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"Sivan"--- great response to this post!! Good luck next week--- I'll be there in spirit!! :gluck: Karen

Angela, thanks for your reply!! I am doing better today....I am finally getting myself back on track. Thanks for your support! When do you get your first fill?? Keep in touch, please!! Denise 1, what is your insurance question? If we can't answer it here, please go to the main section of this board and look under the Insurance section, or try the "Search" function to see if there is info there for you. Let us know how we can help! Karen

WOW, I love the success stories!! Thank you Angela and Tom for sharing your personal journeys --- so hopeful and inspirational! You guys are so great and boy, do I need inspiration right now!! I have been eating everything in sight and have gained back some of the weight I have lost since surgery. I could feel depression starting to grab ahold of me.... So today, I am making a fresh start and doing well, so far. And it has been a whole 8 hours!!! I get my first fill next Monday and I can't wait. You all are doing so great!! Congratulations :clap2: !! I wonder if I made a mistake by waiting so long for my first fill. Now that I have tasted the "forbidden fruit" again it has become as natural to reach for it as before I had surgery. :cry Well, at least now I have you guys and this board for support and encouragement. Keep on fighting the good fight and I will be fighting too. 2007 has got to be a much better year for us all!! Karen

Hi everybody, I got back from my vacation to Sedona with good news and bad news: The good news is that I had a wonderful time and could eat anything that I wanted, with no problems or restrictions..... the BAD news is that I could eat anything I wanted, with no problems or restrictions!! I came back with a 2-pound gain and a renewed appetite for things that I should not be having.... HELP!! :faint: It was also my birthday and now my office is being flooded with so many Christmas treats.... I am doomed!! I am so impressed with all the posting here that shows you all being so careful and healthy. I want to get back to that place, but am scared it won't happen until after Christmas. I wonder how many pounds I will gain between now and then. My first fill isn't until Jan. 8!! Take my advice, don't let up on healthy eating for the holidays, it is so hard to go back once you stop!! I am proud of you all for doing so well .... Could somebody please wire my jaws shut?? Karen

You are right-on regarding your goal weight..... You know how you feel the best and I 'm glad you aren't letting a doctor tell you differently!! Those weight charts SUCK!! I think insurance companies use them to torture us and/or to raise our rates if we don't fit into their concept of "health". In any case, you are an inspiration for us to remember to follow our own bodies, not some chart. Thanks and please keep sharing your progress!! Karen

Good for you, Fitzgerald!! Sounds like you have your head-hunger under control and are motivated to succeed. You will do great!! How much weight do you have to lose? It is so hopeful to hear that having a fill was a big help and not a problem maker. Congratulations!! :clap2: Karen

Yummmm, your post made me hungry!! Thanks for reminding me that I am not alone in dealing with hunger :hungry: ; now if I could be as good as you with walking and eating healthy..... Congrats on finding more clothes you can fit into without an "X".... I am so jealous!! Oh, and great "chat" we had the other night.... you are so funny!! Karen

JDru, how much of a fill did you get?? Were you able to eat the tacos and stuff since you had the fill?? Just curious, since I won't be able to get a fill until Jan. and I am looking for something to hold onto!! Thanks, Karen

Thanks, Fitzgerald, I needed that!! And I understand the "microscope" thing.... it is hard to constantly have people ask you every day how much you have lost, and to know that they are watching what you eat. AACCCKKK! Do you have any problems now that you have a fill?? How much did you get? Is it slowing you down at all?? I feel like I don't have a band at all, yet I am afraid that getting it tight enough to affect my eating will also make it start giving me real problems, like blockage and PBs... What do you think now that you have a fill?? Thanks, Karen

Hi all, Well, today is my 4 week anniversary, and the first week I haven't lost anything. I am still at an 18 pound loss. AND I CAN EAT ANYTHING, INCLUDING SALAD!! I am trying so hard not to freak out, since now that I know this, I am being tempted by everything and starting to give in, too. :phanvan So, JDru and Jill, I hear you!! Jill, the salad went down fine, but so did the tacos and chips and salsa.... I need to stay away from Mexican food!! I am leaving for a week's vacation next week, and I don't get my first fill until January. WAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! :faint: Karen

:welcome: Yvonne!!! WOW.... you are on mushies for 3 months??? Good luck with that!! Be sure to check out tips on mushy foods you can eat on some of the other threads as well, just to keep your spirits up!! Congratulations on your weight loss and keep posting and sharing your progress with us!! Karen

Thank you Angela.... you are so sweet! I am so glad you are feeling a bit stronger.....It won't be long now before you are back to health---I just know it! How wonderful about the clothes.... I am so jealous!! You fit into a size without an "X" !!! :clap2: What does that feel like?? I am so happy for you!!! Keep in touch and let us know how you are progressing, please!! Karen

Way to go, Chrissie!! Feels great, huh?? Congrats!! :clap2: Karen

Tom, sounds like a great recipe....but can't we eat 4 and call it a "meal"?? (Can you tell that bingeing is my issue??) :faint: Thanks for the hint!! Karen

Hi Donna, Thanks again!! I called and found a group that meets the 1st Tues of each month. They sound like they have alot of fun, so hopefully it will be what I am looking for. Thanks for giving me the shove I needed!! You are great!! Karen

BetsyJane, According to your signature, you are down 15 pounds---your doctor will be impressed!! Don't worry.... you are supposed to slow down at this point. I am also 3 weeks out from surgery... I've lost 18 since surgery, most of it in the first 2 weeks. I am also battling my old eating habits, but if you read the other posts, we really CAN'T eat like we used to and feel OK, and with your fill, you will be really back on track. So hang on and don't feel bad. You are so much better off now than 4 weeks ago!! You are starting the journey, and you will only get better as you go! Karen

Donna, I took your advice and found the name of a lady who coordinates our local support groups... I will be calling her soon. You gave me the courage to be the "outsider"!! Thank you.... I hope it works out as well for me as it has for you. Thanks for sharing your experiences!! Karen

Angela, I am so sorry to hear you have been in the E.R.!! I was getting worried about you and was going to check into your whereabouts today.... thank you for letting us know what is going on. Is there anything I can do for you? Please keep in touch as best you can.... You are and will continue to be in my prayers! Karen

Grace.... I do pray and will be keeping you close to my heart in prayer. I am so sorry about your father. You have had a tough year and alot of loss... I am so sad for you and am glad you are not having a fill right now. Please be gentle on yourself and hang in there. We are all here for you.... God bless you and bring you comfort and peace, Karen

Congratulations, Chrissie, on your surgery!! :clap2: Sounds like you are adjusting well. Remember that the pain will get less, and that you will soon be able to eat more.... so hang in there and continue to let us know how you are progressing!! Karen

Thank you, Donna. You are right, I should call Dr. Billy's office or the hospitals to see if there is a support group, but since my insurance made me go to Orange County to have my banding, I think I would feel kind of like an outsider at the local support group. That is why I was hoping to find people from this board that were local..... oh well, at least I do have this board! Thank you for the suggestion!! Karen

Great answer, BetsyJane!! I couldn't have said it any better!!

I'm so glad you have found others in your area.... You are lucky!! Now, is there ANYONE out there from the Ventura County area?? That's where I am, and it sure would be nice to have a "live" support group here!! Karen

OHMYGOSH, BETSYJANE!!! How terrible!! I'm so glad that didn't last any longer and that it finally went through... what an awful feeling that must be!! Have you had a fill yet? Is that what happened....you have too much restriction? Or did it happen just from being banded alone? Yuck and double-yuck!! You poor thing..... Glad you are better now! Karen

WOW, alot of posts since I last visited yesterday afternoon!! Great reading, you guys....so much inspiration and encouragement. I know we all need it now!! Thank you to all who shared. I need you! Chris, yours was such a great pep talk----Thanks for all you said. So true, so true. I needed that reminder, since I seem to be "stuck" at -16 pounds.... all lost within the first 2 weeks. None since then.... :cry Welcome to the new members!! I'm so glad we have each other! Thanks for all the help and encouragement...... I love you guys!! Karen