Desdemona

I haven't posted for quite a while either but I never stopped low-carb. I have followed it since Dec 29 which is when I began my pre-op diet. I would be lost without low-carb. I used to have a hard time sticking to it but I have had a much easier time in 2008. The band makes a huge difference in helping me stick to it. I was stalling out for quite a while and I added L-Carnitine, C0-Q 10, and magnesium. I did start losing again. I don't know if it's the supplements or just coincidence. I also got a fill last Thur so I'm hoping that will give me a boast. I've been under tremendous stress at work which I don't think helps. I went quite a while there where I quite literally did not have a moment to walk. Now, I'm at least starting to get back out there for 30-40 mins. I have to take a few trips in the last few weeks of Oct but I'm hoping to get to a gym starting in early Nov.

Congrats!!!! Welcome to the fold!!!! You'll be melting away in no time.

Hi Yourmajesty! Welcome. It's a lot to think about. Make sure you check out the "age" groups. You will find a very active one for those of us in our "50s". People are friendly and will answer all your questions.

NAME.........................surgery date.....todays date....Lbs lost 1. SpecialK .................3/17/08........9/7/08............53.9 lbs 2. scrappy_friend .........3/17/08........9/4/08............54.0 lbs 3. aJoneen.................. 3/04/08........9/4/08............31.0 lbs 4. WestCoastMom....... 3/27/08........9/4/08............60.0 lbs 5. julietj1970................ 3/03/08........9/4/08............40 lbs 6. SugarBean.............. 3/24/08........9/4/08............88 lbs (30 before surgery) 7. Tess415...................3/10/08........9/4/08............60 lbs (23 before surgery) 8. jegtlf.........................3/24/08........9/5/08............56lbs 9. emmersglue .............3/18/08........9/5/08............48lbs 10. lglenn3000.................3/17/08........9/5/08............28 lbs 11. Busy.........................3/17/08........9/6/08............41 lbs. 12. tp78..........................3/13/08........9/8/08............36 lbs. update 9/25/08....-44lbs 13.potatie........................3/27/08........9/11/08...........56lbs 14. TKT2FLY.....................3/17/08........9/14/08...........63lbs 15. MSBoss08....................3/06/08........9/17/08..........64lbs 16. Hazel-Eyes...................3/14/08........9/17/08...........31 lbs 17. hungry4help..............3/3/08...........9/18/08........65lbs (10 before surgery) 18. sisterc.....................3/17/08..........9/18/08........28 lbs 19. Anniedub..................3/6/08............9/26/08........55 lbs 20. wishin4.....................3/26/08..........9/26/08........48 lbs 21. AuntLucy...................3/10/08.........9/26/08........64 lbs 22. nycm00.....................3/24/08.........9/25/08........60lbs. 23. Desdemona................3/19/08........10/03/08........58lbs.

I have learned that what you are going through is COMPLETELY Normal for many people. I slept in a sitting position on my couch with my feet on a foot stool for 3 WEEKS! I had a light desk job that I returned to in 3 WEEKS but I was STILL sore then. I could not have done harder work even then. I was worried for a while because I just was taking so much longer than so many other people on the board----and I'm no baby----I was just plain weak and very sore. I was SURE something was wrong. Nothing was wrong! I just needed more time. If you are worried about something talk to your MD's nurse. Part of all that money you're paying them is for good post-op care. Don't feel bad about making them earn that huge surg and post-op fee. They have seen it all and they can reassure you---or if something doesn't sound right --they'll have you go in. Don't worry.

Yayforme-- I was 222 at intake and down to 201 at banding on 3/19. I lost 11lbs in 2 weeks after banding and I was put on a VERY strict diet of broth, skim milk and sugar free frozen pops for the first MONTH!! Even though I was EXCELLENT w/my diet (no sugar, starch, fruit--about 1100 calories a day) I stalled like crazy over the summer. I'm now 164. Yes---I have been disappointed. I thought I'd be close to goal weight by now. BUT--there is another way I am looking at this. I have lost nearly 60lbs this year. I feel SO MUCH better! I sleep better! I look better! I'm off all my medications! I can go to the beach and walk! I had to give away all my clothes and buy new ones! People can't get over the difference in me. And that's just the beginning. I could go on and on. The bottom line is --- I know I would be more than 222 right now if I had NOT done this. I remember (well) when I was your age that I was sure all I had to do was go on a diet for a few weeks or so and I'd be down to goal weight in no time. That isn't what happened. I've been yo-yo dieting ever since I was 22. By the time I was 56 -- all I had to show for it was 222lbs---a bunch of prescription pills--and several weight related medical problems. I understand your frustration -- and I wish it would come off faster too ---- BUT---if you just hang in there with us --- you are going to see your own weight loss patterns and then you'll understand how your body works this process. You may not care for the speed of it -- but you WILL lose the weight and you will be very happy. Stick to it -- and you won't have to go through the next 34 years battling weight and health problems. Oh yes---1 more thing that is really good (!!!)---since I have been losing more slowly (and because I apparently have good genes) my skin is tightening! It appears that even at my age --I'm not going to have any or much loose skin. So that's a nice consolation prize. You can do this! Best wishes.

Heather----What a wonderful spiritual effort you are making! It is beautiful. I just want to say that when you were talking about the swelling, reflux etc --I was concerned that the basic problem may be dehydration rather that food. I do believe that those of us who are banded need to be extra careful about dehydration. Do you wear any rings? If so--are you noticing any tightness of rings when you wake in the AM?? If so --that is a sign of dehydradtion. It may be that you could continue a modified fast that at least includes a safe and healthy amount of Water during the day. If that doesn't work---perhaps a purposely bland supplement of Protein drink during the day---some sort of drink that you will not enjoy or that will distract your spiritual intentions---just something that will nurish your body enough to allow you continue to focus on devotion. Best wishes.

teena--great story!! So you are on the brink of onederland!! Congrats. Keep on truckin'!!

Diva78-- It's very hard to know without you sharing more info like---what type of eating/adjustment plan did you MD put you on right after surg? What was your beginning BMI? What is your eating plan? How old are you? Do you have medical conditions or are you taking particular medications. Were you required to lose weight before the surg and if so how much did you lose in what period of time? There are many factors that determine how fast we lose.

By law you have the right to call your old MDs office and tell them you are coming in to pick up photocopies of your file. They must give it to you and can only charge you a "reasonable fee" for making photocopies of your file pages. Although you can't expect them to copy them in 10 mins notice --they should plenty of time to comply with your request in 24 hours.

Well said Tess! And I would add one more thing. It did occur to me that my band would not last for my lifetime too. However, I expect that there will be discoveries and improvements in the future (near future) on WL. I think WLS is just the beginning of some real breakthroughs. If I had gotten the bypass -- I'd have to live with the consequences of it when I got older. With the band I will still have the option of fully accessing them if the band becomes ineffective for me. I also like the fact that the band does not forgive "bad behavior." If you want it to work--you must "mend" your ways. I do believe that --in time--people will gain weight on EITHER of the methods IF they don't eat differently. The body will learn to adapt to a bypass. It will learn how to handle food differently and start to absorb all those calories if people still eat them. On the other hand--the band doesn't allow us to swill it down anymore. We have no choice but to learn to eat differently. I think we are more incline to chance our eating habits than bypass people.

You ARE doing the right thing. When I began I had 100lbs to lose too. I hurt so bad from being overweight that I couldn't even stand to wait 2 more nights for a New Years eve bash before starting my pre-op diet. Now--I'm thrilled to say I only have about 46 more lbs to go --and I feel like a new women. I now know that I would never have lost this weight without the band. And I also now know that I WILL lose the 100lbs (and that is actually below a 25.0 BMI). I WILL be at goal weight --- and stay there---for the first time in 30 years. Make SURE you do everything your MD tells you to do. If you do that --- You WILL do it too! I wish you the very best.

Excuse me??? Well ---- OK. So if a person was NOT in the military then they can NOT be a good president??? Hmmm----let's see . . . Then I guess that leaves out Lincoln, FDR, and pretty much all women for president. Come to think of it Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson nor John Adams were in the military. Maybe that's why they did NOT included military credentials for the president when they WROTE the United States Constitution. Oh those good-for-nothing LIBERAL Federalists!!! They were ALWAYS stirring up trouble against the government! Maybe if they had learned to be good soldiers they would have had the maturity to be loyal Englishmen instead of a bunch of LIBERALS!:thumbup:

GO TO THE HOSPITAL! I went through that about a month ago and they had me come right in! Not only can you get dehydrated, it can cause a slippage which might be removal of the band. They should NOT have given you 1.5 cc all at once on top of what you already.

Dr. Schulman-- Thank you for your quick response. I will mostly likely have an additional question or 2 as I move through the process. Thanks again.

Dr Schulman- Thanks you for offering your expertise. I have a question. I’m going to have a breast reduction and I think I should probably try to have it about 40 more lbs from now. I’m guessing I’ll lose another 5lbs or more from the surgery process. I won’t have any problems w/ins. Shoulda and Coulda done it years ago when I was still young and skinny. I know I will have to have my yearly mamo. I also know that sometimes they find cancer that didn’t show up on the mamo. If cancer IS present---does it become more dangerous (spread faster) because it has been opened to the air or disturbed by the surgery?

I've been doing a lot of reading over at the surg thread. (There's a PC that maintains a thread over there and he answers anyones questions). I'm hearing it's about 2 days in the hospital and 3 weeks recovery on breast reduction. I'm not sure about the TT. I need to lose about another 40 before I can do the BR. I'm not sure I will get/need the TT.

Hi Babs! I'm still keeping an eye on you! Great to hear that you are doing so well. So far --- I don't really see any sagging skin but I still have 47lbs to go --so ---who knows what will happen. But my girls are really starting to hang and I just know I'm going to need to get them done. Did you get a sense of how long of a wait you will have for surg for the reduction? I'm a bit concerned about having it done locally. I'm wondering if there's anyone in our area that is REALLY good. I'm thinking it might be best to go to Boston. But -- I take you that you have already looked around locally and found some good surgeons???

Hi All-- I'm out in Western MA but get to Boston a fair amount for work. I'm beginning to think (dream!) about getting to goal weight. It's very clear that I'm going to need to have the girls done. I'm thinking that it would make sense to have that done in Boston. Where do you think I should get it done? Brigham & Womens? Does anyone have a suggestions about who has a good rep for this? Can I do it before goal weight -- or wait for a while? How long of a wait will it be to get my first evaluation appointment---then wait for a surgery date?

When your walking through your livingroom and your night gown slips off down around your SHOULDERS and falls to the floor!!!

It sounds like this post originally asked the question -- should people around 200lbs get the band? What does this mean? First of all – the question doesn’t seem to take into consideration that 200lbs can be 40-50BMI for many people. People who are over 34 BMI are at a significantly higher risk of developing cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. They are more likely to be under-performing in their job----more likely to be passed over for promotions (less financial security)---less likely to be happy. Should we expect the non-symptomatic overweight person to wait for a diagnosis of cancer or heart disease before we decide it’s alright with us if they get a band? There is also the opposite side of the coin to this question. The VAST majority of the published research on WLS clearly demonstrates that samples with higher BMIs do better with bypass than banding. That is why many insurance companies refuse to pay for banding but will pay for bypass for higher BMIs. That’s also why many WLS surgeons strongly recommend bypass for higher BMI patients. So now-- should we say that people with higher BMIs should NOT get the band? I'm not in favor of offering opinions to low or high BMIs because each and every single person is different. We have different bodies, minds and spirits. We have different stories ---different needs. Personally -- I had a very hard time deciding what to do about my weight. I have spent over 20 years battling my weight problems. All I had to show for all that effort was a slowly dying body – constant pain from head to toe – difficulty doing my job---and increasing shame. 100lbs may not seem like a lot of weight to someone who needs to lose 200 or 300 hundred lbs but-- believe me---it’s enough to quickly kill anyone regardless of known diseases or not. Most people in my life have been supportive of getting the band. There are some of my friends who are so moralistic that they just think I should have gotten my act together and lost the weight on my own. I assume those same people think that anyone who dies of obesity deserve exactly what they get. In the end, I’m glad I didn’t allow the opinions of other people to shame me out of getting the band.

Candle-- you are raising the most absolutely important point here and I think we need to make sure we say that for other people who are pre-surg who look at this thread in the future. We don't want to scare them away from having the band. I actually heard someone who is about 250lbs overweight say that they would not do any WLS or lose a lot because she has nice skin (she really does too!) and she wouldn't want to have loose skin. I'm very worried for her. She is a wonderful woman and is developing serious health problems. I knew when I got the band that loose skin might happen and I was willing to face that possibility in order to get my life back. I have talked with several people who have loose skin and not 1 of them regrets having the band or bypass. They feel so much better. They are healthier. And they look better. Of course, I don't want it -- but if it is a consequence of my weight loss -- so be it. I'll get some surg for what ever makes sense and if there is loose skin that I can't fix--then I'll be so happy and grateful to have my health, strength and energy back that I'll be just fine. Well---yes. When I said "my fat was older" I really meant that the skin around the remaining 50lbs has been stretched for a long time. I began gaining weight 25 years ago. I have been at least 50lbs overweight all that time. Then about 5 years ago I started gaining another 50. So the 50 I lost had been there about 5 years and I don't see wrinkles. But that original 50 has been there for about 25 years so I'm wondering what will happen.

Why in the world doesn't your doctor use an x-ray machine if he has so much trouble finding the port? And why did he pump so many cc's of saline in (especially without an x-ray machine??). He's asking for trouble doing that. It's not OK for him to just keep poking over and over like that. He could puncture silicone band and that would require surgery. Such aggressive fills (4cc) without the use of video x-ray to monitor the fill could result in band slippage -- which means removal of the band. Makes me wonder what kind of job he did putting it in. Consider finding someone else.

Well now this post just sent me flying into the bathroom in front of a full length mirror for stretch mark inspection! I have lost 50lbs so far and have another 50 to go. So far--I'm not seeing sagging or wrinkled skin. I have some stretch marks under my arms toward the top of my arm, some around the outside of my hips, and some toward the top outside corners of my breast. I'm not seeing any on belly or thighs. The 50lbs I just lost is "newer" weight gained in the last 5 years. I'm concerned about the next 50 because it's older weight (a LOT older!) and I'm afraid that because it's been there for a long time -- my skin won't be as elastic for that fat as it has been for the first 50.

I'm with Donna. IS your MD is anti-banding? Does he really understand bariatric issues as well as he should? OR ---- perhaps he doesn't like your insurance and doesn't want to deal with them? It's REALLY important you have a surg who knows the surg, system and has a good attitude. Get someone else! Also---call you ins co and see if they will itemize their requirements for you. Then prep out your own lists and give it to your next MD. It's a shame -- but sometimes we have to do half their assessments for them.