Bandista

You might want to get an evaluation with an orthopedist, to make sure that there are no problems. I ended up needing custom braces in order to stay active due to posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD)

What is a good comfortable walking tennis shoe for someone 5'1" 280 lbs? I'm pre surgery and want to get started walking now but every shoe I've bought hurts my feet in no time at all. I've even been fitted at The Walking co. and thought I had good shoes but after a few weeks home my feet were killing me to walk. I've tried every brand that I can find. New Balance Brooks Abeo and more.

CG, come back! We love you and miss you.

Good. Maybe between the two of us, we can get her back here. I told her I was also struggling and I needed her as much as anyone.

Thanks Bandista. Sorry to hear this. She was a regular for a long time here on this site.

got an email from Carolina Girl today. she is really down on herself. I want to hug her right now and tell her to stop beating herself up. All of us have had struggles and I know first hand how easily we can let our emotions , depressions, grief, etc. takeover. I reminded her how much she has accomplished and asked her to come back to us and we can help.
I went to my support group last night after not going for a year, it was informative, there were more sleeve people than banded but overall a nice group. There were a few who had not had surgery and wanted to know if it was worth it. I told them my story and I hope that encouraged them to make the leap. We did talk about meal planning and got some good information on different recipe sites. I plugged Bandedliving.com because there are tons of recipes on there. Please keep CG in your prayers and hopefully she will come around.

I love not beating myself up all the time or having to figure out whether I'm on or off one program or another. I love not being on a diet and I love, love, love being a dainty eater. Being able to have one bite of something yummy is wonderful -- I love not feeling uncontrollable urges for more, more, more all the time. And clothes. I can't believe what fun I missed out on for so many years while, like others, I was hiding out in black. Really happy I bought those gorgeous boots last year but best purchase of all so far is one of those puffy sleeping bag coats to keep my skinny body warm. Okay, not skinny, but just right. I love being a woman in her mid-fifties who could stand to lose ten pounds but is curvy, vivacious and comfortable in her own body. Great thread, thank you! Nice reminders of all we have to be grateful for.

Just saw this on another thread -- don't know how to get the link so am pasting it in. I've wondered about Joanne and just typed her name this morning on a list of those people who helped me so much in the beginning.
Hi,
I am Joanne Holl's eldest granddaughter. I inherited her computer (and cat) and decided I need to clean the desktop, so I don't get so sad everytime I log on with my Gram's icons on the screen. Anyways, my grandma had a link to this site on her desktop and the first thing I clicked on brought me to her picture along with her post. Especially because I think my grandma was one of the oldest patients to have the Lap-Band surgery and because I just feel my grandma would want me to leave an update to inform you of her passing...
Joanne M. Holl, 84, passed away at her home as a result of metastatic breast cancer on Saturday, March 21, 2015. My grandma was truly an inspiring woman and one of the best grandmothothers a girl could wish for. Thank you for listening and I wish you all success.
Sincerely,
Stephanie

Boy is it cold here this morning. The wood stove is cranking away and the house smells like the casseroles I made yesterday -- four kinds (one dairy-free, one wheat-free, one dairy and wheat free and one regular), none of which I will eat but all fun to make. I do a version for myself as well, but not this time. For the bander cooks out there: mix potato leek Soup (comes in a carton!), tuna or chicken, minced onion, toaster oven, wow! Nice comfort food for banders and no grains no dairy. Would be great with cheese as well (guilding the lilly, as my grandmother would say). I don't eat rice, bread or Pasta but do have potato when I want it.
Yesterday I went to the surgeon for a small unfill. Lately I've been feeling tight and I think that could have been weather-related, estrogen-related or both. I am a bit annoyed with myself that I let it go a little longer than I should have, but I thought it might sort itself out. Clearly it wasn't going to. The surgeon told me that he's "all about the smidge fill or unfill." Love that!
The bariatric program at our little hospital is shrinking. Eeek! My original surgeon has gone on to a larger city and the PA who basically ran the program has retired (she did all the intake for new patients and then annual check-ins, etc.). The remaining surgeon is now solo. I've seen him before and like him a lot but don't like it that he's the only one available. There's a new guy coming in but he won't be here until next spring and he doesn't do bariatrics. What!? (It's a General Surgery Department). This worries me, needless to say. I have scoped out a good hospital about an hour from here in case I need to go somewhere with a larger practice or in case of emergency, etc. I don't want to transfer unnecessarily but there may be a time with banders in rural locations have to go farther for services.
Hope every one is doing well and enjoying the lead-up to the holidays. We are having our "feast" in a nursing home which pretty much takes temptation of any kind right off the table for me. After that going away for the weekend and will enjoy some yummy dining out.

@@Jim1967 if you hear from her tell her how much we miss her!

I don't know anyone in person who has had weight loss surgery but I am inspired daily by the people on this site. Like others, I'm so grateful to have stumbled on it one day while doing research. Some of the people who really helped me in the beginning have moved on now (Carolina Girl, Missy, Tomander, SillyAuntDi, Joanne) but others are still here: Jim1967, Go Walking, B52, ParisShel, Just Watch Me, Catfish, TMF, JFC, LisaCaron, Julie, Sharpie, Debbie, Jack, TerryDumont, LipstickLady, ALEX B.!!! Missing some old friends who may come and go -- EnjoyTheTime, ChasingADream, HealthyNewMe, IntelIrish, Leepers... Eeek, I know I'm leaving out SO people but thank you all. And now that I'm a couple of years out I find I am really inspired by the new people coming in and also by people who have had other kinds of surgeries than me. Whenever a long-term Bander pops up I am so happy. There are people on here who I don't "know" very well who have helped in funny little ways. The exercise encouragers, the guy who termed "sport eating," people who provide links to hard research, others who make it fun to be in a forum.

Hi Martin, congratulations on your upcoming surgery! I love my Lapband! I had never been an overnight patient in a hospital before (I'm in my mid-fifties) and it was all so much easier than I thought it would be. I filled my pain medication prescription but did not need it. I was really glad that I upped my exercise prior to the surgery. Started walking more -- helped burn off the nervous energy but also gave me something to step right into after surgery. As soon as I woke up I grabbed my pole and went up and down the hallway, a little further each time. Impressed the nurses (and me!). You have a whole new chapter beginning and I'm so happy for you. It changed my life to be right-sized again. Happy and healthy.

Boy is it cold here this morning. The wood stove is cranking away and the house smells like the casseroles I made yesterday -- four kinds (one dairy-free, one wheat-free, one dairy and wheat free and one regular), none of which I will eat but all fun to make. I do a version for myself as well, but not this time. For the bander cooks out there: mix potato leek Soup (comes in a carton!), tuna or chicken, minced onion, toaster oven, wow! Nice comfort food for banders and no grains no dairy. Would be great with cheese as well (guilding the lilly, as my grandmother would say). I don't eat rice, bread or Pasta but do have potato when I want it.
Yesterday I went to the surgeon for a small unfill. Lately I've been feeling tight and I think that could have been weather-related, estrogen-related or both. I am a bit annoyed with myself that I let it go a little longer than I should have, but I thought it might sort itself out. Clearly it wasn't going to. The surgeon told me that he's "all about the smidge fill or unfill." Love that!
The bariatric program at our little hospital is shrinking. Eeek! My original surgeon has gone on to a larger city and the PA who basically ran the program has retired (she did all the intake for new patients and then annual check-ins, etc.). The remaining surgeon is now solo. I've seen him before and like him a lot but don't like it that he's the only one available. There's a new guy coming in but he won't be here until next spring and he doesn't do bariatrics. What!? (It's a General Surgery Department). This worries me, needless to say. I have scoped out a good hospital about an hour from here in case I need to go somewhere with a larger practice or in case of emergency, etc. I don't want to transfer unnecessarily but there may be a time with banders in rural locations have to go farther for services.
Hope every one is doing well and enjoying the lead-up to the holidays. We are having our "feast" in a nursing home which pretty much takes temptation of any kind right off the table for me. After that going away for the weekend and will enjoy some yummy dining out.

@@Jim1967 if you hear from her tell her how much we miss her!

Just saw this on another thread -- don't know how to get the link so am pasting it in. I've wondered about Joanne and just typed her name this morning on a list of those people who helped me so much in the beginning.
Hi,
I am Joanne Holl's eldest granddaughter. I inherited her computer (and cat) and decided I need to clean the desktop, so I don't get so sad everytime I log on with my Gram's icons on the screen. Anyways, my grandma had a link to this site on her desktop and the first thing I clicked on brought me to her picture along with her post. Especially because I think my grandma was one of the oldest patients to have the Lap-Band surgery and because I just feel my grandma would want me to leave an update to inform you of her passing...
Joanne M. Holl, 84, passed away at her home as a result of metastatic breast cancer on Saturday, March 21, 2015. My grandma was truly an inspiring woman and one of the best grandmothothers a girl could wish for. Thank you for listening and I wish you all success.
Sincerely,
Stephanie

Boy is it cold here this morning. The wood stove is cranking away and the house smells like the casseroles I made yesterday -- four kinds (one dairy-free, one wheat-free, one dairy and wheat free and one regular), none of which I will eat but all fun to make. I do a version for myself as well, but not this time. For the bander cooks out there: mix potato leek Soup (comes in a carton!), tuna or chicken, minced onion, toaster oven, wow! Nice comfort food for banders and no grains no dairy. Would be great with cheese as well (guilding the lilly, as my grandmother would say). I don't eat rice, bread or Pasta but do have potato when I want it.
Yesterday I went to the surgeon for a small unfill. Lately I've been feeling tight and I think that could have been weather-related, estrogen-related or both. I am a bit annoyed with myself that I let it go a little longer than I should have, but I thought it might sort itself out. Clearly it wasn't going to. The surgeon told me that he's "all about the smidge fill or unfill." Love that!
The bariatric program at our little hospital is shrinking. Eeek! My original surgeon has gone on to a larger city and the PA who basically ran the program has retired (she did all the intake for new patients and then annual check-ins, etc.). The remaining surgeon is now solo. I've seen him before and like him a lot but don't like it that he's the only one available. There's a new guy coming in but he won't be here until next spring and he doesn't do bariatrics. What!? (It's a General Surgery Department). This worries me, needless to say. I have scoped out a good hospital about an hour from here in case I need to go somewhere with a larger practice or in case of emergency, etc. I don't want to transfer unnecessarily but there may be a time with banders in rural locations have to go farther for services.
Hope every one is doing well and enjoying the lead-up to the holidays. We are having our "feast" in a nursing home which pretty much takes temptation of any kind right off the table for me. After that going away for the weekend and will enjoy some yummy dining out.

@@Jim1967 if you hear from her tell her how much we miss her!

I don't know anyone in person who has had weight loss surgery but I am inspired daily by the people on this site. Like others, I'm so grateful to have stumbled on it one day while doing research. Some of the people who really helped me in the beginning have moved on now (Carolina Girl, Missy, Tomander, SillyAuntDi, Joanne) but others are still here: Jim1967, Go Walking, B52, ParisShel, Just Watch Me, Catfish, TMF, JFC, LisaCaron, Julie, Sharpie, Debbie, Jack, TerryDumont, LipstickLady, ALEX B.!!! Missing some old friends who may come and go -- EnjoyTheTime, ChasingADream, HealthyNewMe, IntelIrish, Leepers... Eeek, I know I'm leaving out SO people but thank you all. And now that I'm a couple of years out I find I am really inspired by the new people coming in and also by people who have had other kinds of surgeries than me. Whenever a long-term Bander pops up I am so happy. There are people on here who I don't "know" very well who have helped in funny little ways. The exercise encouragers, the guy who termed "sport eating," people who provide links to hard research, others who make it fun to be in a forum.

Hi,
I am Joanne Holl's eldest granddaughter. I inherited her computer (and cat) and decided I need to clean the desktop, so I don't get so sad everytime I log on with my Gram's icons on the screen. Anyways, my grandma had a link to this site on her desktop and the first thing I clicked on brought me to her picture along with her post. Especially because I think my grandma was one of the oldest patients to have the Lap-Band surgery and because I just feel my grandma would want me to leave an update to inform you of her passing...
Joanne M. Holl, 84, passed away at her home as a result of metastatic breast cancer on Saturday, March 21, 2015. My grandma was truly an inspiring woman and one of the best grandmothothers a girl could wish for. Thank you for listening and I wish you all success.
Sincerely,
Stephanie

A 2XL tee shirt!

@@gowalking, thank you for one of the most fun, exciting and moving messages ever in the world of surgery. You've created a new NSV: Speaking unself-consciously in an unremarkable moment that once would have stiffened the spine, ready to run for cover. "So this is what it's like to feel relaxed."

Yeah...been there, done that, got the tee shirt.

I have changed alot. I still have the basic core values and personality but my daily I interactions and daily life is very different.

All amazing points made, @@gowalking
The more insidious things have to be pointed out to you, and yes, this site focusing way more on sudden NSVs than gradual ones. For example, HR told me today that I needed new pants and that I was starting to look like a bum because they are too big and so is my belt. I was mortified, and wondered if I should even have categorized it as an NSV. However, the incident got me thinking about how people now actually stop and chat at my desk (not just about weight loss) now and ask to go grab lunch and ask me to be in pictures at work functions.
My relationship with food isn't different, in full disclosure. I can just feed it less. But while some things in our non-food lives still have to be address on their own, this aspect is truly different. Thank you for pointing it out.

Good words GoWalking! I am looking forward to the little things like that after my weight loss. Like when I buy doughnuts for work and wonder if the cashier is wondering if I'm eating all those myself! LOL

Yup. As a fat woman, I really fooled the public when I got an extra small cup of fro-yo or a baby cone of ice cream. I am sure NO ONE noticed how fat I was because of my obvious restraint and dainty portions. HA!!
Now if I were to get a teeny portion, people would URGE me to eat more because I "need to" or "can afford" it.
Oh, how things have changed.

Just had an interesting interaction at work. An admin stopped into my office asking for a pen to borrow to sign off on a lunch order for a meeting. I like to kid around so I said, 'sure...but it will cost you a cookie.'
As a fat woman, I would have never said that. It would have been embarrassing because I would have expected her to think that the last thing I needed was a cookie. But as a normal sized person, there is no embarrassment when it comes to 'bad' food. I don't think twice if I have ice cream in my shopping cart...or some other item that once upon a time would make me look around and wonder who was checking out what I was eating.
And by the way....she brought me two Cookies. I told her that I was only joking and all she did was wink at me.
I know people say all the time that they have not changed...only their bodies have changed. I know that everything has changed for me. Yes...I'm still basically the same woman I always was, but a better, more outgoing, comfortable in my skin woman now. Not that I don't have my issues still...nothing is perfect. But even little interactions are different..and big ones as well.
I look people in the eye now. I used to look down. I have a sense of confidence I didn't have before. I'm understanding that it was the confidence and satisfaction in my life that attracted my boyfriend to me...and not just that I was a small body. Especially as he's seen all the loose skin, hanging boobs, etc. and he tells me how much he loves to see my naked body..how it turns him on. He's seeing something else in his mind's eye...and not my physical 'flaws'.
I just think we don't always see or realize all the changes. We notice the big things...the typical NSVs but not necessarily the daily interactions that shift as we change...or should I say 'evolve'.
Anyway...just wanted to get my thoughts out on a post. Back to work now...

I was approve last week for surgery but for some reason Im not excited. I guess its because the office Im working with is so unprofessional. I love the surgeon but his receptionist and insurance coordinator don't do their jobs and its ridiculous. If I don't hear from them this week Im switching offices.