Zannie

Ha! I'd never seen that one before -- until last night! Too funny! I stopped to watch (and made DH watch) BECAUSE you mentioned it. Now that one...I could never do that. A) I have no coordination whatsoever, and I'm not physically fit enough! But he sure is full of pep!

:happybday2: Hope your birthday wishes come true! So :hungry:, what did you choose to splurge on?

Skinny to me would be any size that doesn't have a "W" next to it. :laugh (And my real goal is to wear jeans 1 size smaller than my husband! :kiss)

:wow2: You're doing wonderfully!! You've plenty to be proud of -- 10 more pounds & you'll be 1/2 way to goal! That's awesome progress, Ravenheart!:cheer2: If you don't mind my asking, did you do a pre-op diet or loose it all post-op? I didn't have a pre-op diet & wonder if (& how much) that jump start helps in loosing post-op...? Just curious. Great job!

Frustrated here, too... Before our local support group last night, I weighed in on my clinic’s scale (in the same clothes, at the same time of day as usual). While I have thankfully NOT gained, I’ve only lost a pound. Having 200 pounds to loose, I’m supposed to be hitting 2 pounds a week the 1st year -- not half of that! It’s been exactly 2 weeks since my 1st fill. Last week I lost 3.5 on the same scale (after stalling for a week prior to that!), but the effectiveness of the fill seems to have “worn off” now or something. I don’t know... :straight One pound would be great bandless, but it seems such an underachievement after going to these lengths!!! (Something’s wrong with my ticker - can’t update it. Down 32.5 pounds as of Thursday - 9 weeks out!)

With my clinic’s program, you begin "mushy foods" after 2 weeks of full liquids (Protein drinks, brothy part of Soups, yogurt)...and you're on mushies (egg salad, chicken salad, refried beans) for 2 weeks before slowly introducing easy-to-eat solids (like fish). So no, you'll likely NOT be eating "beef or chicken" at the reception... But you could ask them to see about an appetizer from the mushy category (even if it’s served on a carb, you can eat only the ‘salad’ part), or mashed potatoes/whipped veggies with the meal -- if you feel comfortable doing that. Or you could be "making the rounds" of guest tables while eating is in full swing. Have a Protein shake in your bag/car to drink between the ceremony and the reception to keep hunger at bay while you Celebrate (a good tip right before you do anything where temptations abound). At least then it’ll only be head-hunger you battle.:hungry: How to help -- Along with volunteering to do the pre-wedding phone calls (confirm florist, cake, limo etc.), you could offer to assemble favors and/or write names on place cards. Unless you have a uniquely close relationship with your son’s fiancé, the mother-in-law isn’t generally expected to play a huge roll in the details. (NO offense intended here, but the bride’s "officially" gonna have you (not just your son) in her life from "this day forward" -- this is the last time your opinion on "the big stuff" won’t have to be a consideration for her! Many brides would prefer the soon-to-be in-laws not be in the details of this event. Not me, of course -- my in-laws live out-of-state, so I wanted them to feel as welcome as possible at our wedding! But they also weren’t "right there" to grate on my last nerve at what can only be called "a stressful time" for the bride! Plus, the doing part of "my wedding" was something I was able to enjoy with MY mom...something I’d dreamed about since a little girl, ya know? Please, don’t be offended by my honesty or if she doesn’t seem overly receptive to your efforts!) Physically -- you won’t be able to lift that grandbaby yet, but you will be able to dance with your baby! Or at least I was dancing with my 1-1/2 & 4 year-old at a month out. Bending, stretching & lifting were painful when it tugged at my port site, but mostly I was feeling pretty good by then! Barring any complications, you’re gonna be feeling great! Yes, it will be a challenging environment, especially if they go buffet rather than sit-down, but you can do it! Congratulations, both on choosing to get banded & on the wedding! Relax! (It’s so much easier than I thought it would be!) And have a wonderful time!

Gina & Alison ~ The LapBand support group at Sentara Carplex meets tonight @ 6:30! :clap2: We meet monthly on the third Thursday at 6:30pm at the Sentara CarePlex (on Coliseum Drive). Enter through the York River doors and take an immediate right. The meeting rooms are on your left, just past the Ladies room. I've gone to two so far & they each met in a different room, so just pop your head in & ask! Alison, if you’re interested, I know you'd be welcome to attend. :welcome: You wouldn't be the only person to come who’s having/had surgery elsewhere. (Apparently there are no LapBand-specific meetings on the Southside.) Susie Rohling (from the yahoo SCH board) leads our meetings & is the Bariatric Program Coordinator at WLSC. Being newly banded, I’m finding it quite helpful to surround myself with people who know exactly what I'm going through, even if we don't all have the same surgeon… Hope to see y’all there tonight! :wave:

Hazel, great job! :cheer2: Only banded a month and already a NSV! :clap2: Wahooo! I can't wait to be shopping anywhere that isn't a plus-size catalog!

Don't give up! Call around to the other clinics closer to you! The "center of excellence" designation is a rather new thing to WLS & each surgeon has to apply -- and for a fee. It may be that the other clinics have applied for, but not yet been approved as one. That was the case here in VA when I was making my final choice. Since you're still in the research process, there's still time for approval to come in before your surgery -- and for a clinic you're interested in to apply for approval. So, if I were you, I'd call & ask about each clinic's status (and their intentions) in that process. If you wish to, you can read more about the designation here: www.surgicalreview.org

Yes, I admit it! Infomercials are addictive. The Thigh Master, the Ab Roller, the Cardio Glide, Greer Childers' BodyFlex, a dozen different video workouts… I’m so gullible when it comes to the search for something that'll make working out A) easy & fun!! DH & I actually bought a Body By Jake Gravity Force Trainer in January for strength training at home! We already have a treadmill for cardio. The sad, sad, sad thing is that we were pumped when ordering this thing, but have only now (mid-April) got around to unpacking it. (The return-by-date has passed & the plastic shell has a sizable crack – doesn’t it just figure! :straight) He thinks it’s gonna be great. I think (at 5’2”) I’m gonna be to short to really use it. We shall see…

I heard at Support Group that Dr. T is more aggressive than Dr. C with fill volume, too. But 4cc at the 1st fill doesn't seem too off at all from the others on this thread. (I detailed my 1st fill in my 4/5/07 mySpace blog, if you are the kind of person who wants to know what's coming next.) I don't notice a bit of difference in restriction from before my fill (10 days ago) to now. I guess that means I'm in need of more juice. However, I read something about "fills slowly over 9 months" being more effective than lots of fills right off the bat, so I’m willing to be patient. I lost 3.5 lbs in the week after my 1st fill, which is good since the scale stood still for the week prior to it. I hope I'm continuing to loose now, too, because I really don't feel any more restricted than I was before the fill!! I'm mindful of the rules (protein 1st, nothing white, no more than 1/2 cup of food per meal, and exercise), but it doesn't seem like doing my part is "enough" to get the job done! I mean, we're talking 200 pounds after all!! My 2nd fill will be May 17th, 6-weeks from the first one. I hope you're doing well post-op! You've made it a full week! :clap2: Hang in there (on that sea of Protein shakes) for one more & you'll be advanced to mushies! I tell you, nothing ever tasted so good as that 1st bite of egg salad (even without the sandwich bread!)... You're 1/2 way there! :gluck: Hope to see you on Thursday! (I'll be the short, fat one with glasses in the striped, pink shirt –- my weigh-in clothes!)

Everybody's getting sick! Ahhhhhh! Feel better soon, y'all! :hug:

I’ve had my LapBand for exactly 2 months. :clap2: My 1st adjustment was 9 days ago, on April 5th.:bounce: I felt fine prior to my 1st fill (not having “between meals” hunger, not overeating at meals, drinking my 50g protein shake every day, getting in my exercise thanks to the Feb’07 Challenge). And both the dietician & the head nurse thought my fill would be postponed, so I wasn’t all that anxious when I went to the appointment. They were wrong!:faint2: I arrived for my fill & talked to my surgeon about how I was doing with hunger & the kinds of foods I could tolerate. He said I’ve been doing wonderfully & reminded me of our goal: 2 pounds a week for the 1st year since I’ve got 200 to loose. At that point, I weighed in at 292 having lost 28 pounds for an average of 4 pounds a week over 7 weeks, but I'd also been stalled for a week. That said, Dr. T felt it was time for a fill. My clinic does adjustments under fluoroscope. I stepped up into the horseshoe shaped machine, put my back to the one end & watched as my innards appeared on the monitor above the other end. There he was: Jiminy Cricket ( as I’ve come to think of my inner conscience, the LapBand :lie:). I sipped on barium for a bit, shocked to see the liquid pool for a moment in the pouch & then slide right through. Apparently I had next to no restriction at all. ( How then was I handling the hunger & why was I feeling so full after 1/3 cup of food? :noidea: Mind over matter, I guess, perhaps because I wanted the LapBand to work…? ) Dr. T. then gave me a shot to numb up the port area & came at me with a gigantic syringe of saline! ( I do not like needles!!!) The fill itself was easy. Eyes glued to the screen, I felt pressure as he inserted the needle, but no pain at all. I continued to sip at the barium as he added a full 4cc to my 10cc VG Band. And then Susie, the nurse who is both the surgical coordinator & our support group leader (had bypass & looks terrific) and has been there at every stage of this process, gave me a post-fill pep talk. :nervous I was on liquids for 48 hours, followed by mushies for another 48. My port-site & stomach were a bit tender, and loud stomach gurgling started before I’d left the building – both lasted for about 3 days! But no other side effects from the adjustment. I felt & continue to feel just great! :teeth: In fact, it’s almost like I didn’t even have an adjustment. Which, I suppose, is not a good sign, considering that I technically had nearly no restriction at all prior to the fill!! I actually went down to the clinic to hop on their scale yesterday – just to be sure my #s were right. (They weren't. :straight) I’ve lost 3.5 pounds since the fill a week ago, which is great because the scale stood still for over a week prior to it! That brings me down 31.5 pounds since my surgery to 288.5 with a 52.8 BMI. But I think it’s just my "diet willpower" that’s doing the work right now, though I hope I’m wrong! :decision: That willpower’s got a track record of only being trustworthy for about 3 months! My 2nd fill will be on May 17th, 6 weeks from the 1st one & 2 days after my 3-month Bandiversary.

I’ve had my LapBand for exactly 2 months. :clap2: My 1st adjustment was 9 days ago, on April 5th.:bounce: I felt fine prior to my 1st fill (not having “between meals” hunger, not overeating at meals, drinking my 50g protein shake every day, getting in my exercise thanks to the Feb’07 Challenge). And both the dietician & the head nurse thought my fill would be postponed, so I wasn’t all that anxious when I went to the appointment. They were wrong!:faint2: I arrived for my fill & talked to my surgeon about how I was doing with hunger & the kinds of foods I could tolerate. He said I’ve been doing wonderfully & reminded me of our goal: 2 pounds a week for the 1st year since I’ve got 200 to loose. At that point, I weighed in at 292 having lost 28 pounds for an average of 4 pounds a week over 7 weeks, but I'd also been stalled for a week. That said, Dr. T felt it was time for a fill. My clinic does adjustments under fluoroscope. I stepped up into the horseshoe shaped machine, put my back to the one end & watched as my innards appeared on the monitor above the other end. There he was: Jiminy Cricket ( as I’ve come to think of my inner conscience, the LapBand :lie:). I sipped on barium for a bit, shocked to see the liquid pool for a moment in the pouch & then slide right through. Apparently I had next to no restriction at all. ( How then was I handling the hunger & why was I feeling so full after 1/3 cup of food? :noidea: Mind over matter, I guess, perhaps because I wanted the LapBand to work…? ) Dr. T. then gave me a shot to numb up the port area & came at me with a gigantic syringe of saline! ( I do not like needles!!!) The fill itself was easy. Eyes glued to the screen, I felt pressure as he inserted the needle, but no pain at all. I continued to sip at the barium as he added a full 4cc to my 10cc VG Band. And then Susie, the nurse who is both the surgical coordinator & our support group leader (had bypass & looks terrific) and has been there at every stage of this process, gave me a post-fill pep talk. :nervous I was on liquids for 48 hours, followed by mushies for another 48. My port-site & stomach were a bit tender, and loud stomach gurgling started before I’d left the building – both lasted for about 3 days! But no other side effects from the adjustment. I felt & continue to feel just great! :teeth: In fact, it’s almost like I didn’t even have an adjustment. Which, I suppose, is not a good sign, considering that I technically had nearly no restriction at all prior to the fill!! I actually went down to the clinic to hop on their scale yesterday – just to be sure my #s were right. (They weren't. :straight) I’ve lost 3.5 pounds since the fill a week ago, which is great because the scale stood still for over a week prior to it! That brings me down 31.5 pounds since my surgery to 288.5 with a 52.8 BMI. But I think it’s just my "diet willpower" that’s doing the work right now, though I hope I’m wrong! :decision: That willpower’s got a track record of only being trustworthy for about 3 months! My 2nd fill will be on May 17th, 6 weeks from the 1st one & 2 days after my 3-month Bandiversary.

A helpful hint: Try babyfood Prunes & Apples (Gerber stage 2). It is sweet and yummy; nothing like Prune juice. Yes. I've taste-tested all the different jars of mush I've spooned at my kids. Unlike those icky potato jars , the baby prunes really taste quite good (at least the Gerber brand) & have the consistancy of a smooth applesauce, so they'll go down fine with the Band. Plus, they do the trick!! :clap2:

Dr. T used the Vanguard (VG) band for me, too. There is a fills thread "just for us" here at LBT. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/vg-10-cc-t23184.html I think that ought to get ya there, if you want to read about fills with the VGband. For my 1st fill, he added 4cc to the VG band, with 10cc being the max. Of course other people have said that it can hold more than 10cc, so what do I know!

Are you not able to eat salads now? My dietician said I could start, but just to make sure I got my Protein in 1st. I have not tried it banded yet, but a salad was my favorite way to get in the veggies (ranch-covered anything works for me). I only heard good things about salads with the Band pre-op...have you had trouble with them?!?!? Nearly all my comfort foods are white & most involve yeast! Soft rolls, warm pretzels, Irish soda bread, quick breads with cream cheese, mashed potatoes, an elbow noodle & meatsauce casserole passed down from my grandma, and emmmmm a fried egg sandwich with mayo on white bread! Thankfully there's one comfort food I can still have with the band... chicken casserole (with campbell Soup & ritz cracker topping)!!

My clinic's dietician said to keep the carbs at or below 50g a day in total for the 1st 6 months post-op. She said we'd take a look at everything about my diet again at that point (and also at a year) to make adjustments to the kinds of foods & portions. I've seen her one-on-one 3 times already...and I'll only be 8-weeks post-op tomorrow! I feel like I need to make the most of all the tools that my clinic offers! :biggrin1: She also gave me this guideline when shopping: 3/3/3 Look for things with 3 or less grams of fat & carbs and 3 or more grams of Protein. That's been a helpful tip, too, along with the "if it's white, it ain't right" notion.

:welcome: I'm only a bit older than you (8/7/74, btw), 5'2" and was at my highest weight the day of my surgery. Though I'm only about 8-weeks out, the hardest part so far was the 2 weeks of liquid diet post-op. I didn't start experimenting with different protein drinks until a couple weeks after the liquid stage. I wish I'd played around finding ones I liked before my surgery. Though it has given me something to do , I'd rather not be gagging on crap now that I'm so aware of every sip! I was so nervous about the potential surgical complications ... it's normal, but having survived I'd love to tell myself to calm down! And don't be afraid to ask-ask-ask your questions! Good luck!!!!

Thanks for all your suggestions! After spending a small fortune looking for palatable juice-like Protein, I think I’ve finally hit pay dirt here! I received a recommendation for Health Wise drinks from a company called Healthy Weight Supermarket in Springfield, MO. You can look at the product selection on their website ( www.healthy-weight-supermarket.com ), but they don’t have on-line shopping yet. I’m in VA, so I had to place my order over the phone. The very helpful clerk told me shipping would run between $7-12 depending on the size of my order. I called on a Tuesday & my order arrived the following Monday. The drinks are aspartame-free, each contain 15g (milk-based) protein & come in a powder-in-a-bottle jug for on the go drinking or in a larger format. I ordered each of the fruit flavors, and the latte (Proticcino) in the “Fill it*Shake it*Drink it” bottles. So far I’ve had the Pineapple-Orange (protein-packed, low cal, juice-like, and tasty -- just what I’ve been looking for!), the Kiwi-Strawberry (on the sweet-side, but good), and I’m sipping at the Proticcino now (yum – very latte-like, but the powder “settles” after a while, which I did not experience with the other two). I’ve still got Wild berry & Cran-Grape to try, but I’m satisfied enough with the three I’ve already tasted to be optimistic about the remaining flavors. At the very least, the Pineapple-Orange will become a staple for me! I’ll still enjoy a glass of real juice occasionally, but I just don’t want it to be a regular part of my diet as it’s been for as long as I can remember. Hopefully this will curb my juice craving – and be a welcomed relief from all the milky protein shakes!! [Update: I enjoyed the Cran-Grape, too -- mild flavor, more grape than cran. I'll buy this as a stapel, too. The Wild Berry Splash was okay, but it didn't impress me as much as I'd expected. My son (4) loved it, however, so I guess it just depends.]

It's nice ot know when people are really in your corner and not just saying the "right" thing. I have to say that I read your post & heard that Pinocchio refrain in my head… And always let your conscience be your guide! That’s how I’ve come to think of my band, really…like my own internal conscience -- a la Jiminy Cricket. I know what I need to do – eat less, exercise, and make healthy choices. Only now I’m not at it on my own anymore. Knowing what to do has never been the problem; it’s the doing of it that always got me! :straight But with the band, I’m conscious of the choice I make because of how it will/may effect my band, and thus my progress. So, in that way, my band has become my eating conscience ... my personal Jiminy Cricket! There’ve been many posts about naming Bands… Perhaps I’ll even start to call my band that, too! :confused: (Um, can you tell I have young kids? Heh, heh, heh? :biggrin1:)

I liked both the Wildberry Passion & Grape over ice, but couldn't stand at all the Orange or Pineapple-Orange versions from my SmartForme sample pack. The Grapefruit (ick-I can't even believe I'm saying this...) was okay when I mixed it with 1/4c of real OJ & the full amount of water. All are sweetened with Aspartame except the Orange one (splenda). But, frankly, they only have 15g protein per serving. If you're looking to get the protein out of the way, these test-tubes seem like the way to go.

Good for you!!! May I be so lucky as to see the scale move downward after Easter candy! I'll weigh-in at my clinic on either Friday or Monday for the 2-month Band anniversary...

I’m 7 weeks out from surgery, and just had my 1st fill on April 5th. :clap2: Under fluoro while I sipped barium, my doc added 4cc. I’m fine with fluids & can only eat small amounts at a time, but today is my 1st day back on solids, so that may not be the case in a day or two. My 2nd fill is in 6-weeks on May 17th.

SusieQ, thanks for sharing! In my "I've got a date" stage, I discovered an acquaintance was banded -- around the same time as you, actually -- and had an RNY revision. She really wanted me to reconsider RNY because of all her complications. She’d been part of a study where they offered to remove the band or switch to RNY after the problems started in so many to of the participants. My grandma, who knows her better, was freaked! So, having heard her horror story in addition to what I’d read & been told at the informational seminars (6!), I went into this with a little less “safest procedure” thinking than some. I just kept reassuring myself that both the band and the procedure have changed since that time… But 4 slips, and a band replacement! Egad! You really had a rough road to get where you are now.