Jim1967

Hi Nicholas, Just a couple of thoughts here and it is just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions. Next time you feel hungry stop and ask yourself is your stomach wanting the food or is it in your mind. Seriously, stop and think about it before eating and have an internal talk with yourself. You should be shooting for 4 to 5 hours in between meals without truly feeling hungry. If you cannot go that long than you may need a fill. Perhaps schedule an appointment with a Nutritionist and if you're not doing it already then start logging your intake and take it with you to that appointment. Seeing it on paper provides a lot more clarity and it also provides the Nutritionist a baseline to work with you on. Knowledge is power living with the band. Keep a journal containing band size and amount of fill so you know what you're working with at all times. Aftercare with the band in my opinion is more of a responsibility of the patient than the doctor. You're living with this thing not the Doctor. If something isn't working for you then do everything you can to figure out why. If you wait for someone to come to you, you will be waiting and waiting. Seek them out for answers and if they cannot provide answers then find someone who can. Lastly, Living with the band does not mean diet. It means adopting a new lifestyle. I can eat almost all the things I ate pre-op just a whole lot less and not as often. Quality foods with reasonable quantities but that's not to say you can't have a slice of pizza just don't eat the whole pie. If you got a few minutes check out this site: http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html

Jim..... I have a picture in my men's size XXXL Saints football shirt and God's honest truth.....that is my motivation too. I was floored when my daughter took the picture and mailed it to me. It's as if I had never SEEN MYSELF. I too was a prisoner inside my own skin. My days consisted of eating, sleeping, and watching TV. I was headed quickly to be featured on my 600 pound life. One day I will post my "WHAT IS THAT????" picture..... But I need help with that from my 14 year old... LOL It amazing when you have wow moment isn't it? Last weekend I was helping my wife do her Mother's (she's disabled) laundry. Apparently, some of my old 6x T shirts got handed down to my mother in law to wear as night gowns. Anyway, I was folding one and thought jeez this is a huge shirt. I looked closer at it and realized it used to be mine and one I wore on a weekly basis!!

Wow, I completely forgotten about my CPAP. I haven't worn it in about a year now. I hate that I forget some of my past like that. I wish I had written more when I was at my lowest. I wish I had written a letter to my future self to help me remember the smaller details. I have pictures and lingering memories but things like a CPAP and how restless my sleep used to be is a good one to think about.

Hi Jen, Have you spoken directly to Cigna and had them send you the documented requirements? 5 years sounds pretty strange not to mention unreasonable to me. I had Cigna cover my surgery and they required a 6 month supervised diet along with weigh ins and exercise journals and approved me pretty quickly once I met that. I do realize coverage also depends on what your employer paid for coverage. If you haven't spoken to Cigna directly I highly recommend it. When I spoke to them they actually emailed me the PDF of requirements so I got it instantly. From what I recall Cigna dropped their requirement from 6 months to 3 months. At least that is what I heard. I no longer have Cigna.

I could provide you with a list that would knock this thread into several pages but the root of it all is in this picture....I NEVER EVER want to be that again. I was a prisoner inside of my own skin...

Almost 2 years post op and I still walk away at times thinking wow two years ago I would've eaten all of that and then some....

Well the problem is if you weigh in daily it may look like your weight loss is going very very slow at times. If you are the type of person whose day will be completely ruined by the number on the scale than I don't recommend weighing daily. Daily weigh ins is not for everyone that's for sure. There have been times when I've taken breaks from weighing in daily because my attitude was getting sour. It can be a double edged sword...

As you know Jean I tend to over analyze everything. My issue is the opposite of yours. I walk away from a meal constantly asking myself if I had too much. Not that I am excessively full or anything just I am constantly thinking about my portions and think "should I've been able eat that much?, Did I miss the satiety signal" I have been one of those lucky ones who got banded and lost interest with food. Head hunger is a memory that I don't have to work to hard at suppressing with will power. I have not had a fill since Jan 29, 2013 and I have a 6 month follow up coming on April 4 so I am constantly analyzing and trying to decide whether or not I need a fill.

WLS is not about deprivation. Most if not all of us failed at diets because of deprivation. Moderation is the key. I can eat popcorn but I rarely do only because it is not something I favor. Once a while when the Wife and I go to a movie I may take a couple of handfuls of her popcorn.

Is it bad that knowing this Sunday is Corned beef dinner day at my folks and all I can think about is how much sodium is in that?? LOL

I didn't get a chance to read all the replies yet but I can tell the OP that you are not alone. Losing weight is easy..keeping it off now that's hard. My story is simple and I've told it here many times so I apologize to those reading it for the umteenth time. In 2003 I was 393lbs and I was at an all time low mentally and physically. A couple of friends from work bought me an Atkins book and begged me to read it. I agreed and the 3 of us set off on our journey supporting one another. We all lost weight. In 19 months I went from 393 to 220 just low carbing. I felt great and I was on top of the world. Then suddenly out of nowhere it seemed I let my guard down and I gained all my weight back plus another 90+lbs. In just over 10 years time I went from 393 to 220 back up to 488!! Today, I was 207. I am very much afraid of history repeating itself regardless of the tool and new lifestyle change. I spent a lot of energy angry and hating myself for what I did. It took me a very long time to make peace with it. On the flip side I have become obsessed about losing weight and what is sad is I am not satisfied with where I am at. I am proud of what I've accomplished but not satisfied if that makes sense. Sometimes my attitude plain sucks and I say big deal I am 12lbs lighter then I was in 2003 and look what I had to go through to get here. Still beats the alternative though. You will hear mixed opinions in regards to weighing in daily. I am a 'pro weigh in daily' advocate. Lifestyle change/tool does not matter unless you know exactly where you are on the scale. I can weigh myself and be up 2 pounds one day or I can wait a whole week to weigh in and find out I am up 5. 2 comes off quicker than 5 and that scale keeps me accountable. It is a tool just like my band. I wish you the best and hope you hit that goal and maintain it.

Lynz, you got this!! If you want it bad enough you can do it! I am happy with all the advice and encouragement you got here. It is tough but it must be done. This is the first challenge to a new lifestyle. How you handle this challenge sets the bar to how successful you can be.

My Doctor told me flat out that he prefers someone getting the Sleeve or Bypass simply because of the compliance factor. He has actually refused to do revisions on patients who have failed due to non compliance. As for aftercare that responsibility falls on the patient just much as it does the Doctor if not more in my opinion. You're the one living with it not the Doctor. He cannot force you to follow the plan and go to follow up appts. They can only give you the tools and knowledge. Real work is on the patient. My Wife has a friend who had the band and never lost weight. Unsure of the real circumstances but he had asked for a revision to bypass and my Surgeon refused. He ended up having it done by another Surgeon who also happens to be my wife's Surgeon. Sad thing is I can remember him telling my wife a week after surgery that he was craving Chinese food so badly he was pondering blending crab rangoon!! True story I kid you not. It is no wonder my Surgeon said NO to a revision.

Nice Protein shake is one way. I start the day with a 40g shake. 30g from the whey and another 10 from the Simply Smart Milk. Toss in some frozen fruit for some Fiber and blend it up. Good stuff...

I also have the band and have an office job banging away on the keyboard. I took a week off but could've been working by day 3 from home. It is really about how well you tolerate discomfort and your energy level maybe lacking. Research all the options back to front and then decide which is the best option. You will find plenty of anti people on this site whether it be anti band, sleeve or bypass. I keep reading repeatedly on this site that band is not a good option for high BMI folks. That is rubbish...my BMI was 79.

Sleeve, Band, Bypass...OH MY!! Seriously can't we all just get along? Who cares about what surgery? Support me and I sure as hell will support you and I don't care what surgery you had. Questions is what you chose...is IT working for you?

Yes. And I will go a little further and say there are still times I feel guilty for my food selections when really deep down they're not bad especially in moderation.

I also have a sit down computer job. Fatigue is the major factor. I could've gone back to work by day 3 or 4 but I had the week scheduled off. I also have the ability of working from home. Good luck on your upcoming surgery!

This is true. It's just the mantra that's spewed by surgeons who try to sell their personal choice of surgery. If you say something enough people will believe it. You know Sandy the funny thing is I was told by my weight center that they would prefer people do not get banded anymore because of the amount of aftercare required and the amount of failure due to non compliance. I find it rather sad that Surgeon's cannot be bothered. They're almost as bad as non complaint patients. What's is even more sadder is they still offer the band even with that attitude because they don't want to turn away the money from people who are set on being banded.

I probably would've laughed in her face and said "oh your medical practice is doing so well that you need to come in and sell books" then I would've really shot back at her and said "you know what I would like to buy a copy of this book for you as well. You look as though you could benefit from weight loss surgery" those kind of things I usually tend to turn around and have fun with them rather than get pissed off. Getting pissed off just means they got under your skin.

Amount of weight has no bearing if the person is dedicated to making a lifestyle change...

By the way this link here has a lot of good info on the band and how it works. It is a very good straight forward read without all the techno babble. http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html

I agree with the others that slower is better only because you do not want to start overly tight and then have some removed just to only have a little more added it back in. Basically it would be best to avoid that see-saw fill in and fill out action. That said my first fill was a big one as my band was empty but as you can see it still was not enough to put me in the green zone. I haven't had a fill since Jan 2012 but I am feeling due for one soon. 11cc Realize Band: 1st fill 5/29/12 5cc 2nd fill 6/12/12 1cc 3rd fill 7/02/12 1cc 4th fill 8/14/12 1cc 5th fill 9/4/12 1cc 6th fill 1/29/13 .5