phyllser

Forgive me.... I saw it in yours & pasted it in to mine, too. Not only a favorite of mine but so appropriate for this journey we are on!! I should've asked you first if it was okay! sorry. I wanted to ask.... anyone been to the fair?? We went on Saturday with our daughter and her family. I ate FAIR FOOD!! I was extremely cautious, but I did have a few bites of a funnel cake, one scone and some BBQ from the Young Life booth. They were very kind and allowed my husband to persuade them to give me only the meat, no bun. They put it in a little styrofoam cup and let me have both cole slaw and beans instead of one or the other. So I had these three little cups.. probably held about 1 cup each. I had maybe 1/2 of each. My patient hubby, who is trying so hard to "HELP" me, watched me eat and sat patiently by until I was finished and then he ate the rest. A big sacrifice on his part because he's one of those people who has to have his food HOT!! I was satisfied but not FULL and uncomfortable. we were there for 5+ hours, so I think I did okay!? I had my first fill last MOnday.

Travel agent just emailed me some great rates for a 4-day to Baja out of Los Angeles.... $300-350, in April. She's still looking for better rates on Holland America to Alaska, but would have to be May or September. Thoughts anyone????

Welcome!! You'll find lots of support here. Its a great place for learning. Where did you have your surgery?? I had mine at Virginia Mason in Seattle, Dr. Hunter, July 20th.

Hi, Wasn't it Lynette that was keeping running stats of our numbers? I, for one, haven't remembered to send her mine in a LONG time. We were supposed to email her every Friday! Maybe it was Laurend!? Who remembers??? Laurend, Lynette, are you out there today??? Remind us who we're supposed to email that info. I think it was Laurend. And she's very busy now with school now. But it would be interesting now that we're pretty much two months out from surgery, to see the actual numbers as to how we're all progressing. I tell you what... if one of MY friends/relatives that made that comment, "Don't you wish you would've MADE her do this sooner???" I would NOT have kept my mouth shut!! Talk about LIVID!! That person would've gotten an earful I'm afraid! That was downright RUDE!! I have to confess I ate FAIR FOOD yesterday! I had a scone! And part of a Funnel Cake... not too much. And my DH, again exerting his control, persuaded the Young Life people to give me BBQ beef without a bun and then let me have beans AND coleslaw instead of one or the other since I wasn't having the bun or the drink that was included with their "Meal Deal"! Then he watched me eat some of it and when I knew it was time to quit, he had what was left for his dinner! I think I ate about 1/2 of each and probably a cup or 1 1/2 cup of food! More than I've had since the fill! But didn't feel uncomfortably full. I think when we are in social situations, it's easier to ignore signals our band is sending us that we've had enough. Because this morning, a couple of bites of breakfast and I was feeling full already. Yesterday it seemed like I could eat and eat and not feel full! What's that about??

Uh, there should've been a period after the word pizza in that last post! That was dinner last night and then I had another piece for lunch today, thin crust, VERY thin, and a few veggies, Italian sausage. NO greasy pepperoni and not too much cheese. It was my first since surgery. I don't eat pizza very often, just when DH can't stand it anymore and HAS to have some! :pizza:

Sounds like you're right on target. I had my first fill last Monday and things are going very well. Able to eat like one small piece of pizza, one egg and a spoonful of potatoes for breakfsat this morning & a little shaved ham. Tried 1/2 sandwich and a cup of soup yesterday at one of our favorite lunch places.. hadn't been there in at least a year. I managed to eat the insides of the 1/2 sandwich and 1/2 of the cup of soup before I was full. DH is gaining weight eating my leftovers!

Glad you're back!! Happy Healing! You're on your way now! :whoo: :pizza:

Well, that blouse story made me laugh out loud!! Even got a grin out of my DH!! Yeah, time to retire those clothes!! My bras are getting roomy & some shirts I have are threatening to fall off my shoulders so I will be a lot more careful since I read your story!! You're doing gREAT!!

Don, I've been on Medicare for 5 years (disability). They paid for my surgery and from what my doctor's office told me, very easy to get approval. They don't require psych consult or documented previous weight loss attempts. I was told that they won't pay for the initial dietary consult my doctor required, but so far I've not been billed for that either! As for spouse's weight loss.... mine isn't losing with me because he eats everything I can't eat! If we go out to eat, he eats his meal and then finishes mine so his little pot belly is growing! I think he's gained 10 lb. while I've lost my 36!! :omg:

:hungry: I vote YES, too!! :hungry:

Hi, All, I'm doing great and pleased with this first fill. I'm not getting too hungry, feel full after a small amount. Could probably stand to be a bit tighter, but go back Oct. 8th for another adjustment. Chim... I don't know how you can work that many hours!! You must have a lot of stamina!! Ruby... You're doing great with the exercise... congrats on outlasting the skinnies!! IndioGirl (Janet).. you, too! Doing great with the exercise! I'll ask about a west coast cruise next time I talk to that travel agent. I didn't like the Holland America prices on the Alaska cruise in August. $1100--1200+. That's no air fare. Too much. Norwegian goes out of Seattle, too, and a lot less, but probably would have to be May/early June or September. Jackie.. glad things are going better for you. Denise... hang in there... it will get better. Dini... glad to have you back. We miss you when you're among the missing. Marcy... that WAS an impressive anniversary celebration your hubby cooked up!! Donna... WELCOME. Okay... that's all the names I can remember for now. I'm old, don't forget! Compared to most of you, anyway!!

Surgery July 20, first fill this past Monday, down 36 lb.

That short cruise to Catalina and Ensenada sounds like something to consider. Anyone else have thoughts on that?? I think April/May or Sept might be a good idea, too. Prices are always higher in the summer months.

Hi, Chloe, How's it going??

sORRY TO HEAR OF YOUR BAND PROBLEMS juDY AND cLARA. Hope things start looking up for both of you. I had my first fill yesterday and restriction seems to be a little better.

Well, he did say my port was deep, but I thought I could feel it not too far under my skin. They told me on the phone they'd been "having some problems", I assume finding the port. So the fluoroscopy is a precautionary measure, I guess. I was on that hard table 15-20 minutesand much of that was the doc trying to find the right spot. I seem to be doing better today. Supposed to be on liquids, but no milk in the house to mix a protein drink so I had 1/2 cup of cottage cheese for breakfast. Was starting to feel hungry about mid-morning but ignored it. Around noon I went out for a ride on my scooter and got a latte. I took 1/2 scoop of protein powder in a little cup in my pocket and asked the gal to put it in my latte. That was an hour ago and I still don't feel hungry, so that should hold me for a while. It didn't dissolve very good, though. CRUISE :update: I also talked to the local travel agent while I was out. Because of the hurricane danger she recommended Alaska or the Mexico. She agreed that Mexico would be very hot and humid in August. I asked her about Hawaii. She said at that time of the year you have two options... round trip flight to Honolulu and cruise the islands for 7 days or board in San Diego and go over and back. She said either of those is pricey and the San Diego round trip cruise would be 14-15 days. Turn around cruises in April or September are a good bargain, but everyone seemed to want to go in August. She will have prices for me tomorrow. She highly recommended Holland America out of Seattle to Alaska.

I was attending a seminar once when the speaker brought up the topic of disapproval and people making derogarotry comments about us or to us. She said, "See that sign at the back of the room... big RED lit-up letters that say EXIT?? Well, when you experience something like that EX-IT out!" I always remembered that though it was probably 20 years ago. EX IT OUT!! Irrelevant!! Does NOT apply to you!! Don't let it get you down. You have lots of reasons to feel good about yourself!! You're doing GREAT!! PERFECT, as my 5 yr old granddaughter described her first day of kindergarten!! :music: I CAN'T hear you!!

Well, nice to see you drop in again! We're missing a lot of our "old timers"! Don't know of a lot of news except I re-introduced the cruise idea and think I will go talk to a local travel agent today about our options. We're thinking Alaska or I thought I might see about Hawaii. Anyways, wondering who might be interested for next year... August, probably. I had my first fill yesterday. Liquids today and I'm hungry! I hope this fill is going to do something! But, regardless, I have another appointment for Oct. 8th and I'm SURE I will need another "hit"! 3cc in yesterday in a 10cc band.

HI, Everything went very well today. I was surprised at how long it took, though, because most of you have said you were in and out in just a few minutes. The doctor took me to x-ray to do it under fluoroscopy. He seemed to have a lot of difficulty placing the needle. I think he rolled that x-ray thing back over my stomach 4-5 times checking the placement before he got it right. Jackie, I have a 10cc band, also, and he put in 3cc. He wants me to come back in four weeks, so I have another appointment for Oct. 8th. I weighed exactly the same as I did when I was there on August 7th, so I was definitely READY for this fill!! I hope this jump starts my weight loss again!! I have to be on liquids the rest of today and tomorrow. Wed. I can have mushy and then slowly progress back to normal.

Wow!! Its so quiet around here lately. Where is everyone?? :eek: I'm getting ready to leave for my FILL appoinment!! I am a little apprehensive, but so curious as to how I will feel afterwards, and how my body responds to food! This will be a new experience. Tomorrow I am hoping to go talk to a travel agent about our cruise next summer. I've only heard from a few. Wish Dini would chime in again with her count. I agree with what Indiogirl said about the heat and humidity in Mexico at that time of year. We've gone on an Alaska cruise twice...in the May/June time frame, and we'd go again in a heartbeat. The first one there were some days when it was a little drizzly, but the second one we had an absolutely gorgeous week and people were in the pools every day. How do others feel about Alaska?? I know there are quite a few that leave out of Seattle now. In the past you had to leave out of Vacouver BC. We flew to Seattle and had to take a charter bus to Vancouver. It was miserable! Hope everyone is having a great day!! I will report back on my big adventure of the day this evening when we get home.

Ah, you sparked my interest on two fronts! I was banded in July under Medicare and found the process to be so simple it was scarey! My doctor's office took care of any approval I needed. I didn't have to have a psych consult, produce records of weight loss attempts or anything. I was told I'd have to pay the initial dietary consult... I think about $200, but I have yet to get a bill and that took place in early July. My DH is retired military so Tricare is my secondary. One EOB that came from them indicated that I may have to pay about $200 of the surgeon's fee, but, so far I think that's all I'll have to pay and it was, as I said, effortless. We spend the winter in Desert Hot Springs CA and have, for the past three winters, spent at least one whole day in Quartzsite, so I'm sure we'll be going again this winter. It would be great for some of us to get together there. Sounds like fun.

I'm so sorry to hear of these problems you're having. I hope this regimen your doc has you on will fix the problem. Clear liquids for that long would be a real challenge. I think your fish chowder sounds great! I love seafood! I had some really good chowder on the WA coast a few weeks ago. It was tomato based, kind of Italian seasoning, with all sorts of seafood in it. It was just a little tiny cup, but it came with my dinner, so I couldn't eat more than a couple of bites before passing it on to my DH because my dinner was coming, too! I had just moved from the mushy stage to soft food so I wasn't pushing anything and was being very cautious about how much I was eating. But I keep thinking of that chowder and wondering about trying to make some. It had to be low cal being tomato based and all seafood. If I find the right combination of seafood at the grocery store I'm going to give it a try. I have a VG band and I'm finally getting my first fill tomorrow. I'm a little apprehensive and hope everything goes smoothly! It'll be under fluroscopy, so should go okay. I know Oklahoma well.... just moved back to WA after 15 yrs in OK. Yeah, not much in the way of seafood there, but they sure know how to do BBQ!! Another favorite of mine.

Speaking of expensive, it dawned on me the other day that I was never told how many fill or what period of time is included in my surgery "package". I'm Medicare, so I'm not expecting great things. But I've been thinking that if this is the best "service" I get from this clinic, I may switch to a local fill center when I get to where I'm paying out of pocket.

Its been a while since anyone has mentioned our July 07 Bandster cruise for next summer. I know Dini hasn't been around too much lately and she was keeping a list. Also, there have been newbies join us here since last we spoke of this. So I've been thinking about it and hope to get a chance to go talk to a travel agent who is in the neighborhood and get some suggestions from her about next summer... August time frame, right?? And we don't want to go to any hurricane vulnerable areas. I need to have an idea of how many might be interested.

Hi, Don't think I posted an update on this thread about my fill. When I called back yesterday I shed a few tears and got all emotional about how badly I need a fill before my trip to NY later this month. I was called back a little later and told they managed to fit me in for this Monday afternoon!! I am very happy about that!!