derbygirl

Last time I came here looking for support and encouragement, this forum for struggling bandsters did not exist. I left pretty quickly because struggling bandsters are seen as "Debbie Downers" here it seems. I lost 150 pounds in my first year with the lapband (this BTW was no where near my goal weight--I had a lot more to lose) but after dealing with some personal issues I fell into a depression and regained 110 pounds. I am working on losing again, but the band isn't near as helpful as it should be. I lose 10 pounds, I gain 8 back. It's pretty much just like it was pre-band. Looking back, I really believe I lost that initial weight through a combination of willpower and fear. I read the stories about people throwing up after every meal and food getting stuck and I was terrified of that happening to me! So I was PERFECT that first year. But after a while, I realized that I could eat anything I wanted and a LOT of it...with absolutely no repercussions. I have yet to throw up a single time with this band. I don't have to chew my food like they say you should. I have almost no restriction and my band is full. Since I was a cash patient and gave up everything I had to have this surgery, getting a replacement band hasn't been an option. Would I have the surgery again? I definitely wouldn't pay $15,000 out of my own pocket again. It's a "tool" as they say. But diet "tools" are a dime a dozen it seems. My surgeon has been useless. I haven't seen him in years. He had a family practitioner take over the fills about 6 months after I was banded. I have asked for help and they won't let me make an appointment with the surgeon. "You just need a fill," they say. It's total B.S. I know others who went to this surgeon and haven't done well either. And on my most recent trip to my personal physician, she told me she doesn't recommend any weight-loss surgeries anymore. She said the lapband doesn't get good results and that the bypass patients "never look healthy...even years after the surgery". :scared2:

My doc said to always take a chewable children's vitamin every day, but I'm more interested in the GNC Women's Ultra Mega Liquid Vitamin, which has almost the same characteristics as a prenatal. Is there any reason why chewable would be better? Anyone here take a liquid? I also want to take my calcium supplement as a liquid.

After a complication with my band, I've been restricted to pureed foods for 3 weeks. I was really starting to panic, but this thread has made me feel better. Thanks.

I was just on my surgeon's website and saw that he is now "pushing" a product called Pro-Stat. I have never heard of it, so I Googled and found that you pretty much have to order it through the mail or directly from your surgeon (although I don't remember seeing it available last time I was in his office). Anyway, cost-wise, it looked like a good deal. Does anyone have opinions on this product? I would appreciate your input. There are several flavors available and also more than one formula (there's Pro-Stat 101, etc.). Let me know which one you've tried and what you thought...and where the heck you got it. I really hate it when I can't just make a run to a local store and buy my Protein.

Nevermind...figured it out. For whatever reason it didn't retain my original weight when I signed up. So who knows what weight it was using to calculate my information.

I recently started using a FitDay journal and I don't know what's going on but it seems totally off. For the last two days I ate the exact same menu and exercised the exactly same way for the same time. But it's telling me that Friday's Calorie Burn Total was 3576. And it says yesterday's Calorie Burn Total was 2181. I don't get it. Is it just me?

I appreciate the pep talk, Ogre. Can you give us some tips on what you eat (calories, Protein and carb intake), how often you work out and such? I think, however, that my point was possibly hidden in my first response. The original post asked, "Can it be done?" Well, of course. Truth is...I'm sure you're strong enough that you could do it without the band if you really wanted to. We all could have. But just know that whatever has held you back on previous diets will eventually going to show its ugly head again....lapband or not. I believe that our journey as supersize bandsters is MUCH MORE difficult than the average plus-size person. Mainly because it takes most of us longer to achieve our goal weight. I see loads of people in my surgeon's office who had about 100 pounds to lose and they did it in a about year. Kudos to them. I can tell you from experience that after you lose 100, 125, 150 pounds and you're sitting in your surgeon's office and someone asks you if you've you are there for your first consultation versus a fill...it wears on your nerves no matter how good you feel about your accomplishment. Ogre is an exception. He has done tremendously well. It's sort of like one those Jenny Craig commercials where in small print it says, "Results not typical." Anyone would has to lose 255 pounds (this includes ME) needs to understand they may not reach their goal in a year, 2 years, 5 years...or else there is a mighty good chance depression will set in. I do not say any of this to discourage you. I just wish that it had been said to me up front. I know you're not expecting this to be easy, but are you expecting it to be hard? Because it is going to be. Those first 50, 75 pounds may fly off during the first few months, but that is probably going to slow significantly thereafter. Be prepared for that...that's just how it goes for many of us. Last but not least, the goal of anyone considering lapband should be better health and more confidence. If you feel like you HAVE to reach a certain number on the scale, you might be setting yourself up for an emotional fall. I hope I don't sound jaded. I think lapband is great and I'm glad I had the surgery. I sold my house to pay for the surgery because my insurance wouldn't pay for it. It has been worth it even though I am not thin by anyone's standards. But I actually kind of wish I'd gone with a bypass. I don't know how many people you'll find who will agree with me since this is a lapband board. I'm expecting tomatoes to be thrown at me any second.

I agree with others that it can be done, but it is probably going to be difficult. I started at 440 and am currently at 318. For the past few months I've been gaining rather than losing. I've learned how to "eat around the band" and I do because, of course, the band does not fix any psychological reasons that you have for being overweight. All of the weight I lost was within the first year, and now I struggle to lose just like I did before the band.

It may be too many carbs. You might try switching to a carb-free drink like New whey. The carb count on milk is outrageous, especially if you're having multiple shakes per day. I think, also, that some people are hungrier than others initially after the surgery, although I don't know why. My hunger didn't return for a few months after surgery, but I met a newly-banded person (who had the same surgeon as me) last week and she said she's always hungry. I lost about 40 pounds the first month, and half of that time my band was empty. But I was stuffed after eating about 500 calories a day. Maybe that has to do with where the surgeon places the band.

I'm shopping for a surgeon in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I have it narrowed down to a few, but a Google search doesn't yield much in the way of customer reviews. Any ideas?

P.S. JC, I remember you were considering plastic surgery a few months back. Have you thought about having that done while your band is out of commission? Since the surgeon would probably ask that you unfill anyway?

Hi everyone! Remember me? I haven't checked in for a long while now. To be honest, ever since Halloween, I've felt it's impossible to diet. In fact, I've been yo-yoing just like before the band. I tried Weight Watchers at the beginning of the year, but I just can't seem to stay on track. I've gained 20 pounds since October. My band is completely full. It's depressing, so I don't come here because it reminds me that I'm failing. JC, sorry to hear you're once again having issues with slippage. I can't believe you've kept the weight off either! Manatee, sometimes women just want to be wanted by a guy. They don't necessarily want to be with that guy...they just want the ego stroked. It sounds like that's what's happening with the ex. She wants you to be jealous because it means some part of you still wants her. Congrats on almost hitting goal Denise. Why did you change your name??

I have been banded a year and I'm bored with the low-carb diet my surgeon suggested. I try to stick with it, but I feel so deprived. I let myself cheat because I feel sorry for myself that I can't have it, and then it snowballs into a week or two of binging. Because of this, I have stopped losing weight (duh). So I'm thinking of doing Weight Watchers. I know several people on here do the same. I have a few questions: Which program are you following--Core or FlexPoints? How long have you been doing it? Is it working? Do you use the number of points that WW tells you or do you go lower since you have the band? Thanks for your input!

Molly, I didn't read all the responses, but I did read your original post. You need this surgery. Do not back out. I was in a lot of pain before my surgery--almost disabled. Now the only time I'm in pain is when I fail to hit the gym and my muscles need a good stretching. The lapband is soooo much easier than regular dieting. Yes, you will have to drink some nasty Protein. Big deal. Just think of it as medicine--that's what I do. I like Designer Whey, but if you drink New Whey, you won't have to drink as much to get the same benefit. And sometimes I don't even need a protein supplement because it's not hard to rack up all of your protein grams when that's about the only thing you're eating. About giving up food. Don't think of it that way. There are some people who have a low tolerance for certain foods, but not everyone is like that. I can eat, literally, any kind of food I want (just not as much of it). And my band is completely filled. It may sound bad, and I don't recommend this (because you won't reach your goal if you eat like this all the time), but I ate Halloween candy all day today. chocolate is a liquid. It's not good for you, but it's not going to stretch your band either. I had cheesecake, too. My office had a catered lunch. I ate ham. I ate macaroni and cheese...even some bread. You don't have to give up food. You DO have to make better choices on most days, but I think a majority of people here can let loose every once in a while without getting sick. Don't be scared. Just do it. You deserve a better life.

Thanks, losingjusme, I have checked out the plastic surgery area, but it seems like most of the people there didn't start out supersized. Ya know, when I first had this surgery, I was excited because I thought...finally something for someone like me who has a lot to lose. I had previously been on diets and lost 100 pounds (never kept it off) but I would get so discouraged because it would take me so long to get that weight off...and I'd STILL BE FAT. It's starting to hit me now that I may still be what most people consider massive at the end of my lapband journey. That depresses me quite a bit. Anyway, I guess that's why I didn't want to post about the pannus removal on those other boards. I feel like I don't fit in there. I feel like I'll never fit in anywhere.

Hi everyone! I am curious if anyone on this thread has had their panniculectomy/tummy tuck yet? I was wondering at what weight you had it, what "grade" they considered your "overhang" to be, and how much weight you lost as a result of the surgery? I did some research on the pannus removal a few months ago, and decided I would wait until I was at a BMI of 35, but I'm starting to think I may not get down that far and I'm considering seeing a plastic surgeon now, at 280 lbs. But I'm worried that he's going to laugh me out of the office and tell me to get myself back on the treadmill rather than book me for a surgery. I've lost over 150 pounds with the lapband, but my stomach hangs as low as it ever did. It's frustrating and it really holds me back, physically and mentally. Any advice would be appreciated.

My surgeon has me on a low-carb diet. It has worked well for me over the last year, but I recently joined a gym and I'm now working out an hour a day...sometimes more. But after reading an article on SparkPeople about glycogen replenishment, I'm starting to question if I might hindering my progress by not eating enough good carbs. Any thoughts?

Anyone else banded October 2006 and interested in joining a discussion group to trek our progress over the next few months?

Yes. And I don't really understand why you've kept a secret for what is almost an entire year now. I didn't tell people in the beginning--I wanted my privacy in recovery. But once people started noticing, I came clean. Simply because I wouldn't have liked it if, at my highest weight, someone lied to me about how they were losing weight. Are you ashamed you had the surgery? Also, getting the lapband isn't like getting a tooth pulled, and you know that. Your aunt is making a very big decision and your mother knows that you have a lot of experience and knowledge to share. Why don't you want to help your aunt make an educated decision about whether or not to have the surgery? Had this question come up months ago, I might have given you different feedback. But, c'mon...it's been a year. What do you think is going to happen once people know?

Hey, JC: it's almost our first-year anniversary!! (We were both banded the same day last October.) I'm trying hard to show a 150-pound loss the day of my post-op. So far, so good...I've been working out really, really hard. Twice a day at the gym and walking before bed. My abs hurt like hell, but I've lost several pounds this week.

I don't understand. Is 24HourFitness selling these with the first 3 months for $99??? Their website is still selling this for $349. Am I misunderstanding? If it's $99, I'm in, but I'd have to rethink $349.

Denise, I meant to tell you earlier that I had the exact same thing happen to me recently--I went in for a fill and ended up with what seemed like less restriction. I was sooo hungry. My support group told me that when they do a fill, they deflate the band, measure the saline and then refill and add a slight bit more. Because of this, sometimes some of the saline lingers in the tubing from the port to the band and makes for less restriction. I have no idea how accurate this is, but these people acted like they knew exactly what they were talking about, and it makes sense.

JC, I thought the new band was a for-sure thing! Congratulations!! Hope you're feeling better with the new situation. Marcar, I AM jealous!!!

Kewl, Chrispy!! I wanna see, too. No piercings or tats here. Well, except my ears, of course. Smilin'apple, everyone I know who is friends with an ex still needed time and space to heal after the initial break-up. I think by living with this person you're just prolonging your heartache. But that's just my opinion. Follow your heart, as cheesy as it sounds. JC, isn't your surgery this week? Denise, I hope the scale moved a little for you this past week. I made a little, tiny bit of progress, but not much. I've decided I'm hitting the gym HARD this week. I just have to make time... I have been completely swamped here, working day and night, without a lot of time to chime in here on the boards.

Sheila, click on the blue link below to get to the October 2006 bandster thread: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f105/october-bandsters-23737/