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Hi Just banded. I'm going to just throw out my opinion and everybody can agree or disagree (disclaimer - I admit that I've been influenced by my surgeon's very conservative outlook). It sounds to me like maybe you've been relying on your band to act as a physical barrier. The band was never meant to do all the work like that......to stop you while you mindlessly eat. The band is really a tool that makes us take deeper stock of ourselves. Sure, in the beginning, there is that "get to know you" time with our band where we are learning just how much we're able to eat. During that time, it's pretty easy to overeat, to PB, to not chew well, or whatever. But eventually, you should get a sense of how much you can comfortably hold (note I said "comfortably" hold......I don't mean how much you can pack in without it all coming back up). After you get that sense of how much you can eat, things get a lot easier. A lot of us struggle with head games (or head hunger, or whatever you want to call it) where we want to eat even though we are not physically hungry. The band doesn't do much to battle head hunger. That's where you come in. This is why they say the band is just a tool. You have to do some of the heavy lifting......especially at the start of things. So, having said all that, I would advise you to "start over" right now. First, do not eat crap......don't even have it close by, if possible. Second, with each meal really concentrate.....don't watch TV or read.....make detailed mental notes on how much you're eating, what size bites you're taking, whether you are chewing throughly, stuff like that. Third, do not eat until you're "full" (stuffed). Eat until you're "not hungry"...Your eventual goal should be to see how little a portion size you can eat and not be hungry 4 hours later. Fourth and last, drink plenty of Water and exercise, exercise, exercise. The importance of exercise can NOT be over-stated. So, that's my advice. Take it (or don't) for what it's worth. Remember, it's not too late to turn things around again.

Congrats, Kristine! That's an exciting time!

I'm pretty sure she prolly brings out "the gimp".

The new 'do is HOT! Heehee....I hate that too, but it's a little funny. I also hate / laugh at the first timers that post sooooo earnestly on the PJTP thread. Example: Hey guys, I was banded on April 5th and I'm still in a lot of pain! Did anybody else go through this? Help! Tap, are you Amish? I'm seriously thinking about it. There's a fairly decent chance. The only thing is, it's almost a 6 hr drive.......so if another social obligation comes up, y'all will prolly get "bumped". It sounds so much harsher than it is, yikes! I'm hoping I get to attend, it sounds like a blast!! Ummmm, I think maybe he's getting some thrill out of being treated so harshly...

What question did you ask that I didn't answer? I specifically went almost line-by-line to answer your questions. Ask me now, and I will answer again. I can't see where you even attempted to answer ANY of my questions. Want me to ask again? Seriously? That's the best you could come up with after dodging my questions? I think you're getting the humane aspect of socialism confused with the political aspect of socialism. I don't want the government to run banks, real estate, the auto industry, or healthcare. It is deplorable to think that some fat cat is getting my tax dollars as a bonus for running a company in the ground. However, it was Congress (specifically Chris Dodd) and Obama's treasury secretary (Geithner) that wanted those bonuses to be paid. So, it's not the fault of capitalism, per se, as much as it was political manuvering. So...now that we've elected somebody that doesn't cater to the corporations, are you predicting that illegal immigration will decrease? There are a lot of respected scientists that are unsure of global warming. Do I believe in it? Maybe......I don't know. I do know that it has been politicized beyond belief. And do you understand that the majority of the countries of the world have flatly refused to do anything to curb pollution? India and China are two of the biggest culprits. Not so much Reagan, but Bush ab-so-lutely went against his conservative ideals and spent waaaaay too much. Well.....kinda. In 1942 FDR proposed a 100% tax on anything above $110,000 / year (luckily that didn't go through). In 1963, anything over $400,000 was taxed at 91% (guess when putting money overseas in Switzerland came into vogue?). When I gripe about the unfair tax burden, it's not just about a paltry 3% increase......it's also about a crippling death tax, a stifling capital gaines tax, etc.

Er, well.....Fox and the democratic (and very liberal) chairman of the congressional judiciary committee: Washington Times - Conyers weighing probe of ACORN

Hey, I'm not trying to argue a moot point here. It's up to you whether to wear it or not. And honestly, it's no skin off my nose either way. But I would point out one final thing: Because the most common risk factor for sleep apnea is genetic (airway shape), the variable that really changes over time is airway muscle tone (sorry maestrita, until I eyeball that study you referenced, I'm gonna go with the studies I've read). In simplest terms, at age 22 your apnea might be mild......at age 42, it might be a different story. Ok, but don't let the terms of the study bamboozle you. Even if all apneas are completely resolved, the odds are overwhelming that hypopneas will still be present. Again, don't let numbers fool you. A 60% reduction in RDI sounds good on paper, but let's look at a hypothetical example: Pt#1 has an RDI of 60 (this means the pt is waking up an average of once a minute. The "normal" value for RDI is 5). A 60% reduction would mean this pt still has a whopping RDI of 24. That's almost 5X the "normal" value. That is still in the range of "pathologically sleepy". Same kind of thing with the oximetry numbers. Yes, please do. I'd love to give it a looksee. Somebody in a previous post quoted a 50% success rate with the UP3 surgery. Last stats I saw were 40% - 60% success. However, the study that produced these rates defined "success" in an extremely liberal way (I think they considered UP3 surgery a success if they were able to get the RDI down to 10. Um, hello......that's double the normal value, and most insurances will still gladly pay out on a CPAP machine with an RDI of 10). Most of my pts that opt for the UP3 end up coming back for CPAP titration. I have heard decent stats on an oral surgery called the "pillar procedure", and depending on the severity of the apnea, dental appliances can sometimes prove to be effective.

Awesome, Manatee.

Thanks! I'll look into that!

Wow. He sounds like loads 'o fun. Lu, where are you getting this done, and about how much? I'm dying to do the water submersion test.

Bet there won't be much Kool-Aid in the new town.

Ok, my bad...."so far". But you still haven't told me what he's done to make him the most effective so far. And I mean some concrete things....not just "he's righting the wrongs" and "he's proactive" Did you even read (really read) what I wrote? Jeb is not the point. I used that name because I figured that would be the most vile to you. I could have easily said "Palin". My point was that any power moves Obama and the congress pull off will eventually wind up in the hands of the opposing party!! But those are a mess of conflicting statements! Did congress not get the chance to vote, or did they vote to give him the ability and discretion to bomb? Which? Didn't you? You said Bush was a fascist. Not many fascists care to share their power with congress. And anyway.....splitting hairs is the last desperate grasp of a debate. How Clinton-esque! I'll ask it this way: What powers specifically did congress give up to Bush? Yep. That's what I asked. And I notice that you didn't, or couldn't answer. Unbelievable. What if I told you that a small group of jews secretly ran the affais of the whole world? Would you believe it, or would you ask me some questions (what's the name of this group? What is their agenda? How did you find this out?) about that group? And would you be satisfied with the answer "well, there's not a formal name. Have you stuck your head in the sand? Open your eyes! Jews run the world"? Because that's basically all you've given me. Wow, that's amazingly open-minded of you. Didn't you kind of "scold" me a few posts back for not watching a balanced diet of news? Ah well, go on back and get your hard news from The Huffington Post or Media matters. They're much more fair.

Sure, I totally understand the excitement, lol. The hardest thing has been the mental adjustment to the "band lifestyle". By that, I mean that post band we train ourselves to eat until we are <not hungry> rather than eating until we are <stuffed>. I think it's so difficult because it's a total lifestyle change for most of us fatties. The adjustments are very subjective......I've been banded for a little over a year and I've had 4 adjustments so far. To each his own, but I am very conservative about my "fills" (adjustments).

Ok. Because even if you hate Bush and his policies, there was a chance to boot him out after 4 years. Obama is seeking to change the fabric of the law that will outlast his term(s) as president. This should scare you shitless, BJean....let's say Jeb Bush is elected after Obama's 4 (or 8) years. Then it will be his cabinet that has the power to set private citizen's salaries....his cabinet that would control banking, housing, and automobile manufacture. See, it ain't about Obama vs. Bush. It's about Obama setting precedents that are very bad for America. Really, you mean congress voted against going to war with Iraq? And......unless congress abdicated all their powers (pssssssst - they didn't), Bush didn't have free reign over anything. Wow...more generalities. What was the name of the group that "held the real power"? Was it the illuminati? Was it Skull and Bones? Was it the Freemasons? Seriously. BJean, this is 100% pure conspiracy theory. Oh, I never said I don't watch Fox. That's just not all I watch. I like some CNN programs, I sometimes watch BBC news, and I read the Texarkana paper (they get most of their content from the Associated Press). I don't listen to talk radio at all......except for The Bob and Tom Show (which is a syndicated morning comedy show), and they're not political at all.

Well....yes and no. The brilliance of Obama's top economical position (Treasury secretary Geithner) is certainly disputable. And Bush didn't "do nothing"......He freaked out and started this whole bailout bullcrap! Plenty of blame to go around. Agree. That's why I questioned BJean's assertation that he has been the most effective of any president in her lifetime. Rush is an idiot and a blowhard. I'm a conservative and I don't like him or listen to his show.

Oh yes I will, Missy. Either send me a friend request or PM enough info that I can send you one.

Mod note - I moved the more political stuff.

What has he done that's been the most effective of any president in your lifetime?

Well, we are moving there rapidly. What else would you call Obama's plans for the government to be able to take over private businesses that they (the government) think could influence the economy? What about the congress passing legislation to be able to take money from private citizens who have broken no laws (AIG bonuses)? What? What power specifically did Bush take from congress? But if that's true, then wouldn't Obama also be guilty of those crimes if he doesn't immediately take steps to completely reverse all of Bush's "crimes"? If Obama doesn't remove all soldiers from Iraq, isn't he guilty of the same crimes? Is he guilty if he sends troops into Afghanistan? No, it's admirable to care about the people of this country. It's socialist when the government decides to redistribute wealth based on a monatary figure that some bureaucrat pulled out of his ass. Because it's all about republican vs. democrat, right BJean? yeah.....I was wondering when that tired old response would find it's way out. "Fox is evil....blahblahblah....." As with most liberals, you insinuate that anybody that doesn't agree with you is dim. Whatever, man.

Hi nurse, welcome to lapbandtalk. I wish everybody that got banded had success, but that is not the case. Some people (for a variety of reasons) don't fare so well. Personally, I love my band.

Hi kaz. Welcome to lapbandtalk. Congrats on the weightloss.....you're doing great!

Hi callie, welcome to lapbandtalk! Sounds like you are on your way!!

Hi Deanna, welcome to lapbandtalk. There are lots of things to read and lots of cool people to talk to. Dive right in!

Well, see......here's the thing. You really can't go by how many cc's are in your band (because of the staggering differences in people. Some might be closed off @ 8ccs, while some might have no restriction @ 8ccs). That's why it's sooooo important to be "in touch" with your body and to go by how you feel. Again, I'm totally in yer bidness, but if my surgeon told me that I wasn't too tight, I'd probably reply with "How the f*ck do you know? Magic 8ball?" Seriously, any doctor that automatically discounts what their patient is telling them is not a very good doctor. And don't let him fool you with any "But everything is flowing under fluro" bullcrap, either. Bottom line, if you think you're too tight, you probably are.

Hey, I KNOW I'm the king of taking a thread off topic, but let's try to keep this one on track. There's plenty of political threads you can post to (or heck.....start a new one if you are so moved) on here already.