Alexandra

Well, I love the doctors in the practice I used, and I believe they have banded more patients than any other doc in NJ. You can find out more about them at www.advancedlaparoscopicsurgeons.com There's a seminar scheduled for tomorrow night (the last Thursday of each month), which is mandatory if you plan to seek a consultation with them.

Aetna is a bear. There are way too many issues to generalize about any insurer, but I can tell you I was approved by Aetna after a long fight and third-party review. Since that time (2002-3) they have changed their policies and it's now marginally easier to get approved than when I did it. ON THE OTHER HAND, I've just heard that Aetna is excluding bariatric surgery from their standard large-group plans, so check your policy for an exclusion before you do anything else. Are you medically qualified, as far as you know, for bariatric surgery? That's the first and biggest question. What's your BMI?

Wow, that is SOME nsv!! :D

Gaynor, I think you're just in the learning curve of discovering real restriction. It's about this time that we learn how to avoid bread, which just takes up WAY too much room to be a good bet. Try eating the tuna by itself and I'll bet you'll be able to eat the entire half-sandwich if not the whole thing. And in case you're wondering, yes, the insides of a half a sandwich is a good bandster amount for a meal. It's pretty much what I ate for lunch daily for all of 2004. If you can or want to eat more, go ahead, but that sounds about right to me.

You are gorgeous! What a lovely photo, and I love the hair. The jewelry is stunning too. (And what a charming accessory that is to your right!)

Hi Jim! Welcome to LBT and nice to meet you!!

You got me at a bad moment, La_Madam. Right now I'm not doing ANYTHING right. Generally, the achievements I can point to consistently are: -Eating Protein first. -No carbonation. -Chewing. -Exercising at least a couple of times a week. The areas I'm not doing well with at the moment are: -Staying away from liquid treats -Avoiding sweets -Eating SLOWLY -Eating later in the evening Gotta work on these.

Jonathan, I've asked Alex B. to add the new forum and then we can move things around. (At this point, the moderators don't have the ability to add new forums.)

HamuChan, it's absolutely true that everyone is different. I hope no one feels judged, but rather Enlightened. What I think is MOST important is that we know our bodies and know when something is not right. A close and open relationship with our doctors is the most important factor in long-term health, our own and our bands'. What you describe may indeed be right for you, and that's fine. Your knowledge of the way your body behaves after a fill means that you will know if a problem occurs. That's good! As your banded life proceeds you will experience lots of changes; overall, caution is always the best approach. Sometimes it's easy to forget that in our eagerness to lose weight and show the world that it's working. All we're saying is that we shouldn't lose sight of the long-term benefits of appropriate band management.

I love this idea, too, and will try to figure out how to make a "library" section. There are WAY too many sticky threads, some of which I think have outlived their usefulness. Your idea is a great one, Jonathan. Thanks!!

What a wonderful thing to do, sweetie.

What a great and important thread! Carol, I am TOTALLY on board with your philosophy of being good to our bands because we are relying on them to help us take care of ourselves for a very long time. People think of diets as being short term, and of weight loss as some sort of race. Well, folks, with the band there is no "over." Unless we want to run the risk of being un-banded, we will be CAREFUL and HONEST with ourselves and our doctors. Carol, what a scary experience!! I hope you're OK now and thank goodness you were so well cared for. And so resourceful! Great lesson, and thanks for sharing.

Locked by agreement of the moderators.

Locked by agreement of the moderators.

Locked by agreement of the moderators.

I saw that. If we don't reply the threads will drop down and disappear after a while.

Hi Junebug, welcome!! :)

Hi Tamiko, Fills can "disappear" over time but it does not necessarily mean the saline is going anywhere. What's changing is the shape and thickness of your stomach walls. As you lose weight the tissue can get thinner, so that the same amount of saline in your band results in less restriction. Eventually you reach a point where a teensy-tiny amount means the difference between good restriction and too much, but in the first year or so there might be a lot of change in the amount of saline needed to produce the desired effect. But you shouldn't be actually losing large amounts of saline; if that happens there might be a leak.

Hi Gaynor, I'll have been banded two years on August 20, and I'm holding my own at about 120 lbs down. Regain is not really a concern at this point, since my lifestyle has changed so much since being banded. The rest of our lives is a very long time, so I never say never. But for the time being all is wonderful.

There are literally an endless number of gems floating around out there. From one minute to the next I have a new favorite. I just saw these a few minutes ago: A friend knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you forget the words. Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment. There was a time when religion ruled the world. It is known as the Dark Ages. -- Ruth Hurmence Green

Honey, you're normal, normal, normal, normal!! Your band is not doing anything to dim your hunger until it's adjusted, so at this point you have nothing between you and your normal appetites. If you're hungry, I say eat. Don't gorge, and don't snack all day. Pay attention to your bodily signals and stop eating when those hunger pangs are gone. Your adjustments will change all this and as you know any weight lost pre-fill is a bonus. So why torture yourself? If you eat healthy foods starting with the Protein first there's absolutely no reason to suffer with hunger pangs. Good luck!

I've never heard anything about the saline needing to be changed, either. And I've heard a LOT of talk about long-term band care.

Good morning, Robyn!! It's nice to see such enthusiasm. I know I've felt the same way a million times on my way to a healthier self. While it's absolutely terrific to cheer yourself on, I fear that the flip side of this is unnecessary recriminations when "solemn promises" aren't kept 100%. Please remember that we're taking baby steps on our way to a PERMANENT change of lifestyle. Every day you manage to keep your promises to yourself is a banner day indeed, but I hope it doesn't mean you're beating yourself up for days on which you are just human. One of the greatest things about being banded is that it means the end of the dieter's highs and lows--in their place is a constant slow trend of eating healthier and making small changes that will last. No more rollercoaster!!

Yep, this is Lisa Sohr again, the one from The View. She was pictured on the cover of New York Magazine when this article appeard in print; this is just the online version of the mag. I'm waiting for her book. :rolleyes

Early tomorrow morning I'm packing up the car and my kids and we're going to Vermont for the weekend. YAAAAHHOOOO!!! Gettin' summer off to a New England start. Maybe we can find a cow to milk? I am going to try NOT to go near a computer for the whole four days (can you say withdrawal???), and that means staying away from here as well. But don't worry, I'll be back. Try not to have too much fun without me!