jen120

My best friends daughter!

I see you live in HB. I live in Cypress. I had my surgery at St. Joseph's in Orange. They are a center of excellence. It is an awesome facility, no program fee. My surgeon was Dr. Johnsrud. They are a very comprehensive program. They have support groups 2x a month. You do have to pay 1 time (since it is not covered by insurance about $130) to see their nutritionist but after that you can see or talk to her as much as you want. The staff are great. Also, I have Anthem Blue Cross and they required a 6 month Dr. supervised diet before approving the surgery. If you are going to wait until January, start your supervised diet now with your primary physician. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hi, I eat 1100-1200 calories a day. Sometimes I have bigger meals than others, usually for dinner my meal is a bit larger. A 1/2 cup or a 1/4 cup of food is a bit ridiculous unless you are eating 6 times a day. I eat 3 meals with 2 snacks M-F. Weekends I just eat 3 meals. I focus on the nutrients and calories rather than the volume that I eat. I do make sure not to stuff myself or get overly full. The important thing is after you eat you want to be satisfied for 4-5 hours. Band or no band, 1/4 cup isnt going to cut it!

I had surgery May 23rd and do not have a fill. I don't have a lot of restriction and I could eat as much as I wanted if I let myself. But if I stick to my right portions and follow the instructions, then I am not hungry in between meals, which is what I want. I eat 1100-1200 calories a day. I dont ever get "full", but I am satisfied. I've never been stuck, I've never thrown up. (Which makes me very happy) I saw my surgeon 2 weeks ago and together we decided on no fill because right now things seem to be working. I'm losing weight consistently and do not get hungry. That doesn't mean that sometimes I dont crave food or that I dont want to use food in the destructive ways I used to. I have "head hunger" all the time. It is as much a mental game as it is a physical one. But without the physical hunger, I am able to talk myself out of the mental stuff. I'm plan on getting a fill when one of 2 things happens... 1) I start getting physically hungry in between meals 2) If I start eating larger and larger amounts of food or start binging (had problems with binging for many, many years) Check out this article...it talks about restriction vs satiety. Its not about restriction

I MISS DIET COKE!...or maybe I just think I do. I have not had one in 3 months. Most days I am great, but I dont drink coffee or tea so Diet Coke was my only source of caffeine and some mornings boy do I need some caffeine to get me going! I drink Water and Ocean Spray On the Go. Its like Crystal Light, but comes in cool flavors like Cran-Grape that to me taste exactly like the juice.

Even if the band does not have a fill, it still does narrow the channel for food to go down. So it is possible to get stuck. I do not have a fill, and I have never been stuck...but I have been close once or twice. It is always my own fault because I took too big of a bite and didnt chew thoroughly. Luckily, it didnt happen. I can tolerate any food, but I do make sure I chew, chew and chew.

So sorry to hear about the insurance situation. I have to agree your dr. is awesome! I dont know if many would do that.

I was able to take all my medications 1 day after surgery. I took one at a time, drank some water and took a bite of jello. (That's what my doctor recommended during the first 2 weeks after surgery) I waited a few minutes in between each pill. Now I just pop them in, drink water and am good to go!

If you feel restricted and are getting stuck a lot, it does not sound like you need a fill. I wonder if you are eating enough? Do you track all your food and calories? Are there specific foods that give you a problem with getting stuck? Is there a time of day you are more prone to getting stuck? Are you eating foods high in Protein? I know for me, when I was only eating 700-900 calories a day I stopped losing. Now that I eat 1100-1200 I lose consistently. I have never been stuck, but I dont have a lot of restriction. I've never thrown up. I do need to make sure I chew, chew and chew some more. If you dont already, I would track everything you eat, time of day, calories, protein. Keep track of your fullness, make a note if you get stuck. Do this for 2 weeks to really get a good handle on what is going on. Then take the information to your surgeon and discuss what is going on. I hope things work out for you. Hang in there!

Congrats on your surgery! I'm 3 months out from surgery and do not have a fill. I don't have a lot of restriction and I could eat as much as I wanted if I let myself. But if I stick to my right portions and follow the instructions, then I am not hungry in between meals, which is what the goal of the lap band is. I saw my surgeon 2 weeks ago and together we decided on no fill because right now things seem to be working. I'm losing weight consistently and do not get hungry. That doesn't mean that sometimes I dont crave food or that I dont want to use food in the destructive ways I used to. I have "head hunger" all the time. It is much a mental game as it is a physical one. But without the physical hunger, I am able to talk myself out of the mental stuff. There is a great article that many of us have read and recommend. http://drsimpson.net...estriction.html It is so good about explaining what the band does and doesnt do. My surgeon subscribes to these same concepts. I read this article over and over to keep if fresh in my mind. I know I will need a fill in the future, but for now I'm going to keep things as they are since it seems to be working. In the end you need to make the right decision for you. But ask yourself, are you doing everything you can to be successful? Take care...

For me it has absolutely been the right choice. I've only had my band for 3 months, but I am very, very happy! Be sure to research everything thoroughly. If you have the drive and dedication, it will work great for you! Good Luck at your meeting!

Hi Jim, Welcome to the forum. My BMI was 60 when I first saw my doctor and I weighed 415 pounds (5'10). I think most surgeons will ask you to lose weight. My surgeon's office requires patients to be below 400. Please dont be discouraged if you do need to lose weight because you can do it. 5 years ago I lost 100 pounds in 9 months. That was just doing weight watchers and exercising. Of course I gained it all back. Losing weight is actually not the hardest part for me...its keeping if off. I looked into bypass, but for me I didn't feel it was the right choice. I have a friend on another web site who is a guy (37y) who has lost 155 pounds since being banded about a year ago. He eats about 1100 calories a day and works out at least 5 days a week. So I know the band does work. This is important for you and your life...persevere and do what you have to in order to accomplish your goal. I know it looks tough sometimes, but we are much stronger than we think we are! Good Luck...if you have any questions about surgery or other stuff, dont hesitate to ask. By the way...my BMI is now 51.6!

Congrats! Sorry it took so much work on your part, but you persevered! Way to go girl!

Wow, that is crazy! Congrats and good luck!

So far for me...I was able to get rid of one of my BP medications. I'm still on some others, but I am hoping with more weight loss that I'll be able to get rid of those as well.

Yikes! I think you are making a wise choice to search for a new MD.

Congrats on making a wonderful decision and for all the hard work you have done! Thanks for sharing your success!

I had the same issues about 3 weeks after surgery. I was eating about 800 calories a day. I ended up increasing my calories to 1000 and started losing weight again. Now I eat 1000-1200 a day and lose consistently.

Wow! All your hard work has paid off. It's wonderful to see that people can achieve their goals! Thank you for sharing your success!

Congrats on your hard work! It just goes to show that it can be done! Thanks for sharing your success thus far!:success1: I cant' wait to get to that day!

Thank you ladies for being part of the registry. I worked in pediatric bone marrow transplant for 3 years and now my research focuses mainly on finding new drugs for childhood leukemia and lymphoma patients. We do have a transplant protocol and I recently had a leukemia patient who had a donor who backed out at the last minute. It was devastating for the family and the little boy. Thank you for being willing to share a part of yourselves with a stranger.

Wow, what an amazing adventure!!! Congrats on all those wonderful victories along the way. I can't wait to go on my own safari once I get down to a better weight. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for sharing that it can be done for those of use who have a lot of weight to lose! Congrats!

I'm with you on Bariatric Advantage Mixed Berry...Yuck! I have 3/4 of a bottle. I found that I wasnt taking them consistently and decided that is not doing my body any good. So I ended up getting some One a Day Scooby Doo chewable vitamins. I love taking my vitamin now.

I have not had a fill so I'd dont have any advice there. But with regard to the pre-op diet...make sure you find Protein shakes/drinks that you like because you'll also be on them after surgery. I didnt find this site until too late or else I would have tried all different kinds of shakes to see what I liked best. Instead I was stuck with ones I hated and they started making me gag after surgery. If you look in the "Pre-surgery" section, there are lots of thread about Protein Shakes and recommendations. Congrats on being scheduled! Good Luck!