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Elfie you sound as though you are doing really well. Resisting all that temptation , I am proud of you. Keep it up and the scales will eventually have to concede defeat and start waving the white flag. Leigha hope you are OK. Housecleaning doesn't sound like fun but think of all the calories you are expending! Are you getting a new tenant or are you moving? I had a fairly busy weekend. Saturday i worked. I have an upside down life - didn't work all week but have to work on a saturday! It does have it's upsides though. Came home and hubby had cooked a delicious dinner. Beef strog in the slow cooker.He had also made dessert which I only had yesterday as I was too full. I know that I don't need all this sweet stuff but when he put so much effort into making it it's a bit hard to refuse. Yesterday was monthly support group meeting. I love going to catch up with people and see how they are doing. Today i am going to a class to finish the Christmas wall hanging i started last week. Should probably go and jump in the shower and get ready. Keep up the good work everyone.

Shads glad you got your fill. Now I don't know how fluoro works as I have never had one but do they take an actual hard copy like with a normal x-ray? If they do then give it to your new surgeon and I am sure that it will help to locate the port quickly and easily. Hope the upset stomach resolves itself soon.

Christie - You go girl - you look amazing. Nothing like a toy boy to boost the self esteem. You know I think it is time they overhauled the marriage/polygamy laws. Currently they have it all wrong. There is no way 1 man can afford to keep even 1 woman in the way that she would like to be, they should change it so that a woman is allowed more than 1 husband. That way there would be 2 husbands salaries to spend on shoes, bags, holidays etc. I think 1 husband should be a hot toy boy - something nice to amuse you when you feel the need - doesn't have to have a brain, no conversation required! The second should be older , someone that you connect with on a cerebral level.................. OK it's not going to happen but it's nice to dream isn't it!

I agree with Elfie. It sounds as though you are doing fine at the moment so if you don't need the fill don't get it. I am wondering when you say you stick to soft foods what you are eating? Are you eating things such as meat,fish,chicken? These are important as Proteins help to keep you full longer and are the type of foods that the band works best with. Or are you avoiding these kind of foods because of your fear of getting stuck/vomiting? If you are avoiding these kind of foods because of your fear I think that needs to be addressed. Yes getting stuck hurts but it can be avoided by following the rules - small bits, eating slowly,chewing well etc. Most people do not vomit postband. They slime or PB which is totally different. It is nothing like vomiting. It is more like when you have bad post nasal drip and you have to cough up a lot of mucus. No bile, no sour taste, no stomach contractions. Don't let your fear put you off using your band to its full potential but also don't go and get a fill if you don't need one.

Most surgeons require you to be obese at the very minimum. With a BMI of 29 you are not even obese.I assume that you must be self pay? I don't know if you would be able to get a surgeon in Mexico to band you I very much doubt (although I don't know) that anyone in the US would be happy to do it. You do realise don't you that the band is not a magical solution? It is a tool that you have to work with. You need to make healthy choices and exercise.It is possible that if you commit to this you may lose the weight without the band. I am not saying that it is right or wrong that you cannot get a band unless you are heavier, just stating what seems to be the situation at the moment.

6 meals seems to be a lot. Most Dr's advise 3 but will bend on allowing a healthy snack between meals if required. That still only makes 5. When/what are you eating? Did your Dr advise you to eat this often? I have no trouble eating before I go to bed although its not something I do often.

there isn't really any food i miss because I can still eat just about anything. It would be nice though to be able to eat a piece of nice medium rare steak and not worry in case it gets stuck.

No I don't feel deprived. I eat enough to not be hungry and I eat a wide variety of foods.It is normal to be nervous at this stage but once you are on the other side you will be thinking 'hell I wish I had this done sooner"! All the best.

If you think you are eating too fast then you probably are. Eat slower, take smaller bites, chew more, wait between bites etc and see if this helps. If it doesn't then you might be a little bit too tight.

I eat things like pasta,frittata, quiche - things that I know are not going to get stuck. To me that is more important when I am out than choosing low cal options. So far no-one has noticed or commented on how slow or what i am eating.

Surely you still need to exercise with the sleeve?

I slept the way I always do - on my side. I did put a pillow next to my stomach for extra support but didn't really need it.

Why don't you read the complications thread - you will get a good idea there of some of the complications people experience. No surgery is perfect but the band has proved to be a pretty good option.But I think you should go and investigate bypass and the sleeve as well. That is once you have decided that you actually think WLS is for you. You have to remember as well that the problem is that humans are not perfect. Often the reason the "band failed" is because the person was not ready to change. A band does not shop, cook and put food in your mouth and it can't stop you from making poor choices. If you decide to spend your time sitting on the couch eating candy then the band won't stop you.

Every day. It helps me keep a handle on things. If I have gained then i can nip it in the bud.

Mine was 32.

Just wondering how you would mange to get a job based on what insurance it offers. In the current climate I would have thought it was hard enough to find any new job !

Anything that calculates waist to height ratio is NOT Cool. Not when you are an apple, albeit a healthy BMI apple.

I know of people that have had it done publicly but they all had to wait. The best thing to do is go and see Dr Nottle and see what he says.

Leigha sorry you are having problems with hubby at the moment.Although thinking about it aren't hubbies just one big problem? I swear mine is permanently grumpy these days. Never mind PMT this is 10 times worse. Sometimes being around him is like treading on eggshells. Whatever is wrong I hope you manage to resolve it. Well done Christie I am sure that you must feel fab. Melody I hope you manage to sort the shoulder pain thing out soon - it must be very frustrating. I have to agree that eating spaghetti squash hardly sounds like a sin. I mean it's a vegetable for heavens sake!It's a good job I don't go to confession as my sins are far worse. And that's only the food that I'm talking about. Leigha try something else. Tinned fish can be very dry even with mayo on. There is nothing worse than being hungry and not being able to eat. Sending you lots of hugs XXXXXXXX

Have you ever had a weight issue yourself? If not it may be hard to understand how awful being overweight/obese can make you feel.Most of us want to be slim/sexy/look good in clothes. The need to look normal" is probably more of a driving factor than the health issue for a lot of people. I would get a band just to look and feel good about myself if I had no health issues.Oops what am I saying I did. The only issues I had were high BP and cholesterol. The BP resolved itself for a while but has now gone back up, cholesterol still high so obviously neither were related to my weight! Maybe you are also concerned that if she loses weight then she may lose interest in you as well? If you have a solid relationship then it should not be an issue.I have no intentions of swapping my husband any time soon although if Shemar Moore or Brad Pitt came knocking I might change my mind! And I'm not sure why getting a band would make her miserable for the rest of her life. Mine doesn't. I look good, I feel good - what's there to be miserable about.

I look at my fat photos and imagine looking like that again and not being able to wear all the sexy/pretty clothes I have now. That keeps me on the straight and narrow.

To answer your questions. No I do not have pain or problems with my band. the only time it hurts is when I am not doing things the way I should be - eating too fast, too big bites, food that is too tough etc. No I can't feel it inside me except as above. If you are stuck then yes it hurts. No the port area is not painful. No it doesn't hurt to get a fill - it's no worse than having an injection or having blood drawn. Search for threads on the sweet spot and read what is written. There are some people that swear by it and others that never find what they believe it to be. Once you have read some of them if you have more questions ask !

Now I am not a believer but i like what angrybaby said - basically God helps those that help themselves. I think that particularly in this instance she is right.

The band helps you eat smaller amounts of food.It does not force you to make healthy low calorie choices. Reasons for failure include. Choosing low nutrition high calorie foods. Eating constantly throughout the day. Drinking calories. Not exercising. Yes sometimes you will eat half a sandwich and be satisfied. Sometimes you may eat the whole sandwich or you may find that you cannot eat a sandwich as some bandsters cannot tolerate bread. Once banded you do not get that full (stuffed) feeling in your stomach. It is a different sensation that is usually felt in your throat or chest.It can range from being mildly uncomfortable to so painful that you feel like you are going to have a heart attack. Sometimes you will get relief if you cough the food back up (its different from vomiting) sometimes you will just have to put up with it until the food passes into your stomach. If you stick to the guidelines that your dr will give you, make healthy choices, exercise etc then there is no reason why you shouldn't be successful. Very few of us are perfect and i am sure that most have a small treat every now and again. HTH

Kat that is interesting.Have no idea what a reading under 100 means as here they must measure it differently The desirable range is between 0 and 5.5! I would have thought having 0 cholesterol would actually create a whole host of other problems. There doesn't seem to be an answer at this point and the problem is that the FDA, AHA, drug companies and lots of others have invested lots of time and money into proving how much of a problem cholesterol is. They are not likely to backtrack any time soon as it would cost too much both in money and credibility. It would be nice if they had solved the puzzle and if the solution was as simple as popping a daily pill but it seems that the truth is actually a lot more complex and that they are not anywhere close to solving it. In the meantime the drug companies continue to rake in the dollars and people are lulled into a false sense of security. I believe that if people are happy to take statins that is fine. But people should be aware that they are not the solution to heart disease that they are promoted to be and they do come with some very horrible side effects(as do all drugs). I hate taking anything blindly and like to know all the pros and cons so that I can weigh them up and decide whether or not the perceived benefits outweigh the possible risks.