MacMadame

I road my bike. About 50 min for 8.5 miles. I was taking it easy since I'm on a taper.

Realize band is a low pressure system and Lap-band is a high pressure system. I have no idea what difference it makes but J&J says that it means food doesn't get stuck as much and it's more comfortable. I have no idea how'd you prove that with clinical data though. Realize band is softer and wider and has a bigger reservoir. It comes with a low profile port. The port has these little claw things that stick it to your muscle wall. There is also an option to sew it to the wall like the lap-band port. Some people like that and some think the lap-band seems "sturdier." Lap-band comes pre-formed into a circle and the reservoir is pre-creased so it has these little pockets. The port is higher profile but a low-profile port is available as an option. Realize-C, the newest version of the Realize, also comes pre-formed in a circle, but without the creases. In terms of weight loss and complications, the studies don't show a big difference. It's possible to find a study where one performs better than the other, but overall, taken all studies into account, they are essentially the same that way.

Doesn't your program has a list of pre-op tests they want you to do? Most want some kind of x-ray, upper gi, endoscopy plus an EKG, a physical and lab work. Then there is a nutritional consult and a psych eval. But there are other tests that you may need depending on your surgeon's practices and your health history.

My suggestion is to just have the port removed. It's a simple in-office procedure, much cheaper and safer than getting everything removed and then you won't have the port issues. Your band isn't filled so it's not doing anything so why not leave it in for now?

True Not true. Your body doesn't go into famine status until your body fat percentage drops below 5-6%. You need the calories to be healthy and have energy. I think it's a personality thing. MacBoy is easy going and generally acts his age. Mini-Mac is very resistant to change in any form and wants to both be 25 and 5 at the same time. We didn't do baskets this year. We aren't observant of anything and Mr. Mac didn't want to deal with it and I didn't want the candy in the house. Mini-Mac whined until she got her plastic eggs with money in them. We hide them around the house and she has to find them.

I don't know why either. It seems to happen to almost everyone even if they aren't on a high Protein diet.

That sounds like a good idea.

Don't worry... that part gets better.

Heh, I missed that part. Welcome to the Loser's Bench! :cool2:

Today we swam for 1800 yards and then ran for 40 min.

That's great! We did an OWS today and then ran after. But I forgot to put on my Nike+ so I won't get credit for it!! :cool2: I ran for 40 min. so I'm thinking this was probably a 5k. But without the Nike+, I'm only guessing. Maybe I can use one of those map programs to figure it out.

Yeah, that's about it. It really annoys me!

Welcome to LapBandTalk! Where are you in the process?

Welcome to LapBandTalk! I noticed you didn't get any answers. My suggestion is to ask again in the Texas section.

You might want to shop around too. My surgeon's price for a band is 14,000 and that's for everything -- hospital, anesthesia, surgeon -- plus two years of aftercare. And I live in a high COL area! The prices for bands vary quite a bit and you don't always get what you pay for.

I want to get an accurate body fat %. I know my scale at home is high, but I don't know how high.

The smell thing is why we tell you not to stock up on Protein powders pre-op. :cool2: They won't smell the same so they won't taste the same. I think this time is hard. But I found going to regular food harder because I expected stuff to go back to normal and it didn't.

Eh, I think this is VERY variable. I absolutely do not want my husband to be my food police. I don't consider that being supportive. I am an adult and I can be my own police and make my own choices. OTOH, if he wants to bring something up later ... for example, "I've noticed you've been eating more lately. Is everything okay?" ... that I would be okay with because he's not assuming I'm doing something wrong and he's not trying to control my food intake. But not being my "mommy" for me. Everyone is different in this way and I think the couple has to work it out for themselves. For example, if I were the OP's significant other, I'd be pretty ready to punch him out by now. :thumbup: He keeps talking about "we" and "our band journey" but it's really her band and her choices and her journey. For me, I'd find him overly involved and smothering. But maybe she thinks it's great and he's the most supportive thing ever. OTOH, I think maybe he should talk to her about this and make sure that some of her problems with following the rules and making good choices aren't because she's rebelling against him. I've seen that happen a lot. Sometimes with parents and younger bandsters and sometimes with couples. It generally doesn't end well.

Duathlons are biking and running. I love to swim though and only put up with running. So running twice in one event?? Not for me! :thumbup:

Welcome to LapBandTalk! Congrats on taking this step to improve your health. This is a great place to do research on what life with a band is like.

I was going to suggest Dr. Feng at Crystal Springs. If you think he's unsympathetic, uncaring and doesn't understand eating disorders, then I think you are SOL because they don't come much more sympathetic than him! All his patients say he and his office manager are real sweethearts and I've met them at a conference and didn't see anything to contradict that. I have Dr. Cirangle at LapSF and I am crazy about him. But I like blunt people who aren't going to coddle me. I never felt like he was uncaring or unsympathetic, but I understand that not everyone is going to like his style and some may interpret him that way. OTOH his on-staff dietician and on-staff counselor absolutely are sensitive and caring and understand eating disorders. IOW, I think you are searching for something that doesn't exist. These are two of the best programs in the area in terms of complication rates, results and after-care.

I had a situation like that once. It was pretty screwy but I got a good severance package out of it. She deleted it. But I can still see it. Nyah. Nyah.

I'm trying to taper like I'm supposed to. It's hard. I did a 20 min. bike ride and feel SO LAZY.

It's time to take up triathlon!! Seriously, it was trying to find alternate exercises so I wouldn't get bored that got me into it. I drink a protein shake every morning and one every night. It works for me.

I haven't had any problems with that. Remember, you get energy from your fat stores. As long as you eat before and after the work out to control your blood sugar, you should be fine.