Murpel

you all are doing so great! Can't wait to hear how you are doing now. I'm still not restricted enough to notice, maybe the next fill.

HI! I'm probably driving everyone nuts responding to these threads, but I am trying to get us all motivated to share and keep our eye on the prize. Hope all are doing well currently... myself, I'm hungry. Water and the Chia seeds aren't cuttin it now. Only a few more days till fill 3... Hoping that will help with the hunger!

I hope you have had some answers since your post. There are SO many options to add protein to your food. BariatricEating.com has a product called PURE which is a flavorless whey isolate that you can add to any food, soup, cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, anything. I understand that GNC also carries something similar. Whole Foods carries a bulk item called, Chia Seeds. (yes, the same seeds) If you add 2tsp to any liquid, it will help you stay full much longer, not to mention if you have 2 tsp with each meal, it's all the fiber you would need for a day. (they create a kind of gel when they get wet, so you could make "cakes" out of the seeds if you wanted to. The Chia seeds and the protein isolate were both info from my nut. Hope it helps!

I am very curious about your Dr.s fill process. It looks like you have had 3 fills in June and one in July. I am heading for my 3rd fill next week, so I'm getting 1 a month so far. You said your Dr. just kept filling until you told him to stop? Is that his nomal process? Wow! Haven't heard of that till now. How are you doing with that? Your weight loss is fantastic, how are you feeling? Keep up the good work!

I'm glad I was of help! It actually sounds as if you have it under control, you just need the chance to get organized and focused. Losing a little at a time is the way of the band, so that's a good thing. The exercise, it sounds as if you are at least moving. I am only working right now. I find that I stall frequently, then lose 2 to 4 lbs in a day. Crazyness! It keeps me going though, so I am not complaining!

Katie, I wish you much luck. I was banded 5/6 and am heading for my 3rd fill Tuesday. So far it's all me, no restriction. My nut has me on 3 meals of 4oz and one protein shake. That's all I get. no snacks. As long as you are following your surgeon or nut's dierctions, you shouldn't be stretching your pouch. Hope things go well for you.

Hi all! I only just found the May Magnificents! I've been on the site a couple of weeks and am VERY excited to have found a group for May. It looks like everyone lost interest in June. STOP IT! I know things get crazy with our lives, but we really need to stay connected to others in the same boat. I was banded May 6th by Dr. Atkinson in Las Vegas. I live in AZ, so it's a bit of a drive to get my fills. I go Tuesday for my 3rd fill. I don't feel a lot of restriction currently, but am trying to maintain my 4oz meals 3x daily plus a shake to get my 90g of Protein in. The Water is always the hard part. Look forward to hearing how you all are doing...

I was banded by Dr. Atkinson 5/6/10. For anyone interested, I suggest you purchase their 3 month survival package. It includes everything you need for the first 3 months. Liquids, thick liquids, vitamins, protein powder, pure, pre-mixed shakes... had I known ahead, I'd have been monetarily prepared. The nurses, PA's and everyone at the center are great... the hospital was all business.... I was an outpatient.... my big mistake was getting up to pee too soon. As soon as I had sipped water and got up, I was out. I had a two and a half hour drive from the hospital, which ended up being 4 due to an accident. I wish my insurance would have allowed me to spend the night. Live and learn... two months out and I'm doing great! Fills are going fine... I'm 39lbs down and working on more! No worries, you are well taken care of the entire procedure, and beyond. They are recognized as one of 5 top clinics for bariatric surgery in the nation. That doesn't happen by not taking care of their patients!

Wow! I was told at seminar that surgery was $16,000.00 period. I was lucky, my co-pay was $496.00 for surgeon, anist., and first 3 office visits (wound check) and 2 fills, plus $52.00 to the hospital. I paid less than $550.00 for my surgery, and $100 for psych eval. The 4th and beyond office visits / fills are specialist co-pays.:scared2: KatyinLasVegas went to the same surgical group I did. Just amazing!

I'm curious, have you discussed with your Dr. what your ideal weight would be? You mentioned that he was thrilled that you were below your goal. Beyond the numbers, if you are happy and feel good.... it's between you and your Dr. Anyone who asks is either genuinely interested in your health, or jealous. Be kind either way. The newness of your new svelte figure will become of less interest as more pressing discussions come alone, like, the latest movies or TV series. And thank you for sharing your journey with us.

My DH has be ever so supportive. From the seminar, to recovery and now after surgery....he has been there every step of the way. 3 months out, he is helpful when shopping... can you have this? do you need that? From vitamins to protein... he's there. He even tried to not eat junk in front of me.... LOL! That lasted about two weeks! he he he He's been great! Couldn't have done it without him!

Gotta tell ya, I was miserable the first month.... short story is... I went back to work after 8 days, too soon for me. While I was slow and still in pain (waist band caused pressure on port site, which was most painful), but was finally starting to feel myself again at about two weeks.... when.... I dropped my keys in the parking lot. Instead of bending sideways, I folded over at the waist and felt something "move". While it was mildly painful, I thought I had ripped my port lose. I was again in pain. I called the Dr. the next day, (over 90 miles away or I'd have gone there) who said to watch for swelling or excessive pain. I waited another two or three weeks till my first fill before finding that everything was fine. I was :thumbup:pain free by then. I was told that everyone is different and will heal at a different rate. They told me that there are those who are uncomfortable for up to two months after surgery. Yes I can still feel my port when I turn a certain way and what I think is the band when I bend a certain way, but no pain to speak of. All worth it.

I was as close to on it as I could be from day 1. I CAN'T sleep on my back. I received a stuffed animal (Moose) from the hospital prior to leaving after my surgery, out patient, to help with the coughing and strain of moving, so I grabbed my buddy, held him to my belly and rolled. I was more on the animal than I was on the bed, but it relieved the need to sleep on my stomach, and the pressure relieved some of the incision discomfort.

I understand that everyone wants to do it their way; however, we've all done it "our" way and gotten into the position of needing this life saving surgery. My weight loss center is one of 5 in the nation noted for their success with patients as well as the quality of care received pre and post operative. They really do individualize treatment, having said that; they have found in their research that all "bariatric" patients require certain things to succeed and thrive. As I chose this method out of my situation, I will defer to the experts. Just saying.

don't forget that you are setting up your way of life after surgery. if you continue to "snack" now, you may not change the way you are eating and be right back at your start weight one or two years after reaching goal. My Weight Loss Control Center still says 3 meals plus a shake to ensure you get 90gms, yes 90 gms of protein every day no matter your body weight/size They also tell us to get 80 to 100 oz of water every day. If you are doing that, you shouldn't get hungry between meals. It is an all day challenge, let me tell you! That plus vitamins, and it takes me all day to get there. Some days I don't make it. I just try to do better the next day.

I take specialty vitamins developed for weight loss surgery patients. I take a chewable multi vitamine, chewable B12, a pair of Juice Plus (one is vegetables and one is fruit) and a chewable calcium 3 or 4 times a day. All of these and more are available at my DR.s office or on the BariatricEating.com site. You may want to check out the Purityproducts.com site that supports this site too.

I was absolutely miserable with back and shoulder pain for up to a week, used liquid lore tab (sp?) as the liquid tylenol didn't do anything except make me gag! I found the only thing that causes that chest pressure is when I didn't chew food enough. It lasted a couple of hours, otherwise, when I've had too much. Either food or liquid... feels like someone is sitting on my chest!

Wow! I am amazed at the different things people eat! I spend my entire day chasing my goal of 90 grams of protein and 100 oz of water in only three 4oz meals and a protein shake. How do you all get all that variety and still get your protein in?

I so know what you are saying about being scared to drink. I was that way on my two days of liquid. I didn't have any other complications like you do. Just keep sipping! It get's better!

It's weird how all the Dr's groups advocate different things and different diets. As long as you follow your plan, you are good to go. Good Luck!

I'm curious, is oatmeal on your Dr.s list of approved soft solids list? My Dr. said only protein rich foods, or soup with added protein isolate. What I wouldn't give to have a bowl of oatmeal! LOL! Keep rolling... every week you lose a pound or two, is a good week!

I heard it on the Today Show. They said there were only a couple of brands that had issues. My Dr.s made it pretty clear that we shouldn't have more than one Protein drink a day, and it was for the sole purpose of adding protein to our diet. Three meals and one Protein Drink to get to the optimum total of 90g of protein a day. So I'm sure they already knew that it wasn't good to live on the protein drinks. They also advocate using chia seeds three times a day in our food or drink to get Fiber. They help to keep things moving, if you know what I mean.