MyHighway

I have been hesitant to post this as I know there are several folks who do not want you to post anything that is considered negative about the lap band.
I'm just posting my truth, because I feel like there are people who come here to try to make a decision as to whether or not the lap band is the right decision for them and I think that it's fair for them to have all of the facts.
I was banded on 12/5. I didn't really lose any weight on the pre op diet or after. It was frustrating. I had restriction, was eating healthy, it didn't make any sense. I posted my frustration and I was accused of "bitching and moaning". I wasn't, I thought a support group should allow for voicing frustrations, but there are some avid band advocates that think if you have a complaint it's you being impatient, not working the band correctly, not exercising or cheating.
I'm not doing any of those things, and that seems to be very hard for some to understand. What it seems to be is that I have a very difficult metabolic issue occur that is not allowing me to lose weight. It's not the lap bands fault but the lap band was not the effective tool that my doctors promised me. Now, I say this so others will know because if I had known I would have never had this surgery. Quite frankly even if I was losing weight I don't know if I would have had this surgery. I think that is important for people to hear that when they are considering this option. There are a lot of healthy food options I can't eat because I can't make them small enough, when I'm working out and forget to sip Water and instead take a gulp it comes straight back up, sliming is a disgusting experience, if I lie on my side I can feel my port pushing in and it hurts, when my band was filled too tightly I PB'd everything and my esophagus still hurts and hasn't healed from that period. This isn't for everyone. Now I am stuck with this band and all of its restrictions, eating about 800 healthy calories a day and not losing a pound. My doctors don't know if I will be able to lose weight... Ever with what is occurring in my body and this is my cold, hard, truth.

Oye yeah that is depressing. Let us know what they find out. My pcp has tested my thyroid plenty of times in the past and when I told him that I was considering wls he wanted to test my thyroid again. Good luck. I hope you find an answer soon.

Oh... Well you girls should be me. Working out, have restriction and have not lost weight since surgery. My doctor thinks I have a metabolic issue and maybe the surgery wasn't needed and maybe won't be a solution. Now that is depressing.

So I have now had my lap and 13 months and I am down 134lbs...sooo happyyy!!! I would let people take pictures from the neck up for so long and now I get so excited and tell them to make sure they get my whole body. Wow how things have changed. I can see my collor bones which is crazy never seen them before. Its the little things that are starting to mean the most, like not weighing more then everyone in my family! Right now I weigh 244 I have never seen this weight. In 5th grade I weighed 230 and I did not weigh again until high school and was at 315!!! Getting the lap band was best choice I could have made. So many things have changed and contiune to do so.

Finally hit that 50 pound mark this morning! I had my lap band surgery at the end of July. Thought I would share my first set of progress pics. Can you tell a difference? I still have lots to lose, but happy about this start.
(And sorry in advance, not brave enough yet to share full body with face.)
  

Just wanted to share my progress so far. 41 pounds gone. Exercising 5x a week.
The left photo was taken the first day of school this year in August 2013. I weighed 369.
The right photo was taken last week because I felt "skinny" for some reason at work. I am now 328.
My surgery was 10/2/13. I still have a lot of work to do, but:
1.) my clothes fit better
2.) I'm rediscovering old clothes I haven't worn in 4-5 years
3.) my shoes fit better!
4.) I'm not tired all the time
5.) people notice my weight loss now

Fourth fill did it for ME....
NOW I know what everybody was talking about!
I've had the long periods of time between meals, but now I'm finally satisfied (FULL) on such a SMALL amount of food.< /p>
LET THE LOSING BEGIN!!!!!!

I met my goal weight of 145 in August 2013, almost 1 year after surgery. Today, I'm happy to report a healthy weight of 132 lbs. I'm living life at 13 lbs below goal. I truly love my Lapband, and I'm super thankful to be 113 lbs lighter in a size 2.

This is my before and after picture, the one on the left is pre surgery at 245 lbs and the one on the right is at goal of 145lbs.

This pic is me at 132 lbs.

Haven't posted in a while but just wanted to share. I am almost 10 months post op and down 55 pounds. While there are days I hate this band (like now as I'm trying to eat chicken breast) the positives definitely outweigh the negatives!

I decided in 2012 that I wanted to be healthy. So I made a BIG step towards it by being dedicated with lots of motivation from myself, family, & friends....so out with the old & in with the new Me & new Year!!!

One of my very closest friends of 4 years is now my VERY SERIOUS boyfriend. We had been buddies (yeah...some stuff happened every now and then) and in that time we got to know each other inside and out. Well now, he's mine and I can't put into words how it feels. See he's a "hot guy" who is also down to earth and sweet - even with my personality, I didn't think someone like him would want me. Guess what? Not only does he love me, but he's crazy attentive and goes out of his way for me. He lives out of state right now, but he comes to Houston every other weekend, so it's not so bad. I won't go into the details, there is so much to love and be excited about in this relationship. By the end of the year, he will relocate to Houston!
I never saw us getting together. When I was around him I felt like I was twice his size and didn't feel comfortable, even though we had so much fun together...I just felt like his buddy with benefits. Nothing more. Thanks to Miss Pealie...he can see what was hiding under all that fat and found his best friend and the woman he is seriously thinking about marrying. Yes, I'm in love.
Now that I'm a more normal weight...I'm quite a bit smaller than him now, so it's a great feeling for sure. Besides that, I'm a hot girl along side this hot guy and the world can tell he loves me! Wow!

No offense to most veterans on here, but sometimes we newbies would like to converse amongst ourselves. Which is primarily why I go to the forums marked BEGINNERS. Most people on this site are very helpful but some are just plain ol assholes. lol

If you're using your phone app, like I do, it doesn't make it so easy to go through and find past topics and frankly sometimes you want the fresh perspectives. My doctor said bands of today allow for different things from bands of prior years. Which is why he doesn't foresee problems with drinking while eating, etc. So sometimes answers from previous posts don't answer questions. So I am can understand why it could be frustrating to you all, "the veterans"; but I would hope you would understand us newbies are navigating a whole new world. And perhaps, asking some of the same questions, making some of the same mistakes, and working through some of the same emotions, daresay, that you all went through.
If I post something that seems annoying to you, then please feel free to roll your eyes and move on. If you would like to share some constructive advice, then please know I truly appreciate that help.

Hello! I have been interested in Lap Band for about a year and a half, but this past July I finally made the step to seek out a doctor and begin the visits. My doctor ended up closing his office in my city so I have been having to drive 2 hours to every appointment. I almost gave up and looked for a closer doctor but I had already done 2 or 3 of my necessary 6 month appointments per my insurance so my mom talked me into not switching and starting over. But now my surgery is scheduled for December 30, 2 1/3 hours away from my home and well I am going to go through it but it has become way more expensive than I thought, for me as a single mom. I am kinda hoping that after my post op check ups I will be able to switch to a Dr in my area or my Dr will finally reopen his office in my town like he has been saying for 6 months.
Well here is my story. I am 23 years old, 5'3 and a mom to a beautiful and healthy 2 year old little girl. I have always been "curvy" but I started to really gain my weight after giving birth in 2011. I was 190 when I got pregnant, but going into my third trimester I was just at 180 from really bad morning sickness. But then something happened and I ate soo much in the last 3 months and checking into the hospital to have my daughter I was 220. Walking out with a 7 lb baby, I weighed 210. But by her first birthday in 2012 I was easily at 250 and now I am at 260. I am pretty healthy other wise but It can get hard keeping up with such an active little girl. And also I use to be a pretty social butterfly and while I still have amazing friends, I really have stopped going out, and lets not even mention dating.
Well I am suppose to be following the pre op Protein shake/liquid diet, but It has been soo hard. My dad is coming into town from Afghanistan on Saturday and coming from a big hispanic family, all we do for the holidays is EAT and EAT ALOT!! I also havent told my family about my surgery. And not from being ashamed of the actual procedure but more so of failing even after surgery, and still being the fat one. My parents obviously know and my 3 very best friends, but that is it. Not even my little sister who I am super close with.
Well I am joining this group so maybe hear from success stories and some tips on how to succeed.
Thanks so much for reading

I can respect your opinion Cheryl, although I do disagree with you. I do think a forum like this can be used to talk about things like pain, etc and to get perspective from people who have actually had the procedure. Though surgeons are obviously educated they, most likely, never had this surgery. So they may not have tips and tricks that people here have. For example, I saw one thread for dealing with gas pain that discussed a yoga pose that was helping people deal with the gas pain. No ones surgeon knew that would help. That was discovered through talking to people in the same boat as you and someone figured out something that was helping others. To me, that is what this is all about.
Yes it was a newly started thread that discussed that topic and it had a lot of activity. I get that this is a hot button issue for some of you. For me I see the value Ina new thread, but I believe forums allow for the ability to agree to disagree. That's part of the beauty.
If you ever feel like someone is seeking advice that they should be paying for... Then I hope you exercise your right to move along. In my opinion, people aren't trying to use veterans in place of doctors.. It's more about talking to people with practical experience, who may have something to offer that a doctor doesn't.
I can also assure you that I will not be eating an entire pie at Christmas and seeking your input about it. I've actually never had poor eating habits, so it's also not about changing the way I eat. My weight gain was due to a medication that I took for many years. I have always eaten healthily and made wise choices since I was a young child, as that's how I was raised. I was finally able to get off the medication and my doctor recommended this path for me. With that said though, people are human. They are going to make mistakes, and sometimes they are going to come here to talk about them. I'm sure there will be a time that I will put something in my mouth that I shouldn't have and I might go here to seek support from the only people who will really understand the torture that goes along with such a decision.
I suppose why I commented I this thread is because I felt like there were comments intimating that newbies just didn't know how to play here correctly. I was hoping to remind everyone that all were newbies at one point in time. Perhaps my attempt failed or wasn't appreciated. Either way, I'm going to continue to post and be a part if this community even if the way I participate is frowned upon.

I feel like I'm on top of the world! I've never been so happy in my life.

I can respect your opinion Cheryl, although I do disagree with you. I do think a forum like this can be used to talk about things like pain, etc and to get perspective from people who have actually had the procedure. Though surgeons are obviously educated they, most likely, never had this surgery. So they may not have tips and tricks that people here have. For example, I saw one thread for dealing with gas pain that discussed a yoga pose that was helping people deal with the gas pain. No ones surgeon knew that would help. That was discovered through talking to people in the same boat as you and someone figured out something that was helping others. To me, that is what this is all about.
Yes it was a newly started thread that discussed that topic and it had a lot of activity. I get that this is a hot button issue for some of you. For me I see the value Ina new thread, but I believe forums allow for the ability to agree to disagree. That's part of the beauty.
If you ever feel like someone is seeking advice that they should be paying for... Then I hope you exercise your right to move along. In my opinion, people aren't trying to use veterans in place of doctors.. It's more about talking to people with practical experience, who may have something to offer that a doctor doesn't.
I can also assure you that I will not be eating an entire pie at Christmas and seeking your input about it. I've actually never had poor eating habits, so it's also not about changing the way I eat. My weight gain was due to a medication that I took for many years. I have always eaten healthily and made wise choices since I was a young child, as that's how I was raised. I was finally able to get off the medication and my doctor recommended this path for me. With that said though, people are human. They are going to make mistakes, and sometimes they are going to come here to talk about them. I'm sure there will be a time that I will put something in my mouth that I shouldn't have and I might go here to seek support from the only people who will really understand the torture that goes along with such a decision.
I suppose why I commented I this thread is because I felt like there were comments intimating that newbies just didn't know how to play here correctly. I was hoping to remind everyone that all were newbies at one point in time. Perhaps my attempt failed or wasn't appreciated. Either way, I'm going to continue to post and be a part if this community even if the way I participate is frowned upon.

I can respect your opinion Cheryl, although I do disagree with you. I do think a forum like this can be used to talk about things like pain, etc and to get perspective from people who have actually had the procedure. Though surgeons are obviously educated they, most likely, never had this surgery. So they may not have tips and tricks that people here have. For example, I saw one thread for dealing with gas pain that discussed a yoga pose that was helping people deal with the gas pain. No ones surgeon knew that would help. That was discovered through talking to people in the same boat as you and someone figured out something that was helping others. To me, that is what this is all about.
Yes it was a newly started thread that discussed that topic and it had a lot of activity. I get that this is a hot button issue for some of you. For me I see the value Ina new thread, but I believe forums allow for the ability to agree to disagree. That's part of the beauty.
If you ever feel like someone is seeking advice that they should be paying for... Then I hope you exercise your right to move along. In my opinion, people aren't trying to use veterans in place of doctors.. It's more about talking to people with practical experience, who may have something to offer that a doctor doesn't.
I can also assure you that I will not be eating an entire pie at Christmas and seeking your input about it. I've actually never had poor eating habits, so it's also not about changing the way I eat. My weight gain was due to a medication that I took for many years. I have always eaten healthily and made wise choices since I was a young child, as that's how I was raised. I was finally able to get off the medication and my doctor recommended this path for me. With that said though, people are human. They are going to make mistakes, and sometimes they are going to come here to talk about them. I'm sure there will be a time that I will put something in my mouth that I shouldn't have and I might go here to seek support from the only people who will really understand the torture that goes along with such a decision.
I suppose why I commented I this thread is because I felt like there were comments intimating that newbies just didn't know how to play here correctly. I was hoping to remind everyone that all were newbies at one point in time. Perhaps my attempt failed or wasn't appreciated. Either way, I'm going to continue to post and be a part if this community even if the way I participate is frowned upon.

I can respect your opinion Cheryl, although I do disagree with you. I do think a forum like this can be used to talk about things like pain, etc and to get perspective from people who have actually had the procedure. Though surgeons are obviously educated they, most likely, never had this surgery. So they may not have tips and tricks that people here have. For example, I saw one thread for dealing with gas pain that discussed a yoga pose that was helping people deal with the gas pain. No ones surgeon knew that would help. That was discovered through talking to people in the same boat as you and someone figured out something that was helping others. To me, that is what this is all about.
Yes it was a newly started thread that discussed that topic and it had a lot of activity. I get that this is a hot button issue for some of you. For me I see the value Ina new thread, but I believe forums allow for the ability to agree to disagree. That's part of the beauty.
If you ever feel like someone is seeking advice that they should be paying for... Then I hope you exercise your right to move along. In my opinion, people aren't trying to use veterans in place of doctors.. It's more about talking to people with practical experience, who may have something to offer that a doctor doesn't.
I can also assure you that I will not be eating an entire pie at Christmas and seeking your input about it. I've actually never had poor eating habits, so it's also not about changing the way I eat. My weight gain was due to a medication that I took for many years. I have always eaten healthily and made wise choices since I was a young child, as that's how I was raised. I was finally able to get off the medication and my doctor recommended this path for me. With that said though, people are human. They are going to make mistakes, and sometimes they are going to come here to talk about them. I'm sure there will be a time that I will put something in my mouth that I shouldn't have and I might go here to seek support from the only people who will really understand the torture that goes along with such a decision.
I suppose why I commented I this thread is because I felt like there were comments intimating that newbies just didn't know how to play here correctly. I was hoping to remind everyone that all were newbies at one point in time. Perhaps my attempt failed or wasn't appreciated. Either way, I'm going to continue to post and be a part if this community even if the way I participate is frowned upon.

If you're using your phone app, like I do, it doesn't make it so easy to go through and find past topics and frankly sometimes you want the fresh perspectives. My doctor said bands of today allow for different things from bands of prior years. Which is why he doesn't foresee problems with drinking while eating, etc. So sometimes answers from previous posts don't answer questions. So I am can understand why it could be frustrating to you all, "the veterans"; but I would hope you would understand us newbies are navigating a whole new world. And perhaps, asking some of the same questions, making some of the same mistakes, and working through some of the same emotions, daresay, that you all went through.
If I post something that seems annoying to you, then please feel free to roll your eyes and move on. If you would like to share some constructive advice, then please know I truly appreciate that help.

Something that seems obvious to me is that a forum is a place to come to for a conversation, even though many questions are frequently repeated, it's a way for some to begin to talk about their concerns. For me, my style is to listen, and I enjoy reading how many of those similar questions are answered. I've found some profound answers that have helped me many times.
As far as what each of us gets out of this site, it's a microcosm of life itself. If you think of your life, what you were committed to, responsible for, interested in, changes with your situation as well as with age. For many of us, if we go back to the neighborhood we grew up in, most of the people we knew are gone, the houses may look different, it does't feel the same. But for the new people there, it's their neighborhood, they all know one another and we are now a stranger. If we spend a few moments with them we may find they reflect who we were at their age and they might appreciate stories of the old neighborhood and how we are connected. If I don't like them or don't care to talk to them, I can leave and cherish the memories of that time of my life and the neighborhood goes on without me.

Thanks all. For those who thought I was going against drs orders.. As I stated initially. He has no limitations on drinking with the band and says his patients are able to drink with meals just fine. So not drinking is not going against my drs orders. I was just curious of the division from so many of you about not drinking and wondered if there were advantages of which I was not aware. It sounds as though most of you who do not drink with meals do so out of necessity. I will talk to my dr about the concerns some of you expressed about stretching, if drinking whole eating, etc. if I deem necessary.
Important to note that I would not go here to avoid drs advice. However, I do know that drs are human and that there are different opinions, and schools of thought with every medical condition/procedure and it is always important to educate yourself. So while I trust my doctor, I don't have blind trust and I educate myself. I think that is a wise choice.

I had the same thing and I'm not going to lie it is frustrating. This is the time when you hear you will be losing fast at least for a short while, so when it doesn't happen it's a bummer. The thing is it seems to be pretty common to not lose right now and it is ok to be irritated at the fact that you aren't losing right now I was frustrated and still am lol but I know it will happen and my doctor promises me it will. So hang in there. The good news is while the scale hasn't moved, people keep telling me I look like I've lost weight so something must be going on

So may I ask, what do you want to get from here? I think I saw the post where you were frustrated and I wasn't sure what you wanted from the folks participating. I don't mean this rudely, I'm just trying to understand what a veterans expectations are from this site after reaching goal. Is it mentoring, continuing education, something else?
Long before I ever signed up here, I was a lurker and something I always see many of the veterans post is do what your doctor advised. Well I've had enough health issues in my lifetime to know that it is smart to do your own due diligence with any health related issues as you can help to design your health plan. I've told previous doctors about new medications, new treatment plans and demanded that they be implemented for my own betterment. I'm not going to have blind faith in my dr with my band. sometimes when we ask questions here of what people are experiencing I see veterans jump in and say don't ask us ask your doctor. I'm always thinking... We're not a bunch of dummies who are going to do whatever the internet says... But can't we ask about others experiences? In my case my surgeon is pretty liberal... Perhaps too liberal? I don't know, so I like to know more about those with more restrictions and why. It's just for my own education. In the thread where I think you were getting frustrated, I think what is confusing to newbies is that we here so many people say listen to your doctor.. But when it comes to eating most veterans seem to not follow a real diet. That is hard for newbies to comprehend. Especially after hearing listen to your doctors from all the veterans, because our drs are telling us to only eat healthy foods. Mine made me sign a contract promising to do so. Just explaining the other side of things as I don't think the vets are the only ones who get frustrated but the newbies are so desperate for info that I don't think you see as many leave because this is such a new world and we're hanging in because we don't know what else to do.
So I say this with good intentions, but may have unintentionally angered another vet.

I had the same thing and I'm not going to lie it is frustrating. This is the time when you hear you will be losing fast at least for a short while, so when it doesn't happen it's a bummer. The thing is it seems to be pretty common to not lose right now and it is ok to be irritated at the fact that you aren't losing right now I was frustrated and still am lol but I know it will happen and my doctor promises me it will. So hang in there. The good news is while the scale hasn't moved, people keep telling me I look like I've lost weight so something must be going on