RestlessMonkey

I'm sure that your mesh will not be a problem for a skilled surgeon. Go to a seminar, and ask the surgeon afterward....I know you'll be reassured. Good luck!

Welcome. Do you have a lap band (or other WLS) or are you still in the "thinking" stage?

Clear a heating pad with your surgeon though...some sutures are made to dissolve over time with heat and using a heating pad can speed that up prematurely! Otherwise yes, walk walk walk and hang in there!

blklab70!! thanks for your words of support... but don't take me as gospel! LOL I didn't get to 405 by knowing it all! LOL I just think I realize that while some things are pretty cut and dried (like if you stick your hand in an open flame it will PROBABLY burn unless you have an asbestos glove on or are a superperson) lots of this is kind of, um, fuzzy? My doc did take about 10 minutes (which is HUGE in a busy surgeon's practice) and go over the science, and his thinking, with me, maybe partly because he knows i was a nursing student and interested in the "why", and partly because he knows me well enough to know I am a hard sell! :eek: So I'm not trying to promote an agenda but what he told me made sense and its working for me (and you! and your smart doc!) so I have to say his point may be valid for some people who are struggling. :smile2: But I'm just out here trying to figure it out like everyone else. If I'm wrong (and GASP it does happen! LOL) call me out, ok?

jms...I didn't post that to insult you, just in case it seemed that way. I trust my doc a lot but he is a human. He also says "snacking will cause the band to fail" and I know from my readings on here of many successful bandsters who snack. In weight loss, as in life, so often there are no hard line, easy answers! HOWEVER...personally when I have allowed myself longer to eat, I find I tend to graze. I can eat a LOT more if I take longer. And I don't eat a whole steak...although if I took an hour I could probably get an 8 ouncer down. For a former grazer, that "small meals throughout the day" line of thought, or "3 small meals and a few snacks" thought, doesn't really work. I've tried it. My own personal best success I've found is when I (who am quite hard headed) have finally done what my Doc told me to do. So the advice my own surgeon gave me is NOT "malarky". It just may not work for you.

I'm actually shocked you COULD eat that much! how did you? Even if I want to eat more (and sometimes I do...I'm human too! Sometimes it just tastes GOOD) I can't...I PB it! I can't help but wonder if you really overate maybe you aren't as restricted as you thought and therefore are less likely to have hurt yourself? I know my logic seems convoluted but I think it's sound. And I've had carbonation too...once I drank 3 ultra light beers! BUT it took me forever. So not worth it. Did you almost "chug" the carbonated bevs, or did you drink? did they hurt? (it almost does for me)? Horrible to see after all this time we can still react so "wrong", isn't it?

I'm still large but my friends are my friends (picky broad here) I'm "friendly" with everyone but only have a close core of people who are lifelong friends. Most of them knew me thinner, knew me fatter, and love me (lucky girl I am!) for things other than my weight. I've never had a friendship based on eating like some people I've read, although in college I had a couple based on drinking! LOL those are long gone! :eek: Life changes and people come into and go out of our lives. If you lose any, they weren't good core friends anyway.

My doc says NO Snacks or the band will FAIL! I know bandsters who snack and are successful, so he's not 100% right...but I find I personally do better if I follow his rule. It's hard sometimes, but overall easier than it was when I would allow myself "a little something". Apparently I still haven't mastered that "moderation" thing! LOL He (my doc) says if we eat 3 meals a day at the same time every day, we can train our bodies to be hungry then. Having worked for years with a set lunch time I know he's telling the truth so I'm really working on that. I know in this day/age with our modern lifestyles it's hard to find 3 times that work every day of the week, but I haven't given up. It does seem to help with cravings and desire to snack. And if there is something I MUST have and the feeling lingers longer than 24 hours...I incorporate it into a meal.

Thanks for your nice comment about SA! :eek: It's hot right now though; we've had days and days of temps over 100, and summer just getting in to full swing. And no there aren't as many with "great" credit but unsecured loans will be even harder to come by, not easier. You can surely try if you want...I don't work for a bank or finance company etc just know what I've experienced in the past, what I've heard in the news, what I've read on here. Get your credit reports and check them out, then decide if you want to go for it! Good luck whatever you decide. I will say that to repair your credit you almost HAVE to have some revolving credit and keep it sparking, but again am not a pro.

katwnm63...no I truly don't! I weighed my steak dinner just recently out of curiosity...and it was about 2 oz. Somedays I get 3 down, sometimes less. Everyone has a different approach once they have the band and have healed so I don't presume that my way will work for anyone else, but I'm a "mature" adult and have dieted off and on since I was 16. I have found that dieting makes me totally food obsessed. Weighing and measuring and counting every bit of food makes me insane. I am constantly fretting over how much and when and OMG what if I'm still HUNGRY etc. And the thought of having to weigh or measure out every meal for the rest of my life would almost send me into tears! (don't mean to be dramatic but when you need to lose a lot, it gets REALLY old) I have after doing WW many MANY times got a good eyeball to "guess" how much I'm eating but I don't sweat it or weigh it. Tonight for example I had a chicken thigh and a couple teaspoons of corn. I ate until satisfied and quit...left a little chicken. As long as I'm doing well i don't feel the need to weigh. This has gotten easier as I've gotten restriction but before I hit my sweet spot I still didn't weigh, I just "listened" to myself and tried to learn new signals of "satisfied" rather than relying on a unit of measure to tell me to stop, or rather than eating until I was "full". It's hard to learn but I think I'm getting there; we all have to do something we can live with. Some people like to calorie count, chart their meals, etc. Not me. I just want to be able to eat to live, not fret over it. So far, so good! I find I often go HOURS without even thinking of food now (miraculous in and of itself, especially in the evenings when i used to really graze) so the freedom from "food" is wonderful to me. So far my doc is pleased as punch with my medical condition and progress so I guess what I'm doing works for me! A person who isn't so obsessive about counting weighing portioning etc might do better to use the scales, a measuring cup, etc...we just all have to work it. I know 4 oz of meat is about palm sized...but I just eat until satisfied, not until a portion is "used up".

What diet did your doc give you to follow? Mine allows only 3 meals a day and we can have Protein shakes but only if they replace a meal. No Snacks no grazing. And how much frozen yogurt? It's probably not helping and is a slider food. If I were you I'd make an appt, go back to my doc for a fill, and have another consult with the nutritionist. S/he should help get you back on track.

How low is low? In these economic times, I think especially for an unsecured loan such as CreditCare (they can't come take back the surgery if you don't pay) you'll need a fairly high score to qualify. I've read on here 700 or more but that isn't a guarantee...

I would suggest that you discuss this with your surgeon before proceeding.

My surgeon is adamant that we eat in 30 minutes. Not scarf...but after that it can negate the effects of the band. I eat my 2-3 ounces of steak in about 15 and then am full and done.

Since the 4th is a holiday and you don't want to be in the ER then! call your doc tomorrow and run it past them. Let them make this call for you.

I would want the best surgeon possible. The only thing...I know the weather gets bad sometimes. What will you do if you have an emergency? They are RARE but they happen...too tight a fill, GERD, various issues. (not that GERD is an emergency but if left untreated it becomes one). Will you be ok with that? Just playing devil's advocate; I would always opt for experience (esp since it's cheaper) but aftercare is an issue.

Since the PCP referral is generally an INSURANCE requirement, then it would be up to what your policy requires. What worked for someone else (or even if we HAD to have a referral) doesn't really pertain to you. What you need to know is what your insurance company wants.

None. I didn't have to have a referral.

This is one for your surgeon. He'll need to do further tests and figure out what's wrong with you.

rodriguezequal you got a good deal! That aftercare is VITAL! many of us don't think of it when we're all goal-oriented on just GETTING the band!

The surgeon I chose charges 15k for self pay, with a year of "free" fills. (they are all different...do some research and bargain!) I had planned to just put mine on a low interest credit card when ins. came through. Many surgeon's offices have brochures for companies that will finance the surgery; care credit is one of them.

Osteoporosis is really quite rare in obese women (one of the few "bonuses" of obesity) However I'm sure as we lose it becomes a greater risk. Another good reason to do weight bearing exercise, take those supplements, and get annual check ups!

LOL! I hope that, as you control your diabetes, it will "go away". I know some neuropathies are permanent but since yours wasn't an issue, hopefully it will reverse or remit. Glad to see you posting again, anyway!

How odd, caffeine has never made my mammograms "cloudy". I guess we're all different! LOL I have read that caffeine can make mammography more painful, but recent evidence belies even that.

Actually caffeine isn't really all that bad for you. It was "out" for a while, but now is coming back "in". It's the carbonation that's the kicker. If you doubt, just google "health benefits of caffeine". It can really be good for you. I was told to avoid it because it "makes some people hungry" (see how I asked my doc why he said to avoid it?) Well, it doesn't make me hungry, so I have coffee and tea with caffeine. If I don't have it do I jones for it? No. No headaches...no "meaner than usual". We're all different....we all should ask our surgeons for their thinking on "NO MORE >>>>>>" use common sense and personal experience. I agree if I had been addicted to diet coke to the point of being late for a meeting....moderation is probably not the way to go for me! :tongue2: But we're not all the same, are we?