A thread for super-sized bandsters - starting BMI over 50?

[MourningFuneral 0]

Morning- some good places to track your food are at www.calorie-count.com and also www.fitday.com

go get em girl!!

thank you so very much

[okiefamily 0]

ibrahem- you could start walking now...Just a thought.

[Teresita 0]

ibrahem- you could start walking now...Just a thought.

I agree, walking is one of the best exercises you can do. Just start walking in place while watching tv or dancing to some music.

[harlito 0]

Walking is best, work it in slowly. Soon you'll be running!

[Teresita 0]

Harlito how are you doing? How much have you lost? If you don't mind me asking.

[Wheetsin 714]

WOw, lots has happened since I last checked in! Can you believe we're over 50 pages now?

MourningFuneral - lots could be going on. I started close to 400 lbs and I KNOW that if I had lost slowly I would have been befuddled. I've lost faster than I expected to - thankfully - but I also expected to lose fast (in the beginning) because of how much I needed to lose.

One of my pre-op weaknesses was Little Debby Nutty Bars. Solid happiness! But I won't buy them now, because I know that if I buy them I will eat them. If you use good sense at the grocery store, you won't have to worry about whether or not you can resist them when they're on the counter. And a little tip - don't go grocery shopping when you're hungry. It really works.

If you're going to eat something that's not completely healthy, then do it during the day. Late night eating is bad. And the food you eat before bed is what gets used up the least.

Can you find a substitution for your cravings? I was having an affair with Reese's Peanut Butter cups. I won't let myself buy them now. But that doesn't mean the cravings aren't there! So instead of having one I'll make a choclate Protein Drink and mix peanut butter and about 1/5 of a package of Butterfinger cocoa mix into it. YUM! PEANUT BUTTERY! And about 7g carbs and 1g fat. And I'm getting 40g Protein to boot.

That being said - have you had yourself checked thoroughly, and I mean - labs? If not, please do. And do journal your food. It's amazing how little thigns can sneak their way in. When I was first banded people would tell me, "It's not going to hurt you, you're just eating a few bites of it". But when 10 bites is all I'm eating, and 6 of them are crap, it's much more significant than anyone would think.

Teresita - I PROMISE I'm mailing you those shoes. I just need to find them first. Their on a box somewhere in one of my closets, and that's as much as I know. But your'e getting them just as soon as I can find them!

Ibrahem - it really and truly is no sweat. I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE needles. Hate them! In fact, one of the reasons I put off getting the band for so long was because I knew I'd need an IV for the surgery, and that thought just wasn't OK with me. I once had both bones set in my broken arm without any anesthesia, just because I would've rather gone through the pain than have a shot to numb me. Once I needed stiches in my leg, and the numbing wore off, and rather than tell them I just sat through the last 6 stitches being put in, feeling everything, because it was better than a needle injection. But I will tell you in absolute honesty that my fills don't bother me a bit. Here's my deal:

The first fill hurt like hell. Because they numbed me first. That numbing shot was SO painful. I could feel it as he pushed down and down, and it went way beyond the "bee sting" it's normally compared to. I've had numbing shots before, in weird places that should hurt really bad (like the end of my nose!), but this one was the grand-daddy of them all. The fill itself didn't hurt because I was numb. But I started debating whether or not I'd get more fill, because the numbing was such a painful experience. So when I went back, I told the surgeon no numbing. He kind of looked at me like I was crazy. I told him it hurt too much, and that there was no way a plain old shot could hurt as much as the numbing shot did. So he gave me my fill without numbing. Know what? Didn't hurt a bit. I feel a tiny, tiny pich (maybe like pushing the end of a wire into your skin, not even like a poke/prick), and then just some pressure. That's it. I've had 3 other fills since, all requested without the numbing, and no pain at all. For me, the only thing about a fill that hurts is when I'm laying down and the surgeon is palpatating my abdomen to locate the port. When he finds the port that's a little sore... but that's it.

And you know what? After I requested that, I told him "if the numbing is a 10, then the fill is like a 1" (in terms of rating the pain). Since I went without numbing, he's made that his standard procedure, unless someone specifically requests it. And from what I gather, not many have.

Oh - and I don't look. I'm laying flat on my back, and my port is on the top of my abdomen, just below and to the side of the actual band, so even if I try to watch I can't really see what he's doing. I can never watch the actual insertion of a needle... even just getting blood drawn and stuff. Just look away.

[bluehill 0]

omigod, your description of a "numbing shot" is so graphic that if I were needle-phobic, I would be terrified to go for a first fill. I have never heard of a numbing shot, and I can't imagine why any doctor would use it since a fill doesn't hurt anyway. Your experience sounds like an anomaly.

[Gerbera 0]

Howdy Folks

My BMI was 48.9 thats close to 50 hey? I'm 5' 3" tall.

I just discovered I have a 14cc band. I've been banded just over 3 weeks, so it's very early stages for me yet.

I'm from Australia and we use metric conversion, however I'm always trying to get my head around the pounds and always trying to convert my kilos to pounds. My weight loss has been Verrrrrrrrrrrrrry slow. Most of my weight loss was in hospital and I've ONLY dropped 1kg (2.2 pounds) in 3 weeks. I'm averaging about 800-900 calories a day liquids only. I guess my body is holding on tight to what it has and not wanting to give it up. I've started walking 15 mins a day, I'd like to do more, however I have a fractured knee, so am under physio instructions.

I'm feeling a little despondent today, I feel like all this hard work for little show. I need some inspiration today *SIGH*. To be honest I think I'm going through another withdrawal period. food has always been my comfort and my life (hence my size) so when things, work and life are in an upheavel for me I usually eat. What am I to do now? I feel lost. Anyway, I'm having a feel sorry for me moment and you coped my ramble, my apologies in advance. CHEERS to all Happy Healthy Eating

[Wheetsin 714]

I agree, fills now don't hurt. And if I'd heard my own numbing story before I went it, I would have been a lot more anxious than I was. But everyone kept telling me "they numb you and you won't feel a thing".

Fills are truly a piece of cake.

[harlito 0]

Harlito how are you doing? How much have you lost? If you don't mind me asking.

Ughh! I had lost 44# but have been yo-yoing between 30-40# for the last couple of months now. I need to get a fill and then another and another... Until then it will be a struggle. I went out for lunch today and had some gumbo. Along with the gumbo came French bread - and it was good! But bad... We shouldn't be able to even eat bread. A month ago it was impossible, not even a crumb. Now? French bread? fill, fill, fill...

I am trying to walk and watch what I eat as best I can. The thing about all that is that I am working harder now on watching what I eat and walking than I did before the surgery. I thought the surgery was suppose to help?

Sorry... just got off the phone about insurance matters and getting fills covered. Maybe I should have cooled down before I answered you.

(deep breaths, deep breaths)

[Inner_me 1]

Hi! I believe this is where I belong, too. In fact, I started reading this thread from the beginning several weeks ago.

I just tried to catch up on what I was missing, I might have missed a page or two somewhere in the middle. But, I feel as if I know all of you already. So, I guess its time for me to make myself known.

One reason I waited so long, was because I haven't been banded yet. But my date has finally arrived! I'll be banded this Friday.

I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you, learn from you, and share in the support that's found through out this thread.

I'm 5'6" and my bmi is 55. The suggestion given to me was to lose 150lbs. That would put me in the 190's. I haven't been there since I was 12 yrs old. This should be an interesting journey.

[bluehill 0]

Glad you have joined us on this journey, Chris. BEST OF LUCK on your upcoming surgery. Hope all goes well and the procedure is uneventful.

[synicalchick 0]

I Love that there is a thread here for those of us conisered "SUPER morbid obese" Sheesh.. as if MORBID wasn't bad enough. ANYwho. I am in the getting all my paper work/dr's appointments in order. Went in for my consult, got a letter from my general Dr, therapist, spend 225 for a Psych evaluation and go back to get results for that on the 15th. i THINK after that all the paper will be gathered that is neccessary for BCBS TN and they will turn everything in. I am 36 Yrs old 5'6 335 BMI 34. My employer excludes any and everything to do with WL. They consider it to be cosmetic... RIGHT>>> SO. I expect to be turned down 1st time and then have to fight. I will be following this thread. This site is GREAT>

Tracy

[Wheetsin 714]

I am 36 Yrs old 5'6 335 BMI 34

Check here for your BMI. http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/. (BMI of 34 is very close to plain old "overweight", and definitely nowhere near morbidly obese... wish I was there!)

You have to have your psych eval before you hand your paperwork in to your insurance co? Was it an eval to help determine need, or one to help determine qualification?

[bluehill 0]

re BMI 34: Obviously a typo for BMI 54

re eval to determine need, vs. eval to determine qualification: What is the difference?