Wheetsin

Answers in blue... Will the band let me eat a pan of brownies??? I HOPE Not! It will until you're properly restricted. Even then it would still be possible if you took your time, and or did something to liquefy them, or ignored the pain/consequences, or.... There is a big element of having to own your weightloss & food choices with the band. I can't stop! I'm a HUGE emotional eater and I am in the process of getting a therapist to see once a week starting now, and to follow up with post op. I know I need help with some of the things inside me that make me wanna eat. Will the band really help control my portions????? When you're properly restricted, you will likely have to control your own portions or face the consequences - pain, having to bring food back up, etc. Most people find they reach a "full" sensation on very small portions. That doesn't mean the band makes you pay attention to this sensation, and stop then. This is a change you will have to make. It has a learning curve, for sure, but most people get there. I'm scared it won't, and I'll fail...once again, story of my life. I"m never full and find myself always eating. I"m scared of how I will need to change the way i eat, b/c I have such poor eating habits now, I'm scared I'll be banded and not know what the hell to eat! Your surgeon will (should) provide you with a detailed diet to follow after surgery, itemizing what you can eat until you reach the point of "as tolerated". Can someone help, I"m REALLY struggling with this now that I got my date yesterday, I"m scared shittless, I don't know any other way than this.....please help me..... Most people are scared for surgery, and full of doubt and second-guessing themselves. All I can say is that it's normal to have mental or emotional turmoil, and to go with the decision that you feel is right for you.

It's normal to not feel restriction after your first fill. I did, but I also had restriction with no fill (uncommon). A friend of mine with the same band size as me (4cc) needed almost 3.5cc before she felt any restriction, whereas I needed unfill when I went beyond 2.5cc. Give it a week or three, see how you're feeling. If you don't have restriction, set up another appt.

I followed the induction (stricter) phase of Atkins for over a year. I would never, ever advocate it as a tried & true long-term weightloss method, but if you need to lose pounds fast, it almost always works. What you lose isn't fat for a while, but the weight will come off, and eventually fat too.

You know, I've wondered about that. #1 and #2, because it's not like you're going to do all that pushing, but try to "hold back" enough that you don't throw out a little putt putt. Like in gym class - it never failed. I could not do more than 8 or 10 situps without a little fart coming out no matter how hard I tried. And of course there was always another kid right down there, holding your feet. So I would cough and pretend to pass it off like a cough. *sigh* And later in life I got really fat, and when you're really fat your thighs have this way of trapping air, so sometimes when I would sit down in a hard chair it would sound like I farted, even though I didn't, it was just air being pushed out from my thighs. At my last OB appt she did a pelvic and when she removed the speculum it made me queef. I was just like "Umm, that wasn't what it sounded like, I promise." How do you save face after something like that, other than to trust it's not the first time it has happened?

Sex fart as in queef? (The result of getting "pumped" with air during sex). DH and I have been married over 10 years. We don't share a bathroom. Even if he just has to pee he locks his bathroom door. If the door is unlocked, he's showering. Otherwise I know he's doing some body function. But he'll fart like no one's business and it doesn't phase him one bit. BTW, I hate how guys sit there and grunt/push it out, then go "oh sorry" like it caught them off-guard or something. And I hate that DH's farts are sometimes so bad they wake me up from my sleep and I have to go to another bedroom. Now I'm mad. :ohmy:

Growing up, I remember seeing my father laying in the hallway in front of the bathroom, talking to my mother while she pooped. Every day. Like it was nothing. Now, that's love! It took me a while to be willing to do anything around DH. I clearly remember the first time I farted around him. One time in bed he was spooning me (behind me) and had his knee pushed into my butt. I had to so bad it hurt, and couldn't get out of the bed without waking him up so I figured... what the heck, he's asleep, and try to delicately let it out. Which of course never works. Like 5 seconds later the bed starts shaking because he's silenty laughing his ass off. He can't even make noise, he's just shaking. Ends up he hadn't fallen asleep yet, and I farted on his knee. He thought it was "cute" but I wished I could just drop into the floor.

I'm not too bad so far. My somach, hips, and upper/inner thighs are the worst. The loose skin on my upper thigs makes me look like I have bumpy baby thighs. And when I cross my legs (Indian style) I get folds of empty skin. I have needed about 5 pelvic exams in the last month (I'm knocked up) and it's so embarassing. One of the doctors had to literally hold all my loose skin to the side. I was like -- umm, I can hold that for you...

Wait -- so does that mean it also: Gives us the bright idea that intentionally Fing up some responsibility will mean we don't have to do it anymore Makes us truly believe that running up and dry-humping our SO every time they bend over to pick something up is actually going to turn them on Means we can never comment on the attractiveness of someone of the same sex without it meaning we're gay, and Makes us think "I don't know" is actually some freaking kind of answer to a question?

I love my bullet. I've used it almost every day for more than 2 years, and really don't know what I'd do without it. It works great for Protein drinks (you blend right in the cup), and I use it for chopping nuts, making guacamole, whipping cream, etc. Then you just put the cup in the dish washer. (Mine came with a bunch of extra attachments for grating, juicing, etc. -- I don't use those, just the chopper & blender). A lot of people have posted thinking it's too pricey, but I've already gotten 700+ uses out of it, so to me it's a pretty good investment. :ohmy:

So basically it turns us into men?

Do you mean FUPA, labia, general groin...?

1.) Who's you're insurance company? UHC 2.) What state do you live in? MO 3.) Was your plan provided by your employer or do you pay for it out of your own pocket? Yes. It's employer-sponsored, meaning they pay all or part of the cost. In my case they pay part, so I still have premiums taken out of each check. 4.) Are you banded yet, waiting for approval, denied...etc? Banded 2+ years.

I tried using it for scars, but not surgery scars. I will say be careful - tea tree oil in its pure form is very potent and not something everyone can tolerate. Ends up that I can only use small amounts with inert/carrier oils. When I used it full strength, it more or less "burned" me and it took about 9 weeks to get my skin back to normal. BTW, it didn't really make much difference. Any at all, actually.

When you "throw up" what comes up? What you describe sounds more like "PBing" than "vomitting" -- so get detailed because advice will change depending on which you're experiecing. When you throw up, is it as though the contents of your stomach are coming up? E.g. is there acid, food from yesterday, etc? (If "yes" then you need to log off and call your surgeon) Or is it bits of whatever you're currently eating along with some saliva and maybe really thick "mucus" stuff, and quite possibly a good deal of abdominal/band-area discomfort? (If yes, then continue reading) Gulping Water while banded -- why are you even doing that? The "pouch" can only hold so much. Anything it can't hold that won't pass quick enough comes out the other end, aka your mouth. So if gulping water causes you to bring the water back up, that seems like a pretty easy "stop gulping"... no? Since it comes so suddenly after food I'm thinking PB which means 1) you're too tight or 2) you're eating too much or 3) you're eating too fast or 4) you aren't chewing well enough or 5) you're trying to swallow too much at once or 6) any combination of the above. Post more info and we can help if that's the case. If it's not and you're truly VOMITTING then you need to seek medical care and most likely an antiemitic, if you don't have one on hand.

I think it's good - even critical - for people to know both sides. My surgeon never really told me the "bad". If it weren't for this site, I'd have had no idea what was happening when I had my first PB, and probably would have ended up in an ambulance/ER. I would also think that being able to eat chicken and pasta means there's something wrong, because everytime I would go in for a fill that's what he would ask -- can you eat chicken? Can you eat pasta? (Umm, SHOULD I not be able to, because I can...) I don't like surprises. I like to know exactly what I'm getting into, as medical staff that has cared for me can attest to. If it's bad, who cares, I can deal with it, but I need to know it can happen. If it's going to hurt, tell me, but tell me how long it's going to take you to finish, if the pain will linger, etc. I would not have gotten a well-rounded picture of the band had I just listened to the medical resources.

If you aren't able to gain insurance approval, but know this is for you, then advice is to start looking into self pay or financing. Which you're indicating that you're already doing. You could continue the insurance battle, perhaps posting here to get more specific advice, but few things with insurance are fast and if you want it now, you're going to have to pay. More patients are finding some stateside doctors to be cost-comparable to MX surgeons. I cringe -- not that people go to MX -- but that they do it just to save money. I'd think with something like this, it's best to go to whomever has the best numbers, whomever you feel most comfortable with, etc. For many people that heppens to be MX. I just cringe when people treat surgiery and a lifelong implant like a clearance sale, where the lowest price tag should be the driving factor. Some options to look into include self-pay, medical loans, re-routing of existing bills, second mortgages, credit cards, etc. (just some of the many options I've seen people use).

The people who really want to commit suicide to end their lives (not talking about the ones who commit suicide to hurt someone else) aren't the ones who call a hotline and announce they're going to jump, or make a big dramatic scene about it. That would give someone the oppourtinty to intervene, and they don't want that. They're the ones who slip away unnoticed, never to be heard from again. The people who make the big scene are the ones who want to be talked out of it. I liken this to "announcements" of people leaving a board. If someone really wants to leave, why don't they just slip away? Why even announce it? Are you hoping people try to talk you out of it? The ones who really want to leave aren't the ones who post "This is my last post" because -- who cares? Why aren't you just gone already? (Maybe the answer is "there's still more attention to gather.") Usually if someone announces they're leaving, they're not leaving. I posted this once long ago to someone else dramatically announcing they were leaving, and she posted to argue with me -- that she was indeed leaving. But umm... you're still here disagreeing with me, even though your last post was like 3 posts ago... and there you are again... Whatever the case, if you find a resource valuable, then it's a shame you let anyone have enough power over you to make you leave.

I like the message here, but I see the title of "Restriction is bad" and swoon at the thought of all the newbies out there thinking to themselves, "Wow, if it's bad I better not go get my fill" -- then posting about why they aren't losing weight. So for all of you out there, restriction isn't bad. Being too tight can increase your chances of complications, no doubt. But restriction is a natural state of being banded. Being OVER restricted for what your body can tolerate - different story. I also have to say that eating mushies ice cream doesn't mean you're too tight. I'm not too tight and I eat ice cream because I want to eat ice cream. Again - I can just see a mass of people out there thinking, "I eat chips and ice cream, does that mean I'm too tight??"

I had my lap-band, and like 18 months later my dog had to be hospitalized for a stomach virus. I'm still trying to figure out how my band caused that. :ohmy: I agree with previous posters - everyone has a "friend of a friend" story that 99.999999999% of the time has no grounds in reality at all.

There is nothing about the band itself that stops you at 50% weightloss. Anyone with the band has the potential to go on to reach 100%+ of excess weight. With the band you're more accountable for the foods you eat. Unlike malabsorptive procedures, you will "absorb" what you eat. The biggest factor in whether or not someone reaches goal is them. Their behaviors, the degree to which they're successful in changing them, etc. As for the weightloss being slower, again - that's likely to happen with a restrictive procedure v. malabsorptive. On any given day we could eat in such a way as to prevent weightloss. That's why this is called "the thinking person's weightloss surgery." We still have to own our actions and choices, nothing is a "hand out". And again on the slower weightloss, I don't know. I'm not convinced. I lost more weight more quickly than bypass friends with similar amounts to lose. Now that we're all 2+ years out I'm still losing, albeit slower, and many of them have regained. I think we'll see the long-term numbers changing in the next few years, in favor of the band, because we get the whole "adjustability" thing, more so than a "one shot deal" that either works or doesn't.

It is designed to be a life-long implant. It is made of silicone and titanium, which are used in other life-long implants. Most of the time when it's removed it's because of some type of complication, not some kind of structural failure/decomposition of the band materials.

You guys kinda make me wish I knew crap about OH and what goes on there, but sadly I do not. Like 3 or 4 years ago I tried to get onboard but it was so damn near impossible to sign up, navigate, etc. that I gave up. If I can't figure it out, I probably don't need it. But seems like the entertainment factor could be worth figuring it out...

It seems really counter-intuitive (hot things promote bloodflow and could lead to swelling, etc. while cold things are suually rememdies for swelling/fluid) -- but hot things do seem to help. I just don't worry about eating in the morning anymore, maybe a few bites of egg, but sometimes for dinner (espeically if I'm with business company or someplace out of town) I will start off with soup, and if I am still hungry have an entree. The soup does seem to open me up a bit.

I had to have my first catheter (outside of when I was an infant) about 2 weeks ago. It definitely had its own unique pain. And oddly enough, I couldn't produce much while it was in, but as soon as she removed it I pottied like a racehorse. Almost like they had forgotten to re-open it after thay had closed it off. Best of luck being able to wee. :ohmy:

My pre-op diet was 2 days of sugar-free, clear liquids. This is the diet my surgeon still uses, so it must do the job well enough. If you want to do something, but haven't been prescribed an actual diet to follow, and your surgeon won't provide one, I'd think "mine" works fine, and is short.