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That is so cool! I wish my surgeon did this. What a great way to document every detail of your progress. Orea

Two weeks of Optifast. :-(

That's great! Glad to hear it's getting easier for you. :thumbs_up: Orea

It often takes a while to get used to it, and you may have to go through several masks before you find one that really suits you and doesn't drive you crazy with leaking, etc. One hint I finally got: the smaller the area the mask covers, the less likely you'll be to have leaks. I finally found one I just love, and it only basically touches my nostrils and the back of my head. I'm interested in your allergy problem. I use Astelin to keep my nasal passages open and then the machine's pressure improves on that. I'm not sure I want to graduate from my machine! I like how it helps me breathe. Glad you are feeling the good results already. Keep trying things until you are happy. Or you no longer need it! :tt1: Orea

I just read this on the smartbandsters list and thought I'd share it with you, flowers. What does the band do? I would say that the band helps me feel like I'm in control of my weight. It helps me feel satisfied and full after eating. I'm not saying that it's not work but it just makes all that effort, previously put into dieting, worthwhile because you get results! (And then you get to buy smaller clothes!) Sounds good, huh? That thought is going to help me get through all this irritating testing that's coming up for me. --Orea

To put it kindly, your mom has issues. I'm sure this isn't news. LOL I think you have made a good decision. Get the band, do your best, and if you don't like the results, tweak what you are doing so you can do better. It's really that simple. As for the statistics you heard, remember that it is just an average. There are lots of people who lose all of their excess weight. I know a bunch of them. Others get within 10-25 pounds of their goal weight and are struggling to get that last bit off. Not a bad place to be, right? And of course there are those who don't lose much at all. But generally speaking, if you follow most of the rules most of the time, (and ignore your mom!!!!) you will be 50-100 pounds lighter in a year. And you'll be tons happier. We'll be here to support you all the way. Orea

I'm sorry your mom is so insensitive. Do your best to ignore her. {{{Hugs}}} Is it possible that you might find you like being slimmer so much that you would be willing to keep the good habits indefinitely? (It's better for your teeth if you don't eat often, too!) There are no guarantees in this or in much of life. All we can do is make the best decision possible and do our best to make it work. I certainly wouldn't pursue this or any other procedure until I was fairly sure I was ready and willing to do whatever it takes to be successful. It's a big decision. To be quite honest, the enormity of it all is scaring me, too. But I'm at a place where I have to do something or life just won't be fun, or I'll die too soon. So, I'm ready to do my best and I fervently hope it will be good enough. So sorry your are having a rough time of it. Orea

I guess it really depends on whether you are willing to stop grazing. If you stop eating so much between meals, you'll have a better appetite at mealtime. When the band is properly adjusted, you will need to eat a meal of about 3 oz. lean Protein, and 1/2 cup of veggies or fruit, and this will keep you satisfied for 3-4 hours. You will learn to look not for a sense of fullness like we are used to, but instead a sense of satisfaction. It's important with either the band or bypass that you keep your eating and drinking periods well separated. That's one important reason why grazing won't work for either method. You need to have plenty of time to sip sip sip your fluids so you don't get dehydrated. The band won't do it all for you, but it will dim your appetite so you have a chance to make better food choices. If this drive to eat is so strong you can't or won't cut back on the between meal grazing, you may benefit from talking it over with a therapist to find out why. I wish you all the best no matter what you decide. Hugs, Orea

By all means, talk to them about your concerns. And be extra sure to drink drink drink for several days beforehand so you are really well hydrated. That makes it easier for them to hit your veins. I know this because I am a 100+ volunteer platelet donor with not-so-good veins. They finally told me that drinking the day before isn't enough, I should drink extra two or three days in advance. They can also have you hold or apply a warm bag of saline to the area to help things along. Good luck!! Orea

Nance, thank so much for your encouragement. It gives me a lot of hope and motivation. :sad_smile: Orea

I've been a member of a great lap band list, smartbandsters at Yahoo groups, for nearly a year now. There are far more successes there, than failures, and I have learned a lot about how to do this successfully. Yes, there have been some slippages, pouches stretched out, etc. But even then, the person involved doesn't seem to regret getting the band. They just want to get it fixed and get back to the business of losing. Flowers, I wish it was that easy to get walking again. I have arthritis and need a cane to get around because my hip will unexpectedly give out. I'm doing better than I was 40 or 50 pounds ago, but I can't stand or walk for more than a few minutes at a time. But I've set my sights on being able to walk anywhere, any time, any amount, like I used to, and I WILL get there! I'm determined. But for now I need to start by pedaling my little exercise thingy and building up my endurance. Orea

Almost every bandster I know loves their band and only wishes they had done it sooner. That's what keeps me going forward. As a former caffeine addict who quit many times before it took, I'd recommend you start cutting back gradually now!!! It's so hard to do and that pounding withdrawal headache is so painful... This is a process it's best not to rush. I envy your ability to walk that much. It's something I want back. :smile:Keep in touch!

I've lost about 40 pounds this year on my own. I was getting impatient for surgery, then I realized that I could lose at the band rate (1-2 lbs. per week average) on my own at least for a while. So I did! I have to do 2 weeks of Optifast before my surgery. Ugh! And there are a lot of tests to have done. And I have to get a clearance from my PCP, spend some time with his dietician (already had classes with the hospital dietician), etc. I think it's going to be a busy month. I don't think it has really all sunk in quite yet. I'm still pretty much in the "one baby step at a time" mode to get necessary things done. I'm trying not to stress out too much. This is such a big step. And I've never had surgery before.

I found it freaky to know I had it severely and have to wait for weeks to get my machine! Orea

That's great! I just saw my surgeon for per op instructions about what I have to do in the way of testing, meetings, etc. I'm on my way, too!

It's great that you got it straightened out at last. Hopefully this is the last glitch you'll encounter. Orea

I don't think any of us said it was simple! I have the same trouble with carbs (insulin spike, etc.) that you mention. That was why I decided it was imperative that I get off of most of the sugars and white carbs. It wasn't easy! I had cravings for a good month, but I also found I felt a whole heck of a lot better when I avoided most of them. I think we can all agree that French Fries and white bread don't offer much nutritionally. And, to my surprise, I found I didn't miss them all that much! Anyhow, on to your question about the band long term. This is where the band excels. Not only are you able to keep getting adjustments as needed, forever, but bandsters tend to find that even when they stray, they don't gain it back nearly as fast as they did without the band. That 10 pounds gained over the holidays might just be one or two. Regarding band vs. bypass, studies show that after 3-5 years, the weight loss of the two groups evens out. It just takes a little longer with the band. A small price to pay for not having your insides re-routed, IMHO. So, if you are ready and willing to make the necessary changes, and your stress level is closer to "normal", go for it! If you follow most of the rules most of the time, you'll lose most of the weight. :-) Orea

You can't have it both ways. Either you don't eat much or you are eating way too much. What does your scale tell you? I personally wouldn't go through the surgery until I proved to myself that I can follow the basic bandster way of eating: Lean Protein, veggies, high Fiber foods, a couple servings of lowfat dairy. You aren't banded yet, so you don't have to limit your portion sizes like a bandster, just stick to the foods you know you'll be having to eat to be successful later. The band isn't going to magically fix everything for you. You have to pony up and to what needs to be done. You don't have to graze and you don't have to give in to your cravings. But you need to find it within yourself to make better choices and stick with them. Maybe you aren't miserable enough yet. Just so you know, I've been eating the bandster way for quite some time now, and I'm down over 50 pound on my own, pre-band. So I'm not telling you to do anything I haven't been doing myself. The band will only work if you get some control and start making intelligent choices. Can you? Orea

And I should be down at the bottom of the list, on July 30. :ohmy:

Alysa, keep your surgery date. There is every chance your surgery will go perfectly, and then you can turn July into a month of celebration instead of grief, as you look back each year and see what you've accomplished, and the wonderful changes in your life. :ohmy: Blessings, Orea

The tech is definitely not supposed to tell you, but in my case it wasn't hard to figure out, since she put a mask on me part way through, and cranked the pressure up a couple of times! (That would be called a split study.) I still had to go back later to finish it since we didn't find the magic number the first time. (Patience? How long does that take?!) Orea

No, tell me more. I'm in Northern VA. Orea

I didn't know there was one! Orea

I understand how you feel. For me it's more that I worry they'll find something wrong with me that will delay or stop the surgery. As far as I know I'm basically healthy, but after working so long and so hard to get approved, I suppose it is natural to worry that it will be taken away. Orea

That's great! Congratulations! Orea :rolleyes2: