Corliss

2 oz unsweetend cooking choc (ghiradelli is wonderful) 4 tabsp cream or milk 2 tabsp butter 2 tabsp cream cheese 1 oz splenda 2 oz erithritol(netrition.com) drops of maple flavoring add pecans or other nuts to taste melt choc, stir in cream, butter and cream cheese, the stir in splenda and eithritol and add flavoring. then stir in a large amount of nuts. drop in big clumps on parchment paper and put in freezer. Let get hard. YUUUM. NOt low calorie, but high in Protein and sugar free. Really kills the sweet tooth. from corliss

Hey Jolly, I have never tried yogurt butter. I have had yogurt cheese. For hard core low carbing, the more butter/fat you use, the better. You don't want to use transfats such as crisco or margerine, but animal fat and olive oil, even coconut oil are excellent. Most lap band folk do not adhere to this type of low carb, because it is not really neccesary to be able to loose for most. So if you are eating a normal amount of carbs the high fat will blow your calorie count up. I am a sugar junkie and very carb sensitive. I have been having a hard time getting on board loosing and rather than go get another fill right away, I had just started cutting the carbs yesterday and had not thought a thing about this candy till your post came up. I always try to put off making the treats till I am really on a roll. Like I was telling someone on chat last night super low carb can make your blood sugar run too low, so if you do this be sure to get some veggies in. I had turnip greens for dinner cooked with olive oil and onion for seasoning along with some talapia, sauteed in butter with lemon sauce and capers. They were both wonderful though I ate them seperately. Corliss

Hi Jolly, I buy the hard cooking chocalate bars. This stuff is not low cal cause it has so much fat in it. I only eat them if I am way into low carbing. They are major good and I also do a sugarfree cheesecake with erytiritol. The erythritol is the major key ingreedient in both. Splenda will not do the trick by itself and maltotol has almost as many cals as sugar and also gives you upset stomach. You buy the Erythritol from www.netrition.com Corliss

I am back in the gym with my personal trainer who is amazing! She is just a little midget gidget of a gal who really knows her stuff and is very supportive. We are working on leg issues right now. I would love to do the walk, when is it? Could we get a Lap Band Talk group going? I would love to meet some of you guys. Corliss

Sorry about the length punk. I do have a 10 ml realize. I wouldn't have had another 4 ml put in. Corliss

My decsion to go with another band rather than a sleeve was because I had done so well initially actually for about 1 year and 3 months with the first band and not too bad for another year before I had more and more problems with reflux and the getting anything down and the last few months were horrible. I just remember how wonderful it was when it worked right. My wt. loss was effortless and I rarely got stuck. I never had very much fill in my 4 ml band, when others were having 3.6 I had I think maybe 2.5 at the most, can't remember exactly. Then even after getting it all pulled out when, I could eat and I had restriction. But as I said my problems were intermittent from that point on. I suspect that initially they were due to the hiatal hernia and not slippage/prolapse. I think that the slippare/prolapse probably happened the last 3 months. Looking back I will always believe I could have managed my band better after I started having problems had I been willing to drink the hot tea with honey and stay on liquids a day before eating. I don't think I allowed my inflamed pouch to heal thus contributing to the existing problems which I couldn't avoid. The newer bands are supposed to be less likely to slip and I have been told given the scaring if the band is well placed that slippage this go around could be less likely due to the presence of scaring on my stomach which changes the surface from slick to a bit rougher. This makes sense to me. My specific concerns about the sleeve were of course the fact that it is permanent. Once your stomach is gone, it is gone. The possibillity of leakage along a staple line is scary also. I was told that this only happens during the first week. My surgeon in Mexico Dr. Zapata has never had this particular complication. He strongly encouraged me to have the sleeve but agreed that I was a good candidate for rebanding. The other thing is that when you get old a lot of times you can have all sorts of nutritional deficits and many are a result of lack of appetite. Without the grehlin hormone one could become anorexic easily. I can't imagine it ever happening to me, but it could. I fear being really fat again more than I fear a staple leak or loss of appetite as an elder however, so if I can't keep this band, I will definately have a sleeve if I can find the resources. It is the pits that we have to go to such lengths to be normal size and to contain our appetites. I am strongly convinced that it is more than psychological inability to balance the energy in/energy out equation. I fully believe there is a physiological reason for our inability to eat just for our needs and I know the band helps me with my lack of ability even the mental/emotional part of it. It has to be a hormonal/nuerological interface with our emotions and intellect. My sleeved friends seem to be able to eat most anything, and one of them says she has not really experienced a loss of interest in food to the degree that the other one has. She rarely experiences a stuckage and if she does it doesn't seem to be as miserable to her as it is to most bandsters. I could not imagine any reason for having a RNY unless you are around 600 lbs and severe diabetic, but even then i would think the sleeve would be a better option. It is just not as available. Hopefully soon most insurances will start paying for it. Anyhow that is my essay for the day, LOL! Corliss

I strongly considered getting a sleeve after I lost my band. I know I don't want another slip and if I have one, I will get a sleeve if I can beg or borrow the money. So far so good with the band, not loosing any, but definately not gaining. I need a little more fill I think. I have two friends with the sleeve and they are both doing great. Corliss

Hi MIMI, I could have probably gone back to work about 4 wks after arm surgery but i also had a hiatal hernia so I was off for 8 weeks. I do a lot of lifting on my job. The scars are red and angry looking but seem to be healing nicely. I expect them to fade really well over the next year or so. I do not have First Lady arms, mine were extremely disfigured before surgery and what i have is normal but floppy granny arms, lol. The face work is loads more dramatic. I have before pics posted also. I will post recent pics in my plastic surgery album soon. I have pics 8 wks out on there now. Just go to my profile and check them out. Thanks a lot. Corliss

Wow can I relate! I am a 57 year old RN. I became a nurse at age 55 and started on a unit with experienced 25 year olds. They were sort of freaked out by me. I had my first lap band in 2005 and lost over 200 lbs. It left me badly in need of plastic work. I recently had that lap band replace (removed due to a slip) and while I was in Monterrey I had a full face lift and my arms done. I just returned to work and they are flabergasted, lol! If I was confusing to them before, I certainly am now. Some would like to think I don't know what I am doing but that is their problem, not mine! Corliss The fairly new nurse with 57 years life experience!:thumbdown:

Thanks, I didn't know that. I had not heard of it being there. Corliss

Is GBI in Dalton? I used to go to the weight management center at Memorial but never had a fill with my old band. I just saw the doctor and he gave me meds to try to deal with the difficulties I was having. Then when I had to have my band removed I saw him there for follow up. I originally went to a doc in Maryville TN for my fills. I don't know a lot about the other doctors here, as I have only seen Dr. Sass who is no longer at the Weight Management Center. Thanks, Corliss

Hey Punkster and anyone else on here that has info, I am wondering how much the endoscopy center at memorial will bill my insurance for my fill. I got my first one there last tuesday. They are billing insurance but I have no idea whether or not my insurance will pay as they refused to pay for banding at Memorial. I think I need another fill as I am pretty darn loose this morning and it is still early. I would like to just work with this one as I feel some restriction but I know I may actually need a tad more. I suppose I could just get it in Dr. Sass office but I have always been afraid to get them without fluoro cause of the possibility of a puncture. I have never had a fill without fluoro though I have had an unfill onetime with the old band without. I also fear not seeing what is happening because of my history of Hiatal Hernias and prolapse and gastric edema. Anyhow I am just thinking ahead. I am able to eat a pretty good bit and yesterday at lunch I sort of ate a normal size lunch. I was happy about being able to eat an apple but at the same time, I know I ate more than I should without any overfullness. Dinner was a different story. I really had to take it easy there and I wasn't hungry at 5:30 but ate anyhow. Anyhow if anyone can help me with the financial info, let me know! I may just have to exercise the old will power muscle. thanks, Corliss

Go for it Deb:thumbup:, you will not regret it. Look forward to getting to know you and so glad you found us. Corliss

Hey There, Another nurse here. I just had my first adjust ment yesterday. No problem. The doc numbed the port area and I didn't even feel a heck of a lot of pressure. He put the fluid in and I immediately stopped feeling hunger, and I was pretty hungry as I had nothing since midnight and it was 2:30 pm. I am sooooo looking forward to loosing the rest of my wt. I had lost a lot previously from my first band and gained 65 back. So now I am rockin' again. I even felt cold last night, which is reasuring reminder of what it was like with my old band before it went bad and had to be removed. I loved my first band so much when things were right with it, but had some major problems for over a year and lost to goal stayed there about 2 wks before I had to have it removed. I tried to keep the weight off, but honey, I gained wt. on the Meditteranian diet. I was back up above 200 in no time and by my birthday I was 235, I lost down to 214 and then back up and decided I had to have another surgery and chose another band because the new ones are not as likely to slip as the old smaller models are. I also considered a gastric sleeve, but opted for the band. I am feeling so wonderful today, I want to dance, LOL! I am very happy you are starting this way of life. When you go back to work and are like me and work a very busy floor just remember at work, water, protein drinks and soup are our friend. Don't take any chances on eating too fast and getting stuck. Stay away from the junk that all us nurses are prone to eat. My supervisors brings us loads of chocalate every shift. That will be my biggest challenge, but for today I ain't interested. As far as exercise untill your surgeon tells you otherwise, just walk. I have been a member of a gym for a long time and have started back with my trainer. We are working on balance and leg issues for me. I can't lift wts anymore because of my carpal tunnel syndrom. She is also working with me on that. It is expensive to buy the sessions but I get better results and have more fun when I work out with a trainer. Welcome aboard the Bandwagon! Corliss

Hey Punk, I understand your anger. I was so mad and didn't know whether to be mad at myself, the band or God. I started having problems about 14 months out. I first had a major stuckage which passed but after that, it was back and forth, back and forth from not being able to eat any thing to being able to eat only at certain times of the day. It went on almost two more years and then started getting really bad. I started having major reflux. Every night i had it. Had to sleep sitting up in recliner. Then I got to the point where I was vomiting even when I had not been eating. I was essentially vomiting my own saliva. I could eat one time a day generally and usually did not puke it up, but anything else was gonna come up. Then the last few days I puked everything and nothing. It didn't matter if I had eaten or not, I was just constantly puking. The meds didn't help. I decided to call my local doc and couldn't reach him immediately, I went to the ER and my prealbumin level was below severe malnutrition and some of my electrolytes were out of whack. I had talked to my Mexican surgeon about having my band replaced with one of the newer ones and he had advised me to have it removed and then to wait a few months and get it replaced or get revised to a sleeve. I didn't want a sleeve. I had loved my band when it worked right, but I didn't want to go on with the problems I had been having. It got so bad the day I went in the hospital I passed out and woke up with my head in the dogs bowl. Fortunately not face first, lol! I had my local doc remove my band and I had hopes I could keep my wt. off without a band. I was down to around 165, maybe less. Wrong! I wonder if I should have had him replace it, but I didn't. I proceeded to gain 65 lbs then loose 20 then gain it back, then lost 15 as I prepared to go back to Mx. for a new band as my insurance would not cover my band replacement. I was extremely depressed during the time I was bandless. I felt like I had killed off someone I loved who was hurting me. I called my friend and told him that I felt like I should have tried harder! Anyhow, long story I know, but I have my new band, lower slippage risk than old one, and I am keeping my fingers crossed, and hope to make use of my experiencee with the previous band. Hang in there, you still have your band, just be very careful, and make it work if it will. If not, get it out, and get a sleeve or a new band. It is just a tool. Corliss

I am sure all will go well. I am trying to avoid same surgery. Luckily for me my FMLA starts over in Sept. so maybe I can hold out. Trying to eat by the gall bladder diet. I am going for a scan prob next week. Just got my first fill with this new band, so as the wt loss cranks up I do hope the gall bladder attacks don't. OUCH! Corliss:thumbup:

LOL, just what I said, I lost my first band due to a slip. Technically the band didn't slip the stomach did. It moved up above the band and my stomach stayed irritated and inflamed and eventually nothing would go through even though I had no Fluid. I had it removed Sept 19, and had the new band placed June 18. I had my first fill today. It feels good to not want to eat.:sad: Corliss

Got my first fill with this band. Dr. Sass did not have a hard time hitting my port and I was so scared he would. I like the equipment they use as they have the table that stands you up and lays you down and he can see the port easily when you are laying flat. He numbed me and it was over pretty quick. He had the nurse give me a swig of barium and it went through like no tommorrow, then he put in the fluid and it slowed it down and I could actually feel it going through. He said he put in 3 ml and suggested taking a little out in case I tightened up as many of us will over a week oor so. I agreed and he took .3 ml out and I definately still have restriction as I am having to sip now, but things do go through. I got a glass of tea right away as I had to wait over two hours for my fill, and then came home and got some broth and heated it up. I am glad I have my clear proteins left over from when I had my surgery. I won't get nearly as hungry as I would on regular clears. I have to be on clears 2 days. I guess this is standard around here, it was just first day on clears with my old fill doc. I couldn't believe I was so nervous. With everything I have had go wrong, I just knew he would find something wrong, a flipped port or a slipped band, lol! Anyhow I am so glad it is over. I ended up with 2.70 mL and I do want to be conservative so this is a good thing. Corliss

You know I might like the flavored Chobani's but I don't think I would like it well enough to use it instead of mixing my own fruity yogurt, but boy that price is good. Have you tried mixing up the greek yogurt with your own fruit? I started doing that many years ago with regular yogurt when I was in eating disorder treatment. All they gave us was plain yogurt and I couldn't eat it by itself, but they also gave us a piece of fruit at the same time and man it was good mixed with that yogurt. It is not nearly as convenient as the preflavored ones, but you get more good stuff, and with the Greek yogurt the taste is amazing. Thanks for the heads up! I probably should join Sams but hopefully my grocery bill will go way down any day now as I get my first fill with this band today! Wish me luck. Corliss:thumbup:

Thanks Katydid, I think though the ps cost is a burden, (I spent money I did not have), that it was sort of a neccesary one for me as everytime I looked in the mirror I wanted to cry. I had lost all that weight only to leave my face looking like a 75 year old instead of a 57 year old. My arms were so bad they were disfigured. Hopefully I will stay healthy enough and employed and will be able to repay my pension plan for the money I borrowed. Everyone has to make that decision for themselves and I realize I am fortunate to have at least had that option. I just think of it as getting my self fixed up rather than buying another car which I really would not have thought a thing about a few years ago. I would just sweat to make the payments on time. I am driving a clunker and will continue to do so as long as it runs, LOL! :hurray: I don't know about cost of plastics in Australia, but Mexico was a much cheaper alternative for plastics and especially for lap band than the US, as I had to private pay. If you are seriously interested you could go through one of the Medical Tourism companies if you see India or another country as a possibility. I am not real good on geography and have no idea the cost or wisdom of flying from Australia to Mx or Costa Rica, but they do great work there and have many many reputable surgeons and hospitals, and I hear they do in India. Anyhow, just thought I would throw that in incase you or anyone was interested! Corliss

I had the dry heaves for about an hour here about 3 wks ago. As far as I know I didn't do any damage to the band placement but I should find out for sure tommorrow as I go for my first fill and it will be under fluoro. I do plan to ask for an RX of phenergan to have on hand just in case this happens again. Corliss

Hey cmx. Greek yogurt is a lot richer and thicker than regular plain yogurt. It is almost like cheese. I absolutely love the Fage but don't care much for the Chobani, and the Oikos is some where in between the two. I have bought plain regular yogurt, and it tasts a lot more like buttermilk. The full fat Fage is wonderful but so is cream cheese, lol! There is more protein in the Greek yogurts because they are denser than the plain but there are only 90 cals in 6 oz of greek yogurt. I mix mine with berries and sweetener for an amazing breakfast. I have also made a good cucumber salad with it. The price of the Chobani < $1 at Sams is tempting, if the Fage was anywhere close to that price I would join Sam's just for the greek yogurt price. Corliss

Hey Punk, do you mind telling me what brand are at Sams? I buy the ind Fage at Greenlife and like most stuff there it costs an arm and a leg. Thanks, Corliss