enterprise01

I'm 5 feet tall and started at 218 pounds. I lost 50 lbs in 5 months.

He did not put me on a pre-op diet at all. The only thing he told me to do was to eat lightly the day before surgery. And his post-op diet is far less strict than a lot of other doctors'.

rms - I'm in the same spot as you with a little too much restriction. Almost everything comes right back up. Wednesday I had 3 small bites of pasta salad before leaving work, thought everything was OK even though I had a little discomfort, and ended up pb'ing while driving home. Yuck. I haven't pb'd since then and I'm being very, very careful with what I eat (mostly soup and crackers). I'm sticking with this level of fill until I lose another 10 pounds. I'm guessing that if I lose another 10, then I'll also lose some restriction, too. If that's not the case, I'll go get an unfill at that point. I don't want to live in constant fear of eating and pb'ing, but I can tolerate this for another 2-3 weeks. And to think just last week I was worried about the possibility of never having enough restriction. Just goes to show what a difference .1 or .2 ccs can make. Sunshine - Please post the pictures. You're such an inspiration to all of us with your dedication and hard work. I really admire your ability to stick with the exercise. I'm sure you look better than you think, and if that's the case, don't you want all of us to tell you so?

Keep in mind that they've learned a lot about the band in the past 5 years and the surgical procedure for placing the band is now different than it was 5 years ago. I can't remember where I read it, but I did read an article that indicated that bands done 2 years ago or longer have more of a chance of slippage because they were not stitching them in place the same way they are doing today. Of course I'm not suggesting that we throw caution to the wind and ignore all the good advice of our doctors and fellow bandsters, but I'm simply not going to live in fear of slippage. And for every story of a bandster that constantly broke all the rules and ended up with a slipped band, you also have a bandster who followed all the rules and ended up with a slip, too. I'm just going to do the best I can and keep my fingers crossed that all continues to go well.

As you are healing, you will be more limited in positions simply because some will be uncomfortable for you. My BF and I still have trouble with the missionary position because his weight puts too much pressure on my port site, which is painful for me. Other aspects of intimacy will not be affected, though.

Good luck with that. I just can't eat like a bandster at a Mexican restaurant. I can't resist the chips and salsa and then I end up drinking a ton of water because the salsa is always too hot for me. I had egg drop soup for lunch today and a small piece of fried banana. The banana came back up. Since then, I've tried to finish rest of the banana, but it takes me about 45 minutes to eat one inch of it. I'm enjoying not having any hunger, but I want to be able to eat at least 1/2 a cup of food without problems. I'm going to keep this level of fill, though, because I know when I lose another 10 pounds, I'll lose restriction, too.

At least you feel good after you exercise. I feel like crap. Absolutely miserable with every part of my body hurting. And then the next morning, it's even worse. There have been times in my life when I've exercised regularly (5 X a week for a year or longer), and the aches and pains never go away. And it zaps my energy, too. I know people all say exercise will give you more energy, but I've never found that to be true. I have an underactive thyroid, which doesn't respond well to medication, and exercise just depletes what little energy I do have. And now you have me thinking about cupcakes, too.

I finally feel like a bandster. I had my 5th fill yesterday and am now at 3.8 ccs in a 4 cc band. And I FINALLY HAVE RESTRICTION!!!!! I've been at a plateau for a couple of weeks and have been binge eating at night. Thanks to this last fill, binging won't be possible. In fact, I've been working on my Nutrisystem lunch for an hour now and only have 1/4 of it down. I'm feeling hopeful again. I think this is the first time I've truly felt restriction. What a difference it makes.

lepez - I avoid Rants & Raves, too. People get very ugly on there. karik - Thanks for the reminder that there are physical causes as well as psychological ones that play a big part in sex drive. Although I'm very happy in my relationship, I don't get sex as often as I'd like. Most often it's because of conflicting schedules and fatigue. However, my BF's libido is not as robust as mine. We only have intercourse about once a month and oral once a week. I'd like more intercourse (twice a week would be good), but he has ED, which I'm positive is from the nicotine gum that he refuses to give up. He hates taking Viagra because of the side effects (headaches and congestion). As someone with severe allergies and sinus problems, I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for that. I live every minute of every day feeling like my head is filled with lead, so I don't think it's a big deal for him to suffer with that for an hour or so. But sex is just not as important to him as it is to me. For a long time that bothered me and made me feel unwanted, but then I started looking at our relationship as a whole and realized I focusing too much on one small aspect. He is always affectionate, sweet, and kind to me. My happiness and comfort are important to him. He is always there for me, whether I have a flat tire or the cat is sick or if I just need a hug. Still, I wish he'd get his testosterone level checked because I believe it's low, which can cause decreased libido. Of course that may be one of those "be careful what you wish for" kind of things. Despite our mismatched sex drives, we do have a lot of intimacy. He's a big time cuddler and talks to me about everything. I have to admit that as my weight increased, my sex drive decreased. I couldn't stand to look at myself and couldn't believe that my BF wasn't turned off by me. That's my issue, not his. In fact, he once told me that he didn't care how fat I got as long as he could still get his head between my legs. That's probably the best thing anyone has ever said to me.

Yes, it will help a little bit, but if your thighs are really bad, the lower body lift won't be enough.

Julie, thanks so much for the new pics. You look fantastic! My boobs need to be lifted (and possibly reduced), but I've been terrified of the scars and the potential loss of sensation. Seeing your pictures makes me feel much better. Your scars are barely there. In a few more months, they won't even be noticeable. You've given me the courage to go through with the surgery. I'm probably 6 months from goal, so I'm going to start saving now. Thanks so much for being brave enough to post the photos. You really do look great.

I agree with lisah25 about the Select Comfort bed. I bought one a few months ago and can't believe the difference in the quality of my sleep. My old interspring mattress, although expensive and a good name brand, was a torture device. I LOVE my Select Comfort. However, a friend of mine (she's skinny) bought a Select Comfort shortly after I did and she hates hers. She's sending it back and getting a Tempurpedic. Personally, I don't like the Tempurpedics. They are very hot and you get "stuck" in the bed. I couldn't turn over in it and had trouble getting out. My friend hates the Select Comfort because she need a firm bed when sleeping on her back and a soft bed when sleeping on her side, so when she changes positions in the night, she gets uncomfortable. I don't think she's going to be happy with any type of bed. Go with the Select Comfort. After all, the bionic woman would never lie to us.

I recently bought the Salter 926 Lithium Glass Scale: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FE5Q7S/105-8817603-7147664]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FE5Q7S/105-8817603-7147664[/ame] It's been very consistent. I bought 2 other scales before this one and returned both because they fluctuated so drastically. One was a Weight Watchers scale and it did not even get within a 100 pounds of my actual weight! One minute I was 326 lbs and next I was 25 lbs. Complete piece of crap. But I've been very happy the new Salter scale. In all honesty, I have not been on here as much because this site has been painfully slow since the ads appeared. It's too frustrating to use most days. It often takes 2-3 minutes to just go from one page to the next. And posting a message takes even longer.

Yes, I'm fortunate because I do have that kind of relationship. My BF and I have been together for 11 years and are still very much in love. We've had ups and downs like all other couple, but the good far outweighs the bad. By the way, we met when we were both in unhappy marriages. After having a taste of what it's really like to be in love, we decided to divorce our spouses. Best decision I ever made. Please don't tell me you are staying with your gay husband "for the children's sake." All you are doing is setting a bad example for them. They will grow up thinking that it's normal for husbands and wives to live like roommates. As a result, they will have numerous relationship problems themselves. It may take them a long time to figure out that the model you and your husband provided was an unhealthly one and it will take them even longer to figure out how to overcome that. Trust me because you sound just like my mom. She stayed in an unhappy marriage for 30 years for the sake of her children's financial security. I would have preferred my mom's happiness over financial security. Now as an adult, I live with the guilt of knowing that I'm essentially the cause of her years of suffering. And your children will experience the same thing. Your children need your unconditional love, some of your time, and a lot of your attention. They do not need to be the center of your universe and they do not need for you to be a martyr. Sooner or later they are going to figure out that your marriage is a sham and that their father is gay, and they are going to be angry at both of you for living a lie. So please don't tell me you are staying in the marriage for the sake of the children because I truly believe you are damaging them, just like my mom did to me.

This just breaks my heart. I'm sorry to tell you, but if your husband was gay before you married him, then he is gay now. He is not interested in sex with you because he is not interested in sex with any woman. I'm just astounded at the number of gay men who marry women in a feeble attempt to reject their homosexuality. It just doesn't work and the wife and the children are the ones who get hurt. This has obviously taken a huge toll on your self-esteem and probably greatly contributed to your weight gain. This is an emotionally abusive situation and you need to do something to get out of it. As long as you stay with your husband, you will never know what it's like to be truly and deeply in love with a man who feels the same way about you. Please don't deny yourself that. Life is too short to be miserable.

I would. I'm 5 feet tall and needed to lose 100 lbs before I got the lapband. That's a significant amount of weight when you're only 5 feet. I've lost about 50 so far, and I've gone from feeling hopeless and desperate to feeling normal again. I can walk up a flight of stairs without huffing and puffing; I can bend over and tie my shoes without getting red in the face; I can have sex with my BF in different positions now; I can wear nicer clothes to work and present myself in a more professional manner; and I no longer avoid social situations like I used to. Even if I don't lose any more weight, this surgery will have been worth it. I'm sorry you're having so many problems with your band, but you have to remember that not everyone does. I've only PB'd twice (my own fault both times) and I've never been too restricted. This band has been a godsend for me.

After having been fat for so long and enduring decades of tight fitting bras, my skin has become discolored (darker) where my bra rubs against me. Basically, if I take my bra off, you can see the outline of where my bra was by the discolored skin. The skin is darker where the band of the bra sits around my rib cage and where the straps go over my shoulders, both front and back. To a lesser degree, I also have slightly darker skin around my waist from the waistband of pants constantly rubbing for the past 10 years. Can this be treated with laser surgery or microdermabrasion? Anyone else have this? Any successful treatment for returning the skin to a normal color?

Yes, they are well balanced between protein, carbs, and fat. And they are exactly the right portion size for a bandster meal. The meals are all vacuum sealed or freeze-dried. You either microwave it or add boiling Water. It's very convenient, which is my primary reason for using Nutrisystem.

I eat Nutrisystem every day for lunch and for my afternoon snack. Some of the meals are really good and some are horrendous. You just have to try a wide variety to find the ones that you like. Since I'm a slave to my job, I do most of my eating at the office. If it weren't for the Nutrisystem meals, I'd be eating candy bars out of the vending machine every evening. Some Nutrisystem meals that are good are the pancakes, granola cereal (very yummy!), fettuccine alfredo, chicken pasta parmesan, whipped sweet potatoes with cheese, peanut butter cookie, double chocolate cookie, and the chocolate crunch bar. The great thing about their snacks is that they are all high in protein. I was on Jenny Craig about 10 years ago. Overall, I'd say that JC food is better than NS food, but it's not as convenient. Most of the JC food was frozen, so I couldn't keep it here at the office like I do the NS food.

I'm on my 5th fill and up to 3.5 ccs in a 4 cc band and barely have any restriction. I'm going back in another week for another fill. Let's hope 6 is my luck number. This does require a good deal more patience than I anticipated.

That's the ideal, but I don't think that will be possible for me until after I retire. I eat 3 of my 4 meals at the office, so the convenience of Nutrisystem works well for me. I work 16 hour days and only manage to get to the grocery store every 6 weeks or so. It's now after 1:00 a.m., and I'm still at the office. (Yes, I'm goofing off while I'm running a program on another computer.) Maybe one of these days my life won't be so pathetic, but in the interim, I thank god for pre-packaged meals like Nutrisystem. Otherwise, I'd be eating candy bars out of the vending machine.

Those are ignorant people who are telling you that. I've only thrown up once since being banded, and it was my own fault for not chewing well enough. I've had food get stuck on 2 other occasions. So all in all, I've had 3 bad days (not even days, just a 15 minute period each time). Before the band, every day was a bad day because I was obsessed with food and ate myself into oblivion almost every night. I'm much happier since getting the band. It's like being set free after 25 years in prison. Stop discussing the band with people who are uninformed. Just tell them you've researched it, decided to do it, and you're not interested in their opinion.

The portions are the perfect size for a bandster meal. I tried Nutrisystem before I got the band and gained weight on them. That's because the small portions were so unsatisfying that I'd eat my Nutrisystem meal, still be hungry, and then go eat another full meal. Since the band, a Nutrisystem meal fills me up. Some of the meat in a few of the meals is very dry, so you have to make sure you chew well. Also, some of the meals are horrendous -- truly horrible, horrible tasting crap. But some of them are very good, so much so that I actually crave a few of them. It takes time to sort the good from the bad, so if you go on Nutrisystem, be patient and keep trying different meals. Oh, another bonus is that the meals have added protein. You can easily get 40-50 grams of protein daily on the program.

I also have the omnipaque. It's use is standard operating procedure for many fill doctors. Saline is usually used first, as it was in my case, and if the saline evaporates or is absorbed by the band or whatever happens to it, then omnipaque is the next line of defense. My first fill was 1.5 ccs in a 4 cc band. Half of it disappeared within a few weeks, so when I went in for my 2nd fill, the doctor decided omnipaque should be used. I now have 3.5 ccs of omnipaque, and fortunately, it has stayed in the band. Saline disappearing or evaporating or getting absorbed is a common occurrence. You should NOT have your port, tubing, or band replaced without more conclusive diagnostic tests being done. Good luck.