Dr. Gerald Kirshenbaum - Considering Dr. Kirshenbaum

[DynamoMini 1]

Dee - I am thinking about you sweetie. Are you all set to go?

[marcyinak 0]

Ok, there's a lot...I'll try to go in chronological order, but my mind is askew today! Michelle, since you're having a few food issues this weekend...I'll NOT put in the picture of the dessert table at the Grand Buffet. Oh my gosh, I don't know how I survived!

So we've got some pictures of Sea World here..this is BIG that I'm in the pictures, usually I'm the one behind the camera! Then we have my BIL's wedding...amazing that so many folks from Alaska were able to go! It was at the Orlando LDS/Mormon temple the day before the cruise. Then we went to Grand Cayman and saw the stingrays.

[marcyinak 0]

Now, let's see....got on the ship and sailed to Grand Cayman where we went to the Turtle Farm and swam with the stingrays...then on to Isla Roatan, Honduras where I got to play with monkeys...then to Altun Ha, Belize to see Mayan temples...fun fun!

After the cruise we spent some time in Miami before heading home on Thanksgiving (kept me away from food). We went to the Metrozoo...very cool and I highly recommend it, but you'll need a whole day and good sneakers!

[Taynuh 1]

Lap...

Congrats!!!!

Tina

[Mal 0]

Lap~WONDERFUL news! Congratulations!:baby:

Marcy~nice to hear from you again. You look great, you have a glow about you! How is the hubby's knee? and the children, they are adorable! The pictures are great and it sounds like you had a memorable trip.

:whoo:tied2b~just a few more days, can you believe it? what time is your surgery? I am so excited for you

Dynamo~I'm sorry to hear that you are having a tough "mental" time. Try not to be so hard on yourself. Remember, this is not a race, your 39lbs is a good loss AND most importantly it is a loss! Like Dee mentioned, we have the rest of our lives to lose this weight. Although the scale is difficult to keep away from, it is not ONLY the number that makes us successful in this journey. You have progressed in leaps and bounds..you are a healthier person, you have more energy, you look and feel better, your size has changed...try not to let that number on the scale make you feel down, it will move in the right direction.

:girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug::girl_hug:

Taynuh~is it this week that you get Tanner? Happy traveling and WELCOME Tanner!!!

Tarhee~WELCOME!! We all love our Dr. K and his staff. You will be pleased with him. If you ever have any questions or don't hesitate to ask, we have a wonderful group here. This is a great place to chat! Hope to see you around.

[Woofay 0]

Good morning! Well, we made it through one holiday! Woo hoo! And my scale only says 1/2 lb up! I wonder how that happened? I don't care, I'll take it! I took my brother back to the airport today and we didn't just eat together cuz he's trying to shave some weight too. But he'll be back in 3 weeks or so for Christmas! Yeah! It's time to start on those 10 lbs I want gone before Jan 4th!

Lap~ congrats! Is this through the daughter that just got married? You're just way too young to be a gramma!

Marcy~ so good to hear from you and you do look maaaaaaaaaaahvalous! You're pictures are just great!

Dynamo~ Sorry the "mind" food issues are still so close to the surface. I had some issues with my Turkey dinner. I just really wanted to pig out. I meant to ask you the other night how your paintings were going. So glad you got a chance to create some more! Take all your frustrations and just paint them out.

Mal~ Hi! Did you have a good turkey day? Crazy and busy with all that company?

Tied2bfit~ 4 more days! Woo hoo!:whoo:

Have a great day all!

[DynamoMini 1]

Hi Everyone,

Mal - thanks for the hugs, I sure can use the support right now. It is the anniversary of my husband's death, it was on Oct. 24th, but I distracted myself with Mexico. This time of year is always hard for me.

Are we on for RR on the 13th?

Taynuh - congrats on your newest member. Both my sons are adopted and couldn't be any closer to me.

Tied2b - how's the preop diet going? You will do really well, I just know it. You have the right stuff.

Woofay - how is it for you after Thanksgiving? No bro?

Marcy - I enjoyed your cruise with you. You look fabulous. What a wonderful family you have. Enjoy the Northern Lights.

Love to you all,

Michelle

[DynamoMini 1]

Woofay - we just crossed the cyber time. Glad you did so well over the holidays. I just want to get through today with a good food plan. I can do this. I deserve a healthy life and so do you. Best wishes, hoping you have a great day.

[Lap_dancer 8]

Lap, thanks for the great words about Dr. K. It makes me feel like I've made the right choice.

So glad to have helped. You made the right choice; the doctor is always ready to answer any questions, no rush. Don't pass by Natalee's office without picking up a card for your pocketbook. It's about how you should feel and when to gage if you need a fill or not. ( I got to know her my last visit out there and found her to be an exceptional resource for diet, and kind of a "go to" person). She gave me this article:

Think You Need a Fill? THINK AGAIN

By Nikki Johnson

Do you remember that feeling you had when you first had your band placed? For a while, everything was great. You didn't experience hunger, you felt satisfied with a small portion of good food, you had more energy, and you were thrilled with your initial weight loss progress.

If you are like most people, your experience changed over time, Some of those feelings of hunger returned, and you stopped losing weight. You knew you needed something, so you went to your surgeon's office and asked for a "fill" right? If so, you might be surprised to learn that it is your thinking about your band, and not the band itself, that needs adjusting.

The LAP-BAND Bad Word

Paul O'Brien, MD, FRACS, is a skillful, compassionate surgeon and a foremost expert on the LAP-BAND System. he was involved in its design in the early 1990's and placed the first band in Australia in 1994. Since then, he has treated thousands of patients and is recognized worldwide for his expertise. When his patients utter that worst of four-letter words, "fill," in his office, they are asked to throw a dollar in the Red Cross donation bucket--a reminder that, according to Dr. O'Brien, thinking about a "fill" is just wrong thinking.

How can a concept that we hear about so constantly be so very wrong? Dr. O'Brien's answer is simple: "Any adjustment to the band is something that only takes place in the context of clinical consultation--part of a relationship of trust, honesty and communication between patient and surgeon--that is much more key to the success of the patient than the precise number of milliliters of Fluid in the band. This concept of partnership is the central theme of Dr. O'Brien's new book, The Lap-Band Solution--A Partnership of Weight Loss.

Patty's Note: Available on Amazon.com ISBN#9780522854121

Like many people, you might assume that weight gain or a sustained plateau means an incorrectly adjusted band; in fact, you may be right. But you may be surprised to learn that weight gain sometimes results from a band that is too tight. This is part of the reason why the "fill" concept is so misleading. If your surgeon determines that you are not losing weight as you should, then discovering why that is happening is crucial. Sometimes adding fluid to the band will only make matters worse.

Life in the "GREEN ZONE"

Most people who have the LAP-BAND operation will have an amazing feeling of disinterest in food for the first week after surgery, before any adjustments are even made to the fluid in the band. According to Dr. O'Brien, that lack of interest in food is referred to as satiety. A related but different feeling is satiation, or the feeling you get as you are eating, precisely at the point that you don't need any more food to eat but you do not have an uncomfortable feeling of fullness. These two feelings--satiety and satiation--are what the properly adjusted band helps you achieve, allowing you to maintain your new healthier eating habits.

Your careful observation and truthful sharing of your feelings and eating behaviors, combined with the expert care and training of your surgeon and his or her staff, can make the very individual determination of whether your band is properly adjusted much more accurate. In order to help create the most effective partnership between themselves and their patients, Dr. O'Brien and his colleagues at the Australian Centre for Obesity Research and Education have developed a concept they refer to as the "Green Zone". When patients are in the green zone, they experience satiety, satiation after properly-sized small meals, and satisfactory weight loss or maintenance.

However, there are also yellow and red zones, both of which indicate that the band is not optimally adjusted. If your band is too loose, you will not have the benefits the band's hunger-controlling mechanism. If your band is too tight, you will have trouble eating properly and may actually gain weight because the foods you can eat more comfortable, that tend to be liquid and calorie-rich, like ice cream and chocolate, do not provide the proper nutrition. Learning to recognize when you have the feelings and eating behaviors that signal a problem can help you give your surgeon the information he or she needs to help you keep the band optimally adjusted.

Thinking Adjustment

Once you have eliminated the concpet of "fills" from you Lap-Band vocabulary, you will be able to let go of much of the conventional thinking connected to it. Perhaps you have heard talk about the "ideal" amount of fluid in the Lap-Band. While it may be helpful to have some idea of how much fluid is in your band, Dr. O'Brien says there is no magic number. No perfect amount of fluid will provide the best results for everyone. He says, rather, that "whatever volume of fluid is needed to achieve the [feeling of non-hunger] is the correct volume." When you notice that you are feeling hungry or are not losing weight, your body is telling you it is time to revisit your partner in weight loss -- your surgeon. your success absolutely depends on this relationship. So rather than thinking "adjustments," adjust your thinking, and, in partnership with your surgeon, find a lifetime of health!

For more information about all of the themes discussed in this article, please see Dr. O'Brien's book, The Lap-Band Solution--A Partnership for Weight Loss, which is available fro Amazon.com. We also invite you to visit LAP-BAND® System Forum - Home for more information and supportive resources.

You should

ADD FLUID

Hungry Early

Big Meals

Looking for food

You are

OPTIMAL

prolonged satiety

Small meals satisfy

satiety

Satisfactory weight loss or maintenance

You should

REDUCE FLUID

Difficulty swallowing

Reflux - hearburn

Night Cough

Poor eating behavior

Regurgitation

[Lap_dancer 8]

Wow Lap, that's wonderful!

This will be your first grandbaby, right?

Congrats!!!:clap2:

Thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!

YES, this is my first grandbaby that looks to make it's arrival sometime in late summer.

~Patty~

[Mal 0]

Tied2b~How did your appointment go with Dr. K today? Sorry to hear about the Fluid retention. YOU know that you didn't cheat on your diet, that is what counts. I remember that I didn't cheat either, but Dr. K's scale showed less of a loss than mine and I was worried that he thought I cheated and I felt terrible. Be proud of yourself for doing the right thing, it will all pay off!! Good for you! I know it is tough, especially through the holidays, but you did it and you will be fine, it will all work out!!

[DynamoMini 1]

Tied2b - You know that you have followed the diet to the letter, and your liver will be smaller. I hope that Dr. K gave you something for the edema. Remember you are not a number and you deserve a healthy life. We love you.

Mal - how has your day gone?

I have an appt with Dr. K on Thursday morning. I think I am going to ask for a .1 cc less. I think I have been too restricted, especially in light of what Lap just wrote. (thanks)

I am burping up Water, yet sometimes I can eat large amounts of the WRONG stuff.

Well lovelies, I have been really doing it right today and have promised myself, just for today no cheating. So far....so good.

Hugs all,

Michelle

[divaofsongs 42]

I missed 2 calls from Paula Pierce at Dr. K's office. She gave me a different number than the office number. Does anyone know who she is? I hope she is not calling to cancel my surgery date

[gurlygirl 0]

I missed 2 calls from Paula Pierce at Dr. K's office. She gave me a different number than the office number. Does anyone know who she is? I hope she is not calling to cancel my surgery date

She is the Nutritionist who works with Dr. K. She called me prior to surgery to discuss post op diet and answer any questions you may have with regards to the nutrional side of things.

Good luck with your surgery. It will be here before you know it. :whoo:

[ShelbiCallie 0]

Hey Gurly -- it's good to see you around! How have you been? Your first fill is this week, right?

Dee -- Dr. K will take one look at those ankles and KNOW it's Fluid gain and not that you didn't stick to the diet. Hopefully getting off your feet and maybe a little Lasix will resolve it. I'm sending positive thoughts that you'll flush that fluid out quickly.

I had my second fill today. I thought that my first fill was 1.5 but it was actually 3! So we added another 1.6 for a total of 4.6. I am SO hoping this will give me some control. I'm taking liquids well for now.