tinksmom

I'll have to buy regular clothes all along but I wabted to have a few special outfits for milestones. Not rolling in money these days so I'm looking at seasons...don't want to buy a really nice summer outfit that will fit me around November...or a holiday outfit I can wear next June (in Texas). So just asking for some experiences so I can make a more educated guess.

If this is something you NEED right away...and it seems it is...then maybe the bill for your teeth will have to go on the not-too-far-back burner. It's like needing antibiotics. Waiting isn't a healthy option. You might look around and check prices with more than one doctor, then return to yours and see if they will match the lowest price. Sometimes we can't have it all...the pretty clothes may have to wait, as well as other luxuries. Maybe talk it out with your mom and help her see that if you get a good restriction you will save your family food dollars. There has to be a way to prioritize this. I think your doctor was remiss in not making sure you could afford aftercare before he did your surgery; some seem to be like that - take the money and run, leaving patients hanging. He might not even realize your predicament, though so give him a chance.

I've told all my family, and some friends...although I haven't hidden it from others. It just hasn't come up. I was in the looong process of debating whether or not to have the band placed when casual remarks by two women who had had WLS opened up a dialog that helped me decide. One mentioned her previous weight and I was shocked...and a little depressed because I "knew" I could never lose that much. She just laughed and told me about her lapband. I had never heard of it, and her remark made me look into it and find my first seminar. I was still hesitant - especially about the food restrictions post band - when I met another woman at the grocery store...in the gourmet wine section. We chatted about this one wine I was tasting and she remarked that since she had to drink fluids since her WLS, she liked the wine because it went with her drink of choice, coffee. That opened the way for my questions about her experience, food restrictions, and - since she hd R-en-Y and her husband had the band - what the difference was between the options. She was very encouraging for either and if I hadn't met her that day, I would not have gone to the second seminar and then made my decision to go ahead. So I've decided to pay it forward and not be worried about what others think of say behind my back as there may be someone I can help by simly treating this like any other part of my life experiences...something that may come up in conversation when appropriate.

I'm Lauren and was banded on April Fool's Day. I live north of Houston, Texas with my husband and three dogs...plus a few more now and then that visit..., 2 noisy Quaker parrots, and 3 cats. One adult son stays here with his dog a couple nights a week when he finishes class and is too tired to go on home. I also joined the forum for those of us in their 50's. So far I have lost 18 lbs...didn't bother with losing pre-op. Just made some changes in habits rather than concentrating on a diet, so most of this is post-op weight loss. So far so good.

Hello. I live just north of Houston and got banded on April 1st and have lost 18 lbs. So far only one problem with PB...I was chewing a piece of food (the day after my first fill) and one of the dogs bumped me, so I swallowed it whole. Note to self: sit down at the table when eating! I was 55 in March...and got the call that I was approved that afternoon. Even the 18 lbs has made a big difference in how I feel so far and I'm looking forward to even better days.

I'd like to try for 16 lbs. I'm going to try to average 2 pounds a week. More might be nice but unrealistic, I fear.

I have arthritis and take a lot of ibuprofen, which works for me better than other meds since they took Bextra off the market. I am also on methotrexate. Since banding I have found that the tablets of Advil go down easily. I usually take them with a few sips of protein shake or some kind of liquid food to minimize stomach problems. I just had a carpal tunnel release and the doctors recommended Aleve but the shape of that wasn't as easy to take. I cannot take most prescription pain medication so I am stuck with Advil for the moment and it seems OK.

We need to dump the term "cheating". I have found that most diets don't actually "fail", they just get tiresome and we give up on them. One of the reasons is that we think of them as short term applications...but we need to make life style changes for the long haul. Giving up treats, then feeling terrible that we "cheated" plays into that. parties, vacations, dinners out are all part of normal lifestyles and should be part of ours. The diets I have done the best with were ones I could manipulate to include "cheating" so I felt like I had control and could live without deprivation. That includes occaisional sugar (horrors!) in my tea or a slice of Thanksgiving pie. Because of RA I cannot exercise easily or often and I need a very low calori count...hence the band as a tool. I believe it will give me a chance to have a normal life...but that has to include treats. Give yourself a break...just don't have two slices of cake.

I did the 3 month BCBS required supervision. My doctor didn't demand that I lose weight but he did want me to make lifestyle changes each month that would make me more successful post op. I was miffed at first but really appreciated both the psych eval, where I was encouraged to really think about this choice and talk it out with the counselor, and the nutritionist, who helped me understand the relationship between the band and my future dietary choices. Between them all I felt much more in control, and have come to appreciate BCBS' requirements.

One of the times I successfully lost weight on WW I lost rapidly...and soon hated it. I began to add non-WW foods to slow my loss because my skin was really getting loose and unattractive. And I have seen people with full bypasses left with stretch marks and loose folds from rapid loss. I chose the band because it offered slow loss...so hopefully my skin will be able to "keep up", and I can gradually work eating changes into my life for the long term. I found myself getting impatient and looking at the scale too often this past month, and keep reminding myself that for any other diet, I would be thrilled with losing 14 pounds in a month. I think, having made this momentous, life-changing decision, I am somewhat surprised to look in the mirror and NOT be instantly size 10...and of course, 18 again. Then again, sometimes on a good day, I am surprised at seeing any ,uh, mature woman in the dratted mirror.

Hi, I live just north of Houston and gave myself an April's Fool present of a lapband. It was supposed to be a birthday present but didn't quite make it. I heard about banding over 10 years ago, finally went to a seminar two years ago and had to think long and hard about whether to go through with the procedure. It wasn't until I met several women who were proud of their weight loss with the band and were eager to share their experiences that I went ahead. I don't mind giving up sodas and even good beer, but bread? Pizza? These women assured me this wasn't necessarily true. Sooo...just had over a month out, had a first fill, eating normally, and happy with 15 lbs lost.