FLORIDAYS

Rule of thumb is to buy the best insurance you can afford considering the deductibles. If u are disciplineed and can put your deductibles in an account to be used for emergencies only then you can buy insurance with a high deductible. If you see the dr a lot for various reasons you want to look for plans with cheaper office visits depending on your financial situation. You can look at your needs and call your benefits specialist. He or she should be able to walk you through it.

I have no first hand knowledge....I am past that time of my life... However i would discuss it with your dr because losing weight pre baby would be a good thing but on the other hand how would the band complicate the pregnancy ? I am sure you will hear from bandsters with this experience but I would discuss it with your obgyn as well as you bariatric surgeon so you can make an educated choice. Congrats for looking for answers. Good luck

Welcome back... Congratulations for taking control,of your life again.

What a wonderful feeling!! Now can someone please tell all the plus sized catalogs I am a sized 8 now?? I have emailed, called and written all of them but they still keep sending them. It's annoying. Lol

Keep in mind....after the first year your fills will be few and far between. Once get in the green zone it's pretty much smooth sailing. The fills do evaporate slightly and you lose the fat around the stomach so the band loosens but I had 5 or 6 fills the first year... 2 the second year and as I approach year 3 I don't anticipate needing one for some time.

2 years next week.

I think that's accurate some of the time but we have all read the posts from people who really don't seem to have a clue which I find very sad and concerning... So I wondered if it was because the dr put out the advice and they just aren't following it or the advice and support just isn't there. From what I am reading most successful people stay close to their dr and staff throughout their journey. Granted the exceptions are there but it seems those who fail have less monthly contact. Just my observations and certainly not based on any scientific study.

I witness this all the time. It's as if I can see people doing the math in their heads when I tell them I lost 216 lbs. I am 161 now... Because I am 5'9" most people figure I am about 140. But you know what? I could care less. Honestly let them do all the math they want. They have no concept anyway and it doesn't impact my life one bit....

In the beginning my dr advises to sip as you learn what your band will and won't tolerate. Now I still sip. I cannot really take huge gulps and be comfortable. I don't think it actually will hurt anything tho if you gulp ...just make sure it's not carbonated.

Yummy... Thanks

Haha...cheap ones. Seriously... I wore mine as long as possible then bought a couple of cheap ones which I wore until I bought my goal bras.

My dr uses Optifast which you have to get from a medical dr I believe... It's a Meal Replacement shake which is important. I was on them for 2 weeks preop and then the 2nd and 3rd week post op. after that he doesn't advice using Protein shakes as he wants me to get my nutrition fm food not liquid.

I use calorie counter by fat secret.com. Your phone ap is obviously handy or you can also log in online

You sound like a sensible young woman. I applaud you for taking matter into your own hands at this stage of your life. I was 377 lbs and if you would have told me I was going to be buying sized 8 jeans today I would have told you your mind wasnt right. I NEVER imagined when I started this journey I would ever get this small. My hips were 77" wide. Today they are 37"!! My experience with the band has been wonderful. But I worked hard to learn how to become one with it. I followed all the rules, I didnt cheat, I saw my dr regularly and dedicated my life to being successful.

My pleasure.... You have a terrific start having lost the first 50.... Now take it 10 lbs at a time ... It will come off in no time!!

My dr doesn't advise them once you start on solid foods. He says he prefers I get my protein form food not drinks because they are not going to fill you up like food does. It's his opinion but so far it's worked for me.

I had complete and utter disregard for the foods I ate, the portions i took or the drinks I consumed. I worked 12 hrs a day sitting on my butt and certainly was too tired to exercise, had no scale and was eating mcdonalds on the way to work... Take out for lunch and they same portions as my 6'1" 200 lb hubby for dinner. We entertained a few times a week and consumed several cocktails on top of an already high calorie day. My mother was fat and I saw her yo yo her whole life. I followed the pattern ....then one day I just decided to embrace my fat and resigned myself to living a fat life. I really believe I thought one day I would just stop gaining and lose it because I was getting older. How goofy is that? Of course that didn't happen and when my mother died in 2009 I strongly believe her weight was a big part of her demise. Granted she was 79 but They couldn't do a surgery she needed because she was so overweight. Three weeks after her death my infant grandson died and I was hit with a sledgehammer... I did some soul searching for the next year, turned 50 and decided it was time for drastic measures. I was banded in December 2010.

In addition to what CHEZ posted you really need to go back to the dr for a check up and most likely a fill. If you call them and explain your situation they maybe will allow you to work out a payment plan. You must stop finding excuses to fail. Life gets in the way for me and all of us. Many times during my journey I had to travel for work, eat lunch out with clients or employees... Eat dinner on the fly...... But I always made good selections and continued to lose weight. You can too if you get your head back into the game. Start with your next meal. Start tracking your calories, measuring portions... Think about what you can take with you to eat at school. Now days convenience sized foods and cheap plastic containers make it so simple to prepare food ahead of time. There really is no excuse if you want it badly enough. Find your inner strength and just do it.

I felt normal after the 2nd week.... I went back to work on day 7 for 2 half days then resumed full time

If it were me i would wait until I lost all my weight and then do a port revision or the dr can also put in a low profile port when you have met your goal Unless of course the pain is intolerable.... Which of course you would want to fix it sooner

If you don't want it say anything then your only option is to ignore her. Keep doing what you are doing. Seems you have had a good loss so far. However you could also turn it I to a positive experience... Maybe stop over or call her and tell her you are so impressed with her loss you would like to compare notes and get some tips from her. Granted you may have to patiently listen to her success but maybe she has something which may help you. I work full time, have a home and family and even travel for business... Yet I lost my first hundred lbs in well under a year.... But I also counted calories, tracked food, and saw my dr monthly. I didn't exercise.

Welcome!! You will get a lot of info from your dr so I personally wouldn't pay anyone to change my eating habits. And since i needed to lose 227 lbs i had alot of changing to do.The band is a wonderful tool. If you follow your drs advice, do not cheat and track your calories your eating habits will change.... And when you are post op... 3 or 4 weeks of liquids and mushies will give you the results you need to be motivated to eat like a bandster. Not saying this web site doesn't have merit... I would just learn to work with your band and let it help you find the thin person hiding inside.

Not weighing myself daily, weekly or even yearly is what got me to 377 lbs.... When i got on the scale at the first visit 2 yrs ago i was mortified. I was thinking high 200s and when it showed almost 400 I wanted to crawl under a rock. How did I let this happen?? So... I bought a scale. Who knew I had to buy a special one For fatties over 300.... But i got it and started getting on it daily... 2x a day. And i got banded and watched the numbers drop. When I got under 250 I even went out and got another scale for people of normal size. Lol I have become obsessed with it. But I am ok with it. Not getting on one got me to a place I never will never visit again.

I wanted a completely non altering device implanted which left my biology in tact.

I like them.... I like the original gardenburger found in the freezer section. Granted its not a juicy burger but it's delicious with all the fixins...