dietpeach

I agree - and to tell you the truth, I thought she was cuter than the girl they put out there. She had that baby doll look to her. I hope her self esteem doesn't suffer (though I'm sure it does, poor thing).

Thank you Wendy, that was very informative. I'm still far away from getting a date and all that, but could you tell me the name and email of the person I need to contact when my papers are submitted? That could save me a few weeks. (I'm desperate to get banded already.) Also, is it allowed to schedule my consultation if I haven;t met the nutritionist yet? I'm probably going to go with Dr. Fielding. Thanks again, your reply was very helpful.

Did you know they made a forum just for us? I'm so excited to "band" together with other NYU bandsters. Go check it out: Banded at NYU - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum See you there!

I wish I knew! I'm meeting with the nutritionist on 9/4, and I also want Dr. Fielding to do my surgery. How long was it from your nutritionist appointment until your surgery?

Ack! Which insurance is he dropping? And when? (I'm pre-op.)

luv2teech, you don't need to feel guilty at ALL for keeping this a secret. It's not something everyone understands - if they were in your shoes, they would understand, but since they're not, they might say insensitive things and judge you. You don't need that. Everyone's entitled to keep private things private. If you don't want to eat with your friend, then next time she asks, tell her that you're really watching your weight and trying to focus your life less on eating, and more on doing things. Then offer her some alternative to eating out. If she insists on eating out, or if you want to, order band friendly foods. I'm not banded myself yet, but think of healthy things that would go down easily and not get stuck. For example, vegetable Soup with soft mushy vegetables - and just explain you're trying to eat healthy. Eat it very slowly, and don't finish if you're afraid it will fill you up before the entrée and she'll suspect something. Then get a main dish that's easy to chew and swallow and mushyish - I heard that dark chicken in a sauce goes down. Or maybe mashed potatoes? Or maybe get a tuna platter? I don't know what exactly, not being banded and not knowing what type of restaurant you normally eat in, but try to find something mushy and healthy. Anyway, you sound very sweet and considerate of others, but in this instance - you come first. :tt2:

I think you handled this beautifully, but I know that I would have felt every feeling you felt or more, but you really did handle yourself nicely. I think your son will learn more about sensitivity from seeing you hurt but hearing your calm explanation, rather than if you had scolded him or gotten angry. But boy, that must have stung... I know it stung me to no end when my son's classmate kept telling my son his mother (me) is fat. The worst part is, that boy's mother is at least 80 to 100 pounds overweight herself! So who is he to talk?

Actually this reminds me of a very funny story. Your kids are older so it's not such an issue for you, but my kids are all 7 and under, so I will NOT be telling them at this time, and my story will illustrate why: kids this age just can't keep a secret. So, we had a 6 or 7 year old girl over for a play date, and I gave the kids pizza and soda for a treat. The girl seemed very excited, so I asked if they ever had pizza and soda at home. So she told me, "We used to have pizza and soda and french fries and ice cream, but then my Mommy had a surgery so we don't have those things in our house anymore." It was all I could do not to laugh! Of course I never let on to the mother what I know, but the evil side of me is tempted to just flat-out ask her one day, "So which surgery did you have, the lap band or the gastric bypass?" (Don't worry, I'm not THAT evil!) Her mother is a bit heavy but not too heavy - I have no idea what she used to look like. Anyway, I find this story very amusing - and it's a good reminder NOT to tell my little ones until they're older. :biggrin2:

My question was answered. Thanks!

I thought Dr. Kurian was fantastic - I loved her sense of humor! The insurance coordinator said that depending on which surgeon you choose it's a 3-4 month wait. Was anyone else from this board there?

Congrats on 6 years of great weight loss success. I myself am still pre-op. I would like to hear more about your leak, as I understand a leak can be very dangerous. Does that mean there was erosion into the stomach? Also, what can they do to fix the leak? Thanks.

I know, Dr. Kurian seems to have it all! I haven't decided for sure which surgeon to pick, but she impressed me very much. She really seemed to understand the patients and their issues so well - I loved how some of her patients said they'll always track her down to be seen by her. And I loved how she said that even if she retired from doing surgery, she will never retire from following up her patients. And yeah, she's gorgeous, too. (Doesn't hurt to have a beautiful doctor!) taradefrank, thanks for the book reference. I'm certainly going to try to get a copy to read, preferably from the library. (But if it's that good I'll buy it.) Is it something you follow along day-by-day? Is it a guide to living with the band?

You're right and you're wrong. The lap band DOES force you to follow a set of eating rules that lead to healthier eating and greater weight loss. The set of eating rules CAN be called a "diet," and if you would follow the rules of this "diet" without a lap band, you would lose weight. But, like any other "diet" you would have a 95% chance of failure. You might be able to stick to it for a few weeks or months, but sooner or later, there's a 95% chance you'll fail. The difference is that the lap band forces you to comply - which ultimately means that you DO comply. Not just for a few weeks or a few months like on another diet, but forever. That is why the success rate to take off the weight and keep it off is 80%, as compared to 5% doing it "on your own" without surgery. I'm also angry about the lap band. I'm angry that I need to have it while so many lucky skinny people don't have this problem. But I DO have this problem, and anger won't fix it. I wish I didn't need surgery to fix it, but I feel I have no choice. I have truly given 100% effort over the last 4.5 years, and I've succeeded and failed so many times I'm just work out from the fight - and just as fat as ever. With health complications that go with it. I need to do this for my health, I need to do this for myself. Hope this helps answer your question. :thumbup:

Just be careful with regurgitation every day - it can lead to esophagal cancer. Sadly it happens to a lot of bulimics. Here's some info I found over at Medline: --- MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Barrett?s esophagus Causes Return to top Irritation of the lining of the esophagus by stomach acid causes Barrett's esophagus. It happens more frequently in men than women. Risk factors are frequent and long-standing gastroesophageal reflux. The condition carries an increased risk of cancer of the esophagus. ---- So just be careful! Regurgitation brings stomach acids into the esophagus, which is bad news if it happens too often. If it keeps happening speak to your doctor.

Hi, as I consider a possible lap band, I want to look down the road, more long term. I know many people experience weight loss in the beginning, but I want to know how many start to gain it back, etc. It's such a big decision, so I want to feel I really researched it from every angle. For example, I have a friend who got banded, only lost about 30 pounds, and gained back 20. She says her surgeon wasn't good, so I want to ask more people to get a more accurate picture. Everyone is welcome to post a reply to this thread, but I ask that only those who have been banded for two years to actually vote in the poll. Thank you!

Okay Chickie, I checked out your pictures. Your before picture looks just like me! You have given me hope. Please tell me what you did/didn't do? Any special diet plan, or just follow the rules of the band? Also, you don't have a double chin or sagging skin on your face - did you need a lift there, or did it naturally turn out so good? Did your arms get a lift or just slim down on their own? Congrats on your success, and thanks for the inspiration!

You could vote for #1 - you lost more than 50% and kept it off - big time!

I noticed a lot of people are struggling during their pre-op diets. Since I just found out my liver is enlarged, I will need to be extra strict on my pre-op diet to make it shrink as much as possible. So I thought of a way to avoid cheating during the pre-op diet. My idea is to plan a huge last dinner party - with whichever family and friends who know you're doing the lap band and who support this decision (no naysayers!). Make it a big bash, you're celebrating your new journey, your new life. This will truly be your last huge meal ever (unless you get the band removed). Either have it in your favorite restaurant, or get take-out of your favorite foods from several restaurants and have a party at home. But the main ingredient is your support network! :teeth_smile: I think that if my last pre-op meal were memorialized with a family celebration, I'd be less likely to then taint my pre-op liquid fast with any food. I'd truly want that meal to truly be my last pre-op food, so I could savor the memory of the love and support from my family who gathered together to support me, and who truly want me to regain my health. :wub: In my case, I'm planning to have my mom, my husband, my kids, and whichever of my brothers could make it, and we'd go out to a restaurant. I'd get a hamburger deluxe with fries and onion rings, and a real coke. (nothing fancy - but my absolute fave.) And some dessert of course. :thumbup: I might even ask for bets or pledges on the amount of weight I lose in a certain time frame, and definitely we'd take pictures. Hopefully I would then want to burn those pictures a year later after losing 100 pounds! If you think it's a good idea... A.) Who would you invite? B.) Where would you have it? C.) What would you eat?

I just had an abdominal ultrasound done (unrelated to lap band approval) and it was discovered that my liver is enlarged due to fatty infiltration. This is a condition extremely common in obese people, and is the reason they put us on pre-op diets - they want us to shrink it so it's easier for them to operate, and so the liver is less likely to rupture during the procedure. So don't cheat on the Pre-op! As an aside, fatty infiltration of the liver can lead to serious complications down the road, such as cirrhosis. Thankfully, bariatric surgery helps reverse this condition and restore the liver to health. The more weight you lose, the better the outcome.

Did it really give you your life back? I've been trying SO HARD for over four years to lose the weight, and I can only succeed a few weeks (at most) before my hunger overpowers me, and now I feel hopeless. Did any of you feel hopeless, and did the lap band really make a difference? Thanks.

Did anyone prepare and freeze their mushies ahead of time? Were you still feeling sore or dizzy from the surgery at that point? I wouldn't want to have to cook if I was feeling sore/dizzy, that's why - but if I weren't feeling sore/dizzy, I think I'd prefer fresh food that I'd just cooked.

From what I understand, blood pressure becomes "labile" (goes up and down between high and normal) and does this for a while before going high and staying high at every reading. I would ask your surgeon to be safe, but I doubt it's related to the band. And unless you're eating an Atkins-style low carb diet, I would say it's unrelated to the diet either. (Speaking from personal experience, I lost 50 pounds on Atkins but developed high blood pressure at the same time - I went off Atkins and gained the weight back, but my blood pressure went back down.)

Did you plan ahead for your post-op diet? I mean the mushy part where you have to puree your foods. Did you puree it in advance and freeze it? Also, could you post what were some of your "favorite" mushy meals? I used to make my own baby food for my kids when they were babies, but I'm not sure if I would want to eat that stuff as a grown up (pureed chicken and carrots, etc.) I'm hoping you guys will have better suggestions. Thanks! :thumbup:

Yes!!!! That's exactly it! I really beat myself up for being such a failure! Not losing weight has really ruined my life in so many really meaningful ways. I haven't been the kind of energetic mother I wanted to be, and I've even been unable to have another child because of it. I WANT another child, and knowing that I couldn't get myself out of this mess to have one just makes me feel so much worse. Every once in a while doubts creep into my mind about this surgery, but then I reassure myself: it's no big deal. You just go to sleep and wake up already banded, finished. I don't need to panic about exactly what they're doing, etc. I wish I did this years ago... The saddest part is that the center I'm planning to use is so busy that it will be three months before I can get banded. *sigh*

Does anyone else want to vote? The results so far are not encouraging! :ohmy: