Dreamingof139

Please remember that everyone is different - if WW worked for us, we would not be considering or have had surgery. I think that the point to be taken here is that the band is not a magic fix - we are still accountable for our choices. If you get your Protein in and get an exercise program on that works for you, you will see results 99% of the time.

And I can personally attest that Chris is WONDERFUL! He did an unfill for me a few months ago and he is an expert. So thankful to have found the New Image Clinic in Kalispell.

Hello - yes, you are very normal to be a bit nervous! I flew home from my surgery, so I was on an airplane less than 24 hours after surgery and even had to make a connection. It was just fine. I did have my doctor give me a small fill in surgery - you may want to ask yours to do the same. Good Luck - shopping without looking at how things drape is wonderful!

So sorry to hear that you have had to deal with this. I am six months out and have told very few people and very slowly because I was afraid of the backlash. I already have one person in my life telling me that I took the easy way out, so I figure the less people I tell, the better. I appreciated what you said about finding out who people really are to be a gift - great perspective!

My six month band anniversary is on the 24th of this month. I started this journey with a BMI of 34.7 and today my BMI is 26, still overweight, but getting closer to being a new healthy me. I love my band!

For me, the band has done two things. First, I was not aware of how quickly I was eating before the band. The band slows me down, because if I eat too quickly, it is uncomfortable and I sometimes burp up what I have eaten. This is an unpleasant experience, so this has modified my behavior and I tend to do that less often now. Second, diets worked, but I rebounded after and gained not just that weight back, but 20 or more pounds for good measure. Being on a diet for me is torture and cannot work permanently. With the band, I can eat anything that I want, but in a small, thin person portion. I am down 54 pounds - my surgery was 9/24/10. I was 215 when I started at 5'6". I am now one size away from my goal in about six months. Something that I could not have done without the band. I also had the thought of why not just diet and stick to it? I liked the post where the person noted the quote about the definition of insanity. This is VERY true in this case. Good Luck regardless of what you decide to do - my only regret is that I waited so long to do this.

I asked ahead of time because I have had complications before from the cath and was told that they do not use them because the surgery is so short. I was very thankful and had no issues with ambulating to get to the restroom when needed.

My grammar is excellent - occupational hazard. Nothing amiss with my post - not sure what you are referring to. Perhaps it is how you changed my post above to give the impression of an error. Go back and look at what I initially posted - it may not be the best sentence that I have ever constructed, but it is grammatically sound and correct. I write for a living and hold advanced degrees in English and in Education. Yes, you may call me doctor. Sorry, I do not general spout my education, but I wanted to explain the position that I am coming from. And before someone goes there, the Masters is from a top 20 and the PhD is from an Ivy. Real schools - very expensive too. I find it so interesting that people pipe up and jump in, yet fail to assert a valid point or actually find anything wrong with what I am writing. So very interesting to watch this unfold.

My post was polite and respectful. I find your comment interesting in that you 'heard' rudeness in polite conversation.

I have a 4 cc LapBand. My surgeon wanted to use the smaller band because I was smaller to start with. I agree with finding a surgeon that you trust and letting him or her make that part of the decision for you.

I am self pay. My first fill of one cc was done in surgery. My second fill was under fluro and was $750. I have arranged with a PA to do any future fills - he charges $135.

Amazing weight loss - I see that you were also banded in Mexico. Wonderful to see someone else that had a great success story from Mexico.

I have seen you in other threads posting in all caps just to respond to people in general, which is why I presumed that you were not aware. I am not sure what you mean when you say "loose your cool" I think you meant to say lose. The words loose and lose are mixed up in writing; for some reason, many people write loose when they really mean lose. But there's no reason to lose your mind worrying about this, just lose the extra o! Loose Loose is an adjective, the opposite of tight or contained. My shoes are loose I have a loose tooth There's a dog running loose in the street Lose Lose is a verb that means to suffer the loss of, to miss. I win! You lose! Don't lose your keys I never lose bets

First, very sorry to hear about all that you are going through and dealing with. I also have a 4 cc band, filled to 2 cc's and I have had zero problems, so your story hits me as we have the same size band. Writing in all caps is universally considered shouting in emails and in online communication and IS considered rude - some people are not aware of this and I see that someone mentioned it to you. It was mentioned as information, it was not an attack, so please try to keep an open mind and please do not presume that someone has a negative intent when they post or reply to you. You may also want to consider turning on the spell check - we are not meeting you in person and we cannot 'hear' the tone in your messages - caps and poor spelling can give a less than accurate impression of what you are trying to communicate and can make it harder for others to understand what you are trying to get across. Best of luck with your situation - hopefully you will have a great and positive outcome in the end.

I know someone who added the band to her sleeve because the sleeve is not enough for her. She is so happy with her band.

Slow down - we are NOT kids anymore and our bodies can take longer to heal.

Statistics vary and complications happen and people do die. I met a woman on a retreat a few years ago and she died a few months after her gastric bypass - Heather was in her 20's. It can and does happen, but, if you look at statistics (if you can find reliable ones), in my case, I was way more likely to have a complication from the diabetes that took my Nanna and my cousin in their 60's and both of my Uncles as well and that has wrecked havoc with my other cousins and my Mom. Statistically, I was more likely to die in an accident driving to the airport or flying to my surgery and back than I was from the surgery itself. You are way more likely to be killed by a drunk driver or by any of the complications of being overweight/obese than you are from surgery. Do you research carefully and ask lots of questions - I am confident that you will make the decision that is best for you.

But did you feel better then? Sometimes things just need to move or get out.

I drove three hours to the airport Wednesday after work, flew to Cancun on Thursday, had surgery Friday (early evening), flew home Saturday and drove home from the airport on Sunday. I went to work on Monday and just said that I was under the weather. They had no idea that I had surgery - they knew that I was out of town for the weekend because of how I had to request the time off. Everyone is different, but my personal views/work ethic do not allow me to call out or take time off from work unless I am very ill and/or unable to work. I have a desk job - very easy on the body. I do take vacation, but it was not a good time for me to be away from the office, so I wanted to get back as to not put out my coworkers - small office and only two people do what I do, so it does put a strain on when one of us is out. One of my coworkers has been out for almost two weeks and management is very unhappy with her. I am not saying this is right - when I was in management, I was very understanding with illness, but in this work environment and living in an area where unemployment was very high before the economy tanked, I am VERY thankful to have a job and will do what I need to keep it. I get about three weeks off a year - that is my sick and vacation time combined - we do not have sick time that can build up, unless you want to not take very much vacation. Everyone is different - if you have had surgery before, you may have an idea of how you will be feeling. You may be someone who would be miserable at home and would prefer to be working, even light duty. Others actually give their bodies the rest that they need... something I could be better at.

I cannot and have never felt my band. I can feel my port, more noticeably with my weight loss, but it does not hurt. It just feels like a bump or knot under the skin. I did try to push a grocery cart in with my belly the other day and wow, that hurt, but only for a moment.

I have been walking and playing racquetball with my husband. It is amazing how much longer I can play with the weight that I have lost thus far. Cannot wait to get to goal... I can really feel a difference now.

Sorry, I did not notice how old this thread was.

This is a great thread. I appreciate that the OP reached out and asked for some positive vibes and info. I too have been concerned about the tone of some of the recent threads and posts. Let me tell you my band story. In July, I weighed 215 pounds - I am 5'6" - that was the largest that I have been in my life. On Sept 23rd, I flew to Cancun, on the 24th I had surgery and on the 25th I flew home. I have lost just over 40 pounds so far and am about halfway to my goal of 135. I have had ZERO complications - I am still working out how the band should work and be worked. The doc that I had setup for my aftercare fired me because I could not attend their support group meetings often enough ( I live three hours away). Moments before I looked at this post, I vomited up my chicken dinner - it was well chewed, but I think I just had too much in there. So, I am here telling you that this is the BEST thing that I ever did to be caring to myself five minutes after I lost my dinner.... There are some people who have had some negative experiences - but I believe that life is a series of choices and one choice that I have is how to react or respond to each event and circumstance that comes my way. Do I wish that I had lost even more weight, yes, but I have not. I also take full responsibility for where I am now and where I will be tomorrow and next week. One day at a time, one meal at a time, one pound at a time. Keep the faith, learn as much as you can and focus on the positive as much as you can.