GayleTX

We went to do our early voting yesterday....first time we have done that. Also first time in our little county that we've had machines instead of the paper ballots.

I had a 2-day weepy spell a couple of weeks out. And a few since then in the past 7 months. Most of the time I'm happier than I've been n a few years, but today was a sad feeling day. DH and I were in town running errands, I hadn't taken my "emergency food bag" with me and I was hungry - at least I think I was - maybe it was just that in years past we always ate out when we were in town and today there was nowhere I felt I could eat. And it made me realize once more how limited our social life has always been.....eating out has always been our main recreation. Without that, we really don't know what to do for entertainment. That's something I need to be working on now that I'm able to get out and about more.

Very few people get adequare restrictions from the first fill....or the first two....somtimes the first three. In the meantime you have to be a grownup and use your brain and self discipline. Stay away from the white carbs (starches) - they only increase your cravings. Eat your Proteins first (a solid one like tuna, eggs, etc), satisfy your sweet cravings with a good Protein supplement shake or coffee. Best wishes.......

Good for you!! Better be laying in your post op supplies (water and mush) and cleaning the evil foods out of the pantry!!

Derick....you've already lost a 100 pounds!! Proud of you!! Dont hesitate to ask questions....that's the purpose of this board! We all need to learn from one another and we keep on learning forever depending on what stage we are experiencing. Best wishes to you.........

Derick....you've already lost a 100 pounds!! Proud of you!! Dont hesitate to ask questions....that's the purpose of this board! We all need to learn from one another and we keep on learning forever depending on what stage we are experiencing. Best wishes to you.........

Slow cookers are great for working folks, especially those of us who need very tender, moist dishes. However....many of these great-sounding recipes are seriously overloaded with calories and sodium from the canned Soups. Also, the rice and potatoes are high carbs (starches) that we don't need if we are serious about losing weight. Therefore, cooking them is fine for a good meal for our families at night....but those of us trying to keep our weight down need to just pick out the meat (protein) from the dishes. Look at what just one CUP of Cream of chicken Soup has in it : Amount Per 1 cup Calories 233.43 Calories from Fat 132.38 % Daily Value * Total Fat 14.71g 23% Saturated Fat 4.17g 21% Polyunsaturated Fat 2.99g Monounsaturated Fat 6.55g Cholesterol 20.08mg 7% Sodium 1972.9mg 82% Potassium 175.7mg 5% Total Carbohydrate 18.52g 6% Dietary Fiber 0.502g 2% Protein 6.85g 14% Alcohol 0g

I think most surgeons recommend abstaining from coffee while you are healing, then limiting it afterward. Coffee is a diuretic and it's important that you keep your body well-hydrated. Don't count it as part of your l 1/2 gal of liquid that you need to get in every day. I was never a coffee-drinker before wls, but now I enjoy putting a scoop of nectar Cappacino Protein or vanilla Cinnamon protein in a big mug of coffee and drinking it first thing every morning. It's good and it loosens my band, which has a tendency to be tight in the mornings. I don't even try to eat until I've had a cup of something warm.

I think most surgeons recommend abstaining from coffee while you are healing, then limiting it afterward. Coffee is a diuretic and it's important that you keep your body well-hydrated. Don't count it as part of your l 1/2 gal of liquid

Lapband is the surgery of choice for people who are 'volume eaters'.....people who are addicted to sugar usually do better with the lap roux-en-y because with the rny you cannot tolerate any sugar at all. But with the lapband you can eat most foods, but just cannot eat much 4-6 oz at a time, 3-4 times a day. But the very best part of it is...you really don't give a rip!! After the lapband, you still absorb the nutrients in your food (you don't have to take tons of Vitamins, etc like bypass patients do) but you MUST eat high Protein foods at every meal. If you'll eliminate all bad carbs from your diet (starches like white bread, Pasta, corn, potatoes) you won't have the cravings that make our life miserable (it'll work before wls, too, of course....it's just most of us can't do it for any length of time, can we). The lapband does require some self discipline but it's not nearly as difficult as it was pre-op. Once the cravings go and once you get good restriction on your band (and that may take 2-4 adjustments - fills - after surgery) you lose a lot of interest in food. It leaves time in your time for other more productive things!! We are fortunate that some of the best lapband surgeons in the US are in Texas...it's been done very successfully in Mexico for years and many of our TX docs have Mexico backgrounds and connections. You should be able to get some good referrals to Houston surgeons on this board or on obesityhelp.com (go to the TX forum on that website). Best wishes!! Gayle

Corn is a carbohydrate (a starch) and therefore shouldn't be on anyone's menu if they are wanting to lose weight. Carbohydrate that turns into instant sugar in the body. Carbs are what got most of us in trouble in the first place. They create a craving for more carbs and just simply are not worth it for just a few minutes pleasure (like a lot of other unrelated things in life that cause us sorrow, I guess.)

That is the beauty of the band.....it is always there waiting for you when get ready to use it. You've put too much into this already to give up and let it go to waste. If you will add your city/state to your signature (go to 'use cp' at top left and then to 'edit signature') maybe someone in your area on here can direct you to somewhere good to go. There are doctors and clinics who will do fills and aftercare for us even if they didn't have anything to do with our surgeries You need to do yourself a favor and get busy doing some research and find someone to take care of you just as you would for any other ailment. Too often we have such shame attached to our weight issues that we think we don't deserve care. Not so!! This is just as deserving of correction and care as any other problem you might have. There is a list of doctors/clinics on obesityhelp.com and there are also people there who can give you first-hand experience about doctors and clinics. Also there is wonderful guidance on bariatriceating.com regarding proper 'feeding and care' of your body after surgery. Don't neglect yourself any longer. Best wishes...

From reading posts for the past year, it seems it's a pretty common thing for surgeons to remove gallbladder at the same time as inserting lapband. Sounds like a good trade-off to me!!

Probably all of the above over the past 50 years (except mother never put me on a diet....she just fed me). I think the only one I've tried that I don't see above is injections of the urine of pregant women. Didn't work, by the way...LOL!! Most of the others did work.....for a few weeks/months.

According to my fitday.com chart, I've average 2.2 pounds per week since June.

I'm impressed with what you've done all by yourself....because you are essentially doing it by yourself - without a fill your band is 'non-operational'. But sounds like the surgery worked on your head as well as your tummy, so that's even better....that's where most of us need surgery to begin with!! Just dont' struggle with hunger as you go along....that will get depressing, too. Use the band if you need it.

You'll do better when you get your next fill....that first one usually doesn't do much for anybody. The thing that helped me at that point (and still does) is using a really good Protein drink that I like....now I would just as soon have a good Protein Delight or Matrix shake as a Dairy Queen milkshake. It satisfies the sweet craving as well as the actual hunger. But makes sure you are using one that is designed for bariatric patients (lo carb, hi protein), not the kind designed for athletes, body builders. (bariatriceating.com carries good stuff).

Wootsie!! Former Bonham girl!! We go to Sherman regularly....hope your daughter likes it there....its' sure growing. I went to a Cribbins seminar and felt good about it, and I've heard good things about him. But after I went to a seminar at Maese's, I felt like I was going to be taken care of by everyone there. He is a cardiologist and did all my pre-op work and assured me I was not too old or too ill to have the lapband. Most of his staff are wls patients. They did all the insurance app process and submitted it. When I was approved, Maese "assigned" me to Dr. B. because of my medical history and risk factors. He does referrals to a number of surgeons, however, at many different sites. I now go to Dr. Maese for my fills and my aftercare. He is very skilled at the fills, and I feel better going to someone with a cardiology specialization as well as weight loss surgery expertise. Best wishes in your journey....keep in touch!!

As I have said before on here, I have had haircuts that caused me more trauma than my lapband surgery. It was a major non-event. Never even had a gas pain. Went to the hospital at 9, had surgery at 10, got in the car and went home at 2 p.m. I know some people don't have it that easy ....and I was kinda nervous because I'm OLD and had heart problems, etc. but I did good. Of course, my surgeon is very experienced and I went on the food plan a month before surgery and that helped. The lapband is the least invasive, least dangerous wls you can have.

I'm at Bonham, northeast of Dallas. Seems like Texas is the lapband capital of the US....maybe because they've been doing it successfully in Mexico for years before it was approved in US and many of our TX docs have Mexico roots or connections. Both of mine do, and they are extremely skilled....both pioneers in lapbands. I'm amazed at every pound I lose....it's been wonderful. I've had no problems at all until lately I've started having some GERD but I think it's because, after 7 months, I'm getting a little too adventuresome in my eating. I'm still very compliant but am trying things I hadn't before. Zantac and a good kick in the pants from my DH helps that a lot, tho.

Even if you do have a cathether, it's no big deal. I've had one many times and it was a blessing to not have to get out of bed and go to the bathroom when it was so painful to get up or when you can't get a nurse to come in and help you get up. That won't be the situation with the lapband, of course, but just wanted to tell you, for future reference, there are things much worse in hospitals than a cathether.

The record-keeping method that has worked best for me is www.fitday.com If it goes in my mouth, it goes on fitday. I was shocked at how far off I was in estimating my intake...both the amount and the categories (protein, calories, etc). I have learned a lot and certainly improved my food choices. I've been a pretty successful loser by staying about 1000 cal/day, less than 50/60 grams carbs, at least 90-100 gr. protein/day.

Mine was over an hour- - took a personality test then visited with the shrink. She said my test indicated I was depressed (that and the fact I cried all the way thru the interview might have given her a 'hint') and she would not sign off for me to have surgery until I made an appointment with a shrink in my area. As soon as I verified that, she signed my papers.....she was just doing it for my own good.

I did liquids for just one day, then mushies for a day. After that, back to the usual.

I've lost a full size.....and my feet don't hurt as badly as they used to but probably do have some permanent damage to the bones. My eyeglasses are also much too large....the fall off my face if I bend over~~