txdee

It's a shame that in this day and age, all that is offered to us are these alternatives! I don't mind making good choices and eating small amounts, esp. if I'm not very hungry, but...tiny bites, chewing to mush, getting stuck and sliming...and that's after you go through a certain amount of risk having surgery, either jumping through an insurance company's hoops or spending $$$ out of your own pocket, so you can have a foreign object implanted in your stomach. Oh, or you can have most of your stomach lopped off or have your intestines rerouted. Wonderful.

What is getting stuck? It sounds like choking. And sliming, what the heck is that???

So...if you don't get a fill, can you not worry (as much) about tiny bites and chewing to mush? And about the getting stuck thing as well? Can you ever eat "normal" again after WLS??? I'm not talking about junk food @ every meal, I'm talking about good choices, but geez, can you not worry every minute about not eating and drinking @ the same time, tiny bites, chewing to mush, and getting stuck episodes?? Sounds like trading one obsessions for another, in a way.

Thanks for your replies; I'm so on the fence! I started out...band...then band with plication....then sleeve....now I'm back to band...if anything! I'll be so glad to have seminar on 05/01 and then hopefully one-on-one with dr. to see what he says. Yea, my husband is not too thrilled with any WLS, much less sleeve! My friends are also freaked out about the higher risk of the sleeve. I'm not thrilled about an object in my body; I'm not thrilled with having a major organ cut off. But, it's now or never, and I would love to lose a boatload of weight and live the rest of my life comfortable in my own skin. But, frankly, I'm not looking forward to tiny bites and chewing to mush the rest of my life either! So...I'll be sitting here on the fence a while longer!

Notice I said 'when", not "if". Do you just not get fills anymore (unless you start gaining weight back)? And, then if you don't get fills, can you eat fairly normally again or do you still have to take tiny bites and chew your food a million times??

I will just say thank your lucky stars if your insurance even considers paying. I called mine the other day and they said all obesity and morbid obesity issues are excluded. I pay over $800 a month for my insurance (BCBSTX)! What a (*&@)*&^ rip-off!!! I can only hope that if I do have band or sleeve and there are any complications, that they will cover those as "medically necessary", but that too is a gamble.

I appreciate your honesty, and I'm sorry to hear about your experience. Have you considered being checked out by a different bariatric doctor, like a 2nd opinion? I wish you well on your journey.

My style of eating has always been to take pretty big bites and eat really, really fast. That's probably a big part of why I need to lose weight, besides terrible food choices. I am just a very impatient person in general. It seems so tedious and boring to sit there and chew, chew, chew. If I'm not hungry, it won't be that bad. It seems like the end result of this is that I'm not going to enjoy eating anymore; it might become a tedious task. Plus, I like to guzzle down a big beverage while I eat - can't do that anymore!!! I am just being realistic - I haven't even had a consultation yet, even though I have a surgery date (I told you I'm impatient!). I'm self paying (my insurance absolutely will not cover it, there is an exclusion), so that is a LOT of $ to spend. I can see myself saying, "take this *(&^ thing OUT!!!!" Yea, I need to lose a LOT of weight, but I've needed to lose weight for years and years and years. It is purely a health thing, vanity is no longer an issue. Of course, health is always most important. No offense to anyone, but it sounds absolutely restrictive and mundane, so I'm just weighing all the pros and cons, because I do realize it is a HUGE decision. Plus I'm pretty paranoid. I can imagine getting home and having one weird pain and thinking someone horrendous is happening to my body. That is something else I'm going to have to deal with. We don't live near any type of health facility, so I feel isolated when it comes to such emergency situations, so that is a big consideration. Like I said in the beginning, I'm on the fence - and today I am on the negative side of the fence - but trying to cross on over and go through with it. Thanks again for all the responses and for reading my rant!!

Thanks to all who responded. What do you mean by "finally got to restriction"? Is that the green zone or you reached your goal weight or what?

What is the green zone?? I've seen it on here a few times, but please explain! Thanks!

Regarding gastric plication, plication, iband - since it is still clinical trial (investigational) so insurance will not pay for it, does that mean some doctors will do the whole procedure, including lap band part, for free??

Sorry to hear that cindy54. Was it just a fluke, doctor error, or some particular reason that it went so wrong? I was wondering about such stories, because I think everything I've read since this weekend was so positive.

If it is a trial or research study, does that mean it is free or reduced cost? Seems like there are so few doctors that even do it! But it does sound like it is the best of both worlds!

I love chicken, diet soda, nuts, asparagus - all the things I'll be asked to give up, at least in the beginning - I guess, I hope! It's not like those things are Desserts, fried or horribly fattening! I just started my lap band research this weekend - can't even make a consultation appointment because nothing is open over the weekend. Is it safe to say that I can eat whatever my body can tolerate (eventually)? Yes, I want to lose weight, but I also might want to splurge now and then - like holidays, my birthday, etc. I would like a balance! Comments, please?

Good job! Congrats on your progress! Lose it and keep it off while you are young!!! The absolute biggest regret of my life is carrying around all this excess weight for thirty years. And struggling with it for 20 years before that because I (and my parents) ***thought*** I was fat. How different my life would be if I had not had this problem - oh well; I guess I had it for a reason unbeknownst to me. I'd love to live the rest of my life without this daily burden and I guess if it's meant to be, it's up to me.

I guess I should have said "worst case scenario", if my body won't tolerate breadsticks, I would have to give them up, I guess - from what I have read. I'm new at this, I'm taking everything at face value. If it says I can't eat doughy bread, then I assume that possiblity exists. In trying to make my decision if this is something I'm prepared to do, I'm asking myself some tough questions. It's kind of scary. It's a lot of money to spend! I realize now that it is not a quick fix; there is a LOT of work involved. But obviously, I can't do it on my own. I'm a big chicken too; otherwise I'd probably just get the gastric sleeve and be done with it.

I know I need to give up diet sodas anyway; there is so much controversy about them. I will miss Olive Garden breadsticks, but oh well. I see that I need to concentrate on the positive aspects (better health, etc.) and not dwell on the things that I must give up, such as diet sodas and gummy bread, etc. Is there a trick to retraining yourself to taking small bites and chewing slowly?

I have a problem with chewing and eating slowly; that is something I will have to work on, but I know I can do it. Seems to me like it is all basically a focus shift from living to eat to eating to live. It is no longer a vanity thing, it is all health (I'm in my mid-50's); but it would be cool to be able to shop in a "regular" clothing store again! Thanks for the suggestion of the "dry run" - eating AS IF you had already had the band. I was on Medifast one time for 6 weeks and had not ONE bite of food, but of course I gained all that weight (70 lbs.) back right away. One reason I haven't had the surgery until now is that I do fear I will gain all the weight back...and I don't know how I would forgive myself if that happened. Thanks for all the responses.

Thanks, that tells me some of what I needed to know! Funny, I love steak, but I can totally give it up, I eat it so infrequently anyway. Same for sweets; I know once I don't eat them for a while, they will taste yucky sweet. I mean, yea, some things I can give up permanently, but some things that I listed...not so much. I know I can sub tea for carb. sodas, it will just take some effort. chicken has always been my go-to fast food; you know, order the sandwich but eat none or little of the bun. Or a salad with chicken, but salad without chicken - bland and boring to me. Why rotisserie chicken though? The dark meat?