snowbird

Oh, come on now people. What would you rather hear, "You have a pretty face" or "Why bother to have surgery, since you're going to be ugly anyway?" The truth is, we were all probably fairly ass-ugly with all the fat hanging off of us. Dial down the sensitivity. "If you are pretty you are pretty-at one hundred or at three hundred pounds." Uh . . . probably not. Fat changes the shape of your face, the proportions between your features, your skin tone and complexion, and the way you carry yourself. In a perfect world, none of that would matter, but we ain't there.

I went to Dr Ortiz in Tijuana, whom I would recommend. Here is his website: Lap Band Surgery - Obesity Control Center I started my preop diet in July and I'm down 53 lb since then. Surgery was 10/10/07 and I've lost 34 lb since that date. Some people are faster; some are slower. It depends, as said before, on your body and your actions. PM me if you have questions about Dr Ortiz, and I'll be happy to share the experience.

I have to admit I have been inching my goal weight down as I have success with weight loss. I set goal at 150 originally, but then lowered it to 145 when I started losing. Now I keep asking myself," Wouldn't 135 be nice?" That was my goal weight when i dieted in my 20s. At this point I'm not worrying about it, since it's not going to happen real soon. Whatever works; if I plateau at 150 I may just figure that's what my body thinks is good.

whoa, I hadn't heard that. I got my hair colored post op, and I have to admit, it's kind of dry and ratty looking. I put that down to less fats and protein in my diet (yeah, I know, I try to get the protein in, but it's tough). My hair always goes nasty while I'm dieting, so I figured it was just another episode of that. Anyone have any other info?

Fills are what makes the band work. If you don't get fills when you need them, and are struggling to continue to lose weight, you might as well not be banded. Yes, they make a tremendous difference. That said, you can be overfilled and run into difficulties. I had my second fill 8 days ago. I have had a few days of pbing and getting stuck, and had one day where anything I ate came back up. However, that happens when I eat things I shouldn't eat, and know beforehand I shouldn't eat, like frybread and pizza. Right now I am a little tighter than I would like, but it's getting better and I think when I lose a few more pounds I will be fine. It isn't anything to be scared of, but just a fact of life in banding. If the excessive tightness continues, then I would go in for an unfill because it is unhealthy for the band to continue to pb, and obviously your body needs to get enough nutrients to function well. An unfill isn't anything to be scared of either, in my opinion. I'm just trying to find the level that works for me. What size band do you have? What are your fill levels right now? My doctor uses flouro every time, which I like because it not only helps see what the fills are doing, but gives him a chance to check band placement and port placement every time. However, my daughter gets blind fills and does fine with them. Your weight loss so far is great, so if that works for you, then good, but if it were me and I was starting to regain weight, I would go in for a fill in a second.

My husband has a 10 cc band and his first fill of 4 cc lasted only two weeks before he had no restriction at all. Sounds like you are ready for fill #2. Get the band working for you.

I've lost 50 lb since the summer, and I still have a few "fat girl" clothes that I can wear. However, they look a lot better on me now than they did then! Some of them were clothes I had bought before I gained the last 35 lb anyway, and I was wearing them tight. Plus, as said before, most of the stuff I wore was bought stretchy and baggy anyway to hide what was underneath. I've also found that with less gut I buy styles that are cut trimmer, like non-elastic waist jeans, not just because they look okay now, but because they weren't comfortable before with a big belly hanging over the waistband. It's funny but lots of times my body shrinks during the times the scale says I'm not losing weight. It takes time for the skin to shrink and tighten up after the weight loss, I guess. In other words, it will come. Congrats on your weight loss!

If we could just "decide to eat less without the surgery" we would all have done it and wouldn't have had the band implanted. I have been banded three months and usually eat 1100-1200 calories a day. I can lose weight with that. So I'm not feeling shaky or weak. I avoid sugar and white starches pretty much, which I did prior to banding. Your body isn't going to react differently to the food you eat, other than specifically the stomach and the band. That feels a lot different, because you can't eat large portions or eat too quickly without running into pain and anguish with the band. The band will help you feel full--but again it isn't a normal "my stomach is stuffed to the breaking point" full; it's a tightness and discomfort above the band for me, but others perceive it differently. Imagine really tight jeans, but up higher around your stomach, so tight that the food can't go down and comes back up if you eat too much or too fast. That might give you an idea of what it's like for me. Hope this is what you were asking!

I usually don't take smaller bites, but I don't swallow it all in one swallow. i kind of strain the food through my teeth and then keep chewing on the rest. I guess whatever works for us all. I know a lot of people say to use a baby spoon, but I don't do it. Of course, i've also had a bad couple of days with pbing after my second fill, so maybe I should re-evaluate how I do things.

It sounds like the main gist of your question is how to hide your surgery from your friends, not how to eat out with a band. If that's the case, just tell them you are trying to eat less or you are trying to lose weight, if they ask. Both statements are true. For goodness' sake don't eat more than you want to fool your friends--that is so counterproductive! My husband and I eat out all the time. We have gotten over the fear of feeling "cheap" because we order so little. In fact, I'v gotten proud of it. Why should the people you are paying to bring you food make you feel bad about not overeating? One thing I do, however, is overtip. I figure the waitperson is working just as hard to bring my little appetizer than s/he would to serve me a full meal, so I don't do the percentage thing for the tip; I tip what I would have if I had had a regular meal.

Thanks! Actually, I lost 65 pounds on an Atkins diet, kept it off for a couple years, then gained back 36. It was at that point I decided to get banded; I was still keeping pretty much to an Atkins diet, but still gaining weight and I knew soon I would be back up to my top weight, if not higher. I was 226 in July when I started my pre-op diet, and as of today I'm down to 177, so I'm very happy with my band. Goal is 145, which I hope to reach by the end of this summer. However, i don't really set goals because as someone said, this is a journey of steps rather than a regular slope. I don't want to bum myself out if I am not hitting a goal I've set, yet still losing weight. I'm a woman; sorry for crashing the guys' page! I check it out because my husband was banded the same day as me so I look at the guy stuff for him. Good luck on your band journey. It's becoming a real turning point in life for me. PS Gatorade has a new product called G2 that has half the sugar of the regular stuff!

They tell you to walk after surgery, but my doctor said "Stroll, don't stride." I've heard of people ending up with hematomas due to bleeding under the skin from overexertion and walking too strenuously. At this point listen to your body, and anything that hurts, avoid.

Three times a day when I'm losing, and once a week when I'm not! Seriously, I use it as incentive and as a warning, so I can adjust what I'm eating if I don't see results.

just wanted to let the Arizona folks know that there is a message in the Single Bandsters forum from missy0224 saying that Neveragain had a bad motorcycle accident and is in intensive care. I know some of us here have met him, so I thought they might like to be made aware of that.

Or you could just throw your napkin into the glass to make it less appetizing . . . or a shake of pepper.

No kidding. Before I was banded I was ready to tell everyone how great it was. Now, while I feel it was right for me, I know firsthand that you have to be personally committed to making it work for you. Now I will share my experience, but wouldn't tell anyone "you should do this!"

I was a fat teenager before I was a fat adult. When I was 16 I had a clerk come up to me in a store and ask me, out of the blue, if I were mentally retarded. Apparently to her, fat = stupid. What was ironic was that I was valedictorian of my high school class that year. I should have said, "no, but you seem to be."

I think there is a Phoenix area get-together in the works for the weekend of the 26th. Maybe we can carpool if it isn't in our part of the valley.

I've found the same thing. In fact, I think "they" have adjusted sizes since I was in my 20's. When I was 26 I weighed 132 and wore size 10 pants. Now I weigh 178 and some of my size 10's are getting loose on me. Now, I KNOW my weight is carried differently (I've gone from a pear to an apple) but even so, I can't believe my butt is what used to be a size 10. I think the clothing manufacturers found out that when women had to wear a larger size they cut down on their clothes purchases, so they made all the sizes larger!

poodlecamper, My daughter is 26. Eighteen months ago she was 318 lb and had multiple health and joint problems. I called her up and asked her if she would be interested in being banded if I helped her pay for it (her insurance did not cover it at all). She was thrilled and was banded in Mexico in October 2006, and has lost 120 lb so far. I tried not to sound judgmental when I called her, just asked her casually if she had thought of the procedure. I am so glad now that I did, as she has used the feeling of accomplishment from her weight loss to make some other major changes in her life. She never would have really considered checking into lap band unless I had offered to help her. My point is that it might help your daughter to discuss banding if you haven't already done so. You don't have to be hurtful or judge her, and could even mention that you feel somewhat responsible. She might appreciate an open discussion with her mother and her friend.

Nina, I'm a little concerned with your stats. You have been banded only 3 months and already have 9 cc in a 10 cc band? That is an amazing amount of fill in a short period of time, and to have no restriction with it? Especially when you started with a fairly low BMI. I know we are all different and I don't want to sound like I am trying to scare you, but I would be seriously talking to my doctor. Most people do not come close to maxing out the band in 3 months. When he refills you does he truly get out anything close to what you are supposed to have in there? It just seems way off kilter to me. (disclaimer: but what do I know?)

My husband has a 10 cc band and was like you after his first fill. He could eat practically anything during the holidays and gained back the 10 lb he lost after the first fill. Now he has his second fill--6 cc in a 10 cc band--and is doing much better. When I feel myself starting to binge, I eat something I know will get stuck a bit, like a bite of bread, on purpose, just to stop myself from eating anything more. Probably not the healthiest thing to do, but it does work.

I have oatmeal almost every morning and love it. I add a few walnuts and some blueberries, splenda and a bit of milk. My friend joked that I wasn't eating oatmeal; I was eating an oatmeal cookie.

Our doctor told my daughter she needed B12 shots after banding, but he told me I didn't. He did blood tests to determine whether we were deficient in B12; she was but I wasn't. By the way, she says she felt marvelous after starting the shots, with much more energy and much less fatigue. I believe it is standard to put gastric bypass patients on B12 shots due to the malabsorption issues caused by that surgery. However, I don't think that is the case with lap band patients, unless you specifically have been found to have a B12 deficiency. I would question a blanket statement that all lap band patients need B12 shots. Sounds like whoever is giving the seminar is still using data from gastric bypass patients and isn't up to date on lap band.

I'm usually around 1100-1200. I'm trying to find a level of intake that doesn't make me feel too deprived, so I can stick with it for life.