shortgal

Thanks Kendra, It's been a rough month of rollercoaster emotions. I had someone look at the same x-ray that the Dr. diagnosed my band as unlocked and I now know that was a bunch of B.S. ( which I always suspected.) Somehow my Dr. screwed up and the bottom line is I am out almost $20,000 and have no band. Malpractice is a waste since the malpractice laws requires me to have suffered a severe injury ( as if $20,000 and 2 surgeries isn't enough injury. I am trying to deal with it all the best I can, not easy tho' I LOVE my dress for the wedding. It is full length and sapphire. The top half of the bodice is sheer and it has a jacket that I will wear for the ceremony. The dress was sleeveless (which wasn't working for my new flabby arms) so the store bought more sheer fabric and they are adding sleeves. The seamstress is great and is fitting me perfectly. I feel so good in it. I will post a photo after the wedding. I read about your last test and that things are looking good, I am very glad to hear that and hope it continues on that path. Take care and thanks for checking in. Judy

Cindy, I sent you an e-mail about my houses (which have wireless internet so no withdrawal). Spain is one of the best restaurants in RI, they are busy year round, not just in the summer. Wickford is adorable and of course Newport is great. We went to dinner in Newport over the Labor Day weekend. You can check out my houses on the web site info I sent you. The rates, available weeks and lots of photos are posted on the site. Did you rent through a realtor?

Cindy, Where did you rent the house? I have three rentals in Narragansett near Scarborough Beach. I stayed at one from Mid May to Mid July and then came home to Ct for the rest of the summer. Was it a good vacation? I think you had great weather that week, right? Was this your first time in Narragansett? Judy

I'm in! Name............Start........Current........Goal.......To Go CindyG...........195...........195...........185........10 Momto1plus1......193...........193...........185.........8 Foofy............226...........226...........216........10 Sades............185...........185...........175........10 Hollyberries.....245...........245...........235........10 Shortgal.........174...........174...........168.........6 My start weight is three pounds higher than my ticker shows. I gained during the Labor day weekend. How can it be so hard to lose and so easy to gain? As usual my goal is small, but I would like to get into the 160's. Good Luck everyone!

I think those 15 pounds better watch out. They are no match for Officer Steph with an impressive 4.0! If you can pass the police academy with stats like that, you can lose those pounds. You just needed to be finished concentrating on one thing, so you can concentrate on the pounds.

I just checked in to see how the November Nymphs are doing and found some new threads. Sades: (my twin sister). Sorry you are struggling. I agree that being sick doesn't help as we want to "comfort" ourselves with food to "feel better". You'll feel much better after your fill, which you probably had by now. ( Let us know how it went). What I have learned ( since losing my band) is I am the only thing that can stop me from gaining. I do not have a band or restriction to fall back on. So if I gain a pound or two, I see it like a small leak in the roof, take care of that leak before it gets much bigger. It is harder to fix a big leak than a small one. After a fun and busy Labor Day weekend, my "leak" is three pounds! I am working on that this week.

What a great anniversary story! And a fabulous surprise to pull off.

Yeah, that's a motivator all right. That and the fact that I do not want to have to pay for another WLS procedure, especially one that is more invasive, which is something I never wanted to begin with!

I am VERY lucky. I have a wonderful husband that loved me no matter my weight. The difference now is that I love myself more, I'm happier and I tell you it's easier to love a person that is happy with themself. When I first lost the band, I thought I would be lost without it. Now I'm not as sure. When we have the band, we rely on it to control us. Easting too much? Get a fill, right? I did that. Right before the second surgery, when I thought my band would be locked and I'd start losing again, I ate a bunch of bad stuff. Now I don't have the band to count on, so I'm more careful (like my "normal" friends would eat). I know I needed the band to lose the weight, but I am more hopeful that I can keep the weight off, even without my band. I hope that I can continue to work on my new eating habits. I want to beat the stats that says people that lose their bands gain the weight back. I want to be the EXCEPTION to the Rule! P.S. LOVE THE POEM BANDPAL, VERY CREATIVE!

Thanks Jill, I am feeling pretty good and my weight is holding, just hope I can keep it that way. I wish the band worked long entough for me to get some more weight off, but it is, what it is, so I have to deal with it. I'm keeping up my walking which is a big help and I still have a goal to lose 15 more pounds. Who knows how long that might take, but it keeps me focused. The biggest bummer is that I'm out $18,000! That's a cost of $400 per pound lost.

Hi Bandpal, I admire your determination to try to get to the root of why you eat. Many people feel the same way, that overeating is an emotional response to a situation, I'm sure that's true for many people. I'm not sure that I feel that is true, for me. ( at least the majority of the time). I feel it is a physical addiction, like a drug, more than an emotional response. And I know that drug addicts generally begin an addiction for physicological reasons but then they become physically addicted. It really is complex, isn't it and yet I know people that gain a few pounds and even though they have no sense of nutrition or calories etc. they just instinctively cut out a few extras during the day and lose the weight they want. It comes naturally to them, like painting might to someone. I usually describe my problem this way: If you have a drug or alcohol addiction, the experts recommend total abstinence. Get detoxed from the drug. But if food is your drug, that is impossible since we must eat. Sure we have trigger foods, but to eliminate a trace of those trigger foods ( sugar or carbs generally) forever is very difficult as there could be a trace of sugar or carbs in even the most benign food. I am more like Pavlov's dog. I see the food and want it. The larger quantity/choices of food in front of me, the more likely I am to overeat. Isn't this why dinners have those revolving displays of Desserts right at the door? Once I start overeating, the physical part of the addiction seems to begin. Like many families, there is some alcoholism in my family and yet I have escaped that. But I wonder, if I really have and if my body just substituted food for alcohol. I guess life would be too easy, if we didn't have to struggle with something and is easy what we really want? Do we learn anything from things being easy? I always say when going through a difficult time in life, that we must have sadness to truly appreciate happiness. I am learning and getting better with my response to the visual preponderence of food, but it isn't easy some days. I think that is the beauty of the band. It sort of slows you down and gives you a moment to pause and think about the food going in, rather than inhaling it all and then thinking about it. Congratulations on your many varieties of acheivements, the physical ones (almost 100 pounds) and the mental ones ( not letting the co-worker get to you). P.S. I am going to be very good today, so God does not want to "dropkick" me!

Yeah, Lizzie and Kristen1031 are both missing.

Thanks Cindy, Even with my band, I was starting to re-evaluate how much more weight I wanted to lose. while my ticker shows 30 pounds to go, I had started to believe that 15 would be better. I already have too much loose skin hanging ( arms, legs and belly) and it will get much worse. So like a lot of long term goals we make in life, along the way we make changes to those goals. so my new goal is 155 and really my goal is more about dress size than anything else. I really just want to be able to easily go shopping and when I do, have the things I buy look good. I don't feel a strong need to weigh what I did in high school. I'm older now and my body is different than it was way back then! It's really about feeling good about myself and I already do, any more weight loss is icing on the cake, but I still have the goal to stay focused and lose more. I think you're right, it really takes someone that has had a weight problem to really understand the struggle it is to lose weight. Thanks again for the advice and support! I do plan to hang around the November Nymphs threads.

Thank you Bandpal, You have a way with words and a unique way of seeing a situation. It absolutely never occured to me that my experience without the band and how to deal with that could be beneficial to anyone, especially a banded person. I have learned many of the same lessons you have, like several days of liquids don't kill you. Now as to the feeling of feeling full on almost no food, well I never really had that. I lost the weight following the post op diet and doing the required two days of liquids after each fill. I would feel tight for about two or three days after a fill, but it would never last more than that. The only food that went down slowly was fruit, but it went down. Steak, bread, chicken, shrimp all of it, no problem. The other deterent was FEAR. I went very slowly after each fill, fearing food would get stuck. I am a big chicken, but it worked to my benefit. So in many ways, I never had a fully working "tool" and yet I lost weight, when i was never able to successfully do that before. But oh, the self loathing and hating, yeah I had that big time, before the band. With 45 pounds off, that is gone. I am really a different person. I am more social now. While pre banding I avoided social situations that involved food for fear of gaining more, Now I know I can order a salad with grilled chicken or salmon AND have a fun chat time with a friend. I started walking a little before being banding and started up again after the winter months. I found it so much easier with 40 pounds off, that I walked further and more often. THAT has been a big change for me. I love the walking. Being outside and the walk itself are both great for my mental outlook. The quality of my life has greatly improved. I think for the first few days after the surgery, I was convinced I needed the band. Today, I am not so sure. Yes, like you, I did need the band to get my life and mind back in my control and not food's control. The difference now is, if you fall off the track, you still have a band to rely on, you can call on your tool, again. Get a fresh fill etc. I do not have that to fall back on. That continues to be my one big concern. If that happens in the future, maybe I will find an old November Nymph still lurking around the forum that is struggling and we can both get back on track! Good idea! Thanks again for your support. I have met some wonderful people here on the forum ( and a couple jerks, no, not november people) and I don't think I could just get up and leave, even if my band did. Judy

Thanks Linda, I have changed a lot of my habits, so if I can stick to the changes, it'll make a big difference. I am more active in general and the walking helps a lot. I'm just going to do the best I can. Some days the forum is a help and some days it isn't. I'm learning to stay away from certain threads that aren't positive for me and stick to the ones that are, like my November Nymph ones!

Name............Lbs Lost........% of wgt lost.......BMI QatarPhil...........55......................19%................32.2 (39.6) Foofy................43....................15.5%...............37.2 Sades...............44.8..................19.5%..............33.7 Shalee04...........68.....................27.4.................30.0 Bandpal.............88.11..................30.%...............32.4(47 ) Skinny_Jill..........59.5...................26.8%..............30.8 Stephanie..........60.....................26%.................27.1 Hollyberries........113.....................31%.................36.2 linda.................52......................23%.................29.9 5 Abbisgood..........53.....................23%.................?? want2lose..........91.8...................32%................31 kandiceb............63.....................26%................27.6 Momto1plus1......74.4...................27.6%..............30.5 MollyBrown.........36.....................12.5%..............36.5 TxArcher............103...................25.75%.........52.8 to 39.2 Cindyg...............58.....................23%.................35 Close.................50.....................20%.................33.1 Tmusicmaker123..73.....................19%.................60.1 to 48.7 plump_princess....57.....................22%.................36 Mariegabrieleee....73.....................24%.................51.3 to 39.1 gabeekeeper.......101.....................30% ..................40.2 stranger138........49......................21.3%.................32.1 Shortgal..............44.5...................20.5%.................32.9 Robin_Bird............90.....................29.5%................32.7 Staysee..............70.....................20%................48.4 Hajohnson1..........49.8....................18.2%..............39.8 lindseyann2u........70......................?%.................? Cherlita...............44.......................20%...............65 to 57.5 BandChick64..........94.5.....................31.5%.............33.2 tyman311..............61.....................31%...............41 to 28 (so far) BarbBee................80......................26%.................37. 5 Huskerette............54..(i gained)..........22%...............30.5 Firebolt.................45.....................19%..................3 3.5 Rachel.................63........................72%................28 .3 Teresajo..............93........................36%................27. 3 TOTAL..............2324.41 (Lets Keep this TOTAL on the list) I hadn't updated my weight loss for awhile. Then I regained some before my second surgery. Now i've lost that so I am updating my numbers to reflect what my ticker shows. Band or no band, I'm hanging in.

I'm here ( although not banded). But has anyone heard lately from Kristen1031? She was the one that for months after getting the band never needed a fill. I've thought about her and wondered if she ever ended up getting one. Oops, was I supposed to change the color of my name when I check in?

Thanks Linda, What a difference a week makes. My mind set is in a much better place, maybe the effects of the anesthesia were getting me down, the first few days. I don't think I could have gotten this weight off without the band, but I am actually believing I can keep it off, with my walking. Now that the weight is off, doing things is much easier so I move more and the weight stays off easier. Heck, I even believe I can take off a few more pounds, altho' I doubt it will be as rapid as with the band. So I am feeling much better about everything. I might even join in the next challenge with a small goal, we'll see.

Fabulous news Kendra and really great news that you are feeling good, too. Your trip sounds very nice. MY DH has always had a fascination with trains, we should do a longer train trip, too, one day.

Your support means so much and I might really fall apart if I didn't have it. I have friends and family that are supportive, but they are not all overweight and have not been banded, so I think it's harder for them to really understand my feelings. Heck, many of them don;t understand why I got a band! Well, you guys know what I mean. I will lurk on the November threads because I care about all of you, too and will want to know how you're all doing. The whole process has been hard for me, I have already struggled without restriction for months, but I thought it was temporary, now it's permanent. How long can I hang in there? I just don't know. I just know I will try and some days will be better than others. You all remember life before your bands, when it was a struggle everyday, and I'm back there. Now that I have half of the weight off, walking and exercising is easier, so I do it and I will continue that. That could end up being the difference of keeping it off or gaining it back. Thank you all, I might not be around as often, I just don't know yet, but I'll check in. Cindy, I promise to post a photo from my son's wedding! Fitting into my dress is keeping me motivated for now. Judy

Thank you all for your well wishes but unfortunately things did not go as planned. I was expecting to wake up with a locked band, but woke up with no band and two drains in my stomach. The band was eroding into my stomach. I am devastated, of course, to lose the one thing I thought would help me keep my weight down. I am not against lap bands because this happened to me. I know they work for many people, I just wish I was one of them. I did not even have my band long enough to get to my goal weight and I was a self pay. Emotionally, it's been tough. I am trying to tell myself that I did not have restriction for the last three to four months ( actually I never hit my sweet spot) and yet with my walking, I was at least maintaining the 45 pounds I've lost. While I would like to lose more weight, I know that might not be realistic for me, so my goal is to at least try hard to maintain where I am now (which hovers between 171 and 175). That's not a bad weight to be, but I am short and that still makes me obese, just less obese than before ( which is good). If I am unable to maintain my weight, I will consider an alternate WLS procedure, but I would have to self pay again. My ins covers it only with a five year history and I wouldn't want to wait five years. And I never really wanted GBP. I wish you all the best of luck in your personal journey to better health and a happier life. I will most likely not join in on challenges, as it is too mentally defeating for me to know I can't keep up adn I am trying to stay positive. While I am happy to see your success and all the others on the forum, it is hard to watch people get to goal, knowing I probably never will, so for my own benefit, I am trying to steer away from time on the forum. I hope you can understand that. I actually came on to start a new thread to inform you of my complication and then saw that Sades started this one. Thank you all again for your support in the past eight months. I will be thinking of you all, even if I am not here on the forum to tell you. Judy

They have to give you your records, it's the law.

Just a thought, but you could ask them for copies of all your records telling them you want to see someone else. I can't imagine a Dr. wants to lose a self pay patient. Of course, it could back fire and they give you the copies and send you on your merry way, but you're not where you want to be right now anyway. good Luck, I know how frustrating the process can be. It took me over eight months.

I have not come across anyone with the 4cc band that had an unlocked band. The new band has a redesigned locking mechanism and I have heard of other people with the new band that had a lock problem. there is a fine line between your sweet spot and overfilled, but why not get small fills until you reach the right spot of restriction? Unless there is a lot of reflux etc. many people have gotten small unfills if they got too tight. Not everyone needs to be completely unfilled if they get too tight. We cannot be expected to lose weight if the band is not working the way it was meant to, if we could we wouldn't need the band! Too loose a band, we gain or don't lose, perfect amount of fill and most people lose, if choosing the right foods. Let us know how you make out after seeing your Dr.

I think several people need to read the ALL the messages from the original poster that started this thread. Last time I checked, she did decide to keep her band and realized that she was just a little freaked out from the surgery and starvation. That was the orignal poster... others have added their own stories to the thread along the way. Most likely some of them would have been better off posting a new thread in the complications section. Some people have legitimate complications and a few just go through a rough patch right after surgery and for others the band is just not the right fix for them.