tradingplaceswithme

I only told very few people including 3 close friends. They were all supportive before surgery. But one of the friends, after the day I had surgery has never once asked how I did, never checked on me after surgery, never commented on anything post surgery. Its been 2 and 1/2 years and 100+ lbs lost and she has not once commented or even said she noticed weight loss or that I look good. We saw each other regularly before surgery. (several times a week, phone calls and texting) I've seen her maybe 6 times in 2 and 1/2 years since. It's like she forgot I existed. We were good friends? She is overweight (not to the extreme i was though but short and stout.) My thin friends were fine. Coincidence? People have the strangest reactions. It's not YOU. Congrats of your surgery!

I only told very few people including 3 close friends. They were all supportive before surgery. But one of the friends, after the day I had surgery has never once asked how I did, never checked on me after surgery, never commented on anything post surgery. Its been 2 and 1/2 years and 100+ lbs lost and she has not once commented or even said she noticed weight loss or that I look good. We saw each other regularly before surgery. (several times a week, phone calls and texting) I've seen her maybe 6 times in 2 and 1/2 years since. It's like she forgot I existed. We were good friends? She is overweight (not to the extreme i was though but short and stout.) My thin friends were fine. Coincidence? People have the strangest reactions. It's not YOU. Congrats of your surgery!

well i cant say why they reacted that waysome do it because they dont truy understand it or what it is (and finding after reading these posts on the forum here lately, neither do some new banders just banded).....i think maybe alittle jealousy (esp if they are overweight themselves)...its hard for reality to hit one in the face when someone decides to make themselves well and have wls..they are reminded they are unfit also....they fear themselves...a few ladies i know, who were my size/bigger no longer want to be my friend....no, not because i am mean or flaunt my (success), but because i am no longer living my life as a super morbid obese woman...and you know what, it wasnt me who changed.....i am still the same person..just now 140 pounds lighter...like my friend sharp said, YOU be the example of what better health looks like
you will get there
you got a fantastic hubby
and you got me

I had the exact same reactions! Thin people were all excited for me but other big people were very negative and tried to talk me out of it.

I too had lap band with plication. I've lost almost 100 lbs (96 to be exact!! Can't wait to hit the big 100) since my surgery date of 8/31/11. I have surpassed my goal weight the nutritionist set for me and now I'm 15 lbs away from weighing what I weighed what I weighed when I was 18! My doctor is now doing them routinely with his lap bands. It helps with the band not slipping and provides extra help by reducing the size of your stomach substantially, without having to have any part of your stomach removed, as in the gastric sleeve. I have no idea if I would have lost the same weight if I had just had lap band alone, however, I've had absolutely NO complications with the surgery and have suffered no stuck episodes, etc. I agree with Carolina girl; it will help you if you let it...and none of these surgeries are the magic bullet, all require HARD WORK.. but I am absolutely SO glad I was able to get the plication along with my lap band. It is my opinion that it only ENHANCES the lap band! One of THE best decisions I've ever made. Good luck!

As the time goes on, I have shared my surgery with more and more people, as I see fit. Two have had surgery and one is waiting for surgery (sleeve, not band). So I do share..but I am VERY selective. For me, it was a personal thing. I chose to tell only those people who I felt had my best interest at heart. I have lost and gained and lost and gained the same 100 lbs over and over. Nobody has a doubt in their mind that I can lose weight, band or not. My issue has always been keeping it off. So Interestingly, nobody ever asks me "how" I've lost weight, because they've watched me do this a million times. I worked out 6 days a week, have completely changed my eating habits, etc. So people simply don't ask because they see me doing the work, as they have seen me do in the past. I have never felt like I need to preface any conversation I have when I meet someone, "Oh by the way, I have a band." And I'm thankful for that. But I have many different friends who have bands (and know I have mine now) that I guess it's just something that we don't really "talk" about anymore. But in the beginning, I am SOOOOOO glad I chose to only tell my closest friends. Where I hope the band "shines" for me is helping me in keeping it off. I'm crossing my fingers on that one, but I can say I've had such a major lifestyle change in the last 2 years in my eating that I am hopeful I have succeeded the time in making a change that will last me a lifetime. That said, there are still a few people that do not know I have a band and I will NEVER tell them because of how terrible I have heard them speak of others who have one. No thank you, I need only positivity in my Quest for health and I choose not to open myself to that whole can of worms!

Loasing weight is a funny thing. I shared my surgery with very few people. I did share it with about 5 good friends and one of those friends, from the very day of surgery has never, not once asked about my weight loss. (I've lost 99 lbs now.) She has never acknowledged my weight loss nor asked how I am doing or even told me I look good now- NOTHING! At first I felt like maybe my weight loss wasn't noticeable and then I just finally realized she must have an issue with me losing weight. Either way, it took a good 45 lbs for ANYONE to finally notice my weight loss. I'm 5'9 and carried my weight relatively evenly.
You will get the compliments as the weight comes off, but I have found there are mannnnnny different factors in play when it comes to people acknowledging you've lost weight.
GOOD JOB!

My wife isn't very supportive I think she's tied alot of her identity to being the physically active one in our relationship.
I think she's also afraid that if I'm physically attractive (since I'm already have such a captivating mind and irascible charm dwarfed only by my modesty) I won't be able to resist the waves of women she imagines throwing themselves at me.

out of the blue today
a co worker of mine (who i rarely see)
as she is in another part of the office/building...
well she came up to me this morning and said, you are looking so great.
i could only think of one thing to say, thank you..
*strange how something from someone can make you whole day*

I was very sorry to read your post...however yours is not an unsuccessful story...your story is not yet completed.
One strong positive is your awareness of your issues with food and a lack of constructive and appropriate coping skills to manage your emotions. You can't resolve issues which you have no awareness of...
Yes, you should definitely see a specialist in counseling who is a specialist in working with patients who have eating disorders. Not all therapists specialize in this field, and I believe you would benefit in seeing a specialist.
I does read to me that your band may be too tight...you did not mention how much Fluid is in your band, or when the last time was that you had been in to see your surgeon.
In the meantime, a Protein shake has way fewer calories and better nutrition than anything from McD's.
I'm very sorry you are having these issues...but please take steps to care for yourself and get your issues addressed...
Best wishes to feel better...both emotionally and physically...

after reading this, one thing stood out to me
and i know it to be true
how do i know? because it happening to me right now
“ Substantial weight loss can change the lives of people who are obese"

my band and plication helps me (eat less)
(maybe not as some of the posters are saying but i feel it helps me)
and if i wanted to, i could eat way more then my precious cup.
but i make an effort to stop at my allotted amount period.
why do i stop, so i dont stretch or hurt myself.
its common sense.

my dr wanted me to do the bypass but i stayed true to myself...he advised me that no matter which WLS i chose, it was up to me to change not only what i ate, how much i eat, begin exercising but needed a total mental overhaul.. he stressed its not a quick fix and if i did not change, nothing would work....sure it may come off quicker with the bypass or sleeve etc, but if the eating habits, portions did not change, whatever was lost would creep up.
so get whatever works for you but help yourself by helping the process...follow the directions and change your life. that is exactly what i did.
jeans the best.

if you help the band and plication (by eating right, the allotted amounts) you will be successful.

4sweeties--that is how it was explained to my by my surgeon as well. I have no idea if it causes "more" weight loss per se, however, it definitely helped me with hunger. I experienced absolutely ZERO "bandster hell" in the beginning. I was rarely, if ever hungry, even prior to fills. An extremely small amount of food filled me up from the very beginning, which was such an odd thing. I remember calling the doctor and actually questioning it, because I couldn't understand why I would feel SO full, after only having so little food. As time went on, that uncomfortable fullness gradually went away. If I overate at all, I felt like I'd just had Thanksgiving dinner. LOL! I don't have any bariatric experience either, my surgeon and my awesome nurse practitioner are the ones who have been helping me along the way. But even then, they admit they don't know everything there is to know about this combined procedure either. But he is one of the first surgeons to be doing the plications in the trials (our office is part of the trials) and trained other surgeons in the procedure as well.

But in the end, it absolutely boils down to how much hard work you put in. I have several friends who have all had lap band and two GB'ers. 2 out of the 3 lap bankers have gained weight back sadly but it's because of their complete lack of following any rules whatsoever...one has kept off over 115 lbs for a few years now and one GB is less than a year out, doing well..the other GB is many years out and is bigger now than she was before she had GB. I definitely think ANY weight loss surgery is still a LIFESTYLE change..and it makes me sad that some people think it's the easy way out. It's still hard...just a different kind of hard.

I too had lap band with plication. I've lost almost 100 lbs (96 to be exact!! Can't wait to hit the big 100) since my surgery date of 8/31/11. I have surpassed my goal weight the nutritionist set for me and now I'm 15 lbs away from weighing what I weighed what I weighed when I was 18! My doctor is now doing them routinely with his lap bands. It helps with the band not slipping and provides extra help by reducing the size of your stomach substantially, without having to have any part of your stomach removed, as in the gastric sleeve. I have no idea if I would have lost the same weight if I had just had lap band alone, however, I've had absolutely NO complications with the surgery and have suffered no stuck episodes, etc. I agree with Carolina girl; it will help you if you let it...and none of these surgeries are the magic bullet, all require HARD WORK.. but I am absolutely SO glad I was able to get the plication along with my lap band. It is my opinion that it only ENHANCES the lap band! One of THE best decisions I've ever made. Good luck!

the ones who divert from the lap band rules are the ones who complain the loudest about it not working....granted some bad things happen, but hey just think of the good...it saved my life...thats enough for me..

I just had surgery on 12/19 and got both at recommendation of my doctor. I can't offer as much information as the others but my doctor mentioned a study by Duke University that I read up on. It seems to help people lose more in the beginning. It does add a possible extra complication - for a few the stomach part that is folded over (so to speak) gets inadequate blood flow and causes issues which I think are only resolved by more surgery. So just do your research and weigh the risks.

I too had both and have been very happy with the results. As CG says it will be a great tool... If you WORK for and with the band! Good luck!

a friend pm'd me this link to respond
yes i had this procedure in june weighing in at 336
at my last weigh in, i was 248...
so yes, it does work, if you let it.
i will say its not a miracle tool but a helper...it will help you eat less
but i could stretch it by constantly overeating so i choose to abide by the band rules so that does not happen.
any other questions, hit me up anytime.

I too had lap band with plication. I've lost almost 100 lbs (96 to be exact!! Can't wait to hit the big 100) since my surgery date of 8/31/11. I have surpassed my goal weight the nutritionist set for me and now I'm 15 lbs away from weighing what I weighed what I weighed when I was 18! My doctor is now doing them routinely with his lap bands. It helps with the band not slipping and provides extra help by reducing the size of your stomach substantially, without having to have any part of your stomach removed, as in the gastric sleeve. I have no idea if I would have lost the same weight if I had just had lap band alone, however, I've had absolutely NO complications with the surgery and have suffered no stuck episodes, etc. I agree with Carolina girl; it will help you if you let it...and none of these surgeries are the magic bullet, all require HARD WORK.. but I am absolutely SO glad I was able to get the plication along with my lap band. It is my opinion that it only ENHANCES the lap band! One of THE best decisions I've ever made. Good luck!

I'm a year out from lap band with plication and am down about 88 lbs. I'm happy with the amount I've lost, the time it's taken to lose it and I'm about 13 lbs away from my initial goal. One of the best decisions I've ever made!

I am 14 months out from Band w/ Plication and I can tell you it was the best decision I have ever made. I've had zero complications, no stuck episodes, (well, one time romaine lettuce gave me an issue but it was my own fault!) I do have fill in (Approx 6-6.5cc, as he primed it with 4.5 cc during surgery I found out later.) I'm almost to the goal my nutritionist set for me and then I would like to lose 15 more lbs to get to what *I* set as my goal weight.
Good luck, you won't regret it!