SuzanneG

It took me 3 fills to get restriction, but I'm finally there. I was afraid that I was going to lose my restriction this time (I had my fill a week and a half ago) and then Sat. I had my first stuck problem. I'm a little stressed out right now, my daughter is graduating college tomorrow and in the process of buying a house and it wasn't until my back started hurting too that I figured out this all may be contributing to my extra tightness. I'm limping along on liquids and mushies, hoping I won't need an unfil, but I'm not making a decision for another week or so. Hope all's going well with you!

I had a similar experience with TWO bites of BBQ sandwhich. It was my first PB and slime experience and an educational one to be sure. I felt that bite go up and down my esophagus maybe 10 times. I think I have a sort of road rash from it. I'm still very sore. That was Saturday and I have had only mushies or liquids since then and I am still tight and sore. How are you feeling?

I'm not sure about BC/BS WNY, I have federal BC/BS. Your policy should have it in writing what they require. I made my appointment with a surgeon and they submitted it for pre-approval or whatever BC calls it and I was denied. I then had to appeal which I did with letters from me as well as letters of support from every one of my doctors, GYN, GP, Gastro, Pediatrist, and the surgeon. I was approved on my second go-around. Time from first submission to approval, about 2 months. Good luck to you!

Congrats on the weight loss. Don't get upset if you see a little spike after starting mushies. It happens, but it will resolve itself quick enough. Looks like you need to update your ticker. Good luck to you.

The easiest way to make sure you don't over eat your mushies is to measure them. My doc allows 4oz per meal nothing else. Didn't your doc give you a list of mushies? I remember from mine, my favorite mushie was rotisserie chicken salad. I still make that alot, it's really moist and loaded with Protein. Other high protein options are cottage cheese, Beans, weight control oatmeal, and another favorite of mine was pot pie. Yum. Good luck to you.

Congrats on the weight loss! I tend to stick at each 10 pound mark. Seems I can't cross that threshold without a bit of resistance from my body, or is it my mind? I don't know. Either way, it only seems to last about a week or so and I'm back on track so I'm OK with that.

That's awful, how did your lung collapse? Was it a result of the surgery? Congrats on the 6 pounds! Glad you're hanging in there.

Congrats on your weight loss and getting back on track. I love BooBooKitty and it makes me smile every time I see her up there. Such an improvement over that strange apple with the tape measure.

Don't give up that easy, APPEAL! I got turned down the first time and appealed and got approved. I have offered my appeal letters as samples to anyone out there and personally know of several that have been approved on the second go-around. Good luck to you whatever you decide.

I got denied with federal BC/BS. Not sure if they would help you, but I'd be happy to share my appeal letters if you need a sample to start from.

Sounds like you would benefit from working with a behavior modification expert. Either your controlling your binging to a degree or you are purging as well (which is an even bigger problem). Call your doctor and talk to them about this and let them help you get the help you need. Good luck to you.

Ditto!

I'm like oninamillion, at size 18, I was barely squeezing into the seats. I can't wait to go this summer though!

I'm hypoglycemic and I was really worried about how my blood sugar would do. My doc allows the following when you need to raise your bs. 1 tsp Honey, 8 oz skim milk, 4 oz juice, or 1 tsp jelly. I used unjury mixed with sugar free CIB and skim milk and my sugar held solid as a rock. As a matter of fact, I'm just over 4 months post op and blood sugar problems have nearly vanished.

I was so nervous when I got my first fill that I actually thought I was going to have to request to sit down (my doc does them standing up). Well, I was nervous for nothing, it was a breeze and just for the record, I am a HUGE baby. Try not to sweat it.

I've forgotten a few times and took a sip here and a sip there through a straw. Didn't cause any problems, but I don't know if drinking an entire drink would or not.

Someone told me that when you work out your muscles retain water and that's why you weight more when going to the gym.

I've become a big fan of the South Beach meals. I often eat a crispy meal bar for breakfast - 18g protien, they make little lunchables that are usually 20-24g protein and then I have lean protien and veggies for dinner. I know it's a lot of convenience foods, but I commute to work and have very little time to prepare meals. Good luck to you.

For me the decision was easy. My mom had a gastric bypass in 1997 and lost from 265 to 110 pounds. At one point she was 95 pounds. But she pays for it every day. EVERY DAY she is either throwing up or diarrea or even worse, she has a blockage. Her intestines are a mess and she goes to the hosptial once or twice each year with a life threatening blockage. Her hair is almost non-existant and she is always weak and frail. On the other hand, I know two other people who had it done and although they were not sick, like my mom, they have both gained some or all of their weight back. With RNY you just get what you get and then it's up to you, but with LapBand, they can adjust it until it's right for you. And as someone already stated, it's reversable. I sure wish the band was in the US when my mom had her surgery, what a difference it would have made in her life. Here's another thread I noticed with similar content. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f18/starting-process-looking-support-57837/ Best of luck to you whatever you decide.

My brother and I are also close and he is the one who got me to go to the seminar with him. We both planned to be banded and support each other. Then his job wouldn't let him take off and through a serious of unfortunate events, he has no idea when or if he'll be able to get the band. When I shared my success with him I thought we were talking as partners, two people interested in the same thing. Instead of making him look forward to it or happy for me, he could only feel sad that he's trapped, for the moment in a body that he despises. I vowed right then to myself never to mention it again. He tells me from time to time that he can tell I'm losing and he trys to support me but I never make him hear about my weight loss in any way. Most people just can't be happy for you, even if they love you and want you to succeed. I've found that most just can't hear about it. My sister, who has always been the smallest is very supportive and will let me ramble on all day about how loose my pants are or what I had to eat that day. She's the only one I share that kind of information with. For everyone else, I only tell if they ask. You need to find someone who can honestly hear about it and not have issues with it. Let your sister off the hook. She wants you to be happy, but it's only going to hurt her to have to hear about your weight. If you can't find someone around you who you can share with, use this board or a support group as Aubrie suggested. I know how hard it is not to shout this from the mountain tops. You just have to be careful of other people's feelings. Having said that, Congrats on your weight loss and please come back and tell us when you have your next victory. I jumped on here to tell everyone I moved out of the plus sized department and got so much support here! Best of luck to you.

Another thing to keep in mind that a friend of mine told me. If you think about it, we normally have a certain amount of stuff in our intestines at any given time. When we are on the liquid diet, we clear that out and then when we start mushies again, it gets replaced. I gained 2.5 pounds on mushies, but it came right back off the following week. Keep up the good work everyone!

Sorry to hear about your grand daughter. I am an organ donor, but didn't know you could donate excess skin. If I get to the point of PS, I'll definitely remember it.

My DH did something very similar, but he knows better now. I've seen him standing in the kitchen eating ice cream so as not to upset me. LOL I work in the same office building as my sister and we eat lunch together every day. However, when I was on liquids, I just couldn't do it. I opted to stay at my desk, drink my lunch, and read LBT. It worked out pretty good for me and I went back to having lunch with her as soon as I could have food. Congrats on your band.

Starryeyed, Congratulations! I've been working to get to my mid-way point as well. I'm almost there. I'm like you about the outdoor walking. I started mine Tuesday. Give yourself a pat on the back, you've done a great job!

I find that when I start allowing more carbs, I get so HUNGRY. I try to think of them as hunger pills. LOL