sberrys

I know you don't want to be talked out of it but I was just wondering - do you know if your band has a fill in it? If it does, it could be that there is too much of a fill for you and that could be what is making you sick. Just throwing that out there. I don't blame your decision though, I wouldn't be able to stand being sick all the time either. I just hope you've considered everything that could have been causing all the trouble first because it is not normal for the band to effect people that way! I can only imagine how miserable you've felt.

The weight gain is probably just from the fluids they give you when you're in the hospital. I know I got at least 3 bags of fluid when I was in there a month ago. My pain was in the center of my chest/stomach area, a few inches below the bra line. I thought it was just gas pain and I had at least 5 episodes, probably more like 8, over several months with pain lasting 30 minutes at a time and suddenly stopping. The last episode I had was the worst because a stone had gotten stuck and I was in pain for 24 hours before I finally broke down and went to the ER. I'm a real trooper when it comes to pain but after being at a high pain level for long periods of time I start having trouble dealing with it mentally and have an emotional breakdown. lol So after having a short crying spell I picked myself up got dressed and went down to the hospital. lol I lost a few pounds after surgery because I had no appetite and could only eat very little amounts. I was out of work a week (desk job) and had to take it easy for a while. It wasn't that bad of an experience - better than if I kept having those episodes I was enduring!

How are YOU losing the Pre-Op Weight? How much do you have to lose? I have to lose 30 lbs. I've already lost 9 but have been struggling to get below 9 - it actually went back up 4lbs! I've decided to start having a protien shake in the morning, a 100 cal snack in the late afternoon, and my normal dinner staying away from fried/creamy foods. This seems to be easier for me than anything else so far. I've done it for a couple days now and the scale seems to be moving in the right direction again! I was doing weight watchers before but I can't seem to keep up with point tracking.

Anyone else with me on that?! :thumbup: Ignore my ticker but I'm trying to lose the 30 lbs my surgeon wants me to lose before I get the band and it's friggin hard and my scale lies! On the 5th it said I had lost about 9 lbs... 5 days later this morning it said I gained 5 back! :frown: What the heck?! :thumbup: I haven't been doing absolutely GREAT with the diet but I've been eating way less and way better than what I normally do and drinking Water and I had maintained the same weight for at least a year before this. I'm ready to slam that scale against the wall! Omg! I'm going on a partial liquid diet today, shakes and sensible dinner only. :seeya:

Nope, not for another 2 weeks.

Weekly check-in... Down another pound. Sort of surprised I lost this week at all because I haven't been doing as well tracking my foods. I have been cutting back still for sure and eating way lighter lunches so it does make sense. I will have to refocus on my points counting this week. Gotta get that 30 lbs off for the band!!!

That's so sweet. You should tell her that, but make sure you leave out the whole looking at other women thing and say you were just looking for some other reason at first. lol It will make her day if you say it right. lol

I love those extenders. They have saved me a bundle. lol :biggrin:

Wow that is seriously messed up. How are the kids supposed to make friends if they aren't allowed to talk anywhere in school? This is denying them the opportunity to learn social and conversational skills. I went to many different schools growing up as my family moved around a lot and the ONLY place I ever remember not being allowed to talk was in the classroom or when a grownup was addressing the group or during an assembly or something. This is not normal and sounds to me like some teachers or the principal at that school is/are extremely controling and has no patience for children. I don't understand why people who hate children go in to the teaching profession. And imagine if they can't talk anywhere at school what other kind of insane rules they have that you don't know about? I feel so bad for these children and just want to shake these teachers for coming up with ridiculous rules. :biggrin:

Checking in for the week. Lost 1.4 lbs this week. A good loss for the week but can't help wishing it was more.

I will definitely keep your family in my prayers. I don't have a lot of friends either and it's always helpful to have someone to talk to, even if it's not face to face. Lean on God and he'll get you through this difficult time. Before you know it you'll be chasing that little grand baby around. :wub:

I'm doing weight watchers. Good luck you guys.

Check out the nutrition forum on this site, it's got a lot of good information. food and Nutrition - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum Here's a sticky in that forum that may help you. LapBand Food Stages Lists Suggestions

Dont have a date yet. Should be hearing back from the insurance company in a week or two and going from there.

LOL love the photo! I think this is a great idea. Especially since I recently had gall bladder surgery and had some bad post-surgery depression. I'm already planning for things to brighten my day for after I get my band so I DON'T get so depressed after surgery again. (looking for funny movies, etc) Having something to cheer you up really makes life so much easier. :biggrin:

Hi all, I'm doing WW online too, at least to lose my pre-op weight (30 lbs) and I'll probably keep with it after surgery as well to keep myself on track. I've already lost 6 and a half lbs in 2 weeks (with a day or two of cheating because of visiting relatives) so I'm pretty happy. :biggrin: Just need to start getting some exercise in and I'm sure I'll drop the rest of the weight fast. Woo hoo! :ohmy:

I was wondering if anyone knew of good ways to try various different brands and flavors of protein shakes/powders/etc without going broke? I'm looking for samples, small sizes, etc but haven't found a lot yet. I want to make sure I have something I can stomach after I get banded without spending a fortune on stuff I'll throw away to find it first!

Congrats on your weight loss so far! You've worked hard and should be proud of yourself. I wish you luck with the remainder. I myself have 30 to lose and my husband has 25. We aren't officially scheduled for October but I'm thinking that will be about when it will happen. Good luck!

I've read in other threads that being dehydrated really makes the band seem tighter to some people. Maybe if you try upping your fluid intake that might help.

I have struggled with this feeling too but the way I see it is this... Regardless of how I manage to get the weight off (so I can be happy and healthy) a change in my diet is needed. I know that I do not have the willpower and strength to do this on my own. So the only other option is surgery. Failure doesn't matter. So what if I failed if failure means I am finally happy and healthy? I am ok with that! People are imperfect beings and we fail sometimes, so what! I'm more concerned with being healthy than being able to say I won the battle of the buldge the hard way! You know what? I happily admit defeat because it means this time next year I'll be half of me. :sad:

Well the doctor didnt say I had to go with a specific brand. In fact at the info session they said to try different ones and see what we liked.

Had my first visit with the surgeon today and he advised me and my husband to go with gastric bypass despite the fact that we had already decided to go with the band. He said we would lose more weight with bypass and that the lap band was like using a tiny hammer to hit a big problem, it doesn't make much of a difference. I had decided long ago never to get bypass because I've heard of so many people who got sick after bypass. I've looked at before and after photos and almost all of them just look sick to me. The doctor ultimately said it was my body and the decision was mine but he basically tried to convince me that most people do very well, most dont get sick, and the risks and complications are minimal. He also said that the proceedures doctors use have evolved and improved over even just over the last 5 years and it's much better now. Now I'm all confused, frustrated, and upset because I don't know what to do. I don't want to cut my insides all up and not be able to reverse it if I get sick. I know of people who have been on their death beds off and on since they had bypass, and some who have died. I haven't heard of a lot of this with the band and all the before/after photos people look healthier after. But insurance will pay for all but maybe $500 for bypass but it will not cover over $5000 for the band. When you put me and my husband together that's $10,000 spent on bands and we don't have that kind of money so we're talking a lot of debt. $10,000 versus $1,000... amazing what an extra zero will do. So confused. :sad: :confused:

I just want to thank you all for your advice. I decided to sleep on it and see how I felt in the next day. I don't really think that the doctor had ulterior motives, I have no reason to suspect it, but of course you never know. So far all the staff I have spoken with at the office were very nice, patient, and answered all the questions we had and the doctors there have done lots of both types of surgeries. I will ask why he recommeded the bypass for us but I believe it's because of our very high BMI - mine is 58 and my husband's is I think something like 45. I respect his opinion as a doctor and I didn't want him to "tell me what I wanted to hear", I just wasn't expecting what he said - I thought one surgery was just about as good as the next and it didn't make a difference weight-loss wise. So needless to say his recommendation really caught me off guard and made me question my decision. He did say that it was my body and my decision and he would give me which ever option I decided on. So I slept on it and I have thought about it and right now the way I'm feeling is that I just am not comfortable with the bypass, and if I don't feel a peace about it then it must not be for me. I am one to follow my gut instincts and I am rarely wrong. (Except for when my gut tells me to get the LARGE fries ) In the mean time I'm going to work on losing the 30 lbs he recommended and plan for having the REALIZE BAND put in. SO... hopefully I won't regret the decision down the road and won't find myself questioning myself again! Thanks everyone for your support. You guys are great! :thumbup:

Wow thanks for the great response! Good stuff! :w00t:

I'll be having my first meeting with the Realize Band surgeon on Thursday and the insurance coordinator said they'd send off my stuff for approval after my meeting with him. I'm excited and hope that things move along quickly! :w00t: Does anyone have any advice about what questions I should ask my surgeon?