La_madam

I never really had mine covered, they were just gluedshut with a couple of steri- strips over them

I am an always on the go kind of person, do not like thing complicated, I loved the pre made Atkins in a can ( chocolate royal) it had lots of protein, and when I had time I would blend it with ice and add a tsp or 2 of peanut butter.. or forzen strawberries..Yum!

If you are still losing each week then you do not need a fill and MOST if not ALL doctors will not even think opf giving you a fill if you are losing every week. Dont rush it if you are still losing then , fills are for when the losing stops for 3 consecutive weeks or longer while following the rules. Just because we can eat more does not mean we should, this is exactly the point where you need to work with your band and not give into head hunger. Ask yourself are you truly hungry or do you just think you are hungry. Head and band have to work together to make it work.

Read this site, it will help you so much in deciding if it is a fill you need or an adjustment in your head...it was very helpful to me :eek: I hope it helps you as well. http://lapbandtransformation.com/Adjustments.htm

Happy Birthday Penni, I hope you have a special day!

I am glad to hear you are home and on the road to rcovery. COngrats on your new band, I hope it works well for you.. Take it easy and do not over due it :eek:

I was never told to avoid seeds. I ate seeds the entire time I was bandedand had no problems with them. What is the reason for NO seeds?

It has been 9.5 months since I had my band removed. I have gained 4 lbs back in that time. Each day is getting harder and harder for me so today I joined weight watchers. I need the accountability of weighing in every week with a real live person, it seems to motivate me and keep me on track. It is only 12.00 a week and to me that is minimal if I can lose a lb here and there or maintain this weght loss I had from my band. It is actually a good program and I know of several who are having great success with it. This is one program I never tried in the past ( tried every other diet) I feel doing WW with 90% of the weight lost with my band I can get to my goal weight of 150. with out my band Had I done only WW to lose all of my weight I know I would of quit since I had over 100 lbs to lose, but since I only have 28 to get to my 150 goal I feel very possitive I can do it with the help of WW. Iam allowed 24 points a day, so far today I have eaten 3 egg whites and 1 piece of dry wheat toast to equal 3 points. for a snack I ate a bananna to equal 2 points I have 19 points left for the rest of the day, point tracking is easy, I always thought it would be a pain in the butt , I was wrong Wish me luck :eek:

In my opinion it looks like you are not eating enough... have you tracked your calories? You need to be between 1200-1500 or otherwise your body will hold onto any food ittakes in thinking you are starving it. It also does not look like you are getting 60 grams of protein in a day either. Breakfast - Low Carb Slim Fast - 20grams protein per serving Instead of a Liquid Protein try a solid protein like scrambled egg whites they go down easier then real eggs add a piece of turkey sausage or turkey bacon. Lunch - 1 cup taco soup - PB'd on the last bite Instead of a soup which again is liquid calories try eating some sliced lunch meats with some sliced cheese, it wil lstay with you longer and has more protein. Snack - 1/2 cup dry Cherrios Dry cheerios are full of carbs which does nothing to curb hunger and will only make you crave more carbs, how about trying a Protein Bar, it is solid and will stay with you longer Supper - 1/4 cup tuna, 1/2 cup green beans - PB'd the green beans Snack - 1/2 c no sugar added vanilla yogurt Again yogurt is a soft food and we all know soft or mushy foods do not stay long in your pouch. If I needed a snack Iwould eat a handful of nuts with a piece of string cheese they both have protein and are solids. Water - Consumed 4 16oz bottles today between meals/snack times What is your current fill level? I ask because if you can not eat solids without slime or PB you may be a tad too tight. Having as little as .1 or .2 cc's removed will make a difference in being able to eat solids, one thing my Dr. stressed to me was if I PB more then once a week, Iam too tight, he told me I should beable to eat solids without PBing, If I cant then Iam too tight. Something to think aboutPbing often is not good for your band, too tight of a band is not good for the longebity of your band and does not help with your weight loss.

I was told by my doctor to not eat solids before the given period, it is important for your band to anchor in and for the stitches to heal , if I ate solids too soon I was at risk of having my band slip since the digestive process of solid foods makes your stomach rumble and churn which could make your band slip if it is not set in place. So I followed the rules to a T, I was scared to have my band slip Pretty much what I was told

I was told by my Dr. to not worry about weight loss during the first month, his main concern was for me to focus on healing. He told me any weight loss during the pre fill stage is a bonus, since the band was designed to work it's best when it was filled. Did your Dr. tell you any of this ? But for therecord I lost 19 lbs in the first 9 weeks

I know for me once I start with any kinds of carbs or sugar I crave more carbs and sugar,and I eat all day long what works for me to get me out of it it to start the next day and eat protein only. Protein curbs hunger and keeps cravings at bay.

Hi Kirsten, I was an Ortiz patient as well. I also had a problem with burping the entire time I had the band, I could no longer burp. It is possible you have some restriction, few arefortunate to have it just from the band alone, it could also be you still have swelling from surgery since it was just 3 weeks ago. I had restriction from the band alone for the first 9 weeks then I got my first fill. The full feeling with the band is different from what it was like pre band, you will never experience that "thanksgiving " full feeling again, your body will give you a subtle signal, sometimnes hard to figure it out, for me it was an icecream headache, others I have heard it was a sneeze or a pain in theshoulder or a runny nose. It takes time to figure it out, but ifyou are waiting to feel full like you did pre band, it won't happen, it is most likely mental hunger.

I have decided that tomorrow I will start weight watchers. I need something since I no longer have my band. I have been doingthis on my own since November and have had minimal weight gain (4lbs) but it is getting harder and harder everyday. I need someone to be accountable to other then myself, the weekly weigh in with your counselor really work for me. Even if I never go to a WW meeting but I follow the "Points" diet and go every week to weigh in I feel it will benefit me 100%. I refuse to gasin this weight back. I just need something to motivate me. I havenever done WW before but have tired al lthe others before ( Jenny Craig, NutriSystem etc...) For $12.00 a week to me it is worth it to have the accountability, plus there are severa lgirls at my work who are going to join also, we are going to have a little contest . I love a contest. :welldoneclap: Also my brother lost over 100 lbs with a different weight loss program (optifast) and has put every lb back on and thenb some so I want to support him since he wil lbe joining WW with me ( we live together) Wish me luck, I will check back in this thread weekly

You may be suprised. Once I was at a good fill level, I had zero cravings, hunger was not in the forefront of my mind any longer, it was the strangest thing. I too had the same concerns, but the band does help with this to a degree. Do not beat yourself up about this, one thing I always said to mysel;f when I had a bad day with my band, " there is always tomorrow" and with the band in place and with your fills, even when you think you had a bad day and ate too much, it is far less then what you would of eaten pre banding..hang in there, you have no fill yet, once you get your fill things will most likely change for you...Good Luck

I wish you the best Crystal, keeping you in my thoughts. Post when you can

I love Pogo..it is my favorite site other then LBT

Keep an eye on it, if it is not better in the morning call your Dr. because even though you say the water is going through , there still could be some blockage. I had a girlfriend who had a piece of hot dog stuck for days , water went through fine but she had blockage, do not want to scare you but want to make you aware...definately take it easy tomorrow with thesolids you may have some swelling going on there if it has been sitting there al lthis time.

Large pure breds dont have the longest life span 9-12 yrs I have had 4 rotts and the all died between the 9-11 year however I have had a small mutt who has outlived them al lshe will be 19 in November, mutts live longer in my opinion , smaller dogs live longer in my opinion

I take a B-100 complex everyday reccomended by my PCP

Iam currently 168 and need this challenge to get me going again...Iam in!

I saw a weird thread earlier that looked like a hack job....

What kind of pain? Pain in your port?Pain when you eat or drink? If it is pain when you eat or drink, it could be ytou are overfilled. Please be more specific so we can help you

Miper, do you go to Ortiz/Martinez for your fills? If so they would most likely see it since they do fills under flouro and know what they put in the last time you had a fill.

I love this time of year too.. I am a huge football fan GO SEAHAWKS!!