Alexandra

Before this thread starts sounding like a commercial, let me ask y'all to keep this discussion limited to your own reviews. That is, don't specifically request that DeLarla come here to post information on her products or we'll have to close the thread. You can trade reviews if you like, but if you want information from the person selling the products please contact her directly. (That may sound like nitpicking, but marketing is not permitted here and if she were to start talking about her own products that's what it would be.) Thanks for understanding!!

Sleepyjean, I had the same experience. In my case, I first heard about the band in the summer of 2002 and spent the next 10 months working through insurance issues. About halfway through that time I withdrew from the online areas I'd been visiting because it was just too hard to think about banding all the time. (LBT hadn't been founded yet but I'd been active on other sites.) Then the approval came and I was back with a vengeance! Just take deep breaths, that's all you can do. Waiting is indeed the hardest part.

Ibuprofen, and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, can do more than just "irritate" the stomach. They suppress certain protective substances in our stomachs so that other irritants can do more damage. I don't remember all the specific details, but suffice to say that they should be avoided as much as possible. Aspirin, while I don't believe it has the same suppressive action, can itself be an irrirant. Coated aspirin is less so, I believe. But everything I've heard is that the only truly safe pain reliever is acetominophen (Tylenol).

Congratulations, Robyn! You sound wonderful. All the best wishes for continued strength and success. It won't be a fight forever.

Pam, you've discovered the one thing that makes being banded so different from anything and everything we've tried in the past. So many people considering banding want to know why this might work where everything else has failed. Well--this is it! It works because it doesn't go away!! Of course we have to change our habits, and of course it can be hard sometimes. But this little band of silicone is our tool to help us stay on course, or get back on course when necessary. I've done what you describe several times. Changing our lives to the extent necessary to put morbid obesity behind us forever is not something that can be done overnight. Our bodies and minds NEED to take "breaks" once in a while, think about something else for a few days/weeks/months, get used to the new reality and internalize it completely. If we continually think we're on a "program" then occasional lapses in vigilance only lead to a sense of failure. I've worked hard to just BE smaller, eat less and more healthfully, and not treat my banded life as being one of constant dieting. The band is there when we're ready to refocus. Lapses don't lead to weight gain and disappointment and failure anymore!! :)

The "amount of desired weight" lost is totally in our heads. I have lost as much weight as I want to lose, for now, so I'd have to raise my hand and say YES. That doesn't mean I have a BMI that anyone would call ideal, but I don't care one whit about that. According to the yardsticks you hear about, I've lost just about 70% of my excess weight. But by MY yardstick, I've lost 3 times what I've ever lost before on my own, and I've maintained this weight for six months or so during which time I have not been actively trying to do anything special. I've never been able to do that before. There are many ways to define success. Don't let someone else's definition determine yours.

Nykee, there is absolutely nothing in what you're eating that is providing you the nutrition your body needs. You're scared of working with your band, waiting for it to close the gates on your intake entirely. As you well know, that is no way forward. Everyone MUST learn to eat regular food while banded or it will never do what it was designed to do. What happens when you eat meat? Fish? cheese? Vegetables? Do you ever try these things? Yes, one bite of a KFC tender is better for you than the mashed potatoes and gravy. You have to get the chicken down, and a tighter band is not going to help in that regard. Do this: Have a warm drink of whatever when you start in the morning. I know you think you can't possibly kick your juice addiction, so just try some raspberry herbal tea in addition to whatever it is you drink first thing. It's warm, sweet, tart and tangy, and might serve to open you up a little more in the a.m. so you can move on to REAL FOOD at lunch time. That's all the advice I have. Well, that and throw away the Cheetos. Let us know how it goes.

Happy Birthday!!! :D

I'm with the Diva. There's an "ex" in my life too, and though she didn't have any surgery I also wondered if I should mention it to her. Turns out I didn't have to--my husband and stepson did it for me. And she's had the grace (amazingly) not to say anything to my face except the occasional "how are you feeling?" Of course, this woman is not my friend and your relationship may be different. I have and continue to have no desire to discuss my personal life with the mother of my husband's child.

Erin, ouch, what an ordeal!! Have you had problems in the past healing from wounds or anything? Is there any notion as to why your incision would have gotten infected in the first place? Poor thing. And running a daycare to boot! My heart goes out to you; I hope the kiddies can tell you are not up to being jumped on for a while. Come back and let us know how you're doing. I hope you get better each and every day!!

What wonderful news!!! Wow, how cool is that? CONGRATULATIONS!! :D

Renebean, this is exactly what I was up against and managed to beat more than two years ago. See the thread called Just Starting to Explore Options in the Insurance forum for a discussion of how to appeal. Personally I think you should appeal even if there's little chance of winning. You can seek financing while your appeal is being considered; there's nothing to lose by starting the appeal process. And you just might help the next person down the line.

Hi adp! Welcome to LBT from a fellow Abkin fan. Congratulations on being banded by the best!! I hope you'll come to the support group meetings. They really help and are a great place to ask whatever insane questions might come to mind. Good healing vibes coming your way!

Robyn, you are a brave and strong woman and have already done the very hardest thing. It's all downhill from here. We're with you, our hearts and minds are here for you whenever you need support or just to vent. Please come let us know how you are doing. We're thinking of you!!

I have heard of people "rejecting" the band but in fact, it seems that usually something else is going on. People have all sorts of medical conditions that can impede healing or cause internal inflammation, and adding a foreign object can make that situation worse. The band itself is not a material that itself can cause any reaction, but that doesn't mean the simple fact of putting it in a body that is otherwise compromised is always going to be totally successful. If you have any reason to think you might fall into one of those categories, talk to your doctor.

Trish, yes definitely DO tell your doctor about this! If nothing else, it's another weapon he has when talking to other patients about how careful they should be when eating. This is definitely the TOP pb story I've ever heard...and I'll be sharing it in the future as well. Feel better, quick!

Not everyone has to go through this, but some doctors want as much information as they can possibly get about a patient before proceeding. If you're trying to convince an insurance provider to pay for the surgery, too, the more information (ammunition) you can gather, the better. And it's always better to be safe than sorry. If you have any unusual symptoms or indications in your medical profile, more testing may indeed be warranted before surgery of any kind. General anaesthesia is nothing to play around with.

Congratulations!! You're on your way, and your joy shows through every word. Thanks for sharing!!

Nothing this administration does surprises me anymore.

Shelly, HEY!! How the bleep are ya?? Sounds like you're just too busy off having fun to post, and that's cool, we get it. We wanna see wedding pix, lady!! :(

That is theoretically possible, of course, but I've never heard of anyone actually needing to do that. As you lose weight the restriction tends to lessen by itself, and of course there's the simple fact that the smaller you are the fewer calories it takes to sustain you. The same exact diet on which a person loses weight slowly at 200 lbs might not cause weight loss if that person weighed 150 lbs.

Trish, oh my woman!! I hope you're sleeping soundly now and recovering from your ordeal. It's amazing the drugs they can throw at an infection these days, but you'll be feeling better very soon. Rest up!!

Mixed berry is always my favorite flavor. I'll have to see if I can find this! Thanks!!

LOL! Except for the working-on-legislation part, I'm on board. Sounds charming. I've always wondered how sleep centers get any accurate diagnoses. I, for one, would never be able to actually sleep in those conditions.

I just want to point out that if you have a history of kidney stones, then this was always MUCH more likely to be the cause of your bleeding than your band. It's so common for new bandsters to assume that just because they've had surgery every little thing they feel in the months afterward has got to be band-related. It's important that we don't forget about the rest of our bodies just because a surgeon has put a band of silicone around our tummies!