bwaydiva

"Hi Sheila, I have spent all night reviewing the lap band surgery and cannot support this decision. I cannot find longterm data suggesting that this is safe and effective. Furthermore, the reoperation rate appears to be about one in five. I was not impressed with the Fresno doctor's website. At this point I do not believe that this approach is in your best interest and I think scheduling this procedure in Fresno is a very serious mistake. Mom" To say that I'm hurt is an understatement. Is anyone else having problems with their family? My surgery is scheduled for April 11th at 7:30 and I WILL be sucessful. I'm on sabbatical from school to lose weight and get bulimia off the list of coping mechanisms. Well I've worked my arse off these past 9 months and I'm done with bulimia. But I'm still obese and I've been fighting my weight since I was 9. I've been hiding food since I was six! Hiding food from my mom. She's a nutritionist/dietician so you'd think she'd realize that it is harder to lose weight when you're obese. It's just hard. I'm ready for this journey. I'm ready to work my band. I don't know what I would do without you guys. My eating has been all over the place and emotionally.. well I'm so grateful for a place to rant. I'm sorry for not being around this board much except to complain and vent. I promise... this is normally so unlike me. I promise I'll be back to normal supportive Sheila very soon. Thanks for reading.

Terry- Thanks so much for the encouragement! I was so disappointed in myself that I couldn't follow a program for one stinkin' day. Something to keep in mind is that when May 1st comes and we all have our bands, our little group will motivate and encourage one another. We'll be able to rely on our strengths as a group. For example, I LOVE to exercise but I'm not so good at the food part. We're gonna do this and I have no doubt that we'll all work this tool to the best of our abilities!! Tracy- Well that's even more exciting! To think that the list isn't even updated.... seriously how cool!! I'm having a clothing problem today too Tracy. I don't want to buy new clothes....I'm self pay so I can't buy new clothes...but I'm also super sick and tired of not having ANYTHING to wear. Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Thank God for the Band!! Speaking of God, lol, I'm off to church. I sing as a soloist on many Sundays so I gotta go practice. Then it's work and then home to garden. Have a great day ya'll. With love, Sheila P.S. A final thought, my Dad told me to stop obsessing about the band last night and I commented about how it gives my mind something to do before the surgery. He emailed me a NASA report looking at the likelyhood of some huge asteroids hitting the Earth within 20 years. On the bottom of the report he wrote: Obsess About This!! I just thought that was hilarious. Have a great day, Beautiful April Bandits soon to be Butterflies.

Okay so I thought it would be fun to do a little number play with that long list of April "losers." The total weight loss for the group is 2413.4 pounds!! :faint: That is more than a TON!! Congrats on the great losses and I can only hope that we can do just as well. The average weight loss was 51.35 pounds. Seriously that's incredible. April 2007 Bandits, we've got BIG shoes to fill. Emotionally, I go from being crazy excited to being really depressed. There is still a big part of me that keeps beating myself up over the fact that I'm having this surgery... that I actually need it and cannot diet and exercise my way down. :hungry: I wish I had more willpower, more whatever so I could lose weight on my own. I tried to diet today and failed miserably. :faint: I'm so grateful that the band is in my future. But I'm also kind of worried. :omg: If I can't diet for ONE day, what am I doing putting myself on a permanent food plan? I guess I'm wondering if anyone else is having these thoughts. I know that they are just feelings not facts but those feelings can sure be overwhelming sometimes. :help: I am soooo grateful for this support network. You women rock! (Do we have any guys yet?) Off to get some sleep. (I strongly dislike DST and having to adjust...grrrr....) With love, Sheila :notagree

Welcome Julie! I think you'll find this thread and LBT VERY supportive and lots of fun. Chica Chula, I'm self pay too and although it's a big decision I know we're making the right choice. What's your height? I'm 5' 5" and we have the same goal weight. I was 300 pounds last June and went to a weight loss program (lost 40 pounds but gained 10 back.) So now I'm at 270 and trying really hard not to gain it all back. Last supper syndrome is really hard for me right now. All in all, I'm really excited and nervous. I told my mom on wednesday and she was NOT happy. She's a nutritionist/dietician and I think that she's really disappointed in me... that I can't diet and exercise 120 pounds off. It's hard to even imagine that in a year we could have the results of the April 06 Bandsters. I get so excited about it, I just start giggling with joy like a little kid. With love, Sheila

Mark PLEASE tell me that you're kidding!

I'm really excited about being banded on April 11th. I'm in a show right now and we run through the month of March. I'm self pay and a student. Currently I'm 270 ish but my goal is 150-160. My plan is to stop when I'm comfortable. I'm a little bummed today because my show just got a crummy review from our local newspaper. :faint: It's VERY frustrating to work so hard on something and then to get slammed. I was mentioned in the article as being one of the stronger and consistent singers... it's just painful to think that she didn't like the show. She came on Saturday night. The audience on Saturday LOVED the show and gave us a standing ovation. :clap2: I know I'm just being an "artist" and taking everything WAY too seriously. I try not to read reviews for this very reason. Anyway here's the link. http://www.modbee.com/arts/reviews/story/13357785p-13980793c.html One good part is that my friend Francesca got mentioned. This is her community paper so I'm glad they didn't slam her. Thanks for letting me vent. Sheila

Tami congrats on your bandiversary! You both have had great losses! Thanks so much for the inspiration!

well honey of course you're depressed! Try not to be so hard on yourself! You just moved to a new state, you're dealing with post-band blues and you have no face time with anyone who understands!! If I was in Ohio I would drive over and give you a HUGE hug. I agree with what everyone else has been saying. There are actually a few very helpful threads on food addictions, namely bulimia, but it's all the same root cause. We don't feel good enough about ourselves to treat our bodies with love and respect. It's hard to work the band or any program for that matter but I would recommend starting with working on yourself. Go to a therapist... even a few sessions can really help you get things in perspective. Check with the local hospitals to see if they have any OA meetings or any post op groups. The only person who would judge you at those meetings is yourself. Give yourself a little hug, keep reaching out on LBT and find someone who can give you, non-judgemental face time. You are doing great. You are reaching out and trying! Keep it up. With love, Sheila

that's great! I'm definitely looking forward to being able to walk up stairs like a normal person instead of climb them!

Those of you who did lose a lot of weight your first six months, how did you do it? Thanks so much for answering all my questions. Sheila

Hi Everybody, So I've officially made the decision to self pay and I'm scheduling my surgery tomorrow!! AHHHH!!! :nervous I go back to school in the fall and I was wondering what the average weight loss was for the first 6 months. (I want to clarify that this means post band and not including your pre-op diet.) I'm TOTALLY living in fantasy land and I was hoping ya'll would help me out here in dream world. Thanks team! Love, Sheila Going to face the music, take out tons of loans (at this point what's MORE debt!?) and get my BAND!!

Congrats!! That is truly an awesome achievement! Keep up the great work and the awesome loss. I can't believe you've only been banded since January. Wow. Hope to hear more about your continued success, Sheila

Hello tink, We younger bandsters actually have a whole thread to ourselves.:clap2: The youngest person is 15 but it seems like the majority are in their early to mid twenties. Hope to see you over there! With love, Sheila

Lily, glad to hear things went well. So, what's it like being banded? Are you dreaming about clothes? Can you feel a difference in your body? Any restriction? Fill us younger bandsters in! You too Marissa. I'm pretty bummed about the whole insurance thing. Now they're saying a six month diet... soooo frustrating!! Oh well. All good things in time, right. Thanks for the encouragement. With love, Sheila

".... It will pass though." A less mature peron than I would find this a little humorous considering the subject of the thread. Okay, giggles aside, I've had serious bowel problems whenever I've done liquid diets. They do resolve once your body figures out whats going on. For me, moderate exercise and stretching after meals seemed to help. Best of luck, Sheila

Jodie, that SUCKS about the diabetes!! I am so sorry. I lost my first thirty pounds because my doctor told me that I was pre-diabetic. It's scary stuff but luckily, it is managable. Awesome weight loss. November Lily, good luck with your surgery. I hope everything goes well. When you feel better, come back to the boards and let us know how things went. Off to fight with my insurance company. Thanks for all the great advice about that. Sheila

My doctor said that the first six months of band are the most important and finding your sweet spot is really important for success. However, I know patience isn't really my strong suit.... Thanks so much for all of your support and encouragement. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your wisdom and comments. Thanks team!!

I just came back from the ER where I got 3 bags of Fluid with an IV and an AMAZING drug called Zofran. I have had that awful stomach flu since Friday and the only thing that has helped with the vomiting is Zofran. Seriously it's a wonder drug. I'm not banded yet but if you are I would ask your PCP to give you that drug straight away if you're sick. Feel Better! I work at a hospital and I've NEVER seen this many cases of severe flu before. Hydrate and see your doctor. Vomiting can cause slippage... so go see your doc.

Derek and Jodie... was it worth it for you? I'm trying to come up with a reasonable budget right now... it's a little painful.

Thanks guys! Everyone made me feel so much better. It's like I'm worried that chocolate and ice cream are going out of style or something! It's nutty.... mmm rocky road... Okay so I was denied because I can't count the summer program that I did as my 3 month diet... I have to work with a nutritionist and document it with my PCP. Another three months of dieting... yippee. And then MAYBE get the approval. Or cough up the money and get the surgery. Here's the thing...I go back to school in August. (I took a year off from NYU and went home to CA to spend time with my grandfather and to, ha ha, lose weight.) If I spend March, April and May dieting and then in June I get the surgery, I only have 2.5 months before going back to school and stress. I know this is a life long commitment but I would like a couple more months to solidify my new habits without being crazy in NYC. So do I take out a loan (really what's more debt at this point?!) and get the surgery in March or do I gamble the insurance route and maybe get it paid for in June with only a few months of free fills and stress-free living? Sorry for asking for so much advice. I'm not going to tell my friends (too skinny to get it) and my mom (nutritionist/dietician.) Thanks for your help. With love, Sheila

did any of you self-pay? I was just denied by my insurance company... I guess I'm really hoping it's worth it. 15,600 is a LOT of mula.

Thanks soooo much for responding! Today I was denied by my insurance company so I'm kinda bummed but I'm encouraged by your words. Thanks so much. With love, Sheila

Men often have more muscle mass than women (who tend to have more fat... better for making babies.) Muscle burns more fat. Though muscular women, I would imagine, would weight in amounts equal to that of a man.

Currently I'm waiting on insurance approval for the lap band with Dr. Felix. I'm nervous and excited. Unfortunately, my normal method of dealing with emotion is to overeat...so I've gained about 10 pounds since my first appointment which was in late November. 10 POUNDS!!! AHHHHH!!! Did anyone else have this problem during pre-op? I'm not on any sort of diet yet. I feel like I'm in lap band no man's land. I'm pre-pre-op. How weird. I'm angry at myself which then leads to...guess what... more eating! :faint: I'm really doubting my ability to be able to do this. I know that this is just pre-surgery jitters and I know that this is just a tool. I really do believe that I can be sucessful... but I am really nervous about this most recent weight gain. :cry The only reason I haven't gained more is that I've had the flu twice and keep landing myself in the ER with dehydration from being so sick. Please HELP. Thanks for reading. You guys are all such an inspiration to me and I feel so grateful to have LBT in my life. Sheila 300 / 270- Went to a weight loss program over the summer and slowly gaining it all back =( P.S. While I was writing this post, my insurance company called me and I was denied. Sometimes, life stinks.

Okay so here's my list.... its a little long and repeats a little. Love, Sheila 1.) Being able to fully embrace myself as athletic, outgoing and sexy 2.) Feeling in Control 3.) Cute Clothes 4.) No limitations on career 5.) Better health- NO DIABETES 6.) Fit more comfortably on a roller coaster and air plane 7.) Feeling and being sexy in a pair of jeans 8.) Take cute pictures with family and friends 9.) Meeting people and having them judge me based on who I am, not how I look 10.) Conquering the voices of self doubt once and for all!! 11.) Looking cute at the gym 12.) Going clubbing without feeling self-conscious 13.) Being a true friend who is no focused on her own issues 14.) Going back to New York looking smokin’ hot 15.) Not being self conscious ALL THE TIME! 16.) Getting to chose whether I want to where slutty clothes 17.) Being healthy and happy 18.) Getting roles based on how I perform, not how I look 19.) Happy feet- no not the penguin movie, no more blisters and cracked skin 20.) Being physically attractive to another person MY AGE!! 21.) Becoming a sponsor at OA for other overweight bulimics in recovery 22.) Going to the Renfrew Reunion in June and being healthy! 23.) Volunteering at Renfrew to tell my story 24.) Being able to teach my children (in the future) by example how to live well 25.) Being able to enjoy and relish the body that God gave me 26.) Being able to kick my dad’s butt in racquetball 27.) Having improved cardiovascular health 28.) HAVING CHOICE IN MY LIFE!!