kirajh

Okay, let's check out the memory today. Peaches - I have to admit that when I saw you went to McD's, I was jealous. I LOVE big Macs and I haven't had one since I was banded. Your little survey?? I'm married,34 years. Three kids, one still at home. I do the cooking. Sometimes I will cooks just for DH (daughter is usually out or working) and I will have a lean cuisine. Other times I just cook some of our favorites and I eat a little. Once in a while Hubby cooks. Karri - We don't have cable or dish or tivo either. Hubby squeaks something terrible. Linda (?) or Ruby(?) - You know, I just realized after reading your post about waking up and the saliva...........since My band, I've noticed that I drool while sleeping. Never thought it was the band (I use a C-pap for sleep apnea). I wake up in the morning with dried saliva coming from the corner of my mouth. Janet - fish, rice and veggies...........I don't like fish,. don't like rice and can handle some veggies. I'm fixing dh fish tonight and he is eating by himself. I am finding that since my last fill, a lean cuisine fills me up nicely. Has anyone seen that commercial on TV for Pure Weight Loss Clinics? (I think it used to be LA weight loss) Anyway, the one where a girl is standing with an orange bikini and says that she has lost 61 pounds and has gone from a size 22 to a size 4. Okay now, can anyone tell me how she did that??????????????? I am right around the 60 pound mark..........I started out wearing a size 22.......and I am still wearing a size 22. So................... I HAVE TO GO START DINNER NOW. HUBBY SHOULD BE HOME AS SOON AS HE FINISHES VOTING. DON'T EAT TOO MUCH. WE LIKE TO SEE THAT SCALE MOVING DOWN. kARI BANDED 7-16-07 dR. Ortiz lost 60 lbs almost halfway to goal.

I would love to get together sometime. There are others too that are in the area. Don't know about you, but I sure could suse a support group.

Dini - You look fantastic. Karri - I'm glad you're able to eat again. I don't get e-mails either, anymore. Used to get a lot of them but not anymore. I just check in here everyday. I need the encouragement I find here, even if I don't post. I see more responses here today than I saw all weekend. Hope noone overdid the liquid calories this weekend.

I had my surgery this past July, by Dr. Ortiz. I have to wholeheartedly agree with the statements made here. It was a great experience and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, if I had to.

Krista I was banded in Mexico and Hillsdale was the closest and the cheapest for fills. That is, doctors willing to do it for outside patients. I really like them there. You and Lisa must be closer to me than I thought. Where are you from? I am about 13 miles north of Chelsea, right next to Stockbridge in Gregory. Kari

Things are super quiet here this week-end. Must be a bunch of bummed out football fans. My daughter came down this weekend with her kids and since there was a housefull, I ordered pizza. My dh dished up all the plates and hands me one with two pieces of pizza and two breadsticks. I ate one breadstick (it was small, about 1X3) and then started a piece of pizza. I couldn't finish it. Ended up in the bathroom sliming. I was eating slow, chewing small bites well, and still............................. I made dh eat the other bread stick and piece of pizza. Then, he and my two yr old GS cleaned us out of cookies, thank God. Got on the scale this morning and am down about 3 or 4 pounds more. YEA!!!!!!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEK, I'VE GOT TO GET BACK TO PEDALING. REALLY BEHIND TODAY. Kari

Hi Lisa I get my fills down in Hillsdale. Are you close by?

I did. I called every bariatric group within a 100 mile radius of Gregory, including Grand Rapids cause my daughter lives there. I found 5 willing to do fills for outside patients.....out of about 30.

Janet, I'm afraid to stop eating when I hit full now cause it isn't much and I am afraid my sugar levels will bottom out. Get light headed and the SHAKES. In fact, that's how the Legionaires was discovered. Levels bottomed out and I was too weak to do anything. Hubby came home from work and found me on the floor, almost comatose.

I've already done my pedaling for the day. 95 minutes and 24 miles. HAVE FUN

WELCOME NEIGHBOR!! I live in Gregory, right on the border of Livingston and Ingham counties. I was banded 8-16-07 in Mexico and go to Hillsdale for my fills. I'm very happy with them.

Talk with your doctor. He may be able to help you with the supervised diet or write a letter to the insurance company as to why it is so important for you to lose weight. My insurance co changed it's policy last winter and I didn't need the diet, so maybe yours won't either. Call them and ask. What can it hurt? I know exactly what you mean about your back. Mine was where I couldn't walk from my front door to my car in the driveway. The only shopping I could do was in stores where they have the electric carts. My left knee is so bad, I have to have it replaced. BUT I have lost almost 60 pounds since I've been banded and Though, the one knee is still really bad,. I can walk a lot further and even handle stores if I have a cart I can lean on. Also, because of my knees, exersizing is hard for me. I have an exersize bike and that is working great for me. It doesn't hurt the knee too much and the other one has improved greatly and it doesn't hurt my back. I try to pedal an hour in the morning and another hour at night. I am pedaling my way down to the Riviera Maya.

I'm back. Phone was out and no phone, no computer. Janet - I went with a friend to a womens retreat and we stayed at a motel. I was susceptable because I was a smoker. Funny thing, I remember nothing of the first four weeks. Jackie- that really sucks that people with insurance have to pay more. That's part of the problem with health care today. Those with have to pay more to make up for those without. Karri - Get some taken out if it is making you feel sick. Just think though, the scale should move down some. But health is more important. I'd help you with grading but I flunked Chemistry the first time around and that was forty years ago. Big help I'd be. I finally have restriction. Feels great. Only thing, I fill up so quickly and being diabetic, I am afraid to just quit eating when I am full. I have got to work on that. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT LADIES. DON'T EAT TOO MUCH. WE WANT THOSE SCALES TO MOVE DOWN.....DOWN.........DOWN.

I have BCBS but I don't know if it is a PPO or not. It is through Teamsters. For approval, you have to have a BMI of 40 or 35 with comorbidities. Letter from your doctor, letter from a surgeon and a psychological evaluation. I can't tell you how easy it was to get approved because I flunked the psych. evaluation so I didn't even submit it to insurance. Went to Mexico instead. The clinic I first went to said that BCBS required the supervised diet and were giving me a hard time cause mine didn't. GOOD LUCK...............HOPE IT ALL WORKS OUT FOR YOU,

Janet - I had Legionaire's disease. I was hospitalized for 6 weeks and then spent 2 weeks in rehab regaining my strength. My kidneys shut down for three weeks and had to have dialysis 3X per week. My doctors told me that it was a miracle I lived. Anyway, that is when I quit smoking. I still miss it so-o-o-o much. that is when I gained an additional 60+ pounds.

Also, my port is located on the left side, halfway between my boobs and belly button.

I read something here once about being too tight. Thing is, with my memory, I can't remember whether they said to drink something hot or maybe it was cold. Any way, the person was doing one and someone suggested she do the other and it worked. I am a big help aren't I? Barium swallow??? I think I had that before. I had been hospitalized and on the vent for three weeks and had to have a swallow test before they would stop the feeding tube and let me eat. It wasn't too bad. Ruby - dean of Middle school. You deserve a medal. I have to agree with Karri on this one. I was a substitute teacher for a few years and I have to admit that the best place to sub at was the high school. Karri = $300. for a fill is ridiculous. Get a list of all the bariatric doctors within a so-many mile radius and start calling. It may take a while but that is what I did and I found 6 different doctors who would do fills and the amount charged differed from $110. all the way to $350.00.

I'm not sure where in Ohio you are but there is Barix Clinic in Ypsilanti, Michigan. I go to Hillsdale Surgical Group in Hillsdale Michigan. Both these places aren't far from Toledo.

i WAS AT PLATEAU FROM THANKSGIVING TILL THE NEW YEAR. i DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS TIME OR WHAT, BUT I INCREASED MY CALORIES FOR ABOUT A WEEK AND DOUBLED MY EXERSIZE BIKE TIME. THE POUNDS HAVE STARTED DROPPING AGAIN.

Whirlwinds Feb.10 is my birthday too. Except I am 10 years older than you. Kari

Janet your signature is right there. Under your post near the bottom. DUH. lol

Busy day here. If I am reading, I;m not eating so it is a good thing everyone is chatty today. Okay, let me start with the fact that I have lousy short term memory. (I do get brain farts once in a while) so when I go to post here, I can't remember who to post to...........DUH Okay, the lost posts. I am so famous for those. I just discovered a little arrow after the word go in my address part here. If you press the arrow, it will show where you've been and you can go back to that post. Most the time anyway. Size 12 pants. What are those. I am still in my size 20 bendover elastic waist pants. And they still fit, except for the ones where the elastic has died. Take a deep breath and they fall down. They used to stay up good, even with the elastic. I'm still trying to find where those 56 pounds have gone. I still see them on me. I guess you can say my goal is to get rid of those elastic waistbands. I hate having no waist, no hips and no butt....and lots of belly fat. Pants with waistbands just don't fit right. On getting de-railed. My dh keeps buying cookies and chips. Oh yeah, even though I tell him not to......he still buys the jewish rye bread. i am working so hard to ignore those things. Man, do they scream loud. Dh drives a semi making local deliveries so he gets lots of exersize. He is retiring the end of the month and I keep telling him he better watch out with all his junk food. He is going to find what I lose. LOL Okay, it is a boring Sunday here. Not much to do but sit and watch the snow melt. Real exciting. So, ENJOY YOUR DAY AND DON'T OVEREAT LADIES. TTYL. Kari banded 7-16-07 lost 56, lots to go to goal pedaled 730 miles since 12-4

Janet Pschological or physical? I've asked myself that question many times. And as Karri says, did I spend 17000$ for a mindset? I've questioned that too. In fact, I was getting frustrated at feeling no restriction. I have to admit that psychologically, the band has been great for me. It has given me the impetus to control my eating. Before the band I would look at where I wanted to be and said "NO WAY!" AND JUST KEPT ON EATING. Now, with the band and til yesterday, no restriction, I've basically done it on my own and I feel good about it. My problem, is, I want proof. When I was pregnant, with my youngest daughter, there was a hypnotist in our office building and she offered to hypnotise me so I could quit smoking. RIGHT!! Afterward, I lit up, thought I was going to hurl, so I put the cigarette out. Problem solved, right? Wrong. I had to try it again to see if it still made me sick. Then again and then again till I was back to a pack a day by days end. Losing weight is the same for me. Prove it to me. Okay, this is my book for the day. Hope you all have a good weekend. Mine is going pretty good. The weather is above freezing and the 12 inches of snow we got last weekend is melting. Yipee!! TALK TO YOU ALL LATER.

Baked Potatoes aren't fattening. It is what you put on it that gets us in trouble.

Went to thre doctors today. Officially I lost 7 lbs last month. Total of56 pounds. The doctor put .4cc in my 10-12cc band, making a total of 8.2cc. I think I have arrived. Started feeling lightheaded on the way home so I stopped at Quiznos (never been) and ordered one of their Sammys. 2nd to the last bite, I thought I was going to die. Started PBing. That I could handle. Then I started to slime. Never could exactly imagine what that was like. (wasn't sure there was such a thing) Now I know. The sliming went on for pretty close to 1/2 hour. Kept leaning out the car door, spitting. Had a bowl of chicken noodle soup for dinner and that went down fine. Later, I had a bottle of water. Found out, I can no longer guzzle it down. And I love water. I am hoping that this is as bad as it gets. I do not want an unfill. I've started an evening round on my exersize bike and that has helped get things going again. So far, since Dec. 4, I have pedaled over 750 miles. Just about 1/2 way to the Texas border on my way to the Riviera Maya. BTW: I take my shoes off when I come into the house too. Never did growing up though. Think I started cause the husband did it all the time and the little ones playing on the carpet. Now, I just automatically take my shoes off when I enter anybody's house. Janet, I have the same problem knowing the difference between actual and head hunger. I know it is mostly head hunger/ I just have to know when to quit. Well, I do, I just keep on eating. This fill should help that.