maclynn

I started my journey to being banded with Dr. Chua by attending the mandetory seminar 07/08. I have had a problem with weight my entire life though there was a period of time that I had lost about 50# and kept most of it off for 7 years. Even with that loss, I was still obese but felt much better. Last year my cholesterol and triglycerides came back as borderline high. Combined with my hypertension, I asked my PCP if the Lap Band might be a good choice for me. She gave me a referral to the Sinai Bariatric center and I attented the seminar. At the same time I inquired with my insurance company if they covered bariatric surgery. They did but required a six month physcial supervised diet and exercise. I completed that in January of this year. I also met with the nutritionists monthly and had my phyc eval shortly after the seminar. In February I had an appointment with Dr. Chua and Taddei. In March I was told that I was approved for my surgery. Due to a work conflict, I scheduled my surgery for May. A few weeks before surgery I had the pre-op tests. A week before surgery I met with Dr. Taddei for a history and eval. The morning of my surgery I arrived at the hospital at 5:30am. I was the first scheduled surgery. By 7:30 they were wheeling me into surgery and by 8:45 I was being roused in the recovery room. Due to a bed shortage, I was not transferred to a private room until about 2pm but that was okay as I slept on and off until around 1pm. The pain was not very bad but they did give me some morphine to make sure it did not escalate. My husband was waiting for me in the room and I slept again. Around 4pm they brought me some broth and juice to drink. My stomach muscles seemed to ache from that and I asked for some meds about 5pm. I got up to walk around about 7pm and by 8pm I asked if I could go home. I could have stayed the night but felt well enough to go home. The staff at Sinai was wonderful. My follow up with the nutritionist the following week brought a miscommunication to light. My discharge papers said to stop taking my multi Vitamin. But that was not the case. We reviewed my diet and she also explain when and how to move on to soft then regular foods. My follow up with Dr. Taddei showed that I was healing and doing well. Including an 8# weight loss. I am now a little over 2 weeks post op and doing very well. I returned to work this past Monday and wouldn't have wanted to do so sooner. Sunday was the first day I could stand with no pain at the port location. My next visit with Dr. Chua is June 8th. Please let me know if you have any questions about Dr. Chua or the surgery! ~mac

Thank you, GB, for letting me know that there is hope for the scale to start moving in the right direction again soon. :biggrin:

Thank you, Carrie! It was a great way to turn 50!

Thank you Ann, John and Rebecca. You and all the Banditos are great to have as friends and support!

Last Friday my doctor took me off of my blood pressure medication which I have been on since my late 20's. The down side to that was I am now up a couple of pounds since I no longer have the waterpill portion of the medication. But I'll put up with that over having Hypertension! Also on Monday I was able to fit into a dress I bought a few years ago but was never able to fit into. Nice way to turn 50!

Much better this week an overall 2.2 pound loss! I was down to 170.4 yesterday but today weighed 171.4 Last week 173.6 Today 171.4

Hi guys, I too felt I was eating too much so I scheduled a fill earlier than what the doctor had recommended my next visit. I had that fill last Friday and I think I'm finally there. A half cup of food keeps me full for four hours. Last night I think I put a little too much in my bowl and maybe had a cup of food but mainly the past week has been a half cup. And it help break the plateau I'd been on. I think I may now be in the green zone and will schedule a next appointment in about three months if I continue to be satisifed with this amount. Good luck to you all!

Hey Ann, The fourth fill may do the trick. It did me. I had just .25cc put in on Friday but am now satisfied with 1/2 cup a food three times a day. Beef definately doesn't like me but I have a few chicken dishes that I am able to eat. Best of luck with your next fill!

The scale didn't go down for almost four weeks and then this morning, it finally did go south. Granted, I got a very small fill yesterday but that wouldn't be reflective so soon. I didn't give up or give in to temptation. I tried to up my exercise and change the foods I eat when since I was told our bodies can get used to diet and exercise by getting more efficient and burning less calories. I was also told that muscle holds more Water than fat and if I've built up muscle, I might not show the weight loss even though I've lost body fat. My scale seems to show that since it records body fat, which has gone down every week. Good luck and hope the scale moves for you soon!

The scale finally moved downward this week. I am .2# down from my lowest the first week of August but I am 1.6# down from 8/14. I had a fourth fill yesterday and am hoping that this is the right amount to help me continue losing. Congrats to everyone on their weight loss! Starting weight 214 Surgery weight 199 Today's weight 173.6

Hi everyone, I was banded May 6th of this year and was doing really well until I hit a brick wall three weeks ago. I had my 3rd fill on August 3rd and the doctor and I were hopeful that this would get me in the green zone but it hasn't. After losing two pounds by the end of that week, the last three weeks I've bascially plateaued. I've gained and lost the same 1.5 pounds. I am getting my Protein and Water and exercising almost every day. I've changed up my exercise, varied my calories but never more than 1200 and still haven't been able to break this plateau. The only good thing is that my scale is recording body fat loss even if there has been no weight loss. Since I'm still 50 pounds from goal, this stall three months out is heartbreaking and frustrating. I have made an appointmen for a fill tomorrow. I can still eat about 8oz of food and am hoping that this will help me get beyond this stall. Has anyone else exerpienced a pleateau this soon? I suppose techincally I started dieting last summer but took a two month break before surgery so I really think my diet started in May. Thanks for listening!

Hey Vicki, Thanks for the response. I was beginning to think I was the only one at a plateau when I kept seeing all the great results of the other Banditos. I'm sorry you're stuck too. Let's hope our fills and continued diet and exercising breaks through this barrier soon. Best of luck to you also!

Thank you, Shar. While I know it sucks for you, I'm glad I'm not the only one in this boat. I really hope that the scale budges within the next week or so as this gets really discouraging. I just have to look at the long range goals instead of the immediate. :blushing:

Congrats everyone on their weight loss this week. I, on the other hand, seem to have plateaued. The scale hasn't gone downward in two weeks. My last fill was 8/3 and the doctor thought I might have hit my sweet spot so said to come back in three months but yesterday I scheduled a fill for next Friday. I'm still exercising, changing that up every few days, along with eating less than a cup of food and mostly no carbs, so I really do think its a plateau. And I'm still losing hair like crazy even with the Biotin. But I'm happy for the rest of you guys! Great job.

Not a good week for me since I'm up 1.4 pounds this week. I'm hoping that some or all is water weight. I'll be extra diligent this coming week! Starting weight 214 Surgery weight 199 Today's weight 175.2

I have been a big soda drinker all my life. I would have anywhere from 4-7 diet cokes a day or go get a couple of large DC's from McDonalds (love the fountain fizz). When I was told no more carbonated beverages, I stopped cold turkey to test myself during my six month diet. I was so surprised that it was as easy as it was. After the six months, I allowed myself the occasional DC as a farewell in the two months before surgery. It is now over three months since surgery and I haven't so much have had a sip of DC. I drink water most of the day, two mugs of green tea and sometimes a crystal light. I really don't even miss the DC even when seeing my daughter and husband drink it in front of me.

I was not required to do a pre-op diet. I only had to follow a less strick post op diet. 2 days clear liquids, 2 days liquids then 2 weeks mushie and 2 week soft.

It's because of the anesthesia that there are risks of pneumonia. You have to make sure to take deep breaths post surgery and they should give you exercises to do so in order to prevent the chance of getting it.

I have only been banded a little over three months and have lost weight with the band that I struggled to for the past few years. I haven't been able to actively lose weight in over four years. While being less heavy and getting into smaller clothes and looking good is very appealing, I have to admit that the main reason I aquired the band was for health reasons. I'm a grandma of a two year old and realized a year ago I want to be around as long as possible for her. If you have the opportunity to get a band that works, you will find that you can eat 'almost' anything. I do find that dry meats and large bites are my enemy but other than that, I eat tasty and satisfying foods at every meal. Just much, much less. Along with my exercise, which I have to admit is just brisk walks, the band has really improved my lifestyle. Best of luck with whatever you decide. I am truly sorry you had such a rough experience and for so very long.

Hey Ann, You're doing awesome. Here's to the scale moving again next week!!! And for me the third time seems to be the charm. I went to lunch with a co-worker. Sweet talked the waitress into letting me order off the kids menu, which still wasn't great, but was only able to eat one chicken strip and a couple of fries. I sure hope this lasts for a while. Best of luck to you.

The fill helped and I'm down 2.8 pounds from last week. That's a good feeling. I'm almost at the halfway point and have moved into another BMI level. I don't expect all the weeks to be this good but I'll take what I can get! Starting weight 214 Surgery weight 199 Today's weight 173.8 Total so far since surgery -25.2

Do you like quiche? I made this last Sunday and cut it into 8 portions. Each day I take one to work and reheat it when I get hungry and its so good. I did modify the recipe to my liking by using 4 real eggs and didn't use the low fat offerings. Also I don't care for broccoli or mushrooms and just used 3 cups cut up fresh spinach. Crustless Spinach Quiche Ingredients: 3 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened 1 cup fat-free milk 1 cup egg substitute 1/4 teaspoon pepper 3 cups (12 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese 3 cups frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry 1 cup frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and well drained 1 small onion, finely chopped 5 fresh mushrooms, sliced Directions: In a small bowl, beat cream cheese. Add the milk, egg substitute and pepper; beat until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients. Transfer to a 10-in. quiche pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Yield: 8 servings.

I had my first fill at about 4 1/2 weeks out which brought me to 4cc and had no issues. In fact, my next two fills were four weeks apart and I've reached really good restriction right now.

I just had a fill yesterday and this morning I had some quiche for breakfast around 7:45 and it's 1:10 and I'm still stuffed. Is it okay to skip a meal?

Thank you everyone for your wonderful feedback and suggestions. Today I'm back to normal, mostly and was hungry for lunch about 5 hours out. I think yesterday may have been the day after banding thing. Since my doctor doesn't require two days of liquids, I may have just been extra full on my piece of quiche I had for breakfast. Thanks again and good luck to all of us!