wendy645

Yup, that's how I've taken to doing it! Thank you, at least I know it's not just me!

Thank you all SO much for your replies! You're all so very inspiring... I'm fighting back some tears, heh. I want to be part of the second group. I rather like exercise now, but like has been mentioned, being so overweight makes it very hard. As it stands, I'm on Ibuprofin 800 mg just so I can walk further than my standard to-the-copier-and-back office walking. I have learned the hard way that if I don't take at least 800 mgs an hour before walking, my lower back seizes up and I can barely make it home. I plan to have a party when I can toss those babies in the trash bin, though! I know that being an NSAID, I should be careful with Ibu when I get my band. I just typed "if" and deleted it in place of "when"... heh. Now, I'm one of those in the middle group liste, I work out when I remember, when it's convenient, which equals NOT OFTEN. When I do I love it and go balls to the wall, though. I really feel I will be one of those ugly ducklings when it comes to exercise. I have had so many dreams of being thin enough to run without my fat rubbing together and causing pain or a rash, the freedom it allows mw to just GO. Emotionally, I'm ready to be able to exercise without pain, it's just waiting for my body to catch up Oh, and Ariel, best of luck!!

People IRL would be surprised that I'm taking the steps to get the band! 3 people know and I like it that way. Lessee... I am in lust with Orlando Bloom. I've had 3 eating disorders in the last 17 years. I like to chill out with my closest friends (we're all CSI junkies) and talk about murder and how to do it so you'd get away with it. While I HATE coffee, and everyone knows it, my favorite ice cream is coffee. I don't like diamonds.

Yeah, I figure on Christmas because I know I can't wait that long! LOL I'm excited to give this to him, so I'll be doing it on Christmas. It'll be the first time in several years there will be a gift on Christmas, usually we choose to enjoy our time together and try to save some money for something for the two of us. I will gladly break the rules though because I think he'll love this. It's cute, his best friend is so excited! And he's not alone, that's for sure!

I, too, am on Ibu 800's, but I won't need them for long after my surgery (praying I get it) because I'm taking them to be able to walk to lose weight. My lower back seizes up if I don't take one an hour before going for a walk. No spontaneous walks for me

Thanks you guys!! NYTrink, a patient intake form is a packet about... er... 20 pages long? It asks you about your medical history, things like if you have support at home, how ling you've been obese, if you are happy with your job, what medications you're on, etc, basically a getting-to-know-all-about-you form. I think that some of it may go toward the psyche eval. Not sure. I planned it. I'm telling them I was seeing a doctor for GERD and a hiatal hernia and we were testing the waters to see if I needed surgery and if so, we were going to play the insurance company's game. And then, when the weight comes off, I'm eating less, watching what I DO eat, and exercising more. Completely true! I just pray my ins. won't be jerks about it and just flat-out deny deny deny!

Thank goodness you asked this, because it's been on my mind!!!

I'm currently pre-band 285 and wearing tight 26's, but it's the biggest pair of jeans I can get in my town, and I refuse to go to elastic ''slacks''. I have 46DDD's but somehow fit into anywhere between 22-28 tops. It, of course, depends on the stretch. I feel kinda disproportionate or something because I haven't worn a size 14 at 5'7" since 170 lbs! I was in 18's between 190 and 220, depending on the stretch. I refused to even TOUCH a pair of 20's (really, I was crazy about not going near the hangers, even, as if it was contagious or something LOL) but I bought a pair of 21's at 228. From there it's all gone... uphill? Wore 22's around 240, 24's around 260, and 26's now at 285. I've noticed, though, that I can't always count on the numbers being the same because my body changes shape every time I yo-yo! I dunno, I just pray pray pray I can get back to the same shape I was when I was a 14, I was curvy in all the right places and would kill to be that size and shape again. :cry2: I was freaking TINY! I wore 36D bras then... hmm... how has weight loss affected your bra size, ladies? I'll be sooooooo sad if I go below a FULL C! I gotta admit, I love my boobies.

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Whenever I edit a post, what I see is literally a smilie between every single letter, space, period, comma, etc. It's a sea of smilies! It's all the same one, but I can't remember which one. Why is this? It makes it hard to read so I've stopped editing posts! If they have typos, oh well! (This is very hard for me, being a spelling and grammar freak with fingers too fast for my brani!)

I had 165 on my license which was a lie even then, by 20 lbs. Then I had to get it re-issued when I turned 21 and only put 185. By then that was a 60 lb lie! Now at 285... yeah... I hope to be able to revert to my 16 yr old DL weight and not lie!

I use fitday.com, but if you do, be prepared to enter the nut.value of a lot of foods. It has some obscure stuff but not basics. Other than that I enjoy using it, and have since 2001. (it was a trip to go back and see my weight and diet and journals from 2001!)

Wow thanks for the replies everyone! I should have posted an introduction sooner! You're all so sweet, thank you for the welcomes and encouragement!

I've heard wonderful things about Mexico. I know, it sounds kinda seedy at first, but it's about half the cost and includes everything. Worth looking into, if nothing else! Good luck and keep us informed Oh, another thing you can do too is appeal until you're blue in the face and visit obesitylaw.com there's some program where the lapband makers pay for someone to push the appeal, and it's free to you! Also worth looking into

Yay! I'm so happy for you! And you're clever, I really enjoy reading your posts, by the way. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I kinda post-stalk you

Hi Gwen! Welcome to LBT and congrats on the banding! It must be cool to have your hubby do it with you, and the fact that you're spaced out some will help each of you take care of the other

Hi! My name is Wendy, I'm 24 and as of today, my BMI is 45.1. It makes me cringe to type that. But that's why I'm here! I've been lurking for a loooooooong time, finally registered in April, been hanging back and doing research and finally decided, after years of weighing my options, that Banding is right for me. I took a deep breath this morning, picked up the phone, and called a doctor who comes highly recommended in my tiny town for being a WLS consult. I went to the doc and she was impressed with me. I brought along a printout of the spreadsheet I'd created listing my attempts to lose weight since 1993. I was 10 years old :cry I listed when, what, how long, how much it cost, and what the results were. Yeah, it took some remembering, but I'm kinda OCD about it, and numbers stick in my head like crazy. I also brought along a copy of my filled-out patient intake report for the surgery center I figure on using (I called them, even they were like... you're getting ready to go to your first appointment with your PCP and want the packet??) I plan on going to the next info session put on my said facility next week. It's an almost 3 hour drive but better than the 5-6 hour drive I took last time to go to a session on WLS! Besides, I could use a trip out of town! We talked about what changes to expect in lifestyle and eating habits her patients have had to made, and what success she's had with approvals before. She's going to tackle my insurance company's policy and fight for me. She set me up with a referral to the nutritionist (who I've heard is a real bimbo) and I'm to check back with her in a month as part of our "doctor suprevised WL plan". She told me to start walking as exercise. She made me giggle when she said, "Start with 3 minutes, OK?" because I usually tackle a couple miles at a time when I go walking but I'll do what she says (well, I'll log what she says, and do what I want, which'll be at least a mile) because she knows her stuff and what ins. co's want. She gave me a Rx for Ibuprofin 800mg to take before I go walking, because I know from experience if I don't take one an hour before walking, my back seizes up and I can't make it home. I cried in her office a few times, which annoys me because I hate crying but this is something very emotional, so I forgave myself for it... that's big for me. I feel so relieved that I'm taking the first steps on this long journey, and that the 3 people I've told (only ones I'm going to tell) support me completely! :whoo: <-- and I finally get to use this guy!! Now I just need to figure out what my story's going to be to everyone around me. I'm thinking something with a hiatal hernia, which I have, but I'm not sure what, exactly. I don't want to lie, just be creative with the truth. Maybe... "Oh, I'm seeing a doctor for stomach problems, and need surgery to fix my hiatal hernia. There's a problem with my stomach's absorbtion levels." Yeah... it absorbs too much!! And I did see the doc for stomach issues, I may be getting another visit from my friendly Mr. Ulcer. Plus she said, if possible, we can ask the surgeon if he can fix the hernia while he's in there, which is not uncommon around LBT. My boyfriend supports me 100%; his only concern is how much everything's going to cost. But we'll figure that out. First step taken. And I'm on cloud 9! :bounce: I got to thinking about why I want to do this. I'm sure I just need to search to find a thread or six about this, but for the record, health is my number one reason. But coming in a very, very, VERY close second is emotional. I'm tired of being the biggest in a room. I'm tired of feeling like I'm constantly being judged by those around me. I have very weak ankles and a few times they've been sprained but I needed to go grocery shopping, so I'd use one of the store-provided wheelie carts. The whole time I feel like people are looking at me like, "Look, she's so fat she can't even walk!" :phanvan I'm doing this for myself, even though I have issues that I need to work past with eating disorders and secret wishes of showing up thin and making everyone wonder. See? I warned you in the title I'm long-winded! If you made it this far you get a calorie-free inviso-cookie! :hungry:

Welcome to LBT! I'd like to say first off congratulations for taking the first step toward a healthier you! You'll not only be around longer, but have a higher quality of life, which will be important to watch that angel of yours grow up! You'll find a plethora of information here to help you make the choice and along the way. I'm new to it, too, and just got back from my first doc's appointment to talk about it, so we're in the same boat! PM me if you ever want to, OK?

Update! I went to the doc and she was impressed with me. I brought along a printout of the spreadsheet I'd created listing my attempts to lose weight since 1993. I was 10 years old :cry I listed when, what, how long, how much it cost, and what the results were. I also brought along a copy of my filled-out patient intake report for the surgery center I figure on using (I called them, even they were like... you're getting ready to go to your first appointment with your PCP and want the packet??) I plan on going to the next info session put on my said facility next week. It's an almost 3 hour drive but better than the 5-6 hour drive I took last time to go to a session on WLS! We talked about what changes to expect in lifestyle and eating habits her patients have had to made, and what success she's had with approvals before. She's going to tackle my insurance company's policy and fight for me. She set me up with a referral to the nutritionist (who I've heard is a real bimbo) and I'm to check back with her in a month as part of our "doctor suprevised WL plan". She told me to start walking as exercise. She made me giggle when she said, "Start with 3 minutes, OK?" because I usually tackle a couple miles at a time when I go walking but I'll do what she says (well, I'll log what she says, and do what I want, which'll be at least a mile) because she knows her stuff and what ins. co's want. I cried in her office a few times, which annoys me because I hate crying but this is something very emotional, so I forgave myself for it... that's big for me. She gave me a Rx for Ibuprofin 800mg to take before I go walking, because I know from experience if I don't take one an hour before walking, my back seizes up and I can't make it home. I feel so relieved that I'm taking the first steps on this long journey, and that the 3 people I've told (only one's I'm going to tell) support me completely! :whoo: <-- and I finally get to use this guy!! Now I just need to figure out what my story's going to be to everyone around me. I'm thinking something with a hiatal hernia, which I have, but I'm not sure what, exactly. I don't want to lie, just be creative with the truth. Maybe... "Oh, I'm seeing a doctor for stomach problems, and need surgery to fix my hiatal hernia. There's a problem with my stomach's absorbtion levels." Yeah... it absorbs too much!! And I did see the doc for stomach issues, I may be getting another visit from my friendly Mr. Ulcer. Plus she said, if possible, we can ask the surgeon if he can fix the hernia while he's in there, which is not uncommon around LBT. My boyfriend supports me 100%; his only concern is how much everything's going to cost. But we'll figure that out. First step taken. And I'm on cloud 9! :bounce:

very helpful post, thank you Kat!!

Bump! I go in in 2 hours!

Awww you ladies are going to give me a big head! :tea:

Oh wow, thank you! :tea: I didn't realize there were 5 pages to this thread until I hit Post Reply and saw I was at the top of page 5! I haven't seen much from the OP, I wonder how she's doing?

Wow, alysedg23, you're coming off pretty negatively to the others on this thread :tea: It's valuable to people like me who are in the research phase to see all the sides of the possible effects of the band, but you're coming off kind of snippy. I do agree that it seems like your post is fashioned in a "this is how it is and always will be for everyone" feeling. I'm sure you didn't intend that, it's just the way it came off. I also agree that criticizing anyone on this board's weight loss is cruel and crass and since you're here in this supportive environment, maybe you could try to be more supportive? It sucks that you're having such negative side effects from the band, it really does. I sincerely hope my experience in different. It is important for me and others like me to read this, though, to have an idea of possibilities. But this also means that all the success stories and tales of a short recovery period could also it into this variable "take it into consideration" view. Is there something else bothering you that you'd like to talk to us about? I've found so much support here, even when my issues didn't relate to the band at all. We're a bunch of good listeners, promise

I was wondering about all of that, too! Like, I don't want to be dishonest, but I want toput what they want to hear! I'm very good with words, I'm sure I could find a way to make dang near anything they want apply to me, short of having male gentalia or a 2nd head. :tea: