Jim1967

Awesome progress Johnny!! Good to see a fellow male bandmate doing so well. As much as enjoy all the ladies on here and they've taught me a lot, it's nice to see guys post once in a while and share their experiences.

Hi Kekebefree, I cannot answer your questions directly but I am interested in the responses you get. My Wife and I are in a similar situation as you and your husband. My wife wanted to do the lapband but avoided it because the seminar we attended they told us if you were planning to have a baby you should wait until after a year of being banded or have the baby first. My Wife has gone through all the testing and she only has one working tube. I also have low sperm count so it really is in the hand of science for us. I had to have surgery in March for sperm aspiration and even though they got some viable sperm they're not sure it's enough. Surgery was not pleasant but the opportunity of becoming a Father was worth it. We are going to be starting the IVF on her next cycle which is coming up soon. I wish you much luck and like I said I look forward to the responses you get. Jim

So true....I dropped 170 over the course of 19 months. Yea, I gained all of it back over the years plus another 89. Not fun and at times downright depressing... My concern isn't losing weight with the band..it's keeping off which is going to take a lot of commitment.

Almost everybody knows and I wish I handled it a bit differently. Now I am constantly fielding questions such as "how much are you down", "How much do you want to lose?". I actually had someone ask me what I am going to do about the excess skin when I reach goal...rude!! And I don't easily get offended. Wish I handled differently. I told my parents about it and then a few weeks after surgery I am getting get well card and proud of you cards in the mail from Aunts and Cousins... I got nothing to hide but I wish I thought it through....

Thank you!! As for the surgery itself it isn't much different then say...having a gallbladder removed. Hard part is learning to work and live with your band...again with any surgery it has its risks. Also, when is comes to us larger folks it isn't really the procedure so much that they worry about. It's the anesthesia that's the concern.

I would like to chime in here if I may. Being a man and starting this journey at 486 pounds I have to say I think your brother's doctor is not doing him any favors. All he is doing is putting fear into him and probably making him even more discouraged as losing weight without surgical help at 400+ pounds is a tremendous mountain to climb. It can be done as I have done it alone but I gained it all back and then some. Now, I don't know your bother's medical history but for me it was a no brainer decision. Only medical issues I have/had is sleep apnea, and arthritis in my knees. I agree with the rest that the Doctor is off base. I would recommend taking him to a seminar if he is open to it and possibly get his questions and concerns addressed by professionals who work with obesity on a daily basis. If you're brother has any questions at all don't hesitate to ask me or anyone else. I am just three days past my two month anniversary and I have lost 44 pounds and a total of 80 if counting pre-op diet. I would do this again in a heartbeat and I wish I had done it years ago. Edit: By the way there is always risks with any surgery but I was at a point when I asked myself what is more risky? Living like this waiting for a heart attack, stroke or diabetes or taking a chance on getting rid of the weight. It's a very personal decision but he shouldn't be discouraged by the opinion of one Doctor. Maybe that Doctor had a singular bad experience and because of it he will not recommend it.

I would be afraid they would get stuck but I have thought of them. Much in the way of hamburger rolls, bagels. I just avoid them and convinced myself they will get stuck and not worth the pain.

Hi Carolinagirl, Check page 1 of this thread. I put a link to a page that shows a side by side comparison of the two. Jim

Hi There,, I said this to another poster a day or two ago and it might be something to think about. If you're doing only 800 calories a day there is probably a good chance that's your cause of the slow weight loss. If you're putting your body into starvation mode it goes on the defensive and tries to fight back. The main way it does this is to protect its fat stores. What ends up happening is the body will use lean tissue or muscle to provide it with some of the calories it needs to keep functioning. This directly leads to a loss of muscle, which in turn lowers your metabolism so that the body needs fewer calories to keep going and and then the weight loss slows down.... Are you currently tracking your food intake? I definitely recommend it. Myfitnesspal is a great and easy to use tool. Best of luck!!

Indeed, very strange. Good luck!!

Well the good thing is they didn't say NO. Actually, they said sure at the end of October. I would still press for more answers and policy in writing.

I agree this is rather odd. I am wondering if they want you to do a supervised diet or prove you've made attempts previously to lose it on your own. My insurance company required a 6 month supervised diet and fitness plan from my doctor and nutritionist. I have never heard of such thing as obesity being pre-existing!! That is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. I would definitely call the insurance company and press for clarification and asked for their written policy on bariatric surgery. Remember you are the customer....you have rights to the information. Good Luck

Here is a write up of requirements. Do you have any medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea or cholesterol issues? Believe it or not the more crap you got wrong with you the better chances of approval. http://www.lapband.com/en/lapband_is_for_you/medical_considerations/

Thank you everyone. I do think I am there. I am amazed how long I can go without being hungry and I have had no cravings. I can generally go 4 hours before my belly starts to gowl and when I finally do eat I find my portions are small. Tonight for dinner I had 7oz plain baked haddock and 1/2 cup of of zucchini and summer squash. I took me 30+ minutes to finish it but after I did I felt satisfied. I had a 16oz crystal lite about an hour later and I felt quite full but not to an uncomfortable level. Thank you all very much for the support and encouragement. Carolinagirl you hang in there!! You can do this and it will only get better with time. Just try hard to be patient. I know how frustrating it can get after a month out and no movement but it will come. Once those fills start coming it will be whole new ball game. You'll see....

I got my 2nd fill of 1cc this past Tuesday. I now have a total of 6cc in a 11cc band. I can definitely feel the difference now. Last night I only managed 4oz boneless pork chop and 1/2cup of of broccoli and 1/2 cup of stuffing. Well I managed to eat all of the meat and veggie but after one scoop of stuffing I was done. I had I eaten any more I would have had an episode......I think I am close maybe another small fill or two. Scale finally moved some as well.

Exactly!! You need to constantly have that internal talk and ask yourself if it's true hunger or you brain just saying you want it and you want it now. Actually it will be even worse cause instead of the bloat feeling you used to feel you may end up with the feeling that food is stuck or has not gone down all the way. Imagine it being similar to finding out you're way to full too late. I have done this myself and resulted in chest pain and sliming as well as pb. Not pleasant at all. I took a 6 week support class called The Hungry Head which is about binge eating and one thing the instructor said that stuck with me was: "OK, that's enough for now. I can always have more later". Everyone has their trigger foods and for me it used to be cheese its. I could devour a 1 pound box in one sitting while camped out in front of the tv. Now if I were to have them I would take about 10 because...."it will still be there and I can always have more later"\ When I was a little kid at the supper table my father would say "slow down, no ones gonna take it away from you". Well that still applies in some form or another.

If you're doing only 800 calories a day there is probably a good chance that's your cause of slow weight loss. If you're putting your body into starvation mode it goes on defense and tries fight back. The main way it does this is to protect its fat stores. What ends up happening is the body will use lean tissue or muscle to provide it with some of the calories it needs to keep functioning. This directly leads to a loss of muscle, which in turn lowers metabolism so that the body needs fewer calories to keep going and and the weight loss slows down....

That's strange she told you no more protein shakes. My Nutritionist asked me if I liked them and when I said yes she said good I want you to supplement at least one meal a day. Wow next fill is in September? Wonder why they are making you wait so long. I had my first fill 6 weeks after surgery and my second one two weeks later. Must be cause you vomited. They must think your getting plenty restriction. I got 6 cc's in an 11cc band and I am just now getting restriction. Good Luck!! Sounds like you are on your way!

I am not a big fan of journaling especially writing stuff by hand. I find myfitnesspal very useful and easy. You can get it on a smartphone as well and you can use the phone as a bar code scanner and scan food products directly.

I don't disagree with the preop diet as I know it has a purpose but I do disagree with the 6 month supervised diet. My center required me to lose 5% of the weight before they would do the surgery however my insurance required 6 months of supervised diet. My Surgeon told me he feels that is unreasonable as most people cannot lose and maintain that long and he would rather just do the surgery while true weight loss is occurring.

Yep, and bypass will take some work as well. There is no magic cure for obesity for most people it will be a work in progress their whole life. You'll get out of it what you put into it.

Yes, I had some after effects from it as well. Did they give you a Spirometer? I found that helped a lot.

I was banded 3 days after you so I can sorta relate to what your going through right now even though our weight is different and of course I am a guy. I researched for months and continued to educate myself throughout the whole process up till surgery. Last week I posted a rather embarrassing pity poor me rant on my blog. Even though you do all the reading/research it can still be frustrating when the weight loss is slow especially after having gone through surgery. At first I was not tracking my food intake close enough and realized that is where my problem was. I was trying to differentiate between the good food and the not so good food without taking into consideration of portion control. I hadn't had a fill at the time so it was like eating before surgery. Stick with it. Have you had any fills yet? I just got my 2nd fill this past Tuesday and I think I am starting to find that restriction. Time will tell for sure but accountability is all on me not my band. Good luck...

Here is a side by side comparison between the two.. http://www.wlshelp.com/lap-band-vs-realize-band.html

Hi Ladies, I too have Realize band. My surgery was on 4/16/12 and have lost 39lbs. I am now up to 6 cc's in my band. I believe I might be close to the green zone.