girlygirlz

No the nurse Laurie is definitely not aggressive! From what I understand she will only do 1 cc at a time and then it is six weeks for another appointment! From reading others experiences it can take 3 or more fills to get restriction. (Read Pam's thread on this site - it took her almost a year to get restriction!) That being said I am still very happy with my surgery. I have lost about 27 pounds in a little over 2 months. Most of that was during the pre-op two week diet and the first couple of weeks after surgery. I am losing about a pound a week right now and it is pretty much just from willpower since I have almost no restriction after the first fill. I get my second fill in late March. For me I think I needed the surgery mentally as much as physically. I had gained and lost weight so many times and after I got to be over 40 years old it became extremely difficult to lose any weight at all. So I think I gave up on dieting. After all my logical mind had concluded that dieting is crazy (You know that definition fo insanity that says you are insane if you keep doing the same thing over and over but expect to get different results) So the surgery gave me real hope that I could actually lose weight. I am eating better and exercising and I feel better than I have in years. I just have to not get frustrated with the slow losing. SO don't expect the weight to just fall off. You will need to work your butt off. But a lot of people on this site have had great success. So Good LUCK!

Hi Dawn welcome! You can get your fills right here in Reno! We have an excellent Bariatric practice which is made up of four surgeons called Western Bariatric. They are a American Society for Bariatric Surgery Center of Execellence and my surgeon has talked about doing revisions for people who have had surgery elsewhere so I would think they will do fills too. Their phone # is 775-789-9192.

My acid reflux was probably caused by my hiatal hernia which was fixed the same time as the lap band surgery. I haven't had any acid reflux since.:rolleyes2:

One answer for protein once you are on solids - CHICKEN BREAST 1 three ounce serving has 27 grams protein and 140 calories!

OK Josie, Jachut and BooBoo, looking at your fabulous success I am going to the gym tonight! I haven't been in over a week (had a bad cold) and told myself I would go tomorrow. But you are all such an inspiration! BooBoo Love the latest picture!

I had a bmi of 35.6 and was basically healthy. Insurance paid and my primary doctor really played up my co-morbitities I had slightly high cholesterol and acid reflux. But he also noted that while my blood pressure and blood sugars were normal they had been creeping up over the years. Diabetes runs in my family and I don't have great knees So the fear of diabetes and knee replacement in my future really motivated me. I think a lot of literature does not seperate the risks of gastric bypass vs. lap-band. I recently read that lap-band is about as risky as having your gall bladder out. (very low) I had surgery once before (for my sinuses) so I wasn't afraid of going under anesthesia. I figured I would have the surgery before my weight really caught up with me. Because the surgery is reversable I figured that the worst thing that could happen is that my band would have to be removed some day. I was willing to take that risk.

Graman- There are certainly a lot of people who have become slim. But some people are happy at a healthy if slightly chunky weight. A lot of the before and after pictures are people who are still "in progress" They may still want to lose weight but are celebrating their sucesses. If you want to find people who have had a lot of success you should check out the plastic surgery threads. The people who share their journeys have all lost tremendous amounts of weight before their plastic surgery.

Amy - I checked out your pictures and stats and I am starting from almost the exact same place you did. I have three kids and am 5'5" tall. I hope to lose 80 pounds. I started at 215 and curently weigh 192 with a goal of 135. So I am really looking forward to seeing your results. You look pretty terrific already so once you get rid of that tummy you are going to look amazing!

I haven't heard much about the gastric sleave yet. I know it is supposed to be safer than gastric bypass but is it permanent? I liked the idea of the band because it is adustable, reversable, and there is no malabsortion. My Doctors is a member of a group that specializes in bariatric surgery and they are a bariatric center of excellence but they do not do the gastric sleave so I don't think I could have found anyone local to do it anyway.

I am five and half weeks out and I have NOO restriction at all. From what I have read this is normal. I am trying to eat healthy filling food with lots of fiber and protein to fill me up. It is working most of the time. I still have a couple of weeks till my first fill. Just take it one day at a time.

Wow it is obvious that your hubby has a lot of issues about this and just some of them are related to surgery and some to you losing the weight. I think that maybe your husband should talk to someone about it. Maybe a counselor or something? I guess you need to ask him if he will be able to get over this if you do it? As far as dying during surgery that is not going to happen! You can maybe have him meet with your doctor who can assure him of how safe the surgery is. If you are in good health this surgery is super low risk. That is what attracted me to it. I would never consider gastric bypass because it is too risky. I think the chances of death for lap band are like one in 10,000. Good luck Deb, I know it must feel awful not having the most important person's support. Keep us posted with how things are going.

Debi - Why does your husband not support you? Is it because of the cost? Is he afraid of the surgery?Gastric bypass can be very dangerous - I have heard of people who died from complications but lap band is super safe! Maybe you need to tell him that. Is he also overweight and afraid of losing his eating partner or maybe afraid of you being skinny? Does he just think you should be able to lose on your own? Depending on why he is against it I think you should be able to convince him. I was banded on 12/17/07 and I feel great! The first two weeks were tough for me because I had shoulder pain (probably worse because I had a hernia repair) I will tell you that I have no regrets at all. I have lost 23 pounds since my pre-op diet. My weight loss has slowed now because I have not been exercising (had a bad cold) And I am waiting for my first fill. The great thing about this surgery is not only is it reversable but if you don't have any fills in the band you function pretty much like pre-surgery. The band is meant to be filled but if you hate life with fills you can unfill and be back to pretty much normal. So the way I saw it when I decided to have the surgery is that there was little risk. If I was miserable I could get the band unfilled. However I plan on getting fills and making the band work for me. If you have been so frustrated with your weight that you have gone this far with your surgery journey I think you are ready. As far as support goes after the first week of surgery you really don't need any more support with the lap band than you need with going on any diet. You will need to change your eating habits and start exercising but you would need to do that if you joined weight watchers!!! This site is a great place for support and questions good luck and listen to your heart first:smile:

I did real well with eating until a few days ago. I guess I have been frustrated because I lost about 7 pounds after surgery and then the weight loss just stopped even though I was eating 1100to 1200 calories a day and exercising. I am getting really hungry and can't wait for my fill which is still 3 weeks away!

I had a bmi of about 35.6 so I was just high enough to qualify. I had a little of the opposite reaction. When I told close friends and family I thought they would say oh you're not that fat you don't need surgery but instead they mostly said that is great! I really thought people didn't notice I was that fat lol! But I think my friends and family had seen me gain and lose on so many diets that they figured I needed to do something. I did have a skinny nurse at the heart doctors (where I went for a stress test) tell me that I wasn't very big and should just try the South Beach Diet I felt like telling her listen Bitch I have been on every diet known to man at least 10 times!!!! The best thing was the day of surgery when the nurse was prepping me and had to look 2 or 3 times at my chart to believe that I was having lap band She was much larger than me and probably thought that at 202 and five five I looked tiny! I told her I had done really well on my pre-op diet. The hardest part About telling people is their expectations. A lot of people know someone who has had rny bypass and the weight literally falls of those people. My weight is going very slow since a couple of weeks after the surgery and my surgeon's office is so freaking busy that I won't be getting my first fill untill two months after surgery. My advice to the low BMIers is to not get discouraged when the weight does not "fall off" We have to just keep plugging away.

Thanks for all your input but I am soo done with this thread! Too depressing to be honest and too preachy! I am doing great with my weight loss and wish you all the best.

Pizzaman - I have also wondered about what the band would be like unfilled. I think my biggest problem with the band would be only eating a cup or so of food at a time for the rest of my life. I love salad and raw veggies and I hate the idea that I can't have much of that for the rest of my life! 1 cup of salad is not much! So I have wondered if I were to stay at goal for a while and totally changed my eating habbits if an unfill would work? The great thing is that we can try and see how it does. I believe there is a gal from Australia on the site who's band is either unfilled or has a very small fill and she eats whatever she wants but also eats really healthy and she looks fantastic. (She also works out a ton) So I think we need to work the band,get to goal and then see how things are going. What I love about the band is that it can be tailored to each individuals needs. Good Luck! :whoo:

Don't give up. Think of it this way by postponing until the 16th you have more time to lose weight before surgery. I was on a liquid diet for two weeks and I went off a couple of times but only to eat things like grilled chicken breast which is low cal and high protein. When I was miserable I told myself that every pound I lose pre-op is a pound gone forever and puts me that much closer to goal! You can do it:whoo:

A photo montage would be perfect! I have shown your photos to my daughter and said this is what mom wants to look like some day! You are such an inspiration and a wealth of knowledge.

From other posts I have seen most Doctors in the US will not do that many procedures at once. I did meet two plastic surgeons in Reno who are partners and specialize in weight loss patients. They operate together so that they can do more procedures with less time under anesthesia. When I lose my weight I will probably go to them because I like the two for one idea!

Yes Sheila you emphasized what I talked about. The Dr.s are all different. I don't think that most of the people on this thread have gone crazy and eaten everything in sight. Some people will experiment a little and while it may not be a good idea to push things I just think it is human nature. Roberta, I think it is great that you are self pay but every one here went through sacrifices to get the surgery. I still ended up paying a big chunk out of pocket for my surgery as well as going through five months of hoops from the time I went to my first seminar to when I was banded. I was fortunate to have my insurance pay but I would have found a way to do it without insurance too.

Wow I hadn't visited this thread in a few days and I had no idea it would become so confrontational! Wayne I think you made a great point about how eating one piece of pizza was a huge improvement over what you would have done before. I think that some of the issues people have about what others are eating is that everyone's Doctor recommends something different. I was allowed mushies after the first week while some of you are on liquids only for two weeks to a month and some can't even have shakes for the first two weeks. This leads to people advising what was oked by thier Doctor to someone else and some people get very upset!! I certainly agree that you should listen to your Doctor but it is very interesting how much stricter some are than others. Even though we all have problems with food, we are very different in our dieting styles! I have found that if I give myself an occasional small cheat it can help me stay on track. For me it is keeping the big picture and not giving up because I ate one cookie and deciding to eat the whole box. It seems that some people on this thread think that we are encouraging each other to cheat. I don't think that is it. It is helpful to know that we are all human. By the way even though I have followed my plan only 90% of the time I am down 23 pounds! So be kind to yourselves and get back on that horse and for those of you who are perfect so far try not to judge cuz you never know when one of those cravings will grab you by the throat.:hungry:

Well I had my first post-op visit and I am down 17 pounds from before surgery. (4 pounds since surgery and 13 on pre-op diet) I was told that my shoulder pain is probably so bad because of my hernia repair. I am sure looking forward to feeling better and getting some exercise. With the shoulder it gets worse the more I do. Which is the opposite of some advice to move around and get rid of the gas. (Idon't think trapped gas is my problem anyway) But I am excited about the weight loss! Pam I am so happy it sounds like you finally have restriction! I guess it can take some people a long time. I live in South Reno too. I am off of McCarran and Lakeside Dr. As soon as my shoulder is better we should meet to walk. We could do Mira Loma park if the weather is nice or Meadowood Mall if it is freezing. Send me a private message and we can set a date. Kim

At five five and 210 your bmi is 35 (just high enough to qualify with co-morbidities). Whether you will qualify depends on your insurance but don't give up. I was 5 5 and 215 with a bmi of 35.6 but my primary doc worked hard to get me qualified by stating that I had acid reflux, slightly high cholesteral and borderline high blood pressure. He told me that I was in good health and he had to make me sound as unhealthy as possible (lol) I got approved so I think you should for sure look into it. Just don't lose any weight and fall under that 35 bmi number while you are exploring your options. Banded 12.17.07 by Dr. Sasse in Reno Nevada

I am eight days out from surgery and have the same pain. I can almost guarantee it is from your surgery! There is an Australian Medical study on the internet about shoulder pain after lap band surgery and they said 66% of people had it after one week and 21% still had it after 4 weeks. Most people say it is caused by gas but the diaphram appears to be the culprit. The diaphragm gets irritated during surgery either from gas or from the actual surgery and there is a nerve that goes from the diaphragm to the shoulder. If you look at this site most people have it but the length of time and severity really varries. I have seen some people who have it for months! I will not tollerate this pain for months I can tell you! I really think that if it does not go away in a few weeks I will insist that the Doctor remove my band. I did not sign on for chronic pain when I decided to get this surgery. Good luck and hopefully your pain will soon be gone.

Christmas eve was one week for me. My best friend made potato cheese soup (yuM) in my honor and I had a couple of glasses of wine. On Christmas I had 2 or 3 soft crackers with dip (nibbled very slowly) sweet potatos, mashed potatos, and ham plus sees candy (the soft center type) I figure I hadn't had more than 500 calories a day for the first 4 or 5 days after surgery so what could it hurt? Any way everything went down fine but I do find that if I eat too much my shoulder pain gets worse. I worried because I wasn't supposed to do solid food so soon but it all seemed to go down fine. I think I will go back on shakes for a few days though because that is one way to get the protein in and get the weight moving because it really slowed down after surgery. Also I am having a hard time getting in all my water!!:hungry: