Michee

Thanks for posting the excellent news! It is very inspiring. Like others I am jealous of the flat stomach part!! LOL I too will have a flat stomach in a few months, but it will cost me 12G . Congratulations, your hard work and dedication to change your life has truly paid off. You Rock !

My exercise routine since January is as follows: 6:00-6:30 am Hard Cardio (elliptical or cross trainer) 6:30-7:00 am Weight Training 5:30 -6:30 pm light Cardio (long walk with Doggie) I am starting a running class on May 15, with a vision of running 5K by my one year bandiversary in August

Do you plan on telling everyone you know about the lapband? If not, do not tell your 6 year old. It is unfair to expect her to keep a secret. On the other hand if you are going to tell everyone, I think it's better that your daughter hear about it from you. Sorry if this sounded blunt. I am kind of a Black and White thinker/talker

I was bewildered by all the Vitamin choices, myths, and advice. I went to see a Naturopathic doctor, who, based on my medical history, medications I was taking, etc etc prescribed "the right" combo of Vitamins for me........I take a powdered multi, made by genestra, I also take a sublingual B12, and Vitamin D in drop form. I also take flaxseed oil, fish oil, and benefibre. Previously I was taking a regular multi gummi chewable, and the Naturopath told me that it was essentially a waste of money because of the poor quality of the ingredients used to make these type. She gave me some brand names of better quality products. I have been able to find some at Whole Foods and others at a Natural Dispensary. This getting healthy is hard work ! lol Good luck on your journey

For me it takes a couple of weeks before i can feel restriction. Not sure why. My last fill was early in Feb.......I was sure i'd need another, but about 2 weeks later I had good restriction. I am still at that level of restriction. I feel that I am at the "perfect" level for me. I can eat anything, but just smaller amounts, and I can still eat enough food to fuel my 2 hour a day exercise habit. My weightloss hasnt been super fast, but my transformation from unhealthy lifestyle to healthy lifestyle has been at rocket speed.

Since your kids are really young adults....my advice is to avoid any type of parenting group where the focus is gonna be on kids and try something that is about you. A few years ago I decided that I wanted to make local friends that I could meet up with for a quick coffee if I wanted, since most of my friends lived at least 30 minutes away. I volunteered to do promotions for a local festival I volunteered to decorate a float for the Santa Clause Parade I joined several "walks for charity" I volunteered to be a literacy tutor. I volunteered to be on a board of directors You mentioned going to work........perhaps you could take some college courses now in an area of interest, that will help you get a job you will enjoy

One of my coworkers had it done last year. She had a gastric bypass in 2005 and lost 180 pounds. She now weighs about 150....so you can only imagine how much extra there was. Since she had sooo much extra skin she had the fleur de lis. I basically looks like an anchor. She has the hip to hip cut and the vertical cut. She is extremely happy with the results...but to be honest the vertical scar is NOT pretty.

I too wore underwire home from the hospital. I started out as a G cup, I am now down to an E. If I get down to a D I can buy bras in the regular stores instead of the fancy (expensive) bra stores. My bras cost more than $150.00....grrrr. Right now I only have one in my size, I just wash it all the time. Do not buy lots of bras, cos those puppies are gonna shrink !

Many years ago I worked with severely developmentally delayed children. For some of them there problems were attributed to an "allergy" to a vaccinne. This is before the chickiePops vaccine was available. If you look at the statistics though, it is much more likely that your child will suffer severe injuries as a result of a car accident than a vaccine..........does this mean that you wont be letting your child ride in a car since it is more dangerous?. Right now here in Toronto Canada there has been an an "alert" that someone is walking around with measles......which can be very dangerous, and is airborne so people that were so much as in the same mall as the guy are freakin out (only the non-immunized of course). The school board that I work for insists on some vaccines (chicken pox not mandatory) I am sure the mandatory ones are measles mumps rubella diptheria whooping cough etc etc. Sounds like a tough decision for parents......I have no kids so I dont need to make that call.

I take a powedered multi called ViteMinMix by a company called genestra.....I have an aversion/reaction to the glue that is used to hold most vitamins together, so the powder works well (add it to a glass of milk) I also take vitamin D which is in drop form, and b12 sublingual, although i am considering switching to the shots. I also take omega 3 fish oils, and flaxseed oil. These were all recommended by a Naturopathic Doctor, based on my specific health needs.

I had one, didnt even know it.......doc fixed during banding, I was kinda glad because I could just say I had a hiatial hernia fixed and not be lying (didnt tell anyone about being banded). Apparently they are very common in the obese.

If I am with a new partner for the first time and he is noticing the port bump, I am doing something very very wrong................

Hi Sweet I was sitting at the back of the room, close to the door that was close to the womens bathroom. There were only 5 people at my table, and based on your pic, none of them was you ! I would have liked it if there was more mingling encouraged, for example if they asked us to sit with different people at lunch etc. I hope the person that you thought was me, was skinny and gorgeous (lol)

Weird, I heard too much protien can cause constipation

Hi all I was there and it was awesom I went to friday so I got to meet a few people then, the entire thing was excellent. I left before Carole spoke because I know her in my professional life and I have told no one about the band. I hope it becomes a regular thing and even more people come

What about joining the Y ? They are all different I know, but the one near me has aquafit and a gym, and a host of other types of classes. When I was shopping for a gym a few months ago I was shocked at how comparable a "real" gym was to curves. (Curves was $45 per month and the Y was $52)

I have a 2 year golden retriever, I call her my personal trainer. One of the smartest things I did after my surgery is map out a 3k route and I walk my dog along this route every day. When I started it would take a little over an hour it's getting shorter all the time. This is especially true since spring is here and I can wear running shoes instead of boots and parka and snowpants. If I come home and dont feel like walking, my dog will bug me until I give in. I am not sure how fast or far the little dogs can walk though? Good luck with your decision

Thanks Fousilly I will follow up. The dinners sound like a good time

Where are the dinners being held ? are they open to all?

Hello fellow bandsters I have registered to attend the conference on April 12th. Is anyone from this forum going? It would be great to meet some of you face to face.

I asked the clinic if any patients were successful in getting private insurance to pay for the lapband. They said NO, I checked into my health insurance, the only thing I can do is use my health care spending account which is $250.00. Hardly a dent !!

Unfortunately having an IQ in the triple digits is not a prerequisite for lapband surgery.

I showered in the morning a few hours before the surgery, then I showered the next day. When I had a hyster the previous year (hip to hip incision) I was able to shower 48 hours after surgery (covered incision with saran wrap). I cant see any reason that a person cannot shower after a lapband procedure, unless there were complications or other medical issues.

The band has improved my social life and my experience at restaurants, I am now able to focus more attention on the company instead of the food, and I am not embarrassed by the fact that I enhaled a huge dinner faster than a quarterback could. Also, I can now fit in any size booth without a tummy roll hitting the table.

You can check with your doctor about lifting techniques, lots of women have a c-section delivery and then go home to a toddler as well as the newborn. So I imagine there are some Tricks of the trade so to speak At 18 months you could just change his diaper on a change pad on the floor instead of lifting him.