strikeuptheband

Allie, I am also feeling the empty nest. My son just left (again!) this time to active duty in the army. He left after high school, went to the Marines and came home when that was done. Then he joined the Army Reserves and did that for a while but can't live on that part time work So now he joined Army full time and is off again, this time to Korea (at least people aren't shooting each other there, I hope!). The timing was just perfect tho, because I also recently moved due to my job and didn't have room for him at my new place. BF works nights so its lonely with my son gone but at least I have the cat to keep me company! Have you tried curling up in hubby's lap to see what would happen? lol This will pass, you will find some activity that you enjoy and not feel the empty nest so much after a while. Hang in there.

Hi gang, The move is over and we are slowly getting settled. Theres still a lot of renovation, repairs and unpacking to do so its been keeping me busy. Due to the fridge not working, we have been eating meals out quite a bit which hasn't helped with the weight loss (but I didn't gain!). We got a new fridge delivered yesterday so its time to stay home and cook healthy. I had another .5cc this last tuesday and am feeling restriction after just a few bites. Can't even eat a whole scrambled egg anymore! Good restriction in the morning and so far its lasting all day but I do get hungry in the evening. This weekend my WL support group is having a reunion/picnic and I am eager to go meet some local banders. I really want to talk to others that have 'been there.' You guys give me more support than you will ever know and it will be icing on the cake (oops, sorry for the food reference!) to meet some in person. Keep up the good work Junies!

Hi Farm mom, I don't think its too late to sign up for the picnic. I saw Tina Tuesday and she said she thought it might be a small group. If you can, let Sylvia or whoever know and just come. It will be fun. I had another .5cc and am feeling restriction now, but like you, it eases up in the pm and then I can eat anything! At least maybe the restriction is slowing me down for most of the day. We have been sooo busy will all the renovating, repairing and moving in lately. You would have thought I would lose weight will all the exercise I am getting but sadly, thats not the case. It's slowly coming together tho. Hope to see you saturday.

Hi Dodaditty21, Gastric bypass is NOTHING like lap band so please don't look at gastric surgery as a predictor of what the lap band can do for you. It is less drastic and gets good results and you look healthy along the way. You tend to lose slower but in the long run thats better and helps eliminate some of the extra skin.

How's it going, midwestchickie? Its great to see others who have the same doc as I do. Are you coming to the WL support group picnic this saturday? If you need info on it, just let me know.

and how bout this: whether you are carrying the water on your bike or if you have already drank it, you are still carrying the weight! (until your bladder complains, of course). :confused:

Thanks all! Tonite we left for just a bit to see if we could pick up the Uhaul a bit early. Couldn't, they were just closing so we will get it first thing in the morning. When we got home, a realtor and buyer were in the house climbing all over the stacks of boxes!!! They seemed interested but i wish they would have came by tomorrow when they have room to see the house. You wouldn't believe this mess! lol and I am moving to something smaller!!! But it is encouraging that at least someone is looking. I will be off line til I get connected at the new place. Hopefully that wont take long. I will keep you posted.

Your doctor is there to help you with adjustments, and wants you to succeed. No need to fear his disapproval. When he gets you back on track his stats look better too! Go get your fill and talk to him or your dietician about finding some healthier snacks. Don't give up, you deserve to be healthy so don't let fears of what others think stop you from doing what you know you need. Good luck and keep coming back here for all the support you need.

WTG Long! Wish I was losing like that! Life as I know it has been a real circus lately. I posted about it earlier, but in a nutshell, I am getting transferred to another office and have had to put my house on the market, pack up and get ready to move 200 miles. Last day of work here is tomorrow, then we load up the Uhaul thursday and drive off into the sunset (well actually its the other direction:tongue2:) on Friday. All that stress has taken a toll on me and I haven't been as focused as I should be and am opting for fast food lately (since most of my pantry is packed!) Haven't gained, but holding steady which is at least something. I am hoping that once I get settled, I can focus on making better choices and getting more exercise (as if carrying full boxes from here to there isn't hard work!) I am trying to stay positive and think of the good things that will come of this...I will be closer to my doc and WL support group so I can participate in their activities. Its great your group has an exercise group. I will see if ours does. We are having a support group picnic in about 2 weeks with a half 5K walk and some other fun activities and I am looking forward to meeting some local lapbanders then. and yea, Cathy, where are you???? lets hear how you are doing.:confused:

Yes, Farm Mom, I plan on going on Oct 4th. Next weekend I am moving to a small town south of Jeff city...Eugene. Know where that is? I am glad its closer to Columbia so I wont have to drive so far for fills and so I can attend the support group stuff. Been super busy getting a mobile home renovated enough to move in to. I had another .5cc Thursday, and again not much change although Tina says I am getting close. With all the crazyness and work we have been putting in on the trailer, we have had to eat out more lately so I have not made the best choices. I seem to get full sooner and seem to be eating less but really, the last few weeks I have not had time to concentrate on planning meals and such. Doubt if I have lost, but I hope I havent gained. Hope to see you at the picnic on the 4th? How will I recognize you? lol Think we will have name tags?:rolleyes2:

Hi Farm Mom, I am also from Missouri and soon will be moving south of Jeff City. I was banded in June. Still working on getting restriction so the weight loss has been slow, most of it coming from pre op diet. I am looking forward to being able to go to support group meetings in columbia soon. Are you near there?

I have had several fills and the first time was easy. the doc got it right away. the 2nd time his nurse did it and she got it right away. the others she has a hard time. It hasn't flipped; she assures me its still there and was sutured in but its at a slight angle (not 'sunny side up' as we would imagine it to be.) Its taken her a while to get in but she persists and I end up with a bruise and a poke! Got the next one (hopefully last for a while) this Thursday so I hope she remembers she needs to go at it fron a slightly different angle. My fills (Realize band) are covered because I was self pay. I havent had any under fluor yet but I guess they do them that way if theres a problem. My doc charges $75 per fill if its not Realize band.

Hi Pebbles, My surgery included everything I think except the psych eval but my insurance did pay for some of that. I think I had to pay the initial Dr consult too out of pocket. I got to stay overnight in the hosptial (that was optional but i took it). The price includes 3 visits with dietician and 3 with physical therapy. And fills are included but I am not sure if he is still offering that at that price. Where are you from? I am busy getting ready to move to south of Columbia in a few weeks and the best part of all this is I will be close enough to go to the monthly support group and other activities they offer. I haven't been able to get to those because now I live too far away. But I gather its a pretty active group. Feel free to email me thru my profile if you have any other questions. I really liked Dr Pitt although I havent seen him much since the consult. I was knocked out before I saw him surgery day and didnt see him again till he did my first fill. He has now trained a nurse, Tina to do fills and she is very good. Sylvia, the nurse coordinator was very helpful with helping me get it all set up. Good luck to you in your journey. If I can help, just ask away here or in email.

I have the realize band and it really is a benefit to have access to their website. My doc's nurse and the nutritionist can access what I have recorded for my meals and that helps me be honest if I know someone will actually see what I did. Once you are banded you get full access to the website and can log in your food...it calculates all the calories, fat, protein etc so you dont have to. You can also log in your exercise progress, weight loss and even set up goals to keep you on track. Many times I have been tempted to eat something I shouldnt, but when I think I will have to write that down, it keeps me from straying. (most times...lol).

Apples, I am giggling too. Those rooms are so small anyway...I can see how you could lose your balance and fall. Hope you didnt get hurt. Cathy, Congrats on being a Grandma!!! Is she your first? I also have one grand daughter and she just turned 9 this month. Love to spoil her. As for how I am doing, I posted earlier that I am having a rough time. Lost my job but took a transfer to another site and a job with a lot less pay. My house is on the market but it doesnt look likely it will sell with this market the way it is. I will be moving in the next few weeks and getting started all over again, this time with my guy...we are moving in together in a trailer thats on his property. Sigh...thought my trailer days were over but I guess not. The stress has taken a toll, stomach ache a lot of the time so I don't feel like eating but I still am not losing weight. (not gainng either, tho). The only good thing I can salvage from this is that I will be close enough to my doc when I move that I can attend the monthly support group there and get my fills easier. Have another one scheduled in 2 weeks so maybe that will be my last one. I do feel restriction and chest pain when I eat too fast but not near what some of you are doing with tiny bites, waiting, chewing forever, etc. I sure hope when things settle down I will be able to put more focus and attention on my wt loss. Also got an email from my doc's nurse coordinator telling everyone about lapbandtalk.com. I told her about it earlier and evidently others have too because now shes recommending this site to all new patients. So we should be seeing more members from the Columbia MO area. How cool is that!:biggrin: Hang in there all, Your success stories are whats keeping me going.

Thanks, everyone for your support. I am taking another position with the same company, which I hate but there doesn't seem to be any other options at this point. I have my house for sale but seriously doubt if it will sell; probably go to foreclosure like everyone elses around here. The new job is also a 6000 pay cut. Moving in with BF which is what we planned to do eventually anyway. That will save me rent money and allow me time to find a better job. I will work thru this and come out ahead...I always do.

I am now known as Dorfus Chickenbutt.

Thanks, Brown Bear. Today I found out its not a lateral transfer. The pay is 6,000 less than what I am making now. But I am not getting any nibbles from all the jobs I have sent resume's too so it looks like this is as good as it gets. I feel like changing my name to companyho! Yes, someday this will be over. I hope.

Hi all, I have been lurking but haven't posted recently. Some of you know I am going through a tough time right now. First I was let go at my job for 'budget cutbacks" then found that they hired someone for more pay than I was getting to take my place. Then they asked me to train her.:smile: Then another manager from another city (same company) called and said she just had someone give her 30 day notice and was looking for a replacement. I sent her my resume and she was impressed. So now I guess i am getting transferred instead of laid off. Better, but I still have to try to sell my house and I am not hopeful on that at all. So this is setting me back big time financially. BF has come around a lot and is much more supportive. He has an empty mobile home on his property from when his daughter moved out and moved to Texas. We have decided to move into that together. The thought of moving into a trailer from a cute little house makes me want to cry. But his land and trailers are paid for so neither of us would have to pay any rent. I would be 19 miles from my new job. I am going nuts filling up boxes right now. Where did I collect so much crap??? I am very angry, hurt and disappointed in the management practices of my company. I will have different supervisor but still the overall management practices won't change and I am not sure that I want to work for a company that cares so little for their employees. Been with them for 2.5 years and never once had a write up or disciplinary action and they dump me for someone licensed...when I am 2 classes away from getting mine. And in the mental health field no less. One would think they would be more human. I don't need this upheaval right now but looks like i get to deal with it anyway. Maintaining my weight and walking most nights which gives me time to think things through and get even madder! lol:angry_smile::frown::angry_smile: I lost 1 more lb this morning and am right on 190 and pushing real hard to get over that hurdle and into the 80's. Sooooo thats my life such that it is. Hope you are all having a better time.

kzibutis, I am so sorry you are going through this. Unfortunately it happens sometimes. It takes two to make it work and I am sorry he won't go to counseling with you. I think it would be very helpful for you both to get your feelings out that way. I would suggest if he won't go, at least you go so you can sort out your feelings and maybe the counselor can help you deal with his behavior. Please take care of you and don't let this undermine your weight loss goal. keep posting here and I know you will get tons of support. We are all rooting for you.:smile:

I was self pay and mine was $12,500 which included everything including one overnite if neccessary (I took it since I paid for it!). I got the realize band and the deal was at that time (June 08) if you chose realize band, he gives you free fills for life. In return you have to keep up with the realize web site and log in your food and exercise. Pretty fair deal, I think. Not sure if the free fills deal is still going on but if you live in the area you could call my doc.

Thanks Long, I will get through this. Woooo Hoooo collarbones!! I can now feel my hipbones (only when laying on my side lol). Things are changing because of all the walking I do. Its good, but the belly is still very much there! My face doesn't look anything like my work ID pic that was taken before surgery. I need to post a more recent pic. My pudgie cheeks are gone!

Thanks, Cathy. It sure helps to know I have support here. I know things will get better. Its sure hard to be positive when I haven't slept since friday!:thumbup: I have noticed some more restriction lately and not sure why. Usually for breakfast I can eat a hard boiled egg and maybe 2 strips of bacon. Last few days, the egg is enough and because i eat it too fast, it gets stuck and hurts in my chest for a while till it goes down. No PBs yet but my little band is making itself known finally. Not sure if its tighter because of stress or something else but I am glad to finally be feeling it. I am now down to where my ticker says i am.:thumbup: I think the next .5 cc might just get me to my sweet spot. Next appt is Sept 21. Thanks for your kind words. I am sure I will get thru this, its just a b*tch until i do.

Depends on if he's pissed you off lately! Usually its Dear Hubby.