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I used to consider myself a night owl, going to bed around 1 or 2 am and sleeping for maybe 4.5 hours. But now, I CANNOT wait to get to bed by 10:30, and that's stretching it. I can barely keep my eyes open! I am almost 4 years out with a lap band and am at goal. I take a Multivitamin and B12 daily (mostly) but probably don't get enough Protein. Anyone else dragging?

Dont know how old your are, but unfortunately sleep patterns do change with age, especially with women. Sometimes its hormones , etc. I used to sleep like a baby every single night, then while expecting 26 years ago, ( I was 30) started waking up once a night. I could handle that, but then it got way worse ! Asleep at 10 pm, then every single night, wide awake at around 3:30 am. I'd have cocoa and crackers to help me maybe go back to sleep. Maybe. I tried everything. Now , I take Trazadone before bed, and combined with my ADD meds, sleep for 7 - 8 hrs straight. Zzzzzzzzzz

What are your fears? ~Leticia **HW: 259**PreOp: 216**SURG: 3/21/13 **Discharged @: 221** 4.5 mons post op. CW: 160.0 lbs. --- Only 10 lbs to my goal ---

I count everything. I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2022 and was put on a sodium restriction. Just two months before my projected VSG surgery date my A1C was 9.6% and I was put on diabetic meds(Metformin and Semaglutide), given a blood sugar meter with instructions to check my blood sugar twice daily, and told to cut out all sugars in my diet. Around the same time as my Type-2 Diabetes diagnosis my Bariatric Surgeon had me go on a Keto/Atkins very low carb diet prior to the liver shrinking diet due to my extremely high 71.5 BMI. That was my first time on a 'low carb' diet since I tried South Beach in 2004, and I really liked it for how it made me feel and how much easier it has become to find low-carb substitutions for common foods. So I decided to stick with it post-surgery. I am two weeks out from my surgery and I am at the point where I can eat 800-1000 calories a day, where 50% is from protein, 40% fat, 10% Net Carb, and sodium between 1,500mg and 2,000mg. I track my Daily Food Intake in an Excel Spreadsheet, listing Calories, Total Fat, Protein, Net Carbs, Fiber, and Sodium of each. I also track my fluids, noting if the beverage has any sodium. I avoid sugars like the Plague, except when it comes to fruits. I will on occasion eat fresh strawberries, raspberries, or some honeydew melon. I don't feel the Keto diet is suitable for Post-op due to the high reliance on Fats. I like a more even distribution favoring protein over fat, but still keeping enough healthy fats in my system so entering Ketosis is a possibility. My carbs are always under 25g a day, most of the time between 15g and 20g. I was only in Ketosis once for a brief few days, and it was right after surgery. I check my ketone level regularly with those over the counter 'pee' strips. I like my method of tracking my nutrition manually instead of using an App or Website, although there is a lot more work looking up nutritional labels for everything I eat, or general nutritional information for those items without labels. The plus side of it is I am amassing a database of my frequently eaten food items so logging is becoming easier. I agree with the general consensus that 'Diet' is an ill-fitting word for what we are doing. I like the term 'Lifestyle Change' much better. A diet, to me, is finite in its duration. It has a beginning and an end. A Lifestyle Change goes on indefinitely.

Hello, I have been banded for 10 years now. I fill and remove fill from my band every few months. 10 days after my last fill, my port itches very bad. Does anyone of you have a similar experience? Any idea what it could be? Thanks, Joe Sent from my SM-N920C using the BariatricPal App

I got on the scale today at the gym after a week in Vegas where I threw caution to the wind. A 3 pound gain. I'm surprised I didn't gain more than that, actually, what with 2 trips to the Cheesecake factory, a Bellagio Eclaire and Caramel Brownie, and every meal being some sort of restaurant food. I was honestly terrible. I TRIED to work out, but the gym cost $25/day and I'd take a 3 pound gain over a $150 gym bill. In addition to that, it was the temperature of the sun outside so walking around was kept at a minimum. So today I was supposed to present the new website redesign to the directors. I was NOWHERE near ready to do it and I wasn't able to work in Vegas like I'd hoped. So I called in sick!!! I still can't believe I did that. I just wanted to escape reality for ONE MORE day. But then I got 2 more calls today that we're doing a shoot early tomorrow and I've got to be there with all my gear to film the thing. I was REALLY hoping to pass this off to my intern, but I can tell he's not quite ready for that yet. I do think he'll be able to handle overseeing the special effects, though. He's good at that. And my other intern, Traci, I'm sure will have everything organized for tomorrow's shoot. She's the most organized person I've ever met. I'm just trying to take life one day at a time at this point. I feel so incredibly overwhelmed during my day job, my personal business, and my life! I need to make some goals and set a schedule for myself. If I don't pencil in "read your scriptures" at this point it doesn't happen. You'd think I'd be burning more calories with all the worrying I do! SCALE: 237 at gym (gained 3 pounds on vacation!) (233 at Doctor's office) EXERCISE: Length: 20 minutes Time: 12:30 (entered gym) to 1:00 (left gym) Intensity: HIIT (level 12 on machine at 10 intensity) Activity: Elliptical Calories burned start to finish: ~160 Calories burned 1 hour after activity: 145 (but I made lunch & did laundry) FOOD: BF: None (woke up at noon) L: 1 homemade stuffed pepper CALORIES BURNED: 2,346 CALORIES CONSUMED: 980 CALORIE DEFECIT: 1,366 NSV: Resisted a Wendy's fix 'n mix frosty that I SOOO craved

I got on the scale today at the gym after a week in Vegas where I threw caution to the wind. A 3 pound gain. I'm surprised I didn't gain more than that, actually, what with 2 trips to the Cheesecake factory, a Bellagio Eclaire and Caramel Brownie, and every meal being some sort of restaurant food. I was honestly terrible. I TRIED to work out, but the gym cost $25/day and I'd take a 3 pound gain over a $150 gym bill. In addition to that, it was the temperature of the sun outside so walking around was kept at a minimum. So today I was supposed to present the new website redesign to the directors. I was NOWHERE near ready to do it and I wasn't able to work in Vegas like I'd hoped. So I called in sick!!! I still can't believe I did that. I just wanted to escape reality for ONE MORE day. But then I got 2 more calls today that we're doing a shoot early tomorrow and I've got to be there with all my gear to film the thing. I was REALLY hoping to pass this off to my intern, but I can tell he's not quite ready for that yet. I do think he'll be able to handle overseeing the special effects, though. He's good at that. And my other intern, Traci, I'm sure will have everything organized for tomorrow's shoot. She's the most organized person I've ever met. I'm just trying to take life one day at a time at this point. I feel so incredibly overwhelmed during my day job, my personal business, and my life! I need to make some goals and set a schedule for myself. If I don't pencil in "read your scriptures" at this point it doesn't happen. You'd think I'd be burning more calories with all the worrying I do! SCALE: 237 at gym (gained 3 pounds on vacation!) (233 at Doctor's office) EXERCISE: Length: 20 minutes Time: 12:30 (entered gym) to 1:00 (left gym) Intensity: HIIT (level 12 on machine at 10 intensity) Activity: Elliptical Calories burned start to finish: ~160 Calories burned 1 hour after activity: 145 (but I made lunch & did laundry) FOOD: BF: None (woke up at noon) L: 1 homemade stuffed pepper CALORIES BURNED: 2,346 CALORIES CONSUMED: 980 CALORIE DEFECIT: 1,366 NSV: Resisted a Wendy's fix 'n mix frosty that I SOOO craved

After spending 4 nights and 3 days in my house….. I decided that I had to get out! So I went shopping. Tonight I will be going to Hooters with my guy friends to watch the Mayweather and Canelo fight! (Go Canelo!) And if I am going to escort these lovely gentlemen tonight… I have to look good. Also I’ve been feeling down lately so I chose shopping to cheer me up instead of food. I check my email and I noticed Dots Clothing Store sent me some coupons or I called them coopins. Last time I went shopping I was a size 16 will today size 16 was a little big so the sales associate told me to try on a size 14. A size 14 I have seen this size since I was 19. Anyway the size 14 fit but I needed a belt. A belt? What is that? I have never brought me a belt before. I always relay on my gut to keep everything in place. I use my $10 off coopin and brought me a whole outfit for $26.89! I am going to look hot tonight. Those Hooter girls will have some friendly competition tonight! Normally I will work out more for these types of occasion but this time I am not. I don’t want to overdo it and I want my incisions to heal properly. I will make healthier choices tonight and if I overdo it then I did. Soon I will be back on track but until then I will continue lively my healthier lifestyle! Thanks for reading!

amanda and silver You should go for it. I've had a weight problem all my llife. Hey I was 10 lbs, 5 ozs. when I was born. so there you are - all my life. Anyway, i can't remember in jr. high being under 165 and high school 195. I made it up to 265 when I finally said enough is enough. i had the same feelings you are having. right up until the time of surgery. the night before, i was thinking, maybe i shouldn't. But i thought, I've got to do something, and this is it. Had the surgery March 16. in 5 days i was feeling normal again except i couldn't eat as much. after 2 and half weeks the doctor told me to eat solids and get ready for my first fill on may 6. I've lost 26 lbs and have no restriction. Just think what i will accomplish when i get a fill. I'm happy i've done it and look forward to a thin me. Keep me posted on your decisions.

So it's been 10 days since my surgery and I'm down 18.8 lbs from then. Well at least I WAS. Now in like a day I've put back on 4 lbs. Granted I did just start eat the mushy food. Also, I just started my period so it could be Water weight. But either way I'm absolutely FREAKING OUT about putting on the lbs. Did this happen to anyone else? I've never been more depressed about a little weight in my life and I'm feeling completely horrible about myself.

I had surgery on 1/10/08. This is how recovery went for me. For 24 hours after surgery I had very sharp "gas" pains that came and went almost like contractions. I guess they fill you up with a form of gas during surgery to work around things. This pain was totally unexpected for me but pretty common. The incision pain lasted for 3-4 days (of course it is still tender now but nothing that stops you from doing anything). The only pain I currently have now is where my port is sewn into my stomach muscle about 6 inches to the left of my belly button. Port pain and tenderness has by far been the worst pain and longest lasting. I have not returned to work yet only because I am an EMT and have to do lots of heavy lifting. Had I had an office job, I could have easily returned to work within 4-5 days. Some things that increase my pain where my port is, is sneezing, coughing and bending over. Also, I have recently started lying and sleeping on that side and not being able to was a nuisance. I do not feel my port at all but I think some people do as they lose weight and get smaller around the waist. You feeling nothing actually around your stomach but you do feel food actually going down. It's kind of weird. Take care, good luck and CONGRATULATIONS!

It's a common thread I see running around this forum.. people asking why they didn't do this years ago. I'm even young and I'm finding myself asking the same thing. Though I'm only 25.. I wish I would have done it at 18 or 20.. admittedly, maybe I wasn't ready then.. maybe I still needed time.. especially because part of my story is finding out at 24 that I had bipolar II without the usual "standard" symptoms of women docs normally see in their 20's so I was very hard to diagnose and went through a period of about three years where I alienated everyone but my very closest friends because I was so hard to be around -- with a low of winding up needing to be admitted to a psych ward to get it all figured out. I definitely learned who my friends were (and who, surprisingly, weren't...) I am also social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and depression.. so I spent the last year and a half in counseling trying to get my mental self to match the well-put together self I present to the world thanks to years of being on stage growing up. I learned to show myself as put together - graduating magna cum laude and being responsible even if I was falling apart inside. So I needed to deal with all of that first before I felt ready to confront my weight. But finally I was ready. It started about 1 year ago. I had been feeling bad about my weight for a while. I was overweight during my childhood. My grandmothers both grew up during the Great Depression.. so for them.. giving me food was the same as giving me love.. especially high calorie foods. For them eating wasn't about hunger.. it was about enjoyment and thankfulness to have food to eat. (One was thin, one was overweight). But from them I learned to love all the wrong types of food and to love them in gigantic portions.. My stomach was already way stretched by the time I was 7 or 8. I remember weighing 85 pounds in 2nd grade because we did a math thing where we all weighed in front of the class. There was only one student, a boy, who weighed more.. during school I dealt with a lot, I mean a LOT of bullying because I was mature and just different - I'd rather read a book or write a story than go out for recess and I was reading Romeo and Juliet while they were reading Junie B Jones (For the Record I like her too even though she's a huge spoiled brat). Basically I had a generation gap with my peers since my parents were born in the late forties and early fifties and their parents were much younger.. so I was already -extremely- bullied. I didn't make my first non-internet friends until college.. and those were some of the people I found out weren't true blue friends when I went through my emotional break down a couple of years ago... So yeah.. and it didn't help that I was overweight.. that was just something else to give them to make fun of me about. As it turned out.. even though I wasn't doing even as good as I am now in therapy one year ago.. I was doing better than I had been in years and that gave me time and energy to turn my thoughts to the weight I'd been unhappy to be carrying around for years. Before college it bothered me.. but I didn't think about it a lot.. it was in early college when I hit 200 and started having trouble finding clothes that would fit me in your typical stores both like Macy's but also stores that people my age like - Aeropostale, Am. Eagle etc.. that I started to have a personal crisis about my weight and be super unhappy with it. Shopping became my least favorite thing because it was an exercise in taking whatever would fit rather than whatever I liked. And by a year ago I had started to notice I couldn't do or keep up with the same types of activities most people my age do. I love showing my dog Riff in conformation and was learning that I couldn't keep up with her jogging on our down and back (jogging beside the dog so the judge can see his or her movement properly) and that getting on my knees to present her not only hurt but was nearly impossible. I started to be even more unhappy because I couldn't do the hobbies I loved that people my age are doing. And in the meantime for the past 5-10 years I'd been trying every diet known to man.. I didn't feel like any of them were sustainable for a life time because I was unhappy with them. And rather than yo-yoing I just didn't lose. Didn't matter how well I stuck to a diet, I'd find myself losing maybe 5 pounds in 7 or 8 months of hard work.. and finally I gave up.. I was near the point of accepting I was just going to be overweight forever and that was how it was going to be. I knew my issues - I don't eat for emotional reasons, I don't eat when I'm not hungry.. but my stomach was super stretched from years of eating too much and I like big portions and the wrong kinds of things. I could go and polish off a huge plate of food enough for three meals and feel "Just about right" and I didn't have the self control to starve while I waited on my stomach to shrink naturally.. I just couldn't do it. I had heard things about gastric bypass that made me say no way never.. things like "You'll never be able to have any sugar again." or "You'll never be able to have fried foods again." While I'm happy to make lifestyle changes, things like "Never again" aren't something I'm capable of. So I ruled out surgery for a long while. Finally, a year ago I looked into it again and read about gastric sleeve for the first time.. and it was a fit.. not as serious as gastric bypass.. less prone to things like dumping syndrome.. and all about moderation rather than "never agains" more healthy choices.. less bad ones.. but I didn't have to promise I was never eating Pasta or never having a fried chicken leg again - which was something I knew I couldn't agree to. There was less risk of serious complications and it was a plan I thought I could actually live with and be happy and it went right to the root of my issue - shrink my stomach so I can get used to a normal portion size again without having to starve. Something I haven't had since I was 6-7 years old. Within two days of researching I was ready to commit. But of course getting my medicaid to pay for the surgery wasn't as easy as deciding I wanted it - even though I looked over the qualifications and knew I met them - I still had a lot of hoops to jump through. In October I started my 6 month phys supervised diet which only convinced my doctor and I that I needed the surgery even more. I ate 1500 calories a day and walked my dog most days for 30+ minutes (which was a significant step down from what I had been eating and step up from my sedentary lifestyle) and lost only 11 pounds in all that time. And part of it came back! Getting cleared psychologically was a battle too. They wanted a psychiatrist who didn't know me to evaluate me even though my own had already sent a letter of approval.. and the psychiatrist who I did see didn't really want to clear someone who was bipolar.. it was a battle, but finally I got cleared. That by itself took over two months and delayed my surgery which should have been in March 2016. I also had to have blood work, a number of physician check ups by my program's docs and so on. But finally all the hard work paid off.. on the first submission to insurance, I was approved within a week! How excited was I! And my surgery was set for May 31st 2016. However, the roller coaster wasn't over.. I had little contact with my bariatric program from the get go... they share a department, nurses, etc with general surgery.. so calling to talk to someone there is always a nightmare.. it's a 30 minute wait to get a human on the phone, calling to talk to a nurse means a 5 hour or more wait for a call back.. and it also means a very unpersonalized approach.. they're so busy and have so many people through their program that they want everyone to be a cookie cutter mold and don't want to offer people any individualized advice because "others in the program might want the same advice." Well number one - others in the program shouldn't know what -I- discuss with my doctors so how could they want it and number two healthcare isn't supposed to be about squeezing people into a mold and making the exact same treatment work for everyone... so I began to be unhappy with my program from early on.. especially when their psychiatrist and my psychiatrist got into a fight over the phone about whether I was going to get cleared. Their psychiatrist had met me only once and knew nothing about my case history while my own psychiatrist has been working with me for about a year and half.. who do you think was more qualified to say if I was stable or not? But aparently their program couldn't understand that.. However.. I was stuck.. Medicaid wanted me in state and this program was the closest to me and already an hour and a half away.. the only other options were double or triple that commute time (Chicago). So I just kinda had to stick with it.. I've gone on to be further disappointed by them at numerous occasions - namely when my surgeon said that Water aerobics is a joke of an exercise program and only for people who can't do anything else and that I couldn't hit my weight loss goal of 130 pounds doing water exercise of any kind (there's a thread floating around about that). Clearly he's never taken a hard core water exercise class or he would know that is so not true. I took my first one Friday and I was sweating in the water! Finally I did get to have my surgery though! Before surgery I had an 800 calorie diet for two weeks focusing on Protein and lean meats and veggies and reasonable on carbs. It wasn't too hard of a diet to follow beyond getting hungry because my stomach was huge. Surgery day came but I was excited rather than nervous. especially because all of us May 31st sleevers from the forum (there was about 10 of us) made a facebook group so we could keep in touch and that really helps to have other people who are exactly where I'm at in the recovery stage. I didn't have much trouble recovering from surgery. I never had any gas pain and even though I was in pain in general the first three days they gave me lots of morphine and kept me very comfortable. While my program as a whole is somewhat disappointing - I do have to say that the nurses who took care of me in the hospital couldn't have been better. They helped me walk. They helped me get up to go to the bathroom and helped me adjust positions in bed since I needed help doing all that for the first 2-3 days. I brought my laptop to the hospital with me and spent time here on the forums and doing other stuff I like -- even played some Sims. My recovery was uncomplicated and three days later I was able to go home. My internal swelling went down fast and by a week out I was so sick of liquids that I couldn't help but try a little puree and it worked just fine to help supplement and keep me from going nuts. One thing that's been very helpful to me is Fairlife Milk. it's heightened protein milk with 13 grams of protein for a cup. I drink it straight and also add it to my Soups. It helps a lot in getting in my 64 oz of liquid and my 60 grams of protein. I've been using an app called Plant Nanny which lets you grow plants based on how much Fluid you consume then you can plant them in your garden and harvest their seeds to get more diverse plants.. it makes drinking at least slightly more fun. I also wear a fitbit flex and it's synced with My Fitness Pal. I log my calories on MFP and my exercise syncs there from my fitbit automatically and tells me if I've earned extra calories from exercise (though I rarely use those). I was never given a calorie goal to shoot for but I set a goal of 800 for myself based on the pre-opp diet and what I can eat and get in 60 grams of protein without feeling too stuffed/ too deprived. I'm on my own for a lot of it because I've only met with the NUT once for 30 minutes pre-opp about 2 months and I won't see her again until in July so... I just read and do the best I can. So yeah I'm 3 full weeks out from surgery on Tuesday and also down 20 pounds since May 18th (the start of my pre-opp liver diet). I faced the three week stall at about week 2 instead of three and I was down to a new low for the first time in a week today so I'm hoping that it's broken and I'll have a bit of smooth sailing for a while from here. So.. that's my story so far. I don't know if people post in these to update but.. every once in a while I'll post back and let you guys know how I'm doing.

I had the RNY on April 10. Highest weight was 220lbs which dropped to 206lbs on the day of surgery. My progression is as follows: Apr 10: 206lbs Apr 24: 196.4lbs May 10: 192lbs June 10: 176.2lbs July 10: 168lbs Aug 10: 161lbs Sep 10: 152.6 lbs Oct 10: 148.8lbs Today, Oct 19: 146.8lbs I am 5'4". As you can see, I initially lost weight slowly. I also had times where I lost rapidly and times where the scale barely moved. I tracked my progress with body measurements (lost 14inches off my waist!), dress sizes (size 18-6/8; size XL/XXL to S/XS), and body fat (39% to 23.4%). Don't rely on the scale! Good luck!

Mine was 8/23 and the chest/lung pain hurt more then surgery! My dr gave me this breathing device that he told me to breathe into 10-15 times every hour. It says "airlife" on it...you breathe in and you must hold the the little blue ball between the indicators your entire breath. He said the gas will make you hurt but breathing exercises makes it feel better. Mine lasted about 3 days. Hope you feel better.

I have a PPO through Aetna. We called the insurance company ahead of time to find out, and it's really the only way to know. I had to pay 10% of the total cost, but we have a yearly cap of $1000, and since I had already paid some of that in co-pays and for some overage on testing, the max I will have to pay is $620.

hello, you should be able to follow a clear and full liquid diet , that is what my manual and nutrition gave me for a fill i was banded on 5/19/09. so i get my first fill on the 25th and the orders are to follow a clear and full liquid diet the first 48 hours and then back to your regular diet. :bored: sunshine girl

we should start a september ct surgical group - this is to funny to find 2 others that were banded by the same practice . i go to see peter tuesday at 10:15. i am never hungry and have to force myself to eat sometimes- i dont get enough protein shake in - i cant wait to get some more directive - i only lost 3 pounds since the surgery last week and i am sure i had my expectations way to high - i will say my clothes kind of hang different

Mine actually ran at $15,500, but since my insurance from the job I was laid off from ran until the end of Oct., I went to my dentist and doctor and had a full physical. Part of my physical includes blood work so I was able to take a copy of what my lapband Dr. needed and have my normal doctor run the tests and have insurance pay that way. Taxes: The way mine were explained to me was since I took the money from my 401(k), normally you would have to pay a penalty. However, since it was for medical that was more than 10% of my annual income (I'm in Florida, may be different for you), I didn't have to pay the 20% penalty, just the taxes on the $15,500 as if it was income. If there is anything else you have questions about, please let me know! :thumbup:

Hi everyone, it's so nice to see that there are so many of us self-payers. I had my first consultation on Oct. 19 and found out that the company I work for as a WLS exclusion on our insurance so that was out from the beggining. I still set my surgery date and figured I would figure it out before then. Through many prayers and an amazing mother and grandmother, I had surgery Nov. 5. I am so happy I did it. Now it's time to worry about paying back the 2 small loans I got and the money I borrowed from my grandma, but I know with God I will be able to get it done. I'm 2 weeks post-op and sooooo happy I did this. I have already lost 13lbs, and I'm looking forward to the contiued weight loss I know is going to come. My mom was banded about 5 years ago and ended up having severe problems, her dr was horrible and didn't really care that she couldn't keep anything down (she would throw up everything that she tried to eat) since she didn't have insurance. After about a year of pain, vomiting, and just not doing good, she finally found a dr that would help her. She had a slipped band, and part of her stomach died, so they HAD to do the sleeve. I'm not saying this to scare anyone, but if you ever have a problem please get it checked out. By that time she had insurance so the dr went in and took out her gall bladder and did the sleeve, and since he took the gall bladder it was covered. After all that she doesn't regret getting banded, and is very happy and supportive that I made the decision to do this. Good luck to everyone else here!! It would be great to have a self payers forum to vent about our money problems since this is a very expensive, life changing experience.

Anyone having a party tonight. Need ideas to keep me on track. Banded 10/10/12 and have lost 48 pounds so far. I know for me staying off carbs has really helped. But can get boring. So any ideas would be appreciated. Happy New Year everyone!!

I LOVE tofu egg salad!! It is better than real egg salad! The website hungry-girl.com has some great ideas!!! I like the fage greek yogurt- very creamy not runny. 60cal, 6carb no fat for 5oz I also like the tofu noodles shirataki they come in spaghetti and fettucini noodle shapes- 80cal no carbs. <TABLE borderColor=#ff0000 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=100></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD><TD align=left>House Tofu Shirataki Noodle Shaped Tofu </TD></TR><TR><TD width=10></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Is it 10% of the hospital bill or is that 10% up until you meet your deductible? If it is until you hit your deductibe limit you could at least plan on the total cost not being more than that - say $1500 (which is what mine is)

Wow! This is a perfect thread for me. Mrs. Fips Flops you are a saint. You have so much going on and are still taking care of your mom. When I was 25 all I did was party and didn't have a care in the world. My heart goes out to you. I have been dealing with my elderly father. I moved him into assisted living in Feb. which he absolutely hates. He's 89 and can't live alone so I know he's frustrated that he has no choice. So now I am back here trying to clean out his house and sell all his stuffl. This is a man that has never thrown anything away in the last 20 years. I am trying to get the house ready to put on the market and have a "moving sale" all in 2 weeks time. I need more like 2 months to get this done. My dad thinks all his junk is worth a fortune and is having a fit because I am making him replace the carpet to get the house on the market. I am ready to tear out my hair. I wish he liked Oregon but he hates it and I don't want to move to Arizona either. It's a great place to visit and I would love to be a snow bird but right now this situation has no answer. Plus now if the house sells, I will have nowhere to stay to even come and visit him. So, I have been eating ice cream every day and will probably have 10 lbs to take off by the time I get back home. At least with the band, I know it's possible to lose the weight again when I get back into my old routine.

Please let me know how the appnt goes I am in a similar position and I am actually embarrassed to call my Dr. for an appnt considering I haven't seen him in 10 months.