Tess415

I drink crystal light energy... the strawberry flavored one it has caffeine in it, I have one every morning!!!:redface:

I swear by my Birkenstock shoes!!! I am a nurse, and I love them for my 12 hour shift!!!! They have fantastic arch support. I also wear newbalance tennis shoes, but when my feet act up I go back to only wearing my Birkenstocks!!

Binkini- WOW, that sounds rough!!! I wouldn't blame you one bit for avoiding that whole drama!!!! What is your relationship like with your dad? It sounds like you really love him... is he supportive of you? I think he should tell his mother to BACK OFF!!! If you are doing this for him to keep things open with his side, he needs to let them know not to treat you like this or I wouldn't be apart of this freak show!!! If you do go, I would be prepared to steer the conversation about your accomplishments and your goals for the future and give them something else to know about you other than to worry about your weight. If they treat you less than politely and less than common courtesy that they would show to a perfect stranger... I would not do it again!!! For heaven's sake, they wouldn't talk that way to a perfect stranger about their weight or ask what they would like to eat that way!!!! How RUDE!!!!:thumbup:

I had progresso soups, they were good. I blended up the chicken and rotini and it was good!! Tomato basil was good too. Potato soup Bob Evans was good too, get carry out!!!

On my mushie phase I was told to have anything that was on liquids list, then anything that was blenderized and strained through a wire strainer. I made roast beef and gravy for my family, and I blended up the meat with gravy and pushed it though the strainer to make sure that it was all pureed. I even bought baby food... the strained meats and used my regular gravies and broth. Mashed potatoes were ok to have... just make them on the thinner side so they slide down easily. Poached eggs were also delicious by the time I could get off of liquids. Progresso Soups with chicken in the blender were good too. You'll become very inventive on your own!! I am a cruncher and I like crunchy food, my DH bought me an ice crusher and I put crystal light or juices over the ice and crunched away!!!

Definitely call and make sure they scheduled it right from the office!!! How scary for you!!!! I would make sure (and they should do this anyway) on your surgery day they verbalize why you are there and for what procedure. Absolutely clear the air.... you do not need to be having this kind of worry hanging over your head!!!!! Good luck!!!

OK!!!! I am at 300.5 as of today!!!!! I cannot wait to put this behind me and finally be under 300!!!! It has to happen soon!!!

Name_________Start Weight__CurrentWeight______Goal______Lbs lost *****:cool2:************************:tt2:*******************:w00t:* 1day at a time.....263............261............243............2 2BHealthE!.........194............179............194............0 ahsem2bme..........244............244............225............0 aJoneen............223............221............213............2 Aphrodite1984......208............208............190............0 Ariel..............199............196.4..........180..........2.6 ArmyWife4life......209.5..........209.5..........190............0 Barb12590..........228............223............213............5 Bea1128............210.5..........207............188..........3.5 blueriley..........206............206............190............0 Brandymom1234......227............151.9..........135..........4.1 Caramia71..........208............203............195............5 cQQlgirl...........194............194............180............0 Crzytchr...........281............275............265............6 DebinFl............181............181............168............0 georgiagirl........245............232............230...........13 HarleyGirl.........188............187............175............1 HeatherA...........210.5..........209............200..........1.5 HeatherO...........155............150............140............5 Ivyrose325.........212............212............199............0 Jazzyywan..........255............255............190............0 Jodi_620...........196............188............177............8 KikiVal315.........237.5..........235............220............0 Lana24.............208............195............185............0 laurigee...........180............180............160............0 Leslie2Lose........220............214............205............6 lindar172 .........274.2..........271............256..........3.2 LisaB..............205.5..........199............180..........6.5 livn4thm...........235............233............210............2 Long2bthin.........248............243............230............5 Luu2008............203............199.5..........183..........3.5 KikiVal315.........237.5..........235............220..........2.5 Mamanmidwife.......299............292............280............7 mamato3............186............186............170............0 MarinaBleu.........226.5..........226.5..........216............0 memom..............210............210............170............0 Minxz..............299............283............280...........16 mominlv13..........299.8..........294.8..........275............5 nip50..............175............173............160............2 NurseNiki..........258............255............239............3 odamay.............242............242............225............0 paige65............252............247............232............5 Peaches11..........205............205............194............0 pj_txlady..........220............220............200............0 Redtulips3.........180............180............170............0 Renee74............214............213............199............1 Renewedhope........171............170............150............1 reif78.............294............195............185............0 shaversd...........230.5..........227............210..........3.5 SpecialK...........294............290............280............4 Sunshine2..........177............171............167............6 Tess...............304............300.5..........280..........3.5 thatDEgirl.........211............209............195............2 Turler.............225............219............210............6 wendyw.............192............192............172............0 wowox7.............195............189............170............6 WyominGirl.........327............321............312............6 Finally got on the board!

Congratulations on getting your band!!! Don't be overly obsessed with the scale right now... don't weigh more than once a week, on the same day and same time of the day. You will fluctuate and hold some fluids right now as your body adjusts to the diet of just liquids. You may even have a little gain when switching to solids, it s temporary...just stick to the rules and the plan and the weight will some off!!! Keep to your exercise routine, it will help out alot!!! You are hungry right now because the swelling from the surgery is gone and you will feel less hunger when you get an adjustment on your band!! You are doing great.

I am a nurse and do alot of heavy lifting and pulling, I had a total of 3 weeks off from my surgeon.

It sounds to me like you feel you need to see this dinner thru... you only have one first dinner for the family!! I felt fine at 3 weeks and was working out everyday in the gym, so with planning it will go well!! Sounds like you have a very supportive Mom, and I am sure the two of you will plan a wonderful meal. I have found when the family is all eating they are too busy to notice what you are doing, especially since they don't know what's going on with your diet. Don't sweat it!!! I agree with the make your plate look normal with a little of everything, push it around a bit... you can do it. I was so excited about the band, I wasn't really tempted to eat off plan just from the food being around... I think you'll do fine!!!

There are several different kinds of hernias, which one does she have that needs repaired?? Yes, hey do hiatal hernia repair with the lap band at the same time. Is this something your MIL is asking for and she wants to do the work to lose the weight, or did the surgeon just mention it? Is the infection she had a drug resistant type where she was in isolation when she was in the hospital? The reason I am asking, if she were to have had an infection with a "super-bug" MRSA for example... it can live on your skin and not be active, but given the opportunity it will infect. So if this is one of the kinds she had before, she probably is a carrier and it is very likely she would have problems again. I think she needs to give this some serious thought and get a second opinion before jumping into this.

I took banana slices and covered it with jello sugar-free banana pudding with fudge (in the snack cups it's good portion control). It's Yummy!!!!:wink_smile:

That sucks! I work in a unit where we get morbidly obese patients from nursing homes that end up very ill. Currently one gal has been there 45 days ( she weighed 500+) and is complete care, on the vent and everything, she is completely helpless. You can imagine what my co-workers have to say about that, day after day after day... at least the patients that have the surgery don't need total care for the most part. Maybe there could be an educational piece for your unit to do, I even hear things like this with our suicidal patients, drug overdoses etc... I think people get tired of seeing people not help themselves and be there own worst enemy, but actually having the WLS is someone finally taking steps to help themselves, and maybe that's not how your co-workers see it. They view it as an easy way out and it is anything but!!!

Steve - I was diagnosed with MS in 2001. My first symptoms appeared in 1999. I thought that I had a stroke in my sleep, I woke up with numbness and tingling down one half of my body. Then over the next 2 years had symptoms that came and went... balance, dizziness, numbness and tingling. I started on Avonex in 2001. I feel really good and really can't complain. I have a very mild form. With illness or fevers my symptoms really get worse for a week or so, then get better. I had my lumbar puncture done under fluoroscopy and it was painless. However, I have had 2 c-sections done with a spinal and I understand how uncomfortable that needle can be. So far I have noticed no issues regarding the band. I remember how alone I felt when I was diagnosed, and scared of what the future will hold. Hopefully the steroids will do their job and you can get established on one of the ABC drugs for maintenance of your MS. Keep positive and take one day at a time.

I have a very tainted point of view... I have taken care of gastric bypass patients that have had serious complications post op. As a critical care nurse who had to support families in crisis due to an elective operation, I could never take a chance of putting my family thru that for my benefit. Now having said that... there were many successful ones, but that is not who I cared for, they only came to my unit when in critically ill!!!! Also, I've seen gastric bypass patients down the road gain a lot back over time, or become seriously ill and it just complicates things by them having altered nutritional status. When you need the gut to work better, there is no way to change it back!! These are some of the things that were in my mind when I decided the band was what I would consider. Everyone is different, and its a tool not a quick fix, done right it is a lot of work to eat right and exercise etc.. there is no way around any of that no matter what!! Good luck to you with your decision!!!

I hope you find some answers helpful. How long does this process take? It seems there is a lot involved and I seem to be getting the impression that it takes months from starting this process until you actually get the surgery?? And then you still actually have to lose the weight. Wouldn't it be faster just to buckle down and lose the weight without the surgery (if you can). But obviously I haven't done that yet and that's why I'm looking into this. For me, I have lost several hundreds of pounds over and over and over again. I just couldn't keep it off and make that life style change. I wasn't going to try one more diet without another tool to keep me from ballooning back up when I got off track. From start to finish it was 7 months form seminar to surgery. I used this time to practice lapband eating, and deal with my unhealthy stress/emotional eating issues, and develop healthier coping skills. I even hired a life coach to help me with these issues. I started an exercise program and stuck with it. Question: it seems like the way you have to eat post-op is extremely restrictive. Not only do you have to eat diet food, but you also have to avoid all KINDS of foods that you would normally be able to eat on a diet. So why is this better than just dieting? Don't you have to give up certain foods on any diet? Isn't that a part of the lifestyle change? As far as carbonation and pop goes...don't miss it!! Have done fine giving it up, and have saved a lot of money seeing how expensive it has gotten!!! Otherwise, I haven't seemed to be craving anything I haven't been able to eat, of course the tighter you want your band, then there is the more the chance there will be certain foods that are no longer able to pass comfortably. As you can tell, I am very conflicted about this idea. I am reading that it helps people, but why? If you have the resolve to actually go through surgery to lose weight, wouldn't that same resolve be exactly what you need to be on a diet for months and months?I T IS A LIFESTYLE CHANGE!!! NO MATTER WHAT YOU CHOOSE, IF YOU DO NOT MAKE IT YOUR LIFE STYLE, YOU WILL FAIL!!! Sure, some people have been successful in loosing weight without surgery and keep it off, not me!!!! But, now I have made it a life style, not a diet!!!! Question #4: I read on a site that if you are a sweets person, Lap Band probably will not help you. I love sweets. Will I fail at this if I do the surgery because of my love of sweets? You will fail at any diet unless you figure out how to deal with sweets!!! I still enjoy a treat... but it's a treat and its not every day, and I plan for it!!! Question #5: I am reading that people are on some kind of a liquid diet pre-op....what is that about? How long does that go on? Each surgeon is different... for me it was liquids 5 days pre-op, then 2 weeks after the band, then 2 weeks pureed, 2 weeks soft. Then new foods as tolerated!!! Each adjustment is 2 days of liquids, 2 days pureed 2 days soft. Honestly, I looked into this briefly a few years ago, and thought no way!!! Too restrictive, too many rules. I am to much of a control person to give my power and control away to a weightloss surgery. Then, facing my health concerns of borderline diabetic, family heart disease and my own high blood pressure... I felt hopeless and helpless. I didn't want to die at a young age, but that is certainly was where I was heading!!! I went through some personal emotional tragedies, and realized food is my drug!!! I am a food addict!!! It was my friend, comfort and always made me feel good when I was eating!!!! Then, feel like crap after I ate and ate and ate. My point is... if you do not address and fix the dynamic of why you are obese, you will not be successful long term with any diet plan. I have worked very hard on this aspect which has nothing to do with the band itself. I don't think I can stress that enough!!! After coming to that realization, I was ready to figure out how I was going to accomplish my goal of being healthy and loosing weight. I seen an interview with Mohammed Ali's daughter that had lap band done and she stirred something inside to take another look into lapband with a more open mind. I read her book "Fighting Weight" which I highly recommend for you to read. Then, something clicked, and I got it... surgical weightloss intervention can be a very empowering thing, not something that takes my control away!!!!! I always thought it was an easy way out, cheating!! Not so!!! I am doing all of the work!!! The band is just a tool!!! A safety stop so to speak. It's an auto off button for eating too large of a portion. It takes time to get to the proper adjustment, but once there it is a very useful tool. I wish you health and good luck in whatever you decide, it is not something to be taken lightly. ( Which is one of the good reasons for the wait time to get it done) It is not for everyone, and you must be able to embrace it and want to use it properly or it will fail.

The surgeon that put my band in is the only one who does the fills. He pulled out all but .5cc before adding to it and doing the fill. He showed me the amount he pulled back and said the .5cc is unable to get out due to the suction from the syringe and the band collapsing on itself. I am a nurse and am totally confident in the way he checks and does the fills. So if you are missing that much, I wouldn't think it would evaporate!!! Find another place to get you fills!!!

I have multiple sclerosis and have been doing fine!! Thank god!

That seems a bit concerning, when you say go to the bathroom I am assuming that you mean that everything is running thru you? That should be from the band. I too think you should see the doctor. Take Care!

Fibrous foods are things like celery, pineapple, asparagus they are stringy and can get stuck and plug you up. I look at the nutrition threads for new ideas, there is even one where they log daily what they eat that I have found some new ideas from. Everyone is different, you will only know how you tolerate things by trying them one new thing at a time... and as you get more fills, that will even change. What you can eat in the morning may be different than what will go down easy in the evening. It's trial and error somewhat. Stick to 6-8 glasses of Water in between meals, no drinking with meals. Target 1000-1200 calories and hit your Protein goal with calories before eating lots of carbs. I eat a lot of tuna, chicken, turkey, to get the protein in, and supplement with cottage cheese, yogurt, veggies and salad or hot veggies!!! I also use "DailyPlate.com" to journal food, its free and lots of info!! Good luck!!!

6 month Bandiversary NAME.........................surgery date.....todays date....Lbs lost 1. SpecialK ...................3/17/08.........9/7/08............53.9 lbs 2. scrappy_friend ..........3/17/08.........9/4/08............54.0 lbs 3. aJoneen....................3/04/08.........9/4/08............31.0 lbs 4. WestCoastMom..........3/27/08.........9/4/08.............60.0 lbs 5. julietj1970.................3/3/08...........9/4/08.............40 lbs 6. SugarBean.................3/24/08.........9/4/08.............88 lbs (30 before surgery) 7. Tess415.....................3/10/08.........9/4/08.............60 lbs (23 before surgery) 8. jegtlf..........................3/24/08.........9/5/08..............56lbs 9. lglenn3000...................3/17/08.........9/5/08.............28 lbs Looking good Shamrocks!!!

Lisa - you are doing great!!! Don't get discouraged!!! I too am hanging right above 300, it will happen very soon!!!!

NAME.........................surgery date.....todays date....Lbs lost 1. SpecialK ...................3/17/08.........9/7/08............53.9 lbs 2. scrappy_friend ..........3/17/08.........9/4/08............54.0 lbs 3. aJoneen....................3/04/08.........9/4/08............31.0 lbs 4. WestCoastMom..........3/27/08.........9/4/08.............60.0 lbs 5. julietj1970.................3/3/08...........9/4/08.............40 lbs 6. SugarBean.................3/24/08.........9/4/08.............88 lbs (30 before surgery) 7. Tess415.....................3/10/08.........9/4/08.............60 lbs (23 before surgery) Wow, just add up the few people that we've started with!!!!! It is going to be an awesome total at the end of the month!!!!!! Way to go shamrocks!!!!! :tt2::thumbs_up::smile2::thumbs_up::thumbup::thumbs_up:

Mamanmidwife Congratulations!!!! How fantastic for you!!