MaidMarion

I was told that eventually nothing is off limits but to always try it at home first!! Best to not have a productive burp in public if you can help it. There are people in the local support group who eat any number of things that would scare me and some that have no problem with diet soda and occasionally wine. Not a single one drinks beer that I have found. Some say steak is just difficult to get chewed up soft enough to be anything but painful. I think like the pre-diet it depends on the doctor what you will be told. I think it depends on the person what you can stand ultimately. I think not having it might be easier with some things than saying I will have it some times. That may be just me.

Good for you! I am hoping to get a surgery date in the next week or so. I am starting a liquid diet on Tuesday though since I have had bronchitis for 6 weeks and such bad allergies I haven't tasted anything for at least a month. I keep wondering why I am eating at all. Oh well. I have heard a lot of people who swear by egg drop Soup run through the blender and you can mix it with the high Protein chicken broth for added protein. Just a thought because I suspect the sweetness could get gross after a while. Good Luck! I am sure your dog appreciates the extra walks too.

I think it would be hard for any of us to say what will happen for you. My changes started with the seminar in that I lost weight almost immediately although a lot of people go through the last supper syndrome. I know I was so worried about the psyche exam which was a piece of cake. I had an all day long behavior modification class that was informative and interesting. Did nutrition and still have exercise and rehab to talk to before I will go for my final consult with the surgeon and then the two week liquid diet for surgery. With Dr. Edwards our labs are done the day before surgery. I don't know if it means our blood work will be better or what because it seems weird to wait so long for them but every doctor seems to be different. Maybe you can find someone on here who went to the same surgeon? Good luck!

There is no secret. Unfortunately it will take changes on your part. At least that is what I have gotten from everything I have been to. It is only a tool that may help you achieve your goal of weight loss. I went to a behavior modification class all day last week and one of the things they did was bring in people at different stages in their weight loss. One man had lost 400 lbs but he worked out 7 hours a day!!! WTF who has that kinda time to work out?? Most of the women admitted to walking on treadmills for 30 minutes to an hour a day. One who had only lost about half her desired weight admitted she had not worked out in the two years but had recently bought a treadmill and had worked out every evening the previous week and had lost 5 lbs! I think you will lose weight with the pre surgery diet and post surgery diet which encourages people to eat better and really jump into it. I think it is the long term changes that are harder to make. Maintaining will be the bigger issue for most of us. I think support and knowledge will go a long way to helping you to achieve your goal. Don't be afraid to ask for help because you aren't alone in this.

I would just tell them it is your life. Any surgery is risky but so is being obese. Tell them you have researched and Dr. Aceves is experienced and has performed many many surgeries on US citizens who have traveled south of the border to save money. Unless your family wants to kick in to cover the difference I don't think there is much they can really say. It isn't like you are going to some back alley to get it done. Show them his website with the photos, that may change their tune.

Well Care Credit is exactly what I am using along with another 0% interest credit card and the $5,000 I have taken out of my 401k. I have a tiny income of around $500 a month from a job I can depend on the income and I work as a pet sitter but with the economy and the rising price of gas I don't really make much. My insurance which is astronomically high at $300 a month refuses all weight loss surgery. They are an insurance of last resort for fat people so they sure don't want you to be able to walk into an insurance company and get actual good insurance that pays for something. I figure it may take me even 6 or 7 years to pay it back but it will be worth it. I can get lower cost insurance which will save me around 2,000 a year since not only is my current insurance high it covers nothing barring a hospital stay oh and $5 on mammograms LOL sorry it actually isn't funny just stupid. You didn't say what year you are in school. Is it the last year you can go to Spain to study? Is it a summer program or a semester program? could you use a student loan to help pay for surgery and go to Spain next year?

I just looked at fill centers usa site and there is a 349 initial consultation charge and then 169 per fill. I think they were started to do fills on people who went out of country for surgery.

even without insurance my fills are covered for a year and then the fill and florascope runs 120 I believe. I think they are mostly between 80 and 150 depending on where you live and the competition.

I was at the behavior modification seminar they have us take locally and there was a woman there who has lost 120 lbs in the last year, she looks wonderful by the way, she only had a single fill. I think that would be great......so much less radiation. It actually worries me a bit that they want to x-ray or florascope when they do fills.....wonder if that is normal? well anyway maybe you will be one of the lucky ones who has the perfect fill the first time!!

I don't think that it is crazy at all! It sounds like a great way to take control. Good for you.....besides the more pounds off the easier your surgery is going to be.

I was recently in a class at the hospital and two of the women went around the room and let you feel their ports. You had to press fairly hard to feel them they were not visible and both these women were quite thin. Another woman in the class was the 2nd person in town to get banded and her port is lower she says it is her one regret because she has to wear elastic waist pants because jeans push close enough to her port to be painful. Keep in mind perhaps one day you will not be able to even find low rise jeans.....fashion is like that. But no matter what you do you can always have it moved I suppose.

I recently took my behavior modification class and they said there are times you won't lose the pounds because of water weight gain or muscle building and that you have to see beyond the scales. Congratulations on your inches lost......actually I think that would excite me more since people see you with their eyes and aren't walking around with a scale to put you on. The pounds will catch up.....perhaps you are building muscle and creating a higher metabolism right now. Are you drinking plenty of water? minor dehydration can lead to your body retaining water.

I am still pre op....lol sounds like I am having a sex change there.....I am on that excited and oh do I really want to go 17,000 in debt kinda thing too. To add to it I am hoping to be banding about the first of June but I haven't been able to taste or smell anything for over a month now because of a sinus infection from Hell. I told my doctor I would cancel if my sense of taste doesn't come back. I doubt I will have any regrets having the surgery if my taste does come back debt or not. Hell it costs less than my car did......and that thing costs me money every single day even if I don't drive it. Necessary evil and that is kinda the band for me necessary tool.

Thanks for all the help everyone. Funny thing though when I was at my pcp today for allergies I said something about the front of my left thigh being numb and having a burning sensation and I would be glad when I lose weight so my gut doesn't pull on my siatica and he said losing weight might help but it is Meralgia Paresthetica. So it is a compression of a nerve....opps I was doing the exact opposite of what I needed to do. I will make notes on what to buy when things start flapping in the breeze....and we had a big breeze today!:thumbup:

I am still pre-surgery but thought I should start hunting for something before I start since I have a bit of low back pain now and a very active job. Does anyone have a suggestion on really good girdle like underwear that will help hold my pannus in closer to my body until I get to have a tummy tuck? I know it is a while down the road but I know this will really be painful for my sciatica. I have a job that requires me to be on my feet the whole day and I already suffer some numbness in my left leg when I wear loose jeans instead of tight ones. Any suggestions of brands or what works best?

Actually what I understand there are hormones produced in the stomach and small intestines that contribute to the feeling of hunger and this will be helped by the band also. Not just the constriction but an actual chemical reaction in the body. At least that is what I was led to believe yesterday in a very long all day behavior class I attended.

can I add Vince Vaughan? He has put on so much weight recently.

someone recently told me....now I don't know if this is true just passing it along....if you are someone who gains weight very quickly like 5 or 6 pounds in a weekend then you will tend to lose quickly in the beginning before it levels off. People who gain quickly tend to have more fluid fluctuations early on so appear to lose more quickly. Like I say not sure if that is true or not. Actually I would look at it this way......how much would you have gained in that same time without the band? the scale going down is always positive!

Oh I think it would be more fun to speculate on who already had one. Along that note I saw Meatloaf on a cell phone service commercial and he is so much thinner. Anyone know if he had lap band or gastric bypass possibly?

Mandyjo you look wonderful in your photo. I wouldn't say you looked ill or haggard or anything. You look lovely and normal. I think people are just always a bit freaked out about change in general.

Wow that is unbelievable. Yeah okay you are a doctor......get over yourself! I am glad you have decided to get a new PCP. I love mine. I can not imagine having to go to a doctor with that kind of attitude. You are just trying to improve your life and health. Ugh. You have my total sympathy!! Has she seemed so bitchy for lack of a better word previously? My PCP actually wins awards locally for his bedside manner. He is also voted as one of the top docs by other doctors which is amazing because he is about 35 and a D.O.! I am glad you have decided to drop this doc who doesn't have time for you and your needs. {(hugs)}

I would say the first thing to do is stop beating yourself up you are taking the step in the right direction. They tell me a positive self attitude can do wonders for your healing. It will also help you if you should happen to eat something you think you shouldn't....we all make mistakes just live and learn. Remember you are wonderful Bat! You are making a change that will be a positive change. I am sure you are not hideous or gross although I have no clue what a bat's ass looks like. Must remember to look up next time I am in a cave.

Now I know this is weird but I have a friend who's mother is one of the few people locally who I know is banded. She could not get restriction. They didn't believe she could eat all she could so she took in a south beach meal to the doctors office ate that, drank a bottle of water, then drank the barium to take a look around. Her little flappy thing that holds food in her stomach didn't just work as a trap door but worked both ways so she was able to put food in her esophagus. The doctor said he had never seen that before in a patient. She has lost weight but it has taken her a full 3 years to lose her 100 lbs. Have they looked at your restriction with xray?

missy ask your doctor if Wellbutrin would work for you. I know it does wonders for all kinds of cravings and might help with both the depression and any food cravings you might have. I went to a doctor once who gave it to aid weight loss....which worked great for me except I am already a bit manic and I was super manic......to the point of obnoxiousness so anti-depressants only work for me during the dark and dreary months......in the Spring and Summer people want to shoot me with a tranquilizer dart. You might see what the doctor thinks

Your body is just adjusting. You may have a big loss in the next month. You might not lose a pound but you might lose a pant size. If you don't lose over a couple of months try kicking up your physical activity a little. You are lighter now so it will feel like less than you expect and that may be all you need to kick start the loss. Hormones can also play a big role. I am with Jack though a plateau is better than a gain.....and I seem much more prone to those currently. Hoping to get a banding date April 15th. Unfortunately my surgeon is on vacation soon so I must wait. I only hope I don't last supper myself up the scales. Good luck!!!