calicat

Thank you for that post! I've been looking all over the CIN, CHI area for months now!!!

I used to go to the Skate King on Finn Hill!!! I grew up in the Juanita area. Fun, Fun. Roller skating is great exercise. And for those of you scared of falling, I saved one pair of jeans that were a size too big - I call them my roller skating jeans. Seriously. It's so I can get back up easily as I'm sure I'm going to fall. I use a belt so they won't fall down, but they are loose enough that when I fall, I can get back up easily. I haven't fallen yet! The other thing someone told me the other day was weighted hula hoops. Have you ever heard of those? This girl lost 60 pounds from adding that into her exercise routine. Not to mention the great ab workout!

I went by myself - left hubby and child at home. I had many offers from aunts, step mom, friends, co-workers, etc. But I chose to go by myself and it was a safe and enjoyable experience. I would do it again alone Here was my story I posted... http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?showtopic=5788

Try not to be discouraged. I lost 10 pounds first week after surgery. No more until first fill. Lost 10 pounds in first week after first fill. Lost next 10 pounds over 5 months until 2nd fill. I lost more consistently then. Even now though, I'm still on a plateau of sorts. Hang in there! I wasn't a 1-2 pound/week loser either. You'll get there though

I lost 10 pounds from surgery date to first fill.

There are so many factors to help determine if your band has slipped, or if your pouch has stretched. But it really all comes down to the fluoroscopy appointment. Watching the barium go down will tell ALOT about your pouch, and the band. For example, your 3 vomits/month - are they around the time you PMS? Or stressed? Did you drink enough water that day? Or is it maybe food specific? Good job for your weight loss and good luck with your appointment!

That is great to hear from a dentist's perspective. And I love learning too! Sometimes it appears like I'm overanalyzing...but I'm really just trying to make sense of it all!! I just went to OCC for the weekend and got a slight unfill. All is well and I'm glad I did it. I was too tight and not getting the right nutrients or fluids in because of it. Anyways...he noted I did have some swelling in my band. Dr. So put me on malaax (spelling?) for 5 days to reduce the swelling caused by too much mucus. It's supposed to break it up. Apparently the band can get clogged, then swollen, because the mucus doesn't always go thru easily. Who knew!

Oh boy did I ever have the sharp, cutting, shoulder pain, as well as abdominal and back gas pains. I had it on and off until about week two post-op. I bought several boxes of Gas-X strips and popsicles. Soups were even hard to go down as I was sucking in too much air with the spoon. I'm assuming you're still on all liquid diet. I used a sport top drinking bottle and squirted fluids down rather than trying to sip them up - less air that way. I also lived on popsicles - literally. I went thru several a day. I used sugar free most the time, but every once in a while would throw in a natural flavor one to get some sugars. And walk - even if you don't feel the gas pain after drinking or putting something down..it will build up unless you walk it out. At least for me it did. So every "meal" time, I walked the dog around our neighborhood. Think of walking as a preventative measure. This is all after I had to sleep sitting up because my gas pains were so bad. Gas pains are by far worse than the surgery, or even recovering from my son's c-section! They will subside. That's the good news. Good luck and be patient!

I'm not yet at goal weight - so I can only speak to the process. I noticed a difference in how I was treated by waiters and cashiers about 3 months ago. It was so obvious. I'm the same person, shopping at the same stores, doing the same activities, but I'm respected more because of my weight, or lack of pounds thereof. That frustrates me. I won't go into details, but my husband is guilty of the same thing. He keeps telling me how he is proud of me - and I said....for what? What have I done? He says my weight loss. I say....but I'm the same person I was 11 months ago...just 80 pounds lighter. Weren't you proud of me or loved me as much then? Again, it just annoys me that society treats overweight people differently due to the shape of our butts, hips and thighs. Now with that being said...I do now want to "rescue" people. We went to Red Robin the other day with family...I order the clam chowder. I don't feel left out or not included. But in another booth were two very heavy women "squished" in a both, sharing a tower of onion rings, two large chocolate shakes, and huge burgers. I wanted to talk to them, take a picture and show them what they looked like. They don't need all that food to make them happy. No one does. I would never do it - but I do want to help others....if they want to lose weight. That's key - you have to want to do it. The band isn't going to override someone who doesn't want to change. I receive compliments now because of my weight loss. I appreciate it, but it's a little hard to take also. Why? I feel like a painter who's not yet finished their painting, or a builder, who has the roof on the new house, but the windows aren't in, walls not painted, etc. I'm not done yet. Makes me feel like I have pressure to perform now. It's pressure I'm putting on myself, because I've failed so many times, I want to succeed this time. I just feel like I'm on stage or something as there are many watching me now. I think it's harder to lose weight than it was to gain. Gaining weight was relatively easy. Sure, someone would make a comment about your weight gain or look at you differently (you know the look of pity I'm talking about), but you could use food as the crutch to console the hurt feelings. Now...there is no crutch. Food is not an option. You have to strengthen yourself from the inside out. We cant' go binge, or eat bon bons like we used to hypothetically. It's hard. Working on yourself and trying to memorize all the new ways to eat, and establish new habits over the old ones I've had for 38 years is not easy. What I find most amazing about this process is the picture of how I see myself hasn't changed. Sure....I see someone else in the mirror at 315 pounds, and I didnt' relate to what I saw. Because when I get dressed or walk around town, I have always thought of myself at 180 pounds. So now, at 235, as I'm getting closer to my goal weight, I actually see the start of that reflection in my head....in the mirror. And it does scare me. But I'm not running away from it - I'm learning to embrace it. I can't remember the last time the outside matched the inside. I have seen, just as we all have, several Biggest Loser winners gain their weight back. I'm not a doctor, but I think they lost it too fast. I think their inside self-image didnt' mesh with their outside image. And I think the two need to go hand in hand to be successful. I love my band and am so very glad I got it. My insurance wouldn't cover it as "nothing was wrong" with me. I had normal BP, normal cholesterol, hormones were off, but everything else was fine...except my scale weight. I didn't have the self control to succeed at WW, Jenny Craig, etc. The opportunity was always there to cheat, and I did. I didn't know how to change my lifestyle around food. Now food has changed around my lifestyle - and I love it! Thanks for the great question. I look forward to reading other replies

Don't hesitate to get a second opinion. And it is unlikely there is a leak, but it's not impossible for that to happen. Are the fills with fluoro so they can see the pouch, make sure it's not stretched, etc.? Have you told the doctor of your concerns? Usually the office should have an advocate or coordinator you can speak with. Try them instead of the doctor directly. The lap band is a tool. He has to choose to do all the work - that means food portions and exercise and drinking enough water. All that "diet" stuff is not completely gone. He has to do the work, and the band will help him along. Does he food journal? That may be key. Maybe he's eating too big of portions, or not getting enough protein, not enough water, etc. Sparkpeople.com works best for me. The band works - but it takes time for the patient to learn how to use the band (that's hard) and then it takes a while to get to the right sweet spot so you can live effortlessly with the band. Good luck!

I went 3.5 months without losing a single pound. And it was summer, I was very active, working out, watched what I ate - the whole deal. I went and got another fill and started losing again. Maybe you need another fill? If not, change up your routine. Do your exercise in the am rather than at pm, or vise versa? Maybe try a 3 day liquid diet to change your system up. Make sure you're drinking ALOT of water. That's key. You're plateau-ing. Every one does. Change up the foods you eat. Maybe eat smaller dinner and bigger lunch. Call Dr. Miranda for suggestions - she has many! Four pounds/month isn't bad. My personal goal was 5 pounds/month. I'm just not doing the 8-10 pounds like was suggested. And I'm okay with that. 4 pounds/month is better than gaining, or better than none! Remember, it's not a race. Good luck!

I live in Western WA and flew back to OCC for first fill, got 2nd fill here in town, and third vist I made to OCC to get check-up and slight unfill. I really do like OCC best - they do so many fills and surgeries - that's all they do! It's their speciality. If you book the flight far enough in advance, it's not that unaffordable, and I stayed at a decent (better than Motel 6) hotel for $50/night. Making the entire weekend just $20 over what it would have been to get fill here in town. I got a check-up, met with Dr. Miranda for 30 mins, and had my fill appointment - was very much worth the trip!

I just met with Dr. Miranda last week. I was concerned about not getting enough nutrients and proteins, etc. She said for proteins - it's around 50grams/day. That's same as 16 oz of milk, 1 egg and 6oz of meat/poultry/fish. The size of the palm of your hand is equal to 3 oz, so both palms is 6. Putting in a real visual way for me like that has helped so much. I was driving myself crazy trying to figure out what I needed, what each portion was giving me, etc.