ALuv82

Anything that increases intra-abdominal pressure can theoretically cause a slip. Coughing and sneezing both do this. That being said--if it were a significant risk it would make the entrie procedure impractical and no one would do it because the complication rate would be too high. I wouldn't be worried about it.

It's funny that you should mention the eggs. When I was on post-op liquids I swear I dreamt of a nice fluffy, scrambled egg. I also gave in and made myself and egg a few days before I was supposed to. I was so nervous it took me 45 minutes to eat 1 egg and I had to reheat in the microwave multiple times. In the end I had no problems with it but it was totally not that good because of how I ate it.

I'm glad you're happy with your choice. The RNY is a great procedure as is the lap-band. The reason I chose the band was because I am 27 and single and still have a lot of life ahead of me. I felt the lap band gave me more options in the long term if something went wrrong or during those times in my life where I may need more nutrition like when I am pregnant. If I were a little older and already had a family the RNY would have been something I considered. One procedure is not better than another, but 1 procedure may be better for YOU. It's not a competition, it's about making the chioce that's best for you and will help you lead the healthiest life possible. Congrats on the amazing progress you've made.

I use both, although lately I'm on more of a tredmill kick. The tredmill used to scare me but now I love it. To me it allows for more variety in your workout. You can walk, run, do intervills, hills. ect. The eliptical is great too though, it provides a lower impact work out and you can go backwards and forwards (I guess you could go backwards on the tredmill too if you were really brave :tongue2: ) Anyhow, you just have to go with the one you think you are more likely to use. I would alos be wary of an elliptical that cheap though.

Name********Starting weight*****Current*******Goal******To go 1RockinMom.........254............220.........145.......75 Alleycia...........255............220.........152.......68 ALuv82.............280.5..........259.........200......59 AmethystJade.......231.8..........212.........150.......62.0 Babe...............308............272.........199.......73 Bellaperdente......196............177.........150.......27 Bklyn1984..........317............227.........165.......62 Bostongurl.........190............186.........133.......53 Brandy.............198............181.........166.......15 Cappy..............240............223.5.......130.......93.5 Chocolate_Snaps....244............219.........175.......44 CubsGirl17.........147............135.........130.......5 Clarebear08........192............166.........160.......6 Donna113...........183............172.5.......126.......46.5 dublingirl.........224............209.........145.......64 Ebonie.............307............298.8.......200.......98.8 EmmaWang...........241............195.........140.......55 FalloutGirl........282............278.........165.......112 FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54 FlordiaPete........413............364.........300.......64 GratefulHeart......226............187.........135.......52 GuyMontag..........325............276.........200.......76 health4life........279............239.........150.......89 inri09.............287............254.........185.......69 janesays...........225............183.6.......160.......23.6 kaninag............210............203.........170.......33 kimaly.............194............180.........160.......20 Lindar172..........246............218.6.......150.......68.4 Linksmom...........234............234.........145.......89 LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91 Long2BThin.........216............178.........169........9 lotzasunshine......270............240.........199.......41 Loveislovely.......216............170.........165.......5 ltgordon...........284.8..........229.4.......185.......44.4 lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65 Mair...............231............222.........140.......83 Mamanmidwife.......264............260.........200.......60 mdgarcia31665......220............220.........165.......55 MissNilsa..........180............180.........132.......48 nicolerose.........365............288.........258.......30 Pink...............230............152.........145........7 Rhea2d.............283............233.........185.......58 Sandra267..........220............220.........165.......55 Sistergrl25........359............246.5.......170.......76.5 Snow...............227............167.........141.......26 stacy73............285............214.........160.......54 Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40 Tuger..............217............178.........130.......48 Under200...........242............199.........155.......44 vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52 Wendy_Wo...........242............218.........142.......76 WOWOX7.............173............147.........125.......22

Hey, don't get discouraged. It's definitely hard to stay focused pre-band. If it wasn't we wouldn't have gotten to the point where we needed the band. I myself gained 4# in the 4 months between the consult and starting my pre-op diet. As for the money for the consults, I know it's hard to save but you've made this decision for youself and you need to make it a priority. Hopefully your family understands that and supports you. Perhaps you can open a seperate account and automatically transfer a few bucks into it every paycheck. This way it can't be used for anything else. Just keep strong and you will get to your goal.

Three months ago this coming Monday I made what I believe to be the best and most important step in my life so far second only to becoming a veterinarian—I got my lap-band. Life since then has been a series of ups and downs and relearning the habits I’ve developed over the last twenty-seven years. It hasn’t all been easy, but it hasn’t been hard either. My life did not change as drastically as I had hoped for and feared in equal measure. I’m still early in my journey and believe that those good changes are still to come but I am far enough out to feel that my fears have been properly assuaged. I can still eat the foods I love—this week alone I’ve indulged in pizza, ice cream and chocolate cake (insert horrified gasp here, for I am a naughty bandster). That’s right people, I’ve eaten all of that…and enjoyed every minute of it. I don’t have time to feel guilty over enjoying the foods I love because let’s face it—food is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Would most of us struggling with our weight have gotten there if it weren’t? The difference is that now I can eat just a few bites of the cake and put the rest away or order the smallest sized ice cream and still be unable to finish it. And when I’m done with my teeny, tiny portions, I do not feel deprived or as though I need to keep eating—I feel satisfied. Can you believe it? Being satisfied with only a few spoonfuls of ice cream? I know a few months ago I never would have thought it possible. And now that I am firmly on the new path that this amazing tool has led me down, it is time for me to make another big change in my life. This past Thursday I bought my first home. Although if you ask my sister, the lawyer, she will disagree—she will tell you that I am not a home owner, but rather a “stock holder in a cooperative corproration with a proprietary lease to a unit in the corporation's asset.” What the heck does that mean? Well, I didn’t buy a house, but rather a co-op. I think these may be a New York phenomenon, so for those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s similar to a condo only instead of buying a specific unit in the condo complex, you buy a share of the entire complex and get to live in one of the units. Either way, to me it’s a home—my first home. I’ve been living at home with my parents for the last year and a half since I graduated vet school. I appreciate the opportunity to live rent free and enjoy a comfortable roof over my head but I am more than ready to move out and move on. Being at home and having support post operatively has been great but living with my parents has also added some extra hurdles in my way. For example my mother usually seems to be under the impression that kitchens should not be used for cooking food since it’s too messy. I relish the thought of having my own kitchen to stock with my own foods which I can use to experiment with healthy, band-fiendly recipies. In addition, my mother is overly critical of everything I eat. She means well but often makes comments that are hurtful and make me want to eat even more. In one instance I remember talking to her about the plastic surgery I might need after I hit goal to which she replied “all this because you ate too much.” Or a couple of times I’ve snacked on a Weight Watchers’ ice cream bars in the evening and everytime she asked me if I was supposed to be eating that. She constantly asks me if that food I’m eating is “dietetic” no matter how many times I remind her I’m not on a diet. She is not trying to make things harder for me, but despite her best intentions, she often does. It will be a few more weeks before I am fully moved into my new place but I am thouroughly looking forward to the opportunity to live as an independent adult. It is only one more step, like the lap-band to gaining control over my own life. I can’t wait.

Three months ago this coming Monday I made what I believe to be the best and most important step in my life so far second only to becoming a veterinarian—I got my lap-band. Life since then has been a series of ups and downs and relearning the habits I’ve developed over the last twenty-seven years. It hasn’t all been easy, but it hasn’t been hard either. My life did not change as drastically as I had hoped for and feared in equal measure. I’m still early in my journey and believe that those good changes are still to come but I am far enough out to feel that my fears have been properly assuaged. I can still eat the foods I love—this week alone I’ve indulged in pizza, ice cream and chocolate cake (insert horrified gasp here, for I am a naughty bandster). That’s right people, I’ve eaten all of that…and enjoyed every minute of it. I don’t have time to feel guilty over enjoying the foods I love because let’s face it—food is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Would most of us struggling with our weight have gotten there if it weren’t? The difference is that now I can eat just a few bites of the cake and put the rest away or order the smallest sized ice cream and still be unable to finish it. And when I’m done with my teeny, tiny portions, I do not feel deprived or as though I need to keep eating—I feel satisfied. Can you believe it? Being satisfied with only a few spoonfuls of ice cream? I know a few months ago I never would have thought it possible. And now that I am firmly on the new path that this amazing tool has led me down, it is time for me to make another big change in my life. This past Thursday I bought my first home. Although if you ask my sister, the lawyer, she will disagree—she will tell you that I am not a home owner, but rather a “stock holder in a cooperative corproration with a proprietary lease to a unit in the corporation's asset.” What the heck does that mean? Well, I didn’t buy a house, but rather a co-op. I think these may be a New York phenomenon, so for those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s similar to a condo only instead of buying a specific unit in the condo complex, you buy a share of the entire complex and get to live in one of the units. Either way, to me it’s a home—my first home. I’ve been living at home with my parents for the last year and a half since I graduated vet school. I appreciate the opportunity to live rent free and enjoy a comfortable roof over my head but I am more than ready to move out and move on. Being at home and having support post operatively has been great but living with my parents has also added some extra hurdles in my way. For example my mother usually seems to be under the impression that kitchens should not be used for cooking food since it’s too messy. I relish the thought of having my own kitchen to stock with my own foods which I can use to experiment with healthy, band-fiendly recipies. In addition, my mother is overly critical of everything I eat. She means well but often makes comments that are hurtful and make me want to eat even more. In one instance I remember talking to her about the plastic surgery I might need after I hit goal to which she replied “all this because you ate too much.” Or a couple of times I’ve snacked on a Weight Watchers’ ice cream bars in the evening and everytime she asked me if I was supposed to be eating that. She constantly asks me if that food I’m eating is “dietetic” no matter how many times I remind her I’m not on a diet. She is not trying to make things harder for me, but despite her best intentions, she often does. It will be a few more weeks before I am fully moved into my new place but I am thouroughly looking forward to the opportunity to live as an independent adult. It is only one more step, like the lap-band to gaining control over my own life. I can’t wait.

oops, double post :thumbup:

oops, double post

I love, love, love, love, love my band. Have I mentioned that I love it? Best thing I've every done for myself. I haven't regretted it for a moment.

Sounds like you're doing great already. It's great that you are avoiding that "last meal" mentality. I struggled a lot with that before my surgery. If you can be so motivated now, even before your band, you will do wonderfully once you have it. I know it can be very scary before you get your band. I know that as much as I wanted to make this change, there was a big part of me that was scared of it. I was scared of not being able to eat any more. Eating has always been my coping mechanism and I loved it. I was afraid that my band would make me no longer able to enjoy food. Well, I'm only 3 months out but so far I can honestly say that having the band was the best decision of my life. I still enjoy food on a daily basis and do not feel deprived or unsatisfied at all. I eat 1/8 of the portion I used to but feel just as satisfied by that as a huge binge would make me feel before. It's as though I ahve gotten all of the positive changes I have hoped for with out any of the changes I was scared of. Everything has changed and yet nothing is different. Fear is a normal thing and nothing I can tell you will absolve you of all of it. Just keep going and once it's over you will be so happy you did not let your fear get the best of you.

I completely agree with you. I always loved food and was chubby as a kid, but when my parents sent me to weight loss camp at 12 it turned it into an obsession for me. I think focusing on a child's weight issues as opposed to just concentrating on making healthy life choices, can make things worse for that child. It's not always a matter of neglect. Sometimes the attempts to fix the prollem actually exacerbate it.

Woohoo! You're out of the morbidly obese category. I just hit that mark myself a few weeks ago and it rocks. Congrats.

555 pounds is really extreme, but at 14, he does have the ability to choose for himself. By the time I hit 15 I was 5/6 and just about to break the 200 lbs mark. My parents made me participate in sports so I got plenty of exercise. When I was 12 and 150# they sent me to weight loss camp. They sent me to nutritionists and went to weight watchers with me. But none of that mattered by then. In 5th and 6th grade I would eat my lunch and then eat half of the lunch that my skinny friend didn't eat. I would sneak food if my parents were upstairs and I was downstairs. In junior high and high school my mother trusted me to take lunch money from her wallet and instead of taking the $1.50 for a hot lunch entree, I would take about $5 and spend it on extra food. I'm ashamed of my actions back then, but I was a food addict and those are the actions of an addict, no matter what the addiction. It was not my mother's fault for "neglecting" me. If anything there was too much emphasis on my losing weight. My sister was chubby too and became bulemic as a result. While it does show that there were things wrong with the way things were in our house, it was far from neglect. A obese toddler is one thing, but an obese teenager or even pre-teen has a mind of their own and if they are addicted to food, they will do what ever it takes to get food. No parent can watch their child 24/7 and control every morsel that goes into their mouth. The question then becomes, what did this mother do to help her child overcome this addiction? Did she encourage him to exercise, did she seek medical or nutritional help? Those are the kind of factors that should be evaluated to help with this case. If the charge is neglect, then it should be shown that this childs weight problem was a result of neglect.

I've been erased :cool2: Don't worry though, I've taken the liberty of adding myself back in. Labor Day Challenge for Bunny Bandsters! Bunny's name --------Target loss lbs. --- Start weight 7/13 --- Current weight --- Target Weight 9/7 Band_Groupie ------------ 15lbs -------------- 203 --------------- 203 ----------------- 188 soon2befit ---------------- 25lbs ---------------- ? ----------------- ? ----------------- ? hopeful41411 ------------ 20lbs -------------- 253.8 ------------- 253.8 -------------- 233.8 smilan--------------------- 20lbs ----------------- ? --------------- 218 ----------------? trobison------------------- 15lbs ----------------221 --------------- 221 ---------------206 myturn2bhappy ---------- 15lbs ----------------- 282 ------------- 282 --------------- 267 WannaBe1/2TheWoman - 20lbs ---------------- ? ----------------- ? ----------------- ? Butterfly64 ---------------- 15lbs ---------------231 ---------------- 230 ---------------- 216 MrsMitch --------------- 20lbs -------------- 232lbs ------------- 232lbs ------------- 212lbs doodlebug11---------------15lbs -----------------? ------------------?--------------------? TerriLynne--------------------?---------------------?-------------------?--------------------? txdj----------------------16lbs------------------?-------------------?-------------------? size6------------------------11lbs-----------------(-)19lbs--------(-)19lbs--------(-)30lbs 1want2bthin -------------- 15lbs -------------- 202lbs ------------ 202lbs -------------187lbs tbryant1216----------------15lbs----------------260----------------260-----------------245 ALuv82----------------30lbs----------------265----------------260-----------------25

I had a salad this afternoon and "almost" got stuck. Felt the golf ball for abotu 10-15 seconds. I was eatting too fast though. Last night I tried pizza (bad me) and felt the golf ball for about 30-45 seconds. That was the longest it's ever happened to be. I've (crosses fingers and knocks on wood) never had what I would consider a real "stuck" episode. Though if I eat too fast I will feel that feeling in my chest for a few seconds.

260 for me today. That's another 2 1/2 pounds down. Just 11 more pounds till I'm in the lower half of the 200's. I can't wait.