JulieNYC

Mine read 301 this morning and actually flashed 299 for a minute before settling on 301! Let me know which line the cute border guard is in because I'm right behind you! Wink,

Margo, that is just FABULOUS! Way to go! Share some more NSV's if you feel like it. It's all downhill from here. Woohoo!

Losing Girl, It was really discouraging to me at first too to see people starting at 220 or so (just an example) when I was starting at 358. But I can tell you, it definitely gets better. We're all on the same road, our road is just a little longer. I can also tell you that the first 3 months for me flew by. Pre-op, I thought 3 months sounded like forever, but now, I bet I'll be 6 mo in before I turn around and will be down to where many people start (260 or so). You'll get there before you know it too. Can't wait to hear about your seminar!

Molly, you're doing great just to be staying afloat right now. Take care of yourself and we're thinking about you. Get that fill and you'll shed a few lbs, which will give you an energy surge that you definitely need with all those changes. Take care,

Absolutely, Kim. My first fill with my VG was 6.2! My doc had put in 4.0 at surgery (the VG needs a little more to make it neutral. He usually puts in 3.0, but my stomach was a little smaller than some). I didn't feel a thing at 6.2. Went back a week later and they took me to 7.6. Felt a tiny something, but really wasn't what I knew "restriction" should be. Went back a week later -- 10.0! Now I'm loving life. I can eat anything, just not too, too much of it and my head hunger has really been dimmed.

BabyJessica, Don't worry about the restaurants! You will still be able to eat out. I live in NYC and I ate at the Rainbow Room this past Sunday. I go out to eat several times a week. I'm just careful to order something that is reasonably healthy, then I let the band do the rest (portion control). I've never even had anyone notice that I was eating slowly or with smaller bites. For me, the band is the perfect tool! Remember, you get to choose the level of restriction you want. For me, I choose to be filled enough to dim the head hunger and reasonably control portion size, but to be able to eat literally any food (even the cripsy part of the bread, though I don't usually want it -- takes up too much room). That said, to all pre-bandsters, there's nothing wrong with enjoying your last few days without guilt. Just REALLY commit to your pre-op diet if you have one. You'll feel much better going into surgery knowing you did your part in seeing that it goes smoothly.

Hi all! I'm stuck at 303 and it's frustrating as hell because I so want to be in the 200's! But I'm feeling great, getting to the gym, eating well and not PBing, so all in all I have it good. I'm seeing my surgeon on Tuesday for the first time since my surgery date. I've seen others in his practice since then, of course, but he wanted me to check in with him in person, so in I go.

It only took about 4-5 days for my hunger to come back. If that winds up being you, it's a LONG road until you get your fill, but hang in there. This is the time for healing, not losing, and you'll lose great once you get your fill. Good luck!

Are you sure she was being mean, or might she have been subtily telling you that you could now clearly fit in any chair? If she was being mean WHAT A WITCH and congrats for defeating the witchiness. Either way, Woohoo on your NSV! I keep waiting for my boss to realize that I don't switch out the chairs in his office any more. I used to always pull up a wider chair when I was sitting across from his desk, but now the ones that have the skinny arms are just fine. Feels so good. I'm flying this weekend and hope I have as good of an experience.

Well Kim, it's kind of a continuum for me. If I eat 1 cup, I'm full as soon as I eat it, then 10 minutes later I'm uncomfortably full. You grow to hate that uncomfortably full feeling as a bandster, so you learn to stop atround 3/4 cup (or whatever your threshold is) when you feel full, but not really full, then you feel really full in about 10 minutes, but you avoid being uncomfortably full. Make sense? Wink.

I count most calories. I count anything that's not a condiment, unless the condiment has more than 20 cals per serving. That way I'm just counting the big stuff, but I know I eat about another 100-150 cals per day in sauces, etc. My way makes me feel like I'm accountable but not obsessive with calorie counting. It works for me now, at least. It's subject to modification!

Five, I'm so sorry you're feeling so bad and out of control. Do you take meds to manage your anxiety? I take some just when I need them and when I get in that panicky mode, it REALLY helps. Maybe you could schedule a dr's appt? Also, get the fill. Maybe if your weight loss picked up again you'd feel like at least THAT was in control and that would give you a feeling of stability. Lastly, do anything you have to to take 2 hours to yourself twice a week. Your husband can watch the kids for that long. Go to a park and go for a walk, or a drive, or whatever is relaxing to you. It doesn't have to cost anything but might give you that little piece of alone time that lets you enjoy the rest of your life instead of feeling overwhelmed. Good luck and we're thinking about you.

Woohoo!!!!!!!!! That's amazing! Sit back and let yourself be in awe of your accomplishment. That's just WONDERFUL. Way to go,

Using this chat room would be GREAT, but if if doesn't work out, there are almost always people chatting at this address at or about 9-9:30 p.m. (EST), every day. Some days there are more people there than others, but there is almost always someone there. FYI, you don't have to register to join a chat -- it just saves you from having to enter your preferred UserID every time if you do register. Chatting is a such a great form of support for me. I hope you can all find a way to chat too, whether here or elsewhere. http://www.bandsterchat.com

4-3: JenRN - 263/257/248/150 - 15 total 4-3: jenn28 - 282/265/229/165 - 53 total 4-3: Picardy3 - 298/300/271/150 - 29 total 4-3: tipper - 300/290/278/165 - 22 total 4-4: Sugar1 - 311/289/239/150 - 72 total 4-4: Dak – 255/251/225/150 – 50 total 4-5: Boo - 208/203/188/130 - 20 total 4-6: Disneynut - 290/287/260/125 - 27 total 4-7: Guysis - 234/205/134 -29 total 4-10: JulieNYC - 358/303/150 - 55 total 4-11: Vickie1177 - 320/297/267/137 - 53 total 4-11: tellymelly - 240/235/184/135 -55 total 4-11: Fel0816 - 307/284/265/to get under 200 - 42 total 4-11: dsrjrr - 231/230/210/130 - 21 total 4-13: Nursekathy2u - 358/356/335/175 - 23 total 4-13: NJgirl - 248/230/212/140 - 36 total 4-13: Miper70 - 217/201/145 - 16 total 4-17: Amourette - 22.5 total 4-17: Jeepergurrl - 242/222/140 - 20 total 4-17: MelAnne - 245/207/150 - 38 total 4-18: Danaclark2 - 270/260.5/245/150 - 25 total 4-18: LapBandit - 392/369/347/336/324 -68 total 4-20: Omamoon - 220/211.5/202/130 - 18 total 4-21: Yoda - 273/257/235/150 - 38 total 4-21: kristielynn - 310/302/270/150 - 40 total 4-22: alisonb - 286/270/176 - 16 total 4-24: Eficka - 125/117/108.7/69kg - total 13.3kgs/36 pounds 4-24: Ceparano -255/270.5/240/170 - 30 total 4-24: Kat - 289/281/258.5/165 -30.5 lbs total 4-24: hlj25950 - 262/257/241/160 - 21 total 4-25: momof2boys - 270/266/244/145 - 26 total 4-26: Bostongurl - 264/244/212/145 - 52 total 4-27: tinaj - 226/221/210/150 - 15 total 4-27: lookingout - 185/178/165/101 - 20 total 4-27: flowergoddesstn - 214/204/190/130 - 24 total 4-27: Dimples0323 - 284/284/241/145 - 43 Total 4-28: Susan4794 - 283/267/264.2/145 - 18.8 total 4-28: bluehill - 333/290/145 - 43 total 4-28: Irish Girl - 224/214/189/135

You're going to do GREAT on your trip, LapBandit! Hang in there (and out of the restaurants!). Take care and safe travels,

I was banded by Dr. Fielding after doing 3 years of research (a little much, I admit!) and I couldn't be happier with my choice. He and Dr. Ren run a wonderful practice and I would be delighted to talk more about it with you off board if you like. Good luck on your journey.

I dont' know of any studies that prove that, though perhaps there's something to that. I do know (from my surgeon) that slippage is associated with not using the "pars flaccida" technique for sewing the band to the stomach. However, if you're in the US (and certainly elsewhere as well, though I only know it to be the case in the US), all Inamed certified band surgeons use this technique, so you should be good (since the Inamed band is the only one FDA approved). Good luck with your journey.

Mallorie, Meeting with the PCP was the HARDEST part of my band journey to date. I hadn't been to the doctor in a long, long time, and had moved from TX to NYC in the interim. I technically "had" a PCP through my insurance, but I'd never seen her before. I spent way too much time stressing over that and I bet you'll feel that way once it's behind you too! What I did was this. I called my PCP to introduce myself and to tell her what I'd decided (LapBand surgery). I said I knew she couldn't tell me whether she could support it for me without seeing me first, but I wanted to know if she had a general predisposition for or against it for a patient who was morbidly obese. We had a very conservative conversation and she told me she didn't recommend it in every case, but that she wasn't opposed to surgery if the proper prerequisites were there. With that, I felt a little better and went on and kept the appointment. Since then, she's been my biggest cheerleader. Maybe you can call your doctor's office and speak with a nurse (or even the doctor) to see if you're wasting your time seeing him (i.e. if he doesn't support WLS surgery generally)? Even if you don't decide to do that, just remember that if he says no, you can always find another PCP who will support you. This is YOUR journey and you need a PCP who doesn't discriminate against the disease of obesity. Good luck to you.

6 more pounds, 6 more pounds, 6 more pounds!!!!

You look gorgeous Christy! Congratulations on your new shirt. It looks wonderful on you. Way to go! (Barb, NSV means "non scale victory" -- i.e. those little (and not so little) things other than the number on a scale that show progress as you've lost weight. My most recent one is being able to walk straight into my narrow-doored bathroom rather than hind of angling my hips to pass through. I'm no longer "wide as a door"!!)

Your ROCK! Woohoo!!!

I'm 33, single, no kids, and thought I was the only one! I'm not sure if I want to have kids or not, but I definitely want to get married (particularly if I can convince him to live next door -- just joking). I figure it'll be easier to untangle all that with some of the weight gone. Anyway, good to meet you all and know there are others like me. Take care,

Momof2, 25 lbs is great. This is life, not a diet or a competition (I have to remember that all the time and it's hard, I know). You're headed in the right direction and that's what matters. That said, consider getting another fill. Don't worry about the size of your band. 1 cc in a 4cc band isn't a lot. You have the smallest band (at least the smallest FDA approved band in the U.S.). Even at goal, your doc could put enough Fluid in there to keep you from even swallowing spit -- there's not a chance it's too big. The larger band (the VG) is larger in circumference as well (11 cm instead of 9.75 or 10 cm), which is why it has to hold more. Check out the LAP-BAND Stoma Area Comparison (towards the bottom of the link) on Inamed's website to get a visual. As you can see, it's the VG that arguably can't get tight enough (though most surgeons will overfill it, if necessary, to get it to the same tightness as the 4cc bands). http://www.allerganandinamed.com/products/obesity/us/clinician/lapband/prodinfo.html#overview Good luck!

4-3: JenRN - 263/257/248/150 - 15 total 4-3: jenn28 - 282/265/237/165 - 45 total 4-3: Picardy3 - 298/300/271/150 - 29 total 4-3: tipper - 300/290/278/165 - 22 total 4-4: Sugar1 - 311/289/248/150 - 63 total 4-4: Dak – 255/251/225/150 – 50 total 4-5: Boo - 208/203/188/130 - 20 total 4-6: Disneynut - 290/287/260/125 - 27 total 4-7: Guysis - 234/205/134 -29 total 4-10: JulieNYC - 358/308/150 - 50 total 4-11: Vickie1177 - 320/297/267/137 - 53 total 4-11: tellymelly - 240/235/184/135 -55 total 4-11: Fel0816 - 307/284/265/to get under 200 - 42 total 4-11: dsrjrr - 231/230/210/130 - 21 total 4-13: Nursekathy2u - 358/356/335/175 - 23 total 4-13: NJgirl - 248/230/212/140 - 36 total 4-13: Miper70 - 217/201/145 - 16 total 4-17: Amourette - 22.5 total 4-17: Jeepergurrl - 242/222/140 - 20 total 4-18: Danaclark2 - 270/260.5/245/150 - 25 total 4-18: LapBandit - 392/369/347/336/324 -68 total 4-20: Omamoon - 220/211.5/202/130 - 18 total 4-21: Yoda - 273/257/239/150 - 34 total 4-21: kristielynn - 310/302/270/150 - 40 total 4-22: alisonb - 286/270/176 - 16 total 4-24: Eficka - 125/117/108.7/69kg - total 13.3kgs/36 pounds 4-24: Ceparano -255/270.5/241.5/170 - 29 total 4-24: Kat - 289/281/263/165 -26 lbs total 4-24: hlj25950 - 262/257/241/160 - 21 total 4-25: momof2boys - 270/266/244/145 - 26 total 4-26: Bostongurl - 264/244/214/145 - 50 total 4-27: tinaj - 226/221/210/150 - 15 total 4-27: lookingout - 185/178/165/101 - 20 total 4-27: flowergoddesstn - 214/204/190/130 - 24 total 4-27: Dimples0323 - 284/284/241/145 - 43 Total 4-28: Susan4794 - 283/267/264.2/145 - 18.8 total 4-28: bluehill - 333/290/145 - 43 total 4-28: Irish Girl - 224/214/189/135