PattyGirl66

Name, real or screen~ Patricia Goal weight for December 29th~ (279) Weight on December 1st~ (286) Age~ 49 Dietary goal for December~ (get in more protein) Exercise goal for December~ (work more on upper body) Personal goal for December~ (get into my denim skirt without squishing myself to death in them) Date banded~ July 25th, 2012 Total weight loss since banding/pre op diet~ 81 What is your favorite Winter/Christmas/Holiday Activity?~ (Shopping/baking)

Hi All! You know I love cooking/baking and developing new receipes for us to try. Well I made another hit tonight! Can we say YUMMMMO! Every Holiday I make a fattening version of this that my family requests, so I was in the mood for mushrooms tonight and came up with this. Crab Stuffed Mushrooms Ingredients: 6 small mushroom caps 1/3 cup of crabmeat (I use louis kemp) chunk or flake style (dice up into small pieces) 1/8 cup whole wheat plain bread crumbs 1 tbs. smart balance butter lite spread (or any lite butter spread) 1/8 cup shredded mozzarella (reserve a small amount for topping) 1 tbs grated parmasan cheese Directions: with a damp paper towel wipe down your mushrooms, remove stems and gently scoop middle (disgard stems). In a seperate bowl mix all the rest of the ingredients together. Fill mushroom caps, sprinkle remaining mozzarella on top. Place your filled mushrooms into a non-stick lightly sprayed pan. (I used a non-stick cake pan) as seen in the picture. Place into a pre-heated oven (350 degrees) for about 15-17 minutes. Wala!!! Calories for all 6 Filled Mushrooms : 214 Fat: 9.5 Protein: 9.6 Carbs: 20.7 Fiber: 2.6 Enjoy! PS: you can get very creative with mushroom caps and stuff them with just about any of your favorite fillings......

Please update us once you are able to so to let us know how you are doing and what the prognosis was ((hugs))

Its a very normal feeling. Our bodies after lapband surgery need to heal anywhere between 4-6 weeks, some even longer so don't be alarmed if you are feeling this way even after the 6th week. You will feel like yourself soon, just remember to follow your surgeons instructions on doing so, keeping hydrated is key. Plus don't forget Protein and a multivitamin

Hi Krystle, hair loss after surgery is very common. Numerous things affect hair loss like anesthesia, weight loss, it shocks the body. Some of us don't even experience hair loss until later down the road (that is whats happening to me) now. My hair is falling out too a lot! There is medically nothing you can do about it. You can take biotion supplments daily.Make sure you are drinking plenty of Water and taking a Multivitamin. Remember this is temporary.......

call up your surgeon asap, if they can't be reached go to the ER.

Great accomplishment CG!!! I know that feeling ohh so well. I can't believe how quickly I can move around and up and downstairs so quickly. Even my husband said to me the other day. "omg you flew up and down them basement stairs so fast" before I would have to take breaks inbetween me walking. Ugh!! good job!! How was the show btw??

Everyone is on target with keeping yourself hydrated, the one thing you should be doing the most. Yes, as said by the posters, take immodium. Water and gatorade can help tremendously, both will replenish all the electrolites back you are losing. Even though you are not able to drink alot all at once, you have to remind yourself to sip alllllllllllll day long. Have a cup of water with you at all times. Possibly one that has ounces on the side so you can physically see how much liquid you are drinking. Best of luck to you hon

Lisa!! its been awhile since I have seen your posts., unless I am just missing them. How are you doing??

Happy BandAnniversary!! -96lbs is a great accomplishment indeed!! PS: I am very sorry to hear about your health problems and hope everything works out well for you

Jim, I admire your courage to come on here and let everyone know who has been banded what is important about 'listening' to our own bodies and knowing when something is not right or wrong and waiting until its too late to do anything about it. Too often we read posts on here about someone saying they can't eat or drink or have difficulty, and still they wait it out because they are afraid if they get a small unfill they will gain weight. People wake up! This gentleman is giving you some insight of the consequences that can happen if we are not careful and dont pay attention! Thank you very very much, you possibly could have saved a lot of 'bands' from your post Oh, BTW.. congratulations on losing 121 lbs, that is remarkable!!!!!!! (hugs)

**inexcusable** sorry typo

I am shocked to Maddy! I was given almost a book.. this is totally unexcusable!

Destynee, the very reason you had lapband is to learn from your band for life. These 'fad' diets are just that and are temporary fixes. and to be quite frank why would anyone take a chance on having hormone injections to help you lose weight? isnt that why you had major surgery for? Let your new band work for you hon, and you worry about all the 'healthy' foods you will be putting in your mouth that is going to help you get there....

Hey Destynee, Sounds like a money scam of some sort to me. and I would like to know why in the world does she want to put you on a HCG diet plan? Seriously??? You know how old that is? I am surprised they still do that....... Did she give you a diet plan when she sat down with you initially? You don't need to see a NUT 4x a month, seriously. What is all supplies needed? My NUT sat with me for 15 minutes and wrote down on a plain piece of computer paper my calories, Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack. She jotted down some foods to try and avoid, and foods that was considered the best choice for Protein.(thats it)! She is covered with my office visits, nothing more ever gets taken out seperately to see her. I am sorry Desntynee, the whole thing to me is just doesn't add up. If you need to see a NUT can you just find one in your network that specializes in weight loss, there are TONS out there. You just have to do research... Another thing to note, I do not see my NUT every single office visit! I see her when I need her. I really don't know what else to say to you hon .. hope you get it all figured out! Let us know ((hugs))

What you said is very common, It usually takes you to hit rock bottom or something related to medical issues before we decide to take drastic measures to lose weight. I can't say it enough of times "why didn't I do this sooner". I waited to get to this point to finally do something about it. You notice your weight loss not only in numbers, but the way you feel wearing your old clothing, the regained energy and more mobility you have. Those are true results. Yes, for some it takes time for 'other's' to notice or respond. I wouldn't worry about that at all, you would be surprised how often people in general are reluctant to say anything towards a persons weight loss or even weight gain. I know we are our worse enemey when it comes to sabatoging ourselves. Personally, I think you are doing fabulous! Keep up the great work

Just stunning!! Congratulations on all your hard work! (hugs)

Pinkcess, I wouldn't know personally only by what I witness through family members. My brother and 2 of my first cousins had the gastric bypass done. Yes, their hunger fell rapidly on all 3. All 3 lost tons of weight in a very short spam of time. My 2 cousins shortly developed tons of medical problems on the way, still do till this day. My brother who lost all of his weight in months, started to 'drink' his calories because he had no desire for food. I mean he drank booze. I noticed in my 1 cousin she started to do the same and was belting huge amounts of booze down every weekend at the bar. Mind you these are people in their 40's so they are not young spring chickens we are talking about. Okay to date... My brother has gained allll of his weight back and more than what he started out with. My 2 cousins.. 1 has gained back 'some' weight but not all, and the other has to litterally force herself to eat actual food. She actually looks like death to be honest. I don't want to scare you, this does not happen to everyone who has gastric bypass, unfortunately like any weight loss surgery there is NO miracle or cure. If you don't want to play by the rules you will not win in succeeding. I beleive the reason people get gastric bypass is because of the rapid weight loss, and they don't want to keep up with the maintenance as you have to do with the lapband. There are pros and cons with every weight loss surgery, it is up to you to weigh them all out....

I posted this before, but I don't mind posting again...LOL

Deeeee! I loved your before and after pictures!!! <whistling>

Hey Taz, you have to stay strong and hang in there! It does get better! Your new stomache is still healing, remember it takes up to 6 weeks to do so. YOU must drink water and keep yourself hydrated. If you dont like the taste of plain water I suggest you start slicing up fresh fruits like oranges or lemons and limes and add them to your water for flavor. Water believe it or not will help you to heal and keep you from going back to the hospital from dehydration. Now, if you are craving chocolate really bad try a frosty chocolate Protein shake. Its filling, you get plenty of protein from it and you will get that chocolate taste you crave. Is sugar free Chocolate pudding on your diet list? if so have it for taste, but please don't jeopardize your band by putting solids in your new stomache. You can do this!

I go to an excellent Bariatric Center who have 4 Bariatric Surgeons, 2 NUTs on staff, 2 offices in NJ and about a dozen staff workers. None of the surgeons or staff workers have had weight loss surgeries. The surgeons are hands on and get very involved once they have worked on you. They are experienced in their work, even not knowing what an individuall goes through personally, only by what they document per patient. I feel if you are honest with your surgeon, he/she will be honest with you as well. Now I have seen all 4 surgeons and everyone has different personalities. Some are more strict than others (I won't mention names), LOL However, I personally like to see the surgeons who actually performed on me and if I don't I know I am in very very good caring hands. I personally have nothing but good experiences when I visit. The staff is super friendly. The surgeons are attentive and caring and I like they take personal time with you, its not a bum rush office visit. They really want to know everything! Everytime I go I have to fill out an entire sheet of paper of what I eat and how long do I feel satisfied on a meal, how many hours, etc.. They have a reputation to live up to as they strive to be the best Bariatric Center in NJ.....

I think in the far back of my brain it says the same thing to me "will this be the last time" My band tells me ohh yea, this will be the last time. Maybe its fear I have knowing I have this plastic thing around my stomache and I don't want anything to happen to it. Seriously, my thoughts about my band does put things into perspective for me. Not to mention I HATE having surgery as it scares me to death! I had a big surgery many years ago on my hip with I had it replaced, I was put under for over 4 hours and I had to have a blood transfusion. I was petrified back then and having the band was MY choice. My hip replacement I had no choice, my femur bone was completely gone and the fragment of bones left was rubbing against my pelvis just chipping away at my bones. I was really messed up, I couldn't walk! I have to honestly say, having Lapband surgery was the best decision I ever made for myself.....

I agree that the type of brand band does not matter, it will be the fills and how you adjust to them that does. As you can see we all have different size bands, and it takes many fills, unfills to reach restriction, everyone is different. BTW, my surgeon put a Realize band inside me, as I am clear about the Realize band it is a ONE size fits all, extending from 11cc to 14cc. Personally, I have an 11cc band inside and as of to date had no fills, but that does not mean I will never have one. My surgeon said he does not want to put any fills in me yet....

Hi Maddy, I can't wait for you to try this! You and your daughter will love it!!!