*susan*

I met with my surgeon, and he referred me for a psych. eval, nutritional consult, bloodwork etc. Then, after all that was completed, I met with him again to make the final determination.

Hi Pixie, I so hear you about the yo-yo dieting. I was successful on a ton of different diet plans, for a limited amount of time. Then something would always happen, I would go off the diet and end up gaining everything back plus some extra new pounds. What a way to live. With the lapband, I don't diet anymore, I am losing weight and absolutely loving life and looking forward to being healthy for the first time since I was 18 years old. At the consultation, they will look at a lot of different things, but each doctor is different. They will probably look at your diet history, do you have any co-morbities, what your bmi is, etc. They will also likely require you to have a psych. eval., sleep apnea test, nutritional consult, bloodwork, etc. This is part of the normal process. Please keep us posted on how everything progresses, we look forward to getting to know you.

Hi Kaya, and welcome! Wow, 120 pounds, that is awesome and very inspiring! You should post your before and after pictures in our before and after threads.

Hi there, and welcome to LBT! Are you already banded, or still in the research phase?

Alice, you are right, LBT is a wonderful board for support and advice. I know it has been wonderful for me. Congratulations on getting your date!

Oh, these sound delicious, I am going to go pick some up tomorrow. I like keeping small snacks like this in my desk at work for when I get my afternoon munchies. I also like the new 100 calorie packs of almonds, those keep me full for hours.

I don't count calories or anything else. I didn't get the band to diet, I got the band so I would never have to diet again. I want to eat like normal people, and normal people do eat cookies and chips. They just control their portions and eat more balanced meals than I did pre-band. Now, I make much healthier choices than I used too. But, if I want a cookie, I have a cookie. If I want some chips, I have some chips. The beauty of it is my band keeps me from eating the whole bag of cookies or chips. To me, it is all about balancing what you eat, not deprivation.

Way to go!

Hi and welcome! You are not a failure for getting the lapband. Sure, there are people who diet and lose the weight. But, statistics show that a good deal of them gain the weight back again. Most of us have tried everything with limited amounts of success. So, we look to the band. It is a wonderful tool that still requires proper diet and exercise to be successful. But, by going with the band you are making the choice to be healthy and add years to your life. That is what is truly important. Congratulations on your decision.

Hi Marianne, we are glad that you have joined us here at LBT. You sound like you are doing well thus far. If you have any questions, let us know.

Hi Lisa and welcome to LBT! I will keep my fingers crossed that the funding comes through for you as the lapband is an awesome tool!!

Hi Karen and welcome! You have definitely found a great place for advice and support. Check out the local support forums for Indiana. We look forward to getting to know you.

Hi and welcome. You might have better luck by posting this in our "physicians and hospitals" forum or in our local support forum under the PA sub-forum. Good luck.

Hi Meg and welcome! We are so glad you found us. This is definitely an awesome place for support and advice. Another good spot to check on doctors in your area is in our doctors and physicians forum.

Hi there and welcome to LBT! I never had that problem, but what is important is that you did contact your doctor's office and speak with them. That is the best thing you can do when you are experiencing problems and are not sure what they are. We look forward to getting to know you as you move along in your journey.

Hi Alice, and welcome to LBT! I am not South Florida, but am in Jacksonville. Congratulations on getting your date. If you have any questions, let us know.

Go here for instructions with pictures: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f5/ticker-tutorial-pictures-41782/

I like the shotgun idea too. I would call the school district as well. And, I would probably park my cars in my driveway in a way that makes it to where no one else can park there. Lastly, I would make a point of being out in my yard every morning and jumping anyones ass that vandalized it until they got the point that I am not going to put up with it.

Even though you are seeking sole custody, if there is no official records documenting his substance abuse, the court may very likely award him visitation. If they do, I would demand that those visitations be supervised. How are his parents? Are they responsible and are they aware of his problems? If so, perhaps it could be designated that they be present during visitations.

You guys have given me some awesome suggestions, thanks so much. We plan on doing some online shopping today.

Hmmm, ok, I will give this a try. I will have my digital camera ready to document any success.

Robin, I am so sorry to hear about the problems you are having. I think first and foremost, you do need to talk to someone about the thoughts you are having. Secondly, I remember you and believe we were banded close to the same time. I am not a success story either, yet. But, I plan to be. Like you, I lost almost 60 pounds my first year. Then, I experienced an overfill and due to my own issues that were going on at the time, I let it go. I had an unfill for a month and then was filled again. Once again, I was overfilled, this time I allowed myself to remain that way for several months. It wasn't very smart of me. I was pb'ing just about everything I ate. You would have thought I would have lost weight by doing that, but I didn't because I started eating around the band. I found ice cream went down very well. Finally, in October I was pretty close to where you are. I felt like I was a complete failure. I finally went to my doctor. The reason I had put it off was due to financial issues. He was so wonderful, he explained that my health was far more important to him than money and to never allow myself to suffer that long again. I had a small slip from all the pb'ing and irritated my esophagus and had to have a complete unfill for about two months. We then decided that I am one of these people who cannot be aggressive with their fills, I need to go very slow with very small amounts and work my way up to restriction. I started working on getting fills again in December. We have gone slow and easy to ensure I don't get too tight and start the endless cycle of pb'ing again. I just had a fill on Monday and believe I am finally at perfect restriction again. Yes, while getting there, I gained some weight back. But, now that I and my doctor understand my issues and that we need to go slow and steady, I am confident that my band will work for me and I will get the weight off. Perhaps this is what you and your doctor need to look at. You may be like me in that you need to go very carefully with your fills. I know many people get .50 to 1.0 cc in a fill. I am doing about .02 and that makes quite a difference for me and my band. I am not a doctor, so my word isn't gospel. But, that is my experience and I thought it sounded quite a bit like yours, so I wanted to share what we have done to correct my issues and get back on track. Please keep us posted on how you are doing. We are all concerned for you and want you to be well.

Congratulations on getting your approval. May isn't that far off, but I know it seems like forever when you are excited about getting the band and starting your new life. Has your doctor said if he will be putting you on a pre-op diet and for how long?

Hi there and welcome to LBT. Have you tried posting this in the local Illinois forum? Maybe someone there will better be able to answer your question.

Hi there and welcome to LBT! Check out the thread below, it is located in the FAQ section, it has some good questions to ask. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f73/some-questions-ask-about-lapband-20272/