Moonshadow_Girl

Hi Kay, We have a local Sacramento Yahoo group for Bandsters. You're welcome to join us. Here is the link: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Sacramento_Valley_Bandsters/ Hope to see you there. Mercy

Thanks for starting this great thread. At my highest weight, I was about a 77 BMI, 72 at surgery, and currently 53 BMI just over a year out. Yes, I've lost pretty well, (not counting this 3 month plateau I'm on right now that I'm hoping my most recent fill will get me moving again). Even after a year, I still feel so huge. Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful for this band and I have so much more energy and can do so many more things now. Sometimes I see someone's starting weight and wish I was at that weight right now, or even think, hell, if I was that weight, I wouldn't be having surgery. I'll keep fighting the good fight and hope this plateau will end soon.

My surgeon's practice has a wonderful support group meeting each month. Unfortunately, since he's just started banding, the meeting is run by RNY patients and geared towards the RNY patient (although, they are doing their best to include lap band issues). Here are some of the things I really like about the support group meetings: There is a clothes exchange open to everyone pre or post-op. You are welcome to bring the clothes that have gotten too big and are welcome to take anything or nothing back with you. The only rules are nothing stained or things that need to be mended, no maternity clothes, or no children's clothing. One of the volunteers brings bins of clothes that are left over month after month, and about every 6 months or so, the bulk of the leftover clothes get donated to a local charity, and the clothes closet gets started fresh again. I've enjoyed some our guest speakers. We've had nutritionists, the surgeon, the assistant surgeon, a plastic surgeon, a fitness expert who specializes in clients who have no experience or who have medical issues. We've even had a fashion stylist that was wonderful at emphasizing our changing body and changing our body image and how we shouldn't hide behind baggy clothes anymore. One meeting we broke up into little groups based on where we were on our journey: pre-op, post-op to 3 months, 4-6 months out, 6-9 months out, 9 months to a year out, etc. I've also started a local Bandster Internet group. We meet once a month for fellowship and support. We're still small, so our meetings tend to be very intimate which is nice that we really get to know each other, and call each other on the phone or check online when we do have questions that need to be answered. Good luck, and great idea to ask us what we think would be good ideas.

428lbs, 12 months, 5%, 60 min, 4 fills, none, hispanic, 132lbs lost Of course the numbers don't tell the full story. I had lost my first 120lbs on just 2 fills (the 2nd fill lasted me 7 months). I've since plateaued the last 2 months and have been struggling to find the right fill level since I've lost so much weight so quickly and will be going in for a fill today to hopefully get me to good restriction again.

It really depends on you. I had surgery on a Wednesday and was back to work full-time the next Tuesday only because Monday was a holiday. Granted, I was tired the first two weeks, but, I bounced right back. I only ended up taking 3 sick leave days. Good luck!

Personally, I like A Big Attitude. http://www.abigattitude.com

Hi, I just sent you an email, but will also reply here in case the email doesn't go through. My name is Mercy and I was banded this past February in Roseville by Dr. Waldrep. I have a small Yahoo group for local Sacramento Bandsters. Our group have been banded by different Drs, a couple were even banded in Mexico. We meet once a month for lunch. We are meeting a week from Saturday on November 19th in the Natomas area. Here is the link to join our group: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ Sacramento_Valley_Bandsters/ (Remove the space before the "S" in Sacramento, I had to put a space there, otherwise, the forum goblins would eat the link.) Please feel free to share this link with other local pre or post-op local bandsters. Mercy

I weighed 408lbs on my surgery day. At my 8 month Bandiversary I was down 100lbs! Since January I've lost 126lbs. Can you imagine? I lost a supermodel! I need to lose one more to get to my goal of 180lbs. Life is so much easier now. Sometimes I see people's starting weights and think, hell, I wish I was that weight right now, I would've never had surgery. Unless you've been where we are, or where we were, people just don't get how difficult life is, just the little things. Taking a shower was a workout in itself for me. I found it difficult to stay standing up the entire hour it took me to get ready in the morning. Shaving my legs was precarious at best, trying my best to scrub all the hidden parts, then trying to make sure they dried completely before putting powder between my rolls to prevent chafing. For me, the biggest personal hygiene victory was (close your eyes guys) being able to put in a tampon while standing up. Ok, ok, tmi. I'll stop... lol Getting banded is the best thing I've done for myself. My upstairs apartment used to be my prison. When I got home from work, I didn't go out again until I went to work the next day. Now, I work out 4 days a week and I absolutely love it. My blood pressure is normal. Hopefully this weight loss will prevent me from ever getting diabetes. Slowly but surely, the levels on my cpap machine are getting lowered too. By the time I reach goal, my sleep apnea will be gone and I won't have to use a machine anymore. Life is grand! Mercy

When I was a fresh post op, I found that drinking from sports bottles with sports caps worked for me than just trying to sip. The sports cap prevented me from gulping water too much. I also found that drinking water at or near room temperature was easier to drink than cold water. One thing my Dr told me was that our bodies don't know how to distinguish hunger from thirst. If I was feeling hungry, particularly in the evening or at night, that I might be thirsty and to drink a glass of water to see if that helped. I found that it really did help, that I wasn't drinking enough during the day (especially the mornings when I'm at my tightest). I can easily drink 64oz of water or Crystal Light in the late evening. I am that thirsty! Good luck, sounds like you're doing what you're supposed to be doing. Mercy 2/9/05 428/408/330/180

Thanks so much for the step by step! I'm scheduled for my first fill in 2 1/2 weeks. This was definitely very helpful for me. Mercy Dr. Waldrep Roseville, CA 432/408/392/200

I was banded by Dr. Waldrep in Roseville on 2/9/05. Here is the link to the Yahoo Sacramento bandsters group: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/SactoLapBanders/ Dr. Cirangle, from Lap SF has opened an office in Sacramento. They have been offering a monthly support meeting. Whether it's strictly lap band, I don't know, I haven't been yet. The next meeting is Wednesday, February 16, 2005 at 7pm, located at the Sutter Cancer Center, 7th floor, at 29th and L Streets in Sacramento. Here is the information for their Northern California support groups: http://www.lapsf.com/seminars-support-groups.php Mercy 2/9/05 431/408/400/200

Hi Anne, I was with Med Clinic for over 20 years. I switched to Sutter so that I could be referred to Dr. Waldrep. Med Clinic initially referred me to UC Davis, but I didn't like how things were progressing, or rather not progressing, with them. Med Clinic then referred me to Drs Machado and Wolfe, but unfortunately, their practice didn't accept my insurance. That's how I came to change medical groups because Waldrep offered lap band, was experienced in high BMI patients like myself, and most importantly, accepted my insurance. Dr. Waldrep has done over 1000 bypasses, he just recently started doing lap bands back in October. He's always offered it, but until this year, no one has asked for the band. Now it seems there are a few who are asking for it. I wasn't really nervous about his inexperience with the band. I knew he has excellent surgical skills and wasn't intimidated by my BMI of 72, he's done higher BMI's. Dr. Patching at Sutter General will only band up to 58 BMI. I didn't have trouble convincing Dr. Waldrep that I wanted the band, but, he was extremely thorough in his questions and that I understood about both surgeries, and why I thought the band was better for me. His partner, Dr. Lublin, flat out told me the band wouldn't work on someone my size and postponed my surgery for 4 weeks saying I had to lose weight to prove to him that I could lose weight, and to rethink my decision on the band. When I came back 4 weeks later, I kicked ass and lost 20lbs total. Too bad I didn't see Dr. Lublin that day, I saw Dr. Waldrep and he agreed to do my surgery the following week (last week). Here I sit 5 days later, no complications, placed laparoscopically, ready to go back to work on Tuesday. Mercy 2/9/05 431/408/400/200

I'm feeling much better actually. When they were first talking about discharging me the next day, I was afraid I wasn't physically ready yet. But I've only felt better and better since I've been home. Maybe they do know what they're doing at the hospital... lol I don't live in Roseville, I live about 30 min away in West Sacramento. If you've been away from that area for a while, you'd be surprised at how much it's grown now. It's probably one of the fastest growing areas in the Sacramento Metro area. Everything is fancy and new. Thanks for the well wishes. Mercy