Kellster

Hey my Bandster friends! I'm 28 and have decided that now is the right time for me to get banded. During the symposium I went to they mentioned how much better the band is for people of all ages and it got me curious - At what age did you get banded? Also - would you have done it sooner if you could? Comments and advice are always appreciated!!!

It's certainly weird not eating as much food - especially with the gigantic portions we are used to in America. My doctor gave me a card asking if I could order senior's meals - he changed from kid's because kid's meals tend to be fried, etc. and at least senior portions are smaller. My Lap-Band Journey card has that message on it too. I've been out to dinner with friends and I either order soup (not the creamy ones), or something healthy off of the appetizer menu, and I plan for leftovers. And I don't feel ashamed to leave food -especially bread - on my plate. I was at a baby shower this weekend, and there were delicious chicken salad sandwiches on a croissant. I cut it in half and gave part to my friend, and took off the top bread and lettuce and just ate the open faced sandwich, with some fruit and veggies. It was great, I felt like I ate everything and didn't miss out. Yum where's my Protein shake.

Thanks for the inspiring words, Spidey! I definitely need to come on here for encouragement sometimes. The Mayo Banditos rock! My fill went great - I was in and out in less than 20 minutes, a miracle for my busy office. He put 3.5CCs in, and I could feel the water gurgle down, but it wasn't uncomfortable - which he said was perfect. Next fill - 6 weeks from now!

Hey Banditos, looks like we're all moving along well! I've been off living life with the Band - in Bandster Hell of course. But I go for my first fill today, and I can't wait! This thread has helped me prepare for it. Although I'm a bit peeved - my buddies MamaDot and MamaBully were banded by the same surgeon as me a week after my band date, and got a fill a week ago - lucky girls! I should have pestered that receptionist some more, I swear she doesn't like me. Ah, all things happen for a reason, right? I've been hovering around 30lbs lost, but I know I eat significantly less now than I did pre-band. I've been fighting off depression so it's been hard to be motivated to exercise but I'm doing little things here and there. Hoping the fill will help me get refocused!

Hey everyone, I'm having surgery 5/12 @ Cedars Sinai, and wanted to see if there are any other Mayo Banditos from Cali. I live in Pasadena, and was orignally going to be banded by Dr. David Martin @ Huntington Hospital, but he's out of network for my insurance. So I found Dr. Philippe Quilici, and I am excited to have such an experienced and proficient surgeon poking around inside of me. And is it just me... or is every freeway in SoCal decked out with numerous Lap-Band billboards? My BF and I laugh every time we see them or hear that horrible 800-Get-Slim jingle on the radio. Although I'm excited that the word is out that LB works!

Hey all, I have a question about one of life's necessary actions - the great bowel movement. :smile: Like the title of the thread, this isn't for the squeamish or shy so if you're not down for discussion about #2, here's your chance to click away from this page. I'm going to be a bit descriptive, but as Dr. Oz says - "Be honest, and don't be afraid to talk about what's going on with your body." :hurray: What has your experience been with BMs after the band? I was a regular gal before the band, and would poo 3-4 times a day, usually after a meal. From talking with my roommate (nothing is sacred when you live with someone) who is also a bandster, I knew that my poo schedule would indeed be disrupted by the liquid diet and the surgery. It's day 4 for me, and I've passed some gas since surgery day; in fact the staff wouldn't let me leave the hospital unless I had passed some gas (gotta make sure the bowels are awake from the general anesthesia I guess). But I hadn't felt the need to poo yet. This morning though, I felt the need to go but couldn't QUITE get there. So I relied on my trusty friend, coffee, to inspire my bowels to move. I mixed a bit of black coffee with my delicious vanilla World Wide Pure Protein shake, and lo and behold, about a half hour later - success! It wasn't quite the same as before, a LOT smaller and harder, but I was happy to have any #2 action at all. I'm gearing up to head to the gym for the first time and take a whack at walking on the treadmill. Lord knows for some reason the gym inspires my bowels to move - whether I want it or not. :puke: So hopefully there's more to come! I know I'm not eating hardly anything, it takes effort just to get my Water and protein in (according to my surgeon's dietician - liquid first, protein second), but man, I miss pooing! How's it going for all of you? :grouphug:

Johnsonsnickers, you beat me to it! I actually had less cramps this month, and I'm wondering if it's the hormones from my melting fat, or the fact that I weigh less, or both! My poor bf, he's in for a treat if I get crazy because of hormones. Hehe.

Mine is on the left, about 3-4 inches above my waist, but just slightly to the left of my midline. It's in a good place when I'm standing. But when I sit, there's still a roll there and it tends to bump against stuff... lol. I can feel it quite prominently and asked my surgeon about it and he said that as I lose weight it will settle into my abdomen, that he has never seen one visible to the naked eye on a skinny bandster. Whew!

I'm either maintaining or losing slowly, but I'm trying to pay a lot of attention to what I'm eating now that I'm onto soft foods. I've also been going to the gym as much as possible, today will make 4 times this week. Working out makes me feel like I'm doing something good for myself, and I can tell I'm getting stronger. Now I can't wait to bring in the weight lifting so I can build muscle to burn even more fat! WOOHOO! Oh and the moron receptionist at my surgeon's office scheduled my fill for 6 weeks out even though my doc said 4 is ok. But I feel ok going for a couple more weeks, I'm doing ok with portions/food quality and I enjoy taking big gulps - not for long!

I like this idea of weighing on Fridays! This morning I was 340.6 so I'm down about 28 pounds so far, woohoo!! Hitting the gym again tonight. :-)

Hey kids, I'm back and had to update the poo status (aren't you glad???). I'm on mushy/soft food now and I'm happy to report that I am back on my at least 1/day poo schedule. I really think that the low-sodium V8 that I drink daily helps me feel more full, and helps me move that bowel. I ran out a couple days ago and it's been a bit harder than normal. And I agree - total volume is way down. I keep waiting for more but nope! No bowl-fillers for me now.

Hey all of you getting banded on the 12th, canadiangirl.ca, heavyhevicyndi, beekay, Imdowdy, Me (aka Kellster), and whoever else... Here's our spot to share our surgery stories. :thumbup: I just keep thinking - at this time tomorrow I'll be up and walking around the hospital, with five lil incisions and a silicone thing in my body! WOW! :frown: Looking forward to hearing from all of you, as well as sharing my own story.

Hey Banditos! I'm happy to report that my bowels are back on the regularity track. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't poo every day. It's weird, but true. In talking with my roomie/fellow bandster, I think my daily movement has to do with Fiber (of course). She HATES veggie juice, and I adore it. Plus my dietician says to drink V8 or other veggie/tomato juice especially for women to get the potassium you need. Keep in mind that my surgeon allows a full liquid diet for the two weeks after surgery. :cursing: So glad I don't have to do just clear liquid. In any case, I think the fiber in the V8 is really helping my BMs be less like the Rock of Gibraltar (although I had a similar experience for the first one), and more like soft-serve ice cream (bet you're hungry for that now). :cursing: I also saw some lil packets of Benefiber advertised on TV, that you can mix into Water, I wonder if that will benefit us. I plan on asking @ my follow-up appt. Poop on, my friends!

Hey Dani, reading this inspired me to check where my BMI was at, and I too have gotten mine below 50!!! Congrats to both of us, this is a big step! Next BMI goal for me is under 45.

I still like Banditos, although if we are being correct with Spanish it should indeed be Banditos de Mayo. Why do I like Banditos? Because -ito or -ita means "little" in Spanish. And I sure like the thought of being a little Bandster... :redface: But I'm too lazy to go change my banner... haha. Too much energy spent at the gym!! Yayyy!

Just an update, because I know you were all waiting with bated breath... :eek: I've had a BM every day for the past few days. It seemed like once I got ye ole bowels moving, they wanted to get back to regularity. Not sure if that will continue, but boy I sure hope so!

Hey all - are any of you having any clear ooze coming from your incisions? My port incision isn't painful, isn't red, had some of the skin glue flake off, and there's some clear pinkish fluid leaking out now and again. I had a friend who is a nurse take a quick peek at it yesterday and she said it's all good (and that draining the goo inside is good, as long as it's not smelly yellow pus...), but just wanted to bounce it off of my fellow Banditos.

Hey my fellow Banditos! I'm always curious to find out what each surgeon prefers in regard to what brand of band they use. I've read the comparison info on Allergan vs. Realize, and to me it's the difference between a Ford and a Chevy. BUT to satisfy my curiousity, I thought I'd post a poll. BTW - I have the Allergan 14cc band, and when I asked how they choose what size to put in, my surgeon answered that it has to do mostly with how tall you are, rather than how much you weigh. I'm a tall gal, at 5'10'', and according to my surgeon the taller folks need the bigger band. Interesting! :grouphug:

Hey Dani, well you live and you learn, right? I'm glad you didn't have any further complications like vomiting, etc. Just remember, our surgeons know best and have been doing this for years. Treat your stomach like a baby stomach, and remember the steps you have to take, liquid, pureed, mushy, and then soft/real food. I'd do liquids a bit more and then if you want more texture move on to pureed, but not right to mushy/soft yet. Just take it easy, you know you made a mistake, and you can certainly learn from it! Thank you also for sharing your experience and being honest, because it helps the rest of us learn too!

Oh, I forgot to mention that I posted the poll as private - so your poll answer won't show who you are. But feel free to post a reply if you want to share/discuss!

Beer. I don't miss it yet, but I am in mourning for it already. :grouphug: I love beer like a wine afficionado loves wine. I'm a stout/red/amber/black/micro-brew fan, but there's nothing like an ice cold domestic light brew on a hot day at the river... And since it has carbonation, it's on the band no-no list. :puke: My surgeon recommends no alcohol for a year, mostly due to the calories and the potential for addiction transferance. Once I do drink again, it's dirty martinis for me. Good thing I love good vodka too! :hurray:

What kind of protein is in the Profect vials? I have a case and a half of New-Whey 42 that I love the flavor of (sample - so I get all flavors), but my dietician doesn't like the fact that it's made from collagen protein isolate - boo. So as of now I have been drinking my World Wide Pure Protein shakes from Trader Joe's, and I still love them. Have some Unjury but haven't tried the chicken broth yet - I'll try that tomorrow. I need to find some other protein supplement that packs a high protein punch but is either fruity or salty, I love sweets but the WWPP vanilla and chocolate are going to get old soon...