Great2BThin

Most dr are hard to get a hold of via phone. When I schedule fills I have to wait 2 to 3 weeks as well. Sometimes if I ask to talk to the nurse that does the fills she gets me in earlier. As for unfills, they get you right in for those at my office. They are considered more urgent. since you like your surgeon so well, maybe a good discussion with him will help? Does he email? that's how I contact mine sometimes. I hope you get some resolution soon.

Angel, sorry also to hear your dr. isn't real supportive. Sure diet and nutrition play into the band but if we could do it with that alone we wouldn't have gotten banded! I hope you are able to get in with the new dr. I've also heard of FillCenters USA are there any of those near by? Allie, yep I'm a 38D too! Would like to stay where I am. I've not lost much more on top, I seem to lose from top down, just have those dang legs and calves to go! One of the trainers at the rec center measured my body fat % today. But I have no idea if it's good, yet. She is going to email me the details. It's 28%, anyone know?? I think it was okay as she made comments each place she measured at how little fat I had in the calipers. Also she did my hip/waist ratio that was .80, good, bad???? I wish I knew what they used to be. I took my new size 10 dress pants to my MIL's for her to hem them. They are longs and just a tad too long, I hate that. Regulars are always too short but longs are a tad long if I don't wear heels which I rarely do. You can bet I left the tags on them. LOL Getting another snowstorm today, will it ever end? We hardly had snow all winter and are getting it all in a matter of a couple days. GRRRR I want spring.

Yeah!! Janet is back! Glad you had a nice time and didn't gain any weight! Charlene, congrats on another grandchild! Joann, I never pack til the evening before a trip no matter how big a trip. Ido laundry the day before that, so everything is clean and then decide what to take then. Well we are getting more snow today too. Those darn weather folks can't get anything right. They said some flurries this afternoon and no more than an inch. Well at 4am it was already white out, and when I left for work at 5am we had more than an inch already. They must've looked out the window as now they are saying 1 to 3". LOL It's the wet slushy kind and blowing so hopefully it's not as bad as last week. We had a week of almost 80 temps just to tease us into thinking spring was coming, this is the most winter we had all winter. One of the trainers at the rec center measured my body fat % this morning. Any idea what is good? mine is 28%, she also measured my hip to waist ratio and that was .81 any idea if that is good? She's going to email me some info. but I'm just anxious. She was surprised at how little body fat she got in the calipers and said it was good. So I am hoping that's good.

Well it's kindda hard without knowing more, are you looking for advise on foods (softs, mushies, etc) or exercise, etc. Generally I'd say be a stickler for following the bandster rules, 1/2 cup portions, Protein first, mini meals, etc. Welcome, and tell us more so we can help you. You'll find lots of help and advice here. Janet is great but on vacation this week and will be back soon, but many others here will be happy to answer any questions.

After quoting, you probably accidently hit the return key a few times. Not a problem. It's still there. It's trial and error learning your way around here. I'm not sure what you mean by posting choices.

Wow Barb you are so close! Congrats! Is it getting harder the closer you get? I find now that I stall for a couple weeks then have a big loss before I was losing every week almost. I'm getting close too (not as close as you but after where I came from it feels close) and am so anxious to hit it. Never did I think it possible all those years I was so heavy. I love my band!

Lucy, I like how it fits and feels. It offers great support and most of all I like how it looks under a tighter fitting Tshirt. It's sortta padded not a lot as I always stayed away from any padding being big enough there already and has extra padding in the nipple area. I wasn't so sold on it until I put a shirt on over it and saw the difference. Hope that helps.

Good evening. Where is everyone?? I just had to come post as I know awhile back there was discussion about the Ipex bra at Victoria's Secret. I bought one then and really liked it. Well, they are regularly $45 each (which I'd never pay) but right now on sale for 2 for $49. Can't remember who told me about them and who all liked them but thought I'd pass that along. I got 2, plus I had an email for $10 off a $50 purchase so I threw in a pair of sale panties for $3.99 and figure I still got $6 off my bras plus a pair of free panties.

Great, I hope it helps your back. they say the stronger we can get our core and our abs the more it helps the back. Have you ever tried an exercise ball?? Not sure what that would do for a back if it would help it or hurt it but it forces you to isolate those muscles more. I'm finding lately that my restriction is really varying from day to day. Some days I think I am almost too tight and others not so much. Our weather has been almost 80 one day and in the teens another. I'm starting to wonder if weather makes a difference. Just went to Victoria's Secret and am the proud owner of 2 new Ipex bras, they are usually $45 each and they had them 2 for $49 plus I got a coupon for $10 a $50 purchase. I threw in a pair of $3.99 panties to put the total over $50 but figure I got those for free plus still got $6 more off. The store I went to was right next door to the Lane Bryant I used to shop regularly in. It felt so good to walk past it and go into Victoria's.

Househuntress, Unfortuantely exercise might help the 'batwings' but I dont' think there is anything that will totally get rid of them besides surgery. I do lots of sculpting with exercise bands on my Power 90 workouts that I do, I can see it tightening parts of my arms and some more muscle definition but if I hold my arm out I still have the sag. As for the PBing and then eating wrong things vs. chewing smaller and being able to pack more in thinking, here's my thought. (and I hope it comes out okay it's not meant to be mean and is said in love). So what is worse? What you are doing now isn't working, you admit you then eat the wrong things. Why don't you take a chance and change things up and do the small bites and chew chew chew? That is how the band is meant to work. You'll be amazed at how quickly small bites can fill you up. Also all the time taken to chew chew chew slows down your eating and gives your body a chance to tell your brain you are full, they say it takes 20 min to get that message to your brain. If you still can't get hard protein down by chew chew chew, then you might be too tight and need some fill out. You've come so far with your 70 lbs, so you have proven you know what to do. I am finding now that I am longer out from surgery that it gets easier to fall away from the band rules that I was so strict with in the beginning. I think time makes it easier to get lax, we get confident in what we are doing and it gets easier at times to throw caution to the wind. Remember that post op excitement and draw upon that. ARe you exercising? If not, start, and if so, increase it. Before you know it, you'll be on that losing road again! Good luck to you, you have come this far, you can go all the way. As for the swimsuit, my thought as I bought my new tankini for my cruise this year is I'd rather be in that suit with my 'batwings' than in the size I was last time with the fat all over my body.

Emma, you are what is called Bandster Hell right now. It's the time after you begin recovery but before your first fill, usually the first 6 weeks after surgery. In fact, my dr told me my goal wasn't even to lose weight during this time, just to heal. The swelling has gone down from your surgery, you just went through freakin' major surgery to lose weight and here you are now hungry and the scale isn't budging. And you are hungry. This too shall pass, your first fill or two will help tremendously. Hang in there, follow your post op diet (many docs differ on what you can eat and when during this period) and know that it's common to not lose much right now. As soon as I started mushies the scale stopped for me too and I was in pure panic mode. But it picked back up and moved quickly those first few months.

Just changing my start weight to it reflects where I was at the beginning of the challenge instead of when I joined a few days ago. Name.............. Start ..........Current.......... Goal ........ToGo 3ShotRoc..............345..............263................220......... ..43 alabubba..............464..............464................400......... ....64 annieemmm.........200..............198.................170......... ..28 barb12590............173..............165................155.......... .10 Betelnut………….....295….……...…270 …....……..245………….25 Bklyn1984.............317..............256................230......... ..26 blaze21................200.8...........200.8..............170......... ..30.8 Chicky Abby..........314..............314................270...........44 countrygirlNY........253..............217................182.......... ..35 crzytchr2004.........237..............232................210.......... .22 Fab by 50.............215..............215................175...........40 Fordgal88.............199..............175................199......... ..24 Htaylor1021.....210............210............185.........25 Jennyt71...............245..............207................170........ ...37 keepingfaith08...225..........225.............190.......35 LessJess...............228..............228................199........ ...29 Letsgetitstarted.....229..............229................199.......... .30 libbyjane1976.......283...............283................250.......... 33 LilMissDiva...........251.6............247.6..............227......... .20.6 liz_hager..............158..............156.................145....... ....11 Long2BThin...........199..............191.................169......... ..22 Mair.....................222..............220................199...... .....21 mamacj................316..............269................233......... ...36 MsNickelback....172...........172............149..........23 nicolerose.......365..........288............260.........28 Nursemelly............245............213.................185.......... ...28 onehotmama.........272.............237.................210............ 27 pbpuniser.............212..............212................182......... ..30 peachwood......251...........251............230.........21 picklesix...........197..........197.............170.........27 sexylips................238..............238................199....... ....39 SillyGoose............258...............243................228........ ...15 simone................182...............182................160........ ...22 ukcatsfan.............340...............340................300........ ...40 workingmom.....214...........214............175.........39

Woo Hoo!!! I'm so happy for you. That is such an exciting milestone to reach. Congrats!! Good for you! I lost 1 stinkin pound with my stomach flu and it was back the next day! GRRR Best wishes for a speedy recovery from surgery this time and no infections!! Army, you are braver than I!! Good luck to you with no fill. I just don't think I could go that long. I mean that's why I got the band because I couldn't do it on my own. Do you have any restriction with just the band and no fill? I am flying to Barcelona in May but don't think I am going to get unfilled or anything. From what I hear the tightness from flying doesn't happen to everyone and when it does it is temporary. Maybe that will keep me in check on my cruise! LOL Good luck to you!! I have wondered what one does with the band when one reaches goal, do you leave the fill? take it out? take some out? guess time will tell. Guess our blizzard is gone and moved east. We have such a beautiful day today with the crisp white snow and deep blue sunny sky. this weekend almost 60 so it should melt fast. I do have a bit of spring fever not sure if it's because I want the warm weather or just want to wear my new clothes!!

The ones I take are called Citracal Petites. You swallow them but they are smaller than normal calcium pills. Still not super small. Only once after a pretty tight fill I had to cut them in half for about a week, but the rest of the time have been able to swallow them. They have vitamin D as well.

Yes the Centrum Silver chewables are fruit flavored. I get them at Walmart. As for the Viactive. I am not going to say they are not okay for bandsters to take, but I was told that those were calcium carbonate and that it was better to take calcium citrate. Just like our pre and post op diets all differed from different docs I have a feeling so do the Vitamin and supplement recommendations. But I do the citrate with vitamin D.

Julie, the nice thing about our spring storms like this is they don't last long. We are supposed to be in high 50's this weekend so should melt quick. It's that real heavy wet stuff which was much needed around here. I'm going no where. I'm hoping for a phone call from my boss saying they will delay opening in the morning and that I dont' have to go in!! They say the blizzard will last to 5 or 6 am, I work only 515am to 830am. I could use the time to sleep in!

Well it's Denver's turn for the blizzard today. We are getting hammered. It's a good thing though as we were in such a drought, such a contrast to the flooding Julie is experiencing. We are supposed to get up to 18 inches. Dh just fertilized the grass so maybe it will green up really good now. I'm thinking of Janet on her cruise for sure today!

I was told to take calcium citrate as well (the kind in Citracal) as it is best absorbed for the WLS patient. I got the petites which I can swallow with the band. They are a little more expensive than the carbonate which is what I think all the chocolate chews are. Also be sure it has Vitamin D in it. My surgeon does a vitamin panel test and I was low on some of my B's so had to take B1 and a B12 for awhile. Though because banders absorb their food more than a bypass, generally speaking, B12 isn't necessary for a bander unless told otherwise. I take a chewable Centrum Silver vitamin every day but am intrigued by the lapband specific ones. Joann, did you say GNC carries one specifically for lapbanders? What's it called? I also took Biotin for a bit as I heard it helped with thinning hair which happened to me about 4 to 6 mos post op, it is getting better so have stopped that.

Well my long day got shortend by about a half hour. I got sent home on my first ever snow day!! We are getting quite the blizzard in Denver. The rec center was going to close at 2pm wwhen I was to get off, my boss said to go ahead and close and he'd send everyone working out home. I had to wade through over 1 foot snow drifts in my sneakers to get to my car. Now my feet are freezing. Freaky spring storm, I'm sure it'll knock the blossoms off the trees too, bummer!

Don't you just love those Costco meals? LOL I've done that a couple times. Was there about lunch time, had a few samples and was pretty full. I got the lowfat yogurt at the snack bar for dessert and ate like 1/4 of it. Now before I hear about how it's not healthy, not enough protein, too many calories etc. It is the rare occassion or treat that I've done this. I used to love their hot dogs too, now a 1/2 hotdog w/o the bun is lunch. Too bad they make you order the soda with it as I just throw that away unless someone is with me and I give it to them. Well I am working 8 hours today. That's 5 more than usual! LOL Gonna be a long one! LOL I am just very part time but filling in for a gal that needed off today for spring break. Better get going

One more!!! Name___________StartWeight___CurrentWeight______Goal_________ToGo *****:hurray:************************:crazy:***********:thumbup:* ********* :thumbup:*** AmethystJade.......231.8..........212.........150.......62.0 Babe...............308............282.6.......199.......83.6 Bellaperdente......196............181.........150.......31 Bklyn1984..........317............256.........165.......91 Bostongurl.........190............188.........133.......55 Brandy.............198............181.........166.......15 Cappy..............240............227.5.......130.......97.5 Chocolate_Snaps....244............224.........175.......49 CubsGirl17.........147............135.........130.......5 Clarebear08........192............176.5.......160.......16.5 Donna113...........183............174.........126.......48 Ebonie.............307............307.........200.......107 EmmaWang...........241............220.........140.......80 FalloutGirl........282............278.........165.......112 FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54 FlordiaPete........413............391.........300.......91 GratefulHeart......226............203.........135.......68 GuyMontag..........325............295.........200.......95 health4life........279............239.........150.......89 inri09.............287............254.........185.......69 janesays...........225............208.........160.......48 kimaly.............194............183.........160.......23 Lindar172..........246............222.2.......150.......72.2 Linksmom...........234............234.........145.......89 LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91 Long2BThin.........216............191.........169.......22 lotzasunshine......270............259.5.......180.......79.5 Loveislovely.......216............197.........175.......22 ltgordon...........284.8..........250.5.......185.......65.5 lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65 Mair...............231............222.........140.......83 Mamanmidwife.......264............260.........200.......60 mdgarcia31665......220............220.........165.......55 MissNilsa..........180............180.........132.......48 nicolerose.........365............288.........258.......30 Rhea2d.............283............233.........185.......58 Sandra267..........220............220.........165.......55 Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40 Tuger..............192............187.5.......130.......57.5 Under200...........242............199.........155.......44 vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52 Wendy_Wo...........242............218.........142.......76 WOWOX7.............173............157.........125.......32 __________________

Allie, sorry you had a rough day yesterday. Your hubby is right though. One chocolate bunny isn't going to hurt you, it was the many you probably would've had pre-banding. Sounds like you were able to work through it though.

My port is near my biggest incision and that area was the sorest the longest. If you are only a couple weeks out from surgery, you shouldn't be lifting anything. I was told no lifting for 6 weeks. Eating usually doesn't make the port area sore though. I'd feel uncomfortable if I ate too much or too big too fast in the band area. If it continues to bother you, check with your doc. And congrats on the band!

Good morning. finally feeling better today after a bout with the stomach flu. I haven't worked out in 2 days either, (Sharon, I think it's me that does Power 90 not sure if anyone else does or not). I am really going to feel it at exercise today, I was just getting back into my groove after 2 weeks off with moving Grandma. Went shopping yesterday and got another pair of size 10's so it wasn't a fluke on the jeans. I got some dress pants in talls even at the Limited! WOO HOO!! Lots of other stuff too. Shopping is so fun now. Mrs Bubba, the blizzard went just north of us so we missed it, but are expecting snow tomorrow or Friday. Come on Spring!

Good morning. I feel like I am back to the land of the living. It was a rough day on Monday! Still didn't go to work yesterday as when I got up at 415am my tummy was still hurting. I went back to bed after calling work and slept another 5 hours. I got up then and felt pretty good. I lost a few pounds with the stomach bug but it's already back this morning! GRRRR There has to be some benefit, right?? So back to work today. I did go out shopping some yesterday afternoon wtih my daughter. I had a great time trying on stuff and did find out my size 10 jeans weren't just a fluke! Several 10's fit. I even got some size 10 dress pants on clearance (in talls even) at the Limited!! WOOHOO!! Also got some white jeans at Ann Taylor but those had to be 12's. But I'm fine with that, and several tops. That will make a person feel better! VZ and Army, sorry to hear of the fill woes. I've been lucky in that regard. Hope you are back to normal soon.