PhotoNut

Thank you Leener, you said it well, but I think you could have used some more cowbell! :confused: Everyone go check out Penni's thread called Be your OWN patient advocate. It's awesome and follows along with this thread. http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=15595

Betje - On the last page of the ticker factory, you'll see a box named bbCode. Copy everything inside that box from . Paste that into your signature and you should have it.

I think a lot of us are astounded when we see questions about the very basic post op care, post op diets, fills, etc. I researched the band for a year and could tell you tons about the item that would be placed inside of me. But something I failed to research was doctors. Oddly enough, it never occurred to me to see if there were doctors outside of Boise that did the lap band surgery. I went with the only doctor in Idaho who does the bands, and later found out that it would have been alarming to know that he and his associate have done less than 150 bands! I had no idea that people went out of state, or even out of the country to get the band. I only read facts about the band. So its possible that some people just didn't know -what- to ask because they were clueless beyond what their doctor had told them. This brings me to what I find most alarming. Why are these doctors not telling their patients what to expect and what they will need to do afterwards??!! Are they just running patients through like a herd of cattle to be branded? Calling out Next! as the last stitch is put in place? These seminars seem to be a sales pitch, and everyone is so desperate (just like me) to get this damn weight off in order to LIVE that they run up screaming Take me! Take me! and end up at home with no idea of what to do next. No doctor should band a person and leave them unaware of what is required in order to be successful with their band! I think it's dangerous for any of us to feel that these people should be glad they have US to rely on for answers. I see people posting questions about pains, PBs, fears of allergic reactions, and so on, and I'm amazed! Why are they not calling their doctors with these questions FIRST and then coming here to tell us what they've gone through and what their doctor did about it! I want to scream WISE UP everyone! These people here have experiences but we are not YOUR doctor. We do not know YOUR body, YOUR medical history, nor should we presume to know what's best for YOU. Ok, I'm off my soapbox now. I think that what Tricia was stating here is so true. We need to be more responsible for our healthcare. Many of us are too trusting and too easily convinced that something is good just because someone said so. If you are one of the ones who haven't researched the band and you feel basically in the dark about what it is and how it works, then go to google.com and search for lap band. You will find tons of information about the band itself. Also in the FAQ forum on this site, there are several posts that have links to great information sites about the band. If you are unsure about what to eat, by all means CALL YOUR DOCTOR first and talk to him or her. They know your situation and will give you the best direction for you. If you are scared or worried about your band, your port, your reactions to food or medication, by all means CALL YOUR DOCTOR and then share with us what's been going on with you and what you learned from your doctor. It's great that we can all share our experiences with each other as we continue along the journey of weight loss, but we can help each other far more by sharing what we have learned by being responsible for our own health. Make sense? I hope so.

Nope.. 180 is not wrong. Typically anyone who is bodybuilding/weight lifting should be consuming one gram of Protein per pound of body weight. I'm not sure what your weight is Manuel, nor do I know how regularly you are lifting. But 180 for a lifter does not sound wrong at all. When you lift weights to build muscle, what you are actually doing is tearing or breaking down the muscles which rebuild or repair by using protein. Since we are on low fat, low carbs diets, our body is already looking for protein to use for energy. Therefore, if you are lifting, you need even more than the normal amount. I am currently under Dr's orders to be getting 100 grams of protein while I am recovering from a wound (burn). I think the differences in amount is based on weight, rather than by male or female. I was given this formula by a nurse at the wound care clinic for figuring the recommended amount of protein that we should eat (weight X .35) This should be figured using your goal weight. And if your goal weight is a LOT less than current weight, gradually reduce the level rather than dropping your intake a large amount. Also, until we are closer to our goal weights, we need to remember that our bodies are going to be using protein for energy (as stated above) so we typically need more protein than someone at their goal weight.

My daughter is currently helping one of our local state senators write up a proposal for Congress to pass a law which would ban direct to consumer drug ads. We've all seen them.. the ones that make you feel certain that whatever that mysterious drug is, it will make your life so much better - until you listen to the potential side affects which for some reason seem acceptable by the tone of the guys voice that's reading the deadly list to stupid consumers. They -must- think we are stupid to go buy that crap after hearing those side affects! So.. I was thinking that we should write up something similar for direct to consumer food ads! They are killing Americans! Is there any wonder we are a nation of obese people?? Set an addict in a room and show him or her commercials that show people being fulfilled by using their drug of choice. Would any of them be able to quit? They took off smoking ads - why not food ads!? Jerks... how dare they shove that crap at me every 10 seconds. I don't even turn on the tv now unless it's to watch a DVD.

Today: I will walk a minimum of 1/2 mile on my dreadmill every day. (Ack! Second day of not walking.. but I was on the go all day. Shopping, cleaning, etc.) I will drink 64 oz. of Water every day. (Didn't quite make it today. Was gone all morning and didn't bring water with me. Bad me.) I will take on one achievable project in my house per day. (Done! I cleaned the bedroom and waxed all the furniture! Yay!) I will NOT sit on my arse all day doing nothing but fighting head hunger out of pure boredom! (Busy, busy, busy.. I'm finding that by keeping busy, I'm only hungry every 4 hours instead of 3. Which is great!) I will NOT eat while doing distracting things, which causes me to eat too quickly and not chew well. (I've had a friend around all week and we talk a lot while eating our lunches. This is bad! Every day now I've felt the golfball thing and feared PBs. I know I eat too fast. I have got to learn to focus!)

Hey everyone.. if you have posted an intro and still don't have any numbers by your name on the first page, it's probably because you didn't provide them in your intro post. If you want your numbers to appear by your name, please post again or PM me with the weights you want listed by your name. Thanks! This is SO cool! I'm loving reading everyone's info. *hugs each of you*

Hey Robin.. so sorry to hear about your bad experience. I was wondering.. did your doctor tell you to drink liquids for a while after your fill? I've heard, and my doctor instructed me likewise, that we should only drink liquids or very soft foods for the first 48 hours after a fill. I would recommend that you do this now for a few days to allow you esophogus (I still dont know how to spell that word heh) to relax and heal from the trauma of the PB. Then slowly begin to eat more solid foods. If you ease back into this you might not need an unfil. It's also possible that you ate too soon after working out. I don't know the scientific reasoning behind that, but it kind of makes sense to me that it could have been part of the cause. Anyway, I hope youre doing better today. If not, call your doc soon and let him know what's going on.

Yup, you are reading it right. When I reached the weight of my 6'4" man, I said that was enough. And yup, we fluctuate a half a pound here and there from each other, but we have (oddly enough) lost at just about the same rate. Which is cool, because before when we've tried to diet together, he passed me by and I'd get SO jealous! LOL By the way, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone's intros. How awesome it is to -- Cookies? NO COOKIES FOR YOU! -- get to know you all! We are going to have so much fun together -- STEP AWAY FROM THE GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!! -- and I'm sure we will achieve so much as a group who -- SAY NO TO GIRL SCOUT COOKIES -- stands by each other through the hard times and the good ones too! Love you guys!

Hi Maria! Welcome to LBT. I know there are some folks in your area that post here. I'm sure you'll be hearing from them soon. We have a great bunch of people here. Best of luck in your decision making process. Do lots and lots of research. As someone recently said, 'there are lots of surgeons, but only one you'.

I'm only on my first fill and I haven't had any problems so far. I've read a lot of posts similar to yours though, and every time the seasoned bandsters agree that it shouldn't be that hard to eat when you are eating the right foods. It certainly sounds to me as if you're filled too tight. Give your doc a call tomorrow and let him know that you're PBing on things that should be easy to eat. See what he has to say. But don't put it off, you don't want to risk damaging your body or your band. That is so cool that you and your hubby were both banded! We have several couples here that are bandster duos. Best of luck to you both! Keep us posted on how things are going for the two of you.

Welcome to LBT! So glad you joined us. Let's see.. under the Quick Links drop menu, there is an Edit Options. In there, you will find a section for default subscriptions with several choices to choose from. Also, on that same page in the left hand column, you will see a List Subscriptions link. In there you will see a list of threads that you are already subscribing to. This thread is most likely in that list, as I believe that when you post on a thread you automatically subscribe to it. At the bottom of the page is a drop box with options for subscriptions. These options will be applied to any thread you have checked (there's a small check box by each thread) Or you can subscribe or unsubscribe to any thread you are currently viewing by selecting the Thread Tools drop menu at the top of the thread. I hope this helped.

Laura could be right. Maybe it is time for a fill? A solid reminder of the presence of your band and why you have it perhaps? I'm probably going to be dubbed the Protein queen before long because I keep pushing and pushing it to everyone, but it's so important. Protein will keep you full longer. Protein will keep you from losing muscle while losing weight. Protein keeps your hair from falling out. When our diets get turned "upside down" and we begin eating more carbs than Proteins, we end up on a vicious cycle of needing to eat more and more. We eat more, but are hungrier than ever. Carbs are so quickly burned up, leaving us hungry again. And carbs usually come in the form of very high calorie, very high fat, very little nutritional value foods. I'm under eating as well. I know it, it's just hard to figure out how to get my calories up and not do it by bringing foods that I now fear back into my diet. Overeating and under eating will both slow our weight loss. Take a step (or 10) back. Back to when you could see the progress and feel good about being on the right track. Go through the checklist of what you should be doing and really take a good hard look at what you are actually doing. Journal what you're eating so you can get a real honest picture of what's going on. If you're bringing foods into the house that you had gotten away from before.. then clean them out again. If youre not drinking enough Water, drink more. If youre not eating at least 60 grams of protein per day, then add some to your daily intake. If you've slacked off on exercise, start adding just 10 - 15 minutes per day into your routine. Sometimes, just getting back to the basics is the best way to move forward again. And Hamu, several of us are starting a support "club" of sorts that might be very helpful to you right now. The timing couldn't be more perfect. It's starting today. Click on the link in my signature and check it out. If you think it's something that might help you, then please join in. That goes for all of ya. And Jenna, I'll eat more if you will. *grins* Wow, imagine that. Having to eat more. *chuckles*

The Gone for Good Club thread has been started. Here is the link: http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=15503 Please post everything on that thread now. Thanks! And Kim - *hugs*

Hi everyone! My name is Susan. I'm 49 and I live in Boise, Idaho. I'm married to Dawg whom I met online eight years ago. He lived in England, and I was here in Idaho. We have been married for almost seven years now, and are still honeymooning! We have two grown kids. Our daughter is married to a great guy and they have an adorable son whom we adore. Our son is a personal trainer, and is engaged to a wonderful young lady. Luckily, the are all living here in Boise. I have been fat most of my life. Even during the few years that I wasn't fat, I thought I was. I found out about the Lap Band over a year ago, and to me it was a dream that was far out of my reach. I had no insurance and the base cost of the surgery here is $19,500. I had reached my highest ever weight while slipping into a deep depression which lasted all of 2005. I stopped going outside, stopped working due to panic attacks and basically just sat at home hiding from everything and everyone. I developed a hernia in the early part of the year, and not knowing what it was I thought I had stomach cancer or something, which depressed me even more. By Thanksgiving the hernia was so painful I finally decided to go to a doctor and see what was wrong with me. I was put on Effexor which has worked a miracle in me. I'm practically my old self again! Yay! Surgery was scheduled and my mother came to stay with us to help out during recovery. Two days prior to the surgery, we talked about the Lap Band and she got so excited about it that she promised I would have the money I needed if I wanted it. (My early inheritance!) I only knew of one doctor in town who did the Lap Band and it never occurred to me to look out of town. Anyway, to make a long story longer.. I cancelled the surgery and met with Dr. Cahn who agreed to repair the hernia and do the lap band surgery after I had completed all of the pre-testing. Six weeks later I was banded (Jan 9th) Now, here I am... seven weeks later and loving my band! I got my first fill on Feb 14th. I'm lazy and I'm a procrastinator, but I'm working hard to overcome both. My lifelong dream has been to be a photographer and to be thin. And currently... they both look like very achievable dreams! Nice to meet you all! --------------------------------- Starting stats: 307 / 265 (-42 lbs)

Welcome to the Gone for Good Club The members of this "club" are like-minded people who want to challenge each other to keep working toward our goal of weight loss and keeping it off! We have no illusions of the band being a miracle cure, nor do we believe that we will achieve our goals without working for them. We understand that if we continue the lifestyle and eating habits that got us fat in the first place, we will not achieve our goals. We come together in order to strengthen our determination by sharing our dreams, our struggles, and our victories with one another. Everyone is welcome to join the club - banded, pre-banded, no band - all are welcome to join at any time. To join, please post a brief introduction of yourself and list any information you want posted on the main page. See the list of members below to get an idea of what info you can post. The only requirement for joining the club is a commitment to your own success in your weight loss journey, and the ability to say NO to Girl Scout cookies! (club joke *winks*) Wednesdays are weigh-in days for those who wish to have us update your progress on this page. Please post a brief note on Wednesdays in the following format: C 265 (-42 lbs total, -3 this week) We encourage everyone to get to know one another while sharing tips, support, struggles, and encouragement... and a kick in the rear when needed! *grin* This is not a contest, there is no deadline, and everyone is a winner by being a "loser"! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (H-highest weight, S-weight at surgery, J-weight when joined this club, G-goal weight, C-current weight) AliDiane - H & S 224/ J 210/ G 120 (-14 lbs) Bell - S 300/ J 223/ G 160 (-77 lbs) Betje - H 300/ S 286/ J 239 (-61 lbs) Chameleon - H 275/ J 269 (-6 lbs unbanded to date) Cheri - H 266/ J 234/ G 150s ? (-32 lbs) Coyotegirl - H 305/ S 294/ J 220/ G 150ish/ C-213 (-92 lbs total, no change this week) Criss Kellogg - H 245/ S 241/ J 211/ G 175/ C 205 (-36 lbs total) Daisybelle - H 400+/ S 403/ J 343/ C 340.5 (-63 lbs total) Dawg - 307 (no band)/ J 265/ C 256 (-51.0 total, -3 this week) DianeChef - H 258/ J 208/ G 150/ C 202 (-55 lbs total) Dongger - newly banded! Drj - H 295/ J 234/ C 232 C-213 (-63 lbs total) EmileeKaye - H 303/ J 227/ C 223 (-80 lbs total, +2 this week *hugs*) Fee2Young2B40 - H 278/ J 230/ G 150?/ C 229 (-49 lbs total, -1 this week) FunnyDuddies - H 372/ J 340/ G 120 (-32 lbs unbanded, hoping to be banded soon) Gloria37 - H 310/ J 285/ G 190/ C 281 (-29 lbs total) Gurly - H 365/ S 329/ J 279/ G 190/ C 268 (-97 lbs total, -3 this week) Founder and Resident Hot Chick of the Gone for Good Club Jaygerl05 - H 245/ S 243/ J 200/G 165 (-45lbs) Jerseytammy - H&S 308/ J 269 (-39 lbs) Jill S - H 320/ S 289/ J 246.6/ G 155/ C 237.6 (-82.4 lbs total, -2.8 this week) Joe - H 362/ S 320/ J 269.6/ G 200 (-92.4 lbs) Josette - Joined March 28th Kaybug - S 360/ J 348 (-12 lbs total) Kim 8 - H 235/ S 218/ J 192/ C 185.5 (-49.5 lbs total, -2.5 this week) Kimbo - S 292/ J 226/ C 2231.5 (-70.5 lbs total, -1.5 this week) LegallyKristin - H 298/ S 264/ J 251/ G 140/ C 249.5 (-48.5 lbs total, +2 this week *hugs*) Lianna - H & S 229/ J 204/ C 198.5 (-30.5 total, -2 this week) Welcome to Onderland, Lianna!! :clap2: LSasha - H 340/ J 280/ C 281 (-59 lbs total, +11 this week, watch 11o'clock news for story!) Maggie63- H 285/ S 277/ J 235/ G 190 (-50 lbs) Maryb - H 219/ 1st Dr Visit 207/ S 201/ 1st G 180/ 2nd G 150/ Final G 130/ C189 (-30 pounds total, -3 this week) MaryPetunia - H 342/ S 333/ J 303/ G -200 lbs! (-39 lbs) Michelle43mi - S 215/ J 186/ G 125 (-29 lbs) Mistjin - H 304/ J 297/ C 294 (-10 lbs total, -1 this week, hoping to be banded soon) MollyMolly - H 288/ S 264/ J 230/ G 140/ C 228 (-60 lbs total) MoOrLess - Waiting to be banded this summer. Morsaille - S 312/ J 287/ G 180/ C 285 (-27 lbs total, -3 this week) Mrycrltn - S 189/ J 168.5/ G 125/ C 160 (-29 lbs total, -2 this week) Mychevygirl - H 380/ J 351.5/ C 333 (-47 lbs preband, -3.5 this week) NaturalBeauty - S 283/ J 228/ G 185/ C 220 (-63 lbs total, -2 this week) Nightingale2u - H 257/ J 219/ C 221.5 (-35.5 lbs total) Papillon - S 291/ J 255.5 (-35.5 lbs) Patty103 - (-99lbs total) Paula - Officially joining in April. Slow poke! Penni - H 296/ S 296/ J 252/ G 200/ C 251 (-45 lbs total) PhotoNut - H 307/ S 291/ J 265/ G 130/ C 255 (-52 pounds total, -3 this week) Poster child - H&J 258/ G 130/ C 259 (band date May 8th!) Pugmum - H 250/ J 240 (-10 lbs) RHONDAKO - S 270/ J 229/ G 150/ C224 (-46 total) ShackDog - (just started pre-op diet, band date April 17th!) Shauntil6266 - H 223/ J 223/ G 150 (band date March 29th) Skbiship78 - S 205/ J 185/ G 125/ C181.5 (-23.5 lbs total, -.5 this week) SkyeBlu - H 210/ S 206/ J 191/ G 130/ C 185 (-25 lbs total) Sunta - (-20.9 lbs total) Tess L - S 216/ J 195/ C 191 (-21 lbs since surgery, no change this week) The best me - H 242/ S 223/ J 188/ C 183.6 (-58.4 total, -2 this week) Tricia K. - H 283/ J 216/ G 160/ C 207 (- 67 lbs. total, -2 this week) TwinkleLil_star - J 264 (Band date May 12th) Txblue eyedqt - H 296/ S 296/ J 224/ G 140-150/ C 210 (-86 lbs total) Valhallagirl - S 250/ J 238/ G 130/ C 237 (-13 lbs total) Wendyr - H 230/ S 226/ J 188/ G 135 (-42 lbs total) TOTAL GROUP LOSS PRIOR TO JOINING CLUB: 2,352.8 pounds (over one ton!) Total group loss week ending March 08: 63.7 pounds Total group loss week ending March 15: 59.0 pounds Total group loss week ending March 21: 62.6 pounds Total group loss week ending March 29: 37.8 pounds Total reported loss for March 2006: 223 pounds Gone for Good!

Sure! If can count my house cleaning, you can count lugging groceries! Sounds like a fair trade off to me. At least we were moving!

Sounds good to me. So we personalize it - the first post we put on the Gone for Good thread should look like this then: My highest weight (or current, or at date of surgery, or whatever you want), and your current weight. And from then on, just current weight and amount lost at weigh in should be fine. Agreed? Also, in that first post tomorrow, why don't we each talk a little about ourselves - I'm from wherever, I am this age, I've been banded this long (or hoping to be banded, or dieting, etc), this is what im struggling with (honesty but no excuses and no whining! heh), that kind of thing.. so we can get to know each other and how best to support and motivate each other. Sound good?

Heather.. it's up to you girl, but I kind of like including where I was when I started seriously preparing for the surgery. May not be everyone's highest though. When I started the pre-op diet, which is when I consider the start of the lap band journey, I weighed 307. That's what I've typically gone by. But if all y'all (yes, Funny, I did see how to do that correctly!) want to start with weight the date of surgery, that's fine with me. Just point me and say go! Hehe! I like the name too! Some people have been concerned about saying the weight is gone for good because sometimes it can come back. I think it represents an ongoing accountability for our choices and actions! It will be gone for good, because with the help of dedicated folks like you we can keep each other motivated to never give up and let it come back! :confused: No no no, you ugly pounds... you are NOT coming back!

Penni!! That's awsome! Three pounds! You go girl! :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: Donna, thanks for the tip. This makes perfect sense and I'm going to start following the advice. Earn the lazy moments, and feel good about them.. rather than being lazy and feeling guilty over doing nothing. Excellent! Thanks Donna! So far today: I will walk a minimum of 1/2 mile on my dreadmill every day. (Nope, but I got a lot of exercize cleaing house today.) I will drink 64 oz. of Water every day. (Done) I will take on one achievable project in my house per day. (Completed several projects today, felt great!) I will NOT sit on my arse all day doing nothing but fighting head hunger out of pure boredom! (Did well on this today.) I will NOT eat while doing distracting things, which causes me to eat too quickly and not chew well. (Yacking with a friend at lunch, eating without paying attention almost over ate.. felt the pain, the gurgle, fear.. ahh.. no PB. Slow down Susan!)

Ok, after talking to Heather we have decided to go with the name of The Gone for Good Club. No one else offered suggestions. I will start a thread tonight with this title tonight and starting tomorrow, March 1st we would like each of you to post your highest weight, your current weight and the total you have lost so far. Each week we will update the first page of the thread so it's easy to see everyone's progress. There is no way we can keep up with everyone posting on different days, so since we are starting on Wednesday, March 1st, is everyone ok with weigh in days being on Wednesday? If Mondays are easier, we can sure do that. Just let me know what you all think. When you are posting, please use this format: 307/265 (-42 lbs) Anyone is welcome to join at anytime. Ideas, tips, exercise reports are all welcome. Just be sure that you post your weigh ins on the same day as everyone else and in the same format so it's easier to keep track of you all, ok? This is going to be great! I hope we eventually develop some fun things we can do as a group. Maybe a mini challenge now and then, that can help us get off of plataeus? All ideas are welcome. Heather thought to start the club, but she doesn't want it to be "Her" club. This is for all of us! Watch for the new thread tonight and rock on! :rockon:

I'm on it Heather. I will post the starter page tonight so it's here when everyone's ready to start. Do you all want to start with your current weight and track your weekly progress while in this challenge? Or do you think we should start with our highest weight, show the current weight, and our overall weight loss? Since this isn't a contest, I was thinking it would be nice to show our overall progress since we started on our journeys. We could also note how much we lost that week. Comments, ideas? Here is the list of participants so far. Am I missing anyone? Betje Chameleon Cheri Criss Kellogg Daisybelle Dawg EmileeKaye Fee2Young2B40 Gloria37 HeatherGurl Jaygerl05 Kim 8 Lianna LSasha Morsaille Mrycrltn NaturalBeauty Nightingale2u Nykee Papillon PhotoNut Poster child Pugmum RHONDAKO Tess L The best me Tricia K. Txblue eyedqt

For shower walls and tub sides (not the floor of the tub!) a friend of mine uses rub on/buff off car wax! Water rolls right off with no chance for soap and mineral build up! I will be using this on mine this week. We have horrible Iron deposits in our area that turns everything orange.

Fifty pounds gone for good! Yay Heather! ***50 pounds!*** :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

Thanks NuSho and Kellie :eek: I haven't done much research into the TT yet, but I'm sure planning on it. I've dealt with the rashes and stuff for years too. Lord knows what's going to happen with this when I start getting into some serious pounds lost. So I appreciate the info. Kellie, sounds like you have done your homework m'dear! I am really happy for you that you're going to see your dream realized. *big hugs*