Shamrockgirl60

Hi just found this group. I am being banded at Lahey Clinic tomorrow and am very excited and happy to do so. I can't wait they are wonderful there, I have Dr. Brahm and he's so very nice and careing.

I live in Wilmington, and am having my surgery tomorrow at Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA. It's a wonderful program. I am so pleased with them. I shop a lot in Salem NH and go to the Rockingham Mall and also the Pheasent Lane Mall too. My friend in Maine is going to the program in Portsmouth New Hampshire hospital. She's just starting her journey into Lap Band Land. LOL

I sent for the unjury drinks they are a sponser here. They are very good not as much as an after taste. I also have the chocolate drink I got at Wal-Mart 20 grams of Protein per drink. I use skim milk, 2-3 ice cubes and blend, blend and blend some more. If you love chocolate, I got some Hershey's sugar free Chocolate syrup and put a good shot of that in to make it more chocolatly. Also mix vanilla with Crystal Light citrus flavor for a creamcicle taste. Lots of stuff here on what to do. And what is best to drink. good luck. Pati

I am being banded tomorrow. I was told to have 3 protein shakes a day plus broth, jello and water. Lots of water. maybe for a while you go into starvation mode. but if you drink fluids that can help. And walk snort walks every few hours they told me. Get moving a bit and your metabolism will keep working. Best of luck.

I am being banded tomorrow, I came up with my goal weight by what I looked good at. My lowest (you will hate me) was 105 when I was 21, I stayed between 110-115 till I was 28 and got pregnant. Then I was about 140 after my daughter was born, Went up to 160 and dieted back to 130. Well yo yoing was my problem. In my mid early 40's I went through early menopause, and some other problems, my weight went up to 175 for a few years. Then back down, by my late 40's I was about 180. Then in my early 50's my metabolism slowed down, and I have hypothyroidism undiagnosed for at least a few years and my weight shot up to 200. By the time I was on the proper medication I was maybe 220. Went back and forth for a few years between 220 and 180 or so but never lower. I felt good at around 120-125 and my goal now is 130. If I make it to that I will be very happy. I am 5'4". So everyone is different. What ever weight loss we get on this it's good. Set realistic goals first then when you make them.....go a bit further. Take care Pati

In my paperwork (being banded tomorrow) they said that beef, chicken, lamb and pork were hard to eat. They must be cooked "wet" poached in broth or in a fat free gravy, then it's not too dry. Dry food is the culprit, and taking bites that are too big. They recommended the poaching and as with tuna, a fat and low calorie mayo. Try poaching the chicken and see what happens. Good luck

Those are wonderful goals. Mini goal is to ride my bike for at least 30 minutes every day. Pick out my fat clothes that I do love and take them to a tailor to have them taken in when I lose 40 lbs. or so. Put away $20 a week for new wardrobe when I get to goal weight of 130 To eat healthy and not do anything to cause band slippage. Make good choices To play with my new grandbaby at least twice a day. To go out with husband once a week to the movies or just a nice walk around the mall or other fun place. That's it for now Oh ultimate buy sexy underwear at Victoria's Secret when I get to goal and get a a sexy red dress an shoes and go dancing with hubby.

My feelings are well known, follow doctors orders. If it needs 5-6 weeks to fully heal the band then do what you can to NOT have it slip. So eating right for 6 weeks will train you to continue to eat right. Just because you have the band doesn't mean you can eat anything at all in smaller portions and lose weight. My doctors said you cay eat a Burger King Whopper, one tiny bite at a time and take all day long (with the band) to eat it, but at the end of the day you still ate a Whopper. Same with a pizza, or ice cream or anything else fattening, it totally defeats the purpose of the band in the first place.

fivestar, I also am getting banded on Thursday the 7th. Best of luck. I am on my own diet. liquid's from Midnight tomorrow night till surgery sometime on the 7th will have to call tomorrow am for the time to show up on Thursday.

Great that your having your surgery done tomorrow fleminald, so sorry about your Dad that must be such an added strain on top of the surgery, I hope he gets better soon. It's hard when parents get sick. I am an orphan now at 60 Dad died in 1988 and Mom in 2005 I miss them both so much now that I am a Grandma for the first time and loving it. I wish you all the luck and congratulations for doing the surgery, it's a long road to get to it but I think it's well worth if from what I am reading here. Take care Pati

Congratulations, I gather your from The UK? Your "accent" showed LOL. Just kidding it was the knickers and underground that did it. You had a very good experience how wonderful. I am being banded here in the States on Thursday and can't wait to have it done. Just weighed myself on my husbands fancy scale he got for the VNA (visiting nurse association) that comes to see him, he had open heart surgery a little over 3 weeks ago and is doing great. Have his aortic valve replaced. I lost more weight then they wanted me too which is wonderful for my preop diet. Just a question and I hope you don't mind me asking, was this self-pay or did your national health insurance pay for the surgery? Now it's time to have fun with those lovely protein drinks LOL take care and again congrats and for sharing your experience. Pati

Sandlily, then I congratulate you on a wise choice. When the time comes when you have lost a good amount of weight, invite your friend to lunch, and show her how wonderful you feel, maybe she will then think about having the Lap Band. She may have read about it and been afraid of ding it. She may just be jealous that you have done it before herself. I would bring along a few brochures about it and give them to her. She may at that time just be waiting for that little "push" to look into it herself. Best of luck and I love your attitude. Take care.:thumbup::thumbup:

Catherine so glad your doing so well. Yes Congratulations are in order, It's a good and brave thing to do. I will be banded Thursday and can't wait. I want to be a "bandster" so bad. Best of luck and I'm sure that with all the support here and from our families and friends we will lose the weight and keep it off. Take care Pati

Awww that's so nice, that photo was taken a year ago so I was 59. LOL I take care of my skin it's very very sensitive. I can only use Origins skin products. And Bare Minerals make-up and I use a sunscreen all the time. I wear a hat when I'm in the pool too. My family is blessed with good genes. I have more gray hair than my Mom did when she was 78. She didn't start looking her age till her 70's when she got very sick. My daughter is almost 32 and most people think she's in her late teens. I am so looking forward to Thursday when I officially become "banded" LOL take care.:biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2: Pati

Wow your doing so great, I will talk to my friend I am trying to get her to post here. I am going to call her tomorrow. She's very excited to do this also. I am so happy and calm about the surgery. I dont' know how I will feel on Thursday morning LOL. But now I am calm..... I agree with you on Manny, they were discussing the problems the team has had with him this year. He seemed to not be playing well on purpose, he was throwing the games. The players were very unhappy and it showed with their playing, Manny is Manny that's a cop out, I do think he needs Prozac or lithium I do think he's bi-polar. I love Jason Bay he's adorable, I saw in the stands the girls are going nutz for him...."The Bay Watch Babes" isn't' that cute. He's a better fielder than Manny and we still have Big Poppi to hit. I just hope Manny doesn't' try to persuade him to leave, I doubt it. Go Red Sox 2008 2007 World Series Champions Go Patriots 2008 Congratulations World Champion Boston Celtics 2008 :cool2: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Thanks, that was so nice of you. I think that staying on a restricted diet the few weeks before surgery sure helps you after. I know I will have good days and bad days ahead and will concentrate on the good ones. Hope your doing good. Only craving I have is ice cream LOL. Being good and not having any, even the fat free, sugar free kind LOL. I want to make this work, I am 60 years old and want the next 20 years of my life or more to be happy productive ones and that I can spend them enjoying my granddaughter grows up. I want to boogie at her college graduation and wedding. I want to be the "cool" grandma. A real Auntie Mame type of gal. With my sexy purple dress and red hat. LOL

Wow what a discussion. I am getting banded this Wed. I plan to follow the doctor's orders to the max. I went through months of pre-op meetings on how to eat properly, what the whole banding process is, that it is not nirvana for fat people, it's a tool to lose and keep of the pounds, It must be used properly and respected for what it is a piece of medical equipment sewn into your inside to restrict your eating. You have to do the work, of eating properly to make it work. I know every doctor has different procedures, I cringe at some of them. The program I went through at Lahey Clinic in Burlington MA has an excellent record on banding and gastric bypass. Zero deaths in over 10 years of doing the surgeries. So I go with what they say. They stressed that the reason for the 5 weeks of eating this way is the band has to heal inside and become one with your body. It takes about 5 to 6 weeks to do it properly. Most operations require a healing period of at least 6 weeks. So why not this one. Eating real "solid" foods at 3 weeks to me would be like running a marathon after open heart surgery. Week 1 Clear fluids for the first week - broth, Jello and Protein shakes (3) per day and drink plenty of Water or crystal light type drinks Week 2, 3 and 4 - strained low fat cream Soups can use blender to make smooth. In fact if you can blend any soup into a puree you can eat it. thin mashed potatoes or cream of wheat part skimmed milk ricotta cheese pureed fruit like applesauce ( Mott's makes a sugar free with flavors, like blueberry and strawberry.) I think mixing that with the cheese might taste pretty good) 3 Protein Shakes a day Week 5 Weaning off liquids to mushy solids. Low fat cheese, ground turkey and chicken. cooked with broth to make very very soft. Low Fat Cottage Cheese, very soft scrambled or soft boiled eggs or eggbeaters. tuna with low fat low calorie mayo. Chicken salad with low fat cottage cheese. this is the mushy stage. Don't drink 30 minutes before you eat and 60 minutes after you eat continue this for at least one year or beyond for maximum food absorbs ion. As you increase the portein in your diet you can discontinue your protein shakes. You must have at least 60 grams of protein a day, and when you eat, you eat your protein first, then your veggies, then a small amount of starches if you are still hungry and not full. This must be done forever with the band. As they say a whole new way of eating. They stressed no snacking and to make sure that foods are a good consistancy so it won't make you uncomfortable or make the band slip. We have to totally change our eating patterns. OK we are all human and we will "slip" and get that dish of ice cream once every few months or have something fattening, in very small amounts. Don't beat yourself up over it. If I had eaten a pizza like that my doctors would have gone through the roof. I went through enough to get this done. I don't want to mess it up. I picked the right doctor and the right hospital to have my surgery I have every confidence in them. And they only asked me to fast one day before surgery My pre-op diet was my own, they only wanted me to lose 12 pounds. As of last week I lost 13.3 and have been dieting the past week and a half, I want to be at least 15 lbs lighter so my liver will be nice and de-fatted. LOL JMHO folks Pati

Yikes get thee to a doctor or emergency room asap. Any skin infection now can be dangerous. I had a simple bite from a yellow jacket a few years ago, and in 3 days I ended up in the hospital with a major skin infection, cellulitis and had to go on intravenous antibiotics for a week. It was awful, they drew a big purple circle around it and sent me home saying if the redness an swelling goes over the line to come right back in. I went back every afternoon for a week for the intravenous antibiotics. It slowly went away. But scared the crap out of me.

How sad that someone who is supposed to be a "Christian" has such meanness in her heart. She should look inward as to why she treated you this way. I agree God helped someone to invent this procedure and make it available to people who really need this. My 7 month journey to Lap Banding (will be banded on Thursday) was as hard as any diet I have ever been on. It's no cop out at all. It will take guts to go through with everything. Is this "friend" of yours a heavy person or a very very thin one? Sometimes either one can be jealous of you and your choice to be healthy and thinner. Best of Luck Pati

Hey never heard of this kind of band is it new? Sounds like a compromise between gastric bypass and the adjustable band. Can you stretch your stomach pouch and it gets bigger and then the band doesn't work? Is there a web site describing what it is? I am being banded this Thursday with a regular adjustive band.

Wow that is great I would be thrilled at 6 lbs. a week on any diet. You will most probably lose anther few pounds this week. Good luck on your surgery and don't fret, it will be fine.

Congratulations on your getting banded. As you are in the UK does the countries health insurance pay or it or is it self-pay over there. Here in the states some insurance pays some don't. Luckily mind did. What are your food restrictions, I wonder if they have the same programs with multiple visits for physicals and shrink appointments, and group meetings? I took me from my initial phone all in Early Feb. to now to get this done, a few minor delays which maybe added a month or two. But all in all it gave me time to think this through a lot and decide it's the best thing. Hope you continue to lose and feel good. Have a good gas relief product on hand I hear you will need. it. Again best of luck Pati

One word might help LOL well more than one LOL GAS X STRIPS THEY MELT IN YOUR MOUTH!!!! HOPE THAT HELPS. TAKE CARE AND GOOD LUCK

My surgery is this Thursday the 7th, did some shopping and picked up two boxes of Gas X strips (they melt on your tongue. My nurse practitioner recommened it. A lot of people use it for the gas. My diet is very very restrictive, clear liquids for almost two weeks then other liquids and then mushy food. I won't have any "solid food" for 5-6 weeks. This was highly stressed to me so that the band can heal and not slip. I will stick with it for sure.

Good to know this stuff, I keep reading my paperwork, it's almost as big as a book by now about when and how to eat. For soft foods, cottage cheese, yogurt, scrambled eggs or eggbeaters, cream of wheat, white tuna, blended with some low fat low cal mayo and some onion and celery powder. Make it nice and mushy and take small bites. Can do the same with chicken. I love humus and a little of that would be nice. When yo can eat more you can have small amounts of pita bread they say you can tolerate that more than regular bread, not as likely to swell up. pureed fruit is good too with no sugar or syrup, use Spenda to make it sweeter and a little Water. Also puree Soups to a soft mush. Just a few ideas hope it helps