Sidann

For all of you with joint problems, I am a physical therapist and I can say without a doubt you will decrease the pain in your joint significantly with even a 10-15% wt loss. I worked for an orthopedic group who did everything in their power to get people to lose 10% of their weight and begin some exercises before going through with surgery. Every patient who was able to follow through with it declined surgery. Since regular wt loss methods weren't very effective with me this band will save my joints. That is the one co-morbidity I didn't have with my weight but my mom has osteo & rheumatoid arthritis and has several joints replaced. However, she isn't overweight but the doctors I worked with were constantly nagging me about the risk I had of joint damage with my weight. But after that lecture (sorry - the teacher in me comes out sometimes)let me just say the wt loss after the band will drastically decrease your joint pain.

Lifesaver - You have reached out to me so many times through this site. I wish I could take it all away so you would feel better. I see so much strength in what you said. Like Mini mentioned - you are truly looking for ways to stop the crazy cycle of emotional eating and that is the first step in successfully stopping it. The 44+ lbs are proof that you can do this. I'm praying for you and the difficulties you are facing.

You are so right Munchkin about that plane $$. Thankfully Dr. K. is generous in his care about us after surgery and charges 0 for 3 months for a fill and $15 after that. As usual, Dee, you are a sweetheart with your wish to take care of me! I'll be there in spirit. I may try your suggestion while waiting for a fill and go to my pre-op diet and include fruit.

Thank you Lifesaver & Prty for the info on your after-surgery belly bump. I'm going to just relax and let it resolve itself over time. I just found out I won't be at the bar bq . My brother and SIL are out of town that weekend so I don't have a place to stay. The cost of the airfare has tripled now since my surgery in May so a hotel on top of that ticket is out of the question. Jet fuel cost is the reason I'm sure. I had a fill scheduled Friday with Dr K but now I'll need to cancel that too. I really need one but it will have to wait. I'm looking for a closer fill doctor but haven't been successful finding one that charges less than the plane ticket to Denver. I am down a pound this week. I'll take it even though it isn't much. I upped my exercise this week and I think that helped. Brandy - hang in there. With that unfill you had, the stress you are under, and being so close to goal it is probably hard to continue to lose. But you didn't gain - that is great!

Munchkin I agree with Mini. I would stay with nights. The one thing you said that would seal it for me is that you like the people you work with on nights. I am a physical therapist so we don't do the night shift stuff but I have thought before that I would like that atmosphere so much better. But more than that I love the people I work with (I teach and practice) and that makes everything else so much easier to deal with including any hassle with your furry babies. But that's just my 2 cents worth. FW - I know it is scary to consider anything medical without insurance right now but I am so glad you chose the band over bypass. I'm also glad that you are having the band put in because you will actually be improving your chances of a healthy life. My doctor said he believes I added 10 years to my life and that my quality of life should be incredible when I lose just 20 more lbs. I plan to lose 70 more but I am feeling really great now and have been able to quit my blood pressure meds and my blood sugar levels are very normal. I wish I had done it sooner. Not much longer for you! I'm getting excited about the bar b q so I can meet you guys. I'm trying to get a fill appointment on Aug 1 (if there are any left) and then come out on Saturday. I stay with my brother and SIL while I'm in Denver and they may not come but I want to get out there and meet you! Brandy - I'm so glad to hear your father in law is doing so well.

Woofay - Thanks for the info on your "bump". I am just 2 months since surgery. It is just getting more and more noticeable and Natalie thought it would be gone by now. But if you had yours for 6 months (my goodness I didn't know you had to have your band replaced!) then I will relax about it. I haven't been overly concerned since it isn't red or hurting or doing anything but sitting there. Like Munchkin said - where Dr K puts our port means easier access for fills and that is more important than a weird lump. Mini-you are being so creative with your 2 weeks of liquid. You should write a recipe book because I see people writing on this site that they are so bored and hungry. I just toughed it out but you are being very ingenious with your choices. Thanks again Woofay! I knew you guys would put my mind at ease and have some idea what I was talking about. Can you imagine if I asked someone who hadn't been banded what this lump was? It makes me laugh some times some of the things we now talk about that the rest of the world is clueless about. We even have our own language.

Just checking my ticker addition! Thanks for the great instructions.

I'm not familiar with the book Dr. K. recommended but the EMMI educational program was OK. I didn't get an access code until 3 weeks after my surgery which is strange because it is intended for before during and after. You might email Natalie and ask her about it. Now a question for you banditos. If you haven't been banded yet or were recently banded (Mini) don't let this question alarm you but here goes. I have had a bump about the size of my fist over my port since my surgery. I thought it was just swelling and it would resolve in a while. Today is week 8 since my surgery and it is more noticeable since I have lost some weight. It doesn't hurt and isn't tender but it is obvious to others besides me. My daughter said she could see it when I wear certain knit shirts that touch my stomach. When I press on it I can feel my port. Any thoughts from the experts here? I have said this before but I truly would never have felt this good about my band without all of you. Someone has ALWAYS been here to help or encourage and it is unbelievable the difference it has made to me. I refer to things you have recommended or things you have said here and forget that my friends here in town don't have a clue who you guys are. But it is great!

MY GOODNESS! I'm off for a couple of days and everything changes and everybody is looking good too. However, I'm joining some of you on the other side of things this week - I gained 2 lbs. I didn't watch too carefully at the end of this week and didn't exercise except a little walking. I don't have as much restriction this week either. I haven't scheduled another fill. I'm so proud of all the good lab results I'm reading about. Even though no one "sees" those benefits they sure do make us feel better and live longer. Well - here's to getting back on the Loser's Bench this week. Mini-I'm glad your surgery went well and you are through with those nasty headaches. Welcome to all the NEWBIES. You will love it here and we love having you with us.

Someone may want to tell Natalie that the pre-op diet goes through til surgery. She told me during my pre-op appt (while waiting for Dr. K) that I could eat whatever I wanted that night. I didn't get carried away at all but I think I did eat mashed potatoes which weren't on my pre-op. Dr. K. didn't say one way or the other. I probably only saw him 5 minutes for my pre-op! But he said my liver was fine for surgery. I'm like Brandy with the plastic surgery. I'm a little afraid of it more so than my band. Lap - you put it in perspective though. I can't imagine how much you will be able to do when you have it and how great you will feel. Great weight loss 2 weeks in a row too. Bahot & Brandy - way to go on the 10's!! I can't even imagine that yet. Hope Mini is doing well!

My pre-op was scheduled for the same time of day as Mini's and I didn't get out of his office until almost 7! Hope he is faster than that tonight! I bet he and his staff are about ready to drop over. I think they run full steam every day all day. I don't know how they do it.

Dee - I would send pictures but not talk about the band yet. The band is not a bad thing but I wouldn't add that to the discussion at this point. Maybe when you meet you could get an idea of where he is with things and tell him then. That's just my 2 cents worth! I'm glad you are going to go for it. Adorkable - My sister-in-law has a cyst on her liver and she has not had any trouble with it usually. The doctors have said there isn't a need to take it out if it doesn't grow. She has to watch her carb intake since we all know it causes your liver to enlarge. When her liver is enlarged she said the cyst causes some cramping kind of like a stitch in her side but not quite as strong. I don't know about a cyst on your kidney though.

Hey Mini- Dr. K. told me I could eat whatever I wanted to on the night before my surgery. I was just banded on May 14 and had about the same amount of weight to lose. I was so worried that my liver would swell up after that one meal but he said that it wouldn't. The only way my liver would be swollen on surgery day was if I didn't do what he asked during the week before surgery. So you can eat whatever your band friends will be willing to watch you eat ;-}. You are being banded on my daughter's birthday. I'll be praying for you! What time is your surgery?

Mini- Yes that makes 20 lbs lost! That's pretty exciting. I wonder if I'll have school clothes for Monday. My students may get pretty tired of seeing me in the same clothes for 4 weeks. I hope to lose more before school starts in August so I hate to buy more now. I've been this size for so long that I have only 2 or 3 items that are smaller. I was really without any hope of losing much until I had the band. But I have an added blessing and that's finding all of you!

Well I turned up the exercise and watched my eating some more and I lost 3 lbs this week! I will have to be very careful since I start teaching summer school on Monday. I have a tendency to focus on that only and forget to watch what I'm doing otherwise.

I drank it with hot water too! How funny and a little sad. I was really young - probably 13 when I did that candy.

Oh yes - I had forgotten that Fat and Fiber thing. I fed the liver to the dog once and the dog threw up! I was in real trouble after that. Mom was really very helpful though and tried so hard to make it work for me. I lost a lot of weight the first time (about 35 yrs ago). But I truly thought I had nothing to worry about and gained it all back in about 4 months. With the Ayds candy I used to eat those before and after the meal. They were intended to be eaten before a meal to curb your appetite. I have eaten weird things and drunk weird things all in the name of weight loss. I had truly given up until the band.

Hi all bander friends! I remember the Ayds diet candy. I was in Weight Watchers when we had to make our own condiments, eat liver once a week, and eat fish 5 meals per week. I have been on so many diets in my life I think I should get some award. But after all of this I can honestly say that this time I'm going to make it with the help of the band AND all of you. Mini and I have the same amount to lose. I am 6 weeks 2 days post op and it is true about the first month - bad! I lost some gained a little didn't lose anything but now I've lost 17 lbs. Before the band I hadn't lost anything in almost 5 years and kept it off for more than a day or 2 that I truly believed I would fail this too. Even though I will lose slower than some (Mini we are in the same boat - age, hysterectomy, etc) I am losing and that's all that matters. I had a non-scale victory yesterday. I had to see my primary care md about another problem and told him I had been banded. He looked at my chart for my weight loss and smiled and said he was so happy for me. He said I probably added 10 years to my life and by fall should be off all my bp & cholesterol meds. He took me off my diabetes meds (I'm not on insulin but was taking another med) and said by fall he thought I should be in diabetes remission. He doesn't think anyone is fully cured of this disease but believes I won't suffer the effects from it if I stay the course and lose another 30 lbs. I truly need to lose another 75 but he feels that 30 more will put me in a much better place. He believes I can lose 50 more this year and even then it will be slow. But he was beaming when he walked out of the room and so was I. Brandy- I'm so glad that you may have some relief and can keep your band. You can get through this - I know you can. Dee- I felt like crying when I read the story of the SW passenger. I can't imagine how humiliated she must have felt and still feels. That was unbelievably rude and inappropriate. I'm so sorry you are struggling with the edema and some depression. I was worried about you when you mentioned your ex being involved in your trip. You are such a giving woman and thinking of others always that I think you get the short end of the stick. Please don't stop doing those things but please take care of you!

Wow! I am behind in reading! Brandy - I'm so glad your band is where it's supposed to be. Natalie is right you are the model patient for the band. Dee - I am sorry you have had so much pain from your marriage/ex. Mini is right. You deserve so much better and this time I know you will wait until you have that before you take the plunge again. Jilliepoo - my daughter has a Corgi/German Shepherd mix. Isn't that a vision that's hard to imagine the mating of those 2 breeds? She has a Corgi body,neck,& legs but is colored like a Shepherd with a Shepherd ears, face and tail. She is so weird looking that she is cute. She is a super dog and very smart. Mini-I'm excited about your surgery. I lost 3 lbs on my pre-op and was only on it 1 week. But I'll take whatever I can get if it's going in the right direction. Now to my weigh-in for last Saturday. I only lost 1/2 pound!! I am frustrated and think my problem is I need to exercise more often and longer. I don't have the TOM excuse because I had a hysterectomy 5 years ago. I really don't have any excuse so I need to get my rear in gear and get it moving more! I'll get my phone number to Mini - thanks for being the keeper of the #'s. I'm sorry if I've missed anyone. I have a hard time keeping up with all of you. I start teaching summer school Monday so I'll be even more behind after that. You guys are the best!

Brandy - Yes it could be constipation. But I know Dr. K. will have the problem figured out pretty quickly. I'm praying for a quick resolution! Green & Lap - Thanks for the encouragement that we did this for ourselves and not to impress others. But I know it must get discouraging when others don't notice or at least don't SAY they notice. I am impressed with the daily strength I see building in everyone on this thread.

Thanks for the understanding on the slip up. I'm a perfectionist and it sounds like so are a lot of you. When I look back on pictures of my teenage years I see a young woman who was fine as far as size but I knew then I was feeling huge. I am surrounded in my family by women who are tiny and have never struggled with weight. However, I have a lot of support from them. To all of you waiting to get your band please be patient with yourselves. You may gain before you start your pre-op diet like I did. I have weighed within 10 lbs of the same weight for almost 8 years so any weight I lost was going to be a big deal but I expected more (perfection again). I lost 3 lbs on the pre-op and in the month before my first fill after surgery lost very little then as well. Natalie and others here call that month Lap Band Hell Month. Some lose nothing and some gain in that time. I started to panic when I thought all I went through and money I spent that it was going to end up like this. But as usual this group saved the day. They encouraged me to keep going and not give up yet. So when you feel like you should give up and eat your heart out just say a prayer and sign in here. Someone will be here to help you. I'm just 5 weeks since surgery and have seen some changes. I need to be accountable and put a ticker on. Maybe next week I'll take some time to do that. Just think - if I had never been overweight I would never have been banded and never had the chance to get to know such a great group of people. You are the best.

You are right Brandy - thank you for encouraging me to keep going.

OK - you guys post way more often than I can ever hope to match! Shelbi - great news about your husband. Maybe this is enough to get him to work on things. Marcy-I visited Alaska in 2004 and fell in love with it. But I couldn't handle the winters. Mini-You are an inspiration to all those you teach with your drive for reaching higher and farther. Lap-Great post. I spend too much time looking back. Bahot-Maybe you could just record your treadmill talking and send it to all of us to connect to our exercise equipment Dee-Have a great time in Vegas. My daughter will be 29 in 2 weeks. We are planning a big party for her 30th. Just a band note about myself. I am pretty stubborn and will push the limits with everything to test if it's really true. If you say I can't or shouldn't then I will still try. Sometimes that's good but often it's not. Anyway back to the story. I have been following the band rules for eating for 5 weeks and planned to do the same when I went to dinner with friends last night. I have not had anything to drink with my meals and have waited 20-30 minutes. This time I fell into my old habit of drinking my iced tea like a fish before and during my meal. I ate much more than I had been able to eat before and it was primarily because I was drinking throughout. I went home and have gone back to that practice and have had restriction. It was amazing that I did it so quickly and how important it is for me to do what they say works best. Believe them when they say you can eat around the band. I have lost weight since the fill but that experience opened my eyes to how careful I need to be. You all know that but I wanted to tell anyone out there who is noncompliant like me - just do what they suggest and you will be much better off. As for the bread and steak - Dr. K said to experiment with some things to see if they could go down OK. I haven't had trouble with whole grain breads but haven't tried steak. Neither he or Paula said anything was off limits except what you would normally avoid when trying to lose weight. Sidney

Hi Banditos, I lost 3 lbs this week. I'm with Shelbi - loss, gain, loss but it is going in the right direction! Fatwidow - I'm only adding what everyone else has already said but make your reservations! I also overate before the prep week even though I told myself I wouldn't. During pre-op prep diet I did OK but it was like every other diet I had ever done. The thing was I knew I had to do it for a while without help with an end in site when I got my band. Since the band I still struggle at times with my head hunger but I really use the tool I was given. Even if I eat something that isn't very good for me I can't eat much and it gives me the signal to stop and get back on track. I thought before surgery that I couldn't do anything related to food after my band - no parties, no restaurants, but that is TOTALLY wrong. I just don't eat as much as everyone else. I also thought people would think I was weird for not eating as much. But I have found that other people aren't really paying any attention to what is on your plate. They just care what's on their plate. It's almost humorous to watch. Since I eat slower I am finished at the same time my friends are and they have consumed almost 3 times more. Go for it - you won't be sorry.

Hey Beautiful Bandsters! I am SOOO impressed with ALL of you. What an amazing transformation I see in you. I am sorry I missed Brandy at the office yesterday. I think I may have been in the exam room when you came in and you were in when I came out. That whole fill experience was amazing. Dr. K and 3 students/observers, my sister in law and me in one tiny exam room but it was great. I am like all the rest of you - Dr. K is truly a caring person and I feel so blessed to have him as my doctor. I got 2.5 cc in my band. He was very careful and listened to me - looking me in the eye. My sister in law has had numerous operations because of a digestive disorder but she was really impressed with Dr. K. With all that I am still considering a fill center in the future but it has nothing to do with a bad situation with Dr. K. I got to the airport to come home at 2 pm yesterday and did not get to my house in Oklahoma until 2:45 am today. It was twice as expensive as my trip in May and a million times the stress with the airlines. I haven't decided yet but that may be what I need to do. However I would LOVE to see everyone at the Bar B Q. Dr. K even reminded me about it and said he was really looking forward to seeing everyone. One more co-morbidity situation I faced being obese. I had uterine cancer in August '03. My doctor said even though I was overweight that it was unlikely the reason I was having problems. But when I had the biopsy it came back positive so I had the surgery. This is a very treatable and curable cancer if caught early and mine was. I am so sorry to hear of your father's cancer Mini. I am glad you have such a wonderful relationship with him. You must be a source of great joy for him.