Candle

elisa - Good luck!! We have almost the same surgery date, one year apart. Mine was 8/27/07 with Dr Geiss! Sooverit - I'm sorry that you are having a hard time with insurance stuff. I know how frustrating it is. I spent quite a bit in co-pays, out of pocket shrink & nutritionist, etc ... BUT look at where I am now!! I had to buy a self pay plan with GHI to cover my band because my insurance thru work had a WLS exclusion. GHI is an option for anyone in NY. The plan was $415 per month. Let me know if you need any info or help. I don't know anything about their policy on lower BMI's though.

Pammy!!! You look awesome!!!

Great reminder! Any new signs of reflux should always be reported to your doctor! I've seen a lot of people with complications mention reflux at night or when they lay down. I'm glad you are ok

I do 3 meals plus a snack in the afternoon before working out and sometimes a small snack or dessert at night.

EXACTLY the news I popped into this thread for!! Congrats! :welldone2::scared2::waytogo::youcandothis::success1::thumbup:

Name: Frangipani Weight loss from day of surgery: 91 lbs Total weight loss: 97 lbs Name: Candle Weight loss from day of surgery: 102 lbs Total weight loss: 116 lbs Name: Salsa Weight loss from day of surgery: 93.5 lbs Total weight loss: 93.5 lbs Name: Pammycakes Weight loss from day of surgery: 94 lbs Total weight loss: 96 lbs Name: Ceradad Weight loss from day of surgery: 85 Total weight loss: 105 Name: KarenG. Weight loss from day of surgery: 85 Total weight loss: 85 Name: NanaRenan Weight loss from day of surgery: 52 Total weight loss: 72 Name: TexasBecky Weight loss from day of surgery: 98 Total weight loss: 108 Name: SPEBSQSAlady Weight loss from day of surgery: 57.8 Total weight loss: 57.8 Name: Brandottie01 Weight loss from day of surgery: 23 lbs Total weight loss: Name: Bergdorfblonde Weight loss from day of surgery: 32 lbs Total weight loss: 32 lbs Name: Gometros Weight loss from day of surgery: 52.9 lbs Total weight loss: 74.9 Name: Pizzicato66 Weight loss from day of surgery: 71.5 Total weight loss: 83.5 Name: Valstar Weight loss from day of surgery: 52 lbs Total weight loss: 57 lbs Name:Gweniper weight loss from day of surgery: 50 total weight loss: 84 Name: purplegirl1818 weightloss from day of surgery: 73.5lbs total weight loss: 90.5lbs Name: LessNLess weightloss from day of surgery: 56lbs total weight loss: 62lbs Name: JudiM weightloss from day of surgery: 62lbs total weight loss: ?? Name: hf2havefun Weight loss from day of surgery: 35 lbs Total weight loss: 50 lbs Name: Nikki S Weight loss from day of surgery: 102 Total weight loss: 102

I also vote YES to your kids but NO to your parents. I'm so excited for you guys! Doesn't it feel like just yesterday we were all getting excited to be BANDED? I'm also green with envy.

Great ideas Frangipani! We went out to Hoover Dam last time we were there. Hiking sounds like a great new adventure. I wouldn't be able to go until the fall either. Originally we were planning a trip to Jamaica but I think we're going to scale back a little - I'm saving for PS and home heating oil is going to break the bank this winter. (I'm sure you don't have to worry about such things in ... St Thomas :scared2: ) Vegas really has something for everyone.

I'd like to do my arms too but I do have a lot of light blond hair mixed with the dark, so I don't think it will work that well. Plus, I'm saving for a tummy tuck next!

Thanks Amanda 20 people is a decent amount.

Las Vegas is usually an easy and cheap, central location for people to get to. I also LOVE Vegas - hehe :sad:

Woo-Hoo!!! :sad: Very inspirational. You deserve to be soooo proud of yourself.

Just wanted to give you guys an update. I just had treatment 6 and I am soooooo satisfied with the results so far! She said I will probably need two more treatments which we scheduled 6 weeks apart. Maybe a little electrolysis down the road.

We should all try and attend a support group together. I'd love to meet everyone. The only meeting I've been to was the required pre-op group at the Ritz Club. Have you guys been attending the monthly meetings at Dr Geiss' office? If so, do you find you get anything out of it? It's a 45 minutes drive and I just never get the motivation to go :crying:

I've seriously researched the Lap-Band and finally decided it's the right thing for me. Now I am menatlly preparing for how it will change my life. (Once the insurance nightmare is worked out :phanvan ) One of my big worries is my relationship with my boyfriend. I know he wants what's best for me. Being healthy, having energy, and getting out of this depression, will all have positive effects on our relationship but what about the physical side? My man is an admitted "chubby-chaser" (god! I hate that term!!!!) He's thin and very attractive. It took me a long time to accept that he is actually turned on by me, likes how I look and not to feel like I'm not good enough for him. Has anyone been through this? I see a lot of girls posting about their SO telling them how good they look now ... I'm worried the reverse will happen to me. I know he loves ME for ME but I love how turned on by me he is. I've never had that before and I don't want to lose it!!

Another update since this old thread has resurfaced: I've lost 115lbs with another 20lbs to go. My relationship is stronger than ever. :cursing:

Glad to hear you are feeling better and everything went well. I hope you can get the port easily taken care of. Looking forward to pictures. Are your breasts still really swollen? Are you happy with the size?

What is marshmallow cream? Fluff?

I got the AP band in Aug and I had to do 2 weeks of liquids and then 3 weeks of mushies before solids. I saw another patient of Dr Geiss post recently that he had gotten the J&J or Realize band and he progressed much quicker. I DID get the implant card but it's for the 4cc band, not my band.

:party: Woo-Hoo! Ellen! How are you doing? I think Dr Giess uses the J&J band now and you get to advance in the food stages quicker? Right? Glad to hear everything went smoothly. (yes, my ticker is correct :smile: )

:smile: Awesome!! :smile:

Thank you, Thank you :thumbup: :thumbup: I'm finally SEEING that big difference I've been waiting for.

Wow - I don't know how I missed the last few pics in this thread. Great job everyone. Frangipani - you look AWESOME!!! I just posted for the first time in the big "Before & After" thread on the main board. I figured I'd share here too. :thumbup:

I wish I had a better "before" picture.

I'm physically ready for PS but not financially. My boyfriend is changing jobs this summer and while he's 110% confident about the career change, I'm a little nervous about incurring a huge debt at the same time. Plus, if I jump thru the insurance company hoops, I should be able to get the pani portion of my TT covered. (I have to be 18 months out from WLS surgery) I'm going to start some consultations this summer. Anyway ... A breast lift and TT are my priorities right now. Possibly a LBL but my butt is only a little saggy and my outer thighs are fine. One of my questions is about my inner thighs. They really aren't too bad on the inside where the thighs touch but I have 2 little fat pads kind of on the front of my thighs near my pubic area. If I pull the skin up a little it looks fine. I don't think it's something that can be fixed with lipo because the skin in that area is stretched out and creating a little saggy crease now. (almost like a hanging pani) Is that something they can kind of pull up when they do a TT and mons lift? It doesn't really bother me too much now but after a TT it's going to look awful in contrast to a “flat” stomach! My #2 problem area is my arm pit area. I still have a pretty prominent roll of fat on my back that I hope lipo will take care of and my arms are little saggy but not too bad. The problem is, I have extra skin that spills over the band of my bra. I can't wear tank tops because I have a bunch of stretch mark ridden saggy skin that you can clearly see in front of and under my arm pit when my arms are at my sides. Is this something that will be fixed with a breast lift and/or removal of my back fat or is that only something that would be fixed by having my arms done? I hope I explained all that clearly - I should have just take some pics. - lol I appreciate any advice or opinions. Thanks