Manitoba anyone?

[moonbeam 1]

Hey Fish how are you feeling? Let us know!

[sk27 0]

Hi All!

Was great talking with those of you that were at the clinic yesterday - I wish I had thought of checking here before I went so I'd know if anyone else was going to be around - turns out a few of us found each other any way!

Fish - fingers crossed for a speedy recovery for you

Everyone else - I hope your fills are doing *something* for you!! It turned out I already had 3cc's in my band (Who knew - they told me pre-op they'd empty me right out because I was from out of town...) so now I'm up to 4.5 and at risk of jumping the gun, I'm certainly feeling a bit more restriction today - hopefully it's real, and not head games

Wannabe - glad your removal went well, it's so much better when the staples are gone!! And although i didn't look REAL close, I'm pretty sure the needle wasn't 2 feet long, nor did it hold 10 cups of saline, so I'm have confidence you'll jump that hurdle with no problems at all

Off to collapse after a long day yesterday and today - take care all

[tammar 0]

Hi All,

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted on here. Quick update, I went for my first fill on June 9. Unfortunately the Dr. wouldn't fill me. He said since I was still experiencing "productive burping" I didn't need one. All that anxiety for nothing.

On the bright side, Jen still let me come into her office for a cup of Water, lol.

A couple of weeks went by, and I found myself eating more and more, of pretty much anything. I called and made another appointment, and finally had my first fill this past saturday.

I too saw Fish, as he was leaving the building. Congrats BTW. Hope you're doing well.

Fill was a lot less painful than I had imagined. I watched many videos of it on youtube. Bad idea. Talk about anxiety.

Dr. Andrews said I had a little over 2 cc's in the band before the fill. He added another 1 cc, giving me just over 3 cc's total.

I don't yet see a difference. I had a Father's Day BBQ yesterday, and I did well for myself. I didn't eat everything on the table, in fact while everyone else was loading up their plates, and eating everything in site, I had one hot dog, no bun.

I find myself getting full pretty quickly, but I also find myself getting hungry again quickly. Does anyone else find this?

Any suggestions?

Hope all is well with everyone! Welcome to all the new members and bandsters.

[I Wanna Be a Loser 0]

Tammar,

Can you tell me what productive burping is? I seem to be experiencing a constant burping/hiccupping which is causing some amount of pain when it happens. Is this normal or should I be worried?

Because I do not seem to be hungry alot, when I asked if my band contained some saline or whether is was fully drained, Dr B said that they do fill them with a minimal amount of saline to test to see if there are any leaks. For the locals - they will leave some in but if you are from out of town, typically they drain them in case of complications. It is obviously easier to come in for the locals than the out of towners if there is a problem. Yesterday I had a small burger with cheese (and only ate 3/4's - no bun) - small Tomato slice and 2 small slivered slices of avacado with 2 olives. I also had about 4 forkfuls of strawberry pie. Eyebrows were certainly raised when the family saw the amount on my plate, as they are used to me piling up and stacking the plate and going back for 2nd's!

I have not told anyone about my LB or surgery. The only one who knows is my husband. Have you all shared with friends and family? What has been the general reaction?

Cheers

Edited June 22, 2009 by I Wanna Be a Loser

[moonbeam 1]

Productive Burp is when something comes up with burp if I'm not mistaken.. not sure as it hasn't happened to me yet.

I told close friends and family, but I avoided telling co workers, and people who don't know me well. I'm glad I didn't, and actually wish I could "untell" some people. I knew this would be a slow process, but didn't really realize quite how slow it would actually be. It may be just in my head but sometimes I see my family or friends watching me and think they might be wondering why I have not lost weight, or watching how much is on my plate. I feel even more self conscious now about how much I eat when others are around than I did before! I'm sure that will change as I get to my sweet spot and the band starts working as it was designed to.

[Too Fat To Fish 1]

Hi everyone!

I'm home now and doing pretty good. Was feeling so good that I over did it by going for quite a long walk to try and get rid of this horrible shoulder pain from the gas. Got a long ways away from home and then almost had to call my wife to come and get me. :blushing:

I'm looking forward to eating again but right now my wife is being tough and making me stick to the diet rules exactly. Besides that, liquids seem to be enough right now. It's just the smell of foods that is driving me crazy.:biggrin:

The whole surgery experience was great- the nurses were awesome and I never got to see the docs afterwords but I'm sure hoping they did a good job too!:confused:

[tammar 0]

Fish, glad to know everything is alright. Keep on keeping on.

I wanna be a loser, That's exactly what productive burping is. When I eat a little too much, I tend to burp, with production (lol). Not very fun, but it beats stuck foods, which by my experience, won't allow anything to go down, not even spit.

I've been on so many diets over the years, and I've never told anyone (aside from my closest family). This time, I figured I'd do it a little differently. I told most people who are around me daily. I've told most family and friends and co-workers.

I've taken the attitude that education is a wonderful tool. A quick story. There's a guy at work who is normally quite sarcastic and rude. Recently he saw me ordering a Denver Sandwich without the bread (the cafeteria guy wont make omlets after 11am, so I have to order them this way, lol). I put some ketchup on my Denver Omlet. My co-worker asked me if it was "sugar-free" ketchup, seeing as I must be on a low-carb diet and all.

So, I told him, actually, I can't eat bread. Here's why. and I educated him on the whole procedure. Afterwards, he felt like the dummy.

Everyone I've told has been quite positive. Most people don't understand why I'd take such drastic measures. To tell you the truth, I don't care. We all know why we do things, and these reasons can be personal.

My boss thinks that the surgeons should have installed an old-skool reebok pump in my under arm, so that I can flap my wings (similar to how we used to pretend we were chickens when we were small), for a quick fill up if needed.

My feeling is that this is something you thought long and hard about before making the leap. You spent the same amount as a small car, there's nothing to hide. Having said that, I completely understand why some people keep it to themselves, and don't tell anyone. There are so many ignorant people out there who just can't possibly get it.

I re-joined weight-watchers this past weekend. I won't be taking in the "points" they require, but seeing as we don't really have any other face-to-face support groups in MB, I thought I'd join my friends there. No, I will not be sharing this story with them at WW.

[moonbeam 1]

Yay Fish! Happy things went well for you. :blushing:

Tammer, great idea joining weight watchers, do you know if others bandsters go there? I agree a support group here in Manitoba would be nice.

[tammar 0]

I'm not too sure about here in Winnipeg, but I've found a threat in this forum that discusses WW and LB.

[I Wanna Be a Loser 0]

Tammar and Moonbean - thanks for the info on PB. It does not sound like that is what is happening to me - nothing is comming up. It is just a continuous hiccup that I seem to be getting about 3-4 times an hour. Maybe I have some kind of gas trapped between my stomach and diaphragm - I will probably call the Maples tomorrow and ask.

With regards to the WW, I think it is great to have a plan to stick to that will work for you. It is my intent when I can start eating better to follow the Herbal Magic diet without the pills. God knows I paid enough to do that and I did actually lose about 70 lbs when I did it and was motivated. I actually kept the weight off for about 4 years. A death in the family put me off track and then I broke my ankle in an accident which killed my exercising and I turned to my best friend Mr Fridge for comfort. No matter what I could alway limp to him! It took about 2 years before I was able to walk properly again and by that time I put all my weight back on along with some extra for good measure :-) I know we all have done this. I have been in a weight loss yo-yo ever since. It just did not seem that I had the motivation to stick to the diet that I originally had and was constantly falling off the wagon.

Now that I am banded, I have a whole different attitude which I have though long and hard about prior to getting the surgery. I went into this not thinking about what the band would do for me, but instead, what can I do to help the band make me thinner for life. I am counting on that philosophy to help me through the rest of my life.

Thanks for sharing about your experiences with sharing with others - I have never made a secret about any diet that I have been on before, but still was concerned what people would think as many think it is a drasitic measure depending on their size and I don't think I could share this with the office staff as there are some very judgemental people. Maybe in the future, I will come out of the "fat suit"

Cheers

[mimi5757 7]

Hi everyone, I have only told my family and a few close friends about my lapband surgery. I know that it can be viewed by some as too drastic or the "easy way " etc. instead of a tool to help me with my weight problem. I did have one friend who tried to discourage me from having the surgery and now we talk about everything but the lapband. Kind of like the elephant in the room no one talks about....no pun intended lol. I do,however, get plenty of support from other friends and family for which I am very grateful.

[CanadianGirl.ca 0]

Hi everyone! I so much enjoyed talking with those of you who were at Maples on Saturday. Sorry I didn't get a chance to really visit with you, Moonbeam, as you went in right away to see the docs. I hope we run into each other again at our next fills. I thought that might have been you, Tammar, in the waiting room as we were leaving and now that I know it was I will look for you next time.

The first fill was so much easier than I expected- I thought it would be so much more painful but it wasn't a big deal. I found out I had 2cc's in my band already and Dr. B. put in 1.5 so I'm now at 3.5. I am definately feeling some restriction now. Mornings are tough because I have trouble even getting liquids down- they go down but I can feel every little bit of it going and it's uncomfortable. I haven't tried anything solid first thing because of this and have just been doing the carnation breakfasts. By noon things are better and I haven't had any problems with eating then. I am being really careful to chew lots and to pick foods that I know go down ok but need to try more things in the fruits and veggie department. I find that I'm just getting Proteins in and then not eating veggies. How's everyone else doing in the protein/veggie department?

My hubby is recovering well but had a really bad night last night. He has arthritis and the meds he takes are really hard on his stomach. He hadn't taken any since surgery but was in a lot of pain so thought he'd better take a pill. He was up all night with an upset stomach and he said he felt like he was having a heart attack from the chest pain. (He still is having gas pain from surgery as well) Does anyone else take arthrotec or any other meds? If so, how do you manage? I read on a thread some where that after having surgery a lot of people aren't able to take these types of meds because it damages your pouch. Has anyone else heard this?

[mimi5757 7]

hi Canadian girl, I was on Naproxin before surgery...was told by the docs to discontinue because of how hard it can be on the stomach....because our digestion is slowed down the medication may sit in the 'pouch' damaging the lining of said pouch. I muddle along using tylenol arthritis, but it certainly doesn't have the same effect as the anti inflams.

[moonbeam 1]

I'm taking Advil, don't seem to be having any problems with that.

[I Wanna Be a Loser 0]

Hello Canadian Girl

We sat next to each other when your husband was in surgery and you had just gotten your fill - I was getting my staples out.

I take Levothyroxine for my thyroid which I know is not the same as the arthric meds but I was was told crush my pills and mix in with a small amount of Water or pudding - not sure if that will help Mr Fish -but I thought that I would pass it along.

Good Luck - btw how are you making out with your fill?

Cheers!