ChicagoWinter

When I was considering getting banded (and for weeks afterwards) I often looked through the forums for pictures. Although I still have about 60lbs to lose, I thought I would post a few pictures for other banders. It took some courage, but other's pictures helped me to be motivated and I wanted to share. People often say it, but PLEASE take pictures if you can. Even if you did not in the beginning, it is never too late to start. There are many days where I feel frustrated, and looking at these pictures help. I often say there is only one thing about my apperance that looked better BEFORE getting my band, and that was my hair. It has become very dry and unhealthy and started falling out. In fact, I recently cut it very short. However, it will grow back, and I would re-do my surgery a hundred times if needed. Hang in there! These pictures were taken the night before my surgery (01/21/10) and on 08/01/10. I am about 65lbs down here.

It is interesting how everyone has such different experiences with the WLS process. I had the opposite experience of the OP. My surgeon started out in bariatrics doing GBP, but stated that he stopped performing the surgeries when he realized that he would not recommend the procedure to his friends or family. In his opinion, it was much more high risk than LAP-BAND®®. Due to this, he only does LAP-BAND®® surgeries now. I cannot say that I am in complete agreement with his statement, but Bariatric surgery definitely seems to be an issue that comes with many strong opinions. (You only need to witness the "my WLS is better than yours" arguments to verify this. :laugh:) Although I am doing well with the band, I have yet to have a post-op appointment with either a Nutritionist or a Psychologist. In fact, this has never even been mentioned to me as an option. It makes me wonder if I would be even more succesful if I had that option. Overall, though, it is interesting to hear about everyone's experiences. The one thing I ALWAYS take away from this forum is that what may work for one person may not work for someone else. Good luck to everyone on their journey. :thumbup:

Thank you so much for posting!!! This really hit home for me, as we are the same height and were close to the same weight when we started. I don't see too many other women as tall as I am on the forums, and it was fantastic to see your pictures. You look great!!!! Keep up the good work!!! :thumbdown:

Here is a low-fat, low calorie Cool Whip recipe that I love: Low Calorie Taffy Apple salad 6 apples, cut into chunks 1 package of sugar-free Butterscotch pudding mix 1 container of Cool Whip Lite Empty Cool Whip into a bowl and add the pudding mix (in powder form, do not make into pudding). Stir until disolved into Cool Whip. Add apple chunks and stir until coated. Cover and place in refrigerator a few hours or overnight. Enjoy!!!!

I completely understand where you are coming from. I am down 46lbs and would have said that I did not change a pants size, but seemed to be one size down in shirts. However, today I went through my clothes and saw that I have bought jeans within the past six months that were a size bigger than "I wear". Also, jeans that were tight on me before are loose now. I think (hope) I should be changing sizes soon. I was very discouraged about this last week. Later that day, though, someone came up to me and said "Not to be weird, but I did not recognize you from the back. Your butt looks so much smaller! Have you lost weight?" I was thrilled, especially since she did not know I had surgery! So, even if my waist isn't shrinking quickly it seems other parts of me are. Hang in there!!! :smile2:

I also think it is great that you are helping your wife through a difficult time. Pre-op can be extremely difficult...most people have to make such drastic changes and it is hard to adjust. One word of caution, though, be careful not to let yourself be pushed into the role of "food Police". Supporting each other (as you said you are on the road to surgery too) is one thing...but getting angry at each other over food is something else. Everyone has moments of weakness, and it is fantastic to have someone to lean on. However, being asked for support and then having an argument because you are giving that support seems wrong. Ultimately, it is your wife that needs to be accountable to herself to be successful...not be accountable to you or anyone else. Good luck to you both! :smile2:

For me....YES...I was convinced that I would be "the only person" that the band did not work for. I remember reading through the forums before I had my surgery and seeing that this was not an uncommon fear. That made me feel a little better. I am having success with my band, but it is definitely a partnership. I don't eat "junk" and when I eat regular food my band stops me from eating too much. I am "lucky" that my problem foods were not ice cream, Cookies or cake (things that go down easily) but were things with substance (bread!!!). That has made things easier for me. Good luck! You have a lot of people to turn to for support on the forums! *hug*

I am ten weeks post-op and I am still struggling with not drinking while eating. When I do try it, it becomes a disaster for me about 90% of the time. As a previous poster said, the liquid builds up on top of the food I eat and causes it to come back up again (i.e. vomit). Every person's Lap Band experience is a little different, so this may not be an issue for you. However, I wish I would have been vigilant about this from the beginning so I wouldn't be struggling with a bad habit now. Good luck! :bored:

I must admit, when I read the title of this post I thought you were talking about something completely different. I suppose my mind must be in the gutter. *grin*

Congratulations Ladies! I was thrilled when I got approved and I don't regret my decision at all. I would get banded all over again if I had to. I am so excited for you!

:thumbup: Congratulations!!!!!!!

Lucky - Yes, it will pass. I remember feeling like I had an inflated balloon in my chest...I wanted to burp so badly!!! You should feel better in a few days. Ruthie offers some great advice on the gas...it definitely helps! Leigha - I laughed when I read your post...you & I are going through the same thing! A lot of people mention constant burping after surgery. Unfortunately, I have the gas instead. I try to console myself by saying that it will be worth it when I am thin. Of course, then I wonder what good it will do if no one wants to come near me because I am constantly farting... :thumbup:

I did not have a pre-op diet and I lost 18lbs the first week after banding. I did slow down after that, though, and am at 41lbs at 9 weeks out. I agree wit staying in touch with your doctor. Keep up the good work!

That is unbelievable!! Thank you for the great inspiration!!! :tt1:

Congratulations to those of you doing a 5K! I have heard a lot of great things about the C25K program, I will have to check it out! To Claricey & MizKelly, of course, I agree 100% on talking to your surgeon about your fills. I was just trying to get across to Claricey that a significant fill was not necessary for me and "rushing it" backfired on me! :thumbup: My surgeon does not do the first fill until six weeks post-op, and you are not on a regular fill schedule after that. He asks you to make an appointment when you stop losing rather than at set intervals. I do agree, every doctor is different! :smile2: Keep up the great work everyone! I really enjoy reading the updates from other January Bandsters.

Claricey, No, I did not have a pre-op diet. I agree about the ten extra pounds. :wink2: As far as exercising, I have not been good about going to the gym. I try to walk on my lunch hour, but don't always make it out due to being very busy at work. My goal is to start getting into the gym on more of a regular schedule. Right now I am working on trying to get all of my water in for the day, but I am really struggling with that. Keep me updated!

Hi Claricey, I was in the same position that you were. My six week post-op appointment was last Friday and I was scheduled for my first fill. I have been very lucky and have had restriction since my surgery day. I still had restriction on the day of my appointment, but had noticed that I was able to eat more lately (especially later in the day). I went ahead with my fill and ended up being very tight. I could only take a small sip of water once every few minutes and had to drink something hot before I could even try to get very watery oatmeal down. After only being able to eat 1 and a 1/2 packets of oatmeal in two days...and nothing else...I got unfilled (although I am not sure exactly how much he took out, he would not say). I still have some restriction, thank goodness. I would recommend if you do go for a fill please make sure it is a *very* small one. From everything I have read it is unusual to have restriction from the beginning and you wouldn't want it to backfire on you. Good luck! :frown:

"The Firm" videos are great! A word of caution, though, I would not recommend ordering from their website. I have heard a lot of stories about people's credit cards getting charged for extra products. You can buy their videos at Target (and probably other places, too). The previous poster was correct, they do say you will see results in 10 work-outs or less.

I had the same experience as another poster. My surgeon did not mandate a pre-op diet and I ate many of my favorite meals the week before surgery. The night before I got banded my sister & I ordered pizza and I ended up throwing the last three pieces away. For the first few weeks post-op (while on mostly liquids) I kept asking myself why in the world I did not eat more of that pizza when I had the chance! :blushing: It has been about seven weeks since my surgery and I am doing well. I admit that I do get frustrated sometimes that I can't eat my old favorite foods, but I think that is normal. The band has defnitely helped me re-evaluate my relationship with food.

I believe that a majority of people get the band with no intention of having it removed. In fact, removal of the band was something that was never discussed or planned during my process. People have had the band replaced due to various issues, but I think the liklihood of that happening varies. It is normal (and healthy!) to have so many questions. I had a lot of questions before having surgery and found that reading forums (and watching vidoes on YouTube) really helped me. To actually be able to *see* someone look dramatically different post-surgey was great motivation for me. I was never really nervous about the surgery itself, I was more concerned that I would be "the only person in the world" that surgery would not work for. After reading the forums I found that many other people felt this way, too. :smile2: As far as it hurting, I really think that depends on each person's outlook. There was discomfort after the surgery, but my worst issues were with gas pains (that went away) and feeling lethargic from reduced calories. I cannot feel my band inside of me. However, it reminds me that it is there when I eat too fast or too much. My personal issue with food is that I ate too often. I would have a meal and then an hour later snack on something else. It wasn't that I was hungry, food just "sounded good". The band is breaking me of that habit because I physically CANNOT eat that way any more. If I am still full and I try to eat, I will throw up. (To clarify, it is not the typical "your stomach contracts and forces food out", it is just a matter of bending over and the food comes up. Some people refer to that as a "PB"...productive burp). You asked about band slippage with skiing. I think that band slippage has more to do with other things (i.e. constant vomiting?) than with exercise. There are a lot of people on the forums that work out strenously (runnning 5ks, etc) and have not had that issue. However, you can always ask your doctor about that. As far as insurance is considered...the best people to help you with that would probably be the surgeon's office. You can defnitely try calling your insurance company and asking about the coverage. I did that, but wasn't overly convinced that I was asking the "right" questions or had the proper procedure codes, etc. The surgeon's office is experienced with dealing with all different types of insurance and can provide you with additional information. I believe that at a bare minimum the requirements go by your BMI. You have to have a BMI of 40 or above OR a BMI of at least 35 and a co-morbidity (i.e. sleep apnea, high blood pressure, Type II diabetic, etc). I believe that these are the general guidelines, but there could be exceptions to this rule, also. I know this has been a long post, and I am sorry if I did not answer many of your questions. I really think that the journey is a little different for everyone, and all I can tell you about is my personal experience so far. I think you are on the right path by doing research and deciding what the best option is for you. I wish you the best of luck...regardless of what you choose.

Just like some of the others, I am down 35lbs and have not changed to a different size in jeans. I am tall (5'11"), so I think that is part of the issue. I will admit that my jeans definitely seem to be sagging in the back, though. I am just relieved that I am finally seeing some type of change!

Hi everyone, I had my first fill on Friday. I am definitely feeling the restriction and am struggling with eating s-l-o-w-l-y. I am thrilled with my band, but really in awe about how much of a physical and psychological impact it is having. Since it is new to me, I really am still wrapping my mind around how little I can eat. :smile2: I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Deena, I give you a lot of credit for sharing your journey with everyone...that is really amazing. Good luck with your surgery and keep us posted!!! There is a lot of great information on these forums...as you are finding out. :thumbup:

I wasn't scared about having the surgery as much as I was nervous that Lap Band "wouldn't work" for me. The deciding factor was that I was never sucessful trying to lose weight on my own...so I decided to go for it. I am almost five weeks post-op and down 29 pounds since my surgery date. I am happy that I took the plunge...but the best person to make the decision on your surgery is you. :smile2:

Good luck tomorrow! Remember to walk walk walk in the days after your surgery!!! As far as getting "stuck"...for me it feels like there is something sitting in my chest. I have only been stuck once so far, and it was a good lesson to learn. Don't worry about negative "what ifs", though, just concentrate on how great you will look/feel in the months to come! :smile2: