Looking for already banders or soon to be in the Houston/Cypress area!

[MyBandJourney2009 0]

Hey KarenK,,, glad to hear from you. I actually haven't been on lapbandtalk for several days,,, it seemed that once I started my liquid diet 2 weeks prior to surgery and then the week of and after surgery,,, I was just out of sorts with everything. Anyway,,, had my surgery Oct. 21st,,, today is my 2 week surgery anniversary, lol. I'm doing great,,, I had lot's of the air pressure afterwards,, but doing great now. I've lost about 21 pounds since starting the liquids,,, I have no restriction yet,,, I get my first fill on Nov. 23rd. right before the holiday dinner, lol. I'm looking forward to getting it and am going to have to work hard to keep my weight down till then. 3 weeks of no restiction and diet only,,, we all know how hard that can be,,, but hey, I have the band now, so that part of the journey is done!!!

How have you been doing since your post? Have you had any fills yet?

[MyBandJourney2009 0]

Hey BrownBear,,,, you are doing great!!! 80+ pounds is an awesome thing! When were you banded?

I live in Cypress,,, Telge near 290 We should all get together one day!

[Karen12345 61]

Hey there! I am doing great! I am now down to 274 and have been stuck there for about 5 days but I'm cool with it. I have been reading the posts and it seems that these plateaus are normal. I walk for 30 minutes about 5 times a week. It's been 4 weeks since the surgery and I'm still on mushy foods. I do eat tuna fish and a Soup of chicken and veggies... I'm sometimes confused if those are really mushy foods. I see my doctor next week and he said that he would probably schedule a fill the week after. It seems that he is going to be really conservative with the fills. I don't want to get anxious about it so I'm just going with the flow.

I'd love to get together sometime with other women in the Houston area. The 290 area works well for me.

Talk to yall soon!

[MyBandJourney2009 0]

Hey KarenK,,,, you are doing great to have lost 48 pounds and still don't have your first fill!!! Imagine how well you will do once you have that restriction!! I think that we might be getting our fills about the same time. My first is scheduled for Nov. 23rd,,, about a week after yours? I had my 2 week follow up this week and Dr. Waggoner says I'm doing great,,, he said to stick to a diet program, I don't have to do mushies but to be careful and practice a lot when I'm chewing to make sure and chew to applesauce consistency. I don't have any restriction in my band,,, he doesn't put anything in there during surgery,,, but I can tell that I eat less,,, I think it's due to eating slower and already loosing 20ish pounds. I eat mushies like applesauce, yogurt (found a great one at Kroger, (CARBmaster) has a lot of Protein,,, a lot less carbs and sugars as most,,, and it's good and then I eat stew,,, very slowly,,, very cautiously and tuna. Like you said,,, not sure if that's considered mushy,,, I'm sure not,,, but the amount of times I'm chewing,,, it's mushy, lol:-)

I'm sooooooooooooooo excited to have my band in place and I'm looking forward to next summer and getting to buy new summer clothes that I haven't been able to wear in 19 years:-) Like shorts!!! :-) That will be nice to do yardwork in something that's cooler instead of pants, lol:-)

Ok,,, I'm babbling,,, but it was nice to hear from you and I look forward to getting us all together,,, maybe we can get a group together at the end of the year,,, celebrating 2009 and the start of the new us,,, the bandito babes as another bander friend call's us:-)

[susan0978 0]

Hey everyone...I am doing good...I had my 2nd fill earlier this week, seemed the 1st one did not do the trick. The 2nd one is working for me so I am hoping to start sheding some poundage a little quicker than I have been!! I have joined Curves and that is going ok...I just HATE to exercise. I was going to the mall and doing my walking, I had to stop doing that...I was going broke, can't seem to pass up some stores!

I hope everyone else is doing good and by now we have all had or surgeries.

My doctors office has a support group and I found that helpful...I hope everyone else is getting the support they need to be successful with their journey.

Susan

[Karen12345 61]

Hi MyBandJourney2009 (what is your name???? I looked for it and can't find it..) and Susan. Yall are both doing great. I really enjoy this conversation. You both are in the same place as me. I have lost 48 lbs but really 34 of that was before the surgery. I'm 4 weeks post op now and have only lost 14. I know that's good, blah, blah, blah but the scale has been stuck on 274 for almost a week now and I'm really, really ready for another drop in lbs. I write down everything I eat and it's at about 900 calories a day now. I walk on the treadmill about 5 times a week for a half hour each day. Anyway... I know it's gonna start moving eventually. Yes, I would love to plan a get together in December. How about planning a meeting every 3rd Saturday and start meeting on December 19th? If that's not good for you, when would be a good time?

TTYL,

Karen

[susan0978 0]

I have no problem getting together on a Saturday afternoon...but Dec is not a good month to start for me. I already have something for every weekend that month. But you guys can start in Dec and I can catch up the next month.

I was also stuck with my weight for a while, but since my 2nd fill on Monday I have started going down again...2 lbs already!

You have done great with your weight loss. I had a very short wait between my approval and my surgery so I did not have a lot of time for the per-op diet so I really didn't have a significant loss before surgery. Have you had a fill yet?

Keep up the good work!!!

Susan

[susan0978 0]

For some reason I am not getting all the posts from this thread...weird.

My fellow Bandito's post (Kim) did not come through yesterday! So Kim all the things that you posted on this thread I asked you in my email that I sent last night...so don't think that I have COMPLETLY lost my mind...only most of it...ha.ha.

[renebeau 0]

Hey, girls, may I join you on this thread? I am from the Spring/Cypress area and I am not yet banded. I plan to have Dr. St. Laurent do mine, hopefully early January. I am waiting to see if insurance will cover the surgery. If not, I will likely self pay.

I intend to paticipate in my doctor's support group, but an informal group meeting would be great (if you'll have me!:thumbup:)!

Good luck to you all!

René

[susan0978 0]

Rene...heck yea girl you can join the group, I say the more the merrier! We need all the support we can get.

I know some people say that getting the band is cheating or taking the easy way...but they need to whacked on the side of their heads. This is not easy..we are still having to diet and exercise, we just have a tool to help keep us on track.

What insurance do you have? I have United Healthcare and I was approved pretty quick on my policy.

Welcome and good luck with the insurance...hope they pay!

Susan

[renebeau 0]

Thank you, Susan! I feel welcomed!

My ins is Cigna. I just had my psyc consult and will meet w/Dr. St. Laurent for the indiv consult when he gets my psyc eval next week. Then we submit, and the long, long wait.

If I am not approved, I plan to self pay.

I am currently "saying goodbye" to all of my food friends - fast food, buffets, Diet Cherry Coke, huge amounts...:thumbup:

So what has been the hardest part of the lap band journey for you? Is there anything you would change/do differently?

Again, thank you for the warm welcome!

René

[susan0978 0]

Ooooo that is a hard question...I don't regret getting the band at all. Of course I am still in the learning process. I HATE exercising...wish there was a magic pill or something for that. I would rather get all my exercise walking but I know that is not possible.

I was very lucky with my surgery and healing process, I was sore for the 1st couple of weeks but I didn't have the gas pains in the shoulder area that some people talk about. I slept in my recliner for the first week because I could not get comfortable in my bed.

Getting the daily Protein all in everyday is probably the hardest for me...I am not a big fan of the Protein drinks so I kinda have to suck that one up and put on my big girl panties and just get er done! You really need to start trying out different drinks now so you will be ready once you have your surgery, it will be easier to do it now.

I was only on a liquid diet for 2 weeks and that got old pretty fast...again needed to get those big girl panties out. Just stick to the diet that your doctor gives you and you will be ok. All the doctors are a little different some people are on the liquid diet pre-op and post-op. yikes....

I had my surgery in just a little over a month after I started my process...from my first visit to the doctor to the time of my surgery so I feel for those of you that have to wait so long. I get impatient about things like that!

I like your little weight loss ticker snake, I need to take the time and figure out how to add that to my account.

Susan

[renebeau 0]

So where can you get those big girl panties? I don't think I have any! :thumbup:

That is a terrific idea about the Protein drinks. Is there one you like more than others?

Wow - one month from 1st appt to surgery? That seems really fast!

Dr. SL does not require me to do a presurgery diet (thank God) because I am under 300 lbs. But I am totally dreading the "bandster hell" that will follow surgery. I am indulging every whim now in anticipation of the deprivation. I think I will feel more compliant after surgery after having been so out of control before.

Let me know when/where you guys will meet - I'd love to chat in person!:cursing:

René

PS - the ticker thing was pretty easy. There are instructions on this site somewhere. If you get stuck, I can try to help you...

[susan0978 0]

It is really not bandster hell...only the liquid diet! I am on regular foods now and can pretty much eat anything I did before. I haven't even tried bread, but I wasn't a big bread person to begin with. You just have to make the choice to eat smart. I like the Atkins drinks the best, it is more like chocolate milk and is easy to drink. My doctor told me not to just do the Protein drink in the morning but to try to eat something for that meal to get your metabolism going in the morning. I usually eat oatmeal and a banana or a scammbled egg and a piece of lean ham in the morning....mostly oatmeal. For lunch and dinner I have pretty much stuck to a lean cuisine or a healthy choice meal. But when I actually cook I do a lot of broiled chicken, tender roast beef or meat loaf.. a lot of green veggies or mashed potatoes (just a little now). I haven't done anything fried, which I miss!

With the band you just get full faster...you have to eat a lot slower and chew, chew, chew..so you don't eat as much, it is best to do about 4 or 5 small meals so you won't feel like you are starving ...I am just learning this.

I do miss a good ole cold A&W every once in a while. I did have a cocktail (or 2) at my high school reunion a couple of weeks ago and had no problems.

I would also like to have a support group...it would be fun and I think we could all learn from each other experiences!

Susan