jetti

good to hear you from you diane! glad everything went great!!!

congrats mandy!!!! good luck on your date chrispy sounds like fun!! you will do just fine diane - I say that now but I know next week I will be a nervous wreck!! I know there are only a few NJ folks here but I was wondering if any of you have used Dr Bertha and his team for there surgery?? I have read alot about them and I loved the entire office I was just looking for some first hand info

ok so I tried my Designer Whey protein powder today mixed in with a slim fast and I damn near vomitted!!! I got through maybe a quater of the drink and dumped the rest. it was nasty!! so I just ordered unflavored Unjury and I am hoping that this stuff really is unflavored!!! I want to be able to mix it will anything and not taste it - do you folks have any other protein mix suggestions??

GOOD LUCK Diane!!!

I have been there twice already but not since 2004. we will be staying at Bavaro Princess

thanks for the info Tonks!! I am being banded in NJ and I will be vacationing in Punta Cana in July. so long away but I already can't wait!!!

hi Tonks I was searching the forum for post about DR because I will be vacationing there in July and was wondering how often the procedure is done there and if alot of doctors have info on the surgery? I am being banded in the US but if something happens while I am on vacation I would like to be prepared for what I will come across with the doctors on the island. if you can provide any info that would be great thanks!!

Hi Tracy we are very similar in age -im 29 - height -5'8 -and weight - 277 as well as and ending goal - i would like to be around 180 and once i get there I will see if i still fell thats the wieght I would like to be. I chose banding because I felt the bypass was to drastic for me and I know I can lose the weight with a little help and I feel the band will give me the help that I need. Just go with whatever your heart is telling you. You are the only one that knows how you want to lose your weight so think about it and go with your gut feeling. good luck on your journey!!

whew!! I made it through the teeth pulling pretty well. I didnt have any pain all weekend - WOOHOO!!!! and of course I have been drinking the recommended pineapple juice! I did some shopping for my 2 week post op liquid diet and I hope I have everything I need. I tried to get all the stuff that was suggested by my doc's office. I also finally found some protein powder that I am going to try and I sure hope it is not all that nasty. I have tried GNC, walmart and vitamin world and they all had really bad selections so this afternoon I went over to vitamin shoppe and they have a million to choose from. so I got designer whey in natural flavor and one of the whey bullets just to try out this week and see if i can stomach them. they also had the Nectar stuff in a bunch of flavors and I was thinking of getting that but I am not sure how that tastes. i hope everyone had a great and productive weekend!!! oh and I found some REALLY cute luggage this weekend for a GREAT price. its red with white and red polka dots!! i am going to look like a clown on vacation but it is SO cute!!

YIKES Molly now I am really worried about the protein that I purchased. I dont have to follow a liquid pre diet - woohoo!! - but I will try the protein mix this week so that if it is nasty I can search for a new one. I was really tempted to buy the Nectar protein mix because it came in really great flavors that can be added to water for a nice juice but I am worried about wasting money I dont really have on all of these different powders. oh well I guess i will just have to suck it up and realize its for a good cause - my future!!!!

ok I am being banded on Nov 6th and I just come back from a journey to vitamin shoppe - I have been to GNC, vitamin world and walmart with no luck - and I bought a small container of designer whey in natural flavor and I am hoping that it doesnt have much of a taste so I can add it to my broth and water and all that yummy stuff I will be "eating" for the first 2 weeks. I also got one of those whey bullet things but from what I just read about them I am not sure I should drink that. I was also looking at the Nectar stuff and it looked good but I didnt want to go crazy all at once. to me they had a bigger selection at vitamin shoppe then at any other store that I have been in and the prices didnt seem all that bad.

patty thanks for the hint! its a little late to start a few days before I have the teeth pulled as they are coming out tmrw but I will definitely get some tonight so that I can drink it over the weekend as I recover!!

thanks for all the support!!! i have less then 2 weeks and i am already going crazy!! I dont have a pre op diet except for liquids that day before so I am SUPER excited about that!!! I had my pre op class last night and they gave us a diet handbook so I know the food or rather liquids I need to stock up on for the first few weeks but I will definitely look into mandy's shopping list for anything else I may need. It took less then a week for my approval and I was beyond shocked when I received the call!!! but anywho I am getting one step closer everyday to becoming a new me and I CANT WAIT. when I go on vacation in July those MEN are not going to know what hit them!!!!!! hahaha

katie the only thing I can suggest is starting the 6 months of doctor supervised diet now. I am not sure if the insurance actually requires it but I did it just to be on the safe side while I was still considering all of my options. good luck on your journey to skinny!!

woohoo I got my approval from BC/BS of NJ today. It took less then a week!! I thought I was going to be in for lots of back and forth but nope my dr office called and said all was approved I just have to call my insurance tmrw and veryify the number with them. :whoo:

many hugs to you kat!!!! you are in my prayers good luck on getting the job mandy!! sorry i am not very good at remembering what is going on with everyone. My "young" mind doesnt work very well!!! patty - i hope those fires are staying away from you! and i must say i feel like i am the only one NOT fighting for Jack - he does nothing for me you ladies can have him!!! I GOT MY APPROVAL TODAY!!!!! yikes less then 2 weeks to go and still so much running around to do. dont these people realize that some people have a job or in my case 2!?!?!? and i get the joy of having 2 wisdom teeth pulled on friday so that cuts my time to do some running around down by the entire weekend!!

why is it that I can order a kid's meal at any of the fast food chains but I get the feeling that once I am banded I will have a hard time ordering from the kid's menu at a sit down place???

patty I hope the fires stay away from you. I am acutally talking to a friend I have in So Cal right now and they are dealing with lots of smoke issues as well!!

180 WAS my weight in high school and if that is not a realistic weight for me then I am screwed

I have my goal set at 180 an while that may still be a high weight that is the lowest weight that I can remember being and in my mind that is the weight that I want to get back down to. I am sure once I hit the 180 mark - and I will make sure I hit that goal - that I will change my goal to something lower but I wanted a number that would allow me to know what I would look and feel like. I am not sure what my doctor will give me as a goal but maybe I will pick something in the middle once he does

I have one of a pink daisy and heart on my ankle and I am dying to get another of the Japanese symbol for love on my foot but I know that one is going to HURT!!!!

ohhh this is one of my biggest peeves!!!! I must say that I am not afraid to tail said slow driver until they move and I am not afraid to use my horn. why else would they put it in the car??? I cant figure out what is worse - being a Jersey driver driving in NJ or driving outside of the state???

I was in my local GNC vitamin store the other day and saw lots of protein drink and shakes also some little bullet things. but how do i know that this is the right kind of protein for a banded person. is there something I should be looking for? I am not banded yet but I am nervous that I will mess something up!

brandy you can go down a back size but you would still be a D cup. next time you are in the store try on 44D it will possibly fit the same as the 46C

hi mary I am not to far from you in NJ. I work in Fairfield so we are very close by!! congrats on your 40.5 lbs!!!!!!!! who did your surgery if you dont mind me asking? from what I understand PB is a nice way of saying throwing up - I could be wrong and I am sure the others will chime in to better explain it. I am not banded yet so I am not 100% on the meanings of everything.