riley4183

Kinda bummed today, I've gained a pound back this week instead of losing the 3 I average a week . . all from not being able to excercise! I am doing better, so much so that I managed to get 2 miles in before work today, so I'm finally getting back to it, and nowe it's pouring rain! We do need it sorely, so I will accept this is God's way of telling me that I need to stay off my ankle for a few more days. I DO tend to overdo it, all or nothing - gotta get over that, this isn't a race! Except that I SO want to be in onederland . . .I have been competing with 2 other gals from my support group, both RNY, we are all between 210 and 214 and have been racing together toward onederland - you know, working out together etc. - and they have both just passed me for the first time. I hate not winning! I need to get OVER this competative thing. Nicole, been praying for your hubby, and that he gets this job and a new start in his career, so you two will have new starts together! And Candy dear, IMHO Monday morning is the very best time for surgery @ Kaiser Richmond!! happy, well-rested folks, and you will get Icy's shift! I'm praying for you too, for a super-speedy recovery and a great surgery day story to tell. "Thrive!" Riley

Yeah c'mon, already! We wanna hear

OK you girls are all at Mimi's right now, I am with you in spirit! Order some decaf black coffee for me, LOL . . . I totally, totally hear what you are saying about it being too hard to eat healthy post-band because of all of the food restrictions. We are totally lost without our salads!!! That's a big reason why I started eating (modified) salads again - well, that and because it really helps with the whole "going #2" thing. So I added in shredded lettuce, shredded cabbage, and peeled sliced cucumbers when I was about 7 weeks out - they are not allowed until 12 weeks out! I am not eating raw broccoli or carrots or anything else real hard like that, but I MUST have my raw soft veggies in a salad! I have not been stuck ever on my modofied salad foods, but I have on meat (ham and chicken), sliced (and skinned to remove seeds) strawberry, and chopped boiled agg - all foods that ARE allowed. The one thing that is REALLY off limits that I CRAVE are dry roasted subflower kernels, I love to make little "pizzas" with a sliced cucumber disk & the sunflower seeds on top! Have never been stuck on those, either. My Kaiser RNY friends are eating this stuff, and not having problems, so why not me? I dunno. Not sure if I want to tell Robin about the sunflower seeds tho . . . . anyways, I am eating about 900 cals a day and getting 60-70 grams of protein, so yay. Too much fat most days (over 30 grams is too much for me), but it helps me stay full. Also too much sodium, but BP has not been a problem since a week after surgery! And I am WAY low on carbs, I get about 50 grams on days that I eat a bunch of fruit, but only about 25 on days that I don't. No starchy white food! I avoided it on mushies, too. I hate carbs; they come back and bite me in the butt & just make me hungrier. Except fresh fruit eaten in the morning . . am I weird? Hope you all had a fantastic meeting!!! Riley

Oh I am p-o'd today, back up to 212 because I can't freakin' walk with this blasted ankle injury! I got addicted to excercise, darn it . . . . Tina, how I learned the hormone thing was from Dr. Woodbury, upo here in Santa Rosa, who comes and lectures at our big monthly support group meeting. Both RNY and the new AP Lap-Band - which they use at Kaiser - affect the production of Ghrelin, the hunger hormone, a bunch of other hormones too some that we don't even know about yet. RNY does this to a much greater extent than Lap-Band, but the new AP placement compresses the Vagus Nerve (as opposed to cutting it, which happens in RNY) to such an extent that these patients have less hunger & lose weight faster than did lap-banders of a few years ago. Google for Lap-band and Vegus nervse and ghrelin & you may fiund a bunch of stuff. Interesting!

Hi again Rosey! Hey Reggie, I was real worried about the Water too, but for some reason I had a really REALLY easy time drinking water, even right after surgery. I can chug-a-lug water now like crazy, and I could not before surgery. Probably has something to do with the hiatal hernia being repaired at same time as surgery . . anyways I was up to 40 +oz. a day the day after surgery, and back to 64+ within just a few days. I was really really thirsty! I still do lots of water, I want it more than the crystal light or other flavors, just crave water now. Weird, but great! Hang in there, Christine. Getting down in the dumps is all a part of this crazy thing . . . when they put that band on, the dolf over a part of your stomach that contains certain hormones that you body is not longer getting as much of - controls hunger, but also mood. Now your body has to re-balance with less of some hormones, so tired and moody is a part of the process. I hope it balances out real soon! These are the days that I really need my support group - fortunately, I have a meeting at least twice a week :-):drool:

Nicole, change your siggy girl! You're in one-derland now!! I can't wait! Want to be there by my daughter's wedding June 21st, it looks right now like I'll make it but I could slow down to a crawl anytime now.

Woo-hoo Reggie; May 19!! Yowza, that is CLOSE!! Are you nervous?? Isn't Liz great, she's tough only until she sees that you're going to follow the rules and suceed, then she's fantastic. Yay Christine, you are movin' that scale girl! Woot, woot! Keep it up! I started weighing every few days now, too much up-and-down what with TOM, less "movements" and the like. Riley

Good morning all! I hope you guys have a great meeting, I'm in Santa Rosa snd Sacto won't work for my lunch hour :-(but I'll be there in spirit!!!) Hiya Sing,k, stick with us we are a fun group and we really know our way around Richmond Kaiser! I hope you can go to the meeting Thursday, you will love these guys! Nicole, did you say you have a fill with Dr. Baggs on the 22nd? That's when mine is, at I think 11 . . . .if they don't switch it for you, maybe we can at least meet up! Gott go work :thumbup: see you all later, have a great, healthy day!:tt2:

What a pretty port! When I had the infection, there was a big area about 4" x 5" of bright red around my port incision, the ER doc @ Richmond drew around it in black marker so they would be able to see if it receded with the IV antibiotics, it was shaped weird and when I went into the bathroom and looked at it in the mirror, it looked exactly like lips & tongue from the Rolling Stones Forty Licks album, so I went back out to the ER hallway where my bed was and lifted up my shirt & asked the doc if he was a stones fan . . . fortunately he was and he got it right away so they didn't think i was a total loony case (although that was 4 days post-op and i was hitting the vicodin pretty hard at that point). it was hilarious! funnest ER visit I ever had, I tell ya! They say that, ideally, perfect restriction means that you can drink water easily AND 1) you are not hungry for at least 4 hours after a meal; 2) you can eat 1/2 cup comfortably, but do not feel like you need more; 3) you are satisfied enough that you are not obsessing about food, and 4) you are losing at a rate of 2 lbs. a week (little more for some, little less for others), assuming you are also exercising at least 30 minutes a day. You are not supposed to actually "feel" the band all the time, although some patients want to feel it more than others. I feel like I have had that ever since my surgery EXCEPT for about 2 weeks before my first fill, when I was definately hungrier, could eat more and was not satisfied. Oh and I gained back 3 lbs. then too! That SUCKED. I was very, very discouraged at that point. Of course it was getting to be "that time" too, which NEVER helps, either my mood OR my scale! But I tell you what, my situation right now is 100% better tha it was at this time last year, 75 lbs. heavier and with lots of unhealthy habits. Love this band!:smile2: Riley

Gosh I felt restriction with just 3cc's total, so good thing I didn't have 3 in at surgery! I read the fill boards on here, every doc seems to be different in what they do, every patient is probably different too. We shall find out! I don't want to be too tight, but I also don't want to start gaining back weight either . . . I just want the feeling that I'm full again before I eat 2 cups, ya know? No complaints tho. No, I don't wonder if I should have had RNY, because one of my best friends did at just about the same time I had lap-band, we weighed exactly the same on my surgery day. She has many difficulties - still can't take more than tiny sips of water, can't eat any meats without pain and vomiting, it's nothing that I would want to go through. And yet we both lose at the same rate; in fact, I stay about 3 lbs. ahead of her. I do work harder than she does - I also eat more - but that's OK, I knew I'd have to work hard. Goodnight all! Riley

Tina silly girl, I am 2 months out! Not getting tired anymore. I was pooped after them mall at 2 weeks out! So was breaking it up into smaller walks. I still do. I have found that I lose steadily only if I do all 3 things right: 64 + ounces of water; 3 meals no snacking (and very limited carbs so I don't get hungry); and 3 walks a day - I do between 1-1/2 and 2 hours of aerobic walking with a little jogging thrown in for luck, plus walk as much as I can between. On a pedometer it's about 19,000 steps a day. Its a LOT and I need to start mixing it up . . I do hard hikes at least once a week, I mean HARD hills. My first fill was 1cc, we did not discuss it that's just what he gave me! When I asked his nurse before she said probably 1cc, so I get the feeling that's his standard first fill. I asked after and he said he'd given me 1, and I had 2 in at surgery. Everyone's going to be different tho . . . sounds like you guys had 3 ccs in at surgery, and I only had the 2. He knows what he's doing tho, look at us go!! Yes let's do the card, we can find somewhere to meet. I'll make the drive for it! You don't have to see Robin before your first fill, just before the second one.

Whew, I still have Robin at 10:30 and Dr. Baggs at 11 in Richmond for my fill, but not until May 22nd. So Tina do we know what days he will be in Pinole? I hope it's a nice new office and closer to his home, he deserves it he is SUCH a nice, positive doctor and let's face it, he is the lapband MASTER huh ladies! You know what we should do, we should get him a big, fat thank-you card and all of us lap-banders of his sign it! I am meeting with 2 friends that I went to Mexico with tomorrow to tell them about the lapband - they have heard I lost 70+ lbs. in under 6 months and they want it too! All Kaiser folks so that's all good, but you just don't know if folks are going to be ready to make all the lifelong changes that come with this program, you know? Seems like a lot of folks just want an easy way out of obesity and this ain't it. Still, I feel like I have to try! By the time I get in to talk to the 14 week class up here, folks are already sold on RNY cause they don't hrear anything about the band so I hope to spread the word a little sooner, I know RNY is the right choice for many but i think folks need to know more about the lap-band choice before they decide. I'm still almost the lone wolf in my smaller support group, and only a few of us bandsters in my large one. Best, ladies! Giotta go log some more miles . . . been doing 8-10 a day, getting in some jogging now too. OH and I just order a band system home gym, yahoo . . . gotta get rid of the bat wings!! Riley

Yay Christine & Tina, keep that scale moving throughout the month! Ain't it CRAZY??? Now remember this when you hit a stuck spot, like I did and Nicole is now . . . . . that's band life, allright! Nicole, are we celebrating yet? God I hope I don't get moved to Pinole, esp. since I have to have an appt. with Robin in Richmond before I can get my next fill with Dr. baggs! Pinole would be another 30 minutes away for me . . yucko. Oh well if I have to do it I'll just get an appt. on the same day as one of you so we can visit! I'm gonna go check the KP website now . . . .

Dr. Baggs visits in Pinole?? Gosh I hope he doesn;t have all of them there. That's uber-weird . . . and a lot farther for me! I wonder what is going on there? Maybe he lives out there & it's closer for him . . . or maybe they are opening a satellite office?? Boy it would be great if they opened one in north bay, maybe at their San Rafael office I have had Liz tell me to ignore appointment times and to come at another time, and have done what she says & all is well . . . I think they just can't "force" the computer to give you the time that they want you to come in, or something. I slept on my (right) side from the day of surgery. For some reason, all of my incisions are to the left of my midline, so I was able to sleep comfortably on my right side right away. Just lucky I guess! But I wonder why I'm so off-centered? Ha! Story of my life!! Riley:wink2:

OK what did I get stuck on: Easter ham (first solid food after my fill, big mistake!), sliced strawberry, chicken, and chicken. The last one was a Hungry Girl chicken nugget, and FOR SURE the worst - on my knees, salivating in buckets - it was SO CLOSE to coming back up, but I refused to throw up cause I'm scared to death the band will slip or erode, and then they would take it from me! Every single time I have been stuck, it has been because I am chatting while I am eating and not paying attention. The stuff that tends to get stuck is also the stuff that keeps me full longest, so I'm still going to eat it - just S L O W L Y and carefully :-)

Yay melting! It IS fun. I am not melting right now, but I will again soon . . .I hope! I had 2 cc's in at surgery, and he gave me 1 cc @ my first fill. We didn't even talk about it, that's just what he gave me - I asked him afterwards how much it was, and how much I had in before. He said I may not get any restriction from that first fil (I have gotten a little), but for the next one, I have to not eat anything for 6 hours before my appointment because they have to be sure I can still swallow the water. . . . so I guess they plan to really tighten it up then. I can still eat too much in my estimation, but I am losing 2 lbs. a week or better so it's all good. I stopped losing and started gaining before my first fill, I hope I don't do THAT again before every fill! :thumbup: Riley

Dang it Nicole, that's SO frustrating! Do you know what I noticed, though? During the week(s) that my scale doesn't go down, my inches DO go down. A lot of other folks in my support group have found the same thing! It's like your body has to wait up and shift some stuff around . . you have lost so much so fast that it tries to hang on to water, while it's doing that your fat cells are getting washed out, or SOMEthing . . but check it out! I can lose an inch during a week-long plateau. But darn it all, why does it have to happen just ounces from one-derland?!?!?! Arghh! I feel you frustration:mad2: Me & My, thanks that was nice! I really, really am just so darned happy with my band. People ask me all the time if I'm going to have it removed - you know, when I'm done losing - and I say yeah, when I'm dead they can take it! No way buddy, I love this thing :-)

Hi everyone, it sounds like you are all doing GREAT! That makes me so happy :-) Christine, you sound exactly like I did when I was where you are - I would wake up every morning and one of my first thoughts would be, oh yeah! I get to go weigh myself! And I would jump up, go tinkle & hop and the scale - and say "I love you" right out loud to the little dear! I only weigh every other day now - can't expect to love it EVERY day, but I do love it most weeks - and it moves slowly, but it does move. Better yet, so do the inches! I am down from 22/24 to 14/16, since November. WOW! I am 2 months out now, all of the little bumps that were under the glue have gone away. Dr. Baggs had me rub some oil on them (I use a mix of vitamin E and tea tree), massage them good and the bumps went right away in just a few days! I still have that piece of suture that sticks out of my port incision a little, and it gets looking kinda like a zit, but he says just keep trimming it with toenail scissors. Such highly technical stuff! I love this band. It was EXACTLY the right solution for me. I just have to not expect it to do all the work, that's all. It's like having a little life coach that reminds me every time that I put something in my mouth to WATCH IT. Eat slow, chew a LOT, and stop as SOON as you think you MIGHT be done. I have forgotten 4 times and gotten stuck 4 times! Reliable little buddy, that's what my band is. (Band) life is good! Riley:thumbup:

Nicole did you make it to one-derland?!?! I want to celebrate with you! Diet jellos all around!!!

Vicodin did more than give me a headache, it also stopped me up (if you know what I mean!) and made me see snakes! Kiddie chewable tylenol treated me MUCH better. Tina I mentioned the BP meds because I was getting really weak because my BP was WAY too low - like 80 over 49. My pulse was way too low too, under 45 BPM and my doc had told me before surgery to cut the atenolol in 1/2 if my pulse went below 55. So I started checking my BP 5 times a day and I was way too low and so was my pulse, I quit taking everything (they had taken me off the hydrocholothiazide in recovery) a week after surgery and still testing my BP 5 times a day, it was normal and I felt WAY better. When I saw my PCP @ 3 weeks he checked it twice himself, he said I was cured and it was good that I has stopped the meds when I did! VERY happy about having a normal BP now! Check it out, down 70 lbs. as of this morning!!! I LOVE my band :tt1:

Well hey there Tina, gosh I hope you get some energy back soon! You are taking your vitamins, right?? I got a lot of energy back when i stopped taking that darned vicodin - of course that was like a week out. And when I stopped taking that BP meds it turned out I didn't need anymore . . . . That port hurts for a long time - it's just a real pain in your side! Right under your ribcage, too . . .grrr! I told Dr. Baggs when I had my 6 week check that if I had come in at 4 weeks, he would have really heard it from me about how big the stupid thing was and how much it stuck out and what a dumb place to put it, you can't even bend over & tie you shoes for petes sakes! Then it suddently got better and now I don't feel it at all. Of course he laughed and said that's why we don't let you come in at 4 weeks . . . but it really does get better & moves right out of your way. Being able to sleep on your side is heaven, too!

Well hey there Tina, gosh I hope you get some energy back soon! You are taking your vitamins, right?? I got a lot of energy back when i stopped taking that darned vicodin - of course that was like a week out. And when I stopped taking that BP meds it turned out I didn't need anymore . . . . That port hurts for a long time - it's just a real pain in your side! Right under your ribcage, too . . .grrr! I told Dr. Baggs when I had my 6 week check that if I had come in at 4 weeks, he would have really heard it from me about how big the stupid thing was and how much it stuck out and what a dumb place to put it, you can't even bend over & tie you shoes for petes sakes! Then it suddently got better and now I don't feel it at all. Of course he laughed and said that's why we don't let you come in at 4 weeks . . . but it really does get better & moves right out of your way. Being able to sleep on your side is heaven, too!

Me & my, I think we all did that to some drgree. You see those little tiny 2-oz cups and say oh my God, are you kidding me? That will totally SUCK to not be able to eat like a normal person! But the thing is - and ya gotta trust those who have gone before you here - when you get there, is so does NOT suck to only be able to eat that much! It so rocks, it feels great. And you WILL be able to eat one normal people do, for most of the rest of your life - just not as much. You will not be sorry! I belong to 3 support groups, different sizes, the largest one has a hundred or so people, and I have NEVER heard anyone say that they wish they had not had the surgery - ever! Yes, it WILL change you life, and it's OK to be scared about that - you don't know what it'll feel like yet. But believe me when I say I have never heard any complaints from my support groups! Many struggles, yes, but every single one would do it again. Hope that helps!:rolleyes2: Riley

Oh my, my food intake took a DIVE today! Had my berries for breakfast, for lunch I had about 2 oz. extra-firm tofu with soy sauce and 2 roast beef and laughing cow lite roll-ups (total probably 3 ounces), and I was STUFFED. Could not even think about eating my salad. So now it's 5 1/2 hours later and I want dinner, so I started eating my cup-and-a half of lettuce that I brought for lunch and couldn't eat (after I ate 1 oz string cheese, protein first!), and I can't get through it! Full again, and I only ate about half of it. Yay! I wonder if this will last through the evening . . will probably need another little something before bed, as it's only 4:40 now. If I do I will have some more of that extra-firm, high-protein tofu (Trader Joes, 14 g protein in 3 oz) because it really seems to stick with me a long time. They do say it takes up to 2 weeks for the fill to restrict you, so maybe that's what's happening. I've also been real good about water today, which always seems to help. Yay!

There has to be 6 weeks between surgery & the first fill to allow full healing & for the band to nestle down into the fat pad on the outside of the stomach, according to the manufacturer. There is a nice sticky under the "fills" forum from the manufacturer that "splains"how it all works. I had a really hard time between weeks 4 & 6, actually gained weight back rather than losing . . .that's because I HAD lost 20 lbs, and when the fat pad gets smaller the band gets all loose again. You have 2ccs in there already from surgery, to make the waiting easier . . . but still! I would have DIED if I had to wait another week for the first fill! Aargh!!