ddee

Do I ever need to get back on the plan. I need to lose the last 30 lbs. My awesome recipes crashed with the computer. Anyone know a site for recipes?

I had a fill yesterday. Today I had coffee w/creamer for breakfast. *cup of soup at Pepper's restaurant, cappuccino with sweet n low at movies, *Tuscan chicken at cafe. *All were mashed and chewed, chewed, chewed. I lost 2 lbs. this past month. I need to exercise but cannot get motivated. plus it is so danged hot outside. I have been painting inside and feel sore from that. I stopped visiting the forum because I've failed to exercise like the rest of you and started eating what I wanted. Ddee

I e-mailed Alma at Ready4AChange and she said the case was still under investigation. I was told by a recent patient of his that a competitive dr., who was jealous of Dr. Sanchez's lower pricing, had murdered him. If anyone else knows details, I wish they would let us know. Dianne

Hi, group! Just put in my 2nd full day of teaching and I am sore. I had the open band and it's taking longer for the port area to heal internally. Is it just me or is everyone having problems with "pooping" ? I hate to say it but I'm having to hold gas all day at school, and I'm having no luck with going to the bathroom without major milk of mag. I can't be doing that at work. If I leave the room to go to the 'john' and a fight breaks out, I lose my job. Dianne

Does anyone have advise for me? I am considering rebanding after my band was removed April 2006. I have gained 27 lbs. ,and each week another 2 lbs. jumps on board. I stayed in the hospital ,and , according to surgeon, almost died because the band hand completly cut off the blood flow to my stomach. I can't stand what's happening to me(weight gain); but I am scared, too. My rebanding cannot be done laproscopically. Advise, anyone! DDee

CJBD, I feel so fortunate to have a new band and, of course, count each day as a blessing. The band is much more than a "tool." I eat only a portion of what I would without the band. My appetite was insatiable before the band. I would have done gastric bypass or whatever necessary to be out of the misery of guilt-ridden eating. It's wonderful to once again eat and be satisfied without the guilt. As for the expense, I am a MS schoolteacher, so you know that I don't have money. My car's transmission is about to go out, but I researched credit card and bank interest rates until finding the best interest rate. I will do without a car, clothes, vacations, food...you get the picture, to be thin. This is the only way for me. I borrowed the money and haven't regretted the decision. I make a credit card payment just like I would a car payment. When my surgery is paid off, I should be thin again. No car, clothing, house, or food can give me the satisfaction that being healthy and feeling good about myself does. My e-mail is dianneroberson@yahoo.com if you wish to e-mail me. Dianne

Hi, all! I got my first fill Thursday, but I had not lost any weight from 2 weeks earlier. When I started eating regular I went a little overboard. I'm such a psychological eater! Knowing I would get a fill, I ate more than I should have.

Hi, CJBD. I had the band put in Dec. 8, 2006. So far I've had one fill of 4cc in a 10 cc band. I am 53. Why did your first band have to be replaced? Mine had "slipped."

Hi, all! I think we're bringing in the New Year right! I am just in from an awesome shopping trip to Memphis with my mom and daughter. We ate lunch with my sister, brother, and his wife. I ate very little tortilla soup, mostly liquid, and 2 bites of spinach quiche. I have my first fill this coming Thursday. My port area is really sore still. My incision is still touchy, but better. I need to walk today but the 1 1/2 hour drive has zapped me. I did buy some pretty tops to go back to work in. My daughter had borrowed all of my larger clothes from before I lost my weight with the first surgery to wear after gaining weight from having her second baby. She returned all those bigger sizes in August; they were threadbare from going back and forth...Hopefully, a few new tops will do me until late spring. This summer I hope to be much slimmer. Audree, Paige, and anyone else being banded in the next few days,Good Luck! I'll be at home one more week before going back to school. Dianne

Today has been the hardest day for me yet. I am hungry, tired, sleepy,and nervous. I walked earlier this morning, but it was very cold outside(40 F). I feel so guilty because I am not accomplishing very much. I have started vitamins and I'm eating protein. I am also drinking water. My band was done open, so I know it will take longer. Anyone else having "sinking spells"? Dianne

I'm going from playing solitaire on the computer to reading. I'll be so glad to get out of the house tomorrow. My daughters and I are going to the movies/shopping a little. Dianne

Househuntress, the only thing I know to add is that I have just had the surgery for the second time. I too am self-pay. The first surgery I had in MX for a fraction of the cost. When my band slipped, which I blame on the fact I didn't have a doc in the states to follow-up, the nurse doing my fills overfilled me, I was ignorant of the potential ... I had to choose between a car ( mine has transmission problems;won't go over 55mph) and surgery. I chose the surgery because I feel that only weight loss will make me feel truly good. I was so close to my goal before and already felt like a new woman. It has been a very personal journey for me. I can't tell you how good I feel about my decision. I am 53 and feel 35 again. I enjoy my grandchildren and my job more. My hubby can't stop bragging. That's just me, though. Best of luck in your decision. Dianne

You might want to purchase DVD's for viewing; a good book for reading; lots of flavored waters (I like fruit 2/0 grape-flavored and Crystal lite peach-flavored). Also, download an IPod with peppy music for long walks. Best of luck! Dianne

Bruce, you have too much fill! Take it from someone who lost her first band for that very reason. Call the dr. ,PLEASE! I too played down the fact that my band could slip from overfill, but one emergency life-saving taking the band out, and one Dec. 08, replacing the band later, I will not be in denial about slippage and overfill again. Hope I'm not coming across too hard, but better safe than sorry. Life's too short to be miserable...

OH MY GOODNESS! I will certainly keep you in my prayers. Is this a military hospital? You deserve the medal for the month. How long will you be in Germany? I always thought it would be a nice place to visit, but, honey, I don't think I would want to live there. I will certainly keep you in my prayers. My advice, as an open-banded patient, is for you to be sure not to lift anything over 10 lbs. for six weeks, like myself. It would really be bad for you to have a hernia like I did before this 2nd surgery. Your posts have been filled with bad experiences so this can only get better. My good news today is that I made an absolutely scrumptious cheesy potato soup. My three married children have someone in each home with a touch of cold/fever. I delivered 3 big bowls of soup with the rest of the Christmas sweets and kept just enough soup for my hubby and myself for supper. Sorry for running on. After delivering soup, I was so tired that I took liquid Loritab and decided to read updated posts. Carol, you really seem on top of things with a very positive attitude. That is so important in the healing process. My prayers will also be with you and your husband.Love you all, Dianne

Ok, I'm in the process of trying to get the ticker thing. I pasted under the edit your signature, and saved the sig. so let's see if it worked. Dianne

Everyone seems to be in the most positive of moods and that's contagious! So good to get back on the web to read the posts. I think my hubby is beginning to think I have a lover on the web. He's started sitting in my spot on the couch where I do my computer work. (Laptop) I'm enjoying the fact he knows I exist again; normally he's glued to the tv. for hours and I end up munching from the kitchen. Now, I grab the laptop and visit with you all. Karen I enjoy your posts from the UK. I am a British lit. teacher from MS so I appreciate your English references. I actually had the hiatal hernia repaired at the same time of the band surgery. My return to work will be later due to the incision from navel to the ...well, panty-line. I am still finding it impossible to get the Ticker transported from the factory to this site. I highlighted from img - img and pasted, but my ticker didn't past. By the way, what is our "signature" line? Help?!# Dianne

I'm an English teacher, and, of course, love to read. The Jean Rhys book Wide Sargasso Sea is a prequel to Jane Eyre but a more modern-day read. I loved the setting throughout the book. It's also a fast read of 189 pages. Dianne

Kay, thanks for sharing the lovely photo. I just ate lunch and am ready for a dose of liquid Loritab. My port site and left side/back is achey. It's a dull ache. Maybe I need to eat less for a few meals; eating soft foods, which includes shrimp, turkey, and veg's., even with the slow chewing, might be a little much yet. Hope everyone is having a special Christmas Day. There's a drizzling rain here in MS. Nice weather for a long winter's nap.

Karen, girl , don't be digging! That will, without a doubt, lead to a hernia. I had a large hernia repaired during my second banding. Don't lift anything over 10 lbs. for six weeks after surgery. Believe me, hernias are no fun. Even incisions can become herniated. It is so hard to do everything exactly like we're told, but I am proof that things can go wrong for whatever reason. If you lose the band, the weight is doubly hard to keep off. In 6 mo's between losing the band and rebanding I regained 33 lbs. Let's all keep on track. I'm really fighting the urge to eat chocolate ding-dong cake/rum cake/cheesecake...I am surrounded by sweets at my house. My mother-in-law and Mom wanted me to have Christmas treats for company. Tomorrow I am freezing slices for the future when my stomach is shrunk enough not to devour the whole bakery! LOL I feel like an alcoholic in a liquor store. I could o-d on sugar if it weren't for you all helping me to stay on track. We all have our good and bad days. Sweethot, I was open banded and I am still sore! I take liquid Loritab at least once a day, usually close to bedtime because that is when I feel zapped and sore the most. It will take time to recoup, but don't get discouraged. Rest as much as possible; this is a really stressful time of year, so let your body heal, take whatever you need to relieve the pain, and walk at least 30 minutes each day to build up stamina. Dianne

Audree, the nurse told me to keep drinking lots of fluids and throwing up in hopes of casting what she thought was a food plug (food stuck in my band). She should have said, "If you can't keep down liquids, get to a dr. now!" I was on vacation from Sat. -Mon., not keeping down liquids. By Tues. morning, even after taking out all of the fill, I was severely dehydrated. The surgeon who scoped me could not get the scope through the band for blockage. Removing the band literally saved my life.

I was wondering, I filled out the Ticker from Tickerfactory.com, but how do i get it on my posts?

Audree, it's great that your dr. will be convenient and even better that he does the fill under fluoro. I have to believe the combination of overfill from the US nurse and being on a 3-day vacation with my sister (for her nerves) when I realized that I could not keep down liquids made saving my band impossible. I know that a having a convenient dr. would have made all the difference. The instructions that the nurse gave me did not help matters. I blame my ignorance as well. Even though many people pb without consequences, I will not be one of them in the future. I have been out thousands of dollars (borrowed) as well as the mental anquish. I do exactly what the doc says, and I will not take the band for granted in any way. I did have from July 2005 to March 2006 without any problems before. I was just beginning to reach my goal weight and got too carried away with pbi'ng; that is what I think did it. Dianne

Karen, I was open banded because my first band slipped and was removed in emergency surgery. My stomach had worked up through the band, fallen over and cut off the blood flow to a life-threatening point. Because the surgeon had removed the band with navel-to-breast incision, I had the new band (six mo's later) put in through the same scar. The surgeon said I could not have it put in laproscopically the second time. Again, I really think the band slipped because of a too-tight fill and repeated pb'ing. I could not get a doc in the states to follow up with my MX surgeon's work at that time. Now, the doc's in the states are more willing to take MX patients.

Audree, I did lose pounds very slowly, but without exercising at all. I lost sizes in my clothes quickly. When I lost a pound, it never came back though. My fills were being done by a nurse Dr. Sanchez had done the surgery on who lives in the states. It was probably 7 mo's before knew what PB'ing was because my fills were never tight before then. I became discouraged and had the nurse to do tighter fills, started pb'ing and the band slipped. This time I am seeing a dr. who will encourage me to lose faster, I'm sure; he will moniter my fills, encourage walking, drinking water, and , hopefully, I will lose faster. I didn't worry about calories before because I rationalized that I was eating so much less quantity. I will be more calorie conscious now. I think the difference will be in the doctor visits. If you don't have a doc in the states, please get one. Those who keep in close contact with a doc seem to lose more rapidly. Remember when you lose a pound, it is gone forever! No more yo-y0 dieting. Dianne