riley4183

No worries Candra! We are your care unless you need to see someone . . .well you do have to see your PCP at 10-12 weeks out, but that's it - that and the Robin/Liz/Dr. Baggs things (fills) Look at the prescription bottle, if it says "SR" or "sustained release" then you need to get the plain kind (regular release) for after surgery - our pouches can't take the SR stuff. When you meet with Tom Greenwood (the PA) a few days before surgery and bring all of your meds, he will review and tell you if you need to change it. You know Tina I was thinking, maybe I ate so much tonight because I burned off so much today . . . . Robin said exercise definately makes the body want to eat more even if we are not actually hungry, and that is exactly what was happening . . .still, I would like for my band to stop me at least a little! It does the rest of the day . . . .

Paxil made me gain weight - like 20 lbs. in the first month! I got off that for other reasons that would be WAY TMI to go into here . . . . . 11 miles today girls, my counter says 1,062 calories burned today. That's more than I ate - I have to watch that or I will go back into starvation mode, that would SUCK . . . :-(

SO - I can still eat at night. BOY can I eat at night! Like a cup and a half of spaghetti squash . . . after homemade cream of spinach soup, no less! Did you know that cooked spinach has over 5 grams of protein per cup?? Who knew! Man that stuff is good for you! So here is the next thing that I have to get through my head: My band is not going to stop me at dinner. I will have to measure out 1/2 cup and stop myself :-( rats!

Hey fellow wacky girls, of COURSE we feel crazy! We are losing a bunch of fat, and where is estrogen, the crazy woman hormone, stored? In fat!!! So we lose the fat and the estrogen is running around our systems like CRAZY!!! Guess what you have to do to get it out? Drink a lot LOT of water and exercise! Work it out, seriously. Best thing for depression! Swear. Trust me on this one :-) Tina & Candra, I took Wellbutrin for years and it actually made me LOSE weight . . it was kind of speedy for me! Please note Candra or Tamra or whoever it was, if you are taking the SR type you will have to get that changed by your PCP to non-SR starting the day after surgery. And if you are already being treated for depression - which I assume you are if you are on Wellbutrin - they you are A-OK to go see someone! They just want to know that you are being treated, and do not have UNtreated depression. Cognitive therapy can only help. A huge percentage of bariatric surgery pateints either are or have been treated for depression, when I asked in the Santa Rosa class all hands but 1 went up. Very very common, so no worries! Call them tomorrow. We have counselor folks here @ the Santa Rosa facility that specialize in weight loss patients, you get assigned one based on your last name that's how popular they are! Check the health class schedule for your local Kaiser too, mine has therapy classes. I want to emphasize that it is VERY IMPORTANT to have your after-surgery psychology care in place and working for you before you have the surgery. So many of my friends have suffered needlessly because they either avoided care - who can take another 2 hours a week off for visits when we are already taking all this other sick time for our appts.?? - did not seek care because they were afraid it would delay their surgery, or did not have non-SR versions of their meds so they stopped taking them. It is tragic! It only gets worse after surgery, every single person that I know that's had surgery goes through at least 1 bout with depression afterwards, myself included! Please don't put this off - and that goes for every person reading this post! Depression happens, the change is profound, it's great but it's still massive change, and change is stressful, so count on it! And add in the damn estrogen and it's a recipe for sob-city-mania! And add pending lay-offs, jeez it's a wonder any of us government workers are even sane enough to type . . . OK I am off my rant. I lost my favorite cousin to depression - suicide - as a teenager so it's a soapbox thing for me. There is so much good help out there, just no reason for anyone to suffer through the mental crap that is coming. Just sayin'

Is it muscle milk light? I love the stuff, it is the only one I can tolerate because they process the whey protein differently . . .comes in chocolate and creamy vanilla, I get it at Longs because I don't have Costco anymore :-(

I'm not censoring anything, I am honest with Liz and Robin and I'm still a rockstar. And I'm vegetarian too so thats not it Tina!! I think Nicole was right, Liz was referring to others who have joined in with us on occasion but aren't part of our little superstar band - like folks who were at our fill but not willing to be in support groups, stuff like that. Girls, I am full. Ahhhhhh. I had a small salad with 2 oz. of cheese and a few imitation bacon bits - calorie-free Walden Farms dressing, under 200 calories all together - and I am full. FULL! I only had berries for breakfast and I was not even hungry when I ate the salad, I just did because it was time and I have a bunch of errands to run this afternoon, did not want to chace getting hungry while running around and ending up grabbing a less-healthy option. I am getting about 4 to 4.5 hours after a mini-meal before I get hungry again. And zero PB, zero stuck, zero slime, zero issues at all! THIS IS IT!!!! So happy :smile2: Also very proud of myself today, I did 8.5 miles by 11:30 this morning! My day just goes so much better when I get my miles in And now it sounds like Jes is gettin' hooked on walking too, yay! Jes they all think I'm crazy, tell them how great it feels!!! Doin' errands - c u later!

Welcome Lori! Dr. Park is a great choice, she is very kind and uber-competent! You will love her. Jes and Reggie both have her, and most of my friends in the Santa Rosa group had her too, both RNY and lap-band. She is a little more conservative on giving you fills, but talk to her about that when you meet. I think she's great! The steps: Intro class; orientation; meet with surgeon & get surgery goal weight; get to surgery goal weight & weigh in at Kaiser to prove it; meet with phychologist; meet with case manager (Liz - we LOVE her!) and get surgery date from her (mine was less than 4 weeks out); attend pre-op classes (2 in same day); meet with anesthesiologist (sometimes same day as surgery, sometimes before); surgery! Then the diet stages; they are in your binder. I have never, EVER regretted my decision to have the lap-band. I did not want RNY, period, and no one ever tried to force it on me. I have lost weight at the same pace as my RNY friends (a little more than 10 lbs. a month) and have zero complaints. with the new advanced placement technique, the weight loss stats are almost the same as for RNY and I think the long-term is going to be even better because bandsters don't tend to gain back like RNYs do. That's the bottom line for me! Welcome, stick with us and you will power on through the process too! We are the lap-band rockstars of Richmond Kaiser :-)

YAY Jes!!! Woot, woot! How exciting for you!!!! Was Liz wonderful or no, how did the "test" go???

Tina update yer blog will ya? I love reading you girls' blogs :-) OK this is just too exciting for an old woman like me, goodnight girls!! 2morrow is my AWS day off but it's going to be even hotter than today so I MUST get up early to get my miles in! And I get a (nail) fill tomorrow, yay yay yay :-) Goodnight all!

OMG Heather, I SO wish there was a skyjump here! I woulod totally take those skyrobics classes, holy crudfish you can burn 1,000 calories and have a BLAST!!!

Yay Tinas here I am not alone! Pasta is a slider, girl! Pasta and ice cream all day, no wonder you had no restriction . . . . but tomorrow is a brand new day! And who knows, I lost mine real suddenly after the last fill

Jeepers it is kind of spooky to have no one here! I am the lone poster today I guess . . . . . twilight zone music . . . . Girls I am SO happy, I hit 800 calories today but it was all in little meals, no all-day eating or snacking, no hunger (except right before lunch), no PBing no problems of any kind! It is BOMB :-)

~sigh, I know I should not worry about this question either, but I do!! Too many years of following south beach, plus my support groups are all about the low-carb thing - but they are mostly RNY also, maybe that makes a difference. I do log everything in caloriecount.about.com and it works for me. I get 70 to 80 grams of carbs a day, but I also aim for at least 30 grams of Fiber so make that 40 to 50 net grams of carbs. That's low enough for me to lose at a good healthy pace but still feed my essential body functions, which you must have carbs for your body to use or it will use lean muscle and we don't want that! I can't do gluten so bread products are out for me, and rice is out per my lap-band program, and milk is out due to lactose & whey intolerence SO I get all of my carbs from fresh fruit (I mostly eat berries for the high fiber) in the a.m., vegies, unsweetened soy milk and an occasional few bites of potato or sweet potato (potatoes are a trigger food for me so I avoid them most of the time). Sometimes quinoa, maybe once a week or so. I very rarely eat processed foods and feel lousy when I do (listen to Jachut!) I am also vegetarian so I get a few carbs from the soy meat analogs and tofu products that I consume every day (I usually get 80 grams or more of Protein, don't need meat to do that!). My nutritionist always says protein first, followed by fruit or veggie, starches last and if you never do get to the starches that's just fine with her! I follow her advice and it works for me :cool:

OK well the salad and everything went down just fine! I sure got down a lot more than I did at lunchtime, but only 1/2 of what I was eating last week, so it took more to fill me up but salad is SO not "dense" like meat or cheese or eggs. So good! I will see how long this full lasts. I have already planned to walk to starbucks with daniel at 7:30 to get my skinny soy decaf latte, hopefully I will be able to drink it by then but if not I'll save it for in the morning!!

Thats sweet Nicole, we are always here for you! Mike seems supportive at least some of the time . . . . Hey gang, that few spoonfulls at lunch (11:30, I ate too early) has lasted me until now!!! 4 and a half hours! PRETTY HAPPY about that! Going to get a salad at round table with the boys now, we'll see how that works out :-)

OK putting some real clothes on and going to the mall! Type 2 yall later :cool:

Jamba light?! Oh Jes thanks for that, I had no idea! I can get that down for sure! I get Jamba cards from work, they give them out as employee incentives or rewards ir something there is o ly $5 on them, but I have always given them away because I can't have all that sugar & carbs. Now I want one! Probably will disconinue the program, so I guess I'll just have to break out the $4 at the mall today! YAY Heather, leave those notes in library books! That's SO cool :cool: I love that you are doing it!!!

What I was going to say about my kids not getting enough attention because it's all about ME is, they are used to it! LOL. The middle one (Daniel) has been my main support person and spends a lot more time with me than he did before, so he's not feeling gypped at all. The younger one though (Austin) is pretty butt-hurt. The thing is though, he just wants me to be around, he does not want to talk or do anything with me, he just wants to play his computer games and have me available to cater to him if he gets a whim and wants fast food or something. He seriously stays in his room until 5 minutes before he has to be at work then he runs through the house looking for clean clothes and wanting a ride! And yet he makes all kinds of butt-hurt comments about how I am never around and always out "walking" (he does quotes, like he does not believe that's really what I am doing when I go out every day), he has even said that his brother is more of a mother to him than I am but I think he just said that to hurt my feelings! Teenagers, gotta love them. So yes I have that with one of my boys, but the other one I think we have gotten closer through this because he is so involved. He walks with me several times a day, goes out with me to friends, he is kind of a food police nag but I need that! We talk a LOT and I feel like I have gotten to know him better in the last 6 months. Part of that is just him growing up and being interested in something besides himself!

Oh Jes I am so excited for you!! Tomorrow you will have a surgery date!! Don't freak when you get it like I did, LOL :cool: Tina I just found that if I wait 1/2 hour I can eat again, and my pouch gets full again! Yikes, I could totally eat around this thing. And already I am just wanting to drink my diet soy milk instead of eating, so much easier! It seems such a waste to cook food and then only get to eat 4 bites of it!! I am going to get more of those little 1/2 cup containers and when I cook for the week today I will just put the food in those again, like I did after surgery. SO - who needs a fancy black dress?? It says size 16 but is more like a 14, it is 2 pieces kind of a lined crepe with a subtle but sequined scroll pattern on the bodice and the lower front of the skirt, really really cute cap sleeves and a low-cut cowl back. It has been hanging in my closet because I did not think I could EVER get it on, suddenly it's a little too big! Actually the top still pretty much fits but the skirt is just plain too big. Who's gonna be a 14/16 at Christmas-party season, or have another formal affair to go to?? I want someone I know to have it not some stranger!! Oh and the skirt is long (lower calf or ankle) but can be rolled up to be shorter or better accommodate hips!

Oh Tina no I am only at 5.0 ccs, he said after he did my fill that he had pulled it all out first and I have 5 in there now. I guess everybody is different! I am glad he only gives me .5 at a time, but I wish he would do it every 4 weeks instead of 6 because I lose it all in the first few weeks then start gaining it back or at least stop losing it. But I guess this far out I should not be losing any faster than I am, I am still at almost 2 lbs. a week average and I only have 30 left to lose . . . . unless I change my goal! I will talk to him about that when I go in September I guess . . . he does not seem to be in any hurry for me to slow down, in fact he says it's good that I am trying to keep up with my RNY friends - and I am still losing faster than 1 of them, the same as 1 of them, and slower than 1 of them - so on average I have the same rate of loss that they do :-)

OMG Tina, the restriction is starting to settle in already! I was downstairs making spaghetti sauce - actually just soy crumbles with some jarred pomodoro sauce, really really thick - and was tasting it as I heated it up on the stove, "tasted" about 4 bites and - I felt it before I even got it heated up! Not stuck, just full in my pouch (not my stomach). So like it's only going to hold like 2 tablespoons? really? I can't survive on that! I think I'm starting to feel your pain!!! You and Nicole's - nicole if I ate shrimp, I would not be able to eat a whole one now! It took me a week after the last fill to really feel it, let's hope that this one is just settling in more quickly and I won't actually get tighter than this! This came on suddenly . . . . :cool:

Oh girls do you know what else I have never done walk-wise that I've always wanted to do? Walk across the Golden Gate! Anybody up for doing that one weekend? OH do you know what else would be fun, taking the ferry over to Angel Island to hike!! Make a whole day out of it, picnic out there - the kids would love it!

I am very happy that I like cottage cheese AND eggs! But I rarely eat breakfast food for breakfast, Robin was like, "you had ginger and peanut tofu for BREAKFAST??" And I'm like, yeah so? I also love chili with cheese for breakfast, lentils with veggie sausage, tacos, pizza (my favorite but can't do the crust anymore), basically any lunch or dinner food except salad - I just cannot abide salad for breakfast!!

Congratulations Heather! Woot! You totally rock girl, I am proud of you like crazy!!! Petaluma walk we can do anytime, I wanted to do it this month but Reggie's party is Saturday and I will be in Oregon with my dad the following weekend . . so I guess we could do next Sunday the 16th? Maybe at noon, so folks have a chance to go to church in the AM? I am moved to tears by this, and it is SO TRUE!!! No matter how much weight we lose, if we do not see ourselves as beautiful it is all for nothing! Operation Beautiful It is too hot to walk outside today, I did a mile and a half and came back home! But I have no air conditioning so its too hot to lay around too, LOL so I am going to go to the mall, but some really cute post-its at the Hallmark store, and do Operation Beautiful!!!

Yow, no eggs that must be hard to eat breakfast out much at all . . . . jeez what do you DO? Oh but you eat meat so you got some choices . . you could get ham I guess but I would SO want to drown that in syrup!! No pancakes tho, I never ever liked them. Waffles yes :-) Weird huh? So is there a better choice for breakfast with the 'laws? We have this place here called KCs downtown grill, on the Windsor Town Green it is a BLAST and a big group of us go almost every Saturday for breakfast, the portions are SO big I can split a plate with someone, let them take all the potatoes and toast, and STILL not be able to finish my half of a half - and thats before the band! Wildly huge but the boys love it. They have 7 kinds of potato pancakes, OMG OMG OMG it is HEAVEN. But I digress . . . . when I was on my pre-op diet and eating meat I would seriously order a side of ham and a side of gravy and EAT it UP . . . and be full all afternoon from the fat!! I tried being good and just having a burger patty and tomatoes, but everyone felt sorry for me if I didn;t have gravy! It's a weakness, ~sigh~