Hey everyone! I hope you guys don't mind that I've started a new thread. I've been talking to Terri from Dr. B's office, and she wants to email all of Dr. Bagnato's patients about this website and this support chat that all of us Bagnato Bandsters have going on. She was really impressed by how we've been supporting each other and wants all of Dr. B's patients to be able to come here and get support.

I wanted the title of the thread to be clear and make sure everyone who was banded by Dr. Bagnato knows that they are welcome here, even if they don't live in Albany.

For anyone who is interested, we have formed a support group and have decided to meet once a month.

Our first group meeting will be Feb. 7th at Ruby Tuesday in Tifton, Ga at 6:00 pm. This meeting is basically just a "get to know each other" meeting. I hope to see all of you there!

Allykat:

You are on mushies already? How in the heck did that happen and we were banded TWO days apart and I was banded before you!! I am still on this full liquids crap. The most solid thing I have is soupy mashed potatoes with cream of chicken on top of them. :drool::eek:

Who did you pay off? I want in.

LOL Brina, you must have missed my post last week. Remember when I was majorly freaking out the weekend after getting banded? I was seriously messed up and crying for no reason at all. Seriously sobbing. We called the nurse line that weekend because my head was all swimmy and my blood sugar level was way down (DH is a paramedic and checked it at work). Dr. B wanted to see me the following Monday. He said my electrolytes, blood sugars, etc. had basically bottomed out from being on what is essentially a starvation diet (I'd had only popsicles and jello), and he moved me straight to purrees and soft foods. He thought that all of that was messing with my hormones and making me crazy...lol. He didn't use those words, but that was how I felt. He had me stop on the way home and drink Gatorade and to start eating something more substantial that day. It worked and I immediately felt better.

So yeah, I moved right over Clear Liquids. I've done more mushies than soft foods (I have had a little Pasta and some baked fish this past weekend), and will try to stick mostly to softs for the next week before moving on to regulars. He said I was okay with regulars if I wanted to try it.

For lunch today, I had intentions of a baked potato from Wendy's. I skipped Breakfast because I was rushing to get to my appt. When I went, they were out of potatoes so I got a small chili. I'm not crazy about their chili, but I figured it was the lesser of all the evils. I ate maybe half and that was it. So far, I seemed to have handled it okay. That was 2 and a half hours ago and I am still full.

Allykat - absolutely no carbonation. I was told that from the beginning and just last week when I was in the clinic I overheard Elizabeth telling another patient the same thing. She stated that it was an absolute NO! Never again. I guess it can cause havoc with the band. The gas can expand and stretch it or something.

Ally,

Thanks for all the song recommendations! There are a few of them that I don't know and am going to give a listen to today! I really like because you loved me by jodee messina and we have already decided on the Everything I do bryan adams song. Thank you SO much for your help! Our wedding is June 21, 2008. So I still have a little time left, Just trying to get all the majors done and finalized. My staying on plan has been shot to utter hell. The positive is that I am slowly feeling better and i hope that next week I can jump back on it in full force. My daughter had a fundraiser for school selling cookie dough and i have a freezer full of chocolatey goodness - but thankfully even when I'm bad my band let me not be as bad as I used to be. I haven't even gotten on the scales since i've been sick. I think I''m going to hold off on that until next week and then weigh the damage done and deal with it then. My birthday is on Sunday so I know there will be some celebrating going on. I turn the big 3 0 ! My how time flies- Hopefully by my 31st birthday I will be a MUCH slimmer me!!

As far as your question on carbonation- I also heard it was a no no and while I have cheated just about on every aspect of the no no's of lapband THAT is one that I have not. I have heard horror stories of the pure agony people have went through. I have also seen some others on the board say they have it on a regular basis. I truly do not miss it very much. And I was a 10 canned mountain dew drinker a day- I think fear is my motivator- now just wish I was scared of Cookies and carbs!

Allykat;

Glad to see that you are doing well. Nip and Mia are correct. Dr. Bagnato, Terri, Elizabeth, and Malik all told me NO for the carbonated drinks!!! Pity that I had to poll the entire jury? I didn't want to part with my Sprite Zero!!! :bored:I was totally addicted. And to be honest, I've just traded the addiction for Crystal Light (Wal-Mart Brand) pink lemonade. My boyfriend says that I go to the extreme with everything.

Mia;

So you're feeling better? Good for you. Just wanted to thank you for your encouragement. I was finally able to update my ticker. Down 2 pounds since my fill on Tuesday!!!! I pray that this will be the 'sweet spot' for me. Elizabeth would only give me 2cc this time. I now have a total of 6cc in a 10cc band. She said my fills will be very gradual from this point forward because there's such fine line between the right fill/overfill. I have another appt. on April 1st. Will probably be 1cc. Finally, I'm feeling what restriction is!!!!:drool:

Thanks for all the feedback on carbonated drinks, guys. I knew it was a no-no from the material, but I just wondered if there was any wiggle room on that. I haven't had anything carbonated and don't plan to, but I do miss Diet Coke and wondered if I'd ever get to have one again. I want to take care of my band since I'm self-pay. I'm already super-nervous since he moved me up the diet ahead of schedule.

Speaking of food, last night my girls had dance dress rehearsal for their competition this weekend. Don't know how familiar you all are with Whigham, but we were at the school there and there is NOTHING in Whigham. They grilled hotdogs for the families and I was really nervous about eating something like that since I haven't had regular foods yet. Dr. B said I could start, just go slow, so I had about a half of a hotdog. It was hard to take small bites, but I chewed it until oblivian and did okay with it. I honestly don't feel any restriction at all, and Dr. B said that was okay, I probably wouldn't until my fill. Just to go slow with food and I'm self-limiting on the portion sizes.

But who knew I could be so scared from a hotdog?

But who knew I could be so scared from a hotdog?

Been there ally! But once I started trying out foods I literally found out that I could eat anything without many ill effects- This is where I got really depressed because I /could/ eat anything and I /did/. The scales did not move and it terrified me. Go back and read my whiney, self defeating posts, lol. Do not get discouraged. Most do not experience much swelling or restriction up until they get a fill or two. Just wanted to forewarn you of the possibility of that happening. I really wasn't prepared for that in my head and it TOTALLY got me all down in the dumps until I got a few fills and saw the scales move some. Good Luck- maybe your willpower is stronger than mine- I really suck at willpower.

Allykat;

Glad to see that you are doing well. Nip and Mia are correct. Dr. Bagnato, Terri, Elizabeth, and Malik all told me NO for the carbonated drinks!!! Pity that I had to poll the entire jury? I didn't want to part with my Sprite Zero!!! :bored:I was totally addicted. And to be honest, I've just traded the addiction for Crystal Light (Wal-Mart Brand) pink lemonade. My boyfriend says that I go to the extreme with everything.

Mia;

So you're feeling better? Good for you. Just wanted to thank you for your encouragement. I was finally able to update my ticker. Down 2 pounds since my fill on Tuesday!!!! I pray that this will be the 'sweet spot' for me. Elizabeth would only give me 2cc this time. I now have a total of 6cc in a 10cc band. She said my fills will be very gradual from this point forward because there's such fine line between the right fill/overfill. I have another appt. on April 1st. Will probably be 1cc. Finally, I'm feeling what restriction is!!!!:grouphug:

Yay for restriction!!!! I'm so glad you have some! I had some the first week or so after my fill but its long gone now. I don't know if I will have lost too much for another fill on 03-20 but I'm going in just to find out. I think I will wear some really heavy clothes to help myself out some, hehehe!

How much were ya'll able to eat before you got your first fill? How long did the full feeling last?

I am still on the full liquids portion of this diet (for one more day then, I go to pureed food and such) but I will admit, I will occasionally have a small portion of something that I am not supposed to have. It won't be anything dramatic like ice cream or hamburgers or steak or anything..but stuff that I can tolerate that is not truly on the liquids list.

How is everyone doing? I hope everyone is doing well.

Hello Girls...we'll I'm completely new to this. New as in - my assessment with Dr. Bagnato is on Monday. I haven't been "banded" yet, but am in the planning stages. Today I am meeting with my mom to talk to her about it - right now, she has no idea and I'm a little nervous as to her reaction. I'm also doing something I haven't done since I was a teenager and that is "hitting her up for some mula". I don't have enough saved to cover my co-pay....so I wanted to say hello to everyone.

Good Morning Leslie;

Welcome to the Bagnato Bandits!!! We're glad to have you join us. Hopefully your mother will be understanding and happy to assist you. Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

Take Care

Welcome aboard Leslie! Congrats on taking the steps towards a new you!

Hey bamboo-

Hows it been going lately? I have been doing lousy staying on plan- Next week I am on like donkey kong though!

Hello Girls...we'll I'm completely new to this. New as in - my assessment with Dr. Bagnato is on Monday. I haven't been "banded" yet, but am in the planning stages. Today I am meeting with my mom to talk to her about it - right now, she has no idea and I'm a little nervous as to her reaction. I'm also doing something I haven't done since I was a teenager and that is "hitting her up for some mula". I don't have enough saved to cover my co-pay....so I wanted to say hello to everyone.

Hey Leslie, welcome aboard! It's nice to meet you! I know how you feel, I had to borrow money from my parents too. I told them I was going to have the surgery and I was saving money to pay for my part that insurance wasn't covering, and they offered to help me out. It was a big relief because it would have taken me a while to save up enough. Good luck with everything and let us know how it goes.

Guys, I am freakin out just a little. I have had such good restriction lately and I really thought this last fill was "the one". Well, I woke up this morning and I do not have any restriction, NONE AT ALL! I've been able to eat a lot of food today. I'm not getting full at all! I have never had an experience where I didn't at least have restriction in the mornings. Even when I first started out I had morning restriction, thats why I stick to shakes for breakfast. I hope it's just a freak incident and I hope tomorrow when I wake up, I have some restriction. This is just odd for me!

Has anyone else who is at good restriction had this problem?