Daisalana

Well, I wanted to lose weight & quit smoking to have a kid. I didn't have faith in myself to lose weight & quit smoking at the same time. I've got good restriction and if I don't keep the CRAP in my house, I don't eat it. I feel like I'm in control now.. so now time to stop smoking. We got $800 in cash for Xmas. I told DH we need to order it online, its $105 to buy it at the store with RX and $70 at least for doctor (each) our insurance won't pay for smoking stuff. So.. it's $150 per person if I order it online.. little cheaper. So we were spending Xmas cash to get it, but then he said we need glasses first (his are like 3 years old). so just made an appt. across the street. It's going to be so expensive, YET AGAIN insurance doesn't pay for anything. BCBS sucks. It's $64 per exam, $75 for contact exam for him (he wore contacts when we met, he was so handsome.. then he got wire glasses at some point which I don't like.. and he likes me in glasses, but I wanted to get contacts... so he's getting contacts and I'm staying in glasses.. ah love).. and then my frames are like $120 + LENSES.. which are ridiculously expensive, and I don't know cost of contacts.. in any event, there goes all our Xmas money And we're going to wait till end of January after I get my commission check to buy Chantix. Hopefully I can stop smoking, keep losing weight, and by Xmas 08 I will tell you guys how I'm prego

In Alabama, my doc charges a set amount for self-pays. $15,000 for band, $18,000 for RNY. HOWEVER.. that does not pay for the consultations & psych eval.. (another $250 about). And then the hospital he does it at, jerked me around on both surgeries, and charged above and beyond. It's suppose to include $500 for anesthesia in the $15,000. Doc said I was in and out quickly, and it took 32minutes. The $500 is for 30 minutes. They charged $500 MORE for the extra 2 minutes. So when all was said and done I paid $15,750. And then the revision surgery was another $2,500. Phew. I sure hope I get a good tax deduction

Me and DH decided to get Chantix and give it a whirl. Maybe-hopefully stop smoking. We'd save thousands a year if we could quit. I left a message for my gyno asking her to Rx it for me, 3 days and no response. DH has to go to a clinic to get it, so I guess I'll just go with him.

I hope to reach my goal of 180lb in 2008. I think I should be able to do it. I need to start pushing myself with exercise. I think I've lost enough weight that I can do more than walking. But darn, I'm lazy!! Suzie- Driving in snow terrifies me. We don't get snow down here.. and when I lived in Nashville (where they don't get snow either), class wasn't cancelled for a snow warning.. I go 15m to college.. no windows in the class. Halfway through class they announce school is cancelled. Woohoo! We get outside, and it's like 2ft of snow!? We don't get snow, what is this.. and it happened so quick. And since we don't get snow, no snow plowers or salt. I was shaking and bawling, and my car kept getting stuck.. one hill right in front of the school guys were outside pushing our cars up it. I was calling 911 and my mom trying to find out what to do.. I was terrified!! By time I got to the road I live on, I had seen several 18-wheelers flipped over, watched them almost flip over the overpass on the interstate, and seen myself almost get ran into a dozen times. That was the worst experience of my life, and now if it even DUSTS snow, I'm not getting out of my house. Luckily that was a fluke, and I've not had to drive in snow since. Glad you're ok! CTCFriday for me!

Hey Vi's just checking in before I finish dinner and go to bed. We went to 2 malls today checking sizing of Coldwater Creek so I could get that coat they have 50% off online.. ends up in person I didn't like it very much. Mom told me to check out J Jill too, so I did. I go there, and they have a WONDERFUL leather coat, I can't describe it with justice. $399! GAH. I never buy expensive clothes. It's on sale for $219, but they don't carry their plus sizes at this store. So I just ordered it online, still $249 after taxes & shipping. The most I've ever paid for clothes, I'm going to wear it everyday to make up for it lol. We also went to Steve & Barry's. I heard someone on LBT mention it before.. our store is having a liquidation sale, everything is $8. The store was SO picked apart. I didn't see plus sizes like someone said they had.. it's Sarah Jessica Parker's 'Bitten' line. But, I found 2 XL shirts and 1 XXL shirt, and thought.. for 8 bucks, I'll see how they fit. 1 of the XL was actually a little big on me, her sizing is confusing!!! The other XL fit decent.. and the XXL was too small. HUH?! I don't get it.. but hey, 24 bucks and I will grow into the XXL hehe. I'm making MIL's mushroom casserole (without the crust) and 1/4c of Lloyd's BBQ for dinner. In case you guys missed the thread, the pre-cooked Lloyd's BBQ (It's another brand in other parts of country, forget what) is 70c for 1/4c and 7g of protein! And that stuff tastes awesome. I stocked up on 5 buckets tonight lol. I got the Honey BBQ, Hickory BBQ, and Original. Threw out my stocking candy! TTYL

Who said banders don't lose weight? :cry

Dear so-and-so.. You'll never know how much you impacted my life, even though it was a lot of mind games and I resented you for it. I wish I could have seen the look on your face when my boyfriend answered the phone, the last time you dared to call me. The dynamics of that night made me realize I was going to spend the rest of my life with him.

Yeah that's how it should be.. moms 'being able to' fit into their daughters clothes. My whole life was going to stores, we find something super cute & trendy.. and they don't go plus. But my mom could wear them. I know I cried many times about that. I use to try to squeeze into her clothes when I was younger. Before they had the trendy plus size clothes, I remember getting a pair of her jeans under my belly but couldnt zip them.. and I wore it with a huge sweater over it, so you couldn't see the jeans were closed. Dark days lol.

I don't think it applies to certain ages as far as what everyone else sees. I'm told I look 16 all the time at gas stations/liquor stores. My face isn't looking older/younger IMO.. but under my clothes I definitely look older. My skin was tight and despite being overweight my whole life (or maybe that's why) I don't have many stretch marks. But now.. I do. When I look in the mirror, I have a lot of flubbiness.. and stretch marks. I'd rather that then fat though, so oh well.

Oh oh and we got a new press at work, that allows us to have 24 hour turn times (actually DELIVERED anywhere in the US within 24 hours from the order). Very exciting for us.

I wasn't a big drinker to begin with.. but I have had some alcohol. I am definitely a light weight now. At the inlaws for Xmas, they gave me a glass of wine and on our way out the door I hadn't really touched it, so as not to be wasteful, I drank 1/2 a glass all at once. For the first 30m drive home I was giggly drunk and poking at DH lol.

Hah, this Xmas my mom kept talking about how exciting it is when you have young kids, doing the Santa thing. Kicked in my baby fever. I don't know if ya'll saw my other thread, trying to find out about my nausea. So I got a pregnancy test to make sure, I really would have been surprised if I was prego, I take my B/C same time every night, don't miss them, etc. Anyway, I told DH we needed to get a test and see if that's why I get nausea.. and he wasn't upset or anything, he just says "You probably are, you don't take your BC regularly".. I don't know why he thinks that!!! But then I was a little excited. I'm not prego. Baby fever, boo. I'm back on track with eating good. OJ for b'fast, and we went to Taco Hell for lunch.. It is times like that I appreciate my band. DH got a combo meal + crunchy gordita + meximelt. That's like a month of food for me lol. I saw him take a big bite of something and I said "There's my meal". I got an order of pinto & Cheese, and nacho & cheese. Not that hungry, so ended up not touching the nachos.. figured I'd go for the protein. Ate about 3 bites with fire sauce and I was done. <3 band..need to give it a name. I think mine's a girl, she's fickle and demanding.

Congrats! Come back when you're banded and let us know how it went :eek:

Me and all my humble-ness.. hah.. I'm a great gift giver. I pay attention to what people like, things they don't know where to get (I utelize E-bay and the internet). My mom collects the Painted Ponies. She has about 30 of them in her office on a fancy shelf. Every Christmas I find one that is very fancy looking and retired. I got her Showgirl this year, has a plume of feathers on its head. She loved it. My dad is 6'5 and probably darn near 400lbs now (I worry about him). He wears Hawaiian shirts year round, it's his signature look. He loves Tommy Bahamas.. and he has to wear Large size & Tall Size. I found a retailer on Ebay who sells Tommy Bahama 3xLT. My dad was so excited to get it, he wants to visit the shop online now to get more tall sizes from them. Made me feel good :eek: I got DH a fancy telescope and a personalized gift card to Best Buy to pick out Xbox games. Hum.. One thing I was disappointed.. when shopping for MIL, DH said she use to wear a smell from Bath & Body works that they stopped making. He said it was Strawberry something.. but it was just a strawberry smell. So I finally find Strawberry Patch (retired scent.. such a stupid concept). He said that was it! So I got her hand lotion, hand soap, and a few candles. I expected her to be so happy to get them, since it's suppose to be her favorite scent and they retired it. But no.. she just like called out what they were so we could all know, and said "That's nice". I got to remember his family is different from mine. Mine would gush. His brothers literally complained to his g'mas face about the things she got them. Baffles me. Anyway, so I was most excited about giving her those smelly things, and I don't think she was impressed. I think maybe DH is confused about what she liked.

I can't eat bread anymore, but.. I found bread I was eating till recently that is worth checking out. I like white, not wheat.. so I made a compromise. It's Healthy Life brand. 70 Calories for TWO slices (opposed to 70-110 calories per ONE slice for most brands). It also has 6g of fiber per 1 or 2 slices (forget now). Anyway, this stuff was awesome. There was nothing taste or texture wise to let me know it was a 'special' bread. I even tricked my parents and had them buy it recently (they both need to lose weight). They love it, so that's all they eat now. If you can't take wheat (I can't.. yuck), check it out. I found it at Star Market originally and they have it at Dollar General. And while I COULD eat bread, I made conscious decisions (90% of the time) when I went out to dinner, to skip the dinner rolls they bring out at most places. I don't have carbs in every meal anymore, but I also don't 'count carbs'. I ate things like fruit leather.. 45c per package, and 12 carbs.. but I don't care. Brown rice is a good substitute for white rice, and I use it if I have it around. In a day, as for 'starchy' carbs (bread, rice, pastas), I may have 1/2 a serving if I have any. But in normal foods, like fruit and things.. I don't care about the carbs.

I don't drink CL much if ever, I prefer water.. only CL I like is pink lemonade, and they don't have individual packets around here.. and one day in the fridge makes it taste weird to me. Anyway, me and DH are going to the mall after work. Going to try on clothes in new sizes (wow.) I haven't 'tried on clothes' in years and years. Going to see what's out there for me! I'm excited. Mom got me some sweaters from the mall, size 2x. They're all a little big, and these are from normal stores like Dillard's. Makes me pretty giddy. I think I could actually wear a 1x in the sweater I'm wearing today. A 1x. Me? .... Sniff sniff And in return, going to ditch the stocking candy when I get home.

I have to say, that peanut purse I was bragging about.. it's super small. All I could fit inside was my wallet, hand sanitizer and my cell. Now, my purses are normally like a suitcase. I keep meds, calendar, floss, wallet, etc. etc. Any and everything is in it. It's an endless pit. I put up with it for a week, but I just swapped back to an old bag last night. Bummer. I need a nice leather (or fake leather) purse. The one I've used for months now, the drawstring at the top (which is leather) kept closing on its own and it took forever to open. Anyone know of a good medium-big size leather (or fake) bag in the under $50 range?

I know exactly what you mean. I have lost the size of a kid.. or anorexic adult. It's amazing. If I tried to pick up a 70lb bag of dog food or something, I would kill myself. Yet, it's gone! When I look in the mirror, at a side angle with my stomach held in.. I SEE A NORMAL PERSON. It amazes me, I run around the house more in just panties & tank top.. I think I look fantastic!! Then I see pics, and I'm nothing like what I think I see. I have a bad body image (forget the spelling.. dysmorphic??). But every once in a while, I can see it. If you look in the last couple pages of B&A Pics, I have my Xmas 05 and Xmas 07. It's a HUGE difference. If I just looked at Xmas 07, I am not as normal looking as I think I am, but in comparison, I think I look amazing.

I have not been sick since I got the band (a miracle, I think it has to do with the vitamins I take now). I caught everything going around last year, colds, flus, strep, etc. etc.. This year, nothing! That being said, I don't have allergies either. But at the in-laws on Christmas night, I was having allergies to something.. felt horrible, and never figured out what it was.. my nose itched incessantly, and my eyes were puffy and watery and sinuses hurt.. That lasted about 6 hours till we left and got some benadryl from the gas station. Anyway, it didn't do anything to my band. I had dinner that night. Since I am a smoker, I have flem in the morning (yuck, right?) and despite the fact I can't even get liquids down in the mornings, I have no problem with the flem. heh heh.

When restriction is there, you'll know.. So just keep getting those fills. There's no way in hell I could eat a kids meal. I have tried :eek: DH gets me kids meals when he doesn't know what else to get me. Last one was about 2 weeks ago.. a McDonald's kids meal (Chicken nuggets & Fries). I started on the fries.. Ate half the bag (and let's be honest here, pre-band that little bag didn't even count as 1 bite of appetizer!!). and then started PBing. Mooshy fries do not agree with my band. So after 30m of spitting up goopy chunks of potatos, I tried to eat a teeny tiny bite of 1 chicken nugget. Yeah right. So that was that. If you feel your band 'isn't working' you're just not restricted enough, fill fill fill. And be patient. I know it sucks, took 5 months for them to realize why my fills weren't helping.. I thought the band wasn't going to work for me.. ends up they just couldn't get in my port. Since they have, it's the bandster's life for me!

Hopefully you post that on a bypass forum too so you can get both sides of the story. This forum I think would mostly be bias. For me, I wanted RNY, but everyone in my fam is against it, has been for years. Last year I put my foot down, I'm doing it with or without them. While researching, I found the Lap-Band. It was so much less invasive, it's reversible if ever I needed it out, and it's not as dangerous (re: malnutrition). Big bonus-- all my fam was on board with the band. So I got the band. I'm not the perfect bandster, I didn't make this a diet.. I still eat whatever I want, just very little of it. Right now, I'm so restricted I have very limited things I can even eat. I don't think about food like I use to (that's a big one for me). But there are bad days, and somehow chocolates go down with no problems.. hrmph. And I admit I'm lazy, I don't exercise near like I should, or most people around here say they do.. but I am still losing steadily. I have had days where I said "I should have just done RNY, I'd be skinny by now".. but then it passes, and I'm excited that I've come this far. Last week I hit the 250's.. first time in my life since I started doing diets I ever went past 260's. Woohoo. And it's all thanks to the band, I have no will power for dieting.

Until I got good restriction (5 months post-op), I could eat basically anything without problems. I ate bread.. and I was still losing weight. I still eat rice now and lose weight. Don't go overboard on carbs, and you should eat protein first, then veggies, then little carbs if you still can eat.

Nope. If you don't need a fill (and it sounds like you don't), don't get one! Fill is only to keep you restricted. If you're eating 1k calories a day and losing weight steadily, hold off on the fill :eek: My doc didn't think I would need a fill, he put the smallest band in and said it was snug. It ends up I did need a (small) fill, but it's perfectly fine not to need one!

My mom put candy in our stockings. Reese's, Kisses, Rolos, and Dove Caramel. I have been feeding Rolos to DH cause I don't like those enough to splurge on them. And I've been eating some of the others, but in a controlled way. One of each, that's it.. etc. Last night I was in bed, I had my one of each.. then I was almost asleep.. DH spilled ashtray on the bed, so we had to vacuum the bed, I was wide awake and stressed about him spilling the ashtray (I had filled it with pins I took out of one of his dress shirts). So then I ate like 3 more kisses and 2 more reese's. Now I'm feelin guilty, and I think maybe I should throw out the rest because I'll keep doing this.. or.. I'll eat them all at once and get it over with. I hate not knowing what to do in these instances. I should be able to enjoy them in moderation, it's just that me & moderation don't get along :eek:

What a bummer, with the fickleness of the band I have found it's important to be able to get in on a whim. Luckily, my doc can I just have to drive a long ways. I would find a new fill doc if I was you :eek: What happens if you're too tight and need to go back for an unfill, they make you wait a month again??