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Welcome to Bandland!

Super! Now if we can get them to stop serving french fries, pizza, etc and telling us that ketchup qualifies as a vegetable serving! Did you know that about one third of the calories in ketchup are from sugar? Oh dear... don't get me started! *laughs*

Hmm... well, no. What it actually says is ban ALL food ads. Ban ONLY fast food ads. Ban NO ads. Not sure. At the time I thought it was a fairly good spread of options. Why did you think it was biased?

Welcome back, Wheetsin. I'm glad you had a nice time. Your story is exactly why I'm dragging my feet about getting another fill. I can tell I'm getting hungry more often, eating more than I typically do, and at times I just want to run over to the Dr's office and scream "Fill me! NOW!" I am so afraid of slipping into bad habits. On the other hand, I have not had any bad experiences with PBs. A couple of times I felt the golfball but it was my own fault for drinking a cold liquid with the meal. That cold hits the stomach and everything sinches up tight! Ugh. Anyway, I don't want to live in fear of eating. I don't want to have this become something that's more thought consuming than it already is with me. I don't want to be in pain and I don't want to be PB'ing and putting my band at risk. But on the other hand, I want my band to work as intended and that means using the tool as it was designed to be used. *sighs* I'm just about ready to pull my hair out over this! Errr... sorry, Wheetsin. I just walked all over your thread. *sheepish grin* You touched a nerve.

My port is a couple of inches below my ribs on my right side. So far so good. It does buldge out but I can't complain. At 49 years old, I don't have any plans for wearing a bikini so noone's going to see it anyway.

:wave: Hello to all you new folks. Welcome to LBT and best wishes for a happy lap band journey. Don't be shy about asking questions. You'll find lots of great information, advice, and support here.

Thanks Joe! Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers! And Carlene - step away from the cookies!! *grins*

Sounds to me like you're dealing with a doctor who is enjoying making money on fills when he doesn't really know what the heck he's doing. Find another doctor - QUICK! This guy is wasting your time. Has he ever drawn out the saline that's in the band before adding more? This is standard practice to verify that your band isn't leaking. It's possible that he punctured your tubing and you're not even getting anything to the band itself. Geesh. Find another doctor!

Hi Rainbow, welcome to LBT! I'm sure you can imagine just how many people in your shoes have asked that same question. There are lots of suggestions for Protein drinks, but the one I've heard tastes the best is Nature's Best Zero Carb Isopure drinks. They are whey protein which is the best for you, and they come premixed in bottles. They are clear and are fruit flavored, unlike the chalky powered mixes that leave horrid aftertastes. They are a bit more expensive, but you'll only need them for a few weeks. They contain 40 grams of protein per bottle, so you can drink half in the morning and the other half later in the day. (the body can only absorb so much protein at a time). Now that I'm on regular foods again, I get all of my protein (70-100 grams per day) by eating fish and chicken. Best of luck with your surgery and your lapband journey. Keep us posted on your progress.

My doctor encouraged me to be out walking and doing any excercise I felt up to doing, as long as it wasn't something that strained the stomach muscles. Avoid lifting more than 10 pounds, don't do situps or crunches, and you should be just fine. I'm happy that you're feeling so well! Enjoy the warm weather and be active! It's great for your body.

:wave: Heya Skye! Thanks for the update, kiddo, and don't worry about the scorecard. I agree, the last thing you need right now is more to worry about. You're still in my prayers. *hugs* Oh, and I'll be keeping an eye out for your lurking friend.

NJGirl, I just got mine back. I was banded on Jan 9th. I've read that it's very normal for surgery to mess up your cycle for a while. It's also a fact that hormones are stored in fat cells, and as we lose weight those hormones are released into our bodies resulting in a variety of odd events such as moodiness, pimples, and hmmm... I wonder if that also relates to the hairloss that some experience? Anyway, I'm sure you're fine and will get back on track before long. And after my most recent experience with it... be happy you're getting a break!

How did I miss this? I haven't done a gift exchange yet. Sounds like fun! Count me in. Sending PM info now.

Eh... you're just psycho! *laughs* (no offense, Jack) *grins*

Oh geeze. I'm in love! *laughs* What an adorable little thing. *whines* I want one!

:welcomeB: to the Gone for Good Club, Clanton! :clap2: As Funny said, tell us a little bit about yourself so we can get to know you. I'll add you to the Members Page once I have some info on you. Have a look at the first page of this thread. You'll find out what this club does and see what info the others have given me to put after their names on the Members page. Again, welcome to the club.

Hi Christie! Welcome to LBT. You've found a great site for support and information. The Texas group is a great bunch of folks who will no doubt take you under their wings and make you feel right at home. Best of luck with your banding! Keep us posted on how you're doing.

O..K.. My mouth is still hanging open! Good grief, that's incredible!! *chants* Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!! Congrats and Happy 6 Month Bandiversary! I'm very anxious to know how you do from here. Is your weight loss slowing? How are your eating habits? Are you getting hungrier now that you've lost so much weight? I mean, I've been wondering if the band needs to be tightened simply because our stomachs get smaller (less fat). I'd love to know what you've been eating, and what excercise you've been doing. How's your skin? Are you having any problems with being flabby now? *laughs* A lot of questions, I know. But I would really appreciate being able to pick your brain! What a success you are, Josephine! Added: Oops.. I just read your post again and saw what you said about your stomach. Are you going to get a tummy tuck?

Changing your diet to focus on Proteins is going to prove to be very beneficial for healing after surgery. If you can get in 70 grams per day, you'll be in good shape by the time you get banded. For optimal weightloss, I would focus on lean chicken or fish and fresh veggies and fruits. Begin practicing eating slower. Cut small bites, chew each bite well, and make your meals last about 15-20 minutes. These are good bandster habits and they will help you now as well. In addition to the Protein suppliments and the food I mentioned above, be sure to drink about 4 bottles of Water per day (64oz). This will also help to prepare your skin for surgery, get rid of water retention, and help you lose weight. Best of luck to you!

I think it would depend on which surgeon you spoke with. I was self-pay but was still required to go through all of the standard pre-tests, including the sleep study, pulminologist, and psych tests. My doctor feels that these pre-tests are crucial to determining whether or not a person is in good enough physical and mental shape to not only undergo the surgery but to also be successful with the band. The prerequisites for being banded were a BMI of 40+, over 100 pounds overweight, or a BMI of 35+ with two comorbidities. I believe that surgeons out of the country are more lenient about the requirements. However, before you select a surgeon out of your area or out of the country, be sure you have a doctor in your area set up for follow-up care that you can get to for fills and any complications you might incurr. Best of luck to you. Added: Again, the requirements for pre-surgery diets and weightloss will vary between surgeons. The pre-op diet is aimed at reducing the fat in the liver so the surgeon can safely move the liver out of the way. Fat in the liver can increase its size to the extent that it cannot be moved without risk. My Dr says the goal is to lose a certain percentage of your excess weight, but even though I didn't achieve that I did lose 16 pounds in about two weeks and he was happy with that.

Hi Kathy! Welcome to LBT! You have plenty of reasons for wanting to have better health - 10 grandkids! How blessed you are! I only have one and I love that little guy so much. Best of luck to you. I hope everything works out.

May 1st sleepyjean Hippo's Hope LindaV justduckie txpeach May 2nd Velvetkiss DrewsLou May 3rd kelli louie Judy Ann May 4th mychevygirl TIDGE lululacy Angie71 Trip2bme May 5th Londoner May 8th Poster Child laurapar May 9th Seminole Marianne TN Stitchy dawner119 slwc May 10th missnikki JJinLA May 11th babyjane Karma2 michelletur (approved waiting for confirmation of surgery date) May 12th heresdeb TwinkleLiL Star AMF101 wiggygiggy 4MyFuture missyfan ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Holy Cow that's a lotta new bandsters! Congrats to each of you and welcome to the Bandland! :clap2:

Heyas Robyn, I'm so glad to hear the surgery went without any problems. I'm believing that this time around there will be no infection. It's amazing what you've endured and the success you've had so far. Keep us posted! *hugs*

Congrats Laura!! What an accomplishment! You should feel very proud! *big hugs*

Awww, what a little cutie! My best guess would be - if she has kittens, she was preggers! *snickers* Hmm.. how about calling a local vet and ask for some advice?