gentylwind

I was dancing at a family wedding with my cousins..we were having a great time, a little drunk.... and one of them said to me later on...."I think it is great you can still feel sexy...." I stopped dancing after that.

Surgery Friday, back to work the following Tuesday.

That is what I was going to say too. Regain with the bypass really is quite common and devastating, as there's nowhere left to go after that. You've re-routed your insides. I have always said if I fail the band I will likely go with the duodenal switch. Way more expensive, way more risky, but very high rate of weight loss success.

My feet. I went down a shoe size!

I was banded 11/21, have had two fills, have 6 cc in a 10 cc band and still have hunger pain and lots of noises. Its a slow process getting back to center.

I'm a gurgler too. And no sweet spot here yet!

I have had two fills and have a third scheduled for the 20th of this month. I am not at my sweet spot but I think I am getting close. My band is fickle though...some days I am nice and restricted and stay satisfied for longer on a smaller portion, but most days I still get hungry sooner than 3-4 hours. I definitely can't eat as much as I used to though and the scale is moving, just slowly. I have 6 cc in a 10 cc band right now. Hoping the next fill is the one.

In terms of it being physically taxing, definitely it will make it easier. But for me the head thing is what has made it hard. 20 minutes is a great start!

Depends on your insurance. Some need up to a five year history of obesity in order to approve the surgery, so check that before you put more weight on.

It sounds like your real question is whether losing weight magically makes exercise easier and motivation easier to come by. I will offer you my personal thoughts on this. While success does tend to breed success and losing weight makes exercise slightly less unpleasant, the behaviors that resulted in getting fat in the first place take a conscious choice to change. You'll have to start exercising long before the "urge" to do so strikes...because frankly, it probably never will. Its just as easy to say "Oh, I have lost 20+ pounds, so skipping today won't matter" as it is to say "Oh, I have lost 20+ pounds and exercise will be easier now!". In fact, probably easier to say the first one. As a species we are pretty much biologically tuned to get as much out of life as we can with the least effort possible. When all our needs are met without having to put in the effort to exercise (food, clothing, shelter), we tend to not be biologically driven to do it. Therefore you have to discover other benefits to it, and those discoveries come won on the back of hard work done when it isn't particularly pleasant. They don't come fast or easy as a general rule. So no. I don't think that having ANY kind of weight loss surgery is going to suddenly make you feel like getting up off the couch, regardless of how much weight you do or don't do. At some point you have to choose to. And the benefit of enjoying it and/or it becoming habit comes later, after doing it allllll those times you didn't feel like doing it, alllllll those times you had to make yourself do it through the inner whining "I don't wanna!"....a process that has nothing to do with the kind of surgery and everything to do with the kind of determination with which you go into it, regardless of which you choose.

Done the military thing...it probably is that long of a wait, especially in Hawaii where there isn't the option of traveling to another military medical facility to have it done. Tripler is very busy due to basically all the branches of the military stationed on the islands having to use it. Best of luck and hang in there.

Since being banded I am becoming more and more gluten intolerant and lactose intolerant. Lactose, milk and cheese mainly, are giving me horrible nausea. And things high in gluten (bread, Pasta and pizza crust in particular) cause me bloating and stomach pain the likes of which I have never felt in my life. Though so I still think those things taste good, I am rapidly losing my desire for them. I look at them and think about the unpleasantness to follow if I indulge in them and pretty much always decide to find something else to eat that won't cause me pain or nausea.

Have you tried the five day pouch test? It helps get the carb cycling to stop and gets you back aware of your pouch. Best of luck!

My doctor said there is no normal or max amount. It is determined by what each individual can handle. I was left with 3 cc at the time of surgery in a 10 cc band. I got 2 cc at my first fill, giving me 5 cc. I had my second fill earlier this week and got another 1 cc. I now have 6 cc in my 10 cc band and am beginning to feel real restriction now.

What I am finding is if I am eating until I feel "full", I am overeating on my band and I don't lose. Doing as mentioned above, having a pre-measured portion, eating it in a slow 30 minute time frame and stopping at 30 minutes whether I "finished" everything or not, I find I am satisfied but not full. I start getting hungry again around 4 hours later. Getting hungry has meant feeling physical hunger pain, not just feeling like I have room to eat more. It is my body demanding fuel. I seldom felt that as an adult...I made sure I didn't apparently. Learning that feeling full (stuffed, or a sensation of physical fullness) means I have gone too far is probably one of the hardest parts for me. I'm having to redefine what it means to have eaten a meal. I always ate until stuffed (which I interpreted as "full"). And that will stretch my pouch and hinder what I am trying to accomplish here. Having adequate fills makes this easier, without a doubt. I just had my second fill this week to 6 cc in a 10 cc band and its easier than before. I don't get hungry until right at the 4 hour mark. I am not enamoured of feeling hungry I am finding and I am learning I did a lot of eating in large portions prior to my band in order to keep from ever feeling it. I would eat until stuffed and the way I knew it was time to eat again was by no longer feeling stuffed. I thought that was hunger and am learning its not! That was getting to "not hungry". I never got down to "hungry" before. Now I do. Its uncomfortable and unmistakable when my body is asking for food. And not eating simply because more food will fit has been a challenge, but I can't deny the results. I drop weight in chunks when I use my band correctly. The food trickling slowly through the stoma (opening) is what makes you feel full on less food. Rather than a big bunch at once, the stomach is fed food in small amounts. Best of luck to you as you adjust to your new life! I am pretty new at this, so I definitely don't proclaim to be any kind of an expert. Just sharing the observations that are starting to work for me.

Well, the band just can't control what you put in your mouth, and since not all calories are created equal, that does matter. I am so sorry for your frustration. Maybe a few sessions with a counselor and/or nutritionist would help get you on track? Having the band alone doesn't result in weight loss, as you have discovered. Its still a lot of work on the head issues. I wish you the best of luck.

Since I went through TLCEdge, I don't know if Dr. Castro differs...you can call and ask, they are very helpful. When TLCEdge first began offering their pricing, it was the lowest around...brought in patients for the doctors, took away the risk of doing the financing themselves...they make slightly less $$ but see more patients. But the docs are wising up. People would rather have their own surgeon rather than some middle company organizing and acting as a go between, but they also don't have 15K floating around. At $9990 a lot of people can afford to pay for it and the surgeon makes the full amount, not a reduced amount. Good luck with your surgery.

dd, just click on your ticker in your signature. It will take you to a page to enter your password and you can update it. I got my second fill today....another 1 cc added for a total of 6 cc now in a 10 cc band. I feel snugness in my chest like I did after surgery, which I think is a good sign. Fluids for the rest of today and tomorrow, then mushies and softer meats for two days, then regular food. I hope this kickstarts things...I definitely have had restriction but still can eat too much.

7 weeks postop here, had my first fill at 4 weeks and am having my second fill in two hours. I had 3 cc in my band from surgery and got 2 cc on my first fill. I still get seriously hungry too. It takes time. Hang in there.

I echo what RM said. Own it to your surgeon and let him do a scope if he/she feels the need. No way to know if you did damage at this point. And yeah, telling yourself you suck isn't going to move you forward any. You screwed up. Telling yourself you suck is only going to make it feel more okay to screw up in the future...after all, if you suck, what more can you possibly expect of yourself? Rather than telling yourself you suck, tell yourself you are better than this. Call your surgeon, do what he says and stick to your postop plan from here forward.

I agree with this. If you can't follow the band rules and change your behavior, how will you keep it off after bypass and follow those rules? The bypass has a decently high failure rate and a lot of people regain the weight, with few alternatives afterward due to the alteration in their body anatomy. Bypass might work for you, but I would not take another single drastic step without a good psychologist and some intensive therapy to help you identify and act on your goals. And if you are going to do that anyway, why not do it in terms of getting the weight loss surgery you have already had to work for you before considering another surgery? I know you are hurting and I am so sorry. I hope you get the help you need and find answers.

From the very beginning of my weight loss journey I have lost an elephant's penis. Ew. Since LB surgery, I have lost the average amount of pizza an american eats in a year plus half of a guinea pig.

If you go back to any given month (I picked May of 2008) you will see the posts from people at the stage we are at post surgery complaining that they are not losing. Most of those people's tickers are down 45 lbs or more now 8 months out. So we just need to hang in there and keep doing what we are supposed to do...eat right, exercise, get our fills, follow the band rules. It will come!

Yes, this is exactly my same situation. TLCEdge did nothing for me other than book the initial appointment. They seemed very disorganized and made me some false promises about when my surgery would be in the day. Dr. Castro is WONDERFUL. He has the same pricing as TLCEdge and you don't have to go through a middle man. His office is great and his demeanor is wonderful. I was banded 11/21/2008 and deal exclusively with Dr. Castro's office now. He does all my fills and I doubt I will be back at TLCEdge again. In fact, I have my second fill this afternoon down at Dr. Castro's office. After I have exhausted my six fills that came with my surgery price, Dr. Castro will only charge me for an office visit to do any further fills I need. The TLCEdge pricing included everything but the pre-op diet and the psych eval, which was $250. Dr. Castro did not require an all liquid pre-op diet, just low calorie, low carb. He gives out a wonderful booklet that answers every question you could possibly have about the pre-op, surgery and postop time period.

I have noticed i have this when I consume too many carbs and when I eat some kinds of dairy. I definitely have some food sensitivities that I didn't have before surgery and if I avoid those foods that make me feel bad, I have no trouble.