peaches9

I can tell you are excited!! That's great. Keep a pad of paper with you at all times... Jot down all your questions as they occur to you between now and your consult. Don't think that ANY of your questions are silly... THEY ARE NOT! Ask about where your 'port' will be placed and "why" that location was chosen. A lot of variation occurs apparently. Dr. C seems to put them in the abdomen deep under the flesh, while my surgion *Dr. Yau, TBLC places them just under the skin... Some in the abdomen a few inches down from the breast bone, or mine is below my navel 1 1'2" to the left. I dont' know if this is what they call the 'bikini' area or not... but I am o.k. with its location. Fills have been super easy!! and completely pain free. (don't know what I was thinking!) Ask how long your pre=surgery diet will be... 1 wk, 2 wks etc. what does it consist of. Whatever happens be patient, post surg until your first fill will probably be 6 weeks... that seems like an eternity when you are awaiting that first fill... but the time is for your body to HEAL inside... and this time is critical to over all success. Good luck to you and welcome to bandster land!!

Hi Donna; What and how much are you eating at breakfast? What time of morning are you able to eat breakfast.? Should I just give in and have a pro shake for my 1st meal of the day? DH was away this week, and I've had a couple of poor food choices!! Last night I had 3 chicken fingers, which brought my cal for the day to 1200... the night before though I had 1900!! Stupid! :faint:

I went back to pg 1 and read everything. You are amazing to have taken all those candid shots. 10 Years ago I had a Breast Reduction too... your scars brought me back. I am pleased to tell you that ALL of my scars are WHITE and very light coloured. If I was on a topless beach no one would notice them.... Unless I swim in COLD Water then they are a little purplish for a few minutes. I did not find the pain from the BR that bad. I was back to work in a week and no one was the wiser.. I DIDN"T TELL ANYBODY.. Breast SENSATION questions... no worries there.... because my surgeon did NOT remove my nipple stem, the blood supply is not cut off during surgery. They reshape the nipple smaller to proportionally size it to the 'new' breast but you retain sensation... I remember in my room after recovery lifting off one bandage to 'peek' at my new boobs... as soon as the cool air hit my nipple... it stood up to attention!! Whew was I happy. My neck and Back have been much better because I had this surgery.. As well, it make shopping for bathingsuits, bras tremendously easier. Presurg. I was a 40EE, today I am a 38D cup... still lots to love! But as my lapband does its job and I lose more weight I'll probably end up a 36 C.... I am waiting to see if I'll need a tummy tuck once I've gotten to goal weight. Right now, I am girdling it LOL

It is a Woman's Body - pure and simple. I beleive that "the child" should be considered a HUMAN LIFE once it is at a stage in the pregnancy where IT could survive without the BODY of the MOTHER to sustain it... With modern technology etc I will assume that this is around 20 wks. ( and I am not a Medical specialist) Between conception and 12 or 14 wks it should be a WOMANS choice if she wants to "grow" some cells inside of her. I beleive that with better education BIRTH CONTROL is still the best option and that abortions be as minimal as possible. I certainly don't want to go back to the days where desperate women were forced to go underground to find back-street coathanger weilding hackers.

10 days since my 2nd fill. This band is so finicky! Yest I was able to eat 1500 cals. ( 400 too many, poor choices) Now this morning I was resolved to eat more healthily... I am eating 2 scrambled eggs. ANd they are having trouble going down... weird!!! Burping... I did the gym at 7:15 a.m. hoping that would loosen me up prior to breaky. Guess I'll just have to wait it out. Eggs aren't stuck, just dosn't feel right. Am I just Full??? this is such a learning curve.

I am a low BMI person too, I was heavier, then lost a bit and it put me under the Qualifying limit for Gastric Bypass... So I considered LapBand Problem being in my country LapBand is NOT covered by any Provincial Health Plan.. So I drove to Toronto (2/12 hr drive) and got the band there by one of the Pioneer Dr's who brought the band to Canada. It cost me $16k but I took out a loan and my payments are $169/month. I probably save that in groceries.. Plus, like you I was sick and tired of losing/gaining/losing/gaining MORE!! syndrome... Its a tough decision, but I do not regret mine. Good luck, a happy Canuck!

Hi there, I am reading and just butting in here. I was not a candidate for Bypass as my BMI was not high enough to qualify me for surgery. That's when I started considering LapBand surg. I had to borrow the money over 10 years, but it is so worth it (I feel) I took a part time job to pay my loan and I HAVE NOT REGRETED MY DECISION. My health is worth every penny.. and my knees are thanking me too.

Oh I am glad that you were able to Cut down on your BP medication. That is awesome! Unfortunately the med I was referring to is for my BiPolar disorder so I have to take it for life... or at least as long as I have a brain ha,ha,ha...

I am in Wasaga Beach

Did something REALLY stupid tonight. I've eaten Icecream, now I feel really bloated and gross. Don't know what got into me!!! I've been doing so well with the BAND... Argh!!!

You've already lost 11 lbs PreOP... Good for you! You are gonna do great on this band. GOODLUCK tomorrow, we'll all be rootin' for you!!! Let us know how you are doing

Far out ! Congratulations... 22 lbs gone forever!!! :heh:

Keep eating the SOFT food, making sure that you get all your Protein in. You;ll be a bit looser with each passing day. It took me 7 days until I could comfortably eat solids. I tried Steak yest. I cut it into TINY pieces and chewed 30 times... it went down.. but was it worth the effort? Hummmm I don't know... I do very well with FISH and chicken Thighs. Today I tried Ceasar salad (small one) and Chick Quesadilla... it was delicious but I could only eat 1/4 of the Quesadilla.. My G.Frends that took me out for lunch were going "WOW you have really cut down in your eating habits!!!" .... I havn't told them about the LB, plus I didn't want to PB in front of them in a restaurant... so I was really careful with each mouthfull. BUT it was a NSV for me... to go out and Eat with REAL (LOL) people and be undetected as a BANDSTER.... They did notice my weight loss though :whoo:

WEll its a week now and I can finally eat 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of food at a meal. ALSO, I can finally swallow all my meds. I've had to do without for a week, as the suckers would just not stay down... PB'ing my pills. I can open my Antidepressant and sprinkle it on food, but my other pill(s) are hard little devils that are enteric coated to dissolve in the gut. They were the problem. It is available in liquid and I tryed that post op in July, when I was on straight liquids for 3 weeks but OMG the taste is unbearable and very 'burning' going down my esophagus.. I hated it. So in future I guess I'll know that for 5 or 6 days after a fill adj. I'll just not be able to swallow the pills and hopefully it won't pose any long term issue. I am booked next Wed 26th for a 3rd fill... but i think I'll just ask for a 'wee' one not a whole cc...

My DH and I are traveling south for a vacation to CUBA. WE are planning late October. So I have been checking prices, cancelation ins. etc. I called Manulife regarding the Trip Cancellation Ins. as there is an exclusion of coverage if you have any "Pre-existing Medical Condition" in the prior 90 days. I had my surg on July 11th so I wanted to know that I would not be excluded if i traveled Oct 20th.. a little over 3 months. Well surgery went fine, but here's the hitch. Because its an ADJUSTABLE GASTRIC BAND and we need ongoing medical intervention ie. the Saline Fills by needle... that DISQUALIFIES you from the coverage IF you were to have something medical happen to you while traveling that could be related to your stomach or band or swelling and emergency de-fill etc. In other words to meet THEIR requirements you would have NOT had a fill in the last 3 months before traveling .... I am so pissed off... a saline injection??? That's considered a medical treatment by them... so that they can wiggle out of giving you the benefits of insurance. I am REALLY glad I phoned and asked PRIOR to booking my trip and paying for cancellation/interuption insurance... what a rip off. :omg: I'll just travel with out it. Thought you'd all like to know

:sick So sorry you got stuck! I know how that is... I think I always RUSH my first bite, then don't wait long enough before I put in forkfull #2,, and by the time I realize... the 3rd is STUCK and has to come up. I made myself a healthy lunch for at work today. Three bean salad, made with Splenda (I am really a good cook) anyways, I thought canned kidney beans hummm that'll be really easy to chew....NOT!! I PB'd it at work, had a patient waiting for me at the counter to pay as I am 'upchucking in the Ladies Rm'... when I came out she says "are you o.k. you face is all RED?" Then I skipped to my Yogurt, and IT got stuck, I gave up dinner then and just worked the rest ofmy shift without anyfood. Too embarrassing at work, think I'll go back to Protien shakes when I am at work.

I lost the 1sr 40 on my own (exercise & diet & hypno. & Drugs) Once banded in July I've lost an additional 20.4 lbs.... = 60.4 gone forever!!!! 50 to go to goal. Sweetforlife: I am eating Breakfast lunch dinner + Snacks I overdid it today and had 1500 cals. I track it each day on SPARKPEOPLE.com As it also tells me how much PROTIEN and Calcium & Fibre I'm having too. Tomorrw I am going to shoot for 1000 Night night!

Hi Kathy, my surg. recommends 1/2 to 3/4 cup food in total per meal, plus add protien snacks 2 - 3 times thru out the day. They don't want you to PAK your POUCH and stretch it out...

Hi I am 52 and had to have an EKG, complete blood series Time between my CONSULT with Toronto lap Band Centre and Surgury... exactly TWO weeks..!!!! I was so excited that i didn't have to wait long. I think I got in on a cancellation, somebody else getting a case of the nerves... or perhaps conflict with summer vacation plans etc. I was done 11 July. Since I was a lower BMI I only had to do the Cottage Cheese/Yogurt Pre-op diet for 4 days... Although I did it for 1 week just to be on the safe side. I figured as long as i was committing to this NEW LIFE I'd start off extra compliant! LOL

Hi Kathy; there were folks there from both Surg. Weight Loss Centre ( Dr. Coburn) and TBLC (Dr. Yau) there were about 18 of us and what a blast... to put all the Cyber names to real faces.. Plus the conversations were hillarious... everyone eavesdripping on all the others... then breaking in. Various stages of Weight loss , but i never saw a more happy bunch of people...taking charge of their lives and enjoying it. I ordered a LOBSTER/SHRIMP/SCALLOP sandwich on Toasted Wholegreain bread... then to find out it also came with a SALAD!!! Too much food, I left the bread and just ate the seafood filling from 1/2 the sandwich, didn't touch the salad. I brought it all home for hubby...

Awh, what a nice photo!!! You all look so happy... CONGRATS to you all. Your w/l is coming along nicely too... dosn't it feel great!!! I broke 180 this a.m. and was 179.4 Hopefully I'll see you at the next Bandsters Luncheon eh/:confused:

Sorry, that may be a bit hard to read.... total 1171 cal.

HELP!! I need to get on track regarding eating...... Can someone tell me what they have for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & any snacks for a day? O. K. here is my menu for today, thanks to SPARKPEOPLE.com:scared: decadant whey protien powder, 1 serving1405225Milk, nonfat, 1 cup861208Milk, 2%, 1 cup1221258Benefibre, 1 tbsp, 1 tbsp0000 Wendy's Caesar Side Salad, 1 serving70247Porterhouse steak, 3 oz1330618Chili's Garlic Toast, 1 piece, 0.5 serving100962 Chicken Thigh, 1 unit (yield from 1 lb ready-to-cook chicken)49028Indian, Aromatic Basmati Rice, aprox 3/4 cup, 0.33 serving1242033Cream of Mushroom Soup, 0.25 cup53441Baby Carrots, raw, 1 large6100Del Monte Pineapple Tidbits, 0.13 cup13400Caltrate 600+D, 1 serving0000 Black Bean Brownies, 2 serving (view recipe)1581878Sugar Free RICE PUDDING, 1 serving (view recipe)1171825 CALORIESCARBSFATPROTEIN 1,1711054194 That would help me a lot!!:confused:

ROTFLMAO.... o.k. who decided it needed to be locked? YOU or you DH or the KIDS!

sugar free RICE pudding HAVE READY: 2 Cups of leftover COOKED rice.... COMBINE, BEAT WELL AND ADD: 3 Extra Large eggs, beaten 1 1/2 cups SKIM MILK 1/2 Cup of SPLENDA no calourie sweetner 1/3 cup Craisins ( or raisins would work too) 1 tsp vanilla Extract 1/8 tsp Salt Fat: 2.4gCarbohydrates: 17.8gCalories:116.7Protein: 5.3g then wisk eggs and milk to blend, add other ingrediants... Bake at 350 in a PAM sprayed Casserole dish for 60 minutes. Or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean. Try a PLOP of FAT FREE Cool Whip on topMakes 8 1/2 cup servings. YUMMY Number of Servings: 8 Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user 2BHEALTHY4LIFE1.