kacee

Been there...done that. I avoided mirrors like the plague before banding and FORGET about looking at my body without clothes on....NO WAY!!!! I didn't make friends with my mirror until about 3 months after surgery. I had my clothes off one day, had lost a goodly amount of weight and was feeling pretty feisty about the whole thing and I stepped in front of the mirror and I've been hooked ever since. I couldn't believe....I stood there and DIDN'T GAG!!!! I now stand in front of the mirror and go "Not BAD old girl!!!!" Sure my tummy hangs over a little and things are fairly saggy, but they hang and sag into a size 12 now instead of a size 24 and that's plenty okay by me! I'm gonna get a little nip and tuck done in the next two years to just smooth out the edges, but honestly, I feel pretty darned good about what I see now!!!! Who'd a thunk it! You'll get there and you will love it. I have been surprised at how "fast" a process it has seemed to be. This last year has WHIZZED by!

My calves are 15 and were 15 when I started out and still are. My legs do look a lot smaller, and I must have lost some weight in them, but the tape measure hasn't changed. Not a lot you can do about big calves. It's hereditary more than anything. Most you can hope for is losing weight in your feet and ankles to give you some shape. Unfortunately I have always been cursed with fairly thick ankles too so I have to be careful with shirt/pant lengths (I can only wear SOME of the longer cropped pants and skirts need to hit about halfway down my shin in order to bypass the bulk of my calf and I will never be a good candidate for shorts or bermudas....)

Yeah, I was Cigna too, and I knew I would be denied because I was borderline BMI (38) even though I had the co-morbidities. I opted to self-pay and it sure made my life easier.

As you said, it is VERY easy to discount those 4 french fries, that ice cream cone, etc. That's why I log my foods online. It has been a real lifesaver. When I fell off the wagon I could go back and tell exactly what, where, when and why it happened and there was no mystery to why I was stalled out.

I too initially looked at Spiegel and then was not impressed with the office staff. Since after care is THE most important aspect of the band, I wanted a good experience and went with Dr. Spivak....I love him and no regrets whatsoever. I understand Dr. Spiegel is a reputable surgeon, but you have to have the whole package or it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I'm very happy working with Dr. Spivak.

I was stopped on the way in to my building at work by two people (one I didn't even know) yesterday who commented on how much weight they noticed I had lost. All I could do was smile and smile and smile. I look into mirrors now. I look at my body naked now (always averted my eyes and ran past the mirrors before!) and I don't wince. My scale is my best friend now (hadn't had one in my house for thirty years before this!). Now I will probably have to have plastic surgery on my face for all the lines and wrinkles I will get from just the smiling!!!!

Hi Amy! I'm waiting with baited breath for the outcome. My girlfriend at work is still THRILLED with her TT from Dr. Adam (done 12-14) and she looks GREAT. Can't wait to get your take on it!

Would like to hear from any folks who have used Dr. Adam for their PS. I know nurseamy is having some work done soon (if not already). I am considering Dr. A. for a TT and neck lift in about a year or so. I have herd nothing but GLOWING reports of his work (have had several friends who have gone to him with very satisfied results). Any others out there had work done by Dr. Adam?

HAHAHAHAHA! GAS???? Oh you have just begun! I sounded like a calliope for a month after surgery (thank goodness...the alternative would have been a lot MORE pain). Once you get all the surgery air out of you, then the regular burps begin. I am 9 months out and it seems like every day is a new day with my plumbing. You know, I would not trade it for anything with what I have now compared to where I was last spring!

Okay, there are two things you need to learn the names and properties of: PB = Productive Burp (Who the hell came up with THIS term?)...This is when food goes down too fast or is not chewed enough and gets caught at the opening into the pouch. When it gets STUCK you get a knot-type feeling in mid-chest which indicates that the food isn't going anywhere. Sometimes you can suffer through it and it will go down slowly. Sometimes you need to go to the bathroom and "get rid of it" for relief. It is like a vomit without some of the accompanied "nastiness"....the food somes back in the same condition it went down in...just chewed...there is no stomach acid with it (like a regular puke...that nasty sour stuff)...and it is often NOT accompanied by full stomach contractions like with a regular vomit, more like it comes from the throat up. The PB food coming up can be accompanied by sliming.... Sliming = When the stomach sense that food is coming, it releases mucus into the mouth and esophagus and stomach in order to help facilitate the movement of the food down the canal. When food is stuck, it's like a backed up toilet. The stomach goes "Oh, here comes food!": and starts secreting, but when the food doesn't move, the mucus backs up into your throat and mouth. You wind up have a huge mouthful of thick saliva (oh the bubbles you can blow! :-) )that must be spit out. Sometimes sliming precedes a PB, sometimes the food is just slow going down and you slime a little. Suffice it to say, it's worth a trip to the bathroom to spit it out. WORD OF CAUTION: NEVER NEVER NEVER try to "flush" stuck food down with a liquid. It works on a regular body, but not the way we are constructed now. It is a recipe for disaster. Like throwing a gallon of Water into a clogged up toilet, it's gonna do nothing but sit on the clog and come back up.

I looked at Dr. Spiegel and was unsatisfied with the coordination and organization of his office. I had signed up for the consult and they "lost my name" and then when I cancelled the called me the day of the (cancelled) consult and wanted to know why I didn't show up. Then they called me a few days later saying the same thing. The right hand obviously did not know what the left hand was doing and I have heard that from more than a few people. I have heard that it is more like a cattle call there. Dr. Spiegel is not known for his bedside manner, which of course many people could care less, but I want a LITTLE TLC from my doctor. I opted to go with Dr. Hadar Spivak. He was the first doctor to do the band in Texas and has done thousands of bands. His staff is very courteous, his nurses knowledgeable, he has a fantastic bedside manner and does BEAUTIFUL work. I highly recommend him. He operates at Park Plaza hospital over on Binz. I've never had to wait to get in or not be able to get a quick appointment.

Asherje, you are YOUNG and strong with your WHOLE LIFE ahead of you. If you were in your 60's with a bad heart and diabetes that would be one thing (though even then the repercussions of losing the weight after banding would probably win out over the conditions before hand). I was 55 when I had my band put in. My surgery was a BREEZE. I was up and around when I got home from the hospital the same day as surgery. I was driving in 48 hours. I was back at work in 5 days. NO PROBLEM. This is NOT critically invasive surgery. Laproscopic surgery is miles away from slicing someone open and carving out their insides, and the recuperative process is geometrically faster. Go very easy on the lifting initially, but you should be fine before long!

My surgeon commented that I had very little belly fat when he first saw me. Because of that I requested a low profile port. I knew the first place I would lose would be my stomach. When I lie on my back there is a small lump where the port is. I can put my hand flat on my abdomen just below my breastbone and only have to barely push to feel it. No big deal at all. It's just a part of me now. I never give a thought about it.

Plateaus are a fact of life and a part of the process. You have to get very scientific about them. There is a very physical reason you are stalled out. I would say you are nowhere NEAR taking in enough calories. 800-1000 is ideal. Don't think just because the caloric intake is low that your body is going to drop the weight. Sounds reasonable, but there are multiple factors at work which guarantee that is NOT going to be the case. Up your protein, up your calories, up your liquid intake substantially and above all....LOG your food intake. Can't stress that ENOUGH.

I started about a month ago with little tiny burps...all day long. I can just SEE it in my mind's eye....a bubble smaller than the size of a grape....it just bubbles to the surface and I feel it pop up into my throat. If I let myself do it, I could literally do tiny burps about every 20 seconds. Sometimes I forget myself and I let them "pop" and then I rembmer that it IS a burp and people can probably still hear it even though I have my mouth shut. Gotta watch that!:thumbup:

I was on a ketosis diet too about 30 years ago. 600 calories a day, if you can believe that. Every morning I went and had my ketones checked at the doctor and had a small B-12 shot. I gotta say, even taking in only 600 calories, I felt FANTASTIC for the 5 months I was on it, never shakey, never weak. Never got sick and felt like a million bucks. Elixer of the Gods! But if you don't NEED B-12, it'll be the same as shooting water into your body. You'll only react if you have a deficiency that it replaces.

Two days post op is chickenfeed! Good heavens, if you had your tonsils out did you say "What have I done?" the day after surgery? It's SURGERY people....even at it's best it is an invasion of the body and a shock to the system. Most any surgery saps the body of strength and stamina for about two weeks at the outset. Of COURSE it gets better. Every day will get better. It took us years of abuse to get ourselves into this nasty condition, and it's going to take a few weeks of discomfort to get on the road to a new life. I think that is a small price to pay for what's in store the rest of your life. I would go through it again ten times over for what I have today!

If you REACT to getting a B-12 shot...then you needed one. If you don't react...it won't help much. I've heard of people who have been anemic or run down and when they had a B-12 shot it was like a direct bee-line of adrenaline into their system. They did everything but fly around the room. I've had them before (just very tiny doses each morning) when I went to a diet doctor back in the 70's. I had small shots each morning before work and I noticed a marked increase in stamina, well-being, and I was on a 600 calorie diet at the time (yeah, those were the days) for 5 months and never got sick or felt bad once.

Yep, I got a nice chunk o' change back in my return! Ran right out and bought clothes!:thumbup:

You can still drink SOME carbonation stuff, but I wouldn't make it a daily habit. I have had sodas and energy drinks since I was banded. Haven't had beer though. I was careful at first to see what the results would be. You certainly cannot gulp it and I would keep it in moderation.

I use FitDay and I purchased the program online. It gives you a bunch of graphs and charts that are great resources in watching what's going on. I've had it about a year now and really like it.

If you are already into the fill stage you can probably start trying to experiment with your pill taking. I only crushed and cut pills for the first 60 days and after that I can take ANY size pill without problem (even after 5 fills). I would venture to guess that you are being sick from the drainage for the most part. You really need to get the allergies under control.

Here's my take on it.... There are two things you need to learn the names and properties of: PB = Productive Burp (Who the hell came up with THIS term?)...This is when food goes down too fast or is not chewed enough and gets caught at the opening into the pouch. When it gets STUCK you get a knot-type feeling in mid-chest which indicates that the food isn't going anywhere. Sometimes you can suffer through it and it will go down slowly. Sometimes you need to go to the bathroom and "get rid of it" for relief. It is like a vomit without some of the accompanied "nastiness"....the food somes back in the same condition it went down in...just chewed...there is no stomach acid with it (like a regular puke...that nasty sour stuff)...and it is often NOT accompanied by full stomach contractions like with a regular vomit, more like it comes from the throat up. The PB food coming up can be accompanied by sliming.... Sliming = When the stomach sense that food is coming, it releases mucus into the mouth and esophagus and stomach in order to help facilitate the movement of the food down the canal. When food is stuck, it's like a backed up toilet. The stomach goes "Oh, here comes food!": and starts secreting, but when the food doesn't move, the mucus backs up into your throat and mouth. You wind up have a huge mouthful of thick saliva (oh the bubbles you can blow! :-) )that must be spit out. Sometimes sliming precedes a PB, sometimes the food is just slow going down and you slime a little. Suffice it to say, it's worth a trip to the bathroom to spit it out. WORD OF CAUTION: NEVER NEVER NEVER try to "flush" stuck food down with a liquid. It works on a regular body, but not the way we are constructed now. It is a recipe for disaster. Like throwing a gallon of Water into a clogged up toilet, it's gonna do nothing but sit on the clog and come back up.<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

Ya know, sometimes I think us more mature gals heal faster than the youngsters. Maybe it's because we've had the adversity longer and we're used to it, I don't know...but I was 55 wehen I had my band and my healing process was MUCH quicker and easier than a LOT of kiddos half my age. I got out of the hospital going "Well, THIS was chicken feed! I'm rarin' ta go!" and I never looked back. The operative word here is sticking to the program...getting in the liquids and the proteins and making GOOD choices. The magic DOES work!

That's just a guideline. Sometimes I can eat three bites and I have to put the food away. Sometimes I can eat an entire meal (in moderation). There is no set rule and it fluctuates daily with the band. In the mornings sometimes if I try to drink milk it comes back up. By dinnertime I can eat a whole japanese dinner (stir fry, soup, chicken and shrimp....no rice). There is just no hard and fast rule. You eat until you are full but you HAVE to learn how to ANTICIPATE fullness. You eat till just before you are full....then you are fine. If you eat until you ARE full, sometimes your body rejects that. That's where the learning curve is.