Allison

Hey everyone, just looking for some words of wisdom perhaps. I am a college student in the second semester of my sophomore year. I go to a four year school and am currently an art education major, which also requires a minor in basic education, grades k-8, although I would prefer to be an art teacher in an elementary school, which where I live is grades K-4. As of right now, my parents pay for school, mainly because I work part time as a waitress and am completely broke. I'm taking a full course load now and I am HATING all these teaching classes! They are so hard! And its full of all these technical mumbo jumbo terms and such I can't seem to follow.

A big part of me would like to transfer my credits to the community college down my street and get my associates so I can become a preschool teacher. Then maybe when I feel I am really ready I can go back to school and get my bachelors?

Another part of me wonders if I should change my major to early childhood education, which I think includes Kindergarten teaching. I'm starting to doubt my abilty in all of these art classes and all of these secondary education classes I am taking with all of the future high school and middle school teachers.

Just wondering if anyone on here has any experience in any of these jobs and would like to tell me a bit about their experiences, pay (if its not to personal, although I know theres not much we keep personal on this site haha) and school/certification. I'm just really unsure of what direction I would like to go in. I would greatly appreciate any and all feedback!

Allison

Change (In the House of Flies) - Deftones

AHHH!!! I know what you mean this song is awesome (to do it to... haha) any Deftones song is awesome (Digital Bath, Be Quiet and Drive...)

Also, the BEST song EVER!!!!

The Sinking Belle, a colabaration from two bands, Boris and Sunn, hard to find but totally worth it!!!!

I am actually going to school to be a teacher too. I want to be an art teacher for k-5. I'm in the second semester of my sophomore year and I'm not doing too hot. Having second thoughts I guess. Part of me just wants to transfer to a communtiy college and be a preschool teacher or something.

i was supposed to have my surgery on april 24th but because of school i had to change it so now ill be banded on may 26... yay for may! lol i cant wait im very anxious and want to start losing weight already

I'm in school too and therefore really would like to be banded towards the end of May, I'm taking summer classes too to catch up on a couple remedial math classes I had to take last year lol, and the summer classes start June 2nd.... so I have a really small window of time, although its taking so long to schedual everything I need to get done I'm starting to doubt I'll be able to schedual surgery for the end of May... sigh... wishing you luck!

Oh yeah where do you go to school?

Allison

I'm shooting for the end of May, just because it is right in between when I have school (I get out May 15th and start summer classes June 2nd) but everything I need to do is so booked up my appointments seem so far away I feel like I might have to wait until June-ish, so wishing everyone here luck as the months SLOWLY pass by :teeth_smile:

Aww thanks, yeah I'm sure once I sit down with them and have a serious talk about all this they might not support me but at least they will know whats going on in my life. I still have some time so I'm just thinking about ways I can get them to listen to what I have to say. Thanks for the support! I always know that I can find tons of support on LBT!

Allison

Haha I was just reading this on Wiki like an hour ago! I think celebs coming out and admitting that they have had success with the lap band is only going to do great things to help de-stigmatize the band. Right now I know there are a lot of people who have never heard of it or think that it is some kind of strange weight loss fad.... (at least out of the people I know...) Good post!!

Hey everyone! So I had my consultation yesterday, the surgeon said that I was a great candidate for surgery, and he said that with my insurance (BCBS of MA) he has never had any problems getting coverage for people with a BMI of 40 or over, (mines about 41.) He gave me a list of the things I need to get done before I can have surgery, I already made an appointment for bloodwork and a meeting with my PCP to get a letter of medical necessity (weight loss surgery was actually her idea back in Sep.) ANYWAYS, I'm rambling, but it looks as if everything is going full speed ahead and I couldn't be more excited!!

However, getting support from the people around me isn't going as well. Back in Sep. I started to research after my doctor brought it up. I found out about lap band, and a surgeon that did the surgery near my town. I told my mom about it, and she came with me to the seminar with me. She seemed interested at first, but that faded quickly into worry. She had a never ending list of reasons it wasn't a good idea, I'm too young, I'm not "fat enough," its too drastic, I won't be able to follow the guidelines, I could do it on my own if I "really, really" tried, etc. The responces from almost all of my friends were pretty much all the same. I was so taken back by the lack of positive responce, I stopped talking about it, but that doesn't mean that I didn't stop thinking and researching it.

A couple months later, I finally feel that I am ready and that LB is really the right tool for me. As I mentioned before, everything seems to be going pretty good, but I haven't told anyone besides 2 friends who have been supportive the whole time, that I was really planning to go through with it. I know my parents will find out eventually, especially when the sleep lab and the nutritionist leave messages on the answering machine to schedual appointments, or when my dad notices "Lap Band" on his insurance (I'm still covered since I'm a student) Or when I have to ask them to borrow the $175 for the psych eval. Occasionally my mother brings up more and more reasons "lap band doesn't work." I have no idea how to get them to support me. Just wondering if anyone else has gone through anything like this?

Allison

www.dELiAs.com

Heres a direct link to the page with the D-Cup tops.

Try delias, they have stores around and they have a website too if you can't get to a store(www.dELiAs.com) They have bottems in all different sizes, and they have select style tops in D-Cups. The D-Cup tops are all halter style, which offers a little more coverage and in my opinion, a lot more support, than your typical triangle top, but is still super cute! And they're not too expensive either. This is the type of suit I would buy for myself if I could ever wear a bikini lol.

Wooohooo I had my first consultation yesterday! Now I have to go through all this stuff before I can actually get surgery, just hoping everything goes well so I can get on with my life!

And Katie, thats great about your job! Sometimes I get so sick of school I just want to drop out and maybe see about being a preschool teacher because at least in MA, I think you only need an associates degree or to go through some training program. I dunno I'm gonna stick out school for now but preschool teaching seems like it would be so much fun! If I manage to get through school, lol, I will be able to be an elementary school art teacher, but there are like, no art teacher jobs open... I dunno, just venting...

Allison

I am keeping my fingers crossed for you Allison! Sending some positive thoughts your way for a date in MAY!! :tongue_smilie:

Thanks for your thoughts Lexy!!

So I had my consultation yesterday. I was so nervous I brought a huge half gallon tub full of froot loops and milk in the car with me and ate the whole thing on my way ahahaha. When I got there he measured me at 5'2! I'm been going around this whole time I was 5'1, so I was like, CRAP!!!! But that giant bowl of Cereal must have helped a little cause I weighed in at 223, which gave me a BMI of 41, so now I'm on my way!!! WOOHOO!!!

Allison

P.S. where are you from?

Thanks! Did you just get your band? You are beautiful already! I am sure you will be extremely successful with the band.

If you need any tips, let me know.

P.S. - I had some work done on my other arm today (left arm tat not shown in pics). Only about half done but it cost me $430 including the tip.

Looks good though I think. If anyone is interested, I guess I could toss up some tat pics.

Awww thanks haha, no I don't have a band yet, I'm going through all the stuff you need to get done first, bloodwork, psych eval, etc. So I'm really excited about everything. You should def put up some tat pics!! I really want another tattoo and I love checking out other peoples haha. I have one on my foot and one that takes up most of my lower back, but it was only about 300 plus tip.

Allison

Wow!!! You look so hot!! Glad to see there are some people the same age as me on here that have had a lot of success with the band Congrats!!

P.S. I love the tats :sneaky:

Allison

People have been hounding me to get a breat reduction since I first got boobs back in middle school pretty much. However I know they can go down in cup size with weight loss. It really depends how much of your boob is just fatty tissue and how much is actualy breast tissue. For some people, fat deposits in the breast area naturally and when they loose weight its all gone and they drop in cup sizes drastically. For others there is just more breast tissue that weight loss can't do anything to remove. I'm not too sure where I stand. My boobs have always been huge, but then again, so have I, hahaha. I'm a 40-42 DDD-G right now, they are always fluctuating with my weight, so I know that there is at least some fatty tissue in there. I just want to be able to lay down and not have my boobs come up and choke me. I would love to drop a couple cup sizes but will hold off on the reduction until I loose weight, then we'll see what needs to be done. Hope everyone elses boob troubles are going well!

Allison

Beautiful Lexy!!! I know that whatever name and design everyone here chooses it will be great, all these designs are so cute! I love how you put the picture in it, it gives everyone a chance to see the beautiful faces behind all this typing!! Now if only I was positive I would be a May bandster!! Good luck to all! Keeping my fingers crossed for May!!!

Allison

Is anyone planning on getting a Tummy Tuck pre-kids??? I don't think I am going to be happy until I get some of my problem areas taken care of with PS, but I just don't have the money and I hear there is a debate about whether PS should be done before kids. I am at least 7-10 years away from having kids so I would like to enjoy my body and my success in the mean time. What are your thoughts???

Just thought I'd give you some of my thoughts on this. I'm someone who is covered in stretch marks. They are all over. I'm hoping that after I loose weight they might not be as noticable, I'm not really sure how they work, but I'm only 20 so I'm hoping my skin, even though its so incredibly stretched right now, will be able to tighten back up.

However, a couple of my friends are having babies/already have had babies, so I've gotten to see a lot of their stretchmark experiences. My friend who had a baby this summer was tiny and had no stretchmarks at all pre-pregnancy, and after pregnancy, she has one tiny little one on her stomach that has since disappeared. So it seems that pregnancy can affect people differently than weight gain. A couple of my other friends have had no problems with stretchmarks and pregnancy, but most of them are in their early 20s, so it might have something to do with age?

Anyways, I'm rambling, haha I really don't know what I'm talking about and have never been pregnant, I just thought I'd share some of my friends experiences. Good luck with everything!!

Allison

Ok, I think I've got this figured out. In honor of losing 100 pounds I'm posting a before and during photo. The during photo was from last month. I'm actually down another 10 pounds since then. WooHoo! Tummy Tuck here I come!

Becky I am STUNNED! You look beautiful! You lost more than 100 pounds in a little more than one semester of college for me! You are such an inspiration!

Allison

Hahaha, I think this thread, along with others, is proof that fat people/formerly fat peole have the best sense humor lol

AHHHH My consultation is tomorrow!!!! I'm so excited! Just hoping my BMI is going to be high enough tomorrow morning, my weight is constantly fluctuating, maybe I'll do some serious eating tonight :thumbup:

Wish me luck! <3

Allison

Oh should I post, or should I just pass this by....the decisions, the decisions...

Oh wait, that's my right, I can post. I can write about anything that moves me because wait, now why? Oh yeah the Constitution says I can. Something about the freedom of speech. Crazy founding fathers what were they thinking?

Don't like it, don't read it. Very simple.

HAHAHAHA! Juli you're my hero lol

Aww you're awesome!! Thats so cute!

Reading about people always complaining can be annoying, but also helpful for others. For a lot of people on this site, this is the only place they have to vent and sometimes it helps to get it all out when things might not be going as well as they might have hoped. I've learned a lot from other peoples "complaining," it has shown me that lap band really isn't a quick fix or an easy solution. Although I know what you mean about getting scared away, some things on here freaked/grossed me out so much I almost reconsidered going through with all of this! But all that has done is prepare me for everything that could possibly happen.