JillBengt

I have to agree with Luluc on this. For me, the lapband is about keeping the weight off. I have been quite successful in the past with Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, especially when I was your age. I managed to take weight off before and after each of my kids. I made great choices and exercised like crazy. Each time I thought I had made a "lifestyle change". But, of course, the weight would slowly creep back on and as I aged, it became harder and harder to take it off. For you, you are getting a handle on this early and will not have to go through those yo-yo years that many of us do as we get older. I applaud you for that. For me, I just want to be able to get the weight off and keep it off. I don't strive to be a size 2 or wear a bikini, I just want to be healthy for both myself and for my family. I don't tell people that I have had the lapband mostly because I am embarrassed that I let my weight get so out-of-hand that I needed to resort to this in the first place. Even though I consider myself to be a happy, confident person, like many obese people, I have self-esteem issues stemming back from years of humiliation over my weight. I am not striving to be anyone's role model. As far as I am concerned overweight and obese people need to make their own decisions about their weight loss...just as I have. Besides, when someone drops a ton of weight, us overweight people just assume that they have had surgery anyway...it is the skinny people who think we do it with better nutrition and exercise. LOL

Here is an interesting perspective. My friend and I had the surgery within two weeks of each other, hers Dec.29th and mine Jan 13th. My friend decided to tell everyone. I decided to only tell my family (who have been incredibly supportive). My reasoning, which I have not attempted to anyone but you guys, is that I have failed at so many diets that I figured if I failed at this one too, nobody would be any the wiser. From the beginning, people were telling my friend their concerns, encouragements and objections. As a result, she second guessed her decision, although still went through with the procedure. No one said a word to me...no encouragement, no concerns, no criticisms. After her surgery, my friend got immense help from her friends and family. She did not drive or cook or clean for weeks. After my surgery, my dad came to help out with the kids but, after only four days, he was gone, my husband went back to work and I went off pain meds. My surgery was on a Tuesday and I was back carting my sons to their basketball tournaments by Saturday. My recovery was so fast-tracked (although the pain lingered) that no one would even suspect that I had had surgery. My friend got immediate feedback on her weight loss. As I would stand beside her, everyone would rave about how great she looked. Even though I had lost the same amount of weight she had, I kept my mouth shut, happy that she was getting the attention and not me. Incredibly, I had to lose 40 pounds before anyone said anything to me. Now people are really noticing and they have started asking questions. I have just told everyone that I have set a goal of losing as much weight as I can by July in time for a cruise my family is taking (which is the truth). So far no one has questioned me further since they see me outside jogging with sweat pouring down my face and they know I have been working my butt off. Still, I am now wondering if it is best to just tell everyone. My friend wonders if she should have kept her mouth shut.

I understand completely where you are coming from. What is the band good for if you still have to diet and exercise? I think it is important to understand before you are banded what this will mean for you. First of all, you WILL have to diet and exercise just like with any other weight loss program. I exercise every day for at least 40 minutes. Without burning the fat, you will not lose the weight. Of course, everyone loses in the beginning (1st month) but after that it is up to you. I have been banded for 2 1/2 months but almost half of my 42 pound weight loss came in the two week pre-surgery liquid diet. For some people, the band makes them feel full but not all of us get that "sweet spot". I have good restriction but I never get a full feeling (like I did when I used to eat half a pizza...haha)! Instead, if I eat too fast or too much, my pouch gets clogged and the food gets stuck. The pain usually ends the meal. I am a snacker, especially with sweets, and the lapband is difficult for people like me. If I wanted to, I could eat a package of cookies. They never get stuck. I have to make an effort to stay away from those foods. I have heard that the lapband works best for people like you who eat big meals but don't snack a lot between them. As a tool, I think the lap band would be excellent in controlling portion size ONCE the weight is lost (I eat much less now than I did before) but in the actual process of dropping the pounds, the lapband is like any other weight loss program. You have to work to take off the fat. I am happy I did the lapband because I needed something drastic to kick me in the butt and get me moving but this is not gastric bypass. You will not lose weight by just sitting there and watching it fall off you. The lapband is a much slower and healthier way to lose. Hope I haven't confused you further.

AmyMoe, Cute comment from your son! Kids are always honest about your weight...good or bad. My husband is very supportive and tells me often how great I look and how much weight I've lost but...well, he has to! HaHa! However, when I get a positive comment from one of my kids...whoa, watch out! My 8-year-old daughter put her arms around me the other day and said, "Mom, I can hug you all the way around now!" My 12-year-old boy...well, he hasn't actually mentioned my weight loss but he does enjoy meal time impersonations of me! He is absolutely hysterical when he jumps up from the table, pounds on his chest and screams, "I'm stuck!" My 14-year-old son, has been the most positive. He is always telling me how good I look and yesterday, in the car, he commented that I was further away from the steering wheel. I wanted to pull over and give him a hug...but, at his age, I am forbidden public displays of affection. HaHa!

Dear GGQ, I have only had the lap band since January 13, 09 so I am no expert but I can tell you that I had all the same fears as you going into this, especially whether I would have the self control to lose the weight. Looking at the posts on this website before going into surgery, I noticed two types of people...those who loved the band and those who hated it. I am somewhere in between. Here is my honest take on the lap band. I drank liquids for four weeks (2 before and 2 after). I won't lie to you, it was hard...really hard! Especially in the beginning. I was going crazy with the lack of food and the caffeine withdrawal. Somehow I survived and felt stronger for it. The actual surgery was not too tough for me. The worst part was the gas pain in my shoulders. Food does taste different to me, especially fruits. I can't eat any kind of bread. Some things that I used to love to eat I don't like the taste of as much anymore. Of course, I have not had a cheeseburger, or many other things, since the surgery so I can't say if that tastes different. The good thing is, I haven't really had any desire to eat a cheeseburger. Going out with friends is tough. I have anxiety when I go out because I worry about getting stuck and the more anxious I am the higher the likelihood that I do get stuck. I have had to run to the bathroom and throw up on two occasions. Of course, there are scores of people with the lap band that never get stuck and you may well be one of them. For me, however, going out to eat is a painful and embarrassing experience. The good part of the band is that I have lost 40 pounds in about three months. I definitely eat much less than I once did. The bad part is that the weight has not dropped off me. If I don't exercise like crazy, nothing comes off. I don't ever feel full (like others rave about)... but I do get food stuck on a regular basis. Usually that is the end of my dining experience. I think I just assumed going into this that the weight would fall off if you weren't eating as much but it doesn't. You have to work your butt off. Really, it is just a diet with restraint built in (the knowledge that if you eat too much you might throw up is a wonderful deterrent). I have said to my husband that this would be a great tool once you lost the weight but actually losing it...well, you really have to work on it just like you would on Weight Watchers or any other diet program. It would be very easy for me to gain weight back on the lap band. Chocolate slides right down like silk, as does ice cream. If I went back to the way I used to eat them, I would gain everything back. You must learn to exercise restraint just as you would with any other diet. Do I regret getting the band? Sometimes. I get in those moods (usually when I haven't lost weight for a couple of days) when I feel sad about the things I can no longer do, like eating out comfortably and gorging on my favorite foods. But at the same time, I have dropped two clothing sizes, I have improved my health, I can jog without passing out and I am not as tired anymore. I am happy with what I have accomplished and I know as more weight comes off, my lap band will become my friend...just as it has for so many other successful people.

My situation is not the same as yours but I have a quirky problem with the lap band and eating healthy too. I have trouble eating fruits and vegetables. It has been 9 weeks since my surgery (11 since the pre diet) and since I started eating solids, I have had this problem. Every time I eat fruit or raw veggies, even most cooked, I get this strange lump, then an uneasy feeling. Sometimes it gets stuck but more often I just feel strange (like I swallowed something down the wrong tube). Even bananas and sugar-free applesauce produce this strange feeling. I told my doctor about it and he just shook his head like he thought I was a nutcase and said he had no idea why. He said to just avoid those foods for the time being and then reintroduce them somewhere down the line. Of course you can't do that if it is your protein that you are throwing up. Hope it gets better for you!

My doctor offers support groups that include clothing swaps. Maybe you could check into that with your Dr. Clothes are not a problem for me because I still have all my clothes from the way up the weight scale so now, on my way down, I am just pulling the clothes out of storage. It is like new clothes all over again.

AmyMoe, I feel your pain, although it seems getting stuck is a near daily occurrence for me. I flew to Idaho this weekend with my kids so they could ski and snowboard. We stayed with relatives who knew nothing of my lapband surgery. Anyway, I think I get nervous when I am with people who don't know and everything I ate over the weekend seemed to get stuck. I kept having to excuse myself, go to the bathroom, and bend over and touch my toes. It was not a pleasant experience. One night, my uncle made steak, which, of course, I am not allowed to eat. I couldn't tell him that, though, so I cut up the meat into tiny pieces and managed to get a few bites down. Every time he and his wife looked away, I would grab a piece of steak, thrust it under the table and feed it to the dog! Didn't get real full that dinner but at least I made a lifelong friend with the pooch!

I understand what you are going through. I had my first fill three weeks ago and for the first two weeks, everything (and I mean everything) got stuck. Liquids went down like a lump in my throat. I threw up several times. I was miserable. To top it off, I wasn't losing any weight. I was really questioning my judgement in getting the lap band. I decided to stick it out and wait for my next appointment on March 12th. Well, miraculously, the band gradually loosened. Now I am tight but I can usually get down most things. I still get stuck a few times a week but it is not nearly as painful as before. The weight is now starting to come off again. Weird. Maybe you need some time like me...but if you have to stand to eat, you may be even tighter than I was.

AmyMoe, I lost 2 pounds right off the bat after getting a fill on Feb. 12, then stopped losing weight completely, despite being too tight and getting nearly every meal stuck! I gained and lost the same pound for nearly two weeks and then one day I just magically started losing again. I don't know why this happens. I changed my exercise routine slightly and maybe that was the thing that tipped the titter-totter. No clue. It is very frustrating but you WILL get over that hump. Hang in there!

Definitely PB. Same thing happened to me a few weeks ago. I threw up and dry heaved about an hour after going out to dinner. I was fine during dinner but once I got home I felt nauseous. 15 minute later up it came (but not much food, mostly liquids), followed by several dry heaves. Then it was over as soon as it started and I felt fine again. If it was the flu you would still be feeling sick.

Just like you, I had terrible shoulder pain. It felt like a knife slicing me through my shoulders. I discovered that stress intensified the problem. Four days after surgery, my husband returned to work and it was up to me to get my kids to their sporting events. It was very stressful to get them all to different places, sometimes in different cities on time and the pain flared up. It was so bad at one point that I had to pull over on the freeway because I thought I was going to die. Nothing I did stopped the agony. I remember just bawling in the car with my kids looking on like I was a crazy woman. The pain eventually subsided but for me it took nearly three weeks although it became more infrequent and shorter in duration. Still now, 6 weeks after surgery, I will sometimes get a pang of shoulder pain here and there. Gas-X didn't help me...nor did walking (I was walking 3 miles a day by the 5th day post-op) The only thing that gave me relief was to lie on the shoulder that was in pain. That sometimes shifted the the gas bubble but not always. Good luck, my heart goes out to you...I feel your pain.

I was so hungry post-op that I was actually doubling over in pain. What I found so strange was that I was already on a liquid diet two weeks prior to sugery. My body was already used to the restricted diet yet still I was starving. The good news is once you get on mushies the hunger pains should go away. I still get hungry but nothing like the pain of those first 10 days after surgery. Hang in there!