riley4183

Nicole, I spend the day before any weigh-in drinking GOBS of diet cranberry juice (the ocean spray one with 5 calories per serving) with gobs of plain water, like 64 ounces EACH. I am up all night (for obvious reasons) but it is a wonderful natural diuretic and it releives my panic that I will weigh in 1/2 pound over or something . . . . I like the scale in the first room on the surgery side best! :-):cursing:

Christine, you are almost there! Kick on those afterburners and commit yourself to burning off (via excercise) more calories than you take in for a couple of weeks! That will mean several hours of excercise a day if you want to eat anywhere close to your 1200, but you can do it! I had to re-arrange my work schedule to be able to do 5-8 miles a day, but I did it! I use a calorie and excercise counter-tool (www.caloriecount.about.com) and log every single thing I eat, and all my active excercise. This is what got me off of my L O N G platuea (like, the whole month of December!) and started my losing again, from 1 lb lost in 4 weeks to 3 pounds a week. I also don't eat most of the starchy carbs from the 1200 diet . . . no bread or potatoes for me, because they make me want more bread and potatoes! My most important thing, tho, is my 3 support groups - I need my people!!!

Tina, how did you email him? He doesn't come up on my selection menu . . . . They offered to schedule me for surgery on Feb. 18, but I already have almost a week off of work starting Veb 25 - I WAS going to go to Vegas, but not now! Dr. Baggs said that they do the lap-bands first thing in the day, I should go home by 2 pm. No hospital stay. From recovery (while you are in recovery he sits with your family members and show them pictures of your insides that he took during surgery) you go to a room with the blowy-uppy things on your legs, you wake up fully and they put you in a chair to go to x-ray for your barium swallow, when they bring you back from that they put you in a recliner and give you liquids (you continue to walk around), when you prove you can get liquids down and keep them down you are out of there. They did not give me paperwork, but I did not need it and didnt ask for it. The appointments on Feb 5 are pre-op eating (8-10) RNY Teach (it covers lap-band too, 10-12) and my pre-op medical exam. They were schedulin through the end of March so you should be fine to get a date you chose! I got within a day of the one I requestd.

Weighing = shoes off, socks on. If you wear sandals, wear socks with 'em! I had my EKG and bloodwork on Friday before I left Richmond so the results would be there for my CM appt. today. It took about 15 minutes, the lab looked really crowded but they went real fast. The results were actually online by Saturday evening (bloodwork only). Today they ordered a bunch MORE labwork I don't even know what it is yet! They said to get it at Santa Rosa.

Hey everyone; My Case Manager appointment with Liz went great today, I was down another 2 lbs. and had my surgery scheduled for February 23rd! Woo-hoo! Then they said hey we're taking you chart across the hall and Dr. Baggs is going to see you, I'm like, WHAT? I just saw him Friday, they said yeah well this is your next visit with him, oh and all of your classes and your pre-op exam are on Feb 5th. WHEW! Talk about fast-tracked! Shazam. So Tina we talked more about the new band today, you were right it's the APS (advanced performance small) and he says it has 3 ccs in it at the end of surgery, and he says the barium swallow is really yummy, hahaha he has a good sense of humor. OK I'm excited but now it's almost too fast! Yikes! Riley

Oh heck once I get out there on the "web" I get so lost! I just hate that I can't find my way back to what I was reading the day before. Oh well, when you or I run across it again Tina we'll know where it is! Hey everyone, did you notice we're up to 20 pages now?!?! I think we should call our thread just Kaiser Richmond or something, and make ourselves a formal group! Does anyone know how to do that? I'm thinking it might make us easier to find for new patients or those who are just signing on . . . . what do you think? Riley PS, my Case Manager appt. with Liz is tomorrow! Wish me luck!:confused:

Tina; I heard about this newer method of "installing" the lap-band from Dr. Woodbury, who is the #1 Bariatric & Endocrine surgeon in this area. There is a huge bariatric surgery support group up here, it meets once a month and it's mostly his patients and Kaiser Richmond & SSF patients. I think his patients are required to attend . . . anyway, he spoke last month and was talking about it, the same things that Dr. Baggs was saying Friday. He called the method some name that I can't remember. I later saw SOMEwhere that Dr. Baggs had done a more recent training in Lap-Band for that, but I can't remember where! It was recent, and all I can find online now is no more current than 2004. I wish I could remember where I saw it! I will definately let you know when/if I find out. Are you doing a mission trip in Africa?

My goal is to be down 40 by surgery. I want a BMI under 40 when I go under! But see, I started eating meat again just so I could do the pre-op and post-op diet stages. A main reason I am going lap-band is so I can go back to vegetarian once I have lost the weight and stabilized. So I stick to the 1200 but don't do the starches, at all. The only carbs I eat are berries and beans and vegies. Oh and the ultra high-fiber tortillas that are 7 fiber 3 net carbs and 5 protein. I log everything in caloriecount.about.com, which sows that I actually average from 900-1100 caloeis a day. I drink all of my water, and more if i can. AND . . . I walk 5 miles every day. But the #1 most important thing I do is my support groups, one at kaiser tuesday nights, one (hiking) one on saturday mornings, and the big sonoma county group once a month. I get emails, texts and calls from my group members morning, afternoon and evening, it is almost like AA or something (so I hear) and it's really hard to fail and get discouraged with all these people cheering me on day and night! Isn't Dr. Baggs wonderful??? So smart, so young, so witty, so adorable! :scared2: He might be young enough to be my son, LOL! I will try to find the thing about his training and post it

Nicole we are so on the same track here, we had orientation together and we have both lost almost exactly the same amount we have CM appts. within days of one another - and wouldn't it be great if we had the same surgery dates too?? CONGRATS on your weight loss! Riley:thumbup:

I saw Dr. Baggs there today, too! My appointment was at 11 but I got there early so he saw me early - that has happened every time I go down there for me. I am definately lap-band, he said thats great since my BMI is less than 42 that's a good choice for me. Something about it has better results with the lower BMIs. Anyways he let me play with one its pretty cool, he told me all about how much better they have gotten, a new method of putting them in really cuts down on hunger, etc (I did my homework,and I knew that he had studied this new method - that's why I chose him). Anyways he set my goal at 255 and I was 251 so he walked me across the hall and got me my Case Manager appointment for . . . MONDAY! He says surgery should be at the end of Feb! Considering I went to orientation only in November, I'm moving right along here!! So I shound get my surgery date on Monday. YEA!!!:scared2: Riley

Momc, so did you get a fill when you were down there Friday? I was there too, but probably didn't see you as we arrived around 11 and walked up the ramps in the parking garage for while before my friend's weigh-in They took us as soon and we checked in and did both appointments back-to-back hours ahead of schedule, too. Friday was a good day at Kaiser Richmond!

I don't do milk either, ever ever. I love chocolate Soy Slender for 1 cup its 70 cals, 1 gr. net carbs and 7g protein! I love it iced, and starbucks will use it to make my decaf lattes :scared2: I'm also fortunate that I love good, firm tofu! The super-firm kind that they sell at trader joes is too high in fat so i have just been using the lite extra firm that they sell at Safeway, I "fry" slices of it in a pan sprayed with olive oil cooking spray, sprinkle it with garlic powder and Tony Cachere's cajun seasonong and YUM even if I devour the whole package (noy likely) it would only be 200 cals and all of my protein for the day. Also good with spahetti sauce, I use vegies and mashed dark red kidney beans in my spaghetti sauce try it! Do call them again tomorrow and ask for Kelly, they have 4 gals who answer the phone and it's really all about who answers or who calls you back. If you are super flexible with your dates, tell them that! I know that have appointments come up all the time. Do you know if you are going to do psych or surgeon first?

Reggie, it sounds like you tweak your 1200 the way I do mine . . . I'll bet there are more of us too! Since carbs make the liver larger, I'm avoiding them like the plague . . . . . :scared2:

swrktp, I am so impressed that you have managed to remain vegetarian through this! I used to be (OL) vegetarian, right up until the day after orientation! There seemed no way around eating chicken and fish both on the 1200 and post-op for me. I'm mostly eggbeaters and tofu and cottage cheese and soy or brown rice protein powder, but I am doing chicken and fish (get this, I have to eat it "canned" so it does not remind me of carcass!) to get extra protein and avoid losing muscle as a lose weight so fast. My goal is to be vegetarian again when the rapid weight loss stops - hopefully when I am on full food again. I also heard (actually, read) that Robin specializes in vegetarianism, isn't that great!?! Anyways, way to GO girl!! And keep the faith . . .you are right if you are at goal weight sooner you will be banded sooner. I posted earlier about my friend who was at goal and they called her to come see the case manager the next day, they gave her a surgery date and THAT day and then called her the next day to move it up by a whole month! I went with her to her pre-op Friday and they were talking about moving it up again to monday (today) but she said no thanks - she goes next Wednesday for RNY. And they were SO NICE in there! It's almost like if you could just walk in and talk to someone you could get appointments right away . . . . but they want to see that you are motivated, and losing the weight is what shows them that you are. Keep it up! Riley :scared2:

swrktp, congrats on you 8 lbs!!! Thats huge considering that they are not even calling you, which would be totally unmotivating for me. Keep it up!! Reggie, how do you tweak your 1200?

Nicole, how did you get Dr. Baggs to waive stuff 4 you with the educator? Did you already have a class? I am in a 14-week series of classes on this surgery up here in Santa Rosa (only 4 classes left, and I'm really going to miss it!) so maybe he might waive me too?? Let's see you have a month between surgeon appt. and case manager, I go to surgeon the 23rd so it look like I can't expect case manager until the end of feb, if then! Are you calling for cancellations? Dr. Park's assistant mentioned today that there were some open appointments coming up, but I don't know if that was for her or for the case managers. Can't hurt to call, right? Best! Riley

Yea, Tera! They are SO nice down there, someone would probably just guesstimate for you about how far out they are making CM appts, I don't have one yet so I can't help! My appt. with Dr. Baggs is not until next Friday, but I went down with a friend to her pre-op today and they let me weigh in, and I was actually under my 10%! I tried to get them to set me up a CM appointment right then, but they said Dr. Baggs has to set my goal first so we know I have reached it. Rats! Way to burst my little scale-bubble! So I have lost 30 lbs since my orientation on November 4th. I do the 1200 diet faithfully EXCEPT I don't eat the straight starches (toast, potato etc.) I replace them with veggies and protein. Starches are a trigger food for me, so better to avoid them and not be tempted. I also walk 5 miles a day - 12,000 to 15,000 steps on my pedometer, including at least 1 hour of it aerobically. AND I drink ALL of my water. And NO alchohol. If I do not do all 3 things every day - < 1200, water, and 5 miles - I do not lose. If I do all 3, I lose real well. I journal everything in Calorie Counter Database - Free Online Diet Program, a free service and they give you a nutritional grade every day too (I go for the As!) Caffeine is my last hold-out, I am down to 1 half-caff cup a day but refuse to let it go until my surgeon demands it. Good luck! You CAN do this!!! Riley

Momcof3, who does the fills, the surgeon or someone else? Riley

You poor thing! I think that are catching up there tho; a gal in my support group got a call from Liz this afternoon asking if she could come to her case manager appt. tomorrow, and if she is at goal weight still, surgery will be in 2-3 weeks! Just like that! After she had been waiting 6 weeks for them to give her an appointment after her surgeon visit. Sweet! It WILL happen :thumbup:

So glad you all had fun and found support from one another! It is SO important. Wish I could have been there but work is a real bear right now. I would loved to have seen little Audrey, I miss my babies so much! They are 25, 20 and 17 now . . yeez So I saw mt PCP today and he really wanted to emphasize to me that he thinks I should have Lap-Band and not RNY. I guess he has a patient that is so malnourished after RNY that she can't stop losing weight (she went from 315 to like 105 and is still losing), they keep putting her on IVs and stuff and I guess now they are going to operate again. . . . I have never heard of it being that bad, but the whole malabsorptive thing is not my cup of tea anyways. He did not say if she had had the surgery done at Kaiser, I kind of think not but I didn't want to ask . . . I will ask my support group leader tomorrow night if she has heard about this, she tells us the risk stories too so we are very well-prepared. I wish you guys could all have this class too! It is so helpful. Now you can form your own group in Sacto! It is so helpful (and it sounds like Christine is providing a little comic relief!) When I got weighed in today and my doc saw I was down almost 25 lbs over the holidays he said wow whats your secret so I can share it with my other patients, and I said it was the support! OK gonna go put some more steps on the 'ol pedometer, you girls have good night! :tongue2: Riley

How did it go today ladies?!?! Does "Team Richmond" have good things to report from your lunch? Thanks for your protein suggestions the other nite when I was starving, I did in fact have a protein shake. And it's working! Lost almost 5 lbs in the last 2 weeks!

So the I had egg beaters with Tabasco (I have GOT to go meat shopping!) and spinach with vinegar. And I'm STILL starving! I know it's from all of the activity today; my pedometer says well over 1,000 cals burned so there's a good reason for my hunger. But I don't want to eat those burned calories; that was hard work! Does anyone else have this problem & can make some suggestions? Chicken broth is not so much cutting it . . . Riley

Arggh, I am starving! I walked 8 1/2 miles today, including some steep hiking and I'm POOPED - and starving! I just had some celery with like 3 tbsps of soy nut butter and 2 cups of ceasar salad, and I want more more more! I had eggbeaters with onions & bell pepper for breakfast, and topping from 2 slices of cheese pizza + 2 cups of salad for lunch, so nothing left on my 1200! Any ideas for me?

Heck ya! And someone was saying that at first of the year you no longer need a referral from your PCP, so imagine how busy they will be now, yikers! Well it does help to have support, I have this group and my class at my local Kaiser, and now that class has branched off into an "activity" support group, where we walk or whatever. In fact we have a 3-miler at 9 this morning, and it's 31 degrees out there! Yikes! The trail is all shaded too, we'd better move pretty fast or we will freeze to death. Does anyone know if you burn more calories shivering?? So I am real lucky to have those support groups, and there is also a huge one monthly held at the Wells FArgo Center, that one is not just Kaiser but everyone . . . .I have not been yet but I hear that they have a clothing exchange too, which I'm going to need! Have fun on Monday guys!! :thumbup: Riley

I live in Santa Rosa, too far to meet up with you Monday!! Unfortunately my schedule is less than flexible, but that's OK as I don't intend to switch surgeons, I asked for Dr. Baggs. They did offer me a couple of earlier appts. with Dr. Fischer - one the very next day, in fact - but I held out for the appt. with Baggs. I am just concerned that I will be at my surgery goal weight and have to wait for months to get in to see the case manager, since they only have the 1 right now. Maintenance is always the problem with me, and as soon as i get discouraged I tend to revert back to my old eating behaviors. Alas . . . . Christine, did you find out if you can do case manager and nutrition class together? :tongue2: Riley