peaches9

Yes, I am planning on being there!!

If you DH will not give you the affection and support that you need right now.. give it to YOURSELF. Do something pampering, Candlelit bath(scented of course), buy a pretty new nightie, get a pedicure.. all NICE stuff for YOU... You have lost 19#'s and THAT is awesome... remember until you get all your fills the weight will not DROP off drastically. YOU WILL be down 80#'s by next summer, if that is your goal. DH... my comment there is.. if he is similar to my man... he's seen me on 100 diets before.... and I always lose.. but I fail at keeping it off for any considerable length of time.. put it all back on again and more... That's why I NEEDED this LB.. DH finally agreed, BUT he would not pay for it. I had to borrow the $ from my mother over 10 yrs. Once DH sees for himself that this band is working, he'll be glad you did it and then show you some more support.. testosterone=dumb.. we just have to accept that and BE OUR OWN BEST FRIENDS o.k. We are all here with ya babe, so don't lose faith. It will happen;)

I am on antidepressants too... I have to take them for life as I am BIPOLAR... But I understand that waiting for that 1st fill is very ANTI CLIMACTIC!! I was not depressed but could EAT anything and was frustrated with that. Just try and focus on how far you have come and that you will have lots of 1st's to look forward too.. 1) The first compliment - "are you losing weight??? You look fabulous" 2) THe lower grocery bill... what will you do with the extra money!!! 3) Shopping for REGULAR sized clothes 4) Going out with your best (skinny) friend and NOT feeling like you don't belong -- cause you'll look just as great 5) LOWER cholesteral, blood sugar numbers 6) no pain in your joints 7) THis will be your LAST 'Heavy" summer!!! 8) Better time having sex!! 9) Never gaining this weight back - EVER!! If you practise being grateful for at least ONE thing every day... then write it down... Each day add to the list ... soon you will see that there are more Possitives in your life than NEgatives and your depression will ease. I don't like to make it sound simplistic but this strategy works well for me. Best of luck to you & ((((hugs)))) :kiss

Hi Lisa; If it was me I'd call my Surgeon right away... he may want you to take a GRAVOL or some other antinausea drug... so as not to hurt your BAND.. You wouldn/t want to 'dislodge' it or have it FLIP on you... Thinking about anatomy: If we have a sectioned off stomach it stands to reason that nothing would come UP and OUT from the bottom portion of the stomach... as the BAND would stop it right? the opening is small, hence when we are swallowing food... it has to be SO tiny to enable it to go down.. just my thoughts. Good luck to you;)

I think that is just GREAT! I have read many posts that reflect possitive experiences about Dr. G. and I also have a personal friend who is a GP in Toronto. SHe went to Mexico for a BOOB job, eye lift and lypo... she also saved a ton of money... She was very impressed with the medical attention she got there... so that is a great recommendation. And you also have someone local to do Fills??? WOW you lucked out for sure. You'll be able to spend the 'saved' money on your new Wardrobe!!! I am excited for you - 14 days away.. I remember how excited I was ... I have NOT regretted a moment of it... the hardest part for me was the clear liquid diet for four days post op... once I was on milkshakes(protien shakes that is) I was o.k. with that... Best of luck and let us Canucks know how you are doing!

I agree, don't feel poorly... remember that your weight/L will not be swift initially as you need to wait 2 wks between fills and you might need 4 or 5 before you get adequet restriction. I've only had 1 fill, but already wk two out I can eat more than I could a wk ago when I first got my fill... I had my first PB & slimming today - GROSS! It was on 1 BBQ'd rib!!! Can you beleive it! and I really chewed it too... so I had a chicken thigh for supper instead of more pork and 1 spoonful of coleslaw and 1 spoonful of Potatoe salad... don't feel like eating anything more tonight.. kinda put me off. But I have not lost any weight in the last 2 wks.... so I am also anxiously awaiting my next fill... Hang in there.. we all have bummer days and they DO pass...

How are you finding your 'restriction" now that you have had a 3rd fill??? Do you think you'll need another? How much are you able to eat presently?? Peaches

Why did you decide to go all the way to Mexico??? just noisy

they don't stipulate portions, but i used 4 oz. protien, 1/2 cup veg, 1/2 cup fruit, 1/2 cup whole grain/starch + 2 milk serv /day

HI KAT: You admit that you are addicted to Food , I am powerless over food..... but instead of sobriety it is called Abstinance. You essentially OBSTAIN from Compulsive Overeating... but different people could 'define' that term differently... for me it meant 3 meals a day, nothing in between, one day at a time.. No sugar, no White flour... that's what my "abstinance" consisted of.

Way to go Bear, you have done fabulously.... hopefully I will be in the 100# gone catagory next August too...

I totally sympathize with you. When Insurance companies have OUR lives in the balance it is very frustrating indeed. If you were able to Self pay (like I did in Canada) you would be surprised where you could find the money. I am taking my loan over 10 yrs and my payment is $169 per month. It is coming off my grocery budget. When I add up all the times I went thru the drive thru for donuts, coffee, MacDonalds.... yada,yada,yada.. plus now that I am banded I am eating less than HALF the food I did before. Now lets look at it another way, all the stress of fighting with the ins. co. what's that doing to your B/P? Your health is worth every penny you put into it. Whatever you decide, I hope your journey is successful.

Yes, I attended O.A. meetings for many years. They are great for letting you "get to the root" of your emotions that control your eating behaviours... It is a spiritual program rather than a count the calories program... they don't focus on food... rather your relationship with YOURSELF and others. They use the 12 steps and 12 traditions of A.A. as their foundation. It is a comprable program. Inexpensive, but sometimes it is hard to find a good meeting location. As they are not available everywhere. Also sometimes you get into a negative bunch who are NOT obstaining from compulsive overeating and just think they are working the steps. Try it out, it may be just the thing you need. Go in with an open mind.

Hi Shannon; Yes that definetly has something to do with it. While you are Un-filled you will have a bit more "wiggle room" with the Bandster rules... but don't get to used to them... once you have your 1st fill OH MY your habits will change. Trust me on that - I got stuck this a.m. at breakfast for the 1st time on Toast with an soft egg on top... I just forgot and took too big a bite and didn't chew well enough... Oh that dull ache in the centre of my chest was not nice... couldn't eat the rest of my breakfast... Good luck to you

There are two excellent clinics in Toronto TBLC (Dr. Patrick Yau) where I went Dr. MUMFORD & Dr. Colbourn in MISSISSAUGA I think its called the Obesity Clinic, but not sure... These surgeons are very well thought of on the boards... Read lots, do research

If you are close to the Maine border and its a DRIVEABLE distance to go for fills and follow up ... I'd go there... Its not just about the consultaaiotn and surgery, you'll need to go back for FILLS at least 3 times possible 5 and for 6 mos. and yearly checkups. I am in Ontario so went to Toronto for mine but I only have to drive 3 hrs to get to the clinic... so its just a day out of my schedule each visit. I have just had my first fill and it was a breeze.. I wish you all the best of luck. I have had a very uneventful journey so far. and the weight loss has been successful.. I still have quite a way to go.. but at least I KNOW that it will come off and stay off permanently now.. It is wonderful to live with hope!

woopes, that was a quick reply... what I ment to say was.. I went to see the Beach Boys last night- they were awesome!!! Brought back some fond memories. I ate out in my 1st restaurant since "fill" ate about 1/3 of the hamberger patty (difficult to chew, fiberous) but I managed with 30 chews per mouthfull.. Salad was huge, and the lettuce was not cut up very well.. no plastic knives... so I just ate the cucumbers and cherry tomatoes on top.. Chewed that very well too as I didn't want the skins on the tomatoes to get stuck. DH ate all of my leftovers... hummm I wonder if He'll puton weight now??? Anyways, it all worked out.. I am loving this banded life!!!! Got any plans this long weekend? (in Canada is Labor Day) I am going up north to my sisters cottage... hopefully the lake is still warm enough to swim in... plus!!!! we are having a big fish fry dinner... fresh Walleye and Pike... I can hardly wait. YUM

gOOD MORNING EVERYONE I

a great free site that I use to Track Nutrician is .... WWW.SparkPeople.com it has all the foods listed and will even DESIGN menus for you to YOUR specifications. It tracks Excersise & Calories burned """"" Goals etc... even has recipes

Yess ANDREW You are HOT!!@ You have done so well... congrats!!! but, is that a beer??? how did THAT go down???

Oh yes! Definetly.... I was worrying about that needlessly... Felt restricted right away.. as I said earlier... 1 tsp. of Water was all I could swallow initially right after my fill.. Then as I sat there to drink my 500ml water... each sip got easier.. I can swallow a tblspn of liquid at a time now... I have not had any PB'ing or slimming.. Eating my small meals o.k. too

I had my first FILL on Mon 27th Aug. I have a French MIDBAND that holds a total of 9.5 cc, They injected 5 cc's into my band, then I go back in 2 wks for another fill, 2 wks later another fill if I need it... then we go from there. I feel great! Water was tricky the first night but later in the evening I had a Protien shake and it went down, albiet slowly! Tasted great. Tues morning I had scrambled egg but could only eat 1/2 of it... felt a twinge of a full feeling and quit eating.. I been taking it cautiously as I don't want to over fill my pouch and Puke

Lorilie: Your W/L is amazing!!! What are you eating on a daily basis... I am so impressed

I was at my altime heaviest and wearing 'Granny pants' ... you know the kind of underwear I mean... Cotton, elastic waist that has seen the dryer just one too many times... Well I was visiting a client and had just parked my car in the P. Lot.. As I climbed out of my VAN and thumped down onto the ashphalt . my panties dropped to my ankles!!! Now it was summer time so I didn't have the luxury of Protective Pantyhose to keep-em in place... so there they went. I was so mortified that I did a quick look around and over my shoulder to see if anybody saw.. I didn't want to bend down and fumble picking them up or trying to struggle back into them... so I just stepped out of the suckers and kicked them UNDER my car... Later on when leaving I peeled out of the parking lot as fast as i could.. :omg:

Your w/l is going very well... you should be proud!! And wasn't your fill exciting? That first sip is strange for sure... I'm two days out from my fill and I am eating solids well, albiet not very much... I get FULL easily.. On my Lunchsized plate at dinner time I had 3 oz. chick breast, 1/3 cup cooked carrots, 1`/4 cup brown rice... COULDN"T Eat it all... so I wrapped it up and I can always nuk it later if I am hungry ... trouble was that I already counted the calories on my SPARKPEOPLE.com site... I am tracking my nutrients for a wk or so to make sure I am getting enough protien.. don't want to lose my hair!! Take care