Kate rules

I had trouble too. I used the "shotgun" approach so I cannot be sure what worked for me. I started seeing a shrink, went on Prozac, started using my fitness pal, reduced stress and got a band buddy to keep me accountable. I also saw my doctor and continued to get fills.
I was eating too much. I was continuing to use food as a bandaid for my stress and anxiety. So I hope something in this post helps you.

I was 30, had type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and doctor wanted to start me on heart medicine as a precaution. It was only 70 pounds but it has made all the difference in my health.

My husband and I have never been happier. He loved me when I was obese but when it comes to curves, I have more shape now than I did 65 pounds ago! I have a waist. It is true that my breasts are smaller now but a 34DD is respectable and not out of proportion with my body. He was, at first, apprehensive about the surgery but was supportive and went to all of my appointments.
If you anticipate problems my suggestion is to take yourself to counseling to work on any issues you may be having. I was intensely insecure about myself and therapy really helped me through that. Hubby can come along if you want sometimes. I believe, and this is just IMHO, that the lapband is just as much a psychological change as it is a physiological alteration. There is an expectation that things will change.
Best wishes to you. BTW - my photo is from our 12th anniversary dinner. :-)

I didn't have any problems when I flew 5 months post op. probably had 5.5 in band at the time. I may have felt a little tighter in the air but once on the ground I was fine. Was grateful for band on cruise! Hubby gained 4 pounds and I lost weight!

When you get a fill it will work great for awhile, until you lose more of the fat around your actual stomach and the band is not as tight. You should be going for fills every month. And you may only have ye great restriction for a week or two and then you lose more fat around the stomach, and the cycle repeats itself. That's why they say that the most successful band patients are those who are seen more frequently at surgeons office for follow up appointments.
Are you doing the Protein shakes? Are you focusing on Protein?

Congrats and welcome to bandland.

Hi Amy. Congrats on surgery. Wishing you health and happy losing.

Northern Virginia. Bluepoint surgical did my band

I can only speak for myself on this issue. I really can't have any of that stuff. For me, junk food is the slippery slope. Once I'm on it I find it so hard to escape.
The time to do better is NOW. Each day, hour and food choice is your opportunity to make better choices. If you have chips with lunch, have half a salad at dinner. Stop buying bad foods. Stop eating at restaurants where you slip up.
I say this as someone who lost only 12 pounds in first 6 months of being banded. And I just started losing again after a 5 week bout with bad food choices. I gave away my last box of Cookies, asked my mom not to make brownies for my kids when I come over and I stopped driving past the plaza with the frozen yogurt. I'm struggling but I've lost 2 pounds this week.
Another thing: try to see why you are eating. You don't need to respond, but have you considered seeing a therapist to help with any anxiety or depression issues that trigger a need to eat or to eat certain foods.
All of this is just from my mixed experiences with the band over the past year, for better and for worse!

I can only speak for myself on this issue. I really can't have any of that stuff. For me, junk food is the slippery slope. Once I'm on it I find it so hard to escape.
The time to do better is NOW. Each day, hour and food choice is your opportunity to make better choices. If you have chips with lunch, have half a salad at dinner. Stop buying bad foods. Stop eating at restaurants where you slip up.
I say this as someone who lost only 12 pounds in first 6 months of being banded. And I just started losing again after a 5 week bout with bad food choices. I gave away my last box of Cookies, asked my mom not to make brownies for my kids when I come over and I stopped driving past the plaza with the frozen yogurt. I'm struggling but I've lost 2 pounds this week.
Another thing: try to see why you are eating. You don't need to respond, but have you considered seeing a therapist to help with any anxiety or depression issues that trigger a need to eat or to eat certain foods.
All of this is just from my mixed experiences with the band over the past year, for better and for worse!

I can only speak for myself on this issue. I really can't have any of that stuff. For me, junk food is the slippery slope. Once I'm on it I find it so hard to escape.
The time to do better is NOW. Each day, hour and food choice is your opportunity to make better choices. If you have chips with lunch, have half a salad at dinner. Stop buying bad foods. Stop eating at restaurants where you slip up.
I say this as someone who lost only 12 pounds in first 6 months of being banded. And I just started losing again after a 5 week bout with bad food choices. I gave away my last box of Cookies, asked my mom not to make brownies for my kids when I come over and I stopped driving past the plaza with the frozen yogurt. I'm struggling but I've lost 2 pounds this week.
Another thing: try to see why you are eating. You don't need to respond, but have you considered seeing a therapist to help with any anxiety or depression issues that trigger a need to eat or to eat certain foods.
All of this is just from my mixed experiences with the band over the past year, for better and for worse!

I'm stuck at 141-143. Been here since April. But I was also on a plateau at 172-175. So I accept that it will likely be another 2-4 months for me to break past this. My goal was 135 for July 5, now just hoping to maintain while my body figures out we haven't finished losing yet. My cruise with multiple trips to ice cream station helped me break plateau last time. Lost 4 pounds on a Disney cruise. Yeah, I don't get it either. Maybe I need a vacation! LOL

Hey I messed up last week. Averaged 1750 calories per day. I am moving on. Today I will do better. I will have more lean Protein and avoid the places that add calories to my diet without adding real nutritional value to it. All you can do.
My advice, being almost a year out, is to allow yourself a slip at a party. Have a rib or two smothered in sauce. And let people see you licking the sauce off of your hands. Then suggest someone accompany you for a nice walk around the block. No one will question how you have lost weight. Most people will see you ate and not bug you to eat more. This is how I managed all the work picnics and social gatherings during the past year. I grabbed a coworker and took him or her for a long walk. Their comments whoa slow down!! My sentiments exactly!!

I wouldn't do sleeve. I considered it. I had 65 pounds to lose. I have lost all but a pound and a half of that in one year. With the band only.
My doc said that over a 5 year period weight loss surgeries tend to have the same outcomes. Sleeve or GB will yield faster loss but eventually it levels off. Band weight loss tends to be slower.
I liked that the band can be removed and that the complications that are a bit more common seem to have less capacity to be life threatening. I have two little crumb snatchers who depend on me and a hubby who wants me around for a while. Had to do something about weight but figured this was a good compromised. Good luck in your decision making process.

Hey I messed up last week. Averaged 1750 calories per day. I am moving on. Today I will do better. I will have more lean Protein and avoid the places that add calories to my diet without adding real nutritional value to it. All you can do.
My advice, being almost a year out, is to allow yourself a slip at a party. Have a rib or two smothered in sauce. And let people see you licking the sauce off of your hands. Then suggest someone accompany you for a nice walk around the block. No one will question how you have lost weight. Most people will see you ate and not bug you to eat more. This is how I managed all the work picnics and social gatherings during the past year. I grabbed a coworker and took him or her for a long walk. Their comments whoa slow down!! My sentiments exactly!!

I wouldn't do sleeve. I considered it. I had 65 pounds to lose. I have lost all but a pound and a half of that in one year. With the band only.
My doc said that over a 5 year period weight loss surgeries tend to have the same outcomes. Sleeve or GB will yield faster loss but eventually it levels off. Band weight loss tends to be slower.
I liked that the band can be removed and that the complications that are a bit more common seem to have less capacity to be life threatening. I have two little crumb snatchers who depend on me and a hubby who wants me around for a while. Had to do something about weight but figured this was a good compromised. Good luck in your decision making process.

My insurance covered just about all of my expenses. But my surgeons office requires you to do nutritional counseling and of course they require up front payment and insurance did not reimburse. Think total out of pocket was around 400. Yeah it is crap.

Ah, I have a line for you and it works great at work or anywhere:
I'll tell you something if you promise to keep it a secret. (of course they lean in close). I have figured out how to make every food in the world half the calories they usually are. (this is when they look confused). Then throw out half of whatever is on your plate. "just eat half of what you think you should.". People just look and don't question after that

I get pain there sometimes. I found changing sleeping position helps and putting pillow under rub cage helps as well. Baby it and see how it goes.

Start day off with "im not feeling well." that sets the stage. Then at dinner say this looks amazing. In just not as hungry as I thought I was. May I will try the (whatever) and see how I feel. Then have your serving and start picking with fork. Say delicious but feeling iffy and going to stop. Darn it. Hare when I feel that way. But everyone understands and no one really wants details,. Particularly if you rub intestinal area. LOL

Not sure what your insurance co is but many post their medical policies on the web. I came to my meeting with bariatric surgeon armed with as much info as I could get. I created a special binder for my project so I could be squared away.
I had been on supervised diets for months so I was good to go from that standpoint. I live in Virginia but my health plan is administered through DC. I could do either one six month diet or combine two 3 month diets. That included my efforts with phentermine and B12 shots. My approval wasn't really an approval. My plan doesn't need approval for outpatient surgery, just be aware that they will hold you and docs office accountable for adhering to policy.
I had diabetes as my co-morbidity. My insurance required a psych eval. I somehow managed to pass. Haha.
PM me if you want more info or encouragement along the way.
Kate

I had almost no restriction and very little weight loss until fill #4. Only 10 pounds in first 5 months. Then I started losing. Have lost 28 pounds since then - which has brought me to a BMI of 24.9. I lost a lot of weight before surgery. Perhaps you are on a plateau, as I was. Don't worry, the band will help you break it. Until then don't stop Protein Shakes.< /p>

Depends in what's stuck. meat just has to come back up. No more sirloin for this girl! Softer foods I usually put hands on head and hate life until it is over.
Happens more often when I first wake up and try to eat. But if I fail to chew properly it can happen. Or eat too fast. I forget sometimes about the band. Mostly because I'm an idiot. LOL. Not really, but I sometimes do the thing where I pop food in and forget to chew it enough. Only happens once and I remember really fast that I can't do that!

Depends in what's stuck. meat just has to come back up. No more sirloin for this girl! Softer foods I usually put hands on head and hate life until it is over.
Happens more often when I first wake up and try to eat. But if I fail to chew properly it can happen. Or eat too fast. I forget sometimes about the band. Mostly because I'm an idiot. LOL. Not really, but I sometimes do the thing where I pop food in and forget to chew it enough. Only happens once and I remember really fast that I can't do that!

I considered the sleeve. I liked it because it was a nice compromise between band and gastric bypass. Liked sleeve because I would have faster weight loss.
I ultimately chose the band because it is reversible, adjustable and seemed less risky. Although I have had slower weight loss with the band I can say that 61 pounds in less than a year is good by any standard.
Any of these surgeries have their own set of potential complications and benefits. I imagine your physician has an opinion about which of these would be the right balance of risk and reward.