DonnaB

The unsweetened version per 1 cup: Calories 170 Calories from fat 10 Total fat 1g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 0mg potassium 190 mg Total Carbohydrate 40g Dietary Fiber 6g Soluble Fiber 1g Insoluble Fiber 5g Sugar 0g Protein 6g So, a little high in carbs but worth it every morning like clockwork! LOL

See next post . . .

Well, what's good for the goose is good for . . . um, the OTHER goose! Shredded Wheat is a breakfast cereal that's high in fiber. I was having a hard time 'going' after surgery too - PhotoNut and Jack both suggested a fiber rich cereal. PhotoNut likes "FiberOne" for regularity and Jack likes "Shredded Wheat". I went to the market and Fiber One cost's a small fortune so I went with the Shredded Wheat (I know I shouldn't have but I got a box of frosted and a box of unsweetened and mixed them together - it's perfect). Ever since then I've been regular as clockwork. It's filling and tastes good (OK, I mixed in the sweetened one cause it tastes better) so I have a cup of it every day along with fat free skimmed milk and presto! Problem solved. LOL Good luck to you - I know how you're feeling right about now! Try to find something high fiber that helps your body work on its own - you don't want to have to take medicine every day just to move your bowels. No one ever wants to hear this one but . . . increasing your exercise will also help with this one. (Don't throw things at me!)

Ahhhhhhh! Sorry, I'm not usually so clueless! I'm with Jack on this issue - the (holy) Shredded Wheat is worth it's weight in gold. Every day - like clockwork.

Amen Wheetsin! I think you'd be far more embarrassed if you were detained for stealing the seat-belt extender than you'd be to ask for one on the occasions when you fly.

You were so delicate I missed the question - and I'm usually pretty perceptive. Hmmmm. No bowel movement? Everything coming out looking exactly as it did going in? Delicacy is highly over rated. What are you saying? :-)

This was on AOL today. It speaks volumes I think. Updated: 07:53 AM EDT Jobless or Fat? Most Prefer Former By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY (May 1) -- More than half of Americans say they'd rather lose their jobs than get fat. Fifty-eight percent of women and 54% of men say they'd rather be unemployed than gain 75 pounds. And 63% of women and 55% of men say they'd rather be poor with no extra pounds to lose than rich and substantially overweight. These are the findings of a poll of 1,007 people for Fitness magazine. It will appear in the June issue. "People believe it's a monumental struggle to lose 75 pounds," says Liz Vaccariello, executive editor of Fitness. "They think they can find a job much easier than the commitment it takes to lose weight, which means giving up food, which people love, and moving more, which many people don't love," Vaccariello says. "In reality, small daily changes can make weight loss a much less daunting effort." Still, to drop that much weight in a healthy way, you'd have to work at it for a year or more, says Bonnie Taub-Dix, a registered dietitian in New York City. "People would rather pick up the want ads than pick up extra pounds." Other findings: •75% of men and 80% of women say they wouldn't give up 20 intelligence-quotient points to gain the perfect body. •But 17% of men and 11% of women would at least consider the trade-off, and of those, 7% of men and 5% of women say they'd do it in an instant. •27% of women say they'd rather get their wisdom teeth pulled than shop for swimsuits. •36% of women and 48% of men say their abdominal muscles are the body part they would most like to change. •42% of men and 27% of women say their arms are the body part they are happiest with. And 24% of women and 12% of men are happy with their backsides. •96% of men and 87% of women say they wouldn't skip a reunion because of their weight. •94% of men and 87% of women would still go out on a date even if they felt fat. •24% of women say they've avoided sex because they felt uncomfortable with their body. Taub-Dix says lots of women tell her that they avoid sex because they don't like their bodies, and that they feel sexier when they lose weight. She tells her clients who are trying to lose weight before swimsuit season that they should wear their bathing suits under their clothes so they're constantly reminded to stick with their healthy eating and exercise plan. But Taub-Dix is skeptical of the finding about reunions. "People are often embarrassed by how they look now compared to how they used to look in high school," she says. Still, "it is comforting to know that most people would choose brains over being thin," says Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietitian at Northwestern Memorial Wellness Institute in Chicago. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. 05-01-06 07:20 EDT Copyright 2006 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Sorry about adding to your worry about the tubing! It happens but I would think getting a fill under fluoro would reduce if not eliminate the risk. I've never heard anyone say anything about Fluid around the disk. Maybe he meant your port? Don't know about the fluid thing though. Maybe you could call and ask about it. I would think going to the hospital for the fill means he'll do it under fluoro this time. Double check when you call and ask about a fee for the hospital - will there be one? I would hate for you to be surprised on the day of the fill. I know that here, getting a fill with fluoro costs $250 and getting one without is $150. I think I need to invest in a fluoro machine - an extra $100 a pop? Man.

Hey Dimples, Sorry you're feeling so bad. I know it's scary but as long as you're able to drink and your wounds look good - no redness, heat, or ooze - you're OK. You just had a pretty big surgery a couple of days ago. Give yourself a chance to heal. Every day you'll feel a little bit better. If you're still worried and need more reassurance don't hesitate to call your doctor's office. They've heard it all and can tell you if what you're feeling is normal or not. Be well and keep posting to let us know how you're doing.

I had my surgery in Monterrey, Mexico with Dr. Roberto Rumbaut. I had no problem with gas pressure or flying 3 days after surgery. When I was researching and making plans for surgery and follow-up care, Dr. Rumbaut and I discussed fills and finding a doctor here who would do them for Mexico patients. Dr. Rumbaut proctored LOTS AND LOTS of the doctors who are performing the surgery in the U.S. now and he told me that if I had trouble finding a local doctor for aftercare and fills he'd make some phone calls and find one for me no problem. As it turns out, I found SEVERAL doctors who have no problem taking Mexico patients and there was no need for Dr. Rumbaut to call in a favor! Your post doesn't say where you're from but I'd be willing to bet there's a doc close by who'll do your follow-up care no problem. I hate to sound cynical but I think it's all about the money - some may refuse your money but most won't. As far as having the surgery itself, I was a self-pay and couldn't see spending the $20,000 or so it would have cost here locally when I could have, literally, one of the worlds best doctors perform the surgery for $10,600. That money covered EVERYTHING but airfare and food while in Mexico - I didn't eat much! lol Another thing, Dr. Rumbaut himself is banded which means he really understands the issues involved with the band which was very comforting to me. I was nervous about having surgery in Mexico but after my experience I would recommend it to anyone. If I had unlimited funds and had to do it all again - I'd go back to Dr. Rumbaut in Monterrey, Mexico. www.gastricband.com Good luck on your decision and best wishes on your weight loss journey no matter what you decide!

Oh my gosh - HOW HAPPY YOU MUST BE! Congratulations Jamie! How are you going to celebrate the century mark? New clothes? Trip to some exotic resort? Just purr is self-satisfaction? LOL Good for you!

Hi Maggie, I'm just eating smaller portions. I've even eaten pizza - shhh, don't tell anyone - I just don't eat nearly as much as I used to! The best thing I've done for myself - besides being banded! lol - is to sign up on www.FitDay.com. It's a food journal, a diary, a source of nutritional information, it keeps track of your moods and food triggers, it tells you what your calorie restriction needs to be to lose weight, how many calories you've burned - all kinds of cool stuff. It's an excellent way to keep track of what you're doing. I wish I'd known about FitDay ages ago - who knows how much it could have helped me even pre-band. It's free to use the online version and that's a good way to see if it's something you'll use, but if you use it for a few days or a week and you like it, go ahead and buy the download for $20 - it's more if you don't become a free member first. That's the best $20 I've ever spent. The downloadable version is better at keeping up with your custom foods. You input the foods you eat on a regular basis and then when you're logging your food each day it's a one click addition - it's soooo easy. Can you tell I love it? LOL I can't tell from your post how things are going for you? You don't have to share your weight if you don't want but, how much have you lost so far? Have you had a fill yet? How are you doing as far as port comfort and scarring? I love talking to people who were banded about the same time as me - it gives me an idea of where I stand in the grand scheme of things. I think I'm about average. Thanks for posting and good luck on your weight loss journey.

I've read other LBT people who are doing WW too. I'm not one of them LOL but I know there are some out there.

Hi Tina, It sounds to me like you need some protein. Are you drinking a protein drink? Isopure makes a clear protein drink that has 40 grams of protein and 0 grams of carbs. If you need the carbs - you might - you can get a version that has carbs in it too. None of them taste GREAT but the blue one is the best of the lot in my opinion. You can get Isopure at GNC for $3.50 per bottle. It's definitely worth a try. If you're wanting to use a protein powder mix, add a tablespoon of reduced fat peanut butter and 3 tablespoons of sugar free fat free chocolate pudding. Makes it taste SO much better. You didn't make a mistake, as soon as you move on to mushies you'll feel much better.

I swear I'm not a band Nazi - I totally understand the need to have something good to eat - but I just don't understand it when people go through having this surgery and then don't follow their doctor's orders AT LEAST UNTIL THEIR BODIES HAVE HEALED COMPLETELY. After that, bad choices can usually be overcome by making better choices the next meal or the next day. Would you press on your port wound a week after surgery just to see if it will still bleed? I don't think so, but by eating the wrong food so early in the game that's exactly what you're doing to your stomach where the band has been stitched - you're pressing on it and straining the stitches. Just because you can't feel it, that doesn't mean it's not causing damage. I kind of feel like this eating solid or even semi-solid food before your body has healed is a little like driving drunk. You may have gotten away with it today but the odds are that if you do it again and again, you're going to get caught and possibly hurt someone. In this case the person you hurt is yourself. Why would you do that? I don't understand. Please don't flame me for this post. I just don't understand and I don't think any amount of explanation will convince me that 'following your instincts' and 'listening to your body' is a good idea IN THIS SITUATION. You don't have nerve endings in your organs. Your body has nothing to 'say' that you'll be able to 'hear'. Besides, with regard to obesity, listening to what your body tells you to do has gotten you . . . where? Hasn't following your own advise up to this point caused you harm? Isn't that likely to continue? This band changed the configuration of your stomach, not your brain. Having said all that, I do make poor choices on occasion - I'm not perfect and I don't know anyone who is. I just wish you'd all give yourself a chance to heal before testing the waters.

I felt this exact same way after I was banded and worried that I would never be able to burp again. Thankfully, this is not the case and after my body healed up a bit I was able to burp again. What a relief! As to the hiccuping, it happens to me occasionally but that has slowed down a lot too. You really need to stick with the diet your doctor gave you. The VERY LAST THING YOU WANT RIGHT NOW is to PB or vomit. The violent action involved with vomitting is the most common reason for stitch breakage which can lead to slippage or a complication I've heard referred to as 'pelican pouch' where part of your stomach slips up through the band creating a larger pouch. The larger pouch defeats the purpose of the band and your weight loss will be very slow or not at all. Your band was placed in a specific location and oriented in a particular way, if you lose stitches the band may move in a way which could increase your chances for erosion, which will ultimately lead to band removal. You've spent a lot of money and/or risked surgery with a general anesthesia. Don't mess yourself up before you've even had a chance to succeed. For more on this topic see a thread titled "Why not CHEAT!". It's kind of a free for all and there is some bad advise there but you'll see all the arguements for post-op compliance. On LBT that's how people refer to vomitting. Productive Burp just sounds more refined I guess! LOL You really don't want it to happen. Find more on this topic in a thread titled - PB? Worst Experience of My Life - I think that's the title. There are lots of threads about PB's but this one is quite graphic - to the point of comedy - and you'll definitely want to avoid a PB after reading it! You can find it with a Search - Search button located on the blue bar at the top of the LBT home page. You shouldn't wait until you're dizzy. If you can't yet tell when you're full, set up a schedule for your meals and stick with it. If you do this now and make it a part of your routine you'll have an easier time later on. That's JMPO - just my personal opinion. You'll see lots of little abbreviations like this on LBT - you can find a list of them on the Frequently Asked Questions forum located near the mid to bottom of the LBT home page. Or just ask - people are always willing to answer questions. It's a nice place. Your band is working just fine. I know when I first got banded, every little thing made me think - is it OK in there? It's OK. There hasn't been enough time to cause any problems yet! Well, I guess it's possible but I seriously doubt it - you haven't PB'd have you? Either way, I don't recommend drinking quickly. It's a bad habit to get into, I understand from people who have had several fills that if you drink too fast it may come right back up. Just sip, sip, sip throughout the day and you'll be fine. Don't worry, the burping and hiccuping problem will resolve itself. At least, it did for me. This one is a bit more tricky. Some people can't get ANYTHING down - not even Water. If that happens you have to have surgery right away or you become dehydrated and that's a bad bad thing. Doesn't sound so bad, but it really is very serious. The only other alternative is to have an IV to keep you hydrated but that's really only in case you develop problems on a holiday weekend or something and your doctor is not available to perform surgery to correct a slip or remove the band. Some people with a slipped band don't even know their band has slipped. They can eat and drink too much, but generally it takes a while to figure this one out! Here's to no slipped bands! Cheers. My very great pleasure! Nice to meet you Allen. Welcome to bandland and LBT. Visit often, we're a friendly bunch.

Hi Kelly, I had my surgery done in Mexico and will be having my first fill this Thursday. Thanks to LapBandTalk I knew I should find a doctor to do my fills locally, before I went to Mexico for the surgery. I actually found several doctors who do fills and have chosen to use the one with the best facility - not the one that "looks" nicest but the one that locates the port and inserts the needle under fluoroscopy, has a tilt table so the needle can stay in place while I do the barium swallow, etc. One of the other doctors I found locates the port with sonogram, marks the location with one hand then inserts the needle with the other, does the fill, and removes the needle (one of his patient's let me watch her getting a fill). After the fill his patients go to another room and stand in front of the fluoro machine and do their barium swallow. The problem with this type of fill is that if you need to have more saline added or removed, the doctor has to locate the port again and stick you again. Um, no thanks. I'm putting all of this here just so you'll understand that not everyone does fills the same way. Having a fill with fluoroscopy costs more money - this is where having your surgeon do your fills comes in handy as most of them don't charge for fills for a set amount of time - like one year. Not everyone agrees that fluoroscopy is necessary, but I feel better knowing the doctor will be able to see my port when he's inserting the needle. I don't like the idea of that needle searching around NEAR my port and possibly puncturing my tubing. Welcome to LBT and to bandland! LBT is a wonderful place for support and comraderie and sometimes just a good place to vent or whine! Everyone here knows exactly where you're coming from so visit us often.

Your grandmother was showing her love for you in the way she thought would do the most good. She only wanted what was best for you and had she realized how damaging the emotions behind the words were for you, I'm sure she would have cut her tongue out before she ever said them. How can anyone know which words will inspire and which will cut into someones heart? I don't know who I'm saddest for - your grandmother for trying so hard to help but only hurting, or you who couldn't hear what she was saying but only what you thought she meant.

What kind of closure will you use on surgical wounds? Subdermal with glue (in my opinion) is what you want to hear. That's the type of closure plastic surgeons use. Staples is what you don't want to hear. What are my options with regard to location of my port/port wound? I found out after surgery that some people have the port placed near the sternum. It is my understanding that the port is easier to locate and that a fill is easier to perform with the port in this location. I don't know this for a fact, that's just what I've heard. Mine is left and just below my bellybutton - right in the way of where my pant/skirt waistband rests. I wish it was lower. Or higher. Or somewhere else. What kind of follow up care will you provide? How much will it cost or is it included in the cost of the surgery? What happens if I have complications? Do you perform fills under fluoroscopy? In office? In hospital? Will I have to pay additional fees due to location? Do you use a tilting table? Will the needle be inserted into the port under fluoroscopy or after location with a sonogram? You want the fill to be performed under fluoroscopy - needle inserted into port under fluoro. Use of a tilt table allows doctor to view your barium swallow while the needle is still in the port - that way if you need more fill or a slight unfill you don't have to be stuck again. I'm sure I'll think of more - just give me time! lol Good luck on your weight loss journey.

This post is not intended to attack you or be snotty - I promise. Please read it in the tone of someone who wants you to succeed with your band: You've asked the question Why not CHEAT? I'll ask one in return: Are you looking for advise or permission? If you want advise I think Leatha G answered that need perfectly - including your request for medical necessity. If you want permission, you can add mine to the others: Do what you want. Only remember that doing what you want is how you got fat in the first place. Even more importantly doing what you want right now may not only keep you fat but it may cause damage to your body. Another aspect which has not been addressed is your mental and emotional state. I think you should consider this before giving in to what you want rather than what your doctor has suggested. You may be able to eat more solid food, but should you? You may be setting yourself up to rationalize all future aspects of your banded life by following your own diet vs. what your doctor has ordered. After all, if you can eat what you want right now why shouldn't you continue doing just that throughout your band journey? For this band to succeed you need to be compliant with it's rules starting from your pre-op diet, following through with your post-op diet, and continuing with the right food choices. By breaking the rules this early in the game you may be setting a precedent which may mentally doom this lifestyle change to failure. You got this band for a reason. Try following the band rules for a while before you start breaking them. No one says you can't 'cheat' on your band diet, but for your body's sake, and yes, for your mental and emotional state, you should wait until you're completely healed from the surgery to go down that path. If you're like virtually EVERYONE else here on LBT, you've been on every weight loss plan out there - from the crazy I'm sure these pills will work, to the thoughtful plan and count every calorie method. If you tried and failed at those diets it's because you cheated on them. I'm sure it's no surprise to discover that you can cheat on your band too. And now, finally, to my advise (unsolicited though it may be): When you want to cheat on your band, try reminding yourself of your emotional state when you decided to have surgery to control your weight. If you're suffering now, just remember how you were suffering then. THEN make your choices. You want to be scared? Consider failing at yet another diet - one which scarred your body and cost a great deal of money. If you fail at THIS diet where do you turn? RNY? A lifetime of obesity? Now THAT'S scary. You want to succeed? Stop rationalizing and start following the rules. Give yourself a chance to succeed.

I'm scheduled for my first fill this Thursday. I'm not so worried about the process of getting the fill - don't get me wrong it doesn't sound like a day at the beach but I think I can handle it. What worries me most is the possibility of infecting my port. This part scares the sh+t out of me. This scares me worse than slippage or errosion. If you get a slip you go in and fix it or remove it. If you get errosion you go in and remove it. If you get an infection you try to treat it - haven't seen any reports of success with treatment - then you have the port taken out and have a drain in place for an undetermined amount of time. Then you put a port back in - and lots of times it gets infected too and you go through it again . . . See what I mean? Too damned scary. Yep, I'm freaking myself out about a very minor possibility, but . . . it happens. I'm still feeling restriction from surgery - when I eat I have to eat very slowly with little bitty bites chewed to nothing or I get that horrible burning golf-ball feeling in my chest. I'm scared about getting a fill and making it even worse but I'm going through with it because I feel hungry too often, I can eat too much food at a sitting, and I've been putting on and taking off the same pound for over a week now! Although I did have my monthly friend this week. Hmmmmmm. Anyone want to chime in here? Should I get the fill or not?

I've eaten Taco Bell Pinto's and Cheese and Bean Burritos. That's it for fast food for me. I'm too scared to try a fast food burger! Finally my priorities are right - I'm SCARED of fast food - as we all should be!!!! LOL

I was banded on March 7, 2006 and my port is finally, just this week, starting to feel normal. Up till this week I had all different kinds of pain, from bruised feeling to tingling to stabbing. I was kind of freaked out about it too so I know what you mean about feeling paranoid. I worry about my port, or getting a port infection more than anything about this whole process. You're probably just fine but if you have symptoms like hotness, redness, oozing, obviously call your doctor right away. My bet is you'll be feeling pretty good at around 8 weeks post op.

sallyjo, Stand next to your bed, bend forward from the waist resting your forearms on the bed with your forehead resting between them. You can bend your knees slightly if it's more comfortable but keep your hind end up as high as you can. It looks strange but in that position I got the best gas pain relief. I've also heard that you get good gas pain relief if you get on the bed on your hands and knees and lower your chest to the bed keeping your fanny in the air. Basically the same pose just depending on what's more comfortable for you. Hope this helps. Good luck, it won't be long before you're feeling fine.

How Onederful you must feel! Can't wait for my turn.