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Congrats. That is awesome!

I asked my nutrionist and she said it doesn't matter if you get all your Protein at once, but to fight off hunger I would spread it out. I also use Isopure powder and like it. In the morning I use 2 scoops with Water for 50 grams of protein. Then I use 1 scoop of my chocolate Isopure at night blended with soy milk and ice for a "treat".

I got my Isopure from GNC. I have Vanilla and Chocolate flavored. I like it, it isn't bad at all. Dissolves nicely.

Princess: Good to know! Thanks! :eek:

Munchkin: I am liking the Isopure so far. It really fills me up good. Tomorrow will be a bigger test since I am back to work after my mini Christmas Vacation. Yesterday morning I did vanilla Isopure mixed with Vanilla Soy milk and that held me over until dinner at 4. Then I had baked salmon and broccoli for dinner and a chocolate Isopure shake for a treat later on. I was content. Hard to watch and SMELL everyone else eat reese's peanut butter cups and peanut m&m's.. uggggh... but I made it through with no cheating. :eek: I only have the Vanilla and Chocolate tubs of Isopure powder. I haven't tried any of the drinks yet. The watermelon sounds yummy.... I may have to check out some of the premixed dinks. Brandy: Hang in there!!! :cool: go have a snowball fight with the kids, help them burn off some energy! Good exercise for you.

schweeeet.... :eek: Go JJ's!

I tried to read more of this thread today and have read through about 80 pages. My eyes are bugging! lol. I did get some great info and also realized the bumpy roads some of you had. Wow. I have my phone consult on Thursday with DrK and am very excited for my surgery! I am trying to get started on the high protein / low carb diet but am not sure how many carbs are ok? I already talked with Paula but we didn't really cover my pre-op diet. I did pick up Isopure from GNC and plan on trying to do that for breakfast and maybe lunch. Or a lunch of salad with tuna. Dinner of baked salmon and veggies. Is that seriously going to be enough to shrink my liver?? Would DrK be able to answer that for me during our phone consult or should I try and contact Paula again? Can anyone go over their pre op diet for me? Thanks for any help. :D LapDancer: You look wonderful! What is your loss to date? I am starting with a high BMI also and have been following your posts. I read that you had difficulties with a fill, but couldn't find out the circumstances. Would you mind re-posting it? Also, did your 2 day fast before surgery help? I was thinking of trying it if it did.

I think we should have another poll with the top two winners from this one. That way we can re-vote with a narrowed down field.

Merry Christmas everyone! :rose:

Merry Christmas!!

Yuuuuum thanks for the tips! LOVE crabmeat and hubby is from Jersey so he loves crabcakes.

Judy: so glad your husband is feeling better! I love Rice Dream... never thought about adding it to my list for my liquid diet phase. Artsy: What was the hardest thing for you post surgery to adjust to so far?

Living: Awesome. Congrats. Please keep us updated on your journey. Munchkin: oh no. What tripped you up? Want2bme: OMG... lol. I hope I can make it a year without PB'ing!! I hope I don't have to add myself to your club! *wink* Oh and I lucked out big time $$ wise. I posted about it on the other Dr K thread my mom is lending me the money so I don't have to finance it. Yeah me. Huge deal for me, totally not my mom. Just hoping that it does not cause problems in the future between her and I. I HATE borrowing money.

Judy: So glad your hubby is feeling better. Hope he passes gas soon. Shelbie: Hope things get better wih your son and he gets back on track with school. Thankfully your school is working with you. That is half the battle! How is everoyne else. Anyone heard from Mona? Who else just had their surgery. I am still trying to figure everyone out! I have a small Christmas miracle happening at my house. My mom is in town for the holidays and I decided to tell her about the surgery. At first she was less than thrilled. Gave me the whole talk about how I should lose it like she did. Once I explained to her all the research I did and how my genes are half my dad's so my journey is not hers... she seemed to be on board. I would have been thrilled with just that, but she went one step farther and offered to loan me the money for the surgery. :) If you knew my mom you would know why this is such a huge deal. Then...on top of that... she is giving me a year to pay off the small amount of debt we do have on a card... THEN we can pay her. I am just speechless at her generosity. I am still stunned but am not questioning it. I guess this is definitely meant to be since things are falling into place for me. I am so glad I decided to talk to my mom. I had some difficulties booking a flight (we decided to fly) since my work schedule was off by a day (my mistake). I am flying into Denver at 11:35 and my pre op is at 1pm. So that is what I am most concerned about right now. Hopefully the weather and airlines will be co-operating. So... now I guess it is just a waiting game.

I was telling Paula that this was going to be the hardest thing for me. Drinking while I eat. I drink all the time when I eat. It is aways take a bite, wash it down. I hope you can find some success with delaying when you drink. One thing Paula said was if you have to drink during... make sure that you don't before or after, to limit the amount in the stoma. Yeah that is awesome! I can't wait to get banded! I want to feel what you are. :) Congrats on re-losing! Well I finally decided, screw it, I will tell my close friends and some family. I told my good friend here locally just a little while ago. Mostly because when I go to her house, it is a five course meal! lol. So her boyfriend can't force me to eat anymore... it won't fit! I also told my sister that lives with me. I am planning on telling my mom and other sister over the weekend. I am explaining as best I can to everyone how it is different than RNY so they don't expect to see 100lbs melt off me in the next 6 months. I am being banded at Aurora. My surgery it at 1pm. Would have been fun to say hi. Maybe we can still meet and do lunch.

sorry duplicate post

VIRI: Wow 14.99% on a medical loan. For some reason I figured they would be cheaper interest. I hear you on the insurance SHOULD cover it thing. Mine actually does... but my employer has an opt out clause. *bastards* I am not sure I can fight it, and don't want to wait any longer than I already have.

I am having t same issues with trying to finace it right now as well. I just spent the morning on th phone with my Credit Card companies trying to get my interest rates lowered and they won't... well at least not to a level I am comfortable charging $10,000 to. We just bought a house and are paid ff a ton of debt cashing out hubby's 401k. We finally have our debt under $8,000, no car payments and only the mortgage. I am feeling a lot of guilt about adding such a large chunk of debt back. One of my credit cards is willing to give me 0% to August of next year, but then it jumps to 15% (ouch). I may just do that and hope to figure something out in the meantime.

Thanks so much for the welcome. We are getting banded close together. I was originally scheduled for the 1/22 but they were so awesome to bump me up to the 17th because I have a thing for 7's. lol! I got to go over that with Paula today. She was helpful. I too have started the low carb diet and have lost a few pounds already! Yeah! I am also chewing sllooooower and cutting back on portion sizes some. As much as I can. I am also SOOO ready to get started on this journey! :confused: Where do you live Dee? Wish I had a stack of cash somewhere! lol. Don't want to get divorced though. We just bought a house and are pretty tight already. This is going to be a challenge for us financially, but I am prepared to get a part time job if I need to. That would be fun! I may take you up on that. It would be nice to have a bandbuddy close by to share this experience with!

Good to know! We were just talking and we are probably going to fly now. So hubby can have more time visiting family ad have some time to sightsee. I hope that you find your proper restriction soon! That would be a wonderful Christmas gift. :biggrin1: I did finally find someone in Tempe that will do follow up care. it is going to cost $500 to become a patient, then $370ea for the first two fills (with ultrasound), and then $265 for each fill after that. They sound wonderful at this office and are the ONLY ones so far who would take on someone else's patient. Cost wise it will be about the same as going to Colorado, but this way I am only 1.5 hours away from home and can get an unfill if I need to. No spending days away in CO. I live in Tucson, AZ... so it is about a 13 hour drive to DrK. Definitely makes aftercare with him tricky.

Dr. DeBarros & Dr. Orris in Tempe, AZ $500 to become patient $370 for first 2 fills (done with Ultrasound) $265 for each fill after

I have had two different surgeons in Tucson tell me they would not provide fills/aftercare for me. I AM new to this area, so I TRIED that route. No go. My banding will be done by a US surgeon... didn't seem to matter to them. Surgeons do not want the liability of someone else's surgery. Period. I did find a practice in Tempe that will take on aftercare and they were WONDERFUL on the phone. Dr. DeBarros & Dr. Orris This is what I was quoted: $500 to become patient $370 for first 2 fills (done with Ultrasound) $265 for each fill after One year out they do a scan (ETG?) to make sure it is still placed properly and not slipping. This is covered my most insurances, even if you were self pay. I am still waiting for some call backs from other surgeons. Hopefully I can find one here in Tucson.

Oh one more question. If you were self pay... how did you pay/finance your surgery? DrK's office recommended two different companies. Has anyone used either of these? Surgeryloans.com – 888-405-8140 Mymedicalfinancing.com – 800-728-9585 Thanks!

Oh how said. Maybe the family will find some comfort in that fact. Not blame themselves for missing his sadness or depression. I remember back when I worked out regulaly just how sluggish I would feel missing a few days. Hope you can return to your routine soon! Also hope that you found your "sweet spot" with restriction! Thanks! Oh, I just wanted to add that I had my phone consult with Paula this morning. She is wonderful. I am feeling much better about the food choices I am making now pre-surgery. I still can't believe DrK doesn't require liquids prior. Guess I can discuss that with him on our phone consult. I weight 375 right now so I feel like he is going to have A LOT to get around in my tummy. Don't want my liver to add to the congestion! lol. What is everyone's favorite Protein supplement? I was going to go pick some up today and wasn't sure which one's are yummier than others. Thanks!

I did find a surgeon finally in Tempe (abought 1.5 hour drive for me) who will do aftercare, but he is kinda spendy. Sound like they are VERY thorough though... so I may still go that route. $500 to become a patient $370 for the first 2 fills with Ultrasound $265 for each fill after Then a year out they do a ETG? scan. Something they require for follow up. They said insurance would cover it. It may be just about the same as traveling to Colorado but this way I don't have to take off work or be away from home. I also am waiting on a call back from a few sugeons still closer to home. We will see! Thanks so much for the info!! I appreciate your input from a nurses standpoint. My surgery is scheduled for a Thursday. We plan on driving back home late Saturday or early Sunday. We are staying with relatives in town. We are contemplating flying instead, but we don't want to inconvenience family with picking us up, driving us, etc. Plus I HATE flying right now. So uncomfy! Wow! What a distance to travel. So glad to see you don't regret your decision. I am feeling 100% better about the aftercare now that I finally found someone who is willing to closer to home. I haven't had my phone consult with Dr K yet, that is on the 27th.. but I am so glad to know he covers things up to a year out! Fantastic! :girl_hug: Thanks so much for the insight to your food experience after. I am already mourning the loss a bit as I mentally prepare for the changes. I can't imagine how hard it is going to be to REALLY not be able to eat something when I am upset, frustrated, or just plain feeling like gorging out. I NEED this band to keep me in check though during those times. I can't wait!! YIKES! That is COOOOOLD. I just moved to AZ from WI last year and I miss snow a lot!!! But I DO NOT miss the cold and the grey for sooooo many months. I am freezing right now and it is only in the 50's. lol. Back in WI we would be breaking out the shorts. Here I have the heat on, a sweater, and booties and am still cold! I am pretty sure my family will be supportive, I just don't want people watching me, waiting for me to lose weight. Asking questions all the time. Judging everything I do with regard to food. About 2 years ago when I first started researching the band I talked to my mom about it a lot since she needed to lose also. Well I started working with a dietitian and working out and lost a little over 50lbs. So I decided I didn't need the band anymore. Big mistake. Now 2 years later I have regained all that weight and then some. I am at my highest ever. My mom on the other hand was so inspired by my loss that she started walking and eating better. She has lost over 100lbs ad has maintained it. She never shuts up about what she eats, how far she has walked.. yadda yadda. Drives me nuts! lol. So now I don't want to tell her because I am afraid she will try and convince me to try yet again on my own. I know I can do it. I have done it before, but I can't maintain. I fall off the wagon. I am 100% sure that this is the route for me now. She is coming into town on Thursday for the holidays, I may tell my sisters and her over Christmas. I guess I will feel it out! I just requested the time off for vacation. So I didn't tell anyone anything. I work four 10 hour days so I only had to take 4 days vacation which gives me 10 days away from work. I am hoping that will be enough. My surgery falls on a Thursday and I don't return to work until the Saturday the week following. Plus I sit 100% of the time as I am dispatcher. Is there a way you can just take off vacation time and not tell them it is medical related? I guess it really is no one's business there. In my opinion. As far as eating at work, I am sure people will notice the difference. Specially when I am sipping on protein shakes during the day. I figure that will explain my weight loss sufficiently enough. they can assume what they want! :girl_hug: Yes. that is why I am also apprehensive. WE understand the band and how it works. I don't think people "get" the difference between WLS and will expect pounds to just "melt" off. I don't want to have to try and educate people on the differences. Or have them think I am taking the "easy" way out when I know this is going to be a lot of work!