leatha_g

Welcome Patty! Very sorry to hear of your friend's death. That is so very sad. While all surgery has inherent risks, the lapband is definitely the safer choice. There are trade-offs, but mostly healthy ones. The weight loss is slower, therefore more healthy. You do have the maintenance of the band (fills, follow up, possible annoying minor complications), but those are still minor comparatively. I think you have made a wise choice as long as you understand that it is a lifelong committment to changing your eating habits and don't expect the drastic results that gastric bypass offers in it's early stages. I love my band!

Thanks for that information, Pam. Very enlightening. I've had some severe problems with swelling of the lower extremities in the past. I'm so much better now, with my band!

pizza crust was the very first thing that I ever 'slimed' on. The dough (bread) is very notorious for sticking in your tiny stoma on the way down. Not fun! If there is some around, which we do at work sometimes. I will take it and eat the toppings. Some pizza crust is very thin and crisp and sometimes (depending on restriction) I can eat it. However, I'm sure I don't need to tell you that pizza is probably not the most weight loss conducive food available, right? lol. The answer is, yes, you will probably get to eat pizza on occasion, but I do think the band is more geared to 'hard proteins' which stay in your pouch longer, which help you to be less hungry, which have less calories, which help you to reach your weight loss goals. Honestly, since my first bad experience with it. I'm actually kind of afraid of it. Which is a good thing.

Isn't that the coolest thing??!!!! That is really such a triumph, Babs!! I am so proud of you! You have done one helluva job! Congratulations!

21 lbs!!! I am so proud of you, Ryan!! That is awesome!!

Wonderful Jen!! I really hope all goes well for you. Welcome to our little place on the web. We all just love it here and I think you will too! Please feel free to browse all the sections for some great advice, experience and lots of fun too!

Well, so far so good with my new fill. I am not overly restricted, yet I can definitely tell I have restriction. Yesterday, I only ate half a chicken breast for lunch w/ food lube, that is and I got my 'soft stop' signs, so I just stopped. Again at noon today, I was only able to eat less than half of a bowl of chili and I was able to feel the soft stop, so I am GLAD. It's been since June that I had restriction and I seriously did miss it. Even better, I'm not having the serious cravings or hunger either. I think my band is working! :banana :banana :banana :banana

Welcome Melanie!! Congratulations on your choice to be banded! This is a great group and I'm sure you'll find lots of encouragement. Please feel free to read all the posts. There is much knowledge and experience to be had here! Good luck to you with your surgery!

How does one try to follow something as deep and profound as Ryan? lol. You always say it all and then so much more, in such a beautiful way. Thank you for helping us to see with your eyes and hear with your ears that which we so often take for granted. I am thankful for your words and for all that they stand for. I am so thankful for so many things these days. I am thankful for so much more than I ever thought I'd be privy to. My beautiful children, MiMi and Jeremy. I am thankful to have loved deeply in my life and been loved in return. The power to make my own decisions. A job I am not educated for, but that God saw fit to bless me with. I am thankful for my co-workers who are also my friends and who have helped me to grow from the country 'bumpkin' that I was to the slightly more worldly country 'bumpkin' that I am today. I am thankful for the determination instilled in me to move forward even if it is with the smallest of baby steps. I am thankful for the occasional setbacks that I have encountered that serve to remind me of my mortality and of how very important it is to make things count because you don't always get a second chance. I am thankful for the honesty and responsibility instilled in me by my poor hard-working mother despite all that life dealt her. I am thankful for her life and her health and I'm very thankful that God has seen fit to allow me the luxury to have her this long. I am thankful for the two fathers I had who taught me totally separate but meaningful lessons about who I might want to become (or not). I am so very thankful for the love of my brothers and sisters and for their sustained health and well being and that of their children. I am thankful to have been born in America and for all the freedoms that I am guilty of taking for granted. I am thankful for the two legs I have today, due to modern medicine. I am also thankful for my insurance for without it, I may not receive the care I have needed or the medications that I now require. So many do not have this privilege and for this, I am saddened. I am definitely thankful for this great opportunity for weight loss. Again, there are so many who are not as fortunate. I could go on and on all night, but I won't. I have so little compared to some and even still, I have so much from whence I came. I truly thank my God for all that I have, body, mind and soul. For all the lessons He has allowed me to learn and for all the times He has been there to pick me up and dust me off and mostly, for giving me the heart to appreciate it, however inadequately I may show it. And yes, I am thankful for all of the LBT Angels who I've grown to love and lean upon. Thank you for allowing me to stop long enough to think of these things.

That's great news, Vera!! I'm so happy everything is okay!

Here are a few I could put my hands on really quickly. While I have looked at most of these personally, I did NOT try them all this evening, so please don't hold me accountable if they are no longer good links. Happy hunting.. http://home.gci.net/~ram/LapBand/index.htm http://www.geocities.com/dana310rsd http://supergramemr.homestead.com/ http://www.myagb.homestead.com/ http://selkatz.blogspot.com/ http://www.cascadeaccess.com/~kbauer/Lori/lorilapband.html http://maryellen.diary-x.com/ http://bigfunnw.com/wls.html http://www.heather-mitchell.com/ http://www.trisha422t.com/ http://www.obgyn.net/english/pubs/features/roberta-surg.htm http://marquinsa.tripod.com/personal/awakening/index.html http://www.81x.com/BAVS37111/LAPBAND http://site.voila.fr/ma_gastroplastie http://www.heather-mitchell.com/ http://perso.club-internet.fr/jphofst/gastro/gastroplastie.htm http://members.cox.net/kevore/karenslapband.html http://www.employees.org/~kirsten/ http://slamflat.homestead.com/Home.html http://www.geocities.com/lapbander/ http://q.webring.com/hub?ring=agbwebring

I'm afraid it's more common than we like to think about. I believe Inamed's statistics are about 3% for what I had. Apparently, my band had slipped. At least this was the final diagnosis. It was also speculated that I had 'pouch dilation' which can happen from surgical technique, overstuffing your pouch, overfilling the band, etc. Also turns out that I had a hiatal hernia which I knew about, but my first surgeon did not repair during surgery. Lately, there have been numerous instances of bands being slipped and people coming back saying they had a hiatal hernia. Seems this may go hand in hand or it's a hellacious coincidence. This is my personal opinion. Some professionals seem to agree. Anyway, to answer your question. My band needed to be repositioned, so we had to do the surgery over and during the surgery, the doc broke the band so we had to replace it. Would I do it again? Well. I already did. And, I would do it again...

Yahoo Groups Smartbandsters has many in their group database. Also, any search for Lapband, Adjustable Gastric Band should bring up many. I know of some other places to find some, but I'm at work. I'll have to hunt them down this evening.

I still chew gum on occasion. The drinking is definitely a hard habit to break. Like dangerous foods, I have to consciously just NOT have anything close by, because my hand involuntarily just heads for the glass. It's getting better, but I still catch myself doing it. Ordering food - sometimes your 'old' brain takes over and you order things you absolutely know you cannot eat anymore, or get way too much. Swallowing - I sometimes swallow (again involuntarily) long before I'm really ready. I haven't figured this one out, but I'm becoming more aware, so that I don't wind up in trouble any more often than I have to.

Boiled eggs are good. I call the Schwan's man and have him deliver most all of my sources of Protein. They have a great baked scrod, turkey filets, breakfast sausage, bratwurst, chicken breast, shrimp, etc, etc. I'm single, so it's a bit more expensive, but they're all single packaged and portion controlled. I turn on the oven, throw it in for half hour and put a few asparagus spears or some veggie with them and I'm done. I have alot more control over just having more protein too, because if I make regular visits to the grocery store. I'll walk out with all the wrong foods - chips, ice cream, Cookies, yadda yadda. This limits my access to those foods. lol.

Hahaha! From the looks of my thighs?? No way... However, that might be a fun game to play in Galveston. I think I'll bring my tape measure.

I'm fine with this amount!

I actually work in Hospital Materials. I could probably do some snooping around to find out what the current cost is, but it would be hospital cost, not patient cost.

sounds like textbook normal to me. you'll find it all over this board and any others you research on. the band sometimes takes two or three or even 4 fills to get to where you're losing at a regular rate. in the meantime, you sort of have to utilize what you know about choosing the right foods to keep from gaining weight. but yes, it's very normal. welcome and good luck to you!

Exactly (what she said). You definitely want to focus on Protein - hard Proteins (if you're past liquids) and veggies, which I never get enough of. Because your pouch is so small, if you have restriction, you need to make what you do have count. So, protein first, veggies second, anything else IF you still have room. In social situations, I find it tougher to make very good choices, but I do still try to focus on meats and if I feel I wanna try the other dishes. I do. I just get a spoonful of several things and eat what I can. Personally, I find having the band a big relief during times of social eating. I can go into those situations with the confidence that I will not leave totally stuffed anymore and feeling guilty for what I put in my mouth. Now, I can spend more time visiting with the relatives or helping out in the kitchen and leave with a clear conscience. I love my band!

Welcome Mary! So glad you could join us! Sounds like you're doing great!

It does allow you to breathe a sigh of relief, doesn't it? Once you've had a broken band, it's like you're walking on eggshells, waiting for the next shoe to drop. That's great news! Now maybe we both can get back to the task at hand!! Woohoo!!

THAT'S MY GIRL!!! You GO Paula!! Awesome SV/NSV.:banana :Bunny :banana :Bunny :banana :Bunny :banana :Bunny

Hahahaha! Well, now that we've been introduced to Ryans' fellas... lol. And I thought I was bad..

Yes ma'am. I'm up to 2.9 now.. sounds like alot to me, but with this being a new band, everything is different. I went easy last night and just had that 4oz cottage cheese for dinner. Today may tell the tale. You're right. I don't normally eat ALOT, but lately, the junk food monster has been haunting me everywhere I go, so I knew it was time to get serious. After being rebanded, I've been so skeptical about whether this band will even work at all. It's good to see him draw back all the Fluid, so I know it's there, but he keeps saying this band is placed higher, so the sensations are all different. 2.9 sounds like alot to me, surely I'll get some sensation out of that?? lol.. maybe more than I want..