WOWOX7

oh my... not at that weight any more.. I am sitting at 165

I am so glad I found this post, I have been having trouble since April of this year. I was banded in Jan of 08 with a 138lb loss. I took vacation in April, on the plane on the way there, I felt like a tight sensation. when I landed I went to drink coffie,, threw it up.. that night,, I coughed all night. Woke up in the morning, with no voice. I went on liquid diet mode.. for 3 days while miles and miles away from home. called to get appointment at surgeon office as soon as I landed home. they took out some fill. was better for a while, gained about 15 lbs, went to have a fill, and have not been the same since. I have had the coughing, stuff running out of nose and mouth during sleep. sitting up in chair did not help. I have been to General Practioner, My ear, nose and throat dr. talked to er drs at work.. all thought it was sinuses........ fianlly at the end of my rope I called my surgeons office, talked to nurse, she said it sounded like esophagitis, and went in for slight unfill,,, took care of it, they suggested having scope done.. did that. Band fine, but Esophagas was enflamed, and irritated. gave me meds. They say,,,,,, I was tight, food was sitting at the top of stomach, causing it to irritate my esophasus. thus,,, causing acid reflex . It has been a roller coaster for the last 5 months,,, tired of not being able to sleep.. no problem eating.. restriction ok. I have just not understood it all. so glad I am not the only one with these issues. been made to feel I am doing something wrong, but yet they can not tell me what...... another unfil last week, after nurse practitioner put in WAY to much fill two and a half weeks ago. Paid way to much money for the band, and way to much effort on my part to gain it all back,,, it has to work. thanks for listening.

You know what.... You can live with less pain... YOU CAN......... I understand the feeling of failure, but.. I DID NOT FAIL THIS TIME. I gave it my all.. my110 % I sent you a private message on the letter I sent my family about my band. read it... Lois

Dean, You have had some very good advice and experiances replied back to you. The only thing I can add is.... Yes, I was nervous before surgery,, about the surgery itself, failing AGAIN. BUT... I WAS MORE NERVOUS NOT TO HAVE THE SURGERY. I was so close to diabeties, had high blood pressure, out of breath.. all of the things that go with being Morbidly obease. I HAD TO DO SOMETHING. I was self pay and do not regret one cent that I spent. I do not regret it for one minuite...... only wish I would have done it sooner.

Chellz, I am so sorry for your road block. My Surgery was canceled the day before it was to happen.. I had been on a two week liquid diet. I was self pay.BUT>>>>> When my lap band Dr had done the pre op testing, they found a problem with my calcium levels... VERY LONG story short. I had hyperparathyroidism, and they had to take a parathyroid out before I could SAFELY have the lap band surgery. So I had to wait from the end of Aug... Parathyroid surgery in November, and the Lap band surgery in Jan. I know it is a bummer with the insurance company doing this.. I was self pay and still had a cancel. BUT.... If they had have done the surgery in Aug.. who knows what would have happened... A Blessing in Desquise? I will say a prayer to calm your nerves... I have been there girl... Lois

Tonya, Congrads on your decision on the lap band. It is understandable to be nerveous about ANY surgery. Have you looked into a lap band Dr local???? I just "personally" could not have have my dr within a few hours distance away. I guess it is a comfort thing..... As far as something going wrong.... that is with any procedure you have done.. to me it was worth the risk. I was way to close to Diabetes. had High blood pressure.. to me it was more of a risk NOT to have the surgery. As for the rate in which you lose !!! I lost an average of 10 lbs a month. YOU have to be commited to it.. the band does not do all the work. I was very restrictive on what I ate and how much. I did not have surgery to cheat and fail. Now I am slowly adding in starches and things I had restricted. You are right,, you have so much to live for... Four little ones.. what a treasure. You have to weigh out the risks and do what is right for you. I would suggest that you find a FREE seminar local and go to it.. talk to the Dr.. ask questions... see what they have to say about the band.. I guarentee they will probably have someone there that has had the band.. talk to them. I am just so glad I had the surgery... my health is so much better, I can do things I have NEVER done before. You can do it also... for yourself AND for those 4 little ones. LOIS

Oh my goodness.. thank you all for your help and suggestions. I was away for the weekend, and loved coming back to info... thank you all again.

ALL, I may not be looking in the right area, but I am needing ideas for Bread substitutes.. also any and all ideas and comments on tortillas, taco shells ect. I am just now adding breads, carbs back into my diet and having a little trouble with breads. Am I eating it to fast? do I need to toast the tortillas shells???? Long timers.. help me..... Lois

Like they all said, protein first. I ate alot of Egg salad and cottage cheese. I even put the cottage cheese on my lettuce salad for extra protein.You can cut down on the amount of salad dressing that way also. I have also added tuna to my egg salad, made it about half and half. VERY Good protein. Canned chicken works well to. Lots of veggies and tried to stay way from the pasta,rice,potatos. Now that I am almost where I want to be, I eat either fish or chicken with a salad at work every night "work 10:30p to 7a" during the week. eat a sincible other meal and then splurge on one thing over the weekend. Eat alot of baked Walmart bagged chicken breasts, alot of pork and ground turkey instead of beef. You can get real creative, focus on what you can have instead of what you should not have. lois

Wonderful job everyone. It can be done with the band. Dont let anyone tell you it cant. Mrswilson, you are right, alot depends on the amount of effort you put forth. The band is a TOOL, so much can be determined by what we do and what we put in our mouth. WE STILL HAVE TO BE ACCOUNTABLE. Best of luck to everyone.

Hello all, From Kansas city also. Dr Malley did my surgery and I have absolutly no regrets with him or his staff. They are absolutly wonderful. I am self pay and started out looking into wlsc, they flat out lied to me just to get me in the door to get my 250. They were rude and uncaring. Just my experiance !!!!! would not change having the band for anything. Life is so much better. Lois

Indiogirl, What a wonderful success. Thanks so much for your story. I recieved my band on Jan 3rd of 08 and met my first goal in April of 09 (-139lbs) , and slowly working to my second goal. Second goal to be considered "normal" weight by the BMI calculations. I am still trying to get used to walking into the NORMAL size section to buy my 6 jeans instead of the full figure to get my old size 26 jeans. It takes such a long time for your mind to catch up with the weight loss. Still working on that. You are so right that it takes work and will power. ALOT OF IT.... but the band makes it so much easier to stay on track and not BLOW it. You have to have a certain mind set. I was self pay and I made up my mind I WOULD succeed THIS time. I was sooooo restrictive the first 9 months and really watched my diet. I am slowly adding items back into my diet. Jeepman, I can only tell you that you CAN do it... if I can... anyone can. IT DOES WORK. It is not always easy or fun, but set your mind to it and dont let anything or anyone stand in your way. I can not believe the difference in my energy and my life. I have ALWAYS, ALWAYS been heavy, and I am doing things that I have never done before or would even attempt to do before. I would do it all again in a heartbeat... pay double if I had to. Best of luck in your journey, let us know how the seminar turns out and how you are doing. Lois

Rebecca, I do agree, your tastes do change along with your wants. I stocked up wayyyy to much on jellos, puddings,soft soups,ect. Another thing you can do during the soft stage is egg salad, you can make it as thin as you want, and it is WONDERFUL protein. As I started to get restriction, I would drink hot tea or coffie to relax it in the mornings. sometimes broth. Like someone stated earlier,,, get rid of the no-no's. so they dont tempt you. Good luck Lois