nomadem

very good advice l2t7- "If you do what you've always done, you're going to get what you've always gotten". this is so true. Jay I know you've read that SOME people have restriction at the first fill but the reality is that MOST people do not. The reality is it may take a while and there may even be a time that you are too tight and have to get an unfill. IMO the learning curve is very difficult with the band (and I sometimes think I will never get it) so you do need to be open and seek support and communicate with your surgical team.

So far all I have found is ways to make protein powder and drinks more palatable….none I can actually say I like. Like I mentioning in group…. coco powder, s.f pudding mix, and sugar free coffee syrups by Torani (found on line http://www.torani.com AND in supermarkets) for me help to mask the taste and smell of protein powers. You can also add dry fat free powered milk, that will add about 9grams of protein and it won’t taste bad. I did like Unjury better than what I found on store shelves. It lasted me a while and the shipping was fast. Just been lazy about ordering more as Ive been using Aktins ready to drink and CIB sf packs now.It is really trial and error bc everyone seems to have different favorites. I tried Isopure once and gagged but I’ve read a lot of folks on this board like it. I also tried some kind of a gel in a test tube from http://www.bariatricadvantage.com which wasn’t bad but $ for daily use. Also Bariatric Advantage offers sample kits of their vitamins and protein powers if you are interested. I’ve been able to find chewable at Trader Joes that I like for cheaper Anyone try the protein drinks they offer at Starbucks? starbucks They have 2 flavors Orange Mango and Banana Chocolate both with protein powder that has 21grams. I LOVE the Banana Chocolate with non-fat milk, total cals are 250, cost is $4.00. For me it’s a great treat that I don’t feel guilty about. There is a lot of controversy on how much protein your body can process at once….it’s been said here that unless you are an athlete your body can only process about 35grams of protein at a time. Guess that’s a question for the nutritionists out there. As you move along in your WLS you will be able to supplement your diet with more solid proteins. Yes I still do a CIB in the morning and when I get fills but that’s more bc I LIKE it. :confused:

Jay is so good to hear from you! I do hope you can keep your spirits up believe me/us we do know what you are going through...its a long journey but you will get there one step or pound at a time To everyone else its great to hear that your journey to wls is progressing! l2t7- You've inspired me! I ran 2x for 2 mins at 4.5...lowering the speed of the treadmill helps instead of me attempting to do even 1 minute at 5.5. I still wont spend more than 20 mins on the damn thing but so what. Just go in from the gym right now I am BEAT and I was meaning to write a report but I dont have the energy. I also think bc you are in training you may have to boost your cals in addition to your protein

aww Paige I know it was hard for you and a huge step but at least now you dont have to stress about people finding out. yup I still get the "can you eat that?" question but I just brush it off.

muffet the very first thing you want to do is attend an informational seminar. you will have to sign up for it bc it is part of the requirements for surgery. if you know who you want to pick for your surgeon you can start the calls now (correct me if I am wrong folks) but I think it is helpful to attend the info session first bc the team will be there and able to answer all the questions about the procedure and requirements. Brigham And Women's Hospital - Events Registration

that is a pb sort of and what came up was the thick salvia (slime) that your stomach produces when food has trouble passing the band. Bc it was mashed pototoes you could have eaten too fast and a bubble formed or the pototes just clogged up your stoma. Ive pd'd liquids before and even ice cream, thats why they say to sip your liquids slowly If it only happened the one time I think you will be fine.

hey I just wanted to say that I had a really rough road with the complications I had; port flipped at one month...then my slip which I think happened early on and all the problems what came with that. So I think I can somewhat relate to how you feel Jay. It is hard very hard...esp when you hear everyone rant and rave about how easy it is and how its painless. I too didnt lose much weight...I think 30lbs in those first 5-6 months. I neither love nor hate my band...sometimes I get frustrated but I know I NEVER want to go back to being almost 300lbs. I had that bug last month...if you cant get Dr V you should be able to get whom ever is on call. I found the phenegran to help somewhat but I still heaved voiently.I was so freaked out that I went back to Dr V for a check up when I was feeling better. No damage everything is fine. I will be in Monday am for a fill and I am trying to make the Tuesday meeting.....it will all depend on how work is going

everything that Luv said is spot on. do keep your receipts from your co-pays for a few months. I only had one issue and another time they never caught that I didnt pay. the one thing I notice is when I am stressed or have my period I am usually not paying attention to my water intake and sometimes make poor food choices. Decreasing of water can make your feel tighter...If you think about it it makes sense bc of how our tissues and muscles respond to fluid. Keep up with the bottle water in Jamaica and I am sure you will do fine. Ive been really permissive lately and paid for it with a gain over the past few weeks...what a slap in the face!!!!! I guess I DO have to work at this ALL the time. :confused: Dr V switch her fill days bc of changes in the OR schedule, shes now doing Tuesdays, Fridays and some Wednesdays (I think....left the letter at home). I will see her Monday for a fill that I didnt think I needed a few weeks ago. Hope to see everyone at the next meeting on Tuesday night!!!

every once and a while I still get an ache or pain around the port area. Doesnt surprise me bc after all it is attached to your tissue there. I was a bit worried people would bail bc of St Pats. My fill appt is the day before on Monday. I saw we all go out afterward! We always have the need to talk more anyways.

He has 7am fill appts? I didnt know that. Ive been trying to book as early as I can to minimize the time I miss from work. After a year or so all of these appts get old....real old. Also they should have the new PA trained soon so that may help with fills. Though I havent heard anything about it in a long time. Next person whos is at the Brigham i should ask about it and report back here. I drink CIB everyday with ice and bananas for breakfast. LOVE them!!!! Anyone try the protein shakes at Starbucks? With skim milk its 270 calories and 23 (?) grams of protein. They are a bit expensive but hit the spot when I am running around doing errands. I switch to buying my vitimins at Trader Joe's, I think they are cheaper. I do take b-12 every day and I think it does make difference. I think Walmart has good prices as well.

good for you Heidi...Ive only started to run and can only do it for no more than a minute at a time...which does disappoint me. I think I am just a wimp. I had a hard time with the sports bra bc of my size and had to invest in a good one...try looking at Kohls. I was riding the gravy train of what I thought was a sweet spot there for a while but I think it was more hormones. Ive been eating horrible the past few days and seemed to be very hungry. Now my calories are doubled!!! Ugh. Sorry to hear the storm messed up your fill appt...I have one at the very end of March. Not sure if that would help you. Or try to get a cancelation? Welcome soxaholic! Ive heard nothing but great things about Dr L. you are in great hands.How awesome that you got your surgery date so fast. I wouldnt worry about your liver, I am sure Dr L can handle it. As for the post-op diet yes its hard but knowing that its not forever and being fixated on that does help.

msdollaz this was the only question I had prior to surgery bc I had learned so much from this website. The weight at your consultation is the one they will submit to the insurance. So any weight you lose prior to surgery but after they submit paper work, is not part of your insurance approval.

yes it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle and feel like a number. So the burden is on YOU . If you are unsure of something ASK, they cannot read your mind. I know it feels like you wait and wait and then the Drs seem so rushed but it’s still your responsibility to get the most out of YOUR office visit. The Drs are there to serve you so make sure you leave that office a satisfied customer. I’ve had too many problems with Drs not listening to me in the past...not anymore. Jay I DO not recommend that you stray from the diet at all. I did slightly and who knows if is contributed to my slip. Maybe you can be creative? I bought a food strainer to strain foods like canned beef soup, so all I was eating was the liquid (more like a gravy) but just the change was enough to satisfy me. As you move more you may feel your port and be sore, remember you are still healing there. Hello and welcome msdollaz ***Also before I forget you should NOT have to pay a co-pay for 90 days from the day of your operation***

singing that is TOUGH. I don’t know if I could handle being that strict.I told my surgeon when I be gain my journey that I knew I could lose the weight if I wasn’t so hungry. Just turn off my appetite and I know I can stick to a sensible meal plan. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Kisses, if they are in front of me I will eat them that’s why I don’t buy them. The ones in my bag didn’t last very long L2t7

Hi everyone I just wanted to report that I am at 8.5 right now. I am on the looser side but happy bc my hunger is dimmed and I can still eat just about everything. dr said that there is plenty of room for fills here on out.

ibelieve you should be proud of yourself and that just goes to show that you have the new determination to make better choices! Yes you are right it is a daily battle. I was proud of myself the other day when I walked by all the 1/2 price Vday candy. Somehow I justified picking up two peanut butter eggs, one for me and one for my sister. I put them in my basket and cont to shop. As I was approaching the cashier I thought to myself "why am I buying these?". I had justified them bc they were small and 50% off but I really didnt even want them. so back on the shelf they went and I feel 10x better than if I ate them. Now does this mean I dont let myself have a treat? No, if I want something bad enough I will have it. but this one time I felt in total control. Aww Heidi we could have bumped into each other this morning. I have an appt in 3 weeks that I may cancel if you have a problem rebooking. Guess what they put in a TV, water and single cup coffee/tea maker in the waiting room.

singing you will have to keep in mind the the Brigham is a teaching hosptial. I think once I had a post surg interview with a med student, once a student doing observing collecting history and once my Dr asked if the student could give me a fill and I said no. Now Ive been seeing my Dr regularly for almost a year and a half so I dont know how many visits that is total. Now after surgery you will probably get a visit from the surgery students who just do look sees. If your Dr has a Fellow in training you may meet them. I know the one I met intro'd himself to me in pre-op then I saw him again the day after. He was a very handsome Aussie if I recall. hummmm Like Luv said no problem with anything around the waist post-op but I packed comfy sweats just for the ease of it.

Jay the more you go the less self conscience you will be. its taken me a while but I really dont care what others think plus when I look around there are all shapes sizes and ages at my gym and I doubt any of them are spending their time looking at me being a fool on the treadmill bc Im not giving them a second look As long as it was another surgeon doing fills I wouldnt fret whos doing the fills. If it was a PA or student I wouldnt feel so comfortable. I did hear that Dr V is taking on some of Dr Muns sugrical cases. I just got a replacement digital scale at Target for around $24. I was using a cheapo Ikea scale but it wasnt accurate enough for me Im going in tomorrow bright and early just for a check up, I really thought I had damaged my band last week but now I feel a bit better.

fyi I cant walk straight even on a treadmill....never falling off. thats what the safety stop thingy is for. :eek:

Well I am feeling better today. Someone asked so I will let you know that when you have the band it’s very hard to throw up bc of the band being a physical barrier. I did painfully heave a few times so I am worried about a slip but if it happens it happens. I am thankful I had some Phenigrin left over from my surgery. Jay like everyone said you should only be walking until you are cleared by your surgeon. Then the gym should give you an orientation on the machines and how to used them. I don’t think I will ever love the gym but I’ve grown to tolerate it. I do about 20-30 mins of cardio and then a circuit of Nautilus. I aim for 4x a week. I know I should do more but I don’t want to make it a chore L2t7 love the new picture.. will the plastics dr be only at the by-pass meeting bc I will jump ship and go to that. Heidi good for you! When do you leave for this fabulous trip?

Sorry I missed the meeting but there was NO way I could attend nor would you have wanted me too. I can not believe how sick I am, I now know what it is like to have the stomach bug with the lap band. I returned to work today but I feel like death warmed over and the thought of food makes me want to puke. I dont feel tight so I hope that I didnt hurt my band. I was wondering if that was the same Dr Mun I read about as it was in the papers...very sad.

ibelieve: Slim Fast makes an easy to digest ready to drink Protein shake. Its a bit hard to find (look in Stop and Shop and CVS). And yes I heard whey was okay for those who are lactose intolerant bc of the way its processed. So most protein powers should be okay its what you mix it with that could be the problem. And you are correct Carnation Instant has powered milk in it. I found that out after surgery when I had temporary intolerance. The same thing happened to me., I gained over a long weekend and when I had my pre-op I was up in lbs. So all it did was push me back a bit bc I had to come back again and prove that I could lose. And I did bc it was all just Water retention and it came right off. It was really fat or anything. Yes I was disappointed but I KNEW it would come right off. Also I finally broke down and bought a digital scale, and in the course of the day I gain at least 4lbs. Not sure what to do with that information. What do I consider my true weight???? Anyhoo I guess I was expected to hear from Jay. I hope it went well for him. Chloeglowy:as mentioned before you should first attend an information session. Most of your questions will be answered there PLUS its a requirement if you want to pursue the surgery ************************************* FYI.... folks the next support meeting is next, TUESDAY FEB 17TH

If you have an Ocean State Job Lot near you…they are selling about a dozen varieties of exercises DVDs for $2.99. I saw several of The Firm series, Walking with Leslie Sansone, and some Billy Blanks Tae Bo. Not sure if they are any good but I bought three, considering I just bough a Biggest Loser Dvd at Target this week for $13.00, I think $2.99 is a steal.

singing- I did not have to have and endoscopy either but you may based on your medical history. You may be knocked out or in twilight sleep I am not sure but those are good questions that you should direct to the dr or dept that is handing this. ylj you have the resolve to get back on track and in the grand scheme of the lapband journey 4lbs isnt that much. I can gain 3lbs in a course of a day. Like L2t7 said stick to as many bandster rules as you can, the ones you can do perfect them (like drinking 8 glass of Water a day, getting in your Protein, reducing your carbs etc). One small step at a time will get you to your goal. Jay only a couple more days!

I agree with momcof3, you should avoid the phylum types bc they can swell in the pouch. Benefiber is a staple for many bandsters