crzytchr

I can easily feel mine. I is to the right of my large port incision. I guess that is good, because the PA was also able to access it easily to do my fill.:thumbup:

It was literally so speedy a process that I have no clue what they did. I know they contacted my primary care physician. Here is the link for his website. GastricBypassWLS.com You can get the forms filled out online and they very quickly email you back to let you know the next step. It is a series of 6 steps, I think. After you hear back from them, it will tell you when to call for a consultation. If your insurance covers it, without jumping through a lot of hoops, you could be possibly banded within 1 month. My surgery was literally a little over 3 weeks after filling out the first form, and I could have had surgery on the 2nd of July if I had wanted to go to Lafayette! His office for the lap band is in Gonzales behind St. Elizabeths Hospital. I have my fills done by his PA, Holly, at this office in Gonzales. The fills for him are only done on Friday mornings. Every other Friday, I think. He has two case managers in his office. My friend and I haven't paid anything for a fill yet, so some must be included in the price of the surgery.

Wow, from my first phone call to the surgeon's office until my surgery only took 3 weeks. The case manager that handled my surgery worked really fast. If the surgery is covered, your insurance doesn't have any special requirements and you qualify, the process goes REALLY fast at Hargroder's office. I don't know where in Louisiana you are, but there are many from the New Orleans and Shreveport area on this forum also.

I had my surgery at Woman's Hospital by Dr. Hargroder. He also performs the surgery in Lafayette and Gonzales.

Josh you look amazing. It is great that you made this decision this early in life. You are going to have so much fun.

The mucus you are talking about is called "slime". It is extra saliva that our bodies, in its infinite wisdom, produce to try to unstick food. PBing is what you are doing when you are bringing the food back up with this saliva. It is not really considered normal to do this very often. You may be too tight, if it is occurring even if you are eating slowly and chewing really well. Do you notice if it is always with certain foods? If so, just cut these foods out and see if the episodes stop. If it is happening with foods that should be ok, then maybe you need a slight unfill. You don't want to start eating "slider" foods because you don't pb on them. That is not a good way to go. It would be better to be slightly loose than to turn to undesirable food choices, just because they are easy to keep down. About the pain radiating to your jaw...sounds not too good. You should probably call your doctor about that. That could be a sign of something not band related.

I went to a play at my daughter's highschool and I sat in the auditorium seat(70 years old, so made smaller) and I WAS COMFORTABLE!!! :thumbup:It felt awesome. Last year I went to a show there and I was miserable the whole time. I also went to a hockey game last night and sat in those seats easily. I didn't have to EASE into it like last year. It was amazing.

I think it may be the amount of restriction you need to have control over your eating. For me, I don't need to be very tight. My $2500 copay is enough of an incentive for me to be fairly strict on myself without having my band very tight. For me, it is more important for me to be happy with my band, and the foods I can eat, than to lose weight quickly. I keep losing around 2lbs per week and I am happy with that. I had almost half of a hamburger steak the other day, and my friend said she would never have been able to eat it. She has her band tighter than mine and prefers to be more restricted. It depends on what YOU need to make you and your band successful. It is a learning process and you will figure it out.

Congratulations Josh! You are doing an amazing job. Keep up the good work and post some pics when you figure it out.

I eat about 1/3 of what I did pre-banding and I am never hungry. examples: 1 slice of pizza 2 chicken tenders one cup of Soup 1 slice of toasted whole wheat bread with one tablespoon of Peanut Butter 3 ounces of beef along with any of the above I can sometimes eat 1/4-1/2 a cup of vegetables I also have 1 venti non-fat caramel mocha each day (2 pumps of mocha and 4 pumps sugar-free caramel, 220 calories and 17g protein) You must try this is you love coffee and miss your Starbucks. It takes away my desire for Desserts and is super yummy. I log every bit of food that goes into my mouth, including the Starbucks, and it comes to 1000-1400 per day. I occasionally go to 1600 (maybe once every two weeks). I am still losing 2 lbs a week and love my band. This is exactly what I hoped for when I had surgery. Please go get a small fill so you can begin to experience some restriction again. Don't think just because you already have 7cc that you should have restriction. Sometimes our bands need a little tweaking. :thumbup:

My doctor didn't require a preop diet. Some surgeons want their patients on Atkins and others want a liquid diet. You need to ask. If they think his liver is enlarged, they will need to make sure it has time to shrink before surgery. Ask about maybe doing Atkins from now until surgery. Many liquid diets are so high in sugar they wreck havoc on you appetite. Please don't forget to call and ask. You don't want someone assuming someone else told him and get there the day of surgery and have it canceled.

I am a little over 3 months out and I eat 1000-1400 calories per day. At this amount I am never hungry and am still losing 2 lbs per week. This is absolutely the exact thing I was hoping for. I love my band!!!!

I going to fix the weight changes from the last three posts. Someone posted again with out using the latest post. ******NAME********START WEIGHT*****CURRENT WEIGHT********GOAL********LBS. LOST ****:scared2:*************************:thumbup:*************:thumbup:******** 1dayatime..........263............261............243............2 2BHealthE!.........194............179............194............0 ahsem2bme..........244............244............225............0 aJoneen............223............216............213............7 Aphrodite1984......208............208............190............0 Ariel..............199............191.3..........185..........7.6 ArmyWife4life......209.5..........209.5..........190............0 Barb12590..........228............212............213...........16 Bea1128............210.5..........205.5..........188............5 blueriley..........206............206............190............0 Brandymom1234......227............151.9..........135..........4.1 Caramia71..........208............202............195............6 cQQlgirl...........194............191............180............3 Crzytchr...........281............266............265...........15 DebinFl............181............177............168............4 georgiagirl........245............227............220...........18 HarleyGirl.........188............185............175............3 HeatherA...........210.5..........199.4..........200.........11.1 HeatherO...........155............143............140...........12 Ivyrose325.........212............212............199............0 Jazzyywan..........255............255............190............0 Jodi_620...........196............178............177...........18 KikiVal315.........237.5..........229............220..........8.5 Lana24.............208............194............185............1 laurigee...........180............170............160...........10 Leslie2Lose........220............214............205............6 lindar172 .........274.2..........258............256.........16.2 LisaB..............205.5..........192............180.........13.5 livn4thm...........235............229............210............6 Long2bthin.........248............229............230...........19 Luu2008............203............199.5..........183..........3.5 Mamanmidwife.......299............283............280...........16 mamato3............186............186............170............0 MarinaBleu.........226.5..........226.5..........216............0 memom..............210............210............170............0 Minxz..............299............286............280............9 mominlv13..........299.8..........282.4..........280.........17.4 Momof5.............192.5..........187.5..........175..........5.0 nip50..............175............166............160............9 NukeChik...........218............215............208............3 NurseNiki..........258............244............239...........14 odamay.............242............242............225............0 paige65............252............242............232...........10 Peaches11..........205............205............194............0 pj_txlady..........220............214.5..........200..........5.5 Redtulips3.........180............171............169............9 Renee74............214............213............199...........11 Renewedhope........171............167............150............4 reif78.............294............195............185............0 savimama...........216............216............200............0 shaversd...........230.5..........225............210..........5.5 SpecialK...........294............286............280............8 Sunshine2..........177............167............167...........10 Tess...............304............296............280............8 thatDEgirl.........211............195.4..........195.........15.6 tp78...............201............192............180............9 Turler.............225............215............210............10 wendyw.............192............188............172............4 wowox7.............195............179............170...........16 WyominGirl.........327............321............312............6

Name_________StartWeight___CurrentWeight______Goal________ToGo *****<v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f" filled="f" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" coordsize="21600,21600"></v:shapetype>***********:scared2:*************:thumbup:**************** :thumbup: * agreatknead........204............194...........180...........14 areellady..........189............189...........159...........30 BIGB...............342............342...........300...........42 BellaPerdente......253............223...........195...........28 Boos02.............258............226...........200...........26 Brandy.............221............211...........191...........20 BrownBear..........240............235...........200...........35 Cadets71.........223.4..........223.4...........189.........34.4 Claudine...........250............231...........225...........6 Bunkey1965.........194............177...........170............7 CubsGirl17.........172............161...........150...........11 Cutiew/booty.......251............237...........220...........17 cQQlgirl...........195............191...........175...........16 crzytchr...........276............266...........246...........20 Donna113...........199............193.5.........160...........33.5 Ekat...............527............172...........152...........19 feefee57...........262............212...........180...........32 FeliciaLevy75......240............222...........190...........32 GillieBean.........304............296...........264...........32 HeatherO...........150............143...........130...........13 Hollie ............l54............154...........125...........29 Jeni85.............182............182...........160...........22 Jillbeme...........235..........207.5...........185.........22.5 Josie74............260............255...........215...........40 klmsilva...........216............212...........190...........26 legster............183............183...........160...........23 linksmom...........251............236...........200...........36 Liquidbluegal......225..........214.6...........199.........15.6 Liz_hager..........161............158...........130...........28 Long2BThin.........253............229...........215...........14 lotzasunshine......292............283.5.........250.........33.5 Luu2008............230..........199.5...........153.........46.5 Lunabeane..........244...........197............187.........10.0 Mamanmidwife.......295............282...........260...........22 Melissa Aguirre ...266............233...........160....... 73 Melody2006.........223............223...........173...........50 MiniPearl#2........???............???...........???...........?? Minxz..............299............287...........270...........17 neefam.............238............189...........158...........31 odizzzydori........242............242...........199...........43 paige65............252............242...........220...........22 rainer.............236............231...........210...........21 Redtulips3.........180............175...........160...........15 reif78.............294............195...........140...........40 RichardCranium.....338............276...........200...........76 soontobehottie.....201............191...........165...........26 srknepler..........285............253.7...........255.........-1.3 squale.............353............353...........325...........28 Sunshine2..........177............167...........160...........07 Suzzzie............305............305...........285...........20 stevegoad..........370............341...........267...........74 Terilynn112........240............227...........199...........41 Truediva...........299............285...........235...........50 thininside28.......255............255...........215...........40 Turler.............219............215...........194...........21 youcandoit!........196............189...........165...........24

Holy Moly, Renewed, you look awesome! I can't wait till we can see you post op ps pics. I am sending good thoughts your way, hoping for a speedy recovery.

Donna, I love the friendship poem, it is awesome. Orea, Donna is correct, their policy SUCKS! Have you tried talking to them? Maybe if they can hear your frustration they will give in. I would hate for you to be so desperate at your next appointment that you get overfilled, and say nothing, because being loose is bothering you now. That will only lead to problems. I have only had one small fill, but I am doing fine with it. My friend was banded 2 weeks prior to me and she has had 3. I think my dr does them whenever you need it after the first 4 weeks after surgery. Making you wait this long is torture and completely not fair to you and your weightloss efforts.

******NAME********START WEIGHT*****CURRENT WEIGHT********GOAL********LBS. LOST ****************:biggrin:*************:tt2:*************:wink_smile:*******:cool2:* 1dayatime..........263............261............243............2 2BHealthE!.........194............179............194............0 ahsem2bme..........244............244............225............0 aJoneen............223............216............213............7 Aphrodite1984......208............208............190............0 Ariel..............199............191.3..........185..........7.6 ArmyWife4life......209.5..........209.5..........190............0 Barb12590..........228............212............213...........16 Bea1128............210.5..........205.5..........188............5 blueriley..........206............206............190............0 Brandymom1234......227............151.9..........135..........4.1 Caramia71..........208............202............195............6 cQQlgirl...........194............191............180............3 Crzytchr...........281............267............265...........14 DebinFl............181............177............168............4 georgiagirl........245............227............220...........18 HarleyGirl.........188............185............175............3 HeatherA...........210.5..........199.4..........200.........11.1 HeatherO...........155............143............140...........12 Ivyrose325.........212............212............199............0 Jazzyywan..........255............255............190............0 Jodi_620...........196............178............177...........18 KikiVal315.........237.5..........229............220..........8.5 Lana24.............208............194............185............1 laurigee...........180............170............160...........10 Leslie2Lose........220............214............205............6 lindar172 .........274.2..........259.6..........256.........14.6 LisaB..............205.5..........192............180.........13.5 livn4thm...........235............229............210............6 Long2bthin.........248............229............230...........19 Luu2008............203............199.5..........183..........3.5 Mamanmidwife.......299............283............280...........16 mamato3............186............186............170............0 MarinaBleu.........226.5..........226.5..........216............0 memom..............210............210............170............0 Minxz..............299............286............280............9 mominlv13..........299.8..........282.4..........280.........17.4 Momof5.............192.5..........187.5..........175..........5.0 nip50..............175............166............160............9 NukeChik...........218............215............208............3 NurseNiki..........258............244............239...........14 odamay.............242............242............225............0 paige65............252............242............232...........10 Peaches11..........205............205............194............0 pj_txlady..........220............214.5..........200..........5.5 Redtulips3.........180............171............169............9 Renee74............214............213............199...........11 Renewedhope........171............167............150............4 reif78.............294............195............185............0 savimama...........216............216............200............0 shaversd...........230.5..........225............210..........5.5 SpecialK...........294............286............280............8 Sunshine2..........177............167............167...........10 Tess...............304............296............280............8 thatDEgirl.........211............196.4..........195.........14.6 tp78...............201............192............180............9 Turler.............225............217............210............8 wendyw.............192............188............172............4 wowox7.............195............179............170...........16 WyominGirl.........327............321............312............6

Good luck tomorrow! I'll send good thoughts your way. Post when you feel up to it.

I have not thrown up or pb'd since surgery. I finally slimed once, last week, because I ate some rice and chicken, and the rice was a little "sticky". I have eaten all of my favorite foods, except for salad. I won't even try it. For you, the steak will probably not be a good choice. I eat about 1/3 of what I ate pre-banding. We went to a my favorite pizza place last week and I ate 1 piece of a 10" pizza. If I eat chicken tenders I eat 1-2 of them. I normally don't eat any fries, but I do eat vegetables after I have eaten my Protein. If we are eating stew or Soup, I eat about a cup. It is amazing to log my food intake now and then try to multiply it to figure out the calories I was consuming prior to surgery. Now, I stay between 1000-1400. I lose about 2 lbs per week. I will probably go for a fill before Thanksgiving. I will have her again do a small fill. I think the reason that I don't get sick is that I am not too tight. It seems that the one thing many people have a problem with adjusting to, is not drinking with their meals and never having soda again. Even though this hasn't been an issue with me, it is driving my close friend crazy. I would begin practicing chewing your food more thoroughly and taking smaller bites, so you can begin to cut out fluids during your meals. This will make your adjustment easier.

Mine sounds kind of like yours Donna. Mine will bet irregular and hard, skip a beat and seems to flip-flop. The longest it has done this is for an hour. It is very scary when it is happening, but it doesn't happen often. I was sent to a cardiologist and when the results came back my pcp looked at them and said we didn't need to treat it unless it was bothering me. It doesn't happen enough to warrant medicine, so I am currently unmedicated. This makes my dad CRAZY. He has it and now has a defibrillator thing that keeps his regulated. I guess that is where I will be 10-20 years from now.:smile:

It doesn't sound band related. It may be anxiety attacks. You need to call your doctor.

Congratulations Long!!! I hope I make this challenge, but I'm not sure. I have 3 more pounds to go!:rolleyes2: ******NAME********START WEIGHT*****CURRENT WEIGHT********GOAL********LBS. LOST ****:blushing:************:thumbs_up:*************:thumbup:*************:sad_smile:*********:scared2:* 1dayatime..........263............261............243............2 2BHealthE!.........194............179............194............0 ahsem2bme..........244............244............225............0 aJoneen............223............216............213............7 Aphrodite1984......208............208............190............0 Ariel..............199............191.3..........185..........7.6 ArmyWife4life......209.5..........209.5..........190............0 Barb12590..........228............212............213...........16 Bea1128............210.5..........205.5..........188............5 blueriley..........206............206............190............0 Brandymom1234......227............151.9..........135..........4.1 Caramia71..........208............202............195............6 cQQlgirl...........194............191............180............3 Crzytchr...........281............268............265...........13 DebinFl............181............177............168............4 georgiagirl........245............227............220...........18 HarleyGirl.........188............185............175............3 HeatherA...........210.5..........199.4..........200.........11.1 HeatherO...........155............143............140...........12 Ivyrose325.........212............212............199............0 Jazzyywan..........255............255............190............0 Jodi_620...........196............178............177...........18 KikiVal315.........237.5..........229............220..........8.5 Lana24.............208............195............185............0 laurigee...........180............170............160...........10 Leslie2Lose........220............214............205............6 lindar172 .........274.2..........259.6..........256.........14.6 LisaB..............205.5..........193............180.........12.5 livn4thm...........235............229............210............6 Long2bthin.........248............229............230...........19 Luu2008............203............199.5..........183..........3.5 Mamanmidwife.......299............283............280...........16 mamato3............186............186............170............0 MarinaBleu.........226.5..........226.5..........216............0 memom..............210............210............170............0 Minxz..............299............286............280............9 mominlv13..........299.8..........282.4..........280.........17.4 Momof5.............192.5..........187.5..........175..........5.0 nip50..............175............166............160............9 NukeChik...........218............215............208............3 NurseNiki..........258............244............239...........14 odamay.............242............242............225............0 paige65............252............242............232...........10 Peaches11..........205............205............194............0 pj_txlady..........220............214.5..........200..........5.5 Redtulips3.........180............171............169............9 Renee74............214............213............199...........11 Renewedhope........171............167............150............4 reif78.............294............195............185............0 savimama...........216............216............200............0 shaversd...........230.5..........225............210..........5.5 SpecialK...........294............286............280............8 Sunshine2..........177............167............167...........10 Tess...............304............296............280............8 thatDEgirl.........211............196.4..........195.........14.6 tp78...............201............192............180............9 Turler.............225............217............210............8 wendyw.............192............188............172............4 wowox7.............195............180............170...........15 WyominGirl.........327............321............312............6

Why would your weight loss/fitness trainer even begin to think he/she knows more about what you need before surgery than your surgeon? You have proven you are dedicated to the exercise portion of your post op lifestyle. You surgeon requiring the two weeks of Atkins (shrinks the liver) and then 4 weeks post op liquids sounds standard. If, however, you are having second thoughts, then maybe you should wait. I was much less prepared than you, and I haven't had any regrets at all about mine. It was the best thing I have ever done for myself.

Well....I tried to go to chat, but when I got there it wasn't listed.:tongue2: I couldn't get on until after DWTS went off. I will try again next week.

Good luck to the both of you on your upcoming surgeries. I am soooo jealous!:tongue2: I can't wait until I lose all my weight and get rid of my belly flap.:biggrin: