sleepyjean

I agree. The band is just now coming into its own and lots of people, including doctors in other specialties, still confuse it with gastric bypass.

What kind of restriction does she have? Has she said? And do you see *everything* she eats? It's possible she's eating a lot at school, where temptation abounds.

Your daughter sounds like a pretty awesome kid

I'm almost a year out and for the past six months I've been battle constipation. It ain't fun. I thought only senior citizens used dulcolax!

Before I got banded, I didn't think much about the long term. I figured I'd lose the weight, then after I was finally acustomed to living (and eating) like a "normal" person, I'd probably have it removed. Why have it in there if you don't need it anymore, right? But I had a chat with my doc last month and it changed my mind. He said that it's virtually inevitable that you will gain weight if you have the band removed. That's not to say that you'll ever be obese again, but as doc said "the biological mechanisms that control hunger and satiety are complex and little understood even to this day." It sounded very wise and profound coming from him, LOL. I'd sure love to see some stats on this, but I think the man's right. There are all sorts of hormones and nerve signals and unconcious urges going on inside our bodies. The band helps suppress those urges, but doesn't eliminate them. And when you get the band removed, all that stuff comes creeping back, so slowly you may not even notice it. A year later, you've gained ten pounds and hardly realized it. Then the next year another ten, then another ten, and another ten. After a while, you find yourself back in those black stretch pants, wondering what happened. Personally, I'm not willing to risk it. A few months before I was banded, I was shocked to "discover" I'd gained over 120 pounds in the previous five years. As God is my witness, I'll never be surprised like that again. I'm keeping my band, unless and until modern medicine comes up with something even better.

Amen, Nana! I participate in a number of online communities besides LBT and it always makes me laugh when someone feels the need to exit with a dramatic "goodbye forever" post. First off, most of the people who read such a message have no idea who that person is or what she's talking about. Secondly, the person who left the message ALWAYS comes back to see how everyone reacted to their thinly veiled f-you message. Always. Good, bad, or indifferent, everyone here has the right to speak their mind. If someone thinks Dahlia is throwing a pity party for herself, they have the right to say so. If Dahlia thinks everyone here is an uncaring biatch, she has the right to say so. As with any online community, we are all strangers to some degree and that makes it easy to misinterpret things that people say. Bottom line is, this is supposed to be an enjoyable activity. If you're not having fun, leave. Lash out if you must, but it serves no useful purpose. There's a lot more to stress out about than comments from a total stranger on the internet.

I remember seeing a similar question on here before I was banded. Most people said they would do it again, even though at that time it seemed like a lot of people were experiencing complications. I wish there was a way to do a multiple dimension survey on here. I would like to see how the answers to these kinds of questions vary based on how long you've been banded.

From childhood all the way up through college, I was always chubby - ten or 20 pounds heavier than I should've been. It wasn't until after college that I experienced the true joys of obesity and yo-yo dieting. I can't imagine ever being thin. I would love it, but I think I'll probably wind up back where I was, with an extra 15 pounds or so standing between me and "thin".

I take Centrum chewables as well. I did some comparison shopping before I was banded and the liquid multis I found didn't have nearly as much bang for the buck - only half as many Vitamins and minerals as the chewables. plus, liquid is a lot more expensive than chewables. A lot of people here take Flintstone vitamins also. I think those are fine too.

I gained almost 20 pounds between my first consultation in October and my surgery the following May. I was feeling very discouraged, because until about February I was sure I wasn't going to be able to have the surgery. Depression + more depression + the holidays = Hello Pizza Hut? Do you Deliver? I'm not proud of it and wish I hadn't done it, but thankfully, it came off in the first month after I was banded. Seems like the most recent weight comes off the fastest. Or maybe I just made that up.

You have a very good reason for wanting it on the other side. Ask him. I'm sure he'll do his best to accomodate you.

That is how you know it's all bullcrap. Please don't fall for another fad diet/shake/pill/supplement/"program"/"system." If there were truly a way to lose a pound a day, it would be all over the news channels and there would be success stories left, right, and center. (Other than those on the paid commercial of course.)

Are you serious?They tell you you can't gain weight, but they don't actually weigh you themselves? What's to stop people from lying? That is so ridiculous. Why don't they just tell the truth - there's a mandatory 12-month waiting period because they're hoping you'll give up on the idea, pay for it yourself, or switch to another insurance carrier.

from what I see around here, lots of people don't get any restriction until after the first fill.

I've never been like clockwork, but I can usually tell what week it's coming. My cycle was seriously whacked out for the first couple of months after surgery. The first one was really heavy, and then three weeks later, I got it again and it was heavy again. From reading these boards, you know the surgery can disrupt your cycle, but when it happens to you, it's still scary. I thought I was dying for sure. Give it a little time. :-D

Nah, nobody thinks that

I don't have kids so I wouldn't dare give any advice. All I will say is two things (1) you know your girls better than anyone and are in the best position to determine what they can handle and (2) 12 year olds are SMART. They're going to find out sooner or later.

The best thing you can do is hang around here for a few weeks. It's absolutely the best way to prepare yourself mentally. Since everyone's path is different, reading the posts here will acquaint you with the possibilities, but you won't know what your journey will be like until it happens. I'm a consultant, and in my business, the answer to just about every question is "it depends" LOL. In terms of your bandster journey, it's all over the place - not just because everyone is different, but also because everyone's doctor has different rules and guidelines. Some people have to do a pre-op diet, some don't. Some have restriction and start to lose immediately, others have to wait several months and get multiple fills. Some people go home the same day as surgery, others stay overnight. Some are up and walking around the next day, others feel like hell for a week. Some PB (spit up) a lot, some not at all. Some tell everyone they know, others keep it to themselves. Some lose hair, and others don't. Some people lose weight steadily, and others do it in fits and starts. A few discover that they are "turtles" and lose very slowly. I spent about six months hanging around here, jealous as hell, before I got banded, so there weren't too many surprises. There were only a few things that I didn't anticipate: 1. Exactly what restriction feels like. It's hard to describe and hard to conceive of pre-band. But once you've got it, you KNOW it! 2. For a while there, eating became a chore. I never thought I'd see the day. 3. Experiencing how truly nasty some Protein shakes can be, while others are actually quite yummy. 4. Feeling "in the groove" for 7 months and then losing restriction and sliding back into my old eating habits without realizing it. 5. Losing weight messes with your hormones. It threw my body out of whack in few ways before I found equilibrium again. For example, my menstrual cycle was crazy for a couple of months and I started having problems with insomnia. 6. I am an emotional eater and getting banded completely cut off my primary tool for comforting myself and dealing with bad/sad feelings. I knew it was going to happen, so I started seeing a shrink about two months before surgery. She's helped me learn some other coping skills, but it's slow going. As far as preparation goes, I'm sure you'll get lots of great advice from the gang here e.g. find a protein supplement you like, find chewable versions of your Vitamins and medicines (I like Centrum chewables and also take a Biotin supplement), take a 'before' photo, and stock up on good-tasting liquids to last you through the first couple of weeks after surgery. Good luck to you, and welcome!

I don't know how many answers you'll get to this post, LOL. In a roundabout kind of way, you're asking people how much money they make. A point of clarification: The rule isn't that you can deduct 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. You can only deduct the medical expenses you paid IN EXCESS OF of 7.5% of your adjusted gross. (IRS info here: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p502/ar02.html#d0e299) The amount of the refund you get back, and whether it covers your surgery depends entirely on how much you paid for the surgery and how much money you make. If you get it done it Mexico, it's going to be way cheaper than it is stateside, and therefore your deduction will have more bang. I have read about people here paying less than $10k in Mexico, while others paid more than $20k here in the US. As for your adjusted gross, that's going to be different for every single person. Here are a few examples (let's say the surgery is $15,000): Adjusted Gross = $30k 7.5% = $2,250 You can deduct $12,750 Adjusted Gross = $60k 7.5% = $4,500 You can deduct $10,500 Adjusted Gross = $100k 7.5% = $7,500 You can deduct $7,500

I WISH! I still tend to be overly warm.

If you like your doctor, think they treated you well, are at your goal, feel you look your best and are feeling great about all of it, go for it. :-D

I agree, it's different for everyone. I have a hard time with chicken, but I can swallow my ginormous omega-3 supplements with no problem. Lists of foods that bandsters can and cannot eat are just some of the ones that are most common across bandsters are are likely to give you some trouble. You will discover on your own what does and doesn't work for you as you go through the liquids --> mushies --> solids process. I daresay every bandster here has tried foods on the "don't eat this or you'll be sorry" list. If you loved pizza before the band, sooner or later you'll be tempted to try it again and see what happens. The good news is, when you're experimenting, it only takes a second to figure out which foods go on your personal HELL NO list. For better or for worse, Mother Nature has given us an amazingly responsive spit-up mechanism.

I asked my doctor about erosion a couple of days ago and he said that every bandster us can reasonably expect the level of restriction to fluctuate throughout their life. There is more fluctuation during the active weight loss phase, but even after you've hit your goal weight, you still have to monitor your restriction. When you think about it, it makes sense because everyone's body changes over time. Using myself as an example, I'm 32. I expect I'll live to be 80ish. There's absolutely no way my level of restriction is going to stay the same for 50 years. It's just not possible. This could be a very normal explanation for your reduced restriction. Erosion isn't a myth, but it is rare and becoming even more so over time as American doctors get more exprienced with band placement. You were banded several years ago, though, so erosion might be slightly more likely in your case than someone banded more recently. I would imagine you'd have to have a pretty advanced case of erosion to notice a significant change in your restriction and then I expect you'd be experiencing other symptioms like abdominal pain or port infection if that was the case. My advice is try not to get freaked out about this. (I know it's hard) It's likely that there is nothing majorly wrong with you. Do have your doctor check it out as soon as you can. If you haven't seen your doc in a while, it couldn't hurt to have him/her kick the tires, so to speak. Please try not to get worked up about it unless and until you *know* there is something to worry about. Let us know what you find out :-D

As we all know, our level of restriction seems to change throughout the day. No one can explain exactly why this happens. What's your restriction pattern?