Melinco

Have any of you who are doing a high Protein / low carb pre-op diet with solid foods noticed that the higher the level of protein, the more fat you intake? I'm not a big fish eater, although I will eat tilapia with no problems, but even if I trim the fat off a pork loin or a steak, or even have a boneless skinless chicken breast, while great in protein, it still has quite a bit of fat. Do any of you find a problem with this? Does your liver still shrink despite the increased intake in fat? Or is it all related to your carb levels? My dietician told me to aim for about 150 grams of carbs a day and 105 grams of protein a day. Does the carb level seem high to you? I'm getting most of my carbs in the way of a piece of fruit, veggies, and one day I did have Pasta, but I haven't had any bread since last Tuesday. I guess my surgeon doesn't want me to do any protein supplements at all.

Hi all, It's been a while since I've been to lapbandtalk. The layout has changed. I'm holding at a plateau since about July, right about 221 pounds. I just got an adjustment today so I'm hoping that will help things along. Friday is my 1st bandiversary. Hope everyone is well.

Have you tried calling your insurance company and asking for their help with this? Ask for a case manager and let him/her know what is going on and what it is that you are running up against. They should be able to help you locate a doctor who can help you. Good luck!

Whether you sell your old clothes or give them away, be sure to keep at least one pair of pants and a shirt or dress so you can use it as a "before" reminder. I kept one of my size 26W jeans, and held it up yesterday, and oh, what a difference! I'm now into a 14W slacks and while I have been stuck at the same weight for two months now, this is a great reminder of how well I've done so far. In fact, even though my weight has not changed, I've lost another size, going from 16W to 14W! I've tried to buy new clothes every other size, but since by 16W were so baggy in the butt and thighs, I went ahead and got the 14Ws. Even I can really see the difference now when I'm dressed. Naked? Not so much. Still same shape so it is harder to visualize without any clothing.

Jen, have they tested your tubes to make sure they are truly clear? Have they done the HSG? Also, what about the health of your eggs? I too am 39 and unfortunately, getting pregnant with my own eggs is not going to happen. We will have to pursue donor eggs or embryos in order to get pregnant. Good luck with your journey!

According to Midol - for Relief of your Menstrual Symptoms, Midol has ibuprofen in it, which my surgeon and other surgeons have said is a no no post band.

How terribly sad. My thoughts and prayers are with her husband and family.

I got the lapband in order to become pregnant, but using donor eggs/embryos, not my own, as I have diminished ovarian reserve. In order to minimize complications during pregnancy caused by being morbidly obese, both my RE and OB suggested lapband. So far, I've lost 75 pounds. The thing is, I'm still 39 years old. I still have DOR. The chances of me becoming pregnant, accidentally, are slim to none. Buy my not becoming pregnant has nothing to do with my weight. And, BTW, my periods have been regular, like clockwork, even at my highest weight. My REs (I've had two) were in shock that my periods were regular, but alas, they are. As far as not feeling a pregnancy, if your placenta is attached to the front of the uterus, it is quite possible you would never feel a kick. And if you have always had a big belly, depending on how much weight you need to lose, that belly may take a while to shrink, and if you got pregnant and had the forward facing placenta, you may not know, especially if you never got a period (because the first time you finally ovulated you had perfectly timed sex and voila! your egg fertilized and implanted). While I didn't watch the particular episode the original poster is referring to, it is quite possible the surgeon did mention the use of birth control but his patient either didn't hear him (how many of us have so many questions running through our heads that we sometimes miss what the surgeon is saying) or she refuses to acknowledge that he did tell her, thus not taking responsibility for her situation. Regardless, I really don't see how a female patient in her child bearing years, who has done any amount of research into WLS, cannot NOT know that her fertility may increase as she loses weight.

That's great! Whatever we must do to get in our exercise, we have to do it. I'm hoping this does it for you! Let us know how you like it.

Also, there were a couple of you who mentioned you don't like to wear tampons because you pee a lot. What does that have to do with the tampons? If inserted properly, there is no reason you should have to remove them when either urinating or having a bowel movement. I'll admit that there have been times when pushing to have a BM that my tampon has slipped a bit, but I just push it right back up in there with my finger. I don't take it out and reinsert a new one, unless of course it's time to.

Okay, so for those re-usable cup users, how do you clean them when you are in a public bathroom (i.e. stalls)? Do you wipe them out with TP? Do you rush to the sink and rinse them out? I'm assuming you wouldn't dunk them in the toilet bowl. I'm in the US and have heard before about the Insteads, but need more details on how exactly you use them and maintain them during your period. Also, did you ever have issues with putting them in or taking them out at your higher weights? I'm hoping this won't be an issue since I've lost 75 pounds, but need to be realistic about them. Thanks for your help. BTW, I'm a tampon user with panty liners. No thick pads for me!

One thing to consider is have your feet shrunk? A person could have a very thick fat pad at the bottom of their feet, and as they lose weight, that fat pad shrinks as well as the rest of the body. I'm not sure if this would account for a loss of 1.5 inches, but it's possible. Have you noticed your shoes getting looser or going down a shoe size?

So far, for me, no. However, I have old eggs (officially called diminished ovarian reserve). Unless a miracle happens, I won't get pregnant on my own, even after I lose all my weight, unless I use donor eggs or donor embryos. Some women will get KU'd, if their only issue was their excess weight was keeping them from having regular cycles. Once their cycles start back up, they become fertile again. Others who have PCOS will still need some help with getting KU'd. One gal from Australia who got banded a couple years ago just delivered her baby that she conceived using donor eggs from Thailand. If you PM me, I can give you her blog address. But yes, it can happen, but it all depends on what is the cause of your infertility in the first place.

Your local Kroger grocery store (like King Soopers, Dillons, City Market, etc.) carries CARBMaster yogurt. A small container has 12 g Protein, 1.5 g fat, 3 g carbs, and it's priced between $0.33 and $0.50, depending on whether you can catch it on sale or not. It tastes, in my opinion, so much better than greek yogurt. Each morning for breakfast, I have one of those and a light cheese stick, and get a total of 20 g protein.

My surgeon okays coffee, even with real cream. He says he drinks coffee and understands the need for it, and doesn't poo poo it. I usually drink two cups a day in the morning, sometimes three if it's a rough day. I'll have iced tea in the afternoon, sometimes. But I also get in all of my water, and my meals. I usually will drink my coffee before I eat my breakfast. If I need that extra cup, I have it around 10 am, which is usually an hour after I've eaten breakfast. I was never told to go decaf. As usual, follow your doctor's guidelines.

I live at an altitude of about 4700 feet, and just went camping this weekend at Eleven Mile in Colorado. It's altitude is 8,600 feet. I didn't have any issues with being tighter. We've also camped at O'Haver near Salida CO and no issues either at 9,131 feet. I think, just like anything with the band, it reacts differently in each person in different settings.

What my surgeon said was if I can eat it with a fork, it's okay, but no spoons. I make a really thick chili, and I do eat it with a spoon, but that's so I don't drip it on my chest. I haven't made a stew yet (still too warm for it), but I'd think if it were thick, it would be okay, or if it isn't thick, just eat the stuff out of it (veggies and meat) and leave the liquid behind.

If they have good notes in your medical file with how much you currently have in your band, they should be able to take all the Fluid out, see how much is there compared to what's noted, and determine if you've got a leak or not. I also feel like I don't have much if any restriction with my latest fill. I wonder if this just happens sometimes.

You should discuss with your anesthesiologist the experiences you had with your previous surgery, so that he is aware of what happened. He may even want to pull your files, read through them, so he can take proper precautions for your lap band surgery. The better informed your anesthesiologist is of your past responses to surgery, the better prepared he can be for this surgery.

My surgeon said I can drink up until I take my first bite. Then wait 60 minutes after eating before I drink again. The longer you can wait after you eat before taking your first drink, the better. But, just be careful, because sometimes your thirst after you eat can be masked as hunger, so definitely try drinking to satisfy yourself before taking another bite.

If you use Google Reader to track all your blogs, you can copy her URL and paste it in the Add Subscriptions link. Or, you can paste her link to your side bar in your blog, like a blog roll. If there is a will, there is a way!

The last couple of times I went in for a fill, the surgeon was having a hard time sticking the port. What helped was for me to do a mini-crunch. I just basically lifted my head up off the pillow a couple of inches, and WHAM! He stuck it. Perhaps she should try that. BTW, I am going to remember to crunch again from the get go for my next fill as I had forgotten we did that before.

Congrats on being banded! My blog is below. When you take a look at it, on the left hand side is a blog list of quite a few of the bandster blogs I follow (many of them very popular, such as Catherine, AmyW, MrsFatass, etc.). You'll also see on the right a list of infertility blogs that I follow, as I suffer from infertility, thus the reason I got the band in the first place, so we can try using donor eggs or donor embryos. Losing the extra weight will lessen the risk of being morbidly obese during the pregnancy.

I'm assuming you're a guy. Depending on how much weight you lose, and exactly where the port is placed, eventually you may see a bump where it is. Some may notice it, others not. I can feel mine, and have been able since the surgery, but at this point, it isn't visibly noticable, not that I go around walking without shirts or anything. Once the incision is completely healed, you shouldn't have to worry about it becoming infected. Not to say that something weird may happen (as it seems that there is always a story about someone's cousin's brother's aunt's friend's daughter whose port became infected). I know when my surgeon does my fills, he always disinfects the area first before sticking the needles in (one is a pain med the other the fill needle). You should be good!

I hope your surgery went well today. Here's to a full and quick recovery.