ReneBean

Alas - a dropped belly doesnt usually defy gravity to snap back. I have that same problem. I am assuming I will have to get PS in order to ever have a flat tummy. I am saving for that, now. :]

Yeah - I think you probably need to start looking for a good surgeon near you. If you find one that sounds good - see if he gives an informational seminar - and go to it. Most surgeons want a Pre-Determination of Medical Neccessity before they will operate. Mine wanted that before I ever talked to him, personally! It was an assembly line process. One thing you can do this very minute is Google LapBand + your City & State. You may be able to find a bunch of information right on line - especially seminars and surgeon sites. After to have an idea of the surgeon and go to an informational seminar - I think it will all start to fall into place. Hugs and good luck! I totally get that having everything and crying every day. Been there, done that.

BT - Congrats on your date! No problems for me at ALL with any veggies or with meat. You may need to avoid DRY meat - but who likes that? You want tender meats, anyway. Cooked veggies go down pretty easy and raw ones just have to be chewed very well. What you want to avoid is fibrous veggies - like celery - or peel off some of the excess Fiber... like peel the tough broccoli stems or pull some of the "thread" off the celery. If you take some minimal precautions - you will be able to eat most foods. The big trick is to really chew everything to death - even if it seems soft or easy to eat. PB = Productive Burp. If you eat something too fast - if you eat too much - if you don't chew enough; you could experience the dreaded Productive Burp. It seems like you need to burp - but food comes up when you do. It is an uncomfortable sensation - and is not recommended on a daily basis. Just eat slow. chew, chew, chew. Pause between bites. Stop eating once you cease to feel hunger. And throw out the concept of "FULL" - it has no future in your life. If you follow the basic banster rules above, you shouldn't have too many instances of PB. Hugs and Good Luck!

Go, Conroe, Go!!! Congrats on your banding date! I can only say, I love my band. I know that if I didn't have it - I would probably be hovering at 370 lbs about now. I am so much happier at 295. Remember - follow your doctor's instructions. The folks here are great, and we have experience & insight to offer - but only your doctor can give you accurate medical advice. Hugs!!

Afternoon My Dears... How goes the battle? I am with Dianne - TGIF!! I, also thought it was a thread to usher in the weekend. Since I am ALWAYS down with that, I thought I would check it out. So glad I did. :] Anne - how long do you have to be "trained"? You did this job before, right? Hope you can play with us from your office! :kiss Mandy - and here I thought we were going to get to poke fun at your "Frankenstien Foot"... Oh well. I am sure we can think of some awful teasing about the green. LOL! Glad to hear you won't be marked for life or anything. Hope you start to feel better, soon. :sick Hugs!!! Mary - glad to hear you aren't in hock to the feds. At least you can use your refund from them to pay the state. Hugs! Still thinking good thoughts for Christian. Hope he gets better, very soon. Good Karma is always a good idea. I hope you can give your divorcing folks a little comfort. Good things will surely come your way. Dianne - Perky is a good thing. Enjoy the snow - if you like that sort of thing after Christmas is over... (We are expecting Spring here in the next few weeks - we are SOOO over snow). Darcy - January miles were only 14 for me... I will try to do a little better in February. :confused: All I have to do is get up off of my chair... Cindy - have a great time at the Bandster thing tonight. Give everybody a hug from me. There is no way I can be in Denton by 6:30 - I will still be here. *sigh* The only down side to being able to sashay on in here at 9:30 every day. :ranger: Sherry - Happy February, to you, too!.... :cheer2: Well - let's see. What's new with me. Uh - that would be NOTHING. I flaked on the gym last night... DH was flaking and I flaked with him. By the time I got out of here and stopped for gas and stopped for DH's &*^%# fast food, I was just NOT up to doing even 30 minutes of physical activity. Of course, I get a gold star for not eating any of said fast food myself - but I did finish off that evil bag of corn chips. I vow to not purchase any more! (at least for a few weeks. :guess ) Otherwise, it's just another day in paradise. TTL. Love you guys!!

Yep This is the time when you just have to trust the process and trust your docs instructions. It will get better. I was much more comfortable on about day 4 when I could actually sleep lying down. Prior to that I was sleeping upright on the couch. Hugs!! We all survived it - and so will you. :]

Evening, Folks. Darcy - ok - it will probably be only 30 minutes on the elliptical with 10 minutes on the bike. I do have to bring my heart rate down from the stratosphere before I flop down on the couch for the evening. Oh, and yes - The Rock IS somewhat decorative. And much more tasty than any old cake. Mary - I don't sleep as much as I should.... :] Oh I hope that was a balance due to YOU. I know you could certainly use the money! Can you claim head of household or any of that fun stuff? Taxes suck. Chrispy!!! We have missed you!. I wish you felt better - but I am glad you are liking the new place. Just so long as you don't have any psychotic neighbors... :] The latest news of the day is that they are sending me to NY on an earlier week. Now I am scheduled for the week of the 12th - 16th. Eileenie - check your calendar... :] Well - gotta fly. If I don't get home, I won't make it to the gym. DH is trying to flake again. He said if I intended to go without him, he might be guilted into going with me. :] Hugs and Love to All. We are on the downhill slide toward the weekend, now~! Wa Hoo!

Jaqui - they use CREAM or half and half to make the lattes here. They are fat - and usually sugar-laden delights. Oh how I love the Caramel Macciatto... But alas - I haven't had one in ages - cause they are about 400-500 calories each. My Doc said coffee in moderation was A-OK. My 2 cups a day are all that keep me sane. :]

Hey Justine! If you had really cheated - you wouldn't have lost the 20 lbs! :] Seriously - don't panic if you don't have restriction right away when you start eating mushies or solids. Until you start getting fills - your band is just like a loose bracelet around your stomach. Doesn't do much but look pretty. Unless you are one of the lucky few who has restriction right away - you will probably feel just like you did before surgery for a bit - until you start getting fills. Don't be discouraged. An unfilled band is like a car with no gas in it... it won't get you very far. You will have to get out and push. Once you get fills and get restriction - you will have a much better ability to determine whether the band is helping you. Trust me, it will. Hugs! and Welcome to Band Land.

Sounds like the classic symptoms of needing a fill. Your restriction might have been perfect in November - but if you have lost any weight at all since then, you may have lost fat pouches from under the band - so your restriction is less, now. That being hungry and hour later thing is a big sign. Get a little fill, and you will probably be right back at the sweet spot, again. Hugs!

The man can't help the name that his parents gave him, or the school that they put him in when he was 6. But those things will probably affect his chances at the Presidency - now and in the future. I wish I had more faith in the Sanity of the general public. The world just seems to be getting crazier every day. Maybe we should all pray for basic SANITY for the American public. (or think good thoughts, or send good karma or whatever you happen to do)

Sorry Laurend. That really sucks. I hope those other docs are good ones. And I hope they have some sort of financing options for the portion not covered by insurance. Hugs!

For Low Carb - I like Atkins pre-mixed or Six Star Powder. I also drink a liquid Protein called "new whey" that has 42 grams of protein per tube of liquid. I have to cut the stuff with Water and add a couple of splenda packets - but then it's pretty drinkable. Not only do you get protein, you get some of your water in, too. ***Orange is the best - maybe the only flavor for this stuff. I tried fruit punch. Not as good. I am afraid to try the others. :] Good Luck!

Welcome, Helena. Once you realize that you have already tried all the diets - and nothing works over the long haul - the decision to have WLS is pretty easy. I felt that the band was the best option for me - and I am sure I was correct! Good luck in your research. The folks here are all pretty helpful. :]

Hey All Hump Day is halfway over... Thank goodness! Another glorious day in mtg lending.... At least today, I have something to do. One of my multitude of bosses requested my assistance in a training document - so in my spare moments, I am working on that. It was snowing big fat flakes as I passed thru Plano on my way to work this morning - but they weren't sticking. Not quite cold enough for that - another thing to be thankful for. Texans just don't deal well with snow. I went to the gym again last night - and I clocked my mileage (finally) for 30 minutes on the elliptical and the bike. I did over 2 miles in 30 minutes. So, I guess for my 7 days at the gym so far this month - I get to add 14 miles to our total. That's all the news for me. Pretty exciting stuff, no? Dianne - thanks for adding to the food porn. I so hate to be the only bad one... I guess I am going to have to try the GoLean Crunch. I have been hearing about it for ages - and I do so love crunchy sweet things. Darcy - Hugs - you cake fiend, you. Betty - Don't go chasing after Dianne to slap her, now... you might slip on the ice. :omg: Sherry - Don't go spoiling the food porn by using Sugar Free pudding... Sheesh! :heh: Cindy - I am thinking stiching some of the shorter things on the hearts in embroidery floss might be ultra cool. The colors would add to the decoration of the quilt. Oh - and I promise not to talk about creamed herring again - at least for a bit. It isn't one of those foods you eat every day, anyway. :biggrin1: Kat - You are risking the weather to take your sabotaging MIL to Denver? Wow. You are much nicer than I am... :nervous Of course, I would probably do it too - love those family obligations. Be strong on the cake issue. Just say "No". :guess I am thinking warm comforting thoughts for your friend and her family. That is pretty freaky about all your brothers. Hugs! Mary - I hope Christian is feeling better soon. Sleep? Who needs Sleep?? Hugs! I wish I thought I might ever get a tax refund again... but my company does odd things with our bonus checks, so I have to pay every stinking year. ICK! Well - while I get a gold star for going to the gym last night - I sabotaged my efforts by coming home and eating half a bag of corn chips. Then I made the mistake of stepping on the scale this morning. Uh huh. Not pretty. I think I am going to just have to tell myself to eat whatever I want and not worry about anything. Cause it seems like every time I try to tell myself to be good, I go nuts. I am such a Contrary! Oh well. Today, I don't seem to care. The office had pizza for lunch. I am in the middle of my second slice. *sigh* I guess it's 40 minutes on the elliptical, tonight! Love you guys!

Yee Haw!! Rock on Thick Chick!

If you MUST eat solid food - eat a small amount of raw green vegetables. celery, cucumber - like that. There aren't that many carbs in them (yeah - go to a low carb shake if you are on liquids. Atkins makes a decent one that doesn't taste like chalk) and they have good crunch. Practice chewing for post-op. Chew everything to death - it will help you eat slower - which will help you get full, sooner. There are also some sugar free popcicles for 10-15 calories a pop. They are a nice little treat. ***Don't cheat and eat solids for a minimum of two days pre-op. You want an empty digestive tract pre-surgery. If you start out empty - it will probably be 2-3 days post op before you have to do a BM. That is good - since any abdominal activity post op is a little painful for the first couple of days. Low carb gives you the most bang for your buck in the weightloss thing - at least it did for me. Plus - carbs tend to make you crave more carbs - like sugar and bread. Not helpful if you are on liquids. Good Luck!!! You can do this. If I could do it - anybody can. :]

Hi Banrion. I can tell you that there haven't been any down sides for me. No complications, no issues. My only problem was that I had to have numerous fills in my VanGuard band to get restriction. It was actually a good thing - as it allowed me to get used to eating less very slowly - gradual change works for me. Of course - not having any restriction for the first 9-10 mos didn't really speed the weightloss process - but I have all my hair and I live a pretty normal life. I just eat less than I did before and I am able to exercise, now. Including the pre-op diet, I have lost about 52 pounds in about a year. Considering the fact that I have been pretty undisciplined about my food choices, I can't complain. Even with only a 52 pound loss, I can sit in a plane without an extender, I can walk without constant pain and I can fasten the seatbelt in my car with my bulkiest coat on. I don't know about Sharon Osborne - but for me, this surgery is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I fully intend to lose another 50 lbs next year - and 50 more the year after that. Making better choices gets easier with practice. Excercise becomes habit forming. The band isn't a miracle cure - but it surely makes doing the "right" thing easier. Hugs and good luck!

I had been told that a fatty livery has more of a chance to tear with those thin poles trying to lift them up. The diet is to try and "firm up" the liver by forcing your body to use the fat from the liver for fuel. A Low to No carb diet is the only way to do it. Force your body into Ketosis for a week or two and it will take the fat from the liver first. The firmer your liver, the less likely your liver will fall apart when they try to lift it. The tearing thing is rare - but it's serious if it happens. Anything you can do to avoid that is worth the effort.

Daniel If you can - avoid watching TV. Those *&^*$ commercials are all about food. Try reading or surfing the net for a bit. It helps if you aren't reminded every 10 minutes that there is a wonderful _ just waiting for you at the nearest fast food purveyor of slow death. Just think of all the times that you suffered before - and know that this will be over soon, and you will have the band to help you eat less in the future. No more suffering after the initial pre & post-op diets. Hugs and good luck!

I remember my first time on the elliptical lasted for 2 minutes before my Heart Rate shot up. It took a while to build up to 30-35 minutes at a go. You will get back to feeling good again - and the surgery will help. Keep your chin up. March will be along before you know it. Hugs!

Synicalchick Blue Cross doesn't like the BMI over 50. I was denied because of my high BMI. I appealed and won. Hopefully, you can, too. e-mail me with an address to mail to. I will send my letters.

Ha Ha, Darcy! Don't you like pickled fish? LOL! I really don't know why I even like it. Must be the Norwegian ancestry or something. Anne - congrats on your first day back! and on the scale. I guess tomorrow I will have to hop on mine to check the damage... *shudder* Hugs!!

WaHoo!! Hooray for approval! Congrats on being approved, finally! We are all thinking good thoughts for an easy surgery and a speedy approval. Check in after the surgery and let us know how you are doing! Hugs!

Is it your company that excludes the surgery? Or your insurance company? Or have you just not documented Medical Necessity of the surgery well enough? I would call the insurance company first - to see whether they can shed any light on the details of the declination. If the insurance company doesn't cover the surgery for ANYONE - you probably won't be able to do much. Likewise if your company has an exclusion in their contract with the insurance company - it will take something close to an act of God to change that. In addition to talking to your HR dept - you should contact the insurance company to get clarification on this point. Who, exactly, is saying this surgery is for Physical Appearance - and why. Maybe you can send them more documentation on the severity of your co-morbidities. Good Luck!