Looking for mentor in Mass.

[Hollandsmom 0]

My name is Liz... I was banded on May 19th at St.E's. I am looking for a mentor in Massachusetts....

Any one available

Thank you:thumbup:

[Sue Magoo 71]

Hi Hollandsmom:

I will be your band buddy/mentor. I live in Norwood.

I was banded last July. I started dieting on 4/23/07 at 324 pounds - (Yikes!) and today I weigh 192. Yippee. I started in size 26/28 and I now wear 16's and L on top. My goal is to get into size 12 pants. I'm hoping that I will be in that size when I get to 160 pounds. I'm 5'7" so I don't want to have my weight go too low. I don't want to look like a wrinkly old string bean!

I love my band. I could never have lost all of this without the band.

I've been exercising alot this year too.

I'm 48 years old. I feel like I"m 28 because of all of the lost weight! I am the Mom of a great 20 year old Daughter. She's in college, but she comes home every weekend. I work full time as an accountant. I walk and trikke for exercise. I play cards too.

I got my band in Norwood. Dr. Adam Glasgow was my surgeon and continues to be one of my biggest supporters. He is in practice with his Dad and they're both great. They have monthly lap band support group meetings for their patients. They have a very nice program over there. Even the office staff in their group is pleasant to work with.

Feel free to ask any questions. I'd love to be able to help someone through this experience.

[Hollandsmom 0]

Sue,

My "real" name is Liz. Holland is my 7 yo daughter. I am 42 yo and live in Waltham. I was banded May 19th at St Elizabeths. I am currently on the "mushie stage" of eating...doing well with it so far.

My high wt was 236, my surgery wt was 215 and today I am at 201.4 I am also about 5'7".

I am an RN and work at Mass General and Partners Home Care. Havent started back exercising yet...seeing surgeon for second time this week due to possible infection at the port site.

I look forward to having a mentor through this journer.

Liz:thumbup:

[Sue Magoo 71]

Hi Liz:

Hope that your infection turns out okay.

Holland is a beautiful name. My Daughter's name is Katrina.

Mushie stage is hard, but not as hard as the all liquid phase. With the temperature going to be high this weekend make sure you stock up on some sugar free popsicles. I love the one's called Life Savers - delish!

Keep me posted on your infection at the port site.

Take care.

Sue

[bxlisa 0]

I just read your post and can you be my band buddy/mentor, too?

My name is Lisa and live in Newington, CT.

I also was over 300lbs and I want to be like you next year... :thumbup:

I'm going to start the "regular diet" stage next week. Any tips you can give me?

[lucy12 0]

Hi: I am 7 days post op and I am having a hard time. I had surgery in Norwood MA and I am looking for a lap band group or Buddy around the Dudley area. Please Help.

Thank you,

MaryAnn

[Sue Magoo 71]

Lisa:

Sure, the more the merrier. I think that the most difficulty that I had with starting regular foods was that I am a fast eater. If I ate fast I could only get about three or four bites in and then pain. I ended up buying a one minute timer to slow me down between bites. You have to eat slow and tiny bites. It works best if you chew it until it's like liquid going down.

Another issue that I had at the beginning was that sometimes I would let myself get too hungry. If you eat your meals at regular times throughout the day it worked better for me. I still have an issue if I have lunch at noon and then no dinner until 6 or 7. I do much better if I have yogurt or something like that around 4 o'clock so that I'm not hungry at night. Most times I'm not.

Congratulations on all of the weight you've lost so far. You're doing very well!

Keep up the good work.

Sue

[Sue Magoo 71]

Hi MaryAnn:

You must have gone to the Glasgows if you had surgery at Norwood. Dr. Adam Glasgow was my surgeon. I think they're great over there.

I don't know where Dudley is, but I'm guessing it's out by Uxbridge. I live in Norwood.

Tell me, what are you having a hard time with? I think that the ten days after surgery were difficult, because as soon as you start to heal from the surgery you start to get hungry, but can only have liquids. Stick it out and you'll be eating mushies soon. Mashed potatoes - yummmy.

Popsicles have saved my life. I go through a box in a very short period of time. But hey, at only ten to twenty calories who cares.

Let me know if there's anything in particular you are struggling with. Then, maybe I can be more specific.

Feel free to send me a private message if you'd like for not everyone to be able to read your post. Either way is okay with me.

You should try to attend the support groups that the Glasgows hold in their offices. You can learn some tricks by listening to those who've been banded for a while.

Take care.

Sue

[lucy12 0]

How did you know??? I was hungry and tired. Dr. Authur Glasgow is my doctor. I did meet Dr. Adam Glasgow the day after surgery.

Everything was going great was losing a pound a day. I started out at 199 got down to 183 and now I am up to 188 this morning. I'm thinking I might be depressed and should call the doctors office on Monday to see if I can get help. When I saw the weight come back on-I got into a rut that I can not get out of. My stomach is so sore and having a hard time sleeping. I sleep on my belly but right now I have to sleep on my back. So hungry and the smell of foods are driving me nuts. I dont want to fail. I did order some Lap Band books and Lap Band cookbooks online yesterday. Maybe they will keep me postitive and on track.

Thank you for being so kind. I feel I'm not alone.

MAG

[Sue Magoo 71]

Mag:

I got into a bit of a funk right after surgery too. Part of it was that I gained 9 pounds in the first 3 days post op. I'm sure that it was Fluid retention, but I didn't expect it so it really bothered me. It came off in the next week or so.

If you are depressed you should get some help. I think it's very important to have your mind in a good spot because it's still such a battle to get the weight off, even with the band. Did the Glasgows have you meet Dr. Newman? He's a psychologist. You could probably schedule an appointment with him if you don't have someone already that could help with depression.

When I first started I had to think about one pound at a time, not the whole picture. For me it would have been too overwhelming to think about having to lose 164 pounds to attain goal, but here I am just 31 pounds away as of today.

You know, you're not expected to lose until you've got restriction. Anything you lose prior to having restriction is a bonus. So, don't be hard on yourself.

Another thing, about being exhausted. I was too. Make sure you keep taking your daily Multivitamin because that will help.

Do you have an MP3 player? It was one of the best rewards I gave myself after losing 50 pounds. I put some great music on it and I walk alot. I think it helps with the depression too.

Love your avitar. My Daughter is a huge Lucy fan.

Take care.

Sue

Edited June 7, 2008 by Sue Magoo
forgot something.

[Hollandsmom 0]

Hi Sue,

My infection apparently is minor. I do have to dress it everyday which is a pain, but thats life. I am at my summer place in Maine, and I cant go in the Water yet!!!! Went out to dinner with the family for the first time since banding and had a small amount of turkey w/gravy and a bite of mashed potatoes!!! Everyone was done way before I was. My daughters do not know the type of surgery I had so they are always trying to hurry me!!! Hope you are keeping cool this weekend.... BTW what is a trikke???

[Hollandsmom 0]

Mag,

Try putting a small pillow under your port side, it makes it more comfortable to at least side sleep. Also, have you tried the special K waters. They come in powder for like crystal lite, have no sugar, 5gm of Protein and 5 grams of Fiber. I use these in between meals. They really help.

[Sue Magoo 71]

Hi Liz:

Glad to hear your infection is getting under control. Hard not to swim when it's so hot in New England. I live at a cooperative (somewhere between an apartment and a condominium) that has a beautiful pool. I spent the day there.

A trikke is a cool exercise thing. If you google it you should be able to see how it works. It's kind of hard to explain, but it's alot of fun and it burns some serious calories, especially in this heat. I got caught out on my trikke earlier this evening when it started pouring, thundering, and lightning. Unfortunately the brakes won't work when they're wet so I had to wait the passing storm and then walk home with my trikke.

Hope you can enjoy Maine without swimming.

Take care.

Sue

[Hollandsmom 0]

Hi Sue,

Just checking in. Still working on healing my wound. Feeling ok... but, I just realized last night that I have not been eating enough..When I took notes at the dieticians, I thought she told me that 1 tablespoon equaled an ounce...so, I have been eating 1/2 of what i should!!! No wonder I have been so tired!!! I have now corrected this and that is probably why I have not lost any weight this week....Hope all is well with you,

Liz

[Sue Magoo 71]

Hi Liz:

Are you eating solids yet? Please make sure you eat enough and take Vitamins too or else you'll be exhausted. You might be extra tired while you're healing and especially because you're fighting that infection.

How's the weight loss going? Mine's kind of stuck so far this week, but to be honest earlier this week when it was close to 100 I didn't exercise much.

Hope things are going well for you. Keep me posted.

Sue