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losing your gb will not cause you any problems long terms, it will not negatively affect digestion or bowle movements, it will jsut get rid of the risk of pain from a GB attack. the ble s secreted by the lver directly into the common bile duct then into the intestine- where as t would previously have been stored in the gb, so the GB is kind of a redundant organ in us these days. as for the surgery. the degree of gas pain varies from surgery to surgery eg how much of the insufflation gas they manage to get back out after the procedure- the gas is pumped n to make the organs stand apart so they can see what they are doing- ths gas cause irritation as well as that blated post op feeling, you can als get shoulder tip pain as the gas irritates the nerves. they removed the gas at the end of the procedure but some is left to be absorbed by the body over the next day or so ( some of teh irritation can take longer to settle) you also get abdomnal gas as they have been handling the past of teh intestinal tract etc, that kinds shocks everything, adn dsrupts its normal movement, so the gut has bacteria that produce gas all the time, yo u need the bugs to aid with digestion and normally the excess gas is absorbed or passed, when things are going slow tos tart with after surgery it causes gas pain- by getting mobile as soon aspossbilbe post op you will help speed things up both by passing the gas and getting things movng again! Post op pain should be less as most of the pain post band is from the post but we all know bansdster who have had nasty gas pain,i gues youcould be lucky with one and not so lucky with the next op> even so, it should not be as bad or as dangerous as a really bad episode of cholecystitis ( gall bladder attack)

what was it about there plan that was hard to follow?? it may be worth trying to tough it out for a while and it may get easier. for isnatance, i used to love carbs, in fact the more carbs i ate the more i seemed to want, i went on a low carb diet ( avoided pre processed and high gi foods) and t was really tough for the first few days, i had headaches, no energy and had terrible cravings for anythng starchy! but after about 3 to5 days those craving passed and now that i stick to low go carbs ( mainly fruit and veg) as well aslean protein, i am losing weight. i agree that you need to get the support of a nutriionist, it there program is tough to stick to they need to explain why it is tough, will it possiby get easier the longer you are on it? can it be modified a bit- bare in mind though that sometmes the pre op programs including the need for weght loss is a way to test how committed to the process the patent is! good luck

laprascopic surgery can be technically more challengeing for people with a higher bmi but it was originally proposed as an options specifically for the higher bm patients because of the reduced risks of complications and quicker healing ( i have a starting bmi of 60.9) I am also a type 2 diabetic and my bgls have gone back down to the normal range, they dropped when i lost around teh first 50 pounds- now, to put that in context, i was not on medication before losing weight but was about to be commenced on oral meds. You mention being on inuslin shots, i guarantee that your diabetes would improve and any mprovement reduces your risk of complications. if you lose weight and are able to ncrease your fitness levels- it just has to imporove your cardiovascular status. I still have about 90 to 100 to lose, i have lost 125 so far and i am wheelchair dependant- since losing weight, my diabetes has gone, my BP is normal, my cholesterol is better, my joint pain s better and best of all, i am an amputee and haved not had a prosthesis for about 5 to 6 yrs, i was considered hopelss because of my size and then i have ms that affected my remaining leg I i need an above knee prosthesis. a few weeks ago i got my first leg for yrs and can walk about 50 meters at a time ( total of about 250 for the day) may not sound like much but it is something i would never have done without losing the weight- its not a miracle, but the and does help to improve other helath conditions but do not forget that being morbdly obese is a potential killer but long before t kills you , it is likely to rob you of your independance- that was the push i needed to make this work. i had failed to lose weight with the band, then i woke oneday unable to move my leg, feel it or stand on it, i could not even transfer from cahir towheelchar- at 385 pounds, i weighed too much for others to help, that is embaressing! i was luckly my leg imrved rapidly and while its not as string as t was i can transfer even on a bad day now- but that short period when my ms flared up gain was enough to say watch out! there are worse things than premature death due to weight and for me loss of my independance was the thing feared most. I have lost 125 since nov last year

I have heard of this before, it is not uncommon for bandster to experience this first thing in the am I am tght until early afternoon but can manage it as you describe by having a small cup of somthing very warm immedicately prior to the meal- now i have esophageal dysmotlity issues that are made worse by MS nerve damage but some of us just have weaker muscular contractions in the esophagus ( or so i was told) they can't tell easily unitl after the surgery is done. even though my problems were very severe ( got close to having the band removed) I have been able to work out how my band works for me and we have modified the rules to suit ( my dietician and me) and i have now lost 125. I would be looking for answeres though, they can do some testing to see how well you esophagus is working and see if you have an issue there or maybe you just have an easly irritated band

h everyone, i am not new here, but i have not visited for quite some time, thought i would pop in again! I live in South Australia, i have been banded for a few yrs now but failed to lsoe weight for about 5 yrs and had lots of problems with swallowing. they took all the fluid out of the band adn almost took the band out. eventually i was diagnosed as having MS and that was causing the swallowing problems. once i new what the issue was i worked with a dietcian to modify the rules- back in november last year i was 386 pounds with a bmi of 60.9, now i have lost 125 pounds, i weigh 261 and have a bmi of 40.9. AS well as having ms i am also an amputee, i lost my leg at theknee 12 yrs ago and my remaining leg is ms affected. I have not had a prosthesis for about 5 yrs- until last month that is! it is very hard to fit a MO person with a prosthesis, especially when a an above knee prosthess is needed, it takes approx 80 % extra energy expenditure to walk with an AK prosthesis even if you are normal weight. early this year i bought a knee scooter and started trying to get a little bit mobile and that was enough to persuade the rehab Drs to try making a prosthess. they agreed but said that i would only walk a few steps at a time- in fact i can walk about 50 meters ( i have also had a knee replacement in the other leg some yrs ago!). Needless to say i am very proud of that achievement! mjsafari- you said that you were frustrated that you could not see that you had lost 45 pounds, i could have written the same post! in fact i think i did post on another board when i got to about 60 that it was embaressing that i was so big that i could not see the effects of dropping 50 to 60. truth is you are probably being tough on yourself! when i eventually usued a photo editing program to overlay a new photo over the original one, it became obvious that i had actually gotten significantly smaller- i tink its just tough for us to see because we see our reflections daily- now i do these update phots monthly as well as body measurements so that i have objective proff as to wether i am bigger smaller or the same- its worth doing! just use phot shop or gimp ( someting similar, make the newer photo a secondlayer over the frst photo and then make the second layer transparent- as long as thephots are taken in the same spot and posture, you can see some interesting changes. I have another 95 to 100 to get to goal but for the frst time in my life, losign ogreater than 50 % of my original body weight seems possible. I have proven to myself that even if you are completely immobile ( electric wheelchair), and have not only faled to lose weght but gained weight with the band for 5 yrs, you can turn that around and lose weight! i am over half way there now and it may take a whle but i know i will get there. As for lose skin that someone expressed concern about, i will deal with that at goal, in the meantime, i where the apron as proof of my success, as another poster said, i would rather it droop infront than been there and full of fat sticking out infront- at least good underwear can manage the loose skin!

I am feeling a bit better these days but still not working and definatley struggling a bit with the ms. I had thought that perhaps I had annoyed someone since my posts just seemed to get overlooked - I have not posted for the past couple of weeks simply because I had little energy and postedf on a board that did give instant support. i was sad though as you guys are more local. As long as i had no caused offence to anyone, i guess that is the main thing

HI guys, havent't checked in for a while as I have been unwell- i have been in and out of hospital over the past few weeks thansk to a relapse of my MS- Idid actually make acouple of posts a while back and responded to a few on the board and never recieved any aknowledgement at all- I must stay that I felt as if I had been given the cold shoulder as I was looking for some support at tough time. glad to see that everyone is doing well, the new thread is a good idea and seems to be avoiding all that obnoxious spam that had crept in. I think it is a good idea that it is a general Aussie thread rather than specific states.

Hi guys I have jsut been catching up with all the posts, I have not been around much recently infact I have jsut come out of hospital again ( 4th stay in the past month!) I am having a flare of my MS and it is turning out to be the worst attack I have had. I love the support from these boards but jsut do not have the energy to function at the computer. the good think s that I am dropping weight pretty quickly thanks to vertigo induced nausea I am now only about 1 1/2 pounds away from going under the 300pound mark for the first time in close to a decade- guess there is always a positive side to everything. I have been blubbering so much recently too, i can't believe it I jsut cry for now reason, my Doc thinks its from the high dose steroids, i hope he isright becuase that means this feeling should pass soon- i hate not feeling in control. Sorry to hear that a few of you are not feeling well too, sounds like the cold and flu season is kicking in a bit earlier this year! I really hope that this post finds you all starting to feel a bt better and brighter. take care of yourselves

hi guys, I have jsut come out of hospital for the 4th time in the past month. I stll really crook. no energy at all and feel dizzy most of the time. Even with the steroids I do not seem to be making much headway. I f I have a better day and start thinking thats things are getting better I start feeling pretty crook again. My neurologist is being very supportve but he says it is just a case of time and riding it out. LAst time I had a falre like ths with these kinds of symptoms it was almost 6 months of going in and out for hospital. For some reason I can't stop crying, i feel so miserable. Overall my life is good at the moment and I have noting other than the ms to really be bothered about so I do not know where all the strong emotons are comng ffrom. I'm not sure if ists because I am relating this episode to the one that made me ill for months or if t is possibley a sde effects of the steroids. I don't like it what ever it is as it makes me feel lilke i am not in control of myself. crying at the dro of a hat in a public place is very embarassing. I can't work at the moment or go to uni so I am pretty much stuck at home. any prayers to help gve me strenght to endure this would be gratefully received. thanks for listening to me whinge

sorry you are having a tough time bronnie- you will work this out, it will get better. its jsut not pleasant at the time.

thats the way I interpreted it Ron. I really went back to look for the supposed insults and tree hugger was the closest I could find and thats the only reason mentioned it at all. There have been some very spiteful debate that have been very personal at times on this board and I jsut don't want to see what could be an interesting topic turned into its own toxic waste thread. AS I said, in my first post, I lean between the 2 extremes. I know that there have been a lot of different clmatic events in the hstory of the world and that humans have only been around for a short part of that. guess there are a few issues. whether we cause it or not, we can be victims of the current warming cycle. Hence my interst in the subject. I do alsoe think that we do have more of an ablity to nfluence our environment for both good and bad than every before and more than any other species on earth. we are makng attempts to alter the way nature works. What we do today may not have a huge effect in the geologcal timelline 1000 yrs from now but then agan we may have made it a bit worse or a bit better- thats where I think we are at the moment. we can and do make small changes and it s up to us which direction we go

I agree with Jachut comment and the ensuing replies that the person could have at elast offered to make a call but if we are thnkning in a christian and caring manner we wll not be so quick to judge his behaviour. WHAT IF and know it is a big " what if"! but jsut what if that man had been in a life threatening situation related to helpng others in the past. THis is the sort of thing that can lead to post traumatic shock syndrome and even simple events can trgger awful flashbacks that go right back to the orignal event- it is very real and feals everybt as terrifying as the original event. so I would feed back to the local pastor, they can look at whot was and the actual event. I can understand Devanas fear and hurt but none of us should be so quick to judge

bascally thats what I was saying Wavydaby. At the moment we can all find scientists that can quote plausible arguments for both options. My personal opionon ( and its only that) is that life is rarely black and white ( or hot and cold!) so we need to be aware of both sides of the story. accept that they may not be sure about what is happening now unitl many years, decades, centuries down the path. With that in mind we then need to be as responsible as we can about the resources we each consume. There are some very interesting sites around like the ones that show water and power consumption used indirectly in manufacturing etc. I have switched over years ago to energy conserving light bulbs ( mini fluros) now I have found that LED technolgy is better still! more expensive at the moment like mini fluros were originally by they are at least 5 times more efficient, by producing far less heat. so as I can afford to change over I will. I did not see any insults thrown around either at the moment and I hope it doesn't happen- did just see the tree hugger comment and it is not useful so i ignored it!. I did not understand the quip about the fish but i don't think that was an insult either. at the moment I don't even think this rates as a RANT or RAVE, jsut an off topic discussion. is someone hoping to spark off another rant by picking a tpoc that tends to have polarized views. If this is a genuine discussion it is worthwhile but f it is an attempt to start another trail of insults as has happened before its more toxic than industrial pollution and should stop now. hopefully it is what I frst thought and an genuine attempt to share views

glad things went so smoothley- good luck for the rest of you too. I am sure you will all find things go fine too. even when challenges do arise the outcome is usually really postive and I like to see that. we need to see both sdes of the coin. I have had some challenges but I am glad I have my band, would not trade it in for the world

Hi pammers you have had some great advse here! I had very little post op pain. I stayed in hsopital overnight but only because it was planned that way. i live alone and have medcal issues/disabilites so it was felt safer to stay one night. I could have managed but was glad to be in hospital rather than being alone. I work partime in a call centre/office based setting and missed not time from work I think from memory I had 2 days at home them back to my usual 8 hour shifts. Ihate pain and deal with chronic pain anyway, so I went in expecting the worst and hoping for the best. I had access to morphine via PCA ( patient controlled pump) but did not really need it other than at night. then I had access to meds oxycodone and lquid tylenol for home. I used the tylenol manly but have them available and use what you need. we are all different and the pan vares quiet a bit. I did not feel hungry at tall at fsrt. you have some swelling that makes you feel ( or often makes you feel) full most of the time at the start. then thngs can get tough for a hles when you are still only on fluids and the sweeling has gone. they want your stomach to rest and heal, for the band to settle nto ts postion and the more you make the stomach work the more it churns. Eating too much too soon also ncreases the risk of vomiting. Real vomiting ( as oppsosed to pb) too much in the early days can be associated with the band slipping. so the eraly days are all about healing not weight loss and that can be tough for some. the early post op diet varies an awfl lot. my surgeon used to do 10 days of clear fluids like broth and Jello with a single half strength Protein shake per day, then 10 day free fluids, still stuff that can be passed through a straw. 7 to 10 days of purrees to mushess so you are increasing your textures gradually then the last week to 10 days going from mushy to real food. others go a lot quicker to flul fluids etc. it can be a frustratng time and may be worse if you have a family to deal with but hopefully they will be helpful. this is where I frst starting working out the difference between real hunger and head hunger ( still workingon that one!)> I tried to think of this stage as purley a prescribed diet rather than normal eating, I had been told to eat like this for a period of time for medcal reasons- to help me heal and reduce the risk of complications. Complications may still occur but are less likely and will be easier to deal wth if they do- that I know from experience. THs approach worked for me in the same way that I have no problem in takng prescribed meds as the Doctor orders- we discuss things if there are doubts but I basically follow his prescription. food in the healing phase was the same thing good luck, glad you others are feeling well post op

Hi susannah I totally agree about the woman crossing the line by going to the press with her amazng story that was only half a story. the story was in thats life or take 5 first ( not the most reliable mags, mainly self reported stories for a possible cash payment/proze) may be she was after some quick cash and possibley seeing if she could get picked up to write a diet book like the clothes line girl did. THen the other shows pick up the interest and the half truth and woops! i agree that to tell not tell is a personal choice- you cannot got to the press with half truth though, she will never be taken serioulsy now no matter what she achieves- I bet her surgeon/dietician love her too! the ms s still a problem. I have had a few days of IV methyl pred now I am on reducing prednisolone orally from 50mg for 5 days then 37.5mg 5days etc over the next 3 weeks or so. I ma still having vsion/depth perception problems ( hence a lot more typos at the present, my coordination is a bt off too) but my vertigo has improved. the steroids have bounced my blood sugars right up and I ma storng Fluid, not losing weight and feel more hungry at present. also have some more stomach irritiation from the steoids too but I know it is all temporary stuff. At least the real hot weather is done with now and that is a godsend. am a bit worred though as that is 3 attacks in 12 months and each one has been more severe. this one is the toughest one since my official diagnosis. Bronnie Sorry about the tactless comment form the patient! No doubt she was not a slim person either. i often found the larger patients fell into the 2 extremes the ones who would not ask for help because they were scared they would hurt you OR the ones that would lie there like a lump and expect you to do all the work. I love the fact that no lift policies are becoming more common. I would never expect someone else to shift my bg butt without a lfter, i do not want to be responsble for harmng someone I still get sensitive about this stuff at the moment. I went to get some new bras, and went to be fitted for the 1st time n years. Now I knew that I had lost a lot but still had a lot to lose. I found myself having to say this to the assistant. she only saw me that one day, still huge and that thought hurt me for some reason. but evn when I said Ihad lost 70 or so pounds I then suddenly thought - she must think I am really huge, what alump! the head stuff can really kick in with strangers! At least your work mates saw the changes, they are thngs that really count she smiles I completely understnad your current postion re the tell not tell saga. I think we only get to make that choice once so we nned to feel really safe and comfortable in what we are doing and how well it is going. In the early times and this can be months down the track, i think a lot of us will stll have some internal doubts about what makes this more permanent than other attempts. For me, i feel different about things this time, i feel more confident that the time is right for a permanent change, so I do not care if someone doe not agree with my choice. I was open about the band when I had it done, mainly because I did anticipate anything but support. It never occured to me that I would be accused of taking the easy route. As I had a lot of problems in the early years, i would have been devastated had I had such awful judgmental comments. I went through negative stuff when people found out I had ms and it was awful (workplace stuff from a supervisor) that has taught me retrospectively just how carefule one needs to be with this kind of infomration. once the information is out it is out so we need to be safe and sure about how we feel about the issue to be able to deal wth the misguided comments from the ignorant. hope everyone is having a happy easter

they are general health readings. if things go as planned, this is virtually bloodless surgery but it can be lenght surgery and put you at rsk for clots in the leg etc from lying in one spot. they need to know that sodium, potassium and other electrolytes are in a good range as all this can affect the amount of fluids and drugs they use in OT an post op. they may not do as many tests for smaller ops but this is classed as major surgery and we are slightly higher risk patients simply because we are bigger. the chest xray is saftey too. you will be ntubated ( tube into lungs to breath for you while you are under) and they simply want to make sure you lungs are in good nick before OT, no chest infections etc that they did no know about- not worth doing that too soon before surgery date though as it is like a snap shot only. the tests you have donein the assessment period are to make sure there are no major reasons why you are not a good candidate for this type of surgery. the next round of tests are just so they have enough information to hopefully avoid any problems but also so they have the information in the case that something did crop up. its all about being prepared rather than being reactive- a sign of good management. try not to get too anxious about t all. talk to you surgeon or his support staff if you have any specific worries too. they can get into a real routine about taking these tests and may not stop to realise how anxious you may be going through all this, particularly if you have not had much surgery in the past. good luck

Glad you have been able to get approval for the less invasive surgery, maybe the original bout of nerves has served you well in the lon term, they say things happen for a reason!. You are right to be positive about the co morbs mproving as weight drops. I do have some health issues that have gone completely at least for now and some others that are simply easier to deal with because I have lost 73 pounds ( have another 140 or so to go) Can I make one suggestion Futuretalk. I love reading this board and I enjoy readin the variety of post frompeople at all stages in the journey. Could you please use a slightly larger font ( eg one up at least) as you current seting is really tough to read. remember that a few of us are gettng older, some have medical issues such as diabetes that can affect vision, I have diabetes and MS both of which affect vision at times- I'd hate to miss out on valuable posts because they are too small to read

maybe the truth is somewhere between the 2 extemes. the world has gone through changes in the past, some of which has lead to mass extinctions etc - or so it is thought. Humans do have the potential to alter the environment that has both a negative and a postve effect for us and other species. I will not get overly dark about global warming but if I can make my home more energy efficient etc it can only be good. Here in Australia, we are going through a serious drought and are on Water restrctions re car washing, pool filing, garden care etc. the drought is possible made worse by human activity possible a natural cycle but which ever, it is making life tough and could get worse. It takes approximately 1,000 litres of water to produce 1 kg of wheat; 2,700 litres of water to produce 1 kg of eggs; 13,500 litres of water to produce 1 kg of beef If the entire global population were to adopt a western-style diet, about 75% more water would be needed for food production. http://epaedia.eea.europa.eu/page.php?pid=406 yes some of the stuff that has been put out is alarmist and over done, but we can use what we have to better ends I use a front loader washn machine that uses less than 20 % of the water my top loader used to use ( is gentler on clothes too!) and if I am sensible about detergent choice I can use the water on the garden and to clean the back yard pavers down ( i have a dog). do some reading and make up ou own mind where you tink the pendum really sits. the human race has the ability to change the entre environment both in good ways and bad ways but we also say with the asian tsunami and KAtrina, that we can still be pretty powerless at times too

Wasbubblebutt, I have esophageal motility issues from MS that lead to spasms and swallowng problems too. I am also depedant on an electrc wheelchair for mobility. I tried the 1000 cals per day and stll gained weight or maintained weight at best. I went back to calore counting, measuring/weighing everything and using fit day ( full version)to monitor nutrient levels etc. dong this has lead me an my dietician to agree that 600 to 800 is the best level for me, avergae is about 680. with about 60 grams lean Protein as the mainfocus. I limit fat intake and what fat i do have i try to aim for Omega 3 ( part of dietary stuff to reduce ms effects). I do watch/limit carbs- I avod high GI refined, processed carbs- this has taken my blood sugar levels back to normal ( i have type 2 diabetes), it also got rid of carb cravings. If I do go back to higher gi carbs like rice- I have ncreased carb cravings for a few days. there is no simple answer to this stuff, even the term starvation mode, gets used an misused a lot. My surgeon says that as fat is stored energy, we are trying to force ourselves into starvation mode when we have the band placed. we are forcng our body to burn stored fuel by creating a calorie deficit. If you have a more average lifestyle in terms of energy output etc, 800 may be too low and 1200 may be better. If you are really active lke some I know, going below 1800 can be too low. the other thing about low cal intake s that the lower we go , the better choices we need to make. we cannot afford to stry as much. I look on food mainly in the same way as medication now, eating for what my body needs is number one priority.enjoying what I do eat is next priority but I will not make food a social event anymore, It is not a comfort or reward anymore. I was threatened with lsoe of the band at one stage, my problems have led to an esophageal dverticulum. i was unflled for ages but now that the problems have been fully diagnosed and assessed I have worked with surgeon and detician to modify the rules to fit my situation. like you I want to take full advantage of this tool as cannot assume I will always ahave it. but I have found that by being very cautious. eg if I have a pb I go back to fluids for 1 to 2days, post fill I go back to fluids and work up to full diet over 7 to 10 days. I now have 4 mls in my 9ml swedish band, have very few pb's unless my ms is playing up, have very few symptoms of gerd ( had been really bad), no longer wake up choking in the night etc. I am confdent that I will kep my band for a long time yet. as long as you are working with your surgeon and thngs are working for you, it is the right choice. the band is only a tool and any tool has a basc purpose but can be used in a variety of ways to achieve the final goal. your logic makes sense to me

I made the decsion As I had serious health issues and I am wheelchair dependant. Being morbidly obese with a BMI of over 60, my independance was at imminent risk, for me that was a bigger issue than early death. may seem strange, but I think that I got desensitized to the message that fat would kill me, sure something will kill me! so for me, forced dependancy was far worse. Quality of life stuff. I knew that WLS was my only real option and dd not like the thought of the more invasve procedure like RNY gastric bypass. I knew someone who had gastric bypass- she lsot the weight and kept most off but has had to deal with severe nutritional imbalances and anaemia since then and probably for the rest of her lfe. She s happy wth the decision but I guess I liked the idea that as the band is adjustable it could be fine tuned over my life- even removed if needed and the underlying anatomy basically is back to square one. None of us know what the future hold so I did not want to burn any bridges with permanent anatomy changes if I could achieve what I needed with less invasve surgery. my surgeon is one of the australian pioneers, he has been doing band surgery since the early 90's and has been doing wls in generla for longer. He is Professor of bariatric surgey. He has not done anything but the band for over 6 yrs as he said the long term stats show better success rates for the band and far less complications, the rsk of death from the procedure is as high as 1 in 200 for the other surgeries and less than 1 in 2000 for the band. One of the biggest units doing this surgery in Australia for the longest time has said that they have not had a single death from the band that was attributed directly to the band surgery. thevery small number of deaths that have occured have been related to the co morbs or completely unrelated stuff. same long term results with far less rsk was the final piece of the puzzle

I agree with WasaBubble Butt- this s a very normal response. I did gain weight with the band for a while and failed to lose weight for a longer while - but now 6 yrs later I am flying. I had to look at why was failing ( not why the band was failing). For me it was firstly some undiagnosed medical problems ( ms that lead to swallowing problems) follwoed by a lot of emotional stuff about being a no hoper if this magical procedure ddn't work. I believed the stuff about it being 100% effectve if you worked with it, so if you fail ts your fault. What I now know s that this s too simplistic a view! I should have looked harder and pushed my surgeon harder for reasons why I was failing rather than assuming as my surgeon did that the fault was all mine. Eventually when the ms was diagnosed and it explained that my swallow was weak, that the normal band rules would lead to me eatng the wrong types of food to avoid gettng stuck- eating around the band s bad but it was all I could do until we worked out my band rules. I got scared last year after mor MS problems and after my weight got to 385 pounds. I could not move from chair to chair as the ms had paralysed my only leg ( amputee). I had to lose weight- so I have gone back looked for ways to alter my diet and habits to fit in with my band and my ms and I have lost 73 pounds since november- not bad for an absolute failure who has been wheelchair dependant for 12 yrs. THis may seem a bit off topic but what I am trying to say is that, merely having the band does not guarantee success, its good to know and accept that prior to surgery. so that if you are one of the few like me who have a frustrating passage and seem to be failing, you go back, re evaluate and start again and learn how to work with the band. From that point of view, the band has the chance of being 100% effective. there may be foods that you decide are not worth eating again, they may be foods that potentially cause you problems. What causes one person a problem may not cause you a problem. This is a bit of careful trial and error until you work out what is possible for you and what is best left alone. Bread is a no no for me, the risk of PB is just toohigh. I used to be a big bread eater, used to make my own daily, now I do not miss it at all . Final message, this can be scarey, you are looking at a changing pont in your life and there are likely to be frustrating changes At times- but they are likely to be really good changes too. Even after all the tough times in the past 6 yrs since banding, with success only over the past 5 - 6months, I feel the good stuff is well and trully overtaking the bad. Before I had no hope of losing the weight, now I have lost 30% of my excess weight. my bmi has dropped from over 60 to 49.2. To quote James Browns famous song- I feel good, i feel like I could now! I am finally working out how to use my band properly and I know I can lose my weight. I am confdent that one day I will be able to say that I have lost over 200 pounds, I could never even begn to think that was possible pre band or pre my nov '06 epiphany. do I regret being banded- no way! do I regret wasting 5 yrs by calling myslef a failure and living lke a failure- yes! So my big message is in the unlikely event that things do not work as planned to begin with, re group and get pushy to find out why, and how you can change things to work for you- do not start living like a failure, think in terms of self fulfilling prophecy- you believe so it wll be ( that works both in good and bad) if you believe you are going to fail you wll, if you believe you will succeed you are half way to success already. good luck with you decision- i will get off my soap box now!

PS - the only ting I might have an ssue with is the title My journey Its a good title, but it covers the journey of just about every bandster I have ever met or spoke to. so I would prefer The Journey or Our Journey. Not a critiscm, more a complment. You have written from a personal perspectve but have captured a far broader image of the band journey than I think you may have realised at the start- if that makes sense

you have very clearly put the thoughts and feelings many of us have had into some very nice words- well done. the friend or for bit strikes a chord, our band challenges our past and present behaviour, thats part of the learning process. I have read where people say the band does not help emotional eating, and I think that is untrue. even the fact we can see it as a foe at time shows us that it is showing us somthing that is uncomfortable to see/know- we can only fix or change behaviour that we aknowledge- it s the band that has helped me tell the dfference between want and need, between real and head hunger. not always very convenient when I want that snack and I realize I want it for the wrong reasons, but I thank the band evntually. I also like the bit about walking a mle n someone elses shoes. I am a great believer in peer support, especially when dealing with long term/chronc issues. THe so called experts are helpful but only someone else who has experienced the same challenges, fears, dscriminations etc can trully understand, emphathise, sympathise and feel what we feel. knowing that someone else has felt the way we feel at times s comfortng, especially when we see that they have gotten through the tough times- that brings real hope great words presented in a very poignant manner

i have been banded for almost 6 yrs, part of that not only did nI not lose but I gained weght!! felt like an absolute falure. some of it was medcal issues that took a while to diagnose, a lot of it was emotional stuff, feelng like a failure so becomng a failure- self fulflling prophecy. I peaked at 385 pounds last november at least 100 pounds over my pre band weight. I am wheelchair dependant, have MS, amputtee unable wear a prosthetic limb. I felt like such a falure, I was guaranteed to fail! For me, I had an mS flare n sept that paralysed my remainng leg. I could not even trasnfer from chair to wheelchar etc and i was too heavy for someone to lift me. I was lucky this time, i got enough use back in my leg to be able to transfer again, if not my independance was gone! that is a bg motivator to look again. To tink about how I used the band to fit my problem. the normal rules do not work for me. the ms has caused swallowng problems that meant I could manage foods like icecream etc easier than the solid Protein type foods we are meant concentrate on- so I was eating past the band. I decided that t was going to take more effort than average, that I needed help from others to work out my own rules. that I was worth the extra effort and that I owed to me. the band dose help with emotional eating, simply by identifying what is emotional eating and what is real hunger. how you deal with the emotional eating is then up to you. no easy answer, I don't know any serioulsy long term obese ndvidual that can say they have not emotional eating issues to deal with. some are just ready to deal with those ssues. you can either carry on medcatng yourself with food and eventually make yourself physically ill ( or kill yourself) - sorry if this is tough but you are the only one person who can fix this. Since my epiphany in november, I have lost over 73 pounds and still losing. I now have worked out how to use my band for my benefit. I measure everything I eat, I journal what i eat, I use peer support to keep me on track. I take body measurements and regular photos as well as weghing to track the changes and i am working on fnding other ways to handle the emotional stuff without food, food is not longer for anything other than nutrition, like medication is used to treat medcal problems, I would not take extra prescrption meds so why would I take more food than need. yes it is hard work but i am worth it and if I do not thnk I am worthit, I cannot expect others to care more about me than I care for myself. i'm glad that you have maintained weight rather than gained it, but you are settlng for a lot less than you need to. ask yourself honestly these questions- when did you decide that it was okay to be obese/morbdly obese? When did you decide that you were not worth the effort it will take to fix this? when did you decide that you are willing to settle for less? at the moment this is what you are doing to yourself, I don't know you, but I know you are worth more than this- we all are. sorry if there are lots of typos in this message, I am having ms flare at present that is affectng my vison and co ordination. but this thread meant a lot to me.