K@t

Hey guys,

I was just wondering what you all thought about a banded person taking Xenical as well.....

Hehehe.. I LOVE cats!! I have 2, a ginger cat named Mia, and we just got our second one a tiger kitty with a broken tail, we named her Annie. I love pretty much any thing cats. My hubby says our house is decorated in cats and candles!

Yeah Portugal, I'm orginally from Florida, but my hubby is Portuguese so we moved here.

I'm right there with you about who to tell. When ever I started a new diet and told any one then when they see me again its like, so how is the diet going blah blah etc. I honestly really don't want to tell any one, however my hubby's uncle is a doctor here with his own clinic and he may have some connections to help me get scheduled faster so I might end up having to tell any way if I want to get some inside help. (Portugal is really bad about red tape and it's ALWAYS about who you know)

N e way, here is a link to my msn spaces. There are TONS of photos of me and my hubby and my kitties, and I sometimes post my random thoughts there as well. Take a look if you have time.

http://spaces.msn.com/hpascoa/

Hey Kim,

I'm pre band too but I have been hanging out here in the forum for awhile. The more I hang around here the more I decide its a GREAT decision. I am like you around 250 and have been overweight my whole life. I know that if I added up all the money I have spent it would probably be the same amount as the band. Heck this year alone I spent around 200€ on a nutritionalist and 350€ on a gym membership that has yet to be used. It's expensive, but some people have gone to Mexico with good results, or over to Europe as well. There are some other options. Good luck with what ever you decide.

Parabéns a voce! Nesta data querida!! Muitos felicidades, muitos años da vida!

Ok sing that to the same tune as happy birthday, and you have....you guessed it.....Happy Birthday in Portugese!!!

Parabéns!!!!! Happy Birthday Vines!!!!

Kat, be cautious with who you tell. Some will be supportive - some not. I told only my immediate family (another LBT member said that only her husband knew). Go with your gut feelings on who to tell.

After you have the surgery and lose 40+ pounds, and everyone is wondering what you are doing to lose weight - you can reveal your secret THEN!

Good luck, and again WELCOME EVERYONE!

Yeah, I didn't want to tell any one except my husband, but he says we should tell my in-laws because he said they may be hurt if they find out i was having surgery and didn't tell them. He says they aren't that judgemental. Maybe they aren't to your face but who knows what their really thinking. Until I know more its going to be just between my hubby and all you guys in the forum. When a date is set for surgery then maybe we will tell his family, but my family isn't going to find out for sure until after I have lost some weight!

Ohh, and btw, i found a guy here in Portugal that had it done. He has lost 48lbs since his surgery on Nov.29 05. He started at 350lbs so thats pretty good results I think. However he said they had him on a liquid diet for a month! Only Soups, orange juice and yougerts. He also said that our state insurance (the one the govt. gives us for free, every one who is employeed in Portugal is covered) paid for it. It was absolutly free! Problem with that is, if you go the state route, they choose the doctor and facility for you and they schedual it for when ever they want, which means you may have to wait months, even years. If you go private you can pick your doctor and facility and of course the date you want it done. I will know more next Friday after my appt. I'll keep you all updated.

Congrats! It sounds like your very happy with your decision. However I think 800 is a little on the low side. I think most people eat around 1200. Good luck in your progress!

I made a response to this thread yesterday and then deleted it. I guess I wasn't seeing the whole picture. I was angry when I first read it, but now I'm just sad. It made me sad that lou was so sad and angry with herself and her band. And it made me sad that so many people thought the same way about their bands, and about the types of posts they see on this forum. I would just like to say, being a newbie here, that I have found nothing but love, support, and helpful information here. And I only hope for the best when I get banded. I know it won't be easy and I'll have to work, but I didn't need a doctor to tell me that. Everything in life takes work and dedication, from kids, to work, to weight loss in any form. I hope the rest of you guys can find the help your looking for. :cry

Hey congrats! :wow2: Thats a great NSV! Keep up the good work!

Man I needed that laugh! Ex lax brownies and farting in toaster ovens.......man u guys made my night. hehehe..hubby fails to see what's so funny......toaster oven...hehe..hheehe....

Here is a quick and easy favorite at home.

-4 chicken breast boneless, skinless

-1 jar of your favorite spagettie sauce. (there are some very good low fat ones out there.)

-1/2 cup of grated parmasan cheese

-1/2 cup shredded motzerella

Put chicken breast into a pyrex (or any glass dish baking pan). In a seprate bowl mix parmasan cheese with spagettie sauce. Pour mixture over chicken. Bake at 275º for about 30 min. Sprinkle motzerella cheese over baked chicken and volá all done.

*there is usually enough sauce left in the pan that can be spooned over Pasta. We usually serve this with a nice italian salad (kinda like they serve at olive garden)

Bom apetite! (Portuguese not Italian!)

opppps..... Sorry I made a mistake. I was translating from portuguese to english. (its cebola de frances in portugese) It's not french onion but rather Scallions that go in the Soup. The white part at the end should be used. I'll edit the recipe. Thanks for the question, or I never would have caught that! :doh:

ohh , thanks guys, I was wondering about that too....thats gonna be a hard habit to break.

bandayed,

Thank you sooooooooo much for the great info, about the prices

But HOLYYYYYY MOLYYYYYYYYY They are soo expensive for a self pay. I have college insurance since I'm doing my masters. and as you know college insurances tend to be cheap and they would never cover me for that.

I thought hospitals in the US charges 15k to 20k, and thought it was expensive already. How about 35k:dead

I guess I will go with the option of the Midband in France, they charge 6k Euros, thats about 8k or 9k $.

Thanks a lot again, and all the best

Hey Magic,

Since your coming to Europe you should just get it done in Portugal and come stay with me! :clap2: I haven't found out the cost yet but I should know on Friday, if its 8,000 in France it should be cheaper here. I'll keep you posted.

Hey thanks for the input! I'm not exactly sure how it works, but here in Portugal it's a big thing for people who have lost a lot of weight to get massages to help tighten the skin. I'm not exactly sure how its done or what they do, but I will make sure to check every thing out before i have any thing done.

Kat,

Silly girl, you are loved lolol

I think your DH is just very nervous about the surgery. My suggestion would be to bring him with you when you talk to the surgeon. Thats what I did and when my DH walked out of the office w/me he said.... your going for the band RIGHT? LOLOL !!! I said yes dear.

Maybe you and/or your doctor can make it clear to him that this is a serious situation of you being over weight and the older you get the more damage the extra weight can cause the body.

I too was/am fat since I'm 6 years old. I remember my first diet at the age of 10. Broiled burgers (hockey pucks) and green Beans w/no butter. OMG while the rest of my family ate meat loaf and taters... WTF???????? how sad is that to a child. But my mama tried.

Anyway..... Your gonna have to calm your DH fears and having him talk to the doctor might be the way to go.... just a suggestion.

Good luck !!!!

Yeah I think my hubby is just mostly worried about the surgery, and about what eatting in this house is going to be like after I'm banded. (hes such a big baby! ) But he want's me to be happy and if this is it then he's in for the long haul. He is going to the appoinment considering that the Doc doesn't speak english and, while my portuguese is good, understanding medical jargon might be a bit difficult. So he is coming in case I don't understand some things.

I did tell my sister that I was thinking about doing it and i gave her the before and after thread to look at. Well, she blabbed and my mom called me all freaked out telling me I better not have any surgery done and that it was to dangerous etc.... *sigh* :phanvan I knew there was a reason I didn't tell her. I just said no mom and yes mom to whatever she wanted to hear. Good thing I'm like 50 billion miles away and she cant stop me from doing whatever I want! :heh: The one thing I hear on the forum a LOT is that people wish they had had it done sooner. I'm 25 and almost 250lbs, and I don't want to hit 40 and be 300lbs wondering why I didn't do this sooner. I will never know what's going to happen unless I take the chance.

Any way, Thanks for all the support I'm really finding this forum helpful. If any one wants to chat with me personally please e mail me at: heather.pascoa@gmail.com

I check my mail daily and love to talk!

My hubby only eats what I buy, but when I stop buying the things he likes to munch on he will start asking where it is as if hinting I should pick some up the next time I go to the store. :tired I tried switching from white rice to brown and he bitched. And if I cook a smaller (smaller=normal) portion for him instead of his usual (his usual=2 normal portions) then he starts complaning he's still hungry after the meal and goes looking around for some munchies. (its a never ending loop isnt it! ) This is going to be a big step if I get banded, and I have a feeling he might be running back to his mommies house to eat because that stuff isn't coming in the house after I'm banded. I'm not going to spend all that money just to sabatoge myself in the end. :clap2:

let me know how it turns out! :hungry:

Hey guys,

I was told by my doctor ( my family doctor, not a bariatric doctor) that after I get the band I should get some deep tissue massages around my tummy area after I loose some weight, and that I should continue to get them as long as I'm loosing so that the skin with tighten up again and not sag. They usually use a lot of pressure with these massages and I was just wondering if it will damage or move the band around in any way since it will be on my stomach. Any one know any thing about this?

How about hubby eatting McDonalds in the car when I'm driving, I made him roll down the windows! :biggrin1:

Yes,

I heard a case of another women who was allergic, but it was the type of band she had. She was able to replace it for a diffrent model and she was fine. But if your allergic I think it has to be removed as soon as possible.

Good luck and a speedy recovery!! Were all thinking of you! :clap2:

Not to be a downer or any thing but I think I read a post some time ago with some negative feedback on Dr.Kuir. You should do a search on threads with that name and see what comes up. Good Luck!

hehehehehe :clap2: u guys crack me up with ur coffee. Fortunatly I don't have a coffee addiction. In fact, I'm a social coffee drinker because here in Portugal, most people have an expresso after their meals as sort of an after dinner drink. Sometimes I'll have one too, but not often. My problem is going to be giving up soda I LOVE my diet coke. :nervous (of course when you read they wash blood off the highway with the same active ingrediants as in coke it makes u wonder what it's doing to your insides :ermm ) Any way, I have a feeling I'll be drinking flat coke if I can get away with it!

Let me know how they turn out, or if you need any help, they can be a bit tricky, but once u get the hang of it, they are very filling and yummy, and get u all those Vitamins that we need.

Thanks guys for all the replies! I'm feeling loved!