Columbus Area

[lynlynkr 0]

Heather I am still praying for your family. God is with you.

[Thinner me 1]

Heather~ I have been praying for your daughter. How is she doing?

[SpecialK 22]

I have missed my Ohio lapband buddies these past 4 days. I got home tonight and had my power on and what a blessing. :biggrin:

For those outside of Ohio who don't know what happened, the backlash of Hurricane Ike brought catastrophic tree and wind damage and took out power lines everywhere, shut off power for more than 1.6 MILLION households, closed all the schools for days, and generally drove us crazy... maybe I should get a shirt that says I live in Ohio and I survived Hurricane Ike!

[HeatherA 1]

Hi all! I'm logging in from my mother's house. We're still without power at our house and I'm starting to go a little stir crazy. I'm one of only 25 houses in my area that are still without power. With luck we should have it back by midnight tomorrow... but I'm not holding my breath.

Hope the rest of you are safe and sound!

[Rhondadbe 0]

Glad you guys are ok. I lucked out. I didn't lose my electricity. I haven't been on here much and won't be on much this week. I had to go to Mansfield. Mom, who was 85 and in a nursing home several years due to lots of medical issues, passed away Friday afternoon. I left with clothes, food, etc so I could stay a few days. Glad I did. It was awesome spending the time with her.

I took Carnation Breakfasts with extra Protein Powder, used those for meals.....during a crazy time like this, surprised I did ! I took a few other things too.

Hope everyone is doing great !

[SpecialK 22]

This is something I have been considering since I live alone and would need help getting up and down post surgery for tummy tuck/body lift after I complete my weight loss. I've heard several others with 100+ pounds to lose saying they are considering the same so I thought I would share that I noticed in this past Sunday's paper that a local drug store chain called Drug Mart had advertised Lift Chairs as significantly savings off the Manufacturer's list price so I went out to the internet to read more about them and it looks like a possible option. they have more deluxe chairs too.

I pasted the info on the 2 chairs that are on sale right now, and maybe you could check in the future too, and see if this might be something you'd be interested in.

Another option I've considered is ordering off the internet where there is Delivery included and paying a little more but not having to worry about how I'd get the chair home from the store.

Here is one link but you could find others I'm sure:

http://www.spinlife.com/content/featuredPages/3UnderLiftchairs.cfm

Drug Mart store locations are: Columbus - 5599 N. Hamilton Rd., Grove City, Hilliard, Lewis Center, Pickerington, and Powell. Open 9am - 10 pm every day.

Golden Technologies lift chairs.doc

Edited September 22, 2008 by SpecialK
added url link

[OH Juli 15]

Kathy,

I love how you think. Look at you girl, planning your plastics already! To me that means you're going to get there! You've got a plan and you are thinking about all the resources it will take to get you where you want to go!

We all need to learn from your example. You rock, girl!

Juli

[SpecialK 22]

Anybody else having trouble visualizing what they will look like when they lose their weight? I found this fun site just for the grins and whatever motivation it might provide.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f15/weight-loss-simulator-prevention-com-77222/#post1012670

[Rhondadbe 0]

I'm confused after my appointment at OSU today. I need to lose at least 100 lbs, maybe 150. We went over my eating habits etc. Then they were trying to convince me that the Lap Band was not the way to go. They were encouraging Gastric Bypass, sort of wanted a choice today......grrrrrr. I have to do the 6 month diet and I'm not doing the surgery till next summer. I have the summer off from work. I've decided that already. Whatever procedure I do. I don't like being pushed ! :eek:

They were telling me that I couldn't lose that much weight with the Lap Band.....wish I would have thought of this at the time....if not why does anyone have the Lap Band done ? To lose 50 lbs ? I doubt that !

I don't like all the stapling, etc with gastric bypass. :tongue:

Any info would be appreciated !! :tongue:

[HeatherA 1]

Rhonda,

Don't fret over what they say. A lot of programs prefer doing the RNY over the band because the results are faster and the surgery requires a bit less work from the patient for results than the band does. You, however, have already shown that you're willing to do the work with the changes you've made in your life so far so I don't think it's going to be an issue in your case. I need to lose 130+ pounds and I've already lost nearly 80 since starting this journey a year ago. I don't plan on stopping and I'm sure I'll hit my goal. They will have to rip my band from my cold dead body before I'd give it up or tell anyone else that it's not a good tool to use for losing weight.

I love knowing that with just a pinch of saline I can get myself tightened up at any time down the road and get back on track if I find myself faltering. It's a bit harder with RNY because once you stretch that pouch you have to have a revision surgery to get it back where it needs to be.

Good luck with your decision. I'm sure whatever you choose it will be the right one for you. {{{HUGS}}}

[SpecialK 22]

I'm confused after my appointment at OSU today. I need to lose at least 100 lbs, maybe 150. We went over my eating habits etc. Then they were trying to convince me that the Lap Band was not the way to go. They were encouraging Gastric Bypass, sort of wanted a choice today......grrrrrr. I have to do the 6 month diet and I'm not doing the surgery till next summer. I have the summer off from work. I've decided that already. Whatever procedure I do. I don't like being pushed ! :eek:

They were telling me that I couldn't lose that much weight with the Lap Band.....wish I would have thought of this at the time....if not why does anyone have the Lap Band done ? To lose 50 lbs ? I doubt that !

I don't like all the stapling, etc with gastric bypass. :tongue:

Any info would be appreciated !! :tongue:

Again, so many of the programs really push Gastric Bypass hard when we have a high BMI as their initial Push as you say but if you stand firm and say I know of several people who have been successful losing more than 100 lbs with their lapband and that's really what I choose for myself as what is best for me, and besides, I can revise to a RNY, or Duodenal Switch (DS), or VSG (vertical sleeve) if I really don't feel successful with my lapband long term. Stand firm if that is what you want but don't feel we won't support you if you make whatever choice is best for you.

Its also not too late to get a second opinion from Riverside's Dr. Myers or Mt. Carmel's doctors at Mid Ohio Surgical Associates to be sure you have made the right decision for you if you aren't feeling comfortable with how OSU is directing you.

God Bless!

[SpecialK 22]

We can get some Columbus or Central Ohio area folks to chime in for you here but these are ones I know:

OHJuli has lost 132+ lbs with her lapband she had done at OSU.

Seebs has lost 90 lbs in 1 year with her lapband done at Mt. Carmel.

NurseNiki and SpecialK have lost 60+ lbs with lapband in 6 months done at Mt. Carmel. GregW done on same day at Mt.Carmel has lost 70+ last time I saw/heard from him.

HeatherA has lost 80+ lbs with her lapband done 9 months ago at Riverside.

These are all people you've met or can meet in person at one of the monthly get togethers at Polaris to talk more.

Just to be completely open, in the same number of months like 6 or 9 with Gastric Bypass, we probably would have dropped 100 or more but I was willing to go slower and still get there long term. ThinnerMe had her RNY done August at Mt. Carmel and she had lost 32 lbs in less than 2 months for comparison. We have supported her as what was right for her due to her medical needs.

Edited October 3, 2008 by SpecialK

[nurse niki 0]

Rhonda--It is so important for all of us to hear the pro's and con's of ALL the options so we can make an informed decision! Sometimes I think that physicians are afraid to tust us (100+ lbs over weight) to be willing to put the extra effort into making the band work, but it really is NOT their call!

I would take all of the info you were given, give it time to process, pray and make the right decision for you. I would also attend another program's free info session (even if they are not part of your insurance plan) and hear what their doctors have to say.

Knowledge is power! Trust what decision you make...only you know what is right for YOU!

Good luck

[OH Juli 15]

Rhonda,

Hi. I got my surgery done at OSU.

Let me say I got the in your face why do you want LapBand lecture too. I dare say it's a way to test a person's committment to the procedure. I know Mikami listens for words like "it's reversible" and "scared" because to him those are indicators that one is not committed to having surgery. And I believe he thinks (I'm not in his head so take this for what it is, my opinion) that both are "save your life" surgeries and one should not be half hearted about it.

Stats say RNY do better in the short term. Also it is a better choice for some people. It just is. But you know yourself and your ability to move and commit better than anyone else. If you go in there and say, "RNY is not a choice. I won't even consider discussing it, because I will not have that surgery." They won't bring it up again.

However be prepared to state why you Lapbanded not in comparision to the RNY but why you think it fits your life. How you want a tool, how you want some control, how you know it's having a restrictive device is okay for one's innards, how you like the follow up care with fills, etc. being in touch during the journey is important to you...

They are difficult. I feel like there is a velvet rope at the door with some high standard one has to meet before being granted access. They don't want to make it easy. I liked that but can see how it can turn people off. However once you're in, they do give very good care.

PM me if you want more personal convo.

Juli

[Rhondadbe 0]

Thanks so much everyone for the information ! I can't tell you how much I realllllllly appreciate it. I know that I can handle making changes like I couldn't before. I think several things have affected me there. :biggrin:

This past week I had a very tough week emotionally and instead of overeating I didn't feel like cooking. I went and bought a smoothie with Protein powder for dinner. I had nothing else that night ! I did that two nights in a row......very strange for me.....LOL

I liked seeing that I could do that.