Shinyhappymommy

Hey! We had almost the same amount to lose. I had 143. I'm almost halfway to goal. Isn't it amazing the things we can do with the band as a tool? I love it! Congrats on your big milestone.

I just saw this thread. I love Dr. Mel. I had my surgery by him in February this year. He is a very experienced and skilled surgeon. His experience with the band is more recent, I think he's only been doing Lapband since about February. He has tons of gastric bypass surgeries under his belt, which according to him is much more complicated a surgery. I felt like I was taking a bit of a risk with him since he was newer to the Lapband, but I haven't been disappointed. His follow-up care is great. He even calls me personally from time to time to see how things are going. I would recommend him, absolutely.

My dh is looking into a job prospect for central Illinois. I'm wondering what unit the city of Lincoln belongs to? Anyone have any idea?

Are any of you also in a small branch? We are pretty few and far between here. We have multiple callings for the most part. It's taken me a while to get used to that. How can I be the Primary President, Choir Director and the Activities Director? Well, as long as I'm not trying to do two things at the same time, it works out.

Speaking of meds, another great thing for me is that I'm off all meds now except birth control. I was very dependent on Nexium. I needed it for a month or two after surgery still, but now I don't take it at all and don't get any acid reflux.

I work in Primary. I'm actually the president and I have amazing counselors. We have a secretary, but she's totally inactive, so the second counselor fills in. She was the secretary in the last presidency, so she really knows her stuff. Here's some of what our secretary role includes: take roll, including submitting it to the clerk quarterly check if we have any birthdays take minutes during our presidency meetings and write them up afterwards, email them to the presidency take a turn in the sharing time and conducting rotation keep track of who has prayed and given talks helps us photo copy children's talks so we have something to go from to write the program this summer. each month puts up the new theme, gospel standard, scripture of the month, and article of faith on our bulletin board. She also keeps track of which one to do next. subs in nursery when needed. Some other things you could do: Write and mail notes to the kids who are missing My sister's Primary Secretary makes a monthly newsletter for the kids' families. It includes the words for the song they are working on that month, assignments for the kids, etc. Really, you can just look for what stresses the president/counselors out and try to help alleviate that any way you can. When I became RS secretary the Stake people told us (a group with the same calling being trained) that we could make or break our presidencies by how we helped or not. So I've always taken the secretary role very seriously.

I haven't experienced it, but there are numerous threads around here about that very topic. I've actually decreased the amount of burping and farting I do significantly since being banded.

I actually requested it to be done this way. We all know that we're Christian, but putting us under that heading would have just been individual threads within the general Christian forum. I didn't necessarily want it done that way. I liked the idea of a forum for us, where we could start individual threads, like this one and have it all grouped together under one LDS heading. I was pleased that the moderator either knew or researched what LDS means and used the words instead of just the abbreviation. I only referred to it as LDS in my request, so that was his thing.

Thank you so much Alex! Very cool.

Kat, I purposely named the thread like so many of the ones warning people of the dangers ahead so those who are into reading those posts might come across this one. Thanks for adding your success story as well. There are a lot of us out there. For everyone reading, I did want to say that my weight loss has been faster than many of my band friends who are of a similar time frame, so don't necessarily expect the same results. One factor was that I started at a BMI of 46, so as far as I understand weight tends to come off quicker for us bigger folks. Band and fills: Every body is different and your mileage will vary, but I have a 10 cc band and I think I have 7 ccs in it. I have had two fills. I'm still doing fine from my second one two months ago, so I'm not planning on having another one until my weight loss stops for at least three weeks. Another thing I wanted to add to the list in my first post: I am able to eat more than just a couple of bites before getting full. I feel like I'm able to eat a healthy amount of food and my weight is still coming off.

. . .about the miracle that it's been in my life. I had Lapband surgery 4 months ago. Here are some of the things that have happened as a result: I have lost 66 pounds. My BMI has dropped over 10 points. My clothing size has gone from a 30/32 to an 18/20. I can cross my legs now. I feel stronger as a person. I am much more confident. I have a different relationship with food. I honestly don't miss the junk food that I was mourning the loss of before I had my surgery. On occasion I will have a little bit of something and then find that it no longer appeals to me like it used to. The post-op diet was hard at times, but nothing I couldn't handle with some planning and lots of reading around here. I eat normally. I have yet to find a food I couldn't eat as long as I'm careful in my chewing. I am rarely hungry. I eat to fuel my body, not because I'm driven to by an insane hunger. I wake up every morning grateful for the blessing that this surgery has been for me. My friends and family have all been supportive. Every last person I have spoken to about my surgery has been positive, supportive and kind. I want to cry when I look at my face in my before pictures. I didn't realize how lost I had become in my body/fat. I am almost giddy when I look at my current pictures because I see hope and happiness there. My family is eating healthier because of my food habit changes. My kids are proud of me. My husband is proud of me and thrilled with the changes in me, both physically and emotionally. I haven't uncovered any secret emotional reasons to why I overate. I'm still doing fine emotionally, in fact, I'm better than I've been in years. I have hope for a very bright future because of the changes that having the Lapband has helped me to achieve. Now, I still have 77 pounds to go until my goal weight, so I'm certainly not there. But even this much of a change has done so much for me. Anyone should go into surgery with both eyes open as to what complications you can run into, etc., but I just wanted to put my story out there, because there are some people who don't have complications. Sometimes the band is a perfect solution to why we're overweight and can be a virtually problem-free answer. I do follow my surgeon's rules and make good food choices most of the time. You do have to learn how to eat the best way for your weight loss, but it is important and you can do it. I do use willpower at times, but it is a hugely different experience with the band than before. Sometimes I don't post about how easy things have gone for me because I don't want to frustrate those who are struggling and trying hard, only having slower success. I don't want to come across as bragging in any way. But it's not a true picture if you don't get all perspectives, and this is my perspective. Hope it was helpful.

I just submitted a request to the webmaster, via a private message. We'll see if that produces results. I would love to have a whole forum for LDS support. As far as fast Sunday goes, I fasted the last one for the first time in a couple of years (pregnant and nursing) and it was surprisingly easy. I even lost two pounds that day and it stayed off. Blessings do abound. :behindsofa:

You're welcome. I also enjoyed the Campbell's Select Tomato Parmasean Bisque soup. It wasn't low calorie, but I wasn't getting a whole lot of calories so it worked out. It was very yummy. It does have some chunks, so you have to chew just a little.

I took about a cup of frozen peas and dropped them into a cup or so of boiling chicken broth. I boiled that until the peas were tender and then put it through the blender. Also added a dollop of light sour cream to the blender. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Peas also have Protein, so that's a bonus. I got that recipe somewhere on this website. You can also take refried Beans and thin them down with beef bullion until they reach the consistency you're allowed to have. sugar-free Cook-n-serve chocolate pudding was also a godsend during that time.

I look at it! Welcome to the two of you. I hope everything goes well with your band stuff.

Here I am from the side:

Here are my official 4 month progress pictures. I took one set in the same clothes and one set in regular clothes so you can actually see my body. Left to right, Before in February 303 pounds. In progress in June at 240 pounds, in same clothes, and then new clothes.

Obviously I cannot forsee the future as to what will happen for you, but for me this has been a life-changing experience. I have a baby boy, he was almost 12 months old when I had my surgery. I did this largely for him and my other children (2 dds), but it did scare me as well. I have had almost no problems. I have no complaints. I'm making good food choices most of the time and my weight is steadily coming off at a pace of about 10 pounds a month right now. I'm nearing my halfway to goal point and I haven't been this happy in years. If I could go back and comfort my pre-banded self, I would say not to worry, it will all work out great. I hope the same holds true for you. Melissa

It would drive me crazy wondering if my surgeon didn't also withdraw what is already in the band after injecting the new stuff to show how much I have. That way I know he hit the port. I'd ask her to do that next time. I can't imagine someone refusing to do that, it's simple and offers reassurance.

I second the notion that it's probably your port. I feel mine hit my ribs sometimes in certain positions. Your port should be under your biggest incision from your surgery.

You really do look a whole lot younger. You look like your younger, thinner sister. :eek:

The chocolate unjury was pretty good. I also used their chicken Soup flavor, but you can't get it very hot. I did enjoy it, though. Now I'm using Body Fortress from Wal-mart. I have both the chocolate and vanilla flavors and they're not too bad. I get tired of them if I have them very often, but when you're on the liquid diet, you get tired of just about everything. There are actually a lot of threads about Protein drinks on here and lots of different suggestions. Try doing a search on Protein Drink, or shake. Good luck!

My husband would likely join you. He's registered here and has posted a couple of times, but not much. He's been a tremendous support and I think he'd have some valuable input. I'll point him to this thread.

You look great! I really liked the face shots of you with your curls down. Beautiful.

Thanks. You guys are sweet. I realized later that the pink shirt is actually what I wore to my first appointment with my surgeon. I'll have to send him that picture too.