faithmd

Ooooo, good luck!!!!! Congrats on the surgery! I'm partial to fuller breasts, so I'd say a D, but then again, it really should go with your frame.

Julie, I just read about your seromas-Eeeeep! And OUCH! Amazing, you are simply amazing. Going this distance, traveling this journey, and now draining your own seromas? You are wonder woman! But please call for the visiting nurse service, it might alleviate at least some of the emotional component that *has* to go along with draining your own seromas. Let someone else take care of you for a change, at least a couple days a week. Hopefully you are feeling better today! If not, take another day to relax, you certainly deserve it.

I have found the EAS and atkins at Walmart. I do not like them nearly as much as the Carb Control Slimfast. The EAS/Atkins are very very thin and liquidy, the Slimfast Low Carb is thick and rich. That satisfies me much more than thin and runny. Also the flavor isn't as good as the Slimfast. But not everyone likes the same things.

Step, I have heard it, but I VERY much appreciate you writing it again. I slime or get stuck on turkey breast or chicken or roast beef. Grrrrr! Healthy, protein-filled foods, but dry. So I guess as you said, bad band choices! In a sandwich I can eat them fine, or with mayo on them. But bare and naked (the way I like them), they are hard to swallow. I try to avoid much bread, it gets stuck, too. As does too much rice (and I LOVE sushi, so I'll pick most of the rice off it-not a shashimi fan yet). pizza and Pasta go down just fine, LOL. But I think I may have had four slices of pizza in the past year (total). I don't eat regular pasta anymore, I only eat the Barilla Plus Protein pasta (occasionally) or spaghetti squash instead of pasta. Who knew with a tomato sauce on it, it would be so good? Lately I've been challenged with a string desire for sweets. You would think that having gotten to 371 lbs I would have loved sweets? Nope, not really, but now I do. I want chocolate (never a big fan before), Oreos, cake, etc. My monthly support group is full of folks in the past few weeks that are going through the same thing (June 07). Did you experience anything like this about 6 mos out? Did anyone else here experience an increase in cravings for sweets/bad carbs at about five to seven months out? Steph, I thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful (and thought-provoking) response. It does help! I'm going to try to start Water loading as well. If I'm hungry, I'll go for a bottle of water (or a cup of tea). I have gotten away from water too much. I am lucky if I get 32 oz in within a 24hr period.

I think Alex closed a lot of those longer threads and then just opened new ones when he reorganized things. The longer threads with thousand(s) of posts bog the system down each time they are opened. I like that there are now subforums for all those sticky's and the hot-button threads that hadn't become sticky's yet (Low BMI for example), but I do wish they weren't hidden from view. Even if they were closed, they should still be easily accessible.

Though when you go to the forum, it's not there. I've found this with a lot of the archived info. You can search for it if you know the title or you are searching for a specific term, but it's not visible on the board. I'd love to have a link to the archives, versus always having to search for things.

It says it's in the weight specific forum, but just closed. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f139/thread-super-sized-bandsters-starting-bmi-over-50-a-16168/

Congrats to those who have made it to Twoterville! I had once, but couldn't seem to get below 296! Now I'm back at 304.1 :smile: :clap: I was at 308, so I'm glad to be back at 304... I gotta do SOMETHING!

Go to this forum: Weight Specific Lap-Band Support Groups (NEW!) - Lap Band Talk Forum - The largest forum for Lap Band Surgery Discussion and Lap Band Surgery Support There you will find the threads about specific BMI's and starting weights (that we previously had peppered all over this board) now concisely grouped together, it's wonderful!

One more thing, do not think what your surgeon's office says is gospel. Some folks will say, "They know what the insurance requires, they deal with them all the time." But there are MANY insurance policies out there and though you and I may have the exact same ins company, our policies may be totally different because we work at different employers. The safest and BEST thing to do is grab your ins card and call your company yourself. Ask what the requirements are for adjustable gastric banding, then write it down along with who you talked to and ask for a copy via email or snail mail or fax. In the meantime, get cracking and go see your doc. I'm amazed at the poster above whose insurance allowed something from 10 years ago, mine had to be within the past two.

My insurance company required 12 months and it didn't really seem all that long looking back. In that 12 mos I had another health issue and gained some weight, so at the end, I was denied because I hadn't lost the 5% of my excess that was required. I buckled down for a month and lost it, then was approved the next month. NO, the will likely NOT accept anything YOU tracked yourself. SOME will accept weights from WW or Curves, etc. But more often than not they will only accept MD supervised programs if that's what they are telling you. Now had you been doing LA weight loss or Medical Weight Loss that might work, those are MD based programs. One note about the monthly weigh-in thing. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT miss one single, solitary month. You may have to start over again. And make sure you talk with your MD, not an office nurse or a medical assistant each time. My insurance required me to see the MD each month, have a weight recorded AND the notes HAD to say something that I was actively doing to lose weight every time I saw her. For me it could be as simple as the notes saying I was walking 30 mins five times a week, or that I had cut refined carbs from my diet, or that I was running the stairs at work three times a week, etc. But that all HAD to be in the notes. MY ins co did NOT accept a letter from the MD detailing it all, they ONLY accepted actual copies of the monthly notes. Good luck!

A quick snippet about my loss journey, I started researching the band years ago, had to change ins co's a couple of times to find one that paid for it, then that one required a 12 month MD supervised diet with a 5% loss. By the time my 12 months was up, I had had some success with weight loss, but sadly in the beginning I had another health issue that caused me to gain. At the end of the 12 mos, if I remember correctly, I was up about 7lbs from my starting weight. I had needed to lose 9 lbs, so I was 16 lbs over what I was supposed to be. I was of course denied the first time around, cried and whined and felt very depressed, then I buckled down and made it the next month. By the time I had surgery in June of 2007, I had lost 44lbs from my high weight. In the process I started practicing the "Bandster" rules, Protein first, not drinking with meals or after, cut almost all white, refined carbs from my diet, no soda or caffeine, yada, yada. I had good restriction from the band itself (AP Small) and probably still do (I will PB or get stuck with sliced turkey breast or roast beef, if I don't chew well enough, things pass verrrry slowly through the stoma and I slime). The first couple of months were fine. I felt (and still feel) soft stops and get what is probably a "satisfied" feeling after anywhere from 1/2-1 cup of food. But I can't stop. Food tastes SOOOOOOOOOOO good. I came to associate the "stuffed full" feeling pre-banding with what full is supposed to feel like. How do I get past this? I have bounced in the same ten pounds since late August. I feel like I gave up. I stopped logging my food (have started again last week), quit drinking all my Water (bought three cases of bottled this week to get that going again), and started snacking all the time, PLUS meals. I'm trying the five or six small meals thing now, maybe I just want to eat more often, but I need to cut out the big meals, too. I have had NO fill since surgery. With soft stops and slime and occasional PB's, I have felt that I don't need one. Though there is the whole issue of no weight loss. Though I really think that's WHAT I'm eating, versus how MUCH I'm eating. My pre-op loss included Snacks and meals, but it was good snacks and good meals... If I lost really well pre-op (almost effortless, actually), then why on earth can I not seem to do it post op? Why if I now get a "satisfied" feeing sooner will I continue to eat and sabotage myself but before surgery I'd stop eating? So, I finally admitted I need some help with this whole band thing and scheduled a fill. I don't really want one. And that I don't understand, either. I fought and fought for this band, now I can't get my head around *using* it???? WTH???? Then I think that since I do feel stops and I do feel "satisfied," do I really need a fill? How do I do the head work to stop eating when I feel "satisfied" and learn that "stuffed" is not what I am aiming for? Stuffed is not how thin people eat. Well, I had scheduled a fill, but had to cancel, dang it! My FIL has to have his pacer/defib tested that same day, three hours away. DANG! I had finally wrapped my head around it in a mild little way, figured I'd start with one fill and see if it helped....ARRRGGHH! I go to the same place Boo Boo Kitty goes. It's about the same drive for me, too (a little over an hour) and I work nights, 12 hour shifts. Scheduling a fill is tough. Let me take that back...scheduling a fill with just anyone there is easy, but BBK has given me the scoop and the only woman I think I'd allow to touch me with a needle (HUGE phobia) has limited availability. EEEEEEEeeeeppp!!!! So, I need help. I will try again to schedule with her, but it's looking about a month away. Can anyone give me some ideas to help me get over this whole head thing? Anyone read any good books about overcoming the need to eat to stuffed versus satisfied? Any good stories out there? Since I've been logging the food again and trying to get back to basics, I've gotten the scale to move by two pounds. It's a start!

Is it time for Claudia to be in Chi-town?

Thanks for the welcomes!

Hello ladies, since this is a newly started thread/subforum, I'd like to really join in with you if I may. I know you are a tight knit group, and I think that's just WONDERFUL! I have gotten so much inspiration form each and every one of you by reading the previous thread. I'm trying to get back on track and would love not only to chat with a great bunch of people, but get some support from all of you have (and are still) steadily losing/maintaining.

I think it's time for me to join this group. Hello, my name is Faith and I'm a SLOOOOOOW loser. I have read the other thread but didn't join in, I'm not sure why. You are a GREAT group! So now I'd like to come and ask for support from you folks who have been there and are still there, slowly (but surely) losing.

Verrrrry cool! Best of luck!!!!! Keeping fingers and toes and eyes and just about everything crossed for you to make it to the next round!

name ...........starting# ....current#......goal#.....togo# Anitak33...........245............218..........199.......19 Cagstorm (txarcher)360............357..........345.......12 Candle ............218............218..........207.......11 Cerrin.............350............350..........325.......25 chickatee..........188............188..........175.......13 Cookielover........202............202..........192.......10 cQQlgirl...........220............220..........210.......10 Faithmd............306............304.1........296......8.1 georgiagirl........275............275..........260.......15 Hollyberries.......298............298..........285.......13 Hoppingto..........350............314..........294.......20 Irishmae11.........233............233..........219.......14 Jennie1976.........290............251..........235.......16 jfran..............187............181..........177.......4 Jillrn.............176............176..........166.......10 Jsrico.............255............178..........165.......13 juliegeraci........220............220..........210.......8 KarenG.............207............199.5........199.......0.5 keekahari..........220............220..........205.......15 kjl315.............237.5..........233..........220.......13 legster............223.5..........219.5........199.......24.5 LessnLess..........172............172..........164.......8 liz_hager..........202............198..........190.......8 Manatee............188............188..........175.......13 Mandyjo............191............191..........180.......11 metawnny...........252............252..........240.......12 MJRouse84..........274............233..........218.......15 nip50..............250............250..........238.......12 Rainer.............264............262..........248.......14 Redtulips3.........248............248..........235.......13 RenewedHope........228............228..........210.......18 rharriet...........367............256..........248.......8 Sades..............229............199.7........189.......10.7 Skinny_Jill........195............195..........180.......15 Stacy73............230............228..........222.......6 SueMagoo...........230............228..........220.......8 Sunny112...........145............145..........140.......5 Susan4794..........240............240..........225.......15 Suzzzie............303............301.1........290.......11.1 SWEETY.............180............180..........170.......10 Trystelle..........219............219..........205.......14 Twilight...........206............197..........185.......21 uxbus5.............240............240..........230.......10 want2lose..........236............236..........225.......11 wombat712..........154.8..........154.6........140.......14.6

name ........ starting# .... current#......goal#.....togo# Rainer..........264............262..........248.......14 wombat712.......154.8..........154.8........140.......14.8 legster.........223.5..........219.5........199.......24.5 LessnLess.......172............172..........164.......8 metawnny........252............252..........240.......12 Skinny_Jill.....195............195..........180.......15 Candle .........218............218..........207.......11 KarenG..........207............199.5........199....0.5 Hoppingto.......350............314..........294.......20 SWEETY..........180............180..........170.......10 juliegeraci.....220............220..........210.......8 Trystelle.......219............219..........205.......14 Susan4794.......240............240..........225.......15 rharriet........367............256..........248.......8 nip50...........250............250..........238.......12 keekahari.......220............220..........205.......15 Hollyberries....298............298..........285.......13 Stacy73.........230............230..........222.......8 Irishmae11......233............233..........219.......14 jfran...........187............181..........177.......4 liz_hager.......202............202..........190.......12 SueMagoo........230............229..........220.......9 MJRouse84.......274............233..........218.......15 Cagstorm(TxArcher)360..........357..........345.......12 Jsrico..........255............178..........165.......13 kjl315..........237.5..........237.5........220.......17.5 chickatee.......188............188..........175.......13 want2lose.......236............236..........225.......11 Cerrin..........350............350..........325.......25 Twilight........206............197..........185.......21 RenewedHope.....228............228..........210.......18 georgia girl....275............275..........260.......15 Anitak33........245............218..........199.......19 Redtulips3......248............248..........235.......13 cQQlgirl........220............220..........210.......10 Manatee.........188............188..........175.......13 Jennie1976......290............251..........235.......16 Cookielover.....202............202..........192.......10 uxbus5..........240............240..........230.......10 Jillrn..........176............176..........166.......10 Sunny112........145............145..........140.......5 Sades...........229............199.7........189.......10.7 Suzzzie.........303............301.1........290.......11.1 Faithmd.........306............306..........296.......10

Oh yes, unfortunately I do know they make Thin Mint ice cream They also make a Birthday Cake flavor-and it's LIGHT! WooHoo!!! Damn, now I want ice cream.

And I just dumped the last of my chocolate Silk (it was outdated). Ooooo, I have Matrix Chocolate and some natural PB.

OMG!!!! Frozen Thin Mints... Peanut Butter Patties.... Caramel Delites.................. You are soooooo mean! I need some PB Patties, NOW!!!!!

Hell no! And until I'm less than him, he won't. He has never gone with me to any Dr. appointments so there is no reason for him to find out...yet.

The OP mentioned already that she has the APS (Advanced Platform Small=10cc) LapBand. APS and APL have different fill protocols. After all, the Small holds 10 cc/mL, the Large holds 14 cc/mL. to the OP, you can call Allergan (contact information is available on their website-www.lapband.com) and ask them, or just ask your doc. I saw the protocol at my doc's office a few months ago, I know the L and S have different protocols, and my surgeon's office also follows the Allergan reccs to the letter. I just can't remember what the protocol said...

:welcomeB: to LBT!!!! For other who were banded near your time, check out the December 07 Bandsters subforum in the Monthly Support Groups forums. You'll find other December bandsters to chat with.