PrtyAntOvrYt

Yeah, Dr W does free consults and he is very sweet! I wish I had the money to have him do my face! I have seen his work and it is amazing! You're going to love him! He makes you feel very comfortable in that thin paper gown! Yikes!

Okay! The 17th it is!!! Anyone else available? Please join us! WE have to get a in touch with Snowgator! I hope she can come too!!! This is great news! I wondered if those tiny ones had arrived yet! Please tell Grandpa that I send my best wishes and I hope he gets his fill of hugs and smoochies from those sweet babies!!! Congrats on that NSV! :thumbup:I know how that is! I find it so frustrating that almost every pair of pants is a different size! Today I went to an interview wearing a size 16 and I had to keep pulling them up! IT was ugly! I am still hoping that it wasn't too obvious! BUT then I try on jeans and I have to buy a size 20! My thighs are huge and that is what makes jeans almost impossible to wear! I hate my thighs! :biggrin: Does Kohl's have nice dress pants?

BTW Missy! What are you doing up so late?:wink2:

Well folks! Long time no post! I have been busy trying to get to my final goal! ARGH! It seems so close yet so far! I'm sure Julie knows that feeing, right Julie? You're so close to that 100lbs lost! It's insane! I am about to schedule my next plastic surgery procedures. I need my total face lift with neck tightening and my breasts lifted and augmented. I look at myself in the mirror and I see such an old lady. My skin is so deflated! Regardless, I am still in love with my smaller frame! I hope everyone is well! We need to plan a Red Robin night for this month - How about Monday May 17th or Tuesday May 18th? Anyone interested?

Marie is the sweetest! I met her when she came for a fill a year or so ago! I think we should meet for a quick drink - or bite - or anything before you fly out. But I'll be in NYC that week. I hope this fill is good for you!

Yeah, Dr K gave me his personal cell phone number too. Dr K is the best in my book! He has so much experience with laprascopic procedures that he would have been my only choice. Being as big as I was - I needed someone with vast experience in that area. I have never been more pleased with the care I've received from him and his staff.

I know! You are soooo close I bet you can taste it! (no pun intended Sweetie!) YOU can do it! When I need to get motivated, I re-start my pre-op (no carb) diet for 10 days and that gets the mind back to the beginning and why I got this silly tool in the first place! YOU CAN DO IT!!!:Dancing_wub:

Isn't life so much better when you're so much healthier and so much tinier? I love it! I would highly recommend the Holiday Inn. I'm an RN at the Parker Hospital and have stayed there many times during snow storms! The beds are dreamy! AND the prices aren't too bad! Thanks for posting the picture! You guys look great! I have more clothes to share! Some longer tops that I've been hanging on to because they were brand new!!! ARGH! We are mostly female but back in the day - there were several nice men who posted here. One is John T. He's at goal and out living and loving his life! He and I became very close friends and it was nice to have a support person! You are more than welcome here! Don't let all the estrogen scare you away! Bring it on! We can take it if you can take us!!! Congrats on your upcoming surgery! I was banded 1/29/08 and I've lost over 200lbs! I have about 60 to go before I'm at my personal goal. I'm thrilled and also very anxious to get there! Life is out there and for so many of us, we didn't allow ourselves to live it because of our obesity! Welcome to the wonderful world of the LapBand! Biggestfear, I look at the LapBand this way. IF you really want to lose the weight you will do the work. YOU won't cheat the "no drinking rule with meals" and you won't sneak in those slider foods. I have several friends who have been very bad with following the rules and they have failed. They have only failed themselves BECAUSE the Band is still there! I love the Band because it's so adjustable. When I had my plastic surgery recently, I allowed it to be a little less tight so I could get in more calories and protein. I enjoy eating salads and other healthy foods so I do keep my band less snug. I know we are all food addicts or we wouldn't be here, BUT there comes a time when you have to have a long and very serious talk with yourself and say - enough is enough! I am just over 2 years out and I've lost over 200lbs. I am still not at goal and that's frustrating because I see other lightweight banders reach goal pretty quickly! For me it's taking forever! BUT I also started at over 430 lbs! I have learned to live the life I needed to live a long time ago - listening to your body and feeding your body good and whole foods gets you to your goal. I can't say it's easy. The Band is the most difficult of all WLS BUT it's the most forgiving! AND it allows me to be in control of what I consume! Yes, I need to learn how to eat slower and smaller bites but that forces me to pay attention and not just mindlessly eat lots and lots of calories! Some things that have helped me - I have never cheated the NO Drinking with Meals rule - if I'm home I set my timer on the oven so that I know when I can drink again - if I'm out I will jot down the time I take my last bite! I learned this from when I was a pre-diabetic - I did 2 hour postmeal glucoses and I needed this information. 2nd, I write down every bite that enters my mouth! I even record my calcium chews! (I know I'm bad!) BUT it keeps me honest! IF I decide I want a bite of ice cream or a cookie, I eat a bite or two, I record it in my daily intake and I take the rest of the cookie and put it in the sink and run water over it! I know myself all too well! 3rd, I eat my protein first and foremost! I never eat carbs after 1400. (this is my own rule) IF I do eat carbs I have them for lunch or breakfast and they are only good whole grain carbs or veggies and fruit carbs. 4th, I don't live on protein drinks. I do have one once in a while HOWEVER, if my band is so tight that I can't eat solid protein then it's too tight - IF I eat solid protein - I am more satiated and I eat less and less often. It's absolutely possible to be successful with the LapBand - but it's totally up to you. You are truly the boss of your tool, unlike other WLS - but remember other WLS have a failure rate too and RNY has a very high "re-gain" rate. Think about it and do what is right for you!

I do think it's a personal choice. I went with Dr Kirshenbaum and I have NOT one regret! I love Natalie and his PA and of course Dr. K! I was banded 1/29/08 and I've lost over 200lbs. I cannot say enough good things about his aftercare! He's always been my biggest and best cheerleader!!!:thumbup:

Good Luck getting back on track! When I get off track which as happened a lot in the past two years, I return to my preop diet! It brings me back to the beginning and puts my mind set where I was when I got banded! YOU ARE so close!:w00t: Congrats! Wow! 700th patient!:smile2: I can't say I am a perfect bander either, however, I do not drink protein drinks everyday. I never have. I have lost 200lbs since banding in two years and have about 68lbs to go before I'm at goal. I can't wait! Anyway, I have always gotten my protein from solid food. It keeps me satiated longer and I eat less. I also log ALL of my intake in on www.fitday.com - if I don't, I tend to overeat! I also get in over 80grams of protein a day. Sometimes over 100grams. The only protein drink I will do is the Premier Nutrition from Costco. 160cal, 30grams protein, 5g carbs and 3g fat. It's perfect. I took 14 of them in my suitcase when I went to Mexico for my plastic surgery and drank one each night for dinner with a banana and I loved it!:tt1: YOU ARE SUCH A STUD!!!:wub: My fave! Have you tried the Premier Nutrition protein bars? The protein comes from Cod - so you get the benefit of the Omego Oils.:thumbup: Bummer! I'm working that night! I want to go to Red Robin! ARGH!!!

I had an extended TT and he removed 19lbs. And then 8 lbs from my arms. I've lost almost 200 since the day of Banding and still have more to lose. I'll return for a revision and an anchor cut when I get to goal. I needed to have my panni removed so that I could get relief from chronic back pain. It's worked and I am very active now and the weight is dropping pretty quickly.

It's called a low profile port. The surgeons hate to use those initially because they are harder to hit for fills. When I had my TT the surgeon didn't touch my port, BUT when I return for my Anchor Cut TT, he will most likely come in contact with it. I'm hoping he won't have to move it. He did fix a hernia that was just below the port.

I, at one time weighed over 480 lbs. I've lost 223lbs from my highest. Success is possible for us higher weight Banders. It's totally possible! What I love about the band is that you can control it yourself. I recently had the first phase of my plastic surgery and just kept my band a little less tight, so that I was able to eat a little more to get my extra Protein in for healing. Then I returned to the doctor and got a fill to get back on track. IF, God forbid one of us ever got a cancer or some other illness or luckily got pregnant - we could just lessen the restriction of our bands and eat what we needed to to heal or to have a healthy baby. I love that I am able to eat fruit and other healthy foods by keeping my band a little less tight. With the sleeve, you get what you get and you are left with that the rest of your life until you stretch your stomach out. Then you are able to eat more and if you haven't learned how to not eat more - you will gain. This is my opinion from what I know about the sleeve. I do admit that if I ever lost my Band, I would get the sleeve. But for now, I am happy with the Band.

I'm so sad I'm going to miss the Red Robin night! I'm working!

I love your story! IT's great! I'm part whale too! I swim laps almost daily and ride my recumbent bike at home 3x 30 mins each time using interval training! I've got a dream of doing a triathlon! BUT the running I haven't done since High school. I need to start slow. I am only 58 lbs from a normal BMI and then I'll have the rest of my plastics done! My face, Lower body lift, butt lift with auto augmentaion, breas lift/augmentation and a anchor cut TT, I am also going to revise my arms (as I am sure I'll need it by then) Good thing I'm going to Dr Sauceda in Mexico because he'll do several procedures at once! Good Luck with your surgery!

I had a TT and Brachioplasty and couldn't workout for 8 weeks. My TT was extended and he removed 13lbs of excess skin from my Tummy and Arms. I had almost no pain with the TT - all the pain came from my arms and the lipo he did to make them shapely. He also repaired a hernia I didn't know I had.

Thank Marie! Doesn't it feel amazing to reach these milestones?

Today is my 2 - Year Bandiversary! I just wanted to pause to thank Dr K for granting me a new chance for a better life. I do not take lightly the fact that I was such a high risk patient, but yet Dr K recognized the urgency in getting me banded as I desired. My life changed that day forever and I will always be grateful to God and to Dr K. I prayed for a way out of the pain I felt daily from being so obese and the doors were opened before me. Here we are! Dr K and Dee~

I wish I had known - I'm off and I would have been more than willing to come and get you. Please call me next time and if I'm off, I'll be there! I hope your new fill works like a charm!

I'm afraid he's going to kick my butt! I haven't been in for a fill in over a year! I'm going next week! ARGH! Now, I'm afraid! Very afraid!

Everyone was just lovely! It was such a pleasure to see all the Sweeties! Prty,Kayleighsmom,Snowgator,Laptastic, Mem620

Let's meet at 7pm. I hope you will be there!!

Sorry we're going to miss you! But I understand. I am going to get my first fill in over a year on Jan 28th. It's the day before my two year Bandiversary and I am ready to kick the new year off. I've lost a lot on my own, but I'm ready to return to using my tool! I have 96lbs left before I'm at my final goal!

Wow Kayleighsmom, you have almost lost 100lbs! That must feel really good!

Your life is going to change forever. I got my band 1/29/08 I've lost almost 200 lbs and am just working on my last 94 lbs to goal. My BMI was 65 and now it's 37! This was the best $9950.00 I ever spent! BTW, I had to do 14 days of an ultra low carb liver shrinking diet. My liver was small and manageable for surgery and things went well. Good Luck!