WLSResources/ClothingExch

Your "partner" says no? Do you not have autonomy over your life, your body and your health? Apart from that, I've had dilation. My band was loosened quite a bit -- not completely emptied -- for a while, perhaps up to two months to that the dilation would correct. Then I started tightening and found the band in working order. It's been said that, once loosened dramatically due to such a mishap, the band never works quite as well again, but that doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't renew the partnership with its owner. If you and your surgeon haven't discussed giving it a chance before discussing revision surgery, you may want to bring it up.

You packed the perfect solution into a long sentence. Go for it. We're talking about your life, your body, your health. You're very clear on why you want surgery. You have no obligation or reason to 'splain yourself to all the cousins and neighbors or the grocer.

The purpose of getting clearance or having a "psychological evaluation," required by most insurance plans and some surgeons, is to show that: - you understand the risks of surgery (every surgery has risks, by the way) - that you understand that surgery doesn't guarantee weight loss, but rather is a tool to aid you in eating properly to lose weight - that you're capable of understanding guidelines for eating properly and following other instructions from the surgeon and others in the practice, e.g., the RD - if your insurance plan is aware that you're in treatment for mental illness, it wants to know that your meds do what you want and need of them, i.e., that you're stable and functioning That's the extent of what I'm able to say right now. I'm not a medical or mental health professional, nor do I work in a surgery practice of insurance company. P.S. Lots of people on the site talk about having to fill in pages and pages of questionnaires for an evaluation with a psychologist to whom they're referred by their surgery practices. It seems a load of horsepucky, a new "industry" mining the pockets of patients. A few people have mentioned that the surgery offices insist that they see the psychologists they refer them to. If this happens to you, be firm. I hope some of the site members stop in here to tell you more. Nothing to get nervous about unless and until something happens that is nervous-making.

It's nice to read about someone who's family is in. Too often the posts are the opposite. P.S. You'll need someone to fetch you out of the hospital. Whatever help you need while in will be provided by staff. Dog-sitting, yes, of course.

Requirements and recommendations vary among surgeons and medical plans. Have you asked at your practice?

My dear, good lady, your own thinking is a major problem for you. What would not make him "mad?" He could go nuts if you sneeze or if you smile. Getting yourself and your kid or kids to safety and calm comes before anything else. If it means postponing surgery, then postpone surgery until your life is in better shape. If you're not sure how to get help apart from calling the police, let us know where you live -- your city and state -- so that we can find out for you. There are city, town and county services and there are social service agencies that provide the kind of help that would make sense for you. I have worked as a volunteer for an organization that provided help for victims of domestic abuse. I think I'd be able to find the right thing for you to call.

@@funsize.ma, what you're trying to write here is very confused. Do you have one child or three? Why would you go to jail if you call the police because you are being harmed physically? That makes no sense. If this guy is hitting you, call the police. You and the child or children need to be taken to a safe place. You owe a safe place to the kids.

You've reached you goal weight, which is fabulous. It's understandable that you think the three pounds are a huge change, but they really aren't. When there is apparent weight gain, there's a reason. There are also two possibilities that you haven't gained anything: - You were on a different scale. Not all scales are the same. - Your menstrual cycle might account for the gain. It doesn't necessarily happen each month. If the regain is real, your own words suggest that you may no longer be as diligent with food-tracking as you think. - Weighing "just about everything" is not the same as weighing everything. Have you not been measuring more often than you realize? - Depending on what the food is, "only a couple of bites" can be a whole lot. It matters how you define "couple". It matters whether you're biting broiled chicken or fettuccine Alfredo. The frequency matters, too. - There's a definite difference between "haven't had fast food" and "maybe a few french fries..." Those few fries can amount to a mountain over a short time. - To "try very hard" to stick to sugar-free candy is more of the same vagueness. Those extra bites here and there add up. They sneak up. While you're wanting to maintain your weight, it's just as important to keep exact records as it was to lose the weight from the beginning. It's fine to have some candy or fast food if you like, but whatever the amount, they should be included in your tracker. You know all of this because you learned how to lose weight. Keeping it off is an ongoing project.

@@vcalvillo90 wrote: "I'm feeling good... when I start work on MONDAY my meal schedule will be off . I usually don't have time to eat,get super busy." The "feeling good" part is good! The skipping lunnch part isn't and it is a woman thing. I noticed way, way back that it's a rare man who skips or puts off lunch or going to the men's room. It's common for women to do both habitually. Women put off lunch and forget about it after a while. They hold off going to the loo because their work is so [horsepucky] demanding that they can't stop for a moment. Women are likely to wait to hit the loo until they're in pain and at least at risk of not making it. Bad culture, bad training, sick expectations. Take care of yourself! Promise it to yourself.

Number of calories and type of surgery are separate topics. A good, healthy number of calories also depends on whether you're talking about losing or maintaining weight. You didn't say which is on your mind now. In any case, 1200 is a good number for most people who want to lose weight. I say "most" because each person's metabolic rate may alter the working calorie range. As a footnote, I seem to recall that Weight Watchers' plan, before it introduced its "points" system, averaged 1100 calories per day. I'm unfamiliar with the points system and think it must work out the same. My practice's RD told me long ago never to go under 800 and, better, not to go that low. Very recently I noticed an online article -- wish I could tell you where -- it may have been at WebMD.com -- that strongly recommended not going as low as 800 for its bad effects on various health factors. 800 for anyone is very low and unnecessary for losing. I hope that we don't want to feel punished in service to a healthy goal. How foolish it is to work at being unhappy. Losing weight should feel good emotionally as well as physically. Deprivation works against it. Hope that fits what you're looking for at the moment.

To all the many who have yet to have surgery or are not much past surgery: Your concern now should be preparing for surgery and losing weight. Why put yourselves through the wringer over something that is a way down the road? Lose weight now, 'worry' about the cosmetic stuff when it arises. That's another thing. There are various ways to deal with cosmetic issues when they exist. Remember too that loose skin looks better over toned muscle than over flaccid muscle. Somewhere on the internet there are videos of a young (teen-aged) boy who lost oodles of weight. To look at him, you'd never know. The skin shows only when he pulls it away. His youth is in his favor, but he offers a lesson to all. Maybe someone will be willing to search out his videos I have no clue as to who, what, when, where.

Hey, you look wonderful. It's not for me to say whether you should have or "need" reconstructive surgery. That's subjective. You've been at goal for three years. Are you so unhappy with your body? People who don't have the cash do it with loans financed with plastic/reconstructive surgeon's practice. I don't know if banks offer such loans. Gofundme.com, about which I know nothing, is another possibility. I met someone at support group several years back who'd financed his lapband surgery through that or another site. Actually, it may have been another, but I don't recall which. You're a keeper.

It sounds as though you may need the band loosened a little. Make an appt at your surgery practice. If you haven't been in for some time, you're probably overdue for an esophagram anyway. Why would you ignore such discomfort, especially for months at a time? I hope your answer is of interest to you. You're the only one it affects.

While winter is a cause of dry skin, the prospect of surgery isn't. Apples and oranges, as the saying goes. People have accused surgery of many things, including the common cold and hangnails. Surgery should not have to take the rap for everything.

@@Crafty Li'l Devil, this may be a repeat, as I won't read through three pages of replies. Brace yourself against jolting coughs, sneezes and laughter by firmly pressing a pillow against your middle (the incisions). It helps a lot. Blow. Lots and lots of blow. I agree that walking is good, but you let me down.

@@Anna Nim, I like that your father still worries about you. If, as one might guess, he is a retiree, he seeks opportunities to occupy himself. Surgery, a new occupation, is ideal for him. Give him a kiss and don't worry about him on this.

@@bossportsgal, the others have already said that you owe the info to no one. I'll add that you may want to make the secrecy easier on yourself. Instead of inventing a surgery and which you'll therefore have to remember, you can say, "Hey, see you later. I'm taking some time off?" If you must fib, make it a big, fun one, as suggested by @. In fact I like the adult film story. I'd skip the rest of it -- so unattractive and unmistakably from the mind of the sort of boy who spent his school years in the principal's office.

Hey, you don't have to pick only one. Feel a whole bunch of things. You've already named one: Happiness. There are so many good -nesses ahead.

It takes a few adjustments, maybe more, to get to a good place. The process is an art rather than a science. There's no way to know how much saline an individual needs. Going slowly makes sense, whereas injecting a load of saline first time out is more than likely to make a person very unhappy. You should have been told more about the post-surgery proceedings that you seem to have been. Ask the questions that have been on your mind about the next stages. Your practice will comply. Having the answers will save a lot of fretting and plain, old wondering.

Crying over something painful is no surprise. If you opened this topic because you thought having cried during the evaluation will hurt you "grade," no way.

Great stuff. You are the resident Peter Pan.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5v3o7RdjgE

I track total grams of carb and grams of Fiber separately. My fiber grams are not so high that it's be worth my time to enter all my own data in the tracking system I use. So much easier to go with what's in the database when it applies to my food choices.

Of course. Butter and canola oil, too, depending on what I'm cooking. Some fat is necessary for good nutrition and health. There's also something to be said for things that taste good. Just don't go crazy with it.