ALuv82

He's 14. In most places I know that pretty much means he's unemployed and entire dependent on at least one adult for support, even if that support comes ultimately from the state. She -- practically guaranteed -- controls what money ends up in his wallet for food. She -- again, practically guaranteed -- controls what food goes into the pantry. If her son is sneaking food from the pantry, there are locks available. If she's too busy to cook consistently, she also is in the ultimate position for placing orders at restaurants. Did she even exercise the lowest level of parental control about his eating behaviors?

I comlpetely disagree. Yes, the mother controls what money she gives the child and what food she buys and brings into the house, but there are plenty of other ways a 14 year old can get food. Saying that the aprent can control what her child eats 100% is a ludicrous as saying that a parent can control if her teen smokes or does drugs or drinks. There are very few parents who supply their children with those addictive substances, and yet there are children all over who use and become addicted to tthem. While a parent can influence the choices their child makes, and severly limit the availability of such substance, if the child winds up becoming an addict, they will find a way to satisfy that addiction. Food is no different. The kid coujld easily get food from friends at school. He could steal money out of his mother or someone elses purse. He could take things at home and sell them for money. These ideas may seem ludicrous, but it happens. If the kid is 55# there is clearly an addiction at play. I don't think the mother is completely blameless, but that does not mean she has not made efforts to control her son's weight.

Tomorrow's my 3 month bandaversary...yay! I've lost 55.4# since my pre-op diet a week before surgery. I started at 313.4 and now I'm 258. I can't wait until I et down below 250, then I'm be closer to onderland than to the 300's. I'm down from a size 28 to a 22.

I've had 2 fills so far, but 3 adjustments. I was having trouble with mushies so before going to solids I had an unfill. They removed 3.2ccs which was everything they could get out. They said that left me with 0.5ccs. 2 1/2 weeks later everything was going well so I went back in for my first fill--2.5ccs. I felt good after this, still not to my sweet spot but I definitely had restriction. Then 1 1/2 weeks ago I went back for fill #2 and they put another 1 cc in. I now have 4 ccs total in my 10 cc band. I feel like I'm a hairs bredth away fromt he sweet spot. Great restriction, the only problem is that the fullness only last 3 1/2-4 hours instead of 5.

Exercise is going well, although that's never been a huge issue for me. I work out 2 times a week with my trainer for an hour. I alos do 30 minutes cardio on those days. I also try to do an additional day of cardio for 1 hour. I did intervals on the treadmill today walking for 5 minutes at a 3.5 then running for 5 minutes at a 5.0 for a full hour.

A couple of other things I've noticed...I think I'm starting to lose some of my hair, although I have a lot of very fine hair so a few less strands should not be that noticable. I've also noticed my teeth are whiter, no doubt thanks to my Diet Coke abstinece.

I have updated photos on my blog if anyone is interested.

Anything that increases intra-abdominal pressure can theoretically cause a slip. Coughing and sneezing both do this. That being said--if it were a significant risk it would make the entrie procedure impractical and no one would do it because the complication rate would be too high. I wouldn't be worried about it.

I use both, although lately I'm on more of a tredmill kick. The tredmill used to scare me but now I love it. To me it allows for more variety in your workout. You can walk, run, do intervills, hills. ect. The eliptical is great too though, it provides a lower impact work out and you can go backwards and forwards (I guess you could go backwards on the tredmill too if you were really brave :tongue2: ) Anyhow, you just have to go with the one you think you are more likely to use. I would alos be wary of an elliptical that cheap though.

Name********Starting weight*****Current*******Goal******To go

1RockinMom.........254............220.........145.......75

Alleycia...........255............220.........152.......68

ALuv82.............280.5..........259.........200......59

AmethystJade.......231.8..........212.........150.......62.0

Babe...............308............272.........199.......73

Bellaperdente......196............177.........150.......27

Bklyn1984..........317............227.........165.......62

Bostongurl.........190............186.........133.......53

Brandy.............198............181.........166.......15

Cappy..............240............223.5.......130.......93.5

Chocolate_Snaps....244............219.........175.......44

CubsGirl17.........147............135.........130.......5

Clarebear08........192............166.........160.......6

Donna113...........183............172.5.......126.......46.5

dublingirl.........224............209.........145.......64

Ebonie.............307............298.8.......200.......98.8

EmmaWang...........241............195.........140.......55

FalloutGirl........282............278.........165.......112

FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54

FlordiaPete........413............364.........300.......64

GratefulHeart......226............187.........135.......52

GuyMontag..........325............276.........200.......76

health4life........279............239.........150.......89

inri09.............287............254.........185.......69 janesays...........225............183.6.......160.......23.6

kaninag............210............203.........170.......33

kimaly.............194............180.........160.......20

Lindar172..........246............218.6.......150.......68.4

Linksmom...........234............234.........145.......89

LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91

Long2BThin.........216............178.........169........9

lotzasunshine......270............240.........199.......41

Loveislovely.......216............170.........165.......5

ltgordon...........284.8..........229.4.......185.......44.4

lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65

Mair...............231............222.........140.......83

Mamanmidwife.......264............260.........200.......60

mdgarcia31665......220............220.........165.......55

MissNilsa..........180............180.........132.......48

nicolerose.........365............288.........258.......30

Pink...............230............152.........145........7

Rhea2d.............283............233.........185.......58

Sandra267..........220............220.........165.......55

Sistergrl25........359............246.5.......170.......76.5

Snow...............227............167.........141.......26

stacy73............285............214.........160.......54

Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40

Tuger..............217............178.........130.......48

Under200...........242............199.........155.......44

vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52

Wendy_Wo...........242............218.........142.......76

WOWOX7.............173............147.........125.......22

I love, love, love, love, love my band. Have I mentioned that I love it? Best thing I've every done for myself. I haven't regretted it for a moment.

When I was 9 my parents put me on WW. Bought a cute dress that was of course way to small for me as an incentive. What this done was, drove me to sneak food, not just then but for a lifetime. I wasn't really fat at 9 yrs old. But by the time I was 14/15 I was 225. I remained that weight for yrs. I was chubby at 9. But they didn't make chubby clothes for girls, but they did make huskeys for boys of that age. Who's to say if my parents didn't do that what I would have turned out like. Would I have gotten fat or would I have lost my baby fat?

I completely agree with you. I always loved food and was chubby as a kid, but when my parents sent me to weight loss camp at 12 it turned it into an obsession for me. I think focusing on a child's weight issues as opposed to just concentrating on making healthy life choices, can make things worse for that child. It's not always a matter of neglect. Sometimes the attempts to fix the prollem actually exacerbate it.

opps BTW I am 255 this week down 7 lbs!WOO HOO

BMI is now in the 30's (ok 39.9 but that still counts)*lol* Thank goodness for the fill last week. Looks like I just might make my mini goal ...

Woohoo! You're out of the morbidly obese category. I just hit that mark myself a few weeks ago and it rocks. Congrats.

555 pounds is really extreme, but at 14, he does have the ability to choose for himself. By the time I hit 15 I was 5/6 and just about to break the 200 lbs mark. My parents made me participate in sports so I got plenty of exercise. When I was 12 and 150# they sent me to weight loss camp. They sent me to nutritionists and went to weight watchers with me. But none of that mattered by then. In 5th and 6th grade I would eat my lunch and then eat half of the lunch that my skinny friend didn't eat. I would sneak food if my parents were upstairs and I was downstairs. In junior high and high school my mother trusted me to take lunch money from her wallet and instead of taking the $1.50 for a hot lunch entree, I would take about $5 and spend it on extra food. I'm ashamed of my actions back then, but I was a food addict and those are the actions of an addict, no matter what the addiction. It was not my mother's fault for "neglecting" me.

If anything there was too much emphasis on my losing weight. My sister was chubby too and became bulemic as a result. While it does show that there were things wrong with the way things were in our house, it was far from neglect. A obese toddler is one thing, but an obese teenager or even pre-teen has a mind of their own and if they are addicted to food, they will do what ever it takes to get food. No parent can watch their child 24/7 and control every morsel that goes into their mouth.

The question then becomes, what did this mother do to help her child overcome this addiction? Did she encourage him to exercise, did she seek medical or nutritional help? Those are the kind of factors that should be evaluated to help with this case. If the charge is neglect, then it should be shown that this childs weight problem was a result of neglect.

I've been erased :cool2:

Don't worry though, I've taken the liberty of adding myself back in.

Labor Day Challenge for Bunny Bandsters!

Bunny's name --------Target loss lbs. --- Start weight 7/13 --- Current weight --- Target Weight 9/7

Band_Groupie ------------ 15lbs -------------- 203 --------------- 203 ----------------- 188

soon2befit ---------------- 25lbs ---------------- ? ----------------- ? ----------------- ?

hopeful41411 ------------ 20lbs -------------- 253.8 ------------- 253.8 -------------- 233.8

smilan--------------------- 20lbs ----------------- ? --------------- 218 ----------------?

trobison------------------- 15lbs ----------------221 --------------- 221 ---------------206

myturn2bhappy ---------- 15lbs ----------------- 282 ------------- 282 --------------- 267

WannaBe1/2TheWoman - 20lbs ---------------- ? ----------------- ? ----------------- ?

Butterfly64 ---------------- 15lbs ---------------231 ---------------- 230 ---------------- 216

MrsMitch --------------- 20lbs -------------- 232lbs ------------- 232lbs ------------- 212lbs

doodlebug11---------------15lbs -----------------? ------------------?--------------------?

TerriLynne--------------------?---------------------?-------------------?--------------------?

txdj----------------------16lbs------------------?-------------------?-------------------?

size6------------------------11lbs-----------------(-)19lbs--------(-)19lbs--------(-)30lbs

1want2bthin -------------- 15lbs -------------- 202lbs ------------ 202lbs -------------187lbs

tbryant1216----------------15lbs----------------260----------------260-----------------245

ALuv82----------------30lbs----------------265----------------260-----------------25

I had a salad this afternoon and "almost" got stuck. Felt the golf ball for abotu 10-15 seconds. I was eatting too fast though. Last night I tried pizza (bad me) and felt the golf ball for about 30-45 seconds. That was the longest it's ever happened to be. I've (crosses fingers and knocks on wood) never had what I would consider a real "stuck" episode. Though if I eat too fast I will feel that feeling in my chest for a few seconds.

260 for me today. That's another 2 1/2 pounds down. Just 11 more pounds till I'm in the lower half of the 200's. I can't wait.

Oh my gosh Lauren, I LOVE your blog! You are a fab writer. Keep up the good work girl!

Haha, thanks. It's nice to be able to tell my story and entertain at the same time. You're doing great too--93 pounds is amazing!

I've been a bad girl who has not been checking in--shame on me. Well, I'm 262.5 today (evne though it's not Fri anymore) and I was 265.5 last week. I got a fill on Tues, so hopefully I can keep it up :smile:.

Hi, I have a question to anyone already banded. My primary doctor who is also my cardio doctor tells me that he won't clear me until my BP goes down. BP is 140/90. Does your BP really have to normal for Lap-Band, or is this one of those doctors who thinks negativly about weight loss surgeries??? Should I go to another doctor???

PS I did everything pre-op all I need is the cardio clearance..

Are you being treated for your hypertension? It is important to have your blood pressure under control before surgery. High blood pressure can cause strokes, heart attacks, pulmonary thromboembolisms... It can also effect blood flow to your organs. Most anesthetics signfficantly decrease blood pressure, however high blood pressure can be exasperated at times during surgery such as during induction when they're placing the tube down your throat or during particularly "painful" points of the procedure. I would make sure to get your hypertension treated. Hopefully once you start losing weight you will no longer need the meds, but it's important to have it under control at the time of surgery.

I know my goal is too ambitious, but I signed up for another labor day challenge a while ago and set the goal for a 3 lb a week loss. I haven't been keeping up with that goal, but it seems silly to set a different one. I'll just do my best and see how close I come.

Bunny's name --------Target loss lbs. --- Start weight 7/13 --- Current weight --- Target Weight 9/7

Band_Groupie ------------ 15lbs -------------- 203 --------------- 203 ----------------- 188

soon2befit ---------------- 25lbs ---------------- ? ----------------- ? ----------------- ?

hopeful41411 ------------ 20lbs -------------- 253.8 ------------- 253.8 -------------- 233.8

smilan--------------------- 20lbs ----------------- 222--------------- 222----------------?

trobison------------------- 15lbs ----------------221 --------------- 221 ---------------206

myturn2bhappy ---------- 15lbs ----------------- ? ---------------- 279 --------------- ?

WannaBe1/2TheWoman - 20lbs ---------------- ? ----------------- ? ----------------- ?

Butterfly64 ---------------- 15lbs ---------------231 ---------------- ? ---------------- 216

MrsMitch ------------------- 20lbs ---------------- ? ----------------- ? ----------------- ?

doodlebug11---------------15lbs -----------------? ------------------?--------------------?

TerriLynne--------------------?---------------------?-------------------?--------------------?

txdj------------ -------------16lbs------------------?-------------------?-------------------?

size6------------------------11lbs-----------------(-)19lbs--------(-)19lbs--------(-)30lbs

1want2bthin_____________15lbs_____________202lbs____________202lbs____ ______187lbs

ALuv82_____________15lbs_____________265lbs____________264lbs____ ______235lbs

I was also banded and North Shore LIJ Syosset, but by Dr. Geiss. My surgery was 4/27. It's good to hear from some other people in the area.

267 this week. That's down 2.

It was a struggle since it was that time of month for me. I've been starving all week. Not that I wasn't hungry before. I can't wait for a fill but sadly I have 2 more weeks to go. I was supposed to get filled this coming Tues but my work schedule got switched around and I couldn't get off so I had to reschedule and they didn't have anything until the 15th which I also worked. So 7/16 is the day. I can't wait for some restriction.

I'll join you, only I'd be jogging, not walking. Don't worry, my jog pace isn't that fast--it'll probably take me just as long to get to 50 miles.

Alright, so I didn't have many co-morbidities when I started this journey, but one problem I did have was dysmenseria (an irregular period) I'm used to this, have seen my gynecologist about it and have been treated for it in the past with birth control pills, however I haven't been on them in a while. The longest I ever went without my period is 6 months. This has all been directly related to my weight and usually when I watch my diet, my period comes back pretty quickly. I am since and there is 0% chance that I'm pregnant, don't worry about that.

I got my period 1 week before surgery. It's now been two months since and have yet to get it again. I was wondering if any of the other women out there have had a disruption in their cycle post op and if so, how long it lasted. The first month post-op without my period I kind of expected since I was just starting solid food again. Again, this is a known condition that I've seen my doctor for in the past. I'm not worried, just curious. I expected my cycle to go back to normal by now.

well, exercise has never been by problem. I actually work on increasing my speed rather than my time. So I started out at a 3.5 and every 10 minutes I increased by 0.1 for a full hour so that I finished at a 4.0 I would do that 2-3 times then start at 3.6 and do the same thing so that I worked my way up to a 4.1.

The point is to do what your comfortable with. When I can finish the full hour at my current speed while feeling tired but not like I'm going to puke, I up the speed by another 0.1.

If you're going for time, and you can manage 50 seconds without feeling horrible then go up to 55 the next time, then 60. But if once you get to 60 you're just barely able to eek it out, then stick there for a few ork-outs until you're more comfortable. You want to push yourself to get better, but you don't want to push so hard that you feel like you're going to pass out or you're having chest pain or anything. Just take it day by day and see how you feel.

I went back and forth between bypass and the band for a while but I had pretty much made up my mind on the band before going in for my initial consulations. The surgeon I wound up choosing only does lap-band, although I went to info meetings with other doctors that do both or only bypass.

The reasons I had settled on the band are many. 1st, I had been at my job less than a year and did not feel I could afford to take several weeks off from work. Also, I didn't like the idea of having my intestines all re-routed which is very permanent and scary especially since I am young and I don't know what will happen in 10, 30 or even 60 years down the line. Who knows what 50 years of malnutrition will do to you? Also, they say there are a higher rate of resurgeries to fix complications with the band that with other WLSs, but here's the thing--that's because they CAN. If there's a complication with the band, there are options. Sometimes that option involves going back to surgery, sometimes it even invovles having the band taken out. But at least there are options. And what if I get sick and need to up my nutrition and I can't because my body not only doesn't fit much, but also doesn't absorb much? Or what if I get pregnant? My doctor told me there were higher than average rates of miscarraige in bypass patients due to malnutrition. A major part of why I wanted to have WLS in the first place is because I want to be able to live a normal life which hopefully someday means falling in love and starting a family. I would hate to go through all of this and then suffer through the unimaginable pain of something like that. Ultimately, every person is different and will need to make the decision on their own as to which WLS is best for them, but so far I do not regret or second guess my decision at all.

I am 2 months out and 45 lbs down. That includes my 1 week pre-op liquid diet. I lost 32 that first month and 13 this past month. On the liquid diet it's usually a rapid weight loss, then as you transition back to solid food a lot of people stall because their bodies have gone into starvation mode from eating 500cals a day. Overall, most of the statistics I read also stated 1-2 lbs a week. My doctor, however told me that because of my age and activity level I could expect mor2 than that --12-15 lbs a month (3-4 a week). There are a lot of factors that effect your weight loss. Don't compare yourself to other people. Just do what your doc tells you and take any loss you get.

I'm not that dar out yet--2 months since surgery but so far I have no regrets. If you really want in depth experiences, I recommend reading some blogs on this site. I have kept a pretty detailed record of everything I have been through, good and bad, and have read many in depth blogs of other LBTers. There are potential complications, of course, but the complications of being morbidly obese are far greater. Also, you need to realize that this will not be a magic pill. It's a lot of work, not the easy way out. A lot of people who are banded follow other diet plans at the same time, especially Weight Watchers. Do your research, but it sounds like you're a great candidate for banding.

That's strange. I've never heard of doing this before. I would definitely not pay anywhere but at the hospital itself. Also, pay with a verifiable form of payment like a credit card. Surgery is a lot of money and I would not take any risks with your hard earned cash.