sparkplug

I figured it was from yo yo dieting that this loose skin was not going away. Anyways, my insurance does not cover plastic surgery and I still fit in my pants moving this skin around but life goes on and like they said we are healthier and I buy my dollar lottery ticket in hopes of someday having it removed if I hit the lottery. Until then I guess we are all in the same boat and we should just make the best of it. I still feel wonderful and look good, my husband has been with me for 33 years in so many different sizes from 8 to 24 that he is just happy with me the way I am. Be happy and change what you can and learn to accept what we can't change.

Haven't had a drink in 30 years, since diagnosed with bleeding ulcers,but you made a wise choice. I always heard that wine is good for you, since it is grapes at their finest. I am Italian and my parents would have a little glass of wine with relatives, I don't believe when you are closer to goal that it would not be okay to have it but I would check with your doctor before starting that route. You are doing great, enjoy the ride and congrats on winning too!

I can't believe how great you guys are doing! It might not be easy for most of us but you all are doing just fabulous. Keep smiling the light is at the end of the tunnel.

Been there, done that. I am 4years out and my hair has been steadily falling out where it was somewhat noticeable. Since I have always been a DIY person with my hair until the last few years, I had quite a few tricks to make it look thicker while I was trying to figure out what to do. I have been checking all the questions and answers on this board and on the internet about weight losss and hair loss and it seems it goes hand in hand. I did start biotin about 6 months ago and upped the dosage from 2000 mcg to 5000 mcg and I actually am starting to see some new growth in the front hairline. I can't seem to eat enough protein to keep my hair so I guess I will be taking biotin for quite a while. If there is something else out there that can help, please let me know. My hair was thin to begin with and this was the scariest part of my journey. I tried the different shampoos and conditioners and nothing seemed to work for me.

You are not a failure! We are all food addicts, you just need to find out what or who can help change your mind. I am very stubborn and once I set my mind to cutting out all sugar, bread and pasta I was on my way to my goal. I have been at my goal for 3 years, been banded 4 years. I have my good days and bad days. I keep telling myself you can eat whatever you want but I know if I eat all carbs I will be back up to 235 pounds tomorrow. A piece of pie or cookie once in a while is more than enough to satisfy me and it will you too. My first year banded I did not cheat but once every 4 or 5 months. Even though I never had fills, my stomach is so sensitive and the slightest stress tightens my band where I can hardly get food down. Get yourself some pretty small dishes to eat off of and use small utensils. You would be surprised that it really makes it seem like more food by putting it on smaller plates. When I went to the nutritionist here before surgery, she was absolutely useless to me. I know what to eat and not eat, my mind tells me it wants what I am not suppose to eat. 40 years of dieting has taught me what to eat and not eat but it never taught me control of the amount of food. The band will be a reminder to you on your portion. Maybe you need a fill now not a month from now. Pick yourself up and brush yourself off and get back on the program. You can do it if all of us can do it. Sometimes it just takes more times starting for some people. We have faith in you and the band, keep focused and you will be fine.

Donna, my heart breaks for you. My first marriage ended after 1/2 years with a cheater and abuser and I have been with my second husband for 33 years. I too, never could have children and thought my 3 step children would be mine but his was a bitter divorce because his ex-wife cheated horribly on him and she wanted her cake and eat it too, as they say. She wanted to stay at home and cheat while my husband worked and told him if he left her she would turn the kids on him and she did. I believe in Karma and all of these cheaters and liars will get there just rewards down the road. But anyways you can't turn the clock back so move on and one of my co-workers who had the worse luck with men moved to Oklahoma and met a wonderful loving man on christian mingle.com. Being somewhat religious myself, I do believe that this would be my choice of meeting people of your same religious background. You sound like a strong person and I know when I occasionally have a REALLY stressful day the "food addiction" comes back and I have to stop and think and just allow myself one evid indulgence to get it out of my system. You sound like a wonderful person and remember you only get dealt what the man above thinks you can handle. You sound like you are moving in the right direction and when you get to your goal, let them all eat dirt honey, because there is no better feeling than revenge and jealousy when they see what you have become. Good luck and don't let any negative people drag you down. You can do it like all the rest of us that dealt with cheaters. They never change. Normally if they did it once, they either were doing it all along or will continue to do it. let him/it go! :wub:

I, am also a food addict. I have learned in 4 years of being banded that I will always have to struggle to fight this head hunger. I try to choose something like popcorn that does not have to much fat or calories if I do have to binge to get it out of my system. I try to trick myself by saying you can have anything you want but you DO NOT Want all that fattening cookies all the time like you used to. I am not a 3 bite person of a piece of pie. If I cheat I will have a piece of pie and then I am good for months on end. You need to learn what sets you off on these binges and what will stop it for months. I will always be a food addict and have done this yo yo dieting my whole life. I tell myself I am not on a diet, just changed my eating habits. Everybody is so different and each one of us need to do what we are comfortable with. I read all these responses where you all have lost so much weight and should be so proud of yourself and this addiction is real and never going away. We just learn how to outsmart it and go on with life. Good luck.

Sorry, did not mean to ramble on. Good luck and this is a great place to come to help soothe your nerves. I come on here every morning just to see what everybody else is going through and it helps not feeling alone.

I had no fill when band was placed and still had hard time for first two weeks. Could only sip water and had SF popsicles like they were going out of style. They said cold things help soothe swollen tissue and in the mornings I had my 3 cups of coffee. I was on liquid only for first two weeks and mushies next two weeks. It was one month before I could have anything like mashed potatoes. Maybe that is why I have had such good luck on not getting fills and going 4-5 hours between meals with no fills in my band. I feel full in mid section when I have had enough but I try to not let it get to that point. I use small utensils and small dishes to prepare my portions so that I am not tempted to eat anything more than I am used to. I was very uncomfortable and hurt for the first two weeks and the second two weeks I was still wondering what the he.... I was thinking of getting this band. Do not get all stressed out over it. Calm down because myself if I get stressed my band closes up and I cannot get anything in there except for my cold smoothie with protein and fruit. Good luck and just relax and heal for now. Some of us are very emotional and the first instinct is to panic. DON"T panic, if they do not find anything wrong, you might be like me that we are very sensitive on the inside and it is not going to take much to tighten that band up. Smile and enjoy the ride.

I just got stuck last night on one of the most tender marinated pork roasts that simmered all day in the crock pot with cream of chicken soup as the broth. I only had a couple of bites but I was so stressed from work that it got stuck and wanted to die for the next 1/2 hour. The sliming and spitting up and jumping around and gently tapping my band to get it down finally got it to move down and I am sore. Today will be mushies and liquids only as I am still sore. I am 4 years out and still have a day every now and then where something gets stuck. It's stressful days that close my band because I have never had any fills and because of this happening every now and then it re-enforces my mind to not get any fills either. The pain is horrible and I have a huge tolerance for pain but this puts me over the edge. Sometimes it is not just the food but outside forces like stress that affect your band. Every day is a learning experience and I still do not see me ever not having the band even on the bad days. Keep focused and learn that it is not just the food eaten but maybe what you have had going on during the day. I know better that when my boss is a bit...and making everybody's life miserable for the day, to not eat too much or anything that could get stuck. Good luck and keep smiling

I don't ever tell myself that I CANNOT have something because I want it even more. The 3 bite rule is good but sometimes I need a whole piece (small) of pie to get it out of my system and then I am good for months on end. My sister was only 100 pounds and I remember as a child that she would only eat one meatball for dinner and walk away and when she worked and they had donuts, she would bring carrot and celery sticks for lunch to make up for having a donut. It is all about checks and balances. I used to beat myself up and feel so bad that I would binge for the rest of the day and feel awful. Not anymore, get the culprit out of your system and move on. This is a lifetime journey and one messed up day is not going to matter, trust me this is the key to keeping this weight off. You need to find out what your triggers are and normally try to stay away from them, but like myself, I sometimes cannot get the wishing for a cookie out of my system. I have kept this weight off for 4 years and yes I might go up and down 3 pounds but this works for me. You need to figure out what works for you and good luck on your journey.

We all have been through this. Do you have dollar stores or the one price shop where everything is $5.00 or $10.00. Every time you lose another 10 pounds, buy yourself something new. Yes it is cheap and won't last long after wearing so many times, but why buy something expensive when you are passing through that weight stage anyways. The same thing when I gained the 80 extra pounds before the lap band, I absolutely refused to buy any clothes of any good quality because I knew in my mind that I was not staying at that God awful weight forever. Now that I am down, I make a habit to get maybe one nice top or pair of pants every now and again that will last for quite a while. Maybe somebody you work with has some castaways that would fit. I do keep some clothes that are too big in case I run into someone who might need a helping hand. A lot of my old fat clothes went to the battered womens shelter in town for the unfortunate gals that had to get away from abuse with only the shirt on their back. Good luck and talk to people, you would be surprised who might be waiting to hear that someone needs a helping hand and have something for you to wear during your transition. Great job you are doing, keep up the good work.

When I was a chubby kid growing up to be an obese adult, I was always tired. I believe that it was the carbs in everything I ate to make me like that. Well, once I started the yo-yo dieting of my life and got down to 124 pounds and was a size 6-8 for 10 years I was literally starving myself to stay thin like the other girls I worked with. By the time I got home I literally had shaky knees and was so weak that I just about got my salad down and was in bed by 8:00 pm. I think years of dieting and not having enough protein for the body to function, plus not getting a multi-vitamin was the answer, because I am a size 10-12 now and eat very small meals, mostly protein and usually a small protein shake at night plus take a multi-vitamin and calcium tablet and I feel like a million dollars. I believe this is the right way to diet and keep the weight off. There are times that we go shopping after work or in the summer swim every single night after supper. You need to try a vitamin like centrum which I find to be much better than the one a day brands. Great job on losing that weight, maybe you are not sleeping enough at night and you could be sleep deprived throughout the day also? Good luck and I would push the doctor to run more tests or at the least get a second opinion. I get blood work once a year by my regular doctor and I just went last week and they said everything was perfect.

I too, was banded December 2008. I am to goal and pretty much stay at what I have lost 88 pounds. I occasionally fluctuate 5 pounds because if I want a cookie or piece of pie, I have it. I do fight head hunger all the time, some days not so bad as others. It is hard to change your lifestyle totally in a few years. I was brought up to eat for any and all occasions so it is very hard for me around the holidays when our house was full of cookies and cakes. Now that I am in charge of the kitchen, we only have a small amount of cookies or cakes and that is because of my husband. I never had any fills and still got stuck 3 times along the way which stays ingrained in my mind. Ham was one culprit and pulled pork was another and peanut butter on a cracker was the third. It will be a long time before I eat any of those in the near future. I am the type of person that you cannot say you can NEVER have that again. I choose not to do bread and most kinds of pasta and sugar. Good luck and remember it is a life long battle and we can do it.

That response was meant to give you the courage to stand up and say, NO MORE stuffing myself! I am almost 4 years banded and you know what, I still have days that I think OMG what have I done to me!! I love being a size 10-12 and on no meds and feeling great, and normally I stroll along this path okay choosing what is good for me. But I do CHEAT on a cookie or piece of pie or something forbidden by our normal routine. This is how I stay focused by not ever saying that I can never have anything sweet.

I feel all of your pain. People are rude and sometimes my husband forgets that he is fat and may make a remark about a woman who is quite heavy either in the store or in our travels. I have to keep reminding him how rude and nasty that is. I have been a yo yo dieter my whole life and even though I am to goal a size 8-10 I still feel the pain of rude remarks and think how that could be me. This is all part of bullying and over the last 50 years I have learned some really rude comments to those kind of people that need to remind us of our weight problem. Most of those rude remarks are not acceptable to this website but I have quite an Italian hot temper and I will not stand for anybody being criticized in public especially about being fat! That is me and I will never change and at this age, I will do whatever I have to to protect the heavy people of America! so there! Everybody have a wonderful day and ignore the ignorance of other people like they are not even there. If you wanted their nasty comments you would have asked for them, correct?

I too, am so happy with my band. I have to admit that the 3 times I have gotten stuck I wanted to die and wondered why I was so foolish to get the band. But that passes and like everybody else has said repeatedly, you will learn that you CANNOT eat one more bite. You need to control what you eat and how much and the band is only there to guide you, not to stop you! You have to take responsibility for your actions and change your mindset to make the change to a skinny person who eats very little. I can't imagine eating until I throw up???? I have a small dish and small bowl used for my meals only and put just enough to satisfy my hunger and walk away from the table. If I feel full before finishing, I walk away from the table and start doing dishes while my husband is still eating. It is a whole new world and it does not change overnight, it takes time and you need to learn from your mistakes. I know there are people that this does not work for because they thought it was a quick fix. Wrong! I have met 2 other people banded and one is slowly gaining back her 140 pounds ( even with a fill) and the other one who gained most of her weight back has gotten back to basics and is getting it off slowly but surely. It is trial and error for her and I have done my best to encourage her that it is all a mindset and how bad you want to get it off and keep it off. Good luck whatever you do, but this is something you will have to monitor your whole life and I am okay with that.

Everybody told me it would stop falling out. Wrong!! I have been taking biotin 3,000 mcg and it still was falling out a lot after 4 years of being banded. I now have been taking 5,000 mcg and it seems to be slowing down. Hoping this will stop soon, my hair is so dry and still falling out. I have been trying to get more protein in too.

what was it? I have been getting kinky advertisements lately and neither my husband or I have ever gone to such sites. Could it be coming from here?

I think we are all food addicts and this will be something we need to control forever. I have been banded 4 years with no fills. I refuse to get filled and only eat 2 bites of things and then somehow feel "fulfilled". That is not me and had I known about this "fill" thing I would have never gotten the band but insisted on the gastric surgery. I have been very steady on my weight but gained approx. 8 pounds last year so I finally said enough is enough and went back to basics and lost it with eating less. I am not physically hungry but emotionally hungry and that does you in eventually. You need to always be aware that it will always be there and we need to use something else to satisfy our mental hunger. You can do it by starting over again, and do it now before you gain all the weight back that you struggled to get off to begin with. Good luck and we are all in the same boat, trust me, it is a day to day thing like an alcoholic. Take one day at a time!

I had my surgery with Dr. Atkinson in 12/20/2008. I have lost 88 pounds and am at goal, I think! I am stuck at this weight being in a size 10-12 and my body will not go down any farther. I am happy, off all meds. I never had any fills and know of a few other people banded by Dr. Atkinson that have had the same excellent results. I have not been back in over 2 1/2 years since our surgery will not cover Nevada doctors anymore, but I have had no problems so far. They were all really great and I made the decision to not get filled and do this my way. They would have been more than willing to do the fill/unfill thing but I wanted to just live with the band the way it was. I do not know if they do the plication, but they are excellent surgeons and I honestly do not know of anybody that has had any major problems from that office. I was highly recommended by 3 other people here in town to go to that office and I never regretted the decision for one minute. Feel comfortable in putting yourself in their hands, they are very skilled and supportive of their patients in every aspect. Brian is very friendly and helpful and no questions were stupid or unimportant. They were all wonderful and made me feel very comfortable in my decision with them and the surgery. Good luck and happy surgery.

Welcome back to our lap band site. I have been banded for 4 years and since I started out as a yo yo dieter all my life, nothing has changed except that I have some control and have nipped this weight thing in the bud. I had gained 8 pounds over the last year and had to really knuckle down to get it back off. This band had saved my life and as I read your story, how true it is for most of us at least. I was brought up to eat when happy, when sad, when up and when down. There was no occasion that did not deserve a good buffet to soothe my ruffled feelings. You will do fine and get the weight back off. Life can be so bad sometimes but you seem to be a fighter and I have no doubt you will be back into your size 8 clothes soon. Welcome back friend.

Girls, girls, girls, it took me 40 years to get over this insecurity thing. I still on occasion get very nervous meeting someone new because people (especially men) look you over real good before continuing to talk. I am a born New Yorker and you all need to get some of my attitude. I am to goal losing 88 pounds which it took over a year since being banded. I have learned that the same "idiots" that let the door slam in my face 88 pounds ago, now hold it open for me. I have learned the "evil" eye from my mom who came from Italy so when if I ever gain the weight again, they will be getting that from me. I have been to goal for 4 years but yo yo'd my weight my whole life and in that time I have learned to love what I am regardless of my weight. We always want what we don't have, I wanted blue eyes and blonde hair and that was never to happen. As far as a husband cheating on me, I have been with my husband for 33 years and we have both been faithful, never a worry. But...my first husband cheated on me and when I found out after a year of married lilfe, I gave him the boot and said I would never allow a man to humiliate me again like that. The worst part was that most people around us knew and never told me. I was so angry and betrayed. So I am telling you girls, get rid of the dirt and humiliation brought on by these type of men and start fresh with someone you can trust. My motto has always been once a cheater-always a cheater and once a beater- always a beater. I could never trust anyone to do either once because twice is around the corner. I am sorry if this sounds harsh, but this website is to reenforce YOU and your thoughts about yourself. You are all worth every ounce of your weight and to think that weight alone tells what you are, is TOTALLY wrong. You all sound wonderful and life has kicked you hard like me but get up and tell them all to take a flying leap! That's how a New Yorker does it! Now go out there and become beautiful women like you are on the inside!!!

Okay, this is what happened to me after losing the first fast 50 pounds. Woke up one morning and literally fell out of bed on the floor. Could not get up and hubby heard me fall against the closet door and helped me up. Felt like I had too much to drink, have not had a drink in 30 years. I could not walk or drive, the room was spinning around me like no tomorrow. Went to doctor and he put me on some prescription like dramamine. It is something to do with the inner ear and every now and again after losing 88 pounds, I get a little dizzy. I keep dramamine with me, at home and at work and when I feel it coming on I take 1/4 tablet and it calms down. You might want to check with your doctor. My doctor said it could have been caused from losing so much so fast. In my case it could be just getting older too, but I do keep it under control with dramamine and I am good to go. Good luck, get to your doctor and have him check you out.

I agree with all of you. I am going to be 60 years old in a few months and yes I have hid behind this weight my whole life. Hence the yo-yo dieting my whole life. I still get very uncomfortable when men stare even though I am happily married and am not in the market. I expect them to say something mean or nasty and am still surprised when they hold the door open for me instead of slamming it in my face when I was heavier. You all have done such great jobs in losing weight and you are so right that this is just not a physical issue but a mental one too. When I turned 50 I made a statement to everybody that the first 50 years of my life was to please everybody else and the last 50 years was to please me. I wish I knew back then what I was missing out on from being so heavy. Life has been a rollercoaster for me and I think I am finally in a good place. I hope all of you find that happy place before you have to get to my age because I sometimes think I missed out on a lot because of this weight issue. Good luck and keep smiling.