Lapband Advice and Encouragement

[wadeb 0]

Hello,

My name is Wade Beasley and I had me LapBand surgery back on 11/17/03. I started out at 377lbs before surgery and I lost 60 lbs in the first 4 months. I was close to being down 67 lbs back during the summer but I am back up to 326 lbs now. I am very depressed. I know it is bad habits like Ice Cream. I do not want to be a failure but I do alot of emotional eating. When I focus I do okay but I lose focus quickly. :angry

Has anyone else had this problem? I had me band loosened before the holidays because a dietician said I might have been too tight. I am suppose to see the doctor again on 2/1 which I am sure I need to be filled again. I am currently at 2.0ccs and I was at 2.5 ccs.

It seemed so easy back during the start but it is much harder now. Again, I do not want to be a failure. The other thing is I have not been working out. Sorry to dump but just needing some advise.

Thanks,

Wade Beasley

Shelbyville, KY

Dr. Cacchione - Louisville

11/17/2003

[leatha_g 4]

Sorry to hear you're having a tough time, Wade. I have been sitting on 67 lbs lost for months now, myself. I think it's easy to get in a rut and lose focus. And darnit, you just get tired of having pay attention to what you put in your mouth. That just doesn't seem fair to me. Not when I see skinny folks who can eat Snickers for Breakfast, lunch and dinner. But, well, no one ever said life is fair, did they?

The cool thing is that with the lapband you can wake up to a new day and start over. Maybe if you just change ONE thing. Promise yourself you will walk 15 minutes for a week. Move up to 30 minutes the next, you know? Sort of just ease your way back into regular exercise. Maybe not even everyday? Try every other day? It's do-able. This, from me, the girl who's had clots in her legs and her lungs. It IS do-able.

So, you get the exercise thing back under control. Start paying attention to your Water intake. We need at least 64oz of water a day. Did you know that if you keep an 8oz cup by the sink or fridge and you drink a cup EVERY time you walk by you'll probably get that much in without even having to do anything extra?

Does you doc do flouro when you get a fill? To me, after this length of time. I'd say it would be a good idea just routinely look at your band. Make sure there is no pouch dilation so that any fill he might give actually doesn't do more harm than good. Sometimes, if there is pouch dilation due to overstuffing the pouch (anything more than 4oz, consistently) and you get a tight fill on top of that it can cause complications. Just a word from someone who has been there. :cool:

I have to think of my band like this. There are so many people, both on this board and so many others who are out there begging to get themselves a band. They are begging insurance companies, or their spouses or their parents or their loan companies to help them get a band so that they might have some chance at a better quality of life. Those of us who have been lucky enough to go before them are so so lucky. We have been given that opportunity already. We don't have to do alot really. We just have to meet our bands halfway, making good food choices (MOST of the time), doing a bit of exercise on a consistent basis and drinking water, water, water. For that, we get to breathe better, we get to sit in airplane seats with no extenders, we get to cross our legs, we get to squat when we need to, we get to ride bikes when we couldn't before, we get to DANCE, we get to smile when we used to just feel bad, we get to LIVE when others are still fighting for their lives. You've been given a chance, Wade. :cool: Take it...

[New Hope 37]

Wade, what do you think your weight would be at if you hadn't got your band? You've done a great job and will get back on track.

Leatha, great post! I needed that pep talk as much as Wade did!

[Iluvharleys 15]

Leatha - You need to put a new title with this one and post it as a sticky. What a great reply. I needed that speech too!

[New Hope 37]

It is stuck.

[HarleyNana 10]

Leatha that was a very caring reply and well put.

[leatha_g 4]

Leatha - You need to put a new title with this one and post it as a sticky. What a great reply. I needed that speech too!

Thank you Betty, but I would say if there is anyone who IS taking it, it would be you! You're doing a fantastic job and right in the beginning where it really counts! Maybe I should just bring those clothes in my trunk on over to your house, now that I think about it.

[Iluvharleys 15]

Awww, thanks Leatha! I am definately trying!

I didn't even look at the clothes you brought, so many of the gals was closer to the sizes you brought. I can't believe you still have them! lol Hey you can drop them off if you want, sooner or later I will probably be in them, at least I hope so. Right now, I am wearing a sweater Becky sent to me. I cleaned out my closet and it is pretty empty! lol

I always love reading your posts with all the good advice you give. I have learned so much from you. I appreciate all the time you give to this board in order to help us all. You deserve an award!

[leatha_g 4]

Thanks Betty, but the real reward is that in most everything I write I am really talking to myself as much as anyone. I don't know where I would be without just the ability to process some of these things verbally. My weight loss is slow and goodness knows I am no perfect bandster - not even sure I'd want to be one, but I have been around long enough to learn the basics. Karen in Las Vegas referred to it as 'paying it forward'. AA/AlAnon refers to it as 12 Stepping, either way it's giving something back.

Now, what I REALLY need is a LIFE.. lol

[DeLarla 22]

Wade, I'm right there with you. I got a last chance with my band (just had my 3rd Band Surgery and will have to get it removed one day) yet I'm still eating junk food all night. It's like my body refuses to get below 240 - my mind won't let it.

I'll be happy to log into the Chatroom at night if you want to talk... maybe we can keep each other from eating at night.

[3labsrus 0]

Wade,

Hang in there! You have lost weight and that alone is a benefit to your health. I'm new to the band and fear that I will be in a similar situation in the not so near future, but all I can tell you is that I want to be healthy. I wish you the best and hope that you are able to find your way back to making choices that will be better for you.

[Jammin & Losin 1]

Leatha Thank you for giving such a heart felt post. My band is on its way, but reading this will help me appreciate getting it even more.

[Guest jenpedigo]

I am in the same boat as you are . I was banded in Aug 2004 and lost 80lbs. I have since put back on 25lbs I am so depressed myself and cant seem to get motivated back to doing what i needed to do when i was exercising and eating right. Maybe we can lean on each other for support. Dont give up I havent yet

Jennifer

[wadeb 0]

Thanks everyone. I go to see a counselor, dietitician and the doctor on tuesday 02.01.2005. Maybe they can help get on track. I also have a job interview on Monday night. I am hoping to change what I do so that I am not stuck in a chair all day. I think that would help a lot.

I will let everyone know what they say after Tuesday.

Wade

Wade

[paula 4]

I always love reading your posts with all the good advice you give. I have learned so much from you. I appreciate all the time you give to this board in order to help us all. You deserve an award!

Betty, this is exactly why I call this woman my 'band mom' - she is AWESOME!!!!

I remembered reading about her getting up in the middle of the night and drank warm Water with a little lemon juice to help a slight moment of restricion. SO, with that etched in my memory - the other day I was having a little trouble with something sticky, so I tried the water/lemon juice thing, and it worked!!!

Who in the world wouldve thought to try that? Thanks AGAIN Mom!

Sorry to get off the original topic Wade!