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Addy~Yes the 5 day pouch test is exactly what I'm doing....Good Luck and let me know how it goes for you. Here's the web site for any one else that is interested. Surgical Weight Loss 5 Day Pouch Test

Addy~ My doctor draws out all fluid with each fill and then pushes back in with additional fluid. He states this is done to make sure what he had previously put in is still there. I thought this was the normal practice. Cathy~How exciting about the date! Huggie~ Welcome back and happy to hear you are doing well. Allie~Sorry to hear about the pay cut. I know it sucks to loose that money, but just look on the positive side and be thankful it wasn't a job cut. I would of gladly taken a cut if it had been offerred to me. I just seem to be in a eating slump since the holidays with eating way to many carbs, which has slowed my weight loss. So starting tomorrow I am going to go through the food cycle starting with liquids and progress through to the solids to see if I can't flush this out of my system. Everyone have a great evening.

I probably would have been fine after on week of recovery, but the ideal time was two weeks. I felt pretty good after surgery and had no major issues. Just experienced a lot of fatigue. My doctor said three weeks, it was no issue with work and I was paid for the time off so I took the full three weeks. Every ones recovery experience is different. I would think one week would be sufficient. With your teaching job, will you have the opportunity to sit at times or are you standing all day? You may want to discuss this with your doctor. I did not make any major changes in my diet prior to surgery. My doctor did not require any thing. I did however a few weeks before I did make an effort to cut back on my eating and managed to loose 6 pounds. Again this is something else you will want to discuss with your doctor. Depending on your weight/BMI some doctors have you go on a liquid diet.

Donya, Sounds like you are off to a good start with your primary dr. and insurance requirements. Ahh the old dealing with people problem...I think all of us on this board have experienced this problem and definitely have the issue of dealing with weight, that is why we have chosen the Lap Band. I too have always carried my weight well, I am 5'7". My primary doctor was shocked when she saw my BMI number, she said she never would have guessed it. And of course I have tried all the diets and spent hundreds of dollars on products. So as you can see, you are not alone out there. As far as telling people, that is a personal choice. I for one chose to tell no one. I didn't even tell my husband until I received my surgery date and if I didn't need that ride to the hospital, I wouldn't have told him either...LOL. I chose not to tell anyone more so because I am a very private person and of course to avoid any negativity or judgement. Another reason is there are always those people that you think you can tell them in confidence and before you know it, the whole world knows about it. I didn't even tell my manager even though I was off work for 3 weeks. Only told her that I needed to go on medical leave and then let HR handle the rest. In my mind there really is no reason that any one needs to know. However, I can't stress enough that you do get support from the right resources. Such as joining any support groups that the Bariatric Center may offer and discussion boards such as this. So not sure if that helps you at all, but again it has to be a personal choice.

Hi DMJC, I had my procedure done at Royal Oak Beaumont in June 2008 and couldn't be happier. Not sure how far along you are in the process, but the one pointer I have is to get engaged with a doctor and insurance as soon as possible to make sure you meet all of the requirements and have all of the necessary documents insurance recommends. What insurance do you have? If you have BCBS, I highly recommend you engage a Health Card Advocate. It is a free service and they can push the process along and be the go between with the insurance and doctor. It took me 15 months to satisfy BCBS! Fortunately since I've gone through the process, BCBS had dropped their requirement for a supervised diet plan from 12 months to 6 months. Best of luck and please let me know if you have any specific questions.

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Apples ~ Sorry forgot to mention I hope you pass that stone soon and feel better

Apples ~ I'll check out Amazon. Right now I'm looking on the department store sites, found a few things at JC Penney. Don't want to spend a lot, hoping they don't fit by the time summer arrives here. Figure I could order two sizes and the returns are easy to do at the stores. Tops are no problem, it's those darn hips and thighs that give me problems fitting into pants. Have a great evening.

Happy New Year and Welcome to all the new members. Sounds as though every one had a great Christmas. I did not loose any weight these past 2 weeks, but I did not gain and am happy with that. I know what ever I would have normally lost, I cancelled out with all that extra eating and drinking (yes Allie wine and liquour do have calories)...:cry_smile: and I curse those people who gave me those boxes of Godvia Choclates and forced me to eat them all! Time to blow the dust off of the treadmill and get back on track with things. I realized one thing, I really have felt like crap the past two weeks with all of the drinking and eating the sweets. My body was not use to those foreign substances...LOL! I too am ready to get back to a normal routine. Since being laid-off on December 1st, I really have been all off schedule with my excercise and eating routine. My friend has offered me a job at her company while I continue to search for a job. So hopefully it will beat what I would collect in unemployment and get me back into a normal routine. I think this lay-off will finally sink in next week. Working for the automotive industry it would have been normal to have been off work the past two weeks and it is a strange feeling knowing that I am not returning to work tomorrow. I too went out shopping yesterday in search of some clothes for Florida. Leaving the 25th to move my daughter to Orlando and will take an extended vacation. Very hard to find summer clothes in Michigan in the middle of winter. I have absolutely nothing in my wardrobe that fits me. I did find one cute pencil jean skirt. Guess I better start doing some internet shopping. So hard though because I don't know what sizes to order...ugh. Those of you dreading the return to work tomorrow, have a great day and be thankful you have a job...

Kammy, First of all congratulations on the 32 pound loss, that is great! Give the band and your body some time to adjust. Every ones weight loss is different. The weight is not going to come off over night. For some people the weight comes off quickly, others at a steady pace and some slow. But in the end it all averages out. Don't get hung up on the numbers. Focus more on how you are feeling. And don't forget about all of those inches you are loosing. For me it was the inches lost that were more rewarding than the pounds. I seem to have lost inches at times when I have lost not weight. What are you eating as far as calorie and Protein intake, and are you drinking enough fluids? Focus on eating as much protein first before anything else. The protein will keep you more satisifed. I personally do not count calories. Hopefully you have worked with a nutritionist and they should have provided a protein goal. Also make sure you are getting in excercise daily. I hate excercising, but found without it I would not loose weight. And yes there are also a lot of psychological things to deal with. It's hard to break all those bad eating habits; for me it was binge eating. I truly love food and cooking and it has been so hard to adjust. But I have found that I can still have all of those foods and am just as happy with a bite or two. The attention for me has been difficult too. I have a hard time excepting the compliments. Because in my mind I'm thinking boy they really thought I was FAT! Keep the faith!

Congrats Long! Just think of all the new clothes you can buy with that money! Also thanks for the job prayers. They were supposed to call today. I hate waiting! Of course I'm thinking negatively since I did not get a call. Did work out some of my stress on the treadmill for an hour today, which felt really good. Just got back from doing some Christmas shopping, actually my first attempt out at the stores. I've done most of my shopping on-line. Was planning on staying out longer, but getting hit with a snow storm right now and the roads are awful. Have a good evening.

THANK YOU!!! :frown:

Hi all! Just checking in to say Hi. It is cold here too, about 15 degrees! The scale has been stuck the past week, but I know why. I have not been eating well, getting my fluids in or excercising the past two weeks since loosing my job. I'm not eating much, but just not the right foods. So I kicked myself in the rear today, went grocery shopping to get some healthy foods in the house and am back on track today. I did have an interview today that went well and that got my morale up and got me motivated. I have not gone on a job interview in 23 years, was that tough! I did go see the doctor last Wednesday and I did not get another fill, I did not want one either. I feel very comfortable with my fill at this point. I'm Florida bound on January 25th to move my daughter to Orlando. She is participating in the Disney College Internship Program, so exciting! Everyone keep warm and pray for me that I get this job.

Katie, to my surprise when I updated my ticker today I realized I hit the mid way mark too with 56 pounds lost. It is a nice milestone to hit especially right at the 6 month mark.

Hi all! I have not checked in on the site in a while, so nice to catch up on every body. To my surprise as I updated my weight loss ticker, I see that I am at the half way mark for my weight loss goal, hurray! So looks like I am right on track loosing half the weight in 6 months, I figured it would take me a year. I've been continuing to loose weight steadily, however have been slacking on the excercise. But will have plenty of time for that now, because unfortunately I was laid off on Tuesday. 23 years with a major IT company, ugh. The company is laying off 25,000 people. And living in Michigan where everything is automotive based, the economy is so bad and jobs are rare. Luckily I did receive 5 months severance to tide me over. May just be time to move out of here. Strike ~ I can relate to the saggy jowls. Just noticed that on my neck yesterday, yuck! I'm having a 50th birtday bash for my husband on Saturday. So have been keeping busy with that to keep my mind of the job situation. Went shopping with my daughter last night for a new outfit for the party. How nice it was to shop in normal sizes and I also found I went down another size in jeans. So that definitely cheered me up. I see some of you were discussing what you eat. I can eat very little chicken or beef because it gets stuck, but do well with fish. In the morning I make my self a fat free latte with protein powder or will have scrambled eggs. For snacks I eat almonds, popcorn, yogurt and light string cheese. I can not do without choclate. I treat myself to a few semi-sweet choclate chips occassionally. Keep up the good work.

I'm here too! I guess the lack of posting probably has to do with we are almost to the 6 month mark and we've all adjusted very well to our new band life. In the beginning we all had so many questions and issues to share. But it is always fun to hear what you are all up to. I hit the 50 pound mark earlier this week, yipee! I had my 7th fill on Novemeber 5th and I think I am finally at my sweet spot. I have a 10CC band and have about 6.5-7cc's, dr. is always vague how much he is adding. In the end, I guess the number really doesn't matter, I think it becomes more of a mental thing. So now that I hit the 50 pound mark, my next goal is to get to 199 by the end of the year. Which is only13 pounds, so hopefully it is doable. Other than that it is unseasonably cold and snowy here in Michigan and besides working, I am busy painting and getting the house ready for husband's 50th Birthday Party on Dec 6th and for the Holidays. Hope all is well with everyone.

yipee I hit 50 pounds lost today!!!

I'm down 47 pounds since being banded. Only 3 more pounds until I hit the big 5-0! Need to get in gear with excercising more. I probably would have hit 50 already if I was doing so; life and work have been very busy the last few weeks...excuses, excuses. What I have noticed lots of inches have fallen off. I swear I have never worn the clothes sizes that I am currently when I have been this weight before. Had my 7th fill Monday, doctor almost did not want to give me more, but I convinced him to. I am so happy he did, because I think this fill just might be about right. I think I have about 6-7ccs in my 10cc band. Everyone keep up the good work. Doesn't matter if you're a slow or fast looser, we all put the pounds on 1 at a time (or in my case I swear it was 5 pounds at a time..LOL) and we need to be patient for it to come off a pound at a time.

Nazzy, Yes BCBS covers adjustments. The best thing to estimate your out of pocket expense is to find out what your doctor will charge for adjustments. Then it will also depend if the dr. is a BCBS provider. The doctor I see is a BCBS provider and charges $200 per adjustment. The BCBS covered rate is $107.50, which they will pay 80% of and I then pay the other 20%, which is $21.50.

CM, I went into Starbucks this morning and he told me 5 grams of protein. I'll have to check out the Chocolate sauce, Cafe Mochas are good too. I sometimes mix sugar free cocoa in with my coffee. The Starbuck's syrups are reasonably priced, at least compared to what they charge for a cup of coffee. I think it was only $7.00 for a 34 ounce bottle. They don't have the syrups out on display for sale, you have to ask the barista for it.

I can't function without my daily Skinny Vanilla Latte w/protein. Great way to get some Calcium in too. If I can't make it to Starbucks I make mine at home. I bought a big bottle of the Sugar-Free Syrup from Starbucks and add my own Protein Powder. I have not been able to find out how much protein is in the Starbuck's protein. I checked their web site nutrition list and it's not listed. One of the guys at the local Starbucks said he will find the answer for me. Just curious if you happen to know?

Donna ~ Congratulations on being banded. Happy to hear all went well with your surgery and you are feeling well. :thumbup:

I have a 10cc band, 2cc's were put in at time of surgery and then I got my first official fill of 1cc at 6 weeks after surgery. My doctor recommends every 4 weeks for fills, but I have been scheduling them for every 3 which he is fine with. I had 1cc for the second fill and .5cc for the last 3, for a total of 5.5cc's. Seems like such a slow process, but I guess there is a method to the madness. I have fill #6 scheduled next week and hopefully it will be another .5cc's and will do the trick, I feel like I'm just about there. My doctor said on average his patients get about 7cc's. So yes, there does seem to be a lot of different approaches.

Long ~ I wish it was me that hit the 50lbs, that was jdrocks you owe the congrats too...LOL However, I am just 7 pounds away!!! And yes I have worn that coat, it's gotten very cold here in Michigan this week. 31 degrees this morning and I actually had to defrost the car windows...ugh i hate winter.