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it's really not a question of whether you CAN drink with meals, but whether you SHOULD. in the clinic i attend, the dr and nutritionist advise no drinking 15 minutes before meals, none during the meal, and none until 1 hour after. this does 2 things: first, you don't fill up your pouch with fluid (and it's "dry" when the food goes in, so like you've been told, the food doesn't just "wash" thru) and second, it encourages your salivary glands to work properly. the saliva in your mouth begins the digestion process and you really need that (not water or tea or whatever). the 15/60 drinking rule is one of the primary behavior modifications and my dr asks about it EVERY time i get fills. it sounds like a lot of the people who get the procedure done in mexico don't get a lot of the behavioral explanations. that's too bad. good luck.

Hi folks, interesting conversation-- I guess I still look at the band pretty pragmatically--who cares if I need help to lose weight--what do people think weight watchers, Atkins, all those self-help books are? Sure, they are all tools to help me lose weight. Well if I "buy a band" and mis-use it, it doesn't help any better than my Nordic track when its only function is as a clothes rack. (I'm not the only one who has one of those brand-name clothes racks, right?) You know the people in your life better than any of us. Are they the types to condemn you (have they never fought their own battles with losing weight?) or support you? If they are critical, small-minded people, then by all means don't tell them. But my experience has been (although I don't share indiscriminately) that even people who don't "love me" have been supportive. If this tool is available to you and you fail to make use of it, haven't you condemned yourself to failure? certainly more so than if you take the chance, make the effort, use the tool and (gasp!) succeed this time? There are lots of us who are (finally) finding success with the band--as for me, I had to admit that I could not it on my own. Now I'm free of the delusion of control and 75 pounds lighter so far (46 before banding 2/15/08, 29 after). As trades go, i think i got the better deal. I hope you choose to believe in yourself and the great success that you CAN find with this tool. Blessed be.

We read of many folks who experience a greater "tightness" in their band early in the day and who feel more relaxed later in the day. I've been banded about 2 months and only recently returned to tennis. (I played before banding, also, but not vigorously, as you can imagine.) I'm curious about how exercise affects your feeling of tightness of your bands. My question is, have any of you noticed feeling more or less tight following gentle, moderate, and vigorous exercise? Also, I'm curious about any other differences you noticed between your endurance before and after banding, ability to keep hydrated, and so forth. I'd appreciate any insights you might have.

Thanks everyone for responding. I've noticed that i seem very hungry during exercise (but i think it's mostly because i tend to exercise at the end of my workday before supper) and then when it's time to eat, i'm just not very hungry anymore. It seems contrary. But the number one thing is that every day it's easier to move and i want to keep moving longer-so thanks to y'all for your support and know that you have my best wishes also. It matters.:thumbup:

Sorry this ended up being so long--but i feel very strongly about this--bear with me, please. From someone at the other end of that 6 month purgatory, here's what i've learned. i know that i can do some things for a limited period of time if i have sufficient motivation. but, i also have an issue with my attention span, so this diet effort is a problem--i do okay for, say, 6 months, but then sort of lose interest/motivation. in this case, i have the hope offered by the band at the end of this 6-month trial--and a reason to renew my dedication to this discipline. i have my final weigh-in on Jan 28th and looking back, the 6 months flew. at the beginning, i was just as incensed as you (i too, was told there was no waiting period and then the insurance company stuck their oar in...) very frustrating. but i tell you that, for me, the satisfaction of having made a dent in my weight loss for myself is inspiring! just think how much i will be able to accomplish now with this additional tool working in my favor! i also have the personal satisfaction of seeing my dedication (ok, it's forced by the insurance requirements, but it's still MINE!) in the 42# i've lost in preparation for the band (with over 100 more to go). in addition, i have the personal assurance that i CAN follow a very different eating regimen and i know that will help me with my band. of course this may not help, but we're here to share experiences and try to help each other succeed on this journey, right? try to CHOOSE to look at this 6-month supervised period as a gift. if you can stay on a regimen, add any exercise to what you already do, then you will see some weight come off--however modest or significant. if you make that choice of your own will, rather than viewing it as something FORCED on you by your insurance co, the 6 months will fly by for you, too. As for the question of insurance denying you after the 6 months, talk to the people in your lapBand doc's office. find out exactly what the application to the insurance will contain. i talked to my doc's office and was concerned that if i lose much more pre-band, i will fall below 40 BMI. they said that the insurance submission was about the statistics at the start of the weight-loss period and that i was NOT to worry about that. the 6-month supervised period was to demonstrate the likelihood of my SUCCESS in using the band. why would i want to spend $15K for a surgical procedure that is not likely to REALLY help me? Please look at this requirement as an AID to your long-term success--that's the REAL motivation for it, even if we all love to hate the insurance companies...

Good Morning, Before the doc started my psych eval, i asked her about the purpose of the evaluation. She explained that the evaluation was expected to tell them whether i had a sound understanding of the things in my life that influence my weight, whether i had realistic expectations of the LapBand, and whether my personality and behavioral characteristics indicated a probability of success at using the LapBand as a weight-loss tool. Sounds like some of you had to deal with some pretty far-out psych docs. Sad. Mine was gentle and i felt the questions she asked were effective in getting to the objective she described. I, too had to answer that questionnaire-don't remember how many questions-but since i understood the overall objective, it didn't upset or concern me that they were asking some seemingly irrelevant questions.

I've been doing the Atkins in preparation for my band - 6 months doctor supervised diet required by the insurance AARGH! i've lost 42# since August and have experienced hair loss like y'all are talking about. I talked to the dietician at my LapBand doc's office and she recommended a Calcium supplement, a b-complex, and Biotin. She also cautioned against staying on the Atkins "induction" phase for too long. I don't know about the "losing too fast", but it seems reasonable to me that a Vitamin deficiency would cause hair loss. (Heaven knows that i get enough Protein on Atkins!) Since i started with the recommended vitamin supplements (in addition to a basic multi-vitamin) the hair loss has returned to my "normal" level. Anyway, please use the resources at your LapBand doctor's office- have the nutritionist there review your actual diet and give you a recommendation. That's my 2-cents-worth. I hope it's useful.

God called us to be temples for the Holy Spirit--not amphitheaters! I for one believe that the LapBand is like a crutch. Isn't that what some people want us to think Jesus and religion are? just a crutch?--but when you're a cripple, as we all are without Him--a crutch is exactly what we need. My pastor told me that, in the same way i wouldn't refuse to go to a doctor for a cast for a broken bone or to get stitches for a serious cut, why would i refuse to go to a doctor for help with a broken eating system? Some demons are only expelled through fasting and prayer, remember? USE the LapBand to expel the demon that truly interferes with your worship of God. Peace be with you...

Ryan... I, too had my first child 3 months early. And my second child was born healthy and only 3 weeks early--which is still in the realm of "normal". Get the information from your LapBand doctor about how the band works with pregnancy--in my preparations they did a whole section of information about this--DON'T let it cause you this much grief. Talk to your OB--if you don't already KNOW, find out WHY your first child came early. They should be able to put your mind at ease about your new child and hopefully take steps to provide for a safe and full-term pregnancy. I'm curious, if you are wiling/able to share, how is your firstborn's health now? REJOICE--while you're creating this new life of your child, you'll also be reclaiming your own life. I am SO excited for you--

I support Pro-Choice before conception and Pro-Life after.

Hey, Steve, Maybe instead of asking for a slap, you could just ask for a blessing--those are pretty powerful, too. :confused:

What's a guy to do? How about turning off the media delivery system (radio, tv, ...) and going outside for a walk (or a shovel , depending on your location). I've convinced myself that fast food is no different for me than illegal drugs--just another poison. Fight the good fight! Anne

As we persevere on this journey, consider Malachi 3:3, which says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time. The man said yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?' He smiled at her and answered, Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.' If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. :amen: emp Good People, your contributions to this thread have been an inspiration and comfort to me. I offer you this story in return. Anne.