luvmy2dogs

Keam, I'm so sorry you're having such a hard time. My process was frustrating too. It's worth it, keep trugging along and just be determined to get it done. You'll be happy in the long run.

Hi! WELCOME Trixie and Erin and WDW. WOW! So many new ones since my last visit. hee hee Glad you all decided to make the lapband journey. WDW: I never really considered gastric bypass, so I can't really say if one is better than the other. I know on my last visit with Dr. T, he made this comment. We (the bandsters) have an edge over the bypass patients in the fact that after the first year, the bypass patients have really lost what they are going to lose. Most lose all their weight in the first year. They can lose their restriction over time. With lapband, he said you will almost always have restriction. He said he doesn't have anyone to the max fill without restriction. He said he has a few teetering on the max, but none to the max. He said the band patients will always have restriction with the adjustments. Once the bypass patients lose restriction, it is lost. I know with band the weight loss is slower, but overall, I think it may be a more permanent choice as long as you follow the rules. You can certainly ruin either one of the surgeries if you dont follow the rules. Also, almost everyone I know that has had bypass has gained their weight back. But... I also know some that have gained it back with the band. It's all about the discipline. I've said so many times, this is just a tool, and you have to be able to make the lifestyle change for sure. You can eat ice cream or milk shakes all day and it will slide through your pouch nice and easily and you will NEVER lose weight. If you go back to your old eating habits, you will go back to your old weight. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm petrafied of that happening after I've come so far. There are also alot of other cons to the bypass, such as malnutrition, loss of hair, bone loss, etc... You don't have a lot of those problems with the band, as long as you get in your protein and follow the rules. :-) I have a few close friends that had bypass, and the issues they had kept me from ever even considering it. I'm certainly not saying it's wrong, it just wasn't right for me. I'm sure millions have had healthy successful weight loss with it. I love my band. It took me a long time to get to restriction, and it definitely has not been an easy journey for me, but I'm so thankful I was able to do it, and am so sorry for those that are facing insurance nightmares. I had one as well, and kept fighting it until they did approve the surgery. It was the best decision I ever made. Trixe, definitely do NOT give up the fight for coverage. There are ways to get around it. Does your company have multiple carriers. Switch out if they do. Keep trying! Don't give up. Do what you have to do to get healthy! If they absolutely will not cover it, consider going out of the country. Many have done it and have been very successful! You can always go back to Dr. T for your fills. The surgery is 1/2 the price in Mexico, and hundreds of people on the forums have gone there. I hate to tell you to do that, as WLSC is so great, and I love Dr. T, but you do what you have to do. Or... start your documentation process now. It's only six months of it. You can last 6 months, and you'll be ready for your surgery sooner than you think. WDW, it's sad you have to gain 5 lbs to be eligible. Good Grief! Insurance Co's crack me up. What is a 5lb difference going to make in your health. They are so black and white with their requirements. over 40 bmi or nothing. Geez! So.. go to Dairy Queen and have a couple sundaes, and wear those weights under your jeans when you weigh in. lol Erin, I'm glad your surgery went well. Busch Gardens two days after??? EEEEEEEK! I could barely walk my gas pains were so bad. How are things going so far? Good Luck to all of you!

WOW! Sorry for the book. lol :-0

Hi Keam, I exercise just about every day. Sometimes I skip Sunday. I vary the things I do. Some days I do my elliptical. Lately I have been running on my treadmill. I started the couch to 5k program. I'm not a runner at all, so that has been a challenge. Other days I do my aerobic tapes, and if it's nice out I walk like 3 miles. My diet is very balanced. It's about 1000-1200 calories a day. I don't cut all carbs like many do, but I do eat those that are whole grain, like wheat bread, and wheat pasta, and whole grain cereals/oatmeal. I can't live on a diet of just protein. I am a carb person, and believe that a balanced diet is good for you. Some will disagree, and say you shouldn't eat carbs at all. I feel like if I eat them, but the healthy ones, I wont feel deprived, and will stick to the proper eating. It has worked for me. I don't feel like I'm missing out at all. I'm sticking to what I'm doing. I do log all my food on the realize website, so I can track my calorie intake and my protein intake. Many say they don't track anything and are fine, but like I said... I had little restriction up until now, so I have had to watch everything I put in my mouth. I'm hoping this restriction lasts longer than the last one. This has definitely been just a tool for me, and I've had to struggle with making the proper choices, etc..I have done really well with my weight loss, but even Dr. T said I've done most of it on my own. My band has been very loose. I felt like the band reject. It definitely feels like I have more restriction now more than ever, but it took me to 8.4 cc to get there. 6 1/2 months, and like 4 fills and I'm just getting to my sweet spot (I think, keeping my fingers crossed) at 8.4 cc. A typical day of food for me, would be whole grain cereal/oatmeal for breakfast, Sometimes a slice of wheat toast with p butter. Lunch is typically some protein, maybe lean turkey chicken, lunch meat, etc... I don't usually do too many carbs for lunch. Oh, and I live on rotisserie chicken. hahahah Sometimes I'll have a salad with meat. Dinner, I always have protein and veggies. Usually about 4 oz, (before now I had up to 5). and on rare occassion some brown rice, or whole wheat pasta with it. Usually I just do veggies and protein. I have a large glass of milk almost every single night before bed. :-) Like I said.. I eat between 1000-1200 calories a day. A little less since my fill last Thursday. Last night I ate a salad for dinner, and my husband grilled hamburgers on the grill. That was a real treat. I try to stay away from too much red meat. Because I ate my salad first, I was full after 3 small bites of the hamburg. What a shocker that was for me. hahahahah Many have been saying they can only eat 1/2 cup of food, but I never saw it!! lol I know I didn't get my protein in yesterday. They say try to eat your protein first, and usually I'm good with that, but I'm just having full restriction now, so before I didn't have to worry about getting in my protein. hahahah Now I guess I do. It is very important to get that in. I've always been really good with getting my 80 grams or more. I was afraid to get malnourished, or lose my hair, so I've always been strict on the protein part of it. :-) This has been the greatest thing I ever did for myself. Even though it took me longer to get to the good restriction point, it has made an amazing difference in my health. I've come off one of my asthma meds, and my cholesterol is normal. I have never felt better in my life. I would do it all again in a heart beat. It is definitely a life style change. But... if you're willing to make it, and use it as just the tool it is, you'll do great. You've made an important decision in your life, and have taken the first step to a healthy you. GOOD LUCK! You'll do great!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!

Hi Life! SO HAPPY! to hear how well everything went so well!!! How are you doing now?? Are you on mushy's yet? Seems like this is about the time you move on. I had my 4th fill Thursday. A little irritated with Dr. T this past week. I'll comment more about that soon. Getting ready to go out for my walk. It's beautiful and 68 today. YEAH! KEAM: Welcome aboard. pm me if you have any questions at all. I certainly asked a lot on this board when I started my journey. You'll be so happy you made this decision. I'm down almost 61 lbs in 6 months. Dr. T said I was having bypass results. But.. believe me, I have worked for every lb. Restriction has not come easy to me. I had a long talk with Dr. T about this. He said my band is still very loose after 4 fills and 8.4 in my 9cc band. UGH! I feel like the band reject. It has taken so much fluid to get me to restriction. I exercise every day, and log every thing I put in my mouth. It certainly has not come easy. but.. so worth all of it. I'm off two of my asthma meds, and cholesterol down from 240 to 130. I feel like a different person! You'll do GREAT!

LifeStartsNow, you'll be in my thoughts all day tomorrow. GOOD LUCK! Welcome to bandland!

Hi Vermillion, You'll get your realize card, etc.. at your post op visit. Did you have Dr. T? He doesn't give his patients the realize card, or the protein package etc.. until your post op visit. You should get it next week. I can't believe they didn't give you pain meds though. How strange. The nurses at the Careplex are a little strange. I found that they were almost giving me dirty looks for doing what I was doing. One of them said "are you nervous" I said yes, why? She said, because after all this if you're scared maybe you'll take care of yourself better. hahahahahahahah I was like "ok then" I thought that was really rude, but whatever!! I thought about mentioning it to Dr. T, but figured it wasn't worth it. What a wench! But.. forgetting your pain meds? That's just unacceptable. Hope you got them now. Every day will get better and better. The liquid diet was hard!

Hi Vermillion, How are you doing?

OH YEAH! Just to share.... I hit ONDERLAND this weekend. I was sooooo EXCITED!! I haven't been under 200 in years.

Vermillion, Good luck tomorrow! We'll be thinking of you!

OH, also, I forgot to mention. My unfill was very small. I was getting all my solid proteins stuck. I'm glad I realized it right away. I went in, and Dr. T was so cute. He said I'm really sorry I got you too tight. hahha He took out a very little bit .25 cc, and I feel perfect now. As long as I eat slow, I don't get stuck at all. It's funny, because on the flouro it didn't look like I was too tight, even he said that. The liquid went through pretty easily. But.. I got stuck on my scrambled egg, so that said it. Also, fish... he said a good rule to go by is that if you can't eat fish or seafood, you're probably too tight. Fish is soft and flaky, and I got it stuck really bad. Now it's fine. I had about 4 oz of steak the other night, and was fine. :-) I feel like I'm at a really good spot right now. Although, my weight loss is still really slow at about 1 lb per week. I guess I'm just going to be a slow loser. It was much faster at first, but has drasticlly slowed down. Dr. T said my 1000-1200 calories per day is perfect, and if I'm eating that, I'm doing fine. Some just drop it slower than others. I'm happy I'm still losing, so that is all that matters. I'm really happy I had this done. It has made an amazing improvement on my life.

I drink the Crystal Light peach iced tea. If you haven't tried it, you must. It's absolutely FABULOUS! I am addicted to that stuff. I don't remember having dry mouth, but I remember reading about this nasty thing... it's a green film on your tongue, and it's from drinking just liquids. I guess nothing hard to scratch it off our tongue like food. People having talked about it, and say it tastes nasty. Maybe that is what it is. It should go away once you start eating food again. :-) Life... hope all is going well. What a funny story about your son asking why you're not straight. Out of the mouth of babes. They are so funny. The things they say are so honest. I remember when my son was young (oh so long ago ahhaa) and we were in the bank. He was about two and was having this long conversation with this man who was overweight. When the guy was leaving my son said "Hey you, you are too fat. I thought I would die. I wanted to dig a hole in the floor and crawl right in it. When we got in the car I told him he can't say things like that to people, that it hurts their feelings. He started crying and said "but mommy, his stomach was all blown up" lol Isn't that awful. Also, my mom is very obese, and he would say "My meemah isn't too fat, she's just a little fat, like puffy" hahahhahhaha He's 24 now, so think he's learned a lesson or thing, but...kids are a riot with stuff like that. They have no idea. I went to Costa Rica last year. It's absolutely the most beautiful place. They are supposed to have some of the best health care in the world, and cheap. People travel there just for their healthcare. I would feel completely comfortable getting a tummy tuck done there, or anything else for that matter. It may be a consideration for the band too. It's much cheaper! Like half the price. Course.. I have like 50 more lbs to go before I can consider reconstructive surgery, but I'll get there! So will you! :-)

OMG! That is sooo ridiculous. And... if you got your paperwork finished by the appt. time, why wouldn't they take you then?? I would have been ticked off too... Oh, and I can certainly relate to all this stuff and frustations causing you to cry. It is all very overwhelming, and you are trying to rush a lot of it through before insurance runs out. They should have been a little more sensitive to that. You should have cried at the office. ahhahahah You should have seen me on the phone with the insurance co. They denied my claim 3 times because of their stupid unorganized office procedures. They kept saying they were not getting all the paperwork I was sending, etc.. I was screaming at one guy on the phone and crying. hahahhah So.. do not feel bad at all. This is a very overwhelming procedure, and it really means a lot to you, so I completely understand. They should have too. I have talked with so many women that have gone to Dr. Ortiz in Mexico. I think it's a great idea if insurance doesn't approve. When I am all said and done with my weight loss, I am going to Costa Rica for the plastic surgery. Tummy tuck, boob, etc... Their prices are so cheap, and have excellent medical facilities. Some of the best and safest in the world. If my insurance denied my lapband, I was going there to have it done. Whatever it takes. This is your life, and your health. DO NOT give up on it!!! It will be so worth it in the long run. I had an unfill. I'll tell you about it later. I have to run for a 10 am appt. Hope you're doing better today. SMILE!!

rhc, how did your appt go today??? Looking forward to hearing!

That's it, 3 oz of meat and 1/4 cup of something green. That's not even 1,000 calories a day. That's only like 7-800 a day Seems like that is not enough food for any human to consumer to me. Wont you have to live on that many calories for the rest of your life to keep your weight down, if you eat like that? I could not stick to a diet like that, I would get very bored and fall off quick. I have to have some variation in my diet. I think I would rather count calories then just eat 3 oz of meat and 1/4 cup of green at every single meal. That would drive me crazy.

Hi Harley, I missed your friend at my last fill. He must be to his sweet spot, as I've seen him every other time. Hope he's doing well!

EEEK! That's a lot of money. I know many on here that have paid out of pocket. That must have hurt. I'm sure most would do the same again though. I agree this site has more info. There was no one on there when I checked it out. The posts were very old. I thought maybe the Southside one would have more info, but they didn't either. Those threads are not very active. Did your Dr. weigh you already. If he already weighed you, and they use that weight you should be fine even if you lose a couple. He'll use your highest weight when they submit the info to insurance. You're right, they need to work fast so your insurance doesn't run out. There are probably lots of girls on the thread now, as all their hubbies are watching the superbowl. lol

I have the same amt. to lose. Hopefully you get some answers after the upper gi. My surgeon was pretty agressive with my fills. My first was 5cc, 2cc the 2nd for a total of 7 and 1.1 this last time for a total of 8.1. This is the first time that I've felt good restriction. We'll see how it goes.

6 hours of working out. UGH! I could not do that. At my last couple fills, mine was a fountain shooting out. He knew I had no restriction. Even with this last fill, right before it, he said you are very loose. This is the best it's been. Hopefully it lasts longer than a week. How much do you have to lose altogether. Those that are much bigger and have more to lose, have more restriction I hear. It makes sense. The bigger your stomach, the more pressure the band puts on it. The smaller, the more space, and less pressure. At least that's what I was told. My surgeon said I was small on the inside (my stomach) and that is why it's taking so much more fluid. Who knows.... I'm just going to take it one day at a time and hope for the best. Who knows where I'll be in a year. I may be just as frustrated as you. :-) I'm just going to try my best. That's all I can really do.

No, my pouch is not stretched. I have good restriction now, since my fill on Thurs. I just had my surgery Sept 11th. I'm only 4 1/2 months out. My doc said it's just that I didn't have enough restriction yet. I get my fills done my flouroscopy. You can see the pouch. Is that how they do yours? Your doc would know if it was dialated, stretched, etc...

vegors, when did you have your band done, and how much weight have you lost? I would definitely get the band checked for leakage. I've heard it happens. I thought mine had one, cause I could just eat anything.

I hear the 5 day pouch test works really well.

I know it sounds like I lost quick, because I dropped 50 in 4 1/2 months, but most of that came off the first month or two. I've only dropped about 8 lbs since my last fill before this one and that was almost 7 weeks ago. I'm averaging a lb a week.

WOW! They eat 1500 and lose weight. hahahah I usually eat between 1200-1400. Since my fill the other day I'm staying closer to 1000-1200 these last couple days. I just had my fill Thursday. I am a slow loser believe it or not. It came off quick at first, but now is just a pound a week. My surgeon told me 1000-1200 a day is good. I was starving on that before, and usually ate about 1400. Sometimes a smidget over. I was sticking to that, and burning off 400 a day on exercise, and ony losing 1 lb a week. It's not been easy for me. Some say it's been so easy and they never counted a calorie. I've struggled with every pound after the first month. It's very frustrating. I definitely feel like this is just a tool and not an easy road. I count everything, exercise every day, and still 1 lb a week. UGH! Some drop it and dont even work that hard.