vickyd

My first (and only) fill was 5cc. When I left the office I was really thinking that I had probably made a mistake in letting her put in that much but as it turns out it was the perfect amount

Vickyd checking in at 264.2 - down 2.2 lbs

Being tight in the morning is very common. Try drinking something warm before you try to eat anything...coffee, hot tea, even warm water can help relax the band enough to allow you to have some breakfast. You may find that even with the warm liquids you have to stick with yogurt or a protein drink in the morning...some people are just that tight...

Like everyone has said, it's different for everyone. For me, if I am below 1,000 then I won't lose at all regardless of how much exercise I do. I try to keep my calories between 1,000-1,100

Woo Hoo!!! That is awesome!!!!

Thanks

Another thing that works for me is a crunchy taco from taco bell...I don't normally have issues with bread but I find that the crunchy tacos are less likely to get stuck than the soft ones and their website has nutritional info. Or you could try the grilled chicken from KFC...

Melody~It sounds like you have a great PCP (even if you don't like her advice ). I am looking for a new one now and hope I can find one like yours. Denise~Hang in there! I'm sure you are stressed to the max right now. I hope things get better... I had a wonderful visit with my surgeon's office today (4 month post op). The PA who I see was over the moon at how well I am doing and told me that she would love for me to talk to some lap band patients who are struggling...I told her I would be happy to do it (I am glad to have the opportunity to pay it forward). As we were walking out of the room, we ran into my surgeon and she showed him my numbers and said I was the "model lap band patient". He looked at them, smiled and said "can we clone her?" This just made my day ...

I was doing protein shakes for breakfast because they are fast and easy but lately I have been having 1/2 cup egg beaters, 2% american cheese and turkey sausage crumbles.

LOL! I'm right there with you...I told my DH the other day that my body was starting to look like a melting candle...everything is sagging...and we won't even talk about the "girls"...

It is very normal to be sore for a while after surgery. You need to call your surgeon and request liquid pain meds. If they won't call in a prescription for you (although I would be shocked if they wont) you can also try OTC liquid pain meds - Liquid Tylenol was recalled but CVS has a store brand that works well. Also, try using a heating pad on your stomach off and on throughout the day. That really helped me with the muscular pain. A little seepage from your incisions is normal...I wouldn't worry about that unless it gets a lot worse. Rest as much as you can, don't forget to sip on fluids throughout the day and walk around as much as you feel up to (it will help with the post-surgery gas)...I hope you feel better soon!

Spring Fever Challenge Weigh In When you report your weight on Friday, please include both your pounds lost and new weight so that I can make sure it is entered accurately on the spreadsheet. Saraboo~can you please provide an updated goal weight? The one you put in your post was the same as your current weight...

I wish it was all about calories in/calories out but it isn't that simple...if you go back and read old posts you will find that there isn't one magic formula that will make the weight come off faster. Some people can do it on 600 calories a day but most can't. Personally, if I take in less than 1,000 calories per day I don't lose regardless of how much exercise I do...some people have to keep their intake around 1,200, it really depends on the person. For me, the first couple of months after being banded was all about trying to figure out how to make my band work for me. I slowly tweaked my calories/protein/carbs to try to determine what combination worked best and now that I have found that level I can honestly say that it works well 90% of the time but there are still weeks where I will do everything I am supposed to do and not lose. Yes, it is frustrating but that is life with the band...

I'm so sorry you are going through this...it's stressful enough to be dealing with a family member who is nearing the end of their life but to have to deal with all of the family drama makes it worse. I can definately relate to the dysfunctional family part...

Thanks, Melody! I've been following your posts too so I'm not sure who's stalking who...

I have been lurking on here for a while, but have never posted... Cocoabean - are you sure the issue you are having is with the state of California? The reason I ask is that we had to get hospice care for my father in law a couple of years ago and the first hospice we contacted said he didn't even qualify for hospice (his doctor said he did and he was bed-ridden but since my husband could pick him up and carry him to a potty chair they said he could get out of bed and didn't qualify)...we ended up contacting another hospice who immediately signed him up and provided wonderful care for him until he passed away a week later. Until that time I thought that all hospices did things the same way...just a thought... Now, I guess I should introduce myself...LOL... My name is Vicky and I am a 45 year old mother of two boys (20 and 13). My DH, youngest son and I live in New Orleans (my oldest is in college in Atlanta) and I was banded on December 2, 2010. So far, I have lost 58 lbs (including the 10 lbs I lost during the pre-op diet). I have enjoyed reading all of your threads and look forward to participating...

I was afraid you would all say to see my PCP...I HATE seeing my PCP (he's a real jerk)...I guess this will be the push I need to find a new PCP...

My biggest complaint about the show was the way they showed what the two women were eating...The one woman who showed 5 spoons of yogurt, broth and pudding...give me a break! She wasn't right out of surgery so if that is all she eats then she isn't getting in much Protein at all and is most likely way too tight because it was all sliders. The other woman's food was a little better but still not much protein. I was happy to see him give a fairly accurate view of the pros and cons and I didn't feel like he was trying to push his opinion on anyone. I'm not opposed to people with lower BMIs getting the surgery as long as they have co-morbidities...I certainly wish that I hadn't waited until I reached 325 to get it done...

My surgeon's office had an insurance coordinator who met with me to go over what needed to be done in order to get approval from my insurance company. Once all of that info was gathered, they submitted the paperwork and then let me know when my approval came in (I think it took about 2 weeks). At that point, I was given a surgery date and scheduled for an upper GI and bloodwork...the upper GI showed some reflux issues so I also had to have an Endoscopy. Once the testing was all done, I had to meet one more time with the NUT and my surgeon and then I had to get another clearance from my PCP that was dated within 2 weeks of the surgery date. I was given a checklist by my surgeon's office so I was able to keep track of everything that had to be done before surgery...

My NUT doesn't mind if I snack as long as the snacks are high protein. On a normal day, I eat 3 meals a day (3-4 oz protein, 1/2 cup veggies) plus 1 snack (usually string cheese, babybel cheese, turkey rollup with laughing cow or greek yogurt). I do track my daily calories because I don't lose if I'm under 1,000 calories per day and if I don't track it I do have a tendency to be in the 800-900 calorie range. There are some days when I make myself have a high protein evening snack to make sure that my calories are where they need to be...I don't like making myself eat if I'm not hungry but I just don't lose anything if I'm under 1,000 so I don't really have a choice...

I was 325 when I started the pre-op diet and 315 when I was banded (I'm 5'6" tall). When I went in for my initial visits with the NUT she suggested that I consider the sleeve because of how much weight I needed to lose. I told her that I had done the research and felt very strongly that lap band was the right procedure for me and they never mentioned the sleeve to me again (I really didn't want any procedure that would involve cutting up my organs and/or re-routing my digestive system). I was banded 4 months ago and have lost almost 59 lbs (including the 10 lbs I lost during the pre-op diet) and now when I go in for my monthly check ups I am told that I am a model lap band patient...my portion sizes and food selections are perfect according to the NUT (I bring copies of my food journals with me when I go in)...and I am very happy with my progress. I think if you are motivated, you will do just fine with the band...you just need to understand that it will take more time to lose the weight than you would with bypass or sleeve and be willing to do the work. Good Luck!

Hi Everyone! First of all, things went well this weekend. As it turns out, we didn't even end up running into my husband's co-workers at the function this weekend so I guess I was worried for nothing. I know I will eventually see them again but since the cat is out of the bag I just will have to make the best of it. My husband and I had a real heart to heart talk on Friday night so now he understands exactly how I feel about what he did and although I am not happy that he disregarded my feelings I have accepted it and will move on... Purpleshell, I can definately relate to what you are saying about feeling bad about not being open about being banded and about it being too late to tell people...that is part of what was upsetting me about my husband telling his co-workers. They know I had surgery (because he took the day off) and up until this point I just told them I was having some stomach issues and the surgery was to correct them...not entirely a lie but now that they know I feel like they will look at me as a big liar. When I was first banded, my thought was that I wasn't going to tell anyone that I didn't have to tell (I have some VERY judgemental people in my family and it is hard to justify telling some family members and not others. I haven't even told my Dad because the judgemental people are on his side of the family and he is not the type of person to keep secrets). My intention was that if someone asked me directly if I had WLS then I wouldn't lie about it but I wouldn't volunteer the information. Now, that I have lost quite a bit of weight and it is very noticeable, I am starting to feel guilty about not being up front about it (especially with people who could potentially benefit from the same procedure). In the end, I know I made the right decision (for me) to not tell everyone and I am just going to have to deal with the occaisional guilt I feel about it.

I was banded on December 2nd and I have lost 58 lbs including the 10 lbs I lost during my pre-op diet. I am doing a good job with my food choices and quantities but I really need to do a better job of exercising. I get in an hour 3 times a week if I'm lucky but I really need to join a gym and get my butt in gear.

I think I have moved away from being mad and am now just very hurt. I think that one of the things that hurts the most (besides the disregard for my wishes) is that he honestly doesn't realize how much he hurt me. He knows how much I struggled with whether or not to be public with this and he know why I made the decision I did (with the support of my therapist who told me that he didn't think I needed to tell anyone if I don't want to because It really isn't anyone else's business). If he had asked me, I might have told him it was ok to tell a select couple of people but the fact that I wasn't given a choice in the matter really hurts. As far as the work function goes, I can't get out of it (tickets have already been purchased) but it is a sporting event so luckily I won't have to sit there all night and make conversation and I don't think anyone has made plans to go out for dinner (so at least I don't have to worry about everyone analyzing every bite I put in my mouth)...I am just going to go on as I normally would (ignoring the elephant under the carpet) unless someone asks me anything specific. If they comment that I look good, I will just say "Thank you, I am working hard at it", but I will stick to the plan I have had from the time I decided to have surgery...if someone asks me directly about the band, I won't lie about it.

Name, real or screen~vickyd Age~45 Weight on April1st~266.4 Goal Weight for April 29th~255 Exercise Goal for April~Exercise 5 times per week Dietary Goal for April~Keep carbs under 30 per day Personal Goal for April~Live an active lifestyle Date Banded~12/2/10 Total Weight Loss Since Banding~58.6 lbs