kacee

I'm another Texas girl! And Terri that is a great picture of you and I see a difference!!! I'm another success story for Dr. Spivak in Houston. I gotta take some "during" pics. There should be some kind of change visible by now since I am down 34!:clap2:

I'm on my 3rd fill now and I am just shy of my sweet spot. I think I am really really close and may just need to be "topped off" here in a few weeks. The first two fills did basically nothing for me....but after reading all the posts I wasn't surprised.

<p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Try Clear Ease (you can find it on line). It is popular with scuba divers to help clear sinuses. It is a papaya enzyme (i.e., meat tenderizer). After seeing a few other posts about it, I got a bottle and keep one or two lozenges in my purse. If you have an "episode" you can pop a lozenge in the corner of your mouth and let it dissolve. It cannot hurt and could help break up whatever is stuck. Mind you....I haven't tried it yet because when my food has gotten stuck it was because I messed up and it was GOOD and stuck and probably coming back up, but if you have a situation that is really minor and it could stay down and go through with some help, this might be the trick.</p>

I am 2.5 months out and just tried my first hamburger patty yesterday. Absolutely NO problem. HAHAHAHA However, I was only able to eat HALF of it!!!! YEEEHHHHHAAAAAA!!!!

<p>I too dropped about 20 pounds the first two weeks or so. You gotta remember that a LOT of that is water weight. I think that's probably the first thing that comes off... but I tell you what...you keep that PROTEIN coming in and you will feel FINE. Keep you supplements up too. I never felt anything but WONDERFUL from day one. I am 2.5 months out and have lost a total of 34 pounds and it doesn't feel like it has come off fast at all, but it feels very natural. I'm down to about a pound (or two) a week, and that's fine with me.</p>

Oh, and yes, I was the smallest person in MY seminar also. All I could think as I looked around the room was, "Thank GOD I am doing this now instead of waiting to where some of these other folks have gotten to...." It just resolved me MORE to get it done and get on with my life.

By the way, I am now down below you in BMI, and I am still considered obese and have 34 pounds more to go before I hit my (very realistic) goal.

My BMI was only 38, but I too have been obese since the age of 7. That predisposition plus my sleep apnea, hypertension, etc. drove me to get the lapband an I have NEVER looked back. This will be the tool to aid you in keeping that weight under control for the rest of your life. If you are 25 and struggling, I can guarantee you're going to do nothing but go up up up as you mature and your metabolism slows. You are absolutely doing the right thing.

Why don't you supplement with protein drinks. I do a protein shake in the mornings before work (a cafe mocha protein powder with skim milk and ice in the blender). That gives me about 23 mg right off the bat. Isopure makes protein pre-made fruit/koolaid-type clear drinks in a bottle (they also have powder stuff...that's not what I am talking about here). They have 42 mg per bottle, so I split the bottle and have over ice. If you find it a little sweet, cut with water and it works fine. There are about 8 flavors and I haven't found one that I thought was yucky. That way you can get in your protein without having to adjust your food schedule too much. Works for me!

You know what, that was one reason I had never really seriously considered WLS before (also I didn't like the thought of major surgery with the bypass). However, I feel just like I did before....only a million times better. Your life adjusts...believe me. You will be eating pretty much the same stuff you ate before (though judging by how that affected my weight initially, I've revisited that and tried to alter my way of thinking about which foods I eat now), but less. I am 2 months out and I am still trying to get my EYES to adjust to my STOMACH (the old eyes are bigger than your stomach is completely TRUE now). The worst thing I find I deal with is still having the mindset of loading my plate...when I am only going to be able to eat a small portion of what I load on. I don't miss anything. I don't feel deprived at all. I don't feel like I have sacrificed anything and I didn't really go through a "food grieving" period. Things just got BETTER for me all the way around. I thought initially I might feel like something was taken from me after it was done...that is TOTALLY 100% NOT the case. I feel like I have just awakened from a 20 year sleep, and my life is starting over!

Ahem....I just PB'd about 3 minutes ago trying to drink my morning protein shake (I seem to be tight in the morning these days and sometimes I forget)...no biggie. Really. I agree there is a lot of drama around this. If you ever have a PB, just be sure you are reasonably close a bathroom. Otherwise, it's nothing (well...you certainly don't want to be in the HABIT of doing it) to be alarmed about. Pretty much after I have one of those I am just going "Well, crap, I should've watched what I was doing a little closer...."

<p>I JUST broke down and ordered a couple of shirts from Lane Bryant (I do like their stuff)....but bit the bullet and ordered size L instead of 1X. No clue as to if they will fit, but if NOT, they'll go into the closet to be tried on each week until they do! Also got two shirts this weekend...one in a 1x and one in a 14-16....the 14-16 DID fit....exactly (no wiggle room, but it looked GREAT!) so it's another one I will stick in the closet and try each week until it is a LITTLE looser. I'm one of those people who NEVER wore things tight or figure hugging (even when I was thin, because of my thighs), so I am just used to things being worn out, hanging down, etc. Maybe I can re-think myself and get to the point I can wear something that actually FITS my figure......ooooooooo....there's a hurdle......</p>

My gosh I was lucky...I am 55 and yes, I STILL look to my Mother for some approval and glow when I get it. I had been thinking about the band and she was my potentially biggest obstacle (she's ALWAYS been on me to lose weight...."If you don't do it when you are young it will be next to impossible as you get older."---and she was absolutely right of course)....I finaly bit the bullet and said, "Now don't yell at me, but I'm thinking about getting the lapband..." (notice the preface...)...I held my breath and she said, "I can't believe you haven't brought that up before now! When are you wanting to do it?" I was completely astounded. And, as they say, the rest is history.... Even if my Mom wouldn't have been receptive (but there is no way she wouldn't because she is fantastic and I am her biggest fan) I would have found a way to do it....for me.

Wow, are you incredibly tall or what?

You can pick up some butterfly bandages from the drug store and use them to help keep the wound closed. Chances are that's what your doctor will put on it anyway, unless he glues it again or something.

<p><p>For Protein shakes, I REALLY like Dymatize Cafe Mocha ELITE whey protein isolate. I mix 8 oz skim milk with that and some ice cubes and blast it in my personal blender and it is wonderful. Haven't found one I like better so far. </p> <p> </p> <p>Also, for clear drinks, try the Isopure in the bottle (you don't mix it). It's like fruit punch or kool aid and I have actually found that it is very good. They have about 8 flavors. Haven't found one yet that I really don't like at all. Each bottle has 42 mg of protein so drink half a bottle at a time over ice. Water down just a tad if it is a little too sweet for you. Don't think GNC carries it (they carry all the powder stuff) but you might try a health food store that concentrates on things like weight training, etc.</p></p>

I named mine The Beast. It lets loose about every 3-4 hours daily. Then I throw it a "bone" and it shuts up for a while. It used to be extremely loud, the firwt month post-surgery, but it's quieting down now. Actually, I really rather enjoy it. It reminds me that things are working...

I got Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies and thought it was quite interesting. I read it after surgery and after I had been on the forum for several months so a lot was old news, but would be good reading for a newbie, uninitiated.

Oh I LOVED my shoulder pads! They always ade you look thinner. I've still got a lot of stuff in my closet that has them....

I was really lucky in that my doctor said he didn't required his patients to do a pre-op diet...he said they probably wouldn't stick with it anyway....and well DUH....that's why we are all here in the first place. right? I just tried to keep it to a dull roar, but I did go out with a huge bang the day before surgery (why I will never know) and wound up writhing in pain all night before surgery with what felt like a bowling ball in my stomach from WAAAAAAAYYYYYY too much Chinese food. Stupid stupid stupid. One thing is if you can cut down your food intake before surgery then I would think the stomach shrinkage would be better for post surgery. Good luck to you. Know that this too shall pass....

Okay, this is funny, but I am reticent to give away my fat clothes. I, like probably many of you, have in the past kept a line of clothes in my closet from size __ to size __ (you know the old "just in case I lose/gain). Of course over the years, the 12's and 14's when by the wayside finally, taken up by the 1x and 2x. But I am now down 30 lbs. and I should be divesting myself of my fat shirts (Lane Bryant bigshirts) and my size 18 pants..... MAN, it's hard to get out of that mentality that I might be back in them... I spent a long time acquiring those big shirts!

I have lived in Lane Bryant "big shirts" for over two years (and I mean that is ALL I have worn...that and my fat jeans...I must have about 15 big shirts)...I haven't worn ONE since my banding in May. As a matter of fact, I really don't have that much I CAN wear. I'm going to have to break down and actually SHOP! I've been living in Size 18 denim leggings forever. I just went and got two size 16's which fit great. The 18's are going to go to charity...

I appear to be in the same boat. I got my third fill two weeks ago. I am getting stuck much more often but I am not feeling full very much. I think I am on the verge of being where I need to be. I think I am very close. I ate two low fat graham crackers (each is a sheet of four small crackers) last night and I was full to bursting by the end of the second one. That was a good sign. It doesn't seem to stay very long though. I'm close.....very close.

You are taking BATHS????? Are you just a few days out? I was told not to take ANY baths for a minimum of a week after surgery.

I have heard from everywhere that you do NOT want to use a straw because it lets in lots of air. You gotta suck up a lot of air to get the liquid up into your mouth. Apparently a lot goes down your gullet too.