Hollie519

The first step to getting better is admitting you have a problem. Taking pictures of yourself now, could help you from turning back and also motivate you. Also, you can feel good and say, I don't look like that anymore. I love looking at my fat pictures. It makes me feel accomplished.

hey there is hope for all of you! I had this same problem at about 6 months. I felt like I was saying I had lost the same amount of weight too many times and the number never changed. I became discouraged and GAINED 10 POUNDS! I think people just get used to the fact that they have it, and slip a little into their old habbits. Just keep up your physical activity and try to experiment with what you are eating. But I am down the 10 and than some. I am living proof that this works :] So keep your chin up.

It's pretty crazy to consider yourself pretty isn't it. That is always something I never thought I'd say. I'm sure it makes your family so happy to see that smile :] You are an inspiration and you look great too.

Do i get to be apart of this since my surgery was October 3, 2007? Don't be afraid, the band has the possibility of being the best change you could have ever made. It's completely worth it. :] Good luck and all you Octobers will be in my prayers

Today is a good day! Thanks to all those who have given me such good advice and show their support. I have been on this site for a little over a week and I can't believe how much better I already feel about myself. All those discouraged people, keep your chin up, take it one day at a time and remember to breathe. You happiness is right around the corner. You can do it! :] All those on a roll, keep on keeping on :] I hope you guys all have a wonderful day.

CONGRATS! I started my liquid diet one year and one day after your surgery. The best is yet to come for you :]

See I am not afraid to die. I am afraid to fail. I am afraid to be stuck in this world with no one to help me feel safe enough to break down and cry. Since I was young, I have always had to be the strong one. My sister is 3 1/2 years younger than me and my dad's alcoholism was full blown in my younger years; too far back for my sister to remember. We used to wake up to our parents screaming and yelling at each other. I would have to comfort her and stay strong for her and I did that by pretending everything was ok. I eventually got to the point where I was always pretending everything was ok. My mom was always the one who could make me break down, and cry but she used to treat me like her best friend. I mean I recall her asking me what I thought about her and my dad getting a divorce. So, she is mentally too unstable to be my rock. I love my mom and she has always tried to be there for me but she has WAY too many unresolved issues to be what I need. A lot of my self hate comes from her. She also hates herself and has never dealt with it. My mom has openly admitted to me that she had remorse toward me because I was over weight. Don't get me wrong, my mother is a great mother, but i don't think she was all she could be for us because of her own pain. I just want to be a little girl and have someone hold me while I cry. I want to be taken care of because I feel like I've taken care of myself since I can remember but I am afraid no one can do that for me. :/

I suffer from anxiety. No way could i just go. I think it got worse when I started driving. Driving made me realize that I had to worry. God wasn't going to make my wheel automatically turn if I was going to fast or what not. I was always ignorant for not realizing that things could happen to me. I used to be one of those people who didn't think bad things would happen to them and it would always happen to someone else. If I were to just pick up and leave one day, I would stress about money and probably have a heart attack. I can never get my mind around if I am making excuses or if it is really is like i say. Sometimes I feel like i have an answer for everything but who knows if its right or not.

Oh my gosh! I was just telling someone that. I am 18 but I feel 30. I think a lot of my resentment toward my boyfriend comes from the past I have yet to deal with. I have finally said out loud, "I am not fat anymore but I still hate myself". And it is so true. I broke down yesterday and I think he realizes that he needs to take on more of the responsibilities so I can have more time to take care of myself. And college will be a blast. i never studied a day in my life during high school and I graduated with honors. I DO NOT CHEAT EITHER! I just do the homework and it kind of just sticks. I mean i know i will study because college is harder, but I have very good memory. Thanks so much for the input. It helps me look at my situation from a different perspective.

Some people just do not understand the struggles that people have with food and dieting. My boyfriend was against it but only because he is afraid of the comlications. He is very supportive. My cousin also had the surgery, and did not tell my aunt for 2 months. My aunt used to be heavy but lost the weight using weight watchers. She thinks that weight watchers is a miracle and anyone could do it. So, I am sure you can see why my cousin decided not to tell her mom. She now knows and has seen my cousin and my results and approves. Some people just think surgery is too extreme. I have to say, when i had first learned about the bypass, I did not approve. After I sat through the lap band seminar, I was sold. The surgery is so minor and the complications are also. Not all people understand how desperate someone in our situation is. I tried every diet known to man with little results. I just did not have that "STOP EATING!" thing in my head. I continuously over indulged myself but rarely with junk food. So the lap band is a tool that has successfully worked for me. i'm sure once your family sees the changes in you and your body, they will be more supportive.

I am in a teen study, and i meet with the same doctors everytime. I have never seen a student of any kind while i am in the office. We are treated the same as the normal patients except for a few things we have to do every visit. Dr. Horgan has been a great support system for me. Just my opinion.

The only reason it should be affecting you more is because you weigh less, eat less, and have a smaller stomach. Your body could have kept its tolerance to it if you never stopped to begin with.

It really discourages me to hear that people regret having the band. I know everyone's bodies are different but I really think its will power. I mean i am not saying that I have not had trouble or had cravings or even sometimes cheated the band but i do not think it is something that is worth giving up on. I am also not saying that its been a picnic for me either. The weight did not just melt off me. I have worked hard every single day. i just feel like I went through such extensive screening to have this, to make sure I was ready. I don't understand how there are people who have it, who are now deciding they are not ready. I guess out of desperasion some people have this surgery, but why?

If you let it go flat, it will get you even more drunk. Probably not a good idea. Carbonated is bad because it gives you air bubbles and can possibly stretch your pouch. I have found that if you sip, because i am a diet coke junky, and let it go slow and make sure you burp plenty, you will be ok. I have a diet soda once in a while though just to be sure.

I have drank several time. lol I try to stick to drinking clear liqour like Diabetics. I am from San Diego, lol where they know how to party. I usually get some kind of fruit juice and make one drink. That usually lasts me the whole night and keeps me on a nice straight buzz. I would not try to chance it with beer though. NO SHOTS either. Oh my gosh no shots. I took one once and when i burped some alcohol came back up with it and I was throwing up so bad. Everyone else is right, it hits you harder and much faster. Good luck

I just told my boyrfried that we need to be on a break. After posting a thread with my thoughts of my childhood, I realized i have a lot of work to do on myself. I also found myself wondering if I was just with this guy because he loved me before I had the surgery or am i clinging to him because I thought he'd be the only guy who'd ever love me. He also, is like my child. Sometimes i feel like a single parent; more often than not. I pay all the bills and make sure he is doing everything he should be. I can only take care of his stuff to an extent. I am not his mother nor his wife, so certain things i can't do. It always seemed funny to me that those things I couldn't do, never got done. There were just always certain obsitcles that I thought, when they were finished I'd be happy. I have come to realize, that no matter what gets accomplished, i am not happy. i don't know if it him or if its me. I mean, when he's gone, i miss him. i don't if its because i don't want to be alone or if it is him. We have a lot of the same views on life and have a good time with each other just sitting back and debating things. I don't know. i'm so confused. i am only 18 years old and i feel like i'm thirty. Because of the surgery, I had to do an at home program to graduate high school. So since September, I've been working full time. I will be starting college soon and i don't think i can take it. I have money anxiety that comes from my dad and I am so frequently so occupied with worrying about how things are going to be paid for. I need help. i mean he makes money, but he doens't worry about the bills or about the responsibilities that i take on that I shouldn't have to. I just want to scream, I AM ONLY 18!

I just told my boyrfried that we need to be on a break. After posting a thread with my thoughts of my childhood, I realized i have a lot of work to do on myself. I also found myself wondering if I was just with this guy because he loved me before I had the surgery or am i clinging to him because I thought he'd be the only guy who'd ever love me. He also, is like my child. Sometimes i feel like a single parent; more often than not. I pay all the bills and make sure he is doing everything he should be. I can only take care of his stuff to an extent. I am not his mother nor his wife, so certain things i can't do. It always seemed funny to me that those things I couldn't do, never got done. There were just always certain obsitcles that I thought, when they were finished I'd be happy. I have come to realize, that no matter what gets accomplished, i am not happy. i don't know if it him or if its me. I mean, when he's gone, i miss him. i don't if its because i don't want to be alone or if it is him. We have a lot of the same views on life and have a good time with each other just sitting back and debating things. I don't know. i'm so confused. i am only 18 years old and i feel like i'm thirty. Because of the surgery, I had to do an at home program to graduate high school. So since September, I've been working full time. I will be starting college soon and i don't think i can take it. I have money anxiety that comes from my dad and I am so frequently so occupied with worrying about how things are going to be paid for. I need help. i mean he makes money, but he doens't worry about the bills or about the responsibilities that i take on that I shouldn't have to. I just want to scream, I AM ONLY 18!

I just told my boyrfried that we need to be on a break. After posting a thread with my thoughts of my childhood, I realized i have a lot of work to do on myself. I also found myself wondering if I was just with this guy because he loved me before I had the surgery or am i clinging to him because I thought he'd be the only guy who'd ever love me. He also, is like my child. Sometimes i feel like a single parent; more often than not. I pay all the bills and make sure he is doing everything he should be. I can only take care of his stuff to an extent. I am not his mother nor his wife, so certain things i can't do. It always seemed funny to me that those things I couldn't do, never got done. There were just always certain obsitcles that I thought, when they were finished I'd be happy. I have come to realize, that no matter what gets accomplished, i am not happy. i don't know if it him or if its me. I mean, when he's gone, i miss him. i don't if its because i don't want to be alone or if it is him. We have a lot of the same views on life and have a good time with each other just sitting back and debating things. I don't know. i'm so confused. i am only 18 years old and i feel like i'm thirty. Because of the surgery, I had to do an at home program to graduate high school. So since September, I've been working full time. I will be starting college soon and i don't think i can take it. I have money anxiety that comes from my dad and I am so frequently so occupied with worrying about how things are going to be paid for. I need help. i mean he makes money, but he doens't worry about the bills or about the responsibilities that i take on that I shouldn't have to. I just want to scream, I AM ONLY 18! Thanks for listening.

HEY keep your chin up. Sometimes its hard but you will get there. About half way through my band swelled shut because it was like .5 CC's too tight. I had to be completely deflated and had to start 2 weeks of liquid diet. So it was like starting over. i got kind of depressed and off track and gained 10 pounds. After 2 fills, I was good to go. I realized that I was in a downward spiral and that I was just going to go right back where I was before. So I jumped back on the wagon and here I am. I lost that 10 pound and some more. So just have faith and know that you are the one that controls this, no matter the curve balls you are thrown. And Shauna, I do not regret getting the lap band. i regret not knowing sooner.

not really. Maybe in the beginning you might have to drive a few times to the doctor to get it but once you find your spot than its just about your check ups. good luck

My boyfriend is pretty funny. He said to me one day, "Don't be offended, okay? Sometimes I feel like Shallow Hal. I look at all of our o ld pictures and I don't remember you looking like that. I mean like that big". I was happy because I know he loves me for me, but for some reason this head of mine was like, that means it doesn't count when he says your beautiful because he just means on the inside. I hate that I think that way but I have scheduled the intake process to start counseling. Thank you for your compliments.

If you don't mind going to San Diego, UCSD has a great team. Dr. Horgan was my surgeon and he is amazing. He is also known for performing a laprascopic gull blader removal on a female through the easy way out :] He is a crack up and I have had amazing results with a pretty responsive team. I had to wait six months before I had my surgery because I am in a study that was waiting for funding. So you can try your luck. Its worth it. Lapband Weight Loss Surgery at UCSD Medical Center Good luck!

oh yea thats why I usually try to say something about how peolpe are different. I just wish there were more people my age who could relate but I am one of the few. I am in a teen study to have the band FDA approved for people under 18. So hopefully there willl be more of a variety eventually. I had the surgery the same day as another girl in the study my age and she hasn't been doing to well. I try to be there for her but you can tell there is tension everytime I talk to her. So I gave up. Other girls are giving me enough dirty looks as it is.

I never knew that people i do not know could have such an impact on the way i feel about myself. You guys really really have no idea what your words mean to me. Its good to know I will never be alone. Something i always thought would happen to me. :]

When i got to the post op liquid, i started on mushie food like a week early and I was ok but every BODY is different.