success150

To Meggs, Sharpie, and B-52 thanks a bunch for your replies, comments, and advice. It means a lot and its great to have this online support.

I will take everything that you all said into consideration and do my best to get back on track.

Thanks again,

Success.

Sweetheart, I am so sorry for what you are going through but you have got to do whatever it takes to get yourself out of the dump. You need to call on your Heavenly Father Jesus Christ and ask him to help you shake back. You are exactly where the devil wants you to be now so that he can play on your emotions. This is your life, get it back. I haven't lost any children but I have been through the depression before and it took me a while but I am finally free of that. I prayed myself out of it and I finally got on the right medicine. So I can relate on some level. this is the only advice I can give you. Go to God he will take care of you. I'll be praying too. God Bless.

GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE.

jUST LIKE WE NEED TO HEAR ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF THE LAP-BAND i BELIEVE THAT WE ALSO NEED TO HEAR ABOUT THE FAILURE OF THE LAP-BAND AS WELL. i AM NOT SAYING THAT THE LAP-BAND ITSELF IS A FAILURE, JUST THAT i FAILED AT HAVING THE LAP-BAND. i AM FROM SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA AND DR. GEORGE MERRIMAN WAS MY SURGEON.

HELLO, MY NAME IS LISA STARKS AND I BECAME A BANDSTER BACK IN 2011, I FORGET THE MONTH AND DAY. WHEN I FIRST DECIDED TO GET THE BAND I REMEMBER FEELING NERVOUS, EXCITED, AND SCARED ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I REMEMBER THINKING, I AM FINALLY GOING TO LOSE THE WEIGHT AND BE SOMEWHAT SMALL AGAIN. HOWEVER, I STILL WAS ANXIOUS AND COULDN'T WAIT UNTIL THE VERY DAY OF THE SURGERY.

AFTER WAKING UP FROM THE SURGERY I REMEMBER FEELING SO MUCH PAIN AND HUNGRY TOO ONLY TO HEAR YOU HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE DOCTOR SAYS YOU CAN EAT SOMETHING. WHEN I FINALLY DID GET SOMETHING TO EAT I REMEMBER FEELING FULL AFTER ABOUT 3 OR 4 SIPS OF THAT YUCKY broth.

ANYWAYS AFTER GETTING SETTLED IN AFTER ARRIIVING HOME, I MADE MY FIRST MISTAKE. i WAS DRINKING 4-0Z OF broth OVER A PERIOD OF ONE HOUR, MAN WAS I HUNGRY, ABOUT THE TIME OF THE SECOND PHASE, I WASNT READY TO CONSUME SEMI-SOLIDS AS I THOUGHT I WAS BECAUSE food STARTED TO GET STUCK IN MY ESOPHAGUS. THAT IS SOME PAINFUL ORDEAL LET ME TELL YA. ALL THOUGH I WAS CHEWING SLOW, TAKING SMALL BITES AND TAKING MY TIME THE food JUST KEPT GETTING STUCK. i COMPLAINED TO THE DOCTOR AND HE WENT IN AND PUT A SCOPE DOWN TO SEE IF I HAD ANY BLOCKAGE OR IF SOMETHING WAS STUCK IN MY ESOPHAGUS THAT WAS PREVENTING ME FROM PASSING THE FOOD CORRECTLY AND TO OUR SURPRISE THEIR WAS NOTHING WRONG AND RIGHT TO DAY I AM STILL EXPERIENCING THIS.

NEVER THE LESS, i STARTED OUT DOING GOOD ONCE I GOT BACK ON THE RIGHT TRACK WITH HOW MUCH I WAS SUPPOSED TO CONSUME BY THE HOUR AND THE FOOD STOPPED GETTING STUCK. iN TWO MONTHS TIME I WAS DOWN 29.9 POUNDS AND I WAS 308 POUNDS WHEN i STARTED. i CONTINUED TO FOLLOW THE DOCTORS ORDERS BUT i WAS DOING LITTLE TO NO EXERCISE. NEEDLESS TO SAY BY fEBRUARY OF 2012 i HAD GOT DOWN TO 266 POUNDS. i WAS SO EXTATIC. i HAD LOSS A TOTAL OF 42 POUNDS. YALL I FELT SO GOOD , I WAS ABLE TO DO THINGS LIKE TAKE THE STAIRS, BEND OVER AND TIE MY SHOES, AND WALK LONGER WITH OUT GETTING SHORT OF BREATH. i WAS ALSO ABLE TO FIT IN A DRESS THAT HUNG LOOSELY ON ME. i WAS EXCITED ABOUT LOSING EVEN MORE WEIGHT AND THEN THE DEVIL KICKED IN. i STARTED EATING THINGS THAT WERE NOT PART OF THE PLAN AND SO i GAINED ALL THAT WEIGHT BACK.

NOW I AM MISERABLE AND TRYING TO LOSE THE WEIGHT ALL OVER AGAIN. IT IS HARD BECAUSE i AM DIABETIC AND I AM HAVING TO TRY TO CONTROL THAT AS WELL WHICH IS NOT GOING SO WELL. THE DOCTOR HAS BEEN TRYING FOR OVER A YEAR NOW TO GET MY A1-C DOWN TO THE CORRECT LEVEL. i WALK ON THE TREADMILL BUT I'M NOT ABLE TO DO MUCH MORE THAN THAT BECAUSE OF SEVERAL PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENTS AND HEALTH ISSUES. BUT TO GOD BE THE GLORY I AM GOING TO BEAT THIS THING, BECAUSE GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN ME THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD.

I HOPE I HAVENT' BORED YALL TO DEATH WITH MY STORY BUT I NEEDED TO TELL IT JUST IN CASE SOME ONE ELSE IS STRUGGLING LIKE I AM. HANG IN THERE AND THE LORD WILL SEE US THROOUGH.

THANKS FOR LISTENING.

Well this was six months ago and I'm sad to say that I haven't made any significant changes. I don't know what is wrong with me or what's really going on but I do know that something has got to change because I didn't have this lapband surgery for nothing. Woe is me. Hope you are doing well though.

Just stay intouch with your nutritionist. Don't listen to everything you hear. If you have your husbands support, then you have the best support there is. I don't believe that your losing weight will cause you to divorce, because if your husband is on board with this and you have no ideas about leaving him, then i believe that your losing weight will make your relationship stronger.

Whenever we try to better ourselves, satan always devises a plan to plant doubt in our minds that cause us to think the worse. I know that some of the things you heard frighten you but don't let that stop you from doing something that will help you make yourself potentially better.

Call on your Father and ask Him to help you discern fact from fiction and to give you the courage to do what's best for you according to His will and His plan for your life.

I wish you the best.

I agree with all of the above. Great job for recognizing it. now put it behind you and move forward. What's done is done. Don't look back, because you will only hate yourself and keep on doing at least that's how it happens with me. I ate ice cream and oreo Cookies. I felt myself falling back into my old habits and quickly recovered. I talk to myself and God and it really helps. So I wish you best of luck and keep us posted.

PattyGirl, I am sorry to be so straightforwad but you need to drop that friend. you cna't have the band and not have support. drop her and get a new one. best of luck.

Thanks Dee for the advice and words of encouragement. I will do my best.

yea!!! I am all smiles for you. Congratulations on a job well done reaching such an important milestone. I had the same opportunity as you but I let mine go to waist, and although it isn't too late to start over I am very dissappointed with myself. On July 12th, I made my year. I started at 304 pounds. In February of this year I had got down to 266.6 pounds. However, I was unable to hold on to that loss. I slowly gained the pounds that I had loss back. Now I am up to 287. I am ashamed and very dissappointed in my self.

There is no excuse, I just started back eating the things that got me in this situation in the first place.

My insurance is out of the picture right now so I can't go get an adjustment. I need to know from you what you did to get back on track at those points in time when you got off track.

Tym4Me, girl that is absolutely amazing. keep up the good and hard work.

Hello Pats, I am so sorry that you are going through this issue. I know how u feel. The only thing you can do is continue to sip as much Water as you can to keep from getting dehydrated, but i'm afraid that the only person who can help you is your doctor. He may have to do another EEG to see if something has gotten caught in the band . Best of luck to you and God Bless.

Hey Elcee,

I agree with your comment totally. I am doing good though. I haven't had an adjustment yet and its been 7 months since i was banded.

_{Georgia girl, i feel your pain, i haven't loss anymore weight either but its because i haven't really been exercising. exercising is key and if you are losing inches then you are losing weight. we don't notice it but others too. this is a slow process, don't get discouraged. it'll happen. just keep doing what you are supposed to do and by that i mean eating right and exercising. I have fallen off the band wagon this past month by eating a lot of carbs and sugar and trust me, i feel it. i am sleepy and sluggish all the time and i don't like that feeling. it is so disgusting. any ways with my spouse's help i am getting back on track. well good luck and remember it'll all work out. just be patient.}

_{Cocobean, i didn't have food stuck that long but everytime I ate something even if is was just some soggy eggs, it got stuck. it didn't go down and i had to go cough it up. so i had to do liquids for that extra month or so. i too had a hernia repair and my doctor said that was part of the problem. once the swelling went down from that i guess, i was all good then. bread is a no no, i have found that i can eat it toasted with a little butter though. and i sure do miss it. I am 7 months post opt and i can't tell you how good i feel. I lost 33 pounds, so far. i haven't had any fills or adjustments. sometimes i still have the stuck stuff, like the other day i was eating somethning and i had to stop and go cough it up because it wouldn't go down but the key here is to chew, chew, chew,. no drinking while u eat. if i don't do anything else right i got that part locked down. well good luck with everything.}

Hi- i don't know how long your stuck is going to last, i can only tell you that mine lasted for a month and a half. and yes drinking stuff aggrivates it but you have to take your time and sip things slowly. hot liquids worked for me i found that cold liquids made things worst. so go back to your liquid diet until it resides, i mean that is what i had to do. will love to know how things turn out for you. good luck and God Bless.

i want a tickler, can't seem to get one. well i'

ve been in your shoes, u are too restricted, and u are just going to have to wait it out. sip on hot liquids very slowly and don't try to force anything down and if you are stressed out it doesn't help,get away from the stress. just take everything slow and overtime the restriction will go away.

Hello, allforjj. Welcome to the group. you've come to the right place for support and tips as well as motivation. Like yourself, I too have to lose 150 pounds. I had my surgery on July 12, 2011. My beginning weight was 304 in just under two months I lost 27 pounds. At my 3 month check up I lost an additional 2 pounds putting my total weight loss to date at 29 pounds.

So I have 120 more to go. I had my 4 month check-up yesterday and I am still at 275 pounds. I am currently working on stablelizing my eating. For a while there though I wasn't able to eat much because I was so restricted because of a hernia repair as well as the lap-band surgery. Long story short, I am fairing pretty well.

I would like for us to befriend each other that way we won't have to sift through 1000s of replies just to find the one we're looking for. and we can speak privately and personal with each other.

I had the lap band because I saw it as a way out, I know it is just a tool and that I still have to work hard but it is helpful.

I am here for support, so you can count on me. I don't get on here everyday but I do visit the site at 3 times out the week.

Well good luck, God Speed and God bless

Success

Hello, I am new to this site, I am in the middle, really almost end of the preop process and I have a surgery date of Jan 13, 2012. I am very excited. I have about 150 pounds to lost. Ihave lots of research and feel the band will be the tool that really helps me reach my goal. Looking for lots of suggestions and support here! thanks

Thanks NJ Girl, I will give this a try.

I don't know of any name brand Protein shakes but I make my own. I use the greek yogurt, strwbrry flavored, a banana and some silk milk. I throw it all in the blender and mix it up. The banana takes care of the tartness of the yogurt and the silk milk helps to sweeten things up a bit. Give it a try and let me know what you think. I was banded on July 12th, 2011. I just had my 3 month check up on the 11th of October and no adjustments to date. I don't crave junk food and I can swallow normally now.

For a while though I had a sticky situation. Yeah, food was getting stuck quite a bit. Anyways, I'm all better now and it feels good to be able to eat and drink with out suffering. Well, let me know about the shake.

good luck finding something to fit those taste buds.

hello, Mary and welcome to the Lapbandtalk. Congratulations on getting the lapband. I agree with you on knowing what to eat and not to eat. As far as that negative co-worker goes; first pray for her, for she knows not what she does, secondly she's jealous or she might even feel threatened by you, but you don't let that worry you, pray for her.

As for your kids, yes they mean well, however, if it were me, I would use that as another tool to help me remember what i can't have and what not to eat. for instance, before and since I've had my surgery, my family was eating all the good stuff. pizza, fried chicken, spaghetti, sandwiches and chips, u know all the good stuff tht we southern folk eat. anyways i was left to wallow in my own suffering but it helped me because it reminded me that those foods were the reason i was big in the first place. I am 6 weeks post opt, surgery was on the 12th of july. I am still on liquids and semi-solids. I am having trouble with the food stuck situation too. I am so ready to eat I don't know what to do. I found that meatloaf goes down easy, mashed green Beans, sometimes mashed potatoes, eggs, and all things broth. Warm stuff, some cold stuff like popsicles. So keep doing what u're doing and ignore the rest. In time hopefully they will understand.

Now as for eating lunch with this co-worker, surround yourself with positive. find your own place, tell her she is not invited, and enjoy your lunch, because you are right the stress makes swallowing worse.

Well I hope tht this helps and we will get through. Good Luck with your band journey.

God Bless,

success

Hello all,

I got my Lap Band on July 25th. I told a few people at work about getting the op. One person I did not tell I knew she knew would have neg things to say. Well I felt bad as she kept saying is your health ok? She would hear the people at work say how is it going. I felt bad and let her in on what I chose to do. WISH I NEVER TOLD HER.

This woman is say 120 pounds and thinks every one should diet and that people like myself are weak. Well let me tell you I told her a few things thanks to this group here (Lap Band Talk)

I stood up for myself said I did this to save my life to see my kids have kids.and so on in a nice way as it is hard for me to be mean to others. Think that is why I would over eat do to the stress.

I do have to say that when this person has lunch with me in the lunch room I find myself getting a stuck do to the stress to brings to the room. I have lost 21 pounds know how to eat but this gets me.

My kids at home tell me what I can and can not eat still. I think I know what I can and can not eat at this point. I do try new things and if it hurts or makes me ill I do not eat it. I am one of those lucky one's that gets the sharp pain in my left shoulder if I eat to fast or too much. LOL food Police Every Place I look. I know they mean well but come on.

Thank you for letting me vent.

Stay well stay happy.

Mary

Chrisse, I don't know. I recommend get Protein the old fashion way....through your food servings. I know its an all day thing but it will keep u from being broke. go to lapband.com and register at their site and then look up some of the recipes that they have. also check out the food pyramid and see what foods are good sources of protein. I am currently sticking with Protein Shakes. yoplait greek yogurt, a banana, and soy milk blended in a blender. i can't afford the pricey protein shakes that they want us to buy from the doctors office or nutritionists. As soon as I can swallow, I will be going to GNC and hooking myself up with some whey protein. Good luck in your search and hope everything works out for u.

Hey Sandra, I am five weeks post opt. I can't answer your question as to whether or not your pain is related to the surgery, but i can tell you that i feel your pain. i am having pain, feeling like knots in my stomach in the lower left quadrant of my stomach too. for me its not related to my surgery because i was having these same kinds of pains before i had the surgery. I can't explain what it is and I 've asked my doctor about but he says that its from him doing so much work and that it might be my nerves and muscle tissue coming back to life. I don't know what it is but I be glad when it goes away. Good luck.