~Jules~

I started out at 36 and am now at 31. I am a big girl still, but I am 5'11". I still have about 60 pounds or so to lose. I was a self pay for several reasons. My insurance required a 40 bmi for one thing. I had rather pay for it myself than to gain the weight to have the surgery. Kind of crazy, huh?!

Yep, I got a fill on the 6th. I have a lot of restriction for just one fill. That is why I PB'd a little bit ago. I eat fast and don't chew well enough. The PB was scary. I sure as heck hope I learned from it. My weight loss includes my preop diet. I worked hard during that time so I include it as well. It has not been easy, but I would never have lost anything if I hadn't been banded.

Great news Lisa. I am glad it went well. I just PB'd my first time. Yuk. What a learning experience. lol Take care of your self!!

Laura, You are not alone. Many people go through this. One fill isn't going to make that much difference. Many people have to get several fills to feel any restriction. Hang in there. I promise it gets better.

Cindy, where and what do you teach? (for only 7 more days) lol BTW, my parents live in Corinth!!

Bitteroldhag, You are too funny!!!!

Cindy, I live in Flower Mound and attend TWU in Denton.

I agree with Cindy on this. I think instead of pointing the finger at others, we need to look at our own lives and what we are doing to ruin the environment. How many of us drive SUV's? Do we all recycle? Do a little research on "global warming" and causes of it. I bet then you would lay off the Duggers.

Congrats on your approval Tonya. And way to go on your weight loss already. It is very helpful on your rehab to lose a little before surgery. At least that is what I was told. At least you are already on your way there. Woo Hoo!!!

I live in Flower Mound and have gotten the Cherry Limeade at Kroger, Albertsons and Tom Thumb. My favorite of these is the Mango Tropical. The Raspberry something one is really good too. And of course the regular lemonade is wonderful. And yes, I am addicted to these. I guess these are my new Dr. Peppers. lol Since I don't drink the DP's anymore, I had to find something that I just love and I have definately found them.

I buy the Nectar. The first one (only one I have tried so far) is green apple. It is ok. I don't mind it at all. I just ordered the cherry and the fuzzy navel. I hope they are good. I get them at vitacost.com. It is the cheapest place I have found. They are 22 something per container. The shipping on one or two is 4.95. I don't know if that is an unlimited amount you can order or what. I just know it was that on both orders that I ordered from them. Good luck to you. I will post when I taste the two I just ordered and let ya know what I think of the flavors.

I would suggest contacting your HR person. The exclusions are done by the employer to get cheaper rates. I didn't fight it myself because I didn't want to wait, but I had two people here at work that fought it in order to get the gastric bypass done. They did it together. But, they are V.P.'s with the company, so that could have made a difference too. Who knows. But I would at least talk to your HR person and see what he/she has to say about it. Good luck.

Personally, I would seriously consider finding another doctor.

beversman, You are not taking the easy way out. I am sorry your family is reacting the way they are. This route will not be easy, but it will work. That is the main thing. IT WILL WORK. Hopefully they will lay off when they see the results. When I told my dad and stepmom (right before I had the surgery), I flat out told them that I needed their support. I didn't give them a chance to nock my decision. I thought they would give me a hard time and say something like, "just push away from the table." They were actually supportive, but I am glad that I didn't give them a chance to think before I said what I said. I hope they come around for your sake.

I use Viactiv multi-vitamins. They are chewable chocolates. I actually like them. It is like my daily treat.

Hi Geoff. It isn't going to fall off, but you are certainly on the right track. I have yet to start exercising. I know it is going to be the key to the weight loss for me, but I attend school full time and work full time. My semester ends this next week, so I am going to start then. I have a stationary bike that I will do like you on your treadmill. I will start out slow and work up to more time. I simply can't ride it very long right now. Like Devana said, it is a tool. It will take time, but it will happen. Especially with you starting your exercising. You need to try and remember that it isn't going to fall off like it does for the gastric bypass people. Though it is so much safer this way. Good luck to you. And hang in there. It will happen.

I think you are doing great. My personal opinion on the boobs, is go for a nice C. I personally think proportion is nice. I don't like to see a small frame looking like she is going to fall forward. Good luck to you, not that you need it. You are doing wonderful!!!!!!!!!

Hi Flowerpot. I admire you for doing this alone. Sometimes I wish I had done that. I have a few people that ask me EVERY time I see them how much weight have I lost. It is a slow process. I will be happy to lose 2 pounds a week. If I just saw them 3 or 4 days ago, it might not have changed. If it has, it is only going to be a pound or so. That drives me nuts. Plus I don't like having a food police. "Should you be eating that." or "Can you have that yet." If I hadn't told anyone, I wouldn't have to deal with this. I was hungry soon after surgery. Some people aren't quite yet, but I sure was. Be sure to get your protein in. I use Slim Fast Low Carb and Nectar. I ordered Nectar protein from Vitacost.com. They have the best price. It mixes with water and doesn't have any fat or carbs. It has 90 calories and 23 grams of protein. It also comes in different flavors. The protein helps curb your hunger longer. For my itching incisions, I put a tiny bit of neosporin on them. Mine itched because they were healing and dry. I only put it on every other day so that it would heal properly. For the gas, I walked about 5 minutes every hour. Many times I just walked in cirles around my house. It gets the gas moving and feels much better. I also used Gas-X for the gas from swallowing air when I drank something. It helped, but didn't work miracles for me. The walking did the best. After a week for me it was all gone, but sometimes it takes longer. The first fill is not usually for 4 to 6 weeks after surgery to let your stomach heal. This first phase is all about healing. My doc told me if I lose weight during the beginning, it was a bonus because this time was to heal and not worry about losing weight. This is another thing that others that aren't banded have a hard time getting. People sometimes think that weight loss surgery (WLS) is all the same. This is nothing like the gastric bypass, but the don't always get that. I also ate a lot of sugar free jello and sugar free, fat free pudding. It is only fat free if you use skim milk, though, so keep that in mind. My doc said these were fine during liquids because at body temperature, they were liquids. I hope this helps you some. Hang in there, it does get better, I promise.

What beautiful puppies!!!!

Hi. The Mucinex for kids will work fine for adults. It says on the package how much the adults will need. I bought some right after I was banded because the sinus meds I was on were too big to try to swallow. The Mucinex I picked was for juniors and it reminded me of the pixie stix. It is a little pouch that has a lot of little dots (can't think of a better way to describe) and you dump them in your mouth and they kind of dissolve and you swallow them. It says not to chew them. I got the bubble gum flavor and it actually taste pretty good. Oh, and after all this, it works well. lol Anyway........ it is pricey, but is worth it when you can't swallow huge pills and need to do something about the drainage. Take care.

Welcome to Texas. Congrats on your beautiful healthy baby girl.

Hi Becky, My name is Julie and I attend TWU (Texas Woman's University). Jules is of course a nickname. BTW, I think Flabuless is a cute name.

I know someone that was banded almost 8 years ago. She had it done when they were doing the trials or whatever you call it. She was a guinea pig, so to speak. She is doing perfectly fine.

Congrats on your decision. I am very happy with mine. Good luck to you!!

Great job Geezer. You have come a long way. I am very happy for you. I wish you the best.