Cazzy

Some people manage to lose weight just by eating smaller portions of food, i eat around a 1000 calories a day some can eat 1200, there always is an average amount that most doctors will quote but the trick is to find out what works for you then try to stick to it, counting calories is a pain but for some of us it works well

Gratz on your weight loss and keep up the good work. Every lb off is still worth all the work it took to get it

Can u phone them and ask ?

My understanding is that every decision is appealable and more than once too, next time u weigh in, wear heavy clothes like jeans trainers etc money in pockets anything to add a couple of lbs extra that will help too Did the drs office list u 39.6 or did the insurance work out your bmi from their info, i have seen bmi tables saying something different depending on where they were downloaded from so might be worth asking about it. Make sure u get your insurance companies exact criteria for bariatric surgery then base an appeal on that .. good luck !

Ditto ..

I was not insulin dependent when i was diabetic and had type 2 diabetes because of high insulin resistance and weighing 400lbs. Can i suggest that you u may need to look at things a little differently now u are banded, i would certainly make sure u keep a food log and count the calories for your weight loss but also discuss with the doctor about the reductions needed in your insulin to compensate for the reduced amount of food that u are able to eat. Can i suggest that you read up on Dr. Bernstein and try some of his suggestions .. even at my starting weight i was able to avoid becoming insulin dependent by following his rules and just taking meds for the amount of resistance i had .. it certainly doesnt hurt. He makes a lot of sense in what he advises and many people have been helped by his regime. I still follow a lot of his rules now even tho my diabetes is gone, but equally know people who are type 1 and manage to really control their lows and highs by following his guidelines .. link is to wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_K._Bernstein it must be really hard to manage the band along with being insulin dependent but reading up on information costs nothing and may even help I wish you both good luck and success on both counts

Good luck and da speedy recovery

The stats and failure rate problems relating to the lap band still dont come anywhere near the stats for obesity related deaths. A lot of medical proceedures dont carry a 100% success rate. if you need a cast Iron guarantee this will work then u wont get one. Maybe you need to write down what you are anxious about if you dont go ahead with surgery to help you lose weight. The only comparison i can make for you and i really dont like to say this but .. Imagine something really bad like cancer, would u agree with someone saying i am not going to get treatment because i dont want to go through all the side effects of chemo and radiotherapy and surgery, or would u encourage them to do something as otherwise they may ultimately not survive .. I know what i would do if that was a loved one .. maybe you just need to love yourself a little more Ultimately you have choices, you can cancel the surgery and pray and hope that one day you wake up thin and healthy and you never had to do anything to get there .. or you can take control of your life now before its too late and give yourself a chance at changing your future. The other choice i would consider is going to see a therapist and sorting out why u are possibly self sabotaging. At 57 yrs old and weighing 400lbs do you think this was easy for me because it wasnt, this was last chance hotel for me, i was worried sick about surgery, i knew all the risks but still went ahead. Even if tomorrow i woke up with all the problems u have read about, will it have been worth it , my answer would still be YES !

the noise is probably due to the switch from mushies to solids so that the intestines are now beginning to fill with more solid food, you could very well have some high impaction resulting in what is termed as 'overflow' were u going normally before u changed to solids ? you could also just have a small stomach bug, if it continues by morning i would call your doctor and ask what u can take to help stabalise your system a bit ...

I was saddened to read your post. I am sure all here wish you and your family our very best and you are in all our thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time for you. Huggs from across the Atlantic ...

I think everyone get some sort of negative feeling before going under the surgeons knife but u have to weigh up whats the lesser of 2 evils, if u dont get surgery u will face a long slow death from obesity related illnesses, if you do get the band you stand a chance of changing your furture for the better and living a longer healtheir life. Worst case scenario is u get problems and have to have the band removed at some point. The band alone is not life threatening in any way other than risks associated with any surgery. Yes it is good to go into this with your eyes wide open, but equally you could feel the same having a knee replacemnt or hip replacement, you still end up with something inside you that you werent born with. I think i can guess from previous posts who that was who messaged you, i am quite prepared to have this band removed if theres a problem, that is my eyes wide open .. If we dont take some chances in life we never progress.. We all were prepared to take chances with our health and life span everytime we ate something we shouldnt have or ate too much .. were you anxious about your health then ? I am not wanting to sound hard but sosmetimes telling it like it is needs to be said . I really hope you can find the inner strength to do something and give it your best shot ! good luck ..

You are doing great .. huge gratzz and keep up the good work !

Have u found out what the criteria is for your insurance to cover the surgery. I saw on google yesterday some of the insurance companies listing their requirements so might be an idea to research it a bit more if u have to appeal their decision. Take photo's when its sore and inflamed, be prepared for a battle with them, if they approve u have lost nothing but time, if they dont u armed for a fight already good luck !

Food really isnt your 'friend' if my best friend made me as ill as food did i would never want to see them again !.. we have to form new relationships with food not hanker after the old one, the moments u highlight in your post are about family, friends moments in time that u will still enjoy even if your relationship with food has changed..food now has a part in my life which i enjoy, but it has to be kept in check, not allowed to creep back in to controlling my life.. I control food now and at the moment its doing as it should It really is good to go through a day and not have food keep popping into my head, i think of other things now and i like the freedom it brings .. good luck and i wish you every success !

good luck and i hope this time u feel it more

Any weight loss is possible if you dedicate yourself to getting healthy again, for most of us calories eaten and calories burned is the key to getting the lapband to help u with the large amounts of weight we all needed to lose. Being in this bracket of bmi makes initial weight loss a lot quicker for us if we do things right .. stick with it and make this the decision that changes the rest of your life .. good luck to both of you

I bet your heavy friend is jealous she never got it done and your thin friend is jealous cos she wont be the only thin one around

When was your last fill ? are u tight enough ?

Maybe u need a little more fill, i would go back to the doctor and tell him .. i know i am able to go back for a fill when i i feel i need to .. doctors dont always get the amount of fill right, sometimes its too much sometimes its too little .. the only thing i would say is that sometimes it can be about 3 weeks before i feel the full effects of a fill so maybe wait another week and see, if u still feel the same then go and get a little more.. no point in struggling on when there is no need

I have always had a big appetite and my eyes even since banding still have difficulty some days in not putting too much on my plate, but i always stop now when i get the .. ive had enough feeling as i will often get stuck if i continued eating after i feel the enough hit me. I always stick with protein and 2 green veg, whether it be broccoli and peas or other green veg or salad, i dont measure it i use a smal plate, eat the protein first then eat my veg till i stop. What i have done for the past year and continue to do so is i always have soup before my main meal, Weight watchers tomato soup, yes it goes straight through the pouch but it gets into my stomach and stops me feeling the 'really hungry' feeling that makes me eat too fast, too bigger bites or eating too much . I think its about 70 calories a tin, its my only processed food i eat, but the weight i have lost so far, this system works for me.. The idea for eating a soup before my dinner came from a system called called volumetrics, a sort of way of eating that helps u feel satisfied without the calories.. When i would go out to a resturant pre-band i would never choose soup as a starter as it always used to fill me up before my main dish , i just chose to use this after being banded. I eat 1000 calories a day and exercise at least 500 calories burned most days its nearer 800 calories frum cycling. I still get hungry between meals somedays and try and fill up on water tea and coffee with skim milk.. Find what works for you and stick to it small changes to what u snack on , how u eat, when u eat etc all can make a difference .. become your own expert on you !

Gratzz

well i hope you get your approval and that you have an easy surgery too:) this forum is full of information so just ask a question or use the search .. lots of supportive people here

sorry the info is on my signature so i didnt put it in post .. Banded Jan 2011 and lost 226lbs so far 14 lbs to go was 400lbs when i started Seriously never regretted a single day .. surgery was a minor op .. was easy even at 57 yrs old and 400lbs..

I never want to feel full like after you had a big plate of food ever again.. i feel satisfied after my meals now not sluggish, bloated to the point of bursting, lazy sleepy and all the negatives that overeating brings, and then 2 hours later feeling hungry again.. no thanks i will stick with my small portions and my band and feel alive after a meal !

100% happy with my lapband !