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Thanks so much to everyone. Wheetsin---you are a wealth of information. I went through the rest of the day with no issues. I didn't dare put anything else in my mouth though...I was too scared. For dinner I had cream of crab soup (fed the DH king crab legs and made the kids a heart shaped pizza). I knew that a PB was bound to happen one day. I think that I did pretty good by going almost 10 months without one. I can assure you that I never want that to happen again and if I have any say over it, it won't. I have had a love/love relationship with my band but today I wasn't so much in love with it. I'll get over it and move on, but I don't know how people can do that two and three times a week. That's not for me. Again guys, thanks so very much for all of your replies. It really did help me through my very first PB. On a better note...off to the outlets tomorrow for some new clothes...you know...ones that actually fit me now.:mad:

I'm a Newbie (2nd post) and I need some help (sorry in advance for the length, but I'm hoping someone can throw me a lifeline). I'm 49 and have been successfully dieting for 30+ years...so why am I fat (I'm the Yo-Yo Queen!). My health started deteriorating at age 45, it became harder to lose, and I started giving up hope, which isn't like me. My family history (4 siblings and I'm the "skinny one"), is a nightmare of obesity related issues- Diabetes, Stroke, Heart Attacks, Hypertension, sleep Apnea...etc. I can feel myself "circling the drain". But I don't have a diagnosis of any of, what I'm learning are the "Big 4" comorbidities---Did sleep study-neg., borderline cholesterol, didn't do the fasting diabetes test but reg. blood test came out borderline he did another simple blood test that looks at some number that show if you've had sugar issues over the past month and it was OK, my blood pressure has been high (140 something over 90-96) the last few Dr. visits but not sure what it takes for an official hypertension diagnosis (although I'm wondering if I don't qualify as hypertensive). I've got many minor comorbidities. I've developed adult onset asthma a few years ago, exertional dyspnea- shortness of breath, osteoarthritis, had a hysterectomy and bladder sling surgery both for incontinence which has since failed so I'm currently starting testing for another possible surgery. I decided to "just look" at Lap Band a few months ago. After weeks of research and lurking here I saw that it was the perfect answer for me. I brought it up with my PCP who didn't discourage me, but said I wasn't the typical "Metobolic Nightmare", and he gave me some Dr. names. I had recently lost weight on the Alli pills/diet so I was just under a 35 BMI then and I asked for a diet plan which they gave me. I got the insurance info. from Highmark PPO Blue (need 35-40 BMI with comorbidity and 6 mo. diet). And no, self-pay is not an option for us with 2 kids in college. I then signed up for 3 hospital's intro. seminars in Pittsburgh to find out as much as I can and to select a possible Dr...especially since it's a longer term commitment. I've since found that it looks like most people only go to one...not sure why since each seminar gave me new information/very different approaches. I went back to my PCP to further discuss this and was 1 pound below 35 BMI. I stopped the diet and have now attended 2 of the seminars (I was at a 36/37 BMI then). The first at St. Margaret's (Dr. Means) never even called me after. The second at Magee (Dr. Eid), called and said they thought I wouldn't get approved, but I could pursue it if I want. I asked if I should call them back if I get the diagnosis of hypertension (since I'm thinking I'm qualified by my numbers and I haven't asked my PCP if I am officially hypertensive yet), but Magee didn't give me the warm fuzzies that even this would do it (Does it take more than one comorbidity? Insur. doesn't say so). I suddenly went from so hopeful to very discouraged. I go back to my PCP for a weigh in on Monday. I was planning to "restart the diet" then as my BMI is closer to 37 now and in the seminars they said they need to see some weight loss, but not below the min. BMI. I'm trying to pull together some info. on what my PCP needs to document at these visits (thought I'd give them a form to fill in each time, but I can't find one). Do I need to journal anything? I also planned to discuss my blood pressure numbers and what the cut off is for hypertension. Do I need to be on blood pressure medication for it to be considered a comorbidity? What else can I do with the PCP that would help my approval? I'm scheduled to go to Allegheny General's seminar next Thurs., 13th. Is there something else I need to provide at the seminar that would help with approval? My husband just announced that his insurance will be probably be changing in June as the status of the joint-venture he works for changes...let's see 6 mo. would be done mid May...AHHH! I know I would be the poster child for Lap Band after everything I've read...I can follow any diet, I used to teach exercise classes, I can hardly move without pain now...why is this so difficult? :frown: I need some input...should I just give up now or what else can I do? :thumbs_up: Thanks for reading....

KAT!!! You will be right near me! We will have to do a regular coffee clutch type of thing. LOL Glad to hear that you guys are excited about this possibility. I have always loved taking risks and making moves like that. A year and a half ago when Rob and I were fed up with Seattle we just packed up the van and the kids, put all of our cash into our checking account, and drove to florida. It was the best move we have ever made. Good luck with the final decision!!!

You're doing fine with weight loss. I wouldn't worry yet. I'm 3 mos post sleeve and only went down one pant size, but everyone comments on how much over lost. Sometimes it comes of differently. My face looks thinner and my bra size went down. As far a food, make sure you're eating slow, if I eat you fast its easy to eat more than you should and feel sick. Remember just because it's on your plate does not mean you have to eat it. My co worker laughed at me yesterday for leaving three bites of my chicken from lunch, she was like, "you seriously did not leave three bites of chicken. " I know from experience that those three more birds would make me feel like crap. I said it'll make a nice snack later before I go home. She said that is not enough for a snack, and I said wth it is if you've had a protein of your stomach removed. You'll have to learn to listen to your stomach and at the first feeling of yeah I may be full, stop and leave it bc one or two bites have made all the difference in walking away fine out walking away in stabbing pain. Pre op I was originally 256# right before surgery was 231# now I'm 3 mos out 189#. I notice a difference and feel good. Also avoiding carbs has left me feeling more flat in the stomach, when I would eat alot bread Pre op it would leave me feeling bloated.

First off, you're NEVER too old for Mommy Issues! LOL I chose not to tell mine until after surgery bc she always makes everything about HER. She'd focus on how SHE felt about MY surgery instead of offering support or just keeping her mouth shut. Frankly, I needed all of my emotional energy to focus on myself and my upcoming life change. I didn't have any to spare for her so I just didn't tell her. Best decision I ever made!

okay dokey, I am just going by your sample menu...so I know it may not be a good reflection of what you eat weekly but here are some thoughts. Why a Protein Shake in the morning? Is it bc you are too tight? If not, maybe replacing it with a solid food (with protein). Also, you listed salad twice. Salad is a slider food, and not very nutritionally beneficial. It won't keep you full or give you much energy. I agree though that maybe you are not eating enough calories. Have you tried tracking with the daily plate or other websites? A lot of people say they need somewhere around 1200 to keep their weight loss steady. Also, what does your exercise look like? If you are exercising regularly, maybe you are losing inches but not pounds? If you aren't exercising, maybe if you started it would help jump start things again? Those are just some thoughts. What weight did you start at?

Here is a longer one...kinda makes my head hurt. IS STARVATION MODE A MYTH? NO! STARVATION MODE IS VERY REAL AND HERE’S THE SCIENTIFIC PROOF QUESTION: Tom, I was wondering if you had seen the 6 part e-mail series sent out by [name deleted] from [website deleted]. if you look at the last part, he basically states that “starvation mode” is a bunch of crap made up in order to sell diet programs. He didn’t mention you, but it almost sounds like he’s talking about you specifically. How do you feel about this? ANSWER: Yes, I saw that article/email and the author is mistaken about starvation mode. In his article, he accused those of us who use the term “starvation mode” as being unscientific and he even says “dont buy diet books if they mention the starvation mode.” I’ll make it clear in a moment, that in this case, he is the one who doesn’t appear very well read in the scientific literature on the effects of starvation and low calorie diets. I do have to point out first that the effects of starvation mode are indeed sometimes overblown. There are also myths about the starvation mode, like it will completely “shut down” your metabolism (doesn’t happen), or that if you miss one meal your metabolism will crash (doesn’t happen that fast, although your blood sugar and energy levels may dip and hunger may rise). Another myth about starvation mode is that adaptive reduction in metabolic rate (where metabolism slows down in response to decrease calorie intake) is enough to cause a plateau. That is also not true. it will cause a SLOW DOWN in progress but not a total cessation of fat loss. As a result of these myths, I have even clarified and refined my own messages about starvation mode in the past few years because I don’t want to see people panic merely because they miss a meal or they’re using an aggressive caloric deficit at times. I find that people tend to worry about this far too much. However, starvation response is real, it is extremely well documented and is not just a metabolic adaptation - it is also a series of changes in the brain, mediated by the hypothalamus as well as hormonal changes which induce food seeking behaviors. Here is just a handful of the research and the explanations that I have handy: Ancel Key’s Minnesota starvation study is the classic work in this area, which dates back to 1950 and is still referenced to this day. In this study, there was a 40% decrease in metabolism due to 6 months of “semi-starvation” at 50% deficit. Much or most of the decrease was due to loss of body mass, (which was much more pronounced because the subjects were not weight training), but not all of the metabolic decline could be explained simply by the loss of body weight, thus “metabolic adaptation” to starvation was proposed as the explanation for the difference. Abdul Dulloo of the University of Geneva did a series of studies that revisited the 1300 pages of data that keys collected from this landmark study, which will not ever be repeated due to ethical considerations. (it’s not easy to do longitudinal studies that starve people, as you can imagine) Here’s one of those follow up studies: “Adaptive reduction in basal metabolic rate in response to food deprivation in humans: a role for feedback signals from fat stores. Dulloo, Jaquet 1998. American journal of clinical nutrition. Quote: “It is well established from longitudinal studies of human starvation and semistarvation that weight loss is accompanied by a decrease in basal metabolicrate (BMR) greater than can be accounted for by the change in body weight or body composition” “the survival value of such an energy-regulatory process that limits tissue depletion during food scarcity is obvious.” Also, starvation mode is a series of intense food seeking behaviors and other psychological symptoms and if you do any research on the minnesota study and other more recent studies, you will find out that starvation mode as a spontaneous increase in food seeking behavior is very, very real. Do you think sex is the most primal urge? Think again! Hunger is the most primal of all human urges and when starved, interest in everything else including reproduction, falls by the wayside until you have been re-fed. There are even changes in the reproductive system linked to starvation mode: It makes total sense too because if you cannot feed yourself, how can you have offspring and feed them - when you starve and or when body fat drops to extremely low levels, testosterone decreases in men, and menstrual cycle stops in women. Starvation mode is not just adaptive reduction metabolic rate - it is much more. There IS a controversy over how much of the decrease in metabolism with weight loss is caused by starvation mode, but the case is extremely strong: For example, this study DIRECTLY addresses the controversy over HOW MUCH of a decrease in metabolism really occurs with starvation due to adaptive thermogenesis and how much is very simply due to a loss in total body mass. Doucet, et al 2001. British journal of nutrition. “Evidence for the existence of adaptive thermogenesis during weight loss.” quote: “It should be expected that the decrease in resting energy expenditure that occurs during weightloss would be proportional to the decrease in body substance. However, in the case of underfeeding studies, acute energy restriction can also lead to reductions in resting energy expenditure which are not entirely explained by changes in body composition.” Starvation response is even a scientific term that is used in obesity science textbooks - word for word - CONTRARY to the claim made by the expert mentioned earlier who thinks the phrase, starvation mode is “unscientific.” Handbook of Obesity Treatment, by wadden and stunkard (two of the top obesity scientists and researchers in the world ) quote: “The starvation response - which is an increase in food seeking behavior - is most likely mediated by the decrease in leptin associated with caloric deprivation.” Textbooks on nutritional biochemistry also acknowledge the decrease in metabolism and distinguish it as an adaptive mechanism, distinct from the decrease in energy expenditure that would be expected with weight loss. In this case, the author also mentions another downside of very low calorie diets: spontaneous reduction in physical activity. Biochemical And Physiological Aspects of Human Nutrition by SM. Stipanauk, professor of nutritional sciences, Cornell University (WB Saunders company, 2000) Quote: “During food restriction, thermic effect of food and energy expenditure decrease, as would be expected from reduced food intake and a reduction in total body mass. Resting metabolic rate, however declines more rapidly than would be expected from the loss of body mass and from the decline in spontaneous physical activity due to general fatigue. This adaptive reduction in resting metabolic rate may be a defense against further loss of body energy stores.” Granted, it is more often referred to as “metabolic adaptation” or “adaptive reduction in metabolic rate.” However, starvation mode and starvation response are both terms found in the scientific literature, and they are more easily understood by the layperson, which is why I choose to use them. Another effect of starvation mode is what happens after the diet: A sustained increase in appetite and a sustained reduction of metabolic rate that persists after the diet is over. Although controversial, this too is documented in the literature: American Journal clinical nutrition 1997. Dulloo “post starvation hyperphagia and body fat overshooting in humans.” American Journal Clin Nutrition 1989, Elliot et al. “Sustained depression of the resting metabolic rate after massive weight loss” quote: “Resting metabolic rate of our obese subjects remained depressed after massive weight loss despite increased caloric consumption to a level that allowed body weight stabilization.” and Dulloo 1998: “The reduction in thermogenesis during semistarvation persists after 12 weeks of restricted refeeding, with its size being inversely proportional to the degree of fat recovery but unrelated to the degree of fat free mass recovery.” By the way, this explains what some people refer to as “metabolic damage” and although this is not a scientific phrase, you can see that it too is a reality. It is the lag time between when a diet ends and when your metabolism and appetite regulating mechanisms get back to normal. Last, but certainly not least, and perhaps the best indicator of starvation mode is the hormone LEPTIN. you could spend weeks studying leptin and still not cover all the data that has been amassed on this subject. Leptin IS the anti starvation hormone. Some people say leptin IS the starvation mode itself because it regulates many of the negative effects that occur during starvation. leptin is secreted mostly from fat cells and it signals your brain about your fat stores. If your fat stores diminish (danger of starvation), your leptin decreases. If your calorie intake decreases, your leptin level decreases. When leptin decreases, it essentially sounds the starvation alarm. In response, your brain (hypothalamus) sends out signals for other hormones to be released which decrease metabolic rate and increase appetite. In summary and conclusion: There is no debate whatsoever about the existence of starvation mode - IT EXISTS and is well documented. There is also no debate whatsoever that metabolic rate decreases with weight loss. It happens and is well documented, and it is a reason for plateuas. There’s really only ONE debate about starvation mode that is — HOW MUCH of the starvation mode is comprised of adaptive reduction in metabolic rate and how much is due to loss of total body mass and increased feeding behaviors? Researchers are still debating these questions, in fact just earlier this year another study was releasd by Major and Doucet in the international journal of obesity called, “clinical significance of adaptive thermogenesis.” Here’s a quote from this latest (2007) study: “Adaptive thermogenesis is described as the decrease in energy expenditure beyond what could be predicted from the changes in fat mass or fat free mass under conditions of standardized physical activity in response to a decreased energy intake, and could represent in some individuals another factor that impedes weight loss and compromises the maintenance of a reduced body weight.” I respect the work that other fitness professionals are trying to do to debunk diet and fitness myths, but this fellow didn’t seem to do his homework and totally missed the boat on this article about starvation mode. What’s really odd is that he didn’t quote a single study in his article, despite his repeated reference to “scientific research.” If he wanted to argue against adaptive reduction in metabolic rate and chalk starvation mode up purely to increase in food seeking behaviors… and if he wanted to attribute the decreased metabolism with weight loss purely to lost body mass, he easily could have done that. But he didn’t cite ANY studies. He just expects us to take his word for it that “starvation mode is a myth,” and people like me who use the phrase starvation mode are “unscientific” Either way you argue it - and whatever you choose to call it - “starvation response” is a scientific fact and that’s why prolonged low calorie diets are risky business and mostly just quick fixes. The rapid weight loss in the beginning is an illusion: Starvation diets catch up with you eventually… just like other habits such as smoking appear to do no harm at first, but sooner or later the damage is done. For years I’ve considered it so important to understand the consequences of starvation diets that my entire burn the fat program is built around helping you recover from metabolic damage from past diet mistakes, to avoid the starvation mode, or to at least keep the effects of the starvation mode to a minimum so you can lose the fat and keep the muscle. Sincerely, Your friend and “Burn The fat coach” Tom Venuto, CSCS, NSCA-CPT www.BurnTheFat.com PS. For more information on getting lean without starving yourself or harming your metabolism, visit my website at www.BurnTheFat.com.

So, I recently learned my band slipped and needs to be removed. I've been banded about 3 years and while i initially lost about 40 lbs, I've been pretty much the same for the last year or so. My current surgeon only does removals, no revisions. I'm pretty worried about having it removed bc I've read so many articles saying you will gain the weight back once it's out. I do know of another surgeon in the area who will revise to a gastric bypass. My question is, before I consider changing doctors, do you think they'd be willing to do a bypass on me if I'm not morbidly obese right now? My bmi is 32 with an underlying condition of sleep apnea. Has anyone had a similar experience?

OMG that's great that you are so close to the ones Junior Guru. It will feel so good to step on a scale at a drs office and not have them go up and up with that stupid bar balance thing. I hate that. I never announce oh just start higher bc I'm 288. I stand in silence as they move the bar on the scale. You are doing great! I think 160 will be my goal weight.

Hi Heather. I am getting banded on the 27th. I dont know if you are on a full liquid diet or a clear liquid diet. I am on a CLEAR liquid diet + protein shakes. I prefer the Adkins protein shakes-strawberry is my fav in that. I bought some of each though. EAS, Adkins, and Slim Fast makes a Protein Drink now, so I bought vanilla in that kind. I tried to put that kind in a blender with strawberries...and it looked fine for about 60 seconds. Then it started changing consistency to some weird foam like stuff. YUCK. I had throw that away. I started eating sugar free popsicles last night. That was nice bc I could crunch on something. I also you Sugar Free Koolaid packets in my Water bottles, freeze those a little, and it's like a slushy. My fav so far is my chicken broth! Yum!!!! Good luck! May the force be with you.

@freshair Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post! Today, I am still spotting. I made an appointment to see my primary care physician on this Thursday afternoon. She said we need to do a pap smear and take a look into my hormone levels. Just like you said, she thinks with all the weight loss thus far my hormones are going crazy. I plan on taking another pregnancy test tomorrow morning. I remember the surgeon saying I would become more fertile and it's not recommended to become pregnant until at least a year after surgery. One of the reasons I had the surgery is because I do want a family. I have read so many stories about women who have had PCOS and then had the surgery, which led them to become pregnant. I was originally put on Ministrin, which is a bc pill. I do not want to have to take another pill and therefore, haven't taken it since I had the surgery. I know it's not smart AT ALL. I will be talking to the doctor on Thursday and ask about the patch or the depo. When you were on the depo did you gain weight?

Oh my gosh, I wasn't told that regarding bc pills. Well, I guess it's a good thing I haven't taken them. I will ask for a blood test on Thursday just to be on the safe side. I will keep you posted. I don't know how to add you as a friend on here so if you know add me. I'd love to keep in touch with you.

On my one week follow-up, I had lost 4 lbs. I'd been eating maybe 500 cals a day, feeling like crap, scared of failing, etc. I was very upset. My PA was with wonderful. She said it is the fluids they pump you with in the hospital, and everything around the site being swollen. She said to only weigh once a week, skip it when expecting period, and do not become obsessed with it; rely more on how clothes are fitting and measurements, bc weight can fluctuate so much. As long as it is going the right direction, it is good. She also told me not to go on these sites (weight loss surgery) because everyone's journey is different, dont compare yourself to others. Of course, here I am! But her words really helped.

For the pureed, I've done garden peas, mashed potatoes, refried bean, mashed up baked beans, I'm still doing yogurt and pudding. Pureed part is hard BC its not very appetizing at all. More ideas on others foods would be great for me too!

You were just like me! But keep reading, there is light at the end of the tunnel!!!! Im sorry to here your frustration. We all have had our ups and downs for sure. I think my situation was pretty similar to yours. It took me forever to finally feel restriction and by the time I did, I had lost all the good habits I had practiced right when I got my surgery. The day of my 7th fill when I finally felt it, it was like a truck hit me! I was like "wait a second i don't like this!" But then I reminded myself that this was what I had prepared for but unfortunately because it took so long I forgot. As far as being too tight. I think you sound ok. If you can get down solid Protein like fish then you should be fine, chicken can be iffy, most of the time if its tender it goes down but sometimes it doesn't. Now as far as your weight loss, I will tell you what worked for me... As far as food goes, you sound like your on par with that. I try to keep mine around 1000 calories a day, and even if your not quite full, stop after 20 or so minutes and let it catch up. So great job with that! But as CRAZY as this sounds, even with a 1000 calories a day, you won't lose weight unless you get in 30 mins of light cardio a day because of that stupid thing we call metabolism. I chewed my doctor out 30 days after I was in green zone bc i hadn't lost a pound. I told him I'm only consuming 1000 calories a day! I should be losing, what is 30 mins on the treadmill really gonna do! Well out of desperation, I finally pulled my old bike out and started doing what he said. EURIKA! It finally all came together! The weight started coming off, and all i did was walk every night for 30 minutes!. I can tell bc the weeks i do it 5 to 6 times, I lose 2 to 5 lbs, but the weeks i get "busy" and only do it 2 or 3 times, i don't lose any . You don't want to really "work out" for hours at the gym though bc you might get burned out and not want to exercise the next day. Keep it light and consistent. The nurse told me that under a "normal diet" 30 mins of walking or whatever might not make that much of a difference because it doesn't burn that much calories but we aren't really doing it to burn more calories ... all the 30 mins of movement is designed to do is to keep your metabolism from going into shock. You need to get your heart rate up for a good 30 mins and it works wonders! To this day, I have never stepped foot in the gym. I get on my bike and turn on food network "haha". Anyways I don't make up reasons for not doing it anymore... my husband and children know that every night at 8:30pm leave me alone for 30 minutes. Moral of the story... 30 mins light cardio, as many nights as you can! If you do it 5 to 6 times a week no more, no less, you will be down 100lbs before you no it! Good luck girl!

Ok can't find the dr, but I think it was like 7800 for the dr and the same for the PA. I think my copay was $150 Psy charge $672/ paid 407. copay $25.00 Hospital: surgery, drugs, pathology, X-ray ( must be the leak test) etc $28,893.43 bc paid 16,350. Copay $450. Pathology (stomach) $402. Bc paid $402 my part $0 sleep dr paid 0 copay. ( that may have been for the overnight o2, didn't need a sleep study) thought I paid a copay for the dr appt. hubby's overnight sleep study was $100.00 Can't find the eob for my EGD Hope this helps. Sooo about 50,000+ for everything I paid about 800 give or take.

I've been married ( now divorced) and had boyfriends. The last one did a job on me. He had a fantastic body which made me insecure from the get go. But since being with him ... I gained 40 lbs very quickly. Which in turn made me very insecure. I didn't want to be intimate with him after awhile bc I didn't like the way I looked I gained an additional 10 lbs and he broke it off with me... No reasons. I know the the reason and this was all under a year. You don't need the extra baggage of him. I don't know him but he doesn't sound like he's nice to you. You may think you love him but maybe you love the idea of him. You need to work on the number one person which is you!!! And everything else will fall into place. I promise you this....

I am 2.5 months out and still really struggling with sadness at not being the weight I expected to be. Yes yes, "what did you expect, to lose 100lbs in 3 months?" I don't know... maybe deep down inside I had hoped I would. I can't get over my impatience. I always want instantaneous results with everything. I know and knew going into this that that wouldn't be the case here. But I still end up crying and upset since I feel like I've gone through a lot of BS since surgery and I'm not happy with the results I am getting. In this particular moment, I just feel really depressed. I feel like I have such a long road before I lose another 100lbs and then so much more pain and money with all the plastics I want. And at this point I just anticipate endless complications. It just feels like a neverending road of pain and disappointment. Sorry, feeling bleak today and just needed to get it out. Sent from my SM-G930R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

I watched the Larry King interview last night and I listened to what she had to say and I have kind of hopped the fence and gone a little towards her side. First of all, she found out about the executive producers not renewing her contract from her husband through her agents and managers, not form Barbara or Bill. That was not cool to me...as closely as she had worked with Barbara Walters I thought she would have found out from her...I would have wanted it that way. Then, she knew about this since 04-21-06 and she was still a professional everyday and never let it be known that she wasn't renewed in her contract on air. And then I guess what drove her to finally crack and say something on Tuesday instead of Thursday like they planned was the way it was becoming a media circus outside her home and she didn't want it to be that way. Would you? She is an attorney, first and foremost and she knows that she can screw herself by going on national TV and lying...so why would she. And as far as her weightloss, everyone knows how personal it can be and yes she is a celebrity but she is still a person with feelings. So she didn't come out and say..."I had WLS!!!" But she did say that she had 'medical intervention' and anyone with a brain knows what that means. But at the end of the day, what does it really matter and who is it hurting. So what, she had it, she lost the weight and is probably healthier now than she was before and I hope that she can go on with her life and be 'healthy'...to me that is all that matters. All this other BS is just a bump in the road of being a celebrity. Everyone has their own opinion and this is mine. Agree or disagree. Life is too short to worry about what other people think, you pick up and move on and i think that is what she is trying to do.

Thanks so much for the tips. I'm trying to keep us both positive but when she gets helpless I feel like nothing I say will help. She is supposed to take 8 of the thyroid tablets a day and yes I definitely think it's the amount rather than actually taking them. I will definitely try the sneaking a go because I think any of them is better than none at this point. She's very fed up with her stomach hurting constantly and is not sleeping well either so all these things have added to her not feeling great. But I'm happy to hear that someone who couldn't manage to be excellent at all the things you have to do is doing well. Her surgeon is less than helpful at check ups which is quite frustrating. Thank you for your kind comment, I think I'll even recommend she goes on this forum for the support that I can't relate to.

I had a totally erosion and had the band or gastric bypass options. I have tears saying this bc I a, nit negative about band but gastric bypass after band saved my life

Make sure you are eating slow take small breaks in between picking your spoon/fork up again..i did the same thing in beginning and still felt hungry but when i spoke with my NUT and doctor thats what they told me and now i cant even finish my food bc i take my time to eat it and i get the full feeling..also u have to remember u just had the surgery so your new stomach has to adjust. Its just like a newborn baby stomach now where u will slowly introduce new things in phases.

Here are the regs for you http://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/details/ncd-details.aspx?NCDId=57&bc=AgAAgAAAAAAA&ncdver=3

Wow, I agree stop reading that BS. You already know what you need, listen to your inner voice. The only thing you get out of reading it is hurt and angry. You don't need that or the guilt. You have every right to do what you want and need. Please, stop reading it and when people point it out to you about her blogs, tell them you have moved on and you don't want to hear it. Block her emails etc. Still shaking my head, Move on and good luck, see you on the journey Colleen

I also had the band back in 2007. It was the most popular option at the time and gastric bypass still had some hiccups. As a registered nurse I do alot of research before making a decision and that included the decision to transition into gastric bypass. I am going to be 67 years old and have struggled with dieting and weight issue as long as I can remember. The band worked well until I had to have the fluid released in 2016 when I had my breast reduction surgery. I love the outcome from a double G to a D and able to go braless relived much pain in my neck and shoulders. When the fluid had to be put back in it wasn't so easy. It took 4 months before I was at the same point as before the surgery but had problems with it. in the four months, I gained 22 lbs. I never found that sweet spot and had a lot of reflux. Finally deciding to go back to my surgeon this past March and had some testing done. I was found to have esophageal dysmotility. It is an irregular movement of the esophagus when eating related to the band and to age. I had the band removed April 24th. It was decided I was a good candidate for gastric roux y bypass but my surgeon waits 4-5 months before converting. So I spent the summer thinking I had my last meal and gained close to 40 lbs. My own doing and only has added to the weight I already had to lose and regret thinking in the way. I had to go through the requirements all over again, Psychiatry, nutritionist, cardiology, upper gi series, endoscopy. But those months also gave me the time to really soul search about this surgery as a good choice. I did a lot of research online and listened to over 100 youtube videos from people who had the surgery. The good, the bad the ugly. Not having a lot of years left to my life I would like to not be overweight for the rest of it. I've made this choice because it virtually eliminates reflux, gives me the best chance to get this weight off. I have 100 lbs to lose. Hopefully then to not be borderline diabetic, get rid of my cholesterol medication and high blood pressure medication. Living a healthy life for the rest of my life. Thank you for reading my story. I'm sure I am not unique to many other strugglers out there and how our society treats us so differently when we are overweight. I experience every single day. Is affected my business and my personal life profounding. I'm just done with it. I'm fed up of swollen feet at the end of the day and struggling to complete the stairs in our home.