xavier

Be very careful with any kind of meat until you are totally healed...

I have said this on another thread but apparently the band is different for everyone because for me... IT IS ALL ABOUT RESTRICTION!! I used to be able to eat a ton of food and appetite wasnt the reason for it...now I can barely eat a cup of almost anything... so I lose weight! I dont diet, I dont ever eat low fat or low sugar foods, I dont work out but I consistently lose weight because I eat less due to restriction. OK, yes, if I ate ice cream all day (it slides right thru the band I guess) I could probably gain 100 pounds but with regular food I just cant eat as much. When my fill is right I lose about a pound a week. I have had two very long plateaus (one was 8 months and the other 2 or 3 months) because I needed a fill and couldnt seem to get down to LA (5hours of hellacious traffic) to do it...no big deal, its not a race. I was bursting the seams of a size 18 and now I wear a Gap or Calvin Klein size 10 consistently. Got a fill a week and a half ago and have already lost three pounds...I got a fill doc closer to home...good luck to all.

I know its kind of silly but this site put asterisks in to censor when I used the term skinny b***h, which most of us know is a great compliment! Anyway I thought it was silly since I am kind of assuming we are all adults...am I wrong?

I have my band pretty tight right now which is right for me. If I eat about 3/4 c of food I feel like I ate a giant thanksgiving meal back in the pre-band days. I feel REALLY full. If I eat one more bite because I am not paying attention...I will get pain. If I have my band a little less filled I get the satisfied but not full feeling and I do tend to overeat. Oh, also I can be stuffed to the max and my stomach growls like a rampaging bear...I used to think the growling was a weird hunger (and I guess it was hunger before I got banded) but now I know its just food moving around or whatever but it is NOT hunger...weird!

I havent worked out and that is probably why my weight loss has been so slow (also I have to drive 5 hours for fills so I had plateaus which totalled nearly a year when put together!) but I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that I will never gain the weight back. I worry a little about people who do all this dieting and exercising being able to keep it up for many decades ahead. Maybe I am just rationalizing being lazy (LOL!) but I am just eating less because of the band and I know I will continue to do that...if I was any good at dieting and exercising long term, I wouldnt have had to get a device tied around my stomach! Best wishes!!!

The thing about a girtle or spanx is it might not open and close with velcro and it might be VERY hard to put it in and take it off when you are in pain. Hell, I have nearly gotten stuck in those spanx before! Also you can make it tighter or looser if you want..yes, check with your doc as I also woke up with one on!

Agree totally with Coco, my new fill doc also told me to drink something hot if stuck but i would rather just yak it up as I thing anything added would make it worse. I have had some luck with the papaya enzyme tabs. My band is sewed in place so it cant slip(my surgeon has had no slips in all his bands) but I am really focused on not getting stuck and not having to yak! Easier said than done...I'm a slow learner!

I have had this too and yes I had a work up which ruled out a heart attack. Anyway in the end I believe it to be one of two things. 1. Esophageal spasm related to throwing up. I am very careful but once in a while I have overeaten and had to yak and I wonder if that caused it. 2. Maybe an extreme version of heartburn because it seemed to get better when I sat up (it always occurred during my sleep) and better still with a Pepcid AC even tho I am already on daily Protonix and I thought I was well-controlled! Good luck to all!

I tell everyone to go to a drugstore and get an abdominal binder. It is white and stretchy and has velcro to close it. If you have any tummy at all and it schlumps around due to gravity (LOL!) this is very painful after abdominal surgery! I woke up with one on from my surgeon and it really kept the fat tummy in place! I like to sleep on my side and without the binder this would have been impossible! Good luck to all!

Sorry it hasnt worked out for you but if you believe as you state, "Some people can starve themselves and not lose weight" you are always doomed to fail. Take a look at people who are truly calorie-deficient (Africa, concentration camps etc - no fatties!) I always thought I was starving and not losing weight and then I got my band - when restriction was good and I could not eat as much I lost weight...simple as that. That's what the band does, but what I have to do is not eat the stuff that slides through like ice cream or chocolate. If I ate those all day I know my band would 'let me' gain 100 pounds!

I have to say I completely disagree with the doc that its not about restriction (for me). Heres why: Back in the day I could probably eat a whole cake and now I can barely eat a whole cupcake - thats restriction! If it was all about appetite we wouldn't eat when we are not hungry and if we are being honest most of us will admit we can and do eat when we are not physically hungry! I still want to eat when I am not hungry and sometimes I do eat, but not very much due to restriction! PS: Amazing pix - they say it all!!!

I hope I dont sound too negative, but if you dont have the motivation , comittment, and determination to make this happen with a bit of a delay (and save some money you might use later for plastic surgery or a well-deserved post-weight loss vacation) you are not likely to succeed with the lapband.The lap band is not for an instant gratification type of person, it is a lifelong change in everything you do...I self payed because the only way I could get covered was to GAIN 20 pounds which I could not do but I could afford it. The challenge of all the BS involved with insurance is just part of the road and in a way its like a test of your comittment...good luck!

No actually my goal is 145 which will be a normal BMI for me. This is a category defined by tons of research which predicts risks of health problems. So if we can put aside all our thoughts about how we look or even feel at a certain weight...it is a medical fact that a normal BMI is correlated with a normal level of risk for adverse health outcomes. And, therefore, anything higher than the normal range carries a higher risk. I have lost weight very slowly but steadily and expect to reach normal BMI fairly easily and probably will go below it. I cant make the decision based on how I look in the mirror or how I looked 20years ago...just on medical fact relating to my health. Part of why the doc doesn't want to do an elective procedure at your current weight is that your current weight raises the risk of complications...sure, you can find a doc that will do it but its a higher risk for you than if you waited and got some more weight off.

Ok, maybe this is 'sour grapes' because I have been a very slow loser but here goes: I would bet that the faster you lose the more likely you are to gain it back. The people who have been obese and are now counting every calorie and living at the gym are unlikely to be able to keep that up for the next several decades...Its just my opinion of course but I have simply changed my lifestyle and the weight has slowly fallen off. I only exercise minimally and I never count calories or eat anything that is low fat or diet!

Thanks for the good wishes...I definitely have hanging flesh and rashiness...but I also have lousy insurance I think! I had to self pay because of my "low BMI" or I could have tried to gain 19 pounds...I self payed!

Thanks! I am going to try!!

If you CAN eat more than about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of something like meat which can be hard to chew and is never a slider...you need a fill. I try to only eat regular food but I do like some of the Smart Ones meals....I dont eat meat so the santa fe beans and rice is my fave...it doesnt seem diet at all. PS: If your husband is living on junk food, even if he is at a normal weight and cholesterol...he's actually not doing himself any favor in the long term! Pizza and hot dogs is basically a diet asking for cancer...(I don't mean to offend,,,just sayin')

These dont work because the gas is not inside your digestive tract (like if you ate beans etc) it is free in your abdomen and put there by your surgeon to puff the cavity up so he can see around...just have to let it diffuse out of your tissue over time and walking seems to help.

good info from everyone...thanks!

After everything, I think you should have it exactly how you want it! Good that you have a doc who agrees. I am going to go for a consultation at least for TT/lipo but I just dont think my (lousy!) insurance will fork out a dime...well, its worth a try!

Yay for your approval...you worked hard to get it and you deserve it! I have lousy insurance but I guess I am lucky I could scrape up the pennies to self pay...it was two years ago and my weight loss has been slow but I feel it was so worth it! I am a happy girl these days and since I never dieted or exercised with this band(but did plenty of it in the past) I am thrilled with my results.Keep in touch you will get lots of support and honesty here...this site has a ton of tech issues but is packed with wonderful peeps!

Yes, rest and recover and keep us posted! Would love to know if your port was involved at all...or is it high enough up that the doc wouldnt be near it?

Does anyone know if the port can be damaged or bothered by TT and/or abd lipo???

Wondering if anyone who has had TT and/or abd lipo has had any port issues...I am afraid of having it moved or damaged in some way!

Good to hear you are doing great,as expected. Life is good. I have ten to go and then I think I will get a nip and tuck (or suck and tuck) consult. Whether its covered or not is a big issue. I self payed for my band and it was totally worth it but I really dont know if I want to spend so much on a minor issue (gut skin)! My insurance is not good. I would have had to gain 25 pounds to get my band paid for and emotional health-wise I just couldnt do it! I had no co morbs. So I am not optimistic about the tuck but might as well look into it...also concerned about the recovery! let me or us know how that all goes...