kacee

Not sure about problems during the "installation", but I think if you have problems down the road and have to have something done that will count on your insurance as a "medical necessity" abd be covered probably. That's a guess on my part, though. I am self pay too, so am looking at the same thing.

"I can only eat one thing at a time. I eat counterclockwise." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! You and my first boyfriend!

"The band may be the solution you need.....it is very helpful for people who are volume eaters (whereas the RNY is better for people who are sugar addicts)." Yep....the more I researched, the more the band seemed perfect for me. I am TOTALLY not a sweets eater....NOR do I like Pasta at all. I think that gives me a head start. My downfall is not so much specific foods...it's just the AMOUNT.

"I sometimes overeat - and then I'm punished by the food backing up into my esophagus - that certainly will keep you from doing it again for a long time!! It is an excellent way to 'reprogram' what your mind and body want to do next time you sit down at the table." Yep, that's what I am looking for. I learn pretty quickly when I get a "zap" for doing the wrong thing. Also, for the "quantity problem"....I know when I cook I will still have that....so I went out and bought a FoodSaver so I can vacuum package all my leftovers. <!-- google_ad_section_end -->

No, I am ready. When my feet are to the fire I can do amazing things. The band will help to reinforce me, but I will be successful. I have baby plates and baby silverware. I may come to the point where I pack my big dishes all away!

Michelle - Yes, I was raised here. Maybe we don't know each other. I could be just having a combination deja vu and senior moment. I don't know where Magnolia is...

Your mother is most DEFINITELY jealous. This is not about you at all. This is an insecurity on her part. Ever heard of Misery Loves Company??? You have been your Mom's company in obesity. She is losing that and she is PISSED because there is nothing more aggravating than losing your "partners in crime" and being left in the proverbial dust while everyone else is proactive in their own lives. You have NOTHING to explain or justify to her, or anyone else for that matter. You can simply say that she is welcome to have her own beliefs on this but you are doing what YOU feel is in YOUR best interest and is right for YOU. AND you need all the support and encouragement you can get right now and in the future and you intend to surround yourself with those people a with positive outlook and you hope SHE can be one of them. But if she can't then she will have to understand why you may keep your distance for a time.

Michelle, I'm not sure, but I THINK I may know you. Where in Houston are you? I am also in Houston (Clear Lake area). Dang, your name is SOOOOOOOOOOO familiar!

I was trying to explain to my mother the other night my psychology of eating and how I think about food. I told her that the FIRST thing I think to myself when I get a plate of food is "Oh God, is this going to be enough or should I order something else too?" And that is no matter HOW much is on the plate....I feel the need when serving myself at home to both cook large amounts (just for me) and put HUGE portions of food on the plate (enough for a very LARGE grown man to eat) and no matter how much I put on my plate, I still wonder if I should put on MORE. She was dumbfounded. She said she had been thinking about that for days and how alien it was to her.. I told her that in addition to this feeling, I also have a HUGE aversion to leaving ANYTHING on my plate. It really causes me extreme angst when I cannot finish a meal and I will do it even if it HURTS. That amazed her too. Especially since she wasn't one of those Moms who said "clean your plate!" when we were growing up. Isn't that weird!

Gotta say, never been to Vegas myself, and it IS pretty cheap for the most part.

Are you concerned about your "protein" for the first 48 hours? I'm packing to go to my Mom's for the first two days and I am not sure what all to bring in the way of sustenance.....do I need to bring a protein bullet to mix with crystal light or anything or do you just do water and broth and stuff like that? Just trying to get my ducks in a row here.

Forgive my ranting......I guess I get carried away about this...

<p><p><p>You might consider giving your friends and family the chance to be supportive and excited about your upcoming situation. Most people will be incredibly supportive and, yes, inquisitive. EDUCATE them! It's not like you are having a tapeworm installed! People ask because they are interested and fascinated. I was interested and fascinated. I asked deep, probing and, to many people, totally "inappropriate" questions of those who would open up to me. I learned a LOT. They put it all out there. And guess what. HERE I am getting banded on Tuesday and hoping to climb back into the race of life for the first time in 25 years, and by GOLLY I thank the good Lord every day for those people!!! Folks, we don't have to be and SHOULD NOT BE ashamed of this! (And I am sorry, but I DO believe that MANY people who choose to hide the information are doing so out of fear of rejection or someone making a "bad judgment" against them, whether they admit it or NOT.) People have been calling us DISGUSTING FATTIES behind our backs for years. What are they gonna call you now that could be so bad? "There goes that guy/girl who had "that operation" and was a disgusting fatty and low looks....uh......normal."

<p>I hear ya!!!! It's been about 12 years for me since I stepped into onederland and let me tell you I am looking forward to it! One of my big goals is getting back down below 190 because that's when my stomach fell out of my pants (I literally remember the day and hour it did that...getting in the car to drive somewhere and all of a sudden I felt this "plop" and looked down and felt and suddenly my stomach had a DOUBLE CHIN!!!) ARRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHH</p>

I think this poll is confusing. If you mean diet pills and appetite suppressors I'd say that they are not a good thing. With the band or bypass you are effectively doing THE most radical eating-changing thing to yourself....why on EARTH would you compound that with diet pills and suppressors....not to mention the fact that those things aren't good for you in the first place....and in the state our bodies are in now I would think our hold on balancing the checmicals in our bodies is tenuous As for supplements, heck YEAH. We HAVE to take supplements (i.e. vitamins) because with the small intake our bodies are getting we need those added vitamins and minerals to maintain normalcy. But....each to their own.

Also.... this is not the kind of topic you bring up in casual conversation. When you tell people what you've done, they are FASCINATED, ask questions, want to know more, and MANY times are, or have friends or loved ones who are, considering the procedure themselves!!! It's an educational thing.

My concern about NOT telling people...if you have been a certain way for a LONG time and suddenly you start loosing dramatically, the first thing I would think of is that you were SICK, if there was no comment made about it. That can really freak out your friends and family. I also look at TELLING people like this....it helps hold MY feet to the fire! If you don't tell, and you fail, you get off scott free. If you tell and you fail, you're gonna feel REALLY bad....a little added incentive to get on the stick and follow through!!!

I know the feeling. I KNEW my insurance would deny me and I'd be a self-pay and I was okay with that, but I HAD to go through the motions and get that denial first. It seemed like it took them forever and they were still waffling until I held their feet to the fire and asked em point blank if there was any snowball's chance they would authorize it because I didn't have the doctor sponsored program and they said no way, and I said That's all I wanted to KNOW! It would have been so easy if someone had said that early on..... Good luck and hang in there!

Applesauce would be my first guess. I'm not looking forward to smashing all the blood pressure/cholesterol pills I have to take. Yuck.

I got a subscription to WLS Lifestyles. Looks like an interesting publication. You might check it out on line. I'm all for any supportive publication geared to the WLS group that may give some insights, interesting articles, recipes, and anything else to support the journey!

I may try this "Coromega" stuff. It is comes in little packets and is orange flavored. I googled for "bariatric fish oil".

How do you folks take fish oil after being banded? I have been taking some vitamins called Encora which have HUGE fish oil capsules. I want to take the Omega oils, but how do you find something small enough to swallow? Has anyone tried Coromega?

SC-Cindy! Welcome to the 23 Club! I'm right there with ya! Also self-pay. Really starting to get the feeling that the days are counting down now!

Anyone live in Grinnell? My Mom was raised there. She was raised on Main Street (the house is still there an a former college professor lives there now). I was there last summer for her High School Reunion....the 64th!!!

I will be staying at my Mom's the first night but I WANT to drive home (about 45 minutes - freeway) the next day. My Mom is 83 and I don't want her feeling like she has to try to care for me, and I am more comfy in my own home anyway. Could you guys drive the day after (or would you have been ABLE to)? I'd either go the day after or two days after and I am worried because the 3rd day always seems to be the worst. I'd rather just do it and be done....