mariecarmen

Attend any support group meetings your lapband surgeon hosts. There's strength in numbers.

Salsa, thanks for your words of encouragement. I really do hope others see how easily this can happen. I was joking with a newly banded friend yesterday about the gain. I said, "Do you know how much effort is involved in gaining weight with a lapband? Apparently not as much as you would think!" I guess pulling myself up by the bootstraps beats throwing my hands up in disgust and taking up residence at Baskin-Robins. On a positive note, I got on the scale this morning and am down 5 lbs. I know it's just the inital Water loss, but it's motivating. Today I'll give my surgeon's office a call and schedule a check-up. I'll consider a fill if I find continued losing becomes a challenge.

I lost 76.5 lbs since my surgery in 9/06. Doc tells me I'm at goal, I figure another 10-15 lbs. Eating well, exercising semi-regularly with a buddy, getting nice compliments, shopping at decent clothing stores. All the perks of being a normal weight. Then, the week before Christmas my kitchen and 3 other rooms in the house flood from a faulty dishwasher connection. Rooms are gutted and most meals are prepared/microwaved or restaurant/diner. Fast forward to this past weekend (152 days later). scale is returned to kitchen and I am 14 lbs heavier!!!! I just went on a 152 day LSD food trip. It's back to square one for me--shakes all meals for a week and I'll gradually build up. I'm astounded at myself for so easily slipping into such awful eating behaviors and food choices. Any advice, encouragement?

I've lost a good amount of weight. When I compare photos of me at my heaviest and now, I can really see a difference. However, realistically, I am NOT skinny. Skinnier, maybe, but not skinny. When I hear the word skinny I think Olive Oil or Twiggy. I guess I look like a normal 50 year old woman now. I do continue to get comments from people I don't see on a regular basis about how great I look, how thin, how young, how skinny. I smile, say thanks and change the subject. I'd rather my weight not be the subject of people's conversations. It's embarrassing to me that I let myself get so fat I had to have a foreign object surgically implanted in me; that my lack of self-control got so far out of hand. MC

My surgeon's office holds a monthly maintenance support group and we met last night. Many discussed the frustration of attending the regular meetings because of all the seemingly foolish questions from prebanded and newly banded patients. They felt they didn't have a firm enough understanding of what changes were needed for success with the band. The facilitator assured us the program has expanded their educational classes and all patients are fully informed prior to surgery. Maybe they just want to hear it from people who have "walked the walk?" Maybe here, on an anonymous forum, they can ask the niggly little thoughts that haunt them. Maybe they want a little attention and reassurance. Let's face it, we all managed to eat ourselves into WLS criteria. We all have some demons whispering in our ears. When I see silly (to me) questions or comments, I scroll on by or try and answer briefly.

It's a fancy medical term for a tummy tuck. After you lose your weight, depending on your age and how overweight you were to begin with, you may find yourself the proud owner of a thin body and an apron of loose belly skin. A plastic surgeon can cut that off and make your belly as flat as a 12 year old child's. It's really neat waking up from that surgery. Especially if you, like me, have been overweight most of your life.

Ghost/Diane, I'm interested in that link. Maybe it will help get my head and the image of me in a mirror a little closer. Thanks, MC

I've tried several times over the past year to consume something other than a Protein shake for breakfast without success. It's just a given with my band--nothing but liquid till lunchtime.

I'm officially at my surgeon's goal as of this past Friday. He wants me to continue to come in every three months to see him. He also wants me to attend the maintenance support group sponsored by his office. Even though he says I don't need to lose any more weight to be at his goal BMI, I want to lose some more.

I wear a labcoat at work and the comments didn't start until I was down about 30 lbs. I never made the lapband surgery a secret and most of my coworkers were aware and watching for results, I'm sure. It was when I started wearing clothing that was more tailored that the comments really started. Before I wore blousy, loose tops over elastic slacks. Once I began tucking blouses into skirts with waistbands, people took more notice. Double-edged sword is right. Part of me thinks, "Hey, stop LOOKING at me so close," while the another part thinks, "Hey, don't I look GREAT?" Pity they don't do some brain surgery while they're in there banding us, isn't it?

The last thing I said was 98. Anesthesiologist: Count backwards from 100 Me: 99, 98 Recovery room nurse: Wake up, it's all over! Right before they wheeled me in I started crying, too. A nice, thin nurse was standing with me and whispered, "You'll be fine. It was the best thing I ever did." Then we were moving.

Every morning for the past 345 days. It works for me.

My surgeon required that I lose 12 lbs in order to qualify for the surgery and didn't specify how. I lost the 12lbs plus some more. I didn't eat enough during that weekend to jeopardize the surgery. If you're concerned about it, just call the office. They're there to help you. I don't want to give you the go-ahead and you end up not having the surgery because you put on too much weight right before your lapband insertion.

I had a tummy tuck (sounds almost cute and petite, doesn't it?) Depending on your age, your amount of years, your excess weight and how you carried it you will or won't have a problem with excess skin. Mine was going nowhere without surgical intervention and gotta say--Good Riddance!

Well, I wouldn't call it a Pig-out day, but I'm sure many of us had what was kind of a farewell dinner of sorts. I visited my mother the weekend before my surgery and asked that she prepare some of my favorite foods. She lives far away and always cooks special meals for us when we visit. I didn't eat massive amounts of food but I sure did enjoy the meals knowing it would be a year before I tasted most of them again. I told my mother and sisters about the surgery before I went home and they were all very supportive.