JaimeSTL

Woohoo!! WTG Ezma!! How exciting! What about a spa day or manicure/pedicure, something like that to pamper yourself? I agree about the clothes. I wouldn't want to spend a lot on clothes right now. Maybe one nice outfit that makes you feel great.

Yesterday, I saw my doctor for my 6 month checkup. He was amazed by how much weight I've lost. Since my last visit 6 weeks ago, I've lost about 18 lbs, including a 2 1/2-3 week long plateau. He said that the goal he set was for me to lose 105-150 lbs and he definitely thinks I can get to the higher end of that and even beyond (which is good because my goal is to lose 190 lbs). Then, the best part. He asked me if I would come speak at one of his seminars! I was so excited! He also said he wanted my before and after pictures to put on his website. There just happened to be a seminar last night so I went to it and spoke after he gave his presentation. People asked a ton of questions. I was there for over an hour after he left answering questions. I took pictures from before and passed them around so people could see that I was for real, I'd really lost this much weight, etc. I wish a patient had been at my seminar because like he said, we can give a much different perspective than he can since he doesn't have a band. I was so happy to be asked to speak. My doctor told me that I am a success already. :smile2: Today is my 6 month bandiversary. Pictures coming later. I had set a goal of -100 lbs by now, but I came up just short. I did meet my revised goal of halfway to goal and I reached that this morning. I am -95 lbs as of today!

I also have Empire Blue Cross. I was approved the same day my information was sent to them. They are very friendly about it, gave me no problems at all. I really doubt they are just trying to get out of paying. Here is a link to their requirements, it might help you. SURG.00024 Surgery for Clinically Severe Obesity

Here are my 6 month pictures.

I had my band done by Dr. Darin Minkin at Des Peres Hospital. He is great. I can't say enough nice things about him. He isn't one of those doctors that only give 1/2 a cc at a time to slowly get to restriction. He likes to get restriction as quickly as possible. I've only had 3 fills and I'm at my sweet spot. I had restriction immediately after fills 1 and 2, but it went away. My most recent was 6 weeks ago and it is still perfect.

I have plateau'ed two times. The first time, I think I wasn't getting in enough calories and my body kind of freaked out. I upped the calories big time a couple of days, then stayed in the 1000-1200 range. That broke it easily. That plateau lasted about a week. My most recent plateau lasted about 3 weeks, mid July until the beginning of August. It also coincided with beginning an exercise program. I did a combination of things. First, I took a weekend off. It was not really planned, but it was what I needed to get my head back in the game. I had a blizzard from Dairy Queen, went out to dinner with a friend, went to a bbq with my inlaws...just in general, ate what I wanted (though I find being bad now is far different from being bad before...I just can't eat the quantity I used to). I kept exercising consistenly. I increased my Water intake from about 64 ozs a day to 80 to 100 ozs per day. I increased my Protein from about 60-65 grams a day to about 80+ grams a day. I changed up some of my regular food choices (like, I had been having oatmeal for Breakfast everyday and I started having turkey sausage and eggbeaters). I had excellent restriction (I'd just had a fill before this started). I also noticed that my calorie intake was more in the 1200-1400 range each day. The first week off my plateau, I dropped 5 lbs and another 8 or so since then (that's just the last three weeks). Make sure you have increased your water to make up for what you are losing through exercise. Change up your food choices. Vary the amount of calories you eat each day. When I get in a rut of eating just about the same amount of calories each day or eating the same things too much, things slow down. Once you've built up some muscle through exercising, you'll burn more fat.

I have also noticed that people are more engaging now...more eye contact, just saying hello, holding doors open, that kind of thing. I really felt invisible before. I had a weird NSV on Friday. I was at work and one of my regular customers came in. She said, "Are you related to Jaime?" I said, "Um, what?" She repeated it. I said, "I AM Jaime." She goes, "Oh my, I didn't even recognize you, you've lost a lot of weight, haven't you?" LOL That made me feel pretty good. I only see my customers about once a month usually, and some of them I've worked with for 2+ years now, but she's only the THIRD one to even make a comment and definitely the first to comment like that. LOL

I don't really drink anymore, probably hadn't in a year or so before surgery, so it hasn't been an issue. My surgeon says no and I don't like to drink calories so I won't anyway.

I don't know, but I'm going to hear him speak tomorrow at the event in Springfield, IL. I am so excited! (And still pulling for Hillary)

Thank you!

I think it is kind of hard to set a goal when we start because we really don't know how we'll look or feel at that size. I've set my goal at 160 and I may decide I don't want to go that low, or I want to go even lower. I just don't know. The last time I weighed 160 I was in 8th or 9th grade. I'm almost 30 now and I've had two kids--my body is far different so I really don't know. Plus, I'd like to have more muscle tone and definition than I had on the way up so that definitely changes how I look. My one condition is that I MUST go under 200. I won't be happy if I'm over that.

I could see the need for a sleep study, but not other lung tests. That's crazy. My lung capacity was in the 80s and the surgeon said it was low, but ok for surgery. I hope you get good news when the nurse calls you back.

I'm used to it. I'm not even really thirsty until that 2 hour mark comes now.

1. What have you learned about yourself since you have been banded? I have more willpower than I ever realized. 2. What has surprised you most about being banded? How much and how quickly my life would change. 3. What foods do you miss that you can't/won't eat anymore? Not really anything. If I want something, I have a small portion. I still eat pizza, fast food, ice cream, chips, etc., just not nearly as much as I used to. 4. Do you regret being banded? No way! 5. Would you recommend the band to anyone? Yep, and I do all the time. 6. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything? I would say I would've gotten it sooner, but I don't think I was emotionally ready to make the committment before now. 7. Would you do it all over again? YES! 8. Has your self esteem improved? Yes 9. Has being banded changed your personality? Not really. I'm still me, just a more active and happier version of me. 10. What do you dislike about being banded? Having a huge needle stuck into my stomach for fills. I'm very needle phobic.

From the beginning, I have strictly followed my surgeon's guidelines--no drinking for 30 minutes before and 2 hours after a meal. It was weird at first, but now it is just normal. I didn't know how much of a difference it made until a couple of weeks ago when we took the kids out to a park/farm. I drank almost right after eating because it was so hot out and I was just starving the rest of the day. I didn't even think about it until later, then I realized what I had done. So, IMO, it makes a difference in how much you eat, how hungry you are, etc.

Melanie, you look great! You look so much younger and happier now! My six month bandiversary isn't until the 28th, so I'll post my pictures then. I wish this board was more active. I miss some of the VV's who aren't posting anymore.

I attend the support group meetings at Des Peres. Those who attend are usually Dr. Minkin's patients but we also get DePaul and St. Alexius patients. You'd definitely be welcome. Most people who come are band people. We meet the 4th Thursday of every month at 7 pm at Des Peres. Here is the schedule: http://www.despereshospital.com/NR/rdonlyres/9862A818-4616-4334-AC91-AD31FD30E4F5/141486/SupportGroupCalendar.pdf

I completely agree with what Georgia girl said. When I joined LBT, I'd already been to OH and didn't like the vibe, the bashing, etc. I definitely don't want to see that kind of thing here. Froggi isn't the only person who has questioned the addition of the forums for other surgeries. I can see a need for a revision forum, but not forums for each WLS on what is supposed to be a lap band specific board.

Hello, Slow and Low. I'm also a patient of Dr. Minkin at Des Peres Hospital. If you are still looking for a doctor, I highly recommend going to one of his seminars and meeting him. I think Dr. Minkin is the greatest. I was banded on 2/28/08, about a week and a half shy of 6 months ago. I've lost 91 lbs, all thanks to my band. I can't help on the insurance thing as I have BCBS. Good luck to you!

Ezma, you look great! It is a very dramatic difference!

Ugh, yes. I have a friend who whines on a daily basis about how fat she is, how she wants to lose weight, that she can't believe she gained back what she lost plus some, etc etc etc. Yet, she won't do anything to try to lose weight. She even found out she has hypothyroid and doesn't take the medicine. How do you help someone like that? My husband is also the same way, except he doesn't need to lose weight, he needs to get healthy. He is average weight, but has high cholesterol, some type of undetermined blood sugar problem, supposedly ADHD (I say supposedly because he hasn't always been this way), memory problems, and more. He needs to be on a low fat, low cholesterol, low sugar diet and he just whines about it everytime the subject comes up. He tells me that he just doesn't have my willpower, he isn't as strong as me, blah blah blah. I have no tolerance for it. Nobody realizes how hard this has been for me and they all seem to think this lifestyle change has come so easily to me. I'm not stronger, more brave, I don't have more willpower...I'm just f'ing determined to stop letting my life be ruled by food. My husband was whining about not being able to find anything good to eat because of his restrictions and I finally said, IT IS JUST FOOD. Why is FOOD so important? I can't believe it was ever so important to me.

Thanks everybody for the congrats! I'm pretty proud of myself. :thumbup:

You look great! Congrats on the halfway point!

That sounds like my kids. They are 5 and 7. Before I lost weight, I just never felt like doing ANYthing, including cleaning. I mean, when my kids saw me cooking recently, they were like, Mommy, can you really cook? LOL I kind of felt badly, but it was also kind of funny. Anyway, they hate cleaning, argue all the time, and just make me nuts. I'm ready to put everything in trash bags and give it all to Goodwill.

Thanks! I'm pretty excited. :tt1: