JaimeSTL

I just got my first taste of that this week. Someone who claimed me be a poster here sent me a message via MySpace just to call me a liar. She insisted I couldn't possibly have lost 95 lbs and that my pictures look like I simply changed clothes. WTF is wrong with people?!

I'll see when I get there. I can't imagine I'd do okay with a complete unfill, even at goal. I like that the band controls my hunger and I can feel full on normal amounts of food. I never felt full before so I worry that if I was unfilled, I'd go back to that feeling.

I'm glad to hear you are okay! How scary! Are you on BP medication? Maybe they need to change the dose or take you off of it if you are.

I gained right up until my pre-op liquid diet. My doctor usually does a 3 day diet but he made me do 5 days to make sure I lost a few pounds before surgery.

I canNOT even believe people would defend something like this. Even my 7 and 5 year olds know better than to use the word retarded. My 7 year old has special needs and has been referred to in that way, both by children and adults. You can't even imagine how much it hurts until you (or your child) are the one being called that.

I've been holding onto a lot of my too big clothes. I have a bunch of things I need to bag up and take to Goodwill (thanks for the reminder on that RSG!). Some things I am making a conscious decision to keep because I love to sleep in baggy shirts and shorts or because I can still make them work well enough to wear sometimes. I really hate the idea of spending money on clothes that I won't wear long. I am trying to make things last as long as I can before I break down and buy new stuff. I also noticed that my body is much different than it was at this weight before. My arms and legs are thinner so my pants are way baggier throughout the legs. I have no butt. I think I wore the same size before. I carry much of my weight in my stomach and it is putting up a fight. LOL

Posting just to say that some people just really REALLY suck.

I have lost 96 lbs as of today. I told my husband, "If you put something that weighed 96 pounds in front of me and asked me to lift it, I couldn't do it. But I carried those 96 pounds around on my body for years." Even though I still have quite a bit more to lose, just losing those 96 lbs made it worth going through surgery. I wish I'd gotten the surgery when I only had 90 lbs to lose instead of 190.

Woohoo!! Yay!!

Woohoo!! WTG Ezma!! How exciting! What about a spa day or manicure/pedicure, something like that to pamper yourself? I agree about the clothes. I wouldn't want to spend a lot on clothes right now. Maybe one nice outfit that makes you feel great.

I also have Empire Blue Cross. I was approved the same day my information was sent to them. They are very friendly about it, gave me no problems at all. I really doubt they are just trying to get out of paying. Here is a link to their requirements, it might help you. SURG.00024 Surgery for Clinically Severe Obesity

Here are my 6 month pictures.

Yesterday, I saw my doctor for my 6 month checkup. He was amazed by how much weight I've lost. Since my last visit 6 weeks ago, I've lost about 18 lbs, including a 2 1/2-3 week long plateau. He said that the goal he set was for me to lose 105-150 lbs and he definitely thinks I can get to the higher end of that and even beyond (which is good because my goal is to lose 190 lbs). Then, the best part. He asked me if I would come speak at one of his seminars! I was so excited! He also said he wanted my before and after pictures to put on his website. There just happened to be a seminar last night so I went to it and spoke after he gave his presentation. People asked a ton of questions. I was there for over an hour after he left answering questions. I took pictures from before and passed them around so people could see that I was for real, I'd really lost this much weight, etc. I wish a patient had been at my seminar because like he said, we can give a much different perspective than he can since he doesn't have a band. I was so happy to be asked to speak. My doctor told me that I am a success already. :smile2: Today is my 6 month bandiversary. Pictures coming later. I had set a goal of -100 lbs by now, but I came up just short. I did meet my revised goal of halfway to goal and I reached that this morning. I am -95 lbs as of today!

I had my band done by Dr. Darin Minkin at Des Peres Hospital. He is great. I can't say enough nice things about him. He isn't one of those doctors that only give 1/2 a cc at a time to slowly get to restriction. He likes to get restriction as quickly as possible. I've only had 3 fills and I'm at my sweet spot. I had restriction immediately after fills 1 and 2, but it went away. My most recent was 6 weeks ago and it is still perfect.

I have plateau'ed two times. The first time, I think I wasn't getting in enough calories and my body kind of freaked out. I upped the calories big time a couple of days, then stayed in the 1000-1200 range. That broke it easily. That plateau lasted about a week. My most recent plateau lasted about 3 weeks, mid July until the beginning of August. It also coincided with beginning an exercise program. I did a combination of things. First, I took a weekend off. It was not really planned, but it was what I needed to get my head back in the game. I had a blizzard from Dairy Queen, went out to dinner with a friend, went to a bbq with my inlaws...just in general, ate what I wanted (though I find being bad now is far different from being bad before...I just can't eat the quantity I used to). I kept exercising consistenly. I increased my Water intake from about 64 ozs a day to 80 to 100 ozs per day. I increased my Protein from about 60-65 grams a day to about 80+ grams a day. I changed up some of my regular food choices (like, I had been having oatmeal for Breakfast everyday and I started having turkey sausage and eggbeaters). I had excellent restriction (I'd just had a fill before this started). I also noticed that my calorie intake was more in the 1200-1400 range each day. The first week off my plateau, I dropped 5 lbs and another 8 or so since then (that's just the last three weeks). Make sure you have increased your water to make up for what you are losing through exercise. Change up your food choices. Vary the amount of calories you eat each day. When I get in a rut of eating just about the same amount of calories each day or eating the same things too much, things slow down. Once you've built up some muscle through exercising, you'll burn more fat.

I have also noticed that people are more engaging now...more eye contact, just saying hello, holding doors open, that kind of thing. I really felt invisible before. I had a weird NSV on Friday. I was at work and one of my regular customers came in. She said, "Are you related to Jaime?" I said, "Um, what?" She repeated it. I said, "I AM Jaime." She goes, "Oh my, I didn't even recognize you, you've lost a lot of weight, haven't you?" LOL That made me feel pretty good. I only see my customers about once a month usually, and some of them I've worked with for 2+ years now, but she's only the THIRD one to even make a comment and definitely the first to comment like that. LOL

I don't really drink anymore, probably hadn't in a year or so before surgery, so it hasn't been an issue. My surgeon says no and I don't like to drink calories so I won't anyway.

I don't know, but I'm going to hear him speak tomorrow at the event in Springfield, IL. I am so excited! (And still pulling for Hillary)

Thank you!

I think it is kind of hard to set a goal when we start because we really don't know how we'll look or feel at that size. I've set my goal at 160 and I may decide I don't want to go that low, or I want to go even lower. I just don't know. The last time I weighed 160 I was in 8th or 9th grade. I'm almost 30 now and I've had two kids--my body is far different so I really don't know. Plus, I'd like to have more muscle tone and definition than I had on the way up so that definitely changes how I look. My one condition is that I MUST go under 200. I won't be happy if I'm over that.

I could see the need for a sleep study, but not other lung tests. That's crazy. My lung capacity was in the 80s and the surgeon said it was low, but ok for surgery. I hope you get good news when the nurse calls you back.

I'm used to it. I'm not even really thirsty until that 2 hour mark comes now.

1. What have you learned about yourself since you have been banded? I have more willpower than I ever realized. 2. What has surprised you most about being banded? How much and how quickly my life would change. 3. What foods do you miss that you can't/won't eat anymore? Not really anything. If I want something, I have a small portion. I still eat pizza, fast food, ice cream, chips, etc., just not nearly as much as I used to. 4. Do you regret being banded? No way! 5. Would you recommend the band to anyone? Yep, and I do all the time. 6. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything? I would say I would've gotten it sooner, but I don't think I was emotionally ready to make the committment before now. 7. Would you do it all over again? YES! 8. Has your self esteem improved? Yes 9. Has being banded changed your personality? Not really. I'm still me, just a more active and happier version of me. 10. What do you dislike about being banded? Having a huge needle stuck into my stomach for fills. I'm very needle phobic.

From the beginning, I have strictly followed my surgeon's guidelines--no drinking for 30 minutes before and 2 hours after a meal. It was weird at first, but now it is just normal. I didn't know how much of a difference it made until a couple of weeks ago when we took the kids out to a park/farm. I drank almost right after eating because it was so hot out and I was just starving the rest of the day. I didn't even think about it until later, then I realized what I had done. So, IMO, it makes a difference in how much you eat, how hungry you are, etc.

Melanie, you look great! You look so much younger and happier now! My six month bandiversary isn't until the 28th, so I'll post my pictures then. I wish this board was more active. I miss some of the VV's who aren't posting anymore.