snowbird

Chile relleno is one of my postband favorites. DH and I had margaritas and an order of nachos for dinner the other night with no problems whatsoever (especially the margarita.)

The band helps you, but a lot of your weight loss is up to you. Don't get me wrong: I've tried to lose weight for 40 years with short term success a few times, but always gained it back. Right now, at age 53, I weigh 30 lb less than I did when I graduated from high school and 13 lb less than I did when I got married. I have no real fears that I will gain it back this time, unless something drastic happens to my band. I feel free for the first time in my life. My starting BMI was 37.6. Remember, "average weight loss" averages in those people who were 200 lb overweight, and those who just figure they'll try lapband because their insurance will pay for it. If you are committed and willing to work, the band will work too.

What made you feel like you needed the fourth fill? What size band do you have? How much do you have in your band now? It does sound as though you are too tight, but without more information it is hard to say whether things will work out by themselves or not. Like sheemac says, when was your last fill?

Any stress to your body such as surgery can disrupt your period. Not only that, but losing weight quickly can upset it too. Your body is trying to conserve its supplies, so to speak, and getting rid of your period is one way to do it. I missed my period if I got sick or had any emotional upset when I was younger. Don't have to worry about that any more.

Favorite: legs, although the thigh skin is starting to sag down around my knees. Least favorite: arms. They were my least favorite before because they were so big. Now they are my least favorite because they are so saggybaggy that they are puddling above my elbows.

Cream of chicken with herbs is really good too. They were both a couple of my staples during the liquid diet phase. I also liked the Imagine boxed Caribbean black bean bisque. If i wanted a little extra body, I would add a tablespoon of instant mashed potatoes to the soup.

My doctor also says that pain relievers including NSAIDS are fine. He said he considers the study flawed that indicated they were bad for bandsters.

Good advice. Remember, your doctor is your employee, not your daddy! But in the best circumstances, he is your partner in getting you healthy.

What the band won't do is stop you from eating too often. While I am not hungry between meals, my band does not stop me from grazing. I can eat less than a Lean Cuisine for a meal, but I can eat an hour later, even though I'm not hungry. Since snacking was always my downfall, I've dealt with this by not buying stuff that's high calorie snack food. For Snacks, I have rice cakes, Curves granola bars, and 100 calorie bags of microwave popcorn. sometimes I still overdo it, but it's not so tempting.

Do you really want to stay with a PCP who does not seem to understand your weight problems and wants to attribute them all to a psychological problem? What led your doctor to believe you are depressed? If you stay with the doctor and do end up with WLS,are you going to really have a good relationship after doing something he obviously disapproves of? I would be looking for another doctor in a heartbeat, UNLESS he gave you really good reasons to believe depression is your problem. Otherwise, he sounds like someone who just doesn't understand obesity. I took my 95 year old mother to a geriatric specialist because her blood pressure kept dropping to about 70/30 and she would pass out. He decided it was because she was depressed. WTF???? Maybe she's depressed because she keeps passing out and falling, so she can't trust herself to get up out of a chair! I went to my daughter's GP when I decided the band was for me, because he had seen what wonders banding had done for her. He did an in-depth interview to document previous weight problems, other health problems related to obesity, recommended me to a psychologist for the psych exam, and I was on my way. Two months later I was banded, and it could have been sooner if my schedule permitted it.

Depends on the doctor. That isn't unrealistic; my husband has a 10 cc band and got 4 cc for his first fill.

I have a congenital knee problem that required surgery. The first one hurt like crazy, and the second one didn't hurt afterwards at all. Same doctor, same surgery, same body with same pain threshold. Don't worry if someone (like me) says there was no pain and they didn't need any meds with their band surgery, because every surgery is different. Take some time to heal and you will be feeling better faster.

So at what point is it illegal to claim a Washington address? We gave our daughter $40,000 for a down payment on a home that had room for our RV, and plan to stay there summers, Christmas, or whenever we feel like it. Our roots are in Washington and we currently have a home in Birch Bay, but we were thinking of getting rid of it because we want to spend more time down near Gig Harbor with our kids. You obviously don't have to OWN a home in Washington to be a resident. I guess we will have to do some research. I remember a few years ago that Washington state was making a big fuss about people who registered their vehicles elsewhere where it was cheaper, when they actually were Washington residents. Now they don't want our money? We still vote in Washington and live there part of the year, and certainly don't feel like citizens of Arizona.

Well, I guess my name says it all. We spend time in Arizona, northwestern Washington (our official home) and take some side trips to visit our son at college in Georgia. What part of Washington do you call home, Stitchy?

There's a section under Age Specific Lap Band Support Groups for teens that you might find helpful. For doctors and other bandsters in your area, you might try the Texas section under the USA Lap Band Support Groups, which is under the general Lap Band Support Groups section. Welcome to the forum. Hope you can find what you are looking for here.

I don't know about sweet spot. Right now and for the past 3 months, I have a little difficulty finishing a lean cuisine meal. I can eat most of it, but the last few bites I usually toss out. I can eat almost all of a 100 calorie bag of popcorn (the small ones) but again, usually not the last few bites. If I do try to finish off the last part of the meal or the last part of the popcorn, I end up with my head in the toilet. Hunger really has nothing to do with my food consumption; I don't get hunger pangs and haven't since I stopped eating sugar and a lot of carbs. I eat because I like to eat and I enjoy food. I would do it all the time if I could, and I used to. Now I make sure I don't keep junk food in the house (luckily for me on that issue, the kids are gone and my husband is banded too) because I would eat it. All of it. Right now.

Yes, it can be very bad if you get a stomach bug and start vomiting with a band, especially right after surgery when your band hasn't healed in place yet. I keep some anti-nausea medicine in the house at all times. I wouldn't want to risk a slipped band due to vomiting.

Grace, Just wondered when you were banded and how long it took you to reach goal?

I usually stick to the appetizer menu: lettuce wraps, soup, even nachos (not healthy, but band friendly for some reason for me). I've had appetizer ribs and chicken wings that were good, too. A full meal is so much food that it is a total waste of money to get it, even when I bring it home and get two more meals out of it!

And of course, if he just does fills he doesn't necessarily see the ones who have hit their sweet spot and been successful. Not to mention the successful patients he pisses off and who never go back to him. My daughter lost 100 lb in about a year with her band, and is now down 127 after 19 months. I don't think she's that rare. On the other hand, my friend, who had a bypass, lost 100 and gained it all back by snacking all day long. Success comes from working with whatever type of surgery you have, not from the type of surgery itself.

That reminds me of the first joke my son ever told me, when he was about 7 years old: A man walked into a bar and said, "Ow."

My main problem with your argument is that you act like suing a doctor in the US is a quick slam-dunk. I would truly hate to think that a lawsuit was my only way of being sure to get good medical care. Even if your US doctor has damaged you, you still have to prove it in a court of law unless he is ready to settle quickly, which I doubt is usually the case. And even if you win a malpractice suit, you could be in for years of pain and misery. So I would think that it would be just as necessary to research your US doctor thoroughly, as I would recommend anyone would research a Mexican doctor.

Okay, as I recall . . . 8/3/07 starting preop diet: 222 10/10/07 surgery date: 207 11/29/07 first fill: 193 1/10/08 second fill: 182 2/5/08 four months post op: 169 5/10/08 seven months post op: 158 So I was down 25 lb from my surgery weight 3 months post op, and down 49 lb seven months out. So your goals are realistic. HOWEVER: don't get caught up in comparing yourself to others. We all have different bodies that react differently to dieting, and your rate of loss may be faster or slower than mine or anyone else's. Don't feel like a failure if you lose slower than someone else. I have found it is better to set mini-goals of a couple pounds rather than setting large goals that set you up for depression and self-recriminations if you don't meet them. Best wishes for a successful life as a bandster!

My daughter was 25 and weighed 318 when she was banded in October 2006. She has lost about 130 lb and has an entire new outlook on life now. She is happier, healthier, and has a new boyfriend--also a bandster who has lost over 100 lb. You should be very proud that you are taking steps to greatly improve your life and your daughter's. Best wishes for all the success in the world.

Look at the subforum "Doctors and Hospitals" and you will find many opinions and some information about Mexican surgery. Yes, many of us had wonderful experiences there, and quite a few didn't. While you can get highly experienced doctors and, in some cases, better care in Mexico than in the US, you can also find some nightmare stories. Which, by the way, you can also find from some US doctors' patients.