CelticCat

Me too... and my husband never complains, he'd rather save it for better places anyway.

Hey guys, this is a place for people to be able to talk about their dealings with lap bands and how they deal with it and their life. Many of you I'm sure feel that smoking anything is bad. I think drinking is bad, I think sex out of marriage is bad, I don't agree with homosexuality, I have my oppinions about a lot of things. BUT, it is my oppinion, mine, not for me to shove on other people. This board is not for me to say hey you shouldn't do this or you should grow up or whatever. If you don't agree with what someone does, that's fine, don't agree with it. But don't talk down either. Just because someone smokes pot, it doesn't make them not "grown up," nor does it make them an idiot or stupid. It just is what they do. I'm sure everyone has their vices. You may not talk about yours. But if you do, I hope no one tries to "seem better then you" about it... which is how some people are coming off. If you smoke pot, right on, good luck to you. If you don't, right on, good luck to you. But lets not talk down to others. Lets lift them up. A lap band is a tool, and it is what EACH PERSON INDIVIDUALLY makes of it. Lets respect that, and remember we're all on the same side. <-- just discovered smilies in forums

Also remember that its for a short amount of time... So if your family "not exactly eating healthy" for two weeks makes you that much more successful, I think they will understand, and support you. If cooking dinner for them is too much, ask you kids to help out, or make something simple. Even if its PB&J for them, if it keeps you on your pre-op diet, it will help. Like a few posters have said, if you don't follow the diet, sometimes you can't have the surgery. I would follow it exactly, even if it means cooking the meals for your family and forcing yourself to stay away from it. Yeah, I know, easier said then done. I have two young girls and a husband to feed. I am terrified of my pre-op diet. I'm still in the pre-approval diet. The pre-pre-op diet... But I would rather follow it exactly, and have my husband and the kids back me up then to wake up on op day and be told I don't have my band because my liver is too fatty.

For those who say the smoke is bad, there are also vaporizers that filter out over 99% of the smoke, so all you get is the THC and essential oils. My husband and I are also herb friendly people, neither of us smoke cigs. What the smoke does to your lungs is terrible, but if you want to keep it up, check out a vaporizer. Its completely different and better for you. Also when the munchies hit, drink water. I use the Lipton Green Tea To Go packets, because I hate, hate, HATE drinking plain water. But these are sweet, no calories, no sugar, they are great. When we have a "relaxing" evening at home, we decide before hand what we will have to eat. I'm still on my 6 month doc diet, so my snacks will be tuna, or some sort of protien, a piece of cheese, and when those are gone, they are gone, that is it. You just need to make the choice to not go get more food. And drink drink drink that water! Anyway... my two cents...

I also have sleep apnea. Pretty sever in fact. I stop breathing an average of 136 times an hour, for about 30 seconds each time. So you can guess how much rest I was getting at night. I had the big clunky mask at first, and it was really hard to get used to. But I tell you, I sleep better now then I ever have. Once I got used to the mask, I felt more energetic. It really makes a difference when you're well rested. You may sleep 6, 8, 10 hours a night, but do you feel like you really slept well? Or do you wake up still tired? My mask was hurting me, so I stopped wearing it, and waited for the company to come out and fit me with a new one. During that time, I didn't realize how much not using it was affecting me. When I got my new mask (a nasal pillow that sits under my nose, totally comfy), I slept like a log. I'm back to getting my full nights sleep. Hang in there, its tough to get started. But after you get used to it, it really is worth it. You'll sleep like a baby, and through the night. That was the big thing for me, always waking up. This fixed it. Good luck to you, and God bless you. CC

Yes, SAHM = Stay at Home Mom. I know that most of America is considered obese, but still, its the way it affects ME, know what I mean? I need to learn to love myself, not just get this weight off. My three year old and I have this new thing. She sits on my lap facing me, and we throw our hands up in the air, and we say "I'm BEAUTIFUL! I'm SMART! I'm FUNNY!" and then we give each other a big hug. And saying that over and over again, I'm beautiful, I'm smart, I'm funny, has really started making a difference. It started when we brought her home from the hospital when she was born, everyone said she's so beautiful, and my best friend, her God Mother, would say "and smart and funny!" everytime someone said she was beautiful. But I want to instill in her while she's young, no matter what, she is beautiful, she is so smart, and she is hilarious. And I want her to BELIEVE that. So I'm trying to take my own words to heart. Thank you for my welcome, and I hope I get a chance to chat with you more.

Hello all. I'm a 31 y/o, 242 lb stay at home mom of two. Because I'm a SAHM, I never leave my house other than to go to church. And even on Sundays I look for reasons to stay home. Because of my weight I have pretty much become a hermit, looking for any excuse not to go out and have people look at me. So, over the past year I have researched and made the decision to move forward with a lapband. I am now currently going through the 6 months of supervised diet needed by my insurance company in order to have my lapband covered. So far, in the past two weeks, I've lost 5 pounds which is huge. I haven't lost any weight in years. So here I am, hoping to meet friends and find some support on my journey to a new me. I have been enjoying the forums, and I hope to talk to some of you soon!