Dibley Dawn

i'm not gonna shoot the messenger since your doctor said it. but he was lying. Just because he isn't personally able to do it doesn't mean it can't be done. I don't want anyone to have wrong information. I had one of the best surgeons in the country do my surgery and if he had said that it couldn't be safely done, i wouldn't have done it. He has done this surgery on people who weigh over 500 pounds, so he was pretty confident that it would work for me. i am well under that number.

it's absolutely not true that you can't get the band with a BMI over 50. My BMI was over 58 and I had no problems having the procedure. I also didn't have to lose a percentage of weight before being banded. The only weight I lost before being banded was caused by the liquid 2 week pre-op diet.

.....also, if you have been throwing up a lot, you might be swollen. you should maybe do 24 hours of liquids only to see if the swelling will go down and allow you to eat again.

is your band too tight? you should possibly go for an unfill. if you are too tight, you could gain weight even though you are not eating what you would consider to be a lot. you should definitely talk to your doctor, make sure the band hasn't slipped, maybe get an unfil...SLOW down and chew, chew, chew. be present when you eat for a few days without distractions and see if that helps.

adding to what most people have said about being able to shop in regular stores, cross legs, ride roller coasters, etc...I booked a cruise for my 10 year wedding anniversay when i hit the 25 pounds lost mark, figuring that if i could do 25, i could possibly do more. The cruise is still just under a year away, but when it gets here, I would like to fit in the weight requirements to be able to zip line, parasail, hike, kayak and do all kinds of other excursions that i haven't been able to do on other cruise vacations because i was too fat.

that's great news Zoe. congrats on wearing normal sized clothing. my next goal is really to lose 30 more pounds because i am going on a cruise next year and some of the weight requirements for various excursions are 30 pounds below what i currently weigh....soooooo i have a goal to keep me motivated. i booked this cruise as a treat for myself when i lost the first 25 pounds...hopefully by the time it rolls around, i will have lost 100. fingers are crossed.

Hi May bandsters. today is my 5 month surgiversary, so i thought i would check in. I have lost 70 pounds and I have had zero fills. I will see my doctor next month and then if everything is ok, i won't see him for another 6 months after that (unless i need a fill). so far, I feel amazing, i reached twoderville and still have a loooooonnnggg way to go to get to onederland. i may never get there, but i'm so happy where i am that i really don't care any more. I can eat any type of food and have never been stuck or PB'ed or had any issues really. there were a few instances early on with nausea that we narrowed down to being caused by my time of the month and i take medicine for that now just a day or 2 before my period and it stops nausea in its tracks. i hope everyone else is doing well and seeing lots of NSVs in addition to the weight dropping.

Congrats on quitting smoking and on the weight you have lost. and happy almost 1 year surgiversary. I hope i am successful at keeping my 70 pounds off after 1 year. i think that is the scary thing. i can lose weight pretty easily but i can't keep it off. i'm still in my "yeah sure i've lost weight, but it'll probably come back with a vengeance" phase mentally. for instance, i cleaned out my closets this past weekend and donated a lot of plus size clothing, but I did keep several things that I really loved that are now too big for me...just.in.case. i know that is the wrong mindset, but only time will tell. and hey, if summer rolls around and those things are still too big, well, that box will go out. but i just couldn't let go of everything. I did only allow myself to keep 10 shirts. the rest went out.

I really liked Muscle Milk Light and Glucerna. I still drink Glucerna when I feel like munching on something just because I'm hungry in my head. I think they are delicious and they are kinda like a treat for me now.

that is amazing. I really hope that this is what happens to me, that I don't ever have to have a fill but that I can still lose weight. even if i stopped losing weight, I am fine where I am. i just don't want to gain any back. that would probably be the only reason that I would ever get a fill is if i start gaining copius amounts of weight back. i am hoping that by relearning how to eat, that won't be neccessary

slips are going to happen. just learn to not beat yourself up over it. you are in this for the long haul and in the grand scheme of eternity, 4 pounds is nothing. just eat your Protein and do what you need to do. if you feel like you need to have wine or chocolate or whathaveyou every once in a while, then enjoy it, but then go right back to doing what you need to do. you can't live on the band forever denying yourself of things you enjoy. so if you slip, enjoy a little bit of something. it's better than denying yourself and then caving in and eating all of something. you'll be fine.

I take Flintstones complete, and I take 1 a day.

it's totally normal. you just had a surgery and your body doesn't know what the heck just happened to it. it's going to try to hang on to that weight for a while. for the first 6 weeks, I suggest you don't even step on a scale. use that time to heal and get better. even though you might feel fine on the outside, your stomach is still getting over the trauma. don't get frustrated, the weight will come off. just give it time.

I am pretty much right there with Thee-O. Tomorrow is my 5 month surgiversary and I am 70 pounds lighter with no fills. I didn't get this surgery to stop eating altogether. I love food and I still enjoy it. I eat pretty much whatever I want to eat, but not nearly in the quantities I used to eat in. I was a bulk eater and not really a grazer. With the band in place I am really physically unable to sit and eat and eat and eat, nor do I want to do that any longer. With the band in place, I have a sensation of reaching a kind of feeling of fullness (not sure if that's the best word to use since prior to the band I never knew what it was like to feel full.) It has done something in my head, maybe it's the supression of the Vegas nerve, I'm not really sure what it is, but I don't think about and obsess over food constantly. I am not thinking about what my next meal will be and this is a HUGE change for me. as for what I eat, well, I can eat anything. there are things that I try to stay away from, but I don't beat myself up if I cave in and have something. If there is something I want to eat, I will eat it (or a couple of bites of it) and then I am done. I don't have to eat the whole thing or 2 or 3 of a thing (like pizza or burgers). I am satisfied with half of a thing. Because, for me, the band is working like I want it to, i.e. keeping me from eating everything in sight, I haven't felt the need to have fills. My goal isn't to have so much restriction that I can't swallow more than a cup of something or that I live only on Soups. Losing weight isn't so important to me that I give up living a well rounded life that includes foods that I enjoy eating. My goal is to eat like a normal person in portions that normal people eat. I go out with friends, I enjoy a beer now and again, or a glass of wine. I eat shrimp, lobster, etc with no PBing whatsover and nobody is any the wiser that I am on a diet. I don't stay away from trouble foods, I just don't go overboard and eat them constantly. I do balance with healthy eating of lots of Protein and my diet is really heavily centered on fish. But I also eat mcdonald's, burger king, wendy's, ranch 1, etc....i don't deny myself. I don't consider myself as being on a diet per se, and it's only a lifestyle change for me in the sense that I now have a plastic thing inside of me that keeps me from bulk eating. I don't get hungry really at all and I know that the band is the reason why. I did have to have this surgery and I could not have done this well by just dieting. really, having that band inside me has changed something. I don't know what it is, but for me it is working. I know that the loss will slow down and maybe one day I'll have to have a fill...who knows? But as long as I am feeling great and eating healthy as much as possible, I am really happy with that. I hope I never have to have a fill. right now, life is good.

I have united health care and with me, it was an easy peasy process. my doctor actually required more than my insurance company did. Once I finally decided to go forward with the surgery, it was a very quick process. It was less than a month from my doctor consult to my surgery.That month flew by and two weeks of it was liquid diet. With my high BMI alone UHC was happy to approve my surgery. I don't have any co-mordities that are weight related, but if you have them, it will probably help you with the approval process. good luck.

losing 200 pounds is totally doable with the band. even the sleeve and bypass are not a guarantee as you can easily gain weight back if you don't change your behavior. i know several bypass patients who are doing lap bands over their bypass because the bypass didn't change their eating habits over time. you should really research before you do something drastic like bypass or sleeve. just my. 02. and there is a special area on the boards for us bigger folk with 200+ pounds to lose. i am only 5 months out and I have lost over 65 pounds so far. i'm taking it one day at a time, i'm not in a hurry, but i feel amazing after just losing that amount. i may never lose 200, but i am learing to eat correctly and more like a normal person, and that is enough for me. good luck in whatever you decide to do.

From Alabama but live in NYC

I haven't had any fills so i can eat anything at the moment. there are foods that i have stayed away from, mostly rice and breads. I can eat subway sandwiches, but i have found that i will eat a few bites of it and then just pull the bread off and eat the meats that are on the sandwich because i just get soooo tired of chewing it. but i can eat it.

I wear shorts under my skirts too because of the rub. I have never known what it feels like to walk without my legs touching each other. I often wonder how skinny people do it and how they keep from just falling over. maybe in another year or so, I will know how that works.

Suzzie, I am so sorry for what you are going through. I am only 5 months out, but lemme tell ya, if i had to do 100% completely without sweets or treats, I would have already failed. I don't know how you made it for 11 months and no wonder you went overboard when you finally let yourself cave in. the good news is you can start over today. start with now and go one meal at a time. allow yourself to have a treat now and again. if you HAVE to have chocolate every day, start by only having it every other day...then gradually work down to maybe 3 times a week, or only on weekends...or just whatever. choose a sugar free Chocolate ice pop or something. i promise if you deny yourself something that you really love, eventually it will be all you can think about and you will fail again. i'm not a big snacker, but my issue was eating huge portions and not being able to stop. i still eat what i want to eat, just probably in portions 1/3 or even 1/2 the size that i used to eat (i haven't had a fill, so i have no restriction). i still need chocolate every once in a while and when i'm on my period, I allow myself to have anything that i am craving. i have found that if i just allow myself to have it, i'm not thinking about and obsessing over it, so one or 2 bites of something is all i need to have before i am done with it. don't give up. you've hit a bump in the road and you just have to get over that bump. keep us posted on how you are doing.

my doctor allowed veggies too, but no yogurt or any of that. i could only use Protein shakes and 1 cup of veggies per day. so, it sounds like you have more options than I did. while you may lose weight on the pre-op, please try your best not to cheat on it again. you can make it 14 days and that is really the most difficult part (other than the 10 days of liquids only right after surgery, if your doctor makes you do that) if you are really having trouble sticking to the diet, you should contact your doctor and tell him. don't try to reason with yourself and give yourself permission to eat cheese or do anything that is not per the doctor. that is not a good way to go into this process. if you do that kind of reasoning now, believe me you will do that after you have healed and are ready to eat real food again. resolve now to do what you are supposed to do and stick to it as best as you can.

People are never going to change unless they go through it themselves and that's that. I was pretty much of the same mindset and that's why I put the surgery off for 6 years. I never told another WLS person that they took the easy way out, but I certainly thought it....until i was banded. No, it's not easy. but for me, it was necessary as I was unable to do it on my own. you can't change anyone else's mind, you just have to keep doing what you are doing and let people think what they think. in the end, it's all about you and what's best for you and who cares what anyone else thinks? good for you that you are working hard and doing what you need to do. it's only going to get harder and harder, not easier. hopefully people who care about you will see what hard work it is and not pass judgement.

This is the exact reason I didn't tell my mother. She can't keep a secret either and it's nobody's busines but my own. I'm sorry that she's going against your wishes. if it's that important to you to keep it a secret, tell her that you are upset that she shared such a personal thing with others when it wasn't their business and that you would appreciate it if in the future she could not tell anyone else.

Hmmmm,,,,interesting thread Thee-O. I had my surgery on May 4th and I have not had any fills and honestly, I don't intend to get any. That's not to say that at some point down the road I won't have one, but it is not my intention to have one. I know that being just over 5 months out that I am relatively new to being banded, but my reasons for getting the band are probably different from most people who get it. I knew that by getting it, I would lose some weight, but I honestly didn't get it to lose 100 pounds. I got it to help me stop eating and eating and eating, which it has done beautifully. Before being banded, I could not stop eating. I never knew what it meant to be 'full' or 'satiated' or whatever you want to call it. I couldn't physically feel a sensation that told me "hey, you've had enough, it's time to stop eating." I would only know it was time to stop eating if people around me were done or if my plate was empty. Even then, I would be thinking about my next meal. just having the band in place, even though I don't have restriction, must do something to me mentally. Could it be the Vegas nerve that is being pressured? I have no idea, all I know is that I don't think about food constantly anymore, and I am satisfied with a smaller amount. I am ok with leaving food on my plate if I can't eat it. Before the band, I didn't think about it, I just vacuumed food down. Now, I chew, chew, chew, and I discovered that by chewing endlessly, I can actually TASTE the food I am eating. I also discovered that foods that I thought I really loved, after chewing them and really tasting them, that ehhhh, I don't really like this as much as I thought I did. For me, I still enjoy going out with friends and being able to order whatever I want (since i'm not filled, I can eat anything..steak, shrimp, bread, etc....) I can eat socially without running to the bathroom to PB, I always have left overs that I can bring home and nobody is suspicious that I have had any kind of surgery. It's the best of all possible worlds. I can eat what I want (because of no fills) and I can enjoy physical activity (because I have lost weight), I can avoid questions from friends (because it appears that I still eat the same stuff I always ate and no one is any the wiser. ) Honestly, if I never lose another pound, I am ok with that. I feel great where I am. I don't feel like I am denying myself of food when I want it. Like another poster said, if i am craving something I'll have a bite or 2 of it and then move on with my life. I don't have to have a whole pizza any longer, I am ok with a slice or two. I am ok with half a hamburger or 3 or 4 chicken nuggets (instead of 20). That's why I got the surgery, to eat what normal people eat in the portions that normal people eat them in. Not to exist on a half a cup of food per meal or to eat only things that won't make me barf. not to avoid fast food altogether, not to ever eat things i enjoy ever again. this is something I'll have to live with the rest of my life, and I want to live a great life and food is part of life that I enjoy. I actually enjoy food more now that I have learned to take my time with it and chew it. it's seriously weird. I know that I could not have done this without having the band, even with no restriction. I know that by the band just being in place that something has changed in my brain to cause me not to think about food all of the time, and that is really good enough for me. The weight I have lost is just a bonus.

I personally don't plan on telling anyone that I have the band...ever. 2 people know about it. my DH and 1 very close friend who is already skinny. No one has seemed to notice yet that I have lost any weight, (i'm really fat, so it's understandable) and I kinda like it that way because.....um...less lying I guess. (although, i am eating less and I am working out, but I haven't had any fills so the band is a mental tool for me. it's not making me eat less at this time because i have no restriction. ) when people start to notice and start to ask me, then i'll have to come up with something. when i made my decision to get that band, it wasn't anyone telling me that they had the band and that this is something I should do, it was me personally researching things on my own and seeking out answers from doctors and this community. i don't want to be responsible for any one else's decisions. in other words, i don't want to tell someone that i know IRL that I have the band and that they should do it. it works differently for different people. i couldn't live with it if someone had a surgery like this based on something that I said and things didn't work out for them. ...also..., i would go crazy if people knew about the band and started to montior everything that i put in my mouth and ask "should you really be eating that??" i have food issues as it is and all that added pressure would probably make me hide food the way i used to...so, for now, i'm keeping it a secret and i plan to keep it that way. anyway, that's my .02