NukeChik

Sorry I didn't put location in. I got banded in Dalton, GA. My surgeon's office is in Chattanooga, TN, but it is cheaper for the self-pays for him to do it in Dalton at an Ambulatory Surgery Center vice a hospital. If I had been self pay at the hospital, it would have been $18,000. Also after the first year, my followup visits are $45 and my fills are $125.

Mine was $13,800, that includes my office visits for a year and fills are $50 after they charge a facility fee (yeah, I know load of bull). That didn't cover my pre-op testing, I got my regular doctor to send me for that so the insurance covered most of it!!

I'm only 4 months out, but these are my positives thus far: 10. Men notice me, doors get opened, attention is paid. 9. Less self concious, I always used to think everyone was starting at me and that I disgusted people, now people stare, but I don't think its cause I look bad. 8. Don't hide in baggy clothes anymore. I always wore baggy sweatshirts and jeans, jackets even when it was hot to cover my fat rolls. Now I wear fitted clothes, in fact I put one of my older shirts on the other night and deemed it too baggy, even though my man said it was okay. 7. My mind is no longer pre-occupied with what my next meal is going to be. 6. More confidence- I feel sooo much better about myself. 5. Happier, smile wayyy more than before 4. Don't mind looking in the mirror, before when I would get out of the shower in the mornings and get ready, I would hurry up and dry off and put on my robe so I wouldn't have to look at myself. 3. Shopping, I actually enjoy shopping now, used to get sooo depressed when nothing fit. Now when something is tight if I like it I just go ahead and buy it cause I now I will be able to wear it in a few weeks. 2. Less fear- No fear of fitting into stuff, booths, movie seats, airplane seats, etc... 1. SEX- I can't believe nobody else has put this on yet, more sex, better sex for him and me, incredible SEX!!:thumbdown:

I used KeloCote on mine. I think it helped... I used it for 60 days as recommended, my scars are still brownish, it could just be my pasty white belly though:blush:

Okay, I finally posted some in progress pics!! I know draggin my feet oh well! Attached Images

Looking great crystal, keep it going!!:thumbup:

My next fill is scheduled for May 22. I'm pretty tight in the mornings, but nothing too bad. I was thinking about not getting another fill cause I kinda like where I am now, but I think I'll still get one. I can eat a lot at night. I don't mind having soft breakfasts, if I could just get some more restriction at night!

I hope this works, here's some before and in progress pics. A little over 4 months since surgery.

First of all, I did not get to choose my band. My doctor (Jaime Ponce, he's on the www.realizeband.com website) chose it after he opened me up. I was glad to get the realize band because of the standard low profile port. I do not have excessive belly fat and did not want my port to "stick out". I can still feel my port, but its hardly noticable.

They will "lighten" over time, but will never go away unless the skin is removed. I've also read time and time again that Pure Cocoa Butter helps them. I haven't tried that, but its an age old treatment. You can buy Mederma almost anywhere, Walgreens even has their own generic, I think its called Walderma or something.

I'm tight in the mornings, so I usually have a protein shake or yogurt for breakfast and I mix in 2 or 3 spoonfuls of Benefiber. If I get stopped up I rely on good ole MOM (milk of magnesia). I'm running to the potty about an hour after that. Pre surgery, I had multiple bm's a day and they were the sudden urge types, now I go once every couple of days or once a day. Maybe TMI, but oh well.

Thats awesome Ghost, its great when you know its "genuine" BTW, how you doing?? Keep me/us updated!

RSG, you're so welcome! Copy away! Yeah, I broke the news to my guy last night about the Chili Chipotle Crispers (he's gotten them the last 2 times we have went there!). He was a little bummed.

I love, love, love Top Chef, I've watched it since the beginning. I have to say, I'm not as impressed with the chef's this season, but it still rocks. Love to watch food Network, they do have a couple of healthy cooking shows, like Cooking Healthy?? with Ellie Kreiger (sp?) and the woman that does the morphing meals. Like she'll make pork tenderloin on Monday and then have 3 nights worth of different meals. I liked the original japan version of Iron Chef better than Iron Chef America. I still watch all the shows, but I don't cook much anymore. I just don't eat it. I can eat what I used to as a snack for a meal. I'm also really bad at grocery shopping now, cuz my man likes for me to buy all the snack stuff and I just don't do it anymore. He's going to have to start doing the grocery shopping!!

Lets see if this one comes through Georgia, you have to imagine the tub of ranch dressing at the side.:thumbup:

I start burping, hiccuping, general discomfort!

James, Where ya from? We don't have the same PCP do we? He tried that with me, it ultimately didn't work. It is not a recommended usage of Byetta, but I think the drug reps are kinda pushing it for weight loss. Yucky side affects and giving yourself shots twice a day was not very fun for me. Plus its a usage for the drug that has not been studied.

My PCP, whom I'm now considering ditching BTW, kept telling me that I had insulin resistance. I don't think I do though. I haven't had much of an issue losing my weight. I think he was just trying to put me on another new expensive drug that the drug reps he's in bed with are pushing. The diet does look good though. I find I have a lot of hunger issues if I eat carbs. I try to have Protein based Snacks if I must have one.

I have to say, I have eaten the cheese fries at outback on more than one occassion (not by myself, but still). Never again, especially since my band and fries don't get along, which is a super good thing!

Seriously ReadySteady, You're doing awesome!! I know its impossible, but don't try and compare yourself with others. I know its just a waste of typing energy for me to put that on here. I've been exactly where you are right now!! My doc fussed at me at my 3rd fill, because I was raving about how I had only lost xx pounds. I can say "relax" to you now, because its happened for me, and it will happen for you too. Please try to trust us when we tell ya to be patient, as impossible as that is!

I got this in an email a little while back and thought it would be good to post on here. Some of the things were quite surprising. 20: Worst Fast-food chicken Meal - Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips from McDonald's (5 pieces) with cream ranch sauce. 830 Calories, 55 grams fat (4.5 trans fat), 48 carbs. Add a large fries and regular soda and this seemingly innocuous chicken meal tops out at 1,710 calories. 19: Worst drink - Jamba juice chocolate Moo'd Power smoothie (30 fl oz). 900 calories, 10 g fat, 183 carbs, 166 g sugar. Jamba Juice calls it a smoothie, MSNBC calls it a milk shake. The beverage contains as much sugar as 8 pints of Ben & Jerry's butter pecan ice cream. 18: Worst supermarket meal - Pepperidge Farm Roasted Chicken Pot Pie (whole pie). 1,020 calories, 64 g fat, 86 g carbs. Label may say this pie serves two, but, who ever divided a small pot pie in half? Once you crack th e crust, there will be no stopping. 17: Worst 'healthy' burger - Ruby Tuesday Bella Turkey Burger. 1,145 calories, 71 g fat, 56 g carbs. 16: Worst Mexican entree - Chipotle Mexican Grill Chicken Burrito. 1,179 calories, 47 g fat, 125 g carbs, 2,656 mg sodium. 15: Worst kids' meal - macaroni Grill Double Macaroni 'n' cheese. 1,210 calories, 62 g fat, 3,450 mg sodium. It's like feeding your kid 1-1/2 boxes of Kraft mac 'n' cheese. 14: Worst sandwich - Quiznos Classic Italian (large). 1,528 calories, 92 g fat, 4,604 mg sodium, 110 g carbs. A large homemade sandwich would more likely provided about 500 calories. 13: Worst salad - On the Border Grande Taco Salad with Taco Beef. 1,450 calories, 102 g fat, 78 g carbs, 2,410 mg sodium. This isn't an anomaly: Five different On the Border salads on the menu contain more than 1, 100 calories each. 12: Worst burger - Carl's Jr. (Hardee's on East Coast) Double Six Dollar Burger. 1,520 calories , 111g fat. Carl's Jr. brags it's home to this enormous sandwich, but the restaurant chain also provides convenient nutrition info on its Web site -- so ignorance is no excuse for eating it. 11: Worst steak - Lonestar 20 oz T-bone. 1,540 calories, 124g fat. Add a baked potato and Lonestar's Signature Lettuce Wedge, and this is a 2,700 calorie blowout. 10: Worst Breakfast - Bob Evans Caramel banana Pecan Cream Stacked and Stuffed hotcakes. 1,540 calories, 77 g fat (9 g trans fat), 198g carbs, 109 g sugar. Five Egg McMuffins yield the same caloric cost as this stack of sugar-stuffed flapjacks, which is truly a heavy breakfast, weighing in at a hefty pound and a half. 9: Worst dessert - Chili's Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie with vanilla Ice Cream. 1,600 calories, 78 g fat, 215 g carbs. Would you eat a Big Mac for dessert? How about three? That's the calorie equivalent of this decadent dish. Clearly, Chili's customers get their money's worth. 8: Worst Chinese entree - P.F. Chang's Pork Lo Mein. 1,820 calories, 127 g fat, 95 g carbs. The fat content in this dish alone provides more than 1,100 calories. And you'd have to eat almost five servings of Pasta to match the number of carbs it contains. Now, do you really need five servings of pasta? 7: Worst chicken entree - Chili's Honey Chipotle Crispers with Chipotle Sauce. 2,040 calories, 99 g fat, 240 g carbs. 'Crispers' refers to an extra thick layer of break crumbs that soak up oil and adds unnecessary calories and carbs to these glorified chicken strips. 6: Worst fish entree - On the Border Dos XX Fish Tacos with Rice and Beans. 2,100 calories, 130 g fat, 169 g carbs, 4,700 mg sodium. Perhaps the most misleadingly named dish in America : A dozen crunchy tacos from Taco Bell will saddle you with fewer calories. 5: Worst pizza - Uno Chicago Grill Chicago Classic Deep Dish Pizza. 2,310 calories, 162 g fat, 123 g carbs, 4,470 mg sodium. Downing this 'personal' pizza is equivalent to eating 18 slices of Domino's Crunchy Thin Crust cheese pizza. 4: Worst pasta - Macaroni Grill Spaghetti and Meatballs with meat Sauce. 2,430 calories, 128 g fat, 207 g carbs, 5,290 mg sodium. This meal satisfied your calorie requirements for an entire day. 3: Worst nachos - On the Border Stacked Border Nachos. 2,740 calories, 166 g fat, 191 g carbs, 5,280 sodium. 2: Worst starter - Chili's Awesome Blossom. 2,710 calories, 203 g fat, 194 g carbs, 6,360 mg sodium. 1: The worst food in America - Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing. 2,900 calories, 182g fat, 240g carbs. Even if you split these 'starters' with three friends, you'll have downed a dinner's worth of calories before you entree arrives.

Okay, let me "weigh" in on this subject. I'm six feet tall. I carry my weight because of my height. So that means that when I'm really heavy, I don't look as heavy as others. It works both ways though, I've lost 40 pounds and hardly anyone has noticed, or if they have noticed, they haven't commented. Yes, I have long, graceful arms, but they only allow more room for my burgeoning "bat wings". Now I have to say, I'm likin my legs, but I have a huge fugly varicose vein that runs all the way from my upper thigh to my calf. Now, I'm not saying that I don't like being tall, but I just don't want you to think its all rainbows and lollipops up here either.:smile2:

I've got pretty good restriction now and I don't have a problem with popcorn. Never been an issue and I don't remember my doc ever saying not to have it.

WAY TO GO MOLLY MOLLY I dream of ONEDERLAND!!

At first I said yes, and then when I figured out that I couldn't get it registered, I changed it. My justification was that the types of surgeries that were given in the examples were cases where malabsorption issues occur. I figured it didn't apply to me. I talked to Gay Riley, the nutrition gal and she confirmed that I didn't need to check it for lap-band surgery. Use your judgement though.