AlysonRR

Oh, and we had no trouble getting mercury-free vaccines, except for the flu, which is recommended for both me (asthma) and my daughter (who has several heart defects and had open heart surgery at 3 days of age to correct the imminently fatal one). I usually wait til November, and if we've managed not to catch a cold by then we skip the vaccine, but if we've been sick all fall we get the flu shot.

We've chosen to selectively vaccinate, and stretch out the sequence. We delayed MMR until each child was 4. I was a little nervous about delaying MMR, but my son already had intestinal and neurological problems and I wanted to be cautious. I asked our pediatrician how many cases of mumps, measles, or rubella he had seen, and he replied that he had a case of mumps in the 80s, a couple cases of measles in the early 90s, and had never seen a case of rubella - I was less nervous after that... My husband is a virologist, I'm a microbiologist - he knows more about immunology than I so he made a prioritized list of the vaccines and we discussed our modified schedule with the pediatrician. In some cases she suggested a change and if it made sense to us we complied. Since we homeschool we haven't had the additional paperwork required to exempt a child from vaccination yet. Someone mentioned the difference in the number of vaccines. When I was a child we received a total of around 25 individual vaccinations before the age of 5; my children's original vaccine schedule would have included almost twice that many, most before the age of 2. And many doctors would give two multivalent vaccinations at one visit. I think forcing a child's immune system to make immune responses to up to six different viruses at one time does not make sense. Yes, some children's systems will manage just fine, but despite the studies that have been done, I still think that at some point a biological connection between the number, timing, and/or formulation of vaccinations and children who have neurological or immune issues will be shown. I have absolutely no scientific basis for this, except a knowledge of the complexity of the human system and the reality that we are still in the infancy of our understanding of it, particularly the brain.

If you're past the healing stage, I'd skip the Soup and move on to solid foods. My typical day looks like this: Breakfast: scrambled eggs or small eggbeaters omelet with a little cheese and vegies or Kashi (protein fortified) oatmeal Lunch: deli meat, lettuce or spinach, grated carrots, a little lite mayo, and maybe a little cheese on a sandwich made of Mountain bread (a flatbread, thinner than a tortilla, that doesn't cause me problems) Dinner: salmon or other meat with cooked vegetables or Kashi Golean mixed with greek (high protein) yogurt and a little honey Snack if necessary: yogurt or an ounce of cheese or a piece of deli meat I figure it's good practice to mostly eat the solid Protein that will help me stay full when I reach ideal restriction, so I stay away from soup and Protein drinks and try to make more solid choices. You can make a small pizza using mini pita bread or a small tortilla as a crust, if that's what you want to eat :-) Pita, sauce, sauteed vegies, sausage or pepperoni (I use the vegetarian versions), an ounce of mozzarella. Yum :-) Maybe instead of thinking about a cup, think about 8 ounces? My nutritionist's suggestion was to try to stay within 4-6 oz per meal, with half of that made up of protein and the rest vegies and complex carbohydrates. Hope that helps - you've made great progress so far - congrats, and keep up the good work :-)

Thanks, I just looked again and realized that the two sandwiches they were advertising as 200cal are not yet on the menu at my local restaurant, though similar sounding sammies are. The menu just has the four others, and those are listed around 300 cal. Good to know that substituting the regular dressing for fat free would save me 10+ grams of fat. I probably won't bother switching out unless going there becomes a regular thing, though. Thanks for helping me figure it out :-)

My doctor wanted me to avoid lifting more than 5 pounds immediately after surgery. At a post-op follow up three weeks later he said I could increase that to 15 pounds. I'd talk to your doctor about your situation and find out his/her opinion.

PS - I have some similarities to your story - I started dieting as a pre-teen, didn't start gaining steadily until my mid-20s, and agree that I wouldn't have made it to 300lb without dieting. My main reason for choosing to go forward with lapband surgery is that the arthritis in my knees and hips had gotten so bad I was using a cane most of the time and couldn't walk on uneven surfaces, like the beach or a hiking trail. I have two small children who love to go hiking and to the beach and I realized I was making their world smaller with my disability. The orthopedist said he wouldn't (and he doubted anyone else would, either) do knee replacement surgery on someone my size, that I'd have to lose 125+ lb. When I talked to my primary care doc about my frustration and hopelessness, she asked if I'd ever looked into lapband surgery. I hadn't - I had lumped it in with gastric bypass and knew I didn't want to risk that surgery. When I looked into lapband and realized that it had a miniscule mortality risk and seemed to be working for a large number of people, I decided to go forward. I had to self-pay - our insurance excludes treatment for obesity, too - but I feel much more hopeful about my chances for improving my mobility and the rest of my life. What really got to me was comparing the success rates. With diets, we've all heard that 90% of people who try to lose weight by dieting fail and gain it back, usually with extra. With lapband, at my doctor's office, 90% of the patients lose at least 50-60% of their excess weight. At that point it was an easy decision to go with the option that gave me a much greater chance of reaching my goal. I honestly don't care if I get into a normal BMI range - I just want to increase my mobility, decrease my pain, and be a more energetic person. And so far I feel a positive difference with every 20 pounds I lose. It's been worth it for me, definitely. As for the eating, I never would have believed I could be satisfied eating 800-1000 calories. Some days it's 700, some days it's 1200, a very occasional 1600 (usually when I've had a couple glasses of wine!). Just after surgery I was pretty restricted due to the inflammation and I was having trouble getting over 400 cal/day - shocker! I do feel that I'm dieting at this point, not because I'm hungry, but rather because I am tracking everything I eat so I can ensure I'm getting enough Protein. Not everyone does that, but I'm a bit of a control freak I can imagine that when I am perfectly restricted and used to the different way of eating (protein first, then veg, and whole grains or fruit if there's room) I won't feel as though I have to keep track anymore. Even though I'm not perfectly restricted, I'm not looking for food between meals except when I'm pre-menstrual:rolleyes:, and when I succumb to those cravings I just can't eat much. My previous pre-menstrual binges were often a 7oz or larger bag of chips, or half a large pizza. Now, pizza just doesn't appeal that much, and my salt/crispy food of the moment is 1-3 oz of snap pea crisps - they're not the best choice, but they fulfill the salt/crisp craving and are comparatively high in protein, and regardless, much healthier than the bag of chips they replaced! I hope all that helps - I kind of got on a roll! Best of luck as you make your decision.

I've been baffled most recently by the big signs at Quizno's that say their new Sammies are $2 and 200 calories. The menu, however, and their online nutrition guide states that each of the four types has around 300 calories. They're still a good choice for me when I haven't made my usual bento box lunch. I eat the insides and about half the bread and it's a filling meal. But why the discrepancy between the large font ad and small font menu? I asked but the worker was uninformed - I think I'll write Quizno's and ask.

My doctor encourages us to try to get all our Protein and calories from solid foods, so I didn't use Protein shakes in the mushy phase, and I rarely drink them now. Occasionally I'll be running late and need an on-the-go meal so I'll throw together a Protein Drink, but it's probably happened only 2-3 times in the last 8 weeks. I also use Protein drinks for two days after I get a fill, and it's recommended to go back on liquids for two days if I have a PB or vomiting issue (so far so good). I agree with the previous poster about adding sugarfree syrup - I like Da Vinci syrups and found them at a local discount grocer for about $3.50/liter. They certainly improve the taste of the protein powder! My new favorite recipe, discovered during my two days of liquids last week, is 4 oz sugarfree Oregon Chai Concentrate plus 4 oz Silk soymilk mixed with a scoop of All the whey vanilla powder. I drank it cold with ice and it was quite nice :-) Good luck as you move along in the process!

My doc wanted to see a weight loss pre-surgery, but it wasn't a rigid number. He put me on Medifast for two weeks (the office provided the Medifast foods) and told me he'd like to see at least a 10 pound loss. My understanding is that a low carb, high Protein diet promotes the loss of fat around the liver, which is desirable before lap band surgery. It sounds as though your center wants to see that you have the discipline to get through the harder parts of recovery. Possibly not such a bad idea - the band helps with portion size and satiety, but the weeks since surgery ("bandster hell") have involved a lot more dieting than I expected. I have to say that Medifast wasn't too difficult. I think the combination of low carb/high protein (promotes satiety), the one "lean green" meal each day, and the knowledge that I only had to do it for two weeks really helped motivate me. It was nice that I didn't have to pay for it, too... It's definitely fast - I was 13 lb down in two weeks - so it might be an option for your pre-op requirement. Good luck on your path to the band! It's been totally worth it to me - I've lost 20% of my excess weight so far and I'm at my lowest weight in the last 4 years, and looking forward to a more active future!

I'm pretty sure Dr Neal's office in Olympia does fills for other doctor's patients, and they use fluorscopy: Pacific Surgical Good luck!

I have a 14ml band. I felt some restriction for a couple days at 5ml fill, and now am feeling restriction again at 6.8 ml. I didn't want to answer the poll, though, because I'm pretty sure as soon as I lose a few more pounds I'll need more fill to increase restriction again :-)

I didn't have very much restriction from the 1st fill of 5ml - maybe a couple days? But I'm feeling pretty restricted from the 2nd fill which brought me to 6.8 ml. I'm still on post-op liquids and I can feel it trickling down... I'm going to be interested to see whether there are foods I can't manage now.

Sara - My surgery was done by Dr William Neal. He performs surgery in Olympia and Bremerton (where I went), and perhaps Shelton as well. Fills right now are done in Olympia, but they're trying to add a fill site in Bremerton, too. At least half the staff are banded so you can always talk to someone who has direct experience - besides that, they're very nice. Dr Neal's office has been certified as a Bariatric Center of Excellence and he's done quite a few surgeries so I was comfortable trusting his expertise. He's very straightforward and kind. Here's the website: Pacific Surgical There are weekly information sessions, and Dr Neal is one of the docs who will be at the Splash this weekend. Hope that helps - good luck with your decision!

Tiffany - I get on the scale every morning and of course I'm happy if the number is down. But I can vary up to 5 pounds from day to day, presumably based on Water retention as well as actual weight. If all I was looking at was the number each morning I'd probably be frustrated on the days I'm up. So I made an Excel spreadsheet with my daily weight and made a line graph - it's much more encouraging to realize that the general trend is weight loss, even though there are fluctuations upward. Also, when I felt as though I was on a long plateau (though looking at the graph after it was over it's possible to see my weight was still trending downward slowly) I measured myself and compared those measurements to ones I took before starting on the band process. Knowing I'd lost 25.5 inches made the relatively flat weight loss seem a lot less important! So my advice would be to look at the general trend :-) Good luck!

I had my first fill ~6 weeks after surgery, and my second 3 weeks after that. I'm scheduled for my third in another 3 weeks.

My favorites were, in no particular order: fat free refried Beans with a little sour cream cottage cheese with chives scrambled eggs (or eggbeaters) eggbeaters omelet with cheese Fage yogurt with a little honey tuna/crab/or salmon mixed with mayo and a little relish crabcakes baked ricotta (ricotta mixed w/a little eggbeaters and parmesan, topped with pizza sauce and mozzarella). The idea of pureeing meat kind of grossed me out...

This happened to me after lap-band surgery. I often get skin or internal yeast infections after I have antibiotics, but this is the first time I've ever gotten thrush... I was first given Diflucan, an antifungal pill, for five days - the skin and vaginal infections went away, but not the mouth or intenstinal yeast. Then I was given liquid Nystatin that I rinsed my mouth with then swallowed. That finally did away with the thrush (yeast) in my mouth and intenstinal system (causes stinky pee and diarrhea). I think it's possible that low carb eating will help decrease yeast overgrowth in one's system, but for some antifungal meds are needed.

Yea, Alex - thanks so much for adding it back!!!

I took pictures before starting the pre-op diet and again just after my first fill. I don't know if I'll ever share them - I wanted to be sure to see differences, so I wore an athletic bra and lycra capris - every bulge is visible! But yes, I can tell a difference, particularly in my face. I'm looking forward to my second fill next week as I've plateaued. Thanks for the comments!

Take a look at the Kashi oatmeals - they have a little Protein (could up it with Protein powder and/or milk) and a good portion of Fiber which might be satisfying. Cottage cheese (I looove the chive flavor) has a similar texture to oatmeal but more protein - if oatmeal goes down okay, maybe cottage cheese will, too. Or Fage yogurt - lots of protein and really different texture (creamy, not liquid-y - more like sour cream) compared to regular yogurt - I flavor mine with a tiny bit of honey or a squirt of sugarfree Da Vinci syrup. I get Fage at Trader Joe's or at a local natural foods grocery. Good luck!

I was pretty sure it was gone, but I was hoping to hear that it would be back. Like most people, I have limited time, and there are a huge number of forums here. I'd like to only see posts from the dozen or fewer forums in which I'm interested when I click "New Posts". Can we get the forum filters back? Please?

bump because I want that capability again :-)

This is one from last week, and I'm pretty sure I posted it elsewhere, but as of last Sunday night I've lost 25.5 inches since my pre-op diet began on Dec 3rd (a little under 8 weeks - 6 weeks since surgery). Each thigh was down 2.5", bust -3", hips -3.5", and waist -3.75! I was thrilled because I wasn't losing weight at that point, so it was nice to see that there has been dramatic change even without the scale. I don't squish into the steering wheel when I drive, and my seat belt is easier to put on. I'm only using a cane or walking poles on longer walks, not when I'm grocery shopping. The pants I bought at 280 pounds but wore tightly at nearly 350 are now feeling a lot more comfortable. (I'm making the lycra happy, )

I like weighing every day because I'm learning that how I *feel* I'm doing doesn't always correlate to how I'm doing. I'm learning that I can fluctuate ~3 lb from day to day so I'm tracking trends instead. More data makes the trends more obvious and I don't stress as much over a couple pounds difference like I did when I weighed weekly. But as others have said - I only update my ticker when there's a new lowpoint - I consider all higher points temporary

Welcome! I haven't talked to the doctor about a goal yet, but after starting at nearly 350, I'd be happy to be under 200! Well, actually, I'm happier with every few pounds dropped - I'm down about 10% from my highest weight and it's made a huge difference in my mobility level. I'm imagining I'll get perkier and perkier with every 10% lost :-) I didn't think I had much restriction after my first fill, but the weight is coming off again and my portions are usually smaller (I was up to ~1 cup and now 1/2-3/4 c is more typical, so I guess I do! I'm scheduled for another fill in about 10 days. I buy most of my clothes online, at www.junonia.com and Quality Plus Size Clothing for Women of Style, 2X - 8X, 22W - 46W Making It Big, MIB Plus Size Natural Fiber Clothing for Women of Style Though with the cost of them, I think I'll be trying to take some pants in as I go down in size. Good luck!