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My first few fills leaked out somehow and then my doctor started putting in a slightly more viscous substance into the tube. I don't remember the name of it, but I could find out. I had to sign a consent for him to do it. Anyway, I haven't had another problem since then. nancy

Tanita is a brand and there may be others, but it's a scale that tells you your weight AND your percentage body fat. You can get them almost anywhere. And yes, in order to keep tabs on this you would need to use one before you start losing weight and keep monitoring as you lose. I started out at 52% fat. And now I'm 45% fat. I kept wondering why it didn't seem like that percentage was going down that fast. Duh! Yes, I'm going to continue working with my doctor, but this is still important information. I tried, but I wasn't always too good about getting in all my Protein. Matter of fact, I probably NEVER got in all my protein. And I never did weight training. Kind of sorry I quit the gym membership now. n

I posted an earlier thread about feeling kind of weak and since I've been to my doctor and she's run all kinds of tests which were all normal, I wondered whether it could be that I've just lost a lot of muscle mass. Well, since I have a Tanita scale and I know where I started out and where I am now, it occurred to me that I could figure out exactly how much muscle (and/or water) I've lost. Here's the grand total: I've lost 73 pounds Of that, 50 pounds were fat. And 23 pounds were something else, presumably muscle. That's a lot of muscle. So people, it really is no joke. Eat your Protein and do weight training. Especially those of you who are just starting out and are going to be losing a lot of weight fairly rapidly. Nancy

This is great news! And keep up the great work! Nancy

You've done so well, Alexandra, and it shows. I know you've done it through hard work and exercise and it's really paying off! Congratualtions! Nancy

Wow, that's great! I'm glad that you thought to take your measurements. Sometimes that can be a real morale booster when the scale is not moving fast enough to suit us. Nancy

You do sound very well prepared and that's a good sign. If you take any prescription medicines, You might want to ask the pharmacist if they can be crushed and if not, take them to a compounding pharmacy so they can be made into liquids for the first month. Also, unless your doctor told you otherwise, it is not necessary to take sublingual B12. Bypass patients have to do that because of malabsorbtion, but for us, a chewable multi-Vitamin is adequate. Good luck! You are embarking on an exciting, life-changing journey. Nancy

Greg, when I said I still feel like I'm dieting most of the time, I wasn't referring to the amount of food. The band does that automatically for me and I'm fine with that. I don't have to think about it. I was referring to food choices. In the beginning I ate nachos, chocolate, whatever and it didn't seem to matter as far as weight loss was concerned. Now I have to choose more wisely and focus more on good nutrition. It's not the end of the world or anything. It's what everyone should be doing, fat or thin. But it does take more effort. The upside is that at least I can achieve good nutrition, which would not be a possiblity with the bypass. Nancy

I got a great bra at Lane Bryant. It doesn't have a wire or a band. It's molded and it just sort of stands up all by itself, which at my age comes in handy. I do fit my breasts into it, but even if I didn't have any breasts, it would still look just the same, I think. It's like a breast lift without the surgery. OK, it's cheating, but I don't care! Nancy

It sounds like you definitely have a handle on the pro's and con's of both surgeries and to me it sounds as though you're leaning towards bypass. I agree that I do feel like I'm dieting most of the time BUT I have help. I can't overeat and that's a great tool. Also, I certainly never felt like I was dieting the first six months or so. I ate whatever I wanted to eat. And that's when I lost the most weight: 50 out of the 70 I've lost so far. But eventually I had to realize that if I wanted to lose the rest, I was going to have to participate. Bread was always my favorite thing, too. Bread, Pasta, tortillas, you name it. But I only rarely miss them. Anyway, I like Lisa's idea of how to help make up your mind. And here's one I use: I flip a coin. Head bypass, tails band. Then as soon as I see which it is, I see how I feel. Am I glad? Or disappointed? Sometimes this little exercise lets me realize how I really feel. Nancy

Great job, everyone! I'm almost wondering if there is some mistake here. I can't believe I lost 10 pounds. But I don't keep track of my own weight on various dates, so I can't be sure. Whatever. I'll take it! What is my holiday weight loss secret? I take a perverse pleasure in passing up all the candy, cakes, cookies, etc. But I went a little crazy after New Year's. It was as though I just couldn't take it anymore. That's why my final weight ended up being 180 and not 179, which it had been a few days before. Congratulations Betty and Zoe! Nancy

I not only have the band, but I have a sort of pacemaker with a metal wire in it. Yes, I am the bionic woman! And I still have never set off an alarm. Nancy

Wow, great work! You look fabulous! The whole band journey is a process of learning different things at different times, I think. Thanks for letting us share your progress. Nancy

I'm glad you were able to eat the tuna. Let us know how it goes. Tonight I spent about an hour cooking a new recipe. Then I sat down to eat and could only eat two bites. That's how the band is sometimes. BTW my mother's maiden name was Hoffman . Nancy

I was all signed up for the bypass and was four days away from surgery when I began to panic and I just could not go through with it. I was afraid of dying or of ending up in the ICU, which many people do. I also was worried about the malabsorbtion with the bypass. I take medicines and I was wondering how much, if any, of the medicine would be absorbed. Nobody could answer that question. Then there was the problem of not being able to absorb Vitamin B12 and Calcium. Also, I went to a support group of bypass patients and out of about 12 women, only one of them looked thin and healthy. The woman next to me said she had had the surgery 11 months before and was just beginning to feel well enough to go to meetings. Many of the women had a greyish skin color and almost all of them had skin hanging in unattractive ways. I didn't want to look like that. I since have met bypass patients who look healthy, but that was just my experience in that one group. It shook me up. So I decided to have the LapBand for all the reasons Leatha mentioned and I never felt anxious about the surgery at all. I can't eat any kind of bread and I can't eat fresh fruit with skins. There are other foods that I choose not to eat because they hamper my weight loss. I hope this helps. It is a difficult decision. Nancy

5:30 in what time zone? Nancy

Good for you, Leatha! Good luck in finding a good therapist. Nancy

Welcome, Helen! Even though I did try to lose weight over the holidays, I consider it mainly a time for maintaining. It should get easier now. I'm happy you've found us. Nancy

Lookin' good, Mama! I can really see the difference in your face, too. Holy cow! We're just going to have to have a Galveston reunion in the Spring or Summer so we can all see all of the big changes! Nancy

Part of me wants to say, "Get used to it," because so many of us have problems with gas post-banding. See the "Burping and farting" thread. But I realize that isn't too helpful, so I guess you could try 1) making your own soup and substituting soy milk for dairy milk 2) chewing some Dairy-Ease and/or Beano tablets with your first bite of soup. You can find both at your drugstore or grocery store. Good luck! Nancy

True confessions, Lisa: I went out an hour after midnight and got some ice cream and Cookies, too. :devious But today is a new day and I'm resolved to stay on track. Lisa, don't be too hard on yourself. If I didn't have a port and couldn't have proper restriction, my binges would be as mind-blowing as they used to be. That's how I got to a BMI of 40. Nancy

Hi. I love sweets, too. My new substitute for candy and sugar is dried fruit. It's got fiber and vitamins and is very sweet. Nonfat, sugar-free yogurt is another sweet treat that is healthy. Sorry about the job situation. You really should find something new. We spend so much of our life at work that it's really important to find something you like. Nancy

It didn't happen when I got banded, but previously I had noticed that my first day or two on a diet, I would get a headache, feel cranky, etc. I think it was maybe some kind of detox reaction? Anyway, like everyone else, my energy level is much better now than it was when I was carrying around an extra 70 pounds. Also, I don't know why, but I used to get sinus headaches almost everyday, but now I get them only infrequently. Also, I don't think I eat "very little" food. Maybe in the beginning I did. Or maybe it just doesn't feel like very little. But I'm rarely hungry and have had no problems with hypoglycemia since banding. Nancy

Jack, you will learn what you can and can't eat. It's different for everyone. Bread of any kind is out of the question for me. Melted cheese sometimes doesn't work too well. I can't eat any fresh fruit, really, but I can eat dried fruit. I don't trust crackers. I can only eat a few bites of Pasta. eggs and nuts fill me up very, very quickly, but I can eat a small amount. Crispy things like taco shells or sesame sticks go through very easily which is why I need to avoid them - not to mention they aren't good for my blood sugar. Nancy

What is Trader Joe's? It sounds great. I wish we had one here. Nancy