Brigham and Women/Faulker Hospital

[JayinMA 1]

crap i missed the meeting again this month! I've had a weird couple of weeks and have been out of it. Paige, how did your appointment go? How was the meeting? Anyone going in August?

[notateechanow 7]

My appointment went well. Got my first fill since my re-clamping. Gained like 13 pounds. I told him that I had an appointment scheduled with the Dietician and that I've got a lot going on. This isn't a time when I've been able to focus on myself, and he seemed to get it. Gave me the fill and told me he'd see me in a few weeks. Moving right along... If you'll go in August, I'll go. Just remember to remind me!

[JayinMA 1]

Damn i was going to ask you to remind me. Do we know what the date is? I'm not going to go for a fill until after my vacation in September. It's probably been about a year since I've had an appointment, and I'm going to have to beg for forgiveness. I already have my lie picked out.

[nomadem 1]

Hiya Jay, Nice to 'see' you here. The August meeting is Monday August 8th @ the Faulkner. The new RD said our group is larger than the one at Brigham now.

Have you made an appointment yet Jay? How you feeling?

I just went for a tiny fill on Friday got .1cc and bc they use a smaller syringe they dont pull back to see the entire fill amount so Im estimating my level is now around 8.2ish. I know I run into trouble if I go btw 8.5-8.9cc. So far it feels good AND Im enjoying that the HUNGER I was fighting is gone. It may only be temporary swelling but I will enjoy it while it lasts.

[notateechanow 7]

Jay, thinking we're beyond 'lying'. Call to schedule an appointment soon---it takes a long time to get one. Even if you want it for Sept. I honestly think you're better off just going in and telling him you're making a new commitment to making this work. You might even consider making an appointment with the new dietician. He works for you. Don't let him intimidate you. This is all about you...and his supporting your Quest to lose weight.

@ Tiny---hope that fill works well. I'm scheduled again for my 2nd fill on August 1st.

[DRB4 0]

The Faulkner meeting IS larger than the BWH meeting now and has been for quite a while. I've been trying to go to each of them because I usually always find something useful being said by someone. Plus, I like to give back to the people who are deciding what to do and help answer any questions they may have. I love being "helpful" and many of you helped me with all of my pre-surgery questions and I really appreciate that. I suggested a high Protein recipe exchange like we did at the Faulkner since that was a great idea by someone.

I am losing the weight very slowly now and have cycles where I'm losing great and then I eat like crazy and put most of the month's lost weight back on. I am currently filled to 8.0 and have been very fortunate to have never been stuck. I know I don't each as much as I used to but I do have a hard time keeping the sweets out of my mouth. Especially all things CHOCOLATE:)

Exercising regularly is a bit hard to come by as well. I need to find some motivation, but I can't quite catch it...LOL...I'm too slow. I hope to get back out there walking now that the first heat wave is over.

Thanks for listening. I hope to see everyone at the next meeting on the 8th.

[nomadem 1]

Just a reminder, this months meeting is tonight (8/8/11) @ The Faulkner.

I am sorry I will not be able to make it as I am slammed at work. I try my best to make it next month (9/12/11)

Take care

~Mel

[JayinMA 1]

I can't make it tonight, I have to work at a concert at the garden, I should be able to do the 12th... it's the day before my birthday you should all come to that one and we can all pb some cake.

[nomadem 1]

Hi friends its been a looonnng time. I just wanted to stop by to let you all know that they are changing and merging all of the WLS groups into one group at each hospital. So the the bypass, sleeve and band patients will meet 1st Tuesdays at B & W and the bypass, sleeve and band patients meet 3rd Wednesday at the Faulkner. So that is a change of location and day for the meetings at the Faulkner.

I made a new topic thread on this website with the new schedule for 2012. Click here: My link

The LAST lapband only support group meeting will be at the Faulkner on Monday Dec 12th. I am going to try to make it and I hope that I can see you there.

BTW 4 years ago this weekend I had my surgery

~Mel

[JenniferInBoston 0]

Hey there Mel! Thank you for the reminder about December's group @ Faulkner.... as well as the information about the upcomming changes to Faulkner's group schedule. I saw I had a bunch of emails from BWH about the groups merging, but didn't realize the day was going to change. I am definitely going to make it to the December group because I unfortunately work Wednesday evenings... so the new schedule will no longer work for me. Even though I haven't been to group in a couple months, I am totally bummed out about this. I still remember my very first group back in June 2010. It has been a great support. I will have to make a point of checking this site more often for support. Does anyone have Facebook?

By the way, Happy 4 year anniversary Mel! It's hard to believe my own LB surgery was almost a year and a half ago. I am still losing... it has been a very slow process... but I am down about 65 pounds. Sometimes I don't think I even notice a difference (since I still have a ways to go) but then I will come across an old picture and then I'm pleasantly surprised!

Hope everyone is doing well. Hope to see you guys in December!

[notateechanow 7]

Ok....had a really hard reality slap today. While I'm still down about 65 pounds since surgery, after my band slipping and re-clamping, I'm still back up around 40 pounds.....and my engagement photos showed every single ounce of those pounds. I'm horrified. THIS is why I had the band. To prevent ever having to feel like this again. Good news is, I signed up for a new gym today---meeting with the trainer tomorrow. (mind you, I had no idea how bad my engagement photos were going to be or that they'd arrive today!) I have 133 days until my wedding and a new resolve. I'll allow myself a few hours of serious sadness for my wasted efforts and move on. My 4 year Bandiversary is on the date of our next meeting. Looking forward to focusing on Dr. Robinson's 5-10 pounds a month and getting back to where I was at this point last year. It's just disgusting that I managed to gain so much weight back in such a short time. I really thought I had this thing all figured out.....and then life set in.

Hoping to see some of you on the 12th as it may very well be my last meeting for a while.

[thinkingaboutit77 1]

Happy New Yr everyone. Just checking in as I haven't been on here in FOREVER. My health insurance changed and had to switch docs. My new doctor is very supportive but my brain and my mouth and my stomach are still not connecting. I've gained all my weight back and holidays added a couple of more. I'm now at about 8.5cc and I still never feel full and when I do it's very rare. I'm scared to go tigher cuz I have experienced the joys of getting stuck recently and it's not fun! I'm currently in nursing school, working weekends and have my kids. Life is beyond crazy but one day at a time and i'm going to try to get back into making small goals for myself. Hope everyone is doing well

sandy

[nomadem 1]

Hey all! Im checking in myself. Sorry I havent been around but Ive been very, very busy and stressed taking care of a loved one. Ive had some gains and been struggling especially since I had a very large unfill back in November. I am hoping to come back around and maybe check out a meeting.

Has anyone noticed the new changes with the WLS program? There is a new director and they featured WLS in the one of the B+W newsletters.

[notateechanow 7]

I miss you guys! I've been really struggling. I have been going to the gym 4-5 days a week, working out with a trainer 2 of those days, and doing around 4-5 miles each time. (I work for 20 miles a week now...) Needless to say, I'm 'home'---back here. I am hoping that being back on here will give me the needed push to work on this. I've been trying to add more Protein and work at eating more. I remember this horrible up 2, down 3 phase the first time around and I'm not liking it any more this time than last. Course, this time around I have a wedding to worry about! I've been trying to make it to a meeting, but I just don't see that happening right now.

I know I'm not the only one struggling and miss commiserating with all of you. Hope 2012 has been a good year for all of you thus far....

[ibelieve 0]

Hi Everyone, it has been since band was put in, June 2009. My experience has been a bit of a mild ordeal discomforts wise, TY to those who taught me about keeping a cup with lid handy... but I am finally on track. As you can see from my ticker below, I can see the progress to my goal, FINALLY. That looks great. My trick, I did an elimination diet in Fall 2010 and by Christmas re-adding things, I found I was extremely gluten intolerant!!!

So, since from Winter 2010, the more gluten I removed from hidden things, the more reactive to it I became...

Since last summer, I started my healing with the homemade Soups for restoring health, greek yogurt *Fage only for the most part*. The soups... Beef Borscht Soup with greek yogurt, handmade with fresh organic ingredients, and handmade chicken breast soup, organic ingredients... I will post the recipes on my profile. I was so sick from diabetes in August and September 2011, due to unnatural sugar craves caused by medications... I got to where I could not even keep yogurt down!!! and my very worried sister-in-law from Moscow insisted on feeding me the aforementioned soups. Things got better in October, some backslide over holiday, not much, I did not make Thanksgiving and Christmas, family and I have decided not to be so excessive, we toss so much food, or I get miserably ill from a bite or two... so, simple times and simple meals resulted in much improved Holiday experience.

Believe it or not I eat some bacon (crispy fatty) and two easy over eggs (hardly any whites, or else...) most weekdays for Breakfast. It does not always work out, but I found the fat and Protein gets me through the day. I hardly eat soup now, but I do control appetite strictly, I use my band to do this, to eat very little. I also will have some Mexican or Thai sometimes, but I stick to the very restricted intake, completely gluten free. I believe that the fats in the egg yolk and bacon, seem to do the trick for my personal biochemistry. My August 2011 A1C was almost 11. In October, it was 6.1 Needless to say, my carbs are very very very restricted, I do not eat any breads or anything but occasional tortilla chips. My personality has changed from quite aspy and bipolar, to merely hyperactive. A big change started after the surgery, and during my pre-op Psychiatric evaluation, the M.D. I met with told me that the carb restrictions due to the band being incompatible with breads and such, might help my moods. The greatest changes were since Gluten free. Not only do I not have persistent diarrhea since 22 years of age, but I have a rather normal personality, and not extremely reactive to sounds, tastes, smells, and people like before. I am sure my system is damaged from the years of wheat and oats, and now they put wheat in everything, I cannot eat anything from packages. I can drink soda again, but it causes a bloat. I do not eat much sugar substitute, and a little sugar is ok, but not recommended by me to myself.