Lanette

Well....I'm going to start BootCamp today. I have been gaining over the last few months and I am NOT happy about it. Time to take back control. Thanks for posting Diva and for all of your posts and encouragement.

They may be tight.....but darn it they are ON and zipped!! WHOO HOO! I never in a million years thought I would be able to get into them. I bought them over a year ago and gave them to my tiny sister and told her that I hoped to someday get them back. Well tonight, I casually asked what size they were and said that it would still be a while. Well, she sent them home to me and I thought "what the heck!" and low and behold they fit! When I say "happy dance" I mean...."wake up the whole freakin' house and jumping up and down" kind of dancing! LOL! A few before's....just for the record. me and my BFF at a concert.

Well, it's been a really long time since I've been on here but I am determined to get involved again. I've missed you guys! I had stopped losing back around the first of the year at 159 lb. (My original "personal" goal was 155 b/c that is the "normal" BMI for my height.) I had just resigned to the fact that 159 is what it's going to be. I lost my sister to suicide in March andI did lose down to 155 (not exactly how I had planned to) but I eventually bounced back up to 160. I'm holding here, but I have noticed A LOT of increased snacking. I think it's b/c I realize that no matter what I eat, I'm not losing and no matter what I eat, I'm not gaining.....so I might as well enjoy it. I know this is not the right attitude and I'm trying to nix it b/c Reece's PB cups have become way to common and it scares the heck out of me. I guess my biggest question for you long timer's would be.....after you have stopped losing for good have you ever restarted to lose some more? I would love to lose about 10 more just to get closer to 150 so that I am officially where I wanted to originally be. Or should I just be happy where I am and get a better hold on this maintaning thing? Thanks for any input and I've missed you guys!!

Thought i would also add a few new pics. :-)

Warning.. this is a very long post b/c it lists questions discussed at a LapBand support group meeting. I have been meaning to post this forever but have never taken the time to type it up. I will SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS to anyone that will listen. So for any of you that are weighing the options between LapBand and Vertical Sleeve (OR KNOW ANYONE that is!) please read this first! Shortly after having my VSG surgery, a friend of mine (that was recently banded) invited me to a WLS support group meeting. I specifically asked if it was for all types of WLS and the meeting coordinator assured her that it was. Well, when we showed up, I quickly realized that while they are open to all types of WLS patients, it is being put on by a surgeon's office that only does LapBand and everyone there was a LB patient except for me. That said, the topic for the evening was "Lap Band Lingo" and there was a handout with 18 common questions regarding Lap Bands. I was shocked to find out that the things we were discussing were NOT "complications" but everyday occurrences for most of these people. I was the only person in the room that had not thrown up and MOST of them said they throw up on a regular basis. I am going to share this list of questions from the handout below in hopes that it will be informative and eye opening to others the way it was to me. The people that I know who have had lap band are seriously struggling. I have lost more; my restriction is CONSISTANT....which is a HUGE deal that I had never thought of. They are constantly dealing with the "up and down" of needing a fill or unfill, etc. and depending on how tight their band is they may not be able to eat AT ALL or else they may be able to eat like they used to. Personally, I am not okay with that. I need a new lifestyle and to know what to expect. They still have to go to their surgeon.....A LOT. After I'm done with my post op visits.....it is Hasta La Vista baby! I never have to go back again if I don't want to b/c mine is forever and I have not had one complication. One last thing before I get to the list. After the class, I stayed after and talked to the Office Manager lady because I genuinely wanted to know why a doctor would NOT offer both options when CLEARLY there are MAJOR advantages to the sleeve. After much "beating around the bush" she made a comment that will forever stick with me. She said "Well, we have thought about offering the sleeve, but we have SUCH a SUCCESSFUL LapBand practice that we have decided to just stay with that." Here's the bottom line.....every time you have to go in for an adjustment to your band, fill/unfill, etc., or there is a follow up surgery to fix something they are billing like crazy. They know that if they offer VSG, there are very few subsequent opportunities for billing. Here is the information from the Handout. 1. A. What is Morning Band? (Discussion included the fact that most people have a tighter band when they wake up in the morning. A number of people mentioned that they had to drink warm fluids before they could get anything down. Many said that if they tried to eat while still too tight, they would throw up.) B. What is Night Cough? This question was not on original list but came up as a follow up question after discussing "Morning Band" (This one seriously made me sick to my stomach and still does now. They basically described that if they lay down with food still in their pouches, it will come back up and can potentially get into their lungs. They talked about waking up at night and coughing like crazy and coughing bile up, etc. One lady said that she woke up with STOMACH BILE COMING OUT HER NOSE!!!!) 2. What is Mucus Plug or Jelly Fish, and how do I deal with it? (They described because the hole at the bottom of the pouch is so small (about the size of a straw) that any drainage, post nasal drip, etc. would sometimes cause the equivalent of a Mucus Plug to clog the opening. They gave a recipe that included drinking warm lemon juice as the cure for this. Gagging now just thinking about it.) 3. How do I know I am too tight and need an Unfill? (Okay, this is the one where I wanted to stand up in the middle of the room and scream "Do you people not know there is a better way!!" They talked about how when you are already feeling "tight" due to stress, flying, having just been filled, etc. that the simple fact that you are already feeling tight can make you get more stressed and cause it to be tighter. They talked about people having to get unfilled before flying and that their surgeon had taken their entire office staff for a long weekend to his family beach house in Cabo San Lucas and that when they got off the plane that one of the girls was so tight that she was constantly throwing up. He had to "unfill" her while in Cabo. BIG FACT TO KEEP IN MIND!!! Every time these people are getting unfilled, they have to start their diet plan over. After every fill, they have to do liquids for 48 hours, then softs, etc. NO WAY JOSE'!!! It was all I could do to get through my early stages. The thought of reliving that again and again makes me shudder! Also, many will tell you that once you find your "sweet spot" (see #8) the fills/unfills stop. That may be true, BUT my friends who had their surgeries BEFORE mine (mine was 3/28/11) are still struggling with this constantly. One of them just had to get an unfill last week b/c she couldn't keep anything down and was dehydrated. Now she will have to get slow fills again to get back to a good level of restriction for her.) 4. What is Mega Esophagus? (Let me start by saying that we CAN get this as well....so this is not just a Band issue. However, because our stomachs are longer and our openings are "normal size" and not the size of a straw, it is a lot less likely. Basically if we eat too much and feel like our food is coming back up our throat on a consistent basis, we CAN stretch our esophagus. However, if they eat things that they are not digesting well (long list for the group in the room) their food will sit in that little pouch a LOT longer b/c it can't get on out that tiny little opening. So, if they are full to the brim and stretching their esophagus, it's going to keep stretching a lot longer. I HAVE felt on two occasions that I have pushed my limit and had food "up to the brim" and knew that I had overdone it. However within 20-30 minutes, I had digested enough that I felt "normal" again.) 5. Why do I need to keep getting Fills? (Okay, this is the one where I finally couldn't keep my mouth shut. This lady is describing how the band is tight around the stomach and the stomach will "thin itself out" in order to make that opening bigger to allow more food to pass through. So then they tighten up the band again to reduce the size of the opening and have restriction again (back to that inconsistent restriction issue). So naturally, my question to her is "What happens when you keep doing this year after year after year??? Isn't that stomach lining eventually going to get too thin and erode?" She said that it is made to be able to get very thin and then quickly moved on to question number 6 (which we moved past quickly b/c it wasn't a much better topic.) 6. What happens to saline in my band and how do I check it? (I was too frustrated with #5 that I honestly can't even remember what the lady said. I vaguely remember them discussing the fact that it does slowly leak (however a VERY minor amount b/c in all honesty it is a VERY small amount that is in the band anyway). 7. What is Protein and how much do I need of it? (Answers to this were same as for us.) 8. Am I in the Sweet Spot/ Green Zone/ Happy Place? (See #3. In a room of about 20-25 people, only 2 said they were in their "sweet spot". Most were still getting adjustments regularly b/c of inconsistent losing and restriction. This "green zone" is when their bodies are "happy" and losing regularly with fairly consistent restriction and not feeling that they need filled or unfilled.) 9. What are the LapBand Food Categories? (These were their food stages (Clear Liquids, full liquids, soft mushies, regular foods and the final stage was regular foods WITH BREAD). They made a BIG deal of not skipping that last stage. And of course me, who was Miss "no carb passes these lips" at that time was thinking NO WAY. I still don't really understand the instance about making sure they were able to eat bread so maybe some former LapBanders on here can fill in that blank.) 10. Why do crunch carbohydrates go down when meat won't? (Discussed "sliders" as opposed to dense protein. Good discussion that applies to us as well.) 11. What is a Carbohydrate and does my body need them? (Nutrition 101 and it was a good discussion that applies to us as well. No LB specific material in that one.) 12. Gas is to a car like _______is to the body? (Pretty sure the answer was food???But I can't remember. Was already planning my "talking points" for my post class discussion with this lady.) 13. I can eat more at different times of day or different days, how do I know I need a Fill or not? (They discussed the difference in what they consider normal fluctuations in restriction aka "Morning Band", etc. and when they are truly not getting enough restriction and need a fill. I just love that we never have to worry about this.) 14. I am flying or having an operation, do I need an Unfill? (I do not remember the answer to the operation part, but as for flying I was thinking about the fact that I fly ALL THE TIME for work and that alone would have kept me from doing this. I would have been TICKED if no one had told me this was a possibility before surgery. There were a number of people in the room that DO get too tight when flying and do get unfilled before flying. It does not apply to all, but I guess you would have to make sure that there is a surgeon you trust in the city where you are going the first time in order to test it out. Scary if you ask me.) 15. I ate a sandwich for lunch, then stressed out, why am I so tight? (I was shocked to learn about the impact that stress can have on your restriction. There were stories about people who went out to lunch and then got pulled over by a cop on the way back to the office and b/c they were nervous they through up everything and then once that has started they usually can't get it settled back down and have to go get unfilled. I lead a very high stress, fast paced life and I don't think I could handle this.) 16. Do I need to take Vitamins and why? Same as for us...nothing LB specific discussed. 17. Can I take Multi Vitamins and Calcium together? Same as for us...nothing LB specific discussed. 18. Do I need to exercise? Same as for us....nothing LB specific discussed.

Surgeon's office just called.......and I'm APPROVED! Took less than 24 hours!! They said that it almost ALWAYS takes the full two weeks to get the approvals! SO, they said that if we want we can try to do the surgery THIS MONDAY 2/28 instead of waiting until 3/28! So glad I started the pre-op diet in the off chance something like this happened!! This just shows that the power of prayer works! I prayed yesterday before they sent the submission and again last night that the nurse would review it quickly b/c she has been out on vacation. I'm SO EXCITED!! Now to just try to get caught up on work and housework in time to actually have surgery on Monday! Yikes!

Agreed. And on a mobile version I don't see a like button, red or green button, etc.

Wow!!! It truly is an amazing transformation! Great job!!

I was very open about it and felt that if I explained the differences between VSG and other WLS that they are used to, that most people were very supportive. I did not have any true negative reactions. From day one, I have been passionate about getting the word out about this surgery because it is not as well known. I know do many LapBanders who didn't know there was a better alternative. I have had TONS of people ask me for more info, surgeons name, etc. of course I always send them here as well.

Still at 169, so 4lb to go. Have been in a serious stall and not looking promising for the Halloween goal.

I'm not going to post my starting numbers until I see where I end up on the Halloween challenge because I think I am going to come up short. Either way my Christmas goal has always been to be at my goal of 155 or my normal BMI. That will be just shy of 9 months surgiversery. I'm 14lb from there today and been stalled for what seems like FOREVER. but I am determined to hit it by the end of the year.

I was asked by the hospital where I had surgery (Summit Medical Center in Van Buren, AR) to do a photoshoot for a marketing campaign to promote the WLS program. I don't have the real pics yet, but someone snapped a cell phone pic fom the side. This was a huge NSV for me. I felt like a model and it was really fun! I recommend everyone doing something like this for yourselves. You could go to Portrait Innovations or even WalMart portrait studios for very little $, but we all have SO much to be proud of! A few other pics.... My FIRST 5k!! Two legs in one! My new size SMALL workout pants! (never thought I would be in a small anything!) The before shot for comparison sake...

Thank you ALL for your incredibly sweet compliments! I have cried tonight as I have read through them. It's amazing how we never think these things about ourselves, but it starts to seem more real hearing someone else saying it. I can remember looking at everyone's pictures when I was deciding on (and waiting on) surgery. I always said that I would add mine to the mix someday. I'm just glad that someone else might get inspiration or excitement over their upcoming surgery out of the pictures. Thanks again everyone!!

Thanks for the sweet compliments. I actually did do a lot of the race with her on my back or shoulders. We jog/walk on our bike trail In town and she does pretty well at keeping up. She wanted to do the race with me so I let her. I just carried her when she got tired. We were anything BUT competitive, but we had a blast and we will both always be able to say that we did our first 5k together. .

Love, love, love the pics! So excited for you all!

Thanks! My starting weight was 300 when I started my 6 months required PCP visits for insurance. After that, my weight was 268 on surgery consult day and 252 on the day of my surgery. I am at 169 today (will be 7 months post op on 10/28/11). My surgeon was Dr. Travis Goodnight in Van Buren, AR and I absolutely ADORE him. Congrats on your upcoming surgery....you'll do great! Keep us posted on your progress.

Screen Name........starting weight..........current weight..........goal........lb to goal Lanette...............177.8.......................170...........165.......5