pandagirl

Thanks Susan, every pat on the back helps!!

I wieghed 385 when I got there and they wanted me to get to 330 before the band. I dunno. They were pushing for me to get the bypass, maybe they thought if I couldn't get to 330 that I shouldn't have the band? And I guess it's just taken me forever to lose the weight. I was originally on a 2 shakes then salad/meat for dinner. I lost 15 pounds the first month, got to 330 by December. I could have had the surgery in January, but opted not to because I had a guest coming and I wanted to be able to go out with her, eat if I wanted, etc. ( I ended up getting my g/b taken out that month and was bed ridden during her stay anyway.) By that time February was booked and I really, really didn't to have the WLS right after the other one. During this whole time the Surgeon told me to stay on the diet and I did for the most part, but even so I had a couple days here and there off. I didn't go crazy with it, but it was still enough to maintain my weight rather than lose. Then I got my date. They went in and couldn't finish it. Said I needed to lose a few more pounds, so back I went on the diet. I'm kind of stuck at 312 at the moment. It's driving me nuts. Oh man, was that a long explantion. (Sorry)

One of the RN's at my Dr's office had hers done for $5000. She went from a B to a D, had silicone. Maybe you need more done becuase they aren't just going in and stuffing them? I dunno, but $6300 doesn't sound that bad. At least you like the Dr. That should count for something.

Why so many miles?

LOL!!!!:cursing:

When I tell them the band is a tool and I still have to eat well and exercise they(the buttheads of the universe) say, "Why don't you just do that now? All it takes is a little will power." I usually respond back, " Who says I'm not and I haven't ? Who says I don't have will power?" It takes them a really, really long time to wrap thier brains around that.

Try Sac Bariatric. I don't know thier policy on fills, but they are great people and I'm glad I chose them. 916-338-7200

I saw the Dr.'s name and thought of the TV show. Keep us/me up to date on your progress. Oh gosh, it's so exciting to hear that your finally there. :crying:

Do you end up buying the bigger cup sizes then? Right now my issue is my nipples going south. I don't think it's age, but weight loss and I've seen younger women with the same problem.

Tube socks!! That brought some images. Mine are not round anymore. I think by the time I lose all the wieght I need to, they'll be very long A cups. :crying:

I have trouble with underwires, but it might be due to the fact that I use bras longer than recommended.

I was told that I would need: 1) A scale to weigh my food. 2) A blender. 3) A food processor I live in a small apartment and I do have a handheld mixer that has a blade attachment; I'd like to keep the equipment down to a minimum if I can. :biggrin: And I'm thinking before I run out and buy all these things for my post-op, I should find out what things you guys, post-ops, actually use. :thumbup: What are the things you can't live without? Are there things you use that aren't on my small list? :cool2:

I think most people look to Wal-Mart, but the one my friend just gave me was purchased at Ross. I didn't ask how much though she said it was a good price.

A friend of mine gave me her scale. So I will have that and a handheld mixer. I'm thinking a food processor sounds like a good idea. $27 is not bad considering I went to buy a new tea kettle and the nice ones are about the same price!

Has weighing your food helped with portion control? Do you think if you stopped that you'd eat too much? I know some people don't weigh thier food while others swear by it. My Dr. has suggested I at least weigh my food until I at least hit the sweet spot. (Not banded yet, so will be a while.)

No wieghing? Do you have any idea what the average amount of food you eat in a sitting is? I suppose one would only need to weigh stuff initially, just to get an idea of what they are eating. Then again...egad, this food thing is so confusing. I was going to say if you handle the mental side of it, eating until your satisified is good enough, but if you aren't then wieghing food would be a good idea. That can be argued of course since we are all different, but anyway. I'm loving my shakes. I had trouble with blood sugars before that. I've been thinking about continuing them once a day after the band. Though, I've heard mixed thoughts on the saftey of that.

Good to know, thanks!

Hi, I'm going through Dr. Machado as well. Still in progress. Hope all has gone well with yours!!

Ummmm, off and on. I went in for the band and it didn't get placed.I went through a rough month because of that. I had trouble with continuing the liquid diet and dealing with some anger issues. ( I didn't for a part of the month.) Then I started dealing with the emotions of not getting the band and am back on track. Hopefully, if I can stick to the diet I will be banded sometime in July. How's your journey been?

My surgeon is Dr. Machado. I went in on March 6th for my band and came out with some holes. They say the way I carry my fat prevented them from sewing the band on properly. So they ended surgery. They've asked me to lost 30 more pounds. I've got 12 more to go. I haven't been banded yet and won't be until I hit 300 pounds and am re-evaluated. I'm an apple shape and I guess the way I carry my fat isn't common. She,Dr. Machado, said there isn't much fat around the organs, but there's a lot to get through. I dunno...I'm "skinny" under the ribs then huge from the waist down. I'm on a all liquid diet now, trying anyway. It's been rough, but I'm losing on average a pound a day ( When I stick to it completely. If not, I don't lose for a couple of days then is drops off.) Ah well, I'll get through it one way or the other. At least the insurance side of things has been a breeze. (I have Blue Shield.)

I'm in Sacramento going through Dr. Machado using Blue Shield insurance. So far it's been great on both counts. Much, much easier then when I tried getting the bypass/band through Kaiser.

I had my gall bladder out in January and the incisions are completely healed on the surface. They have gone through phases of being puffy to flat, but are looking better and better. The incisions from my Non-Lap Band are mostly healed. 3 of the five look like nothing, but the other two still have a whitish center. Not white exactly, almost gray and haven't fully healed and the upper one near my solar plexus hurts sometimes when I bend. I'm hoping that this won't be worsened when I actually have the band. As far as should you be done yet? I dunno. I think it would be different for everyone. I've been told that getting a large amount of Protein speeds up the healing process.(I've been having about 72 grams a day.) And I've also been putting Vitamin e oil on the scars. It's supposed to help lessen the look of them, not sure if this is true, but it sure helped the falking skin aroud the incisions.

I like unjury alot, but my most favorite is "Elite" by Dymatize. You can get it at GNC, it comes in a box filled with pouches. You can get it in vanilla or Chocoalte or the chocolate Lover's variety pack that includes, Mocha, chocolate mint and chocolate fudge. It's about $17 for 14 servings. If you join their Gold club ($25 a year) you get 20% off your purchases the first week of every month; that makes it about $14 for the box.