thsisme

there are several high protein, low carb protein drinks/shakes out there that will assist you in maintaining low carb. experiment before you get banded so you can find the brand that you can tolerate.

I agree the above posts. i think that this is an individual journey for each one of us and what works for one may not always work for someone else. I do know that the band for me is a combination of behavior modification and portion control. Like some of the posters here. I have no fill and am a year and one month out since being banded. I too hate exercise and still hate exercise, but without it...i probably would not have the weight loss experience that I have been fortunate enough to have and my body is far more toned than it would be without it. (based upon previous weight loss and body shape without exercise). i exercise 5 days / week and follow the rules of hydration. I have to keep myself disciplined to meet my exercise goals. Believe me i still try to talk myself out of doing exercise, but do not give in to myself. at this point in time i am finding that i have to increase my resistance levels. My reward is the weight loss / inches lost. I just finished my first 5k and will complete a 1/2 marathon in Oct. a year ago, i could not have done them, nor would i have even thought of doing them. i am a foodaholic, an emotional eater, if you will. Over the last year, I have and still am learning how to choose the right foods from a menu, how to control my portions during a party or buffet. I am learning to walk away from food at the table. There are tons of tricks to use from having the waiter bag up half of your meal, eating on smaller dishes, to eating before you go to a social event. Being mindful of what i am about to put in my mouth BEFORE i put it there. do i fall off the wagon? You bet I do! The greatest gift that I have learned is to forgive myself, face my fear of potentially being a failure at weight loss and to get right back on that band wagon. My weight loss has slowed considerably, and i could care less because when i started this process, i had the realistic expectation of losing perhaps 1 pound or less per week. i kept my goals realistic and did my research on what to expect including the ugly side of being banded. However, because of the changes that i have made and continue to make in my life i am a healthier person, i have more energy than I could ever imagine and i am grateful. I am lucky and I know it, i still do not feel the hunger sensation and have timed my meals out. i do hear my stomach growl if i go past 6 hours of not eating. I have learned what satiation means to me. The feeling of fullness as i once knew it to be is no longer. could i have done this without the band? my answer is no, i could not. hunger was a big eating motivator for me as well as the bad choices in the food that i ate. do i feel deprived, no, i have taught myself to take a few bites of whatever it is that i am craving, put the spoon or fork down and continue on with my life. i no longer reward myself with food or comfort myself with food. i reward myself with getting up and moving without pain, looking at new pictures of me in wonder (i still am not used to seeing the new me). watching the weekly scale go down or my measurements go down. I am not a failure, I am banded!

as nurses we tend to breathe our food in and keep on moving. We cannot do this anymore! here are some suggestions for you take into consideration. Take some time to log your meals in so that you have an idea of what it is that you are eating and how much you are eating. i was eating far more than I thought i was. I don't know about you, but I thought that I was moving enough in my job...sigh...i was wrong and had to add exercise. started climbing stairs both ways and walking further. Tough to do when you have kids who may not be able to keep up. as a nurse we have access to all the wrong, easy to eat foods. try to preplan with easy prep foods for work. I do all the weighing of the food and pack it in small containers or baggies to take with me at work. Eating at home. or cooking at home. I have found places like skinny taste.com where Gina has re-made several recipes into user friendly break down of calories, carbs, Proteins, etc... primarily for weight watchers, but i find it effective for our needs too. I am not assuming that you have not done these things, just trying to make some suggestions that might work in your hectic life style.

unless there is something in your labs to suggest that you are nutrient deficient, then i would suggest that you go back to what works for you. as we get closer to our goal, the weight will be harder to lose. I would suggest that you look at shaking up your exercise routine too. if you are getting hungry within 2 hours or less of your last meal, perhaps it is time for a fill. as a nurse you know that you sometimes have to go toe to toe with the docs. you advocate for your patients, now advocate for yourself!

I use the crystals and i like them far better than chewables. According to my nut. she states that the Water that I mix it in counts towards my water allotment. here are the good and the bad points: 1) when mixed with room temp water it can be grainy. i have found that if you chill it for 1 hour most of the graininess goes away. or mix with cold water. 2) it does settle in the bottom and you have to constantly shake it up before you drink it. 3) It does have 1500mg in a daily serving 4) it does not have Iron in it. iron must be taken seperately. remember to take iron at least 2 hours before or after you take your last dose as the calcium and iron will cancel each other out. Hope this helps

From a female perspective. Since the hubby lost over 90 lbs, he was a little self conscious of his "loose skin". I personally did not care, nor is it a negative, he is as much of a cheeky monkey now as he was before the weight loss....well now, I lie...he is more so now that he knows that I find him as sexy as ever and he has tons more energy... Hey LarryPDot, you are looking good! I remember your first picture! congrats on losing those pounds!

I have met a lot of my goals, but still have a few left that I am working on. Today I hit one and that was to do a 5K without having to rest or stop half way through. I accomplished this one today with the walk from obesity walk. In Oct. I am going to do a half marathon. To go kayaking white Water rafting hiking a mountain... I remember when my goal was just to be able to walk around the block without being winded!

brianna, you're doing great! we all have our reasons as to why we get off track. What counts is that you are getting back on track. In my local support group, there are a couple of folks who have been banded for many years and for one reason or another got off the wagon. they too have expressed nervousness and embarrassment over not staying in contact with the team/surgeon, but reached down within themselves and picked up the phone to call and make an appointment with the doctor and various team members. not one person said anything negative, rather they congratulated them on making the steps that they had and were taking to get back on track. know that you are not alone and it is ok to forgive yourself and continue to move forward. Wishing you the best.

Ah, our relationship with food. Yes, you will change and no that does not mean that you are going to be less fun to be around. Whether or not your family decides to eat healthier or not, does not mean that is where the fun is! You will still go and Celebrate holidays and fair or whatever you like to do. the only difference is that you will be eating less and perhaps (hopefully be making wiser food choices) that is not to say that you might taste here and there. but food does not make a person fun! My family eats better as I experiment with our meals now or they every once in awhile go off and have whatever it is that they are craving for and mom here usually finds something that she can enjoy. By eating slower I often finish my meal either when they do or if I finish before they do, i will sit back and enjoy the conversation. I set a glass of Water in front of me and in 30 minutes or so,I start to drink again. As i have lost the weight I am no longer tired after meals, i can keep up with everyone and if the truth be told, we are all having much more fun than we used to because we are moving without pain and have a lot more energy than before. There is so much more to do with life than eat! I wish you great joy and hope that your family changes with you and forgets their fears as they see a new and more fun you!

i am so sorry that you had this experience. unfortunately it is not uncommon. when i spoke to my PCP he told me no lapband he wanted the gastric bypass. i told him that i had researched and the GB was not for me. he started on the bit about the gold standard and how he wanted this type of surgery for me, etc... long story short we had it out. I told him i did not require his counsel and would do what was right for me and since he didn't know what was, i would take things in my own hands and he could kiss me where the sun doesn't shine. a year later, my bariatric surgeon sent him an update letter outlining my course and weight loss. he actually had the decency to call me and apologize. I had the good fortune to have an insurance that allowed me to choose my physician. as for your insurance criteria, i would call the customer service hot line number and speak to someone about their criteria (it is per your employer's contracted rate with them) and then ask for a hard copy to either be emailed to you or mailed to you (your right as an insured person). if you need to select another pcp or see what the insurance covers as far as pcp coverage and a list of physicians with their coverage. good luck!

let us know how it goes. i am not considering PS until next year, got to save some $$

JanB i hear ya! i am having to up my resistance level and juggle my intake to keep on losing. They say that as we get closer to goal the harder it is to lose the remaining poundage. sigh... Tara welcome back, we all fall off the wagon every once in a while. it sounds as if you know where and why you went where you did. Forgive yourself and hop back on the wagon. congrats to everyone for making it this far.

aj, i think you are normal. you are half way home! give a call to your physician to see what suggestions they might have or if you can step up to mushies. the one thing that I have learned about this process is ....the rules are all over the place! some have liquids for 1 week some have a few days and then some have it for weeks. I am only speaking about surgeries without any complications here. The one thing I will tell you is that first bite of mushy food will be heaven! to this day my poached egg is and was the best thing in the world! you can do this!

We share many of the same NSVs. My most cherished NSV is that I have learned to forgive myself when I fall off the wagon and that all is not lost, but rather to jump back onto that wagon and hang on for dear life! I used to beat myself up and give up. No longer will I do that! The only thing that I have not learned and probably will never learn is to love my workouts! hate, hate exercise, but it is a mandatory thing in my life, so I just get it done! All in all not a bad year. I like the new and improving me! congrats yl2010...wishing you continued success!

LOL! this is a joyful thread! I enjoy the times when I look in the mirror or see a fresh picture of myself and feel a jolt of reality in the knowledge that I look like a human being with curves, a chin, still a stomach, but one that is not bigger than the girls, and then there are my thighs that now allow my legs to be closer together when standing, ankles that look like ankles and feet that don't hold the water the way they used too! sigh .... ain't life grand?

doctors are different in the ways that they approach handling the band process. I can only tell you what mine has told me. he states that if i am not hungry between 4-6 hours between meals (only at meal times) and/or my weight loss is at 1-2 lbs / week then no fill. however, if i am hungry less than 4-6 hours or my weight loss stops or i hit a plateau, then it is fill time for me don't fret over how much you have/are losing everyone is different. if you are losing, then Celebrate in your individual process. I know it is hard not to compare yourself, but this is truly an individual journey in as to how much and how fast our bodies lose the weight. what we are not: is alone in this forum and other means of support if you have it available lets you know that you are not alone and trust me, there are others out there that have or will or are experiencing those struggles that we face day to day in this process of being among the banded. good luck

EGD uses an endoscope to explore the esophagus, stomach, and upper intestine. UGI is done under fluroscopy and uses barium contrast which is drunk during the procedure. Good luck

and what an adventure it will be!

rayanne, I am a year ahead of you, but if you need anything, just let me know! Congrats!

Amber 54 lbs is nothing to sneeze at. The reality of our weight loss is due to the banding process along with our determination and being human. I've learnt several things about myself this past year since being banded and I have no regrets. I'm ready to get on to the 2nd year and do what it takes to get to goal and then continue working my issues with life and food in general. Beach bunny happy bandiversary! May you have many more....

Congrats! on your loss and your bandaversary! Mine is coming up on the 23rd.

There are surgeons who do the "rose" revision for gastric bypass folks whose pouch has stretched. As a healthcare professional, I do not think that it is ethical, nor particularly professional to discuss how much one makes on a surgery. Payment is his business / his office manager's (whomever negotiates his rates) and is negotiated between him / his manager and the insurance company. as is stated above, if he is not happy with the payment then he can choose not to take on the insurance. Asking for additional monies to compensate him because he is unhappy with the insurance rate is not ideal nor by usual contract is this allowed (he should only take any co-pays/deductibles and then once that is met ony what the insurance pays out). However, he may have additional costs that he wishes to capture and if that is the case, then he should clearly communicate those items, i.e. additional costs not related to the surgery such as funding for post op support groups, assitant surgeon who does not take insurance, etc... Most bariatric surgeons will do 3-6 bariatric cases per day. ($2,700-$5,400) not bad for 4.5-9 hours of work. True, this is only one day most surgeons will do surgery 2- 3 days (sometimes more frequently) / week. Not too bad for just a mere $900 / case. Either way, I wish you luck!

Forgive yourself and continue to move on. You fell off the wagon, have identified the problem and I am sure have learned some new lessons about yourself and your relationship with food. Lessons learned. Congrats on recognizing your step off and being determined to get back up and get going to meet your goal.

NYdad, congrats on a great job, keep it up. I think that as we go, we all re-learn what our bodies and our bands are capable of...I am a month ahead of you in being banded. Been pretty lucky so far and like you a few bumps in the road, nothing that I could not over come. However, I have learned to listen to my body and watch for signs that I may be eating the wrong foods or combination of foods, or need to change up my exercise routine. I do need to exercise and I do need to watch the amount of carbs vs. the amount of protein that I intake on a daily basis or it can stall my weight loss. Overall, I am extremely happy with my results and will continue on. The process is certainly not an easy one and will take a life time of being vigilant about what I put into my mouth and when I choose to put food into my mouth. Good luck ot all of us!

Mewizza, lapband vs. gastric bypass have slightly different prep times and types. It also depends upon the surgeon's preferrences. Technically, 24 hours before surgery for lapband should be light breakfast and then liquids until 12 midnight and then nothing by mouth after that until surgery. Depending upon your surgeon....he/she may allow you to take blood pressure meds the morning of surgery with a sip of water. Gastric bypass is different as their bowels need to be cleaned out due to the relocation of the upper bowel segment. Good luck!