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SpecialK

LAP-BAND Patients
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Posts posted by SpecialK

  3. Posted

    Hi everyone. I'm Coley in Ohio. I've just began researching weight loss surgery options and I'm leaning towards the Lap Band. The Lap Band seems like a less serious surgery than the Gastris Bypass. I know all surgeries are serious, but the thought of cutting and rerouting my intestines scares the crap out of me. I have a few questions that can only be answered by someone who's already been banded.

    1. With the Gastric Bypass some people lose a lot of hair. Does that happen with the Lap Band?

    2. Is the amount of weight you lose after being banded equal to the the amount you lose with the Gastric Bypass? Or does that vary person to person?

    3. I've been looking at different before and after photo's and stats. Is the Lap Band designed for people who only have a little weight to lose?

    4. Will I have to take Vitamins and supplements for the rest my life?

    And finally....

    5. I know the amount of weight lost varies from persons to person. How much is the average amount lost in a year?

    Thanks so much in advance for all of your answers.

    1. I am taking Biotin to help with my Hair loss - suggestion from this site as well as my hair dresser. She said anytime you have a period of rapid weight loss, the body will react and hair can be lost but it will come back if you had big thick hair before, you will again. Keeping Protein up like the other post said is the key.

    2. I think I will be able to lose as much with my lapband as I could have with gastric bypass. I've lost 98 in the first year with a starting weight at 355 so I have at least a hundred more to go and I think I can get there with this tool. From what I know of gastric bypass patients in my hospital's support group, they would have lost maybe 100-125 when I've lost 100 but then weight loss does start slowing down for them too, and it becomes more and more like lapband that they have to be careful choosing their food portions or they can gain back. In the total of 2-3 years, the lapband patients are definitely losing as much as gastric bypass.

    3. No lapband is not just for those with a lower BMI or less to lose. There are many of us on this forum who are banded and were well over 300 and even 400 or more pounds and do well.

    4. I take a Multi-Vitamin daily and I also take a Vitamin D and Calcium based on what my doctor said for me and my age (over 50) but see what your doctor says. In no way would I be dramatically malnourished if I wasn't taking my daily Vitamin but gastric bypass patients absolutely must take the Vitamins because they aren't absorbing enough from what I know because it is both a restrictive and malabsorptive surgery versus lapband is only restrictive as a weight loss tool.

    5. Average weight loss varies -- many of us who were banded at the same time I was and had alot to lose have lost 80-100 lbs in one year but the loss rate is slowing some. We have a couple ladies who have lost an amazing 120 and 150 pounds but that is exceptional. We have several others who had less to lose but are very happy to be down 50 to 80 lbs in their first year. Bottom line, it depends on how much you want to work with your band, go and get your fills to keep your restriction, get exercise in, etc.

    Hope this helps!

  5. Posted

    When Bob and Jillian hug and say goodbye to their team members before they have to go and do the elimination room, I think they are both whispering or advising their team on what to do on who to eliminate. I think Jillian for sure reminded them that Nicole was a threat to them and this was their chance to get her off. Also, that I didn't hear them say to Nicole that if she gained she could lose immunity but I think this might be the show finally stopping the game playing where someone has immunity and drinks a bunch of Water right before a weigh in that week so that the following week, they have an even bigger loss. Hurray for the show if they are finally nailing those who are manipulating the scale with a water gain if that is what happened.

  6. Posted

    Hi all! My surgery is monday with Dr.Choban.... I'm getting a little nervous. Went to the store yesterday and got all my food for the next couple weeks. Wandering what I should take with me to the hospital. Do I need my own robe and gown? Slippers? Please keep me in your prayers.

    Karen

    Hi Karen, I will definitely pray for you and I know you'll do great. I decided not to take my own robe, slippers with me because the hospital gave me a second gown to use as a robe - tieing in front, and they give you those kind of slipper socks with rubberized strips on them. I just went home in the same clothes I came in the day before. I did bring a bottle of Chloraseptic for my throat or sugar free cough drops because I was told you might have a little sore throat from the surgery but I really didn't need that either. I took a book or magazine to read. Take care.

  7. Posted

    aJoneen........................0 75 pounds LOST!

    Bandana....................... 0 92 lbs lost

    BrandNewLisa............0 80pounds LOST forever!!!

    evelas5000...................0 50 pounds Lost

    Desdemona...................0

    Fenton...........................0 100 POUNDS LOST !!

    HarleyGirl..................0 85 pounds LOST!

    Hopeinapril................. 0 50 pounds lost!

    Kpodski........................0

    Lynnt1215.................0

    NurseNiki...................0

    Nycm00.......................0

    Potatie..........................0 100 POUNDS LOST!!

    Scrappy_Friend......0 150 POUNDS LOST!!!!

    SpecialK.....................-5 97 lbs and closing in on 100!

    Sugarbean..................-2 112 POUNDS LOST !!!

    Sharona.......................0

    stellabella...................0 HALFWAY TO GOAL!

    Tess415......................0

    Thin2bme................. 0 100 POUNDS LOST !!

    WestCoastMom........0

    Wishin4......................0 73 pounds gone!!

  8. Posted · Edited by SpecialK

    Sillypuddy - sounds like you are moving along great on getting all your clearances. Keep it up!

    I had a .25 cc (tiny tiny) lapband fill on Monday a.m. and then I was on liquids that day and went to semi-soft the next day and I'm up to full food as of today. I had a salad with a grilled chicken breast and dipped my fork and the tiny pieces of chicken in fat free ranch dressing and after an hour of working on it, I had eaten it all. Wow!

    Here's the part that you'll either laugh about or go Ewww! My salad had a little extra Protein at the very bottom -- when I got almost done I spotted something black and was not sure if it had wings on it but yep ... it did and I saw that dead bug after I ate the whole salad!

    One other interesting factoid --- 1 Fluid oz of saline is = 29 ml

    so .25 ml = .008 fl. oz. WOW that really helps me think about how tiny that amount of saline he put into my band really is.

    ml = milliliter. This is a VOLUME measurement. it is 1/1000 of a liter. when talking about Water or similar liquids, it is equivelant to one cubic centimeter.

    cc = cubic centimeter. This is also a VOLUME measurement. Most syringes measure their capacity in cc's. If you have a 5cc syringe, it will hold ~5ml of liquid in it. (so 1 cc = 1 ml)

    And the good news is, the scale is moving on down again! Amazing considering that is such a tiny adjustment on the band.

  9. Posted

    That is FANTASTIC! I can't wait until my surgeon says the same to me!

    I had my one year appointment today. He was pleased with my loss. He told me I was at the top of the class. I was 155 in his office.

    The doctor wants me to see a plactic surgeon to remove the extra skin on my belly. I have an appointment for April 7th. Not sure if im brave enough to get that done but I am gonna check on it.

    He told me I am a sucess and he don't care if I lose any more weight. My bmi was 28 and said that most americans are overweight according to the charts. He did say as long as I want to continue losing he will work with me. To be a normal weight I should weigh 136, he thinks if I had the Tummy Tuck I would probably be that weight.

  11. Posted

    I'm a little behind in posting this but there is still plenty of options to attend. They are held the First Monday of the month (except for holidays) from 6-7 pm in the Mt. Carmel West Auditorium which is located in the Mt. Carmel Medical Staff Bldg which is just south of the Emergency Room entrance. Check out www.mchs.com for the site layout of the hospital. Parking is about $2.50 for the 1-2 hours of the meeting.

    April 25 meeting -- Annual Fashion Show at Tuttle Mall !!!!

    May 4 - Addiction Transference

    June 1 - Childhood Obesity

    July 6 - Vacation Planning

    August 3 - Community Action Raising Awareness

    September 14 -- Exercise

    September -- WALK FROM OBESITY -- Google for more info

    October 5 - Body Image Disturbances

    November 2 - Healthy Holiday Recipe Exchange & Potluck

    December 7 - New Years Resolutions

  12. Posted

    I was able to see Dr. Miller for a tiny fill of .25 cc's yesterday to bring me to 10.25 ccs in a 14 band. When I explained to him that my calorie count was climbing consistently above 1500 and that I wasn't staying satisfied long enough with a meal or snack portion, he agreed it was time for an adjustment but also said now that I am getting pretty full on my band, he will go very conservatively on each adjustment because he doesn't want to have to do an unfill. After having read where others got .5 cc and were in the E.R. the next day or two getting an unfill back out of that adjustment, I'm willing to go the conservative route.

    So here is a real mental victory for me... I had a business lunch at a Japanese Steak House on the east side of Columbus just 3 hours after getting my band adjustment which puts me on liquids only for the day. So here I am ordering Hibachi chicken (yum) and watching everyone else eat their whole meal while I sipped on ice Water. I got a take home box for my whole lunch and just had to explain to the vendor who was buying lunch that I had a doctor appt and needed to be on liquids but that I'd enjoy the meal the following day. What I didn't tell them was that meal will probably make me about 3-4 meals! So will-power prevailed and knowing I can't risk eating on a band fill day kept me strong.

    The scale is down this a.m. but I expected it would be after a day of liquids so now the gradual increase in food types will help me see if this adjustment did the trick on staying full and Portion Control.< /p>

  13. Posted

    Carrie and Terri -- WOW you both look great. Thanks for sharing the photos.

    SharonA -- to post pictures you have to use the POST REPLY button to create a new reply instead of doing a Quick Reply and then there is a paperclip icon to let you attach .jpg files. The Post Reply is at the Bottom Left of the last thread reply you can see.

  14. Posted · Edited by SpecialK

    I think the stories on here of what it feels like to be at 1 Year Out are so helpful -- more so than any surgeon could have explained pre-op that we would lose slower, and that it could take 2-3 years even to reach full weight loss. That reality that Year 1 (March 2008-Feb 2009) was our "Lightening speed round" and that Year 2 (March 2009-Feb 2010) are the marathon half-way point for me and maybe Year 3 (March 2010-February 2011) will be my marathon 'wall' (like the 24 mile marker in a marathon) where I am at 90% of my goal and not sure I'll cross the finish line but even so, I am determined to keep putting one foot in front of the other, slow down and walk if I need to, (slow losing periods), and even stop and take a breath (plateau on weight loss) if that is what it takes to get through a 3 year plan for me.

    I am going to ask my surgeon for a small fill tomorrow, maybe as little as .25 cc to see if that adjustment will help me retain my food in my pouch longer. Its not so much the quantity I can eat at one sitting, but its how long it stays with me and how much time before I'm hungry and looking for something else to eat.

    Last, this end of Year 1 point, has made it that much more for me to have empathy for those who went the RNY route, lost tremendous weight in the first year, and then slowly figured out how they too could keep on eating a little bit more, and more, and then realized they didn't have restriction any longer or figured out they could eat sweets and that knowledge sabotaged them finishing their journey too. I am that much more committed to the idea of the Adjustability of the lapband, that if I keep going for follow ups, I will get there. For my RNY friends who I've known now for a year from monthly hospital support group meetings, are now hitting their slow loss period and its disconcerting to them too except they just have to go it as is from the perspective that there isn't anything the surgeon can do now for them except tell them "stay committed to small portions."

  15. Posted

    aJoneen........................-3 75 pounds LOST!

    Bandana....................... +3 92 lbs lost

    BrandNewLisa............0 80pounds LOST forever!!!

    evelas5000..................-3 50 pounds Lost

    Desdemona...................0

    Fenton...........................0 100 POUNDS LOST !!

    HarleyGirl..................0 85 pounds LOST!

    Hopeinapril................. +1 50 pounds lost!

    Kpodski........................0

    Lynnt1215................. +2

    NurseNiki...................0

    Nycm00.......................0

    Potatie.........................-3 100 POUNDS LOST!!

    Scrappy_Friend....-5 150 POUNDS LOST!!!!

    SpecialK...................-.5

    Sugarbean..................-2 110 POUNDS LOST !!

    Sharona......................-4

    stellabella...............,-.8 HALFWAY TO GOAL!

    Tess415......................0

    Thin2bme............... 0 100 POUNDS LOST !!

    WestCoastMom........0

    Wishin4......................0 73 pounds gone!!

    I see my surgeon tomorrow and am hoping for a tiny fill adjustment as I am finding my hunger comes back in a shorter amount of time that I want so hopefully just a little tweak will keep me moving on down!

  17. Posted · Edited by SpecialK

    Sorry, I found out that they only let you attach 5 in one post, so here goes the rest.

    The bright green jacket and shamrocks scarf was my St. Patty's outfit and it go lots of fun comments. Plus I had on my lucky shamrock socks today too.

    The dark green sweater is what I wore to the hospital on my surgery day. My brother took the picture with the Good Luck Care Bear right before we left for the hospital. Silly but it made me feel good.

    post-226326-1381313822394_thumb.jpg

    post-226326-13813138224212_thumb.jpg

    post-226326-13813138224379_thumb.jpg

  19. Posted

    A wee Irish shout out to all my March Shrinking Shamrocks on my 1 year bandiversary! Yes, banded on St. Patrick's Day and I truly feel lucky and blessed. Have a great day all!

    P.S. Speaking of Fenton and the Claw... where is our missing in action writer? Deep in thought on his latest novel I guess!

    post-226326-13813138222511_thumb.jpg

  21. Posted

    Hi Shamrocks. This coming Tuesday will be my Bandiversary and I had such high expectations of myself - more than my doctor did and more than my family and friends did. I got kind of stuck at my 94 lb mark and hoped I'd make it to -100 in March sometime and it dawned on me that I probably do need a slight fill of maybe .5 cc because I am getting hungry and I'm looking for foods to eat that have more substance and something that will stay with me but it doesn't seem to last long enough. I finally realized it isn't the quantity I can eat, its how long it must be staying in my upper pouch before going on down the line and so the sense of being full isn't staying with me long enough. Will let you know if a tiny fill will help kick start my losing.

    That said, I am so proud of myself and I confess that I've been looking at every St. Patrick's Day decoration and toy that are in the stores right now since I was banded on St. Patrick's Day. I did get another NSV this week with this guy I work with who told me I'm looking terrific and he said some other guy in the department that works out in our company gym had told him that you won't even recognize Kathy when you see her. Whoa! That brought a smile to my face.

    This idea of a Thread on Lapbandtalk that is for those who got banded at the same time has been an incredible support to me because as we hit the same milestones along the way, we can Celebrate and commiserate with each other. One thing I think is interesting is that we experienced bandsters now are finding how to eat around the band or finding if we don't eat the good food, the bad stuff still calls our names and its bad when we find out we can still eat a quantity of something bad. I got into a bag of candy this past week and it was so unlike me from the past 11 months but I was feeling stressed, it was handy, and I thought I could control my emotional eating by just eating a few and I didn't do it. So, the Easter candy will be hidden away and I'll keep my self 'safe' by not keeping foods that tempt me in the house.

    Thanks!

  22. Posted

    I enjoy watching the show to see how hard they are all trying and I get frustrated by the ones you can see aren't trying when they have such an advantage being on that ranch and having the support they are getting there. So, it was disappointing to see the Black team go off and binge away on food, drink, smoke, etc. BUT....

    I am tired of how many times the show is having to bleep off the language of the trainers and the participants both... seems to be alot more now than in previous seasons of Biggest Loser and the screaming of the trainers at their team members seems to be escalating higher and higher like they have an even greater incentive (maybe a salary bonus??) that NBC gives them if they are the ones that end up with the winner?? I understand that you can let out a cuss word here or there when you are angry and frustrated but the stream of this seems to be going downhill.

    I didn't know what to think about the rant (or should I say rampage) that the Blue Team guy went on at Jillian over not having had any personal training time with her when he felt he needed it. Why didn't he just go up to her and say Heh, are you ignoring me...hint hint, when are you going to work with me! in a joking but seriously let her know she had forgotten to work with him.

  24. Posted

    Hi bandsters. Hoping to see a group of you out at the mall tomorrow. I can use some encouragement as I've been working alot of overtime, slipping into some eating that I am fighting back on, and not getting time to exercise, a triple threat to successful weight loss. I'm trying to get control of things again but it is hard. My bandiversary is coming up next week and I really wanted to be at my -100 at that point but I'm struggling to hold onto the -94 I have at this point so maybe I set myself mentally up for failure in a way putting stress on myself. I've now set March 31 as my goal for -100 and I do see my surgeon on Monday March 16 and I'm going to ask for a small band fill adjustment because I am finding it easier and easier to eat bits more and those little bits add up when you log them in. I haven't had an adjustment since about November I think so with what I lost since then, it may be time for a small adjustment to keep me at the restriction level I need.

    Congratulations to the other folks I shared my bandiversary date with last St. Patrick's Day and just before... its been an incredible year.

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