Skywalker

This doesn't seem to be broken down by geographic location, so hopefully someone knows something about Colorado doctors. I was thinking about Dr. Timothy Brown (Canon City, CO), but came across Michael Snyder (Denver, CO: http://denverbariatrics.com/default/our-practice/dr-snyder), and his prices seemed much better while offering the same services. Does anyone know about either one of these guys, or where I should post this question? Thanks

Me? Thanks (if so). Sorry to hear about your rude ex-husband, but I guess the good news is--he's your ex-husband! I don't think having fair weather friends or spouses is ever worth it. We should take a moment to remember those who helped us and valued us when we were at our lowest. Those are the ones worth keeping.

This is getting into personal territory. Probably really what planted the seeds for weight loss surgery and made me say, "Enough". I can remember going to visit family in California in 2012, and I think a truckload of guys leaned out of their car and yelled at me that I was fat. I didn't really catch it, but I remember my friends looking at me apologetically. I had also posted a comment on a friends Facebook page, and everyone was giving it a lot of likes. Some street thug gangster guy who had no connection with the discussion joined in and told me how he would normally "holla at b*****s", but he wouldn't bother with someone who looked like me. I tried reporting the post, but it was never removed, so in spite of the popularity of my thread, I took it down out of embarrassment. I went on vacation to Florida in 2011 to see my mom, and she wanted to take me to get a pedicure. The lady who was doing my kept trying to talk to me even though I was trying to relax. It's like she'd insult me a little bit, and then back off. She just wouldn't STFU. She said something about how I looked tired and "Windy" (whatever that means), and when I snapped at her she said never mind and went back to doing her job. Needless to say, I didn't enjoy the pedicure. My mom spent the latter part of the appointment arguing with them about the tip/no tip because they'd given crappy service. Oh and, when I went out to the car with my mom she had a heart to heart with me, offering me monetary incentives if I would just lose weight. I know she was trying to help, and I would have done the same thing with my daughter, but it really drove home the fact that I couldn't run away from myself and really even relax on vacation. Thinking about these rude people still pisses me off, honestly. Just because someone carries extra weight doesn't make them less of a person. And, this type of thing makes me really not want to leave the house and just go get the bariatric surgery tomorrow so I can get past this s***.

So then yeah, you should be able to get away with a sip or two of your significant other's beer if you want the taste Oh, my spouse doesn't really drink that much. I'm the one who is the alcohol aficianado, or whatever. I've recently grown to like the taste of this, and beer is generally friendlier to weight watchers points than wine or margaritas: http://beerpulse.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Samuel-Adams-Cherry-Wheat-body-label.png But if I have to give it up it's really no big problem.

Just wanted to chime in and say I agree with this statement 100%. I went wine tasting about a month ago, I maybe had 3 glasses of wine over 6 hours. The next day I was up 5 pounds and it took me 3 weeks to get rid of it. That wasn't fun. Statements like these make me think Lap Band lowers your metabolism, at least temporarily. The reason being--for someone my size, we are allowed 39 weight watchers points per day to lose weight. My big problem, of course, was being hungry beyond this number of points. However, each glass of wine is 4 points, so you're just looking at 12 points there. With conservative eating (as the band should provide) it should have been no problem....however, the body is being given much less with the band, so it might end up being a "race with the metabolism" for who is the winner. Oh well, we gotta do what we gotta do. If the standard way isn't working, Lap Band it is.

You guessed right, I'm a female

I had heard the same thing for Medicaid....a six month waiting period of time, in which you would visit a Dr. monthly for obesity related causes and they would write you a "package" justifying sleeve gastrectomy. Oh, the hoops we have to jump through for insurance sometimes....

So does Aetna cover lapband? I was interested because I just did the most basic of checking before deciding to self-pay. I learned: Colorado Health OP covers sleeve and bypass, but not the lapband The same for CO Medicaid (the sleeve and bypass, but not lapband)* VA Health insurance covers nothing--they have no schedule for bariatric surgery in CO *Although, all of these providers did say if emergencies arose from prior conditions, they would cover them. So Aetna is actually open to paying for LB?

How about a mojito? Or margarita? Do those go down alright with the band? I'm beginning to think I'll have to give up beer and soda with the band, which is alright, all things considered. I'll miss it (a little), but nothing I couldn't live without, especially for better health.

Best of luck to you. I had the urge to date once but wasn't really seriously dating; so maybe it was the vibe given off, I don't really know. I've watched my friend struggle with the same thing; he has Asperger's syndrome and comes off as really strange, so the only time I saw him actually relax, laugh, and start getting asked out by women was after he had smoked some MJ for the first time (no joke)....not that I'm advocating that, as the appetite increase could actually work against the lapband.... But maybe if you had a drink and went to a venue that more obviously advertised you were open to dating, such as a bar, a singles group at church, or even a place like eHarmony.com, it might yield some results? I don't really know.

I see a common theme of diets failing because of (1) hunger (2) inconvenience and (3) cost, about in that order. Do you guys feel full/satiated with the band? Like you are going out like you used to, but not feeling deprived?

Interesting, although I guess from the body' point of view it would make sense, as it's sensing it's close to it's destination and wants to stay at that ideal weight. Do you happen to have a link to that study? I'd like to read it. Sorry about the lack of weight loss, that would discourage me too. From what I see in the pictures you look really great. I could suggest Curves for Women--I had done that awhile back when I was within 10 lbs of goal on Weight Watchers. I know when I stuck with it it seemed to help and have fat burning exercises tailored for female fitness.

I totally know what you are saying. I'm only 36 and already have: sleep apnea, hypothyroid, high cholesterol, acne, coughing. It's a safe bet to say that the extra weight is tearing me up. It wasn't that long ago--5 years--that I was really in pretty good shape at 180 or so, but a bunch of things have happened and now I'm almost 100 lbs heavier than my goal weigh--somewhere I thought I'd never be. I have the urge to get my act together quickly, or I fear all these problems (like cholesterol, sleep apnea, back pain, etc.) will work together to cause even more major problems. I was thinking about it the other week, and came to the conclusion that I've effectively been 9 months pregnant for the last several years or so. How have any of us felt towards the end of our pregnancies? Tired? Bloated? Moody? Backpain? Just wanting it to be over? Voluminous breasts that are putting pressure on our back? That is the constant state for a person who is around 250 or heavier--just like being pregnant all the time.

Thanks for the tip about my fitness pal. That's really awesome. I didn't know that.

I'd really like to know--since you guys have had the lap band, are you able to eat hummus or sushi? How about salads (like the Applebees Green Goddess Wedge Salad:https://www.applebees.com/menu/appetizers/sides/green-goddess-wedge)? Those are three things I love, and relatively healthy too, but I don't know how they would go down with the band. From what I'm reading, the band is kind of a wall to carbohydrates, which I guess is a good thing if you're looking to lose weight.

Banderella, I understand the risks, and thank you for sharing. I'm weighing these against the potential costs (of not having surgery and remaining obese) in my decision. Again, thanks for sharing and I hope things go better for you.

I don't know if this will help the topical symptoms, but I use the tongue scraper (available at any Walgreens or Walmart: http://images.wisegeek.com/tongue-scraper.jpg), and am always implementing that with my daily tooth brushing ritual. It makes my mouth feel 100% fresher, I love those things. About the thrush, maybe this would work--get any flavor of Listerine, and hold it in your mouth for several minutes. This might be uncomfortable because of the burn and you might have the urge to spit it out, but hold on if you can. When the burn has settled down after several minutes and you just feel a warmth, spit it out. I had an impacted salivary gland (looked like a pimple under the tongue) and I tried that and it seemed to calm it down and sterilize the mouth.

You weighed 190? That seems like a good weight (all things considered). Do you mean 290?

I noticed that you mentioned hypothyroidism (I have this as well)....does anyone know the answer to this question--does hypothyroidism cause obesity, or does obesity cause hypothyroidism? I had thought this was something I'd have to live with the rest of my life, but my friend (a nurse who had the lap band done) said I might be able to get off both my thyroid meds and my cholesterol meds when this was all done.

Like they mentioned, the before and after pictures (I have one of me at my best, and me at my worst) sometimes are good motivators in either direction. Also, maybe join a Weight Watchers group? When I went to WW, they were great, very supportive and friendly, and had a lot of good ideas. The only reason I'm not going now is because of my constant appetite (so I would just be reminded every week how it's not working). But for a motivational/support group, and to watch your numbers and stay on track, it's great.

Wow. It does sound like you've tried just about everything. Only a couple suggestions I can think of: a. Check with a doctor to make sure there's not some stray testosterone or thyroid issue that is undiagnosed or holding you back b. Implement green tea (or green tea pills) and chromium c. Make sure you're changing your exercises up. Back when I was in shape, I used to get on the bike five days a week, until a trainer reminded me to shake it up so my muscles didn't get used to that. After that, I alternated between the bike, the treadmill, and the stairmaster, and rested two days a week (but never consecutive) Best of luck, I'm sure even with 6 extra lbs you still look pretty great!

Awesome! I was in the thrift store the other day--I figured that I should grab some things to hold me through until April, since I basically rotate between two pairs of pants and three hoodies (it's pathetic). I remembered why shopping is my mortal enemy--it was so difficult to find pants or shirts that worked. I thought some male long t shirts would do the trick, but nope--I could not find a single one (even in 2X) that fit me comfortably. I did manage to find one pair of stretch capris that fit, but at that point it felt like a miracle. Between the way I look in T shirts now and sweating it out in hoodies, I think I may have to stick with hoodies until the summer hits. I can't wait until the day I can go back to a place like a thrift store or Target, and actually be able to select from a decent variety of stylish clothes.

I know the feeling, that's what pushed me in this direction too. I am 36 but may as well be in my 50's or 60's or something. I remember back in 2007 when my weight had started to creep up, my friend (who was 45) and I were taking a class together, and they had us do an assignment called "What's your real age?" It asked us a battery of questions, including (1) whether we wore our seatbelt (2) whether we smoked (3) what our weight was, etc. Even though I am responsible about seatbelts, helmets, medication, no smoking, etc, I still ended up in the same "real age" category as her--45. And I was only 29 at the time. I felt that was so discouraging. I made a promise to myself then that I would lose the weight as soon as school was over (ha ha), but that was the first in a long line of lies I told myself. I'm going ahead with the surgery because I'm tired of lying to myself.

Great links, and that sounds like a brilliant idea! Just brilliant. A long time ago I used to donate plasma (I think they gave us $25 per donation or something) that went to benefit burn victims. I remember it was in high demand. I worked in a hospital once and the person training me told me that they could "grow" skin, but that it was difficult and there was a shortage of it. Therefore, when a burn victim had burns all over their body, they would try to use the "grown" skin for the facial areas--where most people see--and use the less attractive netting for the other areas on the body. Perhaps there are even some hospitals or patients that would be willing to pay for the cost of one person's skin removal so they could use it. It's really a great idea--fixing cosmetic issues for two people at once.

When someone starts sliming and can't even pass saliva, do they have to make themselves throw up to alleviate the problem?