cunner

I have done a 1/2 marathon, several sprint triathlons and just last month did my 1st half ironman 70.3 I also have lots of trouble eating in the morning. I tend to stick with coffee (ice or hot dependiong upon weather). I will also "try" a banana eaten slowly or a couple of spoonfuls of Peanut Butter also slowly. On your training runs I would highly suggest experimenting with energy gels and chews. HammerGel, GU, shot blocks, gatorade chews etc.. Any real running store or bike shop will have a big nutrition section. It is very important to experiment before race day as each person is differnet in how they react with them digestion wise. Flavor is important as well. Some are good and some are gross! On race day dont worry about low calories. You need calories for a 1/2 marathon. I personally never found the carbo loading thing to benefit which is good cause that isnt good anytime of day for me. For 5-10K I dont think any special nutrition is needed on race day. The most important thing to remember is experiment before the race and NOTHING NEW ON RACE DAY. You only run your "first" 1/2 marathon once so remember to have fun!!

I signed up for the forum 3 years ago. It took until today that I finally got the courage to add a picture to my profile. I was afraid of being seen and "outed" I guess. My success story is that I have reached a point that I have realized there is nothing to be concerned about. If someone I know recognizes me all the better. Maybe they will approach me and we can discuss what great life choice I feel I have made for myself and I could encourage other who might choose this path to do the same. For so many years I would avoid getting in pictures over the holidays. I regret now that it is hard to find many pictures with me and my daughters during Christmas over the years. This year I was getting in as many as I could while my girls are still young (8 and 10) to make up for lost time. Looking forward to a happy and healthy 2013 and wish everyone else here the same!!

Way to go!! You look great. Keep up the good work

This is funny that I just saw this topic. I finally got the courage up to add an avatar to my profile just a few minutes ago. When picking out a picture I noticed that my port shows in several of them. The avatar is small so its hard to see but in the original it is quite apparent. I was wearing a thin tight shirt on a rainy day so it was stuck to my skin and made it show more but mine does show on occasion depending upon what I wear. I have never gotten any comments about it though.

Congratulations on the one year. I just passed my 2 year date from banding. I couldn't be happier with my choice. I am so happy you are doping well. Keep up the good work in the new year !!

I was banded 12/28/2010. I used to ride a road bike a bit 20 years ago in college. I decided that I liked it then so I would try again. I bought my TREK 2.1 in March last year. In May I did a metric century for the Diabetes TourDCure. I was a wiped out after but recovered quickly. I ran a half marathon the following weekend. I bet once you start taking off weight the joint pain will ease up considerably. I know mine sure did. I used to have terrible knees but after going from 255 to 175 I found that the knees were much less of an issues. It then came down to building endurance and getting my lungs in shape. After lungs I found the greatest challenge in endurance races is nutrition. I haven't figured that out yet myself. If you have the ambition and goals pre-banding I think you are well on your way to better health. A century is a goal that you can definitely obtain with some training. Two years ago I would walk 1.5 miles for a workout. I am now training for the Timberman Half Marathon in August. Best of luck with your Century Goal. Keep us updated with your progress.

That is awesome. I bought my road bike last March and love riding it. The best thing you can do for yourself is find an activity that you will enjoy. That is the only way to really stick with it.

Sojourner, I am sure many insurance companies can be difficult. The shortsightedness that they practice is a sad fact. There are a great deal of posts specific to Aetna and WLS in this forum. Of course I am probably biased as that is what I focus on. In my case I have the most comprehensive (and expensive) plan offered through my company. Still I had issues. Mandy. I went back to view my saved messages from Walter Lindstrom. The 1st one through the approval message: April 17, 2010: Thank you for contacting us about your LAP-BAND insurance denial. From the information you provided on our website form, it appears you may qualify for Allergan's LAP-BAND appeals/advocacy program.......(it goes on after this) October 29, 2010 (to my surgeons office) : Kelley and I wanted to let you know we were successful in our appeal of his denial with Aetna and we appreciate the opportunity to assist your patient obtaining life-saving treatment...... It seems like forever when you are living through it but don't give up. I had so many emails between this time from Kelley keeping me updated and reassuring me that it was going as planned. I know you would/will like her. It was impossible not to.

Brandy (and Mandy), This is such a common topic with Aetna. I Soooo hate their policies!!! They have to be the worst insurance company when it comes to WLS. I see from you post that you have found the Lindstrom Advocacy group. Do yourself a favor and call them right away. When I spoke with them they asked me to send all of my information and then Kelley took over from there. She handled all communication and Appeals with Aetna. It cost me exactly $0 for everything she did. Two years ago this week I got my 4th denial letter from Aetna. When Kelley called me to explain that this was part of the process and it is just what we wanted I believed her. She was right! In less than a month I get a phone call saying that my appeal was overturned in the final external independent review process. I had been banded for 21 months now and I am below my goal weight. I have posted a link to one of my earlier posts with a followup. Do a search for "Aetna" and you will see how difficult they can be. Please do yourself a favor and stick with it. I have no idea if Aetna will ever change but there are ways to beat them. Good Luck !!! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/108409-2nd-denial-so-disappointed/page__hl__aetna#entry1528023

Mandy, My story is very much like yours. Here is a post i made almost 2 years ago now. Please stay with it. Kelley and Walter Lindstrom are so helpful. I am 21 months post surgery now and slightly below my goal weight. Search for my posts to see my frustrations while going through the approval process. I picked this one as it made me very happy Posted August 4, 2011 - 3:10 PM Congratulations to everyone that was approved. I have Aetna and was denied. the denial was upheld in the first and second level appeal by Aetna. It was so stressful. The final appeal is an independent external review process. This is where the decision goes out to an independent doctor not associated with the insurance company who will decide based upon the information provided if the patient meets the standards published by NIH and other medical groups. Mine did and the decision by Aetna was overturned. The entire process took almost 10 months and was SO stressful. All of my appeals were done with the help of http://www.obesitylaw.com It cost me nothing and Kelley is the BEST !! She called me 2 days before I was going to Disney to tell me the good news. She even offered to give me passes to Disneyland that they use to take out the employees in the office each year. Unfortunately I was going to Disney World in FL so I couldn't use the passes. She was so nice I decided I would tell everyone who was having issues with approval about them. They provide an awesome service to people who could really use help. I believe her husband Walter had both Gastric bypass and a Lapband revision later on. Good Luck to anyone having to deal with Aetna. 1st Lap band seminar: 12/14/2009 Highest weight: 253 Pre-op diet starting weight: 247 Banded: 12/28/2010 : 236 1st fill: 2/8/11 (4.5cc) 2nd fill: 3/15/11 (7cc total) 3rd fill: 4/25/11 (8cc total) 4th fill: 9/30/11 (8.5cc total) 18 months post-op: 175

Please do your own research on Zetia (Ezetrol). There was a good bit of controversy on the drug trials and the efficacy of this medication. I was on it for a short time when it was first released along with a statin medication. My endocrinologist took me off it and said he no longer prescribed it for patients. It may be good for you but I would strongly advocate doing your own research and discussing further with your Doctor if you feel so inclined.

1) BodyGlide 2) synthetic clothing (polyester). AVOID Cotton !! 3) compression shirt/shorts Band aids can help too as others mentioned but Bodyglide and polyester will take care of chafed bleeding nipples.

Hi everfeels9, Your situation sounds remarkably like mine. I gave up beer when I got banded and went to wine then vodka etc.. like you. It got to be a self sustaining cycle and I finally realized I was no longer in control of it. I finally reached out for help and surprisingly it was more difficult that I thought it would be. I seemed to think that making one phone call to a doctor,mental health center/detox would be all that was needed and all would be fixed. For me it required persistence, self realization and discovery and talking honestly about my problem and loss of control. There are some medications that can help make things a bit easier (naltrexone/vivtrol) but there is no magic pill that does it for you as I have no doubt you are aware. I was down about 55 pounds and feeling much better weight wise but much worse in other ways at my 1 year anniversary of being banded. With the help of nurses at the surgical weight loss dept were I went for followups as well as doctors and counselors I was referred to I will be 8 months sober as of next week. I have also lost an additional 25-30 pounds since then and have reached a normal weight for the first time in almost 18 years. I highly recommend talking honestly to your Dr./Nurse who you do you band followup appointments with. They have invested time and work in helping you to this point and if they are as committed to your success and holistic well being as they are where I was banded they will hopefully work with you to help with this issue. Cross Addiction should be nothing new to them and with honesty and a commitment to your own success you may be able to work together with them to lose the alcohol and get back on track to weight loss success. Best of Luck and send me a PM if you would like to discuss further.

This is so much my story. I have Aetna. Was denied, appealed, denied again. I was so depressed about it after all the months of preparation. At one point I was 36 hours from surgery when my 1st denial came. It sucked so bad to get those letters I still hate to think about it. After researching here someone suggested Lindstrom Obesity Advocacy. The web site is: http://wlsappeals.com/ Kelley did my appeals and she was awesome. Basically we went through every appeal with Aetna and got a denial at every level. I was devastated but she assured me it was OK and within the plan of action. After exhausting all Aetna appeals it goes to independent external review. My denial was overturned and after and entire year of appeals I finally got my surgery. The date was Dec 28, 2010. I have now lost just about 85 pounds. My Nurse Practitioner asked me to attend the introduction seminars they have at the hospital to speak with new patients even. The cost for the entire appeal process which was handled entirely by Kelley at Lindstrom Obesity Law was exactly $0. She was so so good I want to be sure anyone with approval problems knows about this service that Kelley and Walter Lindstrom provide. They really are awesome. Call them and see if they can help. I will be glad to answer anything else here or in a PM if you like. This is the best thing I have ever done for myself and family. I plan on living a long time to see my kids grow up. BTW: Aetna Sux !! Good Luck to your husband.

I hope not. I drink coffee by the gallon. Yeah I know its not good but it sure beats the alcohol habit which I did give up which I used to drink by the gallon too. That's for another thread sometime though.

My bike saddle is not very comfortable. I have good chamois (bike shorts) that help a little . After a while I can't feel anything down there anyway. Sorry I can't be of more help. I was looking at the "adamo road" saddle. The price is a big roadblock for me at this point. Sorry I couldn't be more help. Here is the saddle I am looking at: http://www.ismseat.com/saddle/adamo-road

My Total Cholesterol is down to 160. My endocrinologist did not want me to come off the the 40mg of simvastatin as he said the numbers were perfect now. Since I have no side effects we should stay with it rather than go off and have the numbers increase. He did cut my blood pressure meds down to just 5mg of lisinorpil. My liver enzymes went from 1.5 times the upper limit to close to the lower limit. That was a HUGE difference and was the most significant of all the changes in body chemistry. It did take me close to 18 months from surgery for me to see the changes I needed. If you have a little patience things may improve with time too. Good Luck !!

I got my Realize band 12/2010. I have lost about 80 pounds and I am at the goal I set at the beginning. I would like to lose another 10 pounds and I think that is definitely doable. It will take some time at this point but I am patient. I now have 8.5cc. I am going in 2 weeks for my 18 month check in. I am sure they will agree with me that another fill is not needed. I can eat almost anything. I tend to not eat in the morning as it is a little tight but I have adjusted well to that. I really only have issues now when I eat too fast. It sometimes happens when I am rushing to get super ready for the family and I sit to eat without getting my head out of rush mode. When I said I can eat almost anything it is true but I am rarely hungry and I only eat small amounts as that is all that is needed to satisfy me. I went out to eat twice this weekend with my 8 year old daughter. We got one meal, ate everything we wanted and came home with almost half of the plate. It is amazing how much food we are "expected" to eat by society. Anyway, I am VERY happy with the realize band.

I took before pics in Dec 2010. I couldn't bring myself to look at them. In fact I thought my wife had mistakenly deleted them from the camera before downloading. She found them a couple of weeks ago. I admit that still, they are not pleasant to look at. Just 2 days ago I had bought a new pair of pants for my firefighter Class A (dress) uniform. I had to replace the 40's that were too small 2 years ago with some 34's. My 10 year old daughter came in while I was dressed and asked why I was in uniform. I told her I bought new smaller pants. She asked if my old pants stretched or if I got smaller? I smiled at her and asked "you don't remember?" She had a curious look and said "no". I showed her the before pic (from 18 months ago). She started laughing at my bloated head and neck/chin area. She said that she doesn't remember me looking like that at all. One thing I took from that is the love a child has for a parent doesn't depend upon fat, thin, ugly, handsome. They care about who we are inside and the outside doesn't matter. What she does like is that I play with her and her sister more. Swimming, soccer, softball, biking, even cartwheels on the lawn. Keep the before pics. You don't have to look at them all the time but it is a good reminder of how far you have come. I bet many people are like me and did all they could to avoid being in pictures. It is sort of nice to have one or two just to reference once in a while.

I forgot to mention that I use an app called "runkeeper" for my iphone to track my running activity. I tried a few others and I like this one the best. Any runkeeper users who want to friend each other for support please PM me and I will give you my username. It nice to share support and encouragement from others.

In my opinion good running shoes are essential to avoid injury. I bought $80 shoes at foot locker and and terrible ankle problems. I went to a real running store where they spent 30 minutes observing how I walked, how I ran etc.. They had me try several shoes and made me run in the parking lot while they watched. The pain in my ankle went away almost immediately with the new shoe and has never been an issue in the year since. I did my first 5K a little less than 13 months ago. In 2 days I am running in my first 1/2 marathon. I was not a runner before either. I now find running to be essential to my physical and mental well being. It is my way to relax when stressed out from work and life. Take it slow at first and don't push yourself. The C25K is a good program to ramp you up at a good pace. It should be something you enjoy doing and look forward to. I believe you will gain the most benefit and reward if you enjoy doing it.

Good Luck difa. I am looking forward to following your progress. Be sure to keep us all updated.

The seminar is a normal process in most places I believe. I remember that day having lots of mixed feelings. ..How did I ever get here. ..I'm glad I am here to do something about this. ..I hope no one I know sees me here. In the end It was worth every bit of prep work and struggle. Good Luck to you in your journey !!

I used to love cooking, eating, watching food channel, new recipes, wanted the best knives etc.. 17 months later I don't really think about food much My wife was talking about what to do for fathers say and suggested going out to dinner. I told her I wasn't really interested in that. I go out to eat because she likes it and I like the company and socialization. I don't much think about the food. I told her I would rather have a new seat for my bike so I can ride more miles in comfort. Eating has really now about keeping up energy so I can do more activity. I really don't miss it at all all. I was watching old home movies with my kids just this morning from of a Christmas a few years ago. I NEVER want to look or feel like that again. My fingers looked like little Vienna sausages LOL !!

I feels pretty good doesn't it ?? I was a 40 and I recently had to get some 32 inch waist pants as my 34's kept falling down. I haven't been a 32 for over 18 years. For so many years I used to go the the dresser or closet and find the loosest pants (pleats, expanding waists etc) as they were the only ones that would button as I was in denial of my growing size. I now have to search for the smaller pants as the big ones keep falling down. My 7 year old daughter thought it was necessary to run through the house to tell my wife that "Dad was wearing Jeans !!" I could never find a pair of jeans that fit right. They either were so tight I couldn't move or the crotch of my pants hung to my knees. I was just saying last night that its time to go through the closet again and cull out the 2nd round of big clothes. Keep it up. It won't be long until you need all new clothes