I'm on. Pretty cool!