JulieNYC

Thank YOU for the comment, sherilynn. I appreciate it very much!

Vessa, I deal with the night food deamon by brushing my teeth and going to bed (or at least my room with the door shut) the SECOND I feel the binge coming on. If I have any signs at all of physical hunger, I'll eat a piece of low fat cheese or a couple of olives before I brush my teeth, because true hunger will always lead to a binge for me if I deprive myself. But try going straight to bed -- even if you have ironing to do/email to check, etc. sleep is valuable to me, so it's a good replacement for eating. If you don't value sleep as much, find something that you do value (reading magazines? Watching a favorite DVD?). Good luck. It's a major challenge, I know. If you can overcome it, at least most of the time, it'll be a big arrow in your quiver of bandster success!

mermaid, I love my band and can't imagine life without it! I hope I never have to find out! Yes, it's not a cure-all for every eating problem, but it is a MAJOR tool to help you. It is absolutely worth the time, effort and money -- don't let the negatives we all discuss overshadow that. Look at the overwhelming number of people who would get banded again, if they knew then what they know now (there's a poll thread on that). The numbers speak for themselves, and forums naturally highlight problems over successes, as problems require solutions and discussion where successes require nothing but enjoying life! So, my story in a nutshell is that 15 months ago I weighed 350 lbs. Today I weigh 165. I did nothing special other than try to eat sensibly (which is MUCH easier to do with the band, even when facing head hunger and not real hunger), and get a modest to moderate amount of cardio in when possible. I was a volume eater pre-band (meaning very big meals, but not really picking at food throughout the day), so the band really worked well for my type of bad eating habits. Pre-band, I was super self conscious everywhere I went. I felt bad taking up too much room on the bus/subway/airplane/elevator and I wore a size 28. I was almost always the largest person in the room. I didn't want to get regular haircuts/nail appts/stylish clothes because I didn't want to confront mirrors. I wasn't very social because I had trouble keeping up with my friends (or if I did keep up, breaking a sweat when no one else did). Now I wear a size 8 -- single digit size! Now I take the inside seat on the bus or the middle seat on a plane and it's no big deal. I get a haircut every 6 weeks and don't mind looking in the mirror. I got a better job, bought an apartment, and have a date tomorrow night with a super-hot colleague! The band didn't fix all my problems. When my band is loose (I have big fluctuations), I'm still prone to the occasional binge and I haven't learned how to deal with that guilt in the most effective way. I still have issues with my family and my profession and I still need to take depression meds. But life is a WHOLE lot better. Good luck.

I love my VG. I find I don't have the food texture issues that those with the original smaller bands have, meaning that I can eat anything at all, just in small quantities, which is the perfect bandster balance. In terms of it taking a while to get to the right fill, that's in large part dependent on whether your doctor treats all bands the same. Meaning, if the policy is .5 of a fill for everyone, that would take a long time with the VG to get to proper restriction. Most doctors don't approach the bands the same way and will give a large first and second fill (I had 3.5 cc's on fill #1 and 2 cc's on fill 2) to VG bandsters to get them going. I say go for it.

When I exercise in the morning, I'm hungry all day long, which implies to me that my metabolism is working faster on these days. Ditto with days where I eat breakfast first thing, as opposed to waiting until 10 or 11 to have my first food. During my run this morning, I was thinking that we could probably test that theory (which is somewhat debated in nutrition circles, from my reading at least) using our BodyBuggs. Meaning, does a comparison of similar days where we exercise in the morning, as opposed to the evening, reveal that more overall calories are burned in that 24 hour period? Or is the difference negligeable? Likewise, comparing days where cals in are constant, do we truly burn more cals when we eat first thing, or is the difference negligeable? I'd be interested to see what "stats" you guys have, if you feel like joining me in testing these theories!

I'm with Denise that, at least in part, weight loss includes loss of fat around your organs so you loosen up a little as you lose. My personal belief is that, perhaps more of a factor, is that your body simply gets used to the band -- learns that it is "normal" to process food that way. You read a lot about bandsters who are 18-24 months out losing their "soft stops." Many are already at goal (or at their long term plateau), so it's not an issue of weight loss for them, it's an issue of their bodies not responding in exactly the same manner as they did in the earlier bandster stage. So, for first bite syndrome, what freaks out your esophogus now, might not freak it out after a couple of months of training! Audree, I can eat almost anything in terms of textures. I don't have the problems with breads and pastas, eggs, etc. that so many report -- yet the ONE thing that I cannot tolerate in any kind of quantity is chips. They just gum up and cause the pain you described. I can eat maybe 5, but any more than that and I'm in real trouble. Maybe you're the same way.... In partial response to you and in partial response to Denise, yes, I experience pretty radical fluctuations in restriction based on my time of the month. 2 weeks out of the month (5 days around ovulation, 7 days around period), I'm a little too tight. The rest of the time, I'm a little too loose. I'm more too loose than I am too tight, and I choose to be that way because I believe being too tight is dangerous to our bands long term and again, I'm with Denise, that the worst thing that could happen would be to lose my band. I find there's not much I can do to help these fluctuations in restriction. It's just part of being a woman, I guess. I'm ok with it. I lose weight during the 2 weeks I'm a bit tight, and I might have a binge or two on the 2 weeks I'm loose (though I try not to), but I don't want a fill. Lastly, I got in 4 miles this morning and am meeting with my trainer for strenth training tonight. My scale oscilated between 164.8 and 165.0 this morning, but settled on 165.0. When I changed my ticker this morning, I realized that I now only have TWENTY-SOMETHING pounds to lose until goal. Isn't that crazy?? Totally "normal" women want to lose twenty-something pounds all the time. Guess I'm more Passing For Thin to the outside world than I realize.... Have a good day, all.

I was banded by Dr. Fielding in April 06 and have had nothing but a wonderful experience with the practice. Feel free to PM me if any of you have questions I can answer for you. (I'm not likely to check this thread very often as I'm not so new -- it just caught my attention because it was at the top of the list on the new bandster forum). Take care all -- you can't go wrong with NYU. Julie

Audree, It sounds like you have "first bite" syndrome to me -- could that be it? I had it pretty bad when I first got restriction too. The only cure is to take even tinier bites (it seems unreal, I know) and to WAIT a really long time between bites for the first 3 or 4 bites (like 2 full minutes between bites), then you can probably pick up the pace. Mine lasted for about 3 months, then slowly got "better." I put the "better" in quotes because though it's nice to be able to eat more comfortably, it's also nice to know, with every bite, that your band is there. If you think this could be it, you might want to do a search on the main forum, as (as you probably know) there's quite a bit of discussion about it. Well yall, I got in a 6 mile run tonight after the slowest day at work ever. It's a good thing I have this office flirtation to keep me busy because my job is BORING right now....

I'm having this done in December, as a combo with my outer thigh lift. I was told that many WLS patients won't qualify for the technique with incisions in the armpit only because our bat wings extend too far down. I asked if I could have the "armpit only" incision if I was willing to accept some improvement, but not perfect improvement. The answer was no (and I was kind of surprised by that -- my bat wings aren't THAT bad) -- that if your arms are so far gone that you need the full incision, you're not a candidate for the lesser surgery (apparently it leaves funny results that way with a tiny upper arm and a remaining bat wing below). Definitely consult with your own surgeons, as your bat wings may not be as bad as mine, but thought you'd want to know it's not a "new" or "alternate" technique for the exact same surgery. I'll post pics in December!

I'm having this done in December, as a combo with my outer thigh lift. I was told that many WLS patients won't qualify for the technique with incisions in the armpit only because our bat wings extend too far down. I asked if I could have the "armpit only" incision if I was willing to accept some improvement, but not perfect improvement. The answer was no -- that if your arms are so far gone that you need the full incision, you're not a candidate for the lesser surgery (apparently it leaves funy results that way with a tiny upper arm and a remaining bat wing below). Definitely consult with your own surgeons, as your bat wings may not be as bad as mine, but thought you'd want to know it's not a "new" or "alternate" technique for the exact same surgery. I'll post pics in December!

Oooh, Karey, have a great time in Vegas. Talk out loud to the food temptations if you have to ("listen, chocolate chip cookie, you want bad things for me and I'm strong enough to say phooey on you"). You might look nuts, but it can really help! The "what" and "from where" of my surprise aren't so important to me -- just the anticipation! Come on, 3 lbs.... I did well with my bugg yesterday, both on cals burned and cals consumed. I've got an easy day today and tomorrow as well, so hopefully I'll drop a little in the next couple of days. I've got to say, I do love the bugg.

The scars are healing nicely. You can hardly see the ones on the breasts (you'd have to be in full light to even know they were there). The TT scar is definitely visible, but it doesn't bother me at all. It looks a thousand times better than the pannus did. I'll take an update pic soon.

Becky, I think time does help with that, though. People are very self-centered and I do think they forget the old you over time, at least when there's nothing directly reminding them of it (like looking at an old picture, etc.). I have an aunt who lost a lot of weight in her 20s and has kept it off (she's in her 50s now). People don't even think of her as having ever been heavy. The only one who's ever mentioned it to me was my step-dad, and he only did it as a source of intended motivation for me when I was in my early 20s. It's just not part of who she is now. I don't know if we'll ever attain quite that level of "putting it behind us," but I do think temporal distance helps. I'm grasping tightly to the belief that one day my life won't only be about weight.

Audree, It sounds like you're at the sweet spot. I predict you'll find it easier to meet the first goal than you think, now that your band is really helping you. WOOHOO! It is so liberating to have your body "just say no" (I was a grade schooler in the Reagan years and Nancy burned that phrase into me) to large quantities. I can't wait to see your ticker movin'. Boo, //I think part of the sadness from others' reactions come from the realization that while I was heavier, my weight/size was such an obvious flaw in me.// Yes. I hadn't put it together before I read your post, but that's exactly what the other component is for me. There's sadness over what I sometimes perceive as the wasted time, but then sadness at the existence of the obvious flaw in myself as well. Thanks. It helps to identify the feeling. Well, yall, I got in a 3 mile run tonight and walked another mile or so afterwards. Then I got my nails done because I'm going on that date on Thursday night with the cute colleague. We're going "club hopping" after dinner, which is SO NOT ME, or so not the old me anyway. I feel like a teenager again.

Dawn!! We're so excited you're back from Europe! Tell us all about it! I didn't think you got back until August. I hope you had a fabulous time. We didn't start an April thread this month (which explains why you can't find it!). Basically, when you get caught up on this thread (and the end of the June thread for the April folks), you'll see that we didn't get a lot of traffic in April. Those of us who were still active were all in the "almost to maintenance" phase and we thought we would get the best support if we opened up those topics to all maintaining bandsters instead of just the April group. Of course, there are some April folks who aren't approaching goal yet. We invited them to join in here, no matter what stage they were at. This thread isn't meant to exclude anyone based on where they are in the journey. It's just meant to be an advanced thread, in terms of the issues that come up once a good bit of the weight has come off. BabyGotBack, Welcome to the thread! I look forward to getting to know you better. How long have you been on a plateau and how much more would you like to lose? For me, getting closer to goal means that I only lose about 4 lbs/month, and it's usually the week after my cycle when it all comes off, then NOTHING for 3 weeks. Super frustrating, but glad to be so close to goal that I'm having the "problem." Take care.

Luvli23, Seeing my PCP was the most nerveracking part of the banding journey for me. I was so worried about it! In hind sight, everyone here has said what is true -- the doctor works for you. You don't need their approval. if your PCP isn't supportive, then he or she doesn't really understand your medical condition -- morbid obesity -- and you need to find a PCP who understands it and will support your choice to do something with a reasonable chance of improving your health and quality of life (i.e. banding, not diet and exercise alone). So, here's what I did. I couldn't find a recommended doc through NYU (weird, right?). So, I chose a doc on my PPO (Oxford) at random. Then I CALLED HER before my appt and asked her to return my call. I was very emotional on the call (which must have been weird for her, since I'd never even seen her). I told her that I was a new patient, that I was 5'2, 32 years old and 350+ lbs. I told her I'd researched the band for 3 years and was having it done, and that I wanted to know BEFORE I made an appt with her whether, if my health was in order, she would support this decision, or whether she was adverse to WLS in almost all circumstances. She said she couldn't tell me she'd support it for me without seeing me first, but that she wasn't opposed to WLS in general. That was enough for me, so I made the appt. She has been my biggest supporter! Her name is Dr. LeBeau and her office is at 28th and Park, if that's convenient for you. (212) 725-2660 ext 6. As for the information session, you should definitely go to one or more. I did the research and knew I wanted to go to NYU. Here's a link to their program. There are other good programs in the City, but this is the cream of the crop, in my opinion. They really understand banding (it's more than 98% of their practice), are liberal with fills, and really know what they're doing in terms of aftercare. And Dr. Fielding has done more bands than any other doc in the US, as far as I know. Good luck and feel free to PM me if you have questions about NYU or Dr. LeBeau. NYU Thin For Life Link to the info sessions (the next one is 7/26; then 8/1) Gastric Stapling, Lap Banding - Ask A Question - New York University Surgical Weight Loss Program

On the way out, I did not make it through the airport without buying Skittles, but I did manage to keep it to 2 servings. As I ran 12 miles the next day, no real damage was done and I did manage to avoid them altogether on the trip home. I ate too much, overall, this weekend though and am glad to be back in my "safe" environment for a few days. Yes, I saw lots of people at the wedding and got lots of ooohs and aaaahs. The weirdest one was my Uncle Joe. Now this is a man who has known me since I was 5 years old. Granted we only see each other 2-3 times a year, but still -- he's real family. I drove separately to the wedding from my parents because I had plans beforehand. Anyway, I walked up to him and he literally had NO IDEA who I was until I spoke to him. He was super embarassed and I tried to help him get over that (because he felt so bad), but it was ultra weird. You know, people like former work colleagues who have only known me in the last 5-7 years, I get that they don't recognize me -- they never knew me thinner. But it is weird for someone who has known me 30 years to not know who I was. I've been this size before. I don't fault them -- it's just very odd. One of the things I struggle with is that most skinny people, and even some formerly MO people, think this is a really "fun" NSV. It's not at all to me. Not at all. I'm trying to identify why I hate it so much. I know that a component of it is pure sadness. Sadness that I spent my 20s so morbidly obese that I'm not recognizable to family in my 30s. Sadness that they only see the physical changes and have no concept of the emotional burden that has been lifted -- yet there's a different emotional burden in its place. I guess, in many ways, I feel misunderstood. Even by myself. I think part of my anxt is that I'm still in transition. Until I lose these last 20-30 lbs and have my thigh surgery, I feel like I'm never going to be at a constant and, thus, all people ever want to talk about is my weight. That's fine for people who understand (like you guys), but it's a burden with other people. I feel like once they've seen me at the same size 2 or 3 times, surely the topic will change. Of course, my problem is that's probably still a year away. I know, I know, poor pitiful me for being such a lapband success! I almost want to slap myself.

WOOHOO Karey! That's great! Come on, 175!! I had an off weekend. Got into the candy. But, have the BB back on today and look forward to busting off these last 3 lbs until I get my surprise from UT! We can do it!

OK, so as great as the TT/BL are, living with the thighs/rear end has really become onerous. I can't WAIT to have them done in December. Boy I wish I could find the time off work before then, but I just can't make it happen. My rear end sag actually touches the back of my thighs. YUCK. Can't wait for that to be gone. My stomach has gotten a little looser with the added weight loss. Waiting to goal would have been ideal in terms of the best result in a "one time" procedure, but I still am super glad I went ahead with the pannus removal when I did.

Dancing bananas for Boo! Congratulations on the new decade!! The 50s -- WOW. That is just great Boo. We all know how hard you've worked for that. Way to go. :Banane48::Banane48:

I totally know that feeling, Banannie. I went through it when I was leading up to my TT and I'm in it again right now. I'm scheduled for the other 1/2 of my LBL (the thighs and buttocks) on December 17th. But, if I get to goal by then, the added incentive is I can have the brachioplasty (arms) done at the same time. Dad says if he has to lipo the thighs (i.e. I'm not at goal), there's less of a chance he can do the arms at the same time because of too much trauma to the body (lipo is traumatic to blood flow, apparently). So, come on 136. That's the real reason I signed up for a marathon in November. Surely I'll get to goal running a marathon....

Banannie, I've read that a lot of people go through this, so you're not alone. I've also read that many times, the friendships reconnect once some time has passed and that, out of the good friendships, it can make them stronger in the long run. For me, my experience is a little different. I didn't have friends that I ate with. For me, binge eating was a private thing. Like, I would go out to dinner with friends, then go home and eat a whole second dinner to get that truly "full" feeling. Now that I don't feel the need to do that, I'll go out with friends, then go out wherever they're going afterwards, rather than wanting to peel off from the group. I do have one friend who struggles with her weight (just a little -- like 20 lbs or so) and talking about weight loss and nutrition is a big component of our friendship. For her, she's verbalized that she's jealous of my success and that it's hard for her that I weigh less than she does now. She understands, intellectually, that at 5'10, she SHOULD weigh more than I do at 5'2, but it's still hard for her and I get that. Her honesty about the situation helps us to keep our friendship strong. And she's very, very happy for me and is my biggest supporter. Her jealousy (if that's even the right word for it) is just a small piece of the puzzle. Well, I'm headed home to Alabama for a wedding this weekend. I'm going to try really hard to stay on my diet. I feel like I could drop a couple of lbs any day now, if I can just stay on track. Traveling is hard though, as I'm sure you all know. My marathon training schedule has me running 12 miles on Sunday, so that should help. Take care, Julie

I find that I wear it for about 5 days, then take it off for a day or two, usually because there's something I can't control in my diet and if you can't do both parts (calories burned AND calories consumed), it's not worth wearing it. However, when my social schedule is such that I know I can control my calories precisely, I love wearing the bugg. It motivates me to move more and is a constant reminder of my goals. I need that, particularly when faced with the vending machine, etc. I definitely lose more weight when wearing it.

Will do. Thanks!

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, as I've been dating a lot (at least a lot in comparison to pre-band). "Fortunately," I haven't liked any of the men enough for things to get serious (I'm more physically cautious than some -- maybe most -- women my age). Anyway, with the work guy, Jason, I feel it's something that I could at least see the possibility of having to confront those issues (I'm just so darned attracted to the guy). So, I talked about it with my therapist today. I decided, if and when the situation comes up, I would tell Jason for a couple of reasons. First, I'm not embarassed about my band and I'm quite confident about my new body (at least on a good day), so I'm not afraid of him being turned off by the band. What I AM afraid of, is him being turned off by my lack of experience in the bedroom. I feel like it requires some explanation and the band helps tell that story. Second, and perhaps most importantly, there's no way I could keep it a secret physically. Even if the scars weren't an issue (who really cares about them anyway -- I find them interesting), my port is so prominent that it's visible to the eye even through some clothes, and people feel it when hugging me. I don't think I could disguise it for long in a physical relationship, so I'd have to come clean. Anyway, who knows if and when I'll have to confront the issue and whether it'll be with Jason or someone else, but I think that's how I'll deal with it. I have to really trust someone to let them see my stomach anyway (ok, but for complete strangers on the PS thread, ha!), so I think whomever got to see it would know me well enough to not freak on me, if it got to that stage. Jane, thank you for the compliment and thank you for thinking I'm young! I love that. I think you are wise and strong and a source of great inspiration as well. Go Jane! I wasn't supposed to run today (sometimes it's hard not to run!), so I walked home (3 miles) from work. I'm running in the park tomorrow with a friend before work, then working out with my trainer tomorrow night, so I'll be a calorie-burning-machine tomorrow.... I had another good food day today. Very in control. Pshew.