momof3armybrats

Hello! Welcome! I am also in Kansas. I was just recently banded on April 5th. This is the best thing I have ever done for myself. I have tricare also and it was a pretty simple process to get approved. I wish you well with your approval and then your surgery!! Congrats on the decision to work on a new you!! Good Luck!!

Welcome!! I was banded back on April 5, 2011. So far I am down 50lbs. And I have to say this was the best decision I have ever made in my life. I have no regrets, so far. I chose the band verses any other bariatric surgery because it is one with the least complications and it is removable! Plus you lose the weight at a more healthy pace than lets say gastric bypass. I also have 3 children and they are my world. My mother died at 48 from complications from obesity. When I hit 30 I realized I was very close to ending up like my mother. I was pre diabetic and hypertensive. I refuse to die at a young age. I did not want to leave my family that young. My mothers death tore apart our family. I am now at a healthy blood sugar level and have good blood pressure again. I am now 31 and have a better prospect for my life than I did a year ago. I still have about 120lbs to go before I hit my goal weight but I have no doubt I will make it. Good luck on your research! This is a fantastic forum to get any info you need. I have been addicted since I first found it. Great support system here! Karrie

Hello! I have not really dealt with the jealousy aspect but I do have one friend who constantly tries to discourage me and has even quit hanging out as much. She is suppose to be a very close friend and the moment I told her that I was having the surgery the comments started. Most of them were along the lines of you can do it on your own, you dont need to take the easy way out. I got really upset with her and told her how it was. I told her either she support me like a real friend is suppose to or walk away. This is my life, not hers. Plus I have become a pro at losing weight but I always manage to put it back on. I am tired of the yo-yo and this seemed to be the best way out of it for me. To this day she still calls me and shoves all these fad diets at me, saying if you had just done this and this you wouldnt have needed surgery. Her latest is some green tea diet. LOL I was like whatever in a year or two when I am at my goal weight and your still b*tching cuz your fat, I dont wanna hear it. I have kinda put up a wall between her and I. I know that is probably not the right thing to do but I am done listening to it. I wish you well with your family and friends. She is the only one who has been negative about it. Most everybody has been very supportive. Good luck on your journey!! It is going to be a wild and crazy ride with a wonderful outcome!!!

Hi Darlene!! It all depends on your insurance and your doctor's office. I have Tricare and they cover everything. My surgeon does my fills. He said he prefers to do it verses letting the nurse do it. Congrats on your decision. I was banded on April 5th, 2011 and have not looked back since. Best decision I have ever made. Good Luck!!!!

I had to do the same thing. Only I had to do it for 14 days. I tried to give them to myself and couldnt. Luckily my husband was willing to jab me in the stomach with a tiny sharp needle. Actually I think he enjoyed it...lol The only problem I had is that I bruised really easily. Actually I am still bruising easily, and I had my surgery April 5th. My doctor said when I go in for my next fill if I am still bruising he wants to run tests to see why. He said it shouldnt last longer than 8 wks. Congrats on your surgery!!

OMG!!! This is why I cant stand some people!!! If these yahoo's would just do some research or take a minute to talk to a bandster they would realize that this is not something for lazy ppl. Sometimes I feel we have to work harder than those who do not have a band. We watch every bite of food, exercise our butts off and go through the same ups and downs and a person doing it "the hard way" as they put it. My best friend told me she didnt know why I was doing this because I could just do it the "hard way". Boy she sure changed her tune after she saw that it is just as hard if not harder to have the band. I dont hesitate to educate ignorant people!!! I would love to meet this jacka** and teach them a thing or two about the band. Life for us is hard enough without all this ignorant crap to deal with. I am proud of what I have accomplished and everyone else who had the courage to seek help in bettering themselves. Ok I am done ranting now......this just really pissed me off.

I had the same issue. My doc said it was because the stomach is very tender because of the surgery. As you heal they should diminish. I know mine did, now I just have the normal ol hunger pangs instead of pains. Did your doc give you any type of heartburn meds to take daily? Those help quite a bit, but it could also be gas pains making you feel like you have indigestion. GasX strips were wonderful after my surgery, it helped make things much more bearable. Best of luck to you and congrats on your surgery!!

I had the same issue. My doc said it was because the stomach is very tender because of the surgery. As you heal they should diminish. I know mine did, now I just have the normal ol hunger pangs instead of pains. Did your doc give you any type of heartburn meds to take daily? Those help quite a bit, but it could also be gas pains making you feel like you have indigestion. GasX strips were wonderful after my surgery, it helped make things much more bearable. Best of luck to you and congrats on your surgery!!

Today is a wonderful day for me. I stepped on the scale and saw that I was finally under the dreaded 300 mark! It has been nearly 10yrs since I have been under that horrible number. I started mushies this past week so I am hoping I can keep up with the weight loss. I know it is suppose to be a healing time, but I still will continue to work on losing.

Thanks everyone! The support means alot and is helping me keep focused on the goal. I am so excited about this weight loss. It is going to be a long journey, but so worth it in the end.

Hello! I just wanted to say welcome and congrats on your surgery Thursday. I was banded on the 5th of April. It has been a whole new and exciting experience so far. I do want to give you one word of advice...WALK. walk as much as you can after. The healing process will be much more comfortable, especially with the gas pains. The gas pains has been the most uncomfortable for me, Gas-x strips are wonderful to help with that too. Anyhoo I am now rambling. Good Luck!!

Hi. First off Congrats on that 40lbs, that is awsome!! I have only been recently banded but when I was working on losing weight last year and hit a plateau my doc told me I needed to shock my system. Your body has probably gotten into a routine with your exercise. You might try adding a new exercise or bump up what you are doing. Your body will be like WHOA what are you doing to me and start working on keeping up again. I hope this helps a bit. Good Luck!!

My name is Karrie and I am 30yrs old. I lead a fairly simple life as an Army wife. We have been married for 12years. I have three wonderful children 11,3 and 9months. For now I am a stay at home mommy. I will be starting school in May to become a Medical Office Assistant. As soon as my youngest starts kindergarten I will be going back to work. It has been nearly 10 years since I have held a job...WOW now that I wrote that I am in shock!! LOL Anyhoo, I have 2 of the greatest pups in the world. Charlie is my 7yr old Great Dane/ German Shepard mix. He is such a goofy dog! And then there is Godric my 6 month old English Mastiff. He has the most lovable personality. We also have a black and white cat we rescued. His name is Buster and he is the typical lazy cat. He only moves for food, lol. I was banded on April 5th. I am very excited about the life I will have after i lose this excess weight. My family and I love being outdoors. We like to fish, hike, camp and go out on boats. This weight loss should make doing all these things easier and more pleasurable for not only me but my family too. Plus I want to ride on a RollerCoaster!!! It has been 15yrs!!! Now that I have rambled on and on I will stop. Nice to meet everyone! This site has been such a blessing to me.

Yes it is but it is going to be so worth it in the end. I had to be on a 4 week Protein shake diet. I was allowed one frozen dinner no more than 400 calories. I would have to say it was the hardest thing I had to do. I had my surgery on the 5th and ironically the thought of food now physically makes me sick. I know it is tough but you can do it! The end result is what kept me going. Also another thing you can do is everytime you think about the liquid crap is exercise. It helped me. I would take my kids for a walk or something everytime I got upset about the diet. Sorry I am rambling, just wanted to offer some support.

Yesterday was the first day of my new life. I was in a lot of pain yesterday, today seems to be much better. I had a hernia repair also. I am very excited to be starting this new chapter in my life. To everyone else who had surgery yesterday as well. Congrats and I hope all is well.

Congrats! I am sore also. But mostly where they repaired the hernia I had. Getting up and down is not bothering me as much as the gas pains. I am finding that if I get up and walk around I feel much better. We should feel better soon.

I am having my surgery on April 5th and I am starting to feel very overwhelmed and nervous. I am 100% positive I want this, actually I need this. Not only for me but for my children. I have a very supportive husband and family. Even some of my friends I assumed would be against it are on board with me. But I cannot help feeling like this change is too much. There are so many things that have to change, and I am so afraid that I am some how going to mess this up. Or maybe it wont work. I have spent years trying to get this weight off. I have become a pro at losing weight but have never been able to keep it off for long. I am terrified the cycle will continue. I cant go on being heavy like this. I lost my mother to weight issues and diabetes. I refuse to do that to my children. They are my life.

My surgery is tomorrow also, at 10am. A few days ago I was having some anxiety issues about it, but as it gets closer I have become more excited about my new life. Now I am just impatient and want to get the show on the road. Good luck to everyone!!

Thanks everyone for all the support. I am feeling much better this evening about it. Still nervous but not so much about failure. Every time I look at my kids I think about what life with them will be like when I am healthier. I am ready to get this new chapter in my life started so I can spend the rest of my LONG life enjoying my family. Again thanks everyone!!

I agree, I think it is nerves that is eating at me and making me worry so much. I am usually not so negative. I have spent months reading and researching. All the success stories is what ultimately made me decide this was the right choice for me versus the Gastric Bypass. Thanks for the encouragement, made me feel better.