NaNa

You made the right decision.... Too me, proper restriction is having "some difficulty" with solids, but not being able to eat too easily.... Also I know if I am too tight if I can't eat any moist meat, or if liquids sit my chest, and I constantly burp, or have pain in the chest, and throat and just a general feeling of misery.....it's been almost 9 years for me and I know when a recent adjustment will eventually loosen and when it won't.... Good you are learning your band!

Also my post is not ABOUT raining on someone's parade but making them "open' their eyes on blatant bias against obesity in the workforce. And PrettyThick! I know you are in Texas which is a total different world of where I am, and I know you are riding high on your slim body and perks that comes along with it....I am wishing you all the perks, you can get..... We all get noticed and treated differently when we lose weight, sometimes it can be overwhelming..

You know what? As I think about it...it's more of a "southern" thing.... I grew up in Atlanta, and before I relocated to Mid-Atlantic, Washington, DC, Maryland areas, I remember this type of behavior down in Atlanta. I think this is why I Left...It has been almost 20 years since I left the deep south! It was "oh she's so pretty" attitude rather than "does she know what she is doing"...lol... When I moved north it was a "different" atmosphere, MOST of the women in the Maryland, DC and northern, Virginia areas were Highly educated and is the only area in the US where most women have college degrees and are in higher positions...I guess because a lot of women work on Capitol Hill, in DC.. And equal rights for women are more prominent in the Washington DC areas and MOST women in the DC areas make MORE money than men....they don't play that here in fact, men will get fired if they play that type of nonsense...and it's venturing on sexual harassment and discrimination...IF they try to discriminate based on weight it will be more subtle and not in your face...lol. And...it's not that type of atmosphere in the Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia areas and MANY women are managers, directors, etc and own their own business. Nana, this may be true now, but Capitol hill women in the 60's and 70's(maybe even still) had to be pretty, well dressed, and smart, in that order!(in fact back then, there was no slacks either!)so maybe they have moved forward quicker than the "South" but then I haven't been inside the offices of the senate and congress. Just saying! Karen..aka..kll724 Hi Karen, I think everyone IS missing my point. I am not saying professional women don't have to "look good". In FACT MOST professional women who make a LOT OF MONEY....MUST dress for success and LOOK GOOD in their clothes... Heck I got my lap band because I wanted to look "better" in my clothes and gain more confidence...BUT while I WAS obese I got the SAME jobs, and I was not treated any different..however...I WAS treated differently by other male colleagues...but they were not my boss...LOL.. Also you RARELY see very OBESE professional women in the media (TV) and women on Capitol Hill, especially in the Mid-Atlantic region (Washington, Virginia, Maryland) that are severely obese... MOST women who want to get ahead KNOW that if they WANT TO COMPETE in the business world they must LOOK good in their clothes and that comes WITH being thinner...NOT necessarily being a size 6....remember some women CAN STILL look good in a size 18. My point to PrettyThick is that it seems like sexual discrimination that while she had being working on her job for the last 9 years and all of a sudden she gets a "promotion" AFTER she lost weight and was invisible before...TO ME that sounds like discrimination....especially if she gets the raise not based on "job performance".... You don't have to preach to me about bias against obese women in the workforce, I know it exist very well...and it's very sad...but my point was SOME areas like the Mid-Atlantic region it is not as in your face discrimination, most women are given promotions and raises based on merit...not necessarily based on what size they wear...

You know what? As I think about it...it's more of a "southern" thing.... I grew up in Atlanta, and before I relocated to Mid-Atlantic, Washington, DC, Maryland areas, I remember this type of behavior down in Atlanta. I think this is why I Left...It has been almost 20 years since I left the deep south! It was "oh she's so pretty" attitude rather than "does she know what she is doing"...lol... When I moved north it was a "different" atmosphere, MOST of the women in the Maryland, DC and northern, Virginia areas were Highly educated and is the only area in the US where most women have college degrees and are in higher positions...I guess because a lot of women work on Capitol Hill, in DC.. And equal rights for women are more prominent in the Washington DC areas and MOST women in the DC areas make MORE money than men....they don't play that here in fact, men will get fired if they play that type of nonsense...and it's venturing on sexual harassment and discrimination...IF they try to discriminate based on weight it will be more subtle and not in your face...lol. And...it's not that type of atmosphere in the Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia areas and MANY women are managers, directors, etc and own their own business.

Pretty, I am NOT doubting what you are saying, I am just saying it is very sad. I've seen this type of behavior in "Administrative" type roles where secretaries HAD to be "thin" to work for their boss. Or the very young "cute" skinny college graduates get perks by being thin and flirting with other male co-workers...I get that...I know it exist every where... Oh yea of course I was treated better by colleagues, or by men who work in nearby offices, I used to get have to fight guys off, so I get that part, but what I don't get is bosses treated you extremely better after you'd been working there for years, I could see if this was a NEW job, I honestly would get angry...but that's just me. But I had NO idea that it happens to this level which IS sad....

Sounds delicious!!! I use to make sauteed spinach with chopped onions, butter and a dash of splenda! Yum with a little Parmesan cheese...don't have many calories, I lose a bulk of my weight eating this and it's full of nutrients.

Ok, Pretty, I have to comment on this one.... I know you are thrilled with your weight loss and I am happy for you also....but... Honestly -- I would NOT want to work for your company, and hopefully ALL companies are NOT like this in Texas!! This is screaming discrimination, I understand that you are riding "high" on your new found "perks" for slimming down, but this kind of "special attention" saddens me. I've also worked as a project lead and I would NOT dare treat others with "perks" just because they've lost weight, I treat obese and slim people fairly. The only thing I may have a problem with if someone does not keep themselves clean, dress professionally or have bad hygiene and both thin and obese people can both have those traits. I work as software engineer and THANKFULLY ...what I do depends on my skills and knowledge, don't get me wrong, even in the Information Technology sector there are still probably favoritism for thin people, but if you can't write code, or analyze problems of fix errors, being thin gets you no where. Also, I will play devils advocate here, what if something happens and you gain all of your weight back? There is NO FULL proof with weight loss surgery. Will you be very concerned that your promotions will disappear? I know you feel good and I am happy for you and that you are getting all of this attention now, but -- honestly I would be worried.

Aww Jean you make me want to blush....

Thank you!! And may you have many long term blessings with your band as well!

Yep..it never ends..we always have to be mindful of our eating with this band....

Step you were like ME! I was a shopaholic....I loved buying new clothes size 10,..... After being banded 2 years, I sometimes resent my band. Man, I would love to be able to indulge in a philly cheesesteak sandwich on a nice piece of thick toasted garlic bread. But then I think about how great it feels to shop in regular clothing stores & buy clothes because I like it, not just because it fits and all the other wonderful benefits of losing 100 lbs. This was my reasoning for getting rebanded, my band helped me lose so much weight, even though I had a love/hate relationship with it...I got VERY upset with my old surgeon because he did not help identify my problem....and I was unfilled TOO LONG (reason I gained back so much weight)...and I had to search high and low for a good revision surgeon, but I found one and I am happy I was able to get rebanded...it was well worth it....

Hello.. Yep you are correct, everyone that I've known long term that had to get unfilled gained weight back and it was over 20 pounds, some gained every pound back.... You have to really exercise with a restricted band to keep the weight off long term...we can't get complacent! Sometimes we get cocky and THINK we have this obesity bug beaten...as long as we got ammunition of a tight band....honestly when my band was unfilled -- I felt hopeless..I cried after gaining weight back...all my hard work was ruined!! And I had a very hard time getting the weight off again.

Hi Jack! Good to hear from old timers, someone I can relate to very well! Yea after a few years of having the band sometimes it starts to behave "very strange' that happened to me, I developed a inflamed hernia out of the blue....it just happened after I'd gotten my last adjustment and ate some salsa and it was down hill from there, I could not get my band filled again without horrible pain...so after several tests ($8,000) worth of test Upper Gis, Endoscopies, Xray, CT Scans...they found a good size hernia...and my insurance paid to fix it and remove the old band and replace a new one (another $18,000 dollars)....I am grateful that I found a surgeon to fix me. That problem cost my insurance over $40,000...so the band CAN get very expensive. Good to hear you still have your old band, I honestly miss my truly, but I have come accustom to this bigger Allergan Band, it definitely does not have the restriction the older band has, but overall I am happy with it, my insurance paid for my revision so I can't argue too much. We are in the fight together to stop this regain, good to hear you are heading back on the right path!

Hello.. You are so right we are STILL food ADDICTS, the lap band just puts us in remission..LOL.. I so agree, when the band is unfilled there is an EXTREME hunger, It is vicious, I would get so hungry I would get nervous....it's a very scary thing! Congrats on getting your port fixed, hopefully you won't have any more issues.... We are in this struggle together!

B12-- It's scary to unfilled, that's all I can say, sometimes we THINK we got obesity under control as long as we have a very restricted lap band. Somehow when the band is unfilled, many experience extreme hunger more than PRE OP...which can be very scary.... You are doing great, hopefully you will never have to be unfilled or band removed.

Thanks JennyBean! And many Blessings to you too.

Thank you! And many blessings to you on your journey.

Ok, PrettyThick! You make some good points! Unfortunately it's VERY SAD that we live in a "visual" society were some people will judge your intelligence based on size. I work in the corporate world and YES I got MORE contracts with a LOT more money after I'd got to a size 10 versus being a size 24, was it fair? NO, but it does happen, however --- I was not a size 24 that long, but I was a size 18 for A LONG TIME...and I never felt any type of discrimination due to size, because I was always GOOD at my job and I had very good skills. However, when I gained some weight back in 2012 and went back up to a size 18 ~gulp~ I honestly WAS NOT treated ANY different than when I was a size 10...but I will tell you this.. When I was a size 20 and newly divorced, about 15 years ago and single, I honestly GOT MANY dates, ....in fact I married my second husband when I was size 20...LOL... When I got my lap band and lost about 100 pounds, I went on Match.com and I will tell you, I had more dinner dates that I could handle I was a size 14 at this time...I honestly had to fight guys off when I went to the grocery store and out and about...it was overwhelming to get that type of attention both at work and home.... Honestly -- when I got my lowest weight size 8 -- my family would tell me how "old" I looked....my looks started to fade the skinnier I got with my lap band, I noticed I was not as "cute" in the face...lol the smaller I got...I was not a 25 year old in a size 8, I was a 40 something year old woman, at 5'7 inches tall and a size 8 was NOT PRETTY on ME.... I met my current husband when I was a size 8 and he later told me, I did not look that great at that size....and that he tried to fattened me up... So the moral of this post IS...there is a HUGE difference of being a size 12/14 and a size 24/26.... Men love curvy "Thick" women not necessarily FAT women.. .

I will play devils advocate here, I read the article in depth and the way it sounds like she has "tried" to get thin, and has not been successful in "keeping" her weight down, so she has decided come to terms with being "thick" and "love" herself. Contrary to belief -- THERE ARE MANY HEALTHY OBESE PEOPLE....I WAS ONE OF THEM..... I have friends that have never been fat a day in their life and now they are in their late 40's early 50's and have to take a boat load of medications for high blood pressure, some are even borderline diabetics.... Heck me and my niece grew up together and she has always weighed 120 pounds from high school, college and marriage, I was always envious because she wore a size 4-6 when we younger and growing up and I was constantly fighting my weight and she seemed to keep it down with little or no effort.... HOWEVER --- when you dig deep into her slim life along with my other girlfriends they had HEALTH problems that was keeping them THIN....so sometimes everyone who is THIN is not HEALTHY..... Sure there are many obese people that sweat, high blood pressure, have breathing problems, have problems with hygiene due to being obese....have MANY health issues...BUT MANY obese people do NOT HAVE ANY OF THOSE ISSUES...I DID NOT. Some women are probably HAPPY being a little THICK, since they don't have to kill themselves starving themselves, and being hateful to others because they are STARVING....to stay thin... There are MANY UNHAPPY THIN women, I have met many men who say they are sick and tired of "Bitchy" thin women who are obsessed with the scale and won't cook dinner or who have disgusting eating disorders.. and the end up leaving these UNHAPPY scale obsessed women for THICKER women who are happy and will cook a good meal...LOL.... So I can UNDERSTAND this woman's point of view, however in her picture she seems to be THICK...perhaps her view of being HAPPY AND BIG would change if she became severely obese with severe health problems. Heck the AVERAGE size woman in the US is a size 14, MEN have been polled to ask what is their IDEAL size woman and a size 6 was NOT THEIR ANSWER... Here is an article on the subject many men PREFER women healthy size 14..http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2029680/What-men-REALLY-want-brown-haired-blue-eyed-size-14-woman.html So...the moral of my post is -- maybe she IS REALLY HAPPY that she can still eat all the foods she love, don't have to kill herself at the gym and still wear nice clothes and is happily married, despite not being a size 6 she IS still happy. Also based on her picture she seemed a bit THICK, but not severely obese, perhaps that is why she says she's "Happy". Edit to add: My reasoning for getting the Lap Band was not really based on health reason....I just wanted to get thinner to wear cute clothes...LOL...I know vain but that's my truth and deal with the professional world...however it was much harder to move around at 300 pounds than now...but overall I did not have any ill health effects when I was obese.

Motivation and determination is THE KEY to success especially with the lap band. You've already identified your issues, next you need to ACT. First thing you need to do is determine if your band is working optimally for you, if not get fill adjustment that will help you in this in this struggle. Next you need to get a plan and stick to it, you need to map out plan of what your meals should be, calorie intake, and exercise. If you make excuses and not stick to your plan you will fail. Your plan should be something that you CAN do, start small and work your way up, such as exercise make a plan to incorporate a daily walk for about an hour into your day, pick a time that you can commit too. If you have a problem eating the correct foods, seek additional help with a nutritionist, if you have deep eating disorders, you may need extra counseling. Identify your weakness and fix them...YOU CAN DO THIS!! The Lap Band will only help make your weight loss easier, by dimming your appetite and reducing your meals, it's only a tool and if you don't use it wisely it will not work for you. Good luck

I think being 'thinner' gives you a better self esteem and that in itself will make you happy. When you feel good about yourself and have a positive outlook on life that bring happiness....however -- being thin or having a lot of money does not automatically makes someone happy.....happiness comes from within regardless if we are obese or broke.... But being thin and having money surely helps put a smile on ones' face

Thank you! You've done a great job as well. In the first 5 years of banding it was much easier to maintain and lose weight, the hard work comes after 5 years for most people, the motivation is not that great and also as I've gotten older, wiser and married. Being a size 6 or 8 is not that important to me unless I am getting paid to stay that skinny... haha...and my bikini fashion model days are over...I just want to enjoy the rest of my life healthy, travel, eat out with hubby and small enough to stay out of plus size stores!

Hello...the only way to tell if you have a slip or pouch dilation is to get it check with an Upper Gi series.... However, I doubt you have a slip based on what you are reporting, I think your band is just too tight. A too tight band will feel horrible and it's a challenge to live in the RED zone day to day. When the band slips the symptoms will get even worse with horrible reflux, so you don't want to get to that point. Your doctor is correct, for MOST people it takes about 2-4 weeks before your adjustment really settles in and you feel the full effect of your tighten band. This is why they recommend fill adjustments every 4-6 weeks to prevent piggybacking and getting too tight. If it were me I would go back immediately and request a small amount out, like .2cc, that way you get to keep most of your fill adjustment. If you wait too long, it can get worse to the point of not being able to swallow your spit which can cause further inflammation and swelling and if you get to that point your surgeon will probably remove most or just about all the saline from your band and you don't' want that. Good luck!

I was rebanded last year, I had the older 4cc/10cm band. I did not have band slippage though, I had a hiatal hernia that was pushing up causing pain in my back and chest and in order for my surgeon to repair my hernia, he had to remove the old band because the older 4cc bands don't unbuckle without destroying the lap band system, so he removed my old band and replaced the new one and hiatal hernia repair all in one surgery. For me, and others who've been rebanded have reported the bigger Allergan bands takes a LOT longer to feel restriction or satiety...so be prepared for that if you have to get a new band, I WISH I could have kept my old band, but I am finally getting used to the bigger band and I've lost all my regain weight, It took a year to lose 50 pounds. Since you have a slip, I would just ask my surgeon to re-position, if possible, and repair the slip rather than getting a new band, but again, the 'newer' bands are supposed to be safer long term because they lower pressure on the esophagus, but many people still have their older bands and are still doing well. Good luck!

Glad you shared ....yep having a few embarrassing "restaurant" episodes comes with the territory of being banded. I've had many over the years, and I've learned what foods to avoid in restaurants with a restrictive band. I also keep my ammunition with me, Papaya enzymes, and hot tea! I can control how tight my band is by drinking hot liquids or chewing a few papaya pills, this allows me to eat with friends and family when dining out without excusing myself to go Pb. By the way you look amazing, congrats on your success!!