B-52

After being so fat for so long, and dealing with it everyday...I find it hard to see myself skinny today.... I was going through all the Christmas photo's from parties, etc, I wanted to find a new "After" photo...the one I have there now is almost 2 years old.... Every picture I looked at I did not like, I felt I looked fat! There was one photo of me along with the entire department from work and their spouses...18 people? And I felt I was the heaviest person in the picture.... My wife thinks I'm nuts....she's probably more correct than she thinks....I'm now the same weight I was as a Sr. in High School, and that was 1970 !!!

In the end...it really doesn't matter.....if I read a post I can relate to, I'll respond to it with my experience(s) on that subject.... If anyone has a problem with what I say, it's their problem, because for me it's a day to day reality...and I can't hide or deny myself....

Congratulations....glad you are doing so well at 2 months.... 2 month mark for me was when things started to come unraveled...height of bandster hell...band was not doing anything for me, I started to gain weight even after my first fill...was as hungry as ever,...could eat anything.....felt the whole thing was a waste of my time and $$.... Took me 5-6 months to find that "Groove" (had it ever since) and I am as happy as can be......glad you found it so soon....

No Pain, No Gain.....or so they say...that's why they call it a "Work" out.... What you feel now, in soreness from what effort you can put into it.....if you keep it up, within time, it will take 10 times the effort to achieve the same pain.... I used to get out of breath carrying groceries into the house.....NOW I run 5 miles (daily) to get out of breath.... We build upon our little victories, one at a time, time after time....

But, when you speak with them about what it was like when you were growing up there, and they snicker and look at you as if you had three heads.....eventually...you do what.....?

I for one, will NEVER answer a direct question with a direct answer....I will however, think back and try to remember if I ever had that situation, and if I did, I will share what I found the answer to be.... If I have never experienced what you're asking, then I would keep my mouth shut and let someone else speak..... Example..there are many topics about TOM or Pregnancy....I would not even begin to address those issues (although I'm in the medical profession) it is not my place to do so here...yet it happens everyday...people will give advice, answers, in areas they have no experience in....I think they just like to be heard or feel important....who knows...

"So may I ask, what do you want to get from here? I think I saw the post where you were frustrated and I wasn't sure what you wanted from the folks participating. I don't mean this rudely, I'm just trying to understand what a veterans expectations are from this site after reaching goal. Is it mentoring, continuing education, something else?" That is the point, isn't it...what do / can veterans get from here??? I do pay special attention to those who develop long term complications....and over time have made certain conclusions. Seem those with problem have 1-3 common themes to them...and 2 out of 3 of those I know I avoid.... I do not believe it is my place to mentor, or answer questions concerning someone else's health and welfare, over the internet, whom I do not know or ever met.....and the other person would be the dummy to listen to a stranger tell them what they should or should not do, and what the band can or cannot do in their lives....The only thing ANYONE can do is tell their own story...give their testimony as to what has worked and not worked in THEIR lives.....If someone comes here and asks a specific question, IF I have experienced the same thing, then I will share what I found the outcome to be, based upon ME, NOT what someone told me or I read somewhere.... and If I have not had any first hand experience with that specific topic, then I will keep my mouth shut and let someone else reply.....But it gets to the point that the gap between veterans and new members increases, that what I may say, even if it is something I do everyday....new members simply cannot relate, and can care less what I have to say...they can relate better to someone earlier on in this experience..... So what is the point?

All I can say this morning......after being banded for a certain amount of time...being in the "Green" Zone for years, and being 100% successful and Happy, happy happy..... This Forum can be EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING..... I just left another Thread, and NO ONE GET'S IT !!! I have to stop and ask "What in the World am I doing here?" Even when I try to explain things, things that are simple truths based upon my experience and my life with the band....people just do not understand....and will even debate you over it! Right now, I feel like a stranger in in a strange land....and I know others that have moved on for just that reason.... Sometimes you just have to get away to keep your sanity.....

Whether I taste something or not has nothing to do with the band...I taste things because they Taste Good...it is Christmas..and I choose to taste them....I enjoy the taste.... No Offense, but just by reading your post it is reflective of someone who is new at this...and your post is indicative of what I am saying...where is everyone else???? It is a lifestyle...NOT A DIET.... It is disheartening, on a forum with 1000's of members...everyone is talking about their fears of the holidays, the foods, overeating,..... Everyone is talking how to combat these situations just as if this was a Weight watchers website, or a Jenny Craig help forum...there is a reason I had this surgery....and situations like the holidays is but one example... NO ONE is talking about how the Band, or this Weight Loss Surgery is helping them.... Sure...of course I had my struggle...within those first 4-6 months of adjusting.... BUT... Is EVERYBODY on this website NEW???? DID ALL THE VETERANS LEAVE ???? This was touched upon in another thread, were eventually you realize there is not much left here you have in common, or can learn from, and then move on......

First fill of 1cc and you think you're too tight? Of course one can never Dx your condition over the internet, and I would not assume to do so also.... But, from my own experience, It can also be that you made a mistake, ate something you should not have,or the wrong way...it is a big learning experience after all..... and "Traumatized" the area...the more you continue to try to eat, the more you aggrevate it.... Of course, we have to eat something.... BUT....Just as one sprains their ankle...if you keep trying to walk normally on it, it keeps staying sprained and does not get any better... Dr.' office is closed till after the holidays? Take it easy with the food...stay with soft things like Soups and ice creams, etc...and see how you feel when they open... My last fill, I had many difficulties for 2 weeks...mainly because I did not follow my Dr.'s after fill guidelines at the outset......I called him wanting to get some Fluid taken out...he talked me out out of it...told me to treat it tenderly...I am glad he did...that was over 2-1/2 years ago, and I am at a place..a perfect balance-harmony, that many people will never experience with their bands I am beginning to see.... If I did get some fluid taken out, then I would not be the happy person I am today....but it took a lot of adjusting on my part.... But then, that is me and my story....

Can you drink Water??? Sip that is... Not that I could tell, but it does not sound like you are stuck.....it sounds as though you had your first lesson about chewing and eating soft foods....you probably swallowed something too harsh, and are now feeling the residual pain, just as if someone has "Punched" you in arm, it can linger for quite a while... I have, during those learning years, taken a large swallow without thinking...and have had the most excruciating pain....can even be thought as stretching the pouch perhaps... There are many foods I no longer eat, and what I do eat are softer foods, and better chewed, and much smaller bites.... For instance, I takes 4 bites with plenty of chewing, to get through one shrimp....I usually take one bite, then put it down and come back to it later...it might as well be the size of a banana...

This is sad..... I know for me...the band is EVERYTHING....and it is the same today or tomorrow, as it has been for quite some time...th bnd does not know if it's Christmas, or the 4th of July, or I'm on a cruise....it will keep on doing what it does everyday.... I have absolutely no fear with the Holidays, all the parties, etc...sure my head may desire all the foods and treats offered, and I will "Taste" as much as possible regardless of what it is...people went out of their way preparing these things for me and others to enjoy...and I will, and then compliment them for their contribution.......but the band will keep things in check and indulgence and gluttony is out of the question.....as it is any other day.... I have said it 100 times before....I am NOT on a diet..... Why were YOU banded???

Without directly responded to any one person on any of several threads....I just want to say............ I am reading post after post after post about stress levels dealing with Holiday foods, temptations, reverting back to old habits,..etc..... When I read these posts, the ONLY thing that cones to mind is WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BAND???? Is that not why we endured this surgery? Yet no one even mentions it...as if it does not exist... When you chose to have this surgery, did you not have some expectations as to what this will do for you? Why did we have this surgery? Seriously!!! Just saying....I'm a happy Bander....Happy because the very things that made me fat, have been or are being dealt with by Bariatric Surgery....If I could have done any of this on my own, trust me, I would not want some artificial thing wrapped around my gut.... Bariatric Surgery is a MAJOR THING....don't sell it short, or worse yet, abandon it....

Hard to answer not knowing when you were banded, # of fills...Green Zone? Any problems with hunger when it comes to other foods?

True...but you're going to much less......I never get to the carbs, let alone the fruits and veggies.....

What do I eat??? the answer is VERY LITTLE..... Having said that, since I am limited how much I can eat, I am sure to make the best of it by choosing the best foods I can....since the band is limiting the size of my portions, and how much I can actually eat at a single sitting, I'm not going to blow it on mashed potatoes for example....I'll always start with something high Protein first...then work my way down if the band will let me eat get there...... You use the term "Band Friendly" yet you are just starting out, and have no restriction yet, I assume.... To me, band Friendly are foods that are easy to eat once your band is adjusted....for instance, I do not eat Pasta, breads, rice or red meats....these are foods that do not pass very easily, no matter how well I chew, and have a high risk of getting stuck...so they are not band friendly and I choose not to eat them.... Fish and tender chicken are band Friendly foods for me...as an example...then again, so is ice cream..passes very easily....

Banded people have a "Reset" also....I do it about every 6 weeks or so, but just for a few days....does put everything back to that "New" feeling.... The problem with banded people though, is that the band is adjustable...and after surgery we have to go through a series of adjustments to get to that place were the band and process begins to work optimally.... You have to be at a certain place, in order for that reset to return you to that place....but a reset is not going to get us to a place where we were never at in the first place.... When many people have complaints, etc, with the band....the first concern is whether or not you have the band fully adjusted to where it should be....it can take months, and many people NEVER get there....BIGGEST negative to the band, IMO, is that it is left to the individual where they want it adjusted...then turn around and say it's not doing anything.... The sleeve on the other hand....much to it's credit, is that it is installed and then that's it...(sort of)..you can't adjustment up or down...it just is....

Yes...we were all new to this at one time or another...and I remember how frustrated I was within those first months...I felt this was a big waste of my time, effort and $$.... But some of the things veterans told me back then, I simply did not believe them, or could not comprehend what they were actually saying....and now I find myself in that boat...when people state they are having an issue, I want to say things but I know I should not...it would only confuse things. It would be like describing what it is like to "Fly" when they are still figuring out how to "Walk", to manage those first steps without falling down...... Yesterday, I went to another Christmas party...one of the best of all time....I will NOT even begin to share all the fantastic food that was there, what I ate, drank, and just carried on with into the night.....it was FANTASTIC.... But when you read the majority of posts here, people are freaking out because they ate a potato chip or a cookie! It's hard for veterans to say anything, other than to encourage people and let them know it does work, it will get better and easier, and it will give you a NEW LIFE unlike anything you can imagine right now....if you let it!

I am trying to understand exactly what it is you're saying..... Your signature says you have 9cc's in your band? In one year? How big is your band? 2nd...are you freakin out because you eat a chocolate bar now and then? Or eating them all day long...or did it start with the chocolate bars and opened the flood gates, knocking down your self discipline and self control, and now you can't stop eating everything excessively? And now you feel you're "Off the Wagon" as people say? And I'll not get into stretched pouches right now....I can monitor and recognize mine and deal with it by applying some routine maintenance, but I have to be at a certain place first for that to mean anything.... I'll never tell anyone what they are doing is right or wrong, or tell others what they should or should not do....I do try to understand a situation and compare it to my own....

Gee...that's a tough one..(considering my generation)

That is a loaded question.....first, what type of surgery are you planning? There are a few choices, and I'm sure that the orientation will introduce you to them... Then you need to do your research, speak with the Dr. and staff to help determine the best path for you to take.... And ask questions!!! Understand as much as you can.... Things I would be asking are Success Rates...the least and most complications...ongoing maintenance....long term effects (years later) Then be prepared...each insurance co. has it's own set of criteria you must comply with prior to surgery....I had to do a 6 month medical supervised diet program.... There is a whole list of things you may need to do... I have had the Lap band...I am 100% Happy and pleased....but I will be honest, I did not discuss the other options...if I have, I may have gone with the Sleeve instead...but I'm not sure.... Still I am pleased with my decision.

I am 62 years old...I have smoked about 2 packs a day since I was a teenager....I quit about 8 years ago...was not easy, needed drug therapy to do it..... However...it would be easy for me to say the correct thing ids that anytime you have the opportunity to quit, you should do it.... BUT being a ex hardcore smoker, I know EXACTLY where you are coming from....and there is no easy answer...as much as I HATE smoking now, and as much as I FEEL BETTER for quitting...I don't know if I could have started both of these things at the same time....so me, JUST ME, as much as I hate to say it, I would not have quit smoking at that time...I would have waited till I was well on my way with this weight loiss, feeling better and more self confident about myself...in all things, including stopping smoking.

It's not the new people...those poor people are the victims and probably get more confused than helped.... it's them I wouldn't blame for leaving.... I've said it before, I was glad I did not discover this website until AFTER I had my surgery....because until then it was just me and my Dr. and his staff....and I was told I could call and speak with someone if I had a question...which I did...

Acid reflux seems to be a very common theme with banded people....my Dr. explained it to me but I won't get into it now.... I am always susceptible to it...for me in my case, I had to stop eating the spicy foods I used to love..no more jalapeno peppers, hot sauce which i used to put on everything, horseradish, hot or spicey mustard....and on and on...I am very careful about it... Also, I have found I should not eat too close to bed time....laying horizontal.....so if I don't eat before 7pm, then I don't eat.

Sounds pretty much common to me...my Dr. is also aggressive...he had no qualms stating that first he installs the band, then he gets it working...took me 3 fills, the last one was a doozie...alsmost got it taken out but he talked me into hanging in there for another week or so....