marivan

Hi Chubba, I felt the same as you. I hate vinegar. What I did was to mix my tuna with my salad and then it seemed like I had a dressing with my salad already. Not ideal, but better than balsamic vinegar to be sure. I had tea with skimmed milk as my drink. Jill told me that was fine. (or coffee if you are a coffee drinker, although I don't know if you could drink it with milk? I don't drink coffee) I also substituted some of that cottage cheese with one Protein shake, I had that for Breakfast. It helped break up the boredom. I've said this before, so sorry for repeating myself, but this diet is very binding, so I'd advise you to take something. I now put Benefibre in my morning Protein Shake to help avoid that. (although my diet now has more fibre than it did with that one!) It's only two weeks, it was hard, but it goes quickly! I lived for my chicken breast each night! Mary

I think the diet they give you depends on your individual stats. I had to go on that diet for two weeks too, but I subsituted a Protein shake for Breakfast (they okay'd it). Three days will be a breeze! Good idea to take each phase as small increments. I did too and it worked out fine. I was a bit sick of Soup by the end of the six weeks though. I started making my own, as I hate the chemical taste of canned soup. On the last hurray before the pre-op, I had a blast but by the end of it, I couldn't think of a single thing I really wanted. Even my favourite, icecream, was just not that interesting anymore after having it every day. I've had it once since (at Easter). Good luck on Thursday! Let us know how you get on. Mary

I'm sure that I'll be able to live with it, after all I'll never be 30 again! (okay, I'm not going to see 40 either!) After looking at those silly magazines in the check out yesterday, even the rich and famous don't look grand in a bathing suit! So I'm sure I can live with it too! Mary

Thanks Angie, Well, I'm going to work as hard as I can and hope for the best. I'd rather not have to go through any operations, and I have a way to go before I find out (over 80 pounds still to lose) so I'll be crossing my fingers and putting oil on my skin! :confused_smile: Mary

Thanks for your honesty Heather. When I was 24, I lost about 100 pounds and everything just snapped back into place. This time I'm 40 pounds heavier and 24 years older! I don't think I'll be so lucky this time round. Too bad they couldn't just pull at one point, stretch it all out and snip off the excess! :woot: A flat belly. I don't know where I'd rest my hands! (but I can't wait to find out) Mary

I'm far away from maintenance with 80 or so pounds to lose, but I wonder what life with the band at the correct weight is like? What I mean is, if you can't ever eat very much, do you continue to lose more weight? Or does your body get used to the small portions you are eating and just stay at a weight? I'm quite satisfied with what I am eating and my exercise routine, but I wonder how it works when you are at goal? And did your goal change the closer to got to it? For example, I have been as low as 150 (at 5'7") in my life, but I am happy and healthy at 170, so that is my goal. But I wonder when I get close to 170 will I find that it is no trouble to get lower? And how long does it take before you realise that you are thin now? And not still feel that you are fat? I guess it takes your brain a while to catch up with your body? Thanks, M

Thanks for your input. I have a very modest end goal of 170 pounds, but I am working towards small goals in the meantime. And when I get to 170 I may find that I could manage 10 more pounds. My first goal is to reach the lowest weight I've been in 15 years, which is 243 (a nice round number) which I am 10 pounds from. My next one will be getting under 200. I just wondered (and you all answered) whether you were so used to eating what you were that you stayed at that level, whether you found you lost more because you were still restricted. I don't feel deprived and the weight is coming off slowly, so I think I can live with that! Thank you all. M

Thanks for looking for me. You got further than me if you found something that wanted you to pay! But you are right, it isn't worth it to see it after the fact. Yes, you could be right about paying to see a few different PSs. I don't know if I would go to ten, but I suppose if you don't feel comfortable then you need to find one you like. You hear so many horror stories about women who died from a tummy tuck. I want to be around to enjoy my new weight loss for a while yet! I'm a ways away from that point yet though. I can try to save for it though. Take care and thanks again. Mary

Hi fousilly, You are quite right. If it didn't work to have celebrity endorsements, then they wouldn't bother! I went with TLBC as I felt they also were including everything, where as the SWLC (I think, but I'm not sure, it very well could have been another clinic) had on their site that you had to pay for the preop diet that they supplied, and pay for a consultation, and lost that consultation money if you didn't have it with them. I just felt uncomfortable with that. But I'm sure both of our surgeons are wonderful. After all, we are here to tell the tale! I picked up this thread late, so I was a bit too late for that link to work. Thanks if you manage to find anything. Mary

Hello all, I can't get anything from that link. Perhaps it has moved now? I searched Kailah Ali and Lap band but no luck. (well found this forum :tt1: and an Amazon link to her book!) If anyone can find it again, let me know. Thanks, I'd just like to say, that once people research (and let's hope that they do) they will make a sound decision. I chose our wonderful Dr. Yau by checking out his rating on a Doctor site and found out from that, that he is a bariatric surgeon with a long history of doing this. That and my Doctor looking him up and his credentials cemented the deal. I just hope that others will choose their surgeon the same way. Not knocking anyone else's but no author would convince me to choose on their recommendation. When and if I need to have plastic surgery, I'll do the same sort of research. Mary

In the clinic I go to and had my operation, the only reason they wanted to know if you had sleep apnea was to let you know you would have to stay over night so they could monitor you after surgery. There were lots of people there who had this condition, and had the surgery with no issues. And the great thing was, a lot of them, once they lost just 30 or so pounds didn't have the condition any longer! Good luck with your research! I can't imagine having to wait three more years. I think I'd just start saving. M

On Saturday, my husband and I had dinner together and I was distracted and ate a piece that was too big, or ate too fast. My fault entirely, but I started with the PBing and it wouldn't end until I lost the entire meal. It wasn't much to begin with, but my body just wouldn't settle down. I was trying to explain to my husband that I must have had a piece that was too large blocking the entrance to my lower stomach and even though I was spitting up some of it, saliva was filling up my small pouch and it had nowhere to go but up and out. But he just couldn't get his head around it and I couldn't explain it any better either. I tried to say about the air between the two stomach areas (hence the burping) and an illustration with a funnel, but he wasn't getting it. I ended up BPing for half an hour and when I thought it was finished, I drank a glass of Water to clear me out and then I started losing that too. I promise to be much more careful, but can anyone explain to me why this would happen, and how to explain it to him? And is there any stomach acids in our small section? If we get something stuck it won't really ever go down will it? BTW, I didn't see any huge chunk that would have caused all this fuss. Sorry to be graphic, but you all know where I'm coming from. In the process, we went next door to our neighbour's place for a fire and they wondered what was wrong with me. I decided that I didn't want them to think I was ill, so I told them about the band. They blinked and changed the subject! They've said nothing more about it. Not the reaction I was expecting, that's for sure. Thanks for your help. Mary

Hi Doddie, I agree, I'd love a new subject though. (I think I posted one on the other forum last week and now there are some more) I think in this forum and the other Canadian Lapbanders forum it's been discussed to death and I think we've exhausted it. Basically what Heather has said a few times is that we who are concerned need to voice those concerns to the management to have them understand the disquiet. Us bitching for days here is a great outlet and helpful but after a while stops being productive. I totally support your problems with contacting them as you are really far away and they should get back to anyone within a reasonable time. They should read this topic themselves if they want to know the score! Back to some fun topics! What good things are happening!?

I don't agree that we should pay any further (and I'm not complaining about my fee, I'm very happy with TLBC) and I also agree that "Instant replies" are kind of impossible. If I call on Monday morning though, it would be really nice to get a reply that day or at least the next morning. If they have so many clients, then they do need more staff to be able to cope. (and they are very popular, so it is going to get pretty busy there) And perhaps they are thinking of this. Generally though, most of us never have to call them, and I wouldn't want to pay a fee for the few people that are a bit more "needy" than others. I don't mean that in a bad way, but lets face it, some people need more reassurance, more support than others. I'm not scared either to go on a trip now that I have my band, I don't even think about it. I like the service I have received, I'm very happy with them, and if they don't call me back in a time that i feel is acceptable, I just call again. Can we move on? Mary

I have had problems with them not replying for days. To be honest, they have such a volume of patients now that they have to consider hiring more people. If it takes two to three days to get back to you, that isn't acceptable. As Heather says, I would encourage those of you that are having issues to ALL state your complaints about it. I don't call them often, but when I do, I expect a response THAT DAY. This isn't about a car, it is far more important. I would also encourage Nancy to look at this forum again and see what people are saying. It may also wake them up to how frustrating it is when you have a problem or a question and it takes numerous phone calls to get someone to respond to you. This costs us all a lot of money and one or two more staff members in the fill and nutritionist departments wouldn't go amiss if they are having trouble coping. I don't regret or resent the money at all, but if they are offering the wonderful extras and sending Nancy and Jill out of town for conferences, they have to have back up staff to cope with those of us who may need some support. Mary

Way to go! Look how well you've done already. It'll be nice to advance to the next stage. Take care, Mary

Hi there, Indigogirl said it perfectly. Every one of us had the same fears when we were about to have surgery. I wondered why I would put my poor body through an operation when it was perfectly healthy, but fat. But I was so unhappy and felt that I could never accomplish this without the band as a tool. The operation was not a big deal. I was fortunate in that I had no problems and none of the dreaded gas, but even that doesn't last long. The people that I spoke to who had this operation around the time I did, had some pain, but were all thrilled with their operation and their results. Myself, I felt back to normal within a week of the surgery and the incisions are very small. It's been six months for me, and I'm losing slowly, but I am so happy. I haven't been able to lose this much weight for ages, and although I've only lost 33 pounds so far, it is the most I've lost in four years, so that is an accomplishment. I have some of that burping when I eat too fast, but I'm learning to chew better and enjoy my food more in the process. And I'm optimistic that this time I will actually get to goal! And because I'm not hungry, my thoughts aren't about food all the time. I wish I'd known about this three years ago. I'd be thin by now and enjoying my life already! (I am, but I want to be thin!):crying: Good luck in your decision! Mary

I'm a recent (six months ago) TLBC patient. If you want another person's view as well. I don't know how you pm, but I'm sure you know how? Mary:rolleyes2:

I've never been unhappy with my band. I was a bit frustrated and unhappy a few weeks ago as I just wasn't losing weight, even though I was doing everything right. But I've resigned myself to being a person who loses slowly, and if I only lose 3 pounds or so a month, then I'm still going to get there eventually. However, I especially feel optimistic about it because this is the first time that I have been able to stay on an eating plan, despite the fact that I often don't lose weight on any of them, for longer than three months. So that means that where I used to go (for example) on a cleanse for a week and be upset that I only lost 1 pound while starving, I'd then just eat everything in sight in frustration (and gain 3lbs! perverse or what?), now I am on one continuous journey with no binges or detours. So I'm pretty happy. Love to be able to say I've lost 50 or 60 pounds in the six months, but I'm down 33, so I can live with that. And as the weight falls off, I can be even more vigorous with my exercise and hopefully it will come off a bit better! More muscle, better weight loss! Mary

My stomach makes really funny noises now. That and burping (where I never really did it before) are the fun side effects. They don't bother me though. Please, please just have more juice or broth etc. They give us these diets for a reason, not to punish us and you really want to stick to this. Drink more Water too. Are you sure you are really hungry or just missing eating? That is sometimes that part that we confuse with hunger. Hang in there and keep yourself busy and you'll soon forget about food (at least for a little while) Mary

When I went for my consultation, I had no idea, no paperwork at all about how my money was allocated. As far as I knew, my price was $16,000. (glad I had this done last year) including everything. So if there was a psych evaluation, I didn't know about it. I remember talking to a friend about having this op last summer and I said I felt so bad spending all this money on myself. She said this to me, and it really stuck. "How much is your future health worth? You don't want to end up like your Mother, a recluse who can't leave her home because of her weight and her lack of mobility. Also, add how much you have spent over the last ten years on diet books, special foods, homoeopathic type doctors, weight loss groups and tell me that you haven't spent at least double the fee on things that haven't worked." And she was so right. Earlier that year I had gone to a Chinese herbalist and her bill including medicines and her fee was over $1000 (over a few months). And I was ten pounds heavier! I agree with Heather that you have to feel that you are doing something good for your health, your body and don't sweat the fact that we have to pay for this. If someone had told me that I could be thin if I paid them "X" amount of money years ago, I would have paid them. Did pay them in small increments with every failed gimmick that I believed in. Plus, a lot in life isn't fair, and we have to put up with it.(especially when it is to do with the government and taxes) But you know? This works. I'm losing slowly, but surely and have faith for the first time in years that I will accomplish what I've tried to do since I was 11. Mary:thumbup:

I'm amazed when i read all the places that people's ports are! I got mine put just an inch under my belly button and I'm happy with it there. It won't ever see the light of day and doesn't bother me with clothes etc. I wasn't asked where i wanted it, and never realised people had them in different places. Why do you think he puts them all over the place if he has the choice? Mary