HeatherA

Sarah, It would be great if you join us! Everyone is welcome and we just have such a terrific time. Our spot will be marked with a helium balloon. I'm taking a head count now so I can get an idea of how many tables to hijack for the gathering :-) I hope to meet you there!

With our next get-together only a bit over a week away I wanted to get an idea of how many might be joining us. If you think you're going to make it to the meeting, please respond to this post. :-) I will definitely be there. I plan to finish trying on all of my clothes this weekend and see what else I can bring to give away.

MaryMC, I was banded by Dr. Myers back in December. HunterCol is being banded buy him today (he may be done already as I type this) and there are others on the boards that have been banded by him as well. I know that there are a few others here that are getting started with the process as you are. Let me just say that I love that man! He is so kind, so gentle and quite possibly one of the nicest doctors I've ever met. He truly loves to help obese people get healthy and has designed his bariatric practice and program to help achieve the best outcome for his patients. If you have any questions just ask away. I'd be happy to answer. I also urge you to check out the post about our Central Ohio Get-Together happening on March 8. There are a group of us from all different doctors that are meeting at Polaris Mall once a month. Last month there were 12 of us and 6 had been banded, 6 were waiting for surgery. It's a blast and a great place to meet other bandsters and get questions answered. Good luck to you!

Ahhhh, that explains it. I've not yet signed up for the Gold option.

I've lost a midsized microwave (my original post was off by 2 pounds)

Alyson, how do you get to the week view you mention? I don't think I've seen that. Thanks!

No, I don't think it has a list like that... but I'm not sure because I've not really needed that type of list.

You can also add to the food list by typing in detailed information on foods you don't find in the database... and if it's a generic food/calorie that you want to add to your daily log you can just add it and call it whatever you want via your main plate page.

Well, I'm not sure what you mean by a list... but you search their database and the more specific you are with what you're searching for the shorter the list for the foods you will find. Once you add it to your plate then it stays on a list, on your profile, for you to access quickly. You can also search that list that contains just food you've eaten if it gets too large. I hope I'm making sense... if not... ask more questions and I'll try to answer them a little better :-)

I try to stay at 1200 calories or less each day... even with exercise. So my "net" calories tend to range about 950 or so after I get my daily walk in.

I love love love The Daily Plate! They are constantly working to make it better and it's so easy and clean to use. I use it every day and feel lost without it. :-)

SpecialK... the get-together is only 9 days before you get banded! Whoo Hooo! We'll be celebrating... aren't there 3 of you getting banded in March? I'm losing track of everyone. Can you imagine our April meeting???? What a blast to celebrate with all the newly banded... I'm sure you guys will have tons of questions!

I know! I did not like the feeling at all. I know I will not be one of those that lives too tight. I get too much pain and discomfort and I don't like it at all!

I went in for my second fill yesterday. I was down 8 pounds since my first fill and explained to the doctor that I have been dieting and exercising but have felt very little restriction. He wanted to put in 2cc to bring me to 7cc total. I thought that maybe I'd be ok with just 1cc because I never want to be too tight and I don't mind watching my calories to work with my band as a partner. We finally compromised at 1.5cc... Immediately when I tried to drink the Water, he gave me, my teeny tiny sips were getting stuck and causing me great discomfort. I was so shocked! I could barely get 2 ounces of water down while sitting there and each sip was painful. I finally said I thought it was too tight and asked for some to be taken out. So he removed half of what he'd put in leaving me with .75cc. I haven't had anything to drink yet today, but I could definitely feel some restriction yesterday with just liquids. I hope it sticks around for awhile because I don't go back in until 3/25 for another fill.

I was given 3cc in the hospital during surgery, then my first fill was 2cc. Yesterday I went for my second fill, and ended up with .75 additional. So I currently have 5.75cc and felt restriction while drinking yesterday.

Melisa, I sent you a private message :-)

Oh sweety, ignore it... it was most likely sent before you got the weight history in to them. It's a technicality because they had to deny you without that. That's why it was so fast for approval once they had the information they needed. I'm sure that's what Charlene will tell you tomorrow.

Niki, that is my plan this time around. I also plan to embrace my health more and focus on my looks less. That's something I've never "truly" done before. The last time I got serious about losing I was 29 heading into 30. This time I'm facing down the barrel of 40. My youth has been spent as obese. I don't want to spend the rest of my life that way and deal with all of the health issues that come with it. That said... I still spend a lot of time in the mirror marveling over the slight changes to my body. :-) I plan to enjoy those as well :-) I think a benefit of our local group is that we can all help each other work through the "mind" things and help each other to be more successful at this than we would be on our own. We're so lucky to have found each other.

Did I hear that the AP band comes with the low profile port?

OMGosh! I am doing the happy dance for you!!!!!! I hope you get your date soon! My fingers are crossed for a quick call back!

I have added several more sweaters to the pile for our next meeting. They are some of my favorites but they are just swimming on me these days and I've decided that if I want to embrace the changes in my body I must make sure to wear things that fit better. My one exception is my favorite vintage OSU sweat shirt that I can't part with. It's getting pretty big on me, but it's like a security blanket so I'm still wearing it. :-) Have any of you had a hard time dealing with the parting of clothing? Wearing smaller sizes? Acknowledging that we don't have to hide behind our clothing anymore? I'm freaking out about the day when I get to shop in regular sizes and not plus sizes. I got there briefly back in 2002 and I think I was so freaked out that it started me on my re-gaining journey. I don't want that to happen to me this time.

Joy, Your prior doctor should still have access to your records. I'm not sure how long you must keep patient files, but I'm pretty sure it's at least 10 years. I would call them again and ask them to see if they can get them out of storage for you. You might have to pay a fee to get copies, but it'd be worth it. Good luck.

My surgeon doesn't ask us to do anything the day before... or even the day of. After the fill we go to liquids and then progress to soft and then mushies until we feel we're ready for regular food. Good luck on your first fill!

HeatherA ........ 255.6 ..... 225 ........ 250.9 ....... 25.9

SpecialK, those babies are so adorable!!!!! I want a cat so bad, but so many people in my life are allergic that we'd never have company if we got one. :-(