willowcat

Blackcherry2002, You're "pear shaped"--you have narrow shoulders, smallish breasts, a small waist, and a large bum and thighs--right? One thing I've learned is that every body shape (except for maybe the "hour-glass" body) has it's own dressing challenges. You're quite young and who knows, after you've finished losing weight, you might find that your next step is liposuction and a lower-body resculpturing surgery. If surgery isn't an option, then you'll eventually have to make peace with the body shape you were given. Good luck and hang in there--you're half-way to goal!

Just another thought: are you getting enough water/liquids? Being dehydrated can make you feel very weak. My dr. says 64 oz. of fluid every day. I don't usually make it to 64 oz. but if I keep trying to, I at least get closer than if I didn't try. I was told to cut fruit juice (like white grape juice) in half with water--so it's not so sweet--lots of carbs and empty calories in juice! Also, when they say "clear liquids" right after surgey, I don't think it literally means "clear"--protien drinks are hardly "clear." It just means to stick to liquids until your stomach gets over the shock of banding. It's time to call your doctor if you don't start feeling better soon!

"Cellulite is caused by irregular patterns of connective tissue beneath the skin, and as the adipose (fatty) tissue, which forms in compartments of little honeycombs, pushes into the skin, it causes the dimpling of cellulite. It has been shown that people who have cellulite have different patterns of connective tissue than people who don't, and men tend to have this pattern much less than women. Cellulite is not directly a function of excess weight, but a genetic difference in the way adipose tissue and connective tissue form. In fact, cellulite affects people whether they are overweight or not. " Cellulite (like sh**) happens! Thank your great-great-great grandmother for her genes, and like the Serenity prayer says: Grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change; the courage to change the things that I can; and the wisdom to know the difference. Cellulite happens.

ColoradoChick, Thanks for adding to this thread as you went along. What a change you've made in 13 months! I'm 5'2" and was banded just three days ago on June 4th. My highest weight was 285, and I am looking to lose 150 lbs. I'm a few years older than you (46). I know you're not me and I'm not you, but with so many variables being similar, your story gives me a tremendous amount of hope (even your post in November when things weren't going so well--I will remember you when I go through my own version of November). I haven't been 135 lbs in 19 years! Good god but I hope my skin mostly snaps back.

Funny, I was thinking almost exactly the same thing just yesterday--thanks for saying it so well.

For the past several years now, I've had what I call a sensitive stomach--if something doesn't set quite right and if it makes me feel sick, up it comes. I'm not "scarf and barf"-ing. It's just that sometimes when I get anxious or nervous or I'm in a big hurry (like right before running off to work), I'll feel yucky and I throw up. It's quick, painless, and I always feel better right away. Also, certain foods seem to calm my stomach while others agitate it and just don't seem to agree with me (for example, every protien drink with whey in it has had to come back up). Since lapband changes the configuration of the stomach, I've been worrying lately about my prognosis for success. I thought I'd ask on this board if anyone who's been having problems/complications also had what they'd call a sensitive stomach? I guess I'm hoping that there isn't a connection but if there is I want to know now rather than later. Thanks for your reply.

Thank you Jachut and Cleo's Mom--I will make sure that I talk to me surgeon about my concerns over my sensitive stomach, and if he's not concerned, then I won't be either. Thank you for your replies.

I posted this on the complications board but thought I'd also appreciate feedback from people who haven't had lapband complications: For the past several years now, I've had what I call a sensitive stomach--if something doesn't set quite right and if it makes me feel sick, up it comes. I'm not "scarf and barf"-ing. It's just that sometimes when I get anxious or nervous or I'm in a big hurry (like right before running off to work), I'll feel yucky and I throw up. It's quick, painless, and I always feel better right away. Also, certain foods seem to calm my stomach while others agitate it and just don't seem to agree with me (for example, every protien drink with whey in it has had to come back up). Since lapband changes the configuration of the stomach, I've been worrying lately about my prognosis for success. Frankly, to ease my mind, I'd love to hear from anyone who's doing just fine--sensitive stomach and all! Thanks for your reply.

Years ago, when I was at my thinnest (after nearly starving myself and losing 30 lbs in 6 weeks), I bought a denim mini skirt. That mini skirt attracted male attention--attention that I was not comfortable with! I unconsciously put on 5lbs--just enough that the mini skirt no longer fit--and then I felt a wierd sense of relief that I didn't have to wear that skirt again! Fat has some benefits that we often don't want to admit we're ok with: fat lets us be in the background; fat says I don't have to compete fashion-wise, sex-wise, friends-wise, work-wise; fat says I'm off the market sexually and will be a faithful wife; fat says I can get by with just being the funny one; fat says I'm motherly and nurturing; fat says I'll be the one that survives a famine; fat can make me feel larger that life; fat can make me feel protected and shielded...! Fat can bury so many emotions and protect us from ourselves and/or our pasts. As the weight comes off, we begin the excavation of our past selves, and that can be very uncomfortable. Yes, if you have access to affordable therapy, by all means do so! If you get help from reading, I would recommend anything by Geneen Roth (I might not have spelled her first name exactly right), The Dance of Anger (don't remember the author), and a book that I think is called, The Fat is in Your Head. We are all so much more than just our bodies. Good luck!

Thank you for sharing. Even though I haven't had my surgery yet, I want to be prepared for some of the complications that are possible--so that I can be prepared to handle them physically and emotionally. Thank you so much for sharing your story.

the whey in those protien drinks may not be agreeing with you (it's not agreeing with me)--call your nutritionist and see if there's something else you can have (i've been cutting my protien drink with half skim milk and that's seeming to help)

My journey started back in late October 2008, and now I finally have my surgery date: June 4th. It's odd how having a date has made getting the band feel really real now. I have a 10-day "shrink the liver" pre-op diet--Day One already sucks! But I just keep telling myself that I can do anything for 10 days. I can be such a pessimist, and I keep thinking that someone has to be the statistic--but I sure don't want it to be me! I've never had any kind of surgery before, so the unknown is scary. I'll sure be glad when I wake up post-op--phew! I like the name "June Journeys" because this entire process has already been such a journey, and I see myself taking this one step at a time and one day at a time. Right now...shrink the liver...I can do this.

i like jubilee

I'm asking because I met with my nutritionist about two weeks ago and she told me that short people like me have a harder time losing weight than do taller people--even with wls. I'm 5'2". Honestly, I'm a little discouraged (though I know she was just trying to help me have realistic expectations). I'm wondering if there is any sort of anecdotal correlation between one's height and one's satisfaction with the band or other wls. How tall are you and how would you rate the success of your weight loss since wls--how happy are you with your band?

Start with you pcp and get a referral for wls from him/her. Your health record more than likely shows your weight history--the up and downs and ups. Also, the more you read on this site, the more you realize how very different every insurance company's requirements are for wls. You'll need to contact your insurance company to find out what "proof" they need of your weight-loss efforts.

Hrtgoeson, While nobody has begged me to get the bypass, I have gotten a weird vibe from some of the staff at the bariatric center. Like somehow the lapband is the poor stepsister to bypass, and if I was really serious about losing weight I'd go with the "winner" (bypass). The center does do more bypasses, and they have a longer history of doing bypass as compared to lapband, so that might account for the vibe I'm getting. But it doesn't matter; I'm still getting the lapband there (they are a center of excellence and the only place my insurance will pay for). If lapband weren't an option, I would rather stay fat than have bypass surgery.

I was thinking about people who've gained back most of their weight after wls, and just started wondering what sorts of attitudes, outlooks, self-talk, and mental traits help a person to be successful long-term? I'm currently in wls limbo waiting for all the pieces to fall into place, but I know hindsight is 20/20, and I want to learn from others who've already gone before me. What are the mental land mines that can get a person in trouble?

When people ask how much, often if they are the ones who only engage me in weight loss conversations, I say, it's just a number and I don't share it. But if you are a friend, and chat me up about my life in general, I'll tell you. Weird, I wonder what kind of power dynamic I'm playing there... I don't think that there's any "power dynamic" that you're "playing." It just sounds like good, healthy boundaries! I love it and plan on tucking it away for the inevitable day--if all you want to talk about is my weight, then sorry. I'm way more than my weight. It really isn't important and is actually none of your business. Thanks so much for sharing!

There was a 12-year study of morbidly obese and super obese patients who all had gastric banding. The study is online at http://www.obesitylapbandsurgery.com/ObesitySurgeryArticle.pdf Good results for long term weight loss and life expectancy.

1. Get rid of all of my ugly clothes--the clothes I have now do not reflect my sense of style--I only have them because they fit/camoflauge my current body! 2. Sweat when I'm hot without feeling like people are thinking things like, "She's only sweating because she's so fat." 3. sleep better--I hope. Also, quit taking some of my medicines (dr. approved of course).

Don't even get me started on highschool jerks--thank goodness that was 27 years ago, though. Also, my first real boyfriend who told me I was pretty from the "waist up" (I'm pear-shaped). Thankfully now I'm a stronger person--"What doesn't break you only makes you stronger" is what they say. Still, two summers ago I was coming back from visiting a friend who lives in Africa...The last leg of my trip was a 10-hour flight from Germany. I had flown coach because of the cost, and since it was summer, the flight was 100% full. I had a window seat. An older lady and her husband sat next to me. I was squished to say the least, but did my best to keep to myself and make myself as "small" as possible. We'd been in the air about two hours and my seatmates and I all got up for a bathroom break and a stretch. I got back to my seat before the lady and her husband did, so I put the armrest up--so I had more room and could relax a little until they came back. Of course I wasn't going to leave it like that. Well, the old lady noticed that the arm rest was up and I swear she all but leaped over the rows in front of us to come over and slam down the arm rest! I told her that she didn't need to do that, because I wasn't going to leave it up, and that I thought her behavior was very rude. She replied that "They should make fat people like you buy two seats." I told her to shut up! Then she said that everyone "felt sorry" for her when they saw that she had to sit by me. I told her that now everyone felt sorry for me because I had to sit next to her because she was such a b**ch. I got up to try to move seats, but then remembered that the flight attendant had already told me that the flight was 100% full (also, I didn't want to give the old lady the satisfaction of "winning"). I said, "No. I'm not going anywhere. It'll be far more delicious to sit here and watch you suffer for the next eight hours--and I'm SPREADING out!" And that's just what I did. It was a miserable flight, though, and even though I fought back, I sure could have done without the whole ugly scene.

OMG--isn't that all of us?! I've been dieting for the past 41 years! There have been times in my life that I weighed myself everyday multiple times a day (my scale was in the bathroom...and well, you know...). My days revolved around what I ate, didn't eat, wanted to eat, shouldn't have eaten.... Oprah resonates with people because when she talks about her weight, people can relate to it. Still, I've been none too kind to Oprah lately. It's a little bit satisfying (in a bad way, I know) to see Oprah gain weight again. All the research says that losing weight and keeping it off is practically impossible--the body's survival insticts kick in and save us from dying from starvation. The research also says that obesity is as much genetics as it is environment. When Oprah was successful losing weight, a little voice said, "She did it. Why can't I? What's wrong with me?" Now that Oprah's gaining weight again, that little voice can say, "There's nothing wrong with me. Even Oprah's getting fat again. See.. I told you."