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Thanks Jill!! I will keep that in mind for whenever I get up the nerve to get one

Welcome Nicole!! I was banded by Dr Bertha on 11/6/07 and he was wonderful!!!! everyone in the office is always very helpful the only problem is waiting to be seen but hey it could always be worse so I dont sweat it. I had my first consult with the office on 10/19 and had already had my lab work done as well as my psych and nutritional consult so things moved VERY quickly. when the woman who does the surgery scheduling brought me to the other room and said how does 11/6 sound my face damn near fell off!!! I was expected to wait just a weee bit longer then that but I jumped on the date and just had to wait for my insurance approval which I got in less then a week. Good luck with everything and welcome to the wonderful NJ thread!!! the ladies here are just the BEST!

ok i have been thinking about doing this for awhile but like alot of you here I have been chicken. I use to shave a while ago but I have not in a year or so and really it was just too much work for me to want to again. so my question is do you need to "trim" it down before you go or is "natural" ok???

im a day late but wanted to wish everyone a happy easter!! hugs to all my girls!

Welcome Neeley!!! I am one of the few ladies here actually from NJ but like Kat said it would be hard to find a more supportive group of women. I think I am the newest band member of the group but everyone is always very helpful and welcoming of any questions you may have. good luck on your banding journey and enjoy the ride!!!

I have not seen any guys here in awhile...story of my life

I actually just did a total of my calories for the first time today and I am between 1100-1300 daily I originally thought that was alot but after reading this tread I am glad to see I am in the "norm" There are some places where I know I can cut calories - use light or fat free mayo and salas dressing - so I will look into that but other then that I am happy to know that I am not to high on the calorie scale.

Terrilen first thing you have to do is try to calm down. The good thing is that you have realized that you were on the wrong path and that things were not working for you. that is the first step in order to change anything. Im sorry I dont have any advise on eating while swollen or anything but I just want to let you know people are here rooting for you!!! You can do it!!! Good luck and keep on pushing and things will get better for you!

I have BCBS of NJ and started a 6 month supervised diet before selecting my surgeon just to be safe. I went to 3 different seminars before I found a surgeon that I was comfortable with so by the time that finally happend I was mostly done with my 6 months. I had my first consultation with Dr Bertha on 10/17 and was banded on 11/6 so it all moved very quickly. I had all of my lap work, nutritionist and psych consult done before hand so I didnt have to wait any longer. I would use the last month or so of the 6 months to get everything else together so that ones you get into your surgeons office you will be all set and not have any further delays. I acutally got my approval from the insurance company in less then a weeks time so that was very shocking after having read all the horror stories on here. good luck on your journey

Im glad to be one of the "lucky ones" I feel that as long as I can keep my portions small and stay full then why push for a fill?

I want to fall in love and be comfortable enough with myself to just let it take me where the wind blows. Ok i know that sounds corny but its true. I have been in love before but I dont think I ever gave my all because of my weight and self image issues

lise I was banded on 11-6-07 and still have not had a fill. My weight loss has been moving along so I have not had a fill. I feel like I have enough restriction to keep on pushing along. Im not sure if I would have had more loss with a fill but I am happy so far so why fix it if it aint broke?? good luck!

so glad to hear you are doing better!!! keep pushing through!!!

awww Eileen I hope you are feeling better!!! kat I dont go to DR until July so I have some time to find some Protein. and I found out from a friend of mine that Vitamin Shoppe will take back anything even if it is open and give you a store credit!!! so I am going to stop there one day this week and see what kind of powder I can find and hopefully I will find one I like. diane BKIKING SHORTS!?!?!?! YIKES!!! there is no way that I am wearing spandex of any sorts! I do need to find something lighter then sweatpants for the gym because I sweat my booty off which isnt a bad thing but sweatpants are just to hot and when spring and summer finally decide to show up I will die! dianne I hope you are healing well

amanda keep your keed up!! you are doing great!! I think alot of banders go through the "what did I do to myself" phase. I am 4 months out and feel great. I do eat regular food just not the portions that I was eating before. I am lucky that I have not had a fill yet and I am still losing. Without my band I feel I would just continue to gain weight and that to me is worse then the beginning part of the journey. just remember you are worth all the work and you will see how much it was worth the struggle shortly

the stores have nothing to do with the catalog they are 2 different companies.

You have to read the info on the coupon to see what you cant use the coupon on as is the same with every store that I have every shopped at. I have never had a problem at Lane Bryant I have shopped there for about 12 years and actually worked there for 8 years. I do agree that some stuff is high in price but to me you get what you pay for. Right now I refuse to buy anything that is full price but that is just because it most likely wont fit me in a month but I will not complain about that!!! I will be happy when I dont have to shop JUST there. I cant wait until i cant walk into the mall and be able to shop in more then 1 or 2 stores.

I am glad my addiction transfer didnt lead me to gambling, drinking or smoking. I have found that I do now LOVE to go to the gym - now why couldnt that have happened before surgery??? I have also been reading ALOT lately. It takes up my time and keeps my mind off of wanting to eat just because.

Im not sure if it will help my hair loss but I bought some Biotin today...cant hurt to try it for a bit. oh and I had a NSV...well not quite sure what to call it but I have not weighed myself in 2 days and I am proud of myself. I was addicted to weighing myself. I didnt let it affect me or anything but I wanted/needed to know what that dumb number was. Oh and a girl that I see every day at the gym tapped me on the arm yesterday and told me I was doing really good. We have never spoken before and this is the person I look at to find my footing when I am tripping over my step and trying to keep up so I was shocked and excited when she said that. Its the little things in life that mean so much :-) I hope everyone is doing great. how is abi doing? kat how is that mouth of yours?? Im off to the dentist today...there is so much work to be done in my mouth that I wish I could just start all over again. and if I had the money I surely would!!!

haha diane when I first booked my vacation I too thought about just putting some protein powder in a baggie or some sort of container and then I thought about it hmmm...a powder substance is sure to get me noticed in the airport and not in a good way. my one problem now is that i get my protein through slim fast shakes and I have yet to find a protein powder that I like. I have 3 jugs sitting in my kitchen just collecting dust. but I will have to come up with something because I will be gone 3 weeks and I dont think I can take 3 weeks of slim fast cans with me the suitcase may be just a bit heavy :-) and I am sure it wont be easy to find it on the island and if I do Im sure it will cost a fortune. phewy I will need to start looking for something now...any suggestions ladies????

welcome back Diane!!! Your talk of snorkling has got me thinking that i must try it again when I go on vacation in July. I did it many years ago in Japan but have not since and I remember having a blast even though they scared the crap out of me about getting to close to the coral and if you get cut you can die or something like that. who tells that to an 18 year old?!?!?! did you bring Protein powder with you or did you actually find it there? I will be away for 3 weeks so I am still trying to figure out how to get all my protein in down there. hmmm I guess I will cross that bridge when I get to it. I also new going into this that I would most likely lose some hair so I am not surprised at all. if I have to cut it a LITTLE shorter I will or there is always extentions!!!! :-) have a great day ladies!!!!

kat I hope you feel better soon. In my opinion dental issues hurt more then anything else!! and I have had my fair share of dental problems so nothing fazes me anymore but to me if your mouth hurts it travels to your entire head. Feel better soon and milk it for all its worth :-)

good morning ladies!!!! YAY its friday!!!

hope you are feeling better kat!

its funny how the weather has turned for all of you ladies - nice weather this weekend and now cold and nasty today. its just the opposite here we had nasty cold weather this weekend with some snow and today it is 60 and beautiful and I am hoping it stays this way I am sick of the freezing cold and slushie snow.