RestlessMonkey

I've been married to my husband 26 years this Nov and we dated in high school (although we broke up then and weren't married until 11 years later). Back then I was MUCH smaller. MUCH. So for me it was more....can my marriage survive me being obese....and it did. I am pretty outgoing whether I'm fat or not and he knows I don't cheat because I choose not to, not because I'm fat and no one else would look at me. ERGO...when I get thinner I still won't cheat. I guess it depends on your marriage; why you're with each other (some people prefer partners who are heavier...we all have our 'likes") ....how you act heavy, how you act thin. Some do split...many don't. If you feel you're "strong" and have trouble, couples therapy can do worlds of good. Either way, this fear isn't a good reason to remain unhealthy.

Adhesions are common in any surgery...if your surgeon wasn't worried and placed mesh in there to prevent the adhesions from returning, then if it were me, I'd let it be. We are all different, you need to remember that. We heal differently, our insides are different, everything about us is unique. If your doc thinks you're fine, you probably are. You're smart enough to know over the next few weeks if you are healing or still feeling bad, and that's all any of us can do...do our own little "self check" and then get on with life. Of course if you are still worried call your surgeon for more reassurance (is there a reason you don't believe or trust him?) Mind I'm not saying NEVER question a doc...far from it! But he found it, he told you about it, he "fixed" it, he let you go. He seems, at least from over here where I am...to be prudent, caring, "good". If you feel that way about him, then don't borrow trouble as my granny would say. If you don't...get a second opinion. Change doctors. You're going to probably feel twitches and twinges and pangs and OUCH as you heal from lap band surgery so if you are in doubt, CALL your surgeon's office. They won't mind!

As long as you don't "cheat" your lifting restrictions when helping them out, I'd say yes, especially since you have already had surgery and know how you handle pain etc...and because they will be in school part of the time. DURING that time...NAP if you need to, though, ok? Or chill out. Rest yourself if you need it. Then yes, you'll be good! (Have a back up plan just in case this surgery hits you harder than you think, though. It is lap surgery, many recover fast, but this is life and sometimes poo happens!)

Then the rest of my post holds true. See how many calories you're getting and if they are pretty LOW (at your current weight as a wild guess I'd think you need at least 1200-1400 the way you are working out) you need to up them. Stop the shakes ... eat food! Instead of the shake have chicken and some veggies...etc. (you need Fiber too I bet) You could always make an appt with the nutritionist for true professional help instead of me the "professional dieter!" LOL but you're not eating enough I don't think to sustain your workouts.

I just wanted to tell you...that if by "agoraphobic" you mean you don't like going out because you're heavy and fear you'll be ostracized, or are physically uncomfortable being heavy and "out" etc, then weight loss will most likely help! BUT there are many agoraphobics who are not overweight. If you truly mean "agoraphobia" where you have a panic attack at the thought of having to leave your home, losing weight alone won't do it for you, and I'd hate for you to be disappointed when it didn't. What will help that is a good behavioral therapist, and they should be able to help you get up enough "courage" to get to them if necessary. Don't mean to parse points with you! Just would hate for you to think the lap band can "help" true agoraphobia. Unfortunately, it won't.

What did your doc say? If it were ME...I'd cut out the protein shakes (my doc is adamant that they are a meal REPLACEMENT, not adjunct or snack) and just eat the food. Also count your calories just for a couple of days (for data only, not as a new way of life) and make sure you're getting enough. With the exercise you're doing, adding 100-200 cals a day may make a big difference in your weight loss (seems counter-intuitive, but it's true. As you are building muscle your body NEEDS more than "normal")

For me, seminar to surgery was 4 weeks (including all the pretests etc) Your speed now depends on how busy your surgeon's office is!

I chose lapband because I didn't want to deal w/malabsorption issues at my age, I liked the CONTROL lapband gives, I didn't want my stomach disected and then sewn up and left in place to produce acid but with no way to get IN to it (one reason bypassers have issues, it ends up) I researched, looked long and hard at myself and my "issues" and decided Lap Band was my best chance. I have absolutely God's honest truth no issues. My port moved a little but my surgeon finds it handily. I have no pain. I never have been nauseated. I can eat ANY food (inlcuding that bugaboo WHITE BREAD...UNTOASTED) and get full on about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of food (depending on my food choice). I LOVE my lap band. At almost 1 year out it appears it was the marvel I thought it would be. My post op pain (and we're talking a 53 year old woman who weighed in at 382 on surgery day) was MINOR...I'vehad dental procedures that hurt more and for longer. I would do it again in an instant! And finally I'd wait....mostly because the follow up care is VITAL and being military you're likely to move around a good bit. Going civilian you may have problems finding a doc to treat you, etc. Plus it is a process, not a foot race. (I have lost 48 of my pounds since 5/7 when I FINALLY got restriction!!) Before I'd have hurried and gotten it done. Now I would wait for the perfect surgeon.

Ok HH your $50 check is in the mail. :thumbup:

Good grief. It isn't "the easy way" but if it were, why would ANYONE who loves you begrudge you that? Would they PREFER you to suffer? Ask one of them that sometime...that should make them think. I've never wanted a soul I loved to have to struggle, hurt, and be miserable. I've never wanted a soul I loved to risk his or her health. People just don't think things through.

I have been banded a year (well, 11 months...to be honest here!) and think I posted there. Let me say I can eat about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of food. I don't measure it every meal, nor even weekly...just did it a time or two because I was curious. I can eat about 3 oz steak and 1/2 or so of a baked potato. What I eat is whatever on earth i want to eat. Sometimes that's something really healthy like 3 oz baked fish and a small serving of green Beans. Usually it's something fairly Protein rich (because that keeps me full the longest...6 hours or so) but sometimes I have a small plate of, say, bean and cheese nachos. I had a hot dog about a month ago (well, 1/2 of a hot dog LOL) I'm losing about 3-4 pounds a week right now, on a roll, so I don't eat unhealthy things (llike the hot dog) very often. In the last three months I've had pizza once, I've had part of a milkshake once, I've had a lot of baked fish, I've had 1/3 of a chick fil A, etc. You get the drift. What I eat is whatever I want, and because I get full easily and stay that way a long time on steak, chicken, fish, or turkey, that tends to be what I usually choose! :juggle: BUT the band is a tool, not a diet. You will eat as you wish; that may be a diet, it may not be. You'll use it in a way that works for you. For example I DO NOT snack now because my doc is adamant about it, but many successful bandsters do occasionally have a healthy snack. See? You'll do what works for you!

I take a multi and did LONG before I ever got the band. As to appetite suppressants, if you think they work long term I have some land in florida to sell you.......and there's a fee for posting here you need to send me directly! :juggle:

If you still feel bad tomorrow, call your doc. Pain is expected but if you can't get but 1 - 1/2 hours of relief you may need to be back in the hospital for stronger stuff, or he may have some other (less drastic) tips. Good luck! We're all different...I didn't have much pain. I was a little sore (like back when I actually DID sit ups) but that's about it.

Hmm...you can call insurance and find out...not all require a physician's referral (mine didn't). If your ins does and your PCP won't approve you, you can always find another primary. Good luck (my doc would have NO idea what my ins covered, just FYI...the surgeon's office knows but my primary had no clue)

It probably did...I just wondered HOW and what. But I'm nosy and didn't mean to press you about it; just like to have as much info as I can! Anyway, I hope you feel better soon. Sorry it didn't work out for you.

There is a forum on here for "other weight loss surgeries". Click on Home, scroll down, and you'll find it. As anyone here will tell you....do your research and decide which surgery you think is right for you. You're the one who will be living with it, not your doctor. You may, or may not, decide RNY is right for you. :juggle: Good luck!

My doc doesn't use x-ray equip to fill me. He doesn't need it, honestly. The man put my port in me and knows where it is; he has a great "touch". He can always tell me how much restriction I'll experience by how much resistance he feels when he injects the additional saline. He is truly a master at this. Don't assume that docs who fill slow do it because they are inept or can't tell what you need. Many who use x-ray still need more, or unfills. The aggressive/conservative fill approach is instead based on the data some subscribe to that aggressive fills set patients up for problems down the road, like esophageal spasms for example. Obviously not all surgeons believe this way but many do.

You already know you heal slowly, and internal "wounds" take a while to heal. If this is your history, if you don't have redness or a fever, and if you trust your doc, then you're probably good. I had little pain and healed really fast but didn't mash on my port at all. I didn't even know where it was until my first fill appt (at 6 weeks). You know your body best. I'd guess that you are just healing slowly! The port is usually sewn into muscle tissue and it takes that a while to recover.

My surgeon says no snacks! I've found that it depends on what I choose to eat as to whether I stay full or not. Things that are softer and more "processed" (like a bean burrito as opposed to chicken breast, for example) leave me hungry sooner. Right now I can eat anything at all...but some foods pack more bang for the buck if that makes sense. You may want to tinker around with that too! :juggle: Good luck; sounds like you're doing great!

Burping (and what comes out the other end) is what we do to get rid of gas in our digestive tract, so that's normal! :juggle:

If they don't call you (I'm usually called, either by the NP at my banding surgeon's office, or by the RN at my primary's office) call them and ask.

Tell your doctor exactly what you told us; let him make the call. At the worst he'll delay surgery a little, and that will be for your health.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience. I'm sure what happened to you can "just happen" but usually there is a slip, or a too small band, or too tight, etc. I'm not a banding surgeon so I don't know for sure but have sure researched a lot before I got mine. Anyway sorry you won't ever know what went wrong with your band and that it didn't work for you. I hope you feel better soon!

Hello and welcome! I really enjoyed your post! Your mom knows you best, of course, but the band REALLY helps you stick to a healthy eating schedule. You don't need to overindulge now because you WILL be able to eat later, most likey. I can still eat pizza, hamburgers, fries, enchiladas, lasagna...you name it. I just dont' eat it often and when I do, don't eat a lot of it. I eat a piece of pizza (no crust) and am full for about 4-6 hours. So...you do what your Mom says (LOL) because you aren't going to starve and be miserable forever. Show her you've got the juice! There are some who are so tight they only eat what we call "sliders" (yogurt,Soups, ice cream) but that tightness is a choice. You'll always be in control. Good luck!

I appreciate you taking the time to "talk" with me about this. How did your lap band "fail"? Did it slip? Was it placed improperly? Was it too tight? If you don't mind...."Fail" covers a LOT of ground...