Oregondaisy

I really can't imagine any doctor turning anyone down if they are a self pay. If a person was super thin, that would be a different story. You'll just have to research which doctors are in your area, and call and ask them. You're pretty close to Mexico too. I am not sure which doctor in Mexico is closest to Texas. Most insurance companies won't pay unless you are a bmi of 40.

I feel the same way. Mine is supposed to be getting space somewhere else. He has all of his own equipment to set up somewhere. Right now he is working out of my gym and has to give a percentage to the gym. That makes the sessions more expensive.

I love my trainer. I can't say enough wonderful things about him. I just wish I could afford to work out with him a lot more than I can. He really knows his stuff. He has never tried to promote anything and is so patient and explains things to me until I understand, cause I always have so many questions.

Sweets are my downfall too. I wish they would get stuck and make me sick. I was kind of surprised when I started losing weight. Everyone keeps telling me I look good, and all I can see are all the wrinkles that weren't there before. It's worth it to wear cute clothes, but I still don't like it one bit.

I don't know why I am so tight this past couple of days. I tried to eat my dinner that I brought home yesterday and could only eat a couple of bites. It makes me happy to be getting full so fast, but I just don't get it. I am still hoping this is going to make the scale move this week. I had a protein shake a little bit ago, cause I just didn't feel I had enough protein in. Tonight I don't even feel like snacking, which is unusual too. I just feel full.

Where are you in Southern Oregon? I am on the Southern Oregon Coast. I went out to dinner this evening but I was hardly able to eat. That made me happy. I ate 1/2 of a cup of Soup, a couple bites of my meat and a couple pieces of broccoli flowertops. I just felt stuffed. It's great. I brought the rest home so I will eat it tomorrow. I am really hoping the scale is going to move this week.

Janet that is so tempting! I will have to think about it. It's scary to me because some times I think I will never be able to lose this last 10 lbs. You should be proud of me though. My friend that wants the band because she had open heart surgery and has diabetes called me and said she made brownies. I keep telling her that I don't think she could lose weight even with the band because she wouldn't follow the rules. She is one of those people that thinks the band is the magic cure. I told her to call me when all the brownies were gone, and then I would come over.

You don't have to wait 2 hours to drink water after a meal! It's one hour. I don't know anyone on here that has to wait 2 hours. cottage cheese has a lot of protein in it. I used to hate it but someone told me to mix it with yogurt and I love that now. I eat a lot of fish. I snack on almonds. I have read over and over again that they are healthy for you to raise the good cholesterol. If I eat weight control oatmeal in the morning before I go to the gym, I add protein powder to it. I usually do drink a protein shake almost every day. That's 20 grams right there, and I really like them. It's funny how every doctor has different ideas on protein drinks. My doctor advises his patients to drink one per day, because our portions are so much smaller, it does get hard to get the protein in. Janet probably can probably share her food journal. I eat so many of the same things just because it's easier. I live alone and don't have to cook for anyone else. I eat a lot of salad made with spinach leaves and chop up chicken breast into itty bitty pieces and mix it in. My main thing is exercise. I exercise 6 days a week. I work out with a trainer, do 45 min of cardio on week days and and hour on weekends. I also work out with weights. Building muscle is the best way to speed up your metabolism.

Happy Birthday Wheetin! I hope you had a great birthday, even though your hubby isn't creatively thinking of something that would make you really happy. Maybe you have to do all the romantic planning yourself. Hey I have an idea! Since you birthday is close to the Seattle Lap Band Bash, lets all start planning a party for Wheets next year!

Chili isn't solid though. I can eat more of something that is mushy or soupy. It's something like steak or chicken that fills me up very fast.

You shouldn't have a problem with skin since you don't have very much weight to lose. You sound pretty much like me. I graduated h.s. at 110 lbs. I had surgery at 215 lb and the only skin that bothers me is my arms. I am older than you too, so I have a bit of the turkey neck goin on too. I do exercise a lot though, and have a lot of muscle in my legs. It's good that you can see both sides of the coin with GB. My daughter had GP at age 25 and I was very against her having the surgery. I know a lot of people who had it and have had a lot of complications. She is pregnant right now. I hope she doesn't have trouble losing weight after the baby is born. She has never acquired the exercise habit that I have. I have hardly told anyone I had my surgery. When people say I have lost a lot of weight, I tell them it took a year of watching what I eat, and exercising nearly every day.

I had my surgery about 5 minutes from my house. Dr. Tersigini lowered his price so people in this area could have the surgery without having to fly anywhere. My surgery was $10,000.00 It's more expensive than Mexico, but I couldn't see myself flying to Mexico for a fill.

Wow! That's unreal. I have them on my DVR and haven't watched them yet. It would seem that they would need to take that band out of risk infection. It seems crazy to leave it in there!

Isn't that the truth. I wish I would have found out about the band years ago!

You have to remember that the band gets looser every time you lose weight. You are losing fat around your stomach so that means the band gets looser. When you get closer to goal, you won't have much fat left to lose around your stomach. My fill that I got in Dec. is still perfect. This is the first time I can say that in a little over a year. Now if I would just leave chocolate alone, I could get myself to goal. I am sure your bands must be different than mine. Mine is 10ccs around, but it only holds 4cc's I have 3 cc in there.

Janet you are so close to goal. Way to go! Maybe this will kick me into gear so I can get this last 10 off. I wish I didn't have such a sweet tooth. Even if I eat the sugar free stuff in the evenings, the calories add up. I can do fine all day, and in the evenings, all I want to do is eat. I wonder why that is.

You two sound just like me. I was so frustrated in the beginning. I would see other people losing consistently and I wasn't. I am pretty sure you can't fail with the band. I know it's hard to be patient until you get the right fill amount. Once you do though, you can't help but lose. You can't eat very much at all and you are satisfied. The portion is so small, you can't help but lose, unless you are eating Cookies or other junk food in between meals.

Yea, that Seattle bash would be fun. That's usually the time I go to AZ to see my dad though. If I wait too much longer, it's too hot in AZ. I don't think I am going to have my dad too much longer though. His doctor called me at 7 am this morning. He had to have a chest X ray to get into the assisted living place to make sure he didn't have TB. The doctor said the X ray showed a big change from the one he had last May. Now he has to have a CT scan. He's going to be 89 April 1st and has been a chain smoker since he was 16, so he's done very well for a smoker. He does have COPD and emphysema too though. It's too bad that Phoenix isn't just a little bit closer to you Janet. I have been to Palm Springs before when my parents had friends that were snow birds. It was a long drive. Carol, I have never had a fill take 2 weeks to kick in. I have heard of that happening, but for me, I can tell the day after the fill how it's going to be. Sometimes the restriction doesn't last long though. That's because of losing the fat around the stomach. This fill has lasted the longest for me. I got it in Dec. and it's still perfect. I think it's because I am close to goal and I am not losing as much fat around my stomach anymore. I don't know how to explain the full feeling. I just feel really full and know if I eat one more bite, I will pb. It feels to me just like feeling full used to feel after thanksgiving dinner. I just feel stuffed. Today I went shopping and the store had a deli. The cabbage rolls looked really good to me. I got two of them. I could only eat one. I had that stuffed feeling. It was probably 3 inches long, so I don't know if that would equal a half a cup or what? not much though, that's for sure. I brought the other one home.

That nose running or tingling in the nose is what we call the soft stop. A hard stop is when food is so stuck that you will start sliming. My soft stop is when I start to get full, I get the hick ups. I have no idea what causes it. I notice too if I start to get food stuck, my nose will stuff up. I don't have the box that the hot chocolate comes in. I threw it away and just kept the packages. The brand isn't on those. The brand on everything I get from my doctor's office is Proti. I can't remember how to spell it. Next time I go to support group, I will find out. I am not sure if you can buy it online. It's $10 a box which is rather expensive. I think there are 7 packages in a box. I figure I am worth it and my food bill has gone down so much since I don't eat fast food anymore, that I don't mind paying the $10 I am excited that I already lost the one lb I gained while visiting my dad, and hoping that it means the scale is going to move. I call those of us who don't see the scale move when they think it should "chunk losers" I can go on big long plateaus. I exercise more, drink more water, etc, and the scale won't move. Then for no reason what so ever, all of a sudden, in one week I will drop 5 lbs. That's the way weight loss has been for me this past year. The first month I lost 22 lbs on the liquid post op diet, and after that, it was never 2 lbs a week or one lb a week, etc. It would be nothing for a long time, then all of a sudden a big drop. weird :thumbup:

Nana, Are you exercising? I can't lose at all unless I exercise at least 5 days but it's better if I do it 6 days a week. I have had my band for over a year but I haven't lost anything since about September. I am really hoping now that I am back from visiting my dad out of state that I can concentrate on eating right and exercising more. Those people in the at or near goal thread really had a hard time losing the last bit and had to exercise like crazy. I like exercise and don't mind doing it at all, but like anything else, I have to fit it in. I am not one to go at 5 in the morning, either.

I am glad I didn't tell anyone that I got the band. My kids know, and a couple of very supportive friends know. I don't want to be compared to gastric bypass people. Having the band is so much healthier, as far as I am concerned. Sure, we have problems with sweet spots and fills, but at least we still have all of our body parts. I know some gastric bypass patients that are getting banded because they gained most of their weight back.

Thank you! It's pretty crazy. I wear a different size pants in every brand I have. I know this last 10 lbs is going to be really hard to take off. I am to the point now that if I eat one thing wrong, I gain a couple, but if I am really good and think I should have lost one, I stay the same. Maybe this is where my body wants to be. I hope not though. I am pretty short, so 10 more lbs would be so great. I wish I didn't have such a sweet tooth!

The only way I can stand to exercise going to the gym. They have tvs in front of all the cardio machines. I plan my exercise according to what is on tv. Like today, I went in an hour before my favorite soap ( yes, I am addicted to all my children for 30 years now). I did all my weight machines and then did my cardio and watched my show. I gave up soda a long time ago. Those artificial sweeteners are no good and the soda with sugar has way too many calories. The only thing I drink is water. I do drink high protein hot chocolate that I buy from my doctor's office. It's delicious and has 25 grams of protein. I tried adding protein powder to the sugar free swiss miss but it wasn't nearly as good. I am very happy to report that I only gained one pound while I was in Arizona. Yay band! I was really eating a lot of bad things the last couple of days because my dad stresses me out, but my meal portions were so small that I guess that evened it out. I am hoping now that I am home and back on track, I can lose a little more and get closer to my goal.

I have been basically doing South Beach the entire time I have been banded. (Except for the times when I completely lose it and binge on sugar) It's a very healthy way to eat. I don't think going completely carb free is healthy. The main place I do get my carbs is from fruit or high fiber whole grain cereal. I think it's the perfect way to eat, in my opinion!

I have experienced what you are talking about and it is miserable. I agree with everyone else. I hope your doctor agrees too. Maybe the problem can be solved with having some fill taken out, but not all. It's not good to have those problems. Everyone who writes about complications talks about reflux problems before erroision or band removal. You sure don't want that! I think taking acid reflux meds would just cover up the problem. I will be anxious to read about what your doctor has to say!