SuzanneG

Teresa, Sorry to hear you are having a rough day. I can relate. It took me 3 months from seminar to approval and it was torture. Stay after your doctor's office as much as you feel like you can and other than that just try to stay possitive. Try to enjoy your holidays and plan on starting on the new you in 2009! Hope you're feeling better today!:smile2:

I have 14.5 more pounds to lose to reach goal. One thing I've noticed is that my body is slowing down for me. I'm having to actually put a little effort into losing now whereas before it pretty much came off on its own. Considering the dramatically slower rate that I am losing at now, I'm guessing that when I reach goal, I'll pretty much stop losing by default. I don't know how long it'll take me to get there, but I'm determined to get there eventually.

That's awesome! Is it done already or still sticking around? We've had rain for 3 days here in cental VA.

Welcome Alyx, I'm not in my 20's, but spotted your posted and wanted to say hi. I was banded 1/4/08 by Dr. Brengman from Richmond Surgical. Shroeder is really good, I really love him and Dr. Brengman. Good luck on your journey!

Jacqui, your posts never disappoint! As I get closer to goal, I am experiencing the exact same thing. People who were cheering me on now actually seem to be judging me for wanting to lose the last 14 pounds. Go figure. I've been thin and heavy as an adult and I have to say when I was heavy, I experienced many of the same attitudes as flowers. Looks like Juli hit the nail on the head.

Becky, congratulations! Meeting our mini goals is very motivating and you pulled it off during the holidays! Good for you!

I found dual control blankets but not for a double bed, smallest I could find was for a Queen bed. I think I'll have to do the single idea. The other night when we folded the covers back, it felt like we opened the refrigerator door. Brrrrr And to think I keep my house at 70 degrees at night. LOL

I am FREEZING as well. I have alway been cold natured, even when I was fat, but now it's rediculous. I feel like my bones are clattering. I'm begging DH for an electric blanket, but our bed is an antique and full sized and full sized electric blankets don't come with dual control. I think I'm going to buy a heated throw and put it just on my side of the bed. Glad to hear I'm not alone. I was beginning to wonder what was wrong with me. Also, at my last doctor appt my heart rate was 43! Doc put me on an overnight monitor and asked me to exercise. I did and he said my heartrate goes up when I exercise so he's not worried bout it just yet, but I was starting to get nervous between that and the slow heart rate. I feel a little better about it now. Hey LuLuc and BooBooKitty, haven't seen a post from you guys in a while. This is the first day I've been on here in a while. How's it going?

That sucks. There is just one person in his office that can do fills? I'm the same way, in the morning I just drink low carb slim fast but by evening I can eat most band friendly foods. Hang in there!

I've read where a lot of people say it takes two weeks for a fill to "take hold" or that their tightness comes and goes. I wish I could offer some advise, but all I can say is that for some, it seems par for the course. Best of luck to you, I hope it improves for you.

3.5 pounds a month is nearly a pound a week and there is no shame in that. You may just be a slow loser. As long as you are going down, at any rate, you should feel good about that. Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on what you should eat and how tight you should be. I say, keep on keeping on! I'll be cheering for you!

By the time I scheduled my surgery I couldn't diet if you paid me a million dollars. I joined WW with a friend as my last attempt before resorting to surgery. I didn't make it 3 weeks and I quit. I think I had truly hit some kind of emotional wall. I was just so OVER dieting. Don't get me wrong, I love food too and I still enjoy it, just much less of it. The band is successful with a huge percentage of people. You'll be amazed how much easier it is when you aren't fighting that hungry tiger all the time. Willpower is not the way to lose weight. That's like trying to push a rock up a hill, how long can you do it before it overtakes you. You need a permanent solution and lapband, IMHO, is the best thing going! Good luck and let us know how you are getting along. I'll be cheering for you!

O - so sorry to hear that, I know that has to suck. Sounds like you really need to get your fill level straight. Your fill schedule seems a little conservative. My doc says if you are hungry between meals, can eat more than 4 oz or can eat bread, you need another fill. Do you think you are just able to eat more than you should or are you eating sweets or drinking liquid calories?

Anne, time between fills varies drastically from doctor to doctor. My doctor says call right back, don't wait any longer than you have to. He told me to come back as much as I needed to until I felt I was in a good place. I've read on here where other docs make patients wait forever between fills. Hang in there, the 22nd will get here before you know it. Just think about all the Christmas stuff you need to do and time will fly by. LOL Meg, I'm glad things are improving for you. Stick to your protien shakes a for a day or so and then slowly try to reintroduce foods.

Thanks Breanne. If I can do this anybody can, trust me. Sometimes I feel guilty because there are folks on this board who are like the Jack Lelane of lapband, they are so committed to diet and exericse. I've kind of just blundered along. I do exercise now, but it took me until about a month ago to get motivated to do it. Good luck at your appointment today. As Katy said, you are on a exciting journey.

Megan, You're probably swollen from the PB. Put yourself on liquids for 2 days and then start back slowly with mushies. Anne, Call your doctor, you need another fill. :-D

My family was luke warm on the subject as well. My sister was actually against it and used to try and talk me out of it. My husband who is normally very supportive would say things like "I think it'll be great, IF IT WORKS...." He didn's realize how that sounded from my end, but he meant well I guess. Long story short, my sister became a lapband fan and even RECOMMENDS the band to friends who talk to her about struggling with their weight. Hang in there, they'll come around. If they don't, don't worry about them, like others said, do this for YOU. I'll be cheering for you!

You already guessed it, you need a fill. Talk to your doc and be 100% honest about what and when you eat. He needs that info to make his decision on what to give you. My doc says if you are hungry between meals, can eat more than 4oz of food at a time, or can eat bread, then you need a fill. When's your next appt?

Sugar, I know exactly how you feel. I think people are just afraid of the unknown, some claim they are afraid of surgery, of having a foriegn object in your body, I've heard them all. Bottom line, lapband is extremely effective for a huge amount of people. You are making the right decision, you are not lazy or a loser. Stand firm and when others pressure you, just say "It's a personal choice and I feel it will work for me." Then promptly walk away or hang up or change the subject. It's none of their damn business how you get your weight off. Your entire life will change after getting the band. I've gone from a size 20 to a size 8 this year and I feel amazing! You deserve that too! Hang in there. I'm cheering for you!

Hey Stacey, Nice to hear from a local. Congrats on your surgery and of course I think you made a great pic wtih Brengman. When is your surgery scheduled for? I can't believe I'm coming up on my Bandiversary, it hardly seems possible. I'm more than happy to keep in touch. PM me your email address and I'll send you mine as well.

Go to Graphical Tickers and Trackers: Weight Loss, Trying To Conceive, Pregnancy... Set it up according to their directions. Then you copy one of the code blocks presented to you on the last page of the ticker designer into your signature block.

Teresa, you are on the right track with an appeal! I was denied for BMI 35.1. By the time I assembled my appeal package it was 36.7. I wrote 2 letters from me, one medical and one emotional, then I went to all my doctors, GYN, Podiatrist, Gastrointerologisty, PCP, and asked each of them to write me a letter of support, then forwarded that to my bariatric doc who wrote his own letter and sent the package forward and it was approved. The higher BMI helped and the letter inspired the reviewer to call and tell me personally. I have said this many times on this forum and so far as I know we're batting 1,000, if anyone wants to borrow my letters to use as a template I'm more than happy to share. Just PM me your email address and I'll shoot it right out to you! Hang in there, you'll get it!

The only beef I can eat is slow cooked pot roast. For me, beef is hard to break down to soft enough to go through the band. I occasionally eat a bite or two of steak if it's very tender and med-rare. Wow, free beef, what a terrible position that puts you in. I practically live on chicken. Maybe your dad would like to try his hand with chickens? :-)

Pre-op and liquid post op diets made me really grumpy. DH and kids threatened to send me to Siberia until I could eat again. Once I got back on food, my former self made a reappearance and all was well. Take heart, you'll be fine once you get past the deprevation stage.

I would write a letter to CAPT George's, there's not excuse in that. If you are pulling him to the side to tell him something in a descrete voice, he should be able to figure that out. Totally UNSAT. You've convinced me not to go there again (haven't been since my band). Sorry to hear about that. It amazes me how uncouth some folks can be!