Michee

Generally the rule with banding is to eat solid food. Most docs will tell you not to "drink your calories". Soft/liquid things just slide through the band, the way band works is that when you feel restriction you stop eating. The smoothies you describe are very high in carbs, you may want to add some protien powder, and you could have them during the mushy stage of post op. Good luck on your upcoming surgery. I was banded last August, and this August I am getting my Tummy Tuck.

I hear ya sista I too am on plenty of fish, and only seem to be meeting duds! I am starting to believe that there are no decent men left!

Here in Ontario Canada, lapband is not covered by our Ontario Health Insurance plan. Gastric bypass is covered, but very few doctors want to do it, so it is a huge waiting time (about 5 years) or a compelling doctors letter and a trip to Rochester NY. As was stated, I believe every province is different.

Sometimes I just stop losing, and the answer is not obvious. My story: A few months ago I hit a plateau. I had lost weight initially but what had worked for a while stopped working. I went to a naturopathic doctor, went on a 21 day liver detox, and started taking the supplements she recommended. I lost more weight. Now I have hit a plateau again. I spoke with a trainer who suggested that I buy a heart monitor to "maximize" my workouts. Bear in mind that I do 30 min of hard cardio, 30 min of weights and 45 min of light cardio each day. I also run 3 times per week. I will not increase my work out time, but I will work harder to keep my heart rate up, thus maximizing the workout. To sum up, I think the more weight we lose, the harder we have to work. Its probably why the first 20 pounds practically falls off, but the last 20 pounds is so hard to come off.

My 2 Summer NSV's in one I started running three weeks ago. Last week my ex was going to the US (everything is cheaper) and he offered to buy me some of those dryfit nike running shorts. Heasked me what size, I said "ladies medium" Well I wore them yesterday and went for a 4k run!! I am not sure what is more of a "rush" the running, or being able to tell people my real size with confidence

Completely and totally worth the money I too am self pay. I paid $16k for surgery last August. I took out a line of credit to finance the surgery. I am going to be putting more expenses on the credit line this August when I get my TT, and again in December when I get my breast lif.t and rhinoplasty. I am a single woman with a mortgage and a car payment, and all the other expenses that comes with life. Having only one income can be tough at times, but I am so glad I do not have to "negotiate" or "convince" someone how I should spend money. The lapband is for your health and wellbeing, just like getting lasik eye surgery, hearing aids, etc etc. You will not regret it! ps I now wear size 8 jeans, hows that for "worth it" Best of luck on this fantastic journey of self discovery

Hi Luv2Teech7 you are correct 30km is about 18miles. I started taking a running class a few weeks ago. Earlier today I ran 4k so I have long way to go. It seems so cool that I have a completely different life. That I could even consider being ready for such a challenge! I love my band !!

I have a good friend who was just diagnosed with prostate cancer. He is going to make a full recovery, and in the spring of 2009, we are going to run the "round the bay" which is a 30km run around Lake Ontario in early spring. It can be cold, icy, rainy or whatever. We will be ready, strong, healthy, and we will finish it together.

Some of us lose slower. I have lost over 60 pounds since August, with 20 to go. It's a lot less than 10 pounds a month, but I am delighted to be wearing my size 8 jeans as I type this. Try your best to make good food choices, and exercise daily. You will look fabulous !! Congratulations on getting your band !

It would seem that if you are self pay, there are less hoops to jump through and less requirements that have to do with weight. From what I've read on this board every geographic area, and indeed every clinic has there own set of criteria. It also depends on co-morbidities, family history etc. It seems pretty individualized.

I think drinking alcohol would negate any of the positive benefits of the pre-op. Alcohol is full of calories and carbs, the idea of the pre op diet (to my understanding) is to consume less, thus losing weight, and thereby shrinking the liver.

Hi Petphoto Next time some idiot says "I know someone who has lost more than you" just say "that's a coincidence, because I know someone who is prettier, smarter and richer than you" I bet that'll shut em up!

I read somewhere that Malta has excellent ratings from THe World Health Organization. That would just be a short flight for you.

I would purchase some protien/meal bars, such as Atkins or Proteins Plus. You can get small cans of tuna with the pop off type top. Also Peanut Butter and rice cakes will keep nicely. Although I am sure there will be food at the restaurants for you to eat. Personally I would feel more comfortable eating with my companions, instead of drinking a protien shake in the car, then sipping Water in the restaurant while they are eating. Have a great trip

that guy andy is just trying to sell the stuff

I sometimes crave sweet/salty. Thanks to the band I can have one handful of peanuts to satisfy the salty craving, and one of cracker with cheese and jam to satisfy the sweet craving. The compulsion to keep eating is gone, because it will just get stuck, and I will be throwing it all up.

Breast Lift Here I come I have a tentative date for Dec 09. It is tentative until I pay the $1500.00 deposit. I started out wearing a 38 G (yes that does exist). After losing about 47 pounds I went out to buy a new bra. That was a 36 E. I have since lost 19 more pounds. I will be very happy as a D cup. It will mean buying bras at regular stores instead of paying over $150.00 at specialty stores. Once I get my breast lift, I am hoping that I will not need the industrial style bras, to hold the girls up in the rightful place.

Pearlygirl I do not believe that Alcoholism is a weakness of character. I thought that would be clear by the tone of my post that I believe alcoholism is a disease. I apologize if it was not clear. I would have preferred if you would have asked me to clarify my position before calling me ignorant.

A little Different Approach If you believe that Alcoholism is a disease and not a weakness of character, then it should be treated the same as other illnesses. Here in Ontario if you have a seizure (epileptic or otherwise) you immediately lose your license. Then YOU have to prove that you have been seizure free for period of time. This is proven by test results and a doctors letter sent directly to the Ministry of Transportation. This would be easy to implement, and the costs associated with testing and proving that they have been alcohol free, rests with the drunk driver.

Wasa Thanks for being so brave and talking about the revision to the sleeve. It's important for us to know that there is a good option if at some point the band is no longer working well to optimize our health. I am sure your recovery will be speedy, and hopefully you will continue to share your wisdom and experiences on this forum. Remember, those that are not supportive are the people that don't matter anyway..........they clearly have nothing more interesting or important to do than make judgements.

I was on optifast for 2 weeks pre surgery. I was allowed to eat cooked or raw veggies at dinner, which I did. Broth or chicken would be "cheating" which I did do a couple of times, then I was worried the doc would find out and cancel the surgery.

this is not an advertising forum

My liquid diet was also Optifast, but the doc gave the option of having veggies instead of the dinner optifast. Never in my whole life did I look so forward to a plate of zucchini and mushrooms. Only shakes is tough, but the rewards are going to be sooooo fabulous. Nice thing about shakes is less time cooking and no dishes! I an few weeks the optifast phase is going to be a distant and fond memory

Sure, I talked to lots of people that have had TT (not necessarily banded people). Everyone believes their surgeon is best. I started asking why they felt that person was best. Then I asked my GP for some recommendations. He made 3. Coincidentally one of them had operated on my wrist back in 1992 when I had a different GP. I ended up going for a consult with Dr Lista at SWLC and Dr Brown at Briarwood (wrist doc, in Oakville). Both seemed competent, and the decision would have been really tough........except Dr Lista quoted me $8500.00 and Dr Brown quoted $6700.00 I am not saying that I would try to save a buck on something as important as surgery, but when all else seemed equal....... A friend of mine who had Gastric Bypass used Dr Grace in Burlington. He is one of the few surgeons that is willing to work with OHIP, so he may bill a panni to OHIP which will reduce your cost. Good Luck with your research. I started researching when I was home recovering from my band surgery! If only I could be that pro-active when it comes to household chores.

Everyone here has an Eating Disorder, otherwise we would not be fat. I have had one episode of anorexia in my early twenties and 2 episodes of bulimia, one in my teens, the other in my late twenties. Most of the time however my eating disorder could be described as compulsive overeating. I was banded in August. Best decision I ever made.