GenaO

XFBALLPLAYER72, on the topic of being only 19, I commend you for taking steps to take control of your body, and your life. I am 30 years old and have been over weight my whole life. I wish every day that I had the oppurnunity to have the lap band when I was your age, if you are doing it for health reasons and have tried to lose weight on your own in the past than please feel good about your decision to have lap band, it will probably be the best thing you've ever done for yourself, you will be able to live a happier healthier life from a younger age.

GINGER3151, You said you are using low fat foods. Most products labeled Low Fat are very bad for you. They have artifical sweetners which in some people have shown to cause weight gain or difficulty losing weight. They are also filled with chemicals which may also hinder weight loss. Try staying away from anything labeled Low Fat of Fat Free or that has the work Diet.

bert99, thanks for the hugs, they are much appriciated!

I'm having a Party!! 2 weeks before my surgery(Which is soon Feb 11) I have invited all my friends and told them all what we are celebrating. I am very lucky to have such supportive friends and family.

I wanted to share my experience with you, I have not had my band placed yet but I have had major abdomial surgery before. I had 2 tumors wrapped around my pancreas and had a surgery called a Whipple. I had to have a large part of my intestines removed so this is pretty comparable to GB. The pain and recovery where horrible. I was in the hospital for 21 days. I had a G-tube which was probably the worst part. I can't describe to you the emense pain that is invovled with a surgery of this magnitutde. If you have small kids I strongly urge you to think long and hard about having a major abdominal surgery, the recovery time is a long and very rocky painful road. With The lap band there is no cutting of the stomach or intestines therefore the recovery is minimal. This is the only reason I would ever consider going under the knife again, believe me when I tell you I would take fat any day for the rest of my life than put myself through a surgery where they had to cut any part of my digestive system. unless you are 400+lbs and can't get out of bed I would seriously consider the band as the way to go. Thanks for listening(PS. that is the short version)

thanks for the concern, but I'm pretty comfortable with my choice of surgeon. I've done my research and am satisfied. I think what happened with DR. Barba is that he use to be in a practice with other doctors and then opened his own practice and things got a bit messy for a while cause he was under staffed and the staff he did have wasn't great. But now they have increased the staff for 3 to 12 people, and have a nurse manager and a PA and a nurtitionist so they have really turned things around. I have had nothing but a positive experience so far. Thanks for the heads up.:smile:

Hi everyone, I'm Gena and I'm having my lapband done on Feb 11 at New Britain General by Dr Carlos Barba. I'm so excited!!! I just had my endoscopy done yesterday, what a breeze that was, I was worried for nothing. The staff at NBGH was great.

I'm so excited, I just got the call that my surgery is scheduled for Feb 11:) I can't wait. I'm not even nervous, i'm totally excited. Even though I still have to have an endoscopy done and I may have to have an open surgery, that all pales in comparison to the end result.

Are you kidding me? This is probably the best thing you could do for yourself. Your son is not the one who is living your life as an obese person, you are. Does he not want his mother to be around in the future. Does he not understand the ramifications of obsity like diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer. Does he know that 95 percent of people who loss weight on a diet regain that weight and more? Do it for you, not anyone else!

Has anyone out there had PCOS with difficulty getting pregnant pre band and then gotten pregnant postband? How much wait did you loose before getting pregnant and how long did you wait to start trying

Hi everyone, I also have PCOS. I went off my BC so we could get pregnant but then found out that I have pcos and the dr. put me back on the bc and also on Metformin. The Metformin is awful. Very bad stomach problems from it. So I stopped taking it. I'm hoping I will be ok untreated till I have my lap band done, which should be sometime in Dec. Its nice to hear from people who are going through this. Nice to not be alone.

I am not banded yet, will be soon !! Polycystic ovarian syndrome is one of my reasons also. Can't get pregnant due to it. Hopefully losing weight will help.

PS, I lost the 8 lbs before having the band(not banded yet) and never had a single UTI or vaginitis

The Nuva Ring is the best birth control I have ever been on, Just pop it in and go for 26 days. So easy and convenient!!! I actually lost 8 lbs in the first 2 months I was on it. I will nerve go back to any other BC.

Sweetpea51, here is an equation that tell you exactly the cals in/cals out. First you need your Basal Metabolic Rate(go to discover health. com and type that in they have calculator that will figure it out for you) Second, you need the amount of calories you are eating in a day Then you need the number of calories burned during exercise So here is my equation MY BMR= 1938 I eat= 1000 calories a day I burn 300 at the gym (1938-1000)+300= 1238 1238 is the my deficit of calories for the day times that by 7(days in the week)=8666 calories burned for the week. 1 pound = 3500 calories 8666/3500=2.476 (2.5) pounds lost per week.

difinately try to get your potassium from food because if you need to get an injection at the hospital it hurts like hell, it feels like battery acid coursing through your veins, been there done that, and I seriously don't reccomend the experience

Smiletracy, I've been in your shoes (kinda). I use to love soda especially Coke and Root Beer. 4 years ago I was very sick and had to have abdominal surgery 100 times more severe than the band. After the surgery I was never able to have regular soda again. At first the pain it cause due to the gas and then my body wouldn't tolerate the high fructose corn syrup. I haven't had it in 4 years. Do I miss it? Sometimes I do but not so much anymore. The severe consequence of drinking it has helped. But if you think about it, you are putting an extra 800-1000 calories a day into to your body not to mention the obscene amount of sugar. Think of how much more weight you will lose when you give up soda, and I would bet you will feel alot better too. Hope this helps.

Intubation is used in all general surgeries. You will never know or remember it happened except for a slight sore throat after. They give you meds that total knock you out. you will be on the operating table and they will give the meds and you will all of a sudden feel really good, they will have you start counting back from 10 and by 7 your out, then they put the tube in. We they take it out you are slightly coherent but you won't remember them taking it out. I have been intubated on 3 separate occasions (going on my fourth) and never remember a thing. As for the cath they may and may not need to use it. When they put it in you will be under anesthesia and won't even know it, when they take it out sometimes you are awake, You could discuss your fears with you dr and request to be sedated for the removal, but you will probably still be on post op morphine and you will not even care. Hope this helps

A minor flub on Obama's part but very insignificant considering how intellectually stimulating he is. After listening to absolute idiocy for the past 7 years and watching Bush make a mockery of being in the most powerful position in the world, Obama is a much needed and refreshing breeze of competency this country so desperately needs.

I'm getting ready to go to my first meeting with the Nutritionist this am. Very anxious to see what she has to say and what she wants me to do. One step closer to being banded. Have almost all pre surgical requirements filled:)

I hear ya, i totally feel the same way, I'm Italian too and all our holidays revolve around massive amounts of delious food. I quess its going to be hard if I go in around xmas, maybe they will schudule me for Dec 26 or 27,

The Nutritionist was great. Very nice and easy to talk to and very Knowledgeable. I was actually surprised by her medical Knowledge, she impressed me. My new diet is very simplw and easy to follow. Next appointment I only have to wait 2 weeks for and then I can schedule my appointment with the Surgeon and get a date for surgery:).

Susannah Thank you for dsaying exactly what I was thinking

Has anyone used tofu in there diet as a Protein source and does anyone have any good recipes. I hear you can use it in smoothies and thought that would be good for when I'm in the liquid phase

Hello! I was just wondering if anyone's grocery bills decreased as weight loss ensued???