Sue Magoo

You shouldn't worry about having to get them cut off. It doesn't hurt, and it's easy for a jeweler to repair them. You're going to need to get them resized anyway after you've lost all of your weight. Best wishes. Sue

Hi Green Eyed Lady: Welcome to the forum from a fellow Massachusetts bandster. Any questions, feel free to send me a private message. I'm in Norwood, MA. I was banded 7/26/07 by Dr. Adam Glasgow at Caritas Norwood Hospital. He's a terrific surgeon, nice man, and leads a great weight loss group. Best wishes to you. Sue

Kim: I know.... My daughter doesn't worry about me leaving this earth early because of morbid obesity. My daughter is proud of me! I will never be morbidly obese again. I couldn't have done it without the band. I feel 20 years younger since losing 100+ pounds. I love being smaller than both of my sisters. I have inspired people to be more active. If they come up with the "magic pill" that allows me to eat whatever I want, I will take it because down deep I am still a food addict! I will eventually reach my weight goal, but I am the size I want to be. I know that I will never be thin, but average-sized is good for me. I will get rid of this hanging skin on my abdomen some day. That my Mom is in heaven saying "keep it up Honey, you will get there". I actually like exercising, and love trikking! That if I can do it, so can most of you! Best wishes. Sue

You look terrific. I hope that by "moving on" you mean that you are going to appreciate your normal sized body and have a great life! Congratulations on your hard work and resultant success! Sue

Marilyn: Have you been monitoring your food intake closely? I know that when I've hit plateaus I start writing down everything that I eat and am surprised at how much I can eat. After a couple of days of journaling I find a way to cut back. Another thing that I've found that can help is to change your foods that you are eating. I don't know why this can help, but it does. I feel badly that you cannot find time to exercise. It helps so much if you can do it. Good luck getting off of your plateau. Congratulations on your loss to date. Sue

Kathy: I agree that you should call your doctor. You should not be getting ill feeling. Best wishes for you to quickly feel better. Sue

Hi: Check out www.trikke.com It's great fun and good, low impact exercise. It takes some practice to get it moving at first, but watch out once you do. It's a bit addictive. Noticed you're from CA, so lucky you could probably ride year-round on a trikke. I am in MA, so I'm already missing trikking because I had to give it up for the fall leaves are slippery. Let me know if you get one. There's a website that you can check out too. If you want to try one before you buy one go on to the www.trikketalk.com and see if there's someone in your area that has one that you could try. Most of the people on that forum are very friendly and would be glad to introduce the trikking experience to a rookie. Best wishes to you in finding an exercise that is good for you, fun for you, and comfortable for your joints. Let me know if you have any questions on trikking. Sue

Hi: I heard that there is a nerve that runs near your band that can cause shoulder pain when the esophogus is irritated. I've experienced this horrible shoulder into the jaw pain one time when I was stuck. It was so severe that they offered me a shot of morphine at the emergency room. I feel for you. You may be too tight. Please call your doctor and explain what has been going on. Shortly after fills you can get swollen in there and this can cause irritation to that nasty nerve that shoots up your body. Don't forget, if you think you are too tight, stick with liquids until it passes or until you get a slight unfil. Don't give up on your band. Take care of the immediate issue and then get right back on track. Try to find another way to deal with life's stresses. I use exercise to help me. Long, hot soaking baths work too. sugar free popsicles saved my life! Maybe a punching bag in the garage is what you need. Best wishes for you to feel better soon. Sue

Hi: I heard that there is a nerve that runs near your band that can cause shoulder pain when the esophogus is irritated. I've experienced this horrible shoulder into the jaw pain one time when I was stuck. It was so severe that they offered me a shot of morphine at the emergency room. I feel for you. You may be too tight. Please call your doctor and explain what has been going on. Shortly after fills you can get swollen in there and this can cause irritation to that nasty nerve that shoots up your body. Don't forget, if you think you are too tight, stick with liquids until it passes or until you get a slight unfil. Don't give up on your band. Take care of the immediate issue and then get right back on track. Try to find another way to deal with life's stresses. I use exercise to help me. Long, hot soaking baths work too. sugar free popsicles saved my life! Maybe a punching bag in the garage is what you need. Best wishes for you to feel better soon. Sue

Hi Theresa: As far as the grocery store goes, can you make a list and put only one treat on it and stick to the list? Can you get your Husband to shop for you? Never go in hungry, because that's always going to make you buy more than you should. Best wishes to you. I've been banded 1 1/2 years and I'm only about 10 miles away if you have more questions..... Sue

Hi Beth: Dr. Adam Glasgow is my doctor too. Best wishes to you in your lap band journey. I think that you'll find that both Drs. Glasgow are skilled and caring and they truly seem to get pleasure from the success of their banded patients. Maybe I'll see you at support group sometime. Best wishes to you in your lap band journey. Feel free to ask any questions. Sue

Hi: I need a snack in the late afternoon or I get too tight to eat supper. My doctor and I discussed it and a piece of fruit or yogurt or a cup of Soup works for me around 4 o'clock. I usually have sugar free popsicles at night - yummmmmm. Sue

Gracie: I was having a similar dilemna concerning my weight. I originally set my goal to be a size 12 or 14. I'm there. I started at 324, so I had no idea what it would take to get to the size I remembered feeling comfortable at. So, here I am at the goal size. However, my weight is at 176 and holding..... I believe that my bmi goal is 159. I discussed this with my lap band doctor. I told him I'd like to shoot for 170. He looked at my medical stats and said that 170 would be a fine goal for me because I don't have any health issues like high blood pressure, sugar issues, etc. So, my goal is size 12 (already there) and 170 pounds (six to go!). By the way, I have been fat for 20+ years. I don't want to be thin because my wrinkles will show too much. I feel 20 years younger, but don't look it because of the wrinkles that show now because I don't have them all filled with fat. Oh well, can't have everything! Middle age has caught up with me, but I'm gonna keep running from it..... Best wishes to you. Sue

cattoy: Follow your doctors orders. Make sure that you're not going to drive if you're still taking pain medication. I stopped pain meds on day 2 and drove on day 5, but I was lazing by the pool so I enjoyed the down time. Get a few good books and enjoy the down time. Best wishes to your band success. By the way, I love the polar bear picture! Sue

Hi: Once you are back to normal take more care in eating slowly and only tiny bites. You should also consider sticking with bland foods for a while too. Good luck with the doctor tomorrow. Please be honest with him about what you were eating because that could be part of the problem. He may want to review the "bandster" rules for eating with you so that you can have success early in your banding. Best wishes to you. Sue

Hammer: There are different options other than this 1 gallon liquid preparation. There are other options - one with alot less liquid to swallow. There's a pill option too, along with alot of Water. Please call the doctor's office and explain that you are banded and that drinking anything in that kind of quantity will be an issue for you. Ask them if you can do an alternative preparation. Good luck. Sue

Leslie: I usually have one diet soda per day. I open it and let it go partially flat, or I stir the bubbles out of it. Sometimes if I don't get enough of the carbonation out of it after I take a couple of sips it all comes back - yipes. Best wishes to you on your band journey. Sue

Kimberly: I have eaten the topping only from a slice of pizza. It tastes yummy and takes away the craving for a few weeks. Pizza is my favorite food, so I do eat the top off of a piece occasionally. Love my band. Sue

Best wishes to you. I hope you grow (really shrink) to love your band like I do. Sue

Hi: You might want to try to get insurance to cover it again if you have insurance. Companies make lots of changes to policies and yours (if you have it) may have changed. Either way, you might want to look at the local forum tab for Virginia and see which doctors people there are recommending. You will need to see your surgeon/or his group alot the first year, and probably a couple of times each year thereafter. You may want to make sure you pick one that has a support group. I get alot out of attending support group meetings for fellow bandsters. Best wishes to you. Sue

Yup. I think the official term for it is sliming. It happens to me if I eat too fast. Try slowing down a bit between bites and make sure those bites are tiny. When I slowed down and made sure that I was eating tiny bites my sliming went away. Best wishes. Sue

Yes. Definitely. When I was worrying about my twenty year old Daughter recently I could hardly swallow anything. Thankfully she was fine, but it did give me a taste of what stress can do to your band. Best wishes. Sue

Hi: Congratulations! Now, please do tell your secret to getting this covered by Blue Cross. I have HMO Blue New England and would love to have a tummy tuck next year, but I am doubtful that it will be covered. I think that they sometimes cover a panniculectomy, but only if someone is having alot of skin problems under their belly. Please tell us yours or your doctor's tricks to getting this covered. Thanks. Sue

Brandy: There are a few stress relievers that I can think of. First, I found trikking. It's an exercise that's so much fun that I forget I'm exercising. Check it out on www.trikke.com. Second, a long hot shower feels great. Let the Water beat the bad vibes out of you. Third, how about a soaking in a tub with a good book? I highly recommend the Janet Evanovich series. First book titled "One for the money". The characters are great. Now up to book #14 and they all feel like family - LOL. Fourth, walking with upbeat music on. Has to be upbeat because anything bluesey or sad brings me down. Fifth - lap band talk. Check out some of the success stories, just like yours! Hope these ideas help someone. Take care. Sue