Court

LOL!!! It was so fun running into you Dianne! You look absolutely AMAZING. Whatever you've been doing, it's obviously been WORKING!!! Courtney

Hey! Sorry I've been MIA lately. We've had a crazy couple of weeks. We found renters for our house and had to move in 2 weeks to get them in when they wanted! It was crazy. Now we are staying in Salisbury with my FIL -- until we figure out what to do next. I think we are going to build, but not sure where...so we are just taking some time to figure it out. I love staying with my FIL, he's great. My MIL passed away in October, so I think it is good for us all to be together. I can cook and make sure that everything is okay up here. PLUS we've all had the FLU! Talk about miserable! Moving and the flu at the same time is RIDICULOUS!!! We still aren't finished with it-- my oldest appears to have it now. We thought maybe it passed her by. We are heading to the doc today to get her some tamaflu and hopefully it won't be a bad case. While I am on the subject of tamaflu-- or meds... I have to vent a little. I am SICK of doctors and pharmacists giving me the "you don't know what you are talking about" look and patronizing acceptances of my requests for small pills. I CAN'T take the big pills-- it isn't a cop out, I will not be able to get the pills down! Grrrrr. Same thing with ibuprofin. Everyone acts like I am just making it up to irritate them. Okay, enough of my craziness. I'll be around more now that we have settled in. Hope everybody is groovy. Court

Is anyone getting hiccups more than usual? It seems that every time I drink Water I am getting them! Seriously, I sound like a frog. I am getting them 2X a day at least. What is up with that? I've noticed it since the fill last week. Anyone to commiserate? Court

Kim, that is so awesome! You'll be able to give us all the inside scoop from someone who is in the "biz" of wls! :welldone2: I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that it all works out. Court

Wow. 800 calories sounds kind of low-- but I have no idea what I am talking about. I shoot for 1000 -1200 a day also. I went in and got the height news today too! I TOLD them I was 5' 6" when I had my surgery but they insisted that I was only 5' 5". That was fun and it really helped with the BMI too!!! I lost 15 pounds since last month... well, since Jan 30th, which is right around when I got my second fill. That last fill really helped me-- I had no idea what any restriction felt like, so it has really been nice. I don't think I am at my sweet spot, but I think I am close and it is working for now.

Hey gals, I go to the nutritionist today! I'm anxious to see how I am doing after my second fill. Last time I had GAINED 2 1/2 pounds, but she thought maybe it is water weight. Crossing my fingers that I'll see that scale move FINALLY!! Courtney PS. I'll be looking for you Melissa!!! LOL!!!

I had a great time meeting you all yesterday! I am so excited to have faces to put with names! I am really glad to have found you all-- until yesterday, I had never met anyone else who had the lapband... only talked online. It was awesome to feel like I was not alone in this. I guess that what "support" groups are all about, no? :confused:

I will be there too! YAY! Is the restaurant easy to find off the exit?

I bought the fitday PC and have been keeping track of my calories and I'm having trouble getting to 1000. I have added a carnation instant breakfast in to get the calories and protein. It is weird -- I've never had this trouble before. LOL!!! I don't feel like I am TOO tight or too loose. I like it I guess. I have never had restriction before, so it is hard to tell if this is what I should be experiencing. I see Diane (the nutritionist) next week and we'll see how much I've lost. I can drink a lot too after my fill. It has been almost 2 weeks now. I can drink a lot but really can't eat alot. It has been a lot easier than before not to eat-- but I am still in this weird stage where I feel like I don't know what I am doing.

Hey Gals, I have decided to come out of lurking again! I was banded on 9/20 by Dr. Bauman at NEMC in Concord and since then I have lost 25 pounds. I don't really know how I lost them-- I assume it was exercise. It certainly wasn't restriction. In the beginning, I was so prepared for it to take a certain amount of time for real restriction-- but as time went on and I could eat ANYTHING I wanted I became less and less concerned with my band. I didn't eat like a bandster because I had absolutely no need to! I got to the point that I barely even took the band into consideration!!! It was old habits GALORE! I got my first fill on Dec 16th of 1.6 cc's and although I had slight restriction if I ate too fast or too much, I really had nothing. I was so scared --- I felt like a total failure and was so mad at myself for letting this happen. Well, hopefully now all of that has changed. I received another fill last friday (2/3) and I am up to 2.6 now. I am definately feeling something. I am still on mushies for now, but I do have restriction!!! It is the first time in my bandster experience where my band has played a part in this! I am so excited that I feel like it is a whole new beginning for me! Thank you girls for always being so supportive-- even though I haven't contributed much in the past, I want to start now-- because I really do believe that we have to have support to get through this, and reading your posts in the past have really helped me when I was feeling super-down. Can't wait to meet you all--I do hope to come to the lunch on the 18th. :puke: Courtney

Date Banded:9/20/05 Country:USA Doctor:Roc Bauman Erodoed: No If Eroded Date Removed:

Melissa, it may actually be 3 and 3 days because when I went last week, Dr. B forgot to mention it to me (and I forgot from the previous fill) so I asked the lady in the window. She told me 2 and 3, so that was probably wrong. C

Don't be nervous, Melissa. It'll be totally easy. You'll be in and out of there in a flash-- post as soon as you can to let us know how it went.

That is totally how I feel too! I am still worried that it is swelling from the fill since it was only a week ago-- but I really am pleased with this fill so far.

LOL on the CEC! I doubt they'll be covering the grounds to check for yogurt!! Good luck with that! This was my second fill. He put in 1.6 in December and then another 1.0 cc's this past Friday. I didn't have much restriction with the December fill-- the only time I had any was when I ate too fast or way too big of bites. This time is definitely different-- although I still hear stories about people who have to sip Water slow and I don't have that. I think I have just enough restriction to give myself a good sign of when to stop.

Those parfaits are good... I have been nervous to try one since my fill though (cause of the fruit) -- I've been extra careful this week because it is the first time I've had any restriction and it is such a new sensation to have that fullness. I feel like I am nervous about everything I see. I am sure I'll get used to it and be more adventurous, but now I am a restricted weenie! Court

I totally agree with you, Angie. I have been SO pleased with everything about Dr. B's services. I think he has a great bedside manner and I truly feel safe with him watching out for me. I would recommend him 110%!

Angie, they never asked me for insurance information or for money at the hospital. I did pre register via phone each time and they never asked me to bring any money-- so I am clueless. Court

That is completely insane. Completely. I wonder if they haven't been charging me on accident? COMPLETELY insane. I can't even imagine why they did that-- Holy cow.

Hey Melissa, I have UHC through Wachovia too and I haven't ever paid anything but my copay to for both fills. I know for sure that insurance pays the fill to dr. B, because I can see where they paid the claim, but I don't honestly know about the hospital because it doesn't look like there has even been a claim filed. I don't know about that. I do know that they've never asked me for any $$ though. Crazy! Please let me know what you find out today when you go over to pay. Court

Hey Angie! Insurance is such a pain! I didn't pay anything at the hospital, but I think that is because my insurance pays for fills. (I have United Health Care.) I did have to go over to Dr. B's office afterwards and get weighed-- they took a copay from me there and that was it. Again, I don't know if that is because of insurance paying for it or if that is how they do it all the time. Both of my fills were the same way. I was SO surprised at how painless and easy fills were. I really expected them to be a *procedure* or something. It is so easy and doesn't hurt a bit. The numbing shot that he gives stings, but after that you don't feel a thing. He sticks the fill needle in and it doesn't take any time at all after that. I was really impressed-- The biggest pain of the whole thing is having to spend the weekend on liquids-- he does liquids for 2 days and mushies for 3 after that. I am still on mushies till tomorrow. If you have any questions at all I'd be happy to answer-- with my limited knowledge, of course! LOL! GOOD luck next friday. Court

Hi everyone! I am coming out of lurker status to introduce myself finally http://www.lapbandtalk.com/images/smilies/smile.gif I am from Concord, NC and had my band done by Dr. Bauman on 9/20/05. I have 2 girls (6 and 4) and I am a stay at home mother-- I have enjoyed reading all of your messages and thank you for all of the information that you share-- it always feels great to discover that I'm not alone out here! I am still not through all of my eating plan, so I guess it is still early to start worrying, but I am CONSTANTLY hungry. I don't have any idea what restriction feels like and even though I know that this is healing time-- it sometimes becomes frustrating and I feel the worry creeping in-- I worry that the band won't work for me-- I am relying on willpower alone right now with my food choices/amounts and I know that my willpower won't last forever. I won't have a fill until sometime around the first of December-- and I must say, I am pretty anxious! Any thoughts or advice? I'd appreciate it, especially if you are going to tell me that this is normal! LOL!!! Anyway, this is my HELLO!

I'm so sorry that your little boy has to have another surgery. You and your whole family will be in my thoughts! Courtney

Yeah, I know what you mean about it hurting when you pick things up off the floor-- after the first week, (with the exception of incision pain) I totally felt like a normal person and like I SHOULD be able to do all of my regular things, but then I'd do laundry or pick up alot around the house -- (worst was vacuuming) and I'd be really sore! Actually, now at 1 month out, I am still sore if I overdo it... Courtney

Hey Melissa, At two weeks, I went to "soft" foods-- but not as mushy as I thought-- definately not pureed. Basically you can have string cheese, a little oatmeal, a few crackers with peanutbutter or creamcheese, or a half of a english muffin. You can also have an egg. There may be a couple of other things. That is for 2 weeks and then gradually you add fish, chicken, beef then veggies. I am in my fish week-- which doesn't really do me any good since I don't eat fish... looking forward to next week with the chicken though! Hope that helps! Courtney