Angera

I can absolutely relate to this. However, in my case, I was on the tail end of my 6 months and the e-mail had gone out in month 5 about lapband coming with a $5000 deductible plus %20. I could've died. HR even said the WOULD NOT grandfather folks who were close to surgery, JERKS! I was able to work with the doctor and insurance to have my paperwork submitted one month early to assure my surgery date fell before aug 31, which was my change of fiscal year and benefits....... Try everything, I called the insurance over and over and over until someone finally said well just submit your paperwork and see what happens...........the nutritionist and doctor were willing to do it because of the circumstances and i was sooooooooo close to the end! So it's quite stressful, I KNOW! But put up a fight, I did, and it payed off

I'd never known about steel cut oats, I must switch over, i'd been using the regular ones! YIKES!

older post but i resurrected it because I thought of another one this morning while driving to work jamming the radio. I can't wait to be able to "drop it like it's hot" while dancing without fear or not being able to pick myself back up!!!!hahaha!!! The thought came to me as I listened to "single ladies" by beyonce. ahhhhhh yes, the ease of dancing without excess weight!

Great website, I took a brief peek! Thanks for the tips everyone

So, it's nice to throw on the "small jeans" i've kept in the closet for yearssssssss and see that they're too big now! It was also nice throwing on an XL t-shirt without having to stretch it out first! I am loving my band and excited about this journey! I could use Breakfast ideas though!!! Got any?

I was banded August 13 and things are going well. I've lost 50 pounds since the start of my two week pre-op diet, and had lost 20 before that, so i'm at 70! It's very exciting I, too, was confused on the amount to eat. during the one month post op my paperwork said 1/2 cup so i ate 1/2cup and did great, wasn't too hungry either. Then my nutritionist said to do 2-3oz of meat, 1/4 c veggies and about 1/8c of some kind of carb. Then my doctor went back and said well just stick with the 1/2c if it worked for you! lolz, AHHHHh so cornfused! I have not had a fill, but have an appointment 10-18 to possibly get one depending on my weight loss from now to then. I'm hoping to be down a total of 100 by the new year. We'll see how that goes!!! Good luck August Bandsters!! Keep up the good work! :smile2:

I am from San Antonio, Texas. I am a Clinical Research Associate with a cancer center.

Glad something in there spoke to you dave! It just made sense to me to go with a band. As you can see by my profile, i'm quite young and hopefully have a long life ahead of me. The thought of butchering my insides was scary! My friend that had sleeve issues is only 28 and had major issues and having to have surgery to try and reconstruct her digestive system to one that is going to physically work for her! That's a lot to go through! And it's like she put it, it was a major decision she made and she wishes she would've researched her decision more. She was shocked at my progress with the band because she too had been told, "you have too much weight to lose, the band won't work....." i hate that statement!

I had originally met with a doctor who convinced me i needed gastric bypass because for as much weight as i needed to lose it wouldn't happen. I have about 200 pounds to lose. After I went through a few months of the process, I noticed some things about the doctor that I didn't like and stopped the process. Two years later, I came full circle and was revisiting weight loss surgery again. I had recently had a friend get a vertical sleeve that she battled her insurance for a year to get approved. It was the biggest mistake ever. She is unbelievably sick and has lost 175 pounds vomitting for a year. She is now seeing a specialist and going to have to have her surgery revised and they are going to attempt to give her a gastric bypass. Without going into too many of the details of how her surgery went wrong.................it was a deciding factor in why i didn't want a sleeve! I had a cousin who had gastric bypass a few years back and almost died. He was in a coma for a little over a month. He had a long healing process but unfortunately has since then also gained most of his weight back. Both situations were probably on the extreme end, but to have two close people in my life have something horrible happen, I don't think it's a coincidence. These surgeries are very invasive and very dangerous and this magnified the risks. I began strongly researching lapband in October 2009. I met a few surgeons, went to two seminars, and talked with a relative and family friend who had the surgery. Neither of them had any complications and had not known anyone with complications. They both highly recommended the surgery and have both been as successful as someone with a sleeve and gastric bypass. My concern again was would i be able to lose all the weight i needed to. As one person final put it "you will lose as much weight as you want depending on how hard you are willing work to lose it and keep it off". Neither surgery is a gurantee. Is the band easy? absolutely not. Will I lose the weight as quickly as other surgeries? absolutely not. Two years from now when the weight is gone, will it matter how I got there? Not to me. It's a less invasive way to have the same end result. The risks involved are far less than that of sleeve or RNY. I was banded on August 13, 2010 after a 6 month nutrition program (insurance required). I am down 70 pounds. 50 of that has been since my two week pre-op diet. Granted I do have nearly 200 pounds to lose, so it might initially come off a bit faster. (results vary)I am very happy with my decision and have been working very hard to be compliant and i think based on my results, i'd have to say the lapband is working. I wouldn't change it for the world. So yes, the lapband technically was my second choice because i didn't go through with the RNY. But i'd like to consider it my more educated second choice :thumbup:

I've been fortunate not to have had anyone offended by my choices, but I did come across one lady in my office who longggggggg in the beginning of my process was very strong in her opinion of my choice. She said she had followed insurance guidelines and was scheduled for surgery and "chickened out" in the end. She said she realized it was so dangerous and better to just do it on your own! 6 months past and my surgery was scheduled, she asked me how everything was and i said "great". Then she turns around and says oh that's sooooooooo wonderful what you're doing for yourself and you're doing a great job................WOW quite the difference from a few months before when she bent over backwards to convince me NOT to do it since she was to chicken to do it herself! I just walk with a smile knowing i've made the right choice for me. I was heading down a horrible path for my health and life and I had to take control. I do not regret this one bit. I have a long road ahead of me, but there are not enough negative comments in the world that are going to bring me down at this point :rolleyes2: All i can say is, don't let the negative people get to you, in the end you did it for you, not for them!

I've had the same issue, I noticed it a lot last week. I related it to possibly eating too fast or too much. It is quite uncomfortable. The pain tends to go up my left side of my neck so i wasn't sure if perhaps that was something musculoskeletal going on. Any ideas?

I went for my first fill one month post op and my doctor and i decided to wait another month. I was losing about 3 pounds a week on average and feeling satisfied in between meals with smaller portions. I told him i'd like to keep going with the empty band and in one month revisit the need for a fill.

Mine came two weeks early as well. I actually called up my OBGYN and scheduled an appointment to have my birth control pills adjusted. The combination of weight loss and the need for a pill adjustment had me on a cycle from hell lasting wayyyyyyy longer than necessary!

Congrats on your band! Now the fun begins!!! Good luck

I too just had this problem. So many people at work were asking when i was gonna buy new pants.........they were falling off! My tops were also sagging in my arms and chest. I sifted through craigslist ads and found another lady who had gastric bypass that LOVED to shop. I was able to inexpensively purchase items from her! Craigslist has been a big help for me. It takes time, but I don't have much money for clothing purchases, so these inexpensive finds are worth the wait for me! In an effort to offset clothing cost, i put up another CL add to sell my old clothing and try and get some money from it to put towards gently used smaller clothing. Going through this experience motivated me to contemplate opening up a shop for gently used PLUS SIZE clothing!

This is definately a difficult topic. Before weight loss, I would drop friends like nothing if they did something wrong to me. I still feel the same way. If they aren't supportive of my life decisions with surgery, then I dont need them. Always easier said than done, but in the end I find I am a more sane person without toxic people in my life! I am very fortunate that my core of supporters have been great. They are various folks from my work life, college friend, and my immediate family. The husband thing is tricky. My way of making sure my husband and I are in sync is I actively involved him in EVERY aspect of my process. He was there for all visits, doctor consults, etc. I told him about every single nutrition visit and even started him in a healthier nutritional regimen. It was a way for me to make him just as part of the ordeal as i was. I wanted there to be open lines of communication for him to vocalize his concerns. And he did, he was/IS nervous about me leaving him. I told him "well it took me nearly 6 years to train you, why in the world would i wanna start over with someone new"..............hahaha i kid i kid, but it is hard. Do I know what the future holds for my marriage? Unfortunately not. Am I going to do everything in my power to make it work? Absolutely Sometimes you come across a lot of negativity regarding marriages post lapband. I feel as i've come across a lot more folks who were quick to say it isn't going to last. But you'll have to remember, all those other married folks making it work probably aren't spending their time giving advice on message boards, they're probably out living life! so just remember, it can work out for you and your husband, and try not to let the negativity overwhelm and cloud your thoughts and decisions. But realize, it won't always be easy. I wish you the best, I hope everything works out for you

I have my first fill today, i feel nervous about it! I've been told it's nothing to sweat and I should be excited about getting restriction. I am excited about restriction, but i guess nervous since i've never had it done before! It wasn't until about a week and a half ago that the hunger realllllllly set it! hunger pains and all! so i'm eager to get rid of those!

yea, i wondered about this one too. I accidently sipped out of my husband cup instead of mine and had a sip of dr. pepper. I truly thought i was going to die because of an expanded stomach from that ONE sip. Needless to say, all the talk of a potential expansion scared me enough to think one sip would do me in. i've avoided soda it all together. Avoidance is a bit harder for me since i'm allergic to crystal light, sugar free kool aids, and those wylers things so it doesn't leave me many beverage options Water and tea get OLD! Before, water and tea were great because i could still have that occassional diet soda, yea not so much anymore! But it's o.k., it's allll for the good of my body, i'll put on my girl panties and deal with it!

I had a 6 month deal as well. Hated it at first, but determination is an amazing thing The 6 months flewwwww by very quickly. In the end I was able to see those 6 months as a blessing because it gave me time to really put myself under a magnifying glass and see what i was doing that was making me gain weight and work on fixing them. I had a lot of people shocked that i wasn't so stressed out come surgery time, i tell them it was because i've had 6 months to really think this one thru! My insurance DID NOT cover these appointments, I had to pay out of pocket for each one.

I don't like the term "bandster hell". It just seems like kicking your own @$$ when you're already down! Why associate this good thing in life with such a negative state of being. But again, that's just me! I've tried very hard to remain positive throughout this journey and to anticipate that there will be small failures. The battle is when it's time to pick yourself up and move on from those failures. Just keep in mind the big picture, all the things you've already done for yourself that are going to improve your lifestyle! I will admit, during these 4 weeks since my surgery, I wondered about all the pizza, ice cream, cake and buffets i'm missing out on in life! It was my husband who finally put it into perspective when he said "buffet? people aren't supposed to eat like that!" The past two weeks have been especially tricky. Work has been busy and stressful, I accepted a promotion right before surgery and returned to a heavy training schedule and being thrown in with the sharks to figure out this new job! Needless to say, before surgery, i'd cope by ordering pizza for dinner, pigging out and having some oreos. It somehow made everything feel better. It's not an option anymore! I found myself window shopping(more like walking around) for 4 hours from store to store because i didn't know how to deal with the frustration i was feeling! All i could do was walk, walk, and walk some more until i felt level headed again. My poor husband got the nasty side of this episode, but it's a lifestyle change right? Just remember, it took us all our lives up until the time of surgery to get this way! It's not going to change in just 4 weeks! It's going to take some time. A positive attitude goes a long way, and so does medication! This is not an easy journey to embark on, but it's definately a worthwhile one! Don't beat yourself up too much about the little setbacks (stalled weight, gaining a few pounds), a year from now when you're doing so great, they only be a speck on this fantastic voyage! Good luck and cheer up, you're going to be just fine

I have my first fill next week, but goodness have the cravings started! I am craving popcorn, pizza, and a sno-cone! My question is, what can i do to curb these cravings? I'm only a month out and don't care to indulge in these things quite yet. I would prefer to use popcorn and pizza as more of rewards later on down the road. What are some healthier substitutes for these two?! and would a sugar free sno-cone be ok? the local stand in the neighborhood offers sugar free flavorings......... do you think these cravings are simply the intermittent hunger i've been experiencing the past few days? I go in next week for my first fill. I've been eating about 3/4c of food on average but as needed have a few extra bites until i reach my physically satisfied state.

I was also one who had a 6 month insurance required program. In the beginning, I was upset about having to do it, but looking back on it, it was the best thing for me. It allowed me time to really prepare myself as best as possible for what i was going to do. It helped me work through a lot of my issues regarding food, and nutritionally opened my eyes to what things would really be like! It's hard to have your mind set on something and have this 6 month hurdle, but believe me it goes by FAST. I felt the same way last december when I went to my seminar. Time flew by and I was banded last month. I don't regret the 6 month prep one bit. It's just a small price to pay for the overall goal.

i've only been eating one egg at breakfast time, however I've been adding 1/2 slice of cheese to it to change it up, but i noticed it's not agreeing with my stomach anymore. my nutrionist said three strikes and it's out................i've hit my fourth strike......sadness I hope it's the cheese and not the eggs, i love eggs!

Lost 13 pounds as of last's weeks 2 week post op visit. I haven't weighed in this week! In total, i'm at 59 pounds down since the start of my journey I am feeling great, i'm not regretting this one bit and am very fortunate not to have run into any issues. I go in next week to evaluate my potential first fill.

Glad to hear you all are doing well :biggrin: I've been doing well since surgery. Haven't had any problems either, but i'm only two and half weeks post op :thumbup: