Lois_Horan

I have found that lap band surgery immediate removed so much stress from my life. Aside from the fact that I can't eat a lot, it taught me to relax and eat slowly, chew thoroughly and to sip, not gulp. As a result, I learned to relax. I've always been a fast eater. No more. And in learning to relax, I learned what made my body feel better. I gave up meat almost immediately--even chicken. I eat fish, vegetables and fruits. I have eaten some sweets but find that my body really doesn't like the sweets, fats or lactose. I feel calm, not stressed out or edgy. I lost my taste for coffee but love tea. If I were to take a bite of junk food, the minute I'd put it in my mouth to savor the flavor, I have to spit it out because I know it will not agree with my stomach. I've met other lap banders who still eat junk--even in small amounts and they don't lose the weight and have problems with their band. The band is a tool, not the magic answer. Treat it wisely and your life will change for the better.

I had my lap band procedure on October 2, 2006. I started out at 282 and today I am 168. I've lost a total of 114 lbs! For the first time in my life my cholesterol is in a healthy normal range. I am off the heavy duty heart medications (I had a quadruple bypass in '99 and an ICD implant in '03). My life has been given back to me. I am in tune with my body more than I have ever been in my life. I love the way I am eating. I gave up meat and have fish, fresh fruit and vegetables. I juice a lot and make fresh soups. It took me a while to learn to sip water because I realize that I was a guzzler before. I don't really want to lose any more weight but for my height, age and activity the charts say I should be 155. I don't know. I have to talk with my doctors. I never thought I would be saying "I don't want to lose any more weight." Gosh, life is good! Thank you Dr. George Fielding of New York University Medical Center :thumbup:and your team for the procedure and your wonderful staff for getting me on this wonderful journey.

I had my surgery on Monday, October 2, 2006. My starting weight before the surgery was 282. When I had my first pre-op visit on October 13th I weighed in at 264. I am now 261. My recuperation was very good. I had to stay home that week, which was good because, after all, I did have major surgery and had to rest. Two days after the surgery my abdomen felt like I had done 100 situps at the gym but I only had to take Alleve and by the following weekend I felt much stronger. I had to withdraw from my Italian class because I missed too many classes with pre-op appointments and the recuperation but my health is more important. The best part is that my clothes are now getting looser. My winter coat is too big for me already but I'm waiting a bit before I start buying new clothes. I have to be careful with beef, of course. I was warned about that. I am on mashed food now and Monday night made a small turkey meat loaf with string beans and mashed potatoes. I made five meals out of it and simply put it in the microwave for supper. I love soups so I make low fat higher protein soups and use my immersion blender to smooth them out. However, my stomach this morning is doing a symphony. My nurse said that is a result of the surgery. I'm trying more protein for breakfast. I had eggs twice this week. I would make a protein shake but the weather is cold this week I need something warm. This morning I had 1/2 C low fat broccoli soup and a poached egg for breakfast. Still, my stomach was doing an aria at 10:00 a.m. Oh well, I'll figure something out. This is heaven compared to my health before the surgery. My facial bones are showing once again. I've lost one and a half of my three chins.

I had my surgery on Monday, October 2, 2006. My starting weight before the surgery was 282. When I had my first pre-op visit on October 13th I weighed in at 264. I am now 261. My recuperation was very good. I had to stay home that week, which was good because, after all, I did have major surgery and had to rest. Two days after the surgery my abdomen felt like I had done 100 situps at the gym but I only had to take Alleve and by the following weekend I felt much stronger. I had to withdraw from my Italian class because I missed too many classes with pre-op appointments and the recuperation but my health is more important. The best part is that my clothes are now getting looser. My winter coat is too big for me already but I'm waiting a bit before I start buying new clothes. I have to be careful with beef, of course. I was warned about that. I am on mashed food now and Monday night made a small turkey meat loaf with string beans and mashed potatoes. I made five meals out of it and simply put it in the microwave for supper. I love soups so I make low fat higher protein soups and use my immersion blender to smooth them out. However, my stomach this morning is doing a symphony. My nurse said that is a result of the surgery. I'm trying more protein for breakfast. I had eggs twice this week. I would make a protein shake but the weather is cold this week I need something warm. This morning I had 1/2 C low fat broccoli soup and a poached egg for breakfast. Still, my stomach was doing an aria at 10:00 a.m. Oh well, I'll figure something out. This is heaven compared to my health before the surgery. My facial bones are showing once again. I've lost one and a half of my three chins.

Sorry it took me a while to answer you Kim. I'm still trying to figure out the bells and whistles of answering threads. Dr. George Field is originally from Australia. He is not only my surgeon but he is also a lapband patient himself. He was the eldest of seven siblings from a well-to-do family in Australia. Every one of his siblings, including his parents were slim and all ate the same food and had the same family activities except that Dr. Fielding took after a relative several generations back who was always heavy. Dr. Fielding believes in the "fat gene". So ten years ago, when the lap band procedure was new, he had his procedure, lost the weight and got off the nine medications he was on and decided to specialize in lap banding. To make a long story short, he came to NYC and met with Dr. Christine Ren, director of the NYU Program for Surgical Weight (she is world reknown in her own right) and he is now also an Associate Professor, Surgery at New York University School of Medicine in Manhattan, NY. My orthopedic surgeon, also at NYU, recommended Dr. Ren and Dr. Fielding to me last April and said they are the best. I went to Dr. Fielding's seminar in June and was blown away. He is on a campaign to alleviate the morbid obesity in the United States. Now what's more, Kim, is if you go to their website: thinforlife.med.nyu.edu you will learn everthing about Drs. Ren and Fielding and their program. In addition, go to the menu for Payment Options. Dr. Fielding raises funds so that people who desperately need the lap banding but have trouble because of insurance, etc. can qualify to get funding for their operations. I highly recommend their program. Their staff are tremendous. In fact, four of the people on his staff have had the lap band procedure. They are healthy, happy and can share in what we are going through. Their surgical staff are top notch. I must tell you that I feel great and am finally on the way to the light of my deep dark abyss of just waiting to die because of the weight gain, high blood pressure, heavy doses of the "witch's brew" of medications and side effects and inactivity.

:clap2: Hi Everybody, I got my lap band last Monday, October 2nd. The operation, done by my doctor, Dr. George Fielding, at NYU Medical Center, went very well. I am so pleased. I finally see a bright light at the end of my very dark tunnel. You see, my journey started ten years when I suffered a comminuted fracture of my left ankle in a boating accident. In other words, it was crushed and required five operations to reconstruct it. The first thing my orthopedic surgeon said was, "Lois, you're going to put on a lot of weight because you are going to be in a wheelchair for a long time while we try to save and reconstruct your leg." Always being active, I had no idea how much weight he meant. Oh, I also had a "silent" heart attack the year before and had already been gaining weight because I wasn't feeling well enough to hike as I used to. So in one year I put on at least 40-50 pounds because I wasn't doing the cooking. And it kept on coming on. Then in 8/99 I had a quad bypass. The bypass was scary but a piece of cake. Really. At cardiac rehab six months later I was working out beautifully but slowly kept gaining weight in spite of belonging to Weight Watchers and various other diets. Eventually I was working out with a trainer four times a week getting stronger but not losing weight. Then in 2003 I had an implantable cardiac defibrulator put into me and came out of the hospital with a "goody bag" of nine medications. That was my downfall. I couldn't work out as I did before the implant and it's been a losing battle ever since with the side effects of weight gain from the medications. Then, last April, my orthopedic surgeon recommended the NYU Surgical Weight Loss Program. I went to Dr. Fielding's seminar where he is not only a surgeon but he is also a patient. I was blown away. I immediately called my insurance company, Oxford Freedom Select, and found out they covered the surgery. I did the pre-equisite psychological testing and met with the nutritionist and finally, Dr. Fielding. The surgery, only a week ago, has changed me in so many ways emotionally. I don't feel as I am in a bottomless hole any more. I am not waiting to die. I have been so inactive because of my high blood pressure and do not feel helpless any more. I listened to his great support team and took it easy last week and did not lift anything heavy, just rested. I must tell you that two days after the surgery I woke up feeling like I had done 100 situps at the gym but I took Aleve and soon I was fine. I realize that I have to sip my Water, not gulp. A couple of times I forgot and felt the pressure because I drank too much at one time. I'm learning to listen to my body. I'm on the thin liquid diet and then after the esophagram this coming Friday and doctor's visit I guess I will progress to the next stage, pureed foods. I got the cookbook for recipes for people after weight loss surgery and it is so helpful. I made a great Bengali chicken Soup and pureed it and thinned it out and it is very satisfying. I highly recommend this procedure to everyone facing "surgical intervention" for their weight problems. I started out on the pre-op liquid diet at 282 and went into surgery at 272. I want to get to the weight the doctor's say is right for me, which the psychologist said, would be 190. I don't want to be skinny. Gee whiz, I'm 63 but I want to live another 20 years. God willing. I just want my blood workups to come out healthy. I want to be able to ride a bike and go swimming once again. P.S. You won't believe what just happened in my office. Someone just brought in a plate of lunch from a faculty meeting for me. I threw it in the garbage. I'm not even saving it to take home to my husband after work. Oh well, this won't be last time that will be happening. Get used to it.