andielmt

oh my god i feel so much better, my friend today all convinced me to have the bypass. she had it 3 months ago and has lost 55 pounds. i am the type of person if i dont see results soon i get discouraged and sometimes quit but listening to you guys there is hope for the band. ive been so confused lately and said that id rather not have surgery than have the bypass because it scares me. its hard though because my boss who is a doctor wants me 100 % to have the bypass , she thinks that the band is the shortcut and it wont be affective. im suppose to have surgery the end of october so i need to get my head cleared any suggestions?

andrea

my surgeon said that he would do the surgery but he did say alot of bad things about it. i dont know if i should just go to him because there isnt anyone else up here or if i should go somewhere else in the state. i am nervous to switch doctors because what if they are the same way? right now i can have the surgery in oct, but if i try someone else who knows when it will happen. i know that i shouldnt rush things, i have been in this program for almost a year now. the head director of the program told me that i shouldnt rely on the surgeon to get support that i need my team and her for support and that he is a good surgeon with no deaths and does a good job. my concern is that if i have the surgery with him how is he going to be towards me everytime i go in for a fill, is he going to be negative? i am so confused on what to do, i am so disappointed and to the point of not even having surgery period.

andrea

when i was at the surgeons office the other day he pushed on my stomach and said you are going to feel the band and it will be uncomfortable and if you lose to much weight you may even see if through your skin. this is coming from a surgeon who doesnt really believe in the band anyway, so is he right or is he just trying to talk me out of it?

andrea

i found out recently that my doctor wants to use the bigger band, he said that it is better and the fill wraps around the whole stomach where as the reg size only goes around part of the stomach, i am a little nervous to have so many fills, it sound like the smaller one would be better for me. id rather have less fills

thanks for the feedback, there is another doctor here who will do the band but i heard that she is more for the bypass also, i may have to go further away, i just dont want to have to do the program all over somewhere else. ive had so many people tell me to get a new doctor so i should investigate. ill let you know what i decide.

andrea

i do tend to go for the bad stuff sometimes, i am trying to work with my counselor and nutritionist so i can make better choices and feel good about them. right now i tend to eat chips (fat free) or low fat ice cream yes i am eating the fat free or low cal but i would like to get out of the habit of eating this way all together, any suggestions on how to eat better and not choose the bad stuff?

andrea

i have days once in awhile where i snack all day. does this mean that the band wont work for me? i used to snack all of the time now it usaully happens on my day off if im home all day. i know this sounds like a mental probem and i try to think before i eat but sometimes i just feel like snacking. i have improved alot from how i used to eat but im just wondering if its normal to have days where you eat like this?

thanks for all of the feedback. it really helps, i know that i need to change my eating habits first or nothing else will work, i have come along way from even 6 months ago, i used to eat all day for about 4 days a week, now i might have one day here and there where i have the munchies all day but it doesnt happen very often, also i have been keeping a food diary since january and it helps me realize what i am eating and how often, i now have to bring my diary to my counselor and she is keeping an eye on how i eat and gives me pointers. i think i am on the right track and even went to the gym today to see how much a membership would be, i want to get back into exercise seeming how ive only exercised 4 times in the last 4 months. i want to start up again and get into a routine before surgery. i just need to get my motivaton back and join the gym. i just got so discouraged when i was going 5 times a week for a month and didnt lose a pound. i hope that you guys will keep in touch with me because it means a lot to me and i think it will help with my goals

thanks andrea

thanks so much for your feedback. it helps more than you know, i called the head cordinator of the weight loss program and talked to her about my visit she was very helpful and she didnt take any sides, she said that i should go to a few more support groups and she was going to email some lapband patients emails so i could talk to them, i am not going to let this get me down. i still want and need to lose weight so i need to be positive even if other arent

andrea

i would love to try another doctor but the other doctor who does the lapband i heard is the same as the one i went to today i heard that she isnt much for the lapband either and prefers to do the bypass. i am scared to go to her because i cant handle another negative doctor. if i go to southern maine to see a doctor i may have to do the program over and i would have to travel alot and its hard for me because i have a child.

andrea

sometimes i wonder if i should even have surgery, i do eat bad often. i do good for awhile then i do bad then i do good then bad etc. i wish i could just eat well most of the time. i was 90% convinced that having surgery was for me now after today meeting with the doctor i feel like im going to fail especially if hes not supporting the lap band

also i just talked to my husband and he is sick of me taking about surgery he just wants me to do it on my own. now i dont even have his support

andrea

thanks cerrin, i dont really have alot of choices as far as doctors but i will do some research maybe i can find someone further away

andrea

thanks faithmd ill look at those sites. there is only one other doctor who does the band here and i heard she has the same approach as the surgeon i had today. i heard that she prefers the bypass also. i just dont know if i should stay with my surgeon if hes is so negative about the lapband

andrea

i just went to the surgeon today and the same thing happened to me. he was all pro bypass and didnt approve of the band. he said that he would do it but i need to lose 140 pounds and that i wont lose that with the band. i am so discouraged at this point and feel like calling everything off. everyone i work with decided today to agree with the surgeon and have the bypass. my boss thinks that just because im scared of the compications of the bypass that it isnt a good enough reason to have the lapband and she said that i wont have good results. see she is a doctor and she has sent people to have the bypass but has never sent anyone to have the band.

andrea

the surgeon i saw today said that i would probably only lose 50lbs and it would take me 2 years to do it. this is so discouraging. he said that i need to lose 140lbs and that it wont happen with the lapband. help i need some feedback?

andrea

i met with the surgeon today and he is all for the bypass. he said that only 1 out of 6 people succeed with the band and that i will probably only lose about 50 pounds and i need to lose 140. he said that the bypass would be better and that hes not a huge fan of the band. now what? this whole time ive been totally committed to having the band and now he is trying to convince me to do the bypass. also my bmi is 49 and he wont do the band on people who is over 50 talk about being close. i went to work today and talked to my boss who also is a doctor and she told me today that she feels that the band wont work and that the bypass is the way to go and that i am taking the shortcut by doing the band. im so confused. i feel so disappointed with my visit to the doctor today. any comments?

andrea

Dr.Lalor used to work at the Cleveland Clinic in Florida and is now at Emmc in Bangor, Maine he's only been here for 2 weeks and i would like to get some info on him before i meet with him next week

thanks

andrea

alfie

i wanted to let you know that i bought whey at Walmart about 2 months ago. i got the vanilla kind and it tastes pretty good. it has 23grams of Protein per serving and it comes in a 32oz container

andrea

i am going to meet with the surgeon on tuesday so im not even sure if hell approve me for surgery but since i found out that i am going to meet with the surgeon i have fallen off of the wagon, ive been eating really bad and have gained 2 pounds. i need to get a grip but its hard. i went 3 months without gaining anything now i feel out of control. i am aware of how this makes me feel and i want to stop because i dont need to gain weight and i know that its not healthy to overeat or eat bad right before surgery and suggestions?

andrea

im not going to see michelle after all. i am going to see the new doctor that just started 2 weeks ago his name is dr.lalor i hope that i made the right decision on switching doctors. my boss is a physician and she strongly advised me not to see michelle toder. so well see what happens. i do know that dr.toder has changed her post op diet to soft Protein 2 days after surgery.

i have aetna choice pos II also, i was told that i needed proof that ive been overweight for at least 5 years. i hope that i dont need proof of exercise or diet because i stopped going to my nutrionist a year ago and i dont have proof of exercise except working out at work. also i was told that i would have to pay for the fills and that they would be around $100 per fill

andrea

thanks for the feedback i really appreciate it. it is hard when people comment on how you look. i am happy for you that your going through with the band. i went to work today and talked to my boss and told her that i am having second thoughts and she was very supportive and said dont you dare you come this far . that helped and she has also ok'd me to take time off for the surgery, she even told me that i could stay with her if i needed help. she said that she hates to see me take to much time off because im the only massage therapists at work but she will support me, i do wish i had more support from my husband, other than that no one else knows that i am doing this so i am pretty much going through this alone. i hope i have the strength and will power to succeed.

andrea

i havent been banded yet but congratulations. i meet with my surgeon in 2 weeks so hopefully ill be in your place soon. good luck

andrea

i am starting to get really nervous now that things are almost at the end. i kind of feel like im having second thoughts. i first started this program in nov. last year but backed out for a while then started back into it in may after my friend had the bypass. i read the letter stating when to meet with the surgeon and my husband said are you really going to go through with it. he has doubted me all this time and now that i am getting closer to surgery hes not being supportive. i know that something has to change in my life because i didnt even dare to go gocarting with my son today because i am to fat to fit into the gocart. talk about feeling depressed. i am scared that i wont lose the weight then what. does anyone have these feeling right before surgery?

andrea

i can tell that my nerves are acting up,ever since i found out that i will be meeting with the surgeon ive fallen off the wagon and have eaten really bad this week, not once or twice, but three or more times between chinese, pizza, and ice cream. i have been keeping the snacking under control now especially in the last few months but today i snacked all day. i think that i will be ok though because i am feeling really guilty and am sick of it all ready, i am also thinking about exercising again which i havent done now for 3 months. its hard because i am sick of eating bad but i know that once i have surgery that i wont be able to eat alot of things so part of me wants to get it in now. i know that thinking that way will only make things harder and also i will gain weight which i dont want. i need to get back on track and try really hard

andrea