JoanneD

I don't feel anything except when I get a fill. Then the doctor really needs to poke at the port to get to it (I'm not very lucky that way) and when he's poking for the port, and moves it with the needle, I feel the band around my stomach. Feels a bit weird, but nothing more than that.

Hi everyone! Just wanted to pop my head in and say hi. I was banded in Winnipeg on Tuesday the 26th, and so far, so good. I live in North Van, so there's absolutely no reason for me not to attend the monthly meetings, except that I travel a lot for work. So I've got my fingers crossed that I can be there for the May meeting.

As of today, I've lost 18 pounds on the pre-op diet (I did a whole MONTH of Protein shakes ) and another 3 since then. I'm 4 days post-surgery, and I was hungry within an hour of getting up. So I broke out another shake. Yesterday, about half of a shake would fill me up, so I'm not yet eating as much as I was pre-surgery. Good thing because I was in pre-op hell for a while. So far so good!

I'm 4 days post op (is that all? It feels likes weeks!) and I started exercising yesterday. I took my dog for a stroll. Can't even call it a walk, we went so slowly. But it was nice to get out, and work some of the kinks out of my back from sitting at home all day. Today I'll take another walk, a bit faster this time. I have to wait three weeks before I can go to aquafit. That's my exercise of choice, with my best friend. I'm looking forward to going back.

Hey, I thought I'd put a list together with everyone's name, date of pre-diet start and date of surgery, so we can keep those people in mind on their special day. Here's who has shared their informaiton to date: If anyone wants to add their name to the list, just post in this thread, and I'll be glad to keep the list updated (every day or so) Brenda, pre-op diet March 26, surgery April 4 (our first surgery of the month - how are you doing, Brenda?) Woodslass, pre-op diet March 21, surgery April 5 (Yay for Woodslass!) Spot, pre-op diet March 22, surgery April 6 (One of three done today - hope all is well!) Carerjem, surgery April 6 (Two of three - Here's to very little pain, or good drugs to deal with them) EastEndMTBr, pre-op diet March 30, surgery April 6 (Three of three - congratulations!) kkf1979, pre-op diet March 24, surgery April 7 (Safe travels to Toronto and good luck tomorrow!) Lukesdiesel, surgery April 11 saundrac, pre-op diet April 2, surgery April 12 Bandit!, surgery April 13 emptyNest, pre-op diet March 30, surgery April 14 Mmichelle, pre-op diet April 1, surgery April 15 Andytim, surgery April 15 MissMelo, surgery April 18 slm2007, surgery April 18 KaylaTX, pre-op diet March 24, surgery April 18 TerriF, surgery April 20 Musarion, surgery April 21 Peaches78, pre-op diet April 5, surgery April 26 JoanneD, pre-op diet March 30, surgery April 26 Jessica, pre-op diet April 15, surgery April 29 mgottbeg, surgery end of April Be sure to check regularly, so you can cheer on your fellow Bandsters on the first day of the rest of their life!

I love this thread; I'm glad you started it. These are just as important as any other victory that can come out of this process. My NSV: I know that I'm an emotional eater. I know that I'll need long-term counselling to work my way through it. Yesterday, I had a bit of a meltdown. Just a small one, but my go-to solution would have been to eat until the bad feeling would have been replaced by a full feeling, to be replaced later on by a bad feeling again (for the emotional upheaval AND for having overeaten). So I was feeling anxioud about a bunch of things, and feeling blue too - the weather outside was dismal, and it was just one of those days. And I felt lost because I couldn't turn to food. My husband and I sat together, and I talked it out. For a while I actually grieved that food wouldn't be my best friend anymore. And then my wonderful husband helped me make some intelligent food choices (I ate some cut fruit) and I felt just fine after. So I guess that at the end, this WILL affect the scale in a positive way, but at the time, the victoria was all about my head and my support system.

:DWhat a great team player, for taking one for us - yay Spot! Much more seriously, I`m glad you came out of the other side of that bad experience. Here`s hoping that`s the roughest spot (no pun intended, but effective) you'll come across. JoanneD

Way back in July last year I poked my head out on this board to say that I was thinking about lap band surgery. Nine months later I'm back. Since then I've forged ahead, and right now I'm on a four-week pre-op diet. I'm scheduled for surgery at the Maples Surgical Centre in Winnipeg on April 26, and then I'll get all my aftercare at False Creek. So right now I'm in pre-op diet hell. The weekends are the toughest, but I'm hanging in there. My biggest challenges are weekends and when I'm on the road, and I've had a few successes in both areas, so I'm encouraged. I'll poke my head back to see what's going on, and I was wondering what day the meeting at Lions Gate is now. I saw that there was some discussion about changing the date. Bye for now, and have a good week, everyone! JoanneD

Apparently, after a certain amount of time, you can't edit an old post. So I've decided to post it in a separate message. My apologies to those who had posted their surgery date in the last couple of days. I've been off my computer, and I'm just getting back on today. So if your name isn't on here, and you'd like it to be (or it should be), just reply to this post, or you could send me a private message, and I'll get you right on. ********************************* Hey, I thought I'd put a list together with everyone's name, date of pre-diet start and date of surgery, so we can keep those people in mind on their special day. Here's who has shared their informaiton to date: If anyone wants to add their name to the list, just post in this thread, and I'll be glad to keep the list updated (every day or so) Brenda, pre-op diet March 26, surgery April 4 (Bandster) merriemish, surgery April 4 (Bandster) Woodslass, pre-op diet March 21, surgery April 5 (Bandster) imtoxic, surgery April 5 (Bandster) Spot, pre-op diet March 22, surgery April 6 (Bandster) Carerjem, surgery April 6 (Bandster) EastEndMTBr, pre-op diet March 30, surgery April 6 (Bandster) kkf1979, pre-op diet March 24, surgery April 7 (Bandster) Lukesdiesel, surgery April 11 (Bandster) saundrac, pre-op diet April 2, surgery April 12 (Newly banded!) Bandit!, surgery April 13 (Good luck today!) emptyNest, pre-op diet March 30, surgery April 14 Mmichelle, pre-op diet April 1, surgery April 15 Andytim, surgery April 15 MissMelo, surgery April 18 slm2007, surgery April 18 GlitterG, pre-op diet April 8, surgery April 18 KaylaTX, pre-op diet March 24, surgery April 18 bookwoman, surgery April 19 TerriF, surgery April 20 Annabelle, surgery April 20 Musarion, surgery April 21 Peaches78, pre-op diet April 5, surgery April 26 JoanneD, pre-op diet March 30, surgery April 26 1970MaleJaxFL, pre-op diet April 13, surgery April 28 Jessica, pre-op diet April 15, surgery April 29 mgottbeg, surgery end of April Be sure to check regularly, so you can cheer on your fellow Bandsters on the first day of the rest of their life! JoanneD

Annabelle, welcome to lap band world! It can sure be a long and convoluted process. If you want to keep in touch with a bunch of great people who are being banded on the same month as you, come join us in the April 2011 Bandsters board. It`s great to chat with those who are exactly where you are in terms of their weight loss journey. I'm on a pre-op diet for four weeks - two Protein shakes, one Protein Bar, and two cups of veggies a day. It`s a challenge, especially on weekends, or when I host a party (like yesterday). I'm told the pre-op weeks are the toughest, or maybe I'm choosing to believe that. Nevertheless, it's getting me through these days of deprivation. Good luck!

This pre-op diet is for the birds. Actually, it's more for bunnies. I'm having my two shakes, one Protein bar, and lots of veggies. Today I'm done week 1 of 4. Yes, 4 weeks of the pre-op diet! I'm whining a bit but I've had a big success already. I travel a lot for work and one of my biggest challenges is what I eat when I'm on the road. Yesterday and today I had my shakes, and other than that, it was just veggies. dinner was a salad with chicken breast and dressing on the side. If I used 1/8 of a teaspoon of dressing, that was it. I'm also practicing the tiny bites / chewing a gabillion times. So eating about a third of the salad yesterday took almost an hour. Tonight I ate about 2/3, but I was able to do the small bites and chewing, all while chatting with colleagues. So I avoided the emotional eating I'm famous for when I'm travelling, and I was able to eat healthy and a small portion, while my tablemates had pizza and fish and chips. So even though I want to stamp my feet that I have three more weeks of this diet, I'm really happy at what I've accomplished so far. Small victories, small victories. That's my mantra.

We took those pictures last night (with tight clothing, not nekkid). I also took all my measurements, and I've entered them into a handy Excel spreadsheet. I figure we'll take pictures monthly, to see how I'm progressing. Yet another step in getting ready for our surgery, guys!

Brenda, wishing you the best of luck, the easiest of surgeries, and the promptest of recoveries. Check in to tell us how you're doing! JoanneD

Well, I guess you'll just have to come and visit, then! We could visit a few VV's and then go to A&W, for a salad, not a poutine. Cheers, Joanne

If it helps to put it in a different perspective, the reason you don't get a fill right away is to let your stomach heal. After surgery, no matter how minor it is, tissue will swell, and it'll take some time for the swellling to go down and the stomach to heal. So I'd guess having a fill could close you right up. Consider all that's happening a rite of passage. Most have to go through a pre-op diet (I've started to want to chew on furniture I'm so hungry sometimes), and then we have up to six weeks of liquids, mushies, and then working our way to solid food. So in 6 weeks you'll be back to solid food. Six weeks, in the big scope of things, isn't all that long. At least, that's what I tell myself. Good luck, keep your chin up.

OK, thanks for the great idea, Spot! I'm moving this list to its very own thread, so if you want to have your name added to it, just post over there. Toodles!

Hey, I thought I'd put a list together with everyone's name, date of pre-diet start and date of surgery, so we can keep those people in mind on their special day. Here's who has shared their informaiton to date: If anyone wants to add their name to the list, just post in this thread, and I'll be glad to keep the list updated (every day or so) Brenda, pre-op diet March 26, surgery April 4 (our first surgery of the month - good luck, Brenda!) Woodslass, pre-op diet March 21, surgery April 5 Spot, pre-op diet March 22, surgery April 6 Bandit!, surgery April 13 emptyNest, pre-op diet March 30, surgery April 14 MissMelo, surgery April 18 TerriF, surgery April 20 Musarion, surgery April 21 Peaches78, pre-op diet April 5, surgery April 26 JoanneD, pre-op diet March 30, surgery April 26 Jessica, pre-op diet April 15, surgery April 29 mgottbeg, surgery end of April

I started the pre-of diet the day after I was approved. When my surgery coordinator told me that she said "Make sure you go out for a nice meal tonight, honey." So I did. Only yesterday did I do the math of how long I'd be on this diet. I thought it would be three weeks, but when I looked at the dates, it's actually four weeks less a day. Sneaky clinic people. I take two Protein shakes (Meditrim) and one Protein Bar (also Meditrim), and two cups of veggies (very limited list). With those veggies, I've made some pretty interesting Soups, and a big bowl of that is usually my dinner. Today I'm doing to make a sauce with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and sweet peppers, and I'm going to serve that on top of some spaghetti squash a few times this week. I enjoy cooking, but rarely have I been so excited to make something because I'm being creative with a very restrictive diet. Days one through three were okay - I was working and too busy to worry about whati I wasn't eating. I even missed my last shake of the day on Friday. Yesterday was a whole other thing. I stayed home all day, and we basically did nothing (blessedly so) until about 2 pm. And today, for dinner, instead of making a Soup, I just cut up a bunch of raw veggies. Obviously not enough for me. I was starving through the evening, and finally gave up at 11 pm and went to bed. But I couldn't sleep because my stomach was growling. So I got up, slowly ate 6 soda crackers, drank a big glass of Water, and was able to sleep. I guess today I need to make sure to have some soup. I haven't weighed myself yet, but I plan to today, to see if I've lost any weight in the past 5 days. I now that I've lost 13 pounds from my highest weight, which was earlier this year, so I'll be using that as my starting weight. if anyone's got some interesting all-veggie recipes, I'd love to hear them, because my repertoire might get motonous. And I have to spend three days out of town this week, and have lunch with some colleagues. Plain garden salads, here I come!

I actually joined LapBandTalk last summer, when I was in serious contemplation mode. Since then I've been to an information session (at the False Creek clinic in Vancouver, BC), and got my application in. Unfortunately, there are limits on who private clinics can perform surgery (BMI limits) so instead of having surgery here, I'm going to have it in Winnipeg, at their sister facility. After sending my application, getting a physical, blood tests and ECG, I flew to Winnipeg on Monday of this week to meet the psychologist, dietitician and surgeon. All have approved me for surgery. The therapist said it was a close thing, because she's concerned about my success, probably because I definitely have a food addiction and I'm apt to self-sabotage. I intend to participate in long-term therapy in this process, and she convinced me to start therapy before surgery, and to work at it for at least a year. So I left Winnipeg with a go-ahead for surgery, a date booked (April 26), a deposit paid, and three weeks' worth of pre-op diet stuff. It was very interesting explaining to the security at the aiport what all those foil packages (shake mix) and bars (Protein bars) were . When I asked the coordinator when I'd start my pre-op diet, I thought she'd say Monday or Tuesday of next week, to make it three weeks of pre-op diet. She said that I'd be starting the next day (four days ago), so I'd better go out and have a nice dinner. Starting the diet right away was a bit of a surprise, but I dealt with it. I flew back home, my husband and son met me at one of my favourite restaurants, we had a good meal (without getting stupid about it) and the next day I started the pre-op diet. Two Protein shakes, one bar, and 2 cups of veggies per day. This is the most restrictive diet I've ever had. The first day I was nervous that I'd starve and maybe have bouts of low blood sugar, but I've eliminated my diabetes medication, and I feel just fine. In fact, I'd say I feel more than fine. The first three days were pretty good. I was busy and focused on a lot of things other than food. Today it's Saturday, we've had a relaxing day, and I could gnaw on the furniture. I've eaten everything I'm supposed to, plus a wee bit more (nothing serious) and I'm still hungry. Whenever I start to despair my husband makes me a cup of tea (he's my biggest cheerleader). Hey, I just realized that by the time I have surgery, I'll have been on this pre-op diet for four weeks, not three! Sigh. Tomorrow we go buy a new battery for the scale, so I can weigh myself. I'm hoping some movement on the scale will give me a morale boost. i'm cautiously excited about the surgery, and feel confident everything will go well. No nerves at all (well, almost none). I'd love to meet other people who are having surgery close to my date, or hear advice from anyone who has sage words to share. What a great adventure we're on! JoanneD (to be banded on April 26)

Hey, how great to find a group of people who are on the journey the same time as I! My name is Joanne. I'm 43, with a wonderfully supportive husband and the world's best 10-year-old son. I call him Munchkin (but try not to in front of his friends). I'm scheduled for surgery in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on April 26. I have to travel for my surgery (I live in North Vancouver, BC) because the private clinics here are limited on the patients' BMI. There are no such limits in Manitoba. So my husband will be travelling to Winnipeg for three days for surgery. I'm a regional manager for a restaurant chain. A fast food chain, no less. I have and will always have daily challenges when it comes to my work, but I have loads of colleagues who do the same job and are not overweight. I will emulate them, and bring my lunch when I visit my restaurants, or order the salad and grilled chicken breast. I share others' frustration with fitting into tight plane seats (I fly to Northern BC and other locales every second week, at least). I've reached the point where I'm not embarassed at asking for an extender. The day I don't need one any more will be a huge milestone, and I'll be celebrating that one for sure. I'm also excited at shopping at more than one store (Penningtsons, here in Canada). The thought of having hundreds of stores to choose from makes me giddy, and greatly worries my husband. He has threatened to take my credit cards away from me once I lose enough weight to need a new wardrobe. . Oh, and I remember being able to cross my legs properly just one time, and I loved it. Can't wait to have that happen again. Finally, I've started my pre-op diet. I'm on day 4, and today I could chew furniture I'm so hungry. But I'm dealing with it with good humour, and we're laughing about it. Whenever I look discouraged, my husband makes me a cup of tea. So my pre-op diet (2 shakes, 1 Protein bar, 2 cups of veggies) will actually be 4 weeks long. I'm told that this is one of the worst parts of the process, so I'll just get through this part without whining too much, and move on to the next step on the 26th. So now I have to figure out how to do that weight ticker thingie, and I look forward to getting to know all of my future bandsters much better!

Well, with these words begins my Lap Band weight loss journey. I promised myself to start journalling, to help me with this big task ahead of me (no pun intended, I think). And despite being a pretty private person, what better way to be accountable, than to cast the words out there in cybespace? So my journal won't belong just to me. It'll be living out there. So who am I? My name is Joanne. I live in Canada, in Vancouver (or close enough that it doesn't matter), with my husband, our 10-year-old son Munchkin, and our neurotic dog, whom I'll call The Pill. Not his name, but his pseud, so I can protect the innocent, and all that stuff. Where am I at? I've tried other weight loss methods, mostly Weight Watchers, and Nutrisystem 20-odd years ago. I've tried it on my own, without following a program as well. In grade school I was put on a diet by the school nurse, and that was a memorable experience. She posted my weight tracker in her office, where if students got sick they could go lie down. So EVERYONE knew how much I weighed. Sigh. I've got a few co-morbidities (don't you just LOVE that word?), namely Type II diabetes and PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome). I've been overweight all my life. I don't remember a single moment being at a normal weight. I have a loving husband who is the gentlest soul ever, and who has never spoken of my weight in less than supportive terms. And who, every time I'd mention wanting to do something about it would become my biggest cheerleader. I have a great support system behind me. Since in Canada lap band surgery, or any weight loss surgery, is not paid for by insurance, we will be paying for it ourselves. We're in the midst of renovating our house right now, so we're investing the 'renovating the bedrooms' money in my health. Because the cost is so prohibitive in Canada (about $12 to $14 thousand) I'll likely be going to Mexico for the surgery. My GP is the one who first steered me that way. The first time I told him I was considering banding, he mentioned Mexico to me. Before then, I had been fretting about how to finance the more expensive surgery. So now we can get this done without sacrificing the kitchen renos, and without waiting much longer. If all goes well, I should be going to be banded in early December. Oh, one thing I didn't say earlier. I travel a lot for work, and right now I'm in an airport lounge, on my way home. And they've just called my flight. So I have to skedaddle. More updates soon! Joanne

I think I wrote in my first post that I was considering having surgery in Mexico. Dr. Ortiz is on the top of my list right now. I've had a few conversations with some of his people, and now I've got to sit down and write the questions I want to ask, so I don't forget everything. Seems like I have to lose some weight before surgery. To get to an acceptable BMI, I need to pare down 35 or so pounds. Gulp. My husband asked me what would happen if I got to the OCC on the day before surgery, and I hadn't lost all the weight I'm supposed to. A valid question. I've always struggled with losing weight. I told him that I wasn't planning on finding out what would happen. How gutsy is that? I think I can count on losing at least 10 pounds on the pre-op three weeks of 2 protein shakes and one Lean Cuisine per day regimen. Is that reasonable? That leaves me with 25 pounds to lose between now and mid-November. I see lots of time on the treadmill and many aquafit sessions in my immediate future! I also consider this period an opportunity to prove to myself and to my husband that I'm serious about this. Not getting into a weight loss/making better choices/exercising more mindset before surgery sets me up for quite a shock if I expect to deal with cravings AND ramping up exercises AND a pre- or post-op diet AND the surgery. I think it's too much all at the same time. So over the past week I tried to work out an eating plan that would work for me while I'm on the road. I was away on business last week, and over the weekend we made a business/fun trip to BC's Interior. Lots of restaurant food. I'm batting about 50%. One day I do very, very well, and the next, no so well. But there are two distinct differences from other attempts to lose weight. A slipup in the morning doesn't mean that I have a license to overindulge all day. And a slipup one day doesn't mean I can't start over the next day. I'm working a lot on the negative talk that I think most overweight (but I prefer the term 'fluffy') people are experts at. In order to make this journey successful, I'm going to need some counselling. I need to get more awareness and understanding of emotional eating, and as I lose weight, to not sabotage my results. Over the next week I'll be looking for a therapist who specializes in food and relationship issues. And since I'll be getting banded no earlier than December, I want to do some more reading. I've already searched many posts for recommended books and I've got the beginnings of a very interesting reading list, but if any of my fellow blog writers/readers have any books you think I should read (and maybe post a review on), or some that I should avoid, I welcome your recommendations! Have a great day, all. :cool:

I chuckled when I saw your comment about the Iced Cap being better than beer. Then I started to wonder - would an Iced Cap be better, nutritionally? Well hold on to your Timbit, Rosie! A medium original Iced Cap, with cream, is 320 calories. A medium original with milk, is 240 calories. But a regular beer is anywhere between 150 and 200, depending on the alcohol content. So strictly calorie-wise, a beer is better than an Iced Cap.

You look fabulous, and you're a great inspiration. Thanks for sharing those pictures!