karen_karen

there are complications for some people and the lapband is not for everyone. but you have to think are you ready to make a change in your life? i have never had any pbing or vomiting or any of that. and i can say if it was not for the band i would be here writing this letter 85lbs heavier and when i go to sleep at night i feel so much better with myself. when i started this and before i started this i would go to bed having trouble breathing sometimes and i felt so horrible about myself and couldnt believe i got as big as i did. now i go to sleep thinking to myself im 85 lbs lighter (and that number will only go up) and i sleep so much easier and better and wake up feeling so good compared of being so tired and drowsy back then. only you can make the band work for you. and there is a commitment of excerise and eating right. you have a choice to change your life. so for me yes im happy i got banded and im am happy how far i came and i will reach my goal. everything has its down side and its upside you just have to find out if the upside out weighs the downside. having alittle pbing or vomiting and having surgery and doing the post op and pre op diets is only a small fraction to the rest of your life being healthier, happier, and less stressful.

what i can suggest is get some new shoes that fit better so you dont get blisters and get as sore. asics is a good brand and also brooks and something that starts with a m cant remember the name. when you get new shoes i also suggest to get them fitted. what i mean by that is check your shoe size and see how wide your feet are and get the right width. it does wonders for your feet i was wearing nikes and when i run my shins would become sore and now nothing is sore and i can feel im more stable as well in them.

i dont know if this helps but the skinner you get your lungs capacity grows. because it has more room in your chest instead of having all the fat cells around it. that is why the bigger you are the harder it is to breath normally from walking up a flight of stairs. your lungs only actually get like half the oxygen then a normal bmi person gets.

gratz that you were able to do it. you would be surprised at how much you can actually push your body. since now you know that you can survive 5mph with an incline of 4 why dont you start doing alittle running intervals. like 5 minute runs and then 5 minute fast walk and then work your way to a long jog. it will be great for you. your stress level will slowly go down and it will help when its time for surgery.

hi my name is karen and i live in keller too like ksill. i was banded in july 08 and lost 87lbs so far.

i had a flipped port had surgery in march and it wasnt that bad. im dont understand what vomiting has to do with a flipped port though? i couldnt get any fills tried about three times with x rays and ultrasounds but no luck so my doctor suggested of surgery to fix the port. pretty much i excerise alot so my muscles popped my stitches that were holding the port in place. so he went in and use some mesh and connected to my muscles so that my muscles can grow around and through it so i shouldnt ever have a problem with that ever again hopefully.... surgery wasnt bad at all and recovery time was pretty quick i dont remember feeling any pain the first day just really tired. and it took about a week to be able to do bend over and such. i wasnt suppose to do excerise for 4 weeks but i was back in the gym in less then a week. im fine now and havent had any problems whatsoever and actually got a fill for the first time in like 5 months last month.

usually its close to the biggest incision but as you lose weight you will feel it more and more. just give it time

i think if you want to get banded then go for it. but you also got to realize that its a life changing procedure you still have to eat the right way and you also have to excerise. one thing i noticed that has been helping me is maybe try the bodybugg. with the amount you have to lose it might just be worth it. its like 250 bucks on ebay and it helps you find out how many calories you burn throughout the day and also you can input your food intake to see how many calories you are actually burning. you can go to www.bodybugg.com to read more about it. i know 18 grand or even 16 grand is alot so maybe try that first another idea is maybe you want to look into Mexico since alot are self pay there and they will prob band you with your bmi being 30. i know it can be hard those last 30 lbs will always be the hardest to lose and it will be important to lose it with excerise and the right foods. so when you or if you do get banded remember dont get discourage and just think about how you are going to get there with a game plan.

my port flipped my stitches came out and i went and researched it and its a 2 percent chance. so i wouldnt see it common for people with a flipped port all i can say is its not a hard procedure to fix the port and truly there wasnt any pain afterwards. the reason why it flipped was because i was doing alot of excerising and the muscles i built up in my stomach popped the stitches out. which is good i guess i have a 6 pack under all that fat lol........ but i know most people dont excerise like me so that is why there is a 2% chance. just to give you a heads up they put mesh and bonded it to my muscles so now i can do all the excerise i want and the doctor says i shouldnt have a problem because my muscles will grow around the mesh and i shouldnt ever have a problem with a flipped port again.... hopefully

GIRL!!!!!!!!! you worry to much about what others think of you... you have to let it go. think about what you accomplished and how far you gotten. no one helped you you did this all on your own. its better that you excerise instead of sitting at home eating your life away and watching people get thin on tv. people that dont excerise sometimes dont understand the benefits of it. i had to get a port revision because i was excerising and my ab muscles popped out the stitches for my port. i remember asking the doctor so i wouldnt have to have surgery if i didnt excerise? and am i doing to much. and he said no way. your doing great and to much excerise is never to much. they had a dietian there that i spoke with since my journey began and he said i look way better then the ones that lost 100lbs and look sick because they didnt excerise. so my advice to you is stop stressing about the negative feedback and start looking to your goals your almost there and you would be surprised how much better you look then the ones that are knocking you. REMEMBER POSTIVE PEOPLE MAKE POSTIVE OUTCOMES!!!!!

everyones body is different and it all matters about alot of issues are you eating the right way? are you excerising? have you had kids? there are alot of reasons why people sag it will happen but you can make it less and i can tell you if you eat the right way and excerise through the process you will be much healthier and you can tone some of it up through the journey. i would rather be saggy a bit then be big again. ill prob have to get a tummy tuck but for right now im satisfied with what i have and in a year or two if i am not then i will have a tummy tuck.