Humming Bird

The nice thing is .... yes, I know he loves me no matter what my weight it. BTW, He is thin and stays that way. It's just that after taking such drastic measures to take the weight off, I would love it if he complimented me. If I have to ask him or tell him to do it, it just isn't the same. I'll wait it out. Great responses from everyone tho.

My last fill was very tight. I had to extend the liquid and mushie stages, but am now doing better. BUT.....If you continue to throw up, you are too tight. They can take out just a very tiny bit and get you to a good spot.

lies tend to catch up with you. Just avoid showing the scars. Turn the other way if someone is around when you are changing clothes. As for me, just about everyone I know is aware I had lapband surgery and serves as my support team.

yes, a fill will help you. It really depends on how much they put in at the fill for you to feel restriction/tighter. Remember to go slow after a fill. Start with liquids the first couple days and slowly work into other foods. It may take several fills before you beat the hunger between meals .... known as "banster hell." Your sweet spot will be that place where you can eat a very small meal ( about 1/2 to 3/4 cup) and stay satisfied until the next meal time. The looser your band, the more of your own will power comes into play.

What is your BMI? It sounds like weight loss will help so there is less pressure on your body. If you look on the home page here, there is an area to find a surgeon. Post your location in the title of a new post and you will get some good feedback from other's in your area. Do a search for others who used medicaid. I think you will get it done without too much problem. Medicaid will also have a list of surgeons in your area. I wish you good luck with your journey.

Your body is trying to adjust. It will start dropping off again. You are doing great! Keep up the good work! You may find that your sweet spot happens quicker than others, but will loosen up after more weight loss and you have to get a fill and find it again. Believe me, the weight loss will start again.

I have no insurance ..... the last insurance I tried to get turned me down because I was overweight. I was self pay for the band. I wonder if that same insurance company will now turn me down after I am under the obese range, but have the band now.

I don't know what everyone else's doc tells them, but mine told me ice cold liquid is best for the first few days. The colder the liquid, the better it helps keep the swelling down. The room temp part is things you would normally drink hot, like broth. I was told if you can see through it, it is clear liquid.

Dr. K. did my surgery in July 2009. I am happy with him and how everything has been going. Fills with him are free for the first 3 months and then only $15 after that. With some of the fill prices I've heard out there it would still be cheaper to return to him for a fill in some cases. If you have any other questions, feel free to pm me

I had zero pre-op tests. The only thing I had to do was a phone consult with nut to go over what to eat pre-op and post op stages. That was the best thing about being self-pay.

I was thinking ....... Maybe it's like the ol "honey, do these pants make my butt look too big?" thing and he's just being safe and staying away from it ....

I have tried so many kinds of Protein drinks, it's crazy. So far, the ones I can stand to drink : Atkins vanilla SlimFast low carb vanilla protein bullets from walmart (sometimes) nectar Roadside Lemonaid Nectar Crystal Sky I am not good at keeping track of every single gram of protein, but try to get it in daily by eating high protein foods and drinking at least one of the above daily. Here's some interesting facts for ya: A tall skinny latte at Starbucks has 9gm protein, 90cal, zero fat, add sweet & low, and yum! A grande skinny latte has 12gm protein, 130 cal, zero fat. They do have carbs, tall 14, grande19. So, I do not replace my protein drinks with lattes, but it is just interesting info I picked up at starbucks.

I set my final goal weight at a weight I was very comfortable at in the past. In my life I have seen skinny, chubby, & obese. I was a chubby child, very thin in some of my teen years, and the classic Yo-Yo dieter as an adult (skinny, fat, skinny, fat). I am 5'7" and I felt most comfortable at 150 pounds. I have a long way to go before I see that weight again, so I take it day by day. My final goal is to maintain that weight of 150 and that is so far in the future, I can not obcess over it. That is where I hope the band will be different from all the other things I have tried.

I had to really extend the liquid and then mushie stage longer than expected after my last fill. If I was not very hungry at dinner time because lunch was sticking with me longer, I would just eat yogurt or something for dinner. Each day will get a little better.

I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Get your rest and heal from this surgery. You can only take each step one at a time. Remember to stick up for yourself when it comes to insurance and hospital billing. Sometimes they take advantage of people. Don't let that be you.

great advise and support from kkarryall. I think your family just might come around eventually and be supportive. Maybe they need time for it to sink in or something. Getting banded is not the easy way, believe me. It is taking drastic measures, but so well worth it. You have so much life ahead of you. Why should you live it obese? There is no reason. I am glad you are brave enough to take this very big step for your future! You will find support on this site, but I also think you will find friends and family will support you in the long run. I wish you the best in this journey and in your adult life! Keep a positive attitude and keep moving forward!

There is no reason you should be hungry doing true atkins. You can eat an entire chicken and still shrink your liver and take off weight while you're at it.

Atkins only allows less than 20 carbs. That is next to nothing. There are some vegies on atkins, but very limited. I just tried to stay away from carbs the best I could. I ate a few salads while doing it and used no carb dressing, no croutons or bread of any kind. Your vegies alone sometimes put you over the carb limit. I am not one to obcess over every carb, every calorie, every gm of Protein. I feel like I have better things to do and to obcess over. If you follow the basic guidelines, you should be fine. That being said, If your doc says liquids only ....... I just couldn't have done that without the band.

I also did Atkins for 2 weeks pre-op. I didn't think it was too bad. Just try to have variety. Unlimited amounts of meat. You can have eggs, cheese, cottage cheese, low carb protein drinks. I just kept telling myself, "I'm shrinking my liver, I'm shrinking my Liver...." My surgeon told me of a case where he had a patient on the operating table, went in, and their liver was so thick he could not place the band. That did the trick for me. I did not want a thick liver and end up not being banded.

It seems like everyone's port is in different locations. Mine is just about in the center of my torso, a couple inches (5cm) below my sternum, and slightly left of center. I have a friend who's port is about an inch above her bellybutton.

I agree with nkara. I hope you still have the approval letter and any other documentation about costs. All of it sounds very fishy to me. I was self-pay and the entire thing, Dr., surgery, anesthes., everything, was a grand total of $9950.

It really depends on the kid. I really don't think he needs to know all the details. Kids tend to tell everyone else your business without understanding that there may be some people you don't want to know. If you want to tell him, keep it simple. Just say you are having a band put around your stomach so you will take off weight and leave it at that. You could just say you are having trouble with your stomach, but it will be ok pretty soon.

oops, now I've lost 43. .....had to change my ticker! don't ya just love it when that happens?! Tracy, Maybe your doc is a little more conservative with the amount s/he puts in each time. That could be a good thing in thelong run. You have lost great without restriction! I bet you will feel it with this next fill.

welcome back ! jump on in, read, post, learn & get support!

After reading many posts about this, I think everyone is different. It depends on many things. Do you plan to use insurance? If so, it takes much longer. I was self-pay. It only took a couple weeks from day one, which was a consult, to surgery. The only reason it took 2 weeks is because I had to go on a no carb diet to make sure my liver was not too thick.