RestlessMonkey

Sorry, no can do! The band doesn't work for everyone, and I don't know you; you may be making a horrible decision! But if I knew what specifically you were afraid of (pain? being hungry? slips? what?) that could maybe be addressed! If you're just scared of surgery I can address that, too! But in the end, you make the call. It's a decision we all have to make for ourselves...weigh the odds, etc. It surely was the right one for me and many of us here.

I on the other hand had a 3-week preop diet! But that's uncommon. Your surgeon will look at your blood work etc and make the call if you need a longer one; generally I'd say trust him/her!

delray that would depend on your insurance company.

You have a great attitude! Good luck! I never lost over 45 pounds on a diet in my life (although I've lost 45 pounds many times on different diets!) so I'd never have made it...I haven't even lost 20% yet with the BAND! (that for me would be 81 pounds) Unless the doc meant 20% of your extra, not 20% of your starting weight (which would still be impossibly high for me) So I'm impressed that you are going for it...good luck! You're already over 1/4 of the way there!

Hey TPG You're supposed to post a "life is good" scenario of your own. Surely something good happened...didn't you see the surgeon? Or maybe catch another glimpse of that Vincent D'onofrio lookalike? Something?

I think that by the end of week 2 (I got mushies on week 3 I think, or 4...I've managed to thankfully forget LOL) I was SO HUNGRY I could've mashed a fork through a brick, ok? So that "ruler" wouldn't have worked for this chubby chick!

LOL sorry my roots are showing. My mom always called "ground beef" "hamburger". I never even realized it until you asked me! Ground beef was entirely too high brow for us! Of course we call all soft drinks "cokes" too so what do you expect?

flowerchild...I'm so glad to hear how happy you've been today. I know you've had doubts and challenges and I'm glad you are seeing the fog clear! And LindaD...I am just floored. I can't believe you LOST WEIGHT after a business trip (they are NOT fun, just go on 1 and you'll know LOL) and then the 4-day with your husband and you LOST. And you're over half way to goal. I just LOVE the band! I know it isn't the right answer for everyone (nothing in life is that easy) but when it works, it's just priceless.

I agree with Unforgettable. You need to consider the source about all this information (not just the person who told you not to get the band)...ask your surgeon, READ about it, RESEARCH and decide what surgery is right for you and best fits the life you want to lead. I have lost 75 (almost) and honestly can't imagine why, now that I'm in this and see how well it works if I work it, I can't lose as much as I want to. I've got the time, I've got the will, now I have the tool. The lap band isn't for everyone. Neither is bypass, neither is the sleeve. Only you, actually, can answer your thread question but yes, you CAN lose TONS of weight with the lap band. Or you can fail to lose. It's largely up to you. Lap band leaves a LOT of control in the hands of the "bandster".

This is a time for healing. I think it would have been HORRID for me during that phase if my husband ate around me. God bless him while I was on liquids all he had around me was liquids. When I ate mushies HE ate mushies. If I'd had to cook or even just SMELL his food I'd have gone postal and I'd be in prison now. So I feel for you. But hang in there. Follow your post op diet as given by your surgeon. Think of it as a post op prescription you have to do. I can tell you that at 11 months out I could eat a subway (or at least as much as I wanted of one) IF I liked them. I have had chick fil A, I've had pizza, I've had fried chicken. It is a process, it isn't a speed race and you have to get your head set that it will take as long as it takes. So many of us are in such a rush to get to the next thing...that doesn't fly with the band. So ignore your family AND their darn pizza. Hang in there. Don't think of what you're having now as food if that helps, think of it as medicine to make you heal. and do what your doc says so that like me you'll heal well and be able to eat pretty much anything, on down the road, as you want it.

I always say to listen to your surgeon over ANYTHING you read here. I also believe in questioning pretty much everything. That can be a little schizo, i admit. BUT..just thinking this thru since my surgeon (whom is also smart, experienced, learned, knowledgable, and compassionate, as are many other surgeons I read about on here) said the issue is gas (and pain..but NOT stretching out your pouch) I had, before that, without much thought bought into the "stretch your pouch thing". Now I wonder, how can a very stretchy pouch made out of LIVING tissue with openings at BOTH ends stretch because you drink a soda or other carbonated beverage? Especially if it is true, as I've read, that the pouch CAN stretch out OVER TIME if you CONSISTENTLY overeat. So Say I grab a diet coke and chug 1/2. It's going to go down (into the rest of my stomach) or come back up out my mouth (hey, PB a diet coke!) but the odds of it stretching out my living tissue POUCH are pretty, well, astronomical. I guess if I chugged mountain dews for a while and kept them down I could do some damage. I suppose if I consistently drank (too quickly) anything carbonated I might, over time, hurt my pouch. But if we are prudent and don't chug, and don't abuse it, I don't really honestly see how it could stretch it. I don't know that I'm right, but I'm not so sure I'm wrong, either. Even the gas shouldn't stretch it out unless you let it become a way of life. Shoot if gas stretched it out we'd most of us be doomed just from the gas we make post op as our stomachs heal and get used to the new configuration. So I think that "stretch your pouch with carbonation" is an, um, "urban bandster legend". I don't think it will unless you REALLY throw back the soft drinks or beer. You'll have to keep ahead of how quickly they can drain (or come back up)...and keep that pace up for a while.

Wow Jennifer....I was pretty inspired by that. Sad for your mom but you made it into something positive. You raised your sisters (that's amazing to me) and then turned your sorrow into a positive for you. I'm just speechless! Thanks for sharing that! Mine wasn't as uplifting, and not as pragmatic as cindyj33's (lol) but... I'd wanted the band essentially since 2003 when it started being done in USA (fda approved) but my ins wouldn't pay for it. Last July my PCP gave me a frank talk about my health and I decided I was worth the cost of a Kia or small car and we'd self-pay if necessary, then BAMMO Tricare decided to "pay", retroactive to Jan 1. It was an odd synchronicity. Anyway, once my PCP said that and helped me flip the switch, I had my first surgery 8/11 (5-6 weeks later?)

Wow you're totally just changing your life aren't you? New city, new school, new you! No wonder you're freaking out. You'd be a freak if you didn't! Have you discussed with your surgeon how alone you'll be post op? I am sure you'll be find alone at home (just make sure you're unpacked enough to have things close at hand) but I'm not sure about leaving the hospital...they may be reluctant to let you go without someone NOT drugged/anesthetized to care for you! Except for that small "what if" I am sure you'll do great, and congrats on the career choice!

Mim that is so great to hear!! I love your "two-cookie" binge you wild woman! And I agree the "sweet spot" is life changing. I liken it to when I was a kid and wanted to know what "being in love" felt like and "grownups" would always say "You'll know" with that look all grownups have...and one day BAMMO I knew what they meant. Restriction/sweet spot was like that for me...a true epiphany.

Wow that really depends on so many factors...you, how you heal, your surgeon, his skill, what he uses to close the sites, etc etc. I have scars but am older, had 2 surgeries just weeks from each other, etc. Your surgeon will probably be your best source of info AND...s/he can tell you what product(s) you might use to minimize whatever scarring there is. (there are quite a few on the market now and I think there are actually several that work) Good luck!

I'll proudly say I think you're the bee's knees any day of the week.

Isn't that just one of the big questions of life...which decision (if any!) is the RIGHT one? I may have problems with the band down the line; I for SURE would've had problems doing nothing. So today, life is good!

Check with your doc. I take about 20 pills a day (that's a lot for a relatively healthy person..but a good chunk of them are vitamins and calcium etc) I also take 2 K-DUR potassium pills a day. Those suckers are HUGE. I have never once had any trouble taking any of my pills. ever. Not from when I started post op (and I did NOT take the ones that needed "food" with them until I could have food) and now I'm at my sweet spot and STILL get them all down (I dole them out...some with each meal). I did find this...as I've hit restriction I've needed to adjust the time I take my potassium (it HURTS if you take it on an empty stomach) I need to take it 2 hours AFTER my main meal, then I'm fine. Odd but true. SO don't panic, don't crush, ask your doc. Odds are you'll be able to take them all just fine. (my doc even gave me a pill prescription pain reliever for my post op pain! LOL I can't take lortab/vicodin/hydrocodone so he gave me darvocet in pill form. It may have just been an oversight on his part but I took them the few doses I needed with no issues. By day 3 I'd tossed the liquid tylenol...ick...and gone back to the capsules) It probably won't really be a problem for you.

Good for you! I went for the refried beans for my first mushie meal. I don't think I could've waited to cook the hamburger (and no steak tartare for this chickie! LOL)

I'm 54...not quite 60 yet but headed that way! There's a thread (click on "home" and then scroll down) for 60's so I'm sure there are a bunch. I think it's a great tool and hope you love yours too!

just don't tell plain, ok? and while I LOVE the love fest...and think you all are pretty darned marvelous too... people who even DONT think I am "the thing" should post their good experiences if so moved. It's mostly a "love the band" fest (but if you want to PM me about how great I am..... LOL )

HH...you are just the sweetest thing! How nice of you to say! Awww....... I'm glad you "get" me, and this place helps me more than I have ever helped anyone here! I think you're pretty cool too.

Ok BigMomma you add the numeric MONTH to the Numeric YEAR of our anniversary and you get YOUR YEAR. COINCIDENCE? Or .... conspiracy? LOL sorry I can't help playing with numbers! but now I know If I forget my date I can always ask you!

elcee...thanks for sharing. I meant this for anyone...not just "successful" bandsters. We're all successful. I read over and over it's not a race, it's for life, etc... Like Jennifer who's almost at her goal! That is so wonderful! If I were 17 pounds away from my goal I think I'd need tethers to keep me on the ground I'd be so happy! Thanks for sharing this. I really don't know about everyone else but it does me more good than I can tell you to read some happy things too! Because for many of us our issues are minor or non-existent (thank goodness!) so we don't post much. It's all balance though. There's plenty of good about the band. It gave me back a huge chunk of my life, and I'm so pumped to read others finding small (or large) joys now that they are banded! And to clarify...those who need help...we're always happy to offer it! This is just to offer the other side of the coin, a little! More? More? (I'm a happy-junkie today!)

I hear you. Unfortunately, I'm that way with beer. I enjoyed a couple about 3 times a year. When I was about where you are now I had a swallow. Good grief I burped for 5 minutes! It just wasn't worth it! :crying: