~Jules~

I paid 100% of mine, so your 20% sounds pretty good. It will be so worth it. It is cool that your family will be banded too. You will have a banded Christmas next year. lol

Wow. That is great. I should have waited for the semester to be over with, but I am not patient. I also was thinking about if I walked across the stage on Dec 16, I would be down a few pounds if I went ahead with it. lol But I have decided (again) not to walk this time. I will probably walk when I complete my master's degree. We will see. Good luck to you. I hope it all works out nice, fast and smooth.

I am happy you have a friend going through this with you. That would be awesome. I feel like I have a bunch of friends since I have been on this site. lol I even email a few regularly. It would be better in person though. Good luck to you both. It is a wonderful journey.

Hi Becca, You have plenty of time to get in so much information. I read posts at least an hour a day. Many days more than that. I have learned so much. Luckily I started on here about a month before my surgery. I felt very knowledged by then. Good luck to you in your journey.

Yea, Carlene, I vote for sexier. lol

Vanity was it for me. I was tired of being a "big girl". I have been overweight so much of my life. I was/am ready for that to change. I am not hunting for a mate, but I wouldn't mind being looked at again without it being because I am big. I am not looking to be "hot" necessarily, but I would like to feel good about myself. So yes it is vanity, but for me. I want to feel like I look good.

So you might be able to do it between semsters? That would be awesome!!!!!!!!!!

I use the Viactiv multi-vitamin chocolate chew. I wasn't impressed the when I ate the first one, but kept eating them and now I love them. It is like a treat. I keep them in my office so I don't forget them. I never miss them now. lol I am not a big chocolate fan, but they are pretty good.

Wow. You are doing great. Keep up the good work.

Welcome, You made a good decision with Dr. Kuri. I wound up going with a doc that was closer to me than Tiajuana. I personally believe you will be in good hands. Congrats on your decision to become one of us. lol

Soniacan, I need to get exercising too. I still have two more weeks of school left. I dont' finish until the 14th. I guess that is a week and a half. I will have more time then to exercise. I just hope I get with it and do it. Oh, I also get my first fill on Wednesday. Woo Hoo!!!!

Carlene, We have quite a few of these in my family too. We keep passing them on from generation to generation. lol

"Walk in the park." That is a great one, Tom!! I like it.

Hi little ed, You have found a wonderful place to find information and support. Welcome!!!!!

One thing you need to remember, this is not a diet. You will have to watch what you eat and make good decisions, but when you get good restriction, you will be satisfied with a bit or two of something you don't need. I don't have good restriction yet but have found to be fine with a couple of small bites of something. It is kind of weird to me, but I am fine with just a sample. I love going to Sam's on the weekends. They have samples like crazy. It is great to taste things that I wouldn't order because they might not be good choices.

A week after my surgery I couldn't even tell I had surgery. Other than the swelling in my belly. Personally, I think they are being selfish. You need to do this for you. You will be fine. You may be moving a little slow, but you won't need help from anyone. Be sure and post after Christmas and tell us how they reacted to your great mobility.

Wow, I have had my gallbladder removed as well as the band put in, but not at the same time. I guess that is actually pretty cool to get them both over with at the same time. Take care of yourself. You have a wonderful journey ahead of you. You are in pain because of the gallbladder removal. The lapband surgery for me was not near as painful. Keep taking your pain meds. I would also keep drinking your liquids. Try protein drinks. Also, my doc stressed that the first month or so after surgery was about healing. And to not stress over losing weight. He said if you lose weight during this time that it is a bonus. So try to focus on that and drink plenty of liquids, even if it is juices. I ate a lot of sugar free jello and sugar free popsicles. Hang in there. It will be over soon and you will have other hurdles to jump over. lol After you get past the first few weeks, it becomes a wonderful journey.

Welcome, It's a wonderful journey. Good luck to you.

Hi. I am one of those older students. My GPA means a lot to me. I give my best effort. I actually graduate Dec 16. I plan to continue in January, but that is one hurdle I will be glad to get past. I like people watching and college is a wonderful place for that. It cracks me up to hear the crazy excuses that some of the students come up with. I make good grades, but I earn every one of them.

FoOoFa, Personally my surgery wasn't very painful at all. I had it on a Thursday and went back to work on Monday. I was tired, but I was fine. I didn't take many pain meds. I didn't really need them. But if you are worried about the pain, by all means take the pain meds they give you. I bet you will be pleasantly surprised. Good luck.

Cheryl, You might want to chase the little pills with a lot of water to be sure to wash them down. Maybe that is why he is suggesting you crush them. You may even specifically ask him why. Good luck.

Wow!!!! That is awesome. Keep up the good work. I am so proud for you.

I personally have not had any children. It was a personal choice for a while, then after my hysterctomy, it was no longer an option. I have no problem with people that want a whole slew of children. I would adopt if it wasn't so damned expensive. :-(

CherylB, Personally, I would try and take the smaller ones. Crushing them all would make me sick too. My pcp changed one of my meds at my request because I thought it was too big for when I get good restriction. She originally changed it to one that I could cut or crush, but I had to take it three times a day instead of the one that was extended release. Lets just say I didn't take it three times a day. I do good remembering to take them once, but certainly not three times. So now she has me on a small capsule that does the same thing as two of my previous meds. It goes down fine. Actually it goes down better than the ones that I cut because it is smooth. Also I have a friend that was banded 3 years ago and she takes over the counter sinus meds periodically. I believe they are Dayquil. There are two and they are huge. She gets them down without a problem. I think the previous posts suggesting warm liquids is a wonderful idea. Good luck to you.

I would take that as a sign not to tell everyone about you having surgery. I have family members that ask me about how much weight I have lost EVERY TIME I see them. Even if I just saw them two days before. I keep telling them that I will only lose approximately 2 pounds per week. I prefer to lose it slow like that because I don't want to have hanging skin from losing it too fast. You must do what is right for you, whichever choice you make. You are the only one that counts. Good luck in your research.