JulieNYC

Blended families are really difficult. I'm sorry your stepchildren don't treat you with the love and respect you deserve. Great NSVs though! I can't wait until my size 22 jeans fit. They go on (and even zip) now, but they're too obscenely tight to wear in public. Maybe in about 10 more lbs.... Your zoo day sounds GREAT.

It is unethical for a surgeon to "push" an elective procedure on anyone. However, the surgeons who believe in the band, believe it helps to save lives and improve the quality of each life of a person getting banded. And you know what? They're right! Betsyjane, my surgeon is banded. Get banded. It'll change your life. I flew to Miami from NYC this weekend for a Bar Mitzvah. I wouldn't have gone if it were 6 months ago because I would have been self conscious and worried about the plane travel and to go so far for a weekend would have been too tiring. This weekend wasn't tiring at all. It was fun! And, I had a few hours between services so I went to the beach. It wasn't planned, but I was able to walk in a regular store and buy a beach towel and a size 14 bathing suit. It was a little small, but it was FINE and I felt so normal to be able to just walk in any old store and buy a bathing suit. Get banded.

I went to Miami for a Bar Mitzvah this weekend. I've only been to one or two in my life and that was 20 years ago -- WOW -- the whole weekend-long event was ALL about FOOD. More food than I've ever seen. Crazy. It was great to get south though and to be in the sun and the ocean. I wasn't cold for the first time in months (I don't know why I can't warm up. I'm sure it's related to the weight loss, but it seems that no matter how much I wear, I'm still cold). So, to counteract the weekend's food, I did locate the hotel's gym. I can't say I got the BEST workouts of my life, but I did do the "minimum" and get on the treadmill for 35 minutes every day I was gone. That's something, right? And, I got up this morning and went to the gym before work (which, for a Monday, is quite a feat, plus I didn't get home until 11 last night). So, all that's to say that I'm to 13 of my 17 workouts. I'm meeting with my trainer tomorrow night and I'm in the country this weekend, which lends itself to plenty of walking time, so I think I'll meet this month's challenge. I don't know about you guys, but I need this challenge. I really wouldn't do but about 1/2 of my exercise without it. That said, I don't think we should increase the number of sessions again next month. I don't know why, but 17 felt hard this month! I think our ultimate goal should be 20 times a month for 40 minutes, but I propose the following for next month: (1) 17 workout sessions. (2) 36 minutes each (it's just an extra minute so we can't really complain about that, yet it adds 17 minutes to our month). (3) 8-10 glasses of water (or whatever your personal goal is -- I try to drink 12, but that includes what I drink at the gym, which some don't include) at least 6 days a week. What do you think?

You ROCK!! Dancing bananas wearing party hats in celebration! :) :) :bananapartyhat: :bananapartyhat: :bananapartyhat: :bananapartyhat:

Ok, Veggie, you asked for it! These were some of the questions I asked. I'm sure there are many others that are good too, but this is what I wanted to know at the time (though, of course, now I'm far more informed). Medical Device Questions<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> 1. I know there are three sizes of bands (9.75, 10, VG), but there is conflicting information on how much saline each size holds. I assume this is because though Inamed lists a max fill for each size, some docs technically overfill if necessary. Can you clarify? I want to know exactly what is in my body, post-surgery.<o:p></o:p> 2. There is a lot of speculation on the internet that the VG band is safer in the long run in avoiding slippage because its pillow design puts less pressure on the organ. Do you lean toward the VG if appropriate, or is your choice completely based on the size of the organ? 3. I read that Inamed is coming out with two new bands, the biggest difference being that they are unlockable. What benefit is that? I see no reason to wait on them, do you agree? <o:p></o:p> 4. I read a statistic from early trials that 2% of bodies reject the band as a foreign objection. What, if any, rejection rate have you seen clinically?<o:p></o:p> 5. When at a more reasonable weight, I am quite petite. Can you install a low profile port from the outset? If not, what is involved, surgically, in changing the port once I’m at a lower weight? General anesthesia?<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Fill Questions<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> 1. You have a reputation as a patient-driven, aggressive fill doctor, which is one of the reasons I chose you. How long after surgery to my first fill? How long to the second fill if the first fill doesn’t give enough restriction, as I understand is very often the case? Would you ever not tell a patient how much fill they have, if they wanted to know? <o:p></o:p> 2. Often I hear that to find the “sweet spot” can be an adjustment of only .1 or .2 cc’s of saline, particularly if you’re over-filled. Is it tiring for you or your staff if someone asks for such a small adjustment, or do you consider than part of the banding process?<o:p></o:p> 3. In your opinion, do frequent fills lead to esophageal spasms? <o:p></o:p> 4. For someone like me who needs to lose quite a bit of weight, is the goal to get right to the “sweet spot” or do you try to save room in the band to be able to safely tighten it when you hit a major plateau?<o:p></o:p> 5. Under what circumstances do you use flouro instead of doing a blind fill?<o:p></o:p> 6. I know you do some fill appointments yourself, but if for scheduling purposes I wind up seeing your nurse practitioners more often than you, if everything is going ok would you still want to see me yourself from time to time? If so, how often?<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Aftercare Questions<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> 1. I understand that some doctors don’t recommend taking naproxen sodium or Advil ever, post-band. I use these, particularly during my cycle. If they don’t irritate my stomach, can I still take them? If not, what do you recommend as an anti-inflammatory and fever reducer? Also, are antibiotics necessary for more than routine dental work?<o:p></o:p> 2. Here’s something that came up on a message board that didn’t make sense to me. Some people were talking about wearing a medic alert bracelet to let rescue workers know that they had a band in the event they are rescued and unconscious. Their logic was that intubation of a banded person isn’t the same. Is that really a concern? It doesn’t seem to be physiologically correct to me (airway and stomach being separate).<o:p></o:p> 3. I’m concerned generally about this surgery and the long-term health of my esophagus and gallbladder. Do you recommend medicine to reduce gallstones during the early weight loss phase, particularly if it is more rapid that a lower BMI patient would experience?<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Surgery Questions<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> 1. I know slippage was a bigger concern with earlier surgical technique. What surgical techniques do you use to prevent slippage? Pars Flaccida? Stitch in the diaphragm? What slip rate have you seen clinically from your patients?<o:p></o:p> 2. Where will the port be placed? Can you avoid the left side, so that I can play violin as soon as possible? Also, I sleep on my left side. Also, I will almost certainly have a tummy tuck, given that my Dad’s a plastic surgeon. I’ve read at least one example of a port getting dislodged in reconstructive surgery if it’s placed low. Is that a fluke, or not a concern with an excellent plastic surgeon?<o:p></o:p> 3. Many people have told me that the worst part of surgery is the left shoulder pain from the CO2. Is there anything you or I can do to reduce that? Do you prescribe Levsin?<o:p></o:p> 4. I will follow a pre-surgery diet with rigidity for as long as you recommend. With that as a given, but also understanding that I am a higher BMI patient, what do you think is the percentage chance that you would have to convert my surgery to an open procedure?<o:p></o:p> 5. What kind of closure do you do on the incisions? Stitches? Glue? What do you do to make them pretty?<o:p></o:p> 6. ** I very much want to go home that day, assuming no complications, the day of surgery. I understand that’s more likely if I have the first surgery of the day. Will you take that into consideration when scheduling me, with the understanding that it may push my surgery date out a little?<o:p></o:p> 7. ****I chose you as a surgeon for many reasons, but the driving factor was that you’ve done four thousand procedures and if someone is going to be poking around with sharp metal instruments near my liver and spleen, I only wish to trust someone who has done four thousand procedures. I understand NYU is a teaching hospital and that your practice is training a surgical fellow. Is there any chance anyone but you will be handling any portion of the actual surgery?<o:p></o:p> 8. Are there any particular concerns you have specific to me, as opposed to other patients? Is there anything I can do to make the surgery itself easier for us both? Is there anything I can do to be a superstar success story that you think I might not already know from my research?<o:p></o:p>

Boo, you ROCK! Way to go for running 4.5 miles! No, I don't think there's any danger to your band in running. I can't wait to join you! Roberta, I'm thinking good thoughts for your dad's recovery. You still have plenty of time to meet the challenge since you've already done 8 sessions. Hang in there. Kat, I love your new exercise! I'm so cold these days and I have a fireplace. Come chop some wood for me??? Betty, 68 is YOUNG. You can have a TT if you want it. Of course, at a starting weight of 234 and as rockin' as you are with the exercise challenge, I bet you won't even need it. Bluehill, thanks for your sweet post about my -100 on the other board. You're a doll and believe me, you inspire me a ton too. I met with my trainer tonight for my 10th of the 17 challenges. I'm beat. Catch yall tomorrow,

Hi Lisa, I live in Manhattan and go to the NYU meeting that is on the 3rd Wednesday of every month at 6 pm. It doesn't sound like you could get downtown by that time though. I don't know of any meetings that start after 7 pm. I think that might cause you more problems than the location (there are 10 or more meetings in NYC that I know about, but they all start early evening). LBT is a great online resource though. If you're looking for even more support traffic, you might check out some of the Yahoo Groups on banding as well (Bandsters and SmartBandsters both get a lot of traffic). Good luck,

4-3: JenRN - 263/257/238/150 - 25 total 4-3: jenn28 - 282/265/229/165 - 53 total 4-3: Picardy3 - 298/300/257.5/150 - 42.5 total 4-3: tipper - 300/290/259/165 - 41 total 4-4: Sugar1 - 311/289/231/150 - 80 total 4-4: Dak – 255/251/205/150 – 50 total 4-4: Angels - 264/255/235/? - 29 total 4-4: Harpseal Al - 327/295/220 - 34 total 4-5: Boo - 208/203/173/132 - 35 total 4-5: siestaqh - 180+/177/136/110 - 44 total 4-6: Disneynut - 290/287/260/125 - 27 total 4-7: Guysis - 234/185/134 - 49 total 4-10: JulieNYC - 358/258/180 - 100 total 4-11: Vickie1177 - 320/297/267/137 - 53 total 4-11: tellymelly - 240/235/184/135 - 55 total 4-11: Fel0816 - 307/284/265/to get under 200 - 42 total 4-11: dsrjrr - 231/230/210/130 - 21 total 4:11: truckinmama - 262/234/160 - 28 total 4-13: Nursekathy2u - 358/356/335/175 - 23 total 4-13: NJgirl - 248/230/206/140 - 42 total 4-13: Miper70 - 217.5/196/145 - 21.5 total 4-17: Amourette - 22.5 total 4-17: Jeepergurrl - 242/207/140 - 35 total 4-17: MelAnne - 245/207/150 - 38 total 4-18: Danaclark2 - 270/260.5/245/150 - 25 total 4-18: LapBandit - 392/369/347/336/324/308/298/278 - 114 total 4-20: Omamoon - 220/211.5/188/130 - 32 total 4-20: KimInMD - 288/288/236/156 - 52 total 4-21: Yoda - 273/257/221/150 - 52 total 4-21: kristielynn - 310/302/248/150 - 62 total 4-22: alisonb - 286/270/176 - 16 total 4-24: Eficka - 125/117/104/69 - 21 kgs/46.2 lbs. total 4-24: Ceparano - 255/270.5/220/170 - 50.5 total 4-24: Kat - 289/281/224/165 - 65 total 4-24: hlj25950 - 262/257/225/160 - 37 total 4-25: momof2boys - 270/266/237/145 - 33 total 4-26: Bostongurl - 264/244/197/145 - 67 total 4-27: tinaj - 226/221/210/150 - 15 total 4-27: lookingout - 185/178/165/101 - 20 total 4-27: flowergoddesstn - 214/204/190/130 - 24 total 4-27: Dimples0323 - 284/284/241/145 - 43 total 4-28: Susan4794 - 283/267/243.5/140 - 39.5 total 4-28: bluehill - 333/258/140 - 75 total 4-28: Irish Girl - 225/214/170/135 - 55 total 4-28: MomofSixKids - 240/238/205/150 - 35 total

Name...............Christmas…...To Go A1ikou...............240...............XX Aza.....................299..............XX BPM..................230...............XX candy444...........299................23 Elisabeth.............275................22 Ericsmom...........250................XX Indianlight...........280.................22 Josette................340................25 JulieNYC............235.................23 Koala.................275.................24 Ladydi................270 ................33 LapBandit...........250.................28 Libra...................270.................18 Mariguita.............290................XX NatesMommy.....275................XX Waterlily1072.....275................24

Onederland is wondeful! Way to go! I love your "Kissn Boys & Makin em cry" line. I might borrow that one in a few lbs. Congrats on the man as well. If he loves you, he'll still love you thin. No worries.

Me! Me! I made it to -100 this morning. I can't believe (and am so thankful that) I'm to the second half of this journey. Minus ONE HUNDRED lbs. Wow. It doesn't seem real.

Sheri Lynn, I'm sorry you were treater poorly. You'd think people in the bariatric field would know how to treat bariatric patients with respect and consideration. Do what you can to put this behind you. Seeing her was a step to getting your band and that step is behind you. If it were me, I wouldn't rush out to find a replacement nutritionist. I have one available to me at my doctor's office, but I haven't felt that I've needed to meet with her since my surgery. I did have one or two questions that I emailed her, but the answers didn't differ from what I read here. If you find, down the road, that you'd like post-op follow up with a nutritionist, you can always consult one then. Until then, just focus on getting banded. You'll do great!

The weirdest thing happens to me when I PB (which is rare, but it happened yesterday so it's on my mind). My face is completely red for about 48 hours. If I look closely, it looks like I've burst hundreds of little blood vessels. My PBs are very mild and infrequent. The red face is by far the worst part of it. It's definitely noticeable (and I'm not even particularly fair skinned). I can wear makeup and it completely goes away in 2-3 days, so I'm not concerned, per se, but I wonder what that's all about. Does this happen to anyone else?

OK gang, we can't give up yet! We still have FIFTEEN exercise days in October. Plenty of time to meet the challenge, even if we've only exercised a couple of times this month! I just got some interesting news from my Dad, the plastic surgeon. He says he'll do a tummy tuck on me at 180 lbs. I'm changing jobs May 1st, which means if I can get to 180 in April, I can actually get the 3 weeks off for recovery that I need. So I'm going to BUST A MOVE on this exercise challenge. I want to be DONE with this phase! Come on 180! I signed up for 3 X week training sessions at the gym and at 230 I'm going to start running. WOOOHOO, let's go!

Name...............Christmas…...To Go A1ikou...............240...............XX Aza.....................299..............XX BPM..................230...............XX candy444...........299................23 Elisabeth.............275................22 Ericsmom...........250................XX Indianlight...........280.................22 Josette................340................25 JulieNYC............235.................25 Koala.................275.................24 Ladydi................270 ................33 LapBandit...........250.................28 Libra...................270.................18 Mariguita.............290................XX NatesMommy.....275................XX Waterlily1072.....275................24

Oh Kat, I'm so thankful that your husband is home with you and is doing better. That is just wonderful. I'm also thankful you're using your treadmill at home and are on track with the challenge. You rock! Betty, I am thinking positive thoughts for your son's surgery. He's going to sail through and will feel so much better once he's recovered. I have a close guy friend who had a valve replacement at 25 and they told him it would only last about 15 years, but that they would replace it again when he needed it. Heart surgery is never routine but it sounds like your son is getting the best of care and we're all thinking about you and praying for you. I have been a SLACKER. After an excellent first week of October, I took most of last week off both from diet and exercise. The scale hasn't punished me too hard (thank you scale-gods) and I am back on track today. I've got to push hard to get to my holiday goal and I've found my motivation again, at least for today!

I wore a 6 1/2-7 consistently until I was above 250. I maxed out at an 8W. Now I'm in a 7 1/2 regular and am interested to see if they'll shrink further or if this is it.

Congratulations Fran! Sorry about your teeth, but reaching -100 is FABULOUS!

You ROCK Boo! Way to go. I'd love more info on the brand of sports bra you've found to be helpful. I find that when I run (one minute at a time -- I'm a little behind you in cardio strenght!), I have to hold the tail of my t-shirt to keep the girls from taking flight.

I have tears in my eyes too. I'm just so happy for you! I think I'm going to plan a trip to Six Flags for my 199 present (when I get there). Thanks for checking in with us.

Oh Kat, that's just horrible. We're all thinking of you and praying for your husband's recovery. Please let us know if there's anything we can do. That's not a platitude. Seriously -- what can we do?

Well, today was NOT my best exercise day, but it counts anyway. I DRAGGED myself to the gym and all I could force myself to do was walk on the treadmill for 35 minutes. The end. Believe me, I never would have gone at all without the challenge. I guess there's that at least. Maybe I'll be more up for it tomorrow.

Hail? WOW. I think I've only seen hail once or twice in my life. I remember thinking it was the freakiest thing ever, mostly because it was summer yet there was falling ice. I'm glad you're safe and not too damaged from the storm. I forgot to tell you all my wacky NSV from last night with the trainer. She made me do these crazy pushups. Anyway, between sets, I was able to sit back on my heels (imagine going froma kneeling position to sitting back so your read is touching your heels). This is a completely natural position for many people, but I hadn't been able to do it in years because my calves and thighs were too big for my rear and ankles to actually meet. YEA!

That's a wonderful list, Pinky, keep up the good work. Here's to 4 more months and a whole new list of NSVs.

You're going to do great guysis. Good for you for realizing what's gotten off track and correcting it quickly. Way to go. Ceparano, congrats on the 5 lbs and congrats even more on the inches lost last month! I worked out with my trainer tonight for the first time in a couple of weeks (work's been nuts). I forgot what a difference working out with my trainer as opposed to by myself makes! I should go back to twice a week with her. If it weren't so darned expensive.... Anyway, 6 sessions down, 11 to go. We're off for Columbus Day on Monday, so I bet I get to 9 before I need a break for a day or two! Take care all.