lizzy2150

Ten pounds since April 18 is excellent progress! I think that telling you that many patients don't need adjustments was a tactical error on your doctor's part--it set your expectations way too high! Most of us do need adjustments. I got banded on July 6, 2011, and I didn't get perfect restriction until about three months ago. I've lost weight slowly but steadily, but I've had to adjust my expectations to match my reality; I'm a slow loser. It's going to tak a while to lose all the weight I want to lose, and it's going to take work, but it can (and will!) happen. I think that you should read the forums on this site to get an idea of the variety of experiences people have with the band. You are doing just fine.

Good luck!

I forgot to check in this week--but I neither gained nor lost. *sigh* 238.

Name, real or screen~lizzy2150

Age~41

Weight on November 1st~239

Goal Weight for November 29th~229

Exercise Goal for November~walk 60 miles

Dietary Goal for November~continue recording my food intake every day

Personal Goal for November~complete a NaNoWriMo novel (nanowrimo.org)

Date Banded~7/6/11

Total Weight Loss Since Banding~29 lbs

I have a few things to contribute:

First, you have a medical device implanted in you and you have the legal right to know exactly what is involved in it, including how much fill is in there. If they won't tell you, give them a written request for a copy of all of your medical records from their office and specify that you want to know exactly how much Fluid is in your band. They may charge you for the copies, but that's all they can do. Your doctor cannot legally keep your medical information from you. I think sometimes doctors need to be reminded of this.

Second, telling you that you didn't lose enough weight to "earn" a fill is both obnoxious and defeating. If you haven't lost weight, are exercising, and are hungry in between meals, then it's a sign that you DO need a fill.

Now, if you are not exercising and are eating slider foods to get around the band, that's another story. In my opinion, step one is getting your head right--are you working the band and exercising? If so, step two is getting your doctor's head right--and if she doesn't treat you with respect and give you the help you need, see if you can find another doctor.

Honestly, if a doctor refused to give me information I requested, I would be pitching a fit. And refusing to give a fill on the basis of NOT losing weight is absurd, unless there's some indication that you're in the green zone but not working the band--if that's the case, then the dr. is right about not giving a fill. But she's still wrong not to give you the information about the amount of Fluid in the band. According to my dr., although everyone is different, most people with a 10cc band hit the green zone somewhere between 5 and 7 cc's of fill. If you only have, say, 3 cc's, it might not be surprising that you're not losing quickly.

IMO, anyway.

I got my lap band in May. People ask me all the time if I would do it again and what the worst part is. Yes I would do it again. I know I would still be gaining weight if I had not. And to me the worst part is that it is slower than I thought it would be. I have only lost 25 lbs. And I know that is better that gaining even an oz. but I thought it would be more by now. I have had 3 fills and I do not know how much is in my band, they will not tell me. I had broke my foot and I am just now getting back to exercising. I think what make's this so hard is that it seems like my doctor is never happy. I say I am walking almost 4 miles she tells me I should be doing 5. I say I am go the elliptical for 25-30 min. I hear it should be longer. I went for a fill the other day and I had only lost a couple of oz. I had just got back from vacation. And she said I hadn't lost enough for a fill. And I need to work harder and come back in 4 weeks. And I should only be eating 1/2 C. of food 3 times a day, no snacking. I feel so week when I do that. She said I should be eating no more 500 - 700 cals. a day. Am I being a big baby? Am I not working hard enough? This is my first time to write anything so sorry if it's a lot. Thanks for your thoughts.

I didn't manage it by the 29th, but today I hit my monthly goal weight of 239. Hooray!!!!

WOOHOO!!! I DID IT!!!!

I'm in again! LOVE this one!

Rolls of quarters in your pockets when you get weighed?

I added unflavored Protein powder to chicken broth and beef broth and tea and apple juice and other clear liquids--I couldn't stand the Isopure drinks. Blech!

Hi, Larry! No published novels yet, though I have an agent. I write urban fantasy, primarily (think "True Blood"-type stuff) though I'm currently working on a young adult postapocalyptic novel. I'm a college English professor, so most of my published work is academic. Keep your fingers crossed for me on the novels.

Curiosity has gotten the better of me, what kind of novel is it? Since you say your last novel, I assume that you have previous novels. Any published? Any available online?

I like these soy chips--they cover my "junk food" craving and are only 100 calories for a bag:

http://www.revivalsoy.com/products/chips/index.html

Checking in at 240. I missed my goal by only one pound--and I originally thought the goal was unrealistic. HA!!

My other goals:

Exercise Goal ~ Use elliptical at least 30 minutes a day, at least five days a week--in addition to attending yoga classes every week. I did okay with this except when I was visiting family in California. But I walked a lot there, so I still did fine.

Dietary Goal ~Track everything that I eat or drink every single day. I did okay with this except when I was visiting family in California.

Personal Goal ~Get back to writing every day (this month: revise last novel). I did not do well with this one. I'm re-visiting it next month!

I'm actually feeling better tonight. The band is tight, but I don't think it's too tight now. I've been able to eat solid food in small amounts, so I think everything will be okay. I'm going to give it the weekend and see how I feel Monday.

I wrote this letter to a friend who is having her surgery tomorrow. It's nothing new, but it distills all the information I would have liked to have had in one place before my surgery, so I thought I'd share it. If it helps you, I'm glad. If not, feel free to ignore it.

I know you’re having your surgery tomorrow. I’mexcited for you!

I thought you might be interested in some of the things I’velearned so far. Having a lapband is different for everyone, but these are mythoughts at the moment:

One of the best articles I’ve read about how the lapbandworks is here: Protein shake. I couldn’t make itwork that way. I have to treat it as a diet and track calories. The difference frommy previous diets is that I have been getting progressively less hungry ratherthan more hungry.

I think this whole thing will be easier if you starttracking calories and Protein as soon as you’re back on regular food. I usemyfitnesspal.com—if you want to add me as a friend there, my username islizzy2150. I set mine up for 1200 calories a day—and until my last fill, Iusually also ate all the calories I “earned” through exercise. Now I eat about 1000-1200calories a day total (I don’t use my earned calories) and am not hungry!

I’m a night eater. I always have been. So I arrange my dayto accommodate that. I have coffee when I first get up and a protein shakemid-morning. For lunch I eat 100-200 calories. That leaves me most of thecalories for the end of the day, when I am likely to eat more anyway. Whateveryour tendencies are, try to work around them in a way that makes it easiest to useyour band as a tool.

I feel better if I eat more protein than the nutritionistrecommended; she said 70-75 grams a day, but I feel best if I’m taking in90-100 grams. That may just be a personal idiosyncrasy, but if you feeloverwhelmingly hungry or are more tired than you think you should be, tryhaving more protein for a few days. It may help.

Don’t forget to take your vitamins—I’m convinced that I don’ttake in enough variety of food to truly supply all my nutritional needs, evenon days when I am eating a wide variety of things.

I regularly read lapbandtalk.com; there are a lot of peoplethere who have a lot of experience with the band. If I have a question, I postit there. I’ve gotten some great information on the site.

The band works better if you exercise. I started by walkinga little bit every day. I joined the YMCA about six weeks ago and now take yogaclasses a couple of times a week and run 3 to 5 miles a day. So it took mealmost two months to really work up to exercising regularly.

Remember that your ultimate goal is losing an average of 1-3lbs. a week. Some weeks will be better than others. But as long as you do whatyou’re supposed to, the weight will come off. From everything I can tell aboutweight-loss rates, I am a fairly slow loser—but the weight is coming offsteadily, so I stay pretty happy about it.

That’s all I can think of at the moment. Good luck!

*being able not only to walk, but to RUN again!

*being a positive, healthy role-model for my daughter; I don't want her to have any memories of her mother being fat!

betheboo: Have you been on liquids the whole time? Or have you been able to eat solid food some?

Hi, everyone! I'd like some information.

I got a fill today (my fourth) and tonight my band is really tight. It's not so tight that I can't get down liquids, but it's not far from it. This is the first time that I've gotten a fill and felt like I had no choice but to stick to the liquids-only diet for a day or two (I've done it before, but not because I couldn't eat--I chose not to). If the band stays this tight, I'll need an unfill.

BUT I also know that there's sometimes swelling after a fill. So here's my question: how long should I wait to see if the excessive-feeling tightness is due to swelling or is because the band is too tight? Three days? Four? A week?

I'd also be interested in any stories from people who felt like this and then had it go away (or had it get worse--I'm interested in any information!).

Is it worth it to call my dr.? Or should I wait a few days and see what happens? What would you do?

I've been out of town and not on the boards for almost two weeks, but I wanted to check in now with a weight of 242. That's down, but I can't remember how much!

I have an eighteen-month old and was banded on July 6. By the end of three days, I was able to change her diaper (albeit slowly, and on the floor rather than her changing table!). I couldn't pick her up until the end of the first week, but I could take her hand and lead her around and do all the regular basic things that needed doing. I just moved slowly and was careful. I think you'll be fine.

Checking in at 245. Doing well with eating and going to the gym, still haven't moved on to other goals . . .

I actually am a snacker. I'm also a slow loser, but I AM losing weight. The difference for me has been in changing what I snack on AND in counting calories. I use myfitnesspal.com to track everything I take in. I stick to 1200 calories a day, though I often also eat the calories I "earn" through exercise. And my favorite Snacks are Revival Soy chips from revivalsoy.com. They're high in Protein, only 100 calories per bag, and help me get my "junk food" fix without the junk food repercussions. I also like Greek yogurt, Baby Bel Light cheese, and Protein Bars.< /p>

My surgeon told me that a properly banded patient should not have heartburn or acid reflux.

I used to have to take Prilosec every day. I haven't had to have one since the day of my surgery.

I'm very happy with my weight loss so far but I'm even more thrilled that the lap band has seemed to have cured my heartburn. Before I had the band, I had the most painful heartburn almost every night. It was so miserable. I had to sleep almost sitting up and never got a goodnight rest. Since I've been banded, I've had zero heart burn. I've been able to sleep laying down and it's been wonderful. Has anyone else experienced this relief since being banded?

MRSA is incredibly common now--the official figure is that 40% of the general population in the U.S. carries it, though many medical professionals suspect that number is actually much higher. Being a MRSA carrier is not a deal-breaker for surgery. Just be sure to let your surgeon know that you have a MRSA history; he or she will almost certainly want to give you an additional antibiotic that is effective against MRSA and may want to do a Bactroban treatment beforehand. Otherwise, most surgeons don't consider it a huge problem--you just need to make sure you (and he or she) take the proper precautions.

Checking in at 248. Lost 1 lb.

Have done a good job with exercise and food, not such a great job with personal goals. I'll work on adding that next week.

Hi, all! I, too, wanted to check in and see how everyone's doing!

I got my third fill last week and I think I've finally found the green zone. I'm able to eat very small amounts of solid food (1/2 a cup on a good day) and am making sure I get my Protein by adding one or two shakes every day.

I've discovered that I'm a VERY slow loser, but have (after some minor frustration) come to terms with it, mostly. My weight will regularly drop several pounds, then bounce back up, then finally settle out at a net loss of a little over a pound a week.

But better than that are the NSVs. I'm back to exercising regularly. I take yoga classes several times a week and have actually started running again--or rather, I had started running, but hurt my knee. So now I'm using the elliptical machine every day and doing the low-impact equivalent of running. I've dropped several clothing sizes. I'm able to keep up with my toddler.

I LOVE MY BAND!!

How's everyone else doing?