sweetheart181

I'm so sorry to hear about the complications some people have had. Before I lost any weight I was super healthy and never had any problems. Now it seems like the closer I get to my goal weight the sicker I get! hahaha nothing serious I really just think it's funny. I have had to get 2 unfills in the last month and a half because I've gotten sick and my band has tightened up. I was at 7.75cc's and now I'm at 6.25cc's. I just got my seccond unfill today cause I came down with the flu. They took out 1cc so we will see how much I gain from that. hahaha not too worried about it though because once I'm feeling better I will just get another fill. Other than getting sick a few times I'm doing great! I'm now 176 and a size 12/14. My highest weight was 324 and a size 26/28.

WOW! everyone looks amazing! Here are some of my before pictures: I'm the one on the left. Here are some after pics: This really is the best thing I could have ever done! and sorry about the pictures being kinda big.

Everyone is doing so well! I love to hear all about NSVs. -I always thought of my lab partner and thought thats what I want to look like. Well the other night we swapped some clothes and all the clothes I got from her were all a little too big! -The fact that I can actually swap clothes with my friends! who would have known I would see the day! - I now wear a size M top and a size 12 bottom. I used to be a 3x/2x and 26/28. -I work in a store where designer is everything and I could never fit into designer jeans until now! I'm offically a size 32 in jeans. -I have run into a few people I went to high school with and none of them recognize me. This is nice but it is also really embarrasing when you say hi and they look at you like you're crazy.

you better keep us updated with your progress even without the lapband. what did dr. fox say?

CONGRATS!!!!!!! I'm sure you must be so stoked that you have a surgery date! I'm a little jelousthat you have a 7 day pre-op diet! hahaha have you met the lady that does the pre-op orientation thing? She is really nice and has some great tips! I agree that you need to start a blog.

glad you only had one poke this time! and good luck with the colonoscopy

My doctor always said that even though soda is bad for you, I can still have it if I can tollerate it. I had surgery last december and a few weeks ago I had soda for the first time since surgery and it was horrible! I don't know how to explain it but it was just really uncomfortable. Now I've had beer since surgery and although that is a little hard to drink because it takes me forever to finish one beer cause I'm too busy burping, it is MUCH easier than soda. I really have no idea why that is.

hahaha that's what moms are for I guess.

woo hoo! you have to let us know how it goes!

hahaha thanks! I always love some healthy competition. Yeah I am very proud of myself but it's very strange. Even though I look different I feel like the same person, it's hard to describe. I'm glad you don't have gout yet. and yeah you will definately loose some good lbs during the liquid diet! I went from 290 to 260 while on the liquids and I weighed about 10lbs more after surgery because they gave me sooooooo much saline through my IV. hahaha When is your next appointment with dr.fox? do you think you will get your surgery date the next time you go in? I get to go get a fill next monday! yay! hahaha

you can get spanx at nordstrom racks too. they are normally fairly cheep. also you can figure out what size you wear from the back of the box if its not the kind that comes in a box I would look on their website to figure out your size.

first of all sorry to hear about your anemia/gout. Since getting the lap band I've gotten a Vitamin b12 defficiency which can cause anemia but its an easy fix. and I have a friend that has gout and they gave him some pills and it cleared it up. Also I'm glad to hear you aren't getting down on yourself about your gain. You have been doing well and I know you will do great again this week! Also the amount of blood dr.fox wants when he does lab work is crazy! hahahaha I got lucky in comparison because it only took them 6 pokes for me. but I've had to get my lab work done so much now you learn where the good vein is and just tell the guy as soon as you go in and they will get you the first time. My good vein is in the back of my elbow. hahahah. ok so I can tell you about dr.fox's liquid diet. It's harsh but I'm so glad that it is because it has really taught me discipline. It's 10 days pre-op then 1 month post op. Clear liquids only, broth, Jello, things like that and you need to get 90g of Protein through shakes daily. you can't have milk so you have to mix your drinks with water! yuck! and then after the post-op liquid diet you get to move to blended foods for a month. this includes cottage cheese, baby food, things like that. finally you get solid foods again. Now dr.fox does have other limitations other than no milk, you also can have anything with more than 6g sugar. It's rough but it's totally worth it! and if you ever have questions about what this process is going to be like or if you just want to vent I don't mind. I totally know what you're going through. hahahaha

Hey congrats on possibly not needing your BP meds anymore!!! that would be so great. I know when I had to do my psych eval for Dr. Fox I had to first talk to the psychiatrist and then meet with the PA and do this test thing that basically asked you questions like Do you ever have thoughts of killing yourself? or Do you ever hear voices? things like that. It's really straight forward. have fun getting your lab work done! hahaha

I don't know your daughter so I can't really speak for her but I wouldn't have been ready for WLS when I was 18. One of the big reasons why is because honestly I didn't even start contemplating it until I was almost 18. I wouldn't have had any idea what to expect. I had the surgery when I was 21 after visiting multiple surgeons and doing hours of research. the only person who would be able to tell whether or not she is mentally ready is your daughter. Now before my surgery my grandma was the one really trying to get me to lose weight and the way she did that was to criticize everything I ate and comment on my weight all the time. This really hurt. I definitely tried to eat my pain away, not just the pain I was feeling from my grandma but also from having soooo much pressure to be thin at school too. I just wanted my family to be supportive and realize that as much as I wanted to lose weight I didn't have enough will power to just start eating better. I never really realized I was ready for surgery I just knew how bad I wanted this! Up until the day of surgery I thought I would fail because I couldn't control my cravings for fast food before surgery why would that change after the surgery. I guess I realized I was ready for this once I was banded and was doing the post op diet( one month Clear Liquids then one month mushies). I started to see the weight just fall off and something just clicked. I want to be able to run with people my own age and go on an airplane without worrying if I'm going to fit in the seat. As many people say, this is not a diet. The band helps you eat better portions not necessarily eat healthier, that's your job. I still eat some junk food but I don't beat myself up for it. Everything is fine in moderation. I would tell her to be 100% positive that this is the road she wants to take. Now this doesn't mean that she will be ready for surgery but hopefully it will mean that she is really motivated to succeed. If you have any questions you can always PM me or if your daughter has any questions she can email me at sarah.alhussein@gmail.com oh and one more thought. Many people that get bypass do gain some weight back. That's why the band is so great if you do start to gain some back you can get another fill to get back on track.:thumbdown:

WOW you have lost a lot of weight pre-op! how did you do it?

wow 100lbs is amazing!!! what is your goal weight?

yeah they have the twenties thread but nothing thats specifically for college students

I was allowed only clear liquids and then protein shakes. So I lived off of broth, jello, popsicles, and protien shakes for a very long time (10 days pre-op then 1 month post-op). It was rough for me. I was always hungry and always craving but seeing the number on the scale gradually geting smaller kept me motivated!

I'm 22 and I started looking into the band when I was 18. I have worked really hard at making my band work for me and I've done things I would have never imagined that I could do (being on Clear liquids for 1 month and 10 days then mushies for another month before I could eat solid foods). I don't think someones age determines their amount of discipline or how much of a burden this is. I have been overweight my whole life I have no idea what it feels like to be skinny or feel atractive, this is my biggest motivation for success. I have waisted so much time obsessing about my weight now I just want to get healthy and have some fun! I'm very social but there is a way to be social and still follow the rules. I go out to bars about 3 times a week and I still loose every week. In fact my doctor told me that I'm in the 99th percentile for weight loss and when I asked him why he thought I've done so well he told me that I'm lucky I got this surgery while I was young because my metabolism is faster. And one other thing, don't you remember how cruel people can be when you're young? It's a great motivation to remember what people have said to you and try to show them just how wrong they were! I know if someone wants this bad enough they will be successful no mater what their age is.

The 6 months will be over before you know it! I love my band! It's always nice to hear from people that are around the same age as me since I don't know anyone in my town that has gotten the lap-band. just like angie said don't beat yourself up about where you are now because this time next year you will be a whole new person!

I'm so glad to hear that everyone is doing so well! I had my surgery on 12/12/08. I have lost 83lbs since surgery and 122lbs total. I have had 3 fills I don't remember how many cc's I have in my band but I know I'm not quite at my sweet spot. I've gone from a size 28 to a size 14/16 and I still can't believe it!

Band date: 12/12/08 heighest weight:324 Current weight: 203 Total weight lost: 121lbs weight loss since surgery: 82lbs I've had 3 fills. I'm not at my sweet spot yet but I feel like I'm close.

I didn't think i would loose the weight very fast at all. I was told by my surgeon that on average lap-band patients loose about 50% of their excess weight in the first year. So I assumed that I would loose just that 50% which would have been about 75lbs. Well I ended up very lucky. My surgeon is very aggressive with fills so I was only in bandster hell for about a month and since then I have lost consistently. I'm now a little more than 6 months out from surgery and I'm 33lbs away from my goal!

My gas pains went away in about 2 weeks or so but I had those horrible shoulder pains for about 3 or 4 months! they would come and go but I haven't had any in awhile now.