bella5425

I hate myself right now, I feel like a total failure. I was banded April 22, 2008 and have lost about 170 pounds including my pre-op weight loss but I fell off the wagon during my anniversary for the 4th of July and am having a hell of a time finding my way back. I currently have an enormous bag of skittles by my bed, crunchberries in my kitchen, just garbage and I don't know how to come back. I am extremely all or nothing, black or white so when I fail, I fail big and when I'm on, I'm on big. I cannot exericse due to a spinal injury, nothing. no water aerobics, walking, nothing. I am on pretty constant bed rest so I feel like food is the only control I have in my life. I feel lost, I can't appreciate what I've lost because I've gained some back in the past few months. I want to get to 165 before I have plastic surgery and weigh maybe 210 now but was at 195 last summer and my highest was close to 400. I hate myself

it will be 2 years for me on april 22nd this year and i have fills every 1-3 months. have lost about 170 pounds. i measure everything, am a vegetarian and do my best but damn my sweet tooth. sometimes it little squares of chocolate w/ nuts so i pair it w/ a protein and sometimes i go all out and eat donuts or pie or whatever. some days i hate myself. i am getting to the point i don't want to go in anymore bc i am embarrassed at the gain. i feel like a failure. my doc says this is normal based on the amt i lost and at the stage i am. he's happy with me but i'm not. the whole point of this for me, was to learn how to deal with stress and i haven't. i quit smoking but i munch, i am in school at 44 yrs old maintaining a 4.0 but i munch on sweets. i even bought hemp hearts which are proven to reduce a person's addiction to sweets and i still have it. ughhh....

Nice to see this thread, I was banded April 22, 2009. I have lost 170 pounds. I had major restorative dental surgery which made me super sick for about 6 months so I did unjury the whole time and that helped. I had a revelation of why I overate, an internal change to match the outside. I am back in college 23 years after the first round and majoring in Psychology with a 4.0. I grew up in a small town in Mississippi and I thought I overate because of a domineering mother, the pre-mature death of my dad when I was 3, a gradmother I was afraid of or the fact that I was adopted and felt very lost. The truth was, I was and am a lesbian and always have been. I always knew it but could never voice it. I grew up in a super religious household and there was no support, no nothing so recently I came out to my entire family, all of my friends of facebook after I chopped about 200 insignificant people that never spoke to me and noone has said anything negative. I feel for the first time that the inside matches the out. I had lost 170 pounds but still looked in the mirror and couldn't see any changes, I was miserable. Once I came clean with my authentic self and didn't worry about the outcome or consequences, I could see the slimness of my face, the gentle curve of my body. I went from a size 30 to a 12/14, I have a great deal of excess skin so I really prefer a 14. I will be having plastic surgery once I get the final 20 pounds off. I have never regretted the band and feel amazing, truly. Thank you for allowing me to share. Peace and Blessings......Katie p.s. this picture is very old, only one month in, I had only lost about 17 pounds here

you will do great! i didn't have to do pre-op, usually if it's not dr required, it's an insurance requirement and i was a self pay. there are no regrets for me w/ the band. i am a little over a year and a half in and have lost 170 pounds, if i can do it, trust me anyone can. good luck to everyone getting ready to get on this adventure!

i haven't posted in a while, i went in for a fill last week and was down almost 10 pounds. i am at 209 now, my highest was 353 and i was at 315.5 on surgery day april 22, 2009. my goal is to get to 160 then stabilize for 3 months then i am going to l.a. to have plastic surgery done by dr drew ordun. i have recently become a vegetarian and have never felt better!

thank you for your information. i will take it under consideration. i do eat very healthy but cholesterol is found in animal products primarily and i drink a fair amount of milk and eat fish which is why i am having an issue with cholesterol. i cannot exercise right now due to severe spinal trauma and a broken tailbone although i am in physical therapy three times a week. i eat approx. 900 cals a day which is how i have lost 140 pounds in the last year. thank you again for your info but i am eating very healthy and was just considering secondary options. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am interested in trying the supplement Chitosan to help get my cholesterol under control. It works by forming into a gel and when you eat about 50% of the fat you consume sticks to this gel and it's not digestable so it comes out through bowel movements. One of the bonuses is that you can lose a lot of weight but I am wondering if anyone has used it w/ the lapband and whether or not it causes things to get stuck in there b/c it forms into a gel. i asked my md and he said it probably didn't work and to go another route to try and lower my cholesterol but i really want to try this chitosan. anyone familiar w/ it? Pros....Cons? thanks Bella

i have met w/ 2 plastic surgeons so far and was told that once you have stretch marks, the skin will never bounce back or elasticize back. it is damaged muscle at that point. i am going to l.a. in 3 weeks to meet w/ dr drew ordun from the doctors to get my 3rd opinion. my friend works for him and she recommends him. i am not at goal but i am just trying to be prepared. good luck kate

i have to take high doses of motrin and my doc says if you are taking high doses daily to take something like a prevacid or prilosec also. i haven't had any issues

i haven't had a fill since september b/c of all the other issues i had going on but i am down almost 130 pounds. i have 60 more to go until my initial goal but would like to be at 150 which would be 70 pounds but my doc says 160. i am about 5'9.

i am doing better - went to see my surgeon yesterday and he is scheduling me for an upper gi in 2 weeks but he is encouraged. i am not eating the healthiest but i have to eat what will stay down right now, like mashed potatoes, ravioli, etc. with all that i still lost 2 pounds this week and i have a really understanding surgeon. i got in 6 hours for my uterine biopsy. sooo not looking forward to that. i hope it doesnt hurt. hope everyone is doing well!

Definitely re-learning how to eat was a big one for me. I also had some major dental surgery 5 months after my band and that caused some problems for me for a while but overall I have been quite happy, I am down now 130 pounds in 9 months and about 60 pounds from my goal. If you are disciplined and follow your drs. instructions you will be fine. The nausea and vomiting and sliming are a definite possibility but it's not like it is when you are sick say with a stomach virus. When I have thrown up, it's quick and an immediate relief and most always happens because I take too big of a bite. My surgeon gives out these plastic cups for measuring and a tiny little baby fork and you really should take a bite no bigger than your pinky nail and you should chew it several times, that was the biggest change for me - and not drinking with my meal but like anything, it's a learned behavior. Good luck with your surgery! :tongue:

nope it was Hef at Madame Tussaud's wax museum last year in Vegas. It was one month out of my band surgery and I had only lost 20 pounds. I need to update my profile pic on a side note, no vomiting or nausea for 3 days - yaaay! hope everyone has a great weekend!