Saraboo

You know, I haven't had much of a problem when it comes to social settings. I'm a 26 year old female. All of my friends and family know, and are very supportive. If I go out to eat I either split a plate with someone, get the smallest appetizer, or order off the kids menu. And I love, love, love to cook. I cook for people all the time. It actually helps get my food addiction under control, to some extent. I get to experiment with new recipes and such, but I don't worry about it going to waste if I can't eat it. I will have a drink or two if I go out with friends, or too a party. I don't drink in excess, so I think it's fine. As far as dating goes, I usually put it out there at the beginning; that way if we go out to eat, i don't have to worry about looking like a stupid person not eating, lol. I haven't had a problem yet with a date. All have been understanding, and don't really care that much. The only issue dating wise that i've come up with is the loose skin, and that was from my ex, and it wasn't really a problem. He was more curious if my skin would shift, or if I would end up having surgery. His main concern was my boobs. Lol. I was an F cup when we met.

I'm having the same issues. I started at a 44G. I'm down to a 36/38 DDD and I have a good 50/60 lbs to go. My boobs look deflated and very saggy now. My younger sisters (9 and 12 yrs old) come and play with my excess skin now. I actually went bra shopping yesterday, and had a very, very difficult time finding anything in my size. Even at Lane Bryant, sizing is difficult, because my back size has gone down a signifigant amount, and they don't carry as many in that size. This is the smallest my chest has been since I was a sophmore in high school. It's driving me nuts Thankfully, I am lucky that when I hit goal, I will be able to get a breast lift, and depending how small they go, perhaps a small enhancment. I haven't had less than a D cup since 6th grade. I wouldn't know what to do with anything smaller than that. Good luck

I am very open about having had the surgery, and my experiences with it. I tell pretty much everyone, and I haven't really had any negative experiences. I had a couple of people who were concerned before hand, but they are all very very supportive. I lucked out in the amount of support I have.

Just a quck-or maybe not so quick, lol- update since I found out I have a slight slip. My Dr. has been taking it easy with fills, and I've had a few wills and unfills in the past couple months. had a lisght unfill of .7 ccs on dec 7th, and saw my dr again on dec 27th and all was good at that time. I had good restriction, and the scale was continuing slowly downward, even with my grazing and stress eating from getting fired at the begining of december. fast forward to a couple days ago. all of a sudden, i'm havingissues again. woke up the past couple nights choking. not fun. and spent all day spitting up stomach acid. which means i need to head in for an upper GI again, and most likely a revision. Unfortunatly, along with being fired, I lost my insurance and have no income. So I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. :/ not sure what to do actually.

Wow, what a year it has been. SInce I last posted I've been struggling with the band, and having no restriction again. Had a fill done by my dr's partner and 3 days later had to have an emergency unfill done, and we confirmed that I do have a slight slip. Which means that the journey back to restriction in going to be a long road. I go in this Saturday for another small fill, and I will have my official weight then, but according to my scale on my 1 year bandiversary, I weighed in at 230lbs. not too bad considering I started at 298. Still, I wish the nuber was lower. I actually gained back like 27 lbs after I had the complete unfill. So 3 months ago I actually weighed in at 213. On the upside, since my last miniscule fill, I haven't gained which is a relief, but I haven't really lost either. But hey, I still weigh 68lbs less than I did this time last year , and that's definitely a great achievment. I hope everyone is doing well. @flychica-I'm sorry to hear that youve had such a rough time-my thoughts and prayers are with you, and I'll be sending good thoughts your way.

You also need to remember that your body will go through periods of plateaus. It's natural, your body needs time to adjust to the rapid weight loss. And get a new Dr if he treats you like that. My Dr scolded me once, but that was because I should have come in way sooner, because I didn't go in for an unfill. He was concerened because I couldn't even keep water down. ugh. But don't let the a Dr, or NP or whoever does your fills, belittle you. It's detrimental to the whole process.

I never had to pay a consultation fee. Everything was included, and covered by insurance.

Just another quick update on my lovely band :alien: Based on how I have done since my unfill, my Dr decided I was ok to start building up restriction again. Had a slightly aggressive fill-went from 0cc's to 4cc's:scared2: Now it's time to re-learn what I can and can't eat. Scrambled eggs are definitley a bad food again. But it could be I'm still swollen so I'll try them again in a week. Hope everyone is doing well. Down to 2 months til we hit our 1 year!:wub:

Here are some ideas.... Rolled up lunch meat with string cheese Veggies with hummus Chili salad with chicken/turkey instead od tuna, try making chicken salad-if you do a search in the recipe section there's one taht uses the light baby bel cheese instead of mayo so it isn't so dry Pinto/Black Beans with Pico de Gallo and a sprinkle of cheese If you don't mind making it up the night before you can take and heat up at work- Take a piece of boneless skinless chicken breast-I use the frozen tenderloins because they're smaller- pound the chicken thin-now I do this 2 different ways 1) season chicken. put a little bit of buffalo sauce and spread until the top of the chicken is covered. Top with a piese of deli sliced provolone. Bake in 450 degree oven for ten minutes- 2) Season chicken. Put low fat marinara(or whatever type of sauce you like) on chicken and spread around. Sprinkle of shredded low fat mozzerella. Put veegies and pther pizza toppings. Bake for 10 mins in 450 degree oven. Yummm. Hope these help some. :thumbup:

Ok, for those of you who can eat Pasta this is a yummy way to get your mac and cheese fix...The recipes makes four servings of a side dish. Though my family got like 8 servings out of it, lol. It's also good with chicken added in for a little extra Protein. macaroni and Cheese with A Crusty Crunch Makes 4 servings Nonstick cooking spray 4 ounces whole wheat elbow macaroni 1/2 cup Onion-Garlic Puree (see note) 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard Pinch of cayenne pepper 1 cup shredded 50 percent reduced-fat cheddar 1/3 cup nonfat Greek yogurt Salt to taste 1/4 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with cooking spray; set it aside. 2. Bring a large pot of salted Water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook according to the package directions, 7-9 minutes; drain. 3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the Onion-Garlic Puree, mustard and cayenne to a simmer, stirring often. Whisk in the cheddar until it has melted. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the yogurt. 4. In a medium bowl, toss the cooked macaroni with the cheese sauce to coat thoroughly. Season with salt to taste. Pour the macaroni into the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle the panko over the top. Top with the Parmigiano-Reggiano. 5. Bake until the cheese has melted and the macaroni is hot throughout, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately. Note: Onion Garlic Puree: Roughly chop 1 large Vidalia onion and 9 garlic cloves. Place the onion, garlic and 1/2 cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, venting slightly, and microwave on high for 10 minutes. Pour the mixture into a blender and blend until it is completely smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 72 hours. From "Now Eat This! 150 of America's Favorite Comfort Foods All Under 350 Calories" (Ballantine books, $22). Tested by Susan M. Selasky for the Free Press Test Kitchen. 227 calories (26 percent from fat ), 7 grams fat (2 grams sat. fat ), 29 grams carbohydrates, 16 grams protein, 487 mg sodium, 20 mg cholesterol, 3 grams Fiber .

If you don't think you can make it til then, call your dr right away! You don't want to risk a slipped band.

PLease keep your appt for an unfill-I'm one of the ones who put it off for far too long-and the result was having, instead of a slight unfil, I had to have a complete unfill, and I had to go for an upper GI to see if my band has slipped. Looks like it hasn't, but I won't know for sure until Tuesday. Staying healthy is your #1 priority

Jasmin, go with your gut. If you didn't really like them, then find another Dr. I ended up being refered out to my dr from them, becuase my insurancedidn't cover them. However, them refering me out was the best thing that could have happened. Look around for a couple different Dr's and go to their different seminars. I would recomend my Dr in a heartbeat. Very patient oriented(sp?), and he gives his cell # to each patient. His name is Dr. Salimitari-if you want to check him out his office # is 310-470-8446. He has offices all over So Cal, and you can pick teh one closest to you. :smile:

9 1/2 months post-op, and it's a hit and miss thing for me. sometimes I can eat it no problem, sometimes i'll take a bite with like 3 kernals and be sliming for hours. You just never know...

Another thing to consider is what we percieved as being "full" before the band, is different then how it should be. Listen to your body's silent signals when eating. Mine is a deep breath, like a sigh. It took me a while to figure that out. And restriction can be tricky. I had too much, and I had to have a complete unfill last week. The last time I had a fill was Feb 3rd, but I have a tendancy to get tighter as I lose. So where I had no restriction with 3cc's 3 months out, with 0cc's 10 months out I have some restriction. You wil get through this time, I swear. Lol. If it helps, Gladware makes perfect sized containers for portioning out stuff, especially if you take your lunch to work. They have 1/2c containers that come in an 8 pack I think. They are awesome for lunches, or to put snack in to keep handy, like cut up fruit.

You have to remember, everyone is differnt. And looking at it this way-you've lost 14 pounds in 4 weeks! Thats 14lbs that you've said good-bye to. Be proud of what you've lost and don't be discouraged-everyone loses differently, and you still need to figure out how your body is going to deal with these changes. You're only a couple weeks out. Sometimes you'll feel like you've lost, but the scale will refuse to move. Look for the NSV's. I had a period of time where I didn't lose for 3 months-I even gained some back! But during that time I dropped another pants size. Your body will go through phases where you don't lose, and it will drive you nuts, but it's just how your body is going to work. And remember, it's a learning process

Everyone is different. Personally, I'm very open, and pretty much anyone and everyone I know or meet know that I have the Lap-Band. WHen I meet a new guy, I usually let them know before the first date. But like I said, everyone is different. Sometimes you just have to go by your gut feeling. I think that you'll know when the time is right to tell him.

Had my Upper GI today, and from what the tech was saying everything looked good. Band seemed to be sitting right where it should be, the only thing she saw was a little reflux-which I expected because of how bad it was in the past few weeks. Have to say, it feels weird to ba able to keep protein down after such a long time. I want to have a sandwhich, but I'm afraid of teh bread, lol. On the upside, I had just bought a new cookbook that is all redone recpies to make favorites into low cal-had grilled chicken parmigian for dinner. And I have a reciped for coconut shrimp that brings it from 1100 cals to 250 I'll post back when I know more bandwise.

I went in for what I hoped would only be a small unfill. Instead I had a COMPLETE unfill:scared2:, and I have to go for an Upper GI to see if my band has slipped.And when my Dr pulled out my fill, we found out that instead of the 3cc's we thought I had-I had almost 8cc's! On the upside he didn't charge me-I didn't go in ealier because one of teh office girls told me that I couldn't get it done unless I had the $175-Oi he was pissed when he found taht out. My Dr is teh type that won't charge you if you're having issues-your health is more important to him, and his office girls know this. The girl might be fired because of this. :thumbup: But, here's to hoping that I can maintain til we figure out what's going on!

Unfill, unfill, unfill. I can't stress this enough. You don't want to be in the place where I am at right now. I'm headed in tomorrow for an unfill-and because I waited too long, I"m going to guess that at least half of my 3cc's are coming out. The longer you wait, the more problems you'll have. I had to wait because of $$ reasons, and I am miserable. I"m now to the point where I can't keep water down, and have horrible reflux. You don't want to be in this place. get a small unfill. It can work wonders.

I have a new job which means new isnurance. And to the best of my knowledge my surgeon isn't covered :biggrin: And I have to go in for an unfill which means it's all going to be out of pocket. I'm going to have to find a new Dr unless I want to do the rest self-pay.

I'm with Chapmar on this...Banded in Nov 09, my last fill was Feb 3rd. I'm going in on Sat for my 3rd unfill since then. It seems that since that last fill, every 20lbs I lose, I need an unfill. ugh. And I think I'm going to have to pay out of pocket this time. Switched jobs, and I have new insurance, and I don't think my dr is covered

Feeling pretty please with myself today... since my last post on the 4th when I hit my 70lb mark, I've flown past that and hit 82lbs lost this morning :tongue2: And I wore a new outfit to work today-something I never would have worn before- and besides everyone saying I looked good, someone told me I looked hot. That's a definite NSV for me I hope everyone is doing well, and no plataues are kicking your butts!

Was a size 26...now I'm a size 18 Was a 44g... now 38DDD

Other than the stuff I can't physically eat, I've given up nothing. My Dr. told me that since I don't eat much of it , use the real stuff-I'll feel mre satisfied, and it's not that much extra cals since we don't eat much anyways. THere's no way I could give up some of my faves- one of my favorite snacks is extra sharp cheddar cheese-not a huge hunk, just a couple bites worth-and it's a go to for me when I'm having a really tight day.