anglov

Just remember to take all that you hear onsite as opinions and personal experiences. I too was self pay. I paid over 15k for mine. It was the best investment. I was scared it wouldn't work and then I would have wasted my money. Remember it is a tool and how you use it will be the deciding factor. I started with needing to lose at least 120 lbs. So far I am down 46.5 lbs and I was banded May 12th. Anything is possible but it is up to you. I look at this way...15k divided by 3 years(that is what my doctor said it would take to lose the 120 lbs) divided by 52 weeks is about $95 a week. I think I save that much a week by not eating out as much and also not drinking soft drinks anymore. The best investment.

What a mean thing for him to say. Why would he purposefully put your port farther back? I'm sorry you are having trouble. It shouldn't be that way. I hope it goes better.

everyone is different and everyone has had different experiences with the band. For some the weight loss is fast and others it is slow. In the end, it is a personal decision. As my doctor told me, the band is ONLY a TOOL. It is not the magic cure all. The benefits you get from it and how you use it are up to you. It may only help you stick to weight watchers or Jenny Craig better or it could help you make a major overhaul in your eating habits. It is simply a tool and nothing more. I had my surgery May 12th. I have lost around 45 lbs or so. I have had some bad eating episodes but overall I am very pleased and wish I had done this years ago. I didn't have any surgical problems. My health is improved and I believe my quality of life. Just remember, everything you read on here is our personal experiences and our opinions. You can definitely gain weight with the band because there are ways to get around it. Again the whole it's a tool thing. Good Luck!

It definitely is an experience. With sliming you can feel the excess saliva building up and you feel like you need to spit. That is your body sending secretions to help the food slide on down. At some point if it doesn't go down you will feel the gag feeling and well heave ho but for me it only comes from the throat so its like whatever was in there "pops" out. Sandra is right, you feel panicky but dont. There are times when it is so severe that I feel pain in my chest. Walking around helps some. It allows gravity to give you some help. Sipping warm water, not cold, but warm water helps it go down too. I have had a single bite get stuck the moment I swallowed. I have learned that 1st thing in the morning everything gets a little stuck. You get used to it really and then you learn what works and it's just another thing. It doesn't happen all the time. There are times I can eat bread no problem and then I can eat the same bread later and it gets majorly stuck. Same thing with pasta. Sometimes it gets stuck and sometimes it doesnt. I find that if I am really hungry I rush eating and hence the getting stuck.

We are both in the green zone then. I haven't used my card to get smaller portions. I eat half the meal and bring the other half home for lunch the next day. Win Win for me. Great job! Keep it and slow is the key. If you lose it slow you have a better chance of keeping it off.

Being honest here, I drank 2-3 20oz bottles and 2-3 cans every day. Yes I said every day before surgery. I started cutting back and replacing it with Vitamin Water Zero. I have been soda free since March. Occassionally I will take a sip of my hubby's soda but that's about it. I was told the bubbles can stretch the pouch and can be uncomfortable. Not worth finding out.

That's awesome on your weight loss! Don't worry about the fill. If you are doing that well and not hungry you may not get a fill. Usually with the first fill you really don't notice a difference after the first day. At least I didn't. I've had 2 fills and Monday they said I was in the green zone and didn't need a fill this month.

I was banded on May 12th. I had gone to my reg doctor because of the severe knee pain that was so bad I could barely walk. She took xrays and said my knee had no cartilage on one side and that was arthritis. Which is still true but I think the deficiency is the real cause of the severe pain. I will update on my blog after a week on my progress.

Just yesterday I responded to a blog about someone who was potassium difficient with a great website with potassium rich foods. Ironically, today I go to the doctor and since I hadn't had a call about my labs from a month ago I asked. Turns out the lab never sent them over. My motto...no news is not good news, it just means they haven't gotten the results and I need to call about it. So she calls me back and said she knows why my joints and bones have been hurting. See I just thought it was because I lost weight and the tendons were stretching in a new direction, hence the pain. WRONG!! Anyway, the labs showed I am potassium and vitamin D difficient. The vitamin D is the worst. My doc said they have never seen it that low in many many years. We should be at "30" and mine was "8". So now I have to take presciption meds for both. The potassium pill is the size of a horse pill. Guess I am crushing that one and the vitamin D is 50,000 IU and is a tiny little thing. Crazy! Anyway, make sure you get your vitamin levels checked. Low potassium leaves you achy, tired and dizzy. Low vitamin D causes bone loss, joint pain. Explains a lot. She said I should be feeling spectacular soon after starting the meds. I will let everyone know. Now on to my visit. I lost 8.5 lbs in 3 weeks. I felt so guilty on vacation because I was eating a small (salad)size plate of food at each meal. I wasn't hungry for 5-6 hours after but I thought I was overeating and in desperate need of a fill. Turns out that is exactly how I should be eating and feeling. I am in the green zone and didn't even realize it. The green zone is not eating tiny amount of food and being satisfied. It is eating 1250 cals a day in the way of salad size plates of food and not being hungry for at least 4 hours. I was so glad to find out I need to eat more. She said "see you ate more food and lost more weight in 3 weeks." AND I am bloated if you know what I mean and that usually means weight gain for at least a week. I was thinking all wrong about my food intake. I was so happy. I go back in a month to see how this stage is going. Wish me luck! Oh my total loss now is 45.5 lbs.

I pack a lunch bag everywhere I go. I keep two bottles of Vitamin Water Zero, one of the frozen. I have 100 calorie packs of cheese cubes and snack packs of grapes/apples. Slim Jim meat and cheese for a last resort.

How about a grilled chicken breast? Baked beans? Turkey burger? I have a great recipe for that, very moist if you eat it right away. Vitamin water Zero is fantastic! No cals, no sugar. The flavor "Rise" is like tang. It is my favorite plus it has a little bit of vitamins in it. Win Win.

Sounds a little like a blood sugar issue. I get that way when my blood sugar is not right. I am diabetic though. I hated the doctor's shakes. They were nasty. I have the GNC lean shakes and added a scoop of Whey protein. Those were good. There is also Myoplex protein drinks. They are in the grocery and come in vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. The strawberry isn't bad. Tastes like strawberry milk. If you switch to something granier you may give up. How long after surgery are on you liquids? I was only on them totally for a few days then I was allowed to start adding foods. My pre-op diet was only 2 weeks but because my blood sugar kept dropping too low and I had those symptoms I was allowed some protein each day like a chicken breast.

Anything and everything is possible. Everyone is different. I was told at my 1st fill that I may or may not feel a difference. It would take several fills to get me to the green zone. Call your doctor's office if you are worried about it. Stressing about it will only make things worse when it is an adjustment phase. Keep a log and see what, when and how much you are eating. You might need to change that up a bit and/or exercise more.

Thanks I will check that. My lapband doc prescribed it and it is the size of a small country and very chalky. There is NO WAY that will go through my band. Thanks for the heads up.

I have lost 44 lbs so far and I don't see a difference when I look in the mirror and I don't see a big difference when I put on clothes. Why? Because 44 lbs, while a huge loss, is only a drop in the bucket for what I NEED to lose so the clothes difference is not happening all that fast. It is a little discouraging when no one notices that I have lost weight too. I wonder if they don't notice or they feel since I had weight loss surgery I don't deserve to hear it since it was surgery and not dieting. That would be the ignorant ones who think this surgery is an automatic fix all. But that is another blog topic all together. To combat that, I take notice of small differences other than the scale or clothes. My blog at http://anglovato.blogspot.com/ gives my accounts of small differences I am noticing that, well, give me the boost I need when the scale or clothes aren't. Start keeping track and you will be surprised at just how well you are actually doing when other measuring means do show it. :mad:

Thanks everyone! Small victories do add up!! And it is the things you normally wouldn't think about like the bathroom. Junibug...email me anytime. I am curious as to why your first fill is not until August 12th? I know all docs are different but I am going for my 3rd fill tomorrow. If you are hungry it is most likely because you haven't had a fill. I wonder if they added fluid to your band at surgery and that is why no fill for so long? I truly believe it isn't anything you are doing wrong. You desperately need a fill would be my guess. Let me know what you are eating, how often and how much. Maybe we can come up with more filling foods for you to tide you over until your fill. I would be glad to help any way I can.

TK, remember that those are 38 lbs you no longer carry on you and that is a good thing even it if has been a year. The fact that you are ready to get this back in motion is a good thing. Have you been back for a fill lately? A suggestion is to get back to the beginning starting with your doc's office and see if maybe a fill is a good idea. Take another look at what you are eating and how often. After a year and this is your first Pb then that is pretty good. I have learned in my short band life that when I have pain eating I need to take a look at what I am eating and how I am eating. It shouldn't hurt. I understand the whole thing about thinking people think you are lazy for having surgery but they just don't realize how much work it takes to live this life. I would be happy to help you anyway I can. I am no expert but sometimes an outside perspective helps.

Most everyone automatically thinks bananas when it comes to potassium. This website shows more foods that are high in potassium. High Potassium Foods Cantelope, melons, raisins, avocados, beans all have higher potassium levels than bananas. Beans are good for the band too. Even yogurt like the greek has more potassium than bananas. I hope this helps and I am glad it was nothing more serious.

Ahh...The 10 Commandments of Lap Band. All very true.

ok I am still considering the "phone food day"! I have never heard of having a food cheat day together on the phone. What you said was so true. I have told this story before, I know someone who had gastric bypass. They have lost quite a bit of weight from where they were. I have however seen them on several occasions purchase a 10" three topping pizza and eat it all. I have seen them at a luncheon get THREE plates of food at once and sit down and eat it all. This was AFTER gastric bypass. You are what you eat and I guess you eat what you are. Fat eats Fat. It's a bad situation all around. I think lapband has saved my life. I have a new outlook and understanding of food. I too have people that look at me differently but not in a good way. No one has mentioned that I look like I have lost weight. I have lost 41lbs so you would think someone would notice a 41lb weight loss. A little disheartening but I am not doing it for them. I get the feeling that they are maybe jealous that I did this. I also think they believe I am lazy and took the easy road by having surgery. These people have no idea how much work we have to do.

I have rice, pasta and bread. I was avoiding it and my nutritionist said we need some carbs for our brain function. Ask your doctor office but nothing is off limits really. The soda is off because of carbonation causes pain/discomfort. I have heard of some that still drink it. Everyone is different. I had a sandwich for lunch. Went down no problem. I had bread with dinner(same skinny sliced bread as lunch) and it got stuck. It's a crap shoot.

My theory is that for so long our bodies adjusted to carrying this massive amount of weight and the muscles stretched to accomodate it. Then we lose weight and they contract in a different direction hence the pain.

I have found that if I don't prepare food and portion it out for the week for lunch I don't do so well. I end up having a long period of time between meals and feel sick. I am in training this week and didn't prepare my meals like I would normally. Don't get me wrong. I bring my food from home, I am just not bringing something satisfying. So then, I am hungry after a few hours and end up stretching that time out until dinner because I didn't bring a good protein snack with me. I do this it seems every other week. Next topic. Pain. My knees, hips, back, legs. For years I have felt twinges, dull aches, sharp stabbing pains. I was always told, LOSE WEIGHT. Well I have started to do that and well, it hurts even worse. Go figure. Turns out I have arthritis in my knee and I have been advised no treadmill or walking long distances. Stationary bike or water exercises until the knee is better then try the elliptical. Not a good prognosis.

I only saw my doctor one time for about 20 min then for a few minutes after surgery. I haven't seen him since and I am okay with that. The office staff is wonderful and they handle everything. I haven't had any issues and if I did they are available 24hrs a day. YMJackson is right. The doctor is only there to do the surgery. His office should be guiding you through the rest. Is there a support group for your area? The hospital has a support group meeting once a month and my surgeon attends every month. I haven't been yet because of my work schedule but I have talked to others that have and it is very helpful. I have had 2 fills and a nutritionist appt at that office and am very happy. I am not concerned if I don't see my doctor. Remember though, every doctor is different on what they want you to do and what plan to follow. It is a very WIDE difference.

Makes perfect sense. I absolutely understand about the stretch marks and itching. There are days when I want to claw my skin off and then it goes away. I get so dry and itchy and then I notice that my wide large stretch marks are not so wide and large anymore. You are lucky with the hanging skin. I have a lot in the stomach area but I had that prior to surgery. As I have joked before, that is what duct tape is for! Just kidding. Keep it up and keep enjoying the amazing results!