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Hello Ladies, Gents, and Other! I was banded last August (You can see my Before and Current's if you like ) and since I am starting my Masters program, I have decided to do my Thesis on Bariatric Surgery. This is not like an official survey or anything, but I am trying to get some feedback to see who else feels like me. :thumbup:I went from a size 20 to a size 10, and I still FEEL like a 20. When I go to sit in a seat on a plane I expect it to be a tight fit, I also think I need to turn sideways to get through areas I can easily walk through now. I always pick up the size thats too big out of habit, and I still call myself a "Big Girl." Do you feel this way too? How long have you been banded, and do you find this to be an awkward/uncomfortable thing, or a funny/weird thing? If you used to feel this way but don't anymore, what changed??? ANy help would be SO great! THANKS! Nicole

You guys are all so awesome! Thank you so much for telling me what I already knew about myself Eventually (Hopefully sooner rather then later) I will have an online survey that I will beg you to take :seeya: It should be very short, but the lack of any research on the mental changes we go through as we lose so much weight... i mean its insane... theres like nothing!!!! I will keep everyone updated :smile: Thanks Again! Email me if you want to talk more! I would love it! NicolemRubin@gmail.com Nicole

Hey Ladies! Thanks so much for your responses! You all seem to be at goal weight (or beyond) now, did you feel the same way while you were, like 6 months in???

Thanks! I am genuinely so happy about beginning my new life Well my Dr has a very strict belief that what got us all to this point is carb addiction. We don crave carbs the same way we crave other food (Think back to when you were full after dinner.... until you saw the cheesecake... then magically had room for it???) It made a lot of sense to me, and i really like the support the office gives... because for me i am just not strong enough to have a bite of one cookie yknow? or a single small serving of pasta? I am allowed to have any normal sized meat, or fish, as many veggies as i want, and generous portions of fats like cheese, and some fruit. I avoid Banana's and oranges bc both are so high carb. I do sometimes eat other things, but when i do eat any kind of carb its always with extreme moderation. I have sugar free ice cream from time to time, but i never have bread, pasta, or rice of any kind. As far as being filled, i have a 6 or 7cc band and i have between .5 and 1cc... so i have VERY little restriction, which really stinks... im hoping that when i go in during the first week of October that i can get a bit more.... right now i can eat damn near a whole meal... its frustrating... but yknow, its still working so i cant be too upset! Last night i wore a pair of skinny jeans that were a 14 and it was actually big in some places!!!! yey!!!! ANy suggestions on food???

Hi ladies and gents of Band-land!!! I figured since i havent said anything in a while i will tell everyone my progress!!! Well ive been eating high Protein low carb 99% of the time, which is the plan my Dr. puts everyone on. I do a lot of daily activity but as of yet i havent really been scheduling in exercise, but i am SO excited about my progress! When i started all this i was 252LB and as of yesterday afternoon i am 211.4! AHHHH!!! I went from a really REALLY snug 18, to a 14!!! I would encourage everyone to also measure themselves when you weigh in, because my inches lost is so crazy! I have lost 4 inches each in the bigger parts, and a few here and there in the other parts, with the best one being a whopping 9in. around my tush! This totals me out at 23.25inches lost!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? I have been constantly going shopping and trying on new styles, I feel so much more confident, and i feel so sexy! Its so great to have people just go "wow... you lot A LOT of weight..." and whats more, in 9lb i will be halfway there!!! ahhhhh!!!!! Im hoping to be in a bikini by bikini season... congrats to all the other amazing losers... and dont fret if its slowing down...sometimes sex is the best work out out there, and it gives you all those happy hormones!!! Nikki:lol:

Hey Guys! Just a thought: you should probably start measuring yourself when you weigh yourself too. I was all upset on friday because i only went down .3lb, but as it turns out, i lost 6.5 inches! I actually somehow bought Large's from my favrite store Anthropologie!!!! Just something i thought that if you guys arent losing LB's, you should definitely check! Muah!

this seems to be a pretty common theme... my Dr. said that when the swelling in the band went down, that it would get looser and my weight loss would slow.. especially now that i am eating real food. well... thankfully i havent gained... but i moved on Tuesday, and when i weighed myself then i was 221.5... and now its frikkin Saturday and im only down to 221.2! UGH!!!!!! I know that its supposed to slow down, but its so frustrating to know this from the 4th to the 12th i lost 16lb, and then in 5 whole days ive only lost .3lb!!! AGH! I get my first fill on the 6th thankfully, so im just trying to stay on the bandwaggon until then... though i am pretty sad about it...:: progress is a process!!!!! The only positive is that i have already lost 5 inches around my tush!!!!:thumbup: Nikki Starting weight: 252 Day of surgery weight: 236 weight as of today: 221.2

Hey guys! well, the first 2 days i was laid pretty low, so i figure now that i am half human again, its a good time to give everyone an update! I had my surgery Monday at 1:30, at Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, FL. We got there and it was pretty much strictly business, and from what i have read before.. it really seems like the hospital you are at really makes the biggest difference... I was really dissapointed because quite frankly my nurses were idiots who didnt really listen to me, and kept doing things backwards, so that was sort of a pain. The surgery seemed to go very very quickly, but the anasthetic make me very sick, so i was throwing up for most of the day, and i stayed at the hospital until about 10:30 that night. I went home pretty frail, puny at best, and the lortab (thank the L-rd for that lortab!) put me right to sleep. I would recommend that you ask your dr. for your perscriptions before the surgery so you can have them there for you when you get home... because you DEFINITELY dont want to be waiting in line for drugs on that first day. I was really thankful that i slept the entire night... since that first night i have been on a schedule that whenever its time to take my pain meds, i get up and walk the dog around the block. Granted, that means i am only walking every 3 to 4 hours, but it definitely is something. I also got a heating pad which really made the biggest difference for the gas. The gas is one thing that was really really rough for me since the lortab doesnt help with gas... those GasX strips did help, but only to a certain extent... I really just had to suck it up and walk as much as possible. Drinking has been difficult because my chest has felt pretty tight, but i found popcycles to be an easier alternative when it was at its worst... The one thing i would say to those of you getting your surgery soon is that the very best thing you can do is be prepared! Have everything you can get beforehand there so that its all at your disposal...I was lucky to have family here to walk me and medicate me, i hope you can have that too! Ultimately the first and second day for me really really REALLY sucked. I knew it would, everyone said it would... but it really was horrible, lol. The good thing is, is that eventually it did pass, i just tried to stay in bed and stay drugged! It is the evening of the 3rd day and i have lost 6lb since surgery! I will be durned if i know how that happened, but i know this these last few days have definitely been worth it! I hope everyone else has had an easier time then i have, and lets all be thankful that we have each other here to whine, and rejoice with! I look forward to the rejoicing part soon!!!!! Nikki Starting Weight: 252.8 Pre-Op Apt Weight: 238.6 Day of Surgery Weight: 236 3 days Post Op Weight: 230!!!!!!:w00t:

WOW. This is a great one! Im even excited to really honestly get to think about this now! 212lb(40lb lost) I will get a new hair-do My hair is also pretty long and it always costs an arm and a leg to get it done, but im going to get color, a full highlight, cut, and blow dry! 199lb (Under 200lb!!!!!) This should be right around my birthday in October, so if so, i would really love to get a pair of diamond stud earrings to remind me of how far i have come everytime i look in the mirror... nothing accentuated likes sparkly stuff! 177lb (80lb lost!) 3 new outfits including accessories! 160lb (92lb lost! GOAL WEIGHT) Take a calendars worth of vintage pinup shots!!! I dont think i will do any nudes, just a lot with great legs and beautiful hair and make up! I REEEEAAALLLYY want this part! Then i will start looking into nipping and tucking!!! 150lb (UNDER GOAL!) Im not even sure if my body is able to get this small, but if she if she is, then i will finally really start looking into modeling. damn that feels good even thinking about this!

Yknow im reading it now, and i totally dont want to come off like a baby... lol... some moments are definitley worse then others... one more quick update since its the 4th day: I am noticing that the swelling is going down, but my stitches are drying out, so i am having incision pain that i didnt have before... they are all still taped up, and they arent turning funny colors or anything, so im just staying on top of the lortab and hoping for the best! I started being able to drink protein shakes today! YEY!!!!! Food is awesome. lol, its INSANE how full i am on like nothing!!!! I had 1/2 of an atkins shake and i am genuinely stuffed! Last night i had 1/2 of a Jell-o and that was all i could take. lol it was awesome!!!!!! As for my first small victory, i noticed that the rolls on my back are like gone!!!! My mom was rubbing my back last night and she was actually the one that mentioned that there used to be a roll right in the middle of my back, and now her hand could go from the top of my back to the bottom without being inturrupted by rolls! YEEEEYYYY!!!! Small but great victories!

i find that everyday i do things that i "normally" wouldnt! I used to be such a carb whore! Today i started the day by going to the gym and drinking a ton of water... then i went and tried on clothes and giggled in the fact that i shouldnt buy anything because it will just be too big in a month (usually i would be crying because nothing fits.. hee hee) Then i went to olive garden and had soup and salad... i even picked all the noodles out of the soup and only had half of one breakstick, and not even a single one of those mints!!!! AND i had water instead of diet coke!!!! I went to hang out with a friend and purposefully parked far away! Then when he had snacks around, i said no thank you! Who is this person i am becoming and where did all this self control come from?

yikes!i would DEFINITELY not do that! My dr. showed us a bunch of different pictures... one of them was of a woman who had a big meal 3 days before her surgery and her liver was still bigger! I think the problem with it really being bigger is bruising a bleeding while they are trying to hold the liver up... its just not worth it to me... if i were you, i would have fried chicken now, when you still have a couple weeks (or week) to re-shrink it...

Hey Ladies and Gents! My name is Nikki, im 22 and will soon be an Atlanta resident, and i just got my approval for August 4th!!! I was curious because i always see the little tickers and now the SUPER CUTE graphic for us August bandsters (OMG! I am an official bandster! ahhh!) but i have no idea on how to get those little graphics... any help would be very much appreciated :eek:

Hi Ladies! Okay i think i can add come good ones 1. a vintage pin-up photoshoot 2. See the vagina i shave so diligantly 3. cross my legs under a table 4. wear whats fashionable and not first consider if this trend will make me look like a heffer. 5. i know its ridiculous, but i want to be one of those stupid girls who dances on the bar (but just once!) 6. Have a man tell me that my abs are awesome, lol eh eh???

Hi fellow August Bandsters! Im living in Orlando now, but i am having my surgery in Jacksonville on August 4th, and then moving to Atlanta... anyone else in the south??? I am SO excited about this whole thing! I messed around a bit during the 3 month diet program, but as soon as i had the second appointment and knew they were submitting to the insurance company, i cracked down on carbs and lost 10lb in less then 2 weeks! It has been a little insane, but i feel so blessed to be doing this! I go in for my pre-op appointment at the hospital and could not be more excited! I look forward to meeting you all at goal weights one day! Nikki Start of process: April 2nd Nutritionist: April 30th Shrinky Apt: May 7th LOTS of Blood-work: June 31st Insurance submittal: July 11 Insurance APPROVAL!!!: July 16 My New Birthday: August 4, 2008 (Priceless )

i'm with you sister! Mine is Monday August 4th! Can you believe it?! I got the call today and my jaw just dropped! I got my approval in 5 days!!!! yey!!!! Good luck in your new life!

Hi Wicked! I noticed no one has replied yet so i will try to tell you my experience... I just finished the whole waiting process and JUST got my surgery date today! It is a TOTAL roller-coaster ride, filled with tons of fist-pumping ups, and quite a few downers. You sound like you have a lot going on with your health right now... Keep in mind that with most insurance companies, once you are authorized to get the surgery, that authorization is good for an entire year! So, my dear, there is no reason to worry that you won't be mentally ready because there is a huuuge time limit for when you can get it done. I think one reason that you are noticing all of these things now, and you never did before, is because for some people the process can become a little obsessive... I know that i had to be very careful because i used to binge and restrict, and i needed to make sure that in doing this diet, i wouldnt slip into an old cycle. If i were you, i found a book that i really connected with called "The carbohydrate Addicts book for success" i know it sounds a little silly, but i think all of the healthy mind/body discussion could be good for ya! As far as your new pre-op diet goes, pretty much every surgeon i spoke with has their patients go on one. Right now i can have 30carbs a day! Thats ONE orange! The reason for this is that the dr. wants to shrink your liver as much as possible, so that it isnt clocking access to your stomach. It sounds a little weird coming from me, but you can call them and im pretty sure they will tell you the same thing. Reducing your carbs reduces your liver! Plus, it prepares you for your new life! Please understand that EVERYONE goes through this, just make sure this is something you REALLY want before you go under the knife, i know that i discussed it with my regular therapist for a couple months before i decided to go all the way. Something that kept me motivated during the process was telling my good friends, i have 3 friends who have already called dibbs on half my closet! Dont be afraid to let yourself dream now! Do things you have never done before! I know that i had to make a skinny "bucket list" of all the things i want to do one i lose weight! Try that Hope i helped! If you need someone, you can always email me at ichatter@aol.com. Good luck my future band-sistah!

You know... i just got my surgery date scheduled, and so far i have been VERY open about it... i think i will continue to be truthful if someone specifically asks me... but from what i have noticed... its a little insane what people will tell you. Its like, if we were quitting smoking and were using aids to do that, everyone would nod and say great job! But as soon as it becomes something weight related, everyone thinks that its okay for them to have an opinion about it! Its just like, who do you think you are??? In that sense i totally understand how you feel about your parents... i would wait till all the weight is off, and just go ta-da!!!! lol, give them the wow factor

Hi Guys! Well reding on this website, i got the impression that the Dr's in the states were a bit more pricey then the Dr's in Mexico, but i thought most people said their surgery was between 8-12,000. Okay, im freaking out.. I live in Orlando, FL but will travel anywhere in FL or GA for a good Dr. and i have Aetna PPO. I am going for my first appointment with the nutritionist next week to start my 6mo. diet so i still have time to find a good surgeon, but this price thing is killing me. I spoke with a Dr. Beltre's office in Orlando and they said that the total cost is $15000. In general that isnt awful as my insurance will pay 90%. HOWEVER, they are saying that the hospital portion totals around $10K, but he has an extra $5K fee that doesnt take insurance! Is this normal??? I mean thats almost $6K out of pocket! I am curious what other people have done, when i asked they said that most doctors don't take insurance, which sounds like pure bologna (or so i hope...) help please! Im just out from under my mothers wings, and i am kind of at a loss as to where to go next... Nicole You can also IM me on AIM at ICHATTER:cursing: