nip50

Many of us could possibly be considered addicted to this site and all I can say is Good For Us! If you're like me, I don't have any other support group to go to. The hospital where I had the procedure is almost 2 hours away so I can't go there. It's definitely also better than over eating. I also think that I can contribute part of my success so far to all of you. Thanks!

Georgia Girl - I have an appointment on the 9th as well at 3:30, but I'm not sure if I'm going. I've lost 15 pounds in the last 6 weeks so that's more than the 2 pounds per week, so they probably won't give me a fill. I haven't decided if I'm going to weight myself down and try and get a 2nd fill or just reschedule the appointment. I'm over in Douglas and that's a long drive. I don't want to get there and it be all for nothing. I may just call them, which they said would be fine.

Mia - I'm not sure about the Protein Shakes, but I believe if they're low carb they will be fine. Be sure to check some Protein shakes are very high carbs.

Paragirl - You were lucky to get in tomorrow. I've been trying to get an appointment for this week since the 10th of Dec. I've even called a couple of times to check for cancelations, but no luck. The earliest they would see me is Jan. 9th. I work with the schools so I really wanted to go while we were off.

I'm like you, I eat anything I want. I'm still doing pretty good at controling my portions though. Are you close to the 2 pounds per week limit? I canceled my last appointment because I was right there. By the time I go in it will be 6 weeks, but I'm already at 12 pounds. If I loose more this week I'll be awful tempted to weight myself down.

Let me know how it goes tomorrow.

I've tried cutting out all liquid calories. In fact some mornings I even have a piece of whole grain toast with a small amount of Peanut Butter. It's better to eat calories than to drink them. Have you tried the sugar free instant oatmeal for breakfast or a couple of scrambled eggs? Good Luck on your fill.

Julia, sorry to hear about your situation. I don't understand why the coumadin is keeping you from being filled. I was taking coumading before my surgery and most likely will be taking it until I die. The lap band doctor is aware of this and it didn't seem to matter. Good Luck

What is the "plateau busting diet"?

Stacy you need to realize that you don't have as much to loose as some of us. My starting BMI was 50. I lost 40 pounds the first 7-8 weeks and then it slowed way down. I only lost 10 pounds during December and that was a real struggle. I need a fill, I've only had one so far. I've had to cancel appointments because where I go they won't give you a fill unless you've lost less than 2 pounds a week. I'll go for 2 weeks without loosing and then just before a scheduled fill I'll loose a couple and have to cancel my appointment. Then I'll go a couple more weeks without loosing again. I hope to be able to get a second fill on the 9th of Jan.

How many fills have you had so far? Good Luck and Happy New Year.

Just go for it! I was a self pay and once I had my money lined up, I scheduled my preop appt and had surgery 2 weeks later. I would do it again in a flash. Just remember to think about the after care and fills. It was worth it to me to pay the extra. My cost was all inclusive. I don't have to pay for any fills or any extras. As long as I go to the clinic at the hospital where I had the procedure, the fills are free. For the price I paid, the doctor even repaired 2 hernias. One other thing to remember is that most doctors won't perform fills or work on people who had their bands installed by other doctors so you might have trouble getting fills. Just do your research. Good Luck.

I managed fine with the sugar busters. Just stay away from anything white. One thing that really helped was that I wanted the procedure soo bad and the fact that I wasn't going to risk not getting the surgery. He says the reason for sugar busters is to reduce the size of the liver and that he has refused to do the procedure when someone's liver was too big. I wasn't going to risk that. I also think that when we are self pays that its a bit of extra encouragement to follow the plan exactly. Who wants to waste that much money? Not me!

As far as the procedure goes I was in and out the same day (he also repaired 2 hernias during the procedure). He asked me if I wanted to spend the night, but no way. I wanted my own bed. I had mine on a Thursday and went back to work the next Tuesday. The first couple of days I only worked 1/2 days and it was a little rough, but by the following Monday I was just fine.

Hope things go well for you. I'm soo happy with my band, I'd do it again anyday.

Congrats Mia. I was also a self-pay with Dr. B. You'll really like him and his staff. They're great to work with. Once I went in for my preop and paid, my surgery was 2 weeks later. Just long enough for the 2 week sugar busters diet. Good luck and let us know how things go.

I wish I would have seen your post sooner. The Lovenox shots are horrible, but what helps is to ice the injection site before hand. It really helps. Best of luck to you and have a Merry Christmas.

UPDATE!

Name.........Chall. Start Wt........Current......Chall. Goal...........To Go

Nip50...............269...................258..... ............259............-1

Try and relax a little. This is the best thing I've every done. My only wish is that I could have afforded it two years earlier (I was self-pay). The surgery does not take long at all. You'll be surprised how fast you get through it. And then your first couple of days may be a little rough (some rougher than others), but that won't last long either. Many people are able to go back to work the next week. I had mine on a Thursday and I was back to work on Tuesday. Granted I wasn't back to normal, but made it through without any complications.

Good luck and check back in with us when you get home.

I was told by my doctor that fat is discharged from your body through your urine and that is why drinking Water is so important. So keep drinking.

December 16

I finally broke through a slump. I haven't lost any for 2 weeks until I hit the scale this morning. Thank goodness.

Name.........Chall. Start Wt........Current......Chall. Goal...........To Go

Nip50...............269...................260..... ............259............1

I've only had one fill so far, 3 cc's in a 14 cc band. I go in next Thursday for a second fill, and can't wait. I'm hungry quite often and am staying under 1000 calories almost every day. Even with this I haven't lost anything in 2 weeks. This is really starting to get to me. I try to eat about 1 cup of food at each meal and if I'm careful about not drinking with my food it will hold me about 3 hours. This is definitely an improvement, but I can't wait until I can only eat 1/2 cup at each meal and feel satisfied. This is where I really want to be.

My doctor also holds to the 2 pounds lost per week means no fill. I figure that if I start loosing again before my next appointment I'm going to wear extra heavy clothing and maybe carry things in my pockets. I'm not going to risk not getting a fill. I live 2 hours away and can't waste the time and gas money to travel back and forth for nothing. Especially since I know that I'm not at my sweet spot.

In Georgia the cost runs $17,400, but this is an all inclusive price. All fills are free for life. Those can run anywhere from $150 to $250, each time. Also, if I have to go back in for a repair, it covers that. For that price he also repaired 3 hernias that I had. Sometimes cheap isn't always the best when you calculate all the extra fills, etc over a 5 year period or more. The other problem when you have to fly somewhere to have it done, you can have trouble finding a local doctor to do a fill. Most doctors won't perform fills on people they haven't operated on and it would be quite expensive to fly back everytime you need a fill.

Good luck and be sure to look at the whole picture, not just the bottom price.

When was your last fill and how many fills have you had? It really sounds like you haven't found your sweet spot. You should try and get in as soon as possible. I understand how frustrated you must be. I haven't lost any for almost 2 weeks and that alone is driving me crazy. I don't know how I could handle it if I were in your shoes. Like I said, you need to call the doctor and see if they won't fit you in now, before the holidays.

Good luck.

klpdbl - I'm in the same boat as you. I had an appointment scheduled for today for my first fill, but I canceled and rescheduled for the 20th. Even though I haven't lost any in at least 10 days, I've lost 4 pounds in the last 2 1/2 weeks. So I canceled. I figured they would let me have one anyway, they told me 1 1/2 to 2 pounds per week. Next time if I've lost too much, I'm definitely putting something heavy in my pockets. My will power is dwindling fast and I can eat most anything. Absolutely no restrictions here.

Since it's sometimes hard to get into the clinic, I've scheduled my next 2 appointments at 2 week intervals, they will let us do that. Then I can cancel one of them if I don't need them.

Your weight loss totals are great, but I do understand what you're going through. Keep up the good work.

Paragirl - try to hang in there. I'm not doing much better at the moment. I have 3 cc's in a 14cc band and don't go in again until 12/20 for another fill. I can't tell that I've had a fill at all either. I am eating a lot less, but that's only with will power and that's getting weaker by the moment. I also haven't lost any weight in the past 7-10 days and that can be really frustrating. I keep telling myself to be patient. This happened to me at about the 4 week point and then I snapped out of it and was loosing about 4 pounds a week. So I keep telling myself that I'll snap out of this slump also.

When is your next fill? If it's not soon, you should call and try and get in. Don't let it go too long and remember you're not alone in this battle.

Most all of the doctors say no carbonation. Most of the other items depend on you. Many people have trouble with bread, some do better with toast. When it comes to rice, Pasta, etc it's all personal preference. I'm trying to follow the sugar busters diet as much as possible (my doctor also suggested this). So, I'm staying away from potatoes, rice, Pasta, sugar, and most things white. This has really helped with my weight loss.

What you really need to do, is ask your doctor. They all vary a little in what they want their patients to eat.

I have 3 cc's in a 14cc band and am getting frustrated. They won't let me have another fill as long as I keep loosing, but I'm only loosing with will power and the will power is getting weaker and weaker. I can eat way more than one cup at a sitting and am hungry quite often. Right now my next appointment isn't until 12/20 and presently I can eat most anything I want. I want to feel restriction! I shouldn't have to gain weight or not loose any just to be able to have a fill. This band is suppose to be an aid, but they don't let it aid us if they won't fill it. I might take another's idea and if my weight loss if more than 4 pounds when I go in, I'm going to add rocks or something to my pockets.

Hi Gwen, I'm Gina from Douglas in south Georgia. I just wanted to tell you that I was so excited about my surgery that I told just about everyone. I wasn't nervous at all. I had wanted this for so long and could hardly wait. What was really funny, is that I didn't have any nervousness until immediately after the surgery. Once I woke up, I said to myself what in the world have I done. IT sort of freaked me out, especially since I had been so excited about it. But I must say, those feelings were short lived (they were gone before I was discharged from the hospital).

In regards as to who you need to tell. You do what you feel comfortable with. If someone asks, just say you had a minor outpatient procedure and you have to be careful with what you eat for awhile. If they ask what type of surgery, just say you don't feel comfortable discussing it and leave it at that. You don't owe anyone an explanation.

Good luck with your journey and let us know when your lucky day happens.

Hi carole. I too have 4 kids, all boys. Their ages are 13, 14, 16, and 23. Only the three still live at home. I use to be a stay at home mom, but once they all started school I started substitue teaching and am now a parapro (teacher's aid) in special ed with the schools. This lets me be home when they're home.

Congrats on the lapband. I hope thins go well.