Pammy S Lewis

never mind, just searched the forum and found some answers. thanks!

total cash cost for me in LA with dr. jeremy korman: $16000 (includes 1 year of fills and check ups). doesn't include pre-surgical tests because my insurance covered them.

i felt horrible for about 2 weeks and kept thinking i had made a huge mistake. but i kept coming to this site and getting reassurance and it really helped. it's been a little over a month and i'm SO happy i did it. give it some time and things WILL get better.

one of the reasons i got the band is that my weight made me really uncomfortable and i stopped dating years ago and never got married. so i have only lost 15 lbs so far and am not ready to dive in yet but was dabbling on an online dating site and started talking to this adorable guy. so we're supposed to meet in an hour for a drink. TERRIFIED!! first of all, i'm uncomfortable because i still feel overweight. secondly, i can't freaking get rid of this ketotis breath! also, i can't really drink alcohol so i'm probably going to get totally wasted off half a drink! oy. i want to cancel.

he was really hot and smart and funny and we had a really good time! ultimately though i don't think he's right for me (he's a little too out there and unconventional for me). but damn, it was sure good practice and made me feel better about myself.

i felt EXACTLY the same way! i had problems after surgery for a couple of weeks and was in a lot of pain. was so worried but they realized they left some Fluid in the band and once they removed it i was fine. and i was a total carb addict and probably would have chosen bread over sex! what's so great about the band though is that i no longer even want bread and don't feel controlled by carb cravings and constant hunger from eating too many carbs. don't worry, give it a little time and you'll feel so much better in a week or so!

hi all i wanted to tell you that i ran across an article about surgical scars and the use of silicone strips to minimize them. did some research and a lot of people were saying that they helped tremendously so i bought some. i bought a brand called scaraway (there are others) on amazon and after using them for 3 days i can already tell a difference! you have to wear them most of the time for a couple of months though, which is kind of a pain. they're about $30 for the supply you need. not cheap but may be worth it for some. http://www.amazon.com/ScarAway-Professional-Silicone-Treatment-Sheets/dp/B001AJ4L1E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303174956&sr=8-1

yeah, i researched vitamin E and found a lot of articles saying that studies done showed that it wasn't effective for scars (even though it's widely believed to be). who knows though, found it on the internet...

hi all i wanted to tell you that i ran across an article about surgical scars and the use of silicone strips to minimize them. did some research and a lot of people were saying that they helped tremendously so i bought some. i bought a brand called scaraway (there are others) on amazon and after using them for 3 days i can already tell a difference! you have to wear them most of the time for a couple of months though, which is kind of a pain. they're about $30 for the supply you need. not cheap but may be worth it for some. http://www.amazon.com/ScarAway-Professional-Silicone-Treatment-Sheets/dp/B001AJ4L1E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303174956&sr=8-1

i'm 5 weeks post op too and have only lost 13 lbs (during the first week) and have been stalled for 4 weeks!!! everyone keeps telling me it happens to some people. i don't even need a fill because i have good restriction, so i don't know how to fix it (have been exercising and i experimented with less and also more calories and and carb combos). no clue.

yeah, same here. my dr said that the only reason they recommend no caffeine is because it stimulates hunger and because it's a diuretic and post surgery it's crucial to get a lot of liquids. but he said after a few weeks i could drink coffee if i made sure to get my water in. but yeah, no carbonation (no beer!!! AHHHH!!!! or diet coke!!!)

i bought some crystal light but try to limit myself to 1 watered down serving a day, at most. aspartame is just nasty stuff and i feel like i'm poisoning myself every time i drink it. a little bit isn't going to kill me but i certainly wouldn't drink glasses and glasses of it every day. i think if you need some flavor, herbal decaf tea is a much better substitute.

generally speaking, depression is ruminating about the past (mistakes, i should have done this instead, feeling angry or sad about decisions or relationships, etc etc). anxiety is fear of what might happen in the future. i spent years suffering from both and going back and forth between the two. it wasn't until i learned to live IN THE MOMENT right now that i was able to let go of it. you can't worry about what will happen in the future because we have absolutely no idea what will happen. you and your boyfriend may life a happy, full life together until you're 90! and then you would have wasted this time now worrying. focus on what is good now and be present now. when i find that i'm not being present, i think of this story. i couple of years ago, i went to an event that i felt like was the most important thing in my life. i really wanted a lot of photos to remember it by and i ended up spending the whole time taking pictures. afterward, i realized that i didn't even remember anything about that day because i was not present and was focused on taking the stupid pictures! that's just my little reminder of myself to live in the now and appreciate it and not to worry about the future.

i live in los angeles and paid $16k for surgery, nutrition class, first year of fills. my insurance covered the pre-surgery tests so i didn't have to pay for those.

breakfast: 1 poached egg on black Beans snack: cottage cheese with blueberry applesauce lunch: cottage cheese and chicken snack: carbmaster yogurt dinner: turkey burger and broccoli

not a dumb question, it was one of the first things i asked my dr when i met with him. after surgery, i could feel the band inside of me for the first 3 weeks and my dr said some people are able to sense that it's there (a definite minority though). it eventually went away. i can feel the port with my hand but cannot sense that there's anything inside of me there. i don't think that driving all day would be a problem once you've healed.

those look great! thanks for posting.

WOE = way of eating it's a term that came about in low carb eating

i am 4 weeks post op and lost 13lbs on the liquid diet and once i started eating food 3 weeks ago i haven't lost anything. i have played around with my calories going from 700 to 1000 and still nothing. am walking every day, getting all my water, protein, carbs etc. i would understand if i stalled for a week or so but to stall for 3 weeks seems like a long time. am being patient with it, but am just confused. also, i don't feel like i need a fill because i have pretty good restriction with nothing in my band. also, if i get it filled, my calories would drop WAY down and push me into starvation mode, wouldn't it?

my fave that i still eat as a snack is cottage cheese with mott's no sugar added blueberry applesauce on top. SOOOOO good!! (it's not as good with regular applesauce though). here's a pic of it to help you find it in the store: http://www.google.co...1t:429,r:12,s:0

great info, thanks! yeah, i've been tracking everything on fitday and using measuring cups but was wondering if a digital scale would be better. they're pretty cheap so i'll pick one up. thanks!

good info, thanks dave!

there's a thread for scar pics you can check out http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/5996-scar-stages-share-yours/page__pid__1595339__st__520#entry1595339