Anyone from Jacksonville, Florida??? I have not seen anyone yet. Anyone want to share there progress together? :clap2::biggrin1::whoo::):ranger: We all need friends with this in common...

Anyone from Jacksonville, Florida??? I have not seen anyone yet. Anyone want to share there progress together? :clap2::biggrin1::whoo::smile::myscared::ranger: We all need friends with this in common...

Hi I'm from Jax and getting banded on Monday Jan. 14th

with Dr. Webb/LWLSC. I would love to hear from you!

I'm getting my band on Feb 7th! Going through Jacksonville Weight Loss Center. Dr. Cywes is doing my surgery.

It's really nice to meet people who are local to me!

Hi I'm from Jax and getting banded on Monday Jan. 14th

with Dr. Webb/LWLSC. I would love to hear from you!

Wow Lola you are getting yours tomorrow/today!

Congrats and write and let us know how you are doing!

Great , I am at jax weight loss center, Dr. Cywes, Banded Sept. 27,2007. Lola is getting hers today!!! Differant Doctor ,she is at Memorial Hospital just like I was. They were great there.We are all in our 40's. We have lot in common. Maybe we can get together with a small group. I went to the support meeting @ Cywes office. I didn't care for the meeting. I was looking for more of a smaller group. Even if we just emailed or called, just something to keep us going. I think my family is tired of hearing me, but they are very supportive. I am a single mother of 3 grown children. Ok Lola & Karen it's up to you. Karen my email address is Conrad0135@bellsouth.net. Feel free to email me anytime to share your thoughts or questions. Lola has my email address also. I have lost right at 50 lbs. I had my 4th fill Friday. So I have been through a little with this.

There seems to be a few support groups in the Jax area. One is JacksonvilleBandsters. They are a yahoo group that I just joined so I don't know much about them but they seem to be a more reasonable size group and a little more intimate. They meet the 1st Tuesday of every month.

There is another group called Self-Image support center that meets the second Friday of every month.

What did you not care for about the Jax Weight Loss Center's support group? Too large? They have so many patients I can imagine that their support groups are pretty large. I think I would probably get more out of a smaller group as well.

Congrats on your weight loss so far! Have you reached your sweet spot yet? How has the band worked for you in general?

I'm just beginning my pre-op diet (basically Atkins) and then I will do Clear liquids two days prior to my surgery. I have already lost about five lbs just by eliminating carbs! My DH finally asked me the question that everyone asks this morning. "Why can't you just lose the weight by staying on Atkins?" :smile:

I told him that he already knew the answer to that question. That I CAN lose and HAVE lost on many plans, 90 lbs on WW, 60 lbs on the 3-hour diet, etc., but I always return to my poor eating habits and gain it all back. I am counting on the band to help me STAY in check because I won't be able to consume the mass quantities of food I have before and I know that I will need to eat my Proteins and veggies before any carbs in order to stay healthy. He seemed to understand that.

Looking forward to meeting you. I'm keeping Lola in my thoughts today.

I was thinking of Lola. She is in the 2nd day today. Everyday is a little better. The gas is the worst. They have to insert air for the operation, so it takes a few weeks to go down. Walking is the best thing. The reason I didn't care for the meetings was, it was about 20 to 25 people. Seems like not everyone got to share, and kept getting off the subject, and the same people went on and on. Just my opintion though. The sweet spot you are refering to, I think I am here. I want to eat so bad, when I start I can't get alot down. It smells so good, and to just take a couple of bits is hard. I will get used to it. I am still real tight, cause I only got the fill Friday. They say it gets looser after 2 weeks. The wrong thing goes down easy, like I ate a small piece of chocolate yesterday. It went down great. My veggies tonight , I ate around 5 bites then I done.

I'm glad to finally see a group in Jacksonville. I was banded by Dr. Cywes on 10/11 and my hubby's was on 10/15. I'm at about 52 lbs right now and have had 2 fills (my last appt with Dr. Cywes, I didn't get one).

I'm wondering now if I should have gotten another fill. I get full at my meals after only a small amount but I get hungry in between meals and find myself looking for Snacks, i.e. nuts, sf popsicles, etc.

I attended one of the support group meetings and it was fun; just wish I had time to attend them regularly or to have some alternatives to meeting outside of the group.

I'd like to know if anyone else might be open to this.

The sweet spot you are refering to, I think I am here. I want to eat so bad, when I start I can't get alot down. It smells so good, and to just take a couple of bits is hard. I will get used to it. I am still real tight, cause I only got the fill Friday. They say it gets looser after 2 weeks. The wrong thing goes down easy, like I ate a small piece of chocolate yesterday. It went down great. My veggies tonight , I ate around 5 bites then I done.

This is probably the part that worries me the most. I LOVE food. How will I handle not being able to eat like I used to? Will it make me depressed? Will I regret doing something to my body that will be difficult to reverse?

So far I have done a really good job of preparing myself mentally and telling myself that food has way too much control over me and that I don't like it having that control. I constantly remind myself of all the wonderful ways I will benefit from losing weight. I can't wait to look and feel sexy. I can't wait to have more energy and to love the person I see in the mirror. But I know that there will be times when my "drug of choice" is going to beckon me and I will grieve for the fact that I can't pound down a huge plate of spaghetti or buy a six pack of cupcakes from the grocery store and eat three of them in a night and the other three the next morning. But hopefully I can stay focused on the important things and not on the immediate gratification that food offers.

Sorry for rambling. Just going through more pre-op jitters :doh:

I hope we hear from Lola soon.

I'm glad to finally see a group in Jacksonville. I was banded by Dr. Cywes on 10/11 and my hubby's was on 10/15. I'm at about 52 lbs right now and have had 2 fills (my last appt with Dr. Cywes, I didn't get one).

I'm wondering now if I should have gotten another fill. I get full at my meals after only a small amount but I get hungry in between meals and find myself looking for Snacks, i.e. nuts, sf popsicles, etc.

I attended one of the support group meetings and it was fun; just wish I had time to attend them regularly or to have some alternatives to meeting outside of the group.

I'd like to know if anyone else might be open to this.

Hi and welcome to the group!

Congrats on your weight loss so far! That's really amazing!

When I spoke with Dr. Cywes's dietician last week she said that it was okay to grab something like a palm size peanut snack before dinner if you are really famished. The higher in Protein the better of course. If you are getting hungry right after eating then I would think that another fill is in order. Maybe just a small adjustment.

I think it would be really nice to have a small group to meet with. I met someone on ObesityHelp who has a small group locally as well so they are definitely out there. Otherwise we can just make our own

Well Karen after your surgery and Lola's healing we will try our best to set 1 up. After 10 good days you feel so much better. Crazy4jags that includes you also. I think smaller meeting are better for me. At Cywes office there was just too many people talking at 1 time. But like I said that was me, my opintion only.

Well Karen after your surgery and Lola's healing we will try our best to set 1 up. After 10 good days you feel so much better. Crazy4jags that includes you also. I think smaller meeting are better for me. At Cywes office there was just too many people talking at 1 time. But like I said that was me, my opintion only.

That sounds good to me! Dr. Baptista even told me today that 3 or 4 days after surgery I can ride my motorcycle if I'm not sore and not on pain meds! yippee!!!

Guess what???? I lost 8 lbs since last week on the pre-op diet!!!!! It wasn't even Water weight, it was actually fat! Pretty cool huh? Hope I can keep it up! LOL I've been very good so far but I know it will get hard at times to stay on track. It always does.

That sounds good to me! Dr. Baptista even told me today that 3 or 4 days after surgery I can ride my motorcycle if I'm not sore and not on pain meds! yippee!!!

Guess what???? I lost 8 lbs since last week on the pre-op diet!!!!! It wasn't even Water weight, it was actually fat! Pretty cool huh? Hope I can keep it up! LOL I've been very good so far but I know it will get hard at times to stay on track. It always does.

Keep up the good work, Karen...believe me, it's all worth it. I have gone from a size 22 to now in a 16-18 and it feels so great. It's nice to not feel like a piece of sausage stuffed into its casing!

One of my bad habits is to weigh myself every day and for the past several days, I've been hovering at the same weight - just up and down a pound. I don't feel like I'm eating right but I see Dr. Cywes in a couple of weeks and I'm sure he'll let me know what I'm doing wrong.

Sue

Hey ya'll!

I'm here in Jax too. I'm a patient of Dr.Cywes too. I have my last appointment before getting the band on 2/13. They say depending on insurance I should be banded in March. I've been researching and preparing for 2-3 years and have been on the Cigna 6 month requirement for 6 months now.

I've been going to the support group meetings at his office. I enjoy it and I like that it is at 7:30pm. It is 1x a month first Thursday of every month. There are some nice people there.

Anyway, I can't wait to get my band too!!

~Kim

Hi, all. I was wondering where is Lola . I been kind of concerned not hearing from her. Hey hats off Karen. Great job!!! If we keep this up we will have a nice size group for our meeting. Welcome Kim. We are thinking of starting our own group after Karen is banded & healed. Hi crazy 4 jags. We have close band dates. I was banded 09-27-07. See ladies we have so much in common. I have never started a group , but with everything we have in common it should roll. Jag has a hubby also that has something in commom too !!! Karen your date is near, wow. I got my fill 1 week ago. I get the slime thing going when I eat too fast. Seems you bend over and it comes out. I called Cywes, he says I am like a new baby learning to eat. I was scared, so nothing would go wrong with me. He is so sweet whenever I call, which has only been 2 x's. He said this was normal. Well talk to all of you soon !!!

Hi, all. I was wondering where is Lola . I been kind of concerned not hearing from her. Hey hats off Karen. Great job!!! If we keep this up we will have a nice size group for our meeting. Welcome Kim. We are thinking of starting our own group after Karen is banded & healed. Hi crazy 4 jags. We have close band dates. I was banded 09-27-07. See ladies we have so much in common. I have never started a group , but with everything we have in common it should roll. Jag has a hubby also that has something in commom too !!! Karen your date is near, wow. I got my fill 1 week ago. I get the slime thing going when I eat too fast. Seems you bend over and it comes out. I called Cywes, he says I am like a new baby learning to eat. I was scared, so nothing would go wrong with me. He is so sweet whenever I call, which has only been 2 x's. He said this was normal. Well talk to all of you soon !!!

Yeah I've been worried about Lola too. Maybe she just forgot about us!

Was this your first fill? How is it doing for you? Have you been losing? I keep reading stories about people who have had their bands for several months and aren't losing. I wonder if they aren't watching their carbs or something. I really hope I don't go through this and end up struggling to lose weight. I don't ming losing slow but I want SOME progress! My surgery is two weeks and two days away. I go for my pre-op tomorrow so that should be interesting. I get to see the famous liver pictures that Dr. Cywes loves to show his patients. LOL I am still nervous about what life will be like after I am banded but also eager to begin my journey.

When I see people on other topics on this site that are from Jax I refer them here. I hope more people join us. Just as long as we don't get too big right?