blackcherry2002

Usmcwife...I was with Tricare, I was very young, had a BMI of 46 though, and had a few extra problems but I don't think i had the required three or whatever and I was approved in a week. They are funky people at tricare. However I did want to note that as a person who gained 90 lbs in 9 months due to bad habits and unfortunately due to a thyroid that was up to 22, I can say that a 4.9 is still too high. They change the range to .3-3.0 a few years ago but many doctors don't follow it. I hope your doctor keeps you on synthroid as it sounds like you have borderline hypothyroidism. (Not such an issue with weight loss, but it will help with cholesterol, moods, etc.)

Yes, I definitely agree that Jachut is something to aspire too. (No pressure, haha) But seriously exercise the right should be built up like that. Quite frankly if you do want mediocre results, you have to put in mediocre effort. Right now I'm very close to goal and don't work out. I have been doing floor exercises for the last few months however. The youth is on my side when losing, however being overweight like I was messed up my knees big time. Even at my weight I have weak knees, and I did have problems with a severe vitamin D deficiency and couldn't absorb calcium. I do want to run, I haven't run for probably 4 years, but I swear...I have the biggest urge to just run...just because I can now. I'm working up to it to because I know how I work. And I"m the first to admit I'm a lazy pile...so I know if I want this to stick, I have to take little steps...that's what I did with my eatting...I used to eat fast food three times a day, and probably eat a whole bag of candy 2 or 3 times a week(as in ONE sitting). My appetite was uncontrollable, but now with the band I've cut out most white breads, carbs...red meat only a few times a week...more vegetables...This might be where a lot of people started out but I was the worst eatter ever...and quite frankly I'm really proud that I can have one bite of chocolate and be satisfied and just put the rest down. And another thing: My mom has congestive heart failur and was 340 lbs for many years, she has smoked for 80% of her life....(she's stubborn and irritating and won't quit...but) she had an appointment the other day and the cardiologist said her heart improved by 5%...know why? Dancing...like hardcore, sweat-my-ass-off, can't-stand-the-next-day dancing...may not be running a mile....but it just shows that breaking a sweat is really beneficial...K I'm done blabbing:tt2:

Ok so I'm just wondering if I should get a fill or not. The last fill I got was...47 lbs ago. At the time it was perfect. It was probably the first time I was at a sweet spot...but it was at 8cc in a 10cc band. Currently I can eat and get hungry about 2.5 hours later. I also don't really have to be cautious about big bites, never have been, so I'm wondering if maybe it's time again. Only problem is that my doctor is an a$$ and he told me 47lbs ago that this was it...I was going to have to the rest on my own...I was just a little flabergasted at that...That and he doesn't listen when I say I want a small fill, so I'm going to his nurse to do the fill this time but...for those of you that have lost weight around your stomach/under the band and need a refill, how much of a fill did you get? I'm thinking .25 or a .5? And I really do think that after this one I'll be to goal:) Sorry for the long post.

na pretty sure a fill is all I need. It's just loosened up again. And I didn't really get the band to take diet pills.

well I'm in ND so he's about the only fill doctor for miles. Most doctors won't touch "someone" else's patient. But idk, I have his nurses still...and I did go from 212 to 164 with the last fill so...I think I earned another one lol

Ok I would doubt your experience could be much differen than mine. My actual surgery was only 30 min! I was really nervous too, since it was my first surgery. I got there at 6am and waited until about 11am. There were 2 or 3 other surgeries before mine. They had me stay in my room, no food or liquids. They did have me hooked up to an IV though. They put compression socks on, and had a little machine that squeezed my ankles so there weren't blood clots. About 2 or 3 nurses came to take me down to the prep room. They put a hair cap on me and wheeled me down. When I was here they took my blood pressure, etc. Then they injected this stuff into my IV and I said bye to my mom and I passed out! When I woke up I was so confused lol. I thought the surgery was over, but really that was just to calm me down and to put me to sleep, when I woke up they were wheeling me into the OR. They lifted me onto the operaing table and nurses were putting warm blankets around me. (I was still really out of it and tired, not at all nervous amazingly) Then I remember looking behind me and a nurse was putting this milky-white stuff into my IV and I don't even remember if they had me count but the last thing I remember was my doctor holding my hand telling me not to worry. Next thing I knew, the nurses in the post-op room were waking me up. I didn't feel any pain or anything. After that it's a blur for the next hour or so. But they took me back to my room where my mom and b/f were waiting and put the machine back on my ankles. I think they gave me koolaid to drink and eventually I had to stand, then I had to walk to the door of the room, and then I had to walk down the hall. I didn't feel any pain and walked to the end of the hall on my first try up. After surgery my stomach...rather my abs sorta hurt and I was so freaked out about ripping something so I was always sure to get help getting up and down from a sitting position. But that only lasted a week. I didn't take ANY of my pain meds and I was fine. To date I have lost about 100 lbs and am only 20 from goal. I was nervous and I had many times when I doubted the band and myself--I thought that maybe I'd be one of the few it didn't work for, etc. But the band has given me back my life. Just keep that goal in mind and you'll be fine. I hope your surgery goes well...

hey missKayla...where in Minnesota are you from? I'm from Fargo,ND and I got the band the summer after my freshman year of college. It really is hard to lose weight during college but it is possible lol. I love my band.

I'm in! This is my first challenge. Like someone said above, if I can just keep from gaining over Christmas that would be great. I don't expect to lose very much anyway because I'm so close to goal, but another ten pounds would be nice--and my 3-year anniversary is 5 days after Valentine's Day so...something else to look foward to lol.

Thanks guys. Do your doctors make you eat/drink before you can go? I have to eat two graham crackers and drink like 10 oz of fluid in 10 minutes:S I get the crackers down, some of the water and then pour half of it out--it's worked for me so far. I think my doctor is biased towards gastric bypass--that way he can do the surgery, be the hero and be done lol no more work for him. Oh well...lol

So I fit perfectly into a size 8 and I got excited and thought I'd post a picture lol

hey zillmoro- what size band do you have?

my god hillmama!!! You're like a freaking model! I wish I looked that good with the weight off lol... Great job!

Sorry about the size.

Ugh not sure if I like this or hate this, but if I'm stuck I can't wash it down. If I try and drink it only makes things worse, MUCH worse lol

I'm SOOOO excited!!!! As of this morning I was 167.8lbs...I started out this journey at 270/267(depending on what scale and who you ask b/c I didn't even weigh myself for awhile I was too depressed)...So as of this morning I am officially 100 lbs down...or 103! lol Either way, this was one of the best decisions of my life!!! Good luck to all of you and I hope you can all feel like this one day!

Thank you, I seriously don't know how I got this far lol, 6lbs from now and I'll be heading into uncharted territory lol

Well I guess I'm lucky, or unlucky depending on how you see it, I don't get stuck from eatting too fast. No, I just get stuck from eatting too much. It will usually go like this: I'll eat and then go hmmmm I want one last bite....and I do it....I'll be fine for about 3 minutes...and then hell starts. I start burping like crazy but non-productive, and I feel like someone is poking my esophagus from the inside, very unpleasant. And I basically have to walk around or just wait for it either to pass down into my stomach when theirs room or to come up...and yes sliming...ick. lol. Doesn't help the situation when you are naseous, but your basically becomes really watery. I would say that getting stuck is enough to make you cautious of doing it again but not unbearable, especially since after about 10-15minutes of uncomfortableness you usually find relief...

Wow stringbean I know how you feel. Maybe not as dramatically but in 3rd grade(I skipped a grade and was actually about 8) I grew to about 5ft tall and 145lbs with a B cup...it was awkward. And sucky. As for being fat my whole life, I've always been a little tubby but never normal. And even I have doubts about this elusive "normal". And I really went through a lot of times when I thought...ok 10....20...30 lbs that's all I'm going to lose. But the fact is, even though I still eat like a college kid, I still have burgers, chicken nuggets, candy....I just do it OCCASIONALLY and not buying a whole bag of snickers(and reese's and twix-yes I used to eat worse than anyone I know) and finishing it by myself(and that was after a Double Quarter Pounder with cheese meal). It's amazing how the lapband has changed my life. I know it doesn't work for all, as we are all very diffrent, but please give it a chance. Just keep your faith up. It becomes so much easier to turn down just that "last bite" with the band and thank god for it. (And by the way I was starving with the band until about my 4th or 5th fill: it's actually nice because with each fill I've made tiny changes to my diet instead of one big overhaul because I know I wouldn't stick to that) I was in denial before about what and how much I was eatting. I could eat and eat and never feel full and now, I know what that full satisfaction is at every meal :thumbup: Good Luck!

Well I've always been insecure. lol I went through really awkward years in my early teens(about 20lbs overweight, horrible acne:pizza face, braces, horrible dressing/hair) lol But when I started growing out of that I met alot of different guys and I was between 170-190, I'm sorry but I'm personally turned off by guys that find really skinny girls attractive. However then my thyroid went off and I was a shut-in for 3 years and gained 90lbs. I think it was the sleeping 15 hours a day that made me feel the most unattractive. It really has to do about personality and confidence sometimes though, I can say that I've had a LOT more attention recently now that I'm back to 167lbs. As I've gone down in weight you start to realize how sensitive an issue being fat is. It's sad that people look down on you for it, but I am so thankful that my family and awesome b/f stood by me through weight gain and weight loss and loved me the whole time. And unfortunately a lot of people don't have that. That's why this forum is amazing, because we all know what it's like. Sorry if that was really long-and somehow turned into a I-Love-Lapband-Talk! lol

I'd def. go in and get an unfill even if it is just .5 cc's. When I got my last fill, 8cc in a 10cc band, I contemplated getting an unfill because for the first week I would have acid, but only if I laid down or if I ate too quickly. But after that it went away and I've been doing really well. However if you are actually vomiting and the acid is constant and unyeilding, like jachut said, the health of your band isn't worth risking and neither is your health. And with the lapband sometimes the slower the better when it comes to weight loss. I am down 100lbs today but it's taken me a year and 4 months. There were people that lost that amount in 5 or 6 months but I'd rather let my body take this at its own speed...

So regardless of vanity sizes(poo on them) I'm going to be excited. The smallest I ever was was a size 10. Well yesterday I wore a size 8 jeans from target, all day, a little snug but they button and fit and are comfy. I have never been a single digit!!!!(size 1-3x do NOT count! lol)