sld21

How many banders have had to have their gallbladder removed after banding or losing a ton of weight. I have lost 96lbs in the last 14 months and now have to have it US and tested tomorrow cause of some minor irritation. I was just curious because I did some research on it and its common.

I can eat and crave a week before even though it may be smaller portions because I keep a tight band but the day before and the day after it starts...I can get stuck on very soft foods including protein shakes if I am not careful. My doctor thinks it may be due the period and it only occurs right before it.

wholeheartedly agree!

Thanks everyone...it was the scariest but best decision I ever made in my life....I was tired of the yoyo, the diabetes, PCOS, the high cholesterol....I want to have a baby..which was a big motivater too...but if I don't-at least I'm healthier.

and my Kryptonite!

I was walking around the track at the Y a week after surgery and on the elliptical 2 weeks after. I have never been a "runner" and still don't claim to be. I did the Couch to 5K program(google it) and I walk/jog/walk jog. I am only doing probably 15 min miles. My time was officially 49 minutes for the 5K(I would have been faster if not for my snail hubby) I didn't want to lose him in the crowd of 10 thousand. I have dreams that I am running. One day it will be a reality.

lol...love the sarcasm...but I promise you...it's not the only thing. I don't eat it every day but when I want it..I eat it. I am restricted and eat very small portions of good food......and I exercise(isn't this the way its supposed to be?) I just also happen to love ice cream but I do practice willpower;)

and even though I may get there twice that week...I have been trying to make up for it some weeks..3-4 times...but never more than 30 minutes(I am far too lazy) but exercise nonetheless has been my key....I have to exercise otherwise I often stay the same(or I can't eat my icecream:( I'd rather exercise:) when I do want it.

Kentucky? I did mine today and the next one is on that date.

the band but I wouldn't have lost this much without combining both but there are a lot of times I don't get to exercise (I am a super busy 7th grade special ed teacher working on my 2nd masters/rank)...sometimes I may only go once or twice a week and I only walk the treadmill/jog or use the elliptical for 30 minutes...so its mostly my band and the foods I am choosing(although the Oreo ice cream I am eating while I type doesn't help much) The average (according to my dr) weight loss for a year out is 40lbs...I have doubled it due to the exercise and food choices(though the girl scouts are killing me this week:)

5K done today in 1.00 exactly (jogged a lot of it, but my husband walked it and he is slower and less fit)......10K next...then the 10 miler..I can do it...I know I can...even if it kills me. Goodbye 92 lbs so far...13lbs away from "normal" bmi. (1/9/10 surgery date) Goodbye 24 and 2x/3x..hello 12's (and two dresses that are 10's) and hello to the new medium running outfit from Dick's Sporting Goods that I bought myself for finishing the 5K. Onward...onward....it's not easy...but I got/get my fills...stay relatively restricted but still can eat most things that I want just very little of it, and I work out and eat relatively healthy( I figure the few bites I can eat should be healthy)...no longer diabetic and many of my symptoms of my PCOS are dwindling. In other words, I am thrilled and love my band!

I agree...it sometimes disgusts me wat ching my husband take huge mouthfuls while I push around my plate. He was eating this greasy thick burger today and it looked delicious but I would have taken a tiny nibble, chewed forever and still felt it going down. I would have worked through 2-3 bites and been done. I had a turkey wrap and a bowl of Soup. I was able to drink the broth(he ate the Beans and ham) and I had 3 slow bites of my turkey wrap (turkey, bacon, cheese, lettuce pesto mayo) Large wrap cut in 2 sandwiches; he had 3-4 bites of it(including his burger and fries) I ate 2 more bites when I got home, gave my niece the rest of that half and still have another half in the fridge. That was at lunch time, worked out during breakfast(sunday worked out and never got around to bkfst) I have since had some sugar free icecream.... Chili for dinner..... Portions scare me.....I am considering getting a small plate when we go out and eating 3-4 bites from my husbands plate.

AJ Wright..Walmart...Ross..Marshalls...all clearance racks. You need to buy the pants and work with the shirts you got....get black, brown, blue, beige and change them out with different shirts. I am a teacher too. I don't get my clothes at Goodwill but there is a lot of heavy chicks benefiting from my Lane Bryant wardrobe now who may need the help. I get furniture and hard to find dishes from there as well. I have went from a 24 to a 12 (some 10's) this past 13 months...92 off...and havent bought a ton but some.....my tops are now large/medium but some of the bigger ones, sweaters and such, I kept. I had a lot of in between stages. I will need to shop for the spring. It can be done. Shoo my shoe size even went down. I was 275 highest, 260 at date of surgery (1/9/10) and I hit 168 today. 13 away from a normal BMI.

I truly never meant to offend.....I was just bothered by a "hero worship" mentality for fills versus no fills. I also wonder about the ones who are convinced there is "nothing" in their band......I just wonder about that. I am the same as the previous poster. I go to my dr, state my portions, get my fills or not. I am still able to eat mostly what I want and I don't have problems usually and have never had an unfill. I have about 9cc in my 11cc band, I belierve. I don't even usually ask, I trust my doctor that he has my best interest at heart and know my body. But for a MAJORITY of people, the band does not work without the fill. There is research to that. I also don't think my response was "laughable" because plenty of people do not do it without a fill and the band truly is made to be filled, to me its the point of it but to others, it may work alone, who knows. Good luck in your journies and I only wish you the best. Truly!

I hope so!

I must be crazy or confused but I didn't get this tool placed in my body to not use it. You cannot use it effectively without filling it. It's what its made for. Don't make people out to hero status because they perhaps practiced a little more willpower not having a fill. But if they are satisfied without a fill with very little food, most likely their surgeon put some in during the surgery, otherwise, why would you get the darn thing in the first place if you could have done it all on your own in the first place. Thank God for the fills; I would have never lost the 90lbs this year without them. The tool only works when you operate it properly, work closely with your dr, choose the right food to produce satiety and exercise (all of which I majorly do) Good luck either way but don't beat yourself up if you get a fill and don't glorify it if you don't. You wouldn't have got the lapband to lose weight if you weren't going to use it to its extent.

PCOS does however aggravate insulin resistance or is a result of it. Diabetes is the comorbidity. Although I had diabetes and high cholesterol, my gyn also wrote me a note of support for the band.

I have tried it once (worst tasting stuff in my life)...I ended up tossing out the expensive stuff. But it is carbonated technically. You could let it sit for a while but it is your choice to drink it or not. If all else fails, I would ask the dr if they are ok with it.

I have about 15-20lbs to go. I do cardio 3-4 times a week but would like to increase intensity and push and see what I truly could do. I am a member at the Y and they offer 5 sessions for $175. I am still considering if that is a good price.

One year post op and down 88lbs. I got my fills, adjusted my attitude towards my food intake and embraced the Y. I also didn't whine, complain, nag or blame anyone but myself (and I really didn't do that often) I sweated the "big stuff" (literally) not the small stuff. Do I still eat what I want? yes but I balance it with the good. It honestly feels no different but my doctor is happy that I have my diabetes, high cholesterol and other things under control (and I looked really hot in my outfit today) 260/172 22/24-12 2x/3x-L Size 10 shoe/9 42C/38C (and a charge card at Victoria's Secret (God help her) 12 to 15 lbs to goal(doesnt seem like much now)

Oh and Spartan too...Spartan definitely makes me laugh.....intelligent, sarcastic humor....the wittiest kind!

But I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your responses. It amazes me when people post and you don't give them what they want to hear. It's quite humorous.

I eat way more than baked chicken and green beans in my diet including the bad stuff and have lost 88 pounds this year. I just eat very little of it, know how to order smaller portions and learned to live with a tight band so I wouldn't feel the pain and the sliming(I had to retrain myself how to eat and how to be mentally okay to not clean my plate). I also take my fat behind to the gym several times a week and sweat a few calories off. So you say what is the point of the lapband if I can't live exactly the same way and eat the exact same things? I don't want to live the same way racked with diabetes, high cholesterol and lazy eggs (I want to get pregnant) The lapband wasn't meant to be so that you could eat the junk just less of it. You still have to put manpower behind the hammer. I am not going to judge you and say that you haven't ; I don't know you or your experience. But I am sorry; when people say they have lost 10 pounds in a year-that's bs and some of their fault. Get your fills, work with your nutritionist, join support groups (shoot I even go to a WW at work group) and get off your butt and exercise. I would have never lost this much weight on my own with my own free will. I was way too hungry. I feel my lapband every time I put something in my mouth, even the juice from a piece of gum but I deal with it, normalize it and choose my battles (what feels worse over the other) I eat whatever I want but knowing my body, I know what I can tolerate or not tolerate. Would I love to have a big crusty panini or a subway sandwhich in a big ole bite, sure, but that's what got me here in the first place. So I will be satisfied with a small bite or three or eating the middle of it or the topping off of a piece of pizza, I even nibble the crust, but the band saved my life, and I don't regret it and I hope this thread doesnt sway others from not getting it.

Oh and my vice are cheetos and the small .99 bag is 3 servings easy for me. I keep them in the console of my car(who knows why), I also stash my minature chocolates when I just have to have them. I think I keep there because if they were in the house I would eat them. In the car is too much effort.

I'm bad and woulda ate another chip just smaller bites(pencil eraser sized) if I wanted them. There are no hard rules what you can or cannot have after a stuck episode. It's what your body can handle. I try not to get too stuck where I can't eat all day. It's really never happened but I can get stuck easily(and chips would do it) but I can put a couple in my palm and that's it for me and eat in small bites. But I figure a palm of chips is better than the whole bag(what I could have easily done prior to LB)