Zoe

Congratulations on the new arrival -- and on your impressive weight loss. Thanks for sharing the beautiful picture.

Paula, please tell all of us what toothpaste you're using!

Congratulations to all you losers -- especially Ladiebird, that seven lb. loss is amazing! Penni, you probably put on lots of muscle at the marathon & training for it; your scale is not showing your hard work yet. Kim, maybe you're on a cyclical weight gain. Me, I'm at 208 this morning. That's down four from last week. But I can't take credit for a four-pound loss, because my body inflated my weight last Monday with monthly bloat. Add in my stats from two weeks ago, before the challenge, and you get a more realistic picture: 2/21: 211 lbs. 2/28: 212 3/7: 208 So really I've lost three pounds in two weeks! Still, I'll take it.

Just try not to drool on the windshield. The backsplash could impair your driving!

Norma and Dorothy, you're going through the hardest part of banding right now. Like all of us, you're expecting to lose weight with the band. You've had to change your eating habits (liquids, mushies) during the healing phases -- but you don't have any restriction yet, so it's as if you're being forced to keep a liquid diet without any support. Hang in there. Things should get better after you have a fill, which will tighten your band and help you feel less hungry. No doubt about it, between the incision pain, bruising, and hunger (which kicks in for some people right after surgery, for others, later if ever), the first weeks after banding are not easy. But -- to get back to Rachel's original post -- I think most of us here who have gotten past those rough weeks definitely believe it's worth it.

Going even further off-topic on crime fiction: PD James rules!! Don't forget our own (US) Dennis Lehane. OK, back to cramps -- I still have some paracetemol left over from my band surgery (didn't realize it was acetominaphen) that works for moderate cramps but, alas, the only thing that works for me when things get really nasty is narcotics. Yes, Rush Limbaugh stuff. Vicodin, to start. Luckily this only strikes a couple of times a year... painkillers make me sleepy, groggy, and stupid. Well, more so than usual.

Hi Kathy -- I missed this thread when you first posted a few weeks ago. I think you have a great attitude that will see you through the entire banding process. April 8 is just a month away. Congratulations to you for taking your health and body into your own hands. Maybe you can get your primary care doc to pay you for LapBand instruction!

I am a total potty mouth and I have to watch myself around my nieces and nephew. About the only successful conversion I'm managed is to say "effing" instead of. . . Well, yet another reason I'm glad I'm not in SE Idaho.

Denise, I bet I speak for a lot of people here when I say that if I had experienced what you've been going through and had little or no restriction from my band, not only would I not have lost weight, I'd have gained big time. Your last fill was two weeks ago? Did the doc use a fluoroscope so he could view the restriction from your band? If you can comfortably eat more than half a cup of solid food (as opposed to ice cream or even mashed potatoes) at a time, you probably don't have enough restriction to make a big difference in your feeling of fullness. I'll shut up about the medical stuff now -- I'm not a doctor, and don't even play one on TV. Just remember, you can always come here and vent.

What a brilliant idea -- take the motorcycle to work! Excellent solution. You have made it through the first two days (those few puffs of the icky old cigarette don't really count) and YOU ARE DOING IT. Congratulations.

Brava, Scotty! Sounds as if you're doing much better, and what a great attitude you have. I'm a Delia fan too, although I admit I've converted to Nigella, whose "Feast" cookbook has some fabulous recipes. She has such a big following over here that the publisher produced an edition with all the measurements in cups and tablespoons instead of the dreaded kilos. Chocolate gingerbread -- yum. Oops, sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned that...

I felt panic giving away clothes during previous diet frenzies, and it turned out to be justified. But this time I'm even getting rid of some of my old favorites. I sent some stuff for a bandster clothing exchange in Vegas last fall, where lots of women donated clothes and everyone who attended could go on a free shopping spree. I think that was a great idea. Like Becky, I'm sending clothes to a couple of people from this site, and I'm saving a few things a shorter friend of mine from out of town admired a while back -- luckily she's handy with a needle so she won't have trouble hemming the giant sleeves. Terri, I admit the BBQ sounds like fun, but you might find a fellow bandster moving through your previous size who could use some of your clothes. Someone about your height who's 20-40 lbs. heavier would probably be grateful -- and she can pass the stuff along to someone else as she shrinks. A big LBT hand-me-down chain! Also lots of homeless shelters and other charities are delighted to get stuff in larger sizes. Vines, I think the hoarding impulse is a natural one. I bet everyone here can relate to your fear of gaining the weight back. But look at all the success stories. Look at your own incredible motivation. If you're really getting freaked out (and believe me, I am speaking from experience here), get a bunch of cheap airtight plastic bins -- Target or WalMart has 'em -- and store your "fat clothes" there. If you don't have room in your house or apt. building, maybe you can store them in a friend's basement. Then after you get your band and time passes, you can see how you feel.

Wow, Laura, that's great news! I admit I read your post because I love your screen name. I'm 47, and I think the 40s are way underrated. I am much happier than I was when I was younger. Just think, you'll have your band to see you through the decade (and beyond). My hardest birthday so far was 39. For 364 days all I did was brood and whine: "Oh my God, I'm going to be 40 next year! What have I done with my life?" Well, the big day came and went -- and I didn't feel older, just relieved! BestMe, you might feel better too after your birthday is over. Make it a big celebration! (I had a "F* it, I'm 40" party.) A friend of mine just told me that 50 is the new 30. I don't know if that makes 40 the new 20 . . .

Hey B&T, happy birthday and congratulations! I agree with Trish -- put that 10 bucks toward new pants. I recommend Old Navy; my brother gets jeans & cords for $7 there and I got a pair last week for $3.97. Good luck with your doctor's visit on the 15th; I bet you'll have lost a lot of lbs.

Before you arrive, e-mail your surgeon's office to find out if you can have some of that delicious dark Belgian chocolate the day before your surgery! Just wondering: will the nurses speak English? French? Flemish? All of the above? Great idea, combining your banding with a vacation.

Aww, now I'm blushing and I'm going to cry. . . before the computer screen turns into a blur, I looked at everyone's weight-loss stats just in this thread. You are amazing! Pati, you may not have to trick yourself; even if you don't hit that perfect "sweet spot" with the first fill, you'll still notice a difference from no fill at all. And Karen, look at that -- 30 lbs. in three months. Way to go! Marie, you are very kind. Looks like you have your one-year anniversary the same day as my nine-month one. I love that you changed your screen name to reflect your attitude! Thanks for writing.

Hi Joanie -- You're right about the higher fee for self-pay clients of Dr. H. I pay $250 too because of the courtesy discount I receive as a Rumbaut alumna. I go to the Michigan Avenue office. It's very posh; if I'm lucky I can find a parking space at a nearby meter, otherwise it's the steep Bloomingdale's garage rates. You and Mercy are going to be fill sisters, getting "topped off" the same week. Good luck and congrats to you both!

Hi Amoro -- I know what you mean about feeling out of shape. A lot of us felt (or feel) the same way. Start slow, with something low-maintenance, low-tech, and low-budget, like walking or riding a bike (if you have one). You can go as slowly as you need to. As your body gets stronger, you'll be able to move faster and for longer periods before you know it, even after just one week. Don't push yourself too much when you're just starting an exercise program or you could injure yourself. Meanwhile, congrats on the new fill!

Way to go, Jenna! You're making it through the first day. I am one of those irritating never-smoked people so I can only imagine what you're going through. . . but a friend of mine who quit with the patch said it was a great tool. Maybe it's like a band for nicotine. Good luck -- we're rooting for you. You will really be able to smell those roses without smoke!

Thank you, everyone, for your kind words. I want to add a special message to Pati-O, since you're about to get your first fill. I don't know what your doc's standards are, but my first fill wasn't very tight. I didn't have real restriction until my second fill. I thought I should mention this so you wouldn't think you were weird if you had the same experience. Ask your doctor what to expect, and what to do if your fill seems too loose or too tight. If you are going to get your fill under a fluoroscope, you might want to check my old post on http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=3382 with pictures of the equipment. There are lots of threads in the LBT "fills" forum with great info and support. Patty, your "one day at a time" attitude is great. Congratulations on your new band!

Update: Well, that first fill really didn't give me much restriction. I knew I was in trouble when I could eat a full order of Peanut Sauce Lover with a giant pile of rice at my local Thai restaurant. From what I understand, it's not unusual for bandsters to require two or three fills before real restriction kicks in. My second fill on Jan. 21 did the trick, and now I'm losing weight again. You might have to be patient; it's frustrating, but it pays off in the end.

I just celebrated my six-month bandiversary last weekend, and I realize that not only my body but my mind and spirit have undergone changes since I hopped on the plane to Monterrey last August. Lots of bandsters way more experienced and knowledgeable than I have posted eloquent accounts of how their lives have changed with the band. I'm not going to attempt anything that profound. I thought I'd just share a bit with those of you who either haven't been banded yet or have recently undergone surgery, since those of us whose bruises have faded -- speaking for myself, anyway -- often forget the state of mind we were in early in our band journeys, and although I can't say my experience is typical, it might get you started on thinking where YOU might be in half a year. I won't bore you with my long history of fat; all you really need to know is that I had high blood pressure, back and joint trouble, and needed to lose about 100 lbs. I have been on just about every diet out there. I was one of the early Atkins guinea pigs in junior high in 1970 and gagged down liquid protein not too many years later, so that gives you an idea of where I started. I could lose lots of weight quickly, but I'd just put it back on, and last summer I was feeling like a big fat middle-aged failure. If 95% of dieters fail, and I had failed after 100% of my previous diets, what was the point? I felt there was no way out, and as much as I tried to adopt a fat-positive attitude, I knew I'd look and feel better thinner. But between my own weight-loss history, the daunting statistics, and the photographs of my four hefty great-grandmothers, I felt there was no hope. A couple of years ago I went to a seminar on RNY surgery -- gastric bypass. A woman who lost over 200 lbs. talked to us and was very inspiring. We were given body mass index (BMI) charts; a doctor told us that if we had a BMI of 40 or more, we'd be candidates, and would probably have the costs paid by insurance. I was a 39. I went up to the doc after the seminar and jokingly asked him, "What if I just gain enough weight to get to 40?" He rolled his eyes and said, "You wouldn't be the first one." When I realized that I was seriously considering getting fatter just to allow someone to cut my stomach open, I knew I had to do something. So, like you, I discovered the Lap-Band, and started reading everything I could find. Meanwhile, I lost 25 lbs., gained 22, lost 20, gained 25 -- you get the idea. Last June I went to the Grand Canyon for the first time. It is a majestic natural wonder, and I looked forward to long hikes. But I kept getting winded after just a few yards, and that was in the flat section. I also was very self-conscious when the crew of the tiny plane we flew to the canyon had to shuffle the seating arrangements to balance my considerable weight. That did it. When I came home, I got serious about the band. Despite my weight-related conditions, my insurance wouldn't cover the procedure. I decided I would find a well-respected surgeon I could afford, even though that would mean outside the US, and pay with my home equity loan. I was remodelling my kitchen; why not remodel my body? I won't say much about Dr. Rumbaut in Mexico, whom I chose because (1) he was highly experienced, (2) he's a bandster himself, and (3) I speak Spanish so I'd do fine in Mexico whereas I would be clueless in France & many other places. I'm not a shill for his practice, but I'm happy with my decision. There are enough doctor threads on LBT and elsewhere that offer lots of info about the various docs so that you can choose what is best for your situation. Lots of people had posted on LBT saying things like, "I just got a surgery date in three months!" so you can imagine my shock when I was told an appointment was available two weeks after I called. I hung up the phone, shaking. Those next two weeks were rough because I became totally obsessed with the band; I couldn't think about anything else, but I wasn't yet ready to tell anyone about it. I felt my upcoming surgery was a secret known only to Dr. R, LBT, and me. (By the way, there are threads here like "My Secret Lapband" that address the issue of whether, when, and whom to tell, with people weighing in -- no pun intended -- on all sides.) I decided to tell a few friends, and told a couple of family members as soon as I got back. But I went to Mexico alone, against the advice of a number of LBT members (although I did pay attention to their packing suggestions and travelled extremely light). I barely slept the three nights before my trip, and the night of my arrival I tossed and turned, wondering if I was doing the right thing. All I can tell you is that the anesthesia was a big relief because I got the first real rest I'd had in 96 hours. From what I've read here, that's pretty common. A combination of fear and excitement -- in my case, mostly the latter -- makes it hard to relax. I won't write much about the actual surgical experience; I posted extensively here right after it happened, and if you're curious you can see thread no. 2959. Let's just say I was bruised and sore, and as I stiffly rolled to one side to relieve pain coming from the biggest incision, I was really wondering what on earth I had done to myself. However, I'd had two major surgeries before, and in my medicated fog I remembered that this is just part of the recovery. Some people are hungry as soon as they come to. I was one of the lucky ones, if that's the right word, who had no appetite, so I wasn't bothered by the liquid diet restriction because all I wanted was water. (This from someone who wolfed down a half-rack of ribs the night before surgery.) I stayed overnight in the hospital and made the most of the IV painkillers. Despite my misgivings, after having surgery on a Thursday I flew home on Saturday and went back to work on Monday. Let me tell you, this is not a great idea. I know some bandsters feel fine after just a few days, but I wish I had taken a week off. I wound up working half days that first week; luckily my boss (who knew I was gone for a medical procedure but didn't know what) was wonderful, very understanding and flexible. If your boss doesn't fit that description, arrange well ahead of time to take some days off if you can. I also got a reprieve from the office's strict corporate dress code that first week and was allowed to wear a floor-length polyester dashiki! I don't know how I would have managed if I'd had to wear suits; I couldn't stand anything touching my incisions. Back home, I finally got the courage to look at my belly. Yuk! The incisions were small, but I was purple and yellow from the bruising. It faded in a couple of weeks. And I started to lose weight. I've taken up a lot of space with the early surgical stuff. I was one of the lucky ones who lost some weight in the first four weeks; mostly water, probably, but I didn't care. After a month people started to notice that my face and ankles were thinner. (My butt was as big as ever, unfortunately.) My appetite came back, but I managed to keep the hunger demons at bay during the liquid and mushy phases of the first four post-surgical weeks. The biggest change for me, though, was mental. From one month before surgery to one month after I had gone from desperation to hopefulness. I felt I was taking charge of my body, and even though I was sore, I was confident I would succeed. It was LapBandTalk that provided much of that confidence; I read posts from people who had experienced the same problems I had as a newly banded patient, and they'd reassure me (or whoever asked) that we were OK. The doctor gave me helpful post-op guidelines, my friends and family were terrific, but it was fellow bandsters who kept me propped up and encouraged. Flash forward a few months to late 2004: the holidays and all the food and nuttiness that comes with them. I had had one fill about seven weeks after surgery from a local protege of Dr. R, but didn't feel much restriction. I'd managed to lose about 30 lbs., mostly from plain loss of appetite after the surgery. People were noticing a difference in my shape, though. I joined an LBT exercise challenge and was determined to exercise for an hour each day -- in my case, nothing more complicated than walking the dog. I was able to walk faster and longer without getting tired. I was on sort of a weight plateau at 230-ish pounds, but I knew I would break through it, and I also knew I could gobble my mother's delicious Christmas cookies without feeling like a hopeless loser. I lost only 2-3 lbs. in the last six weeks of the year, but considering I had always gained at least 10 lbs. every Christmas over the last 20 years or so, I knew I had achieved a victory. Now it's March. I am an impatient sort; even six weeks after my surgery, I found myself thinking, "I'm working really hard at this. How come I'm not thin yet?" I've lost an even 50 lbs. in six months (261>211). But sometimes I look at my still-large self in the mirror and sigh. Still not thin! Something has changed, though. I've given away a lot of my too-big clothes, secure in the knowledge that THIS time, I can do it, with the help of the band. (I have a wardrobe from size 12 to 24; I couldn't bring myself to get rid of my "thin" clothes, ancient as they were, yet experience taught me I shouldn't be too hasty to get rid of the biggest sizes or I might regret it.) When I look at the before-and-after pictures on LBT, I'm further encouraged. I'm buying only the cheapest replacement clothes ($3.97 for marked-down cords at Old Navy!) because I really believe that my current body, while definitely an improvement on last year's model, is still temporary. I may not make my goal of 160 lbs., which I haven't seen for, oh, 35 years. I have been fat my whole life, and I've abused my body with funky diets and bizarre exercise programs for so long that I have no idea what size or shape my body wants to, or can, be. I got down to 170 for a couple of weeks about 12 years ago, and if that's where I wind up, I'll be happy. I'm trying not to fixate on numbers, but it's hard for someone who's had weight as a lifelong issue. Any problems? Well, I do PB more than I should. That's "Productive Burp" -- it happens to us bandsters with restriction, when we eat too fast and/or don't chew well enough, and the food can't get past the narrow opening created by the band, so it has nowhere to go but up -- out of your mouth. It's nasty. And I miss steak, thick, juicy, rare... oh, don't get me started. Before surgery I remember wondering if I'd ever eat like my old self again. Well, since I've had restriction from my last fill, I sure can't pig out the way I used to, but I can eat most foods, including the desserts that I love. I'll stop rambling now. I just wanted to encourage everyone who's just starting on their band journey. If you're really ready to make a change, the band is a great tool. Yes, you have to go through the pain (and expense!) of surgery, but six months into my banded life, I have to say it's definitely worth it. If you're considering the band, learn everything you can; LBT is a great resource. If you're newly banded and having problems, first, don't hesitate to check with your doctor if you think something's wrong, and second, know that it does get better. Really. You'll not only lose weight, you'll gain confidence and hope. I never thought a home equity loan could bring me that.

An English friend of mine told me that some restaurants have started listing this pudding as "Spotted Richard." Say it ain't so! Glad you're feeling better, Scotty. Aren't those first bites of solid food wonderful?

Congrats, Caramel! Let us know how you're doing. Tink, you asked about walking. Everyone seems to get different instructions from the docs; mine had me walking around the hospital the day after surgery. I thought I'd never manage to stagger out of bed, but once I started moving I really did feel better.

Excellent! It will be worth the wait. Thanks for sharing the good news with us. Hey, the 18th is just two weeks away . . . let the countdown begin for the 3/18 posse! By the way, are Krystals sliders the same as White Castle sliders -- itty-bitty burgers fried in onions & grease? (Irresistible, of course.)