54Shirley

You will get Meds for Discomfort, so get a Pill Crusher. Or Pill crusher/ Splitter Combo. This way you won't have to buy 2 separate things.. The splitter you can use for when the swelling goes down, and when you get fills. It helps getting Meds. down in the future. All your drinks, pop cycles, broths, s f pudding to put the crushed pills into... Good Health to you ! See you on the Losing side... Shirley.

Ditto !

A Hot Cup of Decaff Tea should help open you up. I know it does for me. I sometimes heat up my milk or 50/50 milk.water blend. Then add my Carnation Instant Breakfast to it. It's like Hot Chocolate.

. I have the 4 cc BAND and it works nice. Just by reading posts, and researching, and talking to the Surgeons.. I would go with the LapBand. If you move into another state, some places won't fill the Realize Band. I went to a fill center, and they would not touch me if I had that band. That was a couple of years ago, could be different now..... I also see it's been recalled ! That would send up a RED FLAG to me. You can google it and see what's up with it, but I would think twice. Just my 2 cents added in. It's totally up to you. Good Health to you, Shirley.

NO! ! Every Dr. is flexible. If you been doing it rite, but a few different changes, wich you say you were not reall bad ! Then No Way ! do you cancel that... You worked hard for this, you will learn by your mistakes (TRUST ME !) So go in, and I think you will be very Happy with your Results. Just don't cancel !

It's actually good for you to have a little carb. with your Protein. It's like a kicker for the Protein. It really kicks it in Gear, and you can sometimes feel the difference.. .

Thanks for your comments Lady's. Shirley.

I made my first Hurtle, and now I have onderland in my sights for sure... I'm going out on a Limb here, and making a prediction ! Even though I am a S L O W Loser. I figure 25 Lbs. will come off by Easter. I just had a slight unfill, so I know that this too will be in my way, But ! I will also try to stay under 1200 calories a day, and 3 days a week in the Gym, and Pool. I believe that it is possible... Shirley.

my fitnesspal.com its a Great Site.

Yep ! So I see.....

I was at the Fruit Market, when I said Hello to a Neighbor. She told me I looked Great, and even her Grand Kids were checking me out.. I said thanks, but it is a lot of work.. She said she bets it is.. Then she said are you smaller then you were, last time that you lost weight ? I said NO ! I have 2 sizes to go down to reach where I was before things got goofed up. So I am looking forward to this summer. She said my God you are going to look Great. So I said say hy ! to your husband and was on my way. I felt as light as a Butterfly. A couple streets down is the Auto Parts Store, so he needed to stop there. We took care of Business and he got a head start, so I looked like I was walking alone ,when I was WHISTLED ! at.... He said HAY BABY, WANNA GO OUT ON A DATE SOMETIME ? I was floored, when all of a sudden I heard "W H A T T T T T !" The young Guy says "I'm Sorry sir, I didn't know she was Married. ! ! ! ! In the car He said your starting to look to Dam Good ! I said Nope ! not in a size 20 I'm not... I still got a long way to go.. I'm still flying High on this, and Hope to enjoy it all day. Its been a long time since I was asked out on a date. I should write it on the Calendar.

Ditto !

I liked cottage cheese chicken salad spread tuna salad " egg salad " Re-fried Beans with Salsa Hearty Soups Oatmeal anything pureed (NOT FATTENING.) That's a start.

Once you get down to 199 Lbs., did it ever occur to you that you may like what you see, and really go for it. Because their won't be no stopping you, once you see the real thing. Shirley.

Trish: For me they have to be Realistic Goals. I think this is possible, and doable. So I'm giving it a good shot. Shirley.

It's a s l o w go, so you have to learn a lot of patience, and control with the Band. Your working out ! So you might start losing inches before the weight shows on the scale. That's O.K. ! really ! because a loss is a loss. Take it ! Don't get hung up on the numbers, it drives you up the wall. Once it starts falling of, it wil keep up for a while, then stop, and lose inches. This goes back and forth through your WL journey, so don't even think about getting discouraged yet. Weigh yourself when you see your Dr.'s You will be surprised when you see the scale go down, and so will the Nurse, and Dr... I record mine in a purse calendar, and review it once in a while. Just to keep me on Track. If you must use a scale, try 1 x every 2 weeks... You will start to see something eventually. First you need enough fills in you. For now keep up the working out, and I will tell you, you are not wasting your time..

Congrats to you ! You Go Girl ! ! ! ! :party:::party:::party:::party:

I was Banded 10/31/2006. The first surgery. weight 356. unfilled 201.= 155# loss. 01/01/11 weight 328.Second time around... / Do to a unfill only ! 11/03/2011 weight 224.= 104 # loss So 155 Lbs since being Banded/ and 104 just for this year...

Thank You !

Just do what your Dr. tells you to do, and you will find out about him. Probably very good ! Mine just made a mistake, that was fixed with a unfill, and then a proper fill. I'm on a Roll now...

You can always sign a request for your records, and have them when looking for another surgeon. If you submit your surgical notes, make sure those are copy's, because they don't have to give you those back. Also for now You can go to Fill Center USA and see if there is one in your area or somewhere near you. They can start you out, but it helps if you know the size band. Good Luck, Shirley.

This is my second time around, so I can relate to bad aftercare. The first time when I started off I weighed 356. My Ins. said pre op diet for 1 year. Weight at surgery 231. Going in for fills when I can't even get water down, it's squirting up like a squirt gun. Surgeon deflated me, said he blew the band.. Weight at Deflation 201. I was banded 10/31/2006. Fast Forward into 01/01/2011. I was now at 328, and with 2 artificial Knees I couldn't take the weight, I had the band, and I finally had Ins. again. So I seeked out a New Surgeon, only to find out that NO ONE ! wanted to touch someone else s mistakes ! I was furious ! ! ! I came back on this site, and said I want this piece of Garbage taken out ! That Post is still on here. Anyway, It was at that point no't long after I posted this, that I received a phone call from a Bariatric Center that was willing to see me. I was Delighted ! Turned out that the Surgeon was a Student of my former Dr....... Now I new he was going to be good, but I would have to see for myself. I went into the Hospital for a Outpatient Procedure. They looked at the band under Fluoroscope figuring it would be time to replace this 4cc Band, with a bigger Band. So Revision Surgery was the plan.... They looked at the Band, and I could see it to up on a screen. I was told there is nothing wrong with the Band that I was just Deflated ? But ? I told the whole story, and was told "He Jumped The Gun !" You were only over filled at that point. So this was Bad Aftercare! That's it ! They said we will fill you to your fill line. "WHAT ?" Your FILL LINE ! You do have one you know !!!!! NO! I DIDN'T...... Well yes you do ! and that's where you like to be. So 2cc's and .5cc's of Acrylic was put in. The Acrylic was put in because, if there was a leak it would be plugged. That's it! No messing around with how much is in or not. Just straight to the point. Then when you lose a good amount of weight, maybe a Tweaking. So 2.5cc's in the Band. So the difference came with the Aftercare. I learned that he did a beautiful job installing it, but as far as fills,,, He didn't know a DAM thing. I hope you take some of this into consideration, because what you see on the Ticker is this years weight Loss with a properly filled Band. So Yes this can work..... Shirley.

If you tell them what you are saying here. I don't believe they will give you a fill ! Because you couldn't need to be any tighter at this time.

Ouch ! ! That's rubbing it in. You go thow Girl,, and never look back.

When I was on my way to surgery, We stopped right outside the room, and I was asked "ARE YOU READY FOR A NEW LIFE !" I never gave it a thought, and "YES!" popped clean out. I never regretted it..... I know it's nerve racking, and scary, and a lot of emotions all rolled into one. But trust me when I tell you, that I have had Dental Surgery, that was far more painful ! That's the Truth ! Try to Relax, and take care of your last minute things, make some calls, keep busy. Tomorrow, you start a whole new life. Congrats. Shirley.