123crod

throw away the scale. its not helping you ! eat right,, exercise and keep up on your fills. When your clothes start falling off then you'll know you're following your Dr.s orders. but get rid of the scale now before it depresses you any further ! a machine is not a measure of self worth ! good luck !

Yes, do your research! On here, on the VSG and RNY (I think) forums (with a link to it at the bottom of this page), carefully on the internet, with several doctors and if appropriate, with family and/or friends.
I was banded back in 07, not successful (my part as well as the band, long story) and I just went back to see my surgeon last week. They, too, mentioned getting the sleeve (VSG-Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy) and boy did that take me by surprise! They told me we'll take it one step at a time, and to do a lot of research.
No matter where you go, you will find supporters of this surgery or that, and naysayers as well. All surgeries have successes, complications or failures. Just don't hurry in your decision! It's your body, and the body of your future baby. Make the decision that best suits you and you'll do fine.

My surgeon also recommended the sleeve to me, but I decided I did not want a portion of my stomach removed. They try to steer you towards bypass or sleeve because you will lose weight and you don't have to come in for maintenance, so the patient's compliance really doesn't change their "success" rates.
Do as Elcee said and really research. There is a sleeve board, but I would take what they say in regards to the band with a grain of salt- there's a lot of band bashing on other WLS sites...

If you use the search box you will find hundreds of threads dealing with this same question. Read through them so that you can get more perspective from people who are currently active on LBT and also from others that may not be so active anymore.
just be prepared as it can be a very contentious issue.

Your title and the content of your post do not seem to go together. Usually the title reflects the content so that people know what they are going to be commenting on.
You do not sound sorry that you have cheated on your diet. It is hard but it is important to stick to it. The Drs didn't devise it for torture, they devised it so that the surgery will be as safe as possible, by cheating you are putting that at risk.
Make sure that you are ready for this. Maybe you are also thinking that you are not overweight enough for surgery and have decided that is sufficient excuse to cheat. If so then it is time for a reality check. If you go into surgery feeling like that then you are likely to fail. In order to make this successful you have to be 100% committed. The band does not make you lose weight. the band only helps you by controlling your hunger. You have to make the good choices, you have to exercise etc.
Please feel free to ask more specific questions as that will make it easier for us to answer .
Wishing you all the best .

I assume you have just had surgery?
Once you start getting fills you will notice a difference with what you can eat, how much, how fast etc. If you are not careful you might get stuck and then you will really know that you have a band.
Other than that it shouldn't really be noticeable. It is part of you and you shouldn't be any more aware of it than you are aware of something like your liver or your kidneys. You know that they are there and they do their job but they do it without calling attention to themselves.

i'm almost 4 years out and i have a can of dr pepper every morning. they don't want you drinking the pop because it is empty calories.

The problem is that our children are not being taught how to spell correctly. They submit work at school that is full of errors and the teachers do not correct it or mark them down because of it. SMSing and computers also make them lazy and often they have no idea of the correct way to spell something. Spell check is a nightmare as it gives the American spelling even if you have some other form of English selected( NB If you are American then obviously that is fine) and as others have already pointed out it does not check grammar.
The way things are going we will eventually get to a point where no one can spell and that will make reading the written word extremely difficult.

Wow people get so mad over the smallest things! We have to be able to talk about other things. They are not naming names. Just discussing. We should all be able to post with no mispelled words or very few. I am a Graphic Designer/Typesetter for a printing company. I look at words all day and after 30 years of looking at 1000's of words and different fonts in an eight hour day it is very hard for me to proof-read my own work so I have a proof-reader (person).
You would be surprised by how many mispelled words are in the newspaper, magazines and published books or on professional websites. Why? Because the person who types it thinks it is right as they set it up just as I would and think it is right because it looks right as we have been looking at it for hours and those words just look right. There are many times I might set a contract book anywhere from 100 - 500 pages of type and I do not read it I only format it. Not my job to read every word and check spelling only to fomat it
You can use spell check but it will check the words but if you used the wrong word and it is still spelled right it will not draw your attention to it such as you wanted to say lose but you wrote loose, it will not correct it as it is a word just the wrong word.
I have a very bad habit of mis-spelling Protein sometimes I spell it right . . . but other times I spell it protien and many others do too. I think we all should reread our post before we push that button. It only takes a minute.
It will keep the people from the other forums from visiting and going back and say those LapBanders can't spell must be the Band. lol
So if you find a mispelled word in my posts and I am sure you can . . . it might be I had a long day at work so just insert the correct word as you read . . . thanks so much. I will start reading twice now before I push that button.
cheri
(Sometimes I capitalize my name and sometimes I don't depends on my mood. So that doesn't count)

Thanks ladies, its nice to know im not the only one battling the panic/anxiety. I think i will seek a different doc because i have asked for xanax before and was told they dont perscribe it because it can be habit forming, i have ni history of substance abuse and truly would only take it when breathing excercises failed.

I think we might be related. I haven't parallel parked my car since I got my licence.

Actually the rants and raves section is a totally off topic section of the website. A lot of us have grown to know and like each other since joining LBT and we like to discuss things other than the Lap Band. In the rants and raves section nothing is sacrosant. You can feel free to discuss politics, religion , in fact anything that you wish to rant or rave about.
Whilst we might all aspire to be perfect , most of us are not. Political correctness is not normal human behaviour, it is something that has been thrust on us. None of us would condone anything that was hateful or racist etc but if we wish to pick on a thing that annoys us that is fine. We are picking on the thing, not on a person. Most of us know that feeling this way about certain things is silly or irrational but we cannot help the way we feel.
So if these threads offend your sensibilities then the best thing to do is stay out of this area, and be very careful too if you wander into the powder room gone wild section. You could of course always start your own rant & rave .
Maybe
I hate people that pick on silly spelling mistakes?

The one which made me laugh the other day was when someone used "Walla". Now what may you ask is Walla? The way it was used I think they meant Voila, which admittedly is a French word so a lot of people may not be able to spell it, but if you want to use foreign words you should at least have some idea of how they are spelt!

I also hate it when people say one half of one percent! Why can't they just say half a percent - it means the same thing.

Incorrect spelling doesn't annoy me as much as the inability to use paragraphs. If I see a post written as one big long paragraph then I generally give up without reading it as it is just too hard.
Not being American I also spell things differently e.g.
Anaesthesia
Oesophagus
Sometimes I forget to translate from English/Aussie to American
So I will write about biscuits(cookies), jelly(jello) and forget that you have no idea what I am talking about.

What are you eating? Are you following the post op diet your Dr has recommended?
Usually your food would not be getting stuck as after surgery most people spend 2 weeks on liquids then 2 weeks on mushies then 2 weeks on soft before following a "normal" diet.
If you have been cleared to eat then possibilities are:-
Your bites are too big
You are not chewing properly
You are not waiting long enough between bites
The food is not a band friendly food.
Even without any fill the band because of how and where it is placed does make a certain amount of difference.
The other possibility is that your band put some Fluid in your band when he/she did surgery. This does sometimes lead to problems.

I don't believe they do. A lot of it depends on your mindset and what you are expecting.
I lost weight from the time I had surgery until I hit my goal. I did not feel exceptionally hungry and was able to stick to the guidelines. Yes the 2 weeks of liquid only were a PITA but I got through them. My first fill was at 3 weeks out but it was only 1.5ml. However I found that each fill made enough difference that I could stick to what I should be eating and not be overly hungry.
But I kept reading on here that I would reach this magical place ( in those days it was referred to as "the sweet spot" now more commonly as restriction) where I would be able to eat just 3 tiny meals per day and never be hungry! Wow it sounded amazing. But I never hit that spot so from that point of view I probably did experience bandster hell. I think the reason I didn't hit is was because it doesn't really exist or at least not in the way that it is marketed.
If you have realistic expectations it will make the process easier.

I think fruit is difficult as it is hard to chew. A lot of it, especially summer fruits have that really smooth slippery texture that you literally cannot get your teeth into and so you end up swallowing a bite that is too big. I eat very little fruit which is not good.
Stewed fruit may be easier to eat , maybe try some stewed apple or make the fruit into a puree and pour it over yogurt.

Was banded on June 20 and having a hard time drinking my Protein, the smell of it makes me gag and last thing I want is to throw up! This am I tried something different made myself a smoothie! I put a non fat plain Greek yogurt, light soy milk, 1 scoop of whey Protein powder, frozen blueberries, 1 Splenda and 2 ice cubes! 47 grams of protein and it tasted great!!! Just wanted to shared it!!
Sent from my iPad using LapBandTalk

The coke never touches your band. How can it erode it?

Well i was happy with a rate of only 2 or 3 lbs a month and i coasted all the way yo. Bmi of 21, it just took me a year to lose the last 10 lbs. I did/do exercise though, regular running and spinning.
Sure, if you want faster youll have to work harder.
I know for me, eatimg what i want in smaller amounts is the only thing that works. I like and eat plenty of healthy foods and i do mot follow every single whim, but sometimes, i do eat cake for lunch!

Soup and salad, bake potato, chili, omlette. Can't think right now!
cheri

Some people do and some don't. Drs are so different! I never drank one until I was 2½ years post op. Does not bother me but I try not to drink them since they are bad for you and keep you from drinking your Water. But I have never found anything to take the place of my diet coke . . .still searching. If you do try one pour it over ice and let it sit a little bit. But remember they are like chips if you drink one you will want another one, so if you can keep from doing it I say don't.
Cheri

Well done.
I bet looking at it this way makes you all feel extra amazing!

I often read threads in this forum where people are disappointed with their weight loss. People compare themselves to others and feel that their loss is not good enough or not fast enough.
Apart from the fact that everyone is different and their body is different people often forget to look at things such as starting weight. Someone that weighs more will initially lose weight a lot more quickly than someone who does not weigh as much. As people get closer to their goal weight the loss slows down and it gets harder.
So instead of focussing on the number of lbs or kgs or stones lost rather look at the percentage of your body weight that you have lost.
For example a person weighing 400lb may drop 100lb very quickly. That is a fantastic achievement, but lets look at it another way they have lost 25% of their body weight. Another person may have "only" lost 60lb. Lets say their starting weight was 290lb - that is almost 21% - still amazing.
So why not do the calculation and see how much you have really lost. It may make you feel heaps better.
My stats.
Starting weight 74kg or 163lb
Lowest weight 50 kg or 110lb
Total lost 24 kg or 53lb
Percentage of weight lost 32%