Kentucky, "who's your Doctor"

[zolableu 0]

Ok, so I went for my followup yesterday with Dr Lusco and he did not do an adjustment. I was pretty sure that that's what he would say. I've lost over 75 lbs in 5 months since my surgery. He said that I am still losing 2.5-3 lbs per week and that as long as I continue to do that, that I don't need anything else. I am supposed to go back in 12 weeks which puts me right after July 4th. I have mixed feelings--on the one hand, I know that I'm doing really well, and obviously I don't want to do anything that will jeopardize what I've accomplished so far. On the other hand, I'm on a roll and very anxious to keep this trend going and to get as much of this weight off as possible before vacation time. I know I'm just being impatient--it took years to put all of this weight on and it's not going to come off overnight. And I'm thrilled to death with how far I've come in a few short months. My husband and son are proud of me and I'm proud of myself. So I'm just going to suck it up and keep working on it!! I've got my silver 75 lb pin that Dr Lusco gave me yesterday and I can look forward to getting my gold pin when I hit 100 lbs!! I'm very happy with this surgery--I have a lot more willpower than I thought I did, but I just don't believe I could have done this without the band. Good luck to everyone who's working on getting approved by their insurance. It's the best decision I ever made!!

Hi BandChick64,

I was banded in May08 and had my first fill this week. After going to solid foods and completed fills do you eat only fruit at the Breakfast meal?, Protein at the lunch meal? and vegetables at the dinner meal? or Do you eat some of each food at each meal?

Edited June 8, 2008 by zolableu
misspelled words

[zolableu 0]

Hello All,

I am new to lapband talk. I recently had the the band and my first fill. So far things are going good. Dr. Lusco is my surgeon.

[cindymom 0]

hello again all, made all my appointments and I have surgery on june 24. I will try to get on here and see how everyone is doing. I am already doing the diet before surgery, I haven't found it too awful yet. but I am not sure I am going to feel after the surgery about the diet. Everyone has been wonderful with sharing their experiences. I hope I have a good one to share with all. be Back on here after that. And thanks again.

[cindymom 0]

I had my surgery on the 24th as planned, That was Tuesday and today is Saturday. I am doing great, the first day there was some pain (or more pressure than anything) but I made it thru those days and now I feel great. I am on full liquids and am ready to get to the blenderized diet. I was really expecting this to be worse than what it was. So I hope things are going good for everyone. Gotta run, but will check back in soon.

[bandedgirl08 1]

hi, Cindymom

glad everything worked out for you. I am happy to report that all is good with me so far. I met with Dr. Allen last week in my seveth week and he was happy with my progress thus far. I am down 31 and ready to get my hiney in gear to keep things going steady. Have a great 4th and keep my posted on how you are doing when you have time.

Over and out from the bandedgirl08

Hello to everyone else on here too!!!! Good luck to you all.

Be the fabulous person that you already know you are!

[nanna 0]

kygail

do you have humana an do you have to pay anything uo frount.

[AprilE 0]

Dr. Argotte Lourdes Hospital Paducah.

Highly recommended!

[cindymom 0]

hello again. This is going on my third week and I couldn't be more pleased with the surgery. I go for my two week (which will actually be three) on this Friday. I am hoping that he says all is well. No reason not too. I went to see Kirk at st marys and he said I lost 22 pounds, 11 of that was Water and 4 was muscle and the remainder was fat I guess. I thought that was pretty good. When I started out on this I was really believing this could work, now I am convinced it will. Also I would like to get a tracker that shows my progress. I would appreciate it if someone could talk me thru setting one up and where to get them. I found them once but it was not easy enough for me to figure out. So anyone that could help it would be greatly appreciated. I am looking forward to the weight loss. :redface:

[slbrn296 0]

Hello everyone this is my first entry . I am 37 years old and am considering having the lap banding procedure done. I have a health problem known as vasa vagel syncope and I was wondering if any of you may have this condition as well ? My concern is the location of the band and the compression that is there around the stomach and I was wondering if this procedure may make this worse or better for me . I have talked with Dr. Oldham and Dr. Weiss from the Bluegrass Bariatrics and they tell me that they are unsure of the side effects for me and suggested that I post on a chat room to see if anyone else can share their experiences with me . Please help if you can . Thanks!!!!!!!

[BandChick64 1]

Hi Everyone--just checking in to see how things are going with the Kentucky bandsters. Everything is going well on this end--just very busy with family stuff with vacation and my son out of school and all. Haven't been to the gym for a couple of weeks due to vacation although I did make it to the YMCA once while we were out of town and worked out for an hour or so. Went to see Dr. Lusco on Monday and he's very happy with my progress since I am more than on track to lose 100 lbs in the first year. I only have a few pounds to go to hit that goal and as long as I stay motivated like I am right now and don't fall off the wagon, I should hit that within the next few weeks. It has slowed down but I expected that. Now I just have to get my tail back to the gym and keep working. As long as I get to work out 3-4 days a week, I feel pretty good about myself. I hope everyone is doing well and I will try to check back in soon!! Take care!!

[Shellyin KY 0]

I, too, am found in KY. I will be seeing Dr. Lusco out of Louisville. I have my seminar on July 22nd at St. Mary's. This is all so new. Can anyone help with what to expect from the beginning???

I have talked with insurance company, BCBS PPO (federal), It is covered. . My policy does not require any period of time on a supervised weight loss program. Also does not require me to lose a specific amount of weight before consideration. Best I can calculate, It should cost $2,000 or less. I have buffered at least $1,000.

I absolutely love this site.

Anyone need a band-buddy????

Any and all insight is appreciated.:biggrin2:

[cheryl1952 0]

Slbrn 296,

How did you get to see the surgeon so quick? Do you have insurance or are you self pay? No, I have never heard of this before. I also have sjogrens disease and was wondering if this would hinder their decision on whether to do the lapband on me or not.

Cheryl

Edited July 12, 2008 by cheryl1952

[Busy 0]

Hello all, hope everyone is doing well. I have lost my motivation in the past few weeks (since I came home from vacation) and have not really exercised. The results is my scale went up 2 lbs. I wanted to cry...so I asked my husband to hide the Oreo Cookies. This weekend is pretty booked so I plan to get back to my walking on Monday morning before I go to work. (not as hot outside). We plan on going to Flordia in October with kids/grandchildren and I bought the cutest skort set to wear, 1 size smaller. At this rate I will be sending it back!! Keep me in your thoughts!

PA

[BandChick64 1]

Hi BandChick64,

I was banded in May08 and had my first fill this week. After going to solid foods and completed fills do you eat only fruit at the breakfast meal?, Protein at the lunch meal? and vegetables at the dinner meal? or Do you eat some of each food at each meal?

Hi Zolableu--

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply to you--just haven't been on the computer much in the last month or so. Hopefully by now you have the answers to your question but I wanted to make sure you didn't think I was ignoring you. As far as what I eat, I can honestly eat anything I ate before, just smaller quantities and now that I have pretty good restriction with the band, I have to eat much slower and concentrating on chewing my food up really well, especially with the first few bites of my meal. I don't do JUST fruit for breakfast, although my band seems to be tighter in the morning, so I generally have a container of yogurt with a couple of spoons of granola mixed in. Occasionally I will have some banana. I really like the Kroger Carb Master yogurt--it has 12 grams of protein in a 6 oz. container and only 80 calories and the fruit flavors are very yummy. The regular lite yogurt only has 7 grams of protein I think. For lunch, especially Monday thru Friday when I'm at work, I usually have a lean cuisine meal, and I try to concentrate on the ones that have between 250 and 350 calories with 15-20+ grams of protein. I also like the healthy choice but they seem to have more sodium and not as much protein. For dinner, I usually have whatever the rest of the family is eating but I have smaller portions and try to focus on the protein first and then the veggies. My calories usually fall around 1200. I try to watch the carbs to make sure I don't have huge amounts although, I don't avoid carbs, I just try to be aware of how many I'm taking in. My best advice is to READ THE LABELS on food--I've become much more aware of what's in the food I'm eating. My husband calls me the Food Nazi!! :party:) I try to make sure my protein is at least 50-60 grams per day. I don't hit that every single day but it averages out that way over the week. I'm not a big fan of Protein Shakes although I do drink one once in a while. If I'm on the run on the weekend or find myself getting hungry in the late afternoon, I will grab a Protein Bar. Usually a South Beach or a Zone Perfect--they have anywhere between 140 and 210 calories with between 10 and 21 grams of protein. They taste pretty good especially if you need a chocolate fix!! For the most part, I don't snack--just my 3 meals a day with LOTS of Water, crystal light, iced tea, and coffee--no soda!! I find that it tastes TERRIBLE now but I had pretty well given it up even before my surgery. I try to go to the gym 3-4 days a week also for about an hour and a half. I've been slacking on that since I've been on vacation but I intend to get back to it this next week. Typically I do about 40 minutes on the treadmill (3.8-4 on the speed with an incline of 4) and 30 minutes on the elliptical or the bike with 20 minutes or so on the weight machines. Ok I think that's about it--I'm really sorry for the long-winded post, but I wanted to get it all out there. I'm not telling you this is what you need to do but this is what has worked for me since I had the surgery in November. Everyone's body is different and you should follow the instructions of your doctor and do what works for you personally!! I dearly love my doctor (Vincent Lusco). This is the best thing I have ever done for myself. Dr. Lusco asked me this week if I have any regrets and my answer was ABSOLUTELY NOT. I told him that I could be his poster child for this surgery!! I firmly believe in this program, as long as you look at your band as being a TOOL and not expecting the pounds to just drop off by themselves. You have to be willing to work at it, and I have worked very hard, but I don't believe I could have accomplished what I have without my band. It's there to remind me if I have a lapse in judgement and try to eat too much. The bottom line is that you still have to make good food choices and exercise. This is all about making a lifestyle change and making yourself healthier. Again--everyone is different but this is what has worked for me!! Good luck to you and to all of the Kentucky bandsters!! Keep me posted on your progress!! Sorry this is so long!!

Edited July 13, 2008 by BandChick64
misspelled words

[BandChick64 1]

Hello all, hope everyone is doing well. I have lost my motivation in the past few weeks (since I came home from vacation) and have not really exercised. The results is my scale went up 2 lbs. I wanted to cry...so I asked my husband to hide the Oreo Cookies. This weekend is pretty booked so I plan to get back to my walking on Monday morning before I go to work. (not as hot outside). We plan on going to Flordia in October with kids/grandchildren and I bought the cutest skort set to wear, 1 size smaller. At this rate I will be sending it back!! Keep me in your thoughts!

PA

Hi Busy--

I was thinking about you and wondering how you were doing!! Hang in there. I got a little side tracked and made some bad choices when I was out of town on vacation for 2 weeks also, and even gained about 3 lbs., but I got back on track pretty quickly when I got back in town. I think I just needed an adjustment which I have had now. I've now lost the 3lbs. that I gained on vacation plus 4 more, so I've got my motivation back. You might need a fill to get you going again. Good luck and keep me posted on your progress!! Hang on to the new outfit--you'll be able to wear it soon enough!! New clothes do wonders for my outlook on life these days!! Take care!!