Goalwatcher

Does anyone else's supermarket seem to have eliminated a bunch of regular flavors of Crystal Light On The Go in favor of the more "supplement" based flavors (i.e., energy)? Even when you look at the flavors portion of Crystal Light on their website, they're not listed. Instead, you're encouraged to by all your favorites on Amazon.com: http://brands.kraftfoods.com/crystallight/Varieties/varieties.htm

In order to make my smoothies I thin it out with a little skim milk.

I actually do frozen fruit with it in the blender...usually fruits that I can't eat on their own because of the skins, like cherries. If it's obliterated in the blender I don't have any problems. Have you tried the little cup of Fage and honey? Honey is perfect in it! Also, my Whole Foods is selling a Croatian fig spread that tastes amazing in my Fage.

I just started taking it, but I'm doing the individual serving drink mix. I take one a day so far and it helps just a little. Might need to take it up to 2. However, I had a dinner of ratatouille last night (eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc.) and that plus my regular one dose of Benefiber and a teensy can of prune juice really got things going.

So I finally had the fill of fills. You know, the one where you can no longer eat the crap you're not supposed to be eating anyway without it all coming back up? It's actually kind of great because I'm eating a lot less and I'm not hungry very often. However...my brain has started to panic over the fact that it can't have "the crap" and subsequently all I do is walk the halls in a desperate search for food that I don't/won't eat. I'm like an alcoholic looking for the bottle of vodka I hid from my family. Yikes. :thumbup: (For the record, when I say "crap" I mean things like crackers, Very Thin wheat toast, Pasta. I don't even care about chips or cupcakes anymore. Well, maybe a little.)

I haven't had any coughing, acid reflux, etc. Just pb's. Yesterday I was able to eat with only one incident in the morning. Things seem to be going down somewhat more smoothly now. For example, I could hardly eat my Greek yogurt yesterday, and today, while it went down slowly, I ate the entire container with no problems. I knew I just had to get used to changing what I was doing, how I was eating (bite sizes, chewing, taking my time). The reason I was hesitant to contact the doctor is that creamy Soups, puddings, and drinks were all going down just fine, and I was sometimes even able to take large gulps. I'm glad I held off! I have lost 45 lbs since surgery. I think one of the main reasons I haven't lost more is because at my appointment that was supposed to be my third fill I didn't allow them to do it. I felt my second fill still needed some adjustment time. My third fill was just last week. In between those two fills (November to January) I only lost 2 lbs. I had increased my exercise, but I didn't make the smartest food choices. At least I didn't gain over the holidays! By the time last week rolled around, I was able to eat well over a cup of food at a time, and I knew that I needed this next fill. Looks as if you've done really well! I'm envious. How much do you want to lose total? I'm just aiming to get under 200 in the next month or so. Last Friday I was at Macy's trying on clothes, and for the first time in maybe 20 years I saw a normal person in the mirror. I got a little teary.

You and I were banded the same day!

I don't know if it's the sweet spot or not. I'm actually thinking it may be a little too tight. I'm getting some stuff down in the afternoon and evening, but have been pb'ing a lot (maybe I have to chew even more). I want to wait a bit until I decide to take some fluid out because it's only been a week since the fill. My body and mind both need time to adjust. My brain's panic for bad food is actually amusing me for some reason. Almost like I can't believe how far gone I was with my food addiction!

This happens to me only when I've overeaten. I've learned to take it as a sign.

I got mine done in July 09. I am happy as a clam and would recommend it to anyone. The one thing I will say is that you have to be committed to the process.

Girl, there are some days that go well, and other days that our demons rear their ugly heads. Don't dwell on the crackers you ate...it already happened. Focus on ways you might avoid the same kind of temptation in the future. I was beating myself up for making sugar Cookies last weekend. Stupid mistake. Not only could I not resist the dough, but I couldn't resist the finished product either. I had to do a "reset" starting on Monday. I expect there will be a few of these battles in my future.

For those of us that are just about a week post-op...we're not really eating right now, are we? Most of our sustenance is liquid, so I can't see how drinking would affect what's in our pouch too much. Besides, I don't know about you guys, but I start getting these little hiccup-like things when I've had enough to eat/drink, and I usually stop because I'm sure my body is telling me "no mas." As someone said above, it's when we start getting the real food in us that we have to worry about the pouch and drinking.

I was feeling good yesterday, but today I'm back at work and it's not the greatest. Sitting in my desk chair, bra on, it feels like everything is squished up and I am feeling some discomfort. How are you feeling? It's weird, right? You're right, the 24 hours after surgery were crazy! I don't know about you, but I was h-u-r-t-i-n-g. And I wasn't afraid to ask for the IV pain meds. :sad: Also, they were mystified at my ability to pee so regularly. What they didn't know was that I was waiting for the ice chips to melt and drinking all the Water out of the swabs. The best part about my overnight in the hospital was that I got my own room with one big window overlooking the city skyline. My surgeon's office allows us to have sugar free, fat free pudding two days after surgery, which was great, but I think it moves down too slowly right now. Saturday I'm going to eat pureed egg salad and I will be in absolute heaven. All the best! --Jen

I did have a problem at first. I was banded last Thursday and once I got into my room after recovery I had a hard time with feeling like I had to cough something up. The breathing exercises didn't help (but damn, did they dry me out). I couldn't cough it up until the following day when I got home. I had a very sore throat, almost like when I have a bad sinus infection, and that led me to believe it had to do with being intubated. The sore throat is virtually gone now, as is the phlegm. As for sneezing...every time I have to do it I'm terrified! lol

Update: My surgeon did the MD to MD and I was still denied. They've referred my case to Obesity Law, and I'll find out soon whether or not they'll take it on.

I'm in the same boat as you...no comorbidities. I found out at the end of last week that they denied me, too. I was missing a recorded weight from 2007. My surgeon's office had my PCP write on a prescription note that they had seen me twice in 2007, didn't weigh me, but I hadn't lost weight during that time. My weights from 2005, 2006 and 2008 were all submitted. Plus I gained a pound even after seeing the nutritionist. The morning of the day I received my letter Aetna annouced a substantial fiscal loss in their 4th quarter last year, so I took that as an omen that I would be denied, and I was. My surgeon is doing a physician to physician review sometime soon. We'll see what happens. Best of luck, and I know exactly how you're feeling.

Holy crap, Allie! 87 lbs??? Is that since the band, or did you lose some before that? You're amazing! I met with my nutritionist for the first time last week and she had me start to think about when I'm eating, rather than what I'm eating. I'm supposed to ask myself, "Am I hungry?" Well, I tried it out yesterday and only ate when I felt physical hunger. However, I realized that many times throughout the day I felt like I should eat because of the time or because I was bored. I ended up eating a lot less. I'm going to try this for a while to see if I can break myself of the habit before I get banded.

That's fantastic!!! Congrats. Didn't take long for the approval, huh?

Hi, guys! I had my first meeting with my surgeon yesterday. I was very comfortable with him. Their office is very efficient. The way they deal with patients is sort of modern in that they do a lot of stuff online, which I really like. Did any of you watch the Emmi video? I found it very helpful. Next week I get my GI fluoro. I have to go get my lab work done, and that includes a 2 hour glucose tolerance test. Guess I'll bring a book. I'm just waiting for the cardiologists to call and set up my EKG and stress test. I'm actually looking forward to getting the results of the stress test -- it's something I've been wanting to get done for a long time as I've had an intolerance to exercise since I was a kid...and I was a skinny kid. No sleep study!!! WOOHOO!!!

You've all been such a big help to me already! Reading all of the insurance approval stories has been such an eye opener for me, and has helped me to become more proactive regarding my pre-op process. I'm going to start a 3 month supervised diet with my PCP shortly. I've got an appointment with an orthopaedist next week to confirm that I have osteoarthritis in my knees. I've got my psych eval week after next. My dietician visits start next month (Nov, Dec, Jan). I already belong to Curves. My informational meeting is on 11/4. I have to attend two support group meetings, one in Nov and one in Dec. My first meeting with my surgeon, Dr. Papasavas, is 12/8. After that, I expect that all I'll need is bloodwork and a cardiology consult to complete everything and have it submitted for approval by the end of January. :frown: My current BMI is 41.5 and I've got high cholesterol and (almost certainly) osteoarthritis. That's all for now. Thanks so much for the wealth of information you've already given me...even your stories about gas. :smile: --Jen

WOOHOO, Jess!!! Awww, Sil. Patience is a virtue, and apparently you're very virtuous! :cool: Hi, batestami! Let us know how you're recovering, and congrats! Here's hoping that the muckety mucks that be someday classify the surgery as medically necessary and as a preventive measure.

How wonderful that you're going through with this! Welcome. If you ever need support directly related to your Bipolar, there's a whole section on Mental Health and the Lap Band on here. Here's the link Mental Health and Lapband Life - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum . In fact, the last thread on there was written by someone with Bipolar who was getting the band! Best wishes to you!

OK, so how's it going??? Keep in touch y'all! Guess what! My surgeon has moved my initial appointment up by a month...I'm going to see him on Monday! Luckily I've got an appointment with my PCP tomorrow, and I hope that I can get my records to the surgeon on time. Nervous and excited! Had my psych appointment. It was kind of funny.

Congrats on getting your appointment!!! :biggrin: The length of the supervised diet depends upon your insurance. Mine only requires 3 months with a nutritionist. And yeah, we have to do the psych eval as well (I have mine this Thursday). My progression is slow. I've got psych this week, info meeting next week, nutritionist next week (and again in December and January), PCP appointment to get my records in order, my weight charted and my referral in place in two weeks, and that's about it for now. Except for the next support group meeting in a few weeks. I went to my first support group meeting last week and began by getting very emotional. It's one thing to know you're obese, but being in that room was a serious reality check, and it hit me like a ton of bricks (no pun intended). Once I got a bit more comfortable it was comforting to be around people with the same issues as me.

Gosh, that's completely different from how they do it in Hartford! We have to go to an info session, then bring all our paperwork in with us to our first appointment with the surgeon. After that we have to have bloodwork, sleep study, cardiology, and pulmonology appointments. THEN they send in the paperwork. Sheesh...this pre-op stuff is costing me a fortune in co-pays. :eek: