Dody

I don't like yogurt and I despise cottage cheese. I'm going to have a rough time of it aren't I? I will try this new yogurt though just to see if I might like it. I haven't found one I can eat yet except the Yoplait chocolate. I love lemon, but I've yet to find a really good lemon yogurt so I've given up. However, I do love the South Beach Diet products and especially the protein bars. I can make a meal out of one of them. I hope I can manage them as well down the road after the surgery.

I don't ever go to fast food restaurants, so I won't miss them. What I will miss, however, is my diet Cherry-Vanilla Dr. Pepper. Now that I know I can have some if I let it go flat, I'm OK with it I think. I can't imagine it will taste nearly as good though. Fortunately I love cranberry and grape juice. I can't give up my coffee either, even though one cup is plenty for me in the morning. My worse habit is turning myself around and learning to eat in the daytime instead of at night. I guess if there is anything I crave it is salt and I therefore love potato chips....I haven't heard anyone mention them, nor peanuts which have lots of protein. Is it possible to eat peanuts if you chew really, really good?

I am going to Tennessee for my surgery. I am scheduled to see the surgeon on Apr. 26 in Nashville at Vanderbilt Hospital. I have had every test known to man before getting the OK to go ahead. Between my GP and my cardiologist...I have had upper GI; psych eval; echo; ekg; thallium scan; abdominal scan; endoscopy-you name it, they have put me through it before giving me the go ahead. You are right, if I can recover from having my chest cracked open I figure there can't possibly be anything worse. That took me 6 mo. to even feel normal after and I think I still have about the ugliest scar possible even after 5 years. I developed keloids in that scar, although I have never had this problem before. I've had gallbladder surgery and you can't even see the scars, nor can you see the scars where they had to cut open both legs to get enough veins for the open heart surgery. Anyone that has even become alert after surgery on a ventilator and paralyzed can only visualize what I went through. I don't wish open heart surgery on anyone in this world. My husband was killed in an automobile accident, and I also lost my mom...I lived on coffee and cigarettes and worked night and day so I wouldn't think. The not thinking got me bypass surgery, and the cigarettes went for good. I turned to eating to fill the void and that is never a good thing, and absolutely no excuse on my part. Today I've come out the other side a stronger and more determined person. I have just had all my dental work completed and my teeth lasered (OMG I so forgot how white teeth could be), and I have all my own. Now, I'm ready to venture into the band and hopefully I won't be too big a complainer, but I'm sure I'll turn to the board for support. Sue, you are absolutely right about the tests that should be run. I guess I should be glad that I have overly cautious doctors that have ordered all these tests, because I know I'm going into this without any major problems. I already had to put the surgery off 3 mo. because they found an ulcer they had to clear up and I will remain on aciphex which should be easy to take because it is only the size of a birth control pill and works great.

I had 5-way-bypass exactly 5 years ago and have been doing fine. The weight that I gained when I quit smoking is the reason my cardiologist wants me to have the surgery. I eat good food always, but I eat far too much of it, and I tend to not eat all day and be starving by nighttime. I have to relearn a lot of things for sure. Not eating at night will be the biggest thing for me, but I'm looking forward to a longer life with the help of the band. My feet kill me too. I'm hoping that losing some weight will help it....my feet are my biggest problem. I've never had a problem with my heart in the past 5 years Thank God, and I'm cleared for surgery by my cardiologist who is 100% behind the band.

Please keep us posted on how your Dad does with his surgery. I'm very anxious about mine, even though I really want it. The age thing bothers me a little bit, but not being around for my grandchildren bothers me more. I'm sending out a special prayer for your Dad. My Dad was very special to me and died 2 years ago at 100 years old. That's why I say you are never too old to have the band....lucky girl your Dad could be looking at 30 years or so with this new band. I'll especially be thinking of him and sending out a prayer on the day of surgery.

Kellie was flirting with Chris? I missed it completely. I do remember during the auditions how happy Chris's wife was for him to make it through and said it was his life's dream. They seem immensely happy together and I don't think the wife has a thing to worry about. I would die for Kellie's body...but lets face it I think I had one at 17 too...I vaguely remember. Seacrest was on Jay Leno last night and told them that Simon Cowel hired a sculptor to make a huge statue of himself for his courtyard...talk about worship!! They also asked him about dating Terry Hatcher and he owned up to it, but made light of it saying "we are the same size and can wear the same jeans"....too funny. I'll have to keep a closer eye on Kellie this week and watch her. She should be old enough to know married is off limits. I imagine she will be great in the country theme though, probably the best because it's her genre. Still thinking they are going to have to beat Chris out. He is awesome. When he sang Hemorrhage I could close my eyes and hear Fuel....and yeh I occasionally listen to rock (what can I say). My favorite is country though. In my part of the country if it isn't country it isn't music. Someone mentioned Grey's Anatomy. It's my favorite show and I love Patrick Dempsey as McDreamy. He is definitely DREAMY, and the show is fantastic. I like it better than Desperate Housewifes to tell the truth.

Your Dad has me beat. I thought probably I was the oldest gonna be bandster on here. Hope your Dad does great.

I just turned 64 and am looking at May for surgery. You are never too old to get healthy.

I can wear a size 12 at 180 lbs. That is the goal I'm setting for myself when I get banded. I'm 5'9" though. It makes a difference whether you are short or tall, or where you happen to carry your weight. The important thing is you are losing...good for you.

Bucky should have been in the bottom three for sure, but Kathryn butchered that song. It was pitchy and off-key and I though she was lousy. As for Ace, at least he sang on tune, and heck I do like looking at the cutie pie. If you ever listened the second time over to Kathryn singing that song, it was horrible. I thought Bucky deserved to be gone, but Lisa is a good second choice. She will come into her own with time and training though. There was no excuse for how bad Kathryn sang though. It was a tough night for all, and there was absolutely nothing outstanding about any performance. All the wrong songs....and so many to choose from. I'm not sure Trisha, but I think the West Coast sees the show before the east coast. We get it at 7:00 p.m. and my daughter in Tennessee gets it after I do.....we are mountain time though not pacific.

Where have I been? I just discovered the South Beach Diet breakfast wraps. I love the Denver ones. I don't know why it took me so long to find these. I love the peanut butter diet protein bars. They are my favorite. I was wrong about the calorie content...they are only 210 calories a bar. Awesome in place of a meal and terrific when you crave a chocolate bar.

I've checked out this site many times as I'm a heart bypass patient. I belong to a support group and always wear my "red dress pin". Before my surgery I was drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes, and working around the clock to get my mind off things that had happened in my life...death of husband and mother, etc. I was a heart attack waiting to happen. That was 5 years ago and today I'm doing great. My cholesterol is 150 which is excellent, HDL good and bad are great. I eat much better than I did, but I don't get enough excercise because my feet are so sore. This is an excellent site for anyone to check out.

I've noticed my grandkids are mesmerized by video games and TV. Well when I was growing up...shows you how old I am...we didn't have TV until I was 9 years old and then it was only sporatic and black and white. I can remember I Love Lucy and Jackie Gleason...and I could go on. What I remember most is barely any overweight kids. We had PE classes at school where we actually climbed ropes, had parallel bars, vaulting horses, etc. We also all wore those silly blue bloomers that we hated, and we got weighed once a mo. also. At recess it was very organized with games like Dodge Ball, etc. There wasn't playground equipment like they have now. We had to run..play tag...hide and seek, which we also did for entertainment after school, along with hop scotch (I wonder if today's kids even know what that is). I think today's obesity is caused by all the soft drink machines available in schools and the goodies (we had none of those things...we chose between white and chocolate milk at lunch). Most of us lived within walking distance of our schools and went home for lunch, but that was the days when mom's were stay-at-home moms also. We usually had a good nutritious lunch, and if we did bring our lunch...you guessed it peanut butter and jelly (which was high in protein) I really believe it is because today's kids eat a variety of different and sometimes fattening foods and stay indoors and play video games and watch TV that this generation is where it is. This is just my two cents, but I can honestly say I didn't go to school with one single overweight kid...and that's really something. I now see kids about 12-13 that look to be 50-60 pounds or more overweight. OK, I've vented over the junk food and lack of excercise for our kids today...I feel better. I have to say I made sure my own kids were very limited with TV and we didn't have a video game until my youngest was about 12....they were pretty awful up until that time and antiques now. Wow, I am getting old!!:confused:

This is a great forum for the banded and the yet to be, and yes even those that have lost their bands for some reason or other. I have belonged for a few mo. and am still waiting to be banded. I have gleened a lot of info, almost all positive, from the people on this forum, and I'm looking forward to joining them sometime in May (at least it looks that way right now). I bet you will do great, and there is nothing you can't ask here. Good luck to you on your journey...hope to join you there soon.

I know Cathy and she lives in Boise...small world

That's a very expensive surgery for a place like Bend, Oregon to be charging. Where do they think they are...New York City? If you want to travel to Boise a deal can always be made with Dr. Anderson's office (if you are paying cash) for about $3000.00 under what he normally charges. Personally, he didn't have the experience I wanted, but I really haven't heard of anyone with any complaints. I've heard his price can be as low as $15,000 if you talk with his secretary and it is cash up front. You might want to give that a try and follow up in Bend.

Dr. Patterson does loads of Medicare patients. I would call that a very good thing for any dr. to do. She is excellent and in fact taught the doctors in Boise how to do the procedure. The woman knows her stuff!!

Ryan Seacrest and Terry Hatcher are a couple. He is 31. She is 41. BOY TOY TIME!!

Another victim for Paula? She is very interested in Ace's scar and wants the whole story "sometime". Uh oh.....another scandal? I think she really likes young guys, and especially the cute ones. Last night sucked I thought. I didn't think anyone did that great. Everyone was in their comfort zone and it was boring. I still kind of think Bucky is not destined to be there much longer. I think Ryan was definitely just teasing about Titanic songs seeing as there was only one song that came out of that movie "My Heart Will Go On". The movie wasn't filled with killer songs by any means, mostly just music. It was a joke guys!!

I've been reading your threads and keeping up with how you are doing, and I'm sorry you aren't feeling better. I think this must be quite a shock to the nervous system too. It sounds like you are getting some great advice from Kathy and a couple others who are already banded. My banding looks like it will probably happen in May, because my surgeon's appt. isn't till March 26th. The other day the nurse at my general practitioner's office told me that on Fri. she had the band in (cute young thing about 20, but very heavy) and she was back at work and feeling great by Monday. I was soooooooooo envious. I wonder why some people have it so easy and others suffer so much healing. This girl had gone to Portland, Oregon to get her surgery done and although she was just a little slow on her feet seemed to be feeling fine and joked about wanting her "Liquid Lunch". I hope I breeze through it, but I bet by the time I have mine you will be giving me support talks as I know I'll be turning to the board. I hope you heal fast and feel better fast Leener. I'll be thinking of you. I wish I was more help but I'm not banded yet. I have, however, been being treated for esophageal problems and a big ulcer the past 3 mo. and couldn't have surgery before they were gone. I don't want you stressing out and developing an ulcer over this. Just take things slow and easy. Your body is in a new learning stage. God Bless.

Why can't these doctors know if they put in too much or too little. I don't know maybe some kind of test with water and crackers to eat there or something. It doesn't seem right this happens so often. In a lot of cases people's doctors are far away. Anyone know why these docs can't get it just right. Do they need to do all fills under fluoro to make sure they aren't getting to much in. For me it would be worth the price than having to drive a long distance in a day or two to go back. This seems to be the one part of the lap banding process that isn't worked out yet.

I had a friend that had RNY years ago and died 2 weeks later of sepsis. Dr. Pleatman says "she must have had a leak"...DUH you think so!! She did have a leak around her intestines and it killed her. I'm not willing to take a chance like that. You only go around one time in life and I intend to enjoy the ride. The lap band is right for me and I know it. I don't listen to anyone that tells me any differently. I don't want the tons of sagging skin that goes along with RNY and I know I won't have that if I lose slower. I'm 5'9" and weight 259 right now and my heart is the reason for the bypass, or chances are I wouldn't qualify. I could weight 180-185 and look great, but the cardiologist wants the extra weight off for my heart. It was off until I started eating after giving up smoking...what a great switch huh? Hey PhotoNut, I lived 20 years in Mountain Home before moving to Caldwell. They didn't then, and I doubt they do now, have a McDonalds. Would you believe I've never, ever been to one. Arby's is probably my only downfall and that is always for a market fresh sandwich. I'm waiting for someone to explain if a McGriddle is like two pancakes put together with something inbetween. Once you've never been there or had one in your town I guess you really don't even think about going there. We had a Taco Johns and a Dairy Queen...that was it, and I didn't care for either.

I am not banded yet, but I think that $50.00 for a fill anywhere (if you don't have insurance) is a great deal. They are usually much more than that. I can absolutely relate to you having to travel so far. That is a long distance, but I would certainly hate to see you get too much of a fill and be back within the week to have to have an unfill. I agree with the above poster. I'm glad your first fill is free, because usually that is done under fluoro, although some dr's. use them for all fills. Let the dr. do his job and try and be less anxious. It is definitely a nuisance to have to take off work and travel long distances, but it is also better to be safe than sorry in the long run.

That is what I miss the most. I have to have my shower. So glad you thought ahead. Have a great time.

To all of you who love your band and are working with it and not against it...KUDOS!! You guys sound like you are all doing amazingly. I only hope I do half as good. Keep up the good work. I love to hear from happy bandsters.