ReneBean

Go Sherilynn! Go! Rock on, Girl! Keep dancing and you won't be eating! :]

Hi Trace! Love to hear about folks with the band for more than 2 yrs. I also love to hear about successful loss of 125 pounds... That's about how much more I have to lose. :] Glad to have another voice of experience. Oh - and you can do a ticker at www.tickerfactory.com Welcome!

Yes - others have posted photos that were graphic - they either blacked out the delicate parts - or cropped their heads out. I, for one, am interested to see the whole process. I know that the TT is in my future.

Hi Diane! Gas is a booger... I have some gas-ex chewables that I use when I need to... and I have HEARD that if you kneel on the bed with your butt in the air and your head and shoulders down on the bed, that the gas rises to the highest point - and starts working it's way through. Truly, I don't know how much it helps - but it's worth a try. Welcome and good luck!! Oh - and I know there is a group meeting in Denton, now, too. :]

I would enjoy it while it lasts... I had that same thing to begin with.... Then my appetite woke up and started grabbing me by the gut. If you are VERY lucky - you will have restriction even after the last of the swelling goes down. If not - don't fret. Just heal and follow your doc's instructions. Good Luck!

Yes - it will pass. Anything that makes you bloat or swell, makes your band tighter. As soon as the bloating and swelling is gone, Poof! So is the restriction. If you DO have an unfill - don't let them take much out - maybe a .2cc or something - cause you may be ravenous when your cycle is over.

OK - I am one of the "only 40 lbs" people - BUT - it is definitly due to the fact that I have not followed the rules, not dieted and not exercised enough during that year. Since I have been "on plan" I have done pretty well. With this surgery, you definitly get out what you put in - or rather, you get off what you Don't put in. If you like sweets - well, that's ok. You will have to exercise some self control - because the surgeon is correct... the Band will not stop or even slow you down from eating sweets or chips or anything else like that. The facts are - the crunchy and sweet are the easiest things to eat... So, the question is this: Will YOU follow the rules more of the time than not? Or will you eat every sweet or salty thing that crosses your path? I am not saying you have to be perfect - because I lost the magic 40 pounds doing about anthing I wanted to do... but can you be good MOST of the time? If you are willing to exercise - and show a little bit of self restraint - you will certainly lose more than I did in the first year. Now, if you expect the band to do it all - then NO, this surgery is not for you. If you go into this knowing that you will still have to watch what you eat and you will still have to exercise... then go for it. Good luck in your deliberations. **Oh - and some other questions to keep in mind. If you DON'T have the surgery, will you have lost even the 40 pounds after a year has passed? Will you keep it off if you do? Will you have to suffer the pangs of hunger to do it? I love my band - because even on days when I decide to FAST (protein shakes only) I don't get that gnawing starvation thing. Restriction is soooooo helpful when trying to reduce the quantity that you eat. Good Luck!

Hi All I am officially back. The Phantom signal did not make an appearance over the weekend, so I was not able to check in until today. Call off the Monkeys... I am back. Our trip was all about relaxation - and we actually had a lovely drive from Dallas to Tucson - spread over 3 days. Normally it only takes two days - but we were just "strolling" along. We spent Tues, Wed & Thursday with Mom & Dad and headed out toward home. The sun was hot, the pool was warm and we did nothing much of anything while we were there except laze around, talk and (yep, you guessed it) Eat. So, I am up a pound or two (or 5) from when I left. DANG! I love Mexican food in all it's forms... Fortunately, I have a fill scheduled for this afternoon - so I will be able to get back on plan with a little more ease. I got back to my office to find that the company closed a number of branches last week - leaving us with only 4 nationwide. Thank God my office was one that is staying open! I am relieved to remain employed this morning... as so many offices closed, and they even consolidated some departments - so no office went unscathed. The office looks a bit like a bomb went off in it this morning - with empty desks, and desks moving and everyone has that Shell Shocked look. I figure the next 6 mos will decide whether our company survives - whether the surgery saves the patient or kills it. I guess I had better start working on that Teacher stuff, just in case. Well - that's all I know, for now. I have to get back to looking busy and sounding important, now... lol! Love you guys! I hope everybody is doing well today. Hugs!

Hi Becky! Nice to see you! Great Photo! Don't fret about the stall. You must have needed some time to adjust to your flabulicious new self. Hugs and good luck!

Morning! I am alive and well. I am hailing y'all from a Super 8 in Van Horn TX. DH and I are soon to be on the road toward home. We have had a fabulous trip. If I were a nicer person, I wouldn't tell you that I have a sunburn from swimming in the pool at my Mom's... LOL! It was 85 degrees in the air, 80 degrees in the pool. *ahhhhhhhhh* Love you guys! I will check in from home if my phantom signal is working. xo

Groovy! Go for it!

Good Evening... Mandy - my lunch is kinda like your pinwheels - only not nearly as fancy - and without the pickle. I use Laughing Cow Light and turkey lunch meat. It's about the perfect lunch for me. Your Goat cheese one sounds pretty good... I may have to try that. Deb - I must confess I may eat pizza tonight, myself. DH wants one - and I am weak. Plus I have been so good all week... *sigh* I should go home and eat the leftover turkey breast in my fridge... Hmmm... cold turkey, or luscious warm spicy pizza? Did I mention that I am weak?!? Well, I'm off.... I will be driving all day tomorrow and Sunday - but maybe I will check in on Monday. Don't fret too much if I fall off the face of the earth. If I'm not back by March 12th - send out the Flying Monkeys! Love you guys!!

Mary, My Dear... The tragic truth is that what I eat isn't nearly as important as how much I exercise. Sucks, Huh? Good Luck, and enjoy your drinks! Cheers!

Hey Crab Cake! Welcome to LBT! I know that by the time I got to the Seminar, I have been surfing LBT for about a month - so I didn't have too many questions to ask... I think if you are wavering between two surgeries, you might want to be sure and research both. If you are visiting with a surgeon that does both - he may be biased toward one or the other. You should grill him on complications and mortality rates between the two surgeries. Your DH is probably biased toward the band because it has the lowest mortality rate both immediately at the time of surgery - and certainly over the long haul. I know my husband was DEAD SET against me having the ByPass. He was afraid I would die on the table, or end up with malnourishment issues, or, or, or... I was actually afraid he was against ANY surgery - but he was totally ok with the band. Keep re-searching until you are SURE of what YOU want. ByPass is great for immediate gratification - but no so great for Long-Term maintenance. You get a window of opportunity, and if you waste it - it's done. The band is not so great for immediate gratification - but much better for long-term maintenance because it can be adjusted to increase or decrease the restriction level. Me, I flaked out for the first year - ate verything I wanted, didn't exercise enough... and while I lost some weight - I didn't lose as much as I could have. If I had done that with the ByPass, I would have wasted the surgery - and been permantly altered in the bargain. Sorry - I want to be objective - but I am a 100% band supporter. You can go to a ByPass site and get the other point of view. Hugs, and good luck!!

Hey Jim, Welcome! I chose the band because it is the least invasive and damaging choice in weightloss surgery. Sure - you see lots of people here talking about complications - but for every one of them, there are 5-10 other people with no problems at all - the only difference is that the people with no problems don't need any help - so they don't come here as much, if at all. Maybe on Bandiversaries, folks will come in and leave a "Gee, everything is great" kind of message - but on a daily basis, who is going to do that? So, what you see here is skewed toward complications and sometimes it really seems like this is a scary, scary surgery, when it really isn't. I feel for the people who have complications - and I know that if you don't pay attention to your body and get treatment for them, they can be dangerous - but for the most part, even the complications are easy enough to treat and repair. If you go for one of the more extreme cut & paste surgeries, then you have double the complication rate - and the complications are usually more severe. I, myself, have only had ONE PB (productive burp) and no other complications at all.... in over a year. I am pretty sure that others will come out of the woodwork and say the same thing. I consider the band to be the best decision I have ever made. While I haven't burned up the board with my huge weightloss, I have lost some weight. If I had been working more, instead of flaking off for the last year, I would have lost more. Go to the Before and After thread. Take a look at those pictures... Hang out on a ByPass board for a while. Check out the complications (and the mortalities) over there. Research all the choices. Maybe for you and your wife, some other option would be more effective - but for me, I am 100% for the band. It's the only surgery I would consider having. The risks with the others are just too high, IMHO. Good Luck in your research!

Hi Mjsafari! ReneBean waving back! Welcome and feel free to ask any questions you have. And congrats on getting insurance to pay... I know that is no small feat! :]

Hi Court! Good luck with the process. Good deal that you are catching this while you are still at a relatively low weight. I expect it will be quite a while before I see a BMI of 39... Congrats of having the sense to take control before it all spins out of control. :]

That two week thing is a complete mystery to me....my fills are always immediately apparent - Although I do have fluctuation in restriction due to other factors... 1) stress 2) air travel 3) monthlies Basically anything that can cause you to be bloated will affect the level of restriction that you have. It may just be that you don't have perfect restriction yet - and when you get stressed, or whatever, you feel it. If it is stress, or bloating for any reason, it will go away again. I know that I have had 6-7 fills and I still need another one. Especially with the Vanguard band - but generally with all of them, it can take a while to get it right. Good Luck! And if your restriction isn't great or perfect at week 3 or 4 after your fill - get another one. Hugs!

Hey Stacey - you might need that passport to cross the border, too. You had better check with somebody at Border Patrol before you make that long drive. Hugs!

Could it be your gall bladder? I have heard descriptions like yours from people who - after multiple mis-diagnoses - discovered they had gall stones.... those little things can be horrid! Good Luck... let us know what your doc finds out.

Hugs, Sunta! Glad to hear you could find some light while waiting for the scan. Let us know the results as soon as you find out. Hope you get some pain relief soon.

Stay Strong, Laurend. Hopefully, the new office will do better than the old one. Once they see that you are going to be right there, on top of the process, they will be a little more inclined to stay on top of it, too.

I believe that is is the perfect example of the end justifying the means. I know for SURE that I only lost weight because I got the band. AND?!?! I lost the weight and I am still losing the weight. Is there some great virtue is struggling? I call Bullshit. I am doing what I have to do to try and better my health. If I got the band to do it - SO WHAT. Good Luck to All!

Dani Don't let your "ex" stop you from doing what you think is right. There is probably a reason that person is your "EX" - so certainly I would assume that there might be some weird underlying issues with this person. The Ex may feel the need to put you down. Ignore it and move on. Oh - and there is NO easy way. You are just using all the tools available to help you in your weightloss journey. If you have already experienced the YoYo effect, then you know that losing the weight isn't the big problem - it's maintaining and keeping the weight off... it's surviving plateaus without back-sliding. That is what the band is designed for. F* 'em if they can't take a joke... It's your life, your body, your decision. What would you say to the "ex" if doubts were expressed about you getting a pace-maker? An insulin pump? You would tell everybody what they could do with negative opinions - and you should do the same about the Band. Obesity causes just as many deaths as heart disease or diabetes... why shouldn't we have an aide to help us? You never have to be alone - you have us. Hugs!

Yep - it sucks. I had the same problem with the insurance company. Sadly, you just have to stay on top of everybody along the way. Nobody is going to care about this as much as you do. Hugs!