faithmd

This is going to sound bad, but STOP TELLING PEOPLE!!!! Well, it worked for me. I chose not to tell anyone because a) I didn't want people trying to talk me out of it, :purplebananna: I didn't want the "food police" looking ant my every bite, c) I dind't want everyone asking how much have I lost, d) I didn't want people thinking they were helping by giving me suggestions on how to diet, e) I know people mean well, but I didn't want people saying, shouldn't you be losing faster? And a littany of other reasons... But that's just me. Everyone is different and everyone is entitled to tell who they want, what they want. I just chose to walk this path alone other than a very few select people and this board. And I've been gone from here for weeks and weeks. I truly believe people do mean well (for the most part), but I have to agree with you, don't they think I've done my research? No, it's NOT the "easy way out," nothing about losing weight is "easy." I challenge anyone to do this and say it's simple or easy. Pffffthththt! People!

I live near Detroit (I know, I hang my head in sadness lately thanks to Kwame) and according to the store locator on the website, they are EVERYWHERE. I am NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT a rap/hip hop fan so the only exposure I have gotten to the song is a 41 yr old friend of mine (who has teenaged boys) singing it all the time at work. I'm sick of hearing "apple bottom jeans, boots with the furrrrr" !!!! So sick of it I think I'm going to buy some apple bottom jeans. Interesting how that works, isn't it? Gets under our skin, compels us to want the item, we buy it...

Ladies, sorry I haven't been around lately, I've been off the boards and out of touch totally for weeks. Life had been getting in the way of anything *I* want to do. And I haven't lost a pound in MONTHS and MONTHS. So I'm finally going to turn on this band, I go for my first fill in two days, hopefully my taking this step will get my head straight as well. Yes, you did read that right, my first fill. I've been banded almost 10 months now. And if I've been losing, I could see not getting filled, but I have obviously not been losing. I'm just a loser... I'm turning that around, doggone it! On a better note, BBK, you look AMAZING!!!!!!

Hello, you might want to head over to the Cosmetic Surgery forum, loads of info there. :regular_smile:

PG???? YOU'RE PG????? WOW!!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!! See what happens when I go away for weeks and weeks? People go and get thin and have babies! :regular_smile::thumbup::thumbup:

How was the ball? What did you wear? I'd love the details! I am still stagnant from AUGUST, up and down b/w 300 and 314. I get my first fill with Christy on Tuesday the 8th.

so call and terminate with your folks' insurance.

Lilo, I agree her butt is pretty doggone good :rolleyes2: But I have to respond to your comment saying she doesn't look swollen...I think she's quite swollen but perhaps because it is all so smooth it doesn't appear that way in the photos? If you saw her post earlier, she measured her waist pre and post-op and it was actually (I believe) **9 inches** bigger after the surgery than before. That's a lot of swelling. C, I remember reading Georgia's thread (puddin) and even three months out she still had swelling that kept her at a size 8 when she ended up a 6. Fear not, lambchop! You ARE swollen and it will be a bit before it's gone.

I'll concur about your butt looking really good! And I see what you mean about the redness though it appears that a lot of that is bruising to a degree. It will fade, and you already look wonderful!!! Glad to hear DH apologized, I think if I ever make it far enough to do a LBL/BL/BA/Lipo, etcetera. I just might do it in Mexico where you stay for a week or two post-op in one of their facilities because I'm certain I'd be plotting my DH's demise after a single day! Mine just doesn't have much patience sometimes, either. Yet of course if they have a paper cut we as women are expected to take care of them and the house and the kid(s) even if we had recently lost an arm or had pneumonia ourselves.

Nikki: the nesting kicks in, won't be long now! I understand completely what you mean about unfinished painting, though. It makes me crazy, so I'll finish it if I have to stay up 24hrs to do it! I have a project I bought paint for last night but never started it because I knew I wouldn't have had time. Once I start, I won't be able to stop. StephC: Congrats on being a grandmother! I love George, it's a great name! You wouldn't believe some of the names I see (I'm in Neonatology). Jayden, Jaiden (yep, for boys!) and Aidan or Aiden are really popular right now. We had one set of parents who were going to name thier son Aidan until they came into the unit and saw three other Aidans in their little 9 bed room alone (I think we had 5 in the 40 bed unit). So they named him Nicholas instead. I think Aidan/en and Nicholas are great names, too. We talk about names often and I have come to the conclusion many people name their baby, not thinking about the baby who grows into an adult and that name stays with her or him forever. They think about cutesy little names or names that "no one else has" or they feel the need to spell it different so it will be more "individual" (had a baby named Dillion but it was supposed to be pronounced like Dylan or Dillon, so we all kept saying it Dillion like Million and dad insisted to mom they change the spelling so people wouldn't keep pronoucing it wrong, he said "I told you it would be like that!"). I am pretty steadfast in my support for just about anything a parent tells me will be their name. After all, usually it's been given a lot of thought and as long as it means something special to them, I can understand. B-man: have a GREAT first day!!! Boo: I used to sew a LOT, I made wedding dresses or special occasion dresses for $$ while I was in college. I think I burned out on it. I have probably 30 cuts of fabric to make scrub tops and haven't made a single one. Some of the cuts I've had for six years... But what a great stress releaser sometimes! I used to love going to Value Village or Goodwill and getting the old patterns from the 50's and 60's and making REAL vintage clothes, try it sometime! Though if I recall, Vogue has rereleased quite a few of their vintage patterns in recent years so you can easily get some good ones. VaBand: Good luck on the interview!!! Jackie: Welcome! The group here has been so nice and welcoming to me, what an awesome suport system!

Best wishes for a smooth surgery and recovery, you will do GREAT! Take care!

You look WONDERFUL!!! What GREAT abs!!!!

LJM, please please keep doing some deep breathing exercises, and if they sent that machine thingy with you, USE IT! You are still at risk for pneumonia and since your pulse ox kept being a problem, you are at a bit higher of a risk. Stay on top of things. Glad to hear you are home. Another suggestion for getting things "moving" again is to get some Gerber baby prune apple juice, works GREAT and tastes quite good, too. Not at all like regular prune juice-ick!

Christine!!!! Look at you, walking and looking AWESOME for fresh post-op!!! Take care of yourself, do LOTS of those deep-breathing exercises and make SURE you use the incentive spirometer, k? very gentle hugs to you, take care lambchop! Oooooo lamb...meat.... mmmmmmmmm (I'm trying to low carb it, can you tell?)

Thanks for keeping us updated! I'm sooooo excited for Christine!!!

I've got some things I've saved in smaller sizes. Thankfully I did save some too-tight work clothes. The difference this time will be when I finally give in and buy new clothes, I will be dumping the older larger ones and not looking back.

I second Travelgirl's post above. I'm nervous and excited and happy and, and, and so many other things for you! You have been there for me and have been such an inspiration to me. I am so over the moon for you that this next step in your amazing journey is coming in about 14 hours!!!! WOOHOO!!!!

Rarely if ever do first fills give you any kind of restriction. Usually it's three or four or more before you hit that "sweet spot." I think you did very well with your amount of food consumed and sometimes for some people it's no longer a stuffed feeling, it's a loss of interest with eating, or it's a hiccup or their nose runs or they get a golf ball feeling, it's it sooo different for each of us what satisfied feels like. Read Wendell's post about fills and unfills in the FAQ forum, it's very informative.

That is insanity that they wouldn't let you split an entree! I understand if you were at a buffet, but at Olive Garden? Unless you wanted salad or Soup, too. Even then, they could charge you for the garden salad. What's a dadeetdadeet? Are you trying to do the Carlos Mencia dee dee dee? And $8.95 for a scoop of chicken salad? Nuts!!! But if you think about it...what's in thier chicken salad sandwich, an ice cream scoop of chicken salad, some lettuce and two slices of bread. We should all be in an uproar that two slices of bread and a piece of lettuce is soooo expensive! I won't use the restaurant card, either. I get a box to go or at a buffet, I just think of the added cost as my entertainment dollar for the evening. I also consider how many years I ate plate after plate after plate MORE than getting my $ worth at buffets, now it's payback. However, if I am at a place that doesn't have any band friendly food (that I didn't choose to go to, that is), I will ask what they can do for me like; in the case of Einstein's chicken salad. I don't want the bread, can't eat the bread, don't want the lettuce, either, can't you just sell me the chicken salad for say, $6? (Even that's a rip off, and that stuff is full of fat.)

For me consultation was in March, surgery in June, could have been May if I hadn't insisted on getting the AP Lapband after it's general release date. HOWEVER, and this is a BIGGIE, I knew EXACTLY what was required by my insurance company for approval, which was: 100lbs + over weight for five years, BMI greater than 40, or 35+ with TWO co morbidities (not a problem, I was greater than 50), and documented MONTHLY appointments with my MD and an attempt at weight loss supervised by an MD for ONE YEAR. A letter would not suffice, I had to have monthly visit notes with my MD detailing what all I was doing each month for loss (walking, stair climbing, joined gym, cut carbs, etc) AND a 5% loss of my EXCESS weight (above the MetLife insurance tables). I didn't lose the 5% due to a medical condition that crept up in the year of visits and was denied the first month I submitted. I was approved the next time around. I would advise you to talk with your insurance company and get in writing WHO they'll pay for you to be banded by (mine paid for three places, now they only pay for two and one of them has only done 6 bands!) and EXACTLY what is required so you can be working on it. Then yes, you MUST go to that info session. You get loads of valuable information there, for example I found out exactly what the surgeon required pre-op and took the couple of months I had between my info session and my consult to obtain it all. That way when I walked in the door for my consult, they had the entire package and were able to sumbit to insurance right away. Believe me, everyone here wants or wanted it ASAP. I can't imagine a single one of us who said, it's okay if it takes a year...I can wait. Some folks (WasABubbleButt for example) just went and did self-pay to get it done faster. If you can afford that, I'd suggest that route. That's what I'd have done if I had the $$. I'd have been on a plane to sunny Mexico to see Dr. Aceves, or Rumbaut or maybe Ortiz. GOOD LUCK!!!!

Many RN's and PA's and NP's do fills. I believe they do them under the auspices of an MD who is Inamed or J&J certified in the US. I don't know how anyone would go about the training and licensure or certification needed to successfully start doing fills without working under an MD's license. I'm sure there's a way, though. Are you asking for yourself? That is, are you asking if you can get trained and fill yourself? I would think that would be opening up a big can of worms. I'd be tempted to fill or unfill myself way more often than suggested by the manufacturer.

Sarah, vent away. Fingers crossed for you that it will turn out just fine. I cannot imagine how freaked I'd be, too. I haven't been filled yet and lately have been noticing more restriction and signals after about 1/2 cup of food that I'm full. It wasn't like that before but I'm ignoring it for now...until I start with the reflux and aspirating that is. Goodonya for getting an unfill until you can figure out what's really going on.

That is totally awesome and wonderful!!!!! Where are the photos?

I'd give your doc's office a call and describe to the nurse or PA or doc what's going on and ask what they think. Sometimes docs want you to wait it out as long as you can keep liquids down, sometimes they want you to come in and get unfilled a bit.

Here's the link to Wendell's post: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f13/how-lap-band-actually-works-fills-refills-41738/