GrannyAces

Thank you all for the info. I'm going to try the Isopure and the unjury powder. GrannyAces

I have been lactose intolerant for several years and just found out I am soy intolerant as well. I have had to give up my soy based Protein drink. Does anyone konw of a Protein Drink with soy or milk? I really need something in the morning. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. GrannyAces

My granddaughter was banded on Nov 22. She has no fills, but just called me to say she has been coughing after eating for the last two days. Does anyone know if this is related to the band or not? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.

I have had the lap band for almost a year and have lost 100 lbs. I have a granddaughter. 12 years old, who has been overweight since babyhood. Her parents have done everything to help her including doctor's and nutritionists, gym clubs, etc., nothing seems to work. She is 5'2" tall and 170 lbs and still gaining. They see the success I have had and wonder if she would benefit from the lap band surgery. I know Dr. Ortiz has done it on patients as young as 13. She will be starting middle school next year and everyone knows how mean kids can be especially in that age group. Does anyone out there have experience with this for their child and if so how did it work out? What are the problems and successes? Any information will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. GrannyAces Banded 7/13/06 305/205/155

I have been doing really well. 100lbs lost since banding last July. But I know I still overeat and have pretty frequent pb's. Today I was painting the underside of my deck with arms extended way over my head for a period of a couple of hours. I went upstairs to clean up my tools and as I was washing out the brushes and rollers I was struck with severe pain in my ribs on both sides and across the back. It has beens several hours and the pain hasn't gone away. I'm worried I might have done something to my band. I also feel a sort of tight sensation in the abdomen where the band is. I haven't found any posts describing this type of pain. Anyone have any ideas? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks. GrannyAces Banded 7/13/06 Dr. Ortiz TJ Beginning weight 305 Current weight 205 Goal 150

Thank you all for your replies. I took some ibuprofen yesterday and today and the pain has eased off. I don't think it was band related either, now. I think I just strained something. We're putting our house on the market and I have been working very hard to get it ready to sell. I painted all the rooms myself including the ceilings plus doing a lot of other hard physical work over the last few weeks. I'm in better shape than I've been in a long time, but I may have overdone it. Thanks again to all who replied. GrannyAces

I'm at 8.2 cc's in the VG band and I have pretty good restriction. I think if I was any tighter I would have more incidents of pb's and not being able toe at certain things. Right now I can eat just about anything except dry chicken as long as I chew well and don't take too big of bites. Good luck on your journey!!

I had to do a liquid diet for 10 days and my bmi was lower than yours. I lost 18lbs before I even went in for surgery!! The prices in the US may be coming down, but the Mexico doctors still have a lot more experience. I went to TJ with Dr. Ortiz and he was fabulous! GrannyAces 7/13/06 Dr. Ortiz 305/236/150

I'm in Vancouver, Wa and I was also banded by Dr. Ortiz in TJ on 7/13/06. I would love to find a support group or get together with someone to swap experiences and help each other through the rough spots. Who do you use for fills? I use Dr. Kelly Fitzpatrick. She's great! I have the VG band and I got to the "sweet spot" after only 3 fills total! Maybe we could start a support group if there isn't one available! Ir you would like to contact me personally you can email me at debdav1@comcast.net. GrannyAces 7/13/06 Dr. Ortiz 305/236/150

Has anyone had problems with itching at the port site? I have been banded since July and it still itches. Not bad, I don't dig at it or anything, just a mild, under the skin, sort of itching that it doesn't help to scratch. Most of the time I ignore it, but it is always there. Anyone else have this problem or know what causes it? GrannyAces Banded 7/13/06 305/236/150

I never needed pain meds at all. The doctor gave me a prescription which I never even filled. Five days after surgery I drove a thousand miles alone from Tijuana to Washington. It was a piece of cake and I'm over 60 years old. Good luck and don't let them scare you.

I have the VG band placed in Mexico by Dr. Ortiz. I went back to Mexico for the first fill at 3.5 cc. There was no restriction. My second fill was by a local doctor who is very good at giving aggressive fills. She knows I am self pay and really tries to give good restriction. I got an additional 3.2 cc's. Still no restriction. The last fill 1.5 cc's bringing me to a total of 8.2. I have pretty good restriction. I can still eat most anything except breads which get stuck, but I eat about 3-4 ounces of meat and I am very satisfied for about 4 hours. So it took me 3 fills to get here. I was banded July 13th and the last fill was just before Thanksgiving. I am very glad to have the VG band as it is more forgiving than the smaller one. Hang in there and you will eventually get where you want to go. Ask your doctor to be aggressive with fills with the VG band. Starting weight 305 lbs 7/13/06 Current weight 246 lbs 1/3/07

I agree with mousecrazy and thought she needed a little support against all the Bush haters. One of the main arguments here seems to be that we are picking on poor Saddam and Iraq over other dictators and killers in other countries. At the time we went to war with Iraq EVERYONE though he had weapons of mass destruction. If you remember correctly there were 16 UN resolutions against him because he wouldn't allow inspection of what were thought to be nuclear sites. Now, granted there were no weapons of mass destruction, but we and Tony Blair and the Germans and everyone else thought there were. That was the main reason behind the invasion of IRaq. No one thinks the African nations have any of those. Plus Saddam did have ties to terrorism. I know all you Bush haters out there think there was some vast conspiracy involving oil or something, but that puts you in the same category as people who believe that Bush actually orchestrated 9/11 for some nefarious purpose of his own. Yes, mistakes were made, and maybe after all the facts were known we shouldn't have gone into Iraq in the first place, but you work with the knowledge you have at the time.

I had a fill on Saturday and for the first time I know what restriction is. I was just wondering if anyone else had more problem with liquids than with solids after a fill? I can eat just about anything as long as I take small bites and chew well, but a lot of the liquids come back up immediately. Especially the thicker ones like the protein drinks no matter how slow and small the sips are. It seems like after I drink about 1/2 a can it all comes back up then I can finish the other half with little or no problem. Sometimes this even happens with plain water. I'm definitely having a problem getting enough liquids. Any thoughts on this? Banded July 13, 2006 Dr. Ortiz, Tijuana Starting weigh 305 lbs. Present weight 258 lbs. P.S. How do I modify the tickerfactory tape showing the weight loss?? I put it on my first post and never been able to change it since then!!

I'm sorry you are having so much difficulty. Are you cutting the food in very small bites and chewing thoroughly? I find that I get nauseated if I don't get enough to eat. You might try going on mushies for a few days and see how you feel after that. Also the constipation can make you feel nauseated. Get some fiber tablets. You can buy pleasant tasting orange flavored ones in the vitamin section. They really help with constipation. If you are still having problems after a few days you might be too tight and need a slight unfill. Good luck. Banded 7/13 Dr. Ortiz,Tijuana Starting weight 305 lbs. Current weight 250 lbs.

Here are several ideas for homemade dressings. Buy a packet of Good Seasons Italian or any flavor packet with one of their mixing cruets. Where the recipe says to put water to the water, instead put oil to the water line and where it says to put oil to the oil line put water. In other words just switch the amounts for the water and oil. It is very tasty and cuts most of the calories. Also, you can get the Ranch dressing packets from Hidden Valley and use non-fat or low fat mayo and non-fat or 1 % milk. These are much better tasting than the low-fat bottled products. You can also make low-fat French dressing by adding a little ketchup to low-fat or non-fat mayo. If you add a little sweet pick;e relish you have thousand island dressing. Hope this helps.

Thanks for your help! I seem to be doing better this morning. I'm drinking a cup of coffee and it is going down fine. Don't know what the problem was before.

I'm in my 60's and I used to wear a size 12 dress at 5'8" 145 lbs. I wore a size 16 at 165 lbs and a size 18 at 180lbs. This was back in the 60's and 70's. The last time I lost weight I wore a size 16 at 207 lbs. My guess is that the dress sizes have gone up in response to women getting increasingly larger, but the stocking sizes have stayed the same. There never used be sizes that were as small as a size 0 or 2 or even 4. The smallest size I ever remember seeing back then was a size 6.

I was banded with Dr. Ortiz on July 12. No enema and no laxative of any kind. I didn't have gas after surgery either. I think walking around as soon as possible is the big key to the gas problem. The whole thing was a piece of cake. Good luck on your surgery.

I got hiccups all the time before I got the band and now I still get them. No particular significance. I get them when I'm hungry, when I'm full and in between. But because I have been plagued with them all my life and because they can sometimes be very loud and uncomfortable I have found an absolute cure for hiccups without drinking water. Take one tablespoon full of vinegar. They should be gone. If not, wait a couple of minutes and take one more. Works every single time. Good luck.

I was banded in Mexico by Dr. Ortiz on July 12. I have a knot as big as my fist around the port site. It doesn't really hurt, but it is uncomfortable. If I bend over it feels like I have a belt buckle or something digging into my stomach. Is this normal? Will it eventually go down or go away? Thanks for any help.

Hi all! I was banded on July 12 by Dr. Ortiz in Mexico. I was up and walking around the same day. No pain meds needed and no problems except soreness around the port site. Drove to my son's house in San Diego 2 days later and stayed with him until the 17th. I drove from San Diego to Sacramento on Monday the 17th and then from Sacramento to Vancouver Washington on Tuesday the 18th. Arrived home exhausted, but sooooo happy to be home. This was the easiest surgery I ever had. I'm still on liquids and the Doctor has said "No mushies", don't know why. I'm supposed to stay on liquids until day 22 after the surgery then go directly to solids. I must say, even with the protein shakes I'm really hungry. I have lost 22 lbs from a beginning weight of 305 lbs. I'm 61 years old and I hope to make these the real golden years with a my lap band helping me to lose weight and feel so much better. Could someone tell me how to add those little weight loss logos to the the bottom of the post?? I also added a post to the complications forum about a small problem I'm having with the port site. If anyone else is having the same let me know. It would ease my mind. Congratulations to all us July banders and happy losing!!

Hi, I will be banded by Dr. Ortiz on July 13. I'm excited, scared, happy and apprehensive all at once. I may see you there!! Good luck! By the way this is my first post, though I've been reading the forum for some time while I made up my mind about the band.