Humming Bird

I'm just checking in on the new year challenge. How are we all doing? So far I'm down 4 lbs. I'm almost afraid to count the last pound, but that is what the scale said this morning, so I'm counting it ! I usually wait for a couple days to make sure that pound is really gone. I hope Thanksgiving went well for everyone! Now lets see if we can win this challenge and be at our new year goal by 1-1-2010 !

I am the cook/mom/grandma for my family. I am lucky that my band is doing it's job and I am at a sweet spot right now. It may even be a little bit tighter than a sweet spot. I usually have problems at breakfast time with tightness. I had 2/3 of a piece of pumpkin pie for breakfast. I drank iced tea w/ sweet n low while cooking. For my holiday meal I really ate less than I thought I could. I ate a few bites of green beans, a few bites of mashed potatoes/gravy, a few bites yams, and a few bites of cranberry relish. They were all very tiny bites. I'm not sure it even added up to 1/2 cup, but I was full and had to stop because I didn't want to feel pain for Thanksgiving. After everyone left, my husband and I went shopping a little bit and I was feeling a little ripped off because I didn't eat a feast. The tiny bit I did eat kept me full for almost 5 hours. Before we went back home we stopped in Village Inn and I indulged in a piece of Choc. French Silk Pie ! OMG! it was sooooo good and I no longer felt ripped off! I am Thankful for my wonderful family and I am Thankful for my band! I jumped on the scale this morning and was down another pound!

I used Health One for financing. It is interest free for the first 6 months, then it is 9.9% (fixed / with very high credit score) on the remaining balance. I am paying large chunks to get my balance down before the interest starts. The min. monthly payment is around $100. I may transfer my balance after the 6 month period to my Capital One credit card because it is at 4.7 %.

I was banded by Dr. Kirshenbaum in Denver. July 09. $9950 includes everything from consult to free fills for the first 3 months. After that, the fills are $15.

do you know the trick of rubbing peanut butter in with the gum when a child gets it stuck in their hair? It breaks up the gum and no hair cutting is needed. Have you ever eaten food with gum? It breaks up the gum. There is no way the gum will stay in your stomach for any great length of time. Your stomach acid and food will break it down.

Wow Meikobobo, how in the world did you get by not telling your husband about the surgery? Was he out of town or something?

I can't tell you what to do or who to tell. For me personally, everyone knows, and I do mean everyone. I have only received supportive comments so far. If people know, they become my support team.

hey ! I think the new ticker worked ! just trying it out ..... hmmmm .... not showing up here .... but it does on my user CP ....

Count me in ! I really want to be in Onderland by newyears day 2010. I'm not sure I can pull it off, but am up for the challenge! I am 215 lbs now New years goal 199 lbs:party: I will try to figure out how to add another ticker for the challenge, but suffered much frustration with the first ticker.:thumbup:

Look at it this way ...... it's good that you can not eat bacon. Hey I love bacon, but people who are trying to take off weight really should not be eating it. I can not eat potato chips ....... it's good that I can not eat them because they make me F A T!! :bored:

I feel the same frustration, but at 2 pounds per week you can take off a whopping 104 lbs in a year. I know how you feel. After taking such a drastic measure for weight loss, I want it all off right now! I do feel better now that I am at what I think might be a "sweet spot" for awhile. Do you have good restriction? I know my own weight loss would speed up if I were exercising more. I bought an eleptical, but am so fatigued I have not got into a routine with it yet. Usually men tend to take off weight faster than women. You may be able to boost your weight loss to 3-4 lbs per week by sticking to strict dieting and increasing exercise, but don't make yourself sick doing it. Remember that 52 weeks x 2lbs = 104 lbs. Be patient and good luck to you :bored:

I had my lapband and hiatal hernia repair surgery at 1:00pm and was outta there before 5:00pm the same day. So far I have not had problems with my band (fairly newly banded July 09) or with the lifestyle change. I agree with the above poster. Read about the band. Talk to others who have been banded. Check out different surgeon's web sites (even if they are in other states) I also have tried everything to take off weight. I believe the difference with the band is that this time I will keep the weight off.

WOW ! tennesseequeen, I love hearing how well you and your husband have done ! I am almost to my halfway mark and come to this site for support and inspiration. Though I have no intention of competing in pagents, I want to be like you!!! I will be watching for those pics! Great job !

I voted NO, the reform plan and government involvement frightens me. At this point, I can not afford health care insurance and I can not afford to be fined for not having it ! I fear standing in long lines and waiting in crowded waiting rooms or being on long waiting lists just to see a Dr. who is controlled by the government and burnt out on his job. I was self-pay for my lap-band surgery. I chose my own surgeon. I chose my own GP. If I need to see my Dr. for anything, I pay out of pocket. I chose a Dr. who has a small practice and never wait in a waiting room full of sick people before my scheduled appointment. I usually only see one other patient when I am there and they are leaving as I am entering. My Dr. actually spends time talking with me about any medical problem I am having. I fear that if the government sticks their nose in, I will no longer have this. I am a healthcare worker myself and work in a very small office. We do not accept medicaid patients because we would not make enough money to keep the doors open without seeing too many patients in one day. The personalized care would be lost and we would all be very burned out. If government gets too involved, the office where I work will not stay open, I will be unemployed, and everything else will go downhill from there for me ..... I will not be able to keep my house .... what a mess .....

For me it was about 2 weeks from consult to surgery. The reason it took 2 weeks was because I had to have a consult with the nutritionist and do Atkins diet for 2 weeks. I'm sure every surgeon has different things they want you to do pre-op, but mid Jan. sounds pretty reasonable to me. Good luck to you and I hope you get it done when you want and start your journey :wink2:

At 5' and 183lbs, that makes your BMI 35.7 (body mass index) I think most surgeons say they will not do lap-band on anyone with a BMI lower than 40 unless you have other major medical conditions that are caused by obesity. These medical conditions are refered to as co-morbities. There are many people on this site who had low BMIs and got the band. I hope some of them juup in and help you with your questions. When I started my BMI was 41 and I had no medical conditions and take no Rx meds. I was a candidate just simply because of the high BMI. I found looking at different surgeon's websites helpful too.

Your shoulder pain is not from gas at this point. It is from pressure on a nerve. My surgeon did warn me of this before surgery, but I had no idea how bad the pain would be or how long it would last. Mine lasted a couple months and then was my "full signal" for awhile. The best thing I found to help was putting menthol pain patches on my shoulder. You can find them at walmart or places like that. I would just put one on my shoulder in the evening and leave it on all night.

Potato Chips are a big one for me, but after my last fill I just can not eat them. Even a couple chips cause me pain even if I chew them very well. I guess it's a good thing because potato chips make me FAT!

I weigh pretty much every morning. I went from stepping on the scale about twice a year (because I was upset at what I knew i would say) to stepping on the scale daily. I usually wait a day or 2 to change my ticker just to make sure that pound is really gone.:thumbup:

Welcome to LBT ! Join in anytime ... read, respond, learn, get support .......

I feel the same way. I was banded July 9, 09. I have been taking B12 for a couple months and feel no different. I feel cold too. There's not much fuel going in and my body can live off the fat of the land,but does not seem to know how to make energy or warmth from it.

THEN, take the food delivery to a nursing home or someplace like that where I am sure it will be much appreciated. :thumbup: Ah yes, learn the art of re-gifting! sometimes it can be a good thing.

I was self pay and had surgery in Denver. I live about 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive from Denver. I have not had health insurance for several years and was even turned down by one insurance company because of "my hight and weight." Well, it couldn't be my hight. I'm not a giant or midget. I am 5'7" and at the time weighed 230lbs. It really ticked me off. I have no other health problems and take no Rx meds. Now I fear that I won't be able to get insurance in the future because I have the band. I just hope nothing goes wrong with my band. I am trying to pay off my surgery as fast as I can because it is interest free for 6 months and then it will be 10%.

I took one week off work, but it took me a good 3 weeks to feel like I could really handle working. I have bills to pay, so I just dealt with it. I still have fatigue issues. I hope you are feeling better soon.