Justin B.

Being newly banded on Nov. 2, 2011, I realized how many questions I still have about lap band, post-op, nutrition etc... I did alot of research before getting the band but the realization that I've been doing this on my own has set in and I truly don't feel its a good idea for anyone to go through lap-band surgery, nutrition and this lifestyle change without the help of other people. I think a lap-band buddy is a GREAT idea, so I am seeking one. First off, my name is Justin. I'm 23 years old and live in Falling Waters, West Virginia (tri-state area of MD and PA). Starting weight after being banded was 353 lbs. To be honest I carry it pretty well because I was always active in sports in school and was never really a couch potato (even though potatoes are good). I work at Citicorp full time 8am-6:30pm 4 days a week Monday-Thursday. I enjoy my job but I enjoy spending time with family and friends more than anything. My mother is absolutely my hero. She was a single mother raising two children on a waitress salary. In addition to that, she weighed over 240lbs at one point. Over the course of a year she combined diet, exercise and hustling at her job to drop over 100 lbs which is more than I can say I was ever able to do. I don't think getting a lapband was a cheat but I sure have alot of respect for people that are able to lose weight with diet and exercise. I am looking for a buddy that considers theirself to be rather knowledgable about lap-band in general but also someone whom I can share the experiences I am having as I make take my journey to lose weight. Male or female doesn't matter to me... Age, weight, what you look like etc.... Doesn't matter to me. I could care less. So long as you are an outgoing person that isn't shy. I am DEFINITELY not shy. I consider myself to be a very comical person. Everyone at work would agree that I am the comic relief and I was definitely the class clown. Its just my persona I suppose. If you can deal with those things, I'm sure we will get along fine. Thanks!

God... Now I love you all lol. I was just soooooo worried about this but to hear that people had their entire appetite back and that it is in fact normal is great. I wish I was one of the lucky bums that had restriction with just the band hahaha. But I have a 14cc band and my doctor said my first fill will be 3-5cc (which from what I can see is higher than most doctors normally give for a first fill). I am so excited at the thought of hitting my green zone, only being able to eat a cup or so of food and watching the weight shed off. Obviously with diet and exercise as well though. Its just great to hear because I thought to myself, "Oh God, something is wrong inside and I won't be able to lose weight after going through this surgery. I want to thank you all for your posts so far and for anyone else that would like to post... Please feel free to add your valuable insight because I definitely want to hear everyone elses experiences. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for the re-assurance!

I'll make it short and sweet so I dont waste u anyones time . So... I was banded on Nov.2, switched to mushies a week ago, have had a few slip-ups with full solids but everything went down fine. There is NO fill in my band. My appetite has come back almost completely as swelling goes down.Now... The question that I have is this... If I have no fill in my band, is it COMMON for my hunger to come back completely and feel like there is absolutely positively nor estriction? Also... Obviously I have a pouch... Why don't I feel restriction or something when I eat the same exact amount of food I used to eat... Shouldnt I feel pain because isnt the pouch filling up? I figured I would still be eating less even without the fill and feeling full... So, the questions are: 1. Why would someone NOT feel full when they eat regardless of the fact that there is no fill in the band? The pouch is smaller than my stomach originally was... How in the world can I eat the same amount of food and how can it take so much to fill me up? I am severly worried about that. 2. Is there a possibility that something has gone wrong? 3. What percentage of people (in your opinions from your experiences) after surgery end up with almost their full appetite back? If after surgery you got all or ALMOST all of your appetite back, please post here to tell me how it all worked out, how much fill you needed before feeling restrction etc... Could the reason be that the area where the band is (the hole that the food travels thru) is still so big that the food travels through very fast and when I eat more than the pouch can hold, it just pushes it thru which is why my pouch wont get full and hurt or anything like that? I have posted asking similar questions before and I am very sorry to repeat myself but reading the posts you al make reassures me and makes me feel so much better about this until I get my first fill and start seeing results. Thank you all so much for the feedback and all the help thus far.

I am extremely concerned about my band. I was just banded on Nov 2, 2011. and today is Nov 11, 2011. Whats concerning me is this... My band has no fill in it at all because I was just banded a short time ago but I tried some soft food this morning (eggs, fried potatoes half of a biscuit and some gravy on it and a piece of bacon). I know breaded food can hurt you and eating food too early can hurt you and thats just it.... I ate a HEFTY sized meal this morning and I ate every bit of it (I made sure to chew it very very very well) and it all went down no problem. The issue is the fact that I'm able to eat so much. I know my band has no fill in it but I thought that I would still be pretty full off a very little bit. I'm just so concerned that maybe something is wrong inside.... Like my band slipped? I don't feel any different or anything and I just had my first followup with the doc yesterday and he didnt do anything except look at my wounds so he never did an x-ray or sonogram to see if everything was okay. I've lost 16 lbs and everything but I am so concerned. So.... Please everyone chime in and tell me... Is it NORMAL to be able to consume such a large amount of food with my band? I know that it is really early to be trying some of these foods but I have already tried other things too and they just go down SO easily and it just seems like I expected to have some issues? I don't know maybe I am just paranoid. Please give me some input here. Thanks alot.

this was all extremely informative and I thank you'll for the info. It's put my mind at ease to know that whats happening to me is perfectly normal. I had no intention of continuing to eat that way and I am not trying to sabotage anything I was just worried and as I said I did try it. Wasn't the best idea, I know. I'm already back to protein shakes/unsweetened pudding/cottage cheese for meals (not bacon and potatoes ). I never expected to be able to shove food down and the band do the work. I fully understand how the band works and what I need to do. Please don't rush to judge too harshly at what I did, I actually do know how the band works and I am exercising each day and have managed to lose 21 lbs since my surgery date. I plan on doing whats right and thats using the band for one of the many TOOLS that it is to add towards/fuel my weightloss. I value each and every persons opinion here though. I thank you all lfor helping to put my mind at rest in one way or another with each and every one of your posts.

This is the first time that I have tried to eat anything like that. Right now I am supposed to be doing soft foods but I purposely ate that in this meal today because I wanted to see how much of It I was able to eat. Not trying to force myself to eat... Just trying to see if by eating that food which I know I am not supposed to eat if I had any type of stuck episode or ANYTHING that would show the band was still in place and working correctly. It was a stupid idea but I was so concerned that my band had slipped or that something was wrong that is the entire reason I ate that meal anyway. I'm not eating it anymore and didn't have the intention of going off of my diet plan considering that I have actually followed it pretty well except for one or two occasions where I took a bite of cottage cheese and apple sauce. Other than that I have stuck very closely to my plan. I was going to switch prematurely to soft foods but waited to consult my doctor and he brought me in for a checkup and gave me the go-a-head. As far as the meal goes I was eating slowly and chewing the food up thoroughly and it all went down perfectly fine and passed through just fine as if I had no band at all and thats what was scaring me half to death. It had me thinking that something was completely wrong and that the band wasn't working. I dont have any plans to eat that stuff again, lol. Also, thanks alot for the concern, I really appreciate that. I wasn't attempting to move on to solids because I know its entirely too early and it was probably a really big dumb mistake to purposely eat the food to trya nd get some sort of reaction from the band to signify that it was still there and working but I was horrified at the thought that something had gone wrong already so I was using that as sort of a "test" if you can call it that... But, these potst definitely help me to understand and now I know for a fact that it works... I am definitely going longer between meals and am not as hungry as often as I used to be and now I know that I will still most likely be able to chow down and eat almost the same amount of food as I used to if I actually tried but obviously that's not what I am going to do. Now that I know everything is in place and not slipped and working properly I will get back to working on finding my green zone and learning what being "full" actually is now that I have this new tool to assist me in weight loss. Thanks so much!

From what I have read here, there are mixed opinions from both users here and their doctors as to when you can start eating soft foods. Could you guys (and gals) tell me when you switched and how your band and body responded? I had surgery Nov. 2 which was 5 days ago. I can drink liquids pertty fast and they go down very well. I haven't had any issues with liquids hurting me and I have cheated once or twice with a bite of ricotta cheese but I chewed the heck out of it which is what I will do when I start with soft foods too. So... What do you think? When should I start? I am just asking because its torture not being able to eat anything even semi-solid. I would be most appreciative of your opinions and experiences no matter good or bad. THanks in advance

sorry for the delayed response! Dr. SMall will not put any fill in your band to start because of the swelling in the beginning. Your first fill will come after the swelling has subsided and everything has healed. You will have your first followup appointment 7-10 days after surgery to make sure everything is going well and he should be able to give u a date for your first fill. Congrats on everything. Its WELL worth the wait and time starts to fly by after your consultation... I promise. Keep me updated!

thanks alot for all of the replies. I appreciate everyones opinions and advice. I have to admit... I broke down this morning and ate a few bites of applesauce.... Went down wonderfully. This evening, I mashed up some scalloped potatoes pretty good and chewed them up beyond recognition and they went down just fine as well. I was extremely nervous when I tried but everything was fine with no problems what-so-ever. I definitely appreciate everyones experiences though. It was all very informative and I am still open to hear other peoples timeframes as well. From what I gather, I think it most depends on how well/how fast you heal and your swelling goes down.

Hey there. Just wanted to let you know that I was banded by Dr. Small on Nov. 2, 2011 (4 days ago). He was absolutely spectacular. I interviewed all of the surgeons there and felt that Dr. Small was the best qualified. My guess was correct because the surgery was great and so was Dr. Small. He was extremely informative and was very upfront about the srugery, the requirements that he had of me and what I needed to expect the whole way through. He came in prior to surgery and talked with me... He came in immediately after surgery when I got to my room to make sure everything was okay and he came in the day after when I was about to get discharged and checked on me. I've already had a followup call from his office as well. My wounds are healing wonderfully too. I'm not sure if I am just lucky or something but I also haven't experienced alot of the gas pain everyone is talking about having and I'm not sure if that is due to something that he did or if I just got lucky and didn't have those issues. All in all I can say that there was no better choice for me to make. From Dr. Small to the staff at Meritus... Everyone was great. Meritus may be a new facility but they certainly perform like a facility that has been around for a long time. The nurses were all extremely nice and promptly came back when they said that they were going to come back. As far as my surgery is concerned.... I got there on time and they were already prepared and waiting for me . From the time I arrived at Meritus and was ouit for surgery I would say about 45 minutes elapsed. I needed a 4th incision for my surgery but I was told that was a possibility. I weighed 352lbs when I went for surgery. I have not weighed myself yet but I can already feel some weight coming off. I don't really know what else to include here, however feel free to ask me any questions you have about The Weightloss Clinic, Dr. Small or Meritus and I'll certainly do my best to answer them. Best of luck to you with everything. Stick with it... I know it seems like it may be forever between your first consultation and your surgery date but the time FLIES by. It did for me and I'm only 4 days after surgery and still in pain but I already know this is the best decision I have ever made.

Just out of curiosity... How many people here have lost over 100 lbs with the band? A few people at my work are trying to turn me away from the band and toward gastric bypass stating that seeing as I am looking to lose MORE than 100 lbs, I need to go with gastric because lap band is "only for people looking to lose less than 100 lbs". How true is this? Is this just farfetched information? How many people here have lost more than 100 lbs? I just want to see, thats all. I don't want to go through surgery just to lose 60-80 lbs because that is not enough an not anywhere near my target. Thanks in advance!

I really appreciate everyones opinions and responses. This information is very informative and re-assuring me that my decision is a good one. Personally, I do feel the band is the best way for me to go but I just wanted to see what kind of responses the band has gotten from those people looking/needing to lose over 100 lbs. I am glad to hear of the success of everyone who. Posted and wish you all a congratulations and good luck in achieving your goals. Thank you all for the information. If anyone else has information they wish to share, definitely post it because I would love to hear more

On my cellphone at work so I'm not being detail oriented however I'm doing my diet for aetna requirements and m not losing weight. I'm dieting and eating healthier and learning a ton about eating right but still not dropping weight. I've been thru my first of 3 evaluations because aetna only requires 3 months and I gained 2 lbs. My main question is (ill ask more when I'm not @ work) if I ended up not losing weight that's basically a guaranteed denial from insurance right? If not... are there any ppl out there w/ aetna that got approved w/o actually dropping weight? The thing is I'm not being lazy I am. Eating better and learning tons. Any feedback? Thanks so much iln advance!!!

Well I wasn't 100% sure. I thought that the main focus of the diet was to teach yourself how to. Eat properly and start taking initiative to learn about these things and when you report it to your nutritionist you are supposed to tell them what you are learning and they document that in their notes for submission. I was also told that is what the insurance company looks for... not necessarily the weight lost as much as what you have learned about eating and being healthy/preparing yourself or the lifestyle change. Is this correct or am I wrong? Ty both for the feedback and plz keep more coming!! Its really bothering me and if anyone else has aetna and didn't lose weight or even gained weight id love to hear from you.

I am considering getting lap band surgery and I go for my consultation tomorrow. I know only what I have read and watched on the internet (which tends to be the truth severely bent in several different angles) about benefits, risks and special situations. I am nearly 100% sure that I will qualify for the surgery but one very important question remains for me. Not many people have my same situation but I am currently attending a methadone tratement facility on a daily basis and am treated with 80 mgs of liquid methadone for opiate dependency/heroin abuse. What are the chances that I will get turned down solely because I am currently receiving treatment at a methadone facility. Does this put me at any additionla risk that you know of? I do not know what to expect as far as pain and my methadone works as a pain reliever but will block other opiate based meditcations but if it will be painful and I need something for the pain, do you know if they will prescribe more methadone? Does anyone have any additional knowledge about going through the surgery while being treated for opiate dependency via liquid methadone? I'm a newbie to this but I have researched for about 8 hours now and I have watched about 3 surgery videos of the procedure including the info but there isnt much info out there in relation to this.. What special questions should I ask the doctor? Any suggestions or info is greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone. I certainly appreciate it. And by the way, I hope everyone is sure to have a very Happy Easter!

Its been a while since I posted this thread and unfortunately I was unable to reply due to my internet going down and them taking until just now to fix it . However, I wanted to repost to thank everyone who posted in the thread with info/feedback and compliments. It really meant alot to me to see comments wishing me luck considering most people just trash the fact that I go to a methadone clinic and am trying to do better. People sometimes overlook the postives of the situation and go straight for the negative feedback. Anyway... Since I have posted this, I have gone to my initial consultation, my nutritional evaluations, met with a dietician to get a diet plan for my 3-month diet requirement (as per Aetnas policy), attended nutritional support groups, interviewed and chosen my surgeon, went to my surgeon consultation, and done my psych evaluation. The only thing left for me to do is have two followup sessions with with my dietician to chart my progress and then my info will get submitted to Aetna for approval. I think I'm making good progress and have managed to lose a few lbs with the diet plan that I have set up to show Aetna that I am determined to do everything it takes to lose weight and not just get the band and sit on my butt and wait to lose weight. Though I'm nervous, I am very happy with my decision to follow through with everything. On another note, I've started a medically supervised withdraw of the amount of methadone that I am on to get off of it. This will most certainly take a good bit of time but thats perfectly fine with me. I think I've come to a point (or very close to it) where I can go through the day without thinking about doing drugs and that is a very huge step in the right direction. It truly feels as if I am doing things for the better that are going to change my life drastically and I haven't been happier. If I'm this happy now, I can't wait to start losing weight, lol. Anyway... I just wanted to stop back and thank everyone for their kind words and wishes and I wish everyone else the best of luck whether you have just started your endeavor, are partially through, or have made it to your goal. Thanks So Much, -Justin B.-

This was all EXTREMELY helpful and I thank you all very much for your replies. This has answered alot of the questions that I have but it has raised one or two others that I want to ask... As far as the dieting goes... I guess what I was trying to ask was if they have you go onto a diet and you lose a certain amount of weight during that time... Would they say, "Hey, you've lost a good amount of weight during this time and you need to just continue dieting. I don't think weightloss surgery is for you." Is this something that they would do? I assumed that the insurance companies were having people do this so that they could get out of paying for the surgery. In a sense, I supposed it worried me to think that they would turn me down because I lose 10 or 15 lbs in 3 months or something like that. Is this done or am I completely wrong and they are only having you do this to decide how dedicated you are to getting surgery and losing weight but also KEEPING that weight off? As I said before, I suppose its just that I am very excited which is why I want to get in there asap and get everything done so I can start the road to a better life for myself. I read the initial consultation dates vs. the surgery dates for alot of ppl and I see that alot of people have waited a good while and 3 months of dieting and then 2 or 3 more to have all my tests done isn't so bad (but is enough to keep me on edge the entire time, lol). As far as the methadone is concerned... I don't know that I will be coming down by then. I have goals set for the methadone as well but the first thing that I have to do is keep myself stabilized on an amount that will keep my desires to use drugs in the back of my mind and far away from surfacing into stupid ideas. Until I can live my life without the thought and desire to use drugs, I will continue to have the methadone. I'm not using it as a crutch or an excuse because I've had plenty of crutched and excuses in my life, but getting checked into a clinic was by far a better decision then staying on the other stuff. So far, I've been clean (from doing the drugs) about 2 years and that for me has been a great accomplishment. I will start a medically supervised withdrawal from the program once I reach a point where I can no longer remember or desire/want the buzz any longer. I still have cravings and desires to use which is why I won't start yet. The last time I did that, I ended up screwing up royally and going back to square 1 but that will not happen to me again because of the fact that I am smarter and more involved in my treatment. I know that not everyone will agree with that and I don't expect you to. everyone has their own opinion of methadone (most of them are one-sided and unwilling to look at all the facts) and the people who use it. Some people use it to get a fix and others use it to get better. Personally, I fall into the category of those people trying to get better whereas before I didn't. So... If anything, wish me luck *_^ Otherwise.. Once again, thank you everyone for your answers and information. If theres anything else that I need to know for my consultation, please let me know. I am compiling a list of questions and if theres anything that I need to ask you think should be listed here, please feel free to list them. Thanks alot!

Thank you very much for all of the informative replies. I wasn't aware what type of pain to expect from the surgery. after watching several surgeries performed via some videos, it looks as if the worst part was the stitching which doesn't really seem at all that bad. I was told by a few other people that there is pain but its more or less a feeling related to pain after doing alot of situps at one time which doesn't sound too bad at all but would any of you agree that the pain amounts only to that? If possible, I plan to ask for non-narcotic medications because my methadone acts as a "blocker" and prevents the effects of other opiate medications from taking their normal effect. Its still possible for them to work, but only if I had them at more than twice the normal dose that I was used to and basically... I had built such a high tolerance that I could injest 4 80 mg oxycontins without feeling much of anything. That is why it worried me. I have set up an appointment with my counselor at the methadone facility to discuss everything and see what knowledge they have in reference to this surgery and what they would recommend. My one on one consultation date has been set for March 16th so I am trying to compile a list of what to ask. I already have a plethora of questions but I want to get everything answered asap and educate myself to ensure this is the best possible route for me (I truly think it is). My insurance company does cover gastric banding but I have Aetna and I was told today that Aetna has specific requirements that include a psych evaluation (which I expected) but they also have a requirement of a 3 month attempted diet. The thing is that I have tried the dieting which is why I am considering the surgery. And because of the fact that its required that you try 3 months of I guess "supervised" dieting, it isn't enough that I have tried dieting in the past. I was very discouraged to hear that it could be 6-7 months before I could have the surgery. **When they refer to the requirement for dieting, do they mean you have to have attempted a diet in the past for at least 3 months or do they mean that you have to go through another 3 months of dieting that has to be supervised by a doctor? I didn't fully understand that part. If they would realize that I have attempted dieting many times, it would speed the process up for me. I know that they don't care how quickly I get in there but it matters to me and I am just really excited at the thought of a healthier and skinnier life. Does anyone have details as to what transpires during the pysch evaluation? For what reason is it required and what questions are asked during it? I'm sorry for such a long post and all the questions but I am really excited to find out the answers to my questions. Any info is appreciated. Thanks!