JudyAnticola

I gave Nicki my 3 pm appointment, yes, he is over booked. Last time I had a 3 pm I got out at 5 or so. Rain, you and I were there together. I wish I was coming so I could see you all. I am traveling and Nicki needed an appointment. Daniellebee-rule of thumb is that if you lose 1-2 pounds a week you will not get a fill, they do not want you to lose any faster. I do not know anyone that got a fill on first post-op, although you could be the first. But if your average weight loss (not just the last week) was 1-2 pounds a week, you almost certainly will not get one. Just dont want you to be disappointed. I will be gone all next week so I will not be at support. Hi Betsey--did not find my purse yet, but when I do it is yours! See, I remember you! good luck.

I hope to show up one of these Saturdays, if I learn to wake up on time. Had to go to the Y as I missed both of my Saturday opportunities. Talk to you soon.

I could swear that mine is at 2:30 too on the 13th. He is just coming back from vacation so back a lunch, LOL!! There is a chance I may have to cancel for a work trip, not sure. He wont be giving me a fill for sure. I am still pretty tight from the last one. I have actually lost a little more weight. Take care, see you all soon.

Val, I am pretty snowed in. Call me in the morning if you hear from Linda and if you are walking, I might meet up with you if I can get out. I already have Cabin Fever.

My appointment is at 2:30 on the 13th of January. I am sure you will all still be there, since he is double booked--so......I will see you all there! If I am still doing well though I might skip the visit. Take care.

that is probably why he says to eat the proteins first before anything else (yes, even before the chocolate, LOL). Actually, I am five months post-op, down 26 pounds and eat pretty much a little of everything, I do try to do protein first and veggies second, but it does not always work that way. My protein levels in my blood work has always been fine, so for me at least it is not a problem. Everything seems to have fallen into place. I guess the best thing to do is confirm with Hoffman if you want to continue the protein drinks, as everyone is a little different. Again, unfortunately, there is still enough of an overeater in me that eating too little has never been a problem, but one can always dream!!!!

Hoffamn does not want us on the protein shakes after we go on solid food as the protein shakes go right through the band and do not contribute to your fullness. When I started on soft food (three weeks I think), he told me to go off the shakes. He was very emphatic about it. The hair loss happens to the bypass patients because they can not absorb vitamins. The only way the band would contribute to hair loss is if you are not eating healthy. The band does not alter your bodys ability to absorb vitamins and nutrients.

I will probably jazzercise this week Saturday 12/13, however if it is sunny, I might meet up with you guys.

I liked mine a lot. Designer whey protein, Vitamin Shoppe. Just dont buy too much as you do not need it for much longer than a week. I bought two containers and have half of each left.

there would be no reason for your hair to fall out after this surgery. I do take the biotin because my hair was falling out before the surgery. Not sure if it has helped. Cant hurt though!

Val, what was your Bib number for the race? I am trying to find my pictures but my bib was hidden. I am hoping I can locate my pictures as they should be next to yours. Thanks.

Shar--Yes, I had to pay the full 200 up front, maybe your insurance will cover the rest. Call them to confirm so you are not surprised. I was very surprised when the testing by Lelito was $800--sure glad I did not have to pay that myself. also, remember to check the place right behind BGH, Lisa can give you the name. Perhaps they will accept your insurance in full. I am sad because I was able to eat a whole plate of food today (my third Thanksgiving dinner). Gosh it will be so hard to be good again. Take care.

Linda, I dont think I will be coming. I dont have an excuse, just dont feel like it! If I change my mind I will call Val's phone. Look for our purses!

I paid Suburban $200 up front, but they returned it when I canceled and went to Lelito. He billed my insurance about $800 for the evaluation.

Try Dr. Ron Lelito. I went to him after my insurance did not cover suburban. There is also a psych that most of the patients go to that is right behind BGH, but I am not sure of the name. What inusrance do you have? Suburban is quite selective. I have two insurance coverages and they accepted neither.

They keep it closed because of HIPAA. It is like a cave in those rooms though. Just FYI, they do let you come out and hang out in the hall to talk. No one minded when I did that. I also brought a book and got some good reading done. Vicki and Linda, both of you sound like your weight loss is going gangbusters. I am going to try to get a good loss in prior to seeing him in January. I am restricted pretty well, so hope it helps over the holidays. has anyone looked at SB phase 3? I am thinking of going that route for a while. HAve a good Thanksgiving.

Vicki, you are so right. I still have days when I can eat more then I think I should (but we spent a life doing that), but now I am getting to the point where I am not thinking about food as much, and I can not eat as much. The sad thing is had I combined SB with the band I would have been close to my goal by now. But so far I have lost every visit. I just hope I can get the loss to be a little more consistent, as I would like to not have to go to the clinic so often, I would like to push it to 12 weeks at least.

Daniella, you didnt make him look bad, most of us were or are married, we know.... I am very pleased that he is jumping in to help you. I liked your story about the chicken and salad. When my husband was alive he could be a real pain sometimes, but always rose to the occasion. He would have done something like that. I, however, was many times too stupid to acknowledge it. Please let him know it meant a lot to you while you have the chance to do so. Next, it was a pleasure to meet you. Hopefully we can get together to walk sometime. That is great about not eating part of the waffle. I did not have kids, but I spend a lot of time with nieces and nephews and in the past always felt that I had to eat what they left. I feel that if I was a mom I would have had an even bigger problem with food. Way to go saying no! I think we are a lot alike, as the dessert is what kills me. The one good thing about the band is that you can still have some dessert, but you wont be able to eat a lot of it. I have had the band five months and I can tell you I finally do not spend every minute thinking about food. for the first two months that is all I thought about. It is better now. My problem is that I do not have to plan meals so I do not always have groceries in the house. I have to change that. I think one of the misconceptions I had about the band is the amount of work I would have to do. I am ok with the exercise, but healthy meals are still a problem for me. I have had small weight losses so far, but my goal for my next appointment is to lose 2 pounds a week until then. I want Hoffman to know I take it seriously. Have a great week!

You did so well on the SB diet before the surgery. Actually you lost more before the surgery right? I just wonder since we have the band that we are not eating well because we think the band will make the calories disappear or something. I am surprised my weight loss is slow, as I am eating much less then before. Maybe try to figure out what you were doing before the band, I remember you were having a hard time keeping your weight up to meet the BMI or what ever it was called. You will probably get yelled at for eating popcorn, as I would think that would be in the no-no category, not sure. Seems like it could swell up and get stuck. I have had a little popcorn I think, but not a bag. Well, you will get the best advice from the doctor that's for sure, the rest of us can only guess. I am determined to do a good job before I see him next time. I really hate to disappoint him. He has reminded me not to eat after 7 pm, I have a hard time with that as I usually eat dinner at 8 pm or so. I guess the good news is you will be able to eat a good Thanksgiving dinner. I guess we did not talk about Holiday eating strategy at the meeting, I think we were supposed to. I liked Kim at the seminar, I have really not had much interaction with her.

I took my glue off after about 4 days, just little by little as it started to peel away. I was healed closed very fast though. There were a few spots that I could not peel off. By my one week visit though it was all off. I can not remember when I started my first bath, but my tub is not that deep, it does not cover my suture areas anyway. Yes, NBG, that is the tight feeling you feel below your boobs, that is actually where the band is. So if you have pain there you went too far with the eating. I am surprised you can eat that much so soon. You are not throwing up or anything? You will learn how to stop one forkfull before the pain. sometimes I take that forkfull anyway. I am getting much better.

Actually it was not bad at all. Unfortunately I stayed and shopped, bad move.

Hi Linda, I see that you are online. Is it just you and I at the Mall tomorrow? I finally got my car back today after two weeks in repair. It felt nice!

I am dying to see what the Realize band ports look like installed, hopefully one of you will show us. My port is not too bad, but I still have plenty of blubber over it. Not sure if it will be a problem or not. Dr. Hoffman did tell me that they can put in a low profile port down the road if necessary. I can only hope to one day lose enough that the port shows (or that I can look down and see my feet, LOL!)

Shar, I had some chest tightness and shortness of breath after the surgery, it lasted for 2 or 3 weeks. someone else mentioned it to me recently too, maybe a lady named kathy that I met while waiting for my appointment.