Wendell Edwards

Excellent! Congratulations! Take before pictures!

Some hubbys freak out when their wives decide to get a Lap-Band. I believe this stems from a couple of different issues. Change is a scary thing for most people, and their wife is announcing that they are going to change. That freaks guys out. Most men are interested in the "Why" of things, and when the wife announces they are changing, men wonder "Why"? A lot of men think that they are the reason WHY their wives are changing, and they decide that their wife must want a different man. See, guys think of stuff like this: Their wife has a body that is like a car, and if she is going to turn that "Car" into a "Hot-Rod" then she MUST want to go "Racing". (Presumably with ANOTHER "Driver") So guys freak out. They think that their wives are dissatisfied with their marriages and that they are planning on losing weight to attract another man. I know that in most cases this is not the truth. But a WHOLE LOT of men don't know that! So if your hubby is freaking out because of you wanting a Lap-Band, you may want to assure him that you want to do this for whatever reason, and remind him that you are NOT looking to leave him for another guy.

I was banded over three years ago.

The secret phrase is "Medically necessary". If you are covered for medically necessary weight loss surgery, you will be covered for the band, provided all other criteria are met. Ask your insurance company to be sure, or use their online coverage section, or talk to your insurance or H.R. representative.

A lot of people who have surgery utilize the services of a therapist to help them deal with the emotional side of weight loss. I know dozens of people who are extremely happy that they decided to do this for themselves.

That means you have the advanced platform large size band, which holds a maximum of 14.0CCs os saline. RE: Fatigue, give it a few days, you just had major surgery!

I would look around to see if someone local offered the band for a reasonable price. If that was not available, I would head to one of the well-known Mexican doctors. Either way, make certain that your aftercare, fills, etc. is handled BEFORE signing up.

Hi Karen! NERVES are NORMAL! It's a wild ride, but OH SO WORTH IT! :whoo:

That's WONDERFUL! :clap2:

Ouch. Those abdomonal wall muscles that got cut during the surgery hurt for a while, but it gets better!

Hi Ruth! Welcome! Be sure to take BEFORE PICTURES!

Hi there! Most Mexican surgeons have websites and US patient co-ordinators. I am sure you will get more replies to this! There are literally THOUSANDS of patients who went to Mexico for their Lap-Band surgery.

Although I told everyone, I don't believe that is the best course for most people. In an ideal world, everyone would love you and support your decision to have life-saving surgery. But this is the REAL WORLD, where some people just can't keep themselves from making nasty, hurtful, ignorant and insensitive comments to people. If you don't want those comments, or are not strong enough to NOT CARE what other people think, DON'T TELL THEM

My Doctor required the 2-2-2 plan: 2 weeks - Clear Liquids 2 weeks - Full Liquids 2 weeks - Mushies/Soft Food Then a fill and onto solid foods

"Slime" refers to the uncontrollable production of saliva, which usually happens when a piece of food is "Stuck". "Sliming" can also occur as a reaction to eating too much food, or from not chewing food well enough. Sliming can lead to a "PB", or "Productive Burp", which is a small amount of vomit. An NSV is a Non-Scale-Victory, like fitting into smaller clothes.

Oh, I don't know if the USA is more or less violent than Canada. I'd have to look up the statistics on violent crimes before I made any assumptions.

When I was on obesityhelp.com I used to post a very long post that I had saved on my computer. I named the post "Lap-Band 101". That one post answered the 50 most common questions that new people have. Well, wouldn't you know that people on that website complained to the administrators that I posted it too many times. Yet another reason that I like LBT. :car:

Well, there certainly is more information available now than there was 3 years ago when I had surgery. Back then, finding out stuff was like finding gold... it took a lot of work!

Hi, For me, gun ownership is a complex issue involving liberty and the right to self-defense. Personally, I choose to have the liberty to engage in self-defense against predatory criminals by owning a gun. Other people may choose to do as they wish. Oh, one more thing.... Expecting a criminal to obey gun-control laws, when the definition of a criminal is someone who breaks laws, is ludicrous.

Thank you! My doctor says no solid food for 8 hours before a fill and full fluids for 2 days after the fill.

same here! One tiny little hiccup!

This is an old post of mine about the elusive "Sweet Spot": I talked to Inamed about how many CCs in a Lap-Band made for a "Good fill". Their answer surprised me: "It really doesn't MATTER how many ccs are in the band. The only thing that matters is whether or not that CC amount provides EFFECTIVE RESTRICTION" (Emphasis added) So the trick then is NOT how many CCs are in the Lap-Band, it's whether or not the band works well at that level of fill. One more thing... "The Sweet Spot" is just another way of saying "Effective Restriction". The problem is that people expect "The Sweet Spot" to last. It doesn't. And neither does "Effective Restriction" Not until the entire residual fat-pad on the outside of the stomach muscle is melted off, and that takes TIME.

how can I make myself see me for what I am now? This is a post that I made a long time ago on how to see your weight loss: Most people who are morbidly obese do not like having their picture taken. They avoid the camera because the photographs don't lie. That fact can be put to good use before and during your weight loss. Simply put, the best way to document weight loss is not a scale graph of pounds lost, or a size chart of inches lost. The best way to document weight loss is to take photographs before and during the process. I advise people setting out on this journey to take three initial pictures. The recommendations that I give are these: 1. Take three views, front, side and back (That means you need a automatic timer camera or a friend to help you) 2. Take the pictures in the same place every time. A doorway is a great choice, because it helps put a known quantity into the picture. Other good places are in front of a fireplace or another known point of reference. 3. Take the pictures while wearing form-fitting clothes. A swimsuit is IDEAL. 4. Take the pictures with the same camera, and make sure you are standing the same distance from the camera every time. That's why a doorway helps. You can line yourself up in the doorway and use a measuring tape to find the distance to the camera. 5. Take that same set of pictures every month. Front, back and side views. Wear the same clothes and make sure the distance to the camera is the same. 6. Have the "Before" pictures printed out, and tape them to your refrigerator. 7. Have the latest set of pictures printed out, and tape those next to the "Before" pictures. In doing this, you mind has irrefutable PROOF that what you are doing IS WORKING. People frequently do NOT "See" their weight loss, and they become frustrated, perhaps by a scale weight that is not moving, even though their body size is reducing at an amazing rate. This is a great way to "See" your weight loss. The best way to document weight loss is to take photographs before and during the process.

Getting effective restriction is something that is really hard. First off, many doctors do not use INAMED's recommendation to use a fluoroscope to obtain a visual confirmation of the effects of the fill. Plus, some patient's stomachs have a very dense fat-pad which resists the pressure from the fill at first, then it gives way, resulting in a delayed-action fill. Plus some patient's stomachs are more reactive to the pressure cause by the fill, and those people will experience reactive swelling caused by that irritation. In those people, a fill that would provide normal restriction in another patient will completely swell the stoma shut, sending them back to the doctor for an unfill. Some doctors use an arbitrary number for a fill amount. Like the INAMED standard of a 4CC fill in a Vanguard Band, followed by 1.0CC fills. Some doctors use the amount of resistance the feel on the plunger of the saline syringe to determine fill level. Some doctors fill a band to obstruction, then have you swallow Water, which pools in your esophagus, then they slowly back out the plunger in the saline syringe until you feel the water going down your neck. Some doctors have you drink water before you leave the office after a fill, and some don't. Some doctors tell you no solid food before a fill, some don't. Some doctors tell you to go back to solid food immediately after a fill, some say take it easy or put you on a Clear liquids or full liquids diet for a number of days. Some doctors will fill as close as 2 weeks, some will not fill unless 12 weeks or more have passed. Some doctors will not give a fill if you are still losing ANY amount of weight. So yes, getting to a "Sweet spot" (What I call "Effective Restriction") is not only tedious, time-consuming and expensive.... IT'S FRUSTRATING, AS WELL.

My experience was exactly the opposite. I went from being the fat guy that EVERYBODY NOTICED to being "The invisable man".