jetti

Michaele - it was great to finally meet and chat with you...we must do it again with anyone else who is interested. Betty - lots of hugs and prayers for you!!

Donna that is exactly what happened to me while on vacation but mine came out instead of passing but it was not that bad.

Hey ladies!! I have not been on in a minute so I just wanted to swing by and say HI!!!! Had a great but busy weekend with the yard sale. the weather was PERFECT!!! sunday we didnt have that many customers so that was a downer but all in all it went good. and since the weather was good I got some more color - my vacation tan was fading and I was not a happy camper about that!! YAY Betty - Congrats and good luck with your surgery. Can I have whatever the take from you? I am in serious need of some boobs. I have always been small and im getting smaller and smaller - pretty soon they will go in :-( Trish - No distance is too far for me to travel if you would like to meet up one day. I enjoy driving so I would have no problem driving down your way or even meeting half way if youre interested. Have a great day chicas!!!

I did my 6 month diet with my PCP before I went to my surgeon because I knew that it was required. if you have not done that yet then I am sure you will have to wait. I was not sure what surgeon I wanted to use so during that time is when I did my 6 months as well as my psych and nutritional evaluation so that when I finally picked a surgeon I had everything all set

Are you happy with your decision to be banded? I am 9 months out and couldnt be happier Do you have any regrets and if so what are they? the only thing I regret is dont doing this sooner Would you do it again if you had the choice to make over? I would do it again in a heartbeat What are some of the physical difficulties you've faced post op..such as diet, health? the most difficult thing was the recovery period and that wasnt even that bad. I dont feel like I am on a diet - I can still eat most foods and I just dont crave the junk food like I used to Did you have any complications and what was the outcome? no complications Do you feel better or worse now compared to pre banding? I fell 100% better. my scale is going down instead of up for the first time in years. I have more energy and I actually ENJOY working out! Did you tell people you were having or had the surgery? I only told a few close friends and family but my mom seems to be telling everyone she comes in contact with!! I think she is happy at how good im doing but im gonna kick her butt! :-) How did your friends and acquaintances react? my friends that knew/know about the band are very supportive. those who dont know just ask how im losing and I just tell them I am eating better and exercising which is true How hard was it for you to stay on the pre and post op liquid diets? I didnt have to follow a pre-op diet - just liquids the day before surgery and the post-op was not as bad as I thought it would be. for the first few days I didnt even wont to think about eating or drinking anything but you have to make sure you get your liquids in How hard has it been for you to learn new eating habits? I was petrified of harming my band in the beginning so I kept my portions small and chewed and chewed my food. I have pretty much stuck with that and all has gone well. My eating habits are not perfect - I still enjoy ice cream and chocolate but not in the quanities that I ate before band How do you overcome eating temptations or do you even have them anymore? I have not had fast food or potato chips in 10 months and I am completely fine with it. I will sometimes get a craving for it but its last about 5 mintues and then im over it. my biggest weakness is chocolate and I do have some a few times a week but instead of having a huge candy bar I stick with the 100 calorie versions which are the perfect size for getting rid of that craving. Why do you think this surgery was successful when so many other dieting attempts failed (assuming you are like me :biggrin: in this regard) I am just like you in this regard. I have dieted for most of my life without success and I have finally found the tool that will help me succeed in losing weight. For me the band changed my mental state more then anything. For me when I was dieting there were no consequences to me not sticking to it - except for gaining weight and clearly that was not a big enough deal for me!! but now with the band I know that if I eat too much or all the wrong things I can possibly damage my band. For me when dieting I never noticed a change I would get discouraged but because I saw results right away with the band - as the result of the post-op diet - I knew that I needed/wanted to keep that weight off. alot of people feel that they are on a diet with the band but I dont feel that is the case. Yeah I am not eating as much food but that is because I cant. I hope I have answered your questions...if you have anymore feel free to ask. im not an expert but I can offer you my opinion good luck

Horizon BCBS of NJ

aronson - I had my first visit with my surgeon on Oct 19th and my paper work was submitted a few days later and I found out I was approved about 4 days later.

Hey everyone!! I just wanted to let you all know that this weekend I will be having a yard sale. We have lots of goodies for sale but the bulk of our items will be plus size clothing range in size from 18-26 and XL-3X. If anyone is interested come on by. Saturday (8/16) & Sunday (8/17) 9am - 5pm Belleville NJ 07109 If you would like more info please PM me

Jamie - I live in Essex County so we can always meet up since we are not that far from each other. I am always looking to find someone to chat with especially about this little band friend of ours. To all the NJ ladies here I just wanted to put the word out that my best friend and I are having a yard sale at my house this weekend if anyone is interesting in coming by. We have a bunch of stuff to sell but mostly clothes. We have a HUGE selection of plus size clothing from 18-26 and Xl-3X. the info for the sale is - Saturday (8/16) and Sunday (8/17) 9am - 5pm Belleville NJ 07109 Send me a PM if you would like more info

welcome Jaculin and Jamie!!! Jamie - I am acutally planning to get together with Michaele next saturday the 23rd if you would like to join us...the invite is open to all of you lovely ladies. we will be meeting for coffee/lunch somewhere down near her in Howell. have a great day all!!

Donna - I knew something wasnt good right away. It felt like something was stuck in my throat and I would get a sharp pain in my chest/back. It didnt last long but it was long enough for me to learn my lesson!! it took me 8 months to have my first PB and I dont plan on having another one!!

YAY Betty!!!!

PB, slime and things getting stuck is not something that I know much about but I had my first and only PB during vacation and I was not a happy camper!!! We were only awake to eat lunch and dinner so when we went to eat lunch we were usually STARVING to put it lightly. well I was eating some chicken and white rice and I must have not chewed the chicken enough or had too big of a piece so it got what I guess is stuck. I tried to sip some water to see if it would pass but that was not helping. I got up and went to the bathroom and up came the chicken and water. it was not that bad since it seems the food that came up was in my throat and not further down so it didnt hurt or take much effort and all was good after that. I think I am somewhat spoiled since I dont have a fill I have more lead way then most bandsters but I took that PB as a lesson learned and made sure I chewed my food and made sure that nothing was very dry. I thought Karolina was going to pass out from worry as I was sitting in the chair squirming trying to be cool, calm and collected. She was like "is there some sort of procedure I should know about if something gets stuck?" she is the best!!! No procedure just gotta let it pass or get rid of it.

give it time and it will get better. Im a side/stomach sleeper so for the first 1 1/2 I slept on the couch to keep myself from rolling over and causing pain. After the when I moved onto my bed I would sort of lay on my side with a pillow under my side/back to keep myself supported and stable

I also used Dr Bertha - 973-410-9700. I had attended seminars for 3 different surgeons before I decided on Dr Bertha.

I have gotten this far without a fill and I am determined to continue on this path. I dont think a fill right now will help with my chocolate and pretzel addiction since I dont do it when I eat my meals its when im home with nothing to do at night. I stepped up my willpower last night and only had about 5 pretzels which is an OK snack. just gotta keep telling myself I can do this..GRRRRR!!!

they may be too old to put up for adoption but you can still kick their butts :-)!!! good luck on your journey Di you are going to do great and then you can say "I told you so"