Dulci

Thank you for your service, B-52. Were you in the Air Force? My DH is a Vietnam era vet.

*wave* Vets =)

Nope, you are certainly not alone. I still have to weigh, measure, and count nearly every serving of everything. If I have it on my plate, I really want to finish it, so I try to be really diligent by making sure the amount of food on my plate isn't too much.

Don't look for problems. If you are following your doctor's plan, eating slowly and chewing well, you are doing great! I've had my band for over a year and I have never had a PB. I have very few stuck episodes and when I do, it is because of something I have done, like eating too fast or not chewing well, rather than the specific food I have eaten. If you are losing and are not hungry for 3 to 4 hours after eating, your band is adjusted well and you are doing fine!

Congrats!

I am wearing size 8 jeans, down from size 22 and medium tops, from 1X. If I see a cute top in a store, I still look to see if it is in XL. I grab styles that are loose and baggy, even though they aren't flattering now. In my head, I'm still fat. I still want to clean my plate. I still want to "finish" the "small" amount in the package. I think I am going to be measuring portions for the rest of my life - which is a small price to pay for maintaining a healthy weight.

I get a a gentle hiccup as a stop signal too. Sometimes I will also sneeze. For those times where I *want* something, but I am not really hungry, I fix a mug of herbal tea. 90% of the time, the tea satisfies me.

I prefer not to post my email on a public forum. I did send you a private message but I have not received an email from you.

My doctor offered both and asked for my preference. I told him that I spent many hours researching surgeons; I chose him and I trusted him to choose. I have a Realize band.

I haven't done much exercise formally, but I am a LOT more active. I used to park in the customer parking on the first floor, close to my office building (where I was not allowed to park) because walking too far hurt my knees. Now I park on the top floor of the parking garage so I can take the stairs. I used to get home from work and force myself to get off of the couch and do the necessary daily chores. Now I am up and down all evening doing things. When I was going through my preop testing, I found out that I had sleep apnea -- on two nights of testing, I had *no* REM sleep at all. My sleep apnea has fully resolved. I think that my increased energy levels can be credited equally to my weight loss and better quality of sleep. I do make healthy food choices 90% of the time. Now that I am in striking distance of hitting my goal, I realize that I have to add exercise to get the finish line and to maintain.

I have lost more than 50% of my excess weight.

I thought that all FEHB plans had to cover the same things. I had my surgery under Fed BCBS, Standard Option, but I switched to Mail Handler's this year. Both plans cover bariatrics.

I echo what others have said. The most difficult was the preop liquid diet. It was sheer will power. If you follow the directions given to you by your doctor - eat small bites, chew to nearly liquid, eat Protein first, make good choices - bandster living is not hard at all. I feel so much better now than I did before. This is the first year in my adult life that I weigh less than I did the year before. I was a champ at losing 30 to 40 lbs and regaining the weight and more. It was an annual event. The band makes losing weight easier and keeping weight off possible.

Wear heavy clothes and shoes, add a roll or two of quarters in your pockets, then voila! BMI of 40.

I use Mio. It doesn't have the after-taste that Crystal Lite does.

One of my favorite ways to use leftover chicken is to dice it, toss it with 1/4 cup of Frank's hot sauce and some blue cheese crumbles, then zap in the microwave until hot. Band friendly, healthy, buffalo style chicken. Spicy things shouldn't affect the band at all.

I had very severe burning pain in the center of my abdomen, below the band and lower than the pain from a stuck episode. The pain radiated to the right and around to my back. Nothing relieved the pain.

Don't be upset if you gain weight right after the procedure. All of the IV fluids will probably show a gain on the scale. I weighed 158 on Tuesday, when my gallbladder sent me to the ER. Yesterday, when I got home, I weighed 165! I know it has to be due to the IV because I hardly ate anything and still don't have an appetite.

I had my gallbladder removed on Tuesday and they did not unfill my band. I had my surgery at the same hospital that placed my band. Good luck!

Wow! $400 per fill. Cleveland Clinic charges slightly more for a fill under fluro. I'll be sticking with my doctor for out of pocket fills.

Please file a complaint with the Florida Department of Health. http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/enforcement/frm_general-meducf.pdf I hope your wife recovers, both physically and emotionally from this ordeal.

DH and I went to WDW two weeks ago. At most restaurants, I shared meals with DH. Some of the restaurants even plated 1/3 of his meal on a small plate for me. I was also able to order one macadamia pancake at another restaurant. At a steak place, I ordered a shrimp cocktail appetizer and picked at DH's veggies. It's wonderful to have a sense of controlling food, rather than being controlled by it.

I lived in PSL before I got my band, so I can't give a personal opinion regarding any practices. I know that Martin Memorial and St. Lucie Medial Center both have bariatric programs. I don't know if either of those programs will accept patients from other surgeons, but I would call them first. Strax Rejuvenation is a plastic surgery group in South Florida that also does bands. I do know that they will do fills on patients that received bands from other doctors. (My insurance only covers fills for one year, so I may consider going to Strax after November of this year.) I had my band placed by Dr. Szomstein at Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston, which would be about 2.5 hours south of PSL. I am very happy with the entire facility at Cleveland Clinic, including the bariatric department. Good luck with your move and welcome to Florida!

Realize bands are 11 ccs and only come in one size.

I hit that same place mentally about two months ago. I knew that I didn't need a fill; at meals, I was able to eat an appropriate amount and be satisfied. I was just eating because, mentally, I wanted/needed to eat. I scheduled an appointment with a counselor and talking with her helped somewhat. She also suggested that I talk with my PCP or surgeon about trying an antidepressant to help with anxiety issues. This morning, I finally hit a new low on the scale, after being stalled for about three months by self sabotage.