don14

This is awesome, I really hope we can get something going, it would be great. Weekdays are pretty open, anytime after 600 is good Weekends are good too, I would also prefer during the day. Hopefully we can all work something out, and yes thanks for organizing remodelingme.

That is so weird that you say that. The past two night especially last night, I felt that I could never feel full. I don't understand it. I had dinner at like 600 and by 800 I was starving and couldn't understand it. I tried to be safe with just some crackers, cheese and grapes but that muffin was sitting there and I had some. Oh well, I know I'm not perfect and things are gonna happen, I just need to get back to being right on target.

Love all the lady talk, but there is a man around. LOL.

right near ohare.

Yes, I posted something like this a few weeks back in a different forum and haven't received a reply. Teena, I am also from chicago and would love to do something like this. I was banded 5-8-2009. Hopefully we can find some more Chitown bandits and try to set something up.

Don't worry about it. I know exactly how you're feeling, and I don't mind sharing my experiences with you. I was doing the same thing you were before my surgery. Well you're almost there. Hopefully the insurance company responses quickly and approves everything so that you can begin the banded journey.

Just asking around to see if people are interested in having some kind of support group get together. They have these through my clinic and really don't like them too much. Just wondering if anyone knows of any around or is interested in trying to start one. I'm open to traveling a little if need be. I live near the Ohare area.

Well I got my first fill on 6-10-09 and it went great. I didn't really feel any pain or anything. They give you a little shot for numbing purposes and I felt that pinch. But when he came over with the big needle even though I was like are you serious. I didn't really feel anything more than a pinch. Luckily he found the port pretty quick and I didn't need to do it under xray. So for that day and a few days after I felt like I really couldn't eat much and then it kind of went back to normal. I was scheduled for my second fill on 7-29-09. When I went in I had lost 30 more lbs since 6-10 and he basically told me he wouldn't give me a fill. He said I was losing the weight really well and that he only gives a fill if someone gains or doesn't loose anything. I told him that a lot was because of will power and that I was eating more than I should. But he didn't care, he said 5 lbs a week is fantastic and just keep going. Basically you should be eating about a cup to a cup and a half per meal. It varies per person. So what I have been doing to make sure I feel full, is I'll eat my Protein cause thats the most important and then I'll make a big salad or I'll cook a bunch of veggies to eat too fill me up. Eventually when I get to good restriction I won't have to have that large bowl of salad or whatever. Now some people said that its crazy he didn't give me a fill cause of the amount I can still eat, but he is the doctor and I can't argue with him. Don't get me wrong I do have some restriction, there's no way I can eat as much as I did before surgery,and if I don't chew really well especially red meats then I feel some tightness and its not pleasant. So I go back in a few weeks. He doesn't even want me making an appointment yet. He told me to just drop in to get weighed in and if I'm losing just keep going. If I plateaued then he said to make an appointment. Its a little weird but I won't complain if I'm losing.

I'm doing pretty well. Trying to stay on track as always. I don't have an appointment unitl the beginning of Sept and I can't wait cause I want to get another fill. Other than that nothing else going on. If you click on someones name you can then send them a regular message there or you can also send a private message.

Hey Carrie, I see you posted this about a month back, and no answer to your post. My surgeon is DR. Kane. He has offices in hoffman estates, elk grove village and I think another spot. He is awesome. You can look his office up on line. Kane Center. I had my surgery 5-8-2009 and everything has been awesome so far. His staff is really nice and even though it seems like they are so busy sometimes, they will call you back as soon as they can and are a tremendous help. Well hope you can find someone near by but definately look into the Kane Center.

As long as you stay organized you'll be ok. Even now for me I have to have everything set and I try to do everything at the same time when I'm at work. It helps a lot. I have not gone to any yet. I always say I'm going to just to get in touch with some people and communicate about everything. But I hate that there mainly only on saturday. I wish they had more during the week. They really pushed those seminars to me too but not as much anymore. Well I told my close friends at work about what was going on. But because I had my leave for 3 weeks everyone was like where is he, whats going on? So my friend at work called me after the first week and was like everyone keeps asking me questions and I'm trying to avoid them. So I was like you know what they're gonna find out eventually, and I felt bad that he kept getting bothered. So I was like, if they get annoying just let them know I had a procedure. But everyone keeps asking me how I'm doing and a lot of people at work are noticing my weight loss. It took my family a little while to adjust cause of the no drinking when I eat, or certain things I shouldn't have and so on. But everyone has been so supportive and is loving the fact that I'm doing so well. So you live near the Sears Centre? I have a good friend of mine that lives off beverly and toastmaster. So I'm out there pretty often.

I did see a nutritionist and I only saw the psychologist once for the initial test and screening and that was all. Thats actually the only other time I drink when I eat also. Its a little weird when they ask you what you'd like to drink and you're like oh nothing. I just cant get myself to do that so then I have the Water in front of me and I drink it. It was funny the last time I went out to eat with a buddy, he made it a point to tell the waitress as a joke to purposely not ask me what I wanted to drink. So she asked him and then just walked away, I was like whoa what's going on? Then I realized what happened so when she came back to ask me I was like nope forget it. LOL. Its just a habit you know. No guidelines on the Protein really. As long as you are getting all your protein in you don't need the powder. I used it for the first 4 weeks then once I got to solids I havent used it at all cause I am able to get it in by eating normal food. I do take Vitamins, 2 Multivitamins and 1 Calcium per day. I have not experienced hair lose, I know its too early to tell but hopefully it doesn't happen to me. That's funny I'm definately not an Idol, LOL. So where are you at in the process right now?

hello everyone, congrats on everything so far. Its nice to see some Chitown people on the board here. I also had mine done at Alexian Brothers by Dr Kane on 5-8-2009. It would be awesome to chat with you guys on this journey so please feel free to message me anytime.

I have not thrown up and hope I don't cause I hear it doesn't feel really good. I know I said this already but start practicing now to chew, chew chew chew your food. I dont't know how your doctor is gonna handle your case but I'm assuming it will be similar because he is also from the Kane center. My first week I was on clear liquids (apple juice, broth's, sugar free popsicles and water) that was about it. The second week I had cream Soups, Protein shakes, v8 juice and v8 splash. I did add Protein powder to my juices and shakes. I used whey protein, if you go the the kane center website and go to their estore you can find it on there WHEY PROTEIN, its flavorless so it only changes the texture of things not the taste. I did love the Protein Shakes, I just bought Ensure (high protein). The chocolate ones actually taste really good. I wasn't taking any medication so I would ask your doctor about that. Once I finished my 3 month dietician thingy it was about a week or so before they approved it. Good job on the 36 lbs its a good start and I'm sure your doctor will be happy. My fill did not hurt. The initial needle which is the numing shot pinched and I really didn't feel anything else. I was really lucky also cause he found the port pretty easily and did not need to do it under xray or anything. Thank you so much, its a long journey so all I can do is take it one day at a time. As far as drinking with your meal it was tough for me also, but I started doing it months before my surgery. If you can start doing it now and just don't put any drinks on the table during lunch or dinner, so that you're not tempted. I have occasionally has something to drink while eating and it really hasn't hurt me, I just don't want to do it cause it makes the food go through quicker leaving you hungry sooner. I actually have been eating a little of everything. Mainly chicken, fish and veggies, but I have had red meats and some breads and have actually enjoyed pizza a few times. I just eat a couple slices instead of a half of pizza now thats all. It satisfies the craving for it so that I don't fall off the wagon. Originally my doctor suggested the bypass surgery because of my size. I'm pretty big but have been lucky enough to still be able to move around and fortunate enough to not have any health problems. When my doctor first met me he thought for sure I was on 6 or 7 medications and when I told him I wasn't he almost fell off his chair. He said that I was really lucky I didn't have full blown diabetes for my size. So that was more of a motivator to really get this done. Because I was so healthy other than the weight was when he said that he felt good about doing the lapband and not the bypass. And I'm happy I made this decision so far. I have a long ways to go but the more weight falls off the more pumped I get about moving forward. How did you come to this decision?

There's a lot of preliminary appointments you will have to have before they even think about setting a date for the operation. I also had to do a 3 month program with a dietician. My insurance wanted that done before deciding to pay for the surgery, but every insurance policy is different. Finally after seeing all the different doctors and taking all the tests the insurance finally contaced the Kane center to approve the surgery. I finally received a surgery date which was 5-8-2009. I was very nervous as anyone would be but I knew it was time to make a change and get healthy. My surgery went awesome, I had very little pain. The only thing I really felt was soreness and not really pain. It felt like I had just done 1000 situps. Fortunately, (knock on wood) I have had no complications and everything is been going well. Then again I really followed my doctors instructions and did not steer away from any of the rules. I was too scared to mess something up. I was 1 week on clear liquids, 1 week on full liquids and then 1 week on mushies before I went to solid food. And I stayed on that track the whole time. Once on solids I just make sure I get all my protein in and if I'm still hungry I just eat a bunch of vegetables. I got my first fill on 6-10-09 and and that point I had already lost 31 lbs. I was scheduled for my second fill on 8-29-09 and when the doctor saw that I lost another 30 lbs (61 total since surgery), he decided not to do a fill. I was a little confused, cause I really dont have full restriction. I mean I have some restriction cause I cant eat as much as i did before but I know I'm eating more that a cup to a cup and a half of food at lunch and dinner. I'm just making smart choices and filling up on veggies after eating my protein. I feel really good but still have a long way to go. I haven't had any problems with my food I just make sure to take my time and chew, chew, chew. As far as work goes after surgery, I had the luxury of being able to take 3 weeks off of work. Which I think was very helpful. It just made it easier to manage my meals being at home and relaxing. So I'm not sure how it will be to go to work right after. Hope this helps, looking forward to hearing how everything is going for you.

I had mine done at the Kane Center. (Alexian Brothers Hospital). Dr Kane, is awesome fantastic doctor, I was banded 5-8-2009.

I'm not right near elgin but not that far. I'm right by Ohare, I do visit Elgin often though cause I have a friend that lives out there. I see that you're new to the site, are you thinking about Lap Band???

Wondering if this happened to anyone else. Well I went in for what I thought would be my second fill yesterday. My first fill was on June 10th. I weighed in with the nurse and was excited to see that I lost 30 lbs since my first fill. So as I waited for the doctor I was really excited about getting the second fill because I really haven't felt much restriction. So the doctor walks in and asks how is everything going and asked how I was feeling. Then he's like alright we'll see you in a month or so. I was like how about the fill, and he said oh no way, your averaging a lose of 5 lbs a week you don't need one. Don't get me wrong I'm happy about the weight loss but its also because my will power is very strong right now and I have been really cracking down. I guess I should just keep doing what I have been doing and see how it goes in a month.