marjon9

You mean some undies are not edible?

I'm currently soaking in KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce

All that can really be said is that most people have the same feelings and it is perfectly normal. The thing about the band is, if you don't fill it, you won't have restriction. So, if you really regret doing it in the long run, you can just leave it unfilled and it will probably be almost like it is not there. And, of course, if you really want to some day, you can have it taken out. However, what will probably happen with you is what happens with most of us. That is, after a few days or a couple weeks, we start to remember why we had the surgery, and the huge price our body will pay if we do not lose some weight, and then we begin to be pretty glad we have this tool to help us deal with the weight issues. That will probably happen with you as well. So, for now, just keep reading the forum, take it easy, know that most people have the same concerns you have, and don't worry too much about the long term right now.

Another example of someone imposing his own personal views on others and causing tremendous suffering in the process in the name of "morality." Who cares if hundreds of thousands of people suffer horrible diseases that could be cured, let's choose instead to save all those discarded embryos leftover in fertility clinics even though they feel nothing, know nothing, are not human life, and will never be human life. Let's make this choice, forcing a personal view of morality on everyone, even though the large majority of Americans disagree. Good idea. I like it. Bush vetoes bill aimed at promoting stem cell research - CNN.com

I'm just grateful that I had the good sense only to eat uncontaminated fecal matter.:heh::heh::heh: I do so enjoy those frozen South Beach Low Carb Sh*t On A Shingle

I say that to my wife all the time, but with an Australian accent.

This whole thing makes me so sad, because I know that there is an army of people out there who believe that they are guided by the "Word of God" and they make it their business to force people to suffer. And there is no hope of communication in that type of situation. If "God" tells you to do something, well, I guess you do it. And you feel justified, indeed, obligated, to force other people to live by the same rules, against their will. It's just so sad to think of the immense suffering this causes.

I'm Scottish, but I have an Australian accent.

I had one fill so far and it did not hurt at all. But I do want to add that it is not necessarily guaranteed that you will have restriction from the first fill, or second, or fifth. Each person is different. I had no restriction from the first one. I'm going for my second tomorrow. I'm hoping restriction will begin with that one.

Lately I also find that I have posts showing up in my e-mail box and then when I click on the link and go to the thread on the forum the post is not there. Seems like a gremlin is loose somewhere in the system.:heh:

Yeah, I've lost a couple myself in the last day or two. I just chalked it up to premature senility, but now that you mention it ....

What voices? [begin Twilight Zone theme song]

I'll toss in a few comments. First, as for your doc, you have not said why your doc is against the surgery. If you are obese and have a high BMI, and if you have other health problems or feel them coming, then your doc better have a good reason for this resistance. Sometimes docs are just ignorant, prejudiced, and wrong. If your doc is against the surgery for some stupid reason like "it's the easy way out," or something equally stupid, then I would just get a new doc, because that type of resistance is ridiculous and unhelpful, and can actually end up being a serious risk to your health. As for the smoking, I quit about 10 years ago. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I failed many times as well. I used Nicorette gum, and that helped. I don't have any great words of wisdom on how to quit. But I can say that, in my opinion, quitting smoking is even more important for your health than getting the lap band. Smoking is just the worst thing you can possibly do for your health. If you are worried that you are going to fail because you are trying to do everything at once, then I say postpone the lap band surgery. Quit smoking first. And when that is fairly well under control (which could take quite some time, like many months), then think about the lap band. Those are the priorities that I see. Try to do it all at the same time if you want, but you are correct to be wary of that. Doing all of that at the same time would have been too much for me, I know that. It does sort of sound like setting yourself up for failure to try and quit smoking and get the lap band at exactly the same time. As for the sacrifices that go with the lap band, there are some, but not that many. I have found that I just stop wanting the things I should not have with the band. I know you think you will always want the diet dew, but I bet you find that it's not that hard to give it up. The band is not about suffering, willpower, dieting, and battling constant cravings. The band is actually about losing weight without doing those things. Once you have proper restriction, you just get full on much smaller portions, so you lose weight. That's pretty much the whole story. You really don't suffer. And you will probably find that you don't really miss too many of your old favorite food and drink items. So, there are a few of my thoughts on these questions.

It's similar to the ones that you stick in your nostrils, but it's a little less intrusive because it sits up against your nostrils, instead of going in. Here is a link to a page that shows it. Resmed Mirage Swift Mask

I'm sure you've thought of this, but I want to ask just in case. Are you sure you have the right mask for your CPAP? As you probably know, they have some that rest under your nose and don't sit on your face like a Darth Vader mask. I use the Swift mask, but there are several other light masks that are like it. For me this lighter type mask is much easier to use. And the CPAP in general helps me feel a lot better. Like I say, I'm sure you've thought of all this. Just wanted to toss it out there.

It's a theory, anyway. It seems like they both disappeared around the same time, but perhaps I am mistaken. In any event, I look forward to their return.

Wow, I guess that means Mahatma Gandhi and the Dalai Lama are going to burn in Hell for eternity. Bummer.

zengirl, it seems to me that you are jumping to conclusions at a time when you have not yet really even started your band journey. In many ways the band journey begins when you have proper restrction. You've just had one fill!!!!! It's the rare exception that proper restriction is achieved after just one fill. Didn't your doctor tell you that? I would contact your doctor and discuss this. Also, on this forum you can find many threads that talk about restriction and how many fills it takes to get there. I have no way of knowing whether the band will actually work well for you in the long run, but it is definitely too soon to start reaching the conclusion that it is not working. As I say, in my opinion you really haven't even started yet. The last thing I want to say is this: You asked in your post above how a person stays motivated in their decision. Here's the thing about the band: You really don't need to worry so much about staying motivated. The whole point about the band is that it works whether or not you are motivated (unless, of course, you deliberately try an sabotage yourself by drinking McDonald's milkshakes all day). The band is a physical barrier to overeating. It works because you get full on much smaller portions (once you have proper restriction, that is). The band is not a "diet" that requires will power and "staying motivated." The band is a device that works EVEN THOUGH you can't stay motivated and stay on a diet. That's the whole point!!! So, please, calm down and don't feel too disappointed yet. And stop worrying about "staying motivated." The thing you need to focus on right now is working toward getting enough fills to achieve the proper degree of restriction. Once you have proper restriction, then your band journey begins. Then, after a year or so, you will begin to have a true feeling for whether the band is or is not working for you.

That's why it's no fun having these debates with the fundamentalist types. There's no give and take. They believe that when they speak, it is essentially The Word Of God. Things like logic, open-mindedness, persuasion, sense of humor, personal growth, etc., are completely off the table. Offering any of those things in these debates is like flying a small plane into a granite cliff. It's true that my mind is pretty strongly set on certain ideas as well. But at least it is possible for me to change my mind without having to feel like I am betraying God. For a fundamentalist to even consider having an open mind, it involves a total rejection of everything they have lived for, and probably what their parents lived for as well. This mindset turns these debates into a pretty useless exercise, and it causes these debates to compare disfavorably to a barrel of monkeys on the "fun" scale, if you see what I mean. :tired

I know exactly how you feel about thinking your were "stupid" for mentioning that you are tired all the time, because that will mean that you need a sleep study. BUT ... if you actually do have apnea you just did yourself a big favor. If you really are tired all the time and apnea is the thing that is causing it, then getting the CPAP can cure this "overnight," so to speak. I had no idea I had apnea and I resisted getting a sleep study for a long time. But I feel so much better now that I have been diagnosed and got the CPAP. Very few things can make you feel that much better that quickly. I actually HOPE you have apnea because if you do, help is on the way pretty soon for this problem of being tired all the time.

I also take 7.5 daily. My surgeon wanted me to go off a few days ahead and then get back on after the surgery. I actually had to have my surgery postponed for a day because the effects of coumadin lingered a little longer than expected after going off of it and my blood was still too thin on the scheduled date. But I just had the surgery done the next day and everything was fine. The issue of coumadin has come up in one other situation. That is, with my fills. The doctor wanted to be cautious and not aggressive with the fills. She thought that if we pushed the restriction too quickly it could conceivably cause some internal bleeding that could be a problem while being on coumadin. But nothing bad has actually happened because of the coumadin. It's just a matter of a little extra caution. So, check with your doctor, but I believe it should be OK to be on coumadin and get the band.

I really don't know how nicotine gum will affect your drug test, but I can say that it really helped me quit smoking. I have to tell you, in my opinion quitting smoking is more important than getting the lap band. As I see it, it really doesn't matter what other health measures you take if you are still smoking cigarettes. Since you did not ask for my opinion, I'll give it anyway. I would stop worrying about your surgery date. I would focus on quitting smoking. Once you are at least a couple months away from smoking, then start to think about scheduling surgery. I think this is important to do because quitting smoking is much harder than people realize. And for some reason, lap band Doctors seem to encourage this view that quitting is relatively easy by saying things like "go ahead and quit smoking a month before the surgery." That encourages the view that quitting smoking is some sort of minor detail that a person can take care of on the way to lap band surgery. I just don't think that is true. You say you are trying to figure out why you still want a cigarette. I think the reason you want a cigarette because nicotine is more addictive than heroin. (Did you know that?) That might have something to do with why you want a cigarette. And as for getting the gum, personally, I could never have quit without the gum. I think that if you are avoiding getting the gum because you want to pass your lap band drug test, you are setting yourself up for failure in the quitting smoking. It is SO HARD to do cold turkey. Some people can do it. But not many. In my experience, the gum really helps. By the way, here is a definition of nicotine that I just found in the dictionary: "nicotine: a colorless, oily, water-soluble, highly toxic, liquid alkaloid, C10H14N2, found in tobacco and valued as an insecticide." Lovely. I guess we are all cockroaches to the tobacco industry. And, beyond that, nicotine is only one of hundreds of other toxic chemicals in cigarettes. You've got a long way to go before you can say you have "quit" smoking. If I were you, I would get the gum, or patch, or whatever, and focus totally on quitting smoking before setting a date for surgery. I would stop worrying about your lap band drug test, and just focus on quitting smoking. If it is as easy as the doctor says to quit, then great, you can reschedule your surgery with just a minor delay. That's just my opinion. Good luck getting it sorted out.

The advice offered in this thread is good, but I just have to chime in and say that these experiences of being "stuck" can happen even if you follow the doctor's orders. You can minimize them or eliminate them if you are extremely careful about chewing forever, taking small bites, etc. But even with the greatest caution most people do get "stuck" from time to time. The answer for most people is the old "PB." Most people define this as a "productive burp" where you spit up the stuck food. Some people consider this to be "vomiting," but I think most people do not experience a "PB" as vomiting because the food is in a condition that is similar to the way it was in your mouth. There are no digestive juices, no stomach convulsions, etc. like vomiting. The food just comes back up from the bottom of your esophagus. For me, I don't find the "PB" experience to be all that horrible. Other people absolutely hate it. In general it can tend to encourage band slippage so it is not a good idea to do it often. But, it is likely to happen to most people. Check out a thread on this forum called "How often do you PB."

I've been banded for about 5 months now and no longer have bowel movements. I sweat a lot and am a little irritable, but other than that I'm fine, dammit, so get off my back!! But seriously, they seem to be normal, just probably smaller and fewer, due to the smaller portions.

I'd like to know too. I had my first fill about 10 days ago and no restriction from it. Is it really possible I might still get restriction from this fill? Interesting question.