faybie

Are your clothes starting to get loose or does it just seem like water weight? 20 lbs. is really great in that time frame, good job! :clap2: I was 231 at my initial check up with my Dr. and at 200 I am usually a whole size smaller. ~ Just curious. My closet is shaped like a horse shoe. My current clothes that are size 22's are on my left when I walk in. Going clockwise they are sorted by size counting down to size 8. Mostly, I just ignore my closet and only pay attention to the far left, but this weekend, I sat on the floor smiling looking up at all the sizes and envisioned me fitting back into each size. :biggrin1: LOL. Mind you, I might be terribly out of fashion by the time I hit size 8. ha ha ha ha.

tee hee, honestly I have yet to try either. I don't like chocolate much, however my experience with diet food is that chocolate always tastes better than strawberry. I bought a package of both for my liquids stage, so I will know very soon.

Grats!

That's a great question. I was wondering that myself....

happyk That is great to hear! Mine would have been covered if I had selected the out of network option on my insurance. I could wait and change it next year, but I am too anxious to start the process now.

My co-workers have seen me yo-yo up and down from size 22 to size 8 for 8 years now. So, I am lucky that they will not be suspicious of any weight loss drop. They have seen me try every diet imaginable with great weight loss success. It's the keeping it off part and then passing my original weight that is my problem. Hopefully they will just think I finally found something that works for me.

ha ha jynx! :biggrin1: you owe me an um...... slim fast!

Wow guys thank you so much for all of the updates. I do so much better in situations knowing what to expect whether good or bad. I am keeping a running log of items and things that each of you used that helped you and it has been great, so I will be very prepared. Robin, Is your ticker current? I am very interested in seeing how you are doing since banding as it seems we have similar numbers. :biggrin1: Congrats to everyone who has been banded so far this month!

size8beauty, I don't really write checks much so that part didn't bother me as much, however there are check verification systems out there such as verisign, I was more dissapointed that he didn't except credit cards. I haven't seen anyone post that they hated him, however I do think that each one of us has different requirements. I am very appreciative of the comments made on this thread because I was trying to choose between Dr. Speigel and Dr. Spivak. By reading this thread, I was able to determine that Dr. Spivak was a better fit for me. I am very happy to hear that the lap-band has been a total success for you. That is great to hear. I will be joining you soon.

hmmmmmm. I think I smell a troll... I do, I do smell a trollie troll.

Wow Debbie, I would be upset too if I had not received a refund. I am self pay so I will not have the hassles or any let downs from my insurance because it is not covered. The amount doesn't bother me, because my husband and I eat out 75% of the time and it is usually a 3 or 4 course ordeal everytime (I have been having a love affair with fine dining). I know that over the next couple of years our dining out bill will significantly decrease. Another thing that turned me off about Dr. Speigel is that when you are scheduling your appointment they let you know up front that they don't deal with credit cards or personal checks specifically CASH only. The cash only statement threw up a huge red flag and made me feel uncomfortable with his process.

Morgan, No worries, you look like you are doing a great job. The more you come back and post the more comfortable you will be. No need to apologize, we all started at the same place. Glad to have you here.

LOL. Please don't be mad.... but what is a Troll? I honestly have no idea. Thanks for the post, I needed a laugh and I have been smiling since I started reading the thread. Btw.....Have I mentioned that I like dancing bananas?

Sherry , Wow a mandatory 30 lbs. that has to be tough. If we could lose 30lbs at the drop of a hat, we wouldn't need the surgery. I guess postponing your surgery is his way of getting you to comply however that seems a bit impersonal. I wish he wasn't so dismissive of your 15 lbs.

Wow Robin, what interesting observations! Thanks for sharing. Good luck to everyone going today :biggrin1:

MizJudie WoW! again! I am soooooo glad I came to this forum before choosing my Dr. I had originally chose Dr. Speigal and decided to choose Dr. Spivak after reading patient posts of both Dr's. Irwinlaura I am so glad that you found someone so supportive to help you. LOL. So funny how small petite women always want to give advice on losing weight and staying thin. I was eating a salad the other day at work and this 22 year old size 0 said "wow, why don't you go get yourself some real food." O.O "I laughed and said, well I guess if I was your size, I would think the same thing."

WoW MizJudie what a jerk!!! I think your results look great! You know, at my seminar I met a fellow bander and listened intently to her story. She started at 360 and she said it took 70 pounds or so before anyone even noticed that she was losing weight. Three years later she is 190 or so and has a new lease on life, snowboarding with her son and traveling with her husband. I can't believe the nerve of some people and just how uneducated some Dr.'s seem to be. I have to insert a dancing banana here..... they are just so cute! :Banane27:

Patti, Great to hear you are doing ok. Nice to know that for those of us who have had kids this will be a cake walk. Neither of my children's births were easy or uncomplicated. GEMoM, I think that is a great question. I am only required to have liquids for 2 days post-op, however I have prepared enough for two weeks. I have seen people post that even though they could eat mushies sooner, they said they couldnt get them down. I am not looking forward to the shoulder pain! :cry That sounds just awful, however now I understand why we are advised to walk right away.

huh? Did you mean to add this to a different thread?

Wow! what great results Patty! If that isn't motivation to get the ball rolling, I don't know what is......

I said the EXACT same thing and that is exactly what they think but I just gracefully change the subject if they begin asking details. However, I work with all men so by changing the subjet they won't go back there again. ha ha. My boss is also male and usually wants specific details. Because I said minor female out patient surgery, he didn't even ask. :Banane27:

Very true Gayle. Tim was asking if it was an indication of failure and I personally don't think so, as I can see myself having the same challenges or I wouldn't need the Lap-Band. I really love the dancing bananas. They really crack me up. :Banane27:

http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=22158

Maybe we should start a poll! I wonder how many people deviated even the slightest bit from their liquid diet? hmmmmmmm

I completely understand where you are coming from here. My Dr. is only asking that I not eat carbs then liquid diet for 2 days before surgery. I have been reading about Dr.'s requiring lengthy liquid diets pre-op and was thinking to myself "ha ha, if liquid dieting was that easy, I wouldn't need the band". Obviously I am not a medical professional however I can tell you that I feel exactly the way you do, whatever comfort that gives you.... LOL. Hopefully, the feeling that you aren't out of the norm, but very normal. And I definitely do not think reacting normally is an indication of non-success. Even that fact that you were honest with us about what you ate this week tells me that you are prepared for success, otherwise you would have pretended like you only had liquids like the Dr. ordered!!! :clap2: