tnwhite2001

I had surgery June 1st and it itches like CRAZY!!! My entire stomach itches and all I want to do is rip the little strips off and scratch until it stops. It's been harder to avoid that than to avoid food. I'm not infected or anything, it all looks good, it's just healing and itches like you wouldn't believe. Any miracle bandster secrets to get rid of the itching?

I was in that same boat...only I'm heavier. I did weight watchers, started working out everyday. Did everything in my power to lose weight and lost 94 pounds. Then crisis struck my life and I felt like I needed the emotional salve of food more than I needed to be healthy. I gained it all back plus some. When I went for my first consult I weighed 374 pounds. I lost 30 pound prior to surgery. I just had my surgery last week and I have to say that I can already feel the difference. It is, like you said, I slap on the hand every time I want to reach for something I know I shouldn't eat. I haven't started working out yet, but that is the next step. I want to wait until I'm healed a little more. I think the surgery is totally worth it and, if your insurance will cover it (mine covered 80%), I would go for it. Best of luck to you!

I don't really think age has anything to do with it. I know someone who got banded at 19. I think as long as you fit the criteria for surgery (BMI, health, etc.) that they will do it. As far as finding a doctor, my first suggestion would be to call your insurance company (if you have one) and find out if there are restrictions on who you can go to. My insurance made me pick from a handful of doctors that they pre-approved so that really narrowed my decision down and made it easy to find someone because they had all the contact information on the website. After that, there is a surgeon search on here and lapband.com and realizeband.com also have surgeon searches. Best of luck to you!

I am 27 too and I just had the surgery a week ago. I have to say that I was having a lot of the same fears that you are. Honestly, I started doing research on all of this years ago. I went to two different seminars. Never followed up. I wasn't ready. My biggest fear was one of your fears, I would be giving up my best friend. I have great friends, don't get me wrong, but I turned to food like a friend and it never let me down. I would eat when I was happy, sad, depressed, felt rejected, or really for anything. Then I realized something. I realized that food wasn't my best friend! A best friend isn't toxic, which food was becoming for me. A best friend doesn't kick you when you're down, which food always did. My entire life I was turning to this thing for comfort and all it was doing was making me feel worse and more and more uncomfortable in my own skin. That's not a friend at all. As the old saying goes, with friends like THAT who needs enemies. With that realization I was ready to proceed with my surgery. I went to yet another seminar, did all the legwork that goes along with having surgery, and finally had my surgery June 1. It's not a miracle cure, it doesn't fix everything, and I'm still hungry a lot because I'm not at restriction but I truly feel like this was one of the best decisions of my life, and I'm just starting out. I feel like if you really evaluate your life you will realize that you don't need the crutch of food in your life anymore. That you can go on without it. Plus, you have something that I didn't have at that stage of the game. You have this website. I didn't find this site until after my surgery and I have to say it would have made the decision a lot easier. Knowing that there are thousands of people out there going through the same things and making the same decisions as me would have been a huge help in that time of uncertainty for me. Just realize you have friends here and in your real life that will support you and love you no matter what you decide and make the decision that is right for you and your health.

Having the surgery was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. It took a lot of will power to get to the point, emotionally, where I could ask for help. I have been overweight my entire life. I have tried losing weight. In fact, I have got so far as starving myself to try to lose weight, to no avail. It is very easy for someone who has never dealt with a weight problem to say that this is the easy way out. Seriously though, it's not. I was just banded and I have to say that this is a huge lesson in restraint. Right now, I'm still hungry...all the time. I have no restriction but I'm losing weight because it's important to me. Because it's important to my health. Plus, this man clearly does not understand that there are medical conditions that make it nearly impossible for people to lose weight. This man is, in my eyes, a dolt who has no idea what he's talking about other than from a skinny and fit person's perspective. I would like to see how he would react in out shoes. I say you go with your first reaction and slap him.

We have one, but the weight limit is 330 pounds so I can't use it yet. My parents, on the other hand, use it ALL THE TIME and LOVE IT!!! They say that it's absolutely great and the fitness test on there keeps them motivated and wanted to do more every time. I think, if you are within the weight limit, it would be well worth the investment to get one. Best of luck to you!

Thanks Cole83. I really appreciate it. I agree that it's nice to have buddies in this. My doctor made me lose 20 pounds before surgery but most people I've talked to have just said that their doctor suggested they lose weight and didn't put a number on it. Either way, if you will do great. Just keep working at it. I will extend to you too that if you want to e-mail me or visit my blog you are more than welcome to. Good luck!

You can feel free to contact me anytime. My blog is on my signature and my e-mail address is tnwhite2001@gmail.com

Ever since I got banded, June 1, I have been having major problems sleeping. I'm not in pain at all, so that's not the issue, but I just toss and turn all night. I don't know what the problem is. I've even been taking my Ambien and still...nothing. I haven't had a full nights sleep in about 5 days. It's KILLING me! Has anyone ever had problems with this after surgery? Ugh! Also, today I finally get to move from "clear liquids" to "full liquids" which, for some reason, includes things like oatmeal and yogurt (I'm not complaining, I've just never considered them liquid before). I'm super excited because I really miss CHEWING but I'm kind of scared that it won't sit right with me and I'll end up getting sick. Any advice?

Do you know when your surgery is set for? I didn't do really well on my diet either and about 3 weeks prior to surgery they put me on a liquid diet (slimfast, water, crystal light) and I lost 16 pounds in one week. There are lots of options and I don't think they will flat out turn you down just because of that. They might put you on a stricter diet but I don't think they will turn you down. Just keep your head up and do the best you can. You'll do great!

I was just wondering if anyone out there has PCOS and how it was effected post-banding. I have pretty bad PCOS and have a lot of the symptoms and I've heard that weight loss can greatly decrease symptoms. I'm just wondering if anyone out there has a story to share about their PCOS with the band.

Thanks for the info! I've had a lot of problems with irregular periods that were extremely painful so I'm really hoping that losing the weight will help. I'm only 6 days out from surgery so I hope as the weight drops the symptoms will too. Thanks again!

My doctor says up to a 1/2 cup of food at a meal is acceptable. I haven't gotten to solids yet, still on clear liquids, but the booklet he gave me says 1/2 cup is okay. Good luck!

Good luck to you! I was just banded on June 1 and I'm doing pretty good! Just take care of yourself and everything will be just fine!

and I feel like if I have to eat one more bowl of Jello or sugar free Popsicle I'm going to lose it. What tricks did you have during this "clear liquid" phase? Is there anything that makes you forget that you're limited to Clear Liquids? Also, any advice for a newbie? What's one thing you wish someone had told you going into all this? Thanks in advance!

I have 7 days of clear liquids, then 7 days of full liquids. Next comes 14 days of pureed foods, 21 days of soft foods, and then, finally, regular foods. I really can't wait to get to even pureed foods. I miss chewing, as odd as that sounds.

Hi guys! I just had my band put in June 1 and I'm super excited and a little scared. I live in Minnesota and had the surgery done by Dr. Sayeed Ikramuddin. He was great and the surgery went well. I am starting at a really high weight, 345 pounds, and I'm worried I will never get down to were I want to be. I know it's possible I just have to keep going. I'm wondering if anyone would be interested in being a pen pal of sorts. I could really use a buddy in all of this. Thanks! Tanya

Hi! We had the same surgery date and we're both pretty young. I was just wondering if you'd be interested in chatting with me at all. It would be interesting to see how the journey goes for both of us. Let me know if you're interested. tnwhite2001@gmail.com