smilo

I don't have a specific tape to recommend, but if you have a store near you that sells used books, they often have used videotapes/DVDs as well. Also, libraries often have sales to get rid of donated items they don't need and you'll usually find some exercise videos or DVDs among their offerings. If you find them from a cheap enough source, you could buy several for your $20 and just use the one you like best.

I sincerely hope I'm building muscle too. I haven't lost any weight in three weeks and it's getting really depressing. But, I'm walking a mile a day and doing 35 sit-ups every morning. I also do some old-fashioned isometric pushing/pulling things with my arms while I watch TV at night. I do feel better and more energetic than I have in quite a while, so I'm forging ahead and hoping that the scale will show some results eventually. You hang in there too, Rajgrover. Smilo

I was sore for about a week after my banding, and I think that was during the worst of the swelling. After a week I was off the pain medication and able to take short walks every day. As soon as I started walking I got hungry. And I do mean *hungry*. I gained two pounds between the time I was banded and when I got my first fill. I had some lingering tenderness around my largest incision for several weeks. When I went in for my second fill last week the nurse hit a "seroma" near my incision and bloody Fluid started erupting from my belly like a little geyser. It was pretty dramatic. But, several gauze pads later, my tenderness was gone and I now have no pain around my incision. I've since learned that seromas are pretty common whenever you have surgery. So, if after a few months you have continuing pain near one of your incisions, you may want to ask your doctor to check for and drain any seromas you may have. Keep in mind though that every person's experience is different. As you read more on the board here that will become abundantly clear. Welcome! :-)

I'm a spinster librarian from southeast Louisiana. My house and I both survived Katrina, and I was banded by Dr. Thomas Lavin in Slidell, Louisiana on 11/21/2005. I got through the soft food phase and was able to eat waaaayyy too much food over the holidays. However, I only gained two pounds, so I didn't think that was too bad. I had my first fill on 1/5/06 and my second on 2/1/06. I've lost 12 pounds since that first fill. I still get fairly hungry between meals, so I don't think I've found that perfect fill level yet. I took Meridia for several months prior to my surgery to try to get in better shape for the surgery. In May 2005 when I started the Meridia I weighed 342 pounds. Right now I weigh 277. So, my grand total is really 65 pounds. I've been on diets since I was 10, and like most of you I'm guessing, I've lost and gained hundreds of pounds over the years. I'm really hoping that the lap-band will be the tool that finally works in the long term. As I was pondering the surgery I came up with this analogy--for me, dieting is a lot like swimming. I can do it fairly well, but in the end I'm a land mammal and simply not designed to live in the Water. I get tired of being wet, and my fingers get pruny, and I just have to get back out onto dry land. The lap-band is like scuba gear. It's going to help me be much more comfortable living in an environment that isn't really natural for me. And, if I'm lucky, in time I might even develop some gills. It's nice to be among so many other folks who are trying out the scuba gear with me. And, if you haven't had the surgery yet, come on in...the water's fine. Smilo

My doctor, Thomas Lavin, and his associates have a few office locations in southeast Louisiana. Their web site is: http://www.whyweight.com/