Success in lapband

Ready to lose: I hope this "theory" is helpful. I had an indepth conversation with my dr. and feeling full etc. today. You may not be swollen anymore thus allowing liquid to funnel directly through your pouch and stoma into your lower stomach. This would be a logical answer to exactly what is going on. Which would coincide to exactly what my dr. was explaining to me today on how patients could drink high calorie drinks, never feel full (because they funnel through) and gain weight on the band I hope this settles you down. I after reading your post think this above explaination is logical.

One more thing.... The chicken stock at night makes all the difference to me. Without that I would be grouchy! I am encouraging my husband to eat lean cuisines for dinner with an extra serving of vegtables telling him IF he ate something I really wanted I don't think I could do it. Soooooooo, maybe he might drop some weight too ~he could lose 100 pounds too but is not interested in the band. My daughter is totally complaining about me NOT cooking dinner, she is fit and thin, maybe she will learn to cook for herself. ))))

Red::: Woohoo Monday!!!! Renown.... The nurse (I think I told you already) is a bariatric patient herself and she is sooooooo incredible. Take all your questions to your appointment tomarrow with dr. The pre op appoint is just a last minute question and answer period one on one with your doctor. You will get weighed! This is sooooo cool!

Okay so this is going to let you in on what a big WUS I am. I went to see Dr. Kozar today, (he is such an awesome guy!~and handles my concerns perfectly and spends as much time with me as I want) Anyhow, he was late for my appt cause he was stuck on th 395 fwy accident, and he was chewing out a banding patient that he just banded because he KNEW once he poked the first prog in her abdomin that she cheated like hell on her diet, thus putting her surgery at a higher risk than what he likes. Then the gastric bypass patient before me had gained weight because she was eating chips and pizza and drinking soda's etc. It was interesting to let him digress and vent his frustrations on how people can do this to themselves after he gives them the magic tool that is so easy to help us lose weight. "I am telling you this conversation lasted 5+ minutes" on how this lapband is easy and it is an incredible gift and he has all the confidence in the world that his patients should lose 100% of their excess weight. His office has the ability to make us not hungry and we only have to make sure we put quality food in our mouth and when we are hungry, his office will do a fill (simply put). I told him I typically throw up when I get nervous or upset and he gave me a prescription to calm my nerves which I can take 24 hours before and the night before. I am such a control freak I asked him who would be assisting in surgery because I now understand there is a surgeon and then typically another dr. from our same office! Woohoo we all are getting a double expert doing our bands. I also asked if I could go to Disneyland 16 days post op and he said YES! without any concern! Let me tell you what a pick me up talk. And he had no idea until we were almost done with our appointment that just 24 hrs earlier I was so down. I told him I wanted to be his poster lapband girl and he told me he EXPECTED me to be that successful, I love his confidence!!!

Do you realize ONLY 34 more pounds to go?? That is so fantastic. That is soooo cool. Congratulations!! Yooohooooo!

Chris, I have 2 kids both adopted: The first one is 22 years old tall and skinny (always a struggle to maintain his weight) I continuously was buying him weight gainer as he grew up, his biological parents are both overweight. The second one is 15 1/2 years old and she is 5'2, both of her biological parents were skinny (size 1) and meth addictics (so that is why they may have been skinny) she was "chubby" until the sixth grade and I really stepped up my daily/weekly talks about health and living longer etc. always talking the talk "dont be like me" see all the weight related issues I have etc. The summer of 6th grade I bought her the dance revolution thing for tv and she loved it and got better at it and lost her chubbiness. She did not realize I was buying it for a purpose (her to lose weight). She is now in 10th grade weights 115-120 right now and that is a okay weight for her. She just told me last night that she remembers getting teased and it hurt her feelings so bad and that she (looking back) wished I would have made her lose weight at an earlier age. She is very very very supportive to me and keeps telling me how proud she is of me and how she wants me to live a long life to be her kids favorite active grandparent. So I guess what I am saying is keep up the good talks with your son, in the long run he will be appreciative.

wanna be thin and travel girl It will get easier every day! Hang in there, it will all be worth it! I also remember reading somewhere that when you are banded you want to drink teppid water not real cold initially.

I am much better today, I think the impact of an emotional girl and them changing my date and me being hungry was just a bad combination. I wish I was more emotionally flexible, but I will work on that after I am skinny. Pam Chris... Is your son overweight?

Audrey, YOU are a major anchor here, don't stop posting your successes because I talk about you to my friends and family all the time.

I am feeling so much better right now, can we just do a group hug? I am positive that if I will not "starving" I will be one of the ones that make that stastic of goal weight.

Audrey and Sunny, Thank you for persuing my concerns, I was at such a low today after the Nurse practioner did her speech. I just started typing and having a melt down, then after posting I read that Audrey was having a bad day with PMS and I felt so selfish. So what I should have done is read read read and reviewed everything everybody writes about and remind myself of all these real life successes I read about and review the 100# club and the pictures of all the success stories. I also can hopefully believe that I am afraid to fail (again) and I am on the 2nd day of pre op shakes and am letting food control my emotions. The reason I want the lapband is to feel full and after I read back to babygotback postings and lots other (which I should have read prior to posting) I would have read that she is not been hungry and also has not had a fill yet. And as I have read other posts after the sweet spot is hit, people actually forget to eat all the time. I guess I did not realize how much of an emotional wreck I am when I am hungry. I swear typically I am a pretty put together person! Thank you! I feel like hugging you guys! It was HUGE what you did for me! If you ever get down, call on me! I will put things in perspective for you, I will research the answer for you even though it is right in front of you. I am on this website at least 3-4 hours each day consistently, I just had a meltdown.

Red Your awesome! 18 pounds! Wow, maybe I could do that, I sure hope so. I will have to taste propel. I am addicted to the crystal light stuff, but I loved it before I had to drink it, there are so many great flavors, careful though some have caffeine. Emotional? Fudge today I must have cried 3x and I don't usually PMS. Isn't that interesting how food can control our emotions, or at least mine.

Red I am such an ass, sorry I just remembered you are 1 week from surgery and are on the shakes, as a matter of fact you are the one that reminded me about the broth. So are you getting nervous?

Hey Red: You've lost weight! That is fantastic! Are you starving? That is soooo cool! Pam

My surgery is 2/22 and yours is 2/27 I hope they don't move mine again. I even offered to switch to another dr. within the practice So did all that blah blah blah scare you today? It started giving me 2nd thoughts. My concern is the success rate at 5 years. Tell me what you think. After she started talking I had to drift into outter space just to keep me sitting there because of all the potential problems. OH! I walked my dogs today for 1 mile. The older and heavier got really winded but I told myself that I would help her get in shape too. I had chicken broth tonight and after 2 days of bariatrix shakes it was very tasty!

Audree (and for anybody else who will share with me) I am having 2nd thoughts (just because I am in a grouchy mood and my Dr. changed my surgery date) so my initial thought was on the way home from my dr appt was to stop and get a really huge fattening burrito and abandon this idea and give up once and for all. I value your opinion and want very specific information if you will give it to me. I was at my dr office in the pre op class and they tell you the statistics (the most concerning statistic was the low % of people who lose substantial weight) and the all the horrible terrible things that could happen and the things you will NEVER be able to eat again yadda yadda yadda. While listening to the Nurse explain this I started thinking maybe I should just try and lose weight. The average % of weight loss from the band over 5 years was only 25% of excess weight over 5 years, I am second guessing this and that is only 25# for me. The only reason I want the band is to feel "satiated" by eating a healthy lifestyle. There are lots of people (me included) who are ON diets who are fat and who say they are not hungry but ultimately fail at the diet because they were hungry; but wanted themselves to believe they were not (do you understand what I mean?) Perfect example I am on the liquid phase of the pre op diet, am I hungry a little, am I satiated NO WAY! My daughter asked if the shakes were "good" and my response was I would rather be eating eggs and toast (one of my favorite meals) or chili verde. You are post op and I believe that you are truthful and have a sense of reality. I also think that you are committing probably more than I would be able to commit (gym and excercise wise) With knowing what you know today, do you think you will reach goal? And will you reach it because you feel satiated and fell like a skinny person feels when they eat or will you reach goal because you paid alot of money to have this procedure and you don't want to fail. Can you tell my thought are all over the place? I guess I am SHOCKED as it sinks in that the "typical" weight loss was only 25% of excess weight not in the high 90 percentile. If you read weight watcher materials their "star models" who lost all their weight is not typical either, and I do agree it is up to the individual to use the band as a tool BUT I have "failed" at EVERY SINGLE diet I have ever been on before in my life. Why would this be any different if a typical weight loss is only 25% of excess body fat. If this is too heavy of a topic for you I don't have a problem if you don't reply. I hate to have these thoughts, to think I won't succeed but reality statistics are not encouraging to me. I know you are taking Quickslim and works out alot, do you think you could eat normal portions (s. beach) and feel satiated? Or are you still struggling just as you would have without the band? Tell it to me straight please.... Pam

Yes I changed my stats already, I was pissy about it and wanted to be grumpy a little bit.

Chris I knew who you were when you walked in Western Bariatric office but I am shy (because of my weight) so I could not bring up the nerve to introduce myself to you. Are you just a great "gentlemen" to offer your chair to somebody else or are you chlosterphobic? I smiled at your wife a couple times, maybe she will remember. The office called me as soon as I got back to my office and they moved my surgery date to 2/22/07 those f'ers! That throws alot of my ahead planning off, and I hate these kind of gliches, but I can deal with it.

S. Meadows lapband support group starts at 6pm.

So my official countdown has started as well. I am drinking Bariatrix Essentials and only vetables for dinner. I have been trying for 1 week to get through one entire day without giving in to the headaches and grouchiness and (well you know the symptoms of not eating real food). So far it is 330pm and when I go home after work is going to be the tough times. I go for the last dr appointment and pre op appointment tomarrow prior seeing the dr. on surgery day. Woo hooo I say woo hoo right now because I feel confident, but I know I will be a whimp soon.

Chris; Read the notes about the s. meadows support group I sent above to Red. I will walk with you and your wife around sparks marina if you tell me when you are going, I also have a dog (poodle) she would love it. My trainer always tells me the best park to walk is the closest park to your house, walk from your house to the park and turn around and come back. So driving to Sparks Marina may be cumbersome for you. I was bicycling 10 miles per day (about 1 hour) up until Oct'06 when the time changed to getting dark earlier.

Redfred: IMHO: The two support groups are VERY different. The one at south meadows is what I expected; with people talking about themselves ALOT and their experiences and the one at st. mary's was a mini seminar per se' about lapband. The Gym to go to that is personal training is called Trainers Edge (Trevor McFall 775-771-9019) that I would recommend is behind Sparkys near Longely and McCarran. I also belong to Gold's Gym (good for the aerobic classes). The South Meadows support group meets on the third thursday of each month in the dining area off the main lobby. What excercizes do you do when you go to Golds? Do you work around there? Pam

Redfred; Have you been to the S.Meadows Support Group? The facilitator is a weight loss patient herself about 4-5 years ago. She is the ONLY weight loss surgery nurse, she is also one of the comforting, understanding person I have ever talked to face to face (and had nothing to gain because I was not going to S.Meadows~my ins. says St.Marys) and she is a success story. But I have a question for you. I also ordered my baritarix shakes early and was determined to lose weight for 3 weeks not just the required 2 weeks. I have not been successful at staying on them for entire day yet. I get headaches, starving, (you know the story). How are you handleing them? I also get bathroom problems and the shakes go right through me within 30 minutes.

Hi local bandsters; If ANYBODY wants to walk, I will go with them as long as it is not snowing. I live in Donner Springs which is by Meadowood Mall. There is Mira Loma park around the corner which has a 1 mile loop that is paved and a very nice walk if you want to go there. Also Meadowood mall is nice to walk at in the morning before they open or even in the evening. I also go to a personal trainer in a personal gym on Mon-Tues-Wed who has extended an offer to ANYONE who wants to see me work out and join in on some excercises (to break the ice). He is very good! I have had numerous personal trainers consistently for the last 10 years, and he's by far the best I have ever had. I may be fat but I think inside this body under all the fat is a well conditioned machine. He UNLIKE most other trainers enjoys working with every body type including food challenged people and accomodates everyones individual needs. The gym is behind Sparky's near Longley and McCarran.

Want the Band; You said it perfectly! You were so glad to be alive!! Exactly my point....That is what I am afraid of, and now that the day is almost 2 weeks aways WOW, I was not concerned until yesterday. I was so proud of myself for NOT being a chicken. I have passed up many needed surgery and toughed out the bumpy road (not taking the surgery) and suffering the consequences because of not wanting to go under, and up until now I have been "brave". I think I will print out the inspirational impactful things I read on here just like you did. I remember you mentioning that you were going to do that and I thought it was a fabulous idea.