ElizabethAnne

Wish I could help you, but I haven't learned how to do that yet. Hopefully, someone else will read this and be able to help you.

Sorry for posting this in the wrong place. Found the answer to my question here: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/40496-how-the-lap-band-actually-works-fills-and-refills/

I haven't had WLS yet, but I used to have this issue due to the medication I was taking. My doctor told me to take Miralax daily. I took it most days and never had a problem.

doctordiva, Thank you for your encouragement and support. I also appreciate your offer to share your experience with me as a recently banded individual. No questions come to mind right now, but I will likely have additional questions if I become insurance-approved. I hope your recovery is going well!

I am at the pre-op stage and am still wondering if the lap band is the best option for me. Unfortunately, there seem to be no clear answers concerning which WLS method will work best for my personality. I am a perfectionist by nature and while I am "good" at losing weight, the only time I have been able to maintain a weight loss was when Phen-Fen was available. I lost weight, then maintained that loss because I was devoted to daily exercise and didn't overeat; for the first time in my life, I ate reasonable portions because I wasn't excessively hungry all the time. However, once that drug combination was no longer available, my hunger was out of control again and I was no longer able to maintain my healthy weight, though I still continued to exercise at the same rate. I lose weight ever single year, only to gain it back the same year. I overeat because I am physically hungry; I never experience being full. (I have devoted much time to analyzing this and am confident that I'm right.) I am interested in weight loss surgery only if I will be able to maintain a weight loss. If I can't, I might as well stick with yo-yo dieting. I eat fairly healthy (except for chocolate candy sometimes) because I choose to control my home environment, and I exercise almost every single day. I am obese because I eat way too much. Is there anyone here similar to me that the lap band has helped? If so, could you please explain why you believe the lap band is superior to traditional, less invasive weight loss methods? Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Kimberly, Congratulations on losing half of your weight---that's fantastic! The thought of never gaining any back is completely foreign to me but exciting. I, too, have a low-functioning thyroid and have taken medication since I was very young. When I am on the proper dosage, I don't notice any problems, but when the dosage becomes too low, the first thing I notice is either weight gain or lack of weight loss when I am trying hard. And unfortunately, when my medicine is increased, the pounds don't just drop off. However, they do eventually come off, which is the most important part. Thank you for sharing your experiences. Good luck with losing the remainder of your excess weight!

elcee, You have given me food for thought. And that's precisely why this WLS information is so difficult for me to muddle through. When I first met with my surgeon over two years ago, he recommended the lap band for me, and quickly added that if it didn't work, we could then move to a different WLS. Since then, my insurance coverage has changed somewhat. If I am approved for weight loss surgery, a second type will not be approved later unless there's a medical complication. I want to be able to take a test that will determine which option is clearly the best one for me! If only it were that easy.

LapNYC, Thank you for your encouraging thoughts. I met with the dietician yesterday, and interestingly, your words based on your own experiences, echoed hers. She asked if I ever "drank" my calories, and I said no way. Consuming calorie-ladened drinks has never been an issue for me. She, too, thought the lap band would work well for my personality and would suppress my hunger. Chocolates? I'll be too fearful of getting off-track again.

Cocoabean, Your great success gives me hope, too! I cannot even imagine a month without dieting, so four years is definitely amazing. Thank you for sharing your experiences. And congratulations on losing the excess weight and on maintaining that loss!

hopefloats, Thank you so much for your insight. If the band can suppress my appetite like Phen-Fen did, I will finally be able to successfully manage my weight. Though they were short-lived, I loved those Phen-Fen days! You've given me great hope!

54Shirley, I appreciate your thoughts and experiences. Thank you! Congratulations on your weight loss!

Thank you for the good advice. I did a lot of reading at first and am now asking many questions. As a result, I am getting closer to the place where you are at---having no fears that I will have regrets. Congratulations on your weight loss!

Congratulations on your weight loss, Shellyac! Overeating is the reason I have become obese. Every single day I struggle to not overeat. Thanks for responding and for your encouragement.

You are doing great, zinnaa! I definitely need help eating less, lots of help. However, I think I can follow the rules, and I rarely miss a day of exercise. Thanks to all of these responses, I am feeling more confident that I can indeed do this!

You're off to a fantastic start! Thanks for your encouragement and for sharing your thoughts with me, sunshineinbama.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, elcee, and for encouraging me. I'm a rule follower, so I think I will be able to make good food choices. I am already committed to exercise and have been for many years so I think I have that covered as well. You inspire me!

Thank you, B-52, for your insight and for taking the time to respond. If I can get to the point like you where my appetite is suppressed and I am able to control my portions, I am confident I can do the rest.

I just read a couple of posts about the band being tighter in the morning and am trying to understand why. Could someone please explain it? Thank you!

Thank you for your reply. I understand what you have written, but it's difficult to understand the concept of restriction without having ever experienced it.

That's good to know. Did he say why it should be a hot beverage? I have never been as hungry in the morning as I am the rest of the day.

Thanks, mdlapband and Karewpah, for taking the time to explain. Your explanations make sense. Just wish there was some way to figure out if the band will work for me. I don't really want to have surgery, but if it means I will finally be able to maintain a weight loss for the rest of my life, I will be comfortable doing it.

I enjoyed reading your blog and look forward to reading about your experiences. Best wishes.

tym4me and Cocoabean, Thank you for your encouragement. Cocoabean, I also appreciate all the good points you made about WLS being a medical treatment. You are absolutely right! I am working on getting my head to accept this truth.

I am new to the forum and am here to learn as much as I possibly can to determine if I really want to pursue surgery to lose weight. Looking back at old photos, I wonder how it escaped me, but I truly didn't know I was fat until I was in the first grade. This realization came about when my pediatrician told my mom that she needed to put me on a diet. I remember that day like it was yesterday. My life was never the same. My story is similar to others. As an adult, my weight has ranged from a low of 118 (during the short time period in my life when I had absolutely no hunger because my doctor prescribed Phen-Fen) to a high of 219. Like most obese adults, I have tried many weight loss programs over the years and have had brief periods of success when I have lost 20-70+ pounds. I am good at following weight loss programs, particularly the rigid medically-supervised fasts. However, though I have been committed to walking 5 miles almost every day for 20+ years, I always gain back the pounds I have lost. I make healthy food choices, for the most part, but I am always hungry. Consequently, I eat way too much. In 2009, I reached the point of desperation, realizing that with the excess weight I possessed, I would unlikely be able to be as physically active as I age. This realization led to a plan to seek lap band surgery. Unfortunately, my insurance company required that my medical record show failure to sustain weight loss within the two years preceding surgery and documentation of my progress toward a goal of weight loss. I didn't possess the needed medical documentation. Thus, I have continued to struggle the last two years. This past week, as I entered my surgeon's waiting area at the end of the day, I felt tremendous excitement. However, the surgeon was running very late and as the minutes ticked by, numerous negative thoughts began invading my mind. I am typically an optimist by nature, so these thoughts were definitely confusing. I simultaneously felt: defeated because I was considering resorting to surgery to lose weight; scared that lap band surgery would be yet another failure in an series of lifelong attempts to maintain a healthy weight; worried about the possible complications associated with surgery; anxious about whether my insurance company would approve the procedure this time; embarrassed that I had allowed my weight to spiral this far out of control once again. When it was finally my turn to meet with the surgeon, I calmed down and eagerly asked all of the questions on my list. Though he answered all of my questions, I left his office feeling somewhat discouraged because there were no clear-cut answers to my questions. Now, I am uncertain about whether lap band surgery is the best option for me, so yet again, I am trying to gather more information. During the short time I have been here, I have been able to acquire a wealth of information. I am inspired by others' stories of success and appreciate everyone who generously shares their knowledge and experiences. I hope that I will, too, be able to contribute someday.

Congratulations on being approved, Violet953! Yes, it will be 24 months next month, but at least my policy does still include benefits for weight loss surgery. The time period has also passed by more rapidly than I thought it would.