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I've had a hard time with this as well. My doc says 1/2 hr before and 1 hr after. I've been trying different methods to help me and the one I think helps me most is to drink a full bottle about 15 mins before eating. I feel hydrated and not so thirsty while eating. And I feel more satisfied when I eat. I also try to avoid salty or spicy foods that are going to force me to drink. If I just have to have a drink, I take the smallest sip I can just to clear my mouth and throat. I also try not to have a drink near me when I eat. But like I said, this has been my hardest challenge so far. Even so, I'm still losing right on track, so I guess I'm not completely failing at it.

*laughs* Diane - its very fitting. And you'll notice I changed my Avatar title in your honor - again! Paula - you're welcome here anytime! *hugs*

Tx-qt - Looks like we will be doing a week or so of stretching and cardio before we get into the serious stuff. I'm really looking forward to it, even though we were warned that it's going to be uncomfortable. I'm SO ready to get out of my comfort zone and start being truly comfortable by being healthy. I'll be happy work on those pics for ya, but I haven't received any yet. Send them to skmorris2@gmail.com. Diane - get out of that closet! I'm going to pass you by soon if you don't watch out. *evil grin* (love ya girl - so happy everything's ok with you and your doggie band *snickers*)

First this -- Wha? Were you nuts, girl?? Then this -- Remember, you asked for it! Now this -- I hope you don't have any problems from this. Don't let it trip you up. Get right up and keep on keepin' on. :hug:

Ah Funny.. God is good and all things do happen for a reason. Working from home sounds delightful and you can be with your kids which is so much better than daycare. *big hugs* So - when do you get banded?? Huh? HUH?? *nudges you*

Thanks everyone. I kind of wondered if people stopped coming once they were at goal. I guess it's a completely different phase in life and needs will be different as well. I had it in my mind that this would be an ongoing thing, which would require ongoing support. Do we just get there and stay there, and thats it? *laughs* I know, sounds like an odd question. But I've never been there and stayed there before, I think I'm looking for some sort of assurance (not a promise, perhaps just hope) of really being able to just live out my life with a trim, healthy body.

Hi Judy, welcome to LBT. I was banded on Jan 9th of this year and have lost 49 pounds so far. I absolutely love my band. It has helped me get past that "fall off the wagon" point that I hit so many times before in my attempts to lose weight. We were just talking about this on another thread, about how the band keeps on working even when we lose that initial motivation. Here are a couple of threads you might be interested in. What to ask before being banded: http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=15595 Before and after pictures of folks here at LBT: http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=4642 Discussion about why others chose to be banded: http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=16044&highlight=decision Answers to the question, would you do it all over again?: http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=15736&highlight=decision An hour long video in which Surgeons discuss the details of banding and show the procedure being performed (not gorey or bloody - just cool!) You will need Real Media Player. Click on View Live Webcast: http://www.or-live.com/BrighamandWomens/1372/

Diane - give me a few minutes and I'll fix your pic for you (size and light). I'll email it to ya. You look so beautiful. And I know that pier! I used to live in SD Ah, You got the size. Love the pic

Excellent post Kristin! I'll add one more thing to it, if I may... 6) Fat livers. During surgery, the liver must be lifted out of the way in order for the surgeons to access the stomach area to be banded. Often times, obese people have a lot of fat built up on the liver which increases its size by a substantial amount. If the liver is too large to safely move out of the way for surgery, the surgeon will not be able to band you. This is why many doctors place their patients on an extreme weightloss program for 3 weeks prior to surgery. My biggest fear was that I would wake up from surgery unbanded because of this. As soon as I found this out, there was no way I was going to do anything to risk waking up without that band! Your journey start now folks, not when you wake up with the band. Regain control of yourselves. This is not the end of eating. There is no need for last suppers. It's just the food Demon trying to get in one last successful attack on your health before you fire up that Secret Weapon! *grins* Cloe, I cried over the thought of losing my comfort. To me, food was where I went to find a quiet peaceful spot when the world was closing in on me. I was so afraid that I'd lose my mind without it. I was amazed to find out that my appetite and my thinking about food changed drastically from the moment I woke up banded. It was nothing I did, it just happened. Coming here helps me a lot. I find great comfort in talking with others.. focusing on something other than myself. I've also found that this weightloss and the resulting increase in my health have replaced a lot of my preceived need for food as a comfort. I was without hope before. My hope comforts me now. And, looking back at it from this side of things.. I can see that the comfort was just an illusion. It was not comforting me at all. It was the CAUSE of my upset in the first place. It feels good to be free of that bondage. I hope you experience the same. I've changed the quote in my signature line in honor of this topic.

Kathy! What a great post to find first thing in the morning! You have motivated me to get moving again! I know you've been stuck at the same weight for a long time, and I know you were so frustrated. This is just wonderful news. And don't just hope for the 170's - EXPECT THEM! They are within a week or two away. And soon, you'll be overweight! Yay you!

Yes! Yes! Yes! This is me to a T! Motivation is waning now.. but the band just keeps on working! It's my stealthy ninja band! Quietly fighting the battle in the behind enemy lines, while the war rages on at the front. :bandit I'm loving my "secret weapon" - it works!

From the research I've just done on the word "omnipaque" in conjunction with the lap band, and it appears to be an iodinated contrast dye used for fluros. Although, I can see some stuff on google that I can't actually get to where people are talking about being filled with omnipaque. Here is a post I found by Sassaay in 2004: Hi Renee, Does your doctor fill you under floro? If so, you might see if he can check for a leak by giving you a fill under floro, but instead of saline, he would inject a 'constrast' solution... I think it is called Omnipaque. My doc thinks I had a leak in the balloon of the actual band... no where near the port; which is where she originally thought the problem was.

Welcome back, sweetie! Great news! Dawg and I were talking about you yesterday - he said the tar was blood.. I said you got that darned hot dog stuck and that was causing the problems! hehe You could have just asked us! So very glad to hear all is well. We were all praying for ya! *big happy hugs*

So.. Carlene's close and Alexandra is content with her weight where it is now. Nobody else has reached goal? Nobody? That's a bit unnerving.

Wow.. I've been having muscle spasms this past week too! Right where the port is. Only I was banded on Jan 9th. Mine have been happening when I'm sitting. They aren't painful, and they aren't really fast like twitches. It's a slow tightening that holds for a second or two and then releases. No pattern to it at all, but very noticable when it happens. I forgot to ask my Dr about it when I saw him on Tuesday, but he did check the area really well (for hernias, swelling, etc) and everything was fine. Weird huh?

When Dawg and I got married we agreed that it was important to support each other's feelings, instincts and convictions. Unless we both agree on an issue as important as the one you are talking about, we don't do it. We don't use that as a control measure, but rather a protection for us both. When we move forward in agreement, we rarely have regrets. I learned a long time ago.. if I'm married to someone that I would give the one finger salute and walk over him to have what I want, then I made a very poor choice when I married him.

Puddin.. Is your Dr like mine? Does he give you a puzzled look and act like you're obviously nuts when you tell him this stuff? I mentioned to mine that I'd heard fills might not start taking affect for a few weeks and he rolled his eyes and shook his head. *laughs* He's a great guy, but I intend to tell him that mine did that! It would be interesting to know if anyone's ever done a study on what the stomach actually does in response to the fills. You'd think that it would tighten the stoma and give restriction. Makes sense doesn't it? But no.. sometimes it does the opposite! And the situations are so different from one person to the next. Heck just read this thread and see how different everyone is. Too weird.

:clap2: Welcome to the Gone for Good Club, Shauntil! :clap2: If you haven't had a chance to see the list of things to get prior to surgery, have a look at this thread: http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14814 Txblue_eyedqt - Dawg and I went to the gym tonight and got our assessment done. Body fat percentage, measurements, posture, etc. How did your meeting with your PT go today? Did you find out anything about the metabolic rate test? Sunta - Two pounds, right on target. Isn't it hard to see that initial surge of loss stop? The first time I saw only one pound loss, I cried! LOL! I have my head on straight now, though. My goal is 2 pounds a week, and I know if I don't hit it then the next week will look great! Daisybelle - *hugs you* Talk more about what's going on with the sugar. Maybe some of us have gone through the same thing and can offer help.

Hey Funny! Good to see you back again. Tell your DH that I guess he wasted his money with the colon cleansing thing. If he'd have just waited... *laughs* Hope you all feel better soon. You deserve a break! *hugs* Love ya Sis!

I agree that after care is vital in your long term success. It sounds to me like you have confidence in the Dr you chose. If your friend can't give you more specific reasons for dropping all of your plans, then I would respectfully thank him for the suggestion but assure him that you've made your choice and will be fine. On the other hand, if he can give you a good reason and your husband is offering to fly you to one of the best surgeons. Take the advice and go.

Willybe - I know what you mean about not having room for food. My appetite has changed drastically today. I'm on my 5th bottle of Water today - aiming for 6. Now we know that part of the article was right, don't we? *chuckles* Everytime I have had to use the little girl's room today, I sing, "I'm gonna wash that fat right outta my bod! I'm gonna wash that fat right outta my bod!" hehe

You know, this is something that puzzles the heck out of me as well. I had my first (and only) fill a month ago. I did my two days on liquids with no problem. Wasn't hungry at all. Then about day 3 or 4, the gates opened wide and in charged the hunger! I ate two meals within an hour of one another. They were good meals and I didn't go over may daily calorie limit, but geeze! I couldn't believe I was able to eat that much chicken AND veggies AND fruit.. TWICE! I expected the total opposite. This lasted for two days, I think?, and then I went back to getting hungry every three hours, and by week three I was down to every four hours eating no more than 1 C at a time. So, I was thinking.. ok, things are settling in now.. doing good.. no more fill needed yet. Then I had the second one-month appt with the surgeon two days ago. I assured him that I was having no problems, felt perfect. I walked out of there and damn if the hunger didn't hit me hard. I've been ravenous since then. Could be a head thing. Not sure. I feel restricted as far as how much I can eat at one time, but I'm back to getting hungry every 3 (if not 2 hours). I'm not drinking with meals, I'm getting plenty of Protein. I just can't figure this out. I guess it's like I saw Alexandra say on another thread. The band is a fickle bitch. *grins*

Heyas again, IdahoGherl. Dr. Cahn's office number is 208-706-5285. Talk to Sherry or Debra (Debra was banded in Dec). Either of them can tell you where and when the next seminar is, and they can answer your questions about the insurance and costs. We also have a couple of good support groups going here in Boise. I've only been to one so far. It meets on the second Tuesdays of every month, in the white tent looking building behind St. Al's hospital. (You can see it from the connector). They meet from 7-8:30 and everyone is welcome - prebandsters to long time bandsters. A few of us from here go to these meetings. The other group is meeting again on April 14th. It's a more relaxed group that usually meets at a resturaunt once a month. I can let you know more about that next meeting when I find out. As Dody said, there are only two surgeons in Boise that perform the lapband surgery, and if you go out of town to have the procedure done neither of them will accept you as an after care patient - unless there was an emergency. There are surgeons in Seattle and Portland that some have gone to. I know that the Dr who trained Dr Cahn is in Portland. And there is a fill center in Eagle for those banded elsewhere. So, you do have some options available. As for the band and how it works, here are a couple of websites you can look at that give some great explainations: This is a recording of a live web broadcast of the surgery being done. A lot of great information is given in this one-hour video. It's worth watching and isn't gorey or anything. http://www.brighamandwomens.org/surgerywebcast/default.asp This is a thread here on LBT that everyone has listed good links for more research on the band. I think it will keep you busy for some time. http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=11424 This is from Inamed's site, the makers of the band you will probably have: http://www.allerganandinamed.com/products/obesity/us/clinician/lapband/prodinfo.html

Here is a clip of my food journal for the past six days. I don't go out to eat very often, in fact only twice since being banded. Both times I had a cup of chili and a glass of iced tea which was plenty. (no crackers) These are typical days for me. I cooked a roast on Sunday and it lasted a lot longer than it used to! hehe As you can see, the days I had roast, my calories were a lot higher. Typically, I eat around 800 calories a day. In place of the roast, I probably would have had chicken, or just had a Healthy Choice, meat -n- mashed potatoes meal and my fish for dinner.

Hey Anne.. Sorry to hear about the slip. I can't figure out how these happen when the stomach is sewn around the band. Did your stitches come loose? I'm glad youre home and doing well. Rest and take care of yourself. All things happen for a reason. Maybe you needed this 'fresh start'.