B-52

Thank You....sometimes this forum can be so depressing...even those encouraging each other sound like their stuck in quicksand or are terminally ill......when and IF they get to the finish line, they're going to collapse from sheer exhaustion.... I understand fully that there are new members everyday who are looking for the most fundamental information, and are confused....but it seems that is all there is here at times.....it should be the other way around...where newly banded people can read positive stories of success...but it seems their is only new members talking to other new members who are all struggling with the same things....before you know it they will start to believe what their struggling with, or their frustrations, and how hard it is to loose weight and make this thing work, etc, is normal and this is as good as it gets...that that's the way it is for WLS people....well, NO IT"S NOT!!!!

No one at my Bariatric Center ever mentioned "Bandster Hell" either....but when I came in in a bad mood and frusrated...the entire staff including the Dr. started laughing at me as though to say "We've got another one" I think it was the NUT, when I was saying how all those "Rules" were silly and I did not need surgery to follow them, she smiled and said "Just you wait...there will come a day when you will be glad you learned those rules...."

The question is NOT if a insurance policy will approve the surgery, it is will the Insurance policy cover the cost? What is the allowable? Dr.'s will choose what plans they want to participate in, or not, based upon covering their costs.... You may be able to get Bariatric coverage, but you may not care for the Dr.'s wiling to participate in it...sometimes you do get what you pay for....and we already learned keeping your old Dr. with this new plan is a lie.... Many Dr.'s are choosing to drop Medicare, another Federal program because of low reimbursements.....is this new law going to be more efficient than medicare?? If you know anything about the Medicare system, hold onto your hats !!!! It's going to get very interesting to say the least... My Wife is the Director of a large Rehab facility....they have been trying to get answers as to what the guidelines will be for services...they cannot get a straight answer!!! All they are being told is "Don't worry...it's covered" What's covered? How Long? Who Qualifies? They don't have the answers...it is as if they're making it up as they go along, just like the website... So her facility has no choice but to refuse to admit patients until they get some straight answers....less patients means more layoffs of staff, etc....

Be careful what you wish for....with increased restriction comes increased responsibility....I have seen too many freak out from the change and go the other way....then complain their band is not working.....

Yep! All part of the journey.....like the song says "You got to go through hell before you get to Heaven" Everyone's been there, you're not the only one...hang in there....right now all you can do is what you've done before the surgery....

It is the toughest time of all.....you expect better things only to be told you need to do the same things you have always done before you had the surgery....I was very frustrated, GAINED WEIGHT....was told I needed to keep food journals, count calories, measure/weigh portions...all fine I suppose, but did I need surgery to do that??? My first fill was even more discouraging....no difference....2nd fill things began to change, my hunger was under control between meals, etc, and I was able to eat less......3rd fill was thew charm. It all then fell into place, although it took me another 2-3 months to adapt and change my ways so I could be in balance with the band..... It has been heaven sent ever since...best thing I could have ever done...it was Hell the first 6 months, but now it is the easiest and most effortless way to be at a normal weight and regain my health, to say the least.... Hang in there, don't give up on the Band....after surgery this is the Adjustment phase..... My Dr. and I compared notes once, and he said imagine if he pug ALL the saline in my band ALL AT ONCE during surgery, then sent me home with a fully adjusted band...it would have been a disaster!!! You have to take it slow, one adjustment at a time getting used to to as you go along, learning new lessons, applying the "Rules" as they become relevant and needed, gaining courage to continue and not back down....and come out the other side a new person.....

I'm in the Green, and because of that I no longer measure food portions, or count calories....the band lets me eat just so much, and then that's it....unless I like the adverse results and probable pain, which I do not! Example: today for lunch, the Mrs. and I went to our favoritre Sports Bar....I began with a cup of Soup, finished less tha 1/2 Then for my entree I had some chicken wings (off the appetizer menu, no full meal for me)...they gave a serving of 12....I was only able to eat 4 of them, along with a little cole slaw....that's it...could not eat anything more, no matter how much I would have tried.... Brought the remaining 8 home, will continue with them come dinner, see how many I will be able to eat then...but probably about the same. It does not bother me, because I have not been hungry all day either...not just 4 hours or between meals. Now I do realize I did not get my daily veggies, etc in for today, so I will have a veggie juice later... I do know I got my daily Protein in though....most of that was before and after my morning workout....

I know the feeling.. I have not lost nor gained weight in 2 years now....but I continue to drop in clothing sizes... I feel it has everything to do with "Body/Muscle Toning" from working out.... Next time I buy slacks they will be an inch smaller in the waist.....that will be a 32" waist, as opposed to a 46" elastic pre-band.

As long as you're loosing weight and your hunger is under control, there is no reason for an adjustment..... Formy first few office visits, I would first get weighed, then my Dr would compare that with my weight from the previous visit and determine average weekly weight loss...if any....then he would ask a few basic questions, primarily about my hunger, cravings. He would also refer to the Yellow-Green-Red chart on the wall, ask me where I felt I was in reference.....THEN he would determine if I needed a fill or not, and how much (how aggressive) I had three fills on three consecutive visits one month apart.....have not had, nor needed a fill since.....that was almost 3 years ago.

For me and my experience, I do not have any real hunger/cravings 24 hours a day...but that's me, not everybody.......it also takes away my interest in food altogether most times, and I noticed early on my tastes for certain foods has changed significantly. Foods I used to love, and tasted good, simpoly do not appeal to me or taste that good........the band is there, properly adjusted, and tells my brain I am full, I have no need to eat, even though I may not have eaten anything for hours or all day..... Also, I have good portion control, and I am one that does not need to measure food....I also find it IMPOSSIBLE to over eat...and I have tried....only to get bad results.... But everyone experiences things differently....

LMAOOO. We are all ears, B52!! LoL. Problem is...I can't remember....I go by what other people tell me we did....too many "Lost Weekends"

There is a Long Time member here who goes by the screen name "lellow"...she is from down under.... Her success story is quite remarkable, and from her posts I can tell she is someone who truly undrstands how the band works, and how to listen to it...not just a lot of "Positive sayings", but practical living..... I always like reading her posts....

Are you saying you band is sore??? You can feel it ????? Without actually in the act of swallowing something ??? I have experienced pain if I swallow something a little too large, or too much at one time....(learned the hard way) I have experienced pain when my pouch stretches a little, again from over filling it too fast with too much....even gulping Water will stretch my pouch somewhat... But I have never felt anything while just sitting at rest.....if you are, then I would call your Dr. . ASAP.....pain is the body's way of signaling that something is not normal....and if you cannot identify what the cause is, then it is a cause to inform your Dr.

No No No No...I can't take it no more........I'm tired of waking up on the floor.... No thank you please, it only makes me sneeze...then it makes it hard to find the door.... "Ringo" BTW you young-ins...gather round and let me tell you about the 60's.....

Congratulations on making the best decision you can to change your life forever...NOW the fun starts....hang in there, don't get discouraged..... As far as the day after, I was perfectly happy to to become one with my lazy boy recliner with a comforter, in front of the flat screen, sip chicken broth and Water, and take my pain meds on a regular schedule (if I needed them or not) untill they were all gone....after 3 days of that I started to climb the walls and had to get up and get out....

3,500 calories is app. equal to 1 pound of body fat.....so, if you wanted to loose 1-1/2 ponds per week, that would equal 5, 250 calores burned per week, ABOVE what your intake is....5, 250 calories / 7 days = 750 calories per day....MORE than you consume.... If you're consuming 1000 calories per day, then you must burn 1750 calories per day... For me, I do not count calories, use any app's, etc...I used to and it drove me crazy....(and I wasn't loosing) My own personal take on it all is: I eat 1/2 of what I used to,(at least, sometimes less) and excercise twice as hard..... I also work out first thing in the morning..5:30am, on a empty stomach...(no food) I did read a article about this somewhere once about optimal fat burning.... Then end my workout with a high Protein recovery shake.... Also, it has been documented many places that the body stores fat as a energy source for the days when us hunter-gatherers have to face times of famine...so when I work out I think about my body going to that energy source stored away as fat.... I never fatiqed, and at the age of 62 would run 5 miles per day, then do weights and core....with plenty of energy to spare... The above is just my personal take on it all, but I will say it has worked very well for me, brning all my excess fat and putting me in a "Fit-Athletic" body fat % ranking.... Now that I have no body fat to use for energy before a workout, I have started to fatique faster...so now I will at least take a protein shot before a workout...but still no solid food.... Again, this is all my take on it, and how I have come to exercise and burn away body fat....quite successfully... Also, after loosing 100 + lbs, I hardley have any loose hanging skin....but I do other things that may have helped with that...

Congratulations......the first few months with the band can be very confusing, and in my case, very frustrating....a lot happens they just don't, and can't warn you about.....at one point I felt it was a big waste of time and $$..... For me it took a good 4-6 months for things to finally fall into place...both with the band adjustments, and probably most of all, Me adjusting to the band....a lot of hard lessons learned.... But once that balance was achieved, it became undoubtedly the absolute very best thing I could have ever done for myself....the band took care of all the things I was unable to do on my own with traditional dieting.....and I slowly and steadily lost weight until I reached the point where the body had no more excess weight to give up....in other words everything, my weight, my eating, my exercise, all returned to a new, good and normal(?) lifestyle.... So, you may get frustrated, and there are a lot of people on this forum who are frustrated making things confusing for some......BUT THIS BAND CAN, AND DOES WORK....... Me, and many others here can give witness to that truth based upon first hand experience... Again, Welcome and Congratulations on your decision.......

For reasons similar to yours, I no longer eat meat...it's been almost 3 years now...and ALL my Dr.'s (I was seeing as many as 6 at one point) are all thrilled with that fact....

I'm one of those that Pizza is on my "Do Not eat List"...does not go down very weel with myband, so it has been over 2-1/2 years.... HOWEVER I used to eat an entire Large Pizza all by myself...I have the t-shirts to prove it. So I don't miss it that much anymore.

You say you cannot swallow a Metformin Pill....you know that for sure? Some people can, ,some cannot....with your Dr's advice of course....

Agreed...and respecting others and their weight loss is paramount....reading enough of the posts on this forum it becomes very apparent there is no right or wrong...just what works for individuals and what does not..... As soon as someone says "THIS is the ONLY way the band works" , someone will come along and find the complete opposite to be true, for them....is one approach right and the other incorrect? Not nessecarily, at least no one here is in a position to make that judgement.....just able to share our own positives and negatives bad upon our own experiences.......

I have also told no one, except those immediately close to me.... When people ask me how did I do it, I simply say I do not eat nearly as much as I used to, I focus on high Protein foods, and shakes - smoothies, I have given up many types of foods that I will never eat again, I drink plenty of Water, exercise regularly - daily, ...and yes, I am under the care of a Dr. for my weight loss... All of which is 100% absolutely true...the secret is I could not have done any of those things without WLS, but I don't mention that. Th best part is, that now that I have finished all my weight loss for quite a while now, people have started to accept the new me and no longer ask me those questions...it's old news......and new people I meet never knew me when I was Obese.... It's even hard for me to remember what I once was....been there, done that, it's old news.......

The port is intended to to be anchored to your abdominal muscle, under the layers of fat and finally skin.....as you loose belly fat the port moves closer to the layers of skin..... I have lost all my belly fat, and that area is tight...so my port is pressed tight between the muscle and skin, my port is very exposed and can plainly be seen....

I don't feel anything......the port sticks like a 1/2 golf ball right under my skin, but I'm used to that....

Depends on the individual..... I took a week off from work....by the 3rd day after surgery I was getting cabin fever..had to get out and do something....went to the store, stopped by my Office, etc....but I do not think I could have put in a full 8 hours of work.....