jbtullis

At first I was determined I wasn't going to tell anyone about the band other than my wife. I ended up telling a really close friend that lives in another state and my sister, as she came to stay with me in the hospital. No one else in the family and no other friends or work.

Now that I have been banded for almost 2 months, I have lost 43 pounds as of my last Dr. appoinment and peopel are finally really noticing. My boss even mentioned it to me and that was a shocker when he said something.

It was odd when he asked me what I was doing, I just told him about it without thinking about it. My inhabitions about being judged and really even caring seemed to have really gone away. I wonder if the attitude on telling changes as you progress.

I had my second fill today. It's been two weeks since the first one. I couldn't tell much difference after the first one. I made the mistake of telling my Dr. that I couldn't tell much difference and he had the needle in there a lot longer this time.

At lunch I could tell a bit of difference this time.

Total lost is up to 43 pounds now. 2 months post op. :clap2:

I was self pay with Dr. Malley and that is about the right number. I haven't heard of anyone cheaper in the area but I haven't looked a lot.

I did hear a radio program this weekend that was a new Dr. doing both Lap Band and Gastric Bypass at St. Luke's South. I can't remember his name but I think he is setting up a weight loss center there if you give them a call on the general number.

If you go somewhere else, Dr. Malley will do your after care with you.

I am not a lawyer or anything but I am a Manager at a company. If he is asking for a specific reason why, you should tell him it is an on going medical condition and if he needs to vaildate that is where you are going, you can provide some sort of documentation from your Dr. but that you don't want to disclose your medical history nor are you required to.

I would probably bounce this off my Human Resource person to. The problem with the above is that if the Dr. signs the note, a lot of the barriatric doctors have commercials and the name might be well known so that may be a give away.

Hey Neal (OUSOONER)

Do you have the post op diet or philosphy out there you followed? I thought I remember you mentioning it once before but didn't see it on your personal web site.

Thanks

I went for my first fill yesterday and it was super simple. They didn't tell me of any restrictions before I went in but I had only had a liquid Breakfast as I just wasn't hungry.

When I got in there it was a quick normal check they do of BP and Pulse then up on the table and pull your shirt up.

My Dr. doesn't do numbing as he says the needle alone is no worse than doing the numbing then needle. Told him I was a needle phobe and he sort of chuckled considering the IV and stuff from just 6 weeks ago for surgery.

He poped it in and did the fill, told me it was over and helped me up to drink the Water. I never even saw the needle which was perfectly fine by me.

He told me to stick with softer foods like fish and stuff for the next couple of days.

My disclamiar is I have the larger band, and I have to go back every two weeks while he is trying to adjust the band. He said it takes a bit longer to get the right restricition with the larger band.

Good luck and don't sweat it. You made it through the surgery, the fill will be a no brainer!

I had my first fill today. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thouhgt.

He didn't ask me too much other than just confirming I could eat fine and had no vomiting issues. Other than that no challenges to wait on the fill.

I could tell a difference at lunch even though I have the large band. I am back in two weeks for the next one so it should be interesting.

I had my first fill this morning. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be. I am a HUGE needle phobe. But he just popped it in and it was over. No biggie.

I can tell a huge difference at lunch today. I was planning to eat soft things which was fine but I noticed I was back to eating about the amount I did when it was only 2.5 weeks post op. That was a good thing.

I have the larger band so I go back in a little over 2 weeks for the next one. Fun Fun Fun.

Actually pretty excited b/c I was feeling like there was no restriction. I forgot to ask how much Fluid he added. oh well.

Thanks Diane, I would not have thought explaining the will power vs band power level so I will make sure I bring it up. Right now it is a lot of will power and making myself go to the gym.

The only one I can think of not mentioned is a little off color but from my grandmother.

"sweatin' like a whore in church on Sunday."

I was banded by Dr. Malley at Heartland funny enough. I did even know about the Heartland support group until I saw it mentioned on the yahoo group you said.

So far no issues other than I am ready for the first fill as I need more restricition. That is scheduled for the 4th. I have the larger band so the Dr. said it takes a bit longer to get it adjusted. Not really sure how much the difference is but here we go!!!!

Thanks for the info.

Good luck on the insurance journey. I was banded on 2/27/07 so it's been about 1 month for me. No issues to report. I have lost about 36 pounds so far but I started at 400 so plenty to lose. This site has a lot of great information on it no matter what topic you may be looking for.

Again good luck with the insurance company.

I just started using the generic Target version of it. I can't really tell anything yet of course but we shall see.

Kurn,

I know a couple of people go to Dr. Malley for post surgery maintenance and issues. He is very open to taking you on for that but I am not sure about rates. I know there are quite a few out of country bandsters that come to his offices' monthly support group meetings too.

I vote for excerise as well.

Does anyone know a place that has a listing of all the different area support groups and what they focus on? I have the Dr. Malley one and saw something about a Heartland Hospital one but not sure what is open to all and what is a closed group to specific paients.

Thanks

Way to go Cory!!!! that is awesome to cross the 100lb mark. Can't wait until I get there.

Anyone know a good site to help figure out a good target weight based on bone density and such? Maybe just the target Body Fat number?

Thanks

I would have been ok to go back to work on the 2nd day if I had to but I have mainly a desk job. The biggest problem I can see for you is that you can feel pretty tired on that day, or at least I did. That and eating lunch would have been odd as I didn't tell anyone at work.

Good luck

Hey Big Jakes Dad,

I had Dr. Malley as well on 2/27. He is awesome. Good luck.

Mainly I drink decaffinated iced tea, Water and light cranberry juice. That's about it. That was a challenge giving up the diet coke.

That is awesome. I was banded less than a month ago and had a very similiar experience. It is so awesome to be able to start pulling out clothes you haven't worn in a while. I was so thrilled to be small enough to run in and by a shirt at one of the massive discount stores. Finally back down to that size.

Funny, we finally found a scale I can weigh on at home where I wasn't over the max. It helps keep up on the amount lost, but still use Dr. scales as the official.

Good luck. When I went to talk to my Dr. he didn't get to the payment method until we were done with everything else. So that was secondary. However, when I said self pay, he said let's pick your date and I was only limited by Hospital schedule.

Good luck and I am sure it will go well.

I had my surgery 2 weeks ago, and when I got home we just watched TV and sort of napped. That night though we went out to dinner. I had some green tea and like two bites of some Soup.. but I was up for the conversation and such.

That night I had to take a dose of the pain meds they gave me, hydrocodone. Had a little trouble sleeping that night. However, after that I was pretty good. I felt a bit tired but I was at the mall, muesem with my dad, whatever.

:clap2:I had a NSV already that almost had me doing cartwheels this morning. Being only 2 weeks post op but I am thrilled. I know it sounds lame but its big to me. I was acutally able to buy clothes at Wal-mart and they fit. It was the largest size they carry, 3X mens, but none the less it fits.

It has bugged me for years to not be able to buy what I call yard clothes or play clothes like tee shirst and stuff from discount stores like Wallyworld and such. Just seems so unfair I have to go to a speciality store to buy a tee-shirt to mow the yard in and pay like $15; now I can get them for $7. So anyway, it was a huge victory for me this morning!

Thanks for the feed back. I find if I eat slower and talk more then I eat less. That's pretty hard for me being the introvert, but I find if I eat with someone at lunch instead of at my desk, I slow down a lot more and tend to sort of play and pick at my food instead of eating, so net I eat the smaller amount.

First fill is scheduled for April 4th, then I go back every two weeks until mid May while my Dr. is trying to get the band to the right place. I have the larger band and he said it takes a little more adjusting to get the restriction to the right place where he wants it.

On a completly different note I had a NSV already that almost had me doing cartwheels this morning. I know it sounds lame but big to me. I was acutally able to buy clothes at Wal-mart and they fit. It was the largest size they carry, 3X mens, but none the less it fits.

It has bugged me for years to not be able to buy what I call yard clothes or play clothes like tee shirst and stuff from discount stores like Wallyworld and such. Just seems so unfair I have to go to a speciality store to buy a tee-shirt to mow the yard in. So anyway, it was a huge victory for me this morning!