TheGh0st

I must have a morbid sense of humor but after you said mentioned your concern about the garage door openers effecting the new remote control band. I can't stop laughing when I think about it. I keep picturing some poor bandster minding there own business then a plane flys overhead and poof their band swells up and they can't swallow their own spit. I hadn't thought of that before and I think you're right it would make me a little bit nervous if I had one of those bands.

Besides Dr Hoehn/Hitcocks support group which is only open to their patients. There are 3 groups I know of that meet locally and are open to patients of all doctors. There is a yahoo group called KCBandsters that meets at 7:30pm on the 3rd Monday of each month at the Antioch Library of Shawnee Mission Parkway & Antioch. This group was founded by a woman that was banded in Mexico 7+ years ago before it was FDA approved in the US. It is a peer based support group. There are two other groups I know of open to all patients one is held at the New Hope Bariatric Center at 435 & Nall at 10am on the 2nd Saturday of each month. It is run by Dr. Malley's staff but is open to all patients and does draw in quite a few bandsters that were banded in Mexico and at other docs around town. The other is held across the street from the one just mentioned at Heartland Spine & Specialty on the 3rd Saturday at 11am. This one is also supported by a local doc but is run by a local bandster. My husband thinks I'm a bit Bandster crazy but I like to go to two support groups each month. I go to the KC Bandster Group at the Library as well as one at New Hope. There are unique positives to both groups. If I had to chose only one though I would pick the KCBandster group. The Doctor based support groups are great but there is an undefinable sense of freedom at the KC Bandster group. I've always been one to be open and speak up but even so sometimes at the doctors groups it's hard to not get the feeling that people are holding back on there questions and there answers for fear of being corrected or judged by the non-banded staff, no matter how great the staff is.

I vote for Ginger Rayne or possibly Ginger Raynes

Shoot, I got cheated. I tell you cheated. My husband helped wrap me up like a mummy before I showered if I asked and he'd help me get my compression wraps back on afterwards when I shouted I was done. But he never helped me in the shower. I just had to stand there with my head leaning forward against the wall of the shower to help keep me from getting to woozy before I got out again.

Exercise - Again no one to blame but myself. OK I tore my rotator cuff sometime last fall before my TT and didn't have the diagnose confirmed until a few weeks ago. But as anyone who has ever watched Biggest Loser there is always something you can do to exercise. And despite being torn it hasn't been hurting me for the last several weeks. I keep giving myself excuses like, I will join a gym after I know whether I'm going to have to be out of commission with shoulder surgery or after I get the fiscal year finished at work or after I get the money from my tax return to afford a gym, or, or, or. Again the bottom line is it's my bottom sitting on this computer chair or in front of the TV instead of getting out there and doing something to burn a few more calories. I think my biggest problem is really that I've gotten comfortable with the way things are right now. I like the way my body looks for the most part and I don't really feel the strong urge to try to fit into any smaller clothes. I only wish the scale would show I was 10 or at least 5 pounds lighter than pre-TT seeing how the doc claims to have removed over 10 pounds of skin & fat. But it is hard to find the motivation to make that scale move just for the sake of seeing a lower number. I've tried being open and honest about the set back on the scales here on LBT. I've tried joining exercise and carb challenges. And setting small goals for myself but none of it has helped get me refocused. I'm afraid until I decide I want to lose the weight for a better reason than that I'm just not going to get anywhere on that front. I just haven't decided yet if I can be comfortable with that.

Weight and Lapband restriction. My weight still hasn't come down from surgery and I'm continuing to hover around the 10 pounds heavier than my pre-tummy tuck weight. I wanted to believe it was all or mostly from the post surgery swelling but 5 months out it is hard to not face the reality that I have actually gained some weight. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say it was probably 75-80% weight gain vs water weight from the swelling. I don't have any one to blame for this but myself. Yes I had a large unfill pre-surgery and yes 2 fill later I'm still struggling with what feels like no restriction and some extreme hunger issues. But just like pre-band it is still my hand putting the food to my mouth. Not to mention the poor food choices and lack of anything that can really be called exercise.

The scar line. Is looking good. Correction if you saw a photo its very purple but it looks like a nice straight incision and on the right side you can't even feel any scar tissue. On the left side you can feel a slight line of scar tissue inside but its not enough to be a visible bump.

Tummy Tuck Recovery. I guess you would say I'm back to 100%. The only thing I could point to that might negate that comment is some very slight discomfort sometimes if I strech a certain way at night but its not uncomfortable enough to make me stop. It feels a bit like your skin after a bad sunburn begins to heal and is only on my left hip. Also there has been 2 or 3 times my son has head butt me or otherwise bumped into the area just in front of my hips on the incision line and that smarts pretty bad, but just for a moment or two. I still wear the spanx most days. If I don't wear it like today by evening I'm feeling a bit swollen and am more comfortable if I change into a pair of sweats to run around the house at night.

OK here goes. I might post this in segments to make it more readable. Life has been busy for me lately. It seems like its been over a month since I've had an evening to myself with nothing that absolutely had to be done that night. And work hasn't been much better with our fiscal year ending the end of February. I'm still trying to finish it up two weeks into March. But I suppose considering the topic of the thread the big questions are how is my TT and my lapband in general doing?

Life has been VERY hectic lately, but my in-laws took our son for the week so I promise to sit down tonight and post a lengthy update. Hope you like reading Novels. :sneaky:

Yes, I'm in Kansas City though I grew up in Nebraska. I use Dr. Malley for my fills though he wasn't my original surgeon. I agree he is one of (if not the) best docs in K.C. He has done over 1000 lapbands and is a regional proctor for Inamed. I changedmy ticker to reflect a mini-goal but ought to update it again. My starting weight was around 255 and I lost down to 163 last fall. My current weight is up a bit from there due in part to some swelling from plastic surgeries and in part from lack of restriction while being unfilled during the recovery from the PS. I'm hoping to have lost what I gained plus a bit more by June then just focus on maintaining. You are right that with any procedure there will be a percentage that doesn't find success. Though it also depends on how you define success. For some success may just be stopping the scale from continuing to climb while others may refuse to call there journey a success if they are unable to lose every single extra pound they ever gained. My own not so scientific conclusions on why some bandsters have not been as successful as others. Boils down to three main categories. - COMPLICATIONS - Unforseeen and RARE complications with the band such as a leak in the tubing or band slippage. There have also been rare complications that aren't band related such as various thyroid issues that can make weight loss extremely difficult, in those cases I would feel the band's ability to stop the weight gain if not turn it back should be considered a success in itself. - FOLLOW UP - Lack of necessary adjustments to feel proper restriction. This may be due to lack of funds or a reluctance to go back for fills for a variety of reasons. - HEAD ISSUES - And finally, yes there are those that just aren't ready mentally or physically to adjust to life with the band and will sabotage their weight loss efforts by eating around thier band with soft foods and high calorie drinks. This last comment is a bit of a hot button topic even for me. After all if I could have changed my behaviours before the band why would I have needed it at all? Right? But the band really can help. It only bands your stomach, NOT your head. However, it does make it much easier to move in a more 2 steps forward one step back fashion as you continue to struggle with whatever inner demons you may have in regards to diet and or exercise. And I am proof positive it is possible to lose the weight and still be a basket case when it comes to both.:sneaky:

I'm only 2-1/2 years out but I haven't found one food that all bandsters have problems with. Most have severly cut back on the doughy breads either like me because it just doesn't taste as good when you have to chew it so much or because they actually have had problems with it feeling *stuck*. My own personal theory on why some people get stuck on one food but not another is that it really all boils down to how you chew but that opinion is only worth what you just paid for it. (Nothing) Foods I limit include: Bagels and other doughy breads like Deep Dish pizza Crusts Pinapple (Too fibrous for me, but I will still chew it up sometimes then discretely spit out the leftover fibers in my napkin) pastas & Rice - I still eat these just in MUCH smaller quantities. Gristley meats such as cheap fast food hamburgers. They taste pretty rank after a while when you are trying to chew them up well enough to swallow.

Showering was the worst for me as well. It just didn't feel right not having the binder garments on. Like everything was going to fall out or something. I found it was much easier if I wrapped my stomach in an ace bandage (correction my DH wrapped me up) before I showered then removed it only for the last couple minutes before getting out.

I have a 10cc band not a 4cc but thought I'd agree that you can have more than 4cc's in theory. I know I had 12.5cc's in my 10cc band with good restriction before I had an unfill for unrelated reasons.

Everyone's experience with the band is different but like Lisa I can eat everything you listed, including the bread and pizza. Mind you I have to chew it much MUCH more than I use to and I choose not to eat nearly as much bread as before because it fills me up too quickly but I can still eat it. On the pizza I now order thin crust and will often times eat only about half the crust and then just eat the toppings off the remainder of the pizza. Good Luck tomorrow and try to breathe.

I can't believe I stumbled on your thread. I'm in the Kansas City, KS area though I'm under 5 miles from the KCMO city market. My DH has been pushing me to sell my treadmill and I was going to try to put it up on Craigs List this week. It is an I-Fit Treadmill with a padded belt. I don't really want rid of it but DH doesn't think I use it enough and we are short on funds right now. It originally cost around $900. But I haven't had time to research what it is worth used. I can PM you with my phone number if you'd like me to tell you what I find out and if you'd like to come by and try it out. How old is your child? I have a 4 year old son and a full time job. I can definitely relate to your not wanting to move him from one daycare to another just to work out.

Do they have you wearing an actual compression garment already with the drains still in? My PS had me wearing something more like an industrial sized ace bandage wrap. It was actuall one solid back piece with 3 sets of velcro flaps that wrapped across the front. It was much easier to put on with all the drains in place. On the drains that irritated me I also folded a sterile pad around a few cottonballs and taped it up with some surgical tape to create a little cushion for the tube(s) to rest on. Especially for the two tubes I had coming out of my pubic area. And are you pinning all your drain resevoirs to your garments? My doc suggested placing them inside a small fanny pack style bag I could just wear around my waist (or over my shoulder) That made showering and dressing a bit easier, as well the whole draining routine. Congratulations, it will get a little better each day.

I'm not sure if I remember any "popping" so to speak but if I would stop for a couple days I could tell the scar tissue was starting to take hold then when I'd rub it again it I definitely noticed a reduction in the scar tissue. Now what 5 months out? The entire incision line is still discolored but my right side has no discernable scar tissue and my left side has only minimal scar tissue. I think the difference is due to my being right handed and massaging my right side more effectively as well as how I lay at night causing more stress on my left side.

Hey there, just popping in to check on the thread from KC. Once a Husker, always a Husker. As far as the Ticker goes. There is a thread somewhere with some advice on how to do it "right". (emphasis on the quotes) Personally, I've never got it to work either. What I finally resorted to was to create the ticker, then on the screen that shows the pic of it and all those odd HTML codes I just use my mouse to highlight the picture of the ticker. Right click and hit copy the picture (NOT the HTML) then right click and paste it to my signature line in LBT user control panel. One note though for some reason I have to position my mouse on the line above the picture then drag my mouse down to get it to highlight the ticker. It doesn't want to allow me to highlight it if I start with the mouse to the left of the ticker. Hope this helps.

I haven't had a Cancer scare yet but I have had other "scary" issues come up that I had to wait before knowing what was actually going on. My friends would tell me to try not to think or worry about it until I knew the facts but for me at least it sometimes seemed easier to try to think about and start planning for the worst case scenarios while it was still just a "possiblility" and not an actuality. Once something becomes definite and not just some hypothetical possibility it can be even more emotionally difficult for me to think clearly while trying to make important decisions. So yes, try to breathe, try not to stay awake each night worrying, and try to stay as calm as possible. But if it helps to put yourself into hopefully uneccessary pre-emptive action then by all means do it. I like the other posters suggestion of carrying around a notebook to write down any questions or thoughts you might have. Sometimes it is easier for me to put the idea to the back of my head if I know I've written it down somewhere and no longer have to focus on remembering it.

I've heard there is a pretty good store bought one called Stallone I think, but I make my own. I have several different recipes. My favorite is to make sugar free pudding by replacing the 2 cups milk it calls for with 1-1/2 cups blended cottage cheese with 1/2 cup skim milk (or Water to reduce calories) I know it sounds weird but it really tastes good. It reminds me of pudding made with whole milk. The one I’ve been using lately is: 1.4oz sugar free chocolate pudding mix 2 cans of Low Carb Slimfast and 1-1/2 scoops of Protein powder. The entire batch has 680 calories, 76 protein, & 36 carbs. I divided it up into 4 servings which breaks it down to (170/19/9). Plus the added Vitamins & minerals that Slim Fast adds to the mix. It tastes pretty good as is but I usually like to put it in the freezer for about 1/2 hour until it starts to freeze then stir until it is about the consistency of a Wendy's Frosty. I also like to stir in 1/2 tablespoon of P.B. just before I eat it. That bumps the breakdown up to (217/21/10) but is worth it to me. Like I mentioned before my favorite is to replace the Slimfast with 2 cups cottage cheese & 1/2 cup skim milk that has been run through the blender until completely smooth before mixing with the pudding mix. The cottage cheese has a better protein to carb ratio than the Protein Powder and is an all natural substitute for those that don't want to use Slim Fast or Protein powders. The end results taste really good, it reminds me of my mothers puddings made with whole milk. It does NOT taste like cottage cheese in any way. The best thing about the cottage cheese blend is that it works great with all kinds of different flavors. I've used it to make the sugar free cheesecake mix as well as a sugar free lemon pudding. The cottage cheese also makes a thicker pudding which helps fill me up. You can change it up all kinds of ways. I've mixed in frozen bananas, frozen strawberries. A dash of Lime juice in the cheesecake flavor to make it more like key lime pie. A couple friends of mine also like to add instant coffee to the chocolate pudding (YUCK!) The nutritional data on 1/2 cup 1% Cottage Cheese is 14 protein to 3 carb and 81 calories. Approx 4.5 to 1 Ratio for Protein to Carbs -Vs.- The whey powder I have right now which is 21 protein to 4 carb but 120 calories. Approx 5 to 1 Ratio but more calories.

That is a very good reason to follow up on the doc you mentioned from South Africa. Have you had any luck with finding other bandsters that have used him? If you can't find any here maybe the S. African clinic might know if there is another similar online support forum that some of their patients like to use. Good luck on your journey whatever you decide.

I feel for you on the insurance front. I've been given the run around for nearly 3 months now with Humana on a torn rotator cuff problem. Now that they are finally taking me serious and wanting to have surgery and believe it or not my shoulder has actually stopped hurting. Go figure. Good luck with the tests. Keep everyone posted.

That didn't come out quite as clear as I intended some of the lines wrapped that shouldn't have. I tried cut/pasting screen images but LBT dumped them out on me.

First click on the calendar button in the at the very top of the lapband page above the page banner, where it says: k_podski, Welcome back to LapBandTalk.com!..........................Calendar Advanced Search Advertise Contact Once on the calendar page you will see the following bar just above the calendar: Public......................................................................................... Show TodayWeekly View **Add New Event** Click on "Add New Event" and choose what type of event it is (Single, Ranged or Reoccuring) Let me know if this works for you.