Kalipso2

october 23rd with dr almanza

thank you for all your help! and i wish you the BEST of luck with your surgery and after. even with all my problems, i love my lapband and i don't think i'll be able to keep the weight off without it. since i'm already at a reasonable goal weight, i'm not sure if they'd do the sleeve on me only because its so permanent. my starting weight was 213 and after 4 years i'm 118. i'm just worried they won't put another lapband on but at least its adjustable so it will allow me to gain weight if needed. i'm going to contact WeightLossAgents.com and see what they have to say!!

yes, dr. curry did do my surgery and he is a wonderful doctor. i email him all the time and he always responds personally. the only bad thing is that his practice has grown so much, he no longer sees patients after their surgery... he has nurse practitioners that do all the fills, etc. i'm not necessarily looking for fancy but more clean and hospitable. i don't plan on being there long. i want to be in and out as soon as possible BUT i'll be going alone so i'm not sure how that will affect my travel. did you go through a company in the US that facilitates the scheduling between you and Mexico? is your hotel in the US? is your surgeon closer to san diego or el paso?

i was not the best lapband patient. i was in such a hurry to lose weight that i developed an eating disorder (bulimia). i knew i was possibly doing damage to my band but the disease had a hold over me. after months in therapy and some great anxiety medications, i no longer feel the need to purge. i decided to visit my surgeon since it had been 2 years since i'd had a check up. after telling my story they quickly led me the the fluoro machine and yes, my band had slipped even though i was having no symptoms (pain, vomiting, not being able to eat). my band (named pauly) has to go. to just remove the band is $4,000. to try to reposition the band is $9,000 and to have the band replaced is $12,000. now you can probably see why i need to go to Mexico. they will replace my band for $4000. i have talked this over with my surgeon and he will continue to see me as a patient, even after going to mexico. i've just begun my research into surgery in mexico and i have to get my passport renewed, etc. i'm not in any hurry right now... i've given myself 30 days to see if i can maintain my weight without having any Fluid in my band but i need a back-up plan. that's my story!

i have no problems going to mexico... if it saves me $5000+!

i just wonder... mexico or not... will they reband me if i'm under my goal weight? before surgery i was 213, now i weigh 118.

i'm a little nervous... i'm 4.5 years post-op and have lost all my weight plus some i probably shouldn't have lost. i haven't been to my surgeon since my 2 year anniversary. the last 2 years i've been bulimic/anorexic leaning more towards bulimia for the most part until the last few months. i'm in therapy, i see a nutritionist and psychiatrist now and am slowly gaining weight but not enough. i decided to go see my surgeon and see how my band looks under flouro. if i haven't done some damage these past 2 years, i'll be surprised. i only have 4.5cc in my band now and i'm thinking of having some removed. i'd like to gain 15 pounds back. if you were me, how much would you have removed? my support team seems to think i shouldn't take any out since i weighed and maintained for months before i let my habits get out of control. any thoughts?

thank you, jen... i appreciate your support. i never thought i'd go from obese to anorexic. every pound i gain back i have to use extreme will power to NOT purge and to continue to eat. the thing is... i was happy at 145 pounds and i don't know what triggered me to go on a weight loss bender so to speak. i make myself eat something every 2 hours... using my phone alarm as a reminder... but i can't seem to get above 120. while my heart knows i look horribly thin my brain sees every pound gained as a failure.

i'm with maegan... i like my scars. the only one you can still see is the one where my port is. it's raised up a little but since i can wear a bikini this summer (woot! woot!) everything tanned up very nice.

my surgeon is 4 hours away... each way. since i was self pay, cost was an issue but when i met with him i felt the most comfortable with him than any of the other surgeons i met with. even 4 years later i can still email him and he'll answer any of my questions within 24 hours. yes, it was a hassle the first year while getting fills (or unfills) every month but you have to trust your surgeon and he was the one!

before surgery i used to do that.... compare myself to all the other women around me. i STILL do it even though i lost 70 pounds and went from 213 to 144.

i was totally excited when i started losing weight... now, i scare myself sometimes. i'm smaller now than i've ever been... even in high school. i recently bought dress pants in a size 6 and that's NEVER happened. the other day i put a pair on and they were loose. i don't know why but the thought of wearing a size 4 or smaller terrifies me! i wear a small top now too... if i lose more weight, what size will i fit in to??? i've become a shopaholic too... thankfully i'm single and have no kids because Kohl's is my best friend. every spring and fall for the past 3 years i've had to buy entire new wardrobes... including shoes!

coming from someone who is 3 years post-op.... eat while you can! your eating will never be the same again! you might be able to eat the same foods but never near the same amount ever again!! i had 2 weeks of "last meals" before my surgery!

yes, i had to remove my piercings. i could have put my belly ring back in but my stomach was so bloated and ugly i kept it out. i re-pierced it about a year later though.

i saw a therapist for years after i had a bad breakup with "the love of my life". i truly support the idea of talking to someone who can be 100% nonjudgemental. talking to family members and friends is nice but they can be judgemental at times. BUT therapy isn't easy. i cried all the time during my sessions because we were digging deep into my past but i knew i had to sort through all those feelings. i stopped therapy about 4 years ago and have thought about going back again to work through my issues with food. there is nothing shameful about wanting or needing help!!

i think that's a great idea.... working towards something! i've had this tankini bathing suit that i bought 5 years ago and it didn't fit then.... i've been working towards losing weight so it WILL fit and this summer i'll be rockin' that tankini!

i wonder what your home situation is... are you married or live alone? have kids? it sounds like you need to have someone prepare your meals for you until you're able to do it yourself.... almost have a 24 hour caretaker who will do all the shopping and all the cooking until you are able to make the right choices. i had been diagnosed with an eating disorder because of my love of binging. my psychiatrist wanted me to participate in an in-patient treatment. is that something you could do?

hi steve... welcome! i live in the cleveland area too but i was banded in cincinnati. good luck on your journey!

i'm one of the lucky ones... my surgeon allows carbonated beverages 3 months post-surgery so i still drink 1 diet pepsi a day. right after surgery you're learning new ways of eating and drinking. you're learning to take small bites and eat slowly and take small sips of drinks. for me, after awhile, the drinking hasn't been an issue. now, i haven't chugged a 20 ounce bottle of Water at one time but i can take 3 drinks right in a row without any problems.

don't give up! there are many of us that are slow losers... and i'm one of them. i've gone thru so many lengthy plateaus i've lost count... along with a number of physical problems with my band. i was banded april 2008 and had a relatively low BMI. i wanted to lose enough weight to get me to the "normal" BMI weight which ended up being 68 pounds. i lost most of my weight the first year but i had a lot of problems that first year too. i let myself be too tight for about 5 months. i lost most of my weight during that time but i was throwing up a lot and have severe acid reflux. i got unfilled and then slowly refilled during the 2nd year. it too me 2 years and 10 months to lose 68 pounds but i did it!

i was a anesthesia virgin too before my surgery but i was more worried about the I.V. in the hand and having it stay there than being put under. when i was wheeled into the operating room, they had me put both arms out to the side and a mask was put over my mouth and nose. that's the last thing i remember. i think i took in 2 deep breaths and i was out. next thing i knew, i woke up in the recovery room. all these annoying nurses kept trying to get me to wake up and i just wanted to sleep so i ignored them until i couldn't stand their voices anymore and said, "yes, i'm awake!!" i spent the night in the hospital and i barely remember the trip from recovery to my room. i wasn't given anything to relax me before surgery because i got bumped up from the bottom of the surgery list so there was no time.

i received that same kohl's ad and thought to myself, "why am I getting this???" forgetting that not long ago... i WAS that!