Suzzzie.

I think I'm at about 55 lost right now. (I only update my ticker once I weigh in at the doc office.) I guess its good... but of course nothing is fast enough. I really really wanted to wake up from anesthesia weighing about 200 pounds less than I did when I walked into the OR. Lol. Wouldn't that be nice!? I'm hoping to be another 45-50 pounds less when Spring (Bike Season for me) arrives!

I was thinking that where you said you'd seen the charge on your card, then it went away - I looked online at my card and haven't seen the charge yet. It's so weird! I want to pay it off but the charge just isn't there! YOu think we'll get so lucky as to not get billed? Lol!! Let us know what you find out about it!

My friendship of 16 years (we've been as close as sisters since we were 14 years old!) is changing and I HATE it! She still weighs less than me, but we now weight the same. I'm several inches taller, it makes a difference. When I first told her I was wanting surgery she was all for it. Then as the date got closer she seemed like she was interested in getting surgery too... then discovered that her insurence won't cover it. That is when she became a bit bitter about it. She started making comments about how she was just going to exercise and eat healthy "...you know, I'm oing to do it the actual hard and healthy way." I about spit a nail at her! It hasn't gotten better as I"ve lost. ANd she is now having thyroid issues and is haing it removed in a few days. She says to me "So thats why I'm so fat! I have a bad thyroid! Once it's gone I'll be skinnier than you!" (Mind you, I'm a size 26/28! - not that hard to be skinnier than that!) ANd she will call all of our other friends and go out to dinner and stuff... she never calls me! We used to eat dinner out about once a week! WHen I ask her why she doesn't want to eat with me she says "Oh I don't want you to feel bad that you can't eat anything." WTH? More like she doesn't want to feel bad that I eat LESS than her! It makes me so angry and so sad. We've been friends for over half of our lives and I never imangined that we'd not be friends someday... but she is totally pulling away from me. I try to talk to her about it and she says that she just has alot going on (with her thyroid) and that once she is feeling better things will balance out. I"m not sure how... I know she is counting on the whole thyroid thing to 'balance' out her weight. OK. Have I ranted about this long enough yet!?!?!?!

Hey Joyce, Just found this thread and thought I'd pipe in! I didn't read through every post... I'm lazy like that! I have been overweight since I was 6. I hit 200 pounds when I was about 11 or 12. I was 280 pounds and a size 24 my senior year of high school. This past May I turned 30 and weighed in at 382... I was more scared than ever that I would hit the 400 pound mark and suddenly be homebound and die. I didn't want the fire department to have to cut the side of my house off to get me out in an emergency... I had no health problems though, and that was a blessing considering heart disease, high cholesterol, and diabetes runs on both sides of my family. I started researching WLS when I was about 23 and weighed 350. I think that was right around the time that Carney Wilson had her bypass... and I totally wanted it! But I didn't have insurence. (Luckily!) THe more I learned about the band and saw the re-gain rate for bypass patients I was gald I couldn't do it. I discovered Lap-Band a few years ago. But my insurence didn't cover it. Jan 2007 Lap Band was fully covered (Federal BCBS)... no exclusions, no silly hoops to jump through. The day I decided for sure that I was going to do this I had been shopping and was forced to buy a size 32 pants!! I cried all the way home and called a good friend of mine and told her I had to do something. The next day I went to her house and we looked online at a few local websites and I did the 'online seminar' and got a call from the center the next day. It only took 56 days from the day I decided to do it to the day I was banded. I've never looked back, not even for a second! NOW... you mentioned convincing your daughters father... Lol. Of course, mind you, I'm 30 years old and have lived on my own since I was 18, but my father still doesn't know. Actually not one single family member knows! A few have noticed my weightloss (about 55 pounds right now) but I just tell them that I'm eating healthier - have cut out fast food, bread, and soda.. which is all true! All I know is that the lap band has totally changed my life! I'm more active, I go to the gym 3-4 days a week spending 1-2 hours easily. I have more energy, feel better about myself... I WISH this procedure was available when I was 16. I wish I could have had this when I Was only 300 pounds... I say that if your daughter fully understands what all the band involves and you believe she is mature enough to handle the TOTAL life change (just just physical appearance, but exercise and all new eating habits) I think you should go for it - NO MATTER WHAT! Oh yeah... Puddin's pics were and still are a HUGE inspiration for me! She is such a sweet and wonderful person too.

I keep day dreaming about my future bike. I spend time online at work looking at different bikes and reading reveiws. I'm really trying to familiarize myself with the lingo and stuff so I will know what I'm getting into before I spend all my $$$. ha! Hope everyone had a good weekend!

That is why I never pay extra for 'fast' shipping. THey just take too long! When I take the free (or cheapest) shippment possible I expect things to take longer. That does suck though! Can you call tomorrow and see about getting your shipping charge re-funded?

THat sounds like a wonderful time!! I want some of that Apple Crisp! Haha!

I got an email that the order was received and the 24-48 hours msg. The next day I got the email with the UPS tracking number - I did the free ground delivery. My Bugg left San Ramon Cali on the 16th, left San Pablo Cali on the 17th... arrived in Lenexa KS on the 18th, then is now in Kansas City KS. I live in a suburb of KC MO, so it's only about 20 minutes from me. Lol! I want it NOW!... but have to wait.

I don't care about Spring breakers - don't they usually go to the beach anyway... not the middle of the desert?

I"ve been so lazy all week! I've gotta get back to the gym tomorrow night!

I love days when I feel like I'm starving... and so I eat and eat and eat ... and feel like I totally over ate - only to realize that NOW I'm stuffed full on only 2 taquitos instead of before when I'd eat 12. Lol. I'm not eating much really, it just feels like it. WHenever I feel like I eat too much I just try to lok at what I ate and compare it to what I would eat pre-band. It totally puts everything in perspective. CONGRATS to JANINE for entering ONEderland! You totally rock my sox off and I'm jealous! I'm still hovering around 330... I dipped down to 326 one day... and then back to 330... Gr. I know its fluid and stuff. I need to put a sign on my scale to remind me to NOT get on it except for Fridays or something. Haha!! OHhhhhhhhhhh! And I'm so proud of myself. I LOVE chocolate - and a patients family member brought all of the nurses 3 big boxes of Russel Stovers and I took my Sharpie and wrote on each box "EVIL EVIL EVIL" and "DO NOT EAT!" Haha! Everyone laughed at me, buT i told them that it was mostly to remind me that I didn't want to eat them, because there would come a point in the day when I would feel weak and go for it. And it totally worked to have that written there! And it actually helped EVERYONE! The few nurses that did open one box only ate a few peices rather than having us all devour all the boxes. ha!

Sherry, congrats on your purchase! I should get mine tomorrow - as long as my roommate is here to sign for it, otherwise I have to wait until Tuesday when I'll be off work and available to sign! I'm so excited, I can't WAIT to be able to see my numbers!

(How do you move a thread?) Yay Nursies Unite! Ha. (I'm a geek) It's good to see everyone here. I knew we had alot of nurses around here... Anyone else sick and tired of patients and their families bringing you Cookies, candies, chocolates, cakes... etc? Haha! One of our patients today brought in a box of Russel Stovers for each shift. Dang! I wrote "EVIL EVIL EVIL" and "DO NOT EAT" on the day shift box... it was mostly a reminder to ME to not touch it! Someone mentioned not knowing which aspect of nursing to go into... My best advice is to not worry about it, you'll just kinda find your niche one day... I landed in Oncology because as an Aide I worked home health care and we assisted with alot of hospice cases. I just fell.in.love with it... and stayed with it. If I *ever* finish my RN I want to go back to doing Hospice work, it;s just where my heart is.

Dan, I think you've had great success, and since you did all of it on your own, without the bands help that of course you feel kinda left out there hanging... In that aspect I can see why you feel the way you do. BUT I agree with o2bthin that now that you are at the proper weight you don't have to worry about gaining - because you DO have a band. So this isn't like any other 'diet' - you didn't work your ass of jsut to turn back to old eating habits where you gain it all back, and some more to boot. Your band will not allow that - as long as you keep up with it and get fills if you start to gain the slightest bit. Maybe you'll gain 10 pounds in the next few months... big deal! You can get your fill and use your band. You'll be fine and you've done AMAZINGLY well!! ALSO - can I add that I have family and a few friends who've had the bypass... did you know that after a while your stomach stretches back out and you can even grow new intestine??? One of my co-workers had bypass 6 years ago, lost 150 - gained back 80... and now wants the band! Bypass really has a bad success rate, because of the re-gaining of weight. (My dad lost 250+ with bypass years and years ago and is back at weighing over 400 now.) Please don't be discouraged!! You are one of my great inspirations on this board! I can't wait to meet you in Vegas!

Hey Insub, I'll play $5 for you! haha OK, I think I've made it very clear that I'm pretty flexible on all of this! My job is very flexible and I have over 3 weeks of vacation time I can take whenever I want as long as I know minimum of 30 days in advance, preferably 60 days in advance. I'm very open to the whole March/April idea, ad the weather will be perfect! I can't wait to walk the strip without feeling like I'm DYING! Haha! Also - I don't know what happened to BeckieT ... but if she doesn't re-surface I'll need a roomie! I'm clean and tidy and easy-go-lucky ... very laid back. I only snore a slightest bit, Lol!

MM - BODYBUGG :: HOW IT WORKS

THats always good to hear! All the rave reviews I've heard here have convinced me it was a good buy!

CaresaRN - I'm an LPN at a VA hospital, I work on the Oncology ward. I LOVE the med students and first year residents... NOT! We call the students "wanna be's" and the 1st year residents "baby docs"... But hey, everyones gotta learn!!

Lol! I've already told everyone at work to expect to see me wearing it religiously! Luckily I'm a nurse, so I wear scrubs and the Bugg will fit nicely under my scrub sleeves! I just checked the UPS shipment site and it is 'In Transit. On Time.' Should be here Monday... however if my roommate isn't home I won't get it until they make a return trip on Tuesday!! Wahhh!!

Thats too awesome!! Congratulations!!!

Faith - You've lost quite a bit of weight! I think you're doing great! Ariel - of course you can join. The more the merrier! Are you in school for LPN, RN, or BSN? I've been an LPN for over 4 years now, I worked as an aide for 7 years before that. I LOVE nursing! I've been working on my RN for the last 4 years... Lol. RIght now I'm working on a self-study program to get my associates, its just so hard to motivate myself to study! Miz - Congrats on getting banded. Do people at your job know> NO one at my work knows! haha. I just called in sick for 4 days. :mad: And when I got back I just told people I couldn't lift cause I was still weak from being sick. I work with some really great nurses and they did all my lifting and such for me!

Hey Faithmd! I saw those when I was looking. They looked pretty dead... figured I'd try a new one... Like I don't already have enough threads I'm subscribed to that I try to keep up with! Hahaa! How have YOU been?

Hey, there seems to be a little group for a few other job types... and I know there are alot of nurses here, justthought maybe we could all have a thread to ourselves? Is there already one? I didn't see any...

They way they referred to "making the stomach smaller" makes me think that they were targeting the suicide rate of bypass patients.. Anyone else get that impression? Either way, it's horribly sad.

sjrgilman - Don't fret! Everyone 'sweet spot' is totally different, or else they would just automatically fill everyone to the same place when they place the band. (Wouldn't THAT be nice!) I feel very blessed to have gotten to my sweet spot after only 3 fills! I'm not losing terribly fats, but I am losing and am rarely hungry. I have 7cc in a 10cc band... I tink I read somewhere that there is someone with a 10cc band that has more fill than me but still not good restriction... so see, it's all relative. Call your doc and see about getting another fill. Don't be shy! You are the customer and they work for you. (The customer is always right, right?)