untfluter

my friend in Elkridge shops at the Lynwood Giant... that is too funny!!!

My name is Deborah

I am in the Ft. Lauderdale, FL area. I have added you to my yahoo messenger.. looking forward to chatting

My friend is on Mayfield...maybe next time I am up that way we can get together and meet as fellow bandsters...I was hoping to make it up later in the year but I don't know that it will happen...feel free to email me at untfluter@comcast.net. if you chat on Yahoo... I can be found at bbwfluter@yahoo.com

You are welcome.. glad I could ease your mind.. and by the way.. you are in Elkridge??? I am from Prince George's county originally.. grew up in Laurel and one of my oldest friends lives in Elkridge... I stay w/her when I go up to visit....

I too had the flu earlier this month and I had a cough that lasted for like 2 weeks... the first week I was sooo paranoid about slipping my band from coughing... so I called my surgeon and spoke w/his nurse, who is a certified bariatric nurse and she told me that coughing wouldn't slip the band... and when I saw my surgeon after that, he told me the same thing.. I felt SOOOO much better after talking to his nurse, because I was VERY paranoid about it... Hope you feel better soon!!

I have had two recently... first one was the arena where our hockey teams plays and where concerts are held, I have not been able to fit in the seats w/out wedging myself in and going home w/bruises from the end of the arms... as a matter of fact, 2 yrs ago friends took me to a hockey game for my birthday and they made arrangements for our seats to be in the handicap area where they have folding chairs. just last month, I was there for a concert as well as the home opener for the hockey team and I just slid right in to the seats... no wedging, no pushing myself in to the seat and NO BRUISES.. I was so excited... the second one is that I have tried on several pairs of shoes recently, and even bought a pair from Avon, which I could never wear because I have/had a wide foot... well, my foot is still wide in my opinion.. but I was able to fit in to shoes that are not wide width.. including the pair I just bought from Avon... YEAH!!!

The surgeon who banded me spent MANY years as a laproscopic surgeon, doing things like Gallbladders, appendix's, etc before becoming a bariatric surgeon several years ago... he STILL does gallbladders, etc... that's they kind of surgeon you need to take out your gallbladder... good luck...

Hey girl.. it's me.. you know who.. LOL I can't wait to hear what a different surgeon tells you... good luck!!

Just wanted to comment that I lived in Layton, UT, right down the street from Hill AFB in 1996... loved the area!!

Thanks for the laugh!

Without a doubt, without hesitation.. this is the best thing I could have done for my life and my health.... I don't regret having done this for one second!!

Very interesting.. I might have to try it....

Something else to consider is that you also may still be a little swollen since you are only 3 wks post op... I know that I was swollen ( on the inside of course.. LOL) for close to 3 or 4 wks... and when you are swollen, that sometimes will affect your weight too

You are not doing anything wrong.. Unfortunately it is rare to get restriction on your first fill... most people it takes SEVERAL fills, some people it takes 6 or 7.. everyone is different.. I too had 2 CC on my first fill and felt SOME restriction but not a lot. How long does your surgeon have you on liquids/mushies after your fill?? All surgeons are different, mine is just 24 hrs... if you are on solid food again after your fill and your stomach is growling, make sure you are getting plenty of Protein in when you do eat... Protein keeps you full longer. And how long after you eat is your stomach starting to growl?? I hope I have eased your mind at least a little...

just as an FYI, a lot of insurance companies require 6 months of supervised weight loss prior to even submitting paperwork to them for approval. My insurance company doesn't, but they also turned me down, so I had to go self pay...

Once I made the decision to have the surgery, I felt that I had nothing to hide. It was not big secret I was fat... and I felt that I should be proud of the fact that I took control of my life and health when I decided to have the surgery, not ashamed that I had to take this step. I told my friends, family AND co-workers. My parents at first were concerned because they just don't like the idea of surgery, BUT, were very supportive and once I explained WHY I wanted to do this and they realized that I had done a lot of research... they understood that I was making the right decision.. My dad took me to the hospital along w/my sister the day of the surgery and my mom got there before they took me back since she had to work that morning...my friend and co-workers have been so supportive, and that includes my CEO... they are all so happy for me....and proud.... I have also plastered it all over my facebook about my surgery...I even have a photo album on my facebook of before and after pics... and my friends include people I went to high school and even jr high with that I haven't seen or talked to in over 20 yrs but thanks to Facebook we reconnected and they are even supportive... I only had one bad experience and that was from a guy I went out w/like twice who told me it wasn't a good idea and that there are too many bad outcomes and what happened to doing it the natural way.... I told him off and never heard back from him.. good bye to bad rubbish I say... LOL But everyone is right... It is a personal decision whether or not to tell anyone... I know people who have been banded that have not told anyone but their immediate family... and that was their choice...me... I'm a bit of a blabber mouth and tend to tell people all my business.... LOL Heck.. I even told the girls at the Curves I joined 2 months ago... LOL they are very curious, ask a lot of questions, which I happily answer... I don't mind educating them... and they are very supportive... always want to know my latest total of weight loss and how it went when I see my surgeon... maybe I am lucky that I have so many supportive, non-judgemental people in my life...

Welcome and good luck as you begin this journey. I started my journey back in February when I first went to my seminar. I was banded on May 19th and I am in love w/my band.. this was the best thing I could have ever done. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, etc.. and that goes for anyone... my email is untfluter@comcast.net

at my 1 wk post op check up I had lost 3lbs and then I had my first fill 3 wks after my surgery and I had lost a total of 10 lbs

One reason most surgeon's require you to lose a certain amount of weight before surgery has to do w/your liver. In obese people, it is not uncommon for the liver to be enlarged and the only way to shrink it is to lose weight. When the liver is enlarged, it makes it harder to see everything they need to see in order to band you. By losing weight and shrinking your liver, it makes it easier for them to band you. I hope this helps!

Congrats Jim. Good luck!! Let us know how it goes!!

The Morningstar sausage patties are good... the "bacon"? not so much... LOL for lunch/dinner, their "chicken" patties are good and so are the Veggie Patties... I get the veggie patties at BJ's... I get like 16 of them for $11. A piece of fat free cheese and some mustard and I'm ready to go... both are high in soy protein... which is great for women....

I use the Pure Protein brand of both Protein shake powder and bars. It only has 200 calories (meal replacement) and it has 20g of protein and only 2g of sugar....

I too really like the Greek Yogurt..I use the Chobani brand... I really like the Peach one the best... I buy it at my grocery store, but I have never seen it at my Walmart.... you say you don't like yogurt, try the Greek Yogurt, it is thicker then the regular yogurt, so you might find that you like it.