ebhmom1

Sultana- I'm with you- I got heartburn just READING the message and I'm not banded yet. Congrats on being on the losing side.

I htink that it sounds like the band did exactly what you needed. there are certain times when you have a 'reason'to celebrate, but the band helped you from pushing the limit to far. Think of it this way- whatyou had probably would have been a drop in the bucket post band- you might not have gotten the signal to stop until you had much much more. Also- I 'm sure that you are much more concious of choosing you reasons for celebratiomn after banding. I don;t know about you all- but I am not yet banded and anything to me and hubby is a reason to eat- hard week, kids birthdays, bonus check, etc, etc. I'm sure my unbanded tummy holds a lot more 'party' food than your band one that had a good reaon for a celebration!

Sal- I love your 'picture'. Just something to keep in mind- the more muscle mass you have to faster your metabolism works, so exercise- especially weight training will help keep your metabolism up to par. I would also concur with the advice you were given about not lower your calorie intake to much!

Wow- you look phenominal- and I must also comment on the fact that your husband is grinning from ear to ear with the hottie on his arm!

Jennifer- My trainer used to be really good on whey protien powders and GNC has a really good one. It's pretty sweet and not gritty, but doesn't have a really strong taste so it can be mixed into smoothies, oatmeal, etc. The gym used to push this Breakfast that I really liked (It does take some getting used to, but it is raw oatmeal, Protein Powder, soy milk and raisins. You mix it all together and let in sit anywhere from 20 minute to a day (in the frige of couse) and then eat it. I actually prefered it when it sat LESS becaue it had better texture- I hope it helps. Amanda

kim- go to www.obesityhelp.com and on the entry page click-'find a bariatric surgeon'- then click on your state. You can look at all sureon in your area, read reviews, and see what type of insurance the poeple who have used them have. Amanda

Lisa- OK I might get stoned for this response, but just a just wanted to play devils advocate for a moment (or is that man's advocate? hmm.) I think most men by nature are jealous if it it's not readily obvious. I'm not necessarily talking about jealous from a 'you're sleeping around' standpoint. But jealous from the 'I'm afraid - or you're not paying enough attention to me' staindpoint. Conisder it from this standpoint. I know you got banded for your health, but if you hubby forgets that for a second and thinks- we spent thousands on her and now she REALLY, REALLY hot, she probably way to hot for someone like me. Therefore in snit mode he decides to even out the score- spend thousands on something he thinks makes HIM just as hot. Rational? No- but this is man land. As far as the rest goes. The issues are not the little things- the fights- the buying stuff, the money. The issues are what's underneath. It's ok to be cheesed off about 'things' but it is worth your marraige? The reasons underneath are what you should be deciding on. And if you decide that those reason mean you need to get out- then you will survive. I thought it was interesting in my psych eval the other day the psychologist told me, wls can make a good marraige great or a bad marraige worse. If the worst happens will you survive? I answered yes- probably a little more forcefully than I should have Good luck

Rica- I know what you mean- some people can be so superior. My older brother moved back from Germany yesterday with his family. I was hoping to have the surgery before he came home. He is 3 years older than I am and spend his adolesence thin as a stick while I spent mine on the pudgy side. As we have grown to adult hood he has pluimped up to normal weight and married a naturally thin woman and I have put on 100 lbs. He and his wife both beleive I lack discipline. I think the only real difference between us is that my character flaw is evident at first sight, where his doesn't become apparent until he opens his mouth. Good luck- Remember the age old saying "I may be fat- but your ugly- and I can lose weight:)" Amanda

exactly- They were not extremely complementary of the band there and when I called to tell my coordintor that I had decided to go with the band and that I got the imression the doctors weren't gung ho, she told me 'they do it, but they don't like to." I think some of it has to do with thier proceedure being the sapala-wood micropouch *patent pending* and guess who is the CORI guru- That's right -Dr Wood! (Dr Sapala apparently left to start teaching on the east coast.) I'd probably push a procedure that I held the patent on also:rolleyes:

My understanding is that you do NOT dump on the Band, but only a portion of RNY'ers do dump. I have read though that some people have a real hard time with doughy food and white bread, which is hand and hand woith sugar for me. One of the things I tell myself when I think of the fact that you can do sugar on the band and even overeat to the point where you move the band, is that alot of the band slippage issues I have read about is due to overeating. I'm going on the theory that I know I can hurt myself int he here and now by overeating that it will cause me to 'behave.' Also one of the things that scare me about RNY is that you here people talk about only being able to eat 1000 cal a day. AFter malabsorption thats like 800 calories, yet 50% of the people who have RNY gain an average of 5-25% of thier wieght back in a couple of years. To do that when you are only absorbing 800 calories to me means you really have to mess up your system. BTW, I was all set to go through center that really pushes thier own brand of RNY. WHen I decided to go with lap, I called and they weren't thrilled. I have had some great referral to lap band specialists in port huron and troy and called dr deol office in troy today and was REALLY impressed. They do both, but really support LAP-BAND as well and have a great risk lowering screening process as well as a comprehensive follow up program. BTW -were is twining? (Fenton is just south of Flint)

Suz- I am in the decision making phase also and really went around and around with myself- do I want all the risks, if I'm going to do this shouldn't I just jump in with both feet and do the rny etc, etc. I have just recently made up my mind 100% that the Lap-Band is right for me- The risks of 'severe' complications is much lower. I also have IBS and I have read post after post on people who have had RNY and have chronic diareha and vomiting, bowel leakage, obstruction etc. I don't have much justification of chosing wls to improve my quality of life, if my quality of life is actually reduced. And if I lose the weight 8 months quicker with RNY is it really worth it if I pay for that choice for the rest of my life?

Hello to all- My question- WHen I started this process I was gung ho on the lap band. Went to a CORI seminar- Dr Wood was all geeked up on thier version of RNY. So I got exceited sent all my paperwork and all the are waiting for is the letter of recommendation from my PCP and my pysch eval results. I have since reconsiderd and decided Lap Band is the best choice for me. Psych evaluation was today and the psychologists though it was a good choice and told me that he has had 15 paitents do the lap band, but the all use the dr out of port hurin because all he does in lap band and maybe I shoud keep my options open. (He has had several patents do RNY also- so he didn;t have negatives things to say about my surgeon or RNY, just that I had thought the process through and maybe I wanted to keep my eyes open.) I called CORI to see how receptive they were to the LAP-BAND, I mentioned that Dr Wood seemed to not be big on it. My case coordinator lowered her voice and said- "yeah, they do it, they just don't like to." So- Long story short- My question- In your opinions do I have an ehtical need to stay with them- should I go through the consult, or should I just seek the Dr out from port huron and ask that the rest of my info be sent to him? Thanks- :guess

Hello to all- new to this site. I started seriously considering wls about 4 months ago and was looking into the lap-band, went to a seminar from CORI and the Dr was pretty Pro-RNY and sort of pooh-poohed the lap band (he was 1/2 the team who patented the sapala-wood pouch.) After listening to his views I was really hyped up on the RNY proceedure and have put the ball in motion. My problem, as things really started to move along, I have been finding that I am having serious second thoughts about rearranging my intestines. I am 120lbs over my ideal and have issues with sore joints, reflux, back pain and varicous veins, but am overall relatively healthy. My family has a history of diabetis, stroke, cancer, obesity, etc, etc, but overall have great longevity. I lost my first granparent at 27, with 2 more following at 31 and one still living. Both my parents, though both obese have had relatively few issues (knock on wood) My mother had polyps removed 4 years ago and my father had a minor heart attack 5 years ago. I have 2 children, an 8 year old and a 3 year old. They are one of my greatest motivators in wanting this surgery. I need to get myself under control so that I can help them get thier eating patterns straight before adulthood. I want to have the energy where I can run and play and show them there is more to life than xbox and cartoon network. My problem is that the more I research, the more complications I find, up to and including death, and I am having trouble justifying trading a weight problems with minor complications in the here and now with the complications associated with the rny. I have small kids for crying out loud, I am young, I don't want to spend the rest of my life worrying about bowel obstructions. colostomies, or worse. So I am back to the lap-band and feeling some peace of mind, although it seems like more work and a longer wait, I have more peace of mind, which I suppose is just in time as I have my psych evaluation tomorrow. Now I just need to get through that and see how willing CORI is to do the lap-band, or I start all over.

Thank you so much for the warm welcome- I had my psych evaluation done today and am feeling really good about the process so far. You all have reconfirmed that this is the right choice.

I understand that there are complication that can happen with the lap band also- they just seem less overwhelming. That does lead me to another question though. I have been having a hard time finding statistical info for the band separated out from all other proceedures. Any clue where to look?

I don't know if they are in you area or not, but I heard Gordon Food Service has them.

cindy- congrats!!!! I hope the streak continues!! Where in Ohio are you from.? I am a Michigander born in Freemont, OH.