JustWatchMe

The thing that seems odd to me is the temporary nature of the balloon. I've lost weight many times without WLS. Once I lost 130 pounds. But I never could keep it off. It just sounds so much like another temporary fix. How many WLS patients have had success keeping weight off after surgery reversal (like band removal)?

I love reading your inspirational posts! Congratulations !

I'm a bander, but yes, hunger returns. However the satiety with smaller amounts is still there. It's up to me to still stop. We formerly fat humans tend to push the boundaries after the initial high of extreme weight loss is behind us. They tell us over and over and over again that this is only a tool. Well it's true. And that's what it means. Keeping it off is up to us. It IS easier than it was without surgery, but it is not without sacrifice. You can do it. I can do it. So let's do it!

I've heard conflicting opinions on why we shouldn't drink with meals. My surgeon days don't so I try to follow that. But I'm curious why. I've heard the washing through thing. But I've also heard that the food needs to slowly go through, simply because the pressure of the food on the walls of the stoma stimulates the nerves that tell the brain you've eaten something. Liquids speed up the food's travels and the food doesn't pulse through the stoma the same way as it does without liquids involved. Take a look at the links on @@Bandista signature. There's a great explanation of how the band does its magic.

Protein first. No drinking liquids from first bite until 20 minutes after the meal. No carbonation. Chew to mush. Stop the meal at 20 minutes. Wait 3-4 hours between meals. No snacking. Protein, veggies, then small amount of carbs if still hungry.

On message boards, OP commonly refers to Original Poster, or the person who starts a thread.

Whenever something like that happens to me I wonder, is that how naturally thin people behave? Seems like it, no? Thanks for the uplifting post. I've missed your presence here. Glad you're back.

Julie you are beautiful! Inside and out.

If you go for a plastics consultation, be prepared for some blunt talk. People on these boards have posted about plastic surgeons coldly pointing out every flaw in great detail. Not necessarily intentionally mean, but some have crappy bedside manners and they approach a body as a flawed canvas that they can fix. It can be hard to hear, even from highly skilled people. That said, I think you should only go if you are seriously considering surgery. It's a huge step and many here are thrilled they did it and have no regrets. But it's really a big emotional investment and requires a toughness when your body is openly analyzed and critiqued before carving. I hope someday to get at least a panni. My bariatric team has a plastic surgeon who lectures at the support group once a year and I've met her twice. She works a lot with bariatric patients and has an empathy for us that comes through. She has lots of photos and explains the pros and cons in detail. If I get something done I will probably go to her. She also said make sure whoever you choose is a plastic surgeon. If they do not have that specific title they are not certified in plastic surgery. It is not the same as cosmetic surgeon. You're smart and strong and I know if you do this you will do it for you. Just be ready for the blunt talk.

Strep+arthritic flare-NSAIDs = Ow So I woke up at 2am with my shoulders, particularly my right shoulder, in excruciating pain. I could not get comfortable. I tried sitting in a chair, laying flat, laying propped up with pillows, walking around, etc. I rubbed some BenGay in, and took some Arthritis Tylenol. An hour later I was able to doze back off. Because my rheumatologist is off on Thursdays, I decided to go to the urgent care center and have the shoulder looked at. It was so bad that I could barely move my arm. While I was there I mentioned that I have had a sore throat most of the week. So they decided to swab me for strep at the same time. Guess what? Positive for strep. During the time that I had a sore throat this week, I didn't think it was strep because I had no fever. I also didn't particularly have much of a soreness in my throat. Instead, it felt like I had swelling in my throat (almost a blockage) and my voice was very hoarse and raspy. The doctor said that although it is not certain, strep may have contributed to the arthritic flare and joint pain. My shoulder x-ray showed moderate degenerative osteoarthritis, which I already knew I had. Although I have been working out at the gym, this week I've only been doing leg work and walking on the treadmill. No arm work. So trauma to the joint wasn't an issue. Anyway, two doses of penicillin for the strep so far and I feel so much better. It's truly a miracle drug. Today was the first day since my LapBand surgery that I was disappointed in not being able to take NSAIDs for pain and inflammation. Thankfully, it looks like I won't have to. Saturday through Tuesday my girls and I are taking a little mini vacation to Starved Rock in Illinois. We are planning to do some hiking. I hope I'm back up to speed by then.

Ooh, I can't wait to be bloated (she says, with fifty pounds left to lose)!!! jk A little humor helps me survive. ????

Starting out at 198 (kinda) **** Hi folks. I don't have as much to lose as somebody who is, let's say, 302 pounds. I weigh 198 and have been at this weight for quite a while. I go to the gym once a week (it used to be more) and I eat an average of probably 1900 calories a day. My diet is currently free of most processed sugars and all soda, focusing on high Protein, low carb, and frequent salads with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I do have several cocktails each weekend. I have the band and want to get to my goal weight of 145. ***** Hi folks. That person above is me - today. I was actually banded 16 months ago. I started out at 302. I lost weight like crazy and dropped 100 pounds in 7 months. I got moving on a treadmill one day post op. I was super compliant with post op eating and dropped 50 pounds before my first fill. WLS saved my life. I got to my green zone. Fill level is optimal. Then I stopped losing. What changed? A lot, now that I think about it. Here is some of it. Some of you know that I filed for divorce four months post-op and left an emotionally and financially abusive husband. Moved out of my home. Took my college age daughters with me. Long story, but smartest thing I ever did. I got WLS precisely so that I would have the courage to leave. It worked. We moved in with my mom. Nuff said. I've been in this state for a year now. One year. NSETBEx (not-soon-enough-to-be-ex) is blocking every step of the divorce and financially cleaning me out. Won't pay bills, college, etc, without court intervention, and continues to emotionally abuse my kids from afar. Nuff said about him. He doesn't deserve another paragraph. Me. What's changed with me? I became more social. For all of my adult obese life I was hiding in my house with my food. Now I go out with my bestie on weekends and listen to bands and go to summer festivals and make new friends. I've joined Codependents Anonymous and go to two meetings a week there. I go to therapy every two weeks -- she started out as a divorce coach but we switched to regular therapy. I go to Overeaters Anonymous about once a week. I joined a gym a couple of months ago and just ended 12 sessions with a personal trainer. The divorce is stressful as hell. It is killing me to think I will still be married at the end of 2015. We haven't even started negotiating the house and assets yet. My kids are home for the summer and busy busy busy. One is working a good intern job and one is taking four college classes since she changed her major and needs to stay on time for graduation. We three share my car in the evenings. Nuff said. I can't buy a house until the divorce is final because except for my decent salary, I am now flat broke. He's draining me dry, and all joint assets are tied up in the divorce. I'm in "waiting" hell. Where does that leave my weight loss? I have been down on myself for not losing weight these last 7 months. Then today I had an epiphany. We all start out every day from exactly where we are. Not where we were. Not where we think we should be. Where we ARE. So where am I today? Today I am a 198 pound 5'5" 54 year old woman who goes to the gym once a week and walks a 5k on the treadmill and works out on some strength machines. I eat high protein and low carb. I don't eat between meals. I don't eat foods with sugar. I drink alcohol on weekends which messes up my sugar and calories. I eat buttered popcorn in large quantities at the movies at least once a week which blows my calories to hell. I eat too many fried foods. What would happen if I stopped treating myself as a failure who hasn't gotten to goal after 16 months, and treated myself instead as starting out at 198 with a LapBand to help me? The circumstances of my life today are in some ways very different and in some ways very much the same as they were a year ago when I left NSETBEx. Same: stressful with constant divorce crap. Different: just about everything else. *** Hi folks. I'm starting out at 198 and have a little over 50 pounds to lose. I have a LapBand and I'm looking for encouragement and support to improve my eating and exercise more. Can anyone relate?

Somehow I lost the notifications for this thread, and I'm just catching up today. Thank you so much, everyone. It means the world to me to have the support of you good people who are fighting the fight too. We all have our stuff, don't we? Mine is a divorce. I'm reminded today that I can handle this, one day at a time. Yes, seeing the success is the challenge. I've lived so much of my life focused on what I wasn't doing and wasn't accomplishing. No more. Every day I want to recognize and acknowledge my achievements. That will keep my momentum going. You folks are the best.

Congrats!! Welcome to your new life!

Congratulations !!

This post made my day!

I just love that you went to London and went bike riding there. Can you imagine any of us doing that on vacation pre surgery? I'm going on a four day mini trip with my girls this weekend and we are going to hike a lot. Hike! Me! On purpose!

Amazing!!! Great job! I lost 100 in seven months and had bouts of dizziness in there somewhere. It resolved itself. You may get some pep in your step soon.

So true. We're in this for life, and life has its ups and downs. I can't go crazy over five pounds, but in order for it not to turn into ten or a hundred, I have to stay honest with myself.

"Unfortunately, some people never "Find It"...change can be hard. We have lived our entire lives eating the wrong foods the wrong away. It takes many people out of their comfort zone and choose not to progress forward." @@B-52 nailed it. I find that when I struggle (and I do) it's because I'm resisting change. I still want to eat what (and how) I used to eat. This is definitely a learning process, and I really have to want it. Because change is hard. That said, the band does help alleviate hunger. So the change required from me is "only" mental. Piece of cake, right?

Congratulations! Post often. You will find great support here.

I was banded March 2014. My doc required six weeks of full liquids. My first solid food came right around my first fill. Hard six weeks, but I lost weight like crazy and I had lots of cream soups during that time.

Welcome! You're in the right place.

Congratulations!

Woo hoo! Congratulations!