Wenjea

Hi girls, I have been very busy playing Grandma to baby Chloeigh since she arrived on the second of April. Mom had to have a c-section so she has needed lots of help since then. They are both doing great now but I can see the recovery from a TT isn't going to be easy. Mer - how is it going? i cant wait to see your new belly and hear about your surgeon. I have been so busy being Grandma that I haven't been paying much attention to what I am eating but the band is still doing it's thing . . . slowly . . . and I am one pound away from an 80 pound loss. We have secure spot on our computer now so the girls can't get on my space but it won't let me change my ticker either. darn! Can't wait to catch up with everyone. Hopefully on the 21st at support group. Till then I will try to get on once in a while. Loss: 79 pounds, 34 to go

Hey everyone, it's been forever since I was on. I have been very busy being a first time Grandma to baby Chloeigh. My daughter-in-law ended up having a c-section so when my son had to go back to work that left me to take care of them both. I'm lovin it!!! I haven't been paying very close attention to my band but it is still working . . . .slowly. I am one pound away from losing 80 pounds! yahoo!! Looking at all the pictures of me with the baby makes me know I want a little work done under my chin. I had a consult and he said I should wait till one year after goal but I'm thinking next fall for my face. If my eye lids and chin get any baggier I will be mistaken for a turkey at Thanksgiving. I need to spend some time reading everyones comments to catch up on what is happening so I'll go do that.

Diamond2008 - The food choices were good this weekend. My sister and her family were up so we went out for Italian. I ate half a breadstick and half of a lasagna. She kept asking me if that was all I was going to eat and I told her I was stuffed. I took the rest home and had it for lunch the next day. We went to my sons house for cake and ice-cream and I asked for a sliver of cake with a small scoop of ice-cream. For me it's got to be about portions size, not feeling deprived. I lost the two pounds that I put on last week so I guess I did okay. If gastric bypass was our only choice I would not have done surgery because of the side effects that come with that. Thank God that the band is available! Good luck on your surgery . . hope it is soon now. Smilin Apple - I have had three fills and my last one was in October. I am really tight in the morning and get looser as the day goes on. A warm Protein drink is all I can get down in the morning. I have oatmeal and yogurt around 10am. I sometimes think I should get another fill but I went through a very long plateau and the nutritionist said it was because I wasn't getting enough calories so my body was going on starvation mode and hoarding calories. She said I've got to eat more to lose more. I am almost nine months into this and my weight loss has really slowed down but it does slowly move in the right direction and I feel that the way I eat now is like a normal thin person so I think I will stay with three fills for now.

Amen. . . to that drug story!

hi everyone, just reading and catching up with everyone, feeling a little guilty cuz I ate some ice-cream this evening. Bad girl!!!! Tomorrow is another day and I will do better. I did get up and go walking this morning when I just wanted to stay in bed. It is such a good thing that I have a walking partner waiting for me and will give me heck if I don't show up.

Mer - exciting news! Glad you are going to a real PS who only does plastic surgery. I feel better now for you. I know your group will get going and it will be great! Thursdays are just really bad for me until Basketball is over cuz it's game night.

mandy Jo - I would love to see before and after picks if I could just figure out how to put them on here. For us computer challenged, we would need help in a big way. Manatee - yea!!! I'm sure if you need a new band that the doctor could have an 'oops' and accidently cut the band and replace it for a very small fee for the two minutes of his time. Is the insurance company going to come in and watch to make sure he doesn't use a new band? Who do they think they are!!!!!

Hey, I really need to be lifted up in prayer today about my food choices. I seem to be playing with how much ice-cream and sweets (chocolate) I can eat without gaining weight. Problem is I can't! I need strength to make wise food choices!!! The scale is going the wrong way!

punkytres - Hi there, I'm a lakewoodite! Come join Sue and me anytime, just give us a heads up so we are looking for you. Mer - not sure about tonight. I will be at Anna's BBall game until about 6pm. Then I have to run the girls home and they have a huge history test tomorrow on the constitution that I really should help them study for. It's not looking like I am going to make it but hopefully sometime soon. Anna always has a game on Thursdays untill the season is over at the end of March. Boo Hoo, hate to miss the group but really can't miss her game.

That makes no sense at all. Wouldn't it be considered a complication of the original band surgery, not a new surgery to treat obesity? Maybe your doc could label it in a way that the insurance would pay for it. Sometimes it's all in how it's billed out. How crazy is it anyway that the insurance company gets to decide on our medical treatment. It will only get worse with socialized medicine!!!

Coltorismom - I don't know anyone who has a band that regrets it. I remember when I asked my doctor about having a hysterectomy and she said she had never been asked to put one back in after the fact. It's kind of the same thing with the band. I think most of us wish we had done it a lot sooner. I think the hardest thing to get past is us thinking we can still do this on our own, that a band is a cop out or something. The truth is that you will eventually hit a place with your band that you have to exercise and eat right also but their is a peace of mind that comes with the idea that I have to try pretty hard to out eat my band. When I am weak, my band is strong and won't allow me to get very out of control. My band is the will power I never had in this area of my life. Now I am focusing on using my will power to get up every morning and go to the YMCA or walk with my workout partner. I highly recommend getting a friend to work out with you. It helps to get up and get going if you know someone is waiting for you. I know we think in are heads that we should of been able to do this with the Lords help and somehow it feels like we are letting God down from lack of faith to opt for a band. But I don't feel like that any more. God gave us a brain and the judgement to know when we need to go to the doctor and when we can self medicate. God gave surgeons the brains to do this operation and someone the brains to come up with the idea of the lapband. I don't see anywhere in the Bible that it says we shouldn't use the tools that God gives us to do good works for Him. I think he says just the opposite. I think my weight was getting in the way of God in my life because I was focusing on it so much. Now it is becoming a non-issue and I can't hide behind it anymore. Faith is putting your beliefs into action . . .I took a step of faith by getting a band because I believed it would help me with my food addiction and my portion control. It is my belief in the band that has helped me to have the faith I need to talk to other people about their weight issues open and honestly. It comes full circle . . this belief and faith thing. Blessings to you and many prayers for you.

Little Debbie - when you go on to the main page on lapband.com just scroll down till you find special Interest Lap-Band Support Groups. Look for Religious Bandsters, then Christian Bandsters. Just click on each of those as you get to them and you will get here. An easier way though is below the reply box is a forum jump box on the lower right hand side. Hit the down arrow and scroll almost to the bottom and you will see us.

Brookings is great! we used to go every summer to this little place on the beach that had a rickety ladder down to the water. It probably isn't even there any more. I can't remember what it was called even . . .maybe the white rock motel or something. I bet it looks sooooo different there then the last time I was there. It was just a little wide spot in the road way back then. My dad had a lot of patients that would come over from Brookings. He was a dentist in Medford and my brother is an orthopedic surgeon there now.

potatie - welcome and congratulations on you decision to band. I think there are threads at the beginning of the site that talks about the actual surgery and recovery. It seems like a distant memory, kind of like labor, once it's over it doesn't seam like it was that bad. . .

makes you wonder if they hit the port? Sometimes it takes a few days for it to 'take effect' or so I've heard from other people. It hardly seems worth $85. for .1 fill. I'd be ticked!

Hi there! I have been lurking on several threads but didn't find this one till tonight, go figure. I am from Washington (the state) and was banded last May. I am a mom of six kids, three daughter-in-laws and two soon to be born grandchildren. My losing is going very slow these days but I figure it is going off the way it went on. I substitute teach at a christian school and I am there this time of year almost eveyday either teaching or doing stuff for auction. I feel so much better about myself even though I still make bad food choices sometimes. I feel like Satan had such a stronghold over this part of my life and with the help of surgery I can get him behind me!!!

mistymoon - I grew up in Medford and still have lot's of family there. I also have a sister who is a teacher in Grant's Pass. Are you from any of those places?

Chuck - welcome and good luck on the insurance thing. I wasn't covered by any obesity surgery on my insurance . . .they would rather pay for all the medicine that I took every month and all the doctor visits I made for those med checks. By the way, the only thing I take now is vitamins. I had to self-pay even though I am saving them hundreds of dollars a month now. You might get some age advice on the age threads that are age specific. I just started reading up on the 50's group and it has been helpful.

another day at the same weight. . . I ate less then 1000 calories and it still doesn't move! THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!!!!

Hi all! I am 52 and was banded almost a year ago. I have hit a serious plateau and am journaling on Fitday in prep to meat with the nutritionist. I workout 5 days a week, drink 1 protein drink in the morning and am eating between 1100 - 1200 cal/day. I know I need to eat more fruits and veggies but those seem to be the things that get stuck. I am very tight in the morning and loosen up as the day goes on. i know it's time to get away from the liquids and mushies and stick to the food that fills me up and stays awhile. Trouble is I just am having a hard time finding what that is that doesn't cause me to PB. I just wanted to introduce myself and say hi. I'm from Tacoma, WA so I saw that there are a few of you from the NW too. I really wanted to be 20 more pounds down by my one year band anniversary but not sure how to kick start this w/o going on a liquid fast. That seems counter productive to the life-style change I'm working on.

Twinmommy - i thought the point of the protein was to get better nutrition in not necessarily to stay in a long time. I usually come home from my morning workouts and have instant oatmeal an yogurt. They stay with me until well in the afternoon. Don't feel bad about the size 18. I am 5'10" and still wearing a 16. I think even at my goal I will still be a size 14. I can't ever remember being smaller then a 13-14, even in highschool! Why does the chocolate go down sooooo easy?

twinmommy - I'm jealous of the fact that you are under 200 pounds. Something my body is really fighting against. I seem to be stuck in teen-land in the 200's. I have been tracking my weight on Fitday for a couple of days and it makes you think twice before putting it in your mouth if you got to write it down. I've never heard that protein drinks go straight to your hips before. I wonder if he is referring to slimfast and drinks like that instead of the hardcore protein drinks which I take. hmmm. . .

My insurance doesn't cover anything to do with obesity surgery in any way so I doubt it but I will check in to what it says about PS. I bet you are so excited about this! I can't imagine a flat stomach with no folds at the bottom.

I keep toying with the idea of getting more fill but i am not sure I want my eating to be any more difficult. I only can get liquid down in the morning and soup at noon. Then it seems to magically open up and if I chew well I can eat most foods by dinner. The stalled weight thing is upsetting so I'm meeting with the nutritionist next week to discuss normal eating for normal people. Isn't that where we all want to be in the end . . . eating like normal weighted people. She told me to journal my food, water, and exercise for three days before I come. The first day i only ate 1100 calories, yesterday was more like 800, so I'm working at getting in 1200 today. On the 'biggest loser' they always are talking about eating more to lose more. So I'm trying to get my mind out of this 'only drink protein and water to lose' mentality.

Mer - will insurance pick up any of it if you are having skin problems such as rashes and such? What did Oh say about that?