josephine

Well, I have watched this blog since it was put in and I cannot believe the amount of people I know who has had their surgery in 2005 and no one is ever in here. We need to be in here for our future. I constantly read how the bad habits have returned and this is the reason why this was installed. We don't have support group meetings on a daily basis to help us through our tough times. Has everyone succeeded and met their goal? Have we failed and are trying to get back on board with our lives? Is everyone so confident that they don't need to talk anymore about our new lifestyle and we have concoured everything in our past with our weight issues? That would be great..................... We still need to be here for the people that are just starting out or the ones that are close to goal and are still having issues or any type of questions possible that we are so experienced with. What do you think? Let's be helpful................ You will notice no fills down below and that is because I finally made up my mind that I wanted to live a longer life than what was expected of me down the road. Maybe I could have done it without the band but I didn't want to take that chance anymore with weight gain and weight loss since that in itself is just as dangerous on your heart as is being obese. I know that my band, my friend, is there to give me support and if I begin to have bad habits I can run to my doctor for help. Surgery Date : November 10, 2005 Starting Weight : 251 Ending Weight : 142 Maintaining my loss since July 25th, 2006 with no fills Height/5'7" Clothing Size/4 - 6 but mostly 6 due to my womenly hips. Moral support is here for anyone who needs it. Josephine

LinK, I have been banded for 5 years now and am still having that problem every so often. I do believe now that it won't go away......It just has to be dealt with with passing that gas. I have been taking Rolaids gas relief, sometimes it helps but most of the time it doesn't. I even try Pepto sometimes too. I have alot of trapped gas in which it is very painful since I had a tummy tuck and my stomach can only stretch so far and then I just want to cry. When that gas releases I am like a kid in a candy store. I am the happiest person ever. Know what foods give you gas and stay away from them. I can't eat broccoli, cauliflower and melted cheese any longer so that isn't too bad. I do miss those two veggies though alot but it isn't worth the pain. Josephine

Kyleighp, I had my surgery in 2005. It is so hard to find old timers on the website and so many rules have changed too since we had our procedure done. I still listen to the old rules and will not change myself. I am very strict with what I eat but sometimes I will splurge. There is no good reason why I stopped going to the gym and I did say that I ill begin tomorrow so I have to go. I have no clue where Iola, TX is. I work in Farmers Branch but live in Arlington. I have heard of your Dr. of course but a lady I know had it done through him and she didn't do very well. It all boils down to us anyway and what we need to do for ourselves with this new life style. My doctor told me good things, truthful things and because of his knowledge he was a good teacher besides my doctor. Just don't go backwards. We have been backwards a 1000 times. If you need some support I am here for you. It will always be a work in progress for us. Josephine

I did PM this but it wouldn't hurt to post it in general I guess.... I could go on and on about the comparison between the two but the easiest explanation to me is: Pro: Bypass 1. quicker weight loss Con: Bypass 1. More dangerous in the long run if you don't take in the most nutritious foods due to lack of nutrients. (they call it dumping). People have passed away after the fact due to nutritional reasons. 2. The redirection of your organs isn't normal and what ever goes in, must come out since it bypasses you large intenstine and goes straight from your stomach to your small intestine. 3. The posibility of gaining weight would be more easy than not, since your stomach is an organ than grows or shrinks and you could just cause your new stomach to swell all over again. Pro: Lapband 1. More safe even if you don't make healthy choices. There is no dumping. 2. There is no redirecting of organs and the procedure is completely reversable if necessary. Not recomended though if you have bad habits and are unable to change your habits. 3. You can still go to your doctor and get adjustments if you are beginning to gain weight. What I mean is you can nip it in the butt right away and get help. 4. Shorter recovery from surgery. Con: Lapband 1. For the average person who doesn't try very hard with making better choices the weight loss is half of what the bypass does. Which ever you choose to do it must be up to you. If you choose not to change your addiction of junk food or picking throughout the day you will only become a slave to your weight loss procedure and have not learned anything for a healthier life. It is a life long change whichever one choose but you really must change yourself from within to be successfull. My addiction was fast food and I haven't eaten that since 2005 and I don't miss it as long as I can't smell it but I feel healthier because of it. I was 41 years old when I finally made up my mind to eat to live and not live to eat. You can do this but you really (sincerely) need to make changes. Josephine

I never did have a fill but I thought they can put you behind the x-ray machine. Don't they call that Flora or something? I have heard before to take a pain med before seeing them but it would be difficult for me to believe that Tylenol would do anything. For certain though, if you are needing fills you will have to go back there. Do tell them your concerns and don't put up with the attitude. You are the patient, not them. Josephine

If you are able to do it the natural way and lift low weights it will help repair muscle loss. I lost most of my weight without exercising and I am still paying for it. You want to try very hard not to lose muscle tone while losing weight. I take only two supplements and that is B-12 and Iron. Josephine

This is still gas from the anesthesia. You need to walk around to help with the gas. It will go away. They had to pump your stomach with air to see what they were doing also. You will be fine. Don't just sit there. Hold your stomach when you get up and just walk. Josephine

You accept the gift, thank them and give it to someone else in your family if you can't have it. Do not allow your coworkers to run your new life whether they know about it or not. Josephine

I don't smoke anymore but I did up until my tummy tuck. Doctors prefer you not to be a smoker as they find it dangerous while under anesthesia. I smoked throughout my weight loss. Josephine

We all have our doubts. The surgery is no big deal. It is the commitment you must have to allow yourself and the band to do it's job. We have made excuses all of our lives to get the way we did. You need to make this choice on your own and have the will to do it. The band isn't an easy way out as some may say. You really need to work at it also. It is a life changing experience if you allow it to be. Do your research if necessary and make up your own mind. If you have tried everything else as we all have either accept yourself as you are or get the help that the band has the capabilties to with you by it's side though. Josephine

Joe, You should be treated as a newly banded person as you are starting over and shame on that other person. Stay on the right path and help and support is here as well for you. You will be in my thoughts Josephine

I am 4 years out and I still see myself as an obese person. I still always say people like us, or you will never understand what we go though or have gone through to get the way we are........... I know that I am not and I wear size 6 clothing and my boobs went from a full C to an almost A. You really need to begin to pat yourself on the back for your achievements thus far. Trust me, down the road the jealously streaks start coming and you begin not to hear too much from others or they will say you are beginning to look too thin to sabotage you. They aren't nice out there all the time. You see yourself every day and you will not notice the changes automatically........... It is the people who haven't seen you in awhile that will blow you away and keep your mind going and reminding you that you are doing an excellent job because they will be in awe and that just begins your journey all over again.............. Do not look at how long it is going to take you as you will be sobotaging yourself........ Enjoy the new person you are becoming...the healthy person you are becoming. Josephine

I would love to help but need to know, what is a stone, and what have you done differently? Josephine

Everyone is truly different. I was told that we should wait also for PS but only for the fact of being certain the weight loss would stay off. I was told by some doctors that it is almost a certainty that PS would be necessary if a person is a 100 pounds overweight and has been that way 5 years or longer. When I lost all of my weight it was in July of 2006. I started to see PS surgeons then. My next task was to quit smoking as they all had said that they would not do the surgery until I quit. They were talking about nipples falling off because of the smoke would kill the skin. Yes, that is what I was told and yes, I went from a full C to an almost A. My breasts looked like cow udders once I lost all my weight and they were hanging to the end of by chest cavity. I quit smoking in Dec. of 2006, waited 3 months and had a TT and a breast lift. I was lucky with my arms. Nothing had to be done to those. My butt with clothes on looks good. The skin dropped down and it looks like I have a J Lo butt. So, for most, PS is necessary as exercise and weight lifting does get rid of excess skin. Keep on truckin with the weight loss you are doing GREAT!!!!!!!!!!! Josephine

LollyMoe, It isn't even worth saying something to your mother. You have lost 27 lbs and haven't gained the 27 lbs. As long as you are feeling good that is all that matters. The people around you that have been told either by yourself or your mother just need to be reminded that you only need their support and not their negative questions. You made a decision for yourself and not for others. Keep working on yourself and your health. Josephine

Debbie, You will be fine and don't second guess yourself. You know what women's intuition is. Follow your doctor's rules and look to your future with success at the end of the road and your new self will be there waiting for you to give you a big hug. We will always be here if you need us. Josephine

Casey, I thought you would have received other responses but maybe with you saying the word GHOSTS you scared them away. We all have ghosts, trust me. My sister believes that I should see a therapist just to get to the root of why I allowed food to run my life. She truly believes I have an underlying problem of why I turned to food instead of the reality of the situation. She may very well be right. I will tell you something though. If they believe you need to see a therapist try to find someone who has gone through a weight loss surgery themselves since they think you can not handle the weight loss process. I bet if they saw that you were a self pay there wouldn't be a question about it. They want to be sure you will not waste the insurance money that people are paying for you to become healthy including yourself that is. It isn't an easy road ahead and the psych goes along with it. When you get the band it is all fine and dandy. You begin to lose weight, hopefully you will begin to exercise and listen to what your doctor tells you to do and then you begin to get adjustments. Now, I have never had a fill during my weight loss process but, I hear how people who have loved beef and now they can't eat it anymore. The same with chicken and any other kind of Protein. Most people I know that are obese have an obsession with white carbs and these are the okay things to eat every once in awhile but a friend of mine at work has the band also and daily she eats that type of stuff and her weight loss has been extrememly slow. Your food habits have to change according to the band and they want to be sure you can overcome that obstacle. I understand we are not to expect miracles but when I hear on these websites that the band has failed me it is hard to understand that. The band is a piece of plastic that is around your stomach and is allowing you to eat less than what you are used to. The rest is up to you, trust me. Good choices make for a successful weight loss, with or without the band. This I have finally learned. Choose your therapist wisely. I think we all have demons inside of us and we should all get rid of them if we can. Casey, I am here if you need me. Josephine

Casey, From my understanding they do not ask many questions. I have never gone through a therapist for approval but I heard they whip you through there. Personally, I wish I would have gone through therapy because I truly believe once you have made it to your goal, the mind, MY MIND changed dramatically and I thought that I needed it then. I don't doubt that I still need it now. In fact, it wouldn't even hurt my husband to go through therapy as I consisently hear, EVER SINCE YOU LOST YOUR WEIGHT, and EVER SINCE YOU QUIT SMOKING......... He is having a tough time. What he doesn't realize, in which I have told him was, you will never understand throughout my life what I have gone through and you will also never understand how much I love you for putting up with me and how lucky I am to still have you since I went through weight gain and weight loss with him. All the time that I bought clothes and then threw them out because they couldn't fit me anymore. Skinny, fat, skinny, fat..........and, he never had a weight problem in his life. He needs therapy as well as I do, still because I still have tough times trying to accept and be happy with who I am. Big huge life change is headed your way as long as you commit yourself. Just remember the most important outcome of this whole process and that is to become healthy and live a more happy life. You can get through this and we are all here for moral support. Josephine

Dan, I don't know what your doctor has told you about empty calories and don't allow your liquids to fill you up but the numbers don't look good. The calorie intake isn't bad but the fat grams aren't good. The carbs are too high. It would all be okay if you were going to work it off or make that a Meal Replacement in which I doubt. I used to drink a skinny French vanilla Latte and that was my Breakfast. Liquids seem to creep up on you. Be careful Josephine

Amanda............... You will really like him alot. I will tell you though not to get angry at him when your appts. are rescheduled. He is very busy with approving other doctors for doing the surgeries if he still does. He goes out of town alot but very well worth it. It just doesn't seem that lapband is a popular as it was when I go it done. When you talk to Nikki tell her to have more support gropup meetings. I like to go to those. I wish you alot of luck on the journey ahead. If you need help, please email me. Josephine Maybe we will meet each other if she has a meeting.

I am one of those success stories. I had my surgery in Nov. 2005, lost 106 pounds and have kept it off for 3 years without fills. It is possible of course but it isn't common at all. I have competely changed my life with becoming very health concious. It is very important to me to stay healthy and make the correct choices in my life now. When I had my surgery I lost my appetite and began having to make myself eat. I have gained a few pounds pounds but that is from the gym mostly because I am still in my size 6's. I am not obsessed with the scale anymore as my clothes tell the story. You can do it without a fill but don't try to be a hero. It is there if you need it and I still am thankful that just in case it will be there if I need it. Josephine

I even heard that it was 68% of your BMI. I was 41 when I had it done and I weighed 251. My BMI was a 40 as well and it is true that it is up to you truly. The doctors don't want to get your hopes up too high. I lost 101% of my BMI. I have been holding 145 for 3 years now so you can do it. How badly do you want it is how much more easily it is for you. I changed everything about what I eat and it has been successful. Josephine

Erin, All depending on what you are eating is why you haven't had to go. I am sure some of it is still in there of #2 but don't expect much. You will hurt for awhile and the gas pains are from anesthesia. Your pain will last awhile with your port area. Be careful with the pain meds as it will cause constipation. Josephine

Ports do stick out and I don't care what anyone says. I had the low profile port put in after the original one and it still sticks out, but to your eye. No one when I show them can see it sticking out unless you have them touch it and they say oh yeah......... I had a tummy tuck awhile back and maybe when the doc moved it he didn't know what he was doing. It is a small price to pay for a lifetime f becoming healthy. Just be sure to keep it away from the aistband of your pants and skirts. This is what really hurt me a bit. Josephine