Lap_dancer

I've got my magic card here that Natalie gave me last visit. I'm reposting it. Give her a call and bounce your eating situation off her. Ask what she thinks. I found her to really be resourceful (and a tad bit more helpful than the nutritionist) I think because she has been there, walked our walk, she knows. Having her talk to me about the sweet spot and what good restriction SHOULD feel like really helped. Here is the information again: Get into the Lap-Band GREEN ZONE :phanvanADD FLUID if you are: Hungry (often) Big Meals (can eat) Looking for food ( always looking for food/noshing) Optimal Zone GREEN:whoo: Early and prolonged satiety Small meals satisfy Satisfactory weight loss or maintenance :cry REDUCE FLUID Difficulty swallowing Reflux-heartburn Night cough Regurgitation (PB) Poor eating habits Natalie has small cards that fit in your purse or wallet/planner. Ask for one.

@ Steph...YER SIGGY IS HYNOTIC (smiles) I am a grammer freak. .................... Yes, once an overeater always an overeater. I did headwork with a therapist, joined OA and am working the 12 steps. Restriction is using the band is a tool. So is therapy.

Hi friends!! Shout out again to LA from the other thread. Great to meet you here. Mal! Darlin! Howrya?? The walk went great. I took big Ed, my dog. He loves me. We walked for 12 minutes and the weather was just fine. I'm getting ready to go for another walk around the cul-de-sac just to MOVE today. I am sooo psyched! I lost what I had gained during Christmas and then some. Getting ready to start my ticker again. Now it is becoming about the numbers. My 25th anniversary is in May, I want to be in my 270's by then. It will be over one year and by then 100 pounds if I hit that goal. YEEEAH! I'm in my twenties..as in 320's. Now for someone who weighed 379 you can imagine how good this is looking. I'm tellin' ya'll I am at the sweet spot for sure. PERFECT restriction. Happy days ahead. Here we all go down!

I have the Inamed and my incision is exactly 2.5 inches.

Folks this sounds DIVINE! Spa treatments! wow. Maybe the next one. I've got a grandbaby on the way!!!

Shout out to L.A. Dr. K is AWESOME. Say hello to Natalie for me and give Marilyn and Mary a hug! Best to you at Crowne. ......................................... Sunshine..to answer your question has anyone had that experience YES! ME! I specifically did not want anyone to know. I told the three women I work with because I would be going to Colorado and out of work for about two weeks. They were not the problem MY FAMILY WAS. I told my step father with instructions not to tell my mother because my mother quite honestly cannot keep a secret. He did not keep his word but told her. Of course she told my sister who told my nieces who told...and so I learned then that from this moment on, no matter how much I lost, and trust me Sunshine..that question will be asked over and over...my response is, " I know, I'm feeling so great but I don't weigh myself" which is partly the truth. Bottom line is it is your business. I think most all of us have issues with being judged by appearance and already have a leg up on privacy. It just feels invasive to have people ASK about this sensative issue. So that is how I handle it and my pat answer to how much I have lost is..." I know I feel great right? But I don't really weigh myself so I'm not sure". At that moment it is more than likely the truth. Because we are losing weight, if we do not weigh ourselves daily, we do not know! Patty

Tampa Bay!!!! ((grins))

KAT this was cute. Thanks. It made me smile.

I just read the rest of your posts. first...let me add this REPEATED POST from two other threads...wow, seems restriction is a hot topic this past week. Hope this helps: I got this card from Natalie at Dr. Kirshenbaum's office. I will retype it for the benefit of those who were and are where I was before my last fill: Get into the Lap-Band Green Zone ADD Fluid When: You appear to always feel hungry You are able to eat big meals You are 'looking for food' SUB-OPTIMAL WEIGHT LOSS GREEN ZONE The Optimal Zone and what you target for You have early and prolonged satiety -you feel satisfied earlier at mealtime and that fullness sticks with you for a good while. Small meals satisfy Satisfactory weight loss or maintenance OPTIMAL WEIGHT LOSS Reduce Fluid Difficulty swallowing Reflux-Heartburn Night Cough Regurgitatioin Poor Eating Behavior SUB-OPTIMAL WEIGHTLOSS .................................................. I hope this helps. It took me three fills to finally hit the zone. This "sweet spot" as it is known, is a lovely place to be. Mind you I have retrained myself to chew slowly, eat slowly, no liquids at meal time ( I will have the occasional room temperature drink of Water to cleanse the pallette). The band goes hand in hand with rechanging eating patterns (habits..event the bad ones) that we've developed over the years. ........................................................................ I am 48 as of Dec. 28th. I am married to my wonderfully handsome husband for 25 years this May. We have two children both grown with one still at home. We are expecting our first grandchild in July!!!

GREETNGS!!! 48 is great here! I'm Patty. Nice to meet you all.

Hello friends! I started out at 379 and if I recall my weight at surgery was around 358. I have posted this message several times and it still is in my "CTRL=C" operation on my computer..I'll paste it below. It's about restriction. The only time I belch is when I have eaten too fast or gulped air/had some liquid with dinner. I backed off doing that. Certain foods will trigger a belching episode but it doesn't last beyond a few. I got this card from Natalie at Dr. Kirshenbaum's office. I will retype it for the benefit of those who were and are where I was before my last fill: Get into the Lap-Band Green Zone ADD Fluid When: You appear to always feel hungry You are able to eat big meals You are 'looking for food' SUB-OPTIMAL WEIGHT LOSS GREEN ZONE The Optimal Zone and what you target for You have early and prolonged satiety -you feel satisfied earlier at mealtime and that fullness sticks with you for a good while. Small meals satisfy Satisfactory weight loss or maintenance OPTIMAL WEIGHT LOSS Reduce Fluid Difficulty swallowing Reflux-Heartburn Night Cough Regurgitatioin Poor Eating Behavior SUB-OPTIMAL WEIGHTLOSS .................................................. I hope this helps. It took me three fills to finally hit the zone. This "sweet spot" as it is known, is a lovely place to be. Mind you I have retrained myself to chew slowly, eat slowly, no liquids at meal time ( I will have the occasional room temperature drink of Water to cleanse the pallette). The band goes hand in hand with rechanging eating patterns (habits..event the bad ones) that we've developed over the years.

This is my repost from another thread. Hope it helps: I got this card from Natalie at Dr. Kirshenbaum's office. I will retype it for the benefit of those who were and are where I was before my last fill: Get into the Lap-Band Green Zone ADD Fluid When: You appear to always feel hungry You are able to eat big meals You are 'looking for food' SUB-OPTIMAL WEIGHT LOSS GREEN ZONE The Optimal Zone and what you target for You have early and prolonged satiety -you feel satisfied earlier at mealtime and that fullness sticks with you for a good while. Small meals satisfy Satisfactory weight loss or maintenance OPTIMAL WEIGHT LOSS Reduce Fluid Difficulty swallowing Reflux-Heartburn Night Cough Regurgitatioin Poor Eating Behavior SUB-OPTIMAL WEIGHTLOSS .................................................. I hope this helps. It took me three fills to finally hit the zone. This "sweet spot" as it is known, is a lovely place to be. Mind you I have retrained myself to chew slowly, eat slowly, no liquids at meal time ( I will have the occasional room temperature drink of Water to cleanse the pallette). The band goes hand in hand with rechanging eating patterns (habits..event the bad ones) that we've developed over the years.

My band scar is keloid while the lap scars did not. My plan is..after I have the skin removal surgery, I'll see what's there to work with and probably..maybe...have it tattooed.

Mamajava you are just post-op so that soreness is to be expected. Yes..it does go away. I can suggest going easy on the liquids and make sure...make sure..make sure...that they are room temp. Cold temps can cause your system to contract (ouch) and drink sloooooow.

Hi Sherri...welcome to Lap Band Talk. Congratulations on getting banded Thursday. Remember when you had your kids? This surgery is a piece of cake compared to that. ( I've got two and my first one got "stuck"..with that big head of hers in my pelvic bones so I had a c-section after 36 hours of labor)...like I said, piece of cake. The great thing about anesthesia these days is it has progressed from how things use to be. Much safer. So think of it like you are getting a paid NAP. You'll wake up and personally, I didn't feel anything but a bit sore. I was just sleepy. Nothing a couple of days of napping didn't cure. Now for the WHY you want the surgery and are opting for it (instead of the normal being told you require surgery)... you do it so you do not get sicker from health complications of being obese. You do it so you can live longer for yourself and for your kids...dance at their wedding. I did it because I had tried everything else and topped the scales at 379. I wish you all the best on Thursday. You will wake up with a new life ahead of you and I wish for you the same feelings that I had...a new sense of HOPE for my future! Patty

To CrackedPepper: I think you "get" that so many people have said no eating past a certain time the night before surgery and yes, it is because aspiration caused by the anesthesia. * I am one of those folks who does get sick and does throw-up from it* so I always tell the anesthesiologist that I do get nauseated. There is something they can give you before surgery to help with that and liquid Anti-nausea worked like a charm for me when I got home. I am banded since April 17th and weighed in at around 360 at the time of my surgery. I did do a pre-op diet, I was very good, I did eat solids but it was healthy, grilled chicken and salads type things...low fat. The idea is to shrink the liver. *even though I did well prior to my surgery, my liver was still large and floppy..yes it shrank but the doctor said it was floppy* He got my band in and doggone it got that stitch in there too. No problems. I hope that no one is afraid to call their doctor. The first surgeon I went to locally actually made me afraid and told me if my husband did not agree with the surgery he would not do it (that should have been a sign to me) As it is, I ended up self pay with a grand doctor. Best wishes to you.

FYI to those of us in the states...Her doctor is presenting in Miami at U of M's Baker-Gordon Symposium. SEMINAR SITE HYATT REGENCY HOTEL 400 S. E. 2nd Avenue, Miami in the Ashe Auditorium Thursday, February 7, 2008Friday, February 8, 2008Saturday, February 9, 2008 Founders After having such an awesome experience leaving my home state and thinking OUTSIDE THE BOX, this journey had been so positive. I am not beyond traveling outside my area for post-band surgery to get rid of all the extra skin (stomach). Oh to feel my hip bones again. I'm really going for it now adding excercise to the drill. Thanks for sharing this!!

This will be a long post because I get that (ding ding ding) in my head that there is a time to post "the list". I got this card from Natalie at Dr. Kirshenbaum's office. I will retype it for the benefit of those who were and are where I was before my last fill: Get into the Lap-Band Green Zone ADD Fluid :cry When: You appear to always feel hungry You are able to eat big meals You are 'looking for food' SUB-OPTIMAL WEIGHT LOSS GREEN ZONE The Optimal Zone and what you target for You have early and prolonged satiety -you feel satisfied earlier at mealtime and that fullness sticks with you for a good while. Small meals satisfy Satisfactory weight loss or maintenance OPTIMAL WEIGHT LOSS Reduce Fluid :guess Difficulty swallowing Reflux-Heartburn Night Cough Regurgitatioin Poor Eating Behavior SUB-OPTIMAL WEIGHTLOSS .................................................. I hope this helps. It took me three fills to finally hit the zone. This "sweet spot" as it is known, is a lovely place to be. Mind you I have retrained myself to chew slowly, eat slowly, no liquids at meal time ( I will have the occasional room temperature drink of Water to cleanse the pallette). The band goes hand in hand with rechanging eating patterns (habits..event the bad ones) that we've developed over the years. If you still find you are struggling, you may benefit from doing some 'headwork'. I found the need to do this because my eating was based on emotion and some deep level of pain where I used food to cope. Removing the ability to eat away my troubles created new ones that a therapist helped me get through. These are all tools, just like the band. Tools to help us reach our goals.

Call the office and leave a message to have the doctor call you at his convenience. They will almost do a blood letting to get you to spill what you want to talk about....your response? " it's confidential". I've yet to have a doctor NOT call me back at the end of their day or in between patients ( and Dr. Kirshenbaum...you ROCK at calling back your patients!!!) ...anyway, do that. You'll get action. Meanwhile...seamstress baby! Seamstress. Most drycleaners have them or word of mouth. Just a little let out of the ones you can salvage otherwise save them until after your surgery. More to look forward to.* *I'm a big believer in synchronicity. Events that happen may appear to be for one reason but in the end, they come together for a different purpose and it tends to be for the greater good for those who hold life to a higher standard. Hope this helps.

Tracy Tracy Tracy! How goes it girl? Loooooong time aye? I tend to hang out at Dr. K's thread but spreading the love a little and thought to pop in here. You look awesome. So you're getting married? WOW. People are talking up-do, I see you definately with an upsweep, ringlets cascading and pinned with pearl studs. Have you see that look? With a simple veil it's beautiful. Your bones are structured nicely (don't you love hearing BONES, that they can be seen??!!) So definately let them show at the reception. And I'm diggin' that you do your own hair. I color and cut my own because I know precisely the placement of shading that I want. Just go to a Sally's and you'll find all those pretties that you need. I'm so excited for you! I finally hit my sweet spot!! Last visit to Dr. K did the trick. Perfect restriction, not too tight, not too loose. Just enough. Post photos...more...for those who cannot make it to your nuptuals. (and since my daughter ELOPED in July and robbed me of the grand affair, please share as much as you are comfortable with) Hugs, Patty in Florida

Oh for a pool nearby!!! Water walking is my favorite form of exercise but the closest one is a half hour south and $45 a month. No friends have a pool either.

I use to LOVE hot donuts and cold milk. (but I'll pass on the pain the thought of that conjers up ) Wouldn't it be GREAT to wake up thin? (smiles big) I can't wait until I wake up and I'm actually thin again. I'm starting to have skinny dreams. ................. Indiogirl55: Right before I got banded a gym opened up across the street from my house - so I joined - I bought an Ipod - loaded it and went. At first I could barely do a 20 minute mile and I was dead after that mile - but just kept going back - I am now doing 16 or 17 minute mile and for some songs push it to 4.0 (15 minute mile) - I am up to 3 miles most days - some days just 2 miles and everyonce in a while 4 miles (usually on Saturdays) I exercise 4-5 days a week Indiogirl55, I too have a sweaty head when I start picking up the pace. The IPOD new and loaded would be a motivation. I love music. Congrats on the achievement! Wouldn't it be great if most all of us had gyms near our homes? For now I'll have to work with what I have and that is pavement. Thanks for sharing

Everyone it is so interesting to see that most are losing evenly. So am I. You can see my face is thinning and my chins are down to two rather than one HUGE chin. That's where I hear it most from folks, that my face and stomach look so thin. My stomach use to hang very low (and swing when I walked fast)...yeah, nice visual, aye? But it is drawing up and in. It isn't so TIGHT now. I notice it all over.

Greetings all! I just came back from a walk with my dog and I'm SWEATING (see new thread I just started) There are "netiquette" forms for chatrooms. Establishing the netiquette for Lapband may help but there will always be cross talk. What I see as being a successful model is having a topic and a meeting time. For example: At 9 PM EST on TR night, the chatroom will discuss restriction. For the first ten minutes the guest speaker can post a focus...an article... and the group can join in at the end. OR the focus could be on restriction. Keeping in mind that the benefit of the chat is for group support LIVE. **I have to add that one of the highlights of support groups is being able to share with others. (smiling) and yes Jack, you are sooo very charming with your witty expressions of thought, how wonderful to see them LIVE (or are you not as snappy LIVE??) ..grins.

Hi Heather, welcome to the land of the band. Best to you! Patty