February 2007 bandsters!

[Zannie 6]

A helpful hint:

Try babyfood Prunes & Apples (Gerber stage 2). It is sweet and yummy; nothing like Prune juice. Yes. I've taste-tested all the different jars of mush I've spooned at my kids. Unlike those icky potato jars , the baby prunes really taste quite good (at least the Gerber brand) & have the consistancy of a smooth applesauce, so they'll go down fine with the Band.

Plus, they do the trick!! :clap2:

[louise162 0]

Thanks for all of your advice. I think to get myself moving I'll use a mild laxative like lactulose and then take Fybogel as a preventative.

BTW The pill has passed. The tea didn't work but it passed on its own eventually. I am so relieved I can't begin to tell you. I am also starving now as all I've eaten all day is 1 slice of toast!

[Sugarbear 2]

There is Benefiber, and a few other products like it. It is tasteless. So you can put it in food, or drink, without even tasting it. I sometimes mix it my hot Cereal, or a bottled Water with Crystal Light, that is a sugar free drink. You may have that there. You use it every day and it adds Fiber to your diet, which helps without having to take a laxative. I haven't had problems with any pills yet, but at first I crushed them and put in applesauce. It was rather bitter but I managed. I decided it wad easier to cut it small and take them. Of course I don't have any restriction. Only had one fill and can't tell it. It may be a different story if I ever get restriction, which I am hoping for next fill.

[Zannie 6]

I’ve had my LapBand for exactly 2 months. :clap2: My 1st adjustment was 9 days ago, on April 5th.:bounce:

I felt fine prior to my 1st fill (not having “between meals” hunger, not overeating at meals, drinking my 50g Protein Shake every day, getting in my exercise thanks to the Feb’07 Challenge). And both the dietician & the head nurse thought my fill would be postponed, so I wasn’t all that anxious when I went to the appointment. They were wrong!:faint2:

I arrived for my fill & talked to my surgeon about how I was doing with hunger & the kinds of foods I could tolerate. He said I’ve been doing wonderfully & reminded me of our goal: 2 pounds a week for the 1st year since I’ve got 200 to loose. At that point, I weighed in at 292 having lost 28 pounds for an average of 4 pounds a week over 7 weeks, but I'd also been stalled for a week. That said, Dr. T felt it was time for a fill. My clinic does adjustments under fluoroscope. I stepped up into the horseshoe shaped machine, put my back to the one end & watched as my innards appeared on the monitor above the other end. There he was: Jiminy Cricket ( as I’ve come to think of my inner conscience, the LapBand :lie:). I sipped on barium for a bit, shocked to see the liquid pool for a moment in the pouch & then slide right through. Apparently I had next to no restriction at all. ( How then was I handling the hunger & why was I feeling so full after 1/3 cup of food? :noidea: Mind over matter, I guess, perhaps because I wanted the LapBand to work…? ) Dr. T. then gave me a shot to numb up the port area & came at me with a gigantic syringe of saline! ( I do not like needles!!!) The fill itself was easy. Eyes glued to the screen, I felt pressure as he inserted the needle, but no pain at all. I continued to sip at the barium as he added a full 4cc to my 10cc VG Band. And then Susie, the nurse who is both the surgical coordinator & our support group leader (had bypass & looks terrific) and has been there at every stage of this process, gave me a post-fill pep talk. :nervous I was on liquids for 48 hours, followed by mushies for another 48. My port-site & stomach were a bit tender, and loud stomach gurgling started before I’d left the building – both lasted for about 3 days! But no other side effects from the adjustment. I felt & continue to feel just great! :teeth:

In fact, it’s almost like I didn’t even have an adjustment. Which, I suppose, is not a good sign, considering that I technically had nearly no restriction at all prior to the fill!! I actually went down to the clinic to hop on their scale yesterday – just to be sure my #s were right. (They weren't. :straight) I’ve lost 3.5 pounds since the fill a week ago, which is great because the scale stood still for over a week prior to it! That brings me down 31.5 pounds since my surgery to 288.5 with a 52.8 BMI. But I think it’s just my "diet willpower" that’s doing the work right now, though I hope I’m wrong! :decision: That willpower’s got a track record of only being trustworthy for about 3 months!

My 2nd fill will be on May 17th, 6 weeks from the 1st one & 2 days after my 3-month Bandiversary.

[louise162 0]

........to upload my weight journey photos to photobucket. I hate having my photo taken but I really wanted to catalogue my journey. I still have way over 100lbs to lose so I'm still really big but I look a lot better than I did!

[travelgirl 3]

LOUISE!!!!!!! Wow, you're looking so great! What a difference! I'm going to have my current pic taken tonight so I can compare my pre-op pics with now. I know there's a difference, but I'm having a hard time seeing it. I know if I have a picture to look at, I'll be able to see it more clearly.

[louise162 0]

Thank you so much for the compliment! It really helps to have the photos to look back on. I'm also keeping a spreadsheet of my measurements. Including bust, waist, hips, thighs and upper arms I've lost a of 22" that's nearly 2 feet !!lol!! I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere with this!

[travelgirl 3]

Congrats! I haven't taken my measurements yet, either, but I do have them from before surgery. All I know is I'm down 38 lbs and 2 jeans sizes!

[louise162 0]

Fantastic!! I still don't wear jeans as I hate the way I look in them I will have to be a US size 12 (UK 16) before I'll wear them.

[cchristys 0]

Hi!! You are looking great!! Congrats! :clap2: Just think when you go to the Josh Groban concert how much smaller you'll be. I felt so much better seeing his show in Vegas...especially since I was front row for 45 minutes of the show. I didn't quite feel as big and I certainly fit better in those chairs. Congrats on the wieght loss.

I'm going very slowly. Getting my 3rd fill tomorrow. Can't wait. Hopefully, this will be the fill that starts my weight loss. Whoo Hoo!!

Again, congrats!!

Charlotte

[louise162 0]

Hi Charlotte,

I have a little over 5 weeks before I see Josh and I can't wait. I'm 4th row from the front and I am literally counting every day!!lol!! I'm sure I will totally freak out when I'm there. What's the set list like for this tour. I keep looking on FOJG but no one says anything about what he sings!

[Tres Chic 0]

Louise.. you look great! I didn't take any 'pre-surgery' pics which I'm sure I'll regret as the journey progresses. And just to update you, prune juice isn't bad at all, but it's a little thick. I'm inclined to mix it half and half with Water. By the way, I've had the same problem with pills getting stuck. It's a horrible feeling (I heat up my prune juice to melt the pill when it happens--covers both bases) and my Dr says to crush them, but YUCK!

[louise162 0]

I tried to take my pills crushed yesterday in a little chocolate spread but they tasted disgusting and it lingered for 2 hours so today I just broke it into smaller pieces and that seemed to work better.

As for the other problem the lactulose that I took yesterday morning worked well and I am now taking my Fybogel as a preventative

[Platinum 0]

Hey everyone,

I had my band surgery on 2-9-07 and went for my first fill on Saturday the 14th of April. I drove to Dallas from Okc to get the fill. The doctor decided to give me a good fill so that I would not have to drive back so soon for a 2nd fill. He gave me 2.25cc in my 4cc band. He told me to stick with Protein Shakes and other full liquids for a week. So far, everything is going well. I was also happy to see that I was still down 20 pounds from surgery date. I had no restriction and felt like I was eating too much so I thought I might have gained some weight.

Anyway, my first fill has been great so far! Good luck to you all!!!

[November Lily 0]

Thats great Platinum.

I had my first fill today - not as bad as I thought it would be at all. - I forgot to ask how much he put in. I too am on full liquids for a week (is that normal?), then a week of mushies then solids again. Im pretty hungry right now but all Ive had is consomme and an ice lolly. Im about to have some Tomato Soup. It all feels fine, just a bit gurgly ... I cant wait to start loosing again ... the reductil for two weeks kept me at the same weight when I am positive I would otherwise had gone up (I was bad and ate quite a lot)

How is everyone else going?