lotzasunshine

Name___________StartWeight___CurrentWeight______Goal_________ToGo *****<v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" filled="f" stroked="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe">:w00t:</v:shapetype>***********:glare:*************:tt2:***********:thumbup:********** :thumbs_up:*** Brandy.............198............196.........166.......28 Cappy..............240............239.........130.......109 Chocolate_Snaps....244............234.........175.......59 Clarebear08........192............189.........160.......29 Donna113...........183............181.5.......125.....55.5 Ebonie.............307............307.........200......107 FalloutGirl........282............282.........165......116 FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54 FlordiaPete........413............413.........300......113 GratefulHeart......226............223.........135.......88 Lindar172..........246............246.........150.......96 LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91 Long2BThin.........216............212.........169.......43 lotzasunshine......270............269.........180.......89 Loveislovely.......216............216.........175.......41 ltgordon.........284.8..........262.8.........185.....77.2 lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65 Mair...............231............231.........140.......91 Mamanmidwife.......264............264.........200.......64 Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40 Under200...........242............199.........155.......44 vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52 WOWOX7.............173............170.........125.......45

I was banded in July and was about where you are, I seem to be a slower loser.

Well, I have no willpower. I started the 5 day pouch test, and gave up by that night. My excuse was that I was hurting from a fall on the ice earlier in the day. But My body seems to be kicking back in and I've lost 2 of the 4lbs that I had gained. I changed my shake too. The ones I have been clinging to because I like them are the Kirkland brand of weight loss shakes. However they have 44g of carbs. Yeah, I know, that's a lot. So I tried the walmart brand that compares to slimfast optima, so now I am only drinking 24g of carbs in every shake now. I am looking into the slimfast low carb, but they are a little expensive for my budget right now. I figure that every little bit helps so maybe this change will do something too. Well, I am back at work this week so I am exercising more as well. Hopefully this was just a holiday mistake that I will not repeat. I hope you all are having a good day!

Hearing stories like this make me happy that my surgeon doesn't fill during surgery. I wanted it when I was banded, but he said he never did it. It will take you a little longer to get to a losing place now, but at least you will be able to keep down liquids. Good luck!

I was banded by Dr. K and my port is about halfway between my large scar and belly button. It can be a little different for different people too. Wait for the swelling to go down a bit too. You will know 100% for sure when you get your first fill though. If you have questions, just call the office. They are really nice!

My surgeon Dr. Kirshenbaum in Colorado does it for $9950 which includes postop care and fills for 3 months. After that fills are $15. It was a great price for me because I was worried about how much after care would be here in the U.S. if I got the band in Mexico. Not much different than your $10,000 in Canada, but I thought I would mention it. He doesn't take insurance but he does work with someone to finance, so it is pretty decent for self pay patients. here is his website http://www.lapbandrockies.com/

lucyavery ~ I just shifted you so we stay in alphabetical order. Mair~ we are putting our starting weight as it is when we join the challenge so I changed yours. Thanks for joining you guys! Name___________StartWeight___CurrentWeight______Goal_________ToGo *****<v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" o:spt="75" coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" stroked="f" o:preferrelative="t">:cool2:</v:shapetype>************************:tt2:***********:thumbup:********** :wink_smile:*** Brandy.............198............196...........166...........28 Chocolate_Snaps....244............234...........175...........59 Ebonie.............307............307...........200...........107 GratefulHeart......226............223...........135...........88 Lindar172..........246............246...........150...........96 LocomotiveEngineer.311............311...........220...........91 Long2BThin.........216............212...........169...........43 lotzasunshine......270............270...........180...........90 Loveislovely.......216............216...........175...........41 lucyavery..........205............205...........140...........65 Mair...............231............231...........140...........91 Mamanmidwife.......264............264...........200...........64 Under200...........242............199...........155...........44 vzghj3.............202............202...........150...........52 WOWOX7.............173............170...........125...........45

So I am really PO'd right now and need to vent! I just got a bill from the dr that gave me my 2nd fill for $274.32! When I called to set up an appointment I asked how much I would be charged. Now, just to be clear I called more than once to make sure I was getting the real price and not just because I was banded out of state. They told me the fill was $150. And there was a new patient fee of 100 (which they didn't ask for then, but i figured they would bill me). So I was looking at about $250 total right? Apparently they lied every time I called because now on top of the $150 ALREADY paid, they want the 274.32. If I knew they were charging $425 I would have gone back to Dr K and stayed overnight!!! AND I would have had one painless poke instead of the 5 minutes of digging that Dr.Cottam did!! Please tell me it's not just me!!

chocolate_Snaps ! I am going to start the 5dpt today. Thanks for mentioning it, I needed the idea. Name___________StartWeight___CurrentWeight______Goal_________ToGo *****<v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" filled="f" stroked="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe">:cool2:</v:shapetype>************************:tt2:***********:thumbup:********** :wink_smile:*** Brandy.............198............196...........166...........28 Chocolate_Snaps....244............234...........175...........59 Ebonie.............307............307...........200...........107 GratefulHeart......226............223...........135...........88 Lindar172..........246............246...........150...........96 LocomotiveEngineer.311............311...........220...........91 Long2BThin.........216............212...........169...........43 lotzasunshine......270............270...........180...........90 Loveislovely.......216............216...........175...........41 Mair...............245............231...........140...........91 Mamanmidwife.......264............264...........200...........64 Under200...........242............199...........155...........44 vzghj3.............202............202...........150...........52 WOWOX7.............173............170...........125...........45

So, I have been having a hard time lately. My TOM totally threw me off, and now I am up 4 lbs since Christmas! I'm not changing my ticker. I feel like a failure. I am starting the Pouch test today if only to get me back on the right foods. I have been under a lot of stress for the last 2 weeks so maybe that is part of it. But I have been keeping up with my protein, and trying to avoid bad foods, but with no luck. It probably doesn't help that most of my exercise s at work and I have been off for the holidays. I can't afford another fill until Feb so I really need to do this.

LocomotiveEngineer~ We are putting our starting weight as it is when we join the challenge. I changed yours, so we should be fine now. Name_________StartWeight___CurrentWeight______Goal________ToGo *****<v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" filled="f" stroked="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe">:cool2:</v:shapetype>************************:tt2:***********:thumbup:********** :wink_smile:*** Brandy.............198............196...........166...........28 Chocolate_Snaps....244............244...........175...........69 Ebonie.............307............307...........200...........107 GratefulHeart......226............223...........135...........88 Lindar172..........246............246...........150...........96 LocomotiveEngineer.311............311...........220...........91 Long2BThin.........216............212...........169...........43 lotzasunshine......270............270...........180...........90 Loveislovely.......216............216...........175...........41 Mamanmidwife.......264............264...........200...........64 Under200...........242............199...........155...........44 vzghj3.............202............202...........150...........52 WOWOX7.............173............170...........125...........45

Unfortunately the more negative stories get a lot of attention. But look around at people's weight loss on this site alone and you will see the difference it makes. I know for myself starting at over 300lbs that this is changing my life! Yes, you do need to eat healthy and exercise, but with the band you are eating smaller portions. I'm sure that most people who try to lose weight eat "healthy" and exercise, but eat too much of healthy things. As long as you follow the rules and follow your surgeon, and get fills as needed you WILL lose weight. It will take time. You will get frustrated, we all do. But that is why we come here. To hear other experiences with the lapband, and to find out what way works best for our bodies. This is an amazing site. I wish you luck in this journey!

This challenge is for the whole year. I put that in the first post, maybe you missed it.

Name_________StartWeight___CurrentWeight______Goal________ToGo *****<v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" filled="f" stroked="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe">:cool2:</v:shapetype>************************:tt2:*********:thumbup:****** *** Brandy.............198............198...........???...........? Ebonie.............307............307...........200...........107 Lindar172..........246............246...........150...........96 lotzasunshine......270............270...........180...........90 Loveislovely.......216............216...........175...........41 vzghj3.............202............202...........150...........52 Ok, just trying to get this looking more uniform

I'm glad I could help Meghan. Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions, or if you just want to talk.

Your story is just like mine! I had never had a surgery before and was nervous too. My husband is very supportive and I was doing the surgery so that I could be healthy enough to get pregnant (haven't used protection and have been married for 2 years but no luck). It IS a scary thing to go through. But I did a LOT of praying and tried to follow my feelings. Ultimately I decided that this is what I was supposed to do. I have had ups and downs and questioned my decision, but I am still glad I did it. The scariest part for me was when I moved from the bed on wheels to the surgery table and realized that I was really doing it. Of course the drugs could have emphasised those feelings This is an amazing place to get questions answered and you can PM me anytime you need to! Good Luck!

Dr. Kirshenbaum is wonderful! I was banded by him in July. He charges $9950 for the surgery, 3months of post op care, and fills for 3 months. After that the fills+visit are $15. He seems to be doing this to help people and not to make a ton of money. He is a sweet man and his staff are GREAT! He also says that if the band or port are damaged in any way by him or his staff that he will fix it for free. He has only had 3 or 4 complications out of the hundreds of patients that he has banded. I fly back to Denver for fills. You should really look into him. Here is the link to his website. Lap Band Surgery in Denver Colorado | Lap Band Surgeon in Denver | Gastric Band Surgery Denver | Bariatric Surgery Good luck with your decisions wherever you go!

ok, here is the link to the new challenge thread. brandy~ I already put you on, but you need to change your stats. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/2009-weight-loss-challenge-84680/#post1106743

I saw another challenge set up, but it was not near as organized as this one. I can set up another if people want me too.

This is so awesome! I just decided to check, and this is exactly what I need and I can pick it up when we meet! If that is ok with you? Let me know!

I'm not sure about that, but I know he charges something like $150 for people that were not banded by him. That plus a $150 plane ticket and a whole day traveling may not be worth it though.

Plus I have heard that they charge an initial fee of something like $400 on top of the first fill.

Ok, after having my protein shake and helping my SIL move for a couple hours I weighed myself again, and I am only up 1.5lbs. Guess the water weight from TOM is going off. Anyway, so I made my gaol then, and am setting my :heart:Day goal as 13 pounds. That way I will be halfway to my mini goal.