determination

He talked to me about nutrition, what not to eat, what vitamins to take, he gave me a goal of 8 lbs a month, and wants to see my monthly, even if I don't get a fill. Like everyone previous to this, welcome back. How nice to find a doctor so close by that is really involved with what you are doing. I do not happen to live anywhere close to a doctor that specializes in the lapband. Would you be willing to share what you have learned from him? Or maybe pm me. Anne

Congratulations!!!! I enjoy reading and learning from your posts. Like someone previously said, a lot of banders fade away from this site after awhile. Thank you for staying on. Anne

Thank you for sharing. We all need to hear the flip side to what could happen if....... I am glad that you are back on track. I find it so easy to eat the food I shouldn't instead of the food I should. Anne

Do not allow yourself to get discouraged. As you see by the other posts, this is how it works in the very beginning. It took me until my second fill to feel restriction. By my third fill I was actually too tight and had to have an unfill. I still rely a lot on those that are the long (not old) timers for their words of wisdom, advice, encouragement and so on..................... Anne

Carrie, Your smile says it all. Thank you for the boost of encouragement by sharing your success. Anne

By the way Shelby, I have been meaning to tell you how great you are looking. You are looking great! Anne

I have also experienced problems with eating anything after 8pm. I will wake in the middle of the night having a PB'ing episode. It was explained to me that the food has not had a chance to totally digest and that by laying down it wants to come back up. Anne

Oh, I so empathise with you. I hope you feel better soon. It is just a little scary when that happens. Anne

Thanks for the encouragement. I need to have this posted at work and at home. It sure has been a struggle lately. Anne

I was having heart burn problems. On one of my doctor's visits, I mentioned it to my doctor. She suggested Prilosec and gave me a Rx for the generic. It is so inexpensive with the generic. It has worked miracles. It takes a couple of weeks to really kick in, even though you will get relief sooner than that. (The capsules are very tiny) Good Luck

Hey Louise, Even though I am married, I am finding that I do the packaged meals myself. If anyone else out there has any suggestions for meals, I like Louise would like to know what you are all doing. Anne

Blessings! It is such a very special time being pregnant. Enjoy yours. I am so very happy for you. Anne

That is Great!!!!! It changes your mood doesn't it. You will be smiling all day.

I'd love to see the pics. Anne hummingbird1953am@hotmail.com

Jen, This really isn't like a hospital. It is a clinic. As I remember it there aren't any amenities. I flew down by myself, but there were others that had a mother with them. The clinic is really good about having their driver taking them back to the hotel while you are having surgery or later in the day. The Lucerna, where I stayed has a really nice cafe/restaurant that she could have a bite to eat. A very large lobby if she just wanted to brouse and watch people. lol Maybe others on here will have more first hand knowledge of what is available for the extra companion that travels with you. Good Luck, Anne

I haven't bought my airline ticket yet, but I am hoping to get a fluro August 26th. I have just felt lately that something may be wrong and I want to have it checked out by the professionals at OCC. I have no clue of where to get a fluro around here. Someone on the Forum mentioned Marysville, WA. By the time I spent the money to go up there, I might as well fly to TJ.

I love this forum. We are all so alike. First of all, I mentioned the calcium/Vitamin D that I found and am taking. I gave you the wrong name, the correct name is "Viactiv". They contain 500mg of Calcium and 125% Daily Value of Vitamin D. I was told to take them 3 times a day. As to the blood test - Every year when I have a physical my doctor does lab tests on me. Maybe it depends on age, but I don't think so. I have been having them for quite a few years. Anne

Okay, this is quite a coincidence! I just had an appointment Wednesday to go over my blood work. I am low in Calcium and Vit D. My doctor told me that I need to take 600mg a day of C & D. Well, here is the good news. I went to the grocery store and scanned the vitamins. The last thing I want to take is another pill. Low and behold there is something called "Vita Chews" they are calcium and D. They are only 500mg. But they are chewy chocolate pieces that taste delicious. They also come in a few different flavors. I have been told to take C & D three times a day. It will be interesting to see what your doctor says. Anne

Maggie, What an inspiration you are. You haven't given up even though you have definitely had some problems. You do show us that there isn't an excuse to totally quit. I imagine it was hard to get back on the program. I do find that the days that I don't drink the water are some of the days that I don't lose, and also when I soft food. Soft foods go down so easy I also don't get full very fast. Glad you are back. You now have a totally new topic to share about your struggles and how it made you feel to be off the program and now back. Anne

I have to tell you. I was feeling sorry for myself because I waited so long to do something so wonderful for myself. I read the posts from the younger women and wish that I had been so savvy to have done something when I was younger. I am 55 and soon to be 56. Losing wait has made me feel younger. I have more energy to play with the grandkids. I don't mind being around people. I have never been to a class reunion, I was too ashamed of myself. My 40th class reunion will be in 2011 and I sure hope they have one. Once we get to this point of wanting to lose that fat, I feel that nothing is going to stop us. Just a few days ago my doctor asked me if I had any kind of a support group. I told her about this forum and how much it has helped me to see that we all go through a lot of the same experiences. Good luck with your band. It is so worth it. Anne

Like everyone has already said on here, and I want to add. What a great post! I know that there are the male bandsters out there but right now I feel a connection with "Sisterhood Bandsters". I get this awesome feeling when I look at where we have all started and how far we have come. Just like you mentioned, holding back from group activities and family gatherings were very the norm for me. Inside I wanted to be a part. On one of the posts that I read on here, one of the non-scale victories was being able to wrap a towel around oneself. I love how we all have experienced some of the same daily life experiences. Please keep writing. Anne

You look great! I also love your tan. P.S. I apologize for what I wrote before. I reread it and couldn't believe how it came out.

I have lost hair and it scares me. I like Brandnewdawn have fine hair. I have lost on top above my forhead. I started taking biotin from the beginning and I do eat high proteins. Today I have already had 54grams. Hopefully, (and I keep watching) my hair will grow back! By the way Clynn, I think I must have had some sort of virus. It lasted for over a week. As of today I feel great. I am though planning a trip to TJ just to make sure everything is Okay. Thank you very much for your input.

No, I go to Lewiston, Idaho. Where abouts in Washington is Marysville?