Loooou

Hello all.. Well, I have been banded since 2004 I started my band journey at 367 pounds in 2004! Now I weight 230-235! and I am stuck:S .. Its really getting hard! and overwhelming knowing that I have been so slow! I hate to say the forbidden word but sometimes I feel like I am a "failure" I had 6 fillings so far and my doctor is about to run the 7th but he is not optimistic! he told me sometimes Lapband surgery doesnt help with some ppl that much.. I exercise 4-5 times a week! I feel horrible for being stuck! so Today he suggested the sleeve again, and he is saying that I am a good candidate for it but hearing from the web the terrible disadvantages the sleeve have is scaring me! it is considered the worst procedure according the the web! I am clueless! I need real life experience advice, so would you please let me know if any of u gained the weight back as suggested online that most ppl put back the weight cause their stomach normally stretch back! I dont hate my band and I asked my doctor of keeping it in after the sleeve surgery and he told me that it can be done although I wont need it, but I just need it as a safety net in case my stomach started to expand! He said that these stretching happens only when the surgery isnt done well! Do u have the same hunger strikes as the band? Do you never feel satisfied? What kind of food is hard for you to eat? I cant get any protein in! unless it is a sashimi or something soft. I am waiting eagerly for your advice .. thanks!

Hello Lara, Oh yeah I just paid attention to the date!! I am sure with all the good reviwes down here things have totally change:) thanks for the reassurance:) you are all are great help really Oh chicken and steak are nightmare to me too!! honestly me too! but being stuck and eating poorly as u mentioned can drive anyone mentally crazy Thanks a lot Lara!! truly appreciated X

Dear LilMissDiva .. I will be cheering for you and dont forget to take the before and after pix of ur 5K!! I dont know why most ppl find that that the treadmill is easier than the real road! but I found it totally the opposite:) oh and the fresh air! BEST BEST OF LUCK!! I can totally appreciate normal lazy moments as we are just human beings!! I was afraid I will be dizzy and out of mood all day, U have no idea or may be you do ofcourse how the band sometimes put me in a state of starvation! Yes I eat! but it is either unhealthy "Slider" as you all call it here food or just I avoid the terrible pain of eating! and sometimes when I am really mad! I use the Water cheat:( and feel bloated!and irritated afterward! Your experience made things seem so normal! and I will be considering the Vitamins Texas mentioned here. Oh I totally now what you mean!! its like you are crazy hungry and the first thing you put in ur mouth is stuck there!! Mornings have been my worst nightmare! so do you feel tight too on ur sleeve in the mornings? OMG! you have no idea!!! Thank you so much:))) now I am starting to have sleepless nights remembering my last surgery and what I went through due to pain and how I look now .. and how I will look later!! I am really not asking for not more than 70 LBS down! lol I am sick of being stuck and sick of being called FAT! and really want to start living my life!! I will keep you posted and I have added u on FB:)

Thanks TIFFY!! I spent the day reading off ur blog and ur informative post!! I am so glad:) and I think I will let you know SOON what went on with my doctor appointment:) I will keep reading reading and I think I will always be asking too many questions here too lol Texas Thank you sooooooooooo much!! I will check the pharmacy for them I appreciate ur advice so much cause I am so worried about the calories intake and my Energy level I see ur point clearly and reading into the board somehow ease my worries about removing my band completely:) let alone having hernia I will keep u ladies posted XOX

Oregondaisy , I am really sorry for your friend:( I hope she feels better I am currently reading and asking a lot!! thanks a lot for ur input and have a great Friday best of luck on ur band removal.

Hello LilMissDiva Thank u so much!! for the reply and words of encouragement, Best of luck on ur 5k!! it is the best feeling in the whole world! you must already be so proud of urself for taking this huge step but let me tell u, as soon u cross the finish line that day "no matter when and how fast" you will be totally a new different person with new attitude! even better than the one u already have now! just keep going and keep visualizing ur dream:) Oh man I remember when I ran those 5k I kept cheering at myself alone and going "YES YES I DID IT!" for so long lol I fell down on that marathon, it took place by the pyramids where I live in Egypt and the road there isnt a good running one! and I dragged my friends along and I kept looking back to check on them, and then bammm! I fell!! but I got up and kept going and then after I was done I discovered how bruised my knees were and that I already bent my ankle! but the pain was not felt during the marathon!! adrenaline rush! LOL BEST OF LUCK SWEETY!!! You have such a journey with your band and then now the sleeve! you sound like u are truly in love with the sleeve and all of the good vibe I keep getting out of this board about the sleeve is just breath taking!! Kudos for keeping ur back there to remind u lol ... I seem to be worried if I took off my band I will gain all the weight! It is just the fear of becoming that old girl again!! I think I will need mental therapy lol I have few questions for you, u seem to be hooked on exercise just like I love it too, so how is your energy levels? Cause honestly I feel like I eat soooo little now and fighting with my levels! so what if I got the sleeve and ate fewer than now as some of you are reporting on the board that you can go for only 800 calories a day! .. do u still feel active and ready for ur run? My only fear now is that I will do the surgery and I will still eat the same small amound and never lose the weight!! but ofcourse I will just gain the benfit of not feeling hungry all the time! how much time did ur surgery took? How much time did u need to recover and go down and then also be able to run? Do u have any pain? like on my band I always have a shoulder pain after I eat especially if I had too much!? does the Water rule apply to the sleeve as the band? Thank u so much!! I have added u on FB:) XO

Hello Becca! Thank you sooo Much for taking the time to reply, Hearing the words" my obsession with food is gone" I am sorry I am asking too much!! but I am glad I found such a support group went through exactly what I am going to go through:) Does the sleeve have the same problems? I know from the replies here that I am never hungry but do I feel food sitting in my throat and do u have problem swallowing medical tablets on ur sleeve too? I have read your post yesterday and it was so late.. I needed a morning coffee to sit and write back so here are my thoughts while i was sleeping!! WOW! 42 pounds off in 11 weeks!! and u call that slow!?! u are doing amazing and actually so inspiring:) If I lose like u I will be DAMN CLOSE to my goal weight as u said!! it is like wasting 7 yrs of my life.. but still the band helped somehow " I dont know why I cant hate it with all the bad reviews I have been hearing! I think I am sick lol" Also ur words about losing ur food addiction kept ringing the bell!! thank u thank u!! .. May be the data I found online was indeed old one!! cause u are all doing great here:) Best of luck!

Lily Thanks so much!! ur reply is so much appreciated and others replied to a thread too I posted! u are all so awesome and helpful here. I just cant get the part about the bougie? what exactly is that?

OMG Foxbins!! you are actually saying the same thing my doctor told me!! that those doctors removed wrong parts of the stomach! I am truly reading and researching like crazy and my only hope that this surgery will pay off not that the band didnt paid off but It just helped with half what I have lost but the rest as quoted from my doctor "was done on my own" but it getting impossibly hard to move further or lose any more! it is like I am losing the pound today and gaining it again tomorrow! so u can imagine the effect it leaves on u emotionally! After all what have been said by all of u here and all I have been reading, I am willing to do it! but what if it didnt work? and my body just dont respond as its not responding now. I got used to feeling hungry and unsatisfied all the time but I cant get use to another failed surgery. Sorry for whining too much!! but I need to let my fears go out loud, may be I will find the answer somewhere. thank u again:)

Thanks a lot for insights on the matter Tiffy first off here is one of the links that nearly assured my fear of gaining weight My link Also on one of the documentary on E! they mentioned that some ppl died a day after their sleeve surgeries due to some leaks... I am sorry I am not trying to terrify anyone I am just narrating the stuff I have heard and read. One of my friends told me that one of his friends gained all the weight back too! I was opening millions of links that suggested the same and I came back here to find all these replies WHICH AM MORE THAN GRATEFUL FOR!! My only concern is gaining the weight.. thats why I want to keep the band in case something goes wrong, why throw it when u can have it? .. unless! you have a scientific proof I am better off without it. I am really confused but I am already weighing my options! and going for the surgery! I have wasted more than SEVEN years trying to lose the weight and I seem to be a great fighter with my "inner negative talk" other than that I am losing the battle! I run an hour 3 times week now! lets call it jogging not running, but I am still FAT! even if I feel like I can do lots of work out a slim girl cant do. I am also fearing that if I keep my calories that low after the surgery as I read on the board here it is between 500-800 that I wont have the energy to exercise and frankly thats my only get away in life! it makes me feel great about myself. I keep on reading experiences on this board! I really love it. Thanks again and please bare with me, English is my second language and u must know how it felt to take this decision! so What about sweet tooth? is it a big deal if I sneaked a dessert every now and then? or does it ruin the whole procedure? Here is my progress so far..

I have been banded since 2004 I started my band journey at 367 pounds in 2004! Now I weight 230-235! and I am stuck:S .. Its really getting hard! and overwhelming knowing that I have been so slow! I hate to say the forbidden word but sometimes I feel like I am a "failure" I had 6 fillings so far and my doctor is about to run the 7th but he is not optimistic! he told me sometimes Lapband surgery doesnt help with some ppl that much.. I exercise 4-5 times a week! I feel horrible for being stuck! so Today he suggested the sleeve again, and he is saying that I am a good candidate for it but hearing from the web the terrible disadvantages the sleeve have is scaring me! it is considered the worst procedure according the the web! I am clueless! I need real life experience advice, so would you please let me know if any of u gained the weight back as suggested online that most ppl put back the weight cause their stomach normally stretch back! I dont hate my band and I asked my doctor of keeping it in after the sleeve surgery and he told me that it can be done although I wont need it, but I just need it as a safety net in case my stomach started to expand! He said that these stretching happens only when the surgery isnt done well! Do u have the same hunger strikes as the band? Do you never feel satisfied? What kind of food is hard for you to eat? Can you stomach stretch to ur pre op size? I am waiting eagerly for your advice .. thanks!