JennBand08

Great post. Just found your blog. I am here.. in Goal Limbo! Been on a plateu for 5 months!! Arghhhhh.. it's so hard to get the scale to move now. 25 pounds from goal!

whipped cottage cheese ricotta cheese (some like it with spag. sauce) corned beef hash scrambled eggs mashed potatoes/baked potato insides Those were my favorites...

I agree with the other posters. If you are already saying "I can't follow instructions.." in your pre-op stage, it's not a good sign. After the surgery the diet is again going to be very restrictive for a few weeks. If you aren't ready to make the committment, maybe you should ask yourself if this future lifestyle is the right one for you. It's all in your mindset too.. if you say you can't, you probably can't. Positive attitude goes a long way... Good luck.. You CAN do this.. it's not forever.. and you will LOVE the results. Hang in there...

Another practice I had called before finding the one where I had my surgery wanted $500 for program fee. They also wanted $100 deposit before I even made an appointment. I called my insurance and they said they hadn't heard of this either and said it sounded kind of shady( Anthem Bc/Bs) So I found another practice. This practice only required my copay. I did however end up paying out of pocket for the nutritionist visit($100), and my pysche eveal was only covered 80%. Other than that, insurance paid for everything. I have heard of some practices doing this more now than since I was banded over a year ago. Good luck with whatever you decide.

How in the world do you throw up into a water bottle? I can't even imagine.. I'm like the other poster.. a heaving.. wretching mess when I throw up.

Hi.. what you feel is normal! You may even gain weight during the period before you get your first fill and find restriction. DO NOT panic! The most important thing you need to be focusing on right now is getting in your protein, and learning to CHEW. DO NOT compare yourself to others either.. I know its hard.. but it will just discourage you if youre not losing as fast as someone else. And to the other poster who got 5cc's on her first fill.. WOW.. aggressive doctor! I'm a year out.. had 3 fills and I'm only at 4.2cc's and feeling good restriction. I can't imagine jumping right in with 5cc's. But everyone is different with restriction levels.. that is for sure. Just hang in there.. I love my band!

I'm 5'2 and my starting weight was 208. I have to admit, when they did my height and weight I slouched a little because I was so afraid insurance wouldn't approve me. I think my official height is listed as 5'1 and a 1/2. shhh Insurance covered it. Weight loss has been slow.. but I'm hanging in there. I love my band and the control it has given me over food. I want to lose another 20 pounds. I'm upping my exercise and hoping that will get things moving again.

I wish I had some answers for you. Are you counting calories? That is the only advice I can give is to log it and see if there is anything that is calorie laden causing you not to lose. It is so frustrating when you feel you are making such an effort and the scale just doesn't reflect it. And like the poster above me, I also thought we weren't supposed to have carbonated drinks, as it could stretch the pouch. So I'd just be careful with that for sure.. Hang in there and I hope you find osme answers soon and get that scale moving!

When I first looked into Lapband surgery, I called a practice in NY that was listed as a Center of Excellence. They required a $1000 nonrefundable fee, $50 of which had to be paid before they would even book an appointment. I called my insurance and asked about that. Anthem Bc/Bs said practices are not supposed to do that and that it was somewhat shady. I called the doctors office back and asked more about it, and they told me it was for the hassle of dealing with insurance companies. This just didn't sit right with me, so I called another practice and talked to them.. made my appointment with them, and they've been wonderful. I would definitely shop around. The doctors are paid well by insurance companies, there is no reason they need to add extra fees.

That is frightening that they didn't know much about the band at all and you were left in agony not just for a few hours.. but for DAYS. Is your surgeon not local? That must be so scary, I'm sorry you had such an ordeal.

Apples! I have tube sock boobs too.. you mean there is hope?? I am SO happy to hear this. LOL. I will be a little more patient.. I really don't want surgery, nor can I afford it so I am just working out and praying! Your post is inspiring! yayy. Thanks for sharing your experience. And to the original poster, I know just how you feel. I am getting comments like that too. I don't let it bother me, I know people mean well they just word things wrong. And there are aspects of my old body that I do miss as well.. especially my ample bust! But I am hoping in time I will adjust(and find a good bra!) Hang in there. Changes take time to adjust to.. but being healthy is so worth it!

Have you tried swallowing them? I am able to swallow pills fine. I just do them one at a time with a big sip of water. If its morning I make sure I've had my tea or something hot to loosen up the band. I just recently quit my chewable vitamins for ones I could swallow too. Sorry this isn't ideas on how to crush them, but hope it helps.

I was surprised by how long I was still wearing my plus sized clothes, even though the scale was moving down. But what I found is that when I tried on smaller sizes, they did fit(yay). This was at around 30 pounds lost. Good luck to you!

Hi Nazzy, I might still have a few things in 18/20. I am 5'2 though, so any pants would be petite in length. Where are you located so I'll know what season you'd need?

Yes.. either of those reasons can happen. If the food is there sitting in your pouch and you drink water on top of it, the water wont go down and can back up your esophogus make you throw up. Or it can mix with the food and make it all go down easier(whoosh!) and then you will be hungry again.

I'm still around. Like some of you I've plateau'd for a few months. I hit my 50 lb mark but then gained a few pounds back over summer. I refuse to change my ticker... LOL..I just can't do it! Now that the kids are back in school I'm going to the gym again and determined to hit 50lbs loss again. And then 60.. and 70. I love my lapband, but it is definitely harder than I had anticipated. I get so tired of always making sure I get enough protein.. and I admit I miss bread!! not all the time, but a nice warm crusty French bread sounds so heavenly at times. Happy Bandiversary Samurai's....

Oh I never thought of Craigslist for clothing. I hate the work involved with ebay, the photos and waiting for the auction to end and shipping it.. I'm such a procrastinator with that stuff. I have alot of stuff I've just given away to get it out of my house, but I have some nice dressy outfits from Cold Water Creek/Dress Barn that I would love to get a little $$ for if I could. 18 Petites, and petites were always so hard to find in plus size. . It would certainly help with the expense of buying new clothes. Which I have done my share of.. realizing I buy things because I LIKE them now and not simply because they fit was such a pivotal moment for me. I luvvvvv my lapband!! :blushing:

PB= productive burping. The food that is stuck comes back up. I'm a year out and have never had one, but I have however been stuck a few times. Luckily when I'm stuck it seems to go down on its own if I alternate touching the floor with reaching the sky. And papaya enzymes have helped me out a few times too.

I really have not had to say goodbye forever to steak and shrimp, or really any specific food item. sometimes it's more of a concious choice as to whether I want to invest in the work involved to chew it, but nothing is really completely off limits for me. Shrimp requires alot of chewing for me, so unless I'm really in the mood for it, I will skip it. Steak I do okay with it if its tender cut and not overcooked. You'll probably be able to share your birthday steak with your wife and still have some to take home! Love that about the band!

Popcorn! Although not really breaking the rules because my band doctor says it is okay for me to have in moderation. I don't have it often, but sometimes it just hits the spot. NOT Drinking with meals did take me a long time to master, and I continued ordering drinks at restaurants for a while out of habit. But finally it did become a habit. Sometimes if I just want a few sips before the meal comes I'll still order one and take it to go, but my husband is embarassed by that. (why? I paid for it, I'm taking it! lol) Other than that, there are still some foods I eat that aren't great for me, but not really against the rules. I pay the price on the scale for those choices though. I see quite a few say they drink soda, and I do miss it, but I was glad to break my addiction to it. I don't dare try it. It could stretch the pouch, and I'm just not willing to take that risk for something that offers zero nutrional value. I've heard if you let it sit out a bit, it's not as dangerous to the pouch, but I never liked it once it started going flat, so I'm not even going to bother.

The flaxseed has the added benefit of keeping you regular. At least it does for me. I sprinkle it on my oatmeal or mix it with strawberries. It has an earthy, nutty taste. Not bad, just took some getting used to. I did experience a bit of hairloss despite my efforts to get enough protien in. I started taking Biotin pills and using Nioxin shampoo/cond and it did seem to help. Or maybe it was just coincidence, as I've heard the loss phase doesn't last that long. Now I have new little 'baby hair' growing in at my temples where it had gotten thin. I waited a few months before getting highlights because I didn't want to further damage my hair. I got highlights in July and did feel like I was losing hair every time I showered, but I think I'm just really aware of it more now than I was before. It could likely be the same amount I always loss with each shower. Who knows.. lol. I do struggle to get Protein in sometimes, but before banding I wasn't this diligent about protein so I have a hard time believing it's the protein that is related to the hair loss.

Mine has been really awful this week, and I can't figure out what I'm doing differently to cause it to return. It was so bad the other night I was in tears. Eating didn't help, GasX didn't help, nothing seemed to. I went to bed in pain, woke up the next morning and it was gone. It came back later in the day, but not as bad as the previous night. Again this morning I am fine. I don't have to work today so will see if it's related to the fact that I sit all evening at my job. So frustrating