NukeChik

My man weighed about 165 when we got together, he's 5'11" (my goal weight by the weigh (pun intended)). He has risen to just below 200. Some of it was added to his legs and butt which was needed. Most has went to his belly though. Its funny he was so self concious about his weight when I started going out with him, he has gotten over that though and its all my fault. Maybe we'll get back on track. Also I'm self pay so I'm going to have to train him to tell me Stop That!! if I'm not always able to on my own.

My doc didn't make me go on a pre-op diet, but he does make some patients go on a "liver diet". I think it is based on your bmi prior to surgery. I had my pre-op class last wed and one of the girls was on the "liver diet" she said she was miserable.

I'm 265 lbs, 6 feet tall I wear anywhere from a 16 16W-20Tall, depending on the cut. I usually get into a 16 or 18W, but if its just a tall size I need a 20. Shirts I wear anywhere from an XL-XXL (normal) to 1X (womens) dress shirts 18-20 tall. When I weighed about 190-220 I was a size 14 When I weighed about 175-190 I was a size 12 When I weighed about 165 I was a size 9/10. I've got clothes from a size 20 to a size 12. Can't wait to get into those 12's

My doctor actually doesn't want me to eat salads. He says that the nutritional value is so low on a salad to not waste my valuable space on them. I'm supposed to eat to about a half to 2/3 of my pouch full of protein, then veggies on top of that. I've not been banded yet, but I'm really hoping that I will be able to tell how much room is in the "pouch".

Soozan, Of course if I all had "strict supervision" I could lose my weight without having a lapband. The problem is I'm not capable of doing that for myself for an extended period of time. I can't always avoid pulling into the drive through, or eating that extra, extra donut. I've proven it time and time again. I think that in the future statistics will show that there is a higher number of people who regain their weight loss from having bypass surgery. I have friends and family who have had the gastric bypass and are gaining weight again. Repetivie overeating has resized their stomachs and they can eat more. I have an aunt who is down to 165 lbs (she's 6 foot tall like me) and she eats more than me. She is an obsessive overeater and never dealt with it. She will eventually start gaining weight again. The lap-band is a TOOL and only a tool. The problem a lot of the time is your head. You have to get your head "banded" too. People can still bypass the band and not lose the weight. I don't like the biggest loser by the way. I think it belittles us fat people. I have a lot more to say, but will have to formulate my thoughts a little better. Sorry if I was rambling.

Make, Have you ever tried "Goody" powders. They might actually just be a southern thing, but they work. They work for headaches and are powdered. I know Richard Petty was advertising for them. I would look for them, I think it would probably be a little better than chewing regular aspirin.

I was just wondering if anyone had any issues taking pills. I think that in one of my pre-op classes it was discussed that most people could take a pill about the size of a pencil eraser. I take migraine medicine and it scares me a bit that I won't be able to take it after surgery. My doctor has given me some others that dissolve on the tongue, but they don't work as well. I also take LOTS of tylenol for headaches. Do they make a liquid tylenol??

When I was going through the approval stage my doc had a list of psychs to go to. Did your doctor provide one to you? They usually know which ones are going to be supportive. My psych eval was good, but my insurance denied me. Self pay, Jan 7, 2008.

I'm local, office is about 30 minutes from home. I will be having surgery about 45 minutes away though in GA.

My self-pay with Dr Ponce will be $13,800. There is a specific list of conditions that you must meet to get that price. Look at his website: Gastric Band Institute - Chattanooga, Tennessee - The LAPBAND® Procedure It has all the information on the cash pay option and what you must meet to get that. It should also be noted that the 13,800 option is for surgery in Dalton, GA. He has offices in Dalton and Chattanooga. The cash pay option does include a year of follow ups and fills, you are charged a facility fee with each fill, They told me how much that was but I can't remember, I have to go back in on Wed, for my Pre-op class so I'll check and get back to you. I went with Dr. Ponce because he has vast experience. I wanted that since I'm self-pay!!!

Hi All, I have been going through this journey for quiet some time now. Hopefully, I can schedule my band operation for the first or second week in January. I should find that out in the next couple of days. I will have to be a self-pay gal. My insurance tells me I'm not fat or sick enough for the surgery to be "medically necessary". My BMI is 37 and I don't have any health "problems" yet, and I stress yet. My insurance requires a BMI of 40 with no co-morbidities (they only have 3 in their criteria, Diabetes, sleep apnea, and coronary disease). I've decided to invest in myself though!! I still am very afraid that this will not work for me, or I'll have major problems that my insurance won't pay for. I just have to have faith, that as long as I follow the rules, everything will be alright. I live near Chattanooga, TN and my surgeon will be Dr. Ponce. People I work with have used him and are very pleased, plus I want someone with his experience since I'm a self-pay candidate.

Tiny, I'm so sorry to hear about your mom and wish you the best in the future.:cry My mother has had a really good prognosis after her lumpectomy. (its been about 3 years now) phowell, Unfortunately for me Mobic is an NSAID, and I'm allergic to all NSAIDs. The only thing I can take otc is tylenol. I really am not looking forward to getting old because I'm sure I will have arthritis and almost all anti-inflammatory meds are NSAIDs. Thanks for the idea though. I should probably look into going to a neurologist for mine, I don't have the stroke like ones you are talking about, I do have a cousin that does though and she has had a time. Plenty of horror stories about going to the ER and trying to explain what is going on with her. I guess its pretty rare.

I really appreciate all the feedback Keep all the replies coming! I was kinda basing my observation that it was kinda expensive based on the "scoops" per container. Looked like there weren't many servings in one container. I will probably just go ahead and order the chocolate, vanilla and unflavored. The chicken Soup seems to be getting very low marks!

Don't be too jealous love, it is hard enough to find clothes that are long enough when being "normal" size (up to a size 16-20 usually). There aren't many tall clothes that are made for people who are tall and wide!

Please understand I am in no way disputing that scientists and doctors agree that there is no evidence that HRT will increase the likliehood of developing breast cancer. That being said understand that I can be a little paranoid!!! I'm afraid that the type of HRT that I had was too new to fully realize the long term effects. I was having the SottoPelle HRT which is implants, not a pill or a patch. I can't do birth control pills because I have always experienced hives whenever I have been on any type of birth control. ( I use a copper IUD, works fine, lasts a long time ). Again, I'm just increasingly paranoid about some things.

The poll on this thread is all wrong as far as percentages, you can't vote on 2 seperate issues on one poll??? Just thought it should be noted.

Thanks for all the opinions so far, keep em coming!!:clap2: Another question about the unflavored. I've seen a lot of comments on it being absolutely horrid. Are you giving an opinion of it on its own or mixed in with other foods??? Again thanks for all the info!!!!:bounce:

Thanks for your reply Denise, that sounds like really good advice!!

Thanks for the link Paulax, I just went to that website and they look like they have some really cool stuff!! I'm not going to buy any clothes for now though. I sure can't wait to get some new clothes when all the weight is off!!!

Those jeans look excellant! I will have to try and find them, I'm also 6 feet tall. Almost everything I wear has to be from Eddie Bauer because I have to have tall everything!!! They are the only store I know of that has almost every item available in tall size, even jammies.

Whats a rebound migraine?? My migraines are purely hormonal. In fact for a little while I did hormone replacement therapy and it made them completely go away. I stopped the HRT though due to my mother having breast cancer, specifically an estrogen fed tumor. Low estrogen is what causes my migraines but I'd rather have a migraine than a tumor, and I'm not so sure that the type of HRT that I was doing has been around long enough for the long term effects to be fully realized. Most the time I just have headaches, thats why I take the tylenol. I would say I probably take tylenol 3-4 times a week.

Somehow my name got dropped?? Jan 1- HAPPY NEW YEARS! Starting the year off right! Jan 2 Jan 3-WOWOX7, Woodsy Jan 4- KUgirl Jan 5 Jan 6 Jan 7- CallmeJim, comepickmeup, NukeChik Jan 8 Jan 9 – Redtulips3, FLMan Jan 10- luvsrocks, Hilary Jan 11 Jan 12 Jan 13 Jan 14- CoreynVA, acalpn Jan 15 Jan 16 Kathy-CA Jan 17- SJK Jan 18- RuthE? Jan 19 Jan 20 Jan 21- Chrisann Jan 22 Jan 23- min Jan 24 Jan 25 Jan 26 Jan 27 Jan 28~Amber/Amberwaves Jan 29 Jan 30 - Stephanie PortugsePrinces Jan 31

I actually have been doing a little research and it seems that Tylenol does make a liquid for adults. Its called rapid blast or something like that, says that 1/2 oz is equal to basically 1 extra strength tylenol. Thanks for all the other info. I can't wait to be a member of band land!!! I'm so excited now that I have a date scheduled. My only hurtle right now is having to get blood work done on Christmas Eve while I'm out of town.

Thanks Darragha for your reply! Were the pills you took the sticky capsule type? I wonder if that is a problem too, the coating on the pill??

Thanks for the reply Grace, I've actually looked into Topomax. The problem is my doctor doesn't think that the side effects outweigh the benefits for my migraines. I did a headache diary for about 6 months and I avg about 3 migraines per month. From what I've read there can be some pretty nasty side effects from it. Though the weight loss does sound pretty good!!!