ReneBean

Six Star powder - available at Walmart - has 20 grams per scoop of powder and mixes well with most things. Much less expensive than the infamous Isopure. I prefer Atkins shakes over the EAS Edge - but it's all a personal thing. Good luck!

Bobby If it has been a while since your last fill, it would be normal for you to have some loss of restriction. Especially if you have lost a few pounds. Plus, the tissues of the stomach expand and contract with Water retention, stress, etc. Lots of things can cause a change of restriction - so don't panic. The only time I would be concerned is if you had a SUDDEN change in restriction - like yesterday it was perfect and today you have none. Then I would make an appt to see my doc. But if you just have a little less restriction that you had before - don't worry. If you have sudden changes - then call your doc for the best advice. We have personal experience - but that only works for us. Docs have the medical education and knowledge to advise you more accurately than we can. Hugs!

Yeah, Leener. You are supposed to let your esophagus rest after a PB by doing liquids, then mushies then back to real foods. If you don't - you can cause a viscious cycle. The swelling never goes down, so you PB again and the swelling never goes down, so you PB again.... Try to do liquids for 24 hours after every PB. Plus - it took over a full week for the swelling to go down after my last fill. Give it some time. It's just like starting banded life all over, isn't it? Hugs and Good Luck.

If you are concerned, you can always do your own pre-op diet. My doc put me on SouthBeach phase 1 - almost no carbs. I opted to go to liquids only for two days prior to surgery - just to get that last rush AND to empty out the whole system. If your doc isn't concerned about a fatty liver, he might not feel that you NEEDED to be on a pre-op diet. As I said, you aren't the only one who didn't have a pre-op diet. I haven't heard any horror stories about not being on one, except for the problems that can happen with a fatty liver. If you don't have a fatty liver, you shouldn't have any problems. Don't worry too much. Hugs!

There are some lovely low-carb icecream bars and sugar free popcicles out there. I keep a supply on hand at all times. Don't try to deny that sweet tooth - just try to tame it with some level of control. A "no sugar added" fudgecicle can do wonders and make you feel like to have had dessert - for about 45-70 calories, depending on the brand. Change up the number of calories you are eating. Not just lower and lower - but up and down. Keep your body guessing so it doesn't get into a "rut". If you aren't already - try doing low carb for a few days - just to see how that works. If you ARE doing low carbs - have a cheat day where you eat Rice and whole wheat bread. But, most of all - keep in mind that you have lost a lot of weight in not very much time. Your body is probably doing all sorts of miraculous things - like shrinking - even if the scale doesn't show it. Have you taken your measurements lately? What are you doing for exercise? Try something different. I bet that you will come out of this plateau in no time - and that you will continue on your merry way. Boredom sucks - but the only cure is to try something new or different. Sometimes I walk thru an ethnic grocery store and try a "mystery vegetable/fruit" just to see what it is. I have found some Wonderful veggies doing this. And the worst that happens if I don't like it? I don't eat it and I don't buy it again. Try cooking something a different way - or not cooking it at all. Raw Cauliflower is a favorite for me - Or I love almost any vegetable grilled in a little EVOO with some salt. Try a tomato, or some eggplant. Mmmm. There are tons of things you can do. In a city of any size, you can get a wide variety of produce and usually a ton of meats and fish. Good luck in your battle with boredom. Experiment. Make it an adventure. Hugs!

If you are going to have an obsession - definitely go with exercise. You pretty much can't go wrong with that. :]

I feel the liquids go down - especially if they are displacing gas. the twinge is probably the gas hitting your diaphram. It's a little weird.

That radiating pain is probably gas. I still get a mild pain from that once in a while. It takes a couple of weeks to REALLY get all that gas out of your system. Good luck!

I have heard of a lucky few not having a particular pre-op diet. Lucky, lucky you! For you the hardest part will be the 2-3 weeks after you feel better from surgery, but before you get your first fill... unless you are REALLY lucky and have restriction right away. Maybe your luck will hold. Enjoy!

After the initial healing phase, the food will be all up to your DH (dear husband). Initial healing generally last for 4-6 weeks. Most docs put patients on Clear Liquids for a week (broth, Water, juice, clear Protein supplements) then full liquids for a week (milk, milky protein supplements, blended soups) Then mushies (refried Beans, mashed potatoes, etc) for a week and soft foods for a week (scrambled eggs - mac & cheese, etc) You should have chewable Gas meds, a few servings of clear Liquid Protein, some broth, some chewable tylenol, and some juice on hand for the next couple of days. Clear liquid Proteins can be found at GNC or your local vitamin/supplement shop. Everything else you can find at your local grocery. Your doc should give you explicit instructions prior to or immediately after the surgery. After your DH moves to regular foods - what he eats will be up to him, and he will probably be able to eat with you and your son most of the time. You will just need to focus on being sure there is plenty of protein and some veggies at every meal. Bandsters eat protein first, then veggies, then complex carbs if there is any room. SOME bandsters have foods that are more difficult to tolerate.... foods that get stuck - but that is highly individual. Some bands won't tolerate chicken, some won't deal with rice, or bread. Some will take anything. Just keep the meats tender and moist, and you will be fine. Good Luck!!

Hugs! Hope the seminar is really detailed and you get all your questions answered. Remember - ask your questions. Chances are good that if you want to know, somebody else does too - but is too shy to ask. I promise, the doctor won't bite, kick or scream at you - at least not in the initial seminar! LOL! :]

You can jump right in anywhere. Basically, we love a concerned spouse. Any specific questions? Welcome and congrats on your Spouse's little Valentine's present. :]

Congrats!! I bet you never thought YOGURT would taste SOOOOOO good! :]

Brrrrr. DANG it's cold! Eileenie and I are both hoping for the storm of the century up here is Joisey. We have been e-mailing, since her boss is less likely to notice or care about that. I want the storm so I can have a day off to go play downtown. She wants to be able to have a day off to come play on LBT. Of course - if it is REALLY the storm of the century, I will probably stay in and watch HBO all day - but hey, at least I won't have to be here. See what a bad attitude I have? Geez. I need to get my head around the whole Work concept. Betty - I HAVE to exercise while I am here. I am eating EVERYTHING. And dessert with every stinking meal. What is THAT all about? I have to admit that I am enjoying it immensly - but unfortunately my scale might have the last laugh. Sherry - What can I say? Shit happens. You will get past it and break that 200 barrier, yet. Hugs! I hope you aren't TOO down. Sorry your bandiversary is such a bummer. Mandy - so is that much snow normal? Or is the whole city shut down? Or something in between? I would help you shovel, if I were closer to you. Well, I am going back out into the general LBT population. Still slow here, although we have had a little more to do today. We expect by tomorrow we will start to get slammed... if we are even here. TTL!

Congrats, Jon! She's a beauty! She looks pretty tiny next to your big ol' hand... :] You are a lucky man. Hugs!

Oooo. Gold stars for me. I did 20 minutes on the bike downstairs tonight. It wasn't the most fabulous workout - but it was one. We all decided to stay in tonight. It was just that much too much for us to go out. I had some potstickers and grilled veggies in my room. Of course, I ruined that with Cheesecake - but I am weak. Darcy - congrats on your contacts, ya goober. :] Sherry - Hi! Hugs! Chrispy - yep, Carmine's is a winner. Not exactly band friendly with those HUGE family sized portions - but DANG the food is good. :] Well - It's off to bed now, for me. Tomorrow is another exotic and exciting day. ttl

Hi Cindy - and Welcome to LBT. Hope the seminar is a good, informational one. Feel free to ask any questions that you may have. We'll do our best to answer. :]

If you are just starting - go to a seminar. Listen to the standard patter and ask questions of the person giving the speech. Google "Gastric Band" or "Lap Band" and you will probably find several docs near you that offer regular seminars. Once you get past the intial seminar - you may have some more specific questions to ask. Good Luck!

the Surgery Center of Richardson offers regular free seminars - and I haven't heard a bad thing about any doc that works from there. I love Dr. Fox - and there are several other docs that use the center. http://www.surgerycenterofrichardson.com/ You can sign up for a seminar with any doc that interests you. They give the basic info, talk about pricing, etc. Good Luck!

Hey All It's a slow work day so I thought I would stop in and see how it's going with y'all. Mandy - Hugs! I am sorry you are feeling so crappy. It's bitter cold here - when the wind blows it'll steal the warmth from your soul... I am ready to see a little Spring, too. Betty - I totally thing housework counts. **shudder** I avoid that stuff even more than I avoid the gym! You had better get that cold weather all chased out of town before I get back!. Sherry - Ick. Acid Reflux. It sounds nasty enough. I hope you figure a way to avoid it. Sheesh! What if you were coughing up a lung or something? Your doc can't see you til the 28th? That seems wrong to me. Hugs! Kat - I'll have to come up with some extra special food porn just for you. Of course, one of my persnickety co-workers doesn't like Chain restaurants - he only wants to go to unique local places - so I guess the Cheesecake Factory is out for this trip. :] Well - Not much has gone on between last night and today. I don't know if we are doing anything exotic tonight. I am so tired I might just hit the gym and crash. Love you guys!

I have always had the "top down" weight loss problem. For years, I lost face & neck, then arms and chest, then belly/hips. After the loss/gain cycle, I ended up with a pretty impressive lower body (impressive in the sense that if I land on you when I fall, you will be impressed into the concrete floor). Since banding the weight has come off all over - actually MORE in the belly area than ever before. I am thinking it has to do with the protein supplements or the calcium or something. Both of those are new for me - different from other diets - so it has to be one of them, don't you think? Good Luck!

Sara - For every complication that you see - there are 10 Bandsters that have NONE. I am one of the ten. I have no complications, I can eat any food, and I am still losing weight - although slowly. I feel the band is the best decision I have ever made for myself. I am not hungry all the time not suffering in any way - not really even on a diet - and I am still losing approx. 3 pounds every month since surgery. Just the forced slowing down caused by the need to chew everything was enough to help me to lose. Add the exercise in, and I am on a slow but steady track to lose 35-50 lbs a year. Now, that IS less than the standard 1-2 pounds a week thing - but keep in mind that I have 1) no side effects. 2) no deprivation. I eat cake at the company birthday parties. I eat pizza if I want it. I just don't eat as much. I keep a loose count on my calories - and I try to keep them in the 1500/day range (but I don't always). With some MINIMAL amt of self control and discipline (truly minimal amts) I keep losing - and you can too. Please don't be frightened by the complications that some people experience. Yes, in the first week or two after surgery - there is gas and it can hurt - but it eases and then it is gone. Gas meds help MOST people to get past it. For me, that was it. That was all. No acid reflux, no forbidden foods, no constant PB's. The chances of you having ANY of the side effects is pretty small. And nobody has them ALL. I think the risks are pretty minimal in comparison to the benefits. Having the band makes it easy for me to make better decisions about how much to eat. Now, the band IS just a tool. WHAT to eat is still up to me - and that can be both good and bad - but at least it is my decision. I am not ruled by that gnawing empty feeling that I used to get every time I went on a diet. I don't spend endless hours trying to figure out how I am going to get the most volume for the least calories. I now get to choose quality over quantity. In fact I hardly think about food except at meal times. Seriously. No lie. I am so stinkin' happy that I can hardly contain myself. I get to live a normal life! I get to eat normal foods! I am still losing weight! The band is to dieting what the lighter is to fire. Yeah, you could start that fire by rubbing two sticks together for hours - but why on earth would you if you can just flic your bic? If you want to try one more time to "do it on your own" - you go ahead... Struggle every day to lose - and then continue to struggle every day to maintain that loss..... But if you can't stand the thought of another deprivation diet - you might want to stop hanging out in the complications forum and start reading some of the happier threads. Check out the Before & After thread. Check out the Exercise forum. Try not to let the negative overwhelm your mind. There is an awful lot of positive out there, too. Hugs, and good luck!

Why won't they give you another fill? Have they tried the Omniplaque fill to see if maybe you have a pinhole leak? Yikes! What sized band do you have? The number of fills is pretty meaningless - it's really about getting you to the point of restriction. I am really interested to find out why in the heck they won't give you another fill. I lost VERY slowly over the last 12 mos - mostly because it took multiple fills to get anywhere close to restriction and I didn't get GOOD restriction until the 9th month. So, I can see how you might be having a problem, especially if you were eating pretty healthy before. Get in your Doctor's face. Explain that you have hunger issues and the band is supposed to help with that. It's really all I can think of to do, except maybe bump up the exercise, a little. Hugs!

Hi All! I am here in Fort Lee - and I have read all the posts since last I was here - but I have to get to bed so I am going to skip the personals... I get super duper gold stars cause DH and I went to the gym 6 days this last week!... and I brought my exercise gear so I can use the dreadmill at the Hotel - although getting back here by 11 to use the gym might not be so easy. I have sworn to myself that I am going to do it - so harrass me about it, ok? Saturday was all about laundry for the trip and packing up. And of course, today we flew into LaGuardia. We had dinner at Carmines. For those who are keeping track of my travels, we have gone there before. It is a family style Italian place right off of 44th and Broadway. The food is EXCELLENT, the service is great - and the chairs (unlike another place in Manhattan that I could name) are actually comfortable enough to sit in for more than 10 minutes. Even though we came in pretty late, they didn't give us any attitude. It was great. Manicotti, Veal Parmigiana and a lovely salad was on the menu, and all were excellent. Well enough food porn. I will check in with y'all tomorrow and let you know of any further exciting adventures. Love and Hugs to All!

Hi Trish Good to see you. Hope this band goes a bit more smoothly for you. Patience is hard - but 70 pounds down is better than a kick in the head, right? Hugs and Good Luck!