jewels41

hi i too was banded over 2 years ago. I now started body by vi Protein shakes.. they are super good. some of our Protein Drinks were super grainy this is not.so check it out... i love it

I was banded december 19th, hysterectomy four months after that, then I had heart spasms which showed up as a silent heart attack four months ago..

I am down to a size 9 pants from a size 20 pants, I have lost 65 lbs but still need to lose more, it seems that I have had many plateaus where IM not losing but I pick myself back up and try try again. I need a fill again as Im feeling not that restricted. Everyday is a new day thats for sure, one day I can eat something and the next I cant... food is more of a chore now on what to make for suppers ... sometimes its discouraging when I want to eat something but I know it would get stuck.. I havent had any bread and that is one thing that I can say I do miss.... just making a sandwhich and I do miss eating fish..

Im happy with the way I look now and my wedding is april 10th and Im so excited to be able to walk down the aisle looking amazing..

congrats to everyone on your weight losses.. Hang in there I know how tough this has really been!!

I have been doing excellent, and are you considering weight loss surgery, I am assuming that you are. I had my own medical insurance so didnt even see the bill. It was paid for in full. The first step is to go to a seminar and you can go to smdc web site to see when the next one is, and then you have to see the nutritionist as many times as your insurance tells you to. You wont meet dr. pitt until the end just before surgery. this process took me eight months from start to finish. any other questions just holler.. good luck...

I like it so far and the ratings were great on the gaming site that I check other games out on. My teens are huge gamers so they tell me to check the ratings if the ratings are horrible then I dont buy them..

for this you need a tape measure so that way you can find out how many inches u are losing in your arms etc ..

i have my fitness coach, I like it so far... but i do not have the other one that you mentioned. I look at the ratings of the game alot.. I have teens who are big gamers.. so they always tell me to check the ratings.. and normally they are right on the money.. goodluck

I have no regrets about being banded at all. I am down 46 lbs and I only had the 1 fill in January so I think that I have done excellent. I had 2 surgeries since having the lap band so the only thing that I could do was walk for 10 minutes a day. I am just so proud of myself that I managed to still lose some weight. I feel so amazing... When I went to georgia to see my fiance in april and I came back with new clothes and me and my friends went out and I put them on they were like OMG you have lost alot of weight... that made me feel so good.. but I wont let it go to my head.. Im utterly happy.. lol

I was filled yesterday they put in a half of a cc. I currently have 4.6 cc's in my band. I have the allergen band which holds 10 cc's. so I am on liquids for 3 days. that seems to have changed too.. My doc will not fill me if Im losing 1 to 2 lbs a week. But in 4 weeks if I havent lost then he will fill me again.

Banded: 12/19/2008

Starting weight: 215

Current Weight: 169

Total Weight Loss: 46 lbs.

I just now had my 2nd fill and now have 4.6 cc in my band. I have had a super long road. I had 2 surgeries since my lap band so I havent been able to be filled nor do exercises, so Im really proud of myself for managing to still lose some weight since these surgeries. It sure looks like everyone else is doing a fantastic job as well. Keep up the awesome work everyone...

I have had 2 other surgeries since I was banded december 19th 2008. After my hysterectomy on may 11th I noticed that I had around 30 hairs coming out a day. I just upped my Protein and we will see if that will help. I voted none of those options fit for me. Statistics say a person loses and average of 40-100 hairs per day so perhaps this is just normal. But I honestly think its because of the changes that my body has been going thru since my abdominal hysterectomy. My doc feels the same way.

I do not regret having the lap band at all. The sleeve was not an option for me. I now have read alot more here on the sleeve and I know that another surgeon at my hospital had the sleeve and he has done very well with this. He now tells everyone that the sleeve is the best there is now... If my band had to come out the sleeve is the way I would go.. Just my opinion

Hi, I started my journey at the end of april of 2008 (orientation first). They told us that it could take up to 1 years to be banded, insurance requirements etc. Well for me I went to see the nurse first where she explained the whole procedure to me and asked If i was still interested and of course I said yes, then I seen the dietician and spoke with her. They told me that I needed to have a psyche eval at the orientation which that was done in june and I passed it.. it has 500 questions on it its called MMPI 2 test. I had to see the dietician a total of 6 times thats what my insurance required. I completed all of those things and they sent out that info to my insurance company and i was approved in 2 days ( super fast) I was excited when I got the letter from them that I was approved for surgery, I met with my surgeon and he asked what type of surgery I was having ( lap band) and I signed some papers he had, then I met with his nurse and I got my surgery date which was december 19th. So it took me nine months and it was well worth it to me.

this is not a speedy process, i do have friends who only needed 3 dietician visits as well and they had there surgeries a little sooner than mine. You can only see the dietician once a month... i thought perhaps I could do it all in one week..lol Im not a patient person at times.

But hang in there I wish you the best in your journey.. keep me posted

And I didnt need to lose weight before the surgery at all. Some people do if they are over 450 lbs.

we all have our reasons of having this surgery but Im sure that it was due to your health problems and wanting to lose weight. I know that this was the best decision I made and I dont have any regrets. You can do this I know you can, I know that its tough when ppl are eating around you just leave the room or walk away from them or ask them to leave the area. You can do it.... keep up the good work. Julie

Hi , I can only say from my experience with living with someone with severe depression who stops taking there medications its a rollercoaster all the time. I was with my partner who had severe depression and he would take his meds then stop taking them. They think that they are fine and that they dont need to take there meds. But they really honestly do need to take them and go to counseling as well. I was with my boyfriend at that time for over 7 years and he kicked me out 3 times and I was stupid enough to keep going back for more. He didnt take his meds nor did he get the help that he needed. If your wife gets the help she needs and takes her meds and continues this then perhaps counseling will work for both of you. But I can honestly say this its a tough road living with someone with depression and I was being brought down alot too. And the fights are with herself and not you, they blame people alot for the things that are there own mistakes. So stop blaming yourself its not your fault trust me on this I learned in my counseling sessions and there were many of those. I could talk for hours on this topic but this is just my experience, there is of course more to my story but I got out finally and now I am happily engaged to someone else.

In regards to child support, here in wisconsin and even in minnesota you contact your child support worker and they give you the packet to reduce your child support this will take time but it will work. You can request this every 2 years for it to be updated. Goodluck to you and if you ever need a friend let me know

Julie

I say explore all options, lap band, gastric sleeve ( mini bypass) and the gastric bypass. There are alot of things involved in all of them. With the lap band foods get stuck at times and at times you have alot of saliva coming back up. Those moments are unpleasant but most of the time its my own fault that something got stuck such as not chewing enough, talking to others while eating, just plain not concentrating. Now the new gastric sleeve Im sure has some complications as well, I do not have this nor did I have this option when I was looking at weight loss surgery, for me the gastric bypass is super invasive nor did i want that at all. I know that if the band has to come out I would choose the gastric sleeve, ( my surgeon had this done) this is done laproscopically as well ( just like the band) . So check all your options out first before you make your final decision.

sounds like you need to ask your friends if its because there food is getting stuck happens perhaps alot to them due to them doing something wrong. I have learned the foods I can eat and the foods I cannot eat with my band. The band is a tool and if you use it incorrectly then it wont work for you..

I am very happy with my decision and would do it again .... I am down 50 lbs thus far..

goodluck to you

Hi I had dr. pitt and I really liked him. If you are looking for a great surgeon to do your lap band in duluth I suggest to go and see him. He is very informative and he did an excellent job with my band. I was banded december 19th 2008. drop me a line if you have any questions on how to proceed or any other questions that you may have .

julie

Hi I was banded december 19th but since then alot has been going on. I had a biopsy on my cervix in feb, and on monday May 11th I had to have an abdominal hysterectomy. i have only had 1 fill as they wanted me to maintain my weight for these procedures. I am currently at 173 lbs but as soon as this surgery is healed in six weeks I can finally have a fill. Im sore from this latest surgery but doing well. sure hope all other bandsters are doing well. take care and I will try to keep posting as I can.

Julie

congrats to you!! keep us posted on your progress...

Your dietician sounds like mine.. Right ON The MONEY...

First rule really is this: Do not Drink 30 minutes before or 30 minutes after a meal... How many people still find themselves wanting to drink something...

2nd rule is Protein First

3rd Rule is Chew Chew chew chew ( till mushy) we all know what getting stuck is like.

4th rule : 20 minutes per meal

Just some of the rules that I follow very carefully as Im sure most of us bandsters do. By the way Did you have the lap band Doctor V?

Hi , there is a pocket bookat Walmart that tells you how much Protein is in foods. we eat venison due to the low fat but its high in protein. We grew up on a farm and I have spoken to many of them about Soy, and this is what they will tell people about eating soy..... Your body cannot break down Soy it just loads up in your body. Now for me I pay attention to what the farmers tell me. So soy will never be an option. So I find my protein in the everyday foods that I eat. And I do manage to get all my protein in. sorry but just my opinion..

For me it took 8 months from start to finish. I was banded december 19th. I had my seminar april 08, then I went to my first appt with the rn of weight loss surgery who explained it all to me, then to my 1st dietician visit. I had 6 in all with the dietician. I had my psyche eval in june 08 and a week later I had the results of that. Then I received a letter that said I was excepted into the program. I always keep up with my medical so the only thing I needed to have was a blood test called hpylori ( to make sure you dont have stomach ulcers) . I had to have an ekg, a pre-op physical , a pap smear. And that was it for me. But every state and every doctor has different requirements. I have no regrets and I am now down from 215 lbs to 178 lbs and very happy with my weight loss. I would do this again in a heart beat..

goodluck and keep me posted

Hi all I had my first fill yesterday and all went very well. I do although have a question. Do your doctors use flouroscope to find your port? or do they just feel for it and then fill you? My doctor has been giving fills for five years now and over 500 patients. Just curious to see what everyone says .. thanks

the gas x strips worked really well for me and Only 1 time did i have that horrible gas pain in my chest thought i was having a heart attack and I was in walmart.... so i bought more gas x strips and it helped alot. I didnt have much pain but everyone is different. I know things will get better give it a few more days. If its still bad than you had better go back to your doctors office. But have faith you made the right choice... I know I sure did. I was banded on december 19th and I dont regret it one bit.. goodluck keep us posted

Julie

b 1 english muffin

s none

l chicken stir fry no rice

s weight watchers yogurt

d chili

s sugar free pears

I get my fill on december 20th cant wait... need some restriction thats for sure.

Hi all my friend called me and told me that her insurance which is Medica has denied her. I told her to call and find out why so she did and they told her that they do not cover lap band surgery. She had called ahead of time to see if they did and she was informed that they do. I told her to appeal and the lady is sending her that paperwork , but the lady told her not that its going to do her any good. Anyone else have a problem like this? Can anyone offer any advice on what she should do other than appeal...

thank you

Julie

sorry forgot my goal weight. I am going to say 15 lbs.