Ang1982

Thanks! I will check that out for sure. I have to be cautious with some places when ordering online that have cheap or free shipping within the US, because you put in Canada and they want to add on $25+ .. no thanks, but if I can get free shipping to Canada I'd be okay with that too. I do have to agree with you on the unflavored Unjury though - the smell is NASTY. :ohmy: Thanks for all the suggestions everyone, I'm going to go out this weekend and poke around some of the local stores too and see what's goin on.

Hmm, as much as I agree with the telling them to eff off thing - if that's not something you could do and you don't want them to know you have the band or if you don't even want them to know you are watching your weight - tell them you have a cavity or something and that you're trying to get into the dentist asap and he's said to avoid sweets cuz it aggrevates it or something? lol, sorry that's the best I could come up with, everyone knows I have my band.

Hmm, well I have only had my TOM once since getting banded and it's while during the post-op full liquids stage so I was hungry anyways lol.. but in general (pre-surgery) I *ALWAYS* felt hungrier during that TOM. I could seriously eat a grocery store then (thankfully I never did haha). So it will be interesting to see how it will be when I have my TOM once I am on regular food & have had my first fill.

I also got the idea from this website (if you do a search for Medical ID Bracelets or MedicAlert bracelets, etc you may find a few threads). The way I look at it is - for $40 including shipping it's probably worth it. I paid $14 grand for this band and I don't want someone who doesn't realize it's in there messing it up in the event that I am unconscious (or something of the sort). I hope I will never have the need to have someone look at it but I figure it's better safe than sorry. My band is my new life, and if $40 saves me from having that new life taken away from being ruined then I am okay with that.

Hey Gilliebean, that does not sound like fun at all! I have not had that issue but I also take birth control so that keeps my periods pretty regulated. I was just wondering though - were your periods pretty regular before? I know that for some bigger ladies (couple of my friends had this problem) their periods would be on a strange cycle and come farther between than say your average 28 days (or whatever it is). If not, could it be with your weight loss (fantastic by the way, just awesome!) perhaps your body is trying to "re-regulate"? When you say "they" say it's normal - are you refering to your Lapband surgeons office? Is it worth maybe getting the opinion of your primary care physician? Hope things normalize for you! I hate once a month let alone way more than that, omgosh I couldnt even imagine!! *HUG*

OMG! If my DF gave me trucknutz (yup, that's what they are called) he'd be needing them as replacements for his own. Granted, this isn't "redneck country" and I guess the fact that she took his in the first place (:wub:) maybe makes it an "okay" present for her but... WOW. Wheets, sorry that you got chocolates and a book but at least it wasn't "the thing" when you had specifically said no to that. Hope you had a good birthday regardless :tt2:

Awesome, thanks so much Alex! We appreciate your flexibility. :wub:

Interesting, I will keep an eye out for both types next time I go to Wal-Mart. girlie2shooz - for Protein shakes - do you mix the EAS stuff with milk? How's the taste?

Sugars in excessive amounts are definitely not good for anyone; however, when it comes to artificial sweetners - studies are starting to come out that perhaps they may be even worse for us, but it does also include an industry response which disputes the claim, regardless, I found it interesting ... see article below from Lab study ties artificial sweetener to weight gain - Diet and nutrition - MSNBC.com "Artificial sweetener linked to weight gain<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> Rats fed food with saccharin added more body fat, researchers found<o:p></o:p> Sun., Feb. 10, 2008 WASHINGTON - Using an artificial, no-calorie sweetener rather than sugar may make it tougher, not easier, to lose weight, U.S. researchers said Sunday. Scientists at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, studied rats that were fed food with the artificial sweetener saccharin and rats fed food with glucose, a natural sugar. In comparison to rats given yogurt sweetened with glucose, those that ate yogurt sweetened with saccharin went on to consume more calories and put on more weight and body fat. The researchers said sweet foods may prompt the body to get ready to take in a lot of calories, but when sweetness in the form of artificial sweeteners is not followed by a large amount of calories, the body gets confused, which may lead to eating more or expending less energy than normal. <o:p></o:p> "The data clearly indicate that consuming a food sweetened with no-calorie saccharin can lead to greater body-weight gain and adiposity than would consuming the same food sweetened with high-calorie sugar," Purdue researchers Susan Swithers and Terry Davidson wrote in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience, published by the American Psychological Association. <o:p></o:p> "Such an outcome may seem counterintuitive, if not an anathema, to human clinical researchers and health care practitioners who have long recommended the use of low- and no-calorie sweeteners as a means of weight control." <o:p></o:p> Other artificial sweeteners such as aspartame that also taste sweet but do not lead to the delivery of calories may have similar effects, the researchers said. <o:p></o:p> "Animals may use sweet taste to predict the caloric contents of food. Eating sweet noncaloric substances may degrade this predictive relationship," the researchers wrote.<o:p></o:p> "With the growing use of noncaloric sweeteners in the current food environment, millions of people are being exposed to sweet tastes that are not associated with caloric or nutritive consequences," the researchers added. <o:p></o:p> The research was the latest to examine the question of whether artificial sweeteners -- used in many soft drinks and other foods — help or thwart those trying to lose weight. Various studies have offered mixed results. <o:p></o:p> Industry responds The new research drew criticism from the food industry. <o:p></o:p> "This study oversimplifies the causes of obesity," Beth Hubrich, a dietitian with the Calorie Control Council, an industry association representing companies that make low- and reduced-calorie foods and beverages, said in a statement. <o:p></o:p> "The causes of obesity are multi-factorial. Although surveys have shown that there has been an increase in the use of 'sugar-free' foods over the years, portion sizes of foods have also increased, physical activity has decreased and overall calorie intake has increased," Hubrich added. <o:p></o:p> The council also said findings in animal studies may not be applicable to people, which the researchers acknowledged. Davidson said by e-mail that the implication of the council's statement "that they, too, are interested in the health of the public seems insincere." "If they were sincere, one might expect that they would be alarmed by findings from animal or human models suggesting that their products might be contributing to the obesity epidemic that continues to expand and do its damage," Davidson said. Copyright 2008 Reuters." <o:p></o:p>

Hey Phowell, great job! I too have been doing as said. Elliptical everyday plus the fun of running around my house packing up boxes (moving). That Dance Dance Revolution sounds like a lot of fun!

I was almost two weeks post op before I had my first #2. I didn't feel constipated up to this point and when I did have to go I didn't have any trouble.

Woo hooo congrats!

Hey good luck with meeting Dr.Woodhead, I hope he's willing to work with your doc so you can get this show on the road. Keep us posted! What region do you live in if you don't mind my asking?

If you want to get your's done within the US - Dr.Kirschenbaum in Denver is raved about and he is approx $9500. I believe for fills you would be looking at approx anywhere from $125-200 per fill. Check out fillcenterusa website to see if there is one near you. Sorry can't help much more than that as I am Canadian and my surgery cost includes fills for life. Good luck in your journey!

Happy Birthday Wheetsin! I hope that you get pleasantly surprised by your DH and he holds off on purchasing the camera. But regardless, wishing you a happy birthday and a great year.

I have to agree with this statement, please make sure that you make many stops and get lots of stretching/exercise done. My bestfriends husband lives in California while she lives up here in Canada as they await their immigration stuff to be sorted out. He was up visiting for the summer and drove up. After his visit was over and he had to drive back he just jumped in the car and drove straight back without really stopping at all. 13 hours... the next day he was helping some friends move, doing regular things, etc. and then that night at dinner... he had a stroke. He's 25. After many different tests by various different specialists they couldn't determine the exact cause of the stroke but are pretty sure that it had to do with the fact that he was sitting for so long and then when he was helping them move the clot broke free and for whatever reason didn't get absorbed into his body and it went to his brain and that was that. They don't forsee him having another stroke - and he was pretty healthy up to that happening. Goes to show you that you can never be too careful. He is 25 and that happened, and he does have some after effects so please, please be careful. As driving that long a trip just after surgery could be even more risky than just that length of trip in general.

OMG Chrisann where do you live? You got breakfast for $1.07?! Man that'd be like 6 bucks here! :cursing: Second fill until March 6? I don't even get my first one until then so as much as you can be jealous, it could be worse haha.

If you do end up doing the long drive, may I suggest bring along a pillow. My surgeon is only 2 hours away and I found it reasonably comfortable to just buckle in then hold onto my pillow against my belly. Guess it helped keep things from bouncing around, etc.

BC MSP does not cover the lapband at all unfortunately. Any of the BC lapband surgeons (all 2-3 of them) will tell you that it doesn't as will BC MSP if you phone them. Gastric Bypass yes, lapband, no.

I'm actually in agreement with this. The ads along the sides and top is fine, but the ones in the middle of threads irk me.

Heh, admittedly so I am. I used to be a big addict but now I'm much more laid back about it.

Awesome! Yes, it is nice to do something within someone who loathes it equally haha. Feb12 day 1 - 10 minutes - complete

Thanks Diane! That's the plan, gonna make sure I do!! I actually haven't snacked at all. I have my protein shake for breakie, half a cup of whatever my pureed of the day feels like being for lunch and half a cup for dinner. Today's the first day I actually had a tiny cup of apple sauce in the afternoon because I thought I was gonna die LOL. Either than that, no snackages for me!!

Thanks, I am not looking forward to the exercise but I am looking forward to losing the weight so I guess I'll suck it up when it comes to the exercise - put my big girl panties on (soon to hopefully be small girl panties hehe) and do it. Just do it. You're right - I don't want to get back to Curves right away as I think that will be a bit much so I was planning on when I get my first fill getting the docs a-okay to go back (that would be at approximate 5-6weeks), until then I will just be friends with my elliptical. Other than that I don't get much exercise, I have a sit down desk job and in the evenings I go home and mess around on my computer. Although once we are out of the winter/rainy spring my DF and I are going to get going for walks in nice weather. :tt2::mad: I think the idea for March is a great one, and I do agree that February would have been a bit soon. :tongue: Good plan, let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

I'm curious - do you live in BC? I don't knock going to Mexico at all - I don't have a doubt in my mind that they wouldnt be VERY capable surgeons with great facilities. BUT that being said - if you do live in BC just be prepared to have to possibly search long and hard or cross the border to get fills if you go out of Province for surgery. There are to my knowledge 2 (maybe 3 - one on the island) doctors in BC that do Lapbands/aftercare and they do not/will not take others patients (as stated in other posts) unless some sort of fill clinic has opened somewhere that I am unaware of. Sure you could go to Everett or Arlington WA for fills but what happens if you get stuck and need a defill asap (emergency even) you're going to have to deal with the whole crossing the border issues and what if for whatever reason they dont let you cross? All things to keep in mind, if you are willing to deal with those chances then best of luck in Mexico. Just be sure you arent sacrificing your health in aftercare to save a few bucks from the start. :mad: