ebonie1015

Mine are done under fluoroscopy and they aren't bad at all. My doc uses the x-ray to locate the port. He then numbs the area with a little lidocaine. Next, he uses the fill needle to place the Fluid in the band. The process takes maybe five minutes and is not painful at all. Now, I am not sure if your doc will use the numbing medicine but as long as he can see the port with the x-ray, it shouldn't take more than one stick. My doc has been perfect every time and there have been no issues. Hope all goes well with your fill.:cool2:

I finally made it to under 300 pounds. Woo Hoo!!!:sad: Name********Starting weight*****Current*******Goal******To go ******************************************:smile2:*******:thumbup: 1RockinMom.........254............226.........145.......81 Alleycia...........255............220.........152.......68 AmethystJade.......231.8..........212.........150.......62.0 Babe...............308............278.6.......199.......79.6 Bellaperdente......196............177.........150.......27 Bklyn1984..........317............248.........165.......83 Bostongurl.........190............186.........133.......53 Brandy.............198............181.........166.......15 Cappy..............240............227.5.......130.......97.5 Chocolate_Snaps....244............224.........175.......49 CubsGirl17.........147............135.........130.......5 Clarebear08........192............176.5.......160.......16.5 Donna113...........183............172.5.......126.......46.5 dublingirl.........224............209.........145.......64 Ebonie.............307............298.8.......200.......98.8 EmmaWang...........241............210.........140.......70 FalloutGirl........282............278.........165.......112 FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54 FlordiaPete........413............380.........300.......80 GratefulHeart......226............199.........135.......64 GuyMontag..........325............276.........200.......76 health4life........279............239.........150.......89 inri09.............287............254.........185.......69 janesays...........225............199.........160.......39 kaninag............210............210.........170.......40 kimaly.............194............183.........160.......23 Lindar172..........246............220.4.......150.......70.4 Linksmom...........234............234.........145.......89 LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91 Long2BThin.........216............183.........169.......14 lotzasunshine......270............251.........180.......71 Loveislovely.......216............185.........175.......10 ltgordon...........284.8..........250.5.......185.......65.5 lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65 Mair...............231............222.........140.......83 Mamanmidwife.......264............260.........200.......60 mdgarcia31665......220............220.........165.......55 MissNilsa..........180............180.........132.......48 nicolerose.........365............288.........258.......30 Pink...............230............152.........145........7 Rhea2d.............283............233.........185.......58 Sandra267..........220............220.........165.......55 Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40 Tuger..............192............187.5.......130.......57.5 Under200...........242............199.........155.......44 vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52 Wendy_Wo...........242............218.........142.......76 WOWOX7.............173............147.........125.......22

The scale is finally moving again. I think my sweet spot has been found!!! Hooray!! Name********Starting weight*****Current*******Goal******To go ********************************:eek:*****************:ohmy: 1RockinMom.........254............226.........145.......81 Alleycia...........255............220.........152.......68 AmethystJade.......231.8..........212.........150.......62.0 Babe...............308............278.6.......199.......79.6 Bellaperdente......196............177.........150.......27 Bklyn1984..........317............248.........165.......83 Bostongurl.........190............186.........133.......53 Brandy.............198............181.........166.......15 Cappy..............240............227.5.......130.......97.5 Chocolate_Snaps....244............224.........175.......49 CubsGirl17.........147............135.........130.......5 Clarebear08........192............176.5.......160.......16.5 Donna113...........183............172.5.......126.......46.5 dublingirl.........224............209.........145.......64 Ebonie.............307............300.........200.......100 EmmaWang...........241............210.........140.......70 FalloutGirl........282............278.........165.......112 FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54 FlordiaPete........413............380.........300.......80 GratefulHeart......226............199.........135.......64 GuyMontag..........325............276.........200.......76 health4life........279............239.........150.......89 inri09.............287............254.........185.......69 janesays...........225............199.........160.......39 kaninag............210............210.........170.......40 kimaly.............194............183.........160.......23 Lindar172..........246............220.4.......150.......70.4 Linksmom...........234............234.........145.......89 LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91 Long2BThin.........216............183.........169.......14 lotzasunshine......270............251.........180.......71 Loveislovely.......216............185.........175.......10 ltgordon...........284.8..........250.5.......185.......65.5 lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65 Mair...............231............222.........140.......83 Mamanmidwife.......264............260.........200.......60 mdgarcia31665......220............220.........165.......55 MissNilsa..........180............180.........132.......48 nicolerose.........365............288.........258.......30 Pink...............230............152.........145........7 Rhea2d.............283............233.........185.......58 Sandra267..........220............220.........165.......55 Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40 Tuger..............192............187.5.......130.......57.5 Under200...........242............199.........155.......44 vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52 Wendy_Wo...........242............218.........142.......76 WOWOX7.............173............147.........125.......22

This sounds fantastic. I think I may be making a grocery store run in the morning to make a pot tomorrow.

Hey girl!! I eat steak and salad with no problems. I do have to chew them both very carefully and actually have more problem with chicken than steak. Also, like Lois said, it has to be very tender. If it even seems remotely tough, I stay away from it. See you tomorrow!!!

Ditto for me. I had popcorn last night with no problem but some types of bread, nope. I go for my third fill tomorrow and am hoping to hit my sweet spot then...at least I hope so.

Exactly what Cleo's Mom said. :huh2: I have been stuck several times and I have never had to PB but it hurts like mad. My episodes have lasted as long as 30 minutes but the food eventually passes. I have tried a couple of times to drink something to hopefully make it pass but it only makes it worse for me. The best thing for me is to just let it be and it work its way through on its own.

I have had my Mirena for almost three years now and I absolutely love it!!! I do have two kids and did not get it for birth control but for excessively heavy bleeding during my periods. Since getting it placed, I have only had occasional spotting that lasts maybe a day and a half. No side effects at all. There was some mild cramping upon insertion but other than that, nothing else. I know everyone is different but I would highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking about. :frown:

I really like the SkullCandy brand that I have. I am very picky about earbuds and couldn't even use the ones that came with my Ipod. I found the SkullCandy ones at Best Buy but they also sell them at Target and Walmart. I paid $20 for them but they work so well I would have paid more. They come in a variety of colors and they give you three sets of buds for a right fit. I listen to my Ipod a lot at night and am always falling asleep with them on. I can't even feel them in my ears they are so comfortable. Good luck with your search. I know how frustrating it is to find a good pair of buds.

Name_________StartWeight___CurrentWeight______Goal________ToGo *****<v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" filled="f" stroked="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe">:cool2:</v:shapetype>************************:tt2:*********:thumbup:****** *** Brandy.............198............198...........???...........? Ebonie......................307...................307.................200.................107 Lindar172. . . . . . . . .246 . . . . . . . . . .246. . . . . . . . . 150. . . . . . . . .96 lotzasunshine......270............270...........180...........90 Loveislovely.......216............216...........175...........41 vzghj3.............202............202...........150...........52

Well, I didn't make it to my goal of 299 but I have lost 8 pounds since the challenge started. I am now at 307 and have lost 30 pounds since my surgery October 27th so I am doing pretty good. Happy New Year Everyone!!:Yawn:

I had my first fill today as well. I wasn't really nervous. I knew what to expect.:eek: Everything went very smoothly. Went in, stood in the x-ray area, was numbed up and then the fill was done. It was neat to watch everything on the x-ray as my doctor was doing the fill. He started with 4cc's but the restriction was too much. The fluids practically stopped when he did 4cc's. Then he went down to 3cc's and the Fluid started to flow very slowly. I have found that I am not able to drink as quickly as I had been able to but that's a good thing. That needle was big but I didn't feel a thing. I am doing fluids today and half of tomorrow and back to soft foods tomorrow evening.

Hi- I have BCBS of Alabama and I know that if you use your Weight Watchers as documentation for the 6-month diet, you must have seen your physician twice in that six-month period and he/she must have it documented in your medical records that you are being counseled in regards to your weight loss attempt. It can't be regular office visit notes. The visit must pertain only to the weight loss monitoring. I had done WW but because I only saw my doc once in that period and the one visit wasn't pertaining to my weight loss attempt, they denied. I did do the six-month physician supervised diet and I had one visit per month that pertained only to my weight loss and made sure that the diagnosis for each visit was morbid obesity. That way there were no questions as to why I was seeing the doc. I was approved without question. Hope I was somewhat helpful.:thumbup:

Count me in. I would like to lose 16 lbs. by New Year's Day. That would put me at 299. I just want to break the 300lb mark by the end of the year. I think it can be done.

I have been drinking Carb Countdown 2% milk and chocolate milk and haven't had any issues. It is a little thicker than regular milk but it goes down fine. It also has 8-9 grams of protein per serving so it helps when I need a push over the edge protein wise at the end of the day.

Well, I couldn't wait until Tuesday and got in to see my doc this morning. He did another EKG and it did show my PVC's. He said that the cause is from the metabolic changes that are going on since the surgery. Because of some of the inbalances that are being cause by the change in diet. Also, because we are in fat burning mode, we are producing more acid in the bloodstream and this will cause the PVC's as well. It was a very informative appointment. He says that they should subside and to keep taking my Toprol. Also, drinking lots of Water can help flush the acids from the body. I was thinking that the changes in my diet and metabolism were the cause of the PVC's but hearing it from my physician's mouth made me feel much better and at ease. Of course, while I was there, I only had one PVC that I felt and as soon as I got home, they kicked up again. Isn't that always the case?:thumbup: Giddy- Let me know how your appointment goes.:eek:

I was diagnosed 5 years ago with Benign PVCs and have been taking Toprol XL for it since then. The palpatations had not been as frequent since I went on the medication but about the time I found out I was having surgery, they increased a little. Probably about two or three days out of the month. My surgery was on October 27th. Well, the past couple of days they have been pretty non-stop. I am taking my medication and have an appointment with my physician on Tuesday. I was wondering if they had increased because of the changes from the surgery, maybe lack of some nutrients. Lying down is the worst. I am wondering if my meds need to be changed. I guess I will find out once I see the doc. They are certainly no picnic. Sometimes I think my heart is just going to pop right out of my chest and land in front of me!!:smile:

You're welcome. Yes, make sure you get that 5th MF meal in each day. I would sometimes do a hot chocolate at night as a treat before bed. :thumbdown:

I will be 4 weeks post-op the week of Thanksgiving. I am having the whole family over and will be doing a lot cooking. I thought about having maybe a small teaspoon of everything just to get a taste. I am not worried about the Desserts as I am not a big sweet eater but I think I will do fine with the other foods. I will be due for my first fill two weeks later on December 10th.

I did the Medifast diet in the summer of 07. I did well with it and lost about 55 pounds in about 3.5 months. Of course, it all came back once I stopped the diet. My suggestion is to make sure that you are doing your 5 MF meals + your 1 lean & green. Make sure you are also getting enough calories. I would always try to get between 850 and 1000 calories a day. If I fell anywhere below that, I would not lose weight. Drink plenty of water also. I hope these couple of tips helped. I wish you well on your journey.:thumbdown:

I have the Realize band. It is the only one my surgeon uses now (that I am aware of). There was no choice.

I saw the previews for this yesterday. I have my DVR all set to record.

The is what they are looking for. I had most of the same elements as well. They were just written on the doctor's progress notes. Just make sure that everything is documented. Better to have too much info than not enough.

I was banded on 10/27 and I have been using the low carb Slim-Fast shakes as well as the Atkins Advantage low carb shakes. The Atkins ones have 15g of protein as opposed to 20g in the Slim-Fast but I find this a lot more easier to deal with. I had been doing powdered protein mixes and I could no longer deal with the smell or taste anymore so the Slim-Fast/Atkins have really been a life saver.:thumbup:

My PCP wrote the notes down on his regular office note pages. I have an older PCP who does not notate things as well as he should so I had to make sure that he wrote EVERYTHING down on those pages. I wanted to make sure those notes were as thorough as possible so that BCBS did not have to come back with any questions. :rolleyes2: Each visit had its own set of notes but we always made sure that all the elements were there. Also, in the end, you will probably have 7 months of visits instead of 6. The initial visit + 6 consecutive weigh-ins. I ended up with 8 visits just to be on the safe side.