aliciab

My mother who is always negative as heck about everything was actually very positive about it. I was as shocked as anyone. If you're mom had done her research she would have determined that the number one side effect of obesity, diabetes, heart disease etc is death. It's just that a lot more people die from those things as opposed to the lap-band.

I will not be banded until sometime in September. the date is not set yet but I cannot wait for it to be done. This next month I will do my pre-op tests. I'm very familiar with your area. i grew up in Berwyn/Cicero etc.

Just thought I'd see if there were and bandsters in the northwest suburbs of Chicago out there. I live near Schaumburg and Dr Shayani in Hinsdale is my surgeon.

I'm having the band to reduce portion control as well. I know what I should be eating I just eat waaaay too much of it even if it is healthy food. What I would say I'd that yes, you should be able to try whatever you want to eat. But that's it. Two or three bites and be done. I have to say that although I don't believe in doctor shopping until you find one that tells you what you want to hear, you might want to find a different doctor for your fills. One that is perhaps more interested in helping you be the best you as opposed to being derogatory. I'm one of those people who never forgets that a physician is working for me, not the other way around. Also I agree that you need to move, move, move. There is no replacement for exercise.

I was 300lbs at 18. I wish I had even had the opportunity to have the surgery then. Talk to a counselor and go from there.

You need to stop going over and over and over what is going wrong and get your butt back into the doctor's office. End of story. Get up and do it. Taking a positive action always makes you feel better.

I'm anxious, I'm anxious. I suspect that is how it will be until I have the surgery and possibly beyond. I've spoken with my surgeon and I'm going to have the surgery sometime in September. I have to wait until September because that's when the money will be available. I'm self pay and my boyfriend is loaning me a good portion of the money. My surgeon has spoken with my primary care provider and they are both working very well together to set up my pre-surgery testing. He's very thorough and so is she. I love them both. Neither judges people and they simply want to help you be the best person you can be. My home situation is rough right now for many reasons. Some I can't control and other problems that I need to be better about understanding what role I play with them. Food is always tough for me. Essentially I love it. It tastes good. However I'm slowly allowing it to assassinate me. I could go back to the when and wheres of when I became obese as a child and what I've done as an adult to combat it but we all go through the same roller coaster of losing and gaining, being in control and then feeling like we're starving until we lose all control. For the last 10-15 years I have always exercised regularly and I feel confident that this will be a big help for me as I rebuild my health. I have concerns that I will "miss" my current relationship with food. I think that's normal. We are like any addict that needs treatment. I have concerns that I will not have enough support after surgery. Family, friends, partners, they all intend to be supportive and there for you however I feel that it may be short lived and that they do not truly understand the magnitude of the change. My bf always likes to eat out, when I want to tell him no, I feel like I'm depriving him of enjoyment and I am secretly allowing him to encourage my over-eating. I know he doesn't see it that way, he's not the addict, I am. The house I currently live in is filled with garbage food. Processed food, sugary food, fatty food etc. I feel like bull dozing it and starting over but it's not my home and how do you impose your lifestyle on others? He would eat healthy with me if it was just us but I feel that other people who live there would never even try. I could explain that's it's poisoning their children and grand children but I'm pretty sure it would be a lost conversation. Who am I to preach, I'm the addict. So for now I've resigned myself to the fate of the fact that I may have to be an island or get my support from others in the same boat. Surely there are others out there just like me

Forgive me but Target clothes just suck in general regardless of where they are placed in the store. They do indeed run exceedingly small and I'm on the smaller side of the pre-banders. However it's not just the fact that they run small, they run very - very- very irregular. No two different pants in the same size there will be even REMOTELY the same and not jst in size but length as well. I am not sure why they don't just throw all of their pants into a big crap pile in the floor and tell women to just keep trying them on until something fits.

I find that everyone boohoo's low carb or low fat/sugar anything until it's readily available in the house. Then they eat it like it was always there and the most delicious thing on earth. So that's what I did. Fridge in the bedroom and made my own tiny pantry in the closet. Oddly enough I don't sit there and eat all of it up fast either. It's almost like because I know it's there I don't think about it all the time.

There's nothing wrong with just eating oatmeal. I think that's absolutely fine.

I'm not really concerned with work. I'm more concerned with my home situation. Things are very complicated at home and there's way to many people here. I've started keeping a seperate "pantry" in my closet. Sounds weird I know but its easier to keep my healthy snacks that I can have in there. Nobody monkeys with them there.

I'm interested to know what products a lot of people use in their pre-op diets. My doctor is less restrictive but I'd like to have an idea of what shakes your physician recommended or what specific guidelines they gave you with regards to calorie count, carb count etc and what products you came upon yourself or other essentials you think were life saving during the pre-op. I just want to be prepared.

It's funny but I think I'm nuts if I don't do it.

I would not train with him at all. My brother is a trainer and would never say anything like that. Ask him if he has a degree in exercise physiology. When he says no, tell him you can only train with someone who has the knowledge and DESIRE to help you. BTW, I hope you brought up his gross ignorance to the manager of the gym and left a horrible rating on the web for him.

If we could have lost and KEPT IT OFF on our own we wouldn't even be considering this. I've lost and gained myself 5 times over. I can lose weight, we all can. We just can't keep it off. I know I can do the work, I'm not scared of that. I have an irrational fear of the actual surgery and anesthesia. It actually makes no sense at all considering in 2009 I had an emergency appendectomy under anesthesia which is very similar only they're putting something in this time instead of taking something out. I came throgh that with flying colors. I focus on the fact that this is something that will allow me to live a much healthier life than I ever would have without it. It's a blessing.

I have this concern that all of the people who say they'll be there for me after surgery really will stop trying after about 2 weeks. Specifically I think that where I live and the people who live with me will make this harder. They eat nothing but garbage and I feel like I'm going to have to hunker down and barricade myself in my bedroom. My boyfriend says he'll be there for me but as far as healthy "lifestyle" I doubt it. I know it's unrealistic to expect everyone to change the way they are just because I'm making a change but it still makes me angry. Am I the only one going through this? I feel like other than my doctor and myself I'll be out there on "LapBand Island".

Also remember, YOU"VE LOST 50 LBS! Not everybody looses the same and to make yourself sick over someone else's progress is just crazy. You are YOU! You're not her and don't base your self worth or happiness on how well somebody else does. Clebrate your accomplishments and push forward. The vacation is over so just move on and take one day at a time and do you're best.

Sounds like a strange question but are you drinking enough water?

When I was trying to get my insurance to cover it I had some of the same problems. I have diabetes so I have a co-morbidity but I still needed to stay above a BMI of 35. Every doctor that looked at me did a double take and would ask me the same questions over and over. "How tall are you?" "How much do you weight?" I had to gain 10lbs just to make sure I stayed at that weight. Once I figured out I would have to pay it all myself it became a lot easier. My BMI is now 37 with the 10lbs added on. I'll be spending the month or so before my surgery just trying to take it off. The whole situation and what the insurance companies put you through is ridiculous. Once I made the decision to go ahead with the surgery things did become a lot less stressful for a while. Now I just seem to be gaining a full head of stress steam though. Just nervous as heck.

I can honestly say that my doctor explained to me that such a drastic pre-surgery diet was not necessary. My BMI is only 37 so that may have had something to do with it but he said that surgeons are to lazy to explain that it's the carbohydrates that your body is filtering through the liver and causing it to swell so they just say "do what I tell you". He advised a one week pre-op diet of very low carbohydrate, nutritious foods, not just Protein Shakes. For all of those who are thinking whoaaaaa that sounds crazy? He's a Center of Excellence facility.