coltonwade

I went to the mall today for the first time for a "LONG " Shopping trip really since i quit smoking in September. Normally I would have been huffing and puffing and sweating my butt off trying to keep up with my friend. Along with having to sit down every so many mintues because I couldnt breathe. I felt GREAT today . We were at the mall and before tha Kohls for a total of 5 hours and i felt fine. Sure I was tired and Im tired now but no huffing and puffing like normal. I could keep up with her, She even noticed it. So that felt good. All I could think about while i was there though was " MAN I cant wait until can shop at the same stores. She went into Victorias Secret and they had this bra that looked SO COMFY , it was wireless, I asked how large they went up to . (luckily the sales woman was a plus size girl) she said " 38DD they think everyone is a 24C in this place LOL " So i cant wait until I can go in there and shop. Anyway , Quit when your ready, it wont work unless your ready to do it. When you do I PROMISE you you will feel better . Mindy

My doc told me a long time ago to not try to loose wt and quit smoking at the same time , he said you WILL Fail at one. That is why I quit MONTHS in advance. I think it would be too hard. BUT IF anything I think its a goo idea to quit a few days before surgery so your blood is not so thin and its not as hard to heal HTH Mindy

YA THINK ? LOL She is SO THIN. She looks horrible. Why the stars dont come out and say they have one i will never know. Do they think we are idiots.Just like Lara Flynn Boyle , and Calista Flockhart. Im sure they both have either had one or have one now . They are so sickly Mindy

I am 100% sure that I want this surgery , I will be banded in January . I have been 100% since I Went to the seminar back in September or so . I have been researching this for over 2 yrs , very heavily for over a yr. The closer to surgery I get though if i hear of a complication I do stop and think for nano second about it and get a bit nervous . But thats it . I think you wouldnt be human if you didnt get a bit anxious or nervous . I am the kind of person that once i make up my mind nother stops me , ( its the virgo on me coming out lol ) . I think its natural to have some apprehinsion about surgery . Like someone else said, I do not want to yo yo for the rest of my life, diets do not work , there is research to back that up . In MY opinon the band is the only way to NOT yo yo . Good luck Mindy PS Since you and I are not banded yet feel free to email me if you like to discuss things.

I think i would find out where this article came from and write to "inform" them that if they are going to be speculating about someone that they need to at least have their facts straight. Im with you I dont know what is more disturbing Mindy

This is something that i am wondering as well. I want to be banded in Janurary and we are wanting and needing to get insurance as well. So im wondering if i get insurance before surgery if they will cover things if complications arrise from my surgery? Im interested to find out some answers as well. My surgery is self pay as well Mindy

I have PCOS and my hair falls out as a result of that. Not much but a little at a time. I shed like CRAZY . When i take a shower there is always a wad of hair in the drain when im done. Im pretty much expecting to loose some hair (More hair) after surgery . I have no rhyme or reason to expect it just do because of the PCOS LOL Mindy

Well it sounds like to me from what you have said that he's nervous that he might loose you and that he's insecure. HOWEVER , I must say as someone who was in a verbally and physcially abusive relationship for many many yrs... This sort of thing with the wrong kind of personality can turn nasty . He can turn very needy, possesive, controlling ect. Not that this is what your boyfriend is like now . But its something to watch out for if he feels he's loosing you . Myself personally after being in an abusive relationship for so long I would NEVER put up with my spouse not supporting this , calling me fat , tellling me im going to fail, being so disrespectful to me. Personally if this is not his norm, sounds like it might be a good idea to get into counseling . I hope things work out. Im not banded yet and I hope my husband remains the same loving supportive husband he is now . But if not he has agreed to get into counseling if we need to HTH Mindy

OHH that is an EXCELLENT point i dont know if it was mentioned or not . I threw away EVERYTHING cigerette related. Ashtrays, lighters, butts, old emtpy packs. EVERYTHING gone. My friend told me ( The Respritory therapist) that its a good way to succeed . Also another tip she gave me was to allow NO ONE to smoke around or in your home. My dad smokes and he is not allowed to smoke at my house ( I smoked outside ) i let him now but i dont go outside and ALL Cig butts MUST BE gone . I am on wellbutrin ( the generic of zyban) for my migraines it it TOTALLY helped . It helps take away the food cravings for 1. 2 it helps with the anxiety ALOT . Mindy

GET THE PATCH !!!!!!!!!! The patch if anything for me helped pyschologically . I would think " Aww the patch works. I bougt " Phase 2 " of the batch and used 3 of them and was done didnt need them anymore. I have that box left if you send me your address i'll mail them to you ! the patch helps I promise Mindy

As someone who is not banded yet , this does make me nervous . I would think that the tubing would be strong enough to with stand a needle prick since you have to get fills so often . I would maybe send them the picture . Mindy

I spoke to Jason last night and we are going to have the money for surgery in December. He cant tell me exactly when , but he does know it will be in December ! I have been speaking to Dr Rincon ( My surgeon) for months via email , I have yet to see him in person . So i called to schedule an appt for mid December , I thought he might be difficult to get into . He tells me " Call me when your ready i'll get you in" ! I was very happy with that ! So now i just need to work on my pre op stuff ! That should take me a few weeks to get scheduled and completed. Which will keep my mind occupied and off of surgery so i dont drive my husband nuts ! . Then just wait for surgery . Doc said once i have that done its just a matter of days from when I See him to schedule surgery ! . OH GEEZ I cant belive this is going to happen soon. I NEVER Thought this would happen ! that's all for now

I spoke to Jason last night and we are going to have the money for surgery in December. He cant tell me exactly when , but he does know it will be in December ! I have been speaking to Dr Rincon ( My surgeon) for months via email , I have yet to see him in person . So i called to schedule an appt for mid December , I thought he might be difficult to get into . He tells me " Call me when your ready i'll get you in" ! I was very happy with that ! So now i just need to work on my pre op stuff ! That should take me a few weeks to get scheduled and completed. Which will keep my mind occupied and off of surgery so i dont drive my husband nuts ! . Then just wait for surgery . Doc said once i have that done its just a matter of days from when I See him to schedule surgery ! . OH GEEZ I cant belive this is going to happen soon. I NEVER Thought this would happen ! that's all for now

I was thinking the same thing , how delicate they are . Makes me kinda of wonder or think harder about having fills under Flouro now ? Might be worth the extra money ? Mindy

I was thinking along the same lines as you are. That it will make me feel like im moving towards the surgery . Keep me motivated over the holidays. I was eating lunch with someone the other day and i ordered a grilled chicken breast and veggies. She said ' GEEZ IF i were U i would be eating this bacon cheese burger " I told her " Why so i can make things harder on myself by having MORE Weight to loose ? " makes no sense to me to pig out just because i know im having surgery . SO i'm going to try to keep that attitude over the holidays. I for the most part know what my surgeon expects because i speak to him via email him alot. But it will be nice to see him and know what he's expecting ! Thanks for the reply . Mindy

Ok so im getting a bit antsy now . I wanted some advice . We are going to have the money for my surgery sometime in December. We are not 100% sure what time in Dec. But by the end of December we will have it. (We own our own company and are waiting for a job to finish in December then we will have the $) So here is my question. I know it might take some time for the pre op tests to get done . I am wanting to have my surgery the first part of Jan. Do you think it would be smart to schedule my consult mid December. ( with Christmas and the holidays might delay some tests ect.. ) I have money now for pre op testing and the consult visit. Then i'll knwo what i have to do and when i have money in hand all i have to do is schedule the surgery ? Does this make sense ? LOL Any advice woudl be great. Thanks Mindy

WOW that is interesting. So is there one hold or several ? It looks like to me there is one in the back and several in the front ? Or vice Versa ? Do they know what caused it ? Mindy

I can tell you that something that has helped me alot and you might want to ask your doc about it. I am on wellbutrin for my migraines. That has helped ALOT this time around as far as cutting down the anxiety . But your almost over the hump. it mighht not feel like it but it does get better. Mindy

Im not a runner , but its something I have always wanted to do . ANd something I plan on doing once i looose some wt.(i'll be banded in December or Jan. ) My sister in law is a runner . She suggested that once im ready to do it that i hire someone even once to "teach" me how to run. She said that knowing how to run properly is essential to doing it and not getting hurt, getting the best results as well as endurance. If that's something you can do or if you know someone else who is a runner you might want to do that it will be benifical in the long run. Mindy

You have made it this far your through the worst ! . The cravings stop shortly I PROMISE . The first 2 weeks are the hardest. There was NO WAY I was going to cheat once i stopped because I didnt want to start withdrawls all over again . If you feel like smoking chew gum . Your cravings should get alot better any day now. Try not to think about it and find something else to do with your time. As someone who quit before and started ONce you quit DO NOT START AGAIN . it sucks to start again . Mindy

You should add another category to the poll. "Quit before surgery and Still do not smoke: LOL MIndy

I smoked for 15 yrs a pack to pack and half a day ( Im 31 now ) and once I knew I was getting banded ( im getting banded in December or January) I decided I was going to quit. I decided i was going to set a quit date. A friend of mine was a respitory therapist and she told me that smokers who quit with the help of the patch or smoking aid are more likely to remain non smokers. SO i set a quit date, one day i was walking through the grocery store picked up a box of nicoderm Patches and threw away my cigerettes on the way out of the store . I have NO IDEA what made me do that to this day lol . I decided before hand though that it would be better to quit and gain weight now than after surgery . The patches helped ALOT . I quit one other time when i was pregnant and it was HELL, i did it cold turkey as well. Im also on wellbutrin for migraines and I think that Helped ALOT too . SO long story short its been since September 19th since i have had a smoke . I no longer have the urge . I really enjoyed smoking . But I wont start again . I feel SO MUCH better now. I am not out of breathe as easy. And this is something that is funny . I use to be Hot ALL THE TIME . Now I am COLD . I always have socks and sweaters on now. ( I LIVE IN TEXAS TOO LOL ) SO If your not banded yet , even if you are I say quit. Email me privately if you need some support i know its rough. Mindy

The doc im going to use in the next month or so is GREAT. He's in Texas , San Antonio . He charges $12,000 for self pay . Includes surgeon, anesthesiologist, Lap Band and surgery center fees. Also includes Lap Band Fills, adjustments, and follow-up visits up to one year. http://www.saweightlosscenter.com/ I can give you the name /email of someone who had surgery with him less than a few months ago . He's really great. HTH Mindy

:clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2: I totally agree. Mindy

Now that I think about it , unless you plan on going back there, I wouldnt have any contact w/them anymore until you get into contact with someone . Either the Heatlh Dept, Medical Board or attorney ? Mindy