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Yes, a warm welcome to you! You have made the right decision--the first step should ALWAYS be to attend a local seminar where you can have all your questions answered! These seminars are very professional and show you every aspect of what your life will be. You have special concerns and you should make them aware at the seminar. Good luck to you...

Took me a few weeks to figure it out! (I even emailed this website about it and got no response!) I'm a trainer at a Bank and I know step-by-step is by far the easiest way to learn / do! :ranger:

Recovery time (feeling 85-90%) was at two weeks and one day (15 days) post op. At 5 weeks and one day, I literally FORGOT I had had surgery!

Novbeginning, go to the website, Trying To Conceive Ticker and create a pin number for yourself (remember it) and then continue on creating your ticker. When you are finished, at the bb: box (the top one) at the end, highlight all the contents, right click and click "Copy". Then come into this website and log in. Click on UserCP in the Menu Bar, then "Edit Signature" on the left. Then click in the big white box, then right click and click on "Paste". You should see your ticker appear. Go down to the bottom of the page and click on Save Changes. When you want to change it, just go into UserCP, Edit Signature, and double click on your ticker at the top of the page. It will take you to the tickerfactory website, where you can log in (with your remembered pin number!) and make your changes. Once finished, when you return to this site, your ticker will automatically be changed. Technology is fantastic!

I began in March and my surgeon was one of the lecturers at the seminar I attended so I knew what he looked like. But I never saw him again until about two weeks before my surgery, at the end of September. I communicated with his Bariatric Center--but I found that he was extremely thorough in that pre-op office visit. He took his time and answered every question I had (but reading these threads sure helped know what to ask!). I DID have my first post-op appointment at six days, but then again, I had staples which he removed. I understand a lot of doctors use steri-strips which are less labor-intense. So I guess my question to you, Kimmi, would be: how efficient do you feel his staff is? Did they answer all your questions and seem fully knowledgeable? I think the surgeons are so busy, their staffs are the ones who really "shore" up the offices. In the end you have to make this decision... (and my date was moved from 10/17 back to 10/09--with my permission, of course).

Well TXbandit, I'm totally with you! I have belonged to Curves for five years this coming Valentines Day and I absolutely LOVE it! Our Curves has become, besides being exercise, a form of socialization. You get to know everyone and it's just nice to go "where everyone knows your name"! I DID also join the YMCA this past January--for the machines and free weights there--to provide exercise for other/different muscle groups and a little harder/heavyweight workout. So I workout two days a week at Curves and two days a week at the YMCA. Would I give up either one of them? NEVER!!! :bounce:

OhJuli could be hitting on something--there COULD be something else that's also causing the upset. The holidays are here and my main focus was always food--from Thanksgiving on through New Years. What kind of yummy food can I make/have/take somewhere?!!! Now that yummy food is off limits and not just temporarily (we're not just on a "diet" anymore)--it's forever. At Thanksgiving, I put smidgens of everything on my plate, but I KNEW I could only eat very little--perhaps it was just the idea that it was on my plate. :hungry: I found myself in the grocery store today looking at the carbs and calories of Hostess cupcakes (which I used to have almost every evening) and I was just appalled at the amount of carbs and calories I was having in a snack!! (Told my husband--I could have 1/2 for Breakfast, 1/2 for lunch, 1/2 for dinner, and 1/2 for a snack ) 800 calories can 'buy' us a lot of good food--but it sure as heck can't buy us much of the sugar-rich fatty foods we've had before. But life is going to be so much better for us, shelli--so it's a trade off we've made and it's a better one. I suggest you do what I've done--I've sent my Christmas cards, decorated inside and out, and I've wrapped all the gifts I've bought. Or go to the gym and work off your sadness, girlfriend--it's great for you!

Best wishes to you, HeavyHeartland, for tomorrow!!

I had a BMI of 41 when I began in March. (5'0 tall / 213#) and my insurance company required six visits to a nutritionist--I too was concerned. I ended up losing 6# before my surgery date, bringing my BMI down below 39 and had no issues whatsoever getting approval. Although it seems like a lot of red tape and hoops, please use this time to read everything you can about what your new life will be like--on these threads and any other sites you can find. By the end of the seven month it took, I was totally ready to give my life over to the Band and its rules. So read, read, read... Best of luck to you... :girl_hug:

Chase, I went for my first fill on November 16 but when the surgeon asked if I'd been hungry, looking for food, I really didn't think so. So my first fill was 1/2 cc. My second was scheduled for December 28, but I've already changed it back to December 21st. I too gained a pound (1.4 # to be exact!) over Thanksgiving and I NEED that restriction over the Christmas holiday! I too find that I am more hungry but limit my intake--I often wonder if it's just "head hunger" or real stomach hunger! I just try to drink more in between meals. Good to find someone banded around my time with the same issues...:girl_hug:

I know where you are coming from! I did well pre-op and even for five weeks afterwards but have come to a virtual standstill! I was taking Aleve, went to an NSAID, and finally had to have a steroid injection in one knee in August before surgery. Now I don't take any meds and both knees and my hands are stiff and sore. I DID go back to Curves last week and this week went back to the YMCA twice--that's always been good for me--exercise. Good luck to you--it'll come off--it'll just take us a little longer...:girl_hug:

When I returned to work at almost three weeks, my surgeon said I still could not lift more than 10# for two more weeks! We are not permitted to return to working out for 4 - 6 weeks, so please do not even THINK you are going to be able to help. And when the day comes, you may feel okay, but believe me, you will not do yourself any favors by lifting or stretching. This is a lifetime change and you certainly don't want to harm your body. (It's been said in these threads that even when the stitches are looking and feeling healed, your abdominal muscles are way behind and still have a long way to go.) Your friends should understand--but I would also try to recruit more people to help you move, just in case...

Well, Summer, it's probably best if you call your Bariatric Center and ask them if you should go in. I still have port pain at times when I get up or just sitting at my desk at work (port is on my lower right hand side). Even my waistband will sometimes irritate it. When I asked my surgeon, he said it may be on a muscle, so I don't worry--but I would worry if it was inflamed and hot to the touch, so go now to the phone! :cry

SueSue, I just go to UserCP, Edit Signature and then double click on the ticker at the top of the section. It will take you immediately to the Ticker Factory, where you can log in and change your info. Once it says it's been changed, when you come back into this site, you'll find your ticker's been updated!! Ain't technology swell?!!!!:ranger:

I kept trying until I could sleep on my sides without too much trouble--but I did have staples. After they were removed at one week, it just got easier and easier. I would say that it really took a month to be perfectly okay with sleeping on my stomach as well. After a while, you won't even remember it much!! We just enjoy our new tool... :girl_hug:

When I think about what I was like before, I can't believe I lived like that for forty+ years! You are SO right about the energy level and just the feeling of self-worth we get from knowing we're on the permanent right track! When people ask in these threads whether it is really worth it (the Band and all of its rules), I cannot think of another thing in my life that has been this worthwhile!!! Thank you, God, for giving us this magnificent tool!!! :bounce:

Sounds like you had a great first office visit--congratulations!! I'm disappointed you can't do circuit training for a few more weeks--I was able to go back to Curves at four weeks, but I waited until this week (seven weeks post op) before I went back to the YMCA on the machines / free weights. It really makes you feel terrific and alive!!! I only got 1/2 cc when I went for my first fill (don't know what size band I have)--and I told him I really hadn't been hungry. My next appointment wasn't scheduled until Dec 28th but I moved it back to the 21st--I WANT that restriction before Christmas!!! Keep up the stupendous work!! :bounce:

Here is what I propose to everyone: the whey Protein isolate powder is pure and mixes instantly with liquid. Now be sure NOT to get the whey protein concentrate powder, as it uses lactose as a filler and does not blend easily in liquid. I purchase mine from Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, books, DVDs & more , where you can find many sizes and flavors--just be sure to look for the "Free Shipping" availability on some of them. Another website with the WPI (whey protein isolate) is Welcome to the unjury Homepage which also has unflavored and chicken broth flavored isolate (which doesn't taste too bad), as well as the chocolate and vanilla. They also sell in individual packets, so you can try some before you get a large container. I am proud of you, looking into this most important aspect of our futures!! The side effects from too little protein is not worth not making the effort to keep our bodies healthy. :bounce:

Hey that's even better! (Mine was moved up 8 days--what a relief!!) You KNOW why you got the earlier slot, right? Others bugged out for Christmas--so it's to your advantage! Great!

I was so nervous the week before my surgery I was ready to jump out of my skin! Especially when it was a surgery I opted for! I got in the surgical waiting room and though I was joking with the other three women in there with me, all the time I'm thinking "Hurry up, hurry up!!" Time will fly by though and you will not remember a whole lot of details, trust me!! The best of luck to you...

Congratulations to you! If you're going to be down, winter's a great time to do it!!! Good luck on your travels...

Touche, Julie! First words at the office lunch table today were asking if I'd seen the show--because before the Band, they were all so "all you need is to find the right diet!" (Because I already workout four days a week) Sorry, hate to be a cynic, but everyone is right--it gives false hope to those of us that have tried, and tried, and tried! Okay, so let's just say they really DID lose that weight by themselves through diet and exercise--let's have a look at them a year from now--we all know the yo yo syndrome!! Sorry, I am NOT buying into this package...

Four ounces is 1/2 a cup, which is about where we should be for an entire meal (between 1/4 cup and 3/4 cup). You should have your Protein first and then the rest of veggies or whatever. I can only do 1/4 cup oatmeal for Breakfast, 1/4 cup tuna for lunch, and then maybe 1/2 - 3/4 cup for dinner. I've had one fill and am headed for my second one on the 21st. Good luck to you...

I too think you should have been a writer--what a hoot!! BUT I must tell you that we ALL went through it (maybe not the same time as the monthly though, m'dear!) and came out unscathed. You and your diet coke must part the ways with no ifs ands or buts. Carbonation bad; flat drinks good. As was said, please hang tough... PS I was lucky enough to have my 18 day preop diet cut by 8 days when an opening came up--keep your fingers crossed!!!

Donna, first go to the Home page and decide which category your question fits into (Preop/Postop or General or Support) and click into that category. Then at the top left you will see a button for "New Thread" and that's all there is to it!