parisshel

At the beginning I didn't tell anyone but now I'm very open about it.
I see it as an opportunity to educate others. Let's face it, ignorance runs rampant in our society, especially when it comes to WLS. I've only had one person accuse me of taking "the easy way out". I said if walking 2 miles a day and counting every single calorie I consume is the easy way out I'd really hate to see the hard way.
You have to do what's best for you. If you don't want to tell anyone then don't. Do what feels right for you.
Best wishes

What I find funny is a few individuals around me talking about how they want to do it because I have been successful so far. They have absolutely no clue just how hard this is and how much work it is. You really need to be educated to do what we are all doing.

I'm not so much emotional as I am nervous and anxious with the pain, lack of sleep, healing slowly. I am sure the journey will bring me to an emotional basket case state at some point as well. We are mourning our old habits...as bad as they were for us...they still provided some sort of comfort and safety. Change is hard and scary.....but I know it will be worth it.

Yes, high emotions are normal.
You are changing your life, wow! That is big. I was banded a year ago yesterday, looking back it was an emotional roller coaster. the surgery, my first fill, my first stuck experience (with PBing), my first unfill, eating in front of family, eating in a restaurant, the list goes on. Wow how did I manage? Day by day, situation by situation.
The beginning was the scariest and hardest. What helped me was I started writing in a journal (I didn't discover this site until 4 months post-op). I would write about my emotions, food I ate, doctors appointment, really anything that was on my mind. It helped express the emotions that I felt. Once I found LBT I would post & blog those emotions so my journal was replaced.
I understand how you feel and if you are anything like me you are going to have happy & sad feelings throughout this journey.
We will be here to offer support to you, that I promise. :wub:

Hi Stephanie I was banded Nov 7th. Everyone here is right- you can learn a lot on here. I started reading this site three months before my surgery and it helped. I had a great surgical experience and just have one recommendation- get you some gas-x strips. That was really the only pain I had post op. I have no regrets and wish I had done it sooner! You will have peaks and valleys just like the rest of us through this but you can do it because yourself the big decision to start this journey to a healthier you. I got banded at age 50 after seeing my cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure numbers . I said to myself "you are done, you cannot continue this lifestyle and what you have tried in the past isn't working". So I took the plunge after educating myself and I am a better person for it . Good luck!!

How exciting! I hope you will feel better with each passing hour/day. Now your new life begins...

Yes ,totally. Your thoughts were my thoughts. I was banded a little over 2 months ago and don't give it a second thought now. It has changed my life and I'm glad I did it.

have you went to a lap band seminar? they would def have alot of information that you are asking about (also some excellent websites with those answers). this forum you will get a varied response as we are all different.
i will make my answer short and sweet.
if you think you cant do this, you are right.
this surgery offers you a tool to help you lose weight.
you have to change your thinking to eating better food and begin to exercise and follow the lap band guidelines.
so is the surgery something for you? only you can answer. but if you continue to do what you are doing now, you will only stay the same or get bigger, which was what happened to me. you have to want to lose weight bad enough to do something about it.

I have kicked around having this surgery for years.......I made the decision last March...visited my surgeon.....completed my 6 months monitoring.....got cleared by a cardiologist and psychiatrist....received approval from my insurance company.......was supposed to have surgery in September and due to unforseen costs I had to pay upfront...I had to postone the surgery after I already completed a 2 week liquid diet and lost 11 pounds. Revisited the surgeons office again in Jan...resubmitted the packagage to insurance.....saved up the upfront costs I didn't know about back in September.......completed another 2 week liquid diet...lost another 11 pounds and now tomorrow is the day! Surgery Day! Finally!
I have put my heart, soul, committment, desire, dedication, emotion, and money into having this surgery tomorrow.
I have read, read, read, and then read some more about the highs, the lows, the agonies the defeats.....the success stories and the stuck stories!
I have earned my right to have the surgery!
I am as ready as I will ever be!
Bring it on!

Try not to get discouraged. While the band does do a lot of the work, we still have to do our part too. I urge you to keep a food diary, or better yet use the loseit app or my fitness pal so you can monitor the Protein and calories you are taking in. Heck, maybe you are taking in too few calories... who knows. Until you can see what is going in your body in #s you won't know what needs to change or how much. If you have junk in the house, get it out. I crave things from time to time and not having them on hand makes it much easier (ie. chips). I find other things to take their place that still satisfy me. Or instead of having a candy bar, I have a hershey kiss (or 2) and am done w/ it. You can do this.

Sorry you are struggling with losing. I think you really need to track what you are eating. Are you sticking to no more than 1 cup of food per meal? I was too tight a while back had some Fluid taken out, then still having major issues the last couple weeks and I think got a complete unfill (he didn't tell me how much he took out as he didn't want me stressing about it). I know that I can eat most anything right now, but I am be very cautious to stick to the 1 cup of food and keeping my calories around 1000 per day. A lot of times, we may think we are doing all the right things and until we keep an actual food diary or log it using myfitnesspal or something comparable, we may be very surprised how much we actually are taking in. Lastly, are you getting in at least 60 grams of Protein per day? I find if I am not getting enough, my weight loss stalls.
Best wishes to you to get the scale moving (in the right direction) again.

Thanks guys, I have just had such great control since the surgery and like most of the people here, I am terrified of failure.
BTW, I do love the control that Mistress Band gave me

I have been doing great through different stages and haven't had to deal with trigger foods. Tonight while making dinner for the kids I heated them up some taquitos, and they smelled so go. So I tried one, then another, then two more. About that time Misstress Band spoke up and said STOP (Did I mention that with my fill last night, Mistress Band has leather whip to go with her high heels) and I did, I was satiated.
So what is the problem, I didn't over eat, I logged my calories, Mistress Band is happy, so why am I so upset. The reason? I did not eat what I had planned, I didn't eat because I wanted to, I ate them because I was compelled to. I need to think about this....

I had more pain the second and third day than the day of surgery. I think climbing in and out of my own bed made me hurt more than anything else. The first night I thought "hey, this is going to be a nothing" then I woke up the next morning and thought "well, it's not nothing but the pain is tolerable". I'm on day 6 now and still have some physical restrictions but little to no pain. Good luck to you

Hey parisshel & rachel - welcome! March is going to be a very good month!
Hang in there sharon, once you've got your band, it's going to be so much easier because you'll have some extra help. (at least that's what i keep telling myself!)

Got my date today... march 16th! So excited to have a date finally and join a bandsters group :-)
Rachel

Congratulations fellow bandster!
The discomfort only last a short time, but the joy can last for the rest of your life.
You're on your way, woohoo

More good news about the effectiveness of the band. Take note that this study specifically targeted people who followed the band rules, followed up with their doctors, and changed their lifestyles to healthy ones.
Also note only 5% had to have their bands removed and weight loss was comparable to Gastric Bypass.
Further proof we are responsible for our own success or failure with the band.
________________________________________________________________________________
MONASH U. (AUS) — Gastric banding is safe and effective for managing obesity long-term, according to a study of patients 10 to 15 years after their surgeries.
The study, the longest and most comprehensive yet reported, appears in the Annals of Surgery, and finds a significant number of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (lap banding) patients maintained an average weight loss of 26 kilograms for more than a decade after their procedure.
Researchers analyzed the results in 3,227 patients who had gastric banding surgery in Australia between 1994, when the procedure was first introduced, and 2011. The patients in the study were averaged at 47 years-of-age and 78 percent were women.
Of those patients, 714 had surgery at least 10 years ago and, on average, had maintained a weight loss of 26 kilograms, or almost half of their excess weight.
The weight loss results were similar for the 54 patients in the study who had undergone treatment at least 15 years ago.
“These results show that when you have a significant problem with obesity, a long-term solution is available,” says Professor Paul O’Brien of the Centre for Obesity Research and Education at Monash University in Melbourne.
“This surgery is safe and effective, and it has lasting benefits. Substantial weight loss can change the lives of people who are obese—they can be healthier and live longer.”
O’Brien says there are also important ramifications for the control of type 2 diabetes, which was strongly associated with being overweight.
“In obese patients with type 2 diabetes, weight loss after gastric banding can lead to effective control of blood sugar levels without the need for medication in about three-quarters of cases,” O’Brien says.
The patients included in the study had followed the rules of their treating team regarding eating, exercise, and activity and committed to returning permanently to the aftercare program.
All the surgery was performed by O’Brien, an international pioneer of the technique, and Associate Professor Wendy Brown, President of the Obesity Surgery Society of Australia and New Zealand.
There were no deaths associated with the surgery or with any later operations that were needed in about half of the patients. About one in 20 patients had the band removed during the study period.
“In treating a chronic disease such as obesity over a lifetime, it is likely that something will need to be corrected at some time in some patients,” says O’Brien.
“The study shows a marked reduction of revisional procedures with the introduction of the new version of the Lap-Band 6 years ago. Importantly, those who had revisional surgery lost as much weight in the long term as those who did not need it.”
The report also included a comparison of gastric banding—which can be done as a day-surgery procedure—and more invasive types of weight-loss surgery such as gastric bypass that are high risk and require longer hospital stay. The weight loss with gastric banding, and the need for future revisional surgery, was similar to that with gastric bypass.
“Access to weight-loss surgery in Australia remains severely limited for many obese patients as relatively few cases are treated within the public health system. We are working hard to improve access,” says O’Brien.
“We have ample evidence that weight-loss surgery is effective, and it is unfair that half of eligible patients cannot be treated, particularly as it has been shown that gastric banding is a highly cost-effective health care measure. The stigma of obesity, and the assumption that it is the person’s fault, entrenches discrimination against people who could benefit.”
find the original article here: http://www.futurity....p-band-surgery/

First, see your Dr.....
How long have you been banded? When was your last fill?
Are you eating / drinking anytime before going to bed?
A sign of a slipped band is when everything is status quo for quite some time, everything going well.....weight loss, good restriction and portion control.....can not be happier....
THEN right out of nowhere for no good reason you start having issues....

Why? Did you have lipo-suction and expect to return to work 75 lbs lighter?
All you did was have the band inserted, surgically....I doubt it is "Turned On" yet......took me 4-6 months to get it runnng efficiently....THEN the weight started to melt away, along with exercising, plenty of Water, and Protein....and very little eating!
BTW, 2 years, been at goal for a year, and NO ONE knows I had the surgery, except for the closest family members.....

You have absolutely nothing to be embarassed about, really.
You're 6wks out and that was your healing time and not loosing time.
You don't owe anyone an explanation. I hope you are doing this just for you.
You are the one you have to answer to and no one else.
If you're following your Drs plan, you should be proud of yourself.
You've just come through the roughest part, pre & post op.
Stand tall, be proud. You are becoming a new and healthier you.

I have about 8 billion people watching me because I told everyone. My theory is, EDUCATE THEM. Tell them it's not bypass where you do drop 40lbs in one month. You did it because it's a more realistic/slower weight loss. That's what I tell people. I told them I want to do it slow, etc. Be proud of the weight you've lost so far. I know people that struggle for a year to lose 8lbs. Hang in there and don't be embarrassed at all!

Congrats sounds like your doing well..for me getting stuck is after swallowing too big of a bite so after swallowing..relief comes after passing thru the band. Restriction for me is being full and staying full on a cup of food and it lasting at least four hrs till next meal...sounds like your there! When I get a fill its because I'm not full on a cup of food and get hungry in less than four hrs. In my experience it seemed after I lost weight each month around ten lbs I wld feel less restricted and would get a fill approximately every 4-5 wks. I've been at maintenance weight for abt six weeks hadn't had a fill in abt two months and I still feel good restriction. Good luck on a successful journey sounds like your going great!

Good luck. I was also fearful of surgery/anesthesia until I had to go under (for something else). Now that I've had two experiences with anesthesia, I'm not apprehensive about my upcoming lapband surgery...well, the "going under" part, anyway. You'll see....the patient's part of the process is nothing...all you have to do is go to sleep . We will keep you in our thoughts.