Liamaroo

I had flown for business twice with the band with no noticeable effects; however, I flew once more recently after my band was tightened (several fills), and I learned the hard way not to eat anything before the flight! It did tighten up considerably. Next time, I will stick to liquids before, during, and for a day after the flight just to be sure.

Hello, everyone. I pop in here from time to time. As far as I know, my paperwork was sent off to the insurance company yesterday. My surgeon requires all his bariatric patients to go through a private surgery center, which is NOT covered by insurance. The concpet is good, you get support, diet and exercise counseling, even a clothing swap with other members. The part that sold me on it was that they coordinate everything with the insurance company and the other doctors I may need to see, pulmonary specialists, etc. The center is not so good, however, on managing that paper work. I harass them from time to time and I think all is on schedule. Getting nervous now. And excited. I have'nt read older posts, is anyone near their surgery date or recently banded? Be cool to compare notes. The center here has a list of members, but so far there aren't too many internet-savvy ones. Anyway, that's what I needed to get out and onto the page. Not too many of my friends know I am getting banded, it's kind of a private thing. I am glad you all are here. I would like to be at least an 18-20 by my 34th birthday in October.

Molly, Hey, I have PCOS, too. I can relate. I am still pre-band, but have been trying to lose weight so I can have the procedure laparascopically. I dropped 20 lbs and my hormones went ka-flooy! I usually get a period every 36-50 days, and once the weight started coming off, I got 2 tiny periods every 2 weeks, followed by a heavy one two weeks after that, which put me under the table! PCOS women have insulin issues, which causes hormone issues (you know this already), plus the extra fat cells mess with estrogen- can't remember if they store the estrogen or mimick it... but either way it messes with everything. I think when I started dieting and cutting back on sugars, my insulin dropped to a slightly healthier level, plus I was popping fat cells left and right. In my case, I was happy to have all the periods because they weren't bad and they lasted the normal amount of days. It's a pain, but I'd say it's a good thing that your cycle is reacting to your weight loss. Having your period for 3 weeks though is not so good. Your OB could give you something to stop that. There are also natural hormone therapies that can help regulate your cycles and keep the "pregnant and on crack" symptoms at bay. BTW I don't post much, but I do like this board, it's a great comfort. My starting weight was 365. It's somewhere in the 340's now. Paul, sorry for all the period talk!

Babyjane - We are pretty close in situation. I am 5'3" and my starting weight was 365, which I think makes my BMI 46. I have no surgery date yet either, because we are in the insurance-submitting process. I want to have the procedure done laparascopically, so I have to lose a little first. Last weigh in I was 346 woo-hoo! Feel free to email me if you wanna talk or compare notes, commiserate, etc. Tina, I have PCOS, too. PCOS sucks! I have also taken up walking, though I have an odd system to measure my progress. It hurt like hell the first 2 weeks, so I had to build up gradually. I have 3 dogs, so I started by taking just one dog and walking around the block once, for one walk a day. Now, I am up to two dogs and twice around the block, and sometimes twice a day if I can fit it in. Who needs a pedometer when you have puppies? What I'd really love to do is do my walking at the off-leash dog park. But, there are no paths there (because umm, dogs don't need sidewalks in their own park!). This means the terrain is uneven and I have a hell of a heel spur. Someday, someday, someday... someday, I'll run WITH my dogs. As for my weight loss goals, those aren't set in pounds. 1. First milestone: Put on my socks without holding my breath 2. Walk without pain. 3. Run with dogs. 4. Ride a Harley. 5. Babies!

Luckily for me, I am half Sicilian, and Sicilians love vegetables. Here are some tips that I use: 1. My husband doesn't care for veggies. To get him to cut the carbs and eat more veggies (he's diabetic), I chop them up small and saute them in his rice. Celery and onion are good ones. Zuccini, when chopped small, almost disappears in the dish. Now, I know bandsters don't eat much rice, but the same principle goes for meat dishes, like chicken caccatiore or chicken parmesan, etc. Everything tastes good in tomato sauce! I am pre-band, but am trying to amend my diet so I don't go into "shock" after the band. I use a can of tomatoes, onions, zuccini, garlic, etc and make a quick sauce. Cook the chicken right in the sauce, then pour off the liquid before eating so that you don't fill up on the liquid. That aslo makes for moist meat, so easier going down. 2. You can buy all natural veggie drinks with no added sugar. They mix it will fruit juices for sweetener. Drink a whole one and you've just swallowed a crapload of calories, but add a splash to your Protein drink and you'll barely taste it. I'm currently using one with kiwi, broccoli, and all sorts of green veggies in it. Sound disgusting, right? But it's also got apple juice, so basically, it tastes like apple juice. 3. Finally, I know just from this pre-band experience, that once you "detox" from all the crap and processed foods, your pallet changes. Plain, raw foods become more flavorful. The other day, my husband caught me dipping into his bag of baby carrots and said, "Who ARE you and what have you done with my wife?"

I've learned not to care about sizes. I worked for a Fashion Bug Plus for a few years, and that same size in different labels in their own store varied in fit. Another thing to remember for some of, we probably aren't supposed to get down to a small size. My frame is very petite, and as a teenager my target size was a 9. Now, of course, I am 33 and everything has changed. I have no idea what my size "should" be, but I am certain that it's no longer a 9! I've never had children, but I hear that the body changes after pregancy, too. A friend if mine found that her shoe size went up permanently, even when she lost the baby weight.

My two cents about spaghetti squash: Ya - it's a squash that tastes like squash. But if you can't have the pasta because of the band or diabetes, etc, then it is a good alternative I think. The taste is plain enough that it won't overpower whatever you serve it with. I'm Sicilian, and love my sauces. I learned all the ways to make them healthy, vegetarian, no fat, organic - you name it. The real trouble comes when you want to pour it on something and pasta and rice are no-no's. Spaghetti squash makes for a good substitute. So do fresh spinach leaves (um, but only if you happen to like spinach). Another thought is to make your sauce marinara-style and full of vegetables like zuccini.

If your cycle is normally irregular, then this could just be your body adjusting. A couple of things to consider: 1. If you were regular before, but not now, then something is up. 2. 60 days without a period puts you at risk for cervical and uterin cancer. If it continues, something should be done to induce a period. So, a "nod" from an OB is UNNACCEPTABLE. 3. There is such a thing called "perimenopause" that can start as early as late 30s. A friend of mine was having strange problems that her OB traced to a slight reproductive hormone imbalance and prescribed natural (not synthetic) hormones that straightened her out - not menopause. I'm not suggesting that's your issue, only that there are many many reasons for skipping periods. My personal thought is, get a new OB. But that's just me. I feel I am an intelligent person. When I ask a question, I expect and answer!

Kim, I am 33 years old, no kids, have PCOS, and am preop for the band. I agree with everyone here, wait AND don't wait... Not sure where in your weight loss you are with your band, but it sounds like you're in control of your health, including the PCOS. Finish school, look forward to motherhood in your 30s, but be aggressive in treating your PCOS now. While you're waiting for 30 to roll around, research traditional and/or alternative treatments (according to your own philosophies) to regulate your cycles and heal your ovaries. For women with PCOS, there's more to trying to conceive than the conception. So, if you feel the baby bug, just keep doing what you're doing, concentrating on your health, reducing your weight, and finding harmony in your body and reproductive system. By the time your turn 30, you'll be a whole lot closer to fertility than I was, that's for sure! After surgery and the year or so to get in better shape, I am looking at motherhood in my min-thirties rather than early 30s. I'd say you're right on track. A final thought: My great grandmother was 30 when she had my grandmother. My grandmother was 30 when she had my mother. My mother was 30 when she had me. I grew up knowing both grandmothers.

Hello, all. I just finished reading all the previous posts, and have to say I came on board to ask the very question Doll did and was happy to see that this thread was already started. My husband and I struggle, have struggled since the beginning. Basically, he is a wonderful man with some serious problems. The simple scenario is that he just won't grow up. We both struggle with our weight, and while I am preop for the band, he is resistant to the idea. I don't push because it's a personal choice, but I so hoped he'd have it done. I get frustrated because I will have to pay out of pocket for mine, but his would most likely be covered because the surgeon can repair a hernia at the same time. He's diabetic, and always too tired to participate in life and marriage. Since we speak freely of intimacy here, I can say that we have dropped down to NO sex whatsoever. Despite my weight, I am confident with my sexuality, but my husband just isn't interested. I know it isn't me, that it's a host of other psychological and physical causes; but, it doesn't change the fact that I'm alone in what's supposed to be a 2-person gig. I heard somewhere (but haven't researched it for myself yet) that the divorce rate after successful bariatric surgery is high. He knows and I know that what I want most is a child. If all goes well with the band, I will be able to conceive in 1-2 years. And he knows that at age 33, I don't have time to wait for him to get it together. Besides my physical weight, I have carried all the financial and emotional weights of my marriage. Have to say it's made me stronger, though I'm less and less willing to go through life alone and be responsible for a 38-yr-old child. To all of you out there who are struggling, I highly recommend counseling. Even if the end result is still divorce, or if you are already divorced, I can't stress enough how important having a counselor has been for me. Luckily, my husband has agreed to go, and we do a combination of couple and individual sessions with our counselor. Well, that's my story.

Hello. I am a former special ed teacher and have had experience with many ADD kids. I have mixed feelings about meds, mostly because (in my case) the parents weren't educated enough about them. This isn't going to be the case with you! Someone in an earlier post said it, the meds are for a condition, just like benadryl for allergies. The mistake comes with parents and teachers who imply that the meds make their children acceptable. The children don't undersand enough to know that they aren't bad, and don't need the meds to be good kids. Further, a lot of parents don't administer the meds consistently, or double up "when going to grandma's". Again though, obviously not a problem for those of you on this board. I only mention it because I think that's where a lot of the stigma comes from. Another thought is that I encourage the evaluations, but feel that parents should not let the school evaluate. This is something that should be done privately. This way, the parents have the choice whether to share information with the school or not. Some schools are knowledgable and supportive, others are not. Finally, there's no reason why you couldn't combine meds with natural approaches. There are many many causes for ADD, some as simply as food allergies, others as severe as brain injuries. Sometimes, there's no cause at all, it's just something that "is." Each child is different, so each approach will be different. One final note. I had a student named A.J., who struggled with severe ADD and Dyslexia. He acted out in every social situation except on that baseball field. He felt as though he was a failure in everything - except baseball. Because of his ADD, he could attend to every player on the field at once, and because of his Dyslexia, he could visualize every possible direction in which the ball could go for each pitch.

Hello, I live in the Jacksonville area (Orange Park). I know there are some support groups near me, but none specifically for the band. Anyone out there? -Lisa

Hello, My hubby and I both have sleep apnea and use Cpaps. His is pretty severe, and mine less so. Regardless of degree, apnea means you are not getting enough oxygen through the night. True, losing weight often means the snoring and/or apnea goes away - though a lot of people without weight issues have it as well. Another big thing to consider is that loss of recouperative sleep means it gets harder to function during your waking hours. If I even fall alseep on the couch, I wake up foggy and groggy. Also, the lack of oxygen messes with metabolism and insulin levels, slowing down weight loss. It also strains the heart. As for the machine, the newer models are less noisy, no louder than a desk fan. I recently took a vacation with my sister, and she said she found the noise comforting. All in all, the machine is a pain in the neck, but my energy level has improved dramatically. You may not have sleep apnea, but the best way to find out is to have a sleep study if your insurance covers those. If its' not covered, sometimes drs will let you test at home, or just prescribe the machine.

This is my first post, and I am in the pre-op stage. I struggled for years with my pride. I was the chubby kid, the chunky teenager, and a fat adult. My weight has cost me a lot of things, but the hardest to bear is knowing that my weight has rendered me infertile. I have finally forgiven myself for the harm I caused to my body. I realize that I am an extraordinary person with a very common problem. I see weight as a condition, perpetuated by genes (Sicilian here!) and the addictive chemical reactions of food. Losing this weight will always be my responsibility, but it's not my fault - if that makes sense. I, too, worry about post-surgery complications. But I have to do something and I've already tried everything else. So, I agree with Paulax. This is no time to beat yourself up; it's time to do just the opposite. As for the emotional implications, I don't think there's a surgery out there that can lift emotional burdens. Personally, I am seeing a counselor. My husband and I see a marriage counselor together. He is also obese, and even though he is supportive of my decision, I know that our relationship will change dramatically when I begin to lose weight so quickly. I want us to be prepared! Lap-band surgery doesn't mean you are giving up on yourself. It means you'll do whatever it takes to be happy and healthy. It's a committment unto itself. Those are my thoughts. Good luck to us all!