HeatherO

I can lose on less than 1000 . . . but only for a couple of days and then I stall. Most of my weight loss to take me to a normal BMI has averaged between 1000-1200.

I think it also took me around 30 pounds to go down the first size . . . but now it seems to only take 10-15 to move a size down. When you get closer to a normal BMI, you skip through sizes very quickly. The beginning is always slow where it would take me a several months to drop to the next size . . . closer to goal it seemed like it was almost monthly. I am 5'3 and a BMI of 40 (225 pounds) was size 18/20 and XL tops, BMI of 25 (141 pounds) is a size 8 and Medium tops.

I went to Mexico in January at the beginning of this year . . . so I am already done and have lost the weight. :0) I went through Belite Weight and had Dr. Corvala perform the surgery in Tijuana at Hospital Angeles. I had a great experience there and they were very professional - it was a very nice hospital as well. This may not be the cheapest option, but if you have any questions for someone who has been there and done that, just let me know.

I am very sorry about your initial denial, but don't lose hope. You may still be able to make this work if you are persistent. Can they tell you exactly how much counseling they think you would need to turn it into an approval? Unfortunately, I don't have much experience with this. I had a WLS exclusion so I was self pay and skipped the insurance hassle. Just a suggestion . . . there is a forum on here for insurance and financing. You may want to post a thread there stating "Denied Due to Need for Additional Counseling" People will give you lots of suggestions there . . . and perhaps some people may answer that have had this specific problem and overcome it. This Ohio thread isn't very active and only a small number of people see it. By the way, we are neighbors too . . . I am from Mayfield Heights which is just a hop, skip and a jump down 90/271 from Willoughby :0).

It sounds like it must have been a fun gathering of the Violets in Texas. . . and I recognize just about everyone in the picture on TracyinKS's signature line :0) Laura, your Craigslist story is so funny . . . people just amaze me. The nursery is going to be soo cute. mdrai, no cereal???? . . . but I love cereal lately, lol. Sunshine2, you are going to feel awesome after you recover from surgery and your women problems dissappear with a nice flat tummy to boot. Piehole report: Dinner (yesterday night) - Eggplant Mussakka - yummy Breakfast - Slimfast and a banana because I ran out of time. Lunch - Mushrooms and eggs with a little cheddar cheese. Snack - 2 chocolate dipped potato chips here at the office (I really didn't like them that much). Dinner - hmmm, not sure yet.

So by last menstrual I am 16 weeks and 3 days along in my pregnancy. By an ultrasound taken at 11 weeks (I couldn't go at 8 weeks because I was traveling in the Middle East for a month) I am now 14 weeks and 6 days along by ultrasound dating. I had an ob appointment today and they listened to the fetal heartbeat which was strong and very easy to find. I told my ob doctor that over the weekend i just started to feel the baby moving (miniscule fluttering sensation deep in the pelvis at mid-morning after I drink my 1 cup of coffee a day) and she said that most people don't feel it before 16 weeks at the earliest and sometimes not until much later. I also showed my doctor that I am definitely showing and when I try to feel for the top on my uterus . . . the top seems to be right underneath my belly button but I read that it should be somewhere between the pubic bone and belly button. I asked because I thought maybe I was feeling the wrong thing and perhaps it is just muscle there . . . but I have almost no abdominal fat in my belly and my belly is very hard in that region like as if I ate a softball. She felt for it as well and said it was in the same place, directly below my belly button . . . so I was feeling for the right thing. She then mentioned that she usually expects it to be right at the belly button around 20 weeks and I am just a little under the belly button. So what are your thoughts? All the signs seem to say I am 16 + weeks along . . . except for the ultrasound which is supposed to be the most specific and reliable. She said they determine the ultrasound date by the head to rump measurement. So would you guess I just have an extra big, extra active child who is still at an early fetal age . . . or I have an older but smaller than usual infant? I know there is no real specific answer but I was just curious what people think. or if they have had similar "dating" dilemmas.

Lol . . . I have been on a Reese Puff's or chocolate Lucky Charms or Frosted Shredded Wheat. I don't just want cereal . . . I want sugary sweet cereal and it is like a dessert for me. I have also been on a fruity yogurt kick lately. I like the Yoplait Whips or the Yoplait Light "Thick" yogurts. I like the different textures, there is plenty of calcium and not too many calories. Almost all of my indulgences are milk/dairy related. I certainly don't need any calcium supplements right now, lol.

You are soo right . . . it is just so much fun to speculate. :0) I just can't wait to see my baby for the first time, lol.

My cycle was exactly 28 days for years . . . but I was on the pill so it was artificially regulated. I am not sure what it would have been otherwise. I also got pregant the first time off the pill so I did not even have a chance to see how long the first non-medicated cycle would be. I know I did not get a positive pregnancy test for almost 6 weeks out from my last period so it makes sense that I may have ovulated late. I must have taken 5-6 tests before I got a positive and they were of every different brand, digital and otherwise. My first positive was on a dollar store test . . . the others previous were Answer, EPT, etc and were supposed to tell you early. My next ultrasound is the big one which should give me the sex if the baby is cooperative on January 12th. I have heard to drink a big cup of coffee and also to drink a big cup of orange juice before the test so that the baby is active . . . I don't know if any of that is true. Perhaps I will try both, lol. My husband is absolutely convinced it is a girl due to a "dream" he had. That makes me even more curious about the sex . . . boy or girl is fine with me, I am just exceptionally curious.

I have a friend who had twins, a boy and a girl. She had the two standard ultrasounds, found out she was having a boy, but never knew she was having twins. The first inkling that she got that there was more than one was after she delivered her son and the doctor said there is another one . . . and then out came a baby girl. She had her OB care through a clinic with a solid reputation here in Ohio and had adequate prenatal care. How a whole baby got missed, I am not sure, but maybe the "eclipse" phenomenon might explain it. This is only the second time I ever heard of that happening. I was wondering what I would think if I was "surprised" with two instead of one. I think I would be both thrilled and scared to death, lol.

I have never had anything like it, but I do hope you continue to feel better soon. I am happy that the tests did not show anything serious like slippage.

This was an interesting thread to read, although lengthy. I have never thought about suicide as a real option and I am happy with my life . . . only unhappy with obesity. Life wasn't great before but it was tolerable . . . life now is absolutely wonderful. Having he band has really improved my previously lackluster existence.

That is amazing and congratulatons!!!! You are an inspiration to us all.

20-25 pounds isn't so bad at all :0). You should be in great shape come summer. I am looking forward to when I am in the same place in the future . . . with my new baby in my arms and my band working again. So when was your baby born? Is it a boy or girl and what is the name? Did the band affect your pregnancy much at all?

You have done an excellent job getting the weight off with the pre-op diet. You are so close to goal now it wont take much to get there. Congratulations. Have you already seen improvements in your comorbidities?

I am due June 9th as the official due-date although by LMP it should be the end of May. I was 150 or so around the time when I got pregnant, dropped to 141 over the first two months. I have pretty much held steady but I had seen 143 on the scale for 2 days in a row now . . . and I fear the higher weight might stick. I feel like so far I have been lucky with my weight . . . my lack of weight gain has had nothing to do with me maintaining a strict dietary plan. I have been eating when I am hungry, drinking tons of milk and water and trying to avoid too much sugar and fat (but sometimes I indulge). If I am hungry, I eat and have now gone up to 4 meals a day instead of 3. My extra meal generally is a small bowl of cereal because I have been craving it a lot. I don't want to gain more than 20 pounds . . . but I guess it will be what it will be when I get to the end. I know I have my band waiting to be kicked back into action when the time is right.

That threw me for a loop as well. I can attest that restriction is not a myth and I would not have lost my excess pounds without it. Restriction works . . . . and it doesnt have to have any pb'ing or sliming at all if you eat carefully, don't overeat or push the limits of your band and keep your fill at the right level.

I understand how you feel. I was banded at the end of January and my mother passed away about 5 weeks later from complications from heart disease and diabetes (brought on by obesity). I felt so lost at that time and banding kind of seemed like a joke. How important is weight loss when my world just came crashing down??? I was in shock for the first week, in deep mourning the next week . . . and gradually, unbelievably, life started picking up again. I got my first fill 2 weeks after she passed and it just set me up with renewed resolve to get this weight off. Obesity had everything to do with her death at only 51 years old. I felt like I owe it to my mother to do everything possible to be healthy and live a fulfilling life without allowing obesity to overcome me. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Banding can take a back seat for a couple of weeks while you focus on you and feeling better. I am sorry for your loss.

I have been active on this forum for quite some time. One thing I noticed is that many of us that are newly banded post threads about decisions regarding following the post-op diet instructions. I was curious for those of us who have had success and lost 50% or more of our excess weight to get to either goal or a normal BMI of 25 or under . . . did we follow our surgeons instructions regarding the post-op diet. Following instructions mean eating the foods on the plan that were approved for the stages (such as Clear liquids, full liquids, mushies, etc). Calories or initial weight loss aren't important for this poll . . . just sticking to the right foods intended for healing. For me, I really needed and benefitted from the post op diet. Healing was of course very important . . . but I think the bigger gains came from changes in my mindset. By forcing myself to follow through during the most difficult stages . . . I realized that yes, I could do this and do it well. Nothing was going to stop me from losing this weight. I did follow my surgeons instructions and am just a hair under 100% loss of excess weight from a BMI of 40 down to 25. I was cranky and hungry that first month . . . but I lived to tell the tale. :blushing:

I stuck to my post op diet directly after surgery, but i definitely tweaked my diet afterwards as well. My doctor only gave general guidelines . . . but I kept playing with calories and foods to find what worked to help me keep losing. I found that anything I was doing would stall no matter what unless I changed it around every once in a while. That has been the trick to getting steady weight loss for me.

Don't worry, there are lots of crazy people here including myself, you're not the only one, lol. It could possibly be a slight allergy but most likely it might just be dry skin, especially if you don't see any kind of rash. Lotion should definitely help it.

Those instructions sound normal to me also . . . only a little on the conservative side but by no means unusual.

When I was too tight, I also had sour stomach. I had even threw up something from the previious day that didn't go anywhere. It definitely happens that way. SnowWhite760, I see that by the time you had surgery you only had 20 pounds to lose. I was just curious, did insurance pay for your surgery or are you self pay? Where did you have your surgery done?

I had 2 or 3 meltdowns in the first 1-2 months of banding. It is normal. Not only are you saying goodbye to the old you, you just had surgery and rapid weightloss is putting extra hormones into your system. It is like being pregnant and crying over spilled milk, lol.

I have never heard of that before in the thousands of threads I have read. It seems like it is in an odd location to be band related if you don't even have any incisions near that spot.