JerseyGirl80

If I order chinese I try to get something off the steamed portion of the menu with garlic sauce and brown rice. I never finish it or even come close. If, on occasion, I do eat anything bad from there it's just a few bites off of someone elses food or sometimes I'll share a dinner with someone when I decide to splurge. I don't feel deprived or left out when my friends or family are ordering out or going out to dinner. I don't dread these moments like alot of people do, I live a normal life but just try to make the best choices I can when it comes to food. Everything in moderation, if you want to eat some of your favorite things from the chinese place on occasion, in my opinion, it's ok. Live and enjoy, just don't over indulge.

When I reach goal I'd like to maybe get married lol.. fingers crossed.. I refuse to ever be a fat bride! Also, a gift to myself for getting to onderland will be a cruise to Bermuda in May, I hope I get there by then!! 50 more pounds to go!

I have the realize band. I don't think there's much of a difference if anything, that I know of anyway. My doctor gave me a choice and I let him choose what he thought was best, he chose the realize band.

Hi Shalene, I'm in NJ too. If you're still shopping around for a surgeon, mine are wonderful. They have a few doctors to choose from, even a woman (which I love, I'm more comfortable with female doctors all around) but I think they're all great. Great bedside manner and very personable, which is hard to find in any kind of doctor. They specialize in WLS, have their own on site nutrionists, on site support groups and the office staff couldn't be better at doing all the run around for you. They have Union and Hobboken offices and host seminars twice a month. Good luck to you! here's a link to their site http://www.njbariatriccenter.com/

It's normal to not lose or even gain some weight after surgery. The first month or so is all about healing, not weightloss. I was banded Dec 2010, the same happened to me, I lost about 13 or 14lbs the first week and then maybe another pound or 2 until my first fill, 6 weeks after surgery. Once I started getting fills the weight started coming off slowly. The more fills I get over time, the more restriction I get followed by more weightloss. I have months where I'll lose a good amount of weight, and some where I only lose a few or none at all. For some of us it may take a few fills to gain restriction. You have to be patient and be very careful with what you are eating in between fills. If you aren't feeling restriction prior to fills you will have to diet all on your own as best as you can until your band starts helping you. The process of getting the band is so exciting and patience is the last thing we have when we've been through so much. We just want results right now, and that's understandable, I think most of us felt and/or feel that way. But that's not the reality of it (for most of us anyway), results may take a while. So just be patient for now, don't be upset if you gain a few pounds or if you're stuck at a certain weight, it's ok, you're on the right road. Give yourself time to recover before you start pushing yourself or being upset with yourself. The scale will start moving in the right direction before you know it.. Good luck!

I've been "dieting" since I was 15 years old, failed everytime because I am an over-eater and a binge-eater. My band has been the only thing that has every worked for me. Honestly, I don't even feel like I'm dieting at this point because I can't eat all that much anymore, and I have my eye on the prize. Cheeseburgers don't appeal to me as much as shopping in a normal sized store does. With the band you still have to watch what you eat, your doctor should have told you by now that your meals should consist of, low fat proteins first, then veggies, then carbs if theres room. For alot of us we gain restriction over time through getting fills gradually, your band might not start working overnight, it could take serveral months or several fills to feel a comfortable amount of restriction and as weight comes off the band may become loose, requiring more fills. All of us can drink milk shakes and eat "slider foods" til the cows come home, just because we have a band that doesn't mean we are magically going to lose weight. We have to work at this a little too. The band does alot of the work, but we do too, we have to work WITH our band, not against it. The band is not magic, if you think you'll be able to eat whatever garbage you want and still lose weight, you might want to rethink that. If you're serious about a life change, you should WANT to be eating healthier. None of the weight loss surgeries are magic, people that do not work with their bands, or their re-routed organs will either not lose or gain their weight back (most of them anyway). This is life changing, old habits must die in order to be successful at this. I doubt anyone is perfect when it comes to their eating, but we do what we have to do to get where we want to be. I didn't give up all the foods I love, I have them all from time to time just in moderation and in very tiny amounts. 90% of the time I eat how my doctor and nutrionists have told me too, but I'm human and I still love food, I just know how to eat it now. My band keeps me from overindulging when I do, from time to time, indulge in "bad" foods. Please get more educated and talk to as many banded people as you can about this before you make such a big decision. I really am finding that ALOT of doctors are either misinforming patients or leaving out alot of details. The band is not as scary as you might think, but you need to know everything before you jump into this.

Even before I got my band, I was always good at eating right during the day, then once night time came the binge eating or non-stop snacking would start. Still today, these urges get me. The main thing that helps me with this is not keeping any unhealthy snacks in my house, ever. When I do allow myself to have "bad" snacks, I get a small serving of it and it's just a one time limited thing. Now when I'm hungry late at night and feel I need some kind of snack, I'll have cheese and maybe a few crackers, fruit, a handful of nuts, chobani yogurt, or carrot sticks with some fat free dip. These kind of snacks never worked for me before the band, I just thought "are you kidding? who really believes carrot sticks are a snack?"lol but now because I can't eat that much these sort of "snacks" really do help me. Occasionally when I get really exciting with my snacks I'll have a skinny cow or weight watchers ice cream, but only on the days when I know I'm on the lower end of my calorie intake. I'm mainly a salt craver, not so much sweet, my doctor actually recomended eating beef jerky (high in protein) whenever I crave chips or something salty, this helps too because I love chips/doritos, I could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner lol. Honestly when I really have the munchies at night I try to eat something healthy and go to sleep, I've even taken naps on days when I'm home and bored to keep myself from eating just because.

I went through my whole process and was scheduled for surgery in January 2010. A few weeks before my surgery date my company announced they were changing insurance carriers after the new year. To make a long story short I had to rush my surgery and have it a week after I found out about the change. My surgeon is not participating with my new insurance (this is something you'd definitely have to find out), I knew that but chose to have surgery anyway, so not to have to go through the process all over again with a new doctor and possibly more requirements/longer diet, etc... Right now I pay all my visits and fills out of pocket. $50 a visit, $150 a fill. As far as my new insurance paying for future treatment, I don't know yet. I'm going to need and endoscopy soon, but I don't know if I'll be covered.

Late check in, starting weight 254, Oct 15th weight 249.

I'm sure he's trying to scare you. I didn't have a post-op "liver shrinking" diet because my surgery date was changed at the last minute. I only had a few days to prepare, I was fine, the surgery went fine, I wouldn't worry. Just do as the doctor orders, you'll be fine.

After 10 years of thinking about it, it was my first and only choice. I didn't want anything cut out of me that I couldn't get back, the side effects of that were too risky for me. I didn't want to lose my weight quickly, and I wanted to feel like I was doing it, not just my surgery. (even though bypass people struggle too) I feel that with my band I'm still in control for the most part and I can still be accountable for what I'm doing. I know how to eat healthy and did for the most part before surgery, but I was also an over eater and a binge eater, the band restricts me from doing that anymore and I'm so thankful to modern science for that lol.` Don't get me wrong, I lack discipline and I'm lazy most of the time still lol, but this band was just that extra push that I needed. It's helping me relearn how to eat and I love it. It's making me feel better, and that's making me want to work out, which was the kiss of death before lol. My feeling is that, I'm young and healthy enough to work out and push myself, so to me the band was the right choice. (no offense to anyone at all, I'm just being honest) But I just feel that the bypass is more for patients that are incapable of doing as much, whether it be age, other ailments or extreme weight, like over 400 or 500lbs, but that's just my opinion. Bypass is the right choice for some as is the band.

People can also gain their weight back after bypass. What's bad for bypass patients is that they can't route their organs back to the way they once were (this was a big thing for me), but we can have our band removed if there's a complication or if we find that it's just not working for us the way we planned. They also have malabsortions issue (another big thing for me), we do not, our digestive system will still work the same. There's no garantee with any weight loss surgery that the weight will be gone forever. Bypass people may lose the weight faster and with less effort at first, but they still have to work to maintain it and to lose any excess weight over time. They still have to watch their diet and work out just like we do, aside from worry about the (to me) more risky side effects. I think some people would be better off with bypass and some with the band for different reasons. But all in all you have to really look at all the pros and cons to both surgeries to make the right decision for yourself. I find that (some not all) band patients, sleeve patients and bypass patients tend to try to sway others to have "their" surgery because they're happy with their decision, and there's nothing wrong with that, everyone has their own opinion but in the end it is your choice. Good luck!

No one can really tell you yes, or no. Everyone is different, some people are in alot of pain and for some it's minimal. I wasn't in much pain at all, most of my pain was from the gas, and I wouldn't really consider that pain, it was mostly just really annoying and uncomfortable. My incision spots really didnt hurt, my abdomen just felt like I did a million sit ups, it was that kinda muscle burn feeling you get from working out. The only other pain I had was my body being very sore from lifting myself, you'd be surprised how much we actually use our core to move ourselves around and when we can't the rest of our body has to compensate. For me, my experience with pain as a whole was very minimal, again all of it was more so "uncomfortable" than "painful" . The worst part was not being able to sleep in my bed for the first week or so, but I had no trouble sleeping at all. It was just too hard for me to lift myself out of my bed and I was afraid of rolling over (I'm a stomach sleeper) so I opted for the couch. Don't be afraid of some pain, it's worth it, the pain won't last forever. Good luck!

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You're welcome. FYI, for anyone thinking of changing their insurance mid-process, this could be a setback. You may have to start the process all over again meeting their requirements, and for all you know may be much harder to meet than the ones you have now. I'm not sure if all or any insurance companies would even recognize the steps taken before you were under their coverage. I was originally scheduled for surgery in Jan 2011, less than a month before my surgery date my wonderful boss decided to change our insurance to the crappiest cheapest (for him) coverage he could find. As of the first of the year (Jan 2011) I would no longer be covered under Aetna. I freaked out but luckily my doctors office was able to get my surgery date changed and everything. I wound up getting surgery a week after I found out about the insurance change (Dec 13th 2010). Mind you I had just made it in enough time to stop my medications. But had no time for a pre-op diet. It was crazy stressful, here I am thinking I have time to prepare mentally, clean the house really good one last time, grocery shop ect, then all the sudden I had a week prepare everything. If I had waited I would have been screwed, (even though I still kinda am, my visits and fills aren't covered). But anyway, not only was my deductuble going to be almost $5,000 and the requirements for approval included 1 year monitored dieting and a repeat of all the tests I had to already go through, but it turned out that my surgeon wasn't participating. I would have had to find another doctor, and I couldn't say more good things about all of the doctors and staff at NJ Bariatric Center. Even though all my fills and follow ups are out of pocket, I'm glad I stayed with them, either way imy after care would have cost me almost the same using my new insurance, but would have cost me a whole lot more paying for the surgery.

Not to butt in but.. A weight history is a documented "weight history" from your doctors office. It's just the weight the doctor recorded whenever you've been seen for any reason, check-ups, gyno visits ect. This needs to go back 2 years so it shows that you have been obese for at least that long. Also, Aetna paid almost all of my bill for the surgery and it was just under $25,000. The only bill I recieved was from the hospital for $500, everything else was covered. Anyone wondering about this needs to contact Aetna, your coverage and deductable could be different than mine was.

Amazing, you look wonderful and so much healthier too! Congratulations!

If you're tight enough I can see swallowing it maybe being a problem. But gum does desolve eventually (as a kid I've fallen asleep with gum in my mouth, it definitely desolves after a while, even in your mouth it breaks down) it doesn't stay "gummy" forever so this seems a little strange to me that he had to remove all the fluid. That had to suck, I guess anything is possible.

I haven't noticed my gas being any different than before lol, I actually think I burp less now than pre-surgery. I haven't noticed anything odd when I chew gum, but everyone is different, some people might. Thinking back Doc's said the same about drinking through straws, I have no problems with that either.

I chew gum, been chewing it since surgery (Dec 2010) I have no problems. I'm not quite sure why it would be a no-no other than it giving you gas because you tend to swallow air when you chew it?

I've been a big soda drinker since forever, but I've always drank diet. I probably have some soda everyday, but I drink ALOT less than I used to. I never finish a regular can, sometimes I'll finish those little 8oz cans, and a 2 liter can sit in my fridge for a week or longer before it's gone. If I'm at a restaurant I usually can finish my soda since it's much flatter than canned/bottled soda. I don't drink soda during the day, I'll usually have it after dinner, I guess it's more of a treat now than part of my main fluid intake. The desire to guzzle down a 2liter in a day just isn't there anymore. If it's very carbonated, let's say the first sip out of a 16oz bottle, I have to take tiny baby sips until it flattens out a little, otherwise it'll hurt going down. As far as how my Doc feels about carbonated drinks, they're ok in moderation and he suggests to let them flatten out some before drinking it, and of course he suggests not drinking your calories, so no regualr soda.

Everyone in my life that matters knows and my co-workers know, it's no secret. But I don't go screaming it from the rooftops, it's on a need to know basis but I don't hide it. I'm not ashamed, afraid or intimdated by anyone that might judge me. Some people are negative, some are great supporters. I do understand some banders wanting to keep it a secret. It's a personal choice, but for me I don't care who knows or what anyone thinks about it, if they care enough they'll want to be educated about it and if not, they can kiss it. My boyfriend, family and friends know it's not a magic bullet, they know I watch everything I eat 90% of the time and that I work out as much as I can. They also know I'm losing slowly and sometimes I indulge a little infront of them and we laugh and joke that I'm "cheating" it's all in fun though. It's a journey and a process, there are times when I gain a few but I'm only human, no one is perfect at this. It's a shame that there are people watching and judging making some of us feel bad about what we are doing, we make our selves feel bad enough when we mess up, we really don't need it from them. I've been losing since surgery and it's great, I have my ups and downs but that's to be expected, my boyfriend, friends, family and myself don't expect me to lose all my weight over night, they actually think it's great that it's coming off slowly and that I'm healthy. Luckily I have great supporters, not everyone does, but we all run into the nay sayers. I say screw them it's their problem for not being educated. You tell who you want to tell, no one is entitiled to knowing. Good luck to you!

Thank you for sharing this and don't feel ashamed at all, you are not alone. I went through those emotions too, although I didn't cry, I did feel the loss of a bestfriend and felt panicked and sad. I remember feeling scared and worrying about what I was going to do and who I was going to be without my bestfriend, food. But after a week or two of dreaming and fantisizing about cheeseburgers, those feelings subsided. I'm just about 10 months post-op and my old feelings (not yours, because I can completely understand, no judgement here) to me now seem silly. I remember thinking "I'll never be able to eat bread/pasta/rice ever again!" It's been 10 months, I can eat those things, but in very small portions and to be honest I really don't care to eat them that often anymore. You'll be surprised how you can adjust to your band, the cravings that once drove me into binges aren't really there anymore. The need for that comfort is going away, or at least not sticking it's delicious head in all the time lol. I still crave things from time to time (I am a recovering food addict, I can laugh at this now), but a few bites will do and I'm satisfied with it. If I want something that I "shouldn't" be eating, I will have some, but just a little. I believe in moderation not deprivation, deprivation is what got me to the size I was from failing at every "diet" I've ever been on. Things get better as time goes on, and hopefully they will get easier for you as they have for many of us. Good luck to you!

The sleep study was the worst part for me, I swear I'd go through surgery 5 more times before I'd ever want to have a sleep study again! I did it a year ago and I can still complain about it as if it happened yesterday lol, so I feel you. I was pissed because I couldn't use my hair products, so I can only imagine how upset you are about your hair, with it being so expensive. And are you sure you have to take them out, I'm really not sure how extentions work? All the tech really needs is to be able to stick leads to your scalp, would this really merit removing of them? Anyway what stinks is that there really is no getting around a sleep study. Insurance companies require it and they don't just do the study to find another co-morbidity (other health issues), large people are prone to sleep apnea. So if you have sleep apnea and go under anesthesia it can be dangerous if the doctors don't know this. Your surgeon and anesthesiologist must have this information so that he can properly monitor and sedate you. If you stop breathing, or have trouble rising from anesthesia you want your doctors to know so that they will be ready to treat you for it if needed. Sleep apnea patients can be very high risk, so you are better off knowing for sure if you have it. Good luck and feel free to vent your heart out!

From what I know about insurance companies, it doesn't matter how much you know you've done in the past or how much your doctors knows you've done. It's not personal for the insurance company, they can't just take your word for it or your doctors word for it and just say "ok you're approved". They want what they want, and if that's their requirement that's what you have to give them. If they want you on a monitored plan that's what you have to do, it doesn't matter that it's failed in the past or that your doctor thinks it's a waste of time and money. Unless your doctor knows a way around the insurance, you're gonna have to do what they want you to do in order to get approval. Basically to them if it's not on paper it never happened, to them it doesn't matter what you've done before. And certain meal plans or pills will not count to them. For whatever reason what's good for one insurance isn't for another. I almost didn't get approved because of my medically recorded weight, it went back exactly 2 years to the month, if it didn't I would have had to wait longer for approval because my insurance required proof of me being fat for at least 2 years. Mind you I've been fat since birth, but that didn't matter to them, they needed proof. Unfortunetly some insurances are harder to please than others. I don't mean to bum you out, and maybe there's ways around it but none that I've seen or heard of, that would be something your doctors office would have to find out for you. I had Aetna, and from what I've been told by my doctors office, they are the quickest at approving you. I went to my first seminar in Aug of 2010, by Dec of 2010 I was banded. They only things they really required were a co-morbidity (and I had a few) a summary of past diets (which were just a list of Weight Watchers memberships, Nutrisystem memberships and other diets pills/shakes) my weight record for the past 2 years, and 3 months of "diet". That "diet" was just me eating a little better and getting weighed every month by my doc for 3 months. If I were you and I was serious about getting this surgery I would suck it up and do what I had to do, even if it takes another 6 months or a year. Regardless of how stressful, aggravating and how much of a waste of time and money it seems. If you don't do it you'll be wasting even more time possibly gaining more weight and feeling worse than you already do. 6 months to a year may seem like a drawback right now, but think about the big picture. In a year you could be banded and losing weight, or you could be doing what you are doing now. Good luck to you! again I'm sorry if I sound like a downer, but anything worth it is never easy.