Nanook

Beth I want what you're drinking!

Cleo's Mom, That article makes a lot of sense to me! I normally eat about an hour before I exercise and can still be hungry afterward. I've also read where swimming can actually make you gain weight! I don't know if your body goes into some type of conservation mode or not. Thanks for the article, Nancy.

No Plain it doesn't count:laugh: I've watched Ruby more this year, didn't know she started out at 700 lbs. I think she has a really good support system with all her friends. I'm glad she fired her trainers though, I don't think they could really relate to a woman of her size in all aspects. I still am waiting to see what she finds out about her "past" as it's becoming more clear that there was some form of abuse going on there and I know it's going to be very traumatic for her. It's just nice to see a woman of her size who will go out and do all the things that a lot of us are affraid to do because we're just not thin enough yet. As for Brookhaven, I suppose it has it's place but doesn't seem to be helping people more like enabling them to some respect. As for the other show Big Medicine I blamed them for me jumping on the "band" wagon because their daughter/sister had gotten one so I thought it would work for me too! But all the ones I've seen have been repeats and not new ones. But I still remember the one when Doc senior took that one patient who had an infection and dug his scaple or something in there to let out the puss and that poor man was crying and I was feeling the pain right along with him! I have watched that new drama forget what it's called with the woman who died and she went into the body of a plus size woman and it was ok in the beginning but now it's kind of boring. Nancy.

You people are tooooo funny!!:ohmy:

Beth, it scares me to think that you think this guys "gets it" when he's obviously crazy! Nancy

Those points that she made above are the exact types of things that help weed out the right/wrong candidate for any type of wl surgery. I personally could not walk by a "sweet" while I was lap banded without taking a bite or two or three. Now that I've had the bypass I can walk by it and around it and on top of it and not touch it. I was not a large portion person in my eating unless it was a sweet! So there needs to be a realistic way of determining which surgery is right for each person. Feelings and mainly fear are not good enough reasons to get the lap band, neither is the fact that the band can be removed eventually. Why put yourself through 2 or 3 surgeries if it's not necessary to achieve the same result - weightloss. My main issue has always been finding the right WLS for the right person so extra trauma can be avoided. Nancy.

I would ask your bariatric team "why" they suggest gastric bypass over the band. I was supposed to get the RNY first but chickened out two weeks prior and went with the band and my surgeon didn't care either way. There is much more information out there today on lap banding than there was when I was banded in 2007. So maybe it's possible that they can weed out candidates better now which would be nice. It's best to know why you'd be a good candidate for the band if that's what you choose. I can tell you that I personally didn't do well with the band and actually was one who never lost but gained weight after banding. I just didn't realize how many foods actually went through the band like junk food (sliders) and when I couldn't eat the healthier choices and be satisfied with their small amounts I fell into a trap of eating the sliders. This is something I can't do now after having revised to RNY. At least for "now" I'm losing and am glad I finally had the RNY. Recovery was more difficult and they did reroute my insides but it's not like I'm "aware" of it. Does that make sense? So discuss with your team why they think you should have RNY and explain to them your reasoning behind wanting the lap band and hopefully you'll be able to come to the best decision for you. Good luck, Nancy.:tongue2: Neesh, joining a support group prior to surgery might be a good idea for you also as you can talk to people face to face about the issues they've had with their weightloss surgeries.

You're right Ala.......if there is a problem you can revise to another surgery just like if you have RNY you can revise. They have a whole revision section over at obesityhelp.com and people are getting RNY after lap bands and lap bands on top of their RNYs and RNY over sleeves and many other combinations! It would be nice if we were able to pick the "right" one in the first place and also that science can come up with better alternatives for us also!

Cindyj33, I don't consider myself a food addict either. I had strong cravings for sugar and was a type 2 diabetic but also have other issues too that made it difficult for me to stay away from sugary foods/carbs. I mean you an eat a cow and nothing else and lose weight if you follow the Atkins diet plan. We have to eat and breathe to live and I don't consider myself an oxygen addict. My problem was the fact that the band didn't help me stop those cravings and I was still able to eat them no matter what restricion I had. I was never able to get past that until now. Best of luck to you Nancy.

I think it's important to remember that all of us that have revised to other WL surgeries started with the lap band and wanted and expected it to work for us as it was advertised to us. Many of us felt like we were "alone" out there struggling to still "diet" or having minor or major complications. I know the revision site over at obesityhelp.com was really helpful to me and I'm sure Wasa would agree that it's a helpful tool for a lot of people there. It's too bad Alex doesn't have one here, that could actually stay "here" so that people can get more of an insight as to problems people have had with the band to avoid them if necessary. Many do well with the band but not all of us knew that we would be a good candidate in the beginning just from what we've read or were told. I think the more information out there the better so people don't make the same mistakes we made. Good luck to the OP, I cancelled my RNY two weeks before my lap band surgery and went with that instead as I was too scared to get the RNY. But I also wasn't self-pay and that's something I never would have done if I were. Nancy.

Good luck Sabertooth!!! Nancy.

Looks like you made the right decision for yourself RM, congrats on your success!! Nancy:thumbup:

Thanks Abbypoo, And the best of luck to you too, you seem to have a good attitude and I'm sure will do wonderfully!! Nancy.

So far so good with the RNY, I'm actually losing weight now so it appears this was the better choice for me. Can't change history of course. I'm hoping to finally get off the meds that are related to my weight and the CPAP machine in the near future, take care, Nancy.

Well this is a lap band forum so of course there will be more people in favor of lap band than any other procedure but when the wrong information is put out there about let's say RNY or Sleeve then the bad information should be corrected and that corrected information would certainly benefit people who are looking to decide on a particular weight loss surgery, just imho. Nancy.

I was fat as a child and it made me shy, I was raised by a mother who did not like the idea that her eldest daughter was overweight. Of course when I look back I wasn't that heavy. The dieting spiral began around age 12 and after my mother died at age 14 the weight really began to pile on. I lost it my first semester in college dorming next to a drug dealer who had diet pills. I went through the first period of my life as being cute and pretty. I had always been fun and funny and had a good personality but never the "cute one" till then. That I must admit was a good time in my life and then it came back on. Which took me from loving life to being depressed again. Lost it again for my upcoming wedding and began to slowly put it back on again after my first baby was born until I was at my highest 259 just prior to starting my RNY revision. So although I definitely had to try harder to be seen and heard as a fat woman in this society my depression and lack of self esteem kept me from becoming anything "fabulous". My personality is more confident as a thin woman and I don't have to be as much as a people pleaser so I do change, not becoming a "skinny beeach" type person but just more comfortable in my own skin. I've been skinny but fat most of my life and life for me is much better as a thinner person. As I know it can be "easy come easy go" so I don't put too much stock in the "wow I'm great" now that I'm thin you never know how long it will last. So my expectations for WL are not as high as they have been when I was younger. Don't want to be 125 pounds anymore and would be happy at 180 pounds!

Let me just say something about Headhunter, when he first appeared here at LBT he had just had some real traumatic issues with his lap band and almost lost his stomach and his life due to it. Many of the people here were not very receptive to him because they couldn't believe that something that horrible could happen to a lap band patient and he was just trying to share his story so people knew that yes, this could happen as it happened to him so be aware. He was even accused of being a troll on this board. Hey I was too at one time and I hope they weren't referring to my hair in this horrible east coast humdity! I believe after reading many of his posts that he's just trying to educate people on WLS in general as he's had a couple like I have. And he's also said many times that he's not trying to force one or another surgery down someone's throat like some people do just to make sure that you look at all the facts and pick the right procedure for "you". I've seen plenty of information put out here about RNY that appears to be more "old wives' tale" than anything but if I had to take the time to correct every one I'd be here forever and I'm just not that young anymore! After reading this thread I found HH to be pretty darn funny myself, but that's just me. Personally, my PCP didn't want me to have the lap band and I was his first patient, and probably only one to have it done. I wanted it done anyway as I was afraid to have the gastric bypass for the same and often misguided reasons that everyone else has listed. My bariatric surgeon didn't really care which I had and I have to admit I wasn't as informed when I had mine done in 2007 as I should have been. Came here looking for answers after I had been banded about six months. Learned a lot here! chips and chocolate and Cookies go through the band? Why didn't he tell me that? My 19 yo daughter had the gastric bypass less than a year after I had my lap band done. This was her choice and I knew how important this was for her "well being" and as we were still covering her with our insurance so after much thought we let her go through with it. Naturally I was more scared for her to have it than I was for myself. She has since then lost 150 lbs and has truly blossomed into a much happier person, she was wonderful to begin with but was miserable with herself and it was going to a dark place for her. Anyway I got GERD after about a year on the band and was put in the hospital for the chest pains it caused and within two weeks of that they removed my band. I was so frustrated with WLS and myself for being a "failure" that I couldn't even think about revision surgery. But as the band was gone I put even more weight on, (as I was one of the few who gained with the band) and got even more depressed and that's when I met with my surgeon and decided to revise. My life is totally different with RNY than it was with the lap band as so far I've actually lost my appetite and "head hunger" or cravings whatever you want to call it. I was a sugar eater and had type 2 diabetes. And yes, I put sugar in my tea now and haven't died. And yes I tried cake and had dumping syndrome and am glad I did! And when I do eat I already have a built in restriction plus the malabsorption doesn't hurt either! I am losing weight which I thought would be nearly impossible so I pinch myself still to see if I am dreaming. Like HH I'm telling you "my" story and am not trying to push any surgery as what works for one will not work for another. Just like the lap band works for some people and not for others, like myself. I had the lap band and since I had problems with and and had it eventually removed I've had plenty of pm's from people asking me about it and telling me their similar stories as they were always afraid to come here in the open to as they might get attacked, which as we all know can happen. So long story short, and sorry for the long story if some of us appear to have "chips" on our shoulders it could be because of many attacks we've received here over the year or two due to our lap band complications, sorry but true. Good luck to all of us who have had WLS as we all need it, Nancy.:laugh:

No but if you wait till you're a senior citizen you may get tuition for free!

Well good luck with school, that's a big deal! Both my daughters are in school one in grad school other still working on her bachelors and I know how hard and taxing that can be I get to live vicariously through their classes.

You could still probably watch those shows on line that's what I would do.

dbinnc, I didn't have issues taking meds after I was banded but did for a while after having my gastric bypass but have no issues anymore and that's a whole different ballgame anyway as you have the malabsorption issue to deal with. You sound depressed and it's normal to be depressed after surgery and more difficult if you're not taking the meds that you should be. If I were you I'd get in touch with your therapist/doctor whoever prescribes these for you and tell them the issues you're having and why you're not taking your meds and what they suggest. My antidpressant is in capsule form so I could not cut it up even if I wanted to. So talk to your doctor and hopefully you'll get back on the meds and feel much better for it. Take care, Nancy.

CJoyce, There are a lot of products out there like "spanx" which can come in a variety of pieces depending on what you want supported. I prefer the faux spanx as it's not as expensive. These can be found in the JC Penncy catalogs, and most woman's size catalogs and on line sites like www.onestopplus.com which combines a few woman's size catalogs together. Anywhere you can find woman's lingerie you should be able to find some kind of support garments. I believe Lane Bryant and Torrid sell them in their stores and I'm sure there are pleny of others that do just thinking of the ones I've actually been to. I rarely leave the house now without wearing one as I knew I'd have extra skin after birthing two babies over 21 years ago and I feel better in my clothes if I'm wearing them. Good luck and I'm sure others can chime in with their faves, Nancy.

Beth it's too bad you don't get cable TV because the best info I get sometimes is from the Stephen Colbert Report on Comedy Central. Sometimes it helps to laugh at some of the crazy shite that's happening in our country and the world.

I've watched Glenn Beck's show and have listened to him on the radio and if I believed everything he said I'd be too afraid to leave my house in the morning. He appears to be a fearmonger and I'm a middle of the road person where I listen to all news and try to decipher on my own what's really going on in the world.

I didn't know I had hypothyroidism until I had the presurgery bloodwork done requested by the bariatric surgeon and unfortunately I never lost weight on synthroid either. Have also had two separate WL surgeries since then. Good luck to you Nancy.