M2G

I don't know that people "treat" me different, but I know I feel different. Whoever said making the outside match the inside hit the nail on the head. I have the same happy personality I always did (never have trouble talking to people, I'm a bit of chatty Cathy...even with strangers I will strike up conversation, etc.) But now I feel like people get to see ME. The real me...no more second guessing, "do they think I'm fat, lazy, unmotivated, etc." all that stuff that we KNOW isn't true about obese people yet we know people are thinking it. So I probably smile more, my step is lighter, I noticed the same thing too about people not scooting their chairs in when I squeeze behind them, etc. I've also been fortunate enough to not lose friends, but I'm a happily married woman so it's not like I need buddies to go out who would need me to be the "fat" friend so they could look better. I'm sure if I was in my 20's and going "out" that would probably be the case. Sadly. My hubby is sleeved as well, so we both get to be on the journey to health together, and it has been a VERY good thing that we both got sleeved!

I feel like I have personally "saved" 4 people from having the band, not to say that there aren't successful bandsters out there, but I personally know of 4 people that after hearing about the sleeve switched from band to sleeve after I gave them some informational links. That being said I am honestly SHOCKED at how clueless some people are (not just people, but PATIENTS WHO HAVE HAD WLS!!!) I've been to band and RNY support groups (my surgeon is FINALLY starting a sleeve group this month and can I just say how freaking excited I am to finally go to a support group that is all about the sleeve!) But I digress, there are so many people who just don't do any reasearch. At one band group there were several people who had never heard of erosion. REALLY? You didn't know that in some cases the band erodes into the stomach creating a problem? These people had also never heard of a slip. Where the band doesn't stay in the same place and the stomach moves up through the band. I was just sitting in shock...and some of these people had their band for 3-4 years. But again, as someone mentioned I am SURE they heard the risks from the surgeon but our minds do not want to hear the band that can happen because we all think that we won't fall into that xx% that it happens to.

Flexees...you can buy them at Kohl's, Target, etc. but the cheapest I've seen them is at Ross. I keep buying more because I started in 2x and now I need L, hopefully M someday so I don't like to spend too much!

Okay, I have to agree 100% with Kimmes....do not let the words of this one person set you on a downward spiral. Everyone here loses at a different pace. Yes, some higher BMI's can lose really fast, but that doesn't mean that two people with the exact same BMI are going to lose at the exact same rate. You are doing a FANTASTIC JOB!!!! Do not ever lose sight of the work you have done. You are 5 months on your way to a healthier, SMALLER, more energetic you. I can tell you that I stalled in months 8, 9, 11, 12, and halfway through 13 (I'll be 14 months later this month) and I just recently broke the latest 2.5 month stall. So yeah, even at almost 14 months out I am still losing. Look this is your tool forever. You will never get your larger tummy back. Yes, there is a honeymoon period where your body is in a rapid weight loss mode, but once that passes (and it is different for everyone) it doesn't mean that you are DONE. It just means that you need to continue to work your tool to the best of your ability. Follow the rules: Low calorie Low-carb (for most, not all) High Protein Tons of H20 Exercise (move your body in some way shape or form) Take your Vitamins Just keep on doing the fabulous job you are doing...and next time when you schedule make SURE You tell them you don't want that nurse again. THERE HAS TO BE SOMEONE ELSE YOU CAN SEE!!! Hang in there!

I totally agree with Lissa...Eggface is awesome!!! I recycle stuff. Any type of meat (steak, hamburger, fish, etc.) can become my eggbites (simple eggface recipe, take 5 eggs, saute up any leftover meats/veggies, toss in some cheese and bake @350 for 30mins. Makes 24 mini muffins...they resemble crustless quiche.) Shredded taco chicken becomes chicken tortilla soup the next day. We take left over meat and put it on a tortilla with some tomato sauce and make tortilla pizzas (eggface does this too, but that isn't where we got the idea.) Left over baked salmon becomes salmon cakes (mix egg beaters, salmon, and coat with bread crumbs and lightly fry in olive oil.) Even our left over steamed veggies get a light coating of Italian dressing and overnight in the fridge they become almost like a pastaless pasta salad. It takes time to learn how to recycle...but I was getting bored eating the same meal day after day. So my advice is to just start experimenting and you will find a way to recycle your leftovers into a whole new delicious meal!

O M G!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh I am glad you shared even with it bordering on TMI..(you weren't too graphic, thankfully!) and I have heard of others who swear they dump with the sleeve. I'm glad you are learning to manage it, as I'm sure you don't want to repeat what has happened.

Congratulations on your decision. The reason I stated something about the backup plan in place is because I do believe the band is a temporary solution to a long term problem. I was one who hesitated about having a foreign object in place inside my body and while someone with a pace maker or a knee/hip replacement would also be considered as having a foreign object in their body, there are issues with that as well. There are studies done on using mesh inside the body and and it also can go painfully wrong, and cause problems (sometimes mesh is used to hold the port in place...not sure if that is still done or was in earlier versions of the band surgeries.) But honestly there are things that can go wrong with the having foreign object in your body no matter where they are or what they are used for. So I think as long as you know and have calculated the risks and have decided it is worth the risks, then you are in a good place. Yep the titanium staples in my body are also a foreign object, and yep there could be issues with those staples down the road, but I think our bodies do have an amazing ability to heal and once my sewn-over staple line was healed my stomach has functioned normally ever since. So yes, there is a risk with staples, but I believe that risk to decrease with each and every passing year. Time will tell. I talked about a back up plan because there are SO many complications with the band. My surgeon's nurse had the band for 5+ years. She did a tremendous job with it, losing over 130lbs. She was the epitome of a "perfect bandster" ...she knew the risks, could nail down the excuses, and was a huge seller of the band for the surgeon. In May of this year she had the surgeon take the band out and do a bypass. So even being the "perfect bandster" did not protect her from the medical risks associated with band. She still doesn't blame the band, and I think is still a big proponent of it, but honestly she is a NURSE working for a BARIATRIC SURGEON and she still had complications. So based on that, yeah, my personal opinion is that there are MANY people who will not make 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years with a band inside of them. You may be an exception and I truly wish you all the best in your new journey. Please do stay on our boad and keep us posted on how things go, you are definitely in new territory and it will be good for you to share your experience with others who might be considering the same surgery. Also, I think most people reading and/or responding to this thread DO realize that this is a VSG board. The answers you might get from another type of board, be it Band, RNY or DS are going to vary greatly from what you see here. Education is definitely your best friend!!

I know you say you've been sleeved for months, but I'm wondering if perhaps at 6 months or maybe even a year out if things might change. It's good that you are figuring out what "triggers" the episode, so that you can hopefully avoid anything like it in the future. I choose the sleeve over the band because I absolutely *HATE* having anything come back up. There has only been really ONE time with my sleeve when I was about 9 weeks out that I *thought* my meal was going to come back up and thankfully it didn't. I don't know if that is rare or not, but I can honestly say with 100% accuracy that I have NEVER ONCE VOMITED with my sleeve. I *love* my sleeve!!!

Well after some very long and serious stalls I am finally feeling much more hopeful about reaching goal in 2012.I had an extrordinary amount of patience to get through the stalls. I stalled in months 8&9, lost a bit in month 10, then stalled in months 11, 12 and half way through 13. Then I finally started losing again and now I know I can do this!!!! I changed my ticker to show 8lbs that I had lost at some point during the 6 months of "hoop jumping" that I did for my insurace to cover my surgery and that has boosted my mental game quite a bit. Before I always wanted my ticker to show just my loss since the surgery, but after adding those 8lbs to my ticker it bumped me that much closer to the -100 mark and it did a world of good for my head. And I am really looking forward someday to having a different relationship with the scale. It truly does have a lot of power over me (hard to admit the truth) but I am hoping someday down in maintenance land that I have a very different relationship with the scale. I'll be watching our own Little Miss Diva carefully to see how she does...lol. We have lots of pioneers on this message board who have "been there, done that" but most of them do not stick around during maintenance, so we have little guidance in that arena. Thank God for the ones who DO stick around!!!

YAY!!!!!!!!!! *LOVE* this! Sooooo happy for you! :woot:

[quote name=Change (Celena)' timestamp='1318952100' post='219838] Hi, I'm Celena I'm from Walsenburg, Way south !!!! Hi Celena. I wondered how your experience at Parker Adventist went? After I had decided to be sleeved and was already seeing Dr. Snyder (love him!) I got something in the mail from Parker Adventist talking about Dr. Metz and his practice and it specifically mentioned that he does the sleeve. I just wondered since you've been there if you would recommend it to others? Parker is SOOOO much closer to me than going to Rose Medical where Dr. Snyder practices. I wouldn't change a thing about my experience but for people that live near me Parker sure would be closer.

My hubby and I are both sleeved. My surgeon doesn't make us do pre-op. The only thing our surgeon required was clears for 24 hours before surgery. I have the video tape of my surgery and he exclaimed that my liver was gorgeous.

*LOVE* fat pant photos...I should do a comparison, even though I'm not at goal yet! You are rocking your sleeve, congrats!!!

What an amazing journey you have been one, and now it will continue except into the land of maintenance! What a WONDERFUL place to be, I am truly so very happy for you!!! You have done such a wonderful job during the weight loss phase, I have NO DOUBT in my mind that you will rock maintenance too!!! :rockon:

Beautiful post! I'm so happy for you!

Love this!!!

Filling the big oval soaking tub in my master bath almost full and having the Water cover most of my body!!! It is indeed the little things!

Okay, we need comparison pics, lol! And YEAH on looking 11 years younger...woo hoo!

My surgeon set my original goal and I know why he set it...because it was just about -5lbs inside the "healthy BMI" range. However at my 9 month appt. he looked at me and at his notes for my goal and was like "let's up it +15lbs" I think he was just going based on how I was looking at the time (I seem to carry my weight fairly well.) So I mulled it over and at my one year checkup, we discussed it again and at the time I was in a wicked stall, so I agreed with him that we should bump it up a bit. Since then my stall broke and I'm FEELING much more positive that I will reach my goal, eventually. But I will keep it as my first goal (and BMI-wise it's just slightly over the healthy line) and then I will see how I feel when I get there.

My personal opinion is that the band should be billed/marketed/sold as TEMPORARY. I just don't know of that many long-term people with the band (like 10+ years) that haven't had complications. While you may not find many sleevers that are 10+ years there are many instances of people have partial or nearly whole gastrectomies for reasons other than weight-loss (as some people have mentioned ulcers, cancer, etc.) and there are plenty of documented cases of people living into their 90's with partial stomachs. Reversible may seem safer, but as others have pointed out some of the damaged caused by the band is not reversible. Again (just my personal opinion) I feel like the band should be marketed as a FIRST step in WLS. I'm sure there are some band people who had the band, removed it and stayed the same weight, but I think that is rare. I think more often than not when people have complications they end up revising to the RNY, VSG, or DS. If you are going to have a band, I would have a backup surgery "plan" in place for 5+ years down the road.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Job well done! You've earned the right to relax... :beer_yum:

I'm down 95lbs from my highest weight. Down 87 from the day of surgery. (I didn't have to pre-op diet!) Oh and I'm 13 months post-op.

I have been using caloriecount.about.com for about 2 years. I had heard of some others (my fitness pal and spark people, etc.) so I finally decided to try my fitness pal and I didn't like it as much as calorie count. I think the reason I didn't like it as much is there is too much guesswork involved in the quantity of food. At calorie count you can do a serving, enter in oz, grams, tsp, tbsp, or sometimes there is choices like a single baby carrot, etc. So I really like that flexibility of the way you can enter your food quantity.

Excellent post Tai29! I have not yet looked into plastics (I do have UHC) but I am 100% grateful that my husband's employers INCLUDED WLS as a covered benefit. When I told my Nurse Case Manager "thank you" she directed the thanks back to his employer. We have a high-deductible plan and we were both sleeved in two different years (me 2010, him 2011) so we have had to pay about $8K out of pocket (the remaining $2K came from his employer...the amount they tossed into our plan {$1K each year} at the beginning of each calendar year) but it was worth every penny and I was so happy to not be SELF-PAY. Haven't done a stitch of research on plastics yet...need to get to goal and maintain a while before figuring that all out.