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Hello my name is Malika I go by the name complulsive09. My bestfriend gave me that name. She gave me that name because I worry about everything. (lol) I always worried about my weight but didnt really know what to do. I did all the things everyone did to lose weight but didn't really know how to eat and what to eat. My highest weight was 303 lbs. I currently weigh 250 lbs. I was banded 6/16/09.(280 lbs. day of sugery) I lost 40 lbs. with the band. But currently just gaind 10 lbs. I been doing this for the past 2 months of ganing and losing. This band is a tool not a cure me. I love this band it was the best thing I could have done for myself. I love the results. Everyday is a challenge. Some days I wish the band would do all the work. I come to realize that I am not one of the ones who can just cut back and the weight will come off. I HAVE TO WORKOUT!!! But thats okay I love to workout. (when I go lol). Okay let me tell you how it is living with the band. The surgery was not a walk in the park but I would do it all over again. I CAN STILL EAT EVERYTHING. THERE IS NOTHING I CAN'T EAT. Food gets stuck if I eat to fast. But I can't eat as much as I was able to before I was banded. And that is why I got the band. I laugh at the amount of food I eat now. (and my friends laugh also) The one thing I don't like about this band the 5/30 rule drinking 5 mins before you eat and 30 mins after you eat. I sometimes think oh I waited long enough after eating and think oh I can drink now and OUCH. Today I decided I was going to continue my journey on this site. I use this site to keep me going. I needed to do something different. I tried to write in a journal. That was not working for me. I need feed back!!

Hi everyone, I had the lapband put in two years ago. I lost about 30 pounds and in the process of doing so moved across the country and had to find a new doctor to provide fills for my band. Although my original fill was under fluoroscopy (which obviously worked since I lost the 30 pounds), subsequent fills have been "blind" and have seemed to be either too tight or too loose. And to make matters even worse, sometimes when my band is loose, there are times when it gets super tight and I do the PB thing. It seems to be when I'm anxious or nervous I can't eat, but when I'm relaxed I can eat too much. I'm frustrated because I've gained back some of the weight I've lost because my band fill hasn't been right. I think I need to get a fill under fluoroscopy but I guess I'm skeptical about whether my band is even going to work for me anymore, especially given I've had it for two years and I know most people lose most of their weight in the beginning. Is it too late for me? Any opinions or advice would be appreciated. Thanks

The same thing happened to me. My nutritionist told me I lost a lot of weight in a short period of time and it's normal for your body to react to that by hanging on to the pounds for a little while. Eventually the body gets back into gear and is ready to let go of more weight. Also if you're not getting enough calories your body can go into starvation mode and hold onto the weight as a means of self-preservation. Don't worry, right now you're in the healing stage of the journey, not the weight loss stage.... any weight lost between surgery and your first fill is just bonus weight loss!

Hi there! I was just banded on 2/7/08 and this website really helped me make my decision to do it. My highest weight ever which was several years ago was 402 lbs. I freaked when I saw that number and starved myself under 400. I have stayed around 380 lbs. for several years. My pre surgery weight was 369 lbs. on the morning of 2/7/08. I absolutely love the before and after pictures. They are sooo encouraging. I took my before pic on Wednesday night before surgery and will be posting it as soon as I can. My best friend and I had surgery together to be each others support. I look forward to meeting many people on here and learning about their experiences.

Now. I'm 29 years old, and I don't need anyone's approval. BUT. My grandma called tody to tell me what a dangerous surgery this is (general, weightloss surgery). How selfish I am for only thinking if myself and not my 6 children. BANGHEAD. she says when I leave I ought to just "kids my kids goodbye." This woman has never had a weight problem a day in her life. Why don't you just go on a diet? You know you still have To eat healthy and exercise for life, so why don't you just eat healthy and exercise and skip the surgery? Why don't you just eat like a weightloss surgery patient? You are just going to gain the weight, Al Roker gained 40 pounds. And on and on. I just replied "I'm doing this completely for my kids. I appreciate your concern but I know what I'm doing. I hope I can prove you wrong" I still had a good cry afterward. I do get that she's scared and surgery is scary. But surgery today isn't what it was in 1967 grandma. Sigh. First it was my mom. Now she's my biggest cheerleader. NOW it's my grandma. I can never please that woman.

Date of Surgery: October 26, 2009 (my "re-birth day") Pre-op weight: 288 Current weight: 208 weight goal: 150 Pre-op health issues: sleep apnea asthma high cholesterol joint pain difficulty walking, needed cane often shortness of breath had surgery on both knees due to torn cartilages from excessive weight back surgery was recommended I could not walk more than 1 1/2 blocks before I was out of breath, and experienced severe lower back pain that made me cry and stop in my tracks. My doctor was adamant that I had to have back surgery, saying it was not related to my weight. I needed numerous cortisone shots to relieve the pain. The back doctor told me I had to have back surgery if I wanted to be able to walk without pain - "I SAID NO". I wanted to see if the pain would subside if I lost some weight, AND IT DID! I no longer walk with a cane. I can walk many blocks without shortness of breath and WITHOUT PAIN. Dr. George Fielding of the NYU Program for Surgical Weight Loss and his staff saved my life. There are two other wonderful doctors at NYU, Christine J. Ren Fielding (his wife) and Marina Kurian. Although I was confident that any of these three doctors would do a good job, I chose Dr. Fielding for several reasons. First, he had the LAP-BAND® surgery himself, and I felt he would really know what I was going through, and that he would really understand my feelings. Second, he is an Aussie, and I love his accent (LOL) - I love to hear him talk, so I ask him a lot of silly questions just to hear him talk in that Australian accent. I have had five fills so far - I skipped one month because my band was still very tight, and I knew they would tell me I did not need a fill - and I would still have to pay the co-pay. I saved myself a $40.00 co-pay (lol). I am going in for my 6th filling today, May 13, 2010. The only thing I hate about their office is that their scale always shows me three pounds heavier than my home scale! So I always ask if I can bring in my scale with me but after laughing at me, they tell me I can't do it (Grrrrr). I was told by Gaspar, one of the Nurse-Practitioners, that I should write an article for their newsletter about the type of exercising I do to help with the weight loss. I do lots of home exercising by using things commonly found at home, such as lifting weights (liquid laundry detergent), etc! I am thinking about doing that, but I also thought about starting this blog to have a shared support system. In this blog, hopefully you will find many helpful tools, such as: 1. healthy recipes, called recipe of the day 2. types of exercises 3. activities 4. ability to share your thoughts and feelings http://life-after-lap-band®.blogspot.com/ :thumbup::thumbup:

OMG, you are doing so well. This is hard but take one day at a time. As for stress, I don't think there is an easy answer for this. Good luck with your weight loss & your license exam. It will be so worth every painful moment. I'm sure people notice that you have lost weight. I know that my family & friends notice my weight loss.

I don't know. You do need to wear a bathing suit. There are so many to choose from. I prefer a two-piece tankini. I get mine from Woman Within. They have some where you can choose the tops and bottoms separately. They also have swim shorts and cover ups. I haven't been buying many new clothes but I have bought two new bathing suits since my surgery. One size smaller than pre-surgery and one size smaller than that waiting in the wings. The most important thing to do is swim. I wore a bathing suit at my highest weight of 565 pounds. For me, I personally don't care what other people think about how I look. I won't die of embarrassment, but it is a very real possibility that I could die of obesity. Hopefully, once you realize how good it feels and how much you can move in the Water you will either forget about or not care about feeling like you look like a fool.

Thank you so much for the information. I really appreciate your advice. If I get the procedure done here in our province everything is covered through our health care system, but if I go outside of our province/country I will have to cover cost. I had contacted my insurance company and they do not cover the lap band but will cover stay in the hospital. Irregardless of the cost I will be still having the lap band done. I have complete one course regarding nutrition, and will be looking for anything that will help me with my goal to become healthy. Congradulations on your success with your weight loss. I am so excited, I cannot wait until the pounds start melting off.

Sultana, I think my doctor is very conservative. I mean, he gave me an unfill with only a hint of a potential problem down the road. He wants as much as I do for me to keep my band and be safe with it. He's not much of a cheerleader with regard to weight loss--he's a surgeon, not a social worker--and he mentioned that I might be in a "gray zone" meaning no more adjustments will be possible without risk. I'm OK with that assessment, because keeping my band is my primary concern. I realize if/when I lose more weight it will be because of what I do, not what my band does. I'm glad to hear Dr. Kurian is not concerned with a "moderate" dilatation. She's nothing if not experienced and her perspective comforts me. I have not had trouble keeping the weight off with this level of fill, which is why I'll be OK with it if that's all there is for me. I fluctuate between 243 and 248--and though that may not sound so amazing, it's a whole lot better than fluctuating between 335 and 340, which is where I was in 2002!! I know I bear responsibility for my caloric intake, and if I want to make the scales move again I'll have to kick my ice cream addiction. And skip dessert more often than not. But with my band I have an invaluable assistant to help me keep all the portions down to a reasonable size all the time, and that's the most I can ask.

Hello all, this is my first time on the site as I just had my very brief consult with the surgeon on Wednesday. I felt very rushed, was handed a packet on info to read and told to start making consult appointments right away. I felt so rushed that I couldn't even gather my thoughts to ask the right questions, it was overwhelming. I did feel comfortable however...the surgeon is my primary's husband and the nurse was very comforting..here are some questions that I'd like to have answered by the time I see him again, on 6/22..thanks for you help! 1. I am 26, newly married, want children in the future...can I stay banded while pregnant? Is it safe? 2. Since I am only 26, the thought of having this band in for the rest of my life seems scary..any thoughts on this? 3. How many nutritionist visits do I need? My insurance covers the surgery but not nutritional counseling (so dumb!) so this is a huge out of pocket expense for me.. I'd like to get the consult and that's it...especially since I've been to 2 nutritionists in the past- learned a lot but couldn't keep the weight off. 4. How much food will I actually be able to eat once I am recovered?? I def don't want to give up food for the rest of my life... I actually have great eating habits.. no junk, no sweets, really very healthy.. just overeat at times and get hungry very often, I am fearful of those hunger pains so I eat..its hard to explain... 5. Any advice to someone who is in the very early stages of this process? Thanks again!

Hi Everyone, very happy to have found this sight - I am in the process of getting the date for my seminar- I have actually already seen a surgeon because I have a hiatal hernia and have been aspirating stomach acid into my lungs - really hurts - got bronchitis almost pneumonia from it - so I was considering the nissen fundoplication proceedure, after talking with the surgeon he suggested I go to the seminar before I make my decision about the nissen or the lap band - i have struggled with my weight for about 15-20 years now, i am 46 - i hope to hear next week about the dat of the seminar - i am in alabama but am going to Vanderbilt - has anyone else been there? Am going to read the posts now - look forward to knowing ya'll better - Beth

Thanks guys for your support I went to curves yesterday and I have lost 10cm from my body and 1% of body fat and 1.6kg in a month so Im pleased with that. maybe if your loosing cm off your body, your not loosing much weight. I dont know i will just hang in their like you guys. talk to you later. aggie

:eek:I felt the same way..here I am starving and the scale isn't moving!:confused:I knew something would have to give eventually! All my co-workers noticed the physical changes in me but the scale was moving slower than a snail! :sad: Then a day or so before I was to get my first fill the weight on the scale went down 7 lbs..just like it was magic! HA! :blushing: I told my hubby I need to go shopping because even though the scales only show 32 pounds my clothes look like drapes hanging off me now! :biggrin2: So my suggestion is..not to worry about the scale too much but how you fit your clothes! It's hard for me to do but when I get on that scale and see nothing happening but know my clothes are getting looser and looser I am thrilled! So hang in there..it will happen!

I was banded on February 19th and I have had 2 fills. the first fill he gave me 2cc's but on the second fill he only gave me 1cc. I feel like I never even had surgery. I can still eat anything I want. I am eating smaller portions and I exercise, but the weight is not coming off. My doctor told me I have a standard band but I don't know how many cc's it will hold. I am so frustrated!!! I get my next fill on May 19th and I am praying it will finally make me have some kind of restriction. My doctor keeps telling me to be patient that it takes a couple of fills before you find the sweet spot.

Hey guys~ Openning weekend was here and now gone at the Haunted House. It was a crazy weekend. Learning my new duties as a manager....being responcible for five other people and myself...quite interesting:rolleyes: I LOVE IT~ My costume is AMAZING! I only saw it in pieces...The wig by itself....The make up with no wig, the make up with the wig....Just the dress....The dress with just the wig...NOW its all together and OH MY GOD. Its amazing. I am so happy with it. "My" people are really into it. Some of them have been there a couple of years, so they know what to expect, but I have to remind them occassionally about some rules. I walk a million miles a night as I am a roaming character. Soooo I am certainly getting my exercise in. Hopefully next week we will see a difference on the Fall weight loss challange ~ TAKE IT EASY EVERYONE

I started my surgery journey in December with my first weigh in with my GP. I have had all the required test done seemed like it was never ending but worth it. Now I go this next Thursday for my final GP weigh in yea! My office has already scheduled a date for July 7th. I'm praying nothing goes wrong with my approval. I have to do a two week liquid diet before hand. Some fears of failure have been bothering me lately I want this so much but have the what if I don't lose weight. Has anyone else felt this way pre surgery?

the only thing I would have done differently would have been to exercise as I lost weight. Other than that...go baby go!!!

Hi Dan I'm a 30 year old female with the same issue. I'm just about 4 years post op. I had lost a lot and now gained a lot back. I have lots to lose. I'm a newly wed And my husband wants a baby. I need to get healthy again.

I have a history of sleep apnea and have used CPAP in the past. Last year I got to the point where I wasn't able to use it because of nose obstruction and had nose surgery - deviation repaired, polyp removed, turbinates worked on, sinuses cleaned out - and have had a pretty good airway since then. Of course I haven't been able to use my CPAP because the pressure would have been too great. Had anticipated UPPP then finally decided to quit Band-Aiding my health problems and treat the real issue - my weight - with LapBand. I had to have a sleep study 2 weeks ago to see where my apnea was at. They didn't put CPAP on me that night as I didn't have enough episodes to warrant it. The tech told me the physician who read the study may ask me to come back for a study with CPAP - he just wasn't sure. Went for my results with my PCP yesterday - and no repeat sleep study requested!! WOO-HOO!! I anticipated having to have another study - a month of compliance, etc. Now it appears I may have just cleared the last hurdle! My doctor's office has submitted my paperwork for approval. I went to my seminar Nov. 1 so it has been a crazy 3 months getting all my appointments in, but I think I may be on the brink of being able to schedule surgery! I'm hoping for mid March. Know I could probably get in sooner, but I want to take a full week off and March works best for that. Sorry for the long post... just so excited!

My doctor's office called and said they have the verbal approval yesterday, and we scheduled my tenative surgery date for 6/9. They won't firm it up until they get the letter. So i called the Insurance to find out when they would be sending the letter out, and if I could get it faxed to me. They girl i talked to showed it was still pending. So i called the dr's office and left a message that i was confused. I get a message back today that they are now saying I need to notify them 6 months before Surgery to get approved, not that I have to have a medically supervised weight loss, just that I need to notify them 6 months in advance!!!!! Now, I called and checked my benefits, and the Dr also called and verified benefits, and was never told any of this, and I went on my plan website and logged in as me, and you can see below that it states nothing about a 6 month noitfication!!!! I am so Frustrated, it has been 6 months of gettting all my appointments in and getting everything ready. The coordinator at my Dr office is not giving up on pushing this through, and neither am I we are both going to call the insurance tomorrow again.....I am just to irritated, I just needed to vent!!! Notification Requirements Special Note Regarding Medicare If you are enrolled in Medicare and Medicare pays benefits before the Plan, you are not required to notify us before receiving Covered Health Services. Prior notification is required before you receive certain Covered Health Services. You are responsible for notifying us before you receive the following Covered Health Services: · Ambulance – non-emergent air and ground · Clinical Trials · Dental Services -Accident Only ● Emergency Health Services if you are admitted to a non-Network Hospital. · Obesity Surgery · Reconstructive Procedures · As soon as the possibility of a transplant arises (and before the time a pre-transplantation evaluation is performed at a transplant center).

Disappointed my patient advocate told me that sleeve patients have babies with low birth weight...and i am still wanting another baby and a sleeve ...what's your experience

Because of my pre-op BMI (38) I was not required to lose any weight before surgery. But if I had gained, I would have been canceled until I lost it. My surgeon does require some to lose weight, but it is patient specific, not a flat 5% for everyone. I did have to do a 2-week pre-op fasting program, I did Medifast. I lost 8 pounds during this 2-week phase. Denise

I'm new at this, so please be patient if I seem not-so-smart about posting, etc. I went to my first weight loss seminar in March of this year, and have been pondering it ever since. My niece and her fiance' have had the sleeve done, and are doing great, so I've been watching their journey as well. Since I've tried every weight loss gimmick and plan and have always gained the weight back, I finally decided that I needed something that would finally work. That is why I chose the sleeve. I made an appt. with the surgeon, went for all my introductory appts. at his office and finally met with him last month. My surgery is scheduled for the 14th, and I just started the pre op diet of protein drinks only on Wed. So far, so good. I wish myself and all of you pre op members the best!

Congrats on doing your pre-op weight loss goal! After entering the bariatric program where I was it took me 7 months to get into the mind set of 'wanting' to really drop the initial weight. Wishing you a speedy recovery from surgery, and of course, much success!