54Shirley

You are 100lbs. over weight that alone is Medically Necessary as far as a Bariatric Surgeon's Diagnoses. Also ask your Primary Dr.'s Opinion. Let them know your knees Joints are starting to hurt, and they feel stiff sometimes. That is a definite sign that you are to heavy. You won't be denied by the Ins. Co....

I'm not one to beat around the bush,,,, so I'll be straight with you. You have some Medical conditions that in the long run could kill you. THAT'S A FACT! If your wife wants you around in her life for a little while longer, then she should give it a thought, and that's it ! Just a little thought, and go for it. Otherwise,,, I'm going to ask you if you have some huge Insurance Policy on you, if and when you die???? Because to get healthy, and have someone tell you NO ! ! Is not thinking straight. Of course you will be sluggish in the beginning, but it only gets better. I walk ! Titanium Knees and all. I'm just starting so it's around the block 3x a week. Eventually, I will add on more steps, but with no walker, cane , nothing,,, just me doing it ! ! ! I don't want to where these knees out. So like I said it's a start. Also when it gets cold and snows here in Michigan, I can't go walking, could break my knees. So I will go down the road to a physical Therapy place. Now these places are starting up to rent their Gym out for a set price. (LIKE GOING TO A GYM, BUT YOUR NOT STUCK IN A CONTRACT). Even your Dr. where he does his surgery in the Hospital should have access to exercise equipment, or knowledge of where to go, For me it will be about $30.00 a month. So you might want to check around, and check into this. But tell your lady that you know you need to do this (AND YOU DO, OR YOU WOULDN'T BE ON HERE...) Or your only going to get bigger, and sicker/ That is the truth.. Shirley

This is Shirley banded 10/31/2006. Hi how you been?

You will like it... You can even track your exercise, and it will tell you about your calorie loss. Nice informative site where people are all participating. Shirley

myfitnespal.com is a good site, and it's free ! It will look up your foods and you put them in your daily log. Your calories, Protein, and more are calculated. It helps keep you in check as to where you are with calories, and protein. It keeps your journal in the computer. I now use this site. Calorie King is a calorie counter site, so you can look up your foods and find the calories and protein, then Journal it on paper. I used that for almost 5 years. It's still a good site.

Did you Wait 3 days before you went to the mushie stage? If not,,, That can cause swelling. Try liquids for a day, then mushies, then a small start on food. Eat light, not a Steak,, Dry chicken Breast, Bread, and rice. Take your time and chew, If no luck,, call your surgeon.

If it helps at all,, I'm 56, and Banded, and losing weight. There is a few things that you have to learn for this Band to work right. Once your Banded it takes time to get fills, and this band works with fills. So I call it fill after fill solution. In the meantime you will be givin a life long Diet to follow. Mine is between 800 - 1200 Calories a day, and 60 - 80 G of Protein Daily. You have to do this daily if you want it to work. Some foods you may not be able to eat anymore (LIKE BREAD) but you will get use to that. You will have to learn to chew, and chew your food so you don't get stuck. But until you even get there you will be on liquids, and Mushie food. Do a lot of Protein, it helps kill the hunger. There is no reason that you can't come down in weight. You may never be Bikini Material ! but,,, neither will I. So everyday is a new day, and you just keep going, and keep a journal on your food threw out the day. That way, you will know how much you are eating daily, and won't go over. Some kind of exercise is a must for continued weight loss. Especially older, and slower Metabolism. So it needs a kick in the A*s to get it going. I walk 3 times a week. I have 2 Titanium Knees, so I take it at a medium pace. about 20 minutes of walking. I don't want to wear these knees out. So my days of busting my Butt are done ! No Aerobics, No Running. Just Walking. This Lap Band takes time, It is a s l o w g o ! So be patient. Before you know it, you will find your cloths getting baggy, then in time you will be getting smaller size cloths. I just went threw this with my box of summer cloths. It really blew me away. And everyone on here has gone threw that, or will be going threw it. So to old???? NO WAY ! Once you have this done, and start to see the difference, you will see that this can work for anyone that follows the rules. Good Health to you, Shirley.

I asked my surgeon if I could have the broth or soup only from a can of chicken noodle soup. He told me when you put some soup in a cup, and put your spoon in, as long as you can see the spoon, that's clear liquid. It might have a tint to it, but you can still see through it. That is clear liquid.. Buy some stock, season it how you like. and enjoy some Chicken Stock, poultry seasoning, and, sage makes a great stock.

Ice is great for Inflammation. But when you have deep Bruising, Heat helps bring the Bruising to the service. Black/Blue. That helps the hurt go away. Best advice I ever got.. Try both and go with which one feels good..

YOU ARE BUTT NAKED ! cap and socks stay on, and they work on you. Don't worry,,, It's not like they have never done this before, and we all survived.

Follow the diet that your Dr. gave you. The weight loss is right in there at 1-2 lbs. a week. Protein kills hunger. Remember that. So the more protein you eat the less you should be hungry 60-80. a day for a woman is recommended. So in your Mushie stage, eat proteins, including shakes. Your doing fine.

Every now and then, I will have 2 Gerkin pickles. Now they are much more crunchy, I think. Anyway,,, I chew, and chew until it's mush, and then swallow it. So if you take small bites, and pulverise it would say yeagh it can be done. Just not all the time.

Congratulations ! to the both of you...

Then for sure go in for fluoroscope, (like a x-ray for band) They will see what it is, and you will see your whole band on screen.

They want to make sure that it doesn't come back up on you. If id did,,, you would be in the RED ZONE. You don't want that at all trust me. So he would take the fill out because of the swelling. That's why they check you.

Heating Pad might help bring the bruising out. That alone will help some. Cottage cheese, String Cheese Yogurt, Greek Yogurt, Beans or Re-Fried Beans, eggs, make a egg salad out of a hard boiled egg, Your Protein shakes. If you have any that you add Water to to mix them, add 1/2 the amount of water, mix well, cover and freeze. Like in a desert dish, it will become a pudding.. It still has the same amount of Protein.. Also look for foods high in protein on the Internet. You should be able to find a few things. If you have a blender add your shake mix, and some fruit, blend well. Canned Soups are always nice to have. Good Health to you, Hope you feel better. Shirley.

That's your PORT ! I have scar tissue over my Port (IT'S ALMOST 5 YRS. OLD THOUGH), but still it can be accessed for a fill or unfill. If you really want to know, go in for FLUORSCOPE, and it will show the entire band, and PORT. Also very easy for them to fill this way.

Everyday is different ! Some days thins go down with no problem except breads. Other days,,,, I just feel like shakes will do the job. Some days even the weather can cause a difference.

I have a lot of Restriction. So I know it's out the question. I could have maybe a couple peaces of pepperoni, but that would be it. So it depends on the Individual. If you don't try,,,, you don't know. Just remember: small bites, and chew, chew, chew. If it's to tough to go down, don't try to swallow it, cough it up, and call it quits. Otherwise enjoy a slice.

That's do to the swelling. Don't eat anything ! It can cause further swelling. So the Golden Rule that I get is 3 days of Protein Shakes, and water of course. Then 1 day of soft food. Then you will see, you should be good to go. But remember... No Nibbling.

Go on the forum, and scroll down, you will find your state. Click on it, and look for your city that you want, click on it, and a list of Dr.'s will appear. Hope this helps.

No it doesn't hurt.

That is totally normal... This is a step by step process. Meaning Fill after Fill until it starts to give you some restriction. Then they work at finding your spot, that you are no longer hungry. In the meantime, It is up to you, to keep a diet under control, and some type of exercise, even walking can be good for starts. If you drink or eat a lot of Protein, it helps take the edge of the Hunger Beast. I eat between 800 - 1200 calories a day, and I have around 60 - 70 G of Protein, and its working. Trust me, you stick to something like this, and in about 2 -3 months. Your cloths will be falling off you. I hope this helps. Good Health to you, Shirley.

Anyone out there a October 2006 Bandster? I was banded 10/31/2006. Had a lot of problems with the Dr's aftercare,and then no Insurance. So I gained a lot of it back, but I moved, found a new surgeon, got Ins., so now I am back all over again. I have that 4cc band, and I was very glad to hear that it was in new shape. So now I will do it again. Nice to see some of you people. That's for sure ! If your out there ! this is sstasevich writing you. Get back if you can, Shirley.

I agree ! on my last fill the breath got really bad from a empty stomach. So I just rinsed with Water, then drank some. It will go away for me then. But I plan to buy some breath strips.