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SanDiegoSusan

LAP-BAND Patients
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Everything posted by SanDiegoSusan

  1. Hi All: I have a quick question about what you can and cannot lift the day after/week after/month after surgery. My direct question is will I have any trouble if I haul my 7 pound laptop around the house the day of or day after surgery? (I have a friend who thinks she's my mommy and if very concerned about me moving the computer all by my lonesome.:biggrin2:) The more indirect questions are when could you lift groceries? Vacuum the house? Lift a 50 pound child? Finally, when did you feel like there was no restriction on what you could lift and/or participate in full activities? Thank you so much!!!:smile2:
  2. SanDiegoSusan

    What Can You Lift

    Don't worry. Not going to do anything to ruin the surgery (thus the question can I even lift a laptop.) Promise not to twirl kids for at least 6 weeks after surgery. Am I still allowed to sit on them?:biggrin2:
  3. SanDiegoSusan

    Who's Getting Banded in July?

    Banding in July Can you believe that some of us go in three weeks from today???:smile2: (Yesterday for Fluff.) Time seems to be going so fast. Below I hope I got everyone so far and the date they are being banded. (Great minds JaJeanne – had started this before I saw yours. Could’ve made everyone do their own list! ) If I missed you let me know or just post a corrected list. This seems like a really good group. Loved hearing your stories – sorry I haven’t had time to respond to all. Glad you got approved Fearless! Zeama – 7 kids! Wow, at least you won’t need an exercise program. And you can do it! Myfunlife – yes, do the pre-photos now. You may hate them (I hate mine) but someday they will show how far you’ve come.:smile2: We need to think of a group name. Creative labels not my forte. Anyone have any ideas? July…. [June 30 fluffbgone who’s here because I like the name!] 1 wsw27 2 minidriver 2 slim2be 2 BethO 2 mrsgriffin2u 2 SanDiegoSusan 3 BigBander 8 blaze 21 8 Louisville Lesa 8 zeama 9 Sarv 9 MarylandMommy 9 siouxsie Sioux 11 wstone 14 MaidMarion 15 Fearless55 16 eyespy 22 zillyanne 22 TeriVA 22 kimaly 24 nyllrap 24 linksmom 25 Kiki220 28 splfrd 29 Cherub 29 Chellets
  4. I agree with this but for whatever reason Stevia does not make me overeat or crave sweets the way the fake and processed sugars do. I found this out the hard way after a month of no fake sugar (but Stevia everyday in my green tea) when I decided to get a box of sugar free fudgecycles because they are on the liquid diet. I ate a couple and the diet went straight to hell. :smile2: Starting craving sugar and junk food and it's been really hard to stick to the whole foods I was eating! But I know what the problem is and how to fix it. If you don't miss the fake sugar and can control the processed sugar than there's no reason to add Stevia in. But if you like your tea sweet and have a sweet tooth which is how you gained weight than you may want to give Stevia a shot. :smile2:
  5. SanDiegoSusan

    What Can You Lift

    Well I have an 11 year old and a 5 year old next door and they both love to be picked up by their ankles and twirled around. (Seemed like a good workout.:smile2:) Have to admit the 11 year old is getting a little tough to toss around but the 5 year old is still easy. However, as a 5 year old boy he also loves to run full tilt into me and see if he can knock me over. Hmmmm, maybe I should move for a few weeks.:biggrin2:
  6. SanDiegoSusan

    Frustrated and mad...

    Grrrr, that was rude and unprofessional of them. If you make a commitment you keep it - they expect us to be there on time when scheduled, they need to do the same. But don't eat! Take a walk and burn off some energy. Just mutter while walking: "Save a waistline. Bite a surgeon!":biggrin2:
  7. SanDiegoSusan

    Unpleasant Question

    Well it is getting harder to find a virgin in this day and age. :biggrin2:
  8. SanDiegoSusan

    Unpleasant Question

    Ummm, any chance you're pregnant? :wink2:
  9. SanDiegoSusan

    Waxing ...

    Miss Wilde: Thank you so much for the information! Wow, I think I've been scared straight (or scared hairy in this case.) I've never been much of a girly girl and so a lot of this stuff is new to me. I'm in my 40's and only had my first pedicure a couple years ago. :thumbup: I have lots of "girlish" friends but some ignorance you just don't want to admit to friends! So should we start an "embarassing questions you don't want to ask friends" thread? :biggrin2: Thanks again!!! :confused:
  10. SanDiegoSusan

    Waxing ...

    Ahhh Miss Wide - I've never had anything waxed but would like to. Can you fill in the newbies on what to wear, what to expect, how to behave, etc.? I.e.: Are you covered on the table except for the area being waxed or so you lie out starkers or half starkers? How long does a wax last? I've heard that the first Brazilian is extremely painful but the second far less so or not at all. Is this true? What if the waxee doesn't have a particularly pretty body - will everyone talk about us? How much should you tip? Will we yell out "Kelly Clarkson" as the hair is ripped from our bodies? :biggrin2: Thanks so much!
  11. SanDiegoSusan

    Help Feeling Sick!!

    I'm just getting over a summer cold (sore throat, slight fever, generally tired) that only lasted three days. If my surgery was four days away I'd be fine for it. You have a week so rest a lot and try and get over it as soon as possible. But if you are still sick the day of surgery tell your surgeon!!! Putting off surgery a few days is better than dealing with unexpected complications or an immune system that is overtaxed from dealing with both illness and a major shock to the body. Ah-choo and I hope you feel better soon!
  12. SanDiegoSusan

    6 months this week. Only down 14 #.

    So you're already healthier and getting compliments! Sounds like a good start to me. Eventually you will be able to be more active and I suspect you will look better and better over time. Just remember the benfits so far of the lap-band and give yourself positive feedback every time you eat something good for yourself!
  13. SanDiegoSusan

    6 months this week. Only down 14 #.

    Hi Wendy: Sounds like you have had terrible luck! Have you noticed any improvements - like needing less insulin? Wish I had some encouraging answers for you, but I don't know what to say. It's hard enough to go through all of this when healthy, but having to deal with surgery and not be able to exercise is tough. Work with your doctor and remember it might take awhile but the band will work if you change your eating habits. Best of luck and let us know how you are doing.
  14. SanDiegoSusan

    Self pay..price shopping

    I'm in San Diego (obviously) and was quoted $22,500 by Sharp and $16,500 by UCSD. So big price differences even in the same city. I'm going with UCSD for a lot of reasons, price being only one of them. I do have to say though that I am not opposed to the Mexico option either. If you want the cheapest surgery do a serch on banding in Mexico and see which doctors come out the best. Some have very good reputations. If you have someone who can travel with you all the better. My second choice were I not staying in town would be the Denver surgeons who seem very reasonable at about $9,500 and also have a good rep. I don't see any reason to pay $20,000+ for this procedure - too many great doctors doing it for less.
  15. SanDiegoSusan

    Why am I keeping it Quiet???

    Hi Sandibly: I've told 6 people and this morning I told the 7th. Imagine my surprise when I found out she is considering lap-band too! But I am very, very careful who I tell. First I only tell people who I trust will keep my "secret" and second I only tell people who will give me positive feedback - I stay away from the negative people as I don't need their bad energy. That said, at this point someone could make the most negative comments in the world about cheating and "doing it the right way" and I would know they were full of poop. First of all, diet and exercise has a 7% long term success rate whereas banding has a 50% success rate. I’ll take the 50% TYVM. Second, I know the band will be a great help when I have to go down to 800 or even 400 calories to lose that last 30 pounds (which have never been gone since I was 8 even when I was walking 5 - 10 miles per day.) It is physically impossible for me to eat that little without help. And I really want to lose that last 30 pounds this time. Third, scientists think the band helps with the control of ghrelin which may be a factor in why some people become obese and some don't. In any case, I've tried for years to lose weight and it always comes back so the old-fashioned method is out for me. That said you must keep in mind that some people are going to be negative about your decision no matter what. It may scare them - are you placing yourself in danger? Of course you are, this is fairly major surgery. It may make them jealous - will you be prettier now and they will no longer be the one to get the attention when you go out. It may make them fear losing you - will you trade them in for a better model when you are a better model? And they may just be unpleasant people. No matter how hard you try you are going to get negative reactions, even once you are down to your goal weight. The ONLY thing you can control is how you react to this behavior. Many of us have low self-esteem after of lifetime of big and little hurts and injustices. We are probably more apt to care what other people think. But if they are wrong, and they are, you cannot internalize the emotion. First it will drive you back to bad eating habits. Second it does you no good and it's unfair for you to do this to yourself. Do you want people to hate themselves simply because YOU disagree with something they believe or have done? Hopefully not. Just hug yourself, realize that people believe different things because of their personal experiences, and allow them their opinions/disagreements. In your heart you need to believe this is the best thing for you. You get there and it will not matter what others say (ok, it probably will but you'll be able to deal with it!) And smile, look them in the eye and say "I understand how you can feel that way, but the traditional way does not work for me and this is something I've decided to do after a lot of research. If you want some information on what modern research is discovering about losing weight and why only 7% of people will be able to diet and exercise off excess pounds long term I will share it with you. But because of MY research into the science I am NOT going to change my mind. Thanks for caring though!" :thumbup:
  16. Fake sweetners are horrible for your diet. I never realized it while still "addicted" but when I would drink diet coke with Breakfast I would binge on ice cream in the evening. When I gave up diet coke and switch to OJ in the morning I started eating a lot less sugar. Go figure. I strongly recommend Stevia. It's a ground root that is 100 times sweeter than sugar. Pure, natural and it doesn't make me binge on sugar - in fact it solves the cravings. There are different types and some are very bitter. But I've found a few that are wonderful - try the individual packets that are easy to tote. One note: I've given up processed and fake sugar as part of my pre-pre-band diet. Fruit is wonderfully sweet now and dessert is Puffins Cereal (like Corn Bran) with no Stevia needed. This has been an important part of retraining my body to be healthier. However, I will starting my liquid diet either the 10th or 17th and I will be eating anything allowed on it including all fake sugars! For 4 weeks I'm just going to survive the liquid diet and not worry about anything else.
  17. SanDiegoSusan

    Tax Deduction?

    As married filing joint filers you still have the 7.5% rule and anything above that is a write off. So if this year you had $40,000 in COMBINED income because one of you didn't work a full year you get a $30,000 write off minus 7.5% of total income which is $3,000 for a total deduction of $27,000 and a taxable income of $13,000. This is further lowered $3,400 each for personal exemptions for a final taxable income of $6,200. (The $3,400 was for 2007 - it will be a little higher in 2008.) This might be a great year to convert an IRA to a ROTH IRA at least until you fall out of the 10% tax bracket!
  18. SanDiegoSusan

    Indiana Jones and Captain Jack

    No idea but it would not surprise me. I think Depp is a fan of the movies and pays homage to many a character. (Bennie and Joon's homage to Charlie Chaplin/Buster Keaton is a perfect example.) Either way it just goes to show that a man who knows how to wear a hat is HOT!:biggrin2:
  19. SanDiegoSusan

    Eating at disney while banded

    Hi Ruby: I'm a big fan of Lara Bars (available at Costco, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, etc.) for a high protein, raw food snack. I just don't know if this is a food that goes well with banding (I'm pre-band.) https://www.larabar.com/secure/index_.php to find stores or order bars online if not in your area. Also, you can rent a small refrigerator but it's fairly expensive. Some rooms already have them - depends on the resort. I know Animal Kingdom Lodge has them at no charge so you may want to call or look online for details on your resort (If you are staying at the Disney property.) Rooms tend to have coffeemakers which give hot water for soups, etc. You can check almost anything in a suitcase. 20 years ago I went to WDW and was on Jenny Craig - packed a week's worth of frozen dinners! However, we had a microwave which don't seem to be common anymore. Good luck and let us know what goes well with this trip.
  20. Hi Tyler: Congrats on taking the plunge in September! One thing I would highly recommend is tracking your food intake at an online site. I use www.Dailyplate.com and recommend it tremendously! It's been quite an eye-opener in May as I tracked everything I ate. I input my weight and other stats as well as how much I wanted to lose a week (2 lbs.) and it computed the calories I was allowed each day. By following it fairly strictly I have already lost 11 pounds prior to surgery. I try to keep my fat below the allowed amount, my Fiber higher and tend to be over on Protein and sodium. It's interesting to see how many fruits and veggies I can eat compared to say a processed Lean Cuisine pizza. (Although I eat everything - I am just much more aware of portion size as I now measure everything religiously!) It might seem like a pain to fill this in each day but I've had a lot of fun and it keeps my worst days from being overblown. Yesterday I went over calories (I'm allowed 1,797 - was higher until I lost the pounds) by 366 but since that means I ate 2,163, but it's still not like the old days when I would eat well over 3,000. I am not inputting my exercise - I figure that's just icing on the weight-loss cake (a cake with no calories I might add) but you may want to see how a 15-minute walk will affect your intake abilities. Oh yes, I am eating as many whole and raw foods as possible and that has been very helpful and I've pretty much given up sugar and fake sugar except for Stevia. That tends to help me stay on track but it's not for everyone. Best of luck and keep us up to date on your progress. Susan
  21. This is the first thing I thought too. There is no way that a 5'7 female should be 110 pounds. That would put her BMI at 17.2 which is considered "underweight." I'm thinking it should be labelled "heroin chic model thin". Please, please, please become more realistic about your expectations and look into the possibility that your need for a super skinny daughter is literally killing her. Let her come here (without telling you her handle) and research the band. Maybe this is exactly what she needs and she will recognize the symptoms that the band can control. Or maybe she will determine that a life of constant belittlement about her weight and judgement of every bite she eats is making the situation worse and once free of that she will get healthier. Either way SHE is going to have to do the work to remain healthy for the rest of her life and if she does not buy into the band she will eat around it and you will have wasted more money. I am not trying to sound harsh on you. I have no idea what your relationship with your daughter is like. The 110 may have just been ignorance about proper height/weight proportions. But I grow up with a mother who hated having an overweight daughter. I was 30 pounds overweight in high school and she put me on Cambridge and Optifast! liquid starvation diets usually reserved for the morbidly obese. (Damn the doctor that ok'd it too.) Had I simply been trained to eat better and exercise more I might never have gotten 100 pounds overweight. (Since I tend to gain weight only after an extreme diet.) There are doctors performing this surgery on minors - and there should be. Too many teens have the addicition we all suffer from and I suspect your daughter does too. But she has to believe in it and your whole family will have to rethink how they look at food and relate with your daughter. I suspect you will also have to go into therapy (with her) to learn to relate to your daughter better. Best of luck and I hope you stay here. Lots of great education here and as you can see we wouldn't let you get away with unrealistic thinking. :biggrin2:
  22. I am extremely grateful to the radio and TV ads that got me curious enough to investigate this procedure. I don't know anyone who has had the lap-band and hadn't heard of it until the ads. Once I researched it (thinking I was going to find tons of information proving how dangerous and useless it was) I realized I am a perfect candidate for this sugery and starting the process of getting it. Perhaps too capitalist, but I am very glad this time for the pursuit of profit!
  23. SanDiegoSusan

    Tax Deduction?

    Absolutely! Medical expenses are deducted on your Schedule A (which you will file this year even if you normally don't.) Medical expenses must be higher than 7.5% of your income in order to be deducted. A simple example is: Your surgery cost $17,500. You make $100,000. The first 7.5% of expenses are ignored so your deduction is $17,500 minus $7,500 (7.5% of $100,000) for a $10,000 deduction. If you make less your deduction is greater, i.e. a $50,000 income only ignores the first $3,750 and $13,750 is written off. If you make more your income is higher and the 7.5% disallowed is higher. Keep track of all medical expenses including co-pays for visits before the surgery and prescriptions unrelated to the surgery as all of this will be deductible. Because you will be doing itemized deductions this year instead of the standard deductions there are other things to keep in mind. Keep track of all your charitable deductions. If you give away a bunch of clothes that are now too big - photograph what you are giving, itemize each item, and use an online calculator like "It's Deductible" (http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-preparation/itsdeductible.jhtml ) to figure out your write off. (You will probably underestimate the value of your used items so this is handy, and a printout will let the IRS know how you figured out the value in the event of an audit. And remember, an audit is nothing to fear if you are honest and have the receipts you need.) Also keep track of all your cash donations and don't give cash! You must have a cancelled check to take a write-off now, so if you feed the red bucket for the Salvation Army during the holidays write a check instead of throwing in bills. If you live in a non-income tax state (WA, NV, Alaska, Montana, FL and one or two I always forget) keep track of your sales tax paid, especially if you have a big purchase like a car. Part of your auto-reg fees are a write-off, property taxes and mortgage interest are no-brainers if now a very small amount that means you usually no longer itemize. And unreimbursed employee expenses (mileage to a seminar, lunch with the boss, uniform dry cleaning, supplies you purchase) have a 2% threshold (like the 7.5% above) but may be worth keeping track of. Also a safety deposit box used to hold investments (like silver, jewelry or stock certificates), investment expenses, and tax prep fees (including the cost of Turbo Tax the year before), all fall under this 2% threshold. If your taxes are usually very simple this may be the year to hire a professional to maximize your deductions. (But don't let them make some up! Yes, I have seen that and the taxpayer gets punished, not the preparer!) Ask friends for a recommendation and ask for a fee range before you hire the preparer. (My guess: a simplified return with a Schedule A is $125 to $250 but if they spend more time with you and try to find every deduction including the ones I haven't listed here they may be worth a bit more.) (The CYA:biggrin2:) Disclaimer: This is very general tax information and may or may not apply to your situation. Please see a tax professional to determine your own situation.
  24. SanDiegoSusan

    Who's Getting Banded in July?

    Seems to be lots of scheduling on the 2nd. Think the surgeons want a four-day weekend?:biggrin2:
  25. SanDiegoSusan

    Who's Getting Banded in July?

    And 7+14 equals lucky 21! All good signs.

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