Calling all upcoming bandsters...

I just wanted to start a thread where everyone can post their surgery dates and we can start to compare notes.

I am scheduled for 9/12. I have ALL my pre-op stuff next Wed & Thurs, including psych eval, sleep consult, lab work, 4 hr nutrition class, and pre-op appt with surgeon. It is going to be a couple of very full days.

My parents are coming for a visit the following week, and I don't plan on telling them about the surgery, so I am rushing to get through all of that before they get here.

How is everyone else doing getting their pre-op stuff scheduled?

Here is the list of September Bandsters: I'll try to keep it updated for everyone.

9/1 okiegirl

9/1 TexasBr@t

9/1 TruBlueSue

9/1 finallyonmyway

9/1 ashley

9/4 JamesA

9/4 SLHarrison

9/5 Em1125

9/5 kittylover54

9/5 mcw12985

9/5 chabutter

9/5 BigBZ

9/5 TamifromAL

9/6 Ashlee

9/6 Cole

9/6 Kathy S

9/6 r2ht4u

9/6 Gjdf52

9/6 babyjessica

9/6 P McDonald

9/6 harlito

9/6 kareyquilts

9/6 LindaN

9/7 bibytz

9/7 kristyinusa

9/7 sunnshyne411

9/7 MICHELLE43

9/7 cassandra

9/7 green

9/7 happykat

9/8 dovie6523

9/8 valgal1968

9/8 PattyMartin

9/9 mary9

9/9 msgoat4949

9/11 cindyn

9/11 BJean

9/11 SheryBery

9/11 SherryA

9/11 RHCPgirl

9/11 lamamama

9/11 PHAT TX

9/11 drcollier

9/11 fraleyk

9/11 Dana Kwt

9/12 want2lose

9/12 ItsGottaGo!

9/12 TxAngel

9/12 HopeWorks

9/12 kattiegirl

9/12 brendab

9/13 katt

9/13 jewel

9/13 avasa

9/13 whlatimer

9/13 twiceblessed

9/13 suleehci@yahoo.

9/14 gonnabethin

9/14 mom of many

9/14 spike6

9/15 swanny

9/15 fugnick

9/15 coryW

9/15 ericergoman

9/15 melissa0915

9/18 Linstadt

9/18 tayvia99

9/18 April

9/18 Turmoil

9/18 LovinColorado

9/19 vv0710

9/19 susoue

9/19 Elaine53

9/19 reredc

9/19 missSD

9/19 sweet31eve

9/19 lisalee

9/20 mariecarmen

9/20 wantlapband

9/20 samos

9/20 labradoodle

9/20 ErinS

9/20 beechpad

9/20 lifelongband

9/20 mejomojogolow

9/21 jgandg

9/21 WandaKay

9/21 Dallasmist

9/21 JewelsInLove

9/21 YellowRoseKnows

9/22 diane5467

9/22 kellieatkins30

9/22 Lila

9/22 shell04937

9/22 venetiaann

9/22 butterfly1973

9/22 teachmath

9/23 tgjones

9/25 buzz321

9/25 sandranoelle

9/26 marie noone

9/26 christy

9/26 Lin

9/26 The Woman

9/27 Bettina

9/27 tommygirl

9/27 GettinThinMan

9/27 MimIN

9/28 Tracicat

9/28 jumbojet

9/28 "D"-n-OK

9/28 rbabcock61

9/28 Lisa99

9/29 Lapoli7

9/29 ratgirl

9/29 sweetsue

9/29 chattanoogabrat

9/29 phw72

9/29 JessyInSD

9/29 Chrissy "O"

"SMMC LB Support Group Chicas"

SMMC stands for Shawnee Mission Medical Center. It was a thread started by a bunch of us that were all banded by a specific doctors group though in the Kansas City area. Though technically my surgery was at a different hospital also used by the same docs. The thread use to be named after the doctor until a particularily annoying employee there complained, hence the odd SMMC chicas name.

oops there's an extra "though" in there where it doesn't belong. Oh well.

I'm 5' 2" also. how much weight have u lost> did u exercise alot and which kind, cardio or strength training?

I lost 90 pounds down to 163 but then turned around and put 15 back on after having plastic surgery last fall. Some of that's bound to be residual swelling that the doc claims can take a year to lose but it is still annoying.

I've been absolutely dreadfull on the exercise front. I have an myriad of excuses (all perfectly valdid I'm sure, NOT) So far my exercise consists of walking at a local mall with another banded friend once a week. We walk anywhere from 2-5 miles depending on how much shopping we do. I've been waffling back and forth on joining a gym now for months but was putting it off due to a torn rotator cuff I've been dealing with. Still I know I've finally reached a point that the band really isn't going to help me get any further if I don't start putting forth more effort on the exercise front. One of these days I'll get there.

hi i am fairly new here but i had my surgery by Dr. Ortiz also. mine was on Sept 8, 2006. I lost 16 lbs the first month but then stopped losing. i am also a slow loser. Did you ever call ortiz for any support or did u buy his book for answers to any questions? I go to Acuna, Mexico for fills because it is cheaper and they use fluoro. My first fill in 3-07, i was told that my pouch was stretched out but now i look back and i realize that i had gulped the liquid and he had me closed off and the liquid had nowhere to go. Remember this was my first fill and i had no idea what to expect or do. i went months being frustrated thinking i had a big stomach again. Later i could eat whatever i wanted and i thought it was because of a stretched out pouch so why go for a fill. In Dec 07 i decided to hell with it, i was going for a fill anyway. Good news, I did not have a stretched out pouch and i was way past due for a fill. it urps me that i wasted all those months when i could have gone for another fill if i had not been misinformed at my first fill. oh well i'm back on track now. I am down 21 lbs from the day of surgery which is not where i wanted to be at this time but I am better that what i was. if u have any suggestions for me i would appreciate it. plus your tickler says you have only lost 5 lbs since your surgery. is this correct?:biggrin:

Hi Nonad! I have called Dr. Ortiz for support but usually when I think I broke something, haha. I called his cell phone twice and he answered both times, once was at some god aweful hour like 2am (11pm his time) and he's always been awesome. I have not been back to him for fills though, I go to a Dr that is somewhat local to me, Dr Curry in Cincinnati who is equally as great. I have had a lot of fills, so many I have lost track and I am sorry you were given the wrong information about fills but glad to hear you are back on track! My best advice is to journal everything you eat and hold yourself accountable. Do any kind of exercise you can and as often as you can; and keep up on your adjustments. If you are feeling hungry all the time more than likely you need an adjustment. And finally, a good support group is key; I don't know what I would have done without the support I have found here on LBT.

Like Karey and Ghost said my tracker is for my current goal. I at one time was down 100lbs but since my lower body lift I am up 17lbs from my pre-LBL weight and now trying to get rid of it!

Mimin: Glad your back to exercise. Let me know how the spin class goes. I think that after my surgery, I'm going to give spin a try. I would like to set a goal to go on some bike tours. My doc went to Spain on a bike tour and he and his wife absolutely loved it. I think I'm in good enough shape, but not comfortable really on a bike. Anyway, thinking of goals for myself, when it's not weight loss. Wierd to think there will come a day when I don't need to lose weight?!!! Anyway, please keep in touch, I consider you a friend. Yup, my surgery is coming up. I have my 2 week pre-op appointment in a few days. Half the time I feel like chickening out, but I won't!

Spin was AWESOME. I finally feel like I am getting back to where I was before surgery. I am feeling pretty good!

I can't wait for the day that weight loss is no longer a goal, haha! Does seem surreal though doesn't it!

I am excited for you and it is natural to want to chicken out, if you weren't worried I'd wonder! haha.

Nonad: Sounds like you may be a little tight, but I wouldn't get too much of an unfill. It's a difficult balance, but if you keep at, I'm sure you'll find it. Wishing you the best.

Hi ladies!

I am late as usual, I am down 1lb this week.

It's so weird, I decided to be on hold and not try and lose any more weight until after my PS and I lost 2 pounds! Maybe I'm burning more nervous energy! Mimin: It's good to see you in back into spin and feeling better! Anyone else out there? How are you doing?

KAREY, I wanted to wish you the best of luck tomorrow!!! Are you excited?

I missed last week but I am down 2lbs since the last report. Apparently I am going down at a fairly steady 1lb a week.

Karey: Hope everything goes really well and it's all you're hoping it will be!! You've been so great at getting yourself in shape for this! I know you'll be happy when it's overwith and I know you'll get super results.

Btw, I bought the Body Bugg, finally! I've got to get online and get it working. We've been snowed under at work and will be today, but I'm setting aside time tomorrow to get it up and running. Also wanted to tell you that having my DH on Medifast (and I do it too, although not 100%) is helping us a lot. I'm losing slowly, but I'm losing, so I'm happy!

Best of luck to you Karey!! Thanks for the suggestion of the Bugg.

Mimin & BJean: Thanks so much for thinking of me. I'm totally freaked out about tomorrow. I'm trying to stay calm, but I feel like I'm shaking inside. I've got a splitting headache and a sore throat. Just praying I don't start running a temperature! I couldn't take postponing the surgery, my nerves are just too bad. Come visit me on my thread in the cosmetic surgery section and I'll be posting updates. I know I'm going to love the results, it's just a lot of worrying about not dying on the table and dealing with the pain. I'm going to take some nice deep breaths now! Already feeling a lot better. LOL! Anyway, glad you are all keeping up the fight. I'll be ready for a new weight loss challenge in a month or so. Want to get that last 13 pounds off! BJean, I think you will love your Body Bugg. It's pretty user friendly and it will give you lots of great information. Good luck all!

Sorry I've been AWOL here. Guess I've been too embarrassed with the scale not moving in the right direction and all.

My rotator cuff is definitely torn and they are wanting to operate but now that the docs have finally got off their proverbial rear ends my shoulder doesn't even hurt anymore. So I've been checking out gyms again.

My DH is a member at 24 hour fitness so I thought I'd check it out last weekend thinking I could add on to his membership for around $10/month. Instead I was told it would be closer to $30 extra per month and was given a VERY hard sale by the guy to sign up for a $1500!!! membership. If I wasn't broke and knew I'd keep going to the gym for the next 5 years or more it was a pretty interesting deal but there is no way we can afford it after my TT.

The $1500 included:

3 year paid membership (approx $1000 value)

an annual renewal fee of $29/yr for the rest of your life. (approx. $300/yr savings)

20 - 1-hour personal fitness trainer sessions (approx. $1200 value)

AND A FREE BODY-BUG ($300 VALUE)

Like I said if I had the $$ and could afford the trainer or body bug this pays for itself. Though if you want to save enough on the membership alone to have considered the PT and body bug as free you would have to attend for closer to 5 years. But my DH and our bank said H#!! NO! when I mentioned it over the weekend. Still I am absolutely determined to get something started by the week of March 17th. This week I've got nightly commitments scheduled all but tonight and this weekend is my 15th anniversary. Next week I have only one evening commitment so that's when I'm going to try to nail this down. I've pussyfooted on this issue for way too long!

Karey - just try to breathe. Take one last long bubble bath with some nice smelly candles and drink some tea (preferrably spiked) and try to relax. The pain really isn't anything you can't cope with. What is it they say? No pain, no gain. Probably not what they meant but still well worth it in the end. We can't wait to see your results.

karey: Controlled breathing exercises for about 5 minutes and then some nice, smooth stretching exercises will help. You have to clear your mind of all the stuff that surounds you and concentrate totally on relaxation. After your stretching, untense your muscles, one by one. Then do the deep breathing again. Think about your wellness from head to toe. If you concentrate on getting a cold too much, you'll bring one to you. Be totally positive, YOU'RE WORTH DEVOTING THIS TIME TO - COMPLETELY!

Gh0st: Interesting! I bought the Bugg at 24 Hour Fitness. They didn't tell me about the deal. But I also didn't ask. It was less expensive through them than it would have been online. I paid less than $400 for both pieces.