Cindysmom (Ilene)

Congrats to you, you have done so well. I am a April fools day baby. Keep going. Never go back..right!

Best of luck to all of you. Keep looking for the happiness.

I am also 5ft 6. I started at 256. I wanted to get to 150. But I could only get to 167. I am older than u/... I am going to be 64 next month. I do wish you luck. This surgery is NOT gastric bypass. Go to lapband.com. Dont' be scared. What do you want for yourself? I know for me I wanted to lose the weight so badly. I could taste it. Is that where you are. Does eating food really solve the problems that stress you out? Give it a thought. I will help you...Ilene

i guess i am an old time. most people have to do the weight loss and exercise journal for 6 months . consider yourself lucky. any thing you want to know please ask. i lost 89 lbs 2 years ago.

Good luck on your first fill. It will take more than 1 for restriction. Maybe 5. Are you eating chips? why? I recommend that you measure your food. This is your window of opportunity to lose the weight that you had the surgery for. i paid cash for mine. I have not had bread or white flour in 2 years. I didnt want to be fat and unhealthy for the rest of my life. I suggerst that you watch your carbs. Up Protein. carbs make you fat and want more carbs, protein keeps you full and makes you lose weight. good luck

It is near the belly button on the side but up.Try not to lay in it if it hurts. I have lapand 2years 1 month. Please feel free to call on me at anytime. I lost 89 lbs.did u see my before and after? i wnt from size 2x to med. Ilene

Sorry that you have pain. Are you having it when you lay on your stomach? On the right side is the port. It takes time before it feel normal. Or are you having it on the side towards your back? That might be gas. Did you call the drs office?

Great job. I bet you look great. I take photos all the time now. My dr refuses to give me a fill. I do the best that I can. I lost 5lbs in 2 months. keep up the good work

So happy to hear from you and you will love the lapband. You are so beautiful. The first thing I did was go to a surgeon, they usually have a list of things you have to do first. ie: go to a pycologist (sorry for spelling error.I usually use a spell check but don't see one here.) I had to have a gallbladder test. I think they checked my stomach.Oh wait a minute. tht was because I first was having a gastiric by-pass. Then I found out that my insurance would not cover it because my boss got rid of all BARIATRIC coverage. . Ok back to lapband. i had a ekg. and blood work. also a dietiian I spoke to a shrink. Since I paid $10,000.00 cash. they didnt put me throu the ringer. Some of those insurance companys want you to have had 6 months of TRYING to get thinner before they pay for it. So it all depends on what you have for coverage. I do want to recomend that you ask how much the ins will pay for the fills. You will be getting about 5- 6 fills before you get filled up. I got 1 fill every 1 month. Now they are charging others $200.00. So check that out. They might not even pay for fills so also find out what the doc charges. ASk about the support group they offer or don't offer. That is most important. Before you have the surgery. you will have to lose some weight with a liquid diet. They will probablly charge you for shakes or powder to make them. Have a positive attitude about what is before you. DONT be scared..Be happy that you are going to do this. You can email me anytime at lizybird@aol.com I live in south florida. I will also give you my phone # if you want it. just ask...I will help you with what ever you need. I hope that I answered your question. Probably gave you more info than u wanted. So happy for you..Consider me your friend. Do you skype...ilene.falley please keep in touch.

Thank you so much. Looks like you are doing great also. How tall are you? I am 5ft 6. I really wanted to get to 150. Its a hard thing after a certain time in your life. The last lbs are slow to release. You a so pretty. Have you stopped eating all bread like I have? No pasta either. Happy with my choice and I know you are also. Keep walking.

Last night while my hubby and I were taking our evening walk. I mentioned to him how happy I was with my choice over 2 years ago. I was 60 years old when I had the surgery. That age was a little too old for the surgery if I had to have my insurance pay for it. Since I had no coverage and had to pay out of pocket it was the best idea and choice of surgery. In 15 months I lost (very slowly 89 lbs.) Then I had foot surgery and it put me and my exercise in a slow down. So I gained back 8 lbs. Well that 8 lbs has stayed with me for 1 year and finally I lost 5 of it from Jan 1 to March 1. So I plan on dropping the rest before we have our trip to Europe. That was my reward. Being older and wiser, I wanted to share my knowledge with others and tried to obtain a position in the faciility where I had my surgery. Killing 2 birds at a time. Making money and giving of myself. At this time I have no job yet. I am a co-leader on 2 teams with Sparkpeople.com. I feel great, I look good for my age. I will be 64 next month. I look forward to exercising every day. I enjoy buying and wearing nice clothes now. I want to continue being healthy until I die. I have made new friends who have the same life style as me. We all enjoy our lives.

my other friend who has lost over 145 lbs tells me: Take one day at a time. You don't want to loose so fast. Hair falls out when you loose fast..... measure your food, drink your water. Keep your protein amount up there. Calm down and enjoy life.

I hope that you are doing better. I also lose very slowly. Drink lots of water and it will help. ilene :thumbup: