mendypoo

Banster Rules: Protein first, veggies then fruit. NOTHNG white. This is what my doctor gave me at the very first meeting.

Now, that having been said....yes, I eat popcorn, it doesn't bother the band at all. And I drink milk.

A calorie is a calorie, no matter how you look at it.

Make the choices that are right for you.

Remember to also do measurements. When you have the platues it's nice to see things coming off in other directions. Just this past couple of weeks I haven't lost much weight but I lost another 2 inches off my butt! then of course I OCD'ed on my graghs....lol.

HEY!!!! where the "friends" go?

When I have fills done its liquids the day before, nothing to eat day of until after the fill except Water, then liquids 48hrs after. Sucks, but great for getting back on track and weight loss.

Whew..thought I was going crazy..I KNEW there were carbs in the air! just couldn't prove it. I do the same. White stuff bad..And I know about the inches thing. I'm always reaching for the tape measure when the pounds aren't coming off. I made all sorts of charts. Gotta keep the hands busy! the fills are nothing really. If you have it like me your on your back not able to see a thing. It's having to be back on liquids that bugs me. You'll be fine.

I remember right before my surgery I read a post about someone who when in for surgery for the band and woke up w/o because of scar tissue from having gallbladder taken out. I knew right then and there that that was what was going to happen to me. I so paranoid. But luckily they gave me happy drugs and I forgot about it. You'll get your band, no worries. I have the hiatial hernia thing and my dr didn't repair it at all. But he did say that my liver was still large (even after losing 30lb and following 10 day liquid diet to the "T"!!!) and I ended up with a bruised spleen. But I still had my band...happy girl was I. And so you shall be..

I'd like to be added as your friend. But I can't figure it out. Tell me how, and I'll do it. You've already helped me some, so I'd call that being pretty friendly.

In the upper left hand of your computer it says "user cp" click on that and it'll take you to where you accept friends. Click in the little square of the avatar and then save. :biggrin: I'm lovin' my friends...thanks!!

OOhhh 7 days until surgery!! Are you blocking it out or are you thinking about it all the time? Did your Dr put you on the dreaded 10 day liquid diet?

thanks everyone..now I don't feel so lonely. This site Rocks!

Ok, I've seen the "addition" of the friend thing in our avatar area. I don't have any friends:sad: Will someone be please my friend? I promise to give support always:biggrin: To respond positively to even negative posts:rolleyes2: And I will be your friend too!!:biggrin:

Thanks mendy

My Protein is already 22 per scoop. Is 2 too much? (44). And with the same amount of Fluid or double the Fluid too?

From what I understand our bodies can't absorb more than 30-35 grms of Protein at a time. Maybe 1 and 1/2 scoops that would be 33? Also, make sure your Proteins have all of the right nutrients. My Dr gave me a list of all the essential Vitamins that needed to be in my protein. I found it my using Atkins shake and adding a scoop of powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury. Find something that works best for you. You might want to try using the same amout of fluid, until you want to fill your stomach more as the swelling goes down. If you can drink that much(double liquid). I tried to keep the liquid to around 8oz. Anything more than that I would just waste because I couldn't finish it:tongue2:

Try to bump up your Protein. Add an extra scoop until you get to around 30 grams per shake per meal. Hope you feel better. Congrats on surgery.

silly girl

Hey..I know how you feel. 7 days out I was still feeling crappy but it was weird each day after that I would get up and feel myself getting better by the end of the day. By day 14 I felt really good. I know my body felt better because I started sneezing! :scared2:Boy let me tell you "OWWW" but I knew that it was a sign of me getting better. There were also my days of doubt. When that happened I'd go into my closet and try on clothes that I haven't been able to wear for awhile. Then I'd throw out the ones that were too big... Very liberating and that made feel better about everything.

You're doing great! Add more Protein to your diet and that'll help with the moodiness.

When I was a kid I'd get hiccups all the time. My mom would give me a teaspoon of sugar to suck on. No wonder I had cavities and was overwheight! Now, I do as everyone else; breathe very slowly to relax the muscles.

I remember that I had the steri strips on my cuts. Most of them came off before I saw my Dr for the 2 wk apt. The ones above my port were still fully attached when I saw the Dr. Dr took one look at them said "are you attached to these? No?" and ripped them right off! Well, I could have done that! But I'm nicer to myself, I would have gone slowly...

Thanks!! Love being called smart, but I have to give credit to my Dr Asstnt., she explained it to me. I don't mind the burping; but I don't like it when I'm cashiering at work...hard to supress until I can let it out!

Because it's considered "surgery"(they sick an large needle in you and break the skin) they can charge insurance higher knowing they'll only get what they have agreed in their contract. The proceedure itself isn't difficult. At my Dr's office they have you lay on a table, they clean your belly with smelly crappy iodine stuff and have you hold two bottles in the air. The first small needle that comes up to the right hand is for the numbing stuff (lanicane) which is a small prick and you hardly feel after the Dr has already pushed around your side locating where the port is. The next needle is huge and is for the saline that they put into the port. Once they find the port and stick in the needle they pull out air and or saline to see how much you have already and compare that to their notes; this part I don't care for it feels as though they're sucking the air out of my lungs and I'm bruised later. Once they put in the desired amount of sailine they have you sit up with the big needle sticking out of you and have you drink Water to make sure that liquids will go down fine. This takes about 10min of drinking small cups of warm icky water thats been sitting all day. Once everything is OK they pluck out the needle, on me it acutually makes a "Plop" sound, really weird feeling 'cause you can feel it coming out of the port. The best part about fills? You're not hungry afterwards!! worth every penny.

My insurance covers my fills, I pay a $10 co-pay when I go into the office. From what I've seen from my insurace statements my Dr charges $500 and he only get around $150 "approved" so thats all he gets paid. Check with your dr regarding this don't go into fills not understanding how much things will cost in the future. Some people don't get fills that they need because of the cost or how far away their dr is. If your Dr can't answer your questions call your insurance company they really should have all the answers for you. I had surgery 12/17/07 and have had 4 fill my fith is scheduled the 24th of this month, I'm really glad my insurance covers my fills for life.

enjoy the journey!!

burping__think of it as a funnel effect.. Water (or food, I find I burp more with water/liquid) goes in sits at the top of the stomach, as it goes down it funnels causing air to pass up from the "bottom" stomach to the "top" stomach causing more air. This is how I know I have restriction. Sometime I let out really long and deep burps, really impresses my 10 and 7yr olds!!

ok thanks for the thoughts..

My dr told me only to eat Protein first then fill up on veggies and fruit and avoid all the white stuff. What he didn't tell me was how many calories are ok. When I was doing JC I had around 1500. My question is: is 1500 still ok? or should I go lower? What is the calories that YOU do? I'm sure that since nothing has been re-routed that we still go by the old rule "calorie in calorie out"? I've been doing pretty good so far, but now I really need to get serious. The weight is coming off harder now, so this is why I'm asking.

Welcome to "Bandster Hell"! this is the time to concentrate on getting better, not dieting. It's typical to gain during this time but not impossible to lose. You should be concentrating on filling up on Proteins and depending on your doctor whether or not they're solid Proteins. My docter wanted me Clear liquids the first week after surgery then I could add Protein drinks the second week thru the 4th week of a liquid diet. It was hard and I can't say I didn't cheat...much. But your tummy needs to heal. You'll still be hungry until you get to your sweet spot. I'm close to mine, I have close to 8cc in a 10cc band. for my first fill Dr put in 5cc and I felt like I did right after having surgery then it went away and I was hungry again but you just have to follow the rules like it's the real thing 'cause eventually it's going to sneak up on you and you'll go "Oh NOW I SEE" and have to learn real fast how to eat all over again unless you learn now. Practice eating slowly and taking small bites it needs to become second nature.

have fun with your band...learn new recipes... talk to other people in a group try not to focus on being hungry....promise you'll make it thru. You've made it this far you can make it all the way to the other side!

Since the very begining I've lost 69lbs. Since surgery its 33lbs. I'm having a great time with my band. I've had 4 fills and have hit a sweet spot. I manage two Protein Shakes a day (30 g each) and a sensible meal with maybe a snack in there somewhere. My meal is usually 3-4oz solid Protein and veggie/fruit.

I had my surgery by Shrikanth Dec 17th '07. I started July 07 at 288, had to lose 30lbs to have surgery. Surgery day I weighed 254. Today I weigh 219. I find Dr Shrikanth very amusing and his staff is wonderful. I really only saw Shrikanth a few times before surgery and he did my first fill after surgery, since then I've had fills done by the nurse and nurse practitioner who I feel is gentler than Shrikanth at fills. My boss has had gastric by-pass. Her original surgery was done by Dr Oh when he was with Dr Fox JR.

She had a terrible experience and had to have her surgery repaired by a different surgeon. She is now fine and heathly but no thanks to Oh. Shrikanth is very upfront about all of his surgeries and any corresponding deaths from lap-band..I believe it's only been two and they were results of other complications that the people had previosly and not as a relsult of surgery. The office staff is always willing to answer questions and once all my info was in I was approved in 4 days. The only complaint I had was that Shrikanth has all of his patients show up for surgery at the same time 5:30 in the morning and he does lap-bands last. I didn't have my surgery until 3 in the afternoon. Very long day but worth every minute. Recovery for me was a bit longer than most on this site...everyone is different. I have no problems with PBing or eating what I want. I have 2 Protein Shakes a day (30g each) and a meal of mostly Protein then fruit or veggie and my servings are usually around 3-4 oz of protein. Most doctors feel that the more shakes you drink the faster you'll lose weight. The only other advice at this time is that you make your appts as early in the day as possible, Shrikanth will take a lot of time with his patients and he always fall behind schedule.

Have fun with this...it's life changing and worth every struggle. If you have any questions just ask and I'll answer.