yellowroseaz

Cymbalta is a large capsule and is slow release. I guess I'll take me meds to the surgical consult and ask him to be sure.

I thought I would die twithout my diet pepsi. At least 2 liters a day. But I have done it and I feel proud of myself. I did it gradually and drank less and less for several weeks and now I am off it entirely. Only for about a week now but I feel ok. I now drink Walmarts version of Crystal Light (half the price) and it tastes good. The lemonade is a little tart though so I add some artificial sweetner to it. And I drink decaf iced tea and water. I even changed to 1% milk. I miss the cola flavor but not the carbonation. I was so addicted that I thought if I drank flat caffeine free diet pepsi it would have to do. But then I realized I really could do without it. And I am. Good luck to you in your journey.:thumbup:

Just giving up smoking is a great thing. Good for you. I have given up all soda pop(goodbye forever beloved diet pepsi:sad:) and I'm slowly giving up caffeine all in anticipation of future surgery. But you are one brave person to cold turkey everything. I have a consult with a surgeon on 4-21 and hope to get a lapband sometime this year. I sure wish you success with all you are trying to do. Keep us posted on how you are doing.:crying::thumbup:

I think protein for lunch and dinner should be easy but what do you eat for breakfast everyday? I am used to eating oatmeal nearly every morning now but what about after I am banded, is it still ok to eat oatmeal and maybe a protein shake? Help me out. Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.:tt2:

My PCP is referring me to Dr. Hilario Juarez as he is on my ins. plan. I have found some helpful info on obesityhelp.com. I was wondering what he requires for his pre lap band patients. Can anyone be of help? He is located in Phoenix Arizona.

I am happy for you. You are officially a Bandster now. I am still waiting approval from my insurance for the referral so I have a looong way to go. Most people on this forum are sooo inspiring. Good luck to you in your new banded journey. Keep us posted on how you are doing:thumbup:

I hope that there will be another get together soon as I am looking forward to meeting all of you.

A good thread to read is For Those with a BMI of 35 to 40. I believe it is under preop and post op questions. Much good luck to you in your journey.

Surely I am not the only one who feels that soon you can eat very little and will have to be truly dedicated to losing weight and so in the meantime as I do my research I feel I want to eat just everything while I can. I feel very guilty. I do not eat everything in sight but I do feel like it. Is any of this normal or am I just crazy? I want to be thin. Up until about 25 I was thin and then the weight went on and on and has never come off for good. Many diets and have lost up to about 30 pounds before only to gain it back and then some. Right now at last weight I was at 221. I am 5'3" and BMI 39. I read the flip flopping thread tonight and it is some of how I feel. Yes I desperately want to succeed at losing and after quite a bit of research I feel banding is for me. I just can't seem to get over this wanting to eat it all like the last supper or something. I am afraid to talk to my PCP because he is against dieting and believes you only eat when you are hungry. I am going to a couple of seminars in the next week or so and then I hope to have the courage to talk to my PCP about a referral to a bariatric surgeon. Please let me know how you felt in these early stages of research and how long it took you to get an appt with your Doc once you had made up your mind to go for it. I'm from Arizona City Arizona and I'd sure like to talk with someone in Arizona who has been through this and is doing well with their band. I'd actually like to meet some fellow Arizona bandsters. Do you know of any support groups in Arizona that I could attend?:thumbup:

I was told by someone today that there are actually urban legends on here about side effects and complications and stuff. I just can't believe anyone would tell stories about those things. What do you all think? I choose to believe that most everyone here tells it like it is the good along with the bad.

Those are some great ideas. I was thinking that you can't eat eggs everyday, cholesterol and all that. And protein shakes all the time would be boring and probably not make you feel full. While I don't see myself eating chicken for breakfast that is a good idea for the protein. Cottage cheese is good. And adding protein power to the oatmeal sounds good too. Does protein powder have any taste to it?

Bless your heart Lv my Labs:closedeyes:. When I was 18 many moons ago I was in a car accident that broke my left upper leg. They wanted to do surgery to fix it but I said no. The fear of going to sleep was intense. So instead I chose to spend six yes six weeks in the hospital in traction. Dumb me. That really sucked. I wish I had done the surgery. So anyway I have had several surgeries since that and going to sleep really is the best part. It is scarey at first but once you do it it's no longer a big deal. I wish for you all the best. I just know you'll be ok. Good luck in your journey.:tt2:

I too flip flop between scared and excited. I have done enough research to know that I want to do this but sometimes I feel a lot of fear. I do find that these boards help a lot. There are a lot of helpful people here. Sure there are some things that are negative about it like giving up soda(diet pepsi) forever. And there can be complications. I still feel the good outweighs the bad. Know that you are not alone in your feelings out there. I just got my PCP to refer me to a surgeon. So I have a long ways to go to show my insurance that it is medically necessary. I expect many more fearful moments but over all I am very excited to have made the decision to go through with it. Have you attendeed a seminar yet? If not you should go to one. And when feeling scared just come to this site and start reading. It helps me. Good luck in your journey and may the pre op process be short. Start/224.8/Goal/120:smile:

The seminar I went to was great. It made me want it more too. Just wanted to wish you a speedy process. I just got my PCP to refer me to a surgeon so now the real fun begins. I have to go the insurance route because I can't possibly make the huge monthly payments. Good luck in your journey.

Hi! Glad to hear all went well for you. I know what you mean about the snowbirds. Sorry Snowbird...I don't mean you. I hope you continue to do well. I just got my PCP to refer me to a surgeon. Now the fun begins after I meet with the surgeon. All the pre op stuff you know what I mean.

Good News! My Pcp is giving me a referral to a surgeon. I weighed in at 224.8 and bmi of 41. I'm nervous of course wondering what the surgeons requirements will be. But I am so excited to have made it past step one. Woohoo:w00t:!! I believe this means I am on my way to being a bandster. Wish me luck with the surgeon and the insurance. Does anyone have any advice for me at this point...like don't lose any weight til I see the surgeon? Stuff like that.

I talked to someone who has fibromyalgia and she has lost over a hundred pounds with the band. She says her fibromyalgia is now in remission. I have done a lot of research online about the band and have gotten much of my questions answered here. I went to a seminar and have seen a band and that was helpful in my decision. It is a big change in lifestyle to get a band but I believe it is the right choice for me and for many many others. One good site to check out is obesityhelp.com and also lapband.com. Hope your research goes well. The more research the better. Good luck in your weight loss journey.

I too have hear from many that they just get Flinstones chewables which are of course much cheaper.

PB is productive burping. At lease that is what I am told. I am not banded yet so I am not sure but that is what I believe it is.

I do have co morbidities. Type II Diabetes, High blood pressure, High Cholesterol, Arthritis of the knee and years ago I was told I have mild sleep apnea. I am hoping for a good surgeon that has done many lap bands. We'll see who the PCP office refers me to. I will check out the surgeon once I have a name and ask many questions. Thanks for all your help. Start/224.8/Goal/120

I'm in the research stage of the lap band process. I'm attending a seminar this week and then making that first appt. with my PCP. I've heard you can't eat anything with seeds or skins and only skim milk. I've heard too many things that you can't have to list here. So tell me if any of this is true. No grapefruits or oranges no capsules no nuts. I can handle most of it but I would miss my 2% milk. I don't drink that much milk anyway. I'm looking for any and all your suggestions. Can you eat beans? They have skins. Oh about drinking, how long before and after a meal can you drink all of the water or whatever it is that you can drink? I really need to hear some positive stuff. Who can help me?:smile2:

Waiting patiently for my appt with my PCP this coming week and hoping for a referral to a surgeon. I was wondering if now that you've been banded for a while if you enjoy eating more than you did before, the same, or not so much. I am hoping to get banded as soon as I get to see a surgeon and then jump through all the hoops. I enjoy eating. True I don't taste the food as much as I think I would after surgery. I figure that if I can only eat a small amount that I would want to eat very slowly and savor every bite. Tell me what your experience is.

Thank you all. I am not banded yet but I sure hope to be by the end of this year. I appreciate all the feedback to my question. I think I would be like like chocolate snaps and savor the food. As it has been for along time I eat so fast and so much that I don't even taste it. Even my favorite....ice cream gets eaten very quickly and it's gone before I know it. I look forward to being full after a small meal instead of still hungry after a big meal. Thanks again all of you. Good luck and God Bless in your journeys. Becky

LBT is the place to be to get support and info. It really inspires me and I come here everyday. Sounds like you've come a long way. I hope to be banded within this year. All depends on my insurance and my PCP. Good luck with your goal. :wink_smile:

Hi Barb! I just attended a seminar this week. I have an appt with my PCP on Wed. My ins. says it's up to my PCP to prove that I need the surgery. I too hope to be banded this year. This place LBT is a great place to get support and info on everything you can think of regarding LBS. Good luck with that call to your ins. and that visit to your Doc. Maybe we'll both get it done before years end. I hope so. :wink_smile: Becky