momcof3

I will be there on Saturday - probably not at lunch though.

The meeting is from 11-1 at the Point West Kaiser - I don't know the exact address but you can check the Kaiser website - it is off the Exposition Blvd exit on business 80

Chrissy - don't be so hard on yourself - after losing 12 lbs in one week, your body can't continue to do that - you may lose 1 or 2 lbs a week for a while or some weeks nothing. I wouldn't take MOM very often though as you will end up dehydrated and it is not good for your bowels. Last time I took MOM nothing happened at all - and that ticked me off considering how nasty it tastes - it almost came right back up after I swallowed it.

The constipation is very normal - I still have to take Benefiber a couple of times a day. You will also find you won't have bms as frequently as before - if you don't eat much there isn't much to come out. Wow 12 lbs - that's great - you will see a slow down now since that is lot of weight to lose in such a short time. Hey I recently noticed that my hair loss is back to the normal rate and my hair is getting a little thicker - only took a year and a half. You are my idol Riley - our exercise queen. Wish I had it in me to exercise as much as you did. Heading to the gym with my kids before I lose my ambition.

I had my orientation end of May 2008, saw my surgeon two weeks later and had already lost 12 lbs.- he told me I needed to lose 20 total, at my psych appt two weeks later I had lost 23 and got my case manager appt - when I had surgery the end of Aug I had lost 30 lbs - it's funny how we can stay motivated and focused when we have to lose the weight in order to get the surgery. It does depend where you carry your weight as if most of it is in your torso it will be harder to operate unless a lot of that fat is gone. I had Dr. Im and I think each doctor has a slightly different philosophy in regards to pre-surgery weight loss and fills. I really liked Dr. Im although I would have liked more frequent follow up after surgery. I last saw him on 10-9-09 to get the fill put back in that I had taken out in 9/09 and I haven't heard from Richmond since then. Maybe they don't follow up after the first year unless you contact them to get a fill? I weighed 217 on 10/9/09 when I saw him and I weigh 220 now. It is much harder to lose weight further out - your body gets used to low calories and holds on to it. Supposedly if you lose half your excess weight after bariatric surgery they consider it a success.

John and Bella - did they say it was normal to be throwing up so much? If it's normal at this point, how long is it supposed to last? Doesn't sound pleasant. I am planning on being there on the 24th.

You are correct - per the Richmond bariatric rules, we are not to replace meals with protein shakes - actually we are not supposed to have protein shakes at all.

I made it back from Phoenix last Friday and went back to work yesterday - Wow that is great John - keep up the good work. I always have problems when I go camping in my rv - seems like no matter what I eat it comes up so I tend to have protein drinks for breakfast and sometimes lunch - and am really careful how much I eat. I once ate half a veggie burger patty all by itself and it came up. go figure. Welcome Rachel - who is your surgeon?

Well we made it to Phoenix today at 6 pm. I am so tired of driving that rv - drove about 800 miles since yesterday morning. We will be here until Thursday morning so I will get a break before driving back home. I went to high school in Avondale which is a suburb of Phoenix - as I drove past the streets I used to see I was getting some dejavu. But boy everything has built up since 1980. I am going to ask my brother to take us to the high school. Did good with my food today - protein drink for br, 1 veggie springroll from Panda Express for lunch and 2 shrimp, 1 oz Sunchips and handful of pretzels while driving, 1/3 cup steak and 1/3 c potato salad for dinner.

I am at an RV Park in Anaheim close to Disneyland - my 8th grader rode a bus from Sacto all night on a field trip and has been at Disneyland/Calif all day. I drove my RV down her today with my other two kids - what a long drive as I was the only one who could drive - and we are going to Downtown Disney in half an hour to mess around before picking my son up at the bus at 10:30 pm- he is going on with us to Phoenix tomorrow until Thursday. My food today - br protein shake, lunch nacho supreme at Taco Bell when we stopped for gas, dinner half a bagel with pizza sauce and mozz cheese. Also had a 1 oz bag of Sunchips for a snack. Had no problem with the bagel going down which should have given me a problem. I'm going to walk around a for a few hours so I should be able to burn it off. How did the Point West meeting and lunch go?

I have been overweight pretty much my whole life and also had big babies - 10.6, 8.9 and 9.11 lbs. My kids do eat junk in moderation and none of them have ever had a weight problem and they are 15, 13, and 10. Since I was banded and can't have soda we rarely have soda in the house and I have switched over to whole grain tortillas, pasta, bread etc and give them salad a few nights a week. They make pretty good choices in food at school. I have never said they can't have candy cookies soda etc because my thought is if it is a forbidden food, they will want it more and will get it somewhere if not at home. One of my friends did that with her son and when he had a chance to eat those types of foods he ate them like they it was going to be his last time ever - also traded his healthy lunches for junk at school. Just my take on the subject - parents raise their children differently and different is not necessarily wrong. It is really quiet at work today - although it is not a furlough Friday a lot of people took the day off. Wish I was home packing for my trip - but as I will be out all next week I needed to get some things done. Yay Ash - we knew you could do it.

Bella - If I eat my 1/4 - 1/3 cup protein, there is rarely any room left for anything else - I eat vegetables maybe once a month and fruit only a couple of times a month - and the fruit is either banana or applesauce. That is why it gets really boring trying to find dense protein that doesn't cause problems - some dense protein I can't eat at all - ie leftover chicken or steak - too dry. If I have pbed on something before, I am afraid to try it again. There is a fine line between chewing something well so it doesn't get stuck and chewing something too much that it goes through the pouch quicker than I want. I am still learning this and it has been 1 1/2 yrs since I had surgery.

But why can't we say something negative about Kaiser if that is what we are going through? This isn't a Kaiser sponsored web forum. Kaiser is not perfect by any means. If you notice hardly any of the original members of this thread post anymore. I have also thought of leaving as I don't feel all of the strugglers/slow losers are given much support. It seems to depend on who the poster is - if one person posts they eat all kinds of food that are not allowed especially in the first six weeks after surgery - someone will post for them to try harder - but if a different poster posts the same thing - they get ragged on for it. If I post that things change the further out you get from surgery - someone posts we all have to follow the rules and if we do everything will work out and the weight will come off. That is a cookie cutter response - everyone is different and what works for one doesn't work for the other and just because all of the weight doesn't drop off doesn't mean the person isn't following the plan. I don't feel support with that type of response. I don't think Tina left because she thought she didn't need our support - I think it was the tone it was taking. Saying all this - I don't read all of the posts - I skip some people's posts as it is always the same thing - I ate the wrong things but I'll be better tomorrow - yet no one rags on that same type of post over and over. This is a public forum and anyone is free to say whatever they want - either read it or don't read it. I am not saying any of this to single anyone out or point fingers. This isn't a just a lapband support group anymore either Tamra. So go ahead and bash me if you want - won't hurt my feelings as I am about through with this anyway.

The Elk Grove Bariatric Support meeting is from 7-9 pm tonight. You need to know going in the group consists 99% of people who have had or are having RNY and most of them at Fremont Kaiser. To get there from the Holiday Inn Express (if you are at the one at Laguna and 99) go out of the parking lot turning left, turn right onto Laguna, turn right onto Big Horn and it will be on the right side - can't miss it. The room is across from the first floor pharmacy right next to the coffee cart. Great pictures. You are definitely a creative one Pat - wish I was. Nicolie - I wondered what happened to you yesterday - I tried to call you but it said you weren't available - so I finally gave up and went out to run my errands. What time are you thinking of coming to get them?

Thanks for sleeve info John and Belle. I wasn't saying people shouldn't have the sleeve, but a comment was made that implied the band has more complications and doesn't work as well as the sleeve. I felt a comment was made trying to dissuade a person from considering the band. I am sure there are people out there who have been sleeved who have had problems and who haven't lost the weight they thought they would - those that have lost their weight with both the band and sleeve tend to be more vocal than those that are struggling. Yes, I know people who have had RNY and lost tons of weight and kept it off and also people who have lost tons of weight and gained most if not all of it back. Same with the band. It is probably too soon to tell with the sleeve - there aren't statistics for 3-5 years out.

I won't be at the Point West meeting on the 27th as I am heading to LA in the rv that morning and then on to Phoenix. I will have my laptop with me so I will stay in touch. Chrissy - please read the good things about the band too - the people who have had problems with their bands and needed revisions are a very tiny number compared to those who have not had any problems and there have been more bands done than sleeves at this point. Not trying to dissuade you from getting the sleeve - it is a personal choice - but it is not foolproof either. Has anyone talked to a person who has a sleeve that is a year out from surgery? Does it still have the same effects further out? I am not looking to revise, just curious.

Sounds like you guys had a fun day today. I'll make it next time. Welcome to the group Chrissy - what part of town do you live in? Did someone take pictures today? I wanna see them.

Nicole - the drinks are $25. I don't have any plans on Sunday so give me a call when you are heading this way - I live right off of 99 - Sheldon Rd exit. Jeez, I'm hungry - I guess my 1/2 c cheese lasagna didn't stick with me long. - I'll have a big glass of decaf iced tea and see if that helps. Need to eat my calcium chew still too.

I got my first fill at my 6 wk appt but since I was at zero it took me to 4 ccs. Nowadays they seem to give you 2 or 3 ccs at surgery so that would make sense that you wouldn't get a fill at 6 wks. I think maybe they don't want you so tight that soon as you haven't been eating completely solids that long. So you are moving in like 6 weeks Nicole - wow that is fast - what do they think at work? I'll miss you - but at least you will be online. Do they have bariatric docs anywhere close to where you are moving? My dinner was a hit - my son made a cake for my parents too - I didn't even try the cake as I have gotten stuck on just one bite before - I did have a lick of frosting though.

I am supposed to have 1/3 c of protein at each meal and I almost fill the little Hefty 1/2 cup containers - I rarely eat any vegetables or fruit. I don't weigh anything - I go by the little containers - I have about 20 of them. I have mixed ground beef with some refried beans before and it is thick so I don't consider it to be a slider. My daughter and I were at Walmart today while I had 6 new tires put on my rv and I got one of their bacon ranch salads with grilled chicken. I took the chicken off and my daughter ate on the salad. I couldn't finish the piece of chicken probably because I ate a bite of salad and one of those little grape tomatoes before I ate the chicken. I really miss salad - I can only eat a couple of little bites otherwise I have problems. We walked back to Les Schwaab - not bad a walk to and from the car place, a walk around Walmart and grilled chicken for lunch. I am getting ready to take my van to get an oil change - turning into being an expensive day off - and nothing fun. Thanks goodness I have room on my Visa. I am having my parents over for dinner for their anniversary - 54 yrs - having frozen 5 cheese lasagna, bread, and salad - well that's what everyone else is having. I will probably just have a tiny piece of lasagna.

I have had crumbled ground beef with a dab of ketchup and about 1 tsb of cheddar cheese on it -the whole thing fits in a 1/2 c container. I take half a crunchy corn taco shell with me and eat that too and I can trick myself into thinking I ate a taco. :frown: I tend to eat the same thing every day for breakfast and lunch at work - easier to prepare the containers at the beginning of the week and I won't make bad choices for those two meals. Now if only I could do better at home - most nights I do ok but then I slip up and have a snack after work or after dinner. With the weather being nicer and daylight lasting longer I need to go outside after dinner and walk or pull weeds to keep myself busy.

Morning all - checking in before I try to get a bunch of things done today - rv tires checked, oil change, etc. I had a cup of dry Kashi Go Lean for breakfast - it works great to get "things moving".- also has 9 gr protein per cup. Tamra - good job with food choices yesterday - it is really important to eat breakfast every day - if your calories get too low your body will think you are starving and hold on to everything and not lose too.

Athough they didn't cut out part of my stomach - my pouch above the band in essence is my stomach and food doesn't just pass through it unless it is a slider. The rest of my stomach below the band has only felt full maybe 4 times since I got banded 1 1/2 yrs ago and that was when I had a truckload of icecream and once when I had kettle corn. Did they give you any suggestions how to make the pressure discomfort better or how to avoid it? I haven't read anything about the sleeve - only know what you guys have posted.

Sorry that you had to go through that John. I don't know how it would work with the sleeve - with the band drinking something when you have that stuck pain but it won't come up or go down will make the water come back up and either the food too or just the water, but the food usually moves and you feel better.

Heather - at least your knee seems on the mend. I went to the gym last night and did my weights and after 20 minutes on the elliptical I had to stop as I was feeling woozy - hadn't eaten dinner yet plus I was hot. I ended up having frozen yogurt right afterwards for dinner. Good thing my son was driving as it took me a while to feel ok.