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good luck!!! im sure ur gonna be a good girl,just try ur best...i was talking with my sister in law she is 235 pounds about eating non healthy food and just tell her it depends on me what put in my mouth and she reply yeah but its not the same eating one taco than eating five!!!i just realice thats true thats the reason i got this tool... u can do it just we have to be focus on what we want,i hope my english its good bc im speak more spanish

Losing weight with lap band is losing the weight yourself. It may not be the opinion of onlookers but it's the truth. There are people who have lap band who don't ever lose weight. There are also people who lose the weight and gain it all back. The lap band is no miracle. You get exactly what you put into it. Honestly, Lap Band is the smartest thing I ever did. When i was 10 years old, I would pray to God to help me stay strong and eat healthy and exercise the next day. I have done almost every diet known to man. I would lose 30 pounds max! My mom never fed me junk food either. It was about knowing when to stop. This is the first diet i have been on where I lost more than 30 pounds. i would recomend Lap Band to anyone who is fed up with diets not working and has the will power to eat healthy. The band is amazing! good luck!

Hey, Bandsters!It’s been a long winter for many of us, and spring is finally in the air! Take advantage of your new healthy lifestyle as you lose a little weight while celebrating the season. Burn a few calories by doing a little spring cleaning, and eat egg whites instead of chocolate eggs for Easter. If you can, hit the park or gym to shoot some hoops in honor of March Madness and the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Before you get going, though, take a few minutes to get motivated with this month’s newsletter. Here’s what you’ll find. Help Us Out and Win a Book! Bandster Poll: How Will You Celebrate March Madness? Member Spotlight: Get to Know Maddysgram! What Do You Do when You’re Not Losing Weight Fast? We hope you enjoy the newsletter and have a healthy, happy spring. Be sure to login to Alex Brecher Founder LapBandTalk.com Help Us Out and Get Yourself Published! You know we’re always busy around LapBandTalk.com. We already published The BIG Book on the Lap-Band: Everything You Need To Know To Lose Weight and Live Well with the Adjustable Gastric Band. The book has practical advice for anyone thinking about the lap-band or any weight loss surgery. It’s packed with information from the earliest stages of your weight loss journey through your lifelong diet. It’s available in print and ebook from food lists, meal plans, recipes, exercise and tips for preventing and dealing with complications. It’ll be a motivational book, too. The book can be better with your help! This month, we’re asking LapBandTalk.com members to send us your recipes to publish in the book. Please submit your recipe by sending a PM (private message) to chicken wings until I can’t eat anymore. Chicken is high in Protein, so what’s the problem? E. What are you talking about? I’m so busy eating right and working out that I don’t know what March Madness is. It better not interfere with my weight loss! We want to know how you’re going to celebrate March Madness! Answer the poll and explain your answer on the conversation on Breakfast each day, but she says she’s been doing pretty well. She’s also looking forward to her knee replacement surgery so she can walk without pain. She loves walking for miles at a time while discovering nature. Maddysgram happily admits that she replaced her food addiction with an addiction to BariatricPal.com! She’s made tons of friends and loves hanging out with her women friends in The Banded Bs! She says she learned more about pre-op and nutrition from the forums than from the hospital, and she continues to be active on the forums to help others. Maddysgram has some good advice for other banders. First, follow your doctor’s orders and stick to the lap-band diet. If it’s not working, get help from your surgeon and nutritionist. Another tip is to educate yourself on how the band works and take advantage of the forums for good advice. Finally, she says, remember that you can do it! Thanks, Maddysgram, for being in the Member Spotlight! Congratulations on your success so far and we’re thankful to have you on the boards! What Do You Do when You’re Not Losing Weight Fast? For many weight loss surgery patients, weight loss starts off so fast that motivation is no problem. Before surgery, you’re eager to follow your diet perfectly so that you qualify for surgery. Shortly after surgery, you’re motivated to stick to your diet because you are losing weight quickly, you want your surgery wounds to heal properly and the band makes overeating more difficult. Seeing the pounds come off is positive feedback to encourage you to keep working hard. But what happens a little later, when you’re not losing weight as fast? Where is the encouragement when you hit a plateau and have trouble losing weight; when you’re approaching your goal weight and are having trouble losing those last few pounds; or when you’re at goal and need to keep the pounds off? Since the numbers on the scale aren’t dropping as fast as they were before, you’ll need to find other ways to motivate yourself to stick to your new healthy lifestyle. These are a few ideas for keeping yourself motivated without focusing on the scale. Place your “before” and “after” pictures where you can see them frequently – on the fridge, on your desk or as your computer desktop picture. There’s no question that you don’t want to slip up and go back to your “before” self! On the fridge, post a list of reasons why you don’t want to ruin the hard work that you’ve already put in. You might list activities that you can do now but couldn’t do before get where you are now, feeling proud of yourself and having lower blood sugar. Pick out a dream outfit in your goal size and keep trying it on to see how well it fits. If you notice that you’re slipping back into your former habits, write a note to your former self. Explain that you’re a different person now, and describe the ways in which you are different. You might explain that now, you don’t have to eat because you’re bored or stressed. Now, you measure portions of healthy foods and stop eating when you’re full. Now, you’re proud of yourself and your ability to control your diet. Even if you’re not currently having trouble staying motivated, you might want to write a note to your future self. Remind yourself how hard you’re working and how you feel better each day that you stick to your diet and get active. Later, if your resolve ever wavers, you can read this note and remember that you don’t want to undo the effort that you’ve put in. How do you keep yourself motivated when your weight loss hits a plateau? For those of you who are already approaching goal weight or are at maintenance, how do you convince yourself to stay on track once your weight loss slows or stops? Let us know over in the forums and see if you can pick up a few tips from other LapBandTalk.com members! We hope this newsletter has been motivational for you. Thanks for reading it, and as always, please feel free to contact us! We’re looking for recipes, and we’re also happy to get member feedback! Take care of yourself and each other. Sincerely, Alex ============================================================== If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: {unsubscribe}

My surgeon told me I can use any BC. I am on the pill. So far so good.

My fill Dr is two hours away and I really need to get an unfill. I know that bc I am dehydrated and having acid reflux. I need to find time to get down their but it is so hard with my job, kids (single mom) and the Holidays. Anyone else out there ever suffer from band related dehydration and/or acid reflux? No fun!

*confession* I am always looking at your comments and posts...cause when I am reading your words of encouragement and positive outlook I feel like it's not a whole bunch of candy coated BS...and I like that.

So I was watching all of the wedding shows on TLC today (don't ask me why, I have been married for almost 20 years and am not planning a wedding for anyone else, but I still like them). While watching, I suddenly got this crazy craving for white wedding cake with raspberry filling. I never even liked sweets before VSG, so I do not know why I was thinking about it. I could have gone to the store and bought a piece and just had a couple of bites, but even then, who would I be "cheating"--myself, that's who. So instead, I decided to try a "goal" (very early progress goal, not final goal) bathing suit that I bought. It's a Miracle Suit (halter, really cute) and 6 (women's plus) sizes smaller than the suits I usually wear to work out. I never thought it would fit in a million years, especially because Miracle Suits usually run a size (2 women's sizes) smaller, but it did! I don't look great of course, but I look like a healthier version of ME. Plus the suit has underwire, which is so much nicer than the soft cups--which I know other ladies who wear a bigger cup size can relate to. I couldn't find the underwire in bigger-sized suits (which makes no sense, but I digress). So now I am so happy, I am not only not going to tempt myself with anything that isn't on plan, I am going to go work out in my new bathing suit! I already have it on, after all. Also, I saw a friend that I haven't seen since before VSG, and she asked if I had lost some weight. I said "a little" (probably 35 pounds pre- and post-op since I've seen her), and she said, "No, a LOT!" It was my first compliment! I think people may start noticing more bc I am starting to wear "mini goal" clothes that I had bought a while ago (also like having a new wardrobe without spending $$). Our weight loss is definitely more obvious in more fitted clothes.

Christine! I am sorry you feel alone in this journey. I do understand that there are somethings that only bandsters can understand. Have you read any of the bandster blogs out there? I started blogging right before my surgery date on 1/27/09 and have "met" wonderful ladies. For real, I have learned so much from them and you really feel like you have a circle of people that understand you. If you click on my blog link in my signature it will take you to my blog. Once you get there, you can click on the blog "followers" and find more bandsters with their own blogs. Just an idea. As for how much of a fill you should get..I got 4.5ccs my first fill. I have a 10ish cc band. I didnt feel anything and went in 2 weeks later (bc I called and asked for one) and got another cc...still didnt feel anything and called again and went in a week later for .5ccs and finally felt a difference. it would be hard to recommend what you should get bc we are all so different. Just talk to your doc and tell him what you are feeling and what you can and can't eat. Good luck!

Tuesday afternoon I went to the Bariatric Center for my second of three follow-ups with the team. The first month, I lost 5.6 lbs. I knew I didn't do as well this time, but I expected to see some loss, maybe a couple of pounds, based on my at-home weighing. Their scale says I stayed exactly the same. I was fine with that for about 2 minutes, thinking my first month was really good and I'll work harder next month, but every one of the team members (nurse, nutritionist, exercise physiologist, behavior counselor) was concerned and let me know about it during my 15 minutes with them. They all told me there's a chance the insurance won't approve me for surgery if I don't lose 14 lbs (5% of my weight). Threw me totally into depression. I couldn't get out of bed yesterday to go to work. So now I have to lose 8.4 lbs by 9/23, my next scheduled visit. I realize that I did exactly what I usually do when I go on a "diet". I was gungho for about a month, then start slacking off on my weighing and measuring (like, not doing it at all) after my first good weighin. Yes, I am pleased that I didn't gain any back... that says a lot to me that I am working a bit. I'm just so scared now that I won't be able to lose that much and they won't approve me. I can't stand feeling this way. Like many of you, I've been very successful in just about every aspect of my life... except losing weight. I really need this surgery. I feel like I'm going to be a miserable, cranky b!tch for the next month as I struggle with this. I'm normally sunny and optimistic... this is making me a monster, and I don't like it. I wish I could just be put to sleep for a month and fed intravenously. Wake me up when I'm sleeved, please. Sorry for the pity party. I'll be better now that I've dumped all of that out of my brain. I couldn't even look at the forums yesterday I was so down. Friday I have my appt with the gastroenterologist, and he'll schedule me for my endoscopy and colonoscopy, which are the last pre-op requirements I need to fulfill (other than the weight loss). I am garnering the strength to break this chain and finally succeed at taking care of myself.

Hi everyone!!! I am doing completely fine right now. Just trying to get some rest. I am very thirsty right now. After the operation, I was on a lot of discomfort with gas pains and nausea. I threw up flemmy blood. Luckily they gave me something for my nausea that knocked me out. I felt like I was able to walk right after my sleep. I did end up walking 1/4 of a mile in the unit!!! I was scared, but once I was in the hospital, everyone was so kind that you kind of forget about it Bc I asked how many sleeves they have done today. Thanks for all the prays my friends. I truly needed it. FYI, it is a very long process. I was in the pre op stage waiting in my bed at 12:50pm, then I finally got my room at 9:30pm!!!!! My poor parents. Any questions, please just let me know ☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️

I have PCOS and was banded March 9 (2012). In order to get pregnant, I was on 2000mg of Metformin and would only get my cycle with medical intervention. However, the past two years, I would go several months without a period and then one day (with no warning) I would have a period for months. And when I would get the period for months it was so heavy, I would become anemic. (aka using up a heavy duty overnight pad every 10 minutes). I am currently on jolvinette b/c they gave me a high dose of BC to stop the bleeding and it caused blood clots in my legs and phlebitis as well.

I wanted to go through your list of symptoms to share what I have experienced, and see if anyone has anything else to add. infrequent menstrual periods, no menstrual periods, and/or irregular bleeding - check. I've gone ten months without a cycle. my dr has said that isn't good, and wants me to either take a ten day dose of hormones in order to cycle and shed the uterine lining, or to get on birth control pills, so I am shedding uterine lining. funny, I went to see her a few months before my surgery - she was very supportive, told me she thought it would greatly improve my fertility and chances of getting pregnant when I try - aiming for two years down the line. She did want me to cycle before the surgery, and prescribed ten days of progesterin. (sp?) Day I pick up the prescription? I start my period. Now I am having my period again, a month later. This hasn't happened to me without BCP for...ever? I have opted out of taking BCP because I want to observe how my body reacts to the surgery and weight loss. Will have to be super careful to use bc, though, as I want to get the full benefit of the surgery and initial weight loss, so want to give myself two years to loose and stabilize a bit. infertility or inability to get pregnant because of not ovulating - well right now, I'm not trying, but I am pretty sure I am not ovulating. Hopeful, though! increased growth of hair on the face, chest, stomach, back, thumbs, or toes - OH YEAH - I've done laser on my lip, chin, and neck. Still need more, but it is much much much better. Have hairs between my breasts and around my nipples that I tweeze - I know other friends that have the same and don't have PCOS, so that could just be a getting a little older thing. acne, oily skin, or dandruff - I have terrible dandruff, and if I dont' use dandruff shampoo regularly, am in deep trouble. I also have dry skin/eczema around my nose, my eyebrows, and behind my ears. Also on my scalp-line. I didn't know this was a PCOS symptom, so there is something else to look forward to resolving., pelvic pain - nope. weight gain or obesity, usually carrying extra weight around the waist. yeah. 280 right now. apple shaped, although my bones are hour glass. type 2 diabetes - not yet, but I am sure I would get there. high cholesterol - overall number is not high, but bad/good cholesterol ration is not good. high blood pressure - nope male-pattern baldness or thinning hair - the front of my hair is not as thick as as it used to be...not BAD, but it is really sad as it used to be gorgeous! patches of thickened and dark brown or black skin on the neck, arms, breasts, or thighs - yeah - I thought this was Tinea Versicolor Any insight? skin tags, or tiny excess flaps of skin in the armpits or neck area - yep. had some cut off by the derm. have more tags, but don't want to pay...:w00t: sleep apnea―excessive snoring and breathing stops at times while asleep yeah. worries my bf. I am curious how other people experience these symptoms.

So its been months since iv been on here, i guess i have been avoiding banders and well my band. I was banded 12/22/2009 i lost 35 lb then stopped getting fills i slowly started gaining my weight back and got fed up with the band about 3 weeks ago i got all the fluid released now im alomst back to where i was when i got banded. im going in for a fill on the 9th and ima try this again. Any words of encouragment or your stories would really help. =)

Teeta, it really is true that the answer to this question relies totally on the insurance plan you have. Is it a PPO or an HMO/POS? Do you have an in-network doctor? Do you have a hospital copay? Are you going to an in-network hospital? There is no way anyone can answer your question without knowing the precise details of your policy. I can tell you that in MY case, with an HMO plan, I paid the office-visit co-pay for each visit to a doctor's office (surgeon, PCP, and dietician), and had to pay in full for the psych evaluation because there were none in my network. That came to about $275. Then for the surgery itself I was charged only an office-visit copay, because I was operated on as an outpatient and didn't have to stay the night in the hospital. If I had stayed overnight, my charge would have been $250. But NONE of this pertains to you. What kind of plan do you have? If you call the membership services number on your insurance card they can clarify your plan and the way it works. If they say anything that is confusing, ask again. It's their job to help you understand exactly what your responsibilities are. As for whether BC/BS covers the band, the answer to that is again, it depends. BC/BS is not one company, it differs from state to state. I know that Horizon BCBS in New Jersey does cover the band, and Empire BCBS in New York is coming around. Where are you? Good luck!

miss and sand and band gave some great advice...i suggest you listen to do it.. you dont need to spend one cent to exercise..........WALK walk far, go up and down inclines...trust me, its a work out and by not seeing your dr, you know you are only hurting/hindering yourself...the dr knows what you look like and weighed, so they know you have a weight problem....get rid of the woe is me and i am embarrassed bs......go see the dr, let them make sure your band is working as it should and start back eating your allotted amounts, better option foods (you know what you eat and what makes us gain weight, we all do)..you say you are stuck...i dont believe that.....you have a great tool to help you eat less.....they gave you how to use it guidance...i bet if you start doing what you were, i will happen again..to lose weight, you must eat less calories than you burn off...only you know if you do that or not...and i reckon you do because of the 60+ pounds you loss already......GREAT job see, you CAN do this

This is my first blog...on any wesbite...so please bare with me.lol I went to a seminar on Monday 3/5/12 and now I want this surgery more than ever.Ive been overweight my entire life and have tried many things.Im ready to work on my body image more than every because I finally finished school and I've landed a good job with great benefits.Now that I have that stress out of my life Im ready to tackle this weight.I know this will be a longggggg process to get everything together but Im ready to make this change. However, I feel like I have a few roadblocks preventing my from laying on that surgery table in a few months. 1.My bmi -My bmi fluctuates between 39-41 every few weeks.I dont have high bp or diabetes. I used to have asthma when I was younger but I haven't had an inhaler in years. My bf thinks I have sleep apnea because of my sleep pattern. I'm afraid if they do do a sleep test and it proves that I don't have it it will lessen my chance of being approved.I don't want to be forced to gain more weight just so I can stay over that 40bmi mark to have no comorbidites as a necessity to be approved. 2.History of weightloss -Ive been a member of the gym for the past 2 years and its easy to verify that(automatic checking deductions). But how can I prove that I been trying other things bc its been so long ago. I cant find reciepts of when I brought slimquick and all those other diets a year and so ago. Do I show him pictures? Do I bring in empty bottles of stuff that Ive taken in the last 6 mos?? How do I know that I have enough proof?? 3.Primary Care physcian -Ive had abt 4 different pcps over the last few years bc it was only recently that I finished school and was able to start working fulltime again and have benefits. I have a brand new pcp that I just made an appt with. Will the barriatric dr not approve me bc I havent been consistant with a pcp bc of my lapse in insurance? I get so upset thinking about all the what-ifs that comes along with this process. My 1st consult isnt until the 29th which seems forever away so Im left with all these thoughts about being rejected. Its so hard to stay positive because I really feel like this is my last chance and if I get denied I dont know what to do. *sighs*

Don't worry about it! U owe no one anything! I told my parents they fixed my tummy an hernia bc I couldn't metabolize. .period..end of story. Now I can loose weight! If I was u I would just leave it alone. ..if it gets out it gets out. I'm just saying it was best for my situation!

I would do it again in a heartbeat (even though I had a complication and had to have revision surgery). The band helps you stay on track, which is different when you are just on a diet, you can revert back to your old ways, but the band keeps you in check. Also, 1-2 is the norm they communicate, but everyone is different. I know one guy who lost an average of 20lbs a month. I have been averaging about 12 lbs a month (3lbs a week) and that was with a month of not losing bc of complications!

BC pills made me crazy. I was moody bitchy, weepy, whiny, migraine mess. Check with your dr, the anti depressants maybe working against your BC pills.

So, I was told by both my endocrinologist & my surgeon Dr to stop my diabetes meds. I was on metformin 2x 1000mg, glimeperide 2x 4mg and 72 units of lantus at night. I'm 16 days out and my bs is over 200 fasting and after meals. I've gone back to taking metformin & glimeperide till I hear from my Dr. I am eating real food now, but it was high even on just liquids. I'm eating about 1/2 cup of food x4 a day. Has anyone else experienced this? Thank you!

yes, stay busy, drink alot and keep occupied...the commercials, the radio, the times to eat are hard to deal with at times..i found out on my pre op that most of my eating came because i was bored and not truly hunger..there is a totally huge difference between being hungry and our bodies needing to be fed and us (just thinking we are hungry)........if you think you are hungry, drink something (cold) and see if that solves the issue......it does w/me... but i eat when i am hungry.. best of luck to you.

Thank you all so much for the positive words really the bs I get sucks my " friends" will joke saying well you don't have to worry your getting surgery and I tell them ok my life is going to change it's not going to be easy I know it but really I'm ready to overcome the weight and finally moving on with my life

I too had to go on a supervised 6 month diet per BC/BS but didn't lose any weight and I got approved. I did have the comorbidities with a BMI of 40, plus I was over 65 years of age, which I had to find a surgeon who would do the surgery. This all took place starting last Sept. with the surgery on 3/17/10. I think with some insurance companies the operative word is "supervised diet" and since we associate "diet" with weight loss we think we have to lose weight. They also required my primary doctor supervise the diet, which he did, but he was wanting me to get this surgery because of the comorbidities so he just noted my medical file that he seen me for weight loss and discussed diet. Did he actually care if I lost weight during this period, no. All this information was turned over to the insurance company and got the approval within three weeks. Just an FYI for you.

@@NewLife1985 - actually they did measure me and so did the NUT. My NUT was the one who told me I was just under 5'8" (shoeless). Measure yourself - it cant hurt. Point is, they may have you recorded at the wrong height I was over the BCBS fed BMI req plus I had two comorbidities.

Maybe I'm not understanding fully. If your official first visit was 12/19/18 then you need 90 (3 months) consecutive days. The days will not add up to 90 by 2/12/18 unfortunately. Even if you had 3 visits one in Dec, Jan, Feb, you do not have 90 days yet so that's an easy explanation as to why insurance cannot approve your surgery at this time. And that really stinks. It's understandable that your deeply disappointed bc they gave you date of 2/12 and now you hear otherwise. I have BC/BS and had 3 months visits as well. Because of a problem with one of the doctors' offices, my 3 months turned to 4. Then I was approved and had a date by the 5th month. I think it's probably rare that a surgery is done to the day of the 3-month mark bc you have to have 90 days first and all clearances then paperwork is submitted and there's a wait for approval. Hang in there. You'll get through this.