mrsjiggles

I'm sure you'll get through it. Having to do follow up sessions and push off surgery is never something we want to do. I hope things go more smoothly with your new Dr. Keep us updated. I'm crossing my fingers for you.

My favorite Christmas memory was the year my dad decked out the house to look like something from the Night before Christams. Then when "Santa" came he set up a toy train around the Christmas tree and I actually caught him on video tape. It was really just my dad waving a Santa hat in front of the camera with a white glove on but I had "proof" he was real to show all of my friends. Mrs. Clause baked all kinds of goodies and there was a spread of stuff for us on the kitchen table. I had loads of presents and my family played board games all day long. My extended family came down and I got to show my snotty little cousin all the "way better than yours" stuff I got. lol By far my favorite Christmas. I still get excited thinking about it.

It could be just water retention. I gained 6lbs in water over a course of 3 days and just waited. A few days later it came right off and took a friend with it. Don't get down yet! Hang in there and see what happens after you fill.

I havn't told all of my friends yet. The ones taht I have told voiced thier concerns and we had a chat about it. After all was said and done, they jumped on board with me. My family has been the least supportive of the surgery. My mother actually came out and said, "You can't do this Crystal. You are just not ready for this. You know how to lose weight on your own. Stop being silly." It really hurt my feelings. My grandmother tells me that it's just a waste of my money. My sister acts like she is jealous because she has talked about having the surgery and can't afford it right now. Anyways, I know what you mean. I just told them that there was no point in arguing and being negative about it because I'm doing it anyways. I would rather have their support but if I don't get it, fine. I can do this without them. I have support from other people and as long as I have a few people to talk to me about it, I'm fine. Then wehn they started to be negative about something, I just walk away, hang up the phone or whatever I have to do to get out of the situation. They got tired of being hung up on or ignored mid-conversation. Here is a hug for you I hope you find the support from your friends that you want.

AWWWWW! Alexandra, you're taking all the fun out of it.

I'm just a tad over 5'6 and I started at 316 in a size 24. I can squueeeze in a size 22 but I like 'em loose and comfy. I've only lost about 6 lbs so no difference in the pants size yet. I can't wait to be a 10. Shooot, I can't wait to be a 14!

Just my experiance- I am self-pay and still had to undergo a psych. eval. It was compromised of one session. He talked to me for about an hour regarding my support system, my history of abuse, drug addiction and so on. He gave me a symptoms test and a 650 some odd question personality test. He approved me. I even told him I was an emotional eater. He said that I seemed like I made my mind up about the surgery and that I understood the changes that were going to take place. I think you should strongly consider a different Dr. to do your evaluation. It's not his job to talk you into what procedure to have. It's his job to make sure you know what your getting yourself into and that you'll be able to handle it without having a nervous breakdown. Unless you have some diagnosable personality disorder, I don't see why several sessions are required to get what other Dr. can do in a matter of a few hours. Just my 2-cents. Good luck with everything!

That's awsome! At least you know what he wants from you now. You are getting off a lot easier than me. Then again, when I started my BMI was 51. I have to do the liquids for 10 days. I start Monday....pray for me. I have a feeling I'm going to need it. :nervous Let us know how it goes.

I've never tried any of the DVDs in the Tae Bo series that Billy Banks does but I've got a friend who loves them. I bought one today at Wal-Mart for like 10 bucks that I'm going to give a try. It's celebrity fit cardio but I must admit the selection wans't all that great. I'm finding it increasingly hard to find out work out DVDs.

Liquid diets are composed of "foods" with low residue. This will minimize the load of food needed to be digested by the stomache and intestines. solid food can take approx. 30 hours to complete it's travels through all of the digestive system. It depends on the amount of food and other factors like fat content and so on. Liquid takes a considerable less amount of time. I'm not exactly sure but i think it's something between 4-6 hrs. The digestive prsocess is also very different from liquid and solid. My Dr. recommended a low sugar low carb. liquid diet 10 days before surgery to deplet glycogen (fat) stores around the liver. *I think* the reason most Dr. put patients on a liquid diet is due to it working much better. It's easier to control your sugar and carb intake and prob. works faster at getting rid of the extra glycogen stored around the liver. Carbs., when not used will basically turn to sugar in the blood and stored. As far as you not needeing to be in ketosis... If you have weight to lose before surgery you DO need to be in ketosis. Ketosis by definition is a stage in metabolism occurring when the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies which can be used by the body for energy. Under everyday conditions, the carbohydrates you eat are converted to glucose, which is the body's usual source of energy. Whenever your intake of carbohydrates is limited,for a long enough period of time, you'll reach a point where your body draws fat stores, for fuel. That's just what I know about it. I can't tell you exactly why. I can only speculate. I hope it helps in your choice. Good luck on your surgery.

I'm bumping this thread b/c I'm looking for good DVDs or videos to do at home. I like the dance ones like the old Mtv Grind sort of idea. Any new suggestions or finds that you can add? Thanks

Hello People! Just got a date today whoooo!!!! I'm excited..as if you couldn't tell. :whoo: Looks like the 20th for now. I'm really suprised because I thought I was looking at January at least. Now, if I can just loose the last 11lbs. before my date I'll be in good shape. I'm sure all the pre-op stuff will be fine. Dr. Avara in Mississippi if anyone is curious. I've got the merry part down...now I'm working on the looser part. CONGRATS to everyone! Wishing you all loads of luck!

Wasa..I don't think I ever had the opportunity to thank you so I'm going to do it now. I was so scared and confused when I started thinking about this whole process and was soooo lucky to find this site. I have read many of your post and did my own research regarding different topics and found information from other sources that verified information you were posting here. I consider you to be a value to this site and to newbies like myslef. I considered Mexico shortly until I discovered I would have the cash to self-pay near my own town which is just WAY more convienant for me. I read your thread on on researching Mexician Dr. and I appreciate you sharing you experiances and knowledge with all of us. The fact that you are a nurse (I'm in nursing school) makes me have that much more respect for you and your "tell it like it is" attitude. Thank you! I had no idea that this was going on and let me say THANK YOU one more time for being a patient advocate. I really believe that you do what you can, the best you can to help us out. No one is perfect but I realllly appreciate those that try and share the TRUTH for no other reason than to help someone else. Not only Wasa but everyone. Titslereaux- IMHO there is a HUGE difference in trying to make yourself or another Dr. cash and giving people who are strongly considering Mexico information. Wasa went to Mexico and was kind enough to share her experiances there and what she learned with us. I however, having some common sense that I can call my own, did enough reading on this site and elsewhere to know that her experiance and ideas were/are not the only ideas and experiances of people who went to Mexico. I think she has said more than one time in her posts that everyone's experiances will be different and you should do YOUR OWN RESEARCH to make YOUR OWN CHOICE. It is horrible that people who come her have to try to decide before they read something about a Dr. or clinic if it is totally fabricated or twisted. If you found bad spelling (and i'm sure you did) please forgive me.

Hey guys! I've had a consultation with the South Mississippi Surgical Weight Loss Center in Ocean Springs, MS. I decided to use this clinic and they have given me tons of info. but not much on fills. Does anyone know how he handles fills? How long after surgery do you get your first fill? After the one year of follow up that's included, how much do they run? If follow up becomes expensive, can you reccomend another Dr. in the area? Thank you! I'm just trying to be as prepared for this operation and the "aftermath" As I can be.

When I was a child I was spanked for not minding if I refused, after several attempts to get me to change my behavior. My mother spanked me more often for smaller infractions than my father did. My father only had to spank me once and I never wanted another spanking from him again so when he said something, that was the end of the story. I followed his direction without question. I don't consider myself to have been beaten or abused as a child. My father did what he thought he needed to in order to gain my respect wether it was out of fear or not. I believe that there is a fine line between spankings and abuse and that if over used it becomes inaffective. Are there other ways to make your kids mind you? Sure! I was raised with spankings and other forms of punishment and my kids will be raised the same. Sometimes, it takes more than a good talking to or removing a TV from a room. It would be my job as a parent to protect my child from a greater harm. If I have to spank my child to get him/her to fear playing in the traffic, you bet your butt I'm going to spank him/her. I would rather give them a sore bottom than see them in the hospital. I think the infraction should be considered when giving the punishment. With all that said, I understand that their are way tooo many people that abuse children in this world. I just don't think out-lawing a spanking is really going to do much good in stoping child abuse. Just my 2 cents on the topic.

I say it all the time. I have always tried to have a sense of humour about myself b/c I've been big my entire life. I figure that if I'm joking around and say it then it's "ok". My husband and I have a running joke. He calls me his fat girl and I call him my fat boy. Niether of us gets upset over it b/c we doing it just messing around with each other. My DH is only about 20lbs over weight. I told him that when I lose weight he's not going to be able to call me that anymore b/c he'll give me a complex or something. lol I told him that I was going to start stripping and my stage name was going to be The Juicy Mrs. Used-to-Jiggle. I do try not to say stuff like that when I'm around people that are bigger than me but that doesn't happen very often. I hate it when small girls say that they are fat. I always think to myself, "yeah, you are a tug boat and I am the titanic". I know I'm fat. I embrace it as much as possible. I just try my best to be happy with myself..fat or not. As long as the word isn't being used in a way that is putting someone down in a serious kind of way, I think it's ok.

hi! Are you able to drink enough water? Drinking the right amount of water each day can help thin the mucus out some. I would assume that this might help some until you can get an adjustment. Try to get enough water down to stay hydrated. I'm not banded yet so I'm not sure about the being too tight problem you are having. When I get sick I produce a lot of thick mucus and getting enough water in me to thin it out always helps. Hope it helps you. Sorry you are having problems but I'm sure your Dr. will be able to help you get it under control. Good luck with everything!

I have a Zune as well. I bought mine when they first came out and paid approx 300.00 for it. I love it though. I always have my favorite pictures with me and it holds a tone of songs. I like the software that it comes with...the easier the better.

Hi! I had my first consultation on the 17th and I asked this question. The nurse assured us that the evaluation was just to see our coping behaivors. She also assured me that there was not a pass or fail that the Dr. could give us for the evaluation b/c the surgeon has the last say in who he will perform the band on. This is just in my clinics case and I am also self-pay. I'm not sure if your insurance will have any bearing on it at all. I also suffer from clinical depression. Hope all goes well.

I just wanted to add my 2 cents to this issue. I have been a "big girl" my whole life and I have never had a problem getting a man's attention. The problem comes when I don't want to get into bed with them. My suggestion is that you hold out longer. Create a substantial relationship with an emotional attachment before getting in the bed. Sex is really nice but it's even better if you both respect each other for what you are and what you are not. I've had the same thing happen to me and it really hurts when you think you've made an honest connection with someone. My advice is to wait for a sign that he is as emotional invested in you as you are in him. There will always be jerks out there. The only thing we as woman can do about it is weed them out...unless you want to go with the vibrator idea. :scared: Make him work for your lovin'...after all...you know you're worth it and he'll be happy he did!

Hey ya'll! Well I had my first consultation today and the Dr. said he would do my surgery! Whooooo! :clap2: I have to lose 15-20 lbs before he will actually do it and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on managable diets. I have about a month to lose it and I'm really concerned that I wont be able to do it. Any ideas?

<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on" width="100%"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">I havn't got a date to be banded yet. I just went to my first consultation today and I have to do all the pre-op stuff. I'm self pay but shooting for the first week of January. I have to come up with the rest of the money and all that good jazz. The nutmeg has only failed me once. Hope you get it all under control. </TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

I may need to add that I am not banded yet. i don't know if it would really make a difference.

I know this may sound nasty but when I get sick to my stomache I take a tablespoon of Nutmeg. Calms me quickly. I have only had it not work once and my husband does the same thing with great success. Just a thought. Hope you feel better soon.

To be honest, I'm not really sure. I think is does show you some information on the digital screen and more detailed information if you choose to use the software programs in conjuncion with the trainer. I really don't know that much about it. I was trying to see if anyone else had ever heard of it or tried it. I didn't know how to make it a sticky. I'm kind of new at this.