PhotoNut

Wow, this actually looks very cool. This is my biggest problem area right now. http://www.powerseed.com/example.html

I take one chewable Centrum, 2 chewable Calcium (600mg), 1 vitamin E (400 ui), and 3 chewable vitamin C (500mg) per day. I just drink water when I chew them and they go down fine. I take one C with each meal, and one Calcium with breakfast and one with lunch. I hate taking pills, so I dont mind the chewables at all. I have no problems swallowing the E.

Hey Penni? *snickers* LOL.. sorry, couldnt resist. No need to duck, I was only repeating a theory I heard on here anyway. I'd have to do more research to find out if it was really feasible. I do know that Sumo wrestlers eat big meals before going to bed to gain weight. They said it was because when you are sleeping, your digestive system slows way down. I could have that wrong, but I'll tell you what.. I darn near could have qualified to be one of those bare butted giants! LOL Maybe we just tend to swell up at night. My rings can be falling off at night and the next morning they are tight as can be. *shrugs*

Welcome to LBT, Kat! That makes three of you (that I know of) who will be banded tomorrow! Best wishes to you all for a speedy recovery. I can hardly wait to hear the excitement in your posts when you start losing weight!

Hey Donna, grats on your band! Im so glad to hear youre doing so well. The Protein is really hard at this stage. I think you'll gradually build up to the full 60 grams. You might try Slim Fast drinks mixed with your Protein shakes. The vanilla was great for this. It made a lot, but I just divided it up into three smaller portions spread out over the day.

Heyas Carla.. I guess we should start out with a prayer for your resurrection, since you'll most likely be dead from the starvation. *winks* Seriously, it sounds like you know where your faith in your future lies. You will be in our prayers for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery. God bless.

Sounds like youre experiencing a PB. Try to stay calm and walk around, hold your arms up over your head and let things work their way down, but dont drink water! If you ate too much, some may have to come up if it won't go down. But mostly, try to stay calm so your body relaxes and lets the food through.

Good points on all sides. I remember when smoking ads were banned on TV. People were worried that it was taking away freedoms then as well. However, we need to remember who watches more TV than any of us. It's the kids. From the time they are old enough to realize there's something interesting going on in that strange box, they are seeing god knows how many commercials about fast foods, candy, cakes, etc. And these adds are always accompanied by someone telling the viewer that we deserve this - if our parents love us, they take us to McDonald's - good times are centered around food - mmm this is so good, it's sinful. Images of the afternoon sun streaking in through the kitchen windows, the kids arriving hom from school just as mom pulls the cookie sheet from the oven, covered in fresh baked Cookies and of course a pitcher of cold milk awaits everyone on the table. It's no wonder we all freak out if we think about taking junk food from our homes - its like telling us to deprive families of love. And advertising companies always aim this stuff at kids - do you think Ronald McDonald was created to lure adults? Yes, we are all ultimately responsible for our own decisions. We are adults that need to make good choices for ourselves and for our families. But good lord, try to quit smoking when your spouse smokes.. try to quit drinking when you work in a bar.. and try to make good choices about food when you see hundreds of images of that cheese being stretched as the piece of pizza is being lifted from the pan. Shoot - it is hard for me here when I see people describing the foods they ate. Some of you will find it hard to read what I just wrote about food. Wow.. now I'm rambling sorry. I just feel passionately about this subject. Comorbidities of obesity have passed cancer as the number one killer in America now. In my opinion, telling a child that ice cream is bad for them isn't going to keep them from wanting it when they have hundreds of images in their heads already of happy children eating ice cream and laughing together. How can that be bad?

Inamed's website says that the first fill in a 10cm VG band should be a minimum of 4cc. I hear a lot of people saying they got less and have gone back a lot of times before they ever felt restriction. If I had a VG band, I think I'd be demaning 4cc to start and then I would want to go slowly - if more was needed. I know it's hard to fight the hungries when you know you can eat more than you should, but I'd rather battle that and progress a bit slower than to insist on getting a "more aggressive" fill (meaning, you insist the Dr gives you more this time because last time didn't do the trick). My reasoning? Well, after reading many posts about people who suffered for days, not even able to drink Water.. and a mere .5cc unfill cured it, I've decided to go about this with caution. I currently have 1cc out of a possible 4cc and if I need more, I'm going to be saying.. go easy Doc!

Hey Doll, I haven't talked much with you one on one but I did notice you hadn't been around! I figured your prankster friend pulled a really good one on your or something. *chuckles* Custody battles - NO fun for anyone involved. Best wishes to all involved. Tell us more about your buddy. Better yet, bring him here with his before and after pics! *hugs*

Me too! I want more info! Ann's story is what led me to the lapband. Hmm.. I wonder if she ever got on support boards like this?

Best wishes for your surgery in the morning Lenner girl. I'll be thinking about ya, and smiling. You'll be sore and stiff for a while so take it easy and be good to yourself. Don't forget to remind everyone around you in the morning about any special needs you have before they give you that lovely IV! I am SO looking forward to welcoming you to Bandland! *clank*clank*clonk*clank*

Good grief, that's wonderful progress! Good for you! Don't be too hard on yourself and expect to jump from point A to point Z in one leap. The journey is a long one with a lot of blessings (NSVs - non scale victories) along the way. You're taking excellent steps in the right direction to regain control of your life and your health, and I'm very excited for you!

Rhonda, you silly silly girl! *hugs* Get on your clear liquids now and let the swelling and irritation from being sick calm down. I'd recommend a day or two then begin to gradually re-introduce softer foods before moving on. If you keep trying to rush things you'll just prepetuate the cycle of getting sick and irritating things. It is hard to say NO when your tummy is growling, but as you've just learned it's harder in the long run when you don't say NO. Take care of yourself.

Donna.. check out this thread, it will answer a lot of your questions. There is also a link in there that will take you to the farewell thread to Blossom. http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=15339&highlight=Blossom

Depends on your doctor and your insurance. That's a good question to ask when you are checking out surgeons! My doctor sees erosion and slipping as part of the risks associated with the band. Since I paid for my band myself, I would have to pay for the surgery to fix anything that went wrong, unless it was due to a faulty band or surgeon error of course.

There are some who eat foods which are high in carbs, go through the band easily, and leave you feeling hungry even though you are eating more. Carbs such as sugars and breads (all forms of flour products) are the worst culprits. When I hear someone complaining of eating a lot yet always being hungry, this is the first thing that enters my mind. They aren't following one of the most important bandster "rules" and that is to eat your protein first. Proteins break down slower and stay in the stomach longer, therefore keeping you from getting hungry so soon. It also supplies the body with the nutrition it is craving. When you eat empty calories, your body will keep pestering you with hungry signals because it requires certain things to remain healthy.

Not at the moment. I ate Breakfast about an hour ago. I should be good for another three hours. But if I do get hungry before then, I'll eat 3/4 cup of something healthy and be good for another 3-4 hours. If you are asking if I feel like I'm constantly hungry.. constantly deprived, then the answer is a definite no. I still get the head hunger but that is something my brain and I are working on. Learning what is true hunger and what is imagined hunger. Often times I'm just bored, frustrated and looking for my "fix", or even thirsty. Many of us mistake thirst for hunger. Anyway, the whole idea of the band is to hold the food in the small pouch longer so we have the feeling of "fullness" which is actually a lack of hunger (satiated) until it is time to eat the next meal. Oh geeze, where are my manners?? Welcome to LBT!

Typically bandsters have problems with breads, fiberous fruits and veggies (celery, brocolli, pineapple, oranges, etc), any kind of dry meat (most uses low cal dressings or gravies to help this), and peels or skins (potato skins, plum skins, grapes, etc). I haven't heard of anyone having troubles with nuts or seeds. In fact, almonds are a great high Protein, low fat snack. Just be aware that nuts and seeds are typically very high in calories. For the same amount of calories, you could be having 4 oz of hard protein which will keep you satiated longer.

I asked myself this question so many times as I was waiting for my surgery date to arrive. I felt so guilty for spending so much money on the band when I was going to do all the typical weight loss things anyway. The only thing that got me over that was realizing that I had done those things - so many times I'd lost count, and I was still getting fatter every year. I recently went through a week of feeling down about the overall idea of weightloss. For the first time since starting my band journey, I saw no loss on weigh in day. The voices began in my head.. It was going to take too long.. I didn't really feel any difference in my body.. I was growing bored with the whole diet obession - again! I recognized this point in the weightloss process. I'd been here before. And it was here that I'd given up and allowed myself to slip back into the old ways of eating. Pushing the thoughts of dieting and weightloss aside as I replaced them with my good old friend, food. But here is where every penny I spent on this band was repaid to me. In spite of my feelings, in spite of my depression, boredom, and loss of belief in my success... the band kept working. I'm sure I'll go through this again, and when I do I will be reminded yet again - THIS is why I got the band. I need that safety net for the times I slip emotionally or physically.

What an awesome opportunity. You must be very proud, excited and nervous. Moving from North Dakota to Africa is a tremendous life diversion! I'm excited for you! Think of all the new adventures before you, the new friends and job challenges. This is the kind of stuff that keeps ya young! Your new place looks great. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your pictures. How did you find out about this job anyway? Were you looking for an opportunity to move to Africa or was this something out of left field that came up unexpectedly?

Hey Hey Paul.. (yup, me too! I own the vinyl!)

I've seen a lot of posts regarding this issue. Bands seem to be tighter in the mornings. One of the recommendations I saw was to drink some warm tea or coffee before trying to eat in the mornings. The warmth will loosen up the band a bit. Another very logical suggestion was to stop eating by 7pm. The reasoning was this: If we eat late at night and don't give our food time to digest and move out of the stomach, the food will lie there through the night and some will still be in the pouch the next morning. Once we get up and start moving around, things get to working again and the food will be moved along. By evening, we have been active all day and things are moving much quicker. Made sense to me. I rarely eat anything past 7pm, and when I do its usually on the weekend when I'm up much later. Even then I will not go to bed for at least three hours after the last time I ate. I hope this helps.

About 7 years ago I woke up in the middle of the night thinking I was having a heart attack. For all women who've been in labor, this was much like that, only the contractions were in the center of my chest and back. I remember telling God I'd stop smoking if He'd just let me live, that's how scarey it was. I was told at the hospital that gall bladder attacks won't kill you, but they can be very painful. Gall stones are much like kidney stones - that you can't pass. When the gallbladder gets diseased and forms the stones, it can't be fixed, just removed. I was sent home with Vicodine and was told to get an appointment to have my gallbladder removed asap. While it can't kill you, it can get worse and require open surgery rather than laproscopic surgery to remove it. I am a big chicken when it comes to surgery that requires cutting and removing parts of my body, so I never set up an appointment. I had two other attacks over the following months, both times I just knocked myself out with Vicodine and slept through it. Since then, I've had no problems at all. Fatty foods typically set off the attacks, but I wasn't even being careful about what I ate. Now my close friend had one attack and was in the hospital having hers out right away. Since then, she has had more and more problems with eating and digesting foods. She has diahrrea a LOT and has to avoid any dairy products. For the last 5 years she's been dealing with the after affects and I've had no problems. I'll keep my gallbladder and its stones thank you very much! Oh, by the way.. anyone can develope problems with gallbladders, but the doctor told me that the highest category of people who do suffer with it are Fat, Fourty, and Fertile. Nice huh?

Welcome to the Club Twinkle! Be sure to take full advantage of the group. We have some great members Oh, and Penni officially joined tonight as well. Welcome Penni!