bev712

Hi All, On this day, my 68th birthday, I want to share with you my success story. My significant other and I both had lap band surgery in January 2012. Since then, I've lost 70 pounds and he's lost 85. I'm at 148, which is only 8 pounds above what I weighed in high school and college. Even my shoe size is down from an 8 to a 7, and I can wear flat sandals and wedge heels again. I can walk for hours (shopping for clothes and shoes, and also walking the dog) and swim for a half-hour. My backaches, knee aches and hip aches are gone. I love looking in the mirror now, in my tight jeans and clingy tank tops. I can attest that the lap band works beautifully, even for seniors who'd just about given up. It's worth all the effort of changing eating and exercise habits. I'm just delighted. Bev

If you nag him when he doesn't yet have the filled band as a tool, you'll just add to the stress that may be contributing to his overeating. Just back off and give him time to adjust to the whole experience. My S.O. and I both overate when we didn't have enough fills. Perfectly normal. Without enough fill it's like not having had the surgery. It can be very anxiety-provoking if you don't understand what's going on. I agree, he'll learn.

We eat brown rice pasta, just not too much at a time. The reason regular pasta could be a problem is that wheat contains gluten, which is the sticky stuff that holds it together. The gluten can cause it to form a ball in your stomach that won't go down, so whole wheat pasta can be more of a problem that regular pasta. I would stick with the brown rice pasta.

The same thing has happened to both my S.O. and me. Not enough fill yet, not enough restriction, and we started overeating again. We all overeat because there's no signal from the brain that you're full. The nerves that signal fullness are at the top of the stomach above the band. When the band isn't tight enough, food goes through to the lower part of the stomach, and you just keep eating. The purpose of the band is to keep the food at the top of the stomach so the "full" signal is triggered. When there's not enough fluid in the band, we often just go right back to our old eating habits. IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!! We had surgery the end of January and had one fill in February. I'd lost 25 pounds and he'd lost 35. He began overeating a few weeks ago. We went to the doctor 2 weeks ago, I didn't get a fill by my request, and he got a second fill. I started overeating not long after the appointment and went back yesterday for my second fill. He's going back next week for another fill, because what he got didn't help. I'm eating less now, but I know I still need more fills. I didn't get discouraged even tho I gained back 4 pounds because I knew it was very common. He did get depressed because he didn't expect it. So please don't get discouraged and don't blame yourself. The reason you had the surgery was because you overate. The surgical process simply isn't finished yet. After you get one fill you may feel a change, or you may need more fills until you get enough restriction to get that "full" signal after a very small meal.

I'll keep this short because my laptop died and this is from my Kindle. I think this discussion is a waste of time and that the original post was highly inappropriate. This is a SUPPORT GROUP for people who are already banded or who are seriously considering lap band surgery. It is not for just anyone to post whatever they think about the band including incorrect and unscientific information. I hope the original poster will please refrain from further replies. The depth of emotion that you evoked tells me your negative posts are not welcome here.

I've decided to get out every day and do something wonderful. I go to the pool and do exercises, I go to the art museum, or to the Japanese gardens, or I go shopping for new clothes. I've changed my hair style, letting it grow longer and experimenting with new, more youthful ways to wear it. I wear darker nail polish. I've completely changed my wardrobe, now wearing bright colors, clingy clothes and cute shoes. We still go out for meals but now enjoy eating half of it and taking the other half home. I'm also always looking for something we can do together, like musical performances and interesting exhibits. With all this new energy, I'm enjoying my life and my retirement more than ever. Thank you Lap Band!

My apologies for my outburst. I was just concerned for your health. To vomit constantly in order to lose weight sounded so wrong to me. And it is wrong, and you had it taken care of. I'm glad you're doing better.

I think it's important to tell someone who has eaten inappropriately that it's normal to screw up and even to deliberately decide to do something wrong if it keeps them from going completely crazy. So, for example, you drink with meals sometimes and overeat. It's not a big deal if small abberations keep you generally on the program. For some people, the adjustment is easy, but for others it's not, and we try to be understanding of those who are having a hard time. I haven't seen what you're seeing, but that's because I don't look at the responses to most of the posts. I just delete the e-mail and leave the thread to others who may have more informed or positive comments. You can spend your precious time wallowing in other people's troubles when you could be spending doing something nice for yourself!

Here's some motivation: I am 5'2" and weighed 208 before surgery. Only two months later I've lost 24 pounds and my Type II diabetes if GONE. Do it.

Now THAT'S the spirit!! Look how far you've come in less than a day! Better to borrow a little more and not deplete your savings completely. The anxiety of having no financial backup isn't worth it.

I can eat just about anything in small portions, but I have to be careful of the gluten (wheat) foods that tend to get stuck more easily. If you need to snack between meals, you aren't in the Green Zone yet, but once you get there, everything becomes easy. You enjoy your small portions immensely and then don't think about food IF you're busy with something you enjoy. If you start obsessing about those cookies in the kitchen, they don't belong in your house. As for restaurants, I either get an appetizer for my meal or eat half and box up the rest for another meal. You can probably eat a whole pancake, but your choice for healthy foods should be eggs (I love cheese omelets), and by the time you've eaten a half cup or so, you won't have room for the pancake and won't want it. As for birthday cake, try to think about a yummy mouthful instead of a slice. After a healthy meal you probably won't want more than that. It truly is a whole new experience when you get to that Green Zone.

It IS caffeine! You're just getting more of it in a concentrated dose. Caffeine is a diuretic, which is why it's not recommended - to prevent dehydration, but I couldn't live without my coffee, so it's just a choice between slow-and-steady or all-at-once.

Their financing may be very costly and more than you can afford to pay monthly. With interest payments so low these days, you could look for a non-profit credit union that would give you a lower-interest loan and a much longer time to pay it off than the surgeon and the hospital. Don't give up yet!