Manitoba anyone?

[mandine 0]

Hi Everyone, I find it so funny that a few of you were at Maple Surgical Center last Saturday because I was there too for my consultation. I was the one with the baby if any of you remember, lol. I just have some concerns and if any of you can help me with some info, I'd really appreciate it. #1- I keep hearing about this "banster hell", lol. Can anyone fill me in. I"m concerned about getting this procedure done if the recovery is terrible. I'm a real estate agent and a single mother of two little ones so I can't be "out of order" for too long. Is the recovery that bad? #2 - Also, I'm concerned about not losing weight. Is that possible? I also see some of you talking about weight watchers and herbal magic (done both) and I'm kinda confused. I thought this lap band helps you to eat less, which in turn, you lose weight. I understand you have to eat healthy but is it recommended to follow a diet plan? #3- Can anyone give me advice on this? I'm really confused. Part of me wants this more than anything and can't wait to feel healthy again, but the other part of me is scared that it's the wrong decision and feels guilty for spending that amount of money on myself. Does anyone regret doing this? Thanks so much everyone. And I think that if there is enough people on here that are interested and are in Winnipeg, we should start our own support group and have weekly meetings. Something to think about!! Thanks again!

[I Wanna Be a Loser 0]

Hello Mandine

I was just banded a little less than 3 weeks ago, so I will let you know my experience.

#1 - The Maples was great - took good care of me and was availble for any questions or concerns that I had following the proceedure. I had a small complication where I pulled one of my staples and I would have to honestly say that for the 1st week afterward was pretty sore. I also experienced the shoulder gas pains, ususally in the evening which seem to be gone after about 2 weeks. I am also older that you - 48 yrs and I think that has also impacted my recovery time a bit. Frankly, I thought it would be worse than it actually was - but I will admit to having an overactive imagination. :-)

I was back at work - desk job with customer appts - after 2 weeks. I still like to nap a little afterwards when I get home - but attribute that to the annethesia. I would say I am now at 85% and each day gets better. Note that you should not lift anything heavy for a few weeks. A great and supportive partner or friend to help out makes all the difference.

#2 I started with a weight of 219 on May 26th when I began the post op diet was 211 when I was banded - this morning I was 199 - yahoo I high the incredible "one-derland". So I am down 20 lb. Some people find once they are banded that they are still very hungry - I am not finding this. I am taking the eating slowly - typical day would see me now eat : Breakfast - carnation instant Breakfast / lunch - light vegetable broth type Soup / supper: 3 oz fish/chicken with 3 asparagus. I usually drink about 4 - 5 cups of Water or flavored water. I suspect that I have some fill in my band as I do get that full feeling that I never had before and if I eat too fast or swallow too much - I feel sick - but hey, I am only human and old habits die hard-but we are all quick learners! The reason that we were talking WW & HM Diets were to give us a basis of a diet to give us some structure in order to maximize the weight loss that we would experieince. The dietician at Maples counselled us that we needed at good basic diet to follow - along the lines of the Canada food Guide. I know that the HM gave portions and the foods to get that wieght off which is once I have my first fill, I intend to follow that - plus it is structure. A typical day of food for me was : Breakfast - Starbuck Frappacino / 2nd breakfast: 2 pint choc milk & toasted bagel wi cream cheese / lunch Whatever the cafeteria special was / Snack: choc bar or candy / Dinner: About 8 oz meat-Veggie-Rice / Snack: raid the fridge/cupboard all nite & assorted pop/juice etc throughout the day. Hardly a diet to be proud of, eh?

#3 All the emotions you touch upon, we have all been there. Was the pain/discomfort worth it? Would I do it again? Absolutely! To be honest - my whole life has revolved around my weight and everything defined by it. (this is a story for another day!) With any major event in my life, I could tell you the exact weight I was. I never ever felt full enough or knew when to stop saying no to food. I would wake up in the morning mapping out meals for the day and once one was finished - I was dreaming of the next. Now, I am feeling full when I eat & I have learned to say "No thanks"

One of my defining moments was realizing that I am 48 and possibly only have another 30 - 40 years to live, if I am lucky, and do I want to live it fat and miserable like I was, (with more chances of problems occurring) or thinner (and being able to enjoy life) Option 2 was my choice. I was tired of living by the number on the scale and having them define me.

Yes the cost is expensive and I struggled with that too. The other thing is I looked at the amounts that I figured I spent on WW / Herbal Magic / Nutri System and guess what - they together added up to more. Hell on HM, it cost $2000 to join plus about $500 / month on bars & herbs plus the time for the weekly packages - $10 per week. Over the 4 years it probably cost me close to $10,000 and for what? After I left, I gained everything back, because I never felt full. In my short time being banded, I wish I could have done this 30 years ago and avoided alot of pain, suffering and wasted money. Our great grandmother alway told us kids: You can have money - but if you don't have health - you have nothing.

Sorry for the long post Everyone!

Cheers

[moonbeam 1]

Hi Everyone, I find it so funny that a few of you were at Maple Surgical Center last Saturday because I was there too for my consultation. I was the one with the baby if any of you remember, lol. I just have some concerns and if any of you can help me with some info, I'd really appreciate it. #1- I keep hearing about this "banster hell", lol. Can anyone fill me in. I"m concerned about getting this procedure done if the recovery is terrible. I'm a real estate agent and a single mother of two little ones so I can't be "out of order" for too long. Is the recovery that bad? #2 - Also, I'm concerned about not losing weight. Is that possible? I also see some of you talking about weight watchers and herbal magic (done both) and I'm kinda confused. I thought this lap band helps you to eat less, which in turn, you lose weight. I understand you have to eat healthy but is it recommended to follow a diet plan? #3- Can anyone give me advice on this? I'm really confused. Part of me wants this more than anything and can't wait to feel healthy again, but the other part of me is scared that it's the wrong decision and feels guilty for spending that amount of money on myself. Does anyone regret doing this? Thanks so much everyone. And I think that if there is enough people on here that are interested and are in Winnipeg, we should start our own support group and have weekly meetings. Something to think about!! Thanks again!

Hi Mandine,

I was banded April 14th. I had a lot of the same concerns you had. I'm a single mom as well, and the cost of the procedure was shocking to me. I figured it out though and between the costs of the fad diets, books, clothes as I yo yo'd in and out of sizes and mostly my mental health for beating myself up as I go.. I decided it was worth the price.

I lost 11 pounds on the pre op diet. After being banded to date I have lost another 6 or so.. depends on the day. While I"m not thrilled with my weight loss since the band, I am rather impressed that I have not gained anything back yet. I would be in what people call bandster hell as I am not yet getting much benefit from my band. On my 2nd fill a few weeks ago I started to notice just a bit. I can feel my band now, I feel fuller sooner, but I know I'm no where near the sweet spot yet as I just polished off a hamburger and fries. :rolleyes2: I do know that with my next fill I will probably start to feel more benefit from the band. So ..the jury is still out for me whether this was worth the 18000 but I'm very hopeful and I think it boils down to patience. I would rather not put out more money on weight watchers and herbal magic. I'm hoping that with the band as a tool for Portion Control and helping me feel full sooner and longer I won't need to put out the money for more of a plan. We can use the dietitian Danielle for the first year for "free" as part of the cost and I'm pretty sure that's what I will be continuing to do.

Good luck to you!

[mandine 0]

Thanks so much you guys for your advice. I've decided to go ahead with it. Hoping to get the procedure done August 11th. Just have to figure out how I'm gonna pay for it, lol. One more question if anyone can answer...I heard someone saying something about losing hair as a result of the lap band. Is this true? Do the doctors recommend taking a multi Vitamin since you will be consuming less nutrients? There is so much to learn about this lapband!!! Thanks again!

[mimi5757 7]

Hi everyone, I hadn't heard the term "bandster hell'. I guess that is what I've been in waiting to have restriction. It's taking me to 5cc to finally feel some. Weight loss has been slow, though I don't feel too discouraged as I have stated before that any downward turn of the scale is good news to me!

[I Wanna Be a Loser 0]

Mandine:

I have not noticed any more loss of hair than normal since I got the LB. I have started on mutivitamin as recommended along with a Calcium. I actually take the Flintones chewy Gummy multivitmin and a calcuim soft chewable.< /p>

Mimi when did you get banded? 41 lb is pretty awesome - you are almost a 25%! WTG! Remember slow and steady wins the race!

Cheers

[lesleegrace 0]

Hi Everyone!

I was banded at Maples this past March 7 and I'm just now stumbling onto your thread. I personally used the Medi-Trim shakes/bars instead of the Optifast for two weeks and honestly didn't find them to be that terrible. For those of you who may be on the pre-op diet right now and are looking for some options other than your veggies and diet soda while I was on the pre-op diet I had some sugar free Jello everyday. I ran by Danielle and she was totally ok with it and I really think that it helped me get past that urge in the evenings to have a sweet treat. My surgery itself went just as planned and only experienced the standard gas pain afterwords as well as some intense itching from the staples.

So far I have had two fills, and one de-fill. De-fill you question? About two weeks after I had my first fill I started experiencing some extreme back pain that kept me awake all night so I paged the good Dr's and we decided to take some fill out just incase it was related and they booked me a CT scan. Well turns out it has nothing to do with the band and it went away just as mysteriously as it began.

I'm really encouraged to read all of your successes so far, and a little jealous. I don't seem to be losing much weight at all, if anything I'm just maintaing the weight loss I acheived from the pre-op diet. I guess I've just got to go and get another fill and bump up the exercise.

While reading through the thread there was someone a little frightened of the fill procedure... don't be! I'm totally afraid of needles and pass out every time I get blood drawn and this isn't scary at all. The needle isn't big, its just a little poke and a little pressure while they find the access to the port and you're done before you know it. I have noticed however that Dr. B and Dr. A have different techniques for finding the port. Dr. B has you life your head almost like your doing a sit up and I find that this way it doesn't leave a bruise around the site. Dr. A did my unfill and he didn't have me lift my head and I ended up with a giant bruise but other than that it was fine.

I look forward to running into you all sometime at the clinic and maybe we can plan a little outing for us to meet and chat about our band experiences in person. There is another group online through yahoo that I've had some contact with that meets regularly but I haven't met with them yet. In fact I've kind of been left with a bad taste as I posted a question on their forum and the response from a couple of them felt kind of rude to me so I haven't really kept in contact. Anyways I'll cut my novel short now.

HAPPY CANADA DAY! :redface:

[moonbeam 1]

Hi leslee, nice to see you here, welcome! Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I'm like you... I have had no weight loss other than what I lost on the pre op diet. I'm patiently waiting to feel some sort of difference with the band. Crossing my fingers my next fill gets me a bit closer. I've had 2 fills both were 1 1/2 cc's.

I agree, we should all find a way to meet. I was going to say lets get together and grab some dinner (Isn't it funny how our social lives are food centred?) But we could always meet for some straw less non carbonated beverages in the mid afternoon so as not to compromise the no liquids with the meal policy...) lmao.

[I Wanna Be a Loser 0]

Hi Leslee - I believe you are talking about me - the one with the overactive imagination that the needles are 2 feet long. I am glad to hear how easy the fills are and that they try not to inflict any pain on a person when they do them. Like you, I am scared of needles and I will be doing my best not to watch them stab me multiple times to find the port (did I mention my overactive imagination? Oh yeah, moving on...)

Don't be discouraged with the amount that you have lost so far, in fact, Celebrate it and look at how far you have come since you started. We are only on the beginning of the journey. Once you get the your sweet spot, I am sure it will be like, all the planets in the universe have aligned and you will feel great. Some people do not feel restriction right away and continue to have an appetite it seems, and others do feel some right off the hop. I was asking about this when I went in to have my staples removed as I noticed that I cannot eat anywhere near the amount I could stuff in my piehole before. Dr A told me that some people do feel more restriction whereas others do not. There is actually one patient who has had the LB and has come in but has not yet had a fill to date. I guess I am one of the "lucky" ones who can feel some of the restriction which I find amazing, as my biggest problem before was not ever feeling full.

I am sorry to hear that you had poor response from the other group - I don't know who they are and I was lucky enough myself to stumble upon this thread of great people who I would like to meet someday and some who I have already come across, but was too shy to identify myself - next time will do it, I promise!

Cheers

[Too Fat To Fish 1]

hi everyone,

feeling not to bad 12 days out port hurts like a s.o.b. right after i get up in the mornings. its seems i can eat just about anything now, hungry all the time and cant figure out when i am full (eating to fast) even on liquids. i new that eating to fast and chewing my food was going to be my worst obstacle when i started this lab band.

my arthritis has been acting up a lot since my surgery don't know why that is because during my pre diet of two months i didn't have to take any pills for it. i felt wonderfully but now its really hurting like hell.

shoulder pain is there for me, my wife never got it so i guess she was the lucky one. my wife says i am suffering from bitchy-itis but i say its just the new band. or maybe the new me lol.

glad to see new people on here talking and sharing there experiences hope you all are doing well.

i seem to be losing a little bit of weight ,49 pounds so far, but now i am going to be eating so we will see if it stays off. no restriction at all for me but i get full quickly now so that is making me happy. :tongue2: like i said before i am going to try Atkins diet or something similar to it. hard to eat on the road when i am truck driving.

i don't go back to work till the 10th or so, driving my wife crazy around the house. well, maybe chasing her around the house. i tell her i have to get some exercise somehow.

just a few things to comment on. i am telling everyone about my lap band the way i figure it is that the more they know about lap band the less they look down on me for getting it per say. i my mind i see people looking at me like why can't he just lose weight without spending 16000. people are really supportive because they have seen me at 404 pounds and now have seen me at 355 and still going. i know its a big change on me and my body and people can see the change. On deciding whether or not to have this surgery i made the decision if it was only going to be fifty pounds then that was worth the money. if it took me 2 years to lose fifty pounds then that was worth the money. to get me moving again then that is worth the money. to go and take my kids to the park and walk there, that was worth the money. its all up to us to decide.

AND I CAN'T WAIT TO FISH AGAIN.

LATER EVERYONE:cool:

Edited July 2, 2009 by Too Fat To Fish

[lesleegrace 0]

A strawless non carbonated beverage would be wonderful. I know what you mean about everything socially being centered around food in one way or another. A friend of mine had her birthday a few days ago and tried to plan different things for the same day so that people who all aren't into the same stuff would get a chance to Celebrate with her the options: dinner (food), movie (popcorn, soda and hard to resist licorice), and some patio action at the Tavern downtown (alcohol and delicious deep fried foods). How exactly is one supposed to keep a social life with this thing?

Anyways, glad to hear the you're doing well Fish. I'm sure that your "bitch-itis" will clear up once you have something to do. I know my two weeks were painful only because I was sooo bored. I probably could have returned to work after a week but I was concerned about the physical demands of my job interfering with the healing.

I also have told almost all people about my band. If for no other reason than the strange stares and questions I was sometimes getting in the beginning about the quantity or type of food I was eating. Here's the awkward part though. I'm a lab tech in the St. B research centre and interestingly enough I work in a nutrition lab. It's sometimes hard to get students studying for a masters and PhD in nutrition or becoming a dietitien to understand where you're coming from. A lot of them were much more understanding than I expected I think because we're not just co-workers but friends and they understand how much I've struggled with this.

Wannabe, they won't stab you multiple times. Actually I'm lying cause my first fill they poked twice but for a different reason than the norm. Dr. B was showing Nurse Phil (who is totally cute and I hate having to go in there in all my pudgy glory and lift my shirt to show off my big belly) how to do the fills and Phil couldn't find it so they got a new needles and Dr. B did it. But other than that time for my other fill and the un-fill it was only one poke. They find the port, theres a little poke kind of a little wiggling but it doesn't hurt and then you're done. I also tend to have an over active imagination so don't worry.

I am really trying to look on the bright side of still being 12 pounds down. I guess I'm kind of frustrated because just before they took out some fill I had AMAZING restriction, maybe even too much. I was literally eating a little container of yogurt and a half banana for lunches and being stuffed, alas the back pain and un-fill and even though I'm now within 0.5 mL of where I was before the unfill I'm not feeling anything.

I'm off to the family cottage tomorrow for an extended weekend so I hope you all enjoy the lovely weather this weekend and get outside!

[mimi5757 7]

Hi wanna be, I had my surgery Feb. 3rd. I go for my next fill July 7th.

[mimi5757 7]

Hi leslee, you may find that as you lose weight and there is less fat around the stomach and the band that you will need more 'fill' to feel that same restriction. Anyone else going for their fills on Tuesday the 7th? If so perhaps will see you there.

[moonbeam 1]

Hi mimi I'll be there for a fill. Not sure on the time yet, it seems to change a fair bit from the original scheduled time. Hopefully Jen will let me know tomorrow. What time is yours?

[CanadianGirl.ca 0]

Hi everyone, especially those of you who are new. It's so nice to be able to meet all of you on here and it was great to get to meet some of you in person at Maples. Please do introduce yourselves if we all end up going for a fill on the same day again. My hubby and I would love to be able to get together with you if someone plans something but we live in Sk. so it would have to be scheduled for a day when we were coming for a fill/checkup for it to work for us.

Things are going ok for me but I have to admit I'm a little frustrated right now that I haven't lost ANY weight since I had my fill and even before that. I have a lot of restriction in the morning so I have been waiting until closer to noon to eat. Then in the evenings that restriction is gone and I can eat pretty much anything that I want. I am hungry so I have been eating more than I normally would have that late in the day. I know it is so bad to eat before bed so I'm trying to avoid that. I guess I should be happy that I'm not gaining but it's driving me nuts that the scale hasn't gone down for three weeks in a row now and I've been way more active. I was reading some of the posts and have seen others struggling with this too. Any advice, anyone? Am I expecting too much too soon?