rosettag

I am more self-reliant and less ready to say "yes". When I was obese I thought I had to be forgiven because I was fat and tried to always please people I have also become more selfih or self-centered. I don't let anyone interfere in my journey and my life

Congrats !!! I'm so pleased when I read that banded people find their way to success!

I had a whole day of metabolic blood and urine tests to see if I had issues which could make the band useless. If you have metabolic problems our National Health Service doesn' t provide you with free lap band surgery. Didn't you have such tests before surgery? Other kinds of WLS might be good for you.. Don't lose hope Hugs

the best of luck!!

Here in Italy things are different. Surgeons don't prescribe pre-op diet to people who are going to have lap band surgery. The day of surgery they didn't give me any food or drink. On the following day only tea. On the second day after surgery , afer RX, they gave me a cup of tea with 2 biscuits and mushy food for lunch and dinner. My surgeon used to say that it is useless to make patients starve on a liquid diet. I was never hungry, also because I had my band filled (1.5 cc) during surgery. Now ( I've been banded for 2 years and 9 months) hunger sometimes arrives. It is often head hunger, which is more difficult to cope with. When I want to eat ( above all forbidden or trigger foods) I feel as if life were depriving me of somenthing vital and necessary to my "happiness". On such occasions I try to go back in my mind to my obese life and the main feeling that had accompanied those long years :HUMILIATION..That's how I used to feel And realize I don't want to come back . It was too painful

If you go on one day at a time, it will be easier..Even though pre-op diet is anything but easy. Think of the reward at the end of the road. It is worth it. Best of luck !

Your husband's present might be considered as a sort of pre-band test ? because the band doesn't prevent us from eating most sweets. Giving them up is our choice..

THANKS!!!! You are alla so supportive! I'll follow your advice .

I'likI ' like to e

A friend of mine suffered from a form of allergy to the stitches and what they put on the incisions to make them aseptic. It took her more than two months to find out the reason why her incisions weren 't healing

Hi Shell, I was banded in May 2011 and I wasn 't hungry for months, till the end of November when the cold weather made me want more food. During those months I was satiated by the joy of losing weight..it was a sort of addiction...I felt like when I was young and in love . Now things are no longer so smooth. Head hunger often knocks on my door..But my band, which is my best friend, prevents me from coming back to the bad habits of my pre-band life

...What happened to my post? I must have made some mistake when I posted it. Well, let'sum up what I wrote: I need to write a food diary every day, a diary which other bandsters can read a comment on. I'd also like to read other people's diaries and comment on them, too. The food diary is an important tool in our journey, but travelling with friends make it shorter and lighter. What is your experiece, where and how do you share what you eat day by day?

I would't try to force yourself to eat mushy food.I would call the doctor and go on drinkink liquids only.My surgeon advis3d me to never force food through the band. I hope you recover soon. Hugs

Congrats on your surgery. You are recovering very fast, that might be the reson why you are hungry. I was not for weeks after WLS. I felt my stomach was empty...it made strange noises, but I was not hungry, maybe because my mind wasn't. I have to admit that the only hunger I have ever experienced is that coming from my head.

I can only wish you the best of luck ..

The first year after surgery I missed no food. My stomach and my mind were on honeymoon. Now, my stomach is still easily satiated, but my mind sends a different message and would like "forbidden" foods. Head huger is not easy to manage, because it doesn't depend on my stomach, but on my life. And there is no surgery to change or modify life... Or..is there any?

Here in Italy they do not ask people who are going to have lap band surgery to go on a pre-op diet. But I knew it would be too hard passing from the huge amount of foot I was used to swallowing to the tiny quantities allowed by the band. So, a month before surgery I was for three weeks in a hospital where I followed a program of rehabilitation from obesity, which consisted in healthy food, exercise, group meetings with a nutritionist and a psychologist. It was very helpful. I'm grateful for that experience because it contributed to change my attitude to food. Anyway, I don't mean my old self never comes back.. Change is very slow and might take years.

I was terrified of surgery and ,above all, anesthesia. I thought I would die and never come back from it. I was so scared of dyiing, that I was not even afraid of pain ( which was actually absolutely manageable). I now realize that I was afraid of the changes that WLS would bring into my life. My psychologist told me that the fear of anesthesia is the old fear of darkness, and darkness is connected to death in our minds. Also changes scare us because they make us leave the well known and push us into the unknown, which is difficult to foresee and control.In a sense changes are similar to death.. This is the reason why I was so terrified. I thought it over and over again, trying to calm me down. I cannot say I was completely successful, but it prevented me from running away from the hospital on the day of my surgery.

Hi Tracy! I think only superficial and silly people are completely sure they are making the right decision. Enthusiasm and motivation are elements that lead to success, together with self reliance and self esteem. But having doubts is human, healthy and wise. You are weighing the pros and cons. Your well balanced approach to WLS will help you to achieve those results which you haven't achieved so far. Hugs!!! ( my English/American might sound odd..I'm Italian. )

I'll go and see!! And congrats on your weight loss and determination

Mine isn't lack of will power, but addiction. I agree with what people in Overeaters Anonymous say Avoiding my trigger foos, that is my drug, is the first step. There is also a sentence they used to say, which I think of when I want to eat the "wrong" food: "Whenever you give up, you 'll make it easier for the next time" The idea that cravings will be shorter and less frequent helps me.

Thanks! You wrote what I needed to read

I'm not sure I can do anything for two weeks, but I know I can do anything for today. One day at a time. There are things I think I cannot cope with for more than a day, but day after day we can go far Hugs!

I admire you! Instead of looking for food to soothe your suffering, you have plucked up courage and continued your journey towards your new and healthy life. I remember that a friend of mine used to say " if you have a problem, eating isn't a solution" Hugs!

We have an only life and we should try to make it worth living. Investing on yourself is the best choice. I ' sure you have made the right decision