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As you may have seen Someone posted that to me today.... Stop preaching. I really thought about it and decided that if my preaching about.... be good to the band and it will be good to you....helps one person out... Its worth having someone tell me to stop preaching. So I am not stopping. I will shout it from the rooftops... I love my band and my band loves me because I treat it with respect and dedication... If it chooses to fail me down the road it won't be from my doing...and I will just deal with it when the time comes. In the meantime the band and my effort gave me a thin healthy outlook on life and I plan on singing it's praises forever....

Okay I feel sure I am likely going to offend someone here, so if you are easily offended stop reading now! I don't often get on my "high horses" but I am today. I have heard people complain and moan and groan about surgery being a waste of money and time. Well my first questions is.... Did you follow you doctor's orders? Did you listen and follow what the nutritionist said? Did you go in to see the doctor and discuss issues? If the answer to any of those are no then you wasted your own money! I work hard to make a living and I am not going to give my money away for nothing. I am paying my surgeon and my nutritionist a prime rate and honey you better bet I am going to listen to their orders. If I feel like something they told me is unfounded then I am going to discuss it with them and see if we can come up with a plan- for example multivitamins make me sick. For some reason multivitamins make me very ill, for a first couple of months I took individual vitamins throuhgout the day to prevent getting sick. After that I ask my doctor to test my levels and everything was great. The doctor gave me clearence to stop taking most of the vitamins only if I had my levels checked monthly. I have and everything is fine. I still take B vitamins since those have always been low. I didn't just do my own thing and ignore his advice. We made a plan and I followed through. My opinion, again this is MY OPINION, if you are not going to follow doctors orders then don't spend the money and waste the time to have surgery. If you are not willing to commit totally to what it takes to be successful with WLS don't do it. It may be that you aren't ready right now, but in time you will be.

I have read so many times that people "Can eat more then they should" with their band. But let me tell you what is going to happen if you continue to eat more then you should. 1) Your pouch is going to dilate and cause problems 2) over eating and food backing up in to the esophagus is going to cause your esophagus to expand and make it slow down when pushing the food through the pouch. 3) Cause band erosion. Every single time you over eat, you are forcing your band into the stomach wall and causing pressure. This pressure will continue until it cause the band to wear in to your stomach. Once erosion happens you can say good bye to your band. Just because you can eat more then a cup of food does not mean you should. Eat what your supposed to and then if you are hungry a few hour later then eat again but do not over eat. All of these things can be avoided if you just do what you are supposed too. Stop over eating. There is no need to anymore. If you want your band then follow the rules if you don't then continue on your binging over eating ways and you will surely lose it.

I find it hard to believe that so many lap band patients do not follow their doctors instructions. You are given post op instructions of liquids and upgrading your diet slowly for a reason. You band is stitched to the stomach and eating before you are supposed to YES CAN BE HARMFUL. When you eat the stomach has to work and churn and move and if you are filling it with food before you are supposed to then you are not giving your surgery sites time to heal. Its not just about your incisions but about the band placement too. Why risk it because you are hungry? Why take matters in to your own hands and eat what you want when you want then down the road you will be the first person complaining the band failed me. Any doctor gives you instructions for your health. Do you not take your routine medications like they were prescribed? Would you not take insulin or high blood pressure medication just because you didnt feel like it? Heck no you wouldn't. So why take a chance with the band? A month out of your life is not going to kill you to be hungry. Just do what you are told to do then you won't have to be asking did I do something to hurt my band.

So no one on here knows but I own my business. Mostly I sell jewelry making supplies and run auctions on various platforms. I spend A LOT of time on Facebook and social media due to the way I have to run my job. I have become friends with a group of people who I really believe God or whatever higher power there is has brought into my life. Several of these wonderful ladies are on a similar journey as I am and we are all trying to lose weight in some way. Three of them will be doing the RNY either this year or next. They were there for me when my dad passed helping me to get home to see him before he went. That was in November. Today.. when my daughter came home from school she tripped over a package on the front step. When I opened it, there was gorgeous snow globe from Things Remembered. It plays "Pretty Woman" and says We love you Leslie.. From the girls and Alan. It says FABULOUS on the inside of the globe. I have never teared up so fast in my life. Well maybe when my kids were born. To have found such support with the best co workers in the whole world means so much to me. I wanted to post this blog because I know some people struggle with telling others they are having WLS. I got the same crazy advice and response from some well meaning mis informed people. But then I have these wonderful awesome people in my life who are there and encouraging. I will never hide the fact that I had WLS, because in the end, this is my life. In my life I will chose to be there for others going through the same thing. I will ignore the nay sayers and feel blessed in the fact that there are those people out there who understand and who are proud of me for having the courage to do what I needed to do. After all, the people who love you no matter what, those are the people you want to keep in your life. I hope everyone can find understanding from the people in their lives. If you cannot.. you have understanding from me. Good luck in your journeys.

hello all sorry for not posting lately im officially banded. im in pain but it will pass and im on a new path in life.

Ok, here I am a year and a half later!!! I have changed employers and landed a better job and found out that I may have a chance to undergo lapband! So we shall see! I have my nutritionist & psych eval Friday, had my physical and blood work done, EKG etc today! I already had my physician letters together from the last insurance process, so I am keeping my fingers crossed...if this doesn't happen, then it wasn't meant to be. I have been under a supervised weight loss program and I have been having success, albeit very slow and has extreme ups and downs. I am at peace with whatever decision is made...very hopeful to get all of this taken care of and live a normal, energetic and exciting life!!!

Like many others i am sure.... I get a lot of PMs from people at different stages of their journey asking how they can be as successful as I have been, what were my challenges, what do I eat etc....... And I answer each and every question. A handful of people, write back thanking me or expressing their concerns, frustrations etc....But I really am not sure why most of the others actually do not... I offer my opinions, answer their questions and give them the what worked for me speech... And then I never hear from them again. Not even a thanks for taking the time to answer me... I am not expecting life long pen pals and i I am greatful when Someone actually acknowledges my repy... But for someone to take the time to write, m to take the time to answer I am baffled as to why they don't acknowledge my answer. Just another thing to make you go hmmmmm