La_madam

Am I the weirdo of the bunch? I was not hungry until week 3 post op. I had so much discomfort and bloatedness and swelling, food was the last thing on my mind. Liquids were just fine for me..but I will say that once I was able to add Protein shakes at day 10 post op it gave me more energy and I did feel a whole lot better.Once you get to add Protein Shakes it should help with your hunger and energy level.

www.lap-band.com then click on Surgeon Locator and start calling those in your area. Many doctors in the US will not take on patients banded in Mexico but some will but charge a higher fee. Good Luck

Congratulations on your approval..Good luck to you too on your journey.

Too many moments for me to even count! Seriously I was tired of waking up in the morning in pain, my feet hurt so bad. If I would sit down during the day it would take me 10 minutes to get up and get out all the kinks before I could start moving.I lived on Advil for the pain.. Since I have lost the 62 lbs I have not one ounce of pain or kinks in my body. I did not want my 3 boys to be embarrassed by their mothers presence at school functions, baseball games, in front of their friends etc..I wanted my life back I became a recluse not wanting to go out with friends, not wanting to entertain in my home etc.. I feel the best I have felt in years and it's only going to get better!!!

Hi Shannon I'm 38 yrs old and I was a self pay in Mexico I would not even consider RNY s owhen I heard of the Lap Band and researched it for 6 months I knew it was what I wanted to do. I even sold my mustang convertible to get this surgery that is how bad I wanted it. It has been worth every penny I have spent. I have been overweight all my life and have tried al lthe diets known to man to only fail time and time again, this surgery was my last hope of finding beating this demon. There is a great book out that has lots of info for people thinking about the surgery and for new bandsters. www.amazon.com is where to get it Laproscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding, Achieving Permanent Wegiht Loss with Minimally Invasive Surgery. Written By Jessi H. Ahroni I have had no problems or complications since surgery and have lost 62 lbs in 6 months. I am not deprived with the foods Ieat, I do not feel like Iam on a diet at all. This is a great site for lots of different opinions and you will recieve a ton of support. I hope you stick around..best of luck to you on your decision. If I can answer any questions for you please feel free to email me or send me a private message. Im, not a veteran bandster but I have 6 months under my belt..

I would love to do this.. I have a few future Ortiz bandsters that I am in correspondence with right now just helping them answering their questions and offering support outside of this board.. I think it is a great idea..I would love to be an Angel for free!

Me personally I like the balance gold bars they taste very good and have 15 grams of protein, I use them when I need a chocolate fix, they taste just like a candy bar. I do not look for low sugar ones but hi protein and great tasting ones is what I go for.

Penni I would love to be a part ot the Angel or buddy thing, I think it was awesome Greg went to visit Michelle..what a sweetheart! Penni get it started and I will participate for sure and I will even help co ordinate if you need help

Happy Birthday Pam I hope you have a good one...

Hi Melissa We all have our demons anmd we all have our ways of conquering them, you are not alone.... but I'm more concerend with is.. are you allowed solids all ready you were only banded 6 days ago? That is the important issue at hand...I was not allowed solid foods until 6 weeks post op.I was on liquids for 3 weeks then soft mushy foods for 2 weeks then solids .. It takes time to heal and for your band to set into place. I was told be eating solids to soon before I was all healed up could risk slippage of my band since the digestion process causes so much tumbling and rumbling of the stomach....I do not know what your doctors post op instructions were so please be careful.. Alot of people seek counseling or therapy for the compulsive eating and that is not a bad thing ...remember the band is a tool it does not make the choices of food for us , we have to do alot of the work still...I wish you all the success with your band. Hang in there..it does get easier.

Best Wishes today on your surgery. We will keep you in our thoughts & prayers

Hi Sharon Congratulations! I'm so happy to hear that your experience with Dr. Ortiz was great! I have to agree with you he does have run a class act of an operation especially now that he has an entire new office staff and has expanded his office space. He was good before but now Gabrielle has that place running like a well oiled machine! Happy to hear you are home safe and sound. Each day will get better and better as the gas goes away. Everything that you are feeling is totally normal so Take it easy & rest up..you need to heal ...do not over do it.

Ok Alex thanks for that post..I read it then went to my stationary bike and rode for 3 miles and now I'm here responding. You got my butt movin'. Your post inspired me

Monday 10/25 3 miles on the stationary bike..3 days in a row for me, that is a record! 3 miles is better then 0 miles. Maybe tomorrow I will go for 4

Happy Birthday Kathy.. a fill today..what a great birthday present you yourself.

Pre fill stage is for healing and not weight loss..I wish more doctors would stress this with their patients. I was told by Dr. Ortiz that any weight loss is a plus during the pre fill stage. The band is designed to be filled to work affectively, if it is not filled it does not work to the best of its ability. However there are both men and women who have made it to their goal weight without ever getting a fill. Don't worry ..the weight loss will happen..my 2nd fill has really helped me alot and you just have to keep telling yourself this is not a race but a journey. It will take time & you will have many bumps in the road along the way but you have to be patient. This week I'm having a little plateau..it happens to all of us ..Hang in there

Hi Selicia Welcome! Your attitude is going to make you successful with your new band. You seem like a woman who is very determined to succeed. I wish you the best. Now that you are a member here I hope to see you here often, this place is great for support. ..we are one big happy family!

Yes Greg I was told that too Muscle weighs more then fat so when your muscles are expanded after exercise you will weigh more. True Fact! I never wegih any other time during the day htne first thing in the morning right after I get out of bed. You will always be at your lowest then.

Monday 10/25 Congrats to you losers this week!! Awesome job!! 203.25 3/4 lb of a loss for me Must be hitting my first plateau, maybe its the exrecise, I finally get on the bike this week and BAM my weight loss slows down, Whats up with that? Hey a loss is a loss, scale is still moving downwards

Rica I'm very sorry to hear the news of your father's Leukemia Just to let you know though my son had leukemia and is in remission. They have made great strides in the cure for leukemia in the last 20 years.... 20 years ago yes I would of been worried about my son dying from leukemnia but now the success rate is over 80% and he is living proof. I will keep you in my thoughts and if you ever need to have any questions answered..feel free to email me, I know all there is to know about leukemia. Be strong (((hugs))

Sunday 10/25 3 miles again on the stationary bike

Alex I know those of us from LBT who met in Vegas this month spoke of starting a weekly chat session ..

Alex there was 6 of us and that was small only becasue I posted that I was going to bei n the chat room if anyone wanted to join me so those who were online at the time I posted it showed up...but I know that if I or anyone posted a scheduled weekly chat time in advance..people would come. Most of the Yahoo boards post a weekly scheduled chat time for example every Sunday night at 7:00pm. and they are full. I will be more then happy to post a weekly chat time if no one else wants to.

I would love to have a scheduled weekly chat session. I have used it a couple of times on the old forum and we all had a blast in there talking.

I feel for you Penni I have been suffering from Insomnia for the past 6 years...it sucks!!! The 2 best nights sleep I have had in years where the 2 nights in Vegas with my roomates Vera & Carol My insomnia is the reason I made my room reservation for Vegas originally for just myslef because I was afraid that who ever bunked with me would suffer as well from my insomnia. I have my TV on all night. Im up and down all night..drives my husband batty! Yours could be just from stress and mind chatter ...Xanax works well to calm & relax me