Dancing Queen

Hey gang...I haven't posted in a while either. I feel like I've been hanging out at the gym and the nutrition store for the past six months. Oh well I am feeling great. I've had two fills (August 1.6 cc. and November 1.0 cc.) Here are my six month pics taken 2 days after Christmas. I have only lost another 3-4 lbs. since then. I believe losing the last 25 -30 are going to teach me a lesson in PATIENCE!

I also had an aggressive "filler"! For my second fill I had to see a new doctor b/c the doc that usually gives my fills got over-booked. This doctor walked in, found my band on the ultrasound and as soon as I asked "Aren't you going to numb that?" the needle went in! I was shocked there was NO pain. I had gotten a local with my first fill but they didn't use ultrasound and had to "poke around" awhile. According to this doctor any doctor that doesn't use ultrasound and flouro is asking for trouble..anyway I had 1.6 cc. in a 4cc band and he put another 1 cc. Things from that point on have not been the same. I used to be able to take the top bun off of a burger or eat an entire chicken breast with no restriction. NOW I know what restriction is. I had only PB'd once before that fill and it took me a while to learn how to eat so that I don't PB or lose battles with the food caught in my band. It has been tough and I probably should have only gotten .5 cc and learned this process a little slower but a few sips of hot tea before a meal works wonders and I am finally learning what the band has been trying to teach me. SLOW DOWN and chew and think about what I am putting down my band! Good Luck and hopefully you will learn faster than I did!

Here is my six month reveal!

Actually I shop at a good health food store. I will see if they have a one pill solution. I would like to cut it down. The Juice Plus was reccomended by my dietician. She said that since we bandsters can't get a lot of our fruits and veggies down this was a good solution to still get all the benefits of eating fruits and veggies. The four pills I take are equivalent to eating 17 fruits and vegetables a day. I was skeptical until I went to my yearly appt. and my OB/GYN had a poster endorsing Juice Plus..so I decided to find a distributor.

Ok..Ok I am almost 7 months post op and I have been losing a lot of hair since about 4 months. I am reading about Zinc on this thread and I haven't taken that but honestly I don't know that I can take another pill.. Here is a list of what I take everyday and I don't take it all at once b/c your body can't absorb it as well if you take it all at once and I couldn't get all this down my band if I didn't spread it out this much. (3) Iron tablets 325mg. each (2) Flintstones (2) juice Plus Orchard blend (1) Biotin (3) Flaxseed Oil (3)Alpha Lipoic Acid (2)Stool Softeners (TMI.. I know but its b/c of the Iron) (2)Juice Plus Garden blend (1)EmergenC (1,000 mg C, 32 minerals and B vitamins) And after all of that I only get 4.5 mg of Zinc from the EmergenC and the Flintstones which is 30% of the RDA. Gee... I feel like all I do is take supplements. I went to the doc and had bloodwork and the nurse called me back and said whatever your doing..keep doing it b/c your healthy as a horse. Do any of you take this much stuff?? I feel like a Vitamin FREAK!! Banded 6-27-06 Rumbaut Monterrey, Mx. 257/ 195 / 170ish

I am finding buying clothes is even harder for me too. I was a definite 20 on bottom and an 18/20 on top. I have a few 14/16 tops that are fitting great and I am happy about that! My 20 bottoms are getting too loose and 18's just don't fit right. Guess I will just keep on pulling up the 20's and go straight to a 16 soon. I am going to have to learn how to shop all over again. I am a Lane Bryant addict and I know that their sizes run different that "regular" stores. Their clothes are made to accomodate more curves and other brands are cut more straight. I may be getting smaller....but I still have some serious curves. Here are some 6 week before and after pics. I put them on the before and after thread but I thought my fellow Junebies would like to see them on our thread! Dr. Rumbaut Monterrey, Mexico June 27, 2006 257/225/185

I took Celexa a few years ago. My job was teaching children with severe/profound disabilities, I dealt with a lot of depression during those years and I really liked Celexa. I had tried several other medications before taking it but never took Wellbutrin so I don't know how it compares to Wellbutrin and everyone tolerates medications differently. Best of luck with your band and hopefully the joys of weight loss will decrease your need for medication completely! :nervous Dr. Roberto Rumbaut Monterrey Mexico June 27, 2006 257/225/185

Here are my before and after pictures. I can already see a significant difference in my profile and the shape of my body. Dancing Queen Dr. Rumbaut Monterrey, Mx. June 27, 2006 257/227/185

Hey Junebees, I went for my first fill today. I had to drive about 2 hours to Texarkana Tx. But I really had a good experience with Dr. Heiker and his wife. They are in practice together. They had a little trouble finding my port, but it wasn't bad at all. I had to do several situps and hold them to push the port up a little bit. They gave me 1.7 cc. and I can tell a difference. I just worked out and came home a little hungry so I decided to eat some small bites of watermelon chewed up good. I can feel the watermelon sliding through the band and it is a sensation I have never felt since getting banded. My DH took 6 week post op photos tonight and we will try to get them posted tomorrow. I can tell such a difference already!! Keep up all the hard work!! Dancing Queen Banded 6/27/06 Dr. Rumbaut Monterrey Mx. 257/227/180

Hey there are Arkies in here! I am from near Little Rock and I was banded one month to the day before you guys will be. I was banded in Monterrey by Dr. Rumbaut. Good luck! When you get past the gas pains you will be really glad you got banded! I have lost 18lbs in 4 weeks!

I have only been banded 4 weeks so I do not claim to be an expert yet on all that the band can do for you and my education is not in psychology but.. I was just discussing the other changes that I feel like lap band is already made. I am an OCD person...aren't we all and I really think that is was tied to the relationship I had with food. I never thought my house was clean enough, never thought I was a good enough wife or mother and I never thought I got enough to eat. Now that the food issue is better under control I have noticed that I let my house stay a little messier and I am a little more relaxed. For example I could not stand for their to be laundry in the hamper. I would stay up late at night and get up early in the morning trying to keep all of the laundry done at all times? Now I am not sure if you can even open the door to my laundry room but we all still have plenty of clean clothes in the closet and towels to use in the bathroom. Call me crazy but food had a hold over more areas than just my weight!

OMG!! :clap2: I weighed this morning and I lost another 3lbs. bringing me down to 229lb. My start weight was 257 so I have lost a total of 28lbs! I know it has to be from the exercise. I had hit a brick wall a few days ago and since I started jogging it has just been falling off. Oh and I am doing great on my water 100 oz. (5 of the 20oz. Sam's choice bottles per day) Come on Junebies let's commit to exercise and continue to drink our water...there is a tremendous payoff! Banded June 27, 2006 Dr. Rumbaut Monterrey, Mexico 257/243/229c/180

Pinkylee, No I have not had a fill but I made an appt. for a six week check up with an American doc. I guess he will determine whether I get one or not. I made the appt. with the intention of getting a fill but the thought has crossed my mind why get one as long as I can keep losing and still be able to eat things that a fill might take away! Thank you for bringing up that point! I guess we will see what the next two weeks will do?

Hey guys! I am back. I am in graduate school this summer and I have been buried in papers and exams. I have lost a total of 25lbs. and 10lbs. before banding. It has been 4 weeks and I can eat anything...steak, bread, salad. I am still losing around 2lbs. a week because I am staying at around 1200 calories and I jog 30 m.p.d. and do weights. Anybody out there banded about the same time experiencing the same feelings? Dr. Rumbaut June 27, 2006 257/247/232current (need to change my ticker!)

It has been 4 weeks since I was banded and I am trying to stay at around 1200 calories. This is as low as I can go without getting hungry. I am hoping that after my first fill I can go a little lower and lose a little faster. There is a great website called fitday.com that allows you to enter your food and it totals your fat, calories etc.. for the day. This is helpful but it can be a little time consuming.

I had all liquids the day before surgery, my last meal was chicken Fettucine Alfredo, salad and bread at Italliana's in Monterrey on Sunday. Surgery was on Tuesday. I have had terrible gas to the point of nausea! When it comes I head for the toilet, trash can or whatever I can find. Thankfully, nothing has ever come up, but the symptoms are very convincing! Once I am certain that I am not going to explode I go get in a most lady-like position on the couch or bed with my butt pointed straight up in the air. I stay there until I sense that I am ready to burp and up comes either one enormous burp or a series of burps and the nausea is gone until the next buildup of gas. Oh I do hope this is gone soon. I am afraid to leave the house. It is getting better. Yesterday the only way to relieve any pressure and nausea was a swig of Maalox. Yuck... I kept a white ring of chalk around my lips on the flight home yesterday. I feel so feminine...oh well I have lost 7lbs since my surgery on Tuesday! 7lbs in 4 days..I am truly amazed!:clap2: 256 highest/237/170 Dr. Rumbaut 6/27/06 Monterrey Mexico

Okay I had surgery yesterday so I guess I can officially submit to this thread. I had my surgery in Monterrey, Mexico with Dr. Rumbaut. I would reccommend it to anyone. The hospital is beautiful, the hotel is spotless and the service at both the hotel and the hospital was higher quality than I ever received in the U.S. I feel great and Dr. Rumbaut was able to stitch the band all the way around my stomach. I don't know of any docs in the states that can do that. The extra stitching gives me peace of mind that my band will not slip. Also one of my incisions is in my belly button. I could not have been any happier with my doctor or the care I have recieved. 256/243/170

I was banded yesterday at around noon. Dr. Rumbaut released me at about 11 this morning and said the surgery could not have went any better. My liver was tiny and he was able to stitch the band all the way around my stomach. I am sipping on Gatorade and chicken bullion. There have been two episodes where I have drank too fast and almost thrown up. One was with the cup of herbal tea I got after surgery and again this morning with drinkable yogurt. I guess those are signs that the band is already working and that I am swollen. Happy to be on the banded side of life! Thanks for your thoughts and any encouragement is welcome as I get through the two weeks of liquids! June 27 Dr. Rumbaut 256/243/170

Tomorrow is my big day. I had all my pre-op testing done today and am scheduled for 10 a.m. My tests were good except my EKG showed I am having PVC's a problem I have had for several months. The doc gave me a prescription to take today and tomorrow a.m. before surgery. Things sure are different here. I handed the prescription to the pharmacist, he put the medicine in a bag and then also put the original prescription in the bag. I looked at my hubby and said "Couldn't I just go to another pharmacy and fill this again." Just thought that was kinda strange. I will talk to you all after I am banded! June 27 Dr. Rumbaut Monterrey, Mexico 256/243/150

Welcome Alberta! You're a sweetie. Glad to be on this journey with you soon!! Thanks for the recipes! I love cheese soup and it won't hurt to have a couple of TBSP for a treat?

Well... I am packing tonight. My flight leaves tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. Surgery is Tuesday (not sure what time mine is). I am still excited and no nerves yet, I am sure they will come when I get to the hospital. I will let you all know how things are going. Dr. Rumbaut Monterrey Mexico June 27 256/243/150

I almost feel like I am doing something wrong. I don't have to start my liquid diet until 24hrs. before surgery. I am 4 days away and started replacing one meal with a protein shake about a week ago. I figure it can't hurt to go ahead and get started on high protein. My hubby and I fly to Monterrey on Sunday, pre-op appts. are on Mondaty and then Tuesday is the big day. I am not sure how I am feeling. More nervous about going out of the country for the first time than of the surgery. Anyone have any problems at the airport in Monterrey? I have my i.d. and birth certificate. There wasn't time to get a passport. Dr. Rumbaut 6-27-06 256/243/150

A lot of things added up to my decision too. I would have done it several years ago, but I knew that my husband wouldn't support it. This year he bought a scale (probably in hopes of getting me committed to weight loss). He weighed on it 159 soaking wet! Then he asked me to get on. I told him absolutely not!! I have always hated weighing b/c when I was in the 9th grade my dad did the same thing he wanted me to weigh and see how big I was in hopes that I would just wake up and start losing weight. I got on and it was 170. I remember what a shock it was. My dad told me "See you weigh more than me." I cried and cried. That same thing happened with my husband at age 34 only this time I got on the scale and it said 256. Once again the man in my life was saying to me you've got to do something!! Realizing that I was on my way to the 300 mark I cried and cried. It was one of those heaving cries. My husband tried to console me but I told him the story about my dad and he felt terrible. He tried to tell me that I could lose the weight but I told him I have been telling myself that lie for years and every time it was the same story...lose 15-20lbs and gain back 25. Over the years the cycle was deprive myself and then make up for the deprivation by eating what I want. My husband then began to see my side of the story. He has observed it for the last 12 years but he finally got how much pain the weight carries along with it. We scheduled my surgery together and I am 6 days away! June 27, 2006 Dr. Roberto Rumbaut 256/243/150

Thanks...I hear this all the time but since my surgery with him is only one week away it sure is good to hear again. I have even heard patients say that he is so good they didn't experience alot of the post-op problems such as port pain and the dreaded gas wasn't nearly as bad. This DOC knows what he's doing! Scheduled with Dr. Rumbaut June 27, 2006 256/243/150

I agree! It's one week from tomorrow for me and I must say I have a different attitude than I did..oh say a month ago! It's becoming a reality that I am going to have this thing implanted in me...hopefully permanently. Then there are the what if's... What if this doesn't work for me like it does other people..What if my body doesn't appreciate me sticking something inside of it... What if I go back to eating like I do now. Sorry don't mean to be negative. Maybe I just need some affirmation. My surgery coordinator said that according to my eating habits and weight loss patterns the lap band is PERFECT for me! I am just going to keep telling myself that! THIS IS GOING TO WORK! I am going to be at a healthy weight within 18 months. There, I feel better already! :clap2: