Search the Community

I have noticed this and didn't check this site. I am much colder than I was before the band. I thought I was just old and the weather is cold. I also get hot easily though but that could be menopause. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who is freezing. This is a good sign for weight loss.

<!--StartFragment -->I had my first fill on Feb. 9th. The doctor put in 2.5cc. Lately, I've noticed that I get "stuck" quite often in the afternoon when I eat lunch (I eat oatmeal for breakfast). I've even had to pb a few times. Yet, at dinner I don't seem to have any restriction. For instance, tonight I was able to eat a pretty large salad and too much spaghetti (well-cooked, angel hair with sauce). I don't know if I should get another fill or not. I'm really concerned about the amount I can eat, yet at the same time I get the stuck feeling more often. I need advice please.

It's a re-run. I've seen it before. Basically, if you have bypass, you absorb alcohol differently (hits you harder, but you sober up quicker) and you can drink more than you ever thought possible and it can turn you into an alcoholic. Boiling down the episode - fix your underlying problems, if you don't, they'll rear their ugly head after your weight loss and saddle you with new problems. And there was one family where the father only loved his daughter, really, if she was thin. And when she was fat, he was an ass. But the daughter, bless her heart, somehow managed to believe that he really does love her deep inside. How can people not love their children, just because of their weight? What utter bullshit is that? And she's a really lovely young woman - both fat and thin - who deserves to have a better family.

OK, so I have said from the very beginning that I would not diet, count points, etc., ever again. However, I felt like I really needed to get a grip on exactly what I am eating. Lately, I have reverted back to some old habits of eating junk, mainly cheese balls and Peanut Butter tracks ice cream. I have had a lot going on that has been causing me stress and looked to my old source of comfort, food. While I am still losing, I am eating crap and decided I needed to do something for a while to get myself back on the healthier track. I have had a lot of success in the past with weight watchers, so decided I would do it again for a few months, not forever, just for a while. I used to get 34 points a day and hated it because I always felt that wasn't enough and was always hungry. Now, I am at 28 points a day and am actually finding it a challenge to eat that many, let alone eat my flex points and activity points! Is anyone else doing weight watchers? Do you post on their boards? There sure is a lot of negativity there toward people who opt to have weight loss surgery.

OK so I am trying to find an easy to use GI chart that will tell me the GI for everyday foods, like different fruits and veggies etc. I have hyper-insulinism, a prediabetic state, and would really like to know. My doc hasn't suggested anything other than weight loss and staying away from simple carbs, but I am trying to be pro-active. I'd like to know which are the best fruits and veggies to eat and which are the worst. I know I have heard Jack mention that bananas are a bit high on the GI list, at least as far as fruit is concerned. Is simply going by how many carbs are in a serving of fruit a good indicator of this? So lower carb fruits are more complex? Please some assistance would be well appreciated. Thanks

Wow, no, I haven't heard of that, but I'm sure it's NOT unheard of. What did your doctor say? Could it resolve with more weight loss? I'm so glad to see you! I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering what happened to you!! You've done SO good!!! Congrats!!! :hug:

contact your surgeon for a fill. yes our bodies do change and you may need just a little fill to help you continue on your wt loss journey. drink Water before leaving your doctor's office to be sure you can retain fluids. good luck to you i'm wishing you well

SW 358 CW 264 Sleeved on April 8, 2013 I just want to say thank you to all the people on this forum. This is my first post but I have been reading before I ever had surgery & you all have helped me so much.. I love my sleeve. I had never been able to lose weight & keep it off. I tried every diet until I made this decision. I've had very supportive friends, family & these discussions help me on this path. I feel so good about the weight loss now but it wasn't easy in the beginning..I had a lot of nausea. I initially regretted my decision but every day got better & now being able to exercise & fit in smaller clothes. I love my decision & only regret not doing it sooner. Thanks again for all the positive reinforcement along the way with your open & honest posts.

i actually posted this question on insurance board, but am hoping to get more responses on this one! i spoke with my bariatric clinic when i faxed them my insurance card which takes effect 1/1/07, and she said that she'll send in a request for payment. until then i just have to sit and wait for a response. this doesn't sound right to me! isn't this when i should be giving my insurance company all my ww weight books and all my other methods of weight loss that i've tried with no success? i just feel that this is precious time that's being wasted! she said they have to get the initial approval before i can go see the psychologist...which costs $800!!! i bout fell over!!! i guess what i'm wondering if i really do have to wait for a denial before i get a chance to show my insurance company what i've tried? seems like a run-around to me! hope to hear some insight on this! :help: :help: :help: :help: :help:

Absolutely. The first two weeks were awful for me. If I could have undone it without having surgery I would have. I had major problems with my BP dropping and I do mean dropping 60/40 (probably related to anesthesia meds) and I normally have high BP. I had massive bruising on my entire huge abdomen. My doctor said he hadn't ever seen anything like it. I was so depressed and so weak. All I did was cry. Could not stand Protein drinks. I did move on to small amounts of other things. It has been 7 months now and I have felt much better after the first two weeks. Have lost 75 pounds and exercise an hour a day 6 days a week. Strange thing though, my BP has never gone back to what it was. Have decreased my BP meds by half and am staying in the 120/70 range. I would say it's due to weight loss, but not totally because it was this way after surgery before I even lost. Hang in there. Things do get much better. Sorry to ramble on. Linda Surgery 6/5/06 294 Now 219

Most successful and healthy 'losers' who've been wls patients for a while disagree with doctors who say 'no Protein supps'....with a small pouch it's simply impossible to eat right and get as much protein as your body needs to maintain healthy muscles and hair and energy. I've 10 mo. out and still couldn;t eat enough solid foods to get my 100 gr. of protein. I don't use them as meal subsitutes very often, but they certainly help with the cravings and satisy a need for a sweet now and then. For examples.........I use the nectar Cappacino or Matrix chocolate in my coffee in the mornings (I add a little creamer) , the IDS vanilla/cinnamon in my hot tea, Nectar Peach Navel in Chrystal Lite or Water or tea, OrangeCream Matrix with water and ice as a smoothie. (I order mine from www.bariatriceating.com - they will send you a packet of samples if you want to try a lot of flavors/brands. I usually order what I need when they are on sale). My very favorite protein supplement is Micellar Milk....you can get it at VitaminShoppe store or at BE.com. or www.netrition.com (their shipping is less). It is 17 oz, 40 gr protein and it tastes somewhat like rice pudding. Lots of people use it in their coffee - I drink it straight (the vanilla).

Thanks for replying! Great job on your pre-op weight loss so far! That’s awesome and must feel great! I definitely know I should probably get Bypass over Sleeve due to my high BMI, however it’s not covered by insurance at all and I can only afford Sleeve 😕 so I have to make the best of the tool I have access to. It sounds like RNY is probably best for you. When did you start pre-op? Since I am self pay I won’t find out until my pre-op appt a month before surgery what they want me to do leading up to surgery day.

This has been my DH exact argument for the last 3 weeks. I have lost up to 35 lbs. on WW before, with proper diet and exercise, but always have put it back on, like we all have. (love those double cheeseburgers!) This is his point: If you "can;t" keep it off on WW because you make bad food choices and stop exercising, what is this magic bullet the LB provides? You still have to do the same things to keep the weight off....make good choices and exercise. He goes on to argue: The stats on LB weight loss after 3 years is only 50% of your excess weight at best. (50% of mine would be around 35-40 lbs.) He thinks I should just not have the surgery and go back to WW....in 3 years the results would be the same if I stuck to the program. I keep explaining to him that the LB will limit my intake, make me full with very little food. I've also wondered if he is right. I'm still going for it! I have a BMI of 39 and HBP and had a stroke 2 yrs ago. I'm psyched that I can do this for the long haul....we all can!

Cascadian - I totally agree with your argument supporting the obesity conumdrum. It is frustrating to have "normals" complaining that WLS is the easy way out. I'm angry that I have to get banded, but I think it is the only chance I now have to get to a normal weight and stay there. Just like you, I was an Optifast All Star and went down to a normal weight. Within a year I had gained 60 pounds back, and within two years I had gained the other 20 and 40 more. Would this ever happen to a thin person. No way! My goal is the weight loss, but more than that, it is staying in the zone where I am healthy. Thanks for telling it like it is. I also believe in former lives, I survived without food for long periods of time, during times of famine. Good thoughts,

Delarla, my first period was scheduled to arrive 4 days after my surgery and it did not happen. The following month it was late by 5 days. But my PMS was strange . I got bloated and my band became very tight I actually lost 3 pounds during that time since all I could do was liquids and yogurt I was so tight . This month is the same thing, the past week I have had this tightness and again I have lost 2 pounds but have not actually started yet but I know it's on it's way. I have the classis symptoms. My Dr. (ortiz) told me this was all normal, rapid weight loss and surgery can delay a womans menstrual cycle, he told me it could take up to 3 months to regulate. Don't worry, I think this is the norm for most of us new bandsters. Hope this helps Michelle 4.6.04 265/238.5/160ish

yep - the band only allows so much food at one time and unless you binge on liquids which I haven't done (ice cream for example) it will be coming up. I binged once during my good ole period week on melted butter with sugar and dipped one piece of bread into it - got it soft - i guess necessity is the mother of invention and my cravings were huge. Really in almost 15 months that's about it. Binging is something I used to do often so I consider that pretty good - if you continue to binge as some do - you can eat around the band - you can stretch your pouch, sabatage your weight loss, etc.

I chose the band because it doesn't have the malabsorption issues, the weight loss is slower and more natural to me. The commitment to make sure I eat right will help both me and my family. I like that it is adjustable to fit my needs. I am hoping to have less excess skin with the slower weight loss. I was banded 11 days ago and am SO happy.

Silry: Mother know's best!, Remember that. LOL. Sharon Osborne is not a model candidate for the Lap Band. She claims that it is all in her head, and she is ready to deal with it; with the help of a shrink! She then can keep the weight off. Lots of Luck. Who's been there and tried to loose weight, but soon, just to put it back on? I would be willing to bet that she has it put back, "in time" or has some other procedure done. I don't think she can afford the people that Oprah has helping her to tryyyy to keep her weight down. To you: youre gonna love this! I no I do. I started my weight loss journey in 10/05, I was banded 10/31/06. Since I started, untill now, I have lost 146 Lbs. 22 of those pounds were with the band, but I'll take it. Check yourself out in about 1 year, maybe less "depends on you!" and I'll bet you are happy with what youre seeing. Shirley

I was born premature and was underweight as a kid. Average/lean (athelete) in school. Consistenyl gained about 10 lbs when sports weren't in season, and lost them as soon as they were. Started gaining in college after I was no longer able to play sports (accident). Had a hard time keeping weight off. Hit about 60 - 80lbs overweight and put myself on a strict self-prescribed diet & exercise plan, lost all the weight in about 5 months. Maintained the loss for about 6 months (about 9 years ago), then started gaining and never really stopped. Brief stint with Atkins brought me down to about 290, then over the next year I ballooned up to my high weight.

MANY overweight people have some sort of emotional issue, so there would be a drastic reduction in the amount of people getting weight loss surgery if they didn't operate on people who had emotional issues IMHO. I have had depression for years that has been treated fairly well over the past couple of years. However, since surgery things have gotten tougher for me. I think that I felt a major source of my depression was my weight- but lately it is seeming the other way around. Without the foods to dull the emotional pain I feel sometimes- it has been difficult. It hasnt' stopped me from losing weight though. Another thing is that I think my antidepresants aren't working as well. I attribute this to the major hormonal changes that are happening in my body as a result of the weight loss. I've got a doc appt to help me change things up a bit as far as my meds. Also, talking to my gorgeous, thin, 5-year-post-op-from-bypass neighbor, she attributes having kept off all that weight by having a great therapist who has helped her not turn to the food again when times got tough. I'm going to start seeing a therapist regularly now per her advise. Be honest with your dr.'s and have a plan of action to show them you are prepared for the issues that will come up- cause I'll be honest- This has been very hard for me emotionally despite the success I'm having. Good luck!!!

My doctor says I'm in the green zone, maybe so but I feel I need a fill. I can go at least 4 hrs between meals, good I know but at mealtime I feel like I could eat more than a cup worth and sometimes do, not very often but today at lunch I went overboard and knew it. Also for some strange reason, keep in mind I'm a little over a yr post op June 13th '12 and all of the sudden I can tolerate bread, rice, toast, eggs, chicken, just about anything whereas before, I'd say 6 months ago I would get stuck on those things. I don't eat these things in excess i.e. bread, rice, toast with the exception of tonight I had a half of a sandwich for dinner and a little snack cup of apple sauce. I just don't understand why I can all of the sudden tolerate these foods and before I couldn't. I don't see him again until July 11th at which time I am to discuss a colonoscopy with him to have done within the next few weeks, I know you're saying I'm not 50 yet but my brother has colon cancer and the kind he has is hereditary and I am to be checked every 3 yrs and this is my year, ugh! I'm hoping for a small tee tiny fill because I really don't feel restriction, the only thing I feel is my soft stop which is a hiccup, is this the same as restriction? Or is restriction considered not eating more than a cup worth of food or eating less than. The scales hasn't moved in 8 weeks and I've teetered between 228 and 226 and finally got back down to 226 this morning, thank you Jesus! I've tried exercising but it is very hard on me on the treadmill due to a bad knee and 2 knee surgeries, it gives me heck. Even riding a stationary bike hurts my knee at the gym. The trainer there doesn't seem to get it about my knee. I feel silly going in and working my arms, abs and thighs for 20 mins and leaving, that is literally all I can handle physically. My arms are so big and heavy on me now that any exercising of them physically drains me, I have no strength in them. It wears me out just to dry my hair because of the loose skin. I seemed to have hit a plateau I guess. Thanks for listening.

The Fifth Annual Seattle Splash Lapband Education Conference February 16, 17, & 18, 2007 at the Seattle Airport Marriott Hotel 3201 South 176th Street SeaTac, Washington 98188 USA Event and Hotel Registrations can be found on website: http://barbooch2.homestead.com/SeattleBandsterSplash.html Seattle Splash is hosted by the PNW Bandsters, local residents who have lapbands and are losing weight! This event is open to all individuals who are considering or have had lapband surgery, and interested family, friends & medical or weight loss professionals.:clap2:

Could someone please provide some guidance or assistance. I have been stuck at the same weight for over 2 months. I've had 2 fills so far my last one about 2 weeks ago and still I'm not loosing any weight. I'm eating low fat, high protein and drinking so much fluid - I have to get up 3 times in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom!! I'm swimming 3 times a week. I'm considering trying the liquid diet for a couple of days to see if it will jump start my weight loss, but worried I will really, really be hungry! Has anyone ever tried this, any suggestions?? Your assistance is greatly appreciated.:think :help:

You are only a month out, so be patient. Are you getting all of your water in? It looks like you have already lost 28 pounds, which is great. 2 pounds can be from constipation, PMS, etc. Don't fret! Exercise and a fill should help. Try taking your measurements, you may see a loss there when you don't see it on the scale. There are so many non-scale victories out there for you- have your cholesterol and blood pressure checked, try on an old pair of pants or look at some fat pictures! Life is getting better everyday, even if the scale disagrees! Hang in there.

I gotta get this off my chest and this is the only place I think will understand. So about 3 weeks ago I got my first fill. Doc gave me 1cc. I was tight but not too tight doc said "see ya in two months but come back if you think something is up". Ok, So about two weeks into it I notice I can get down about 1.5 to 2 cups of food at a sitting. Humm. I decided to head into the office to get a fill. The doc added .75 cc's on thursday week 2. I lept off the table and headed back to work not stopping drink some Water before leaving. I pick up a cold slimfast on the way back to the office had a sip and it felt it gurgle through. Took another sip and it got stuck. Humm. Ok, give it some time I said, toughed it out for an hour at work pb'ing and sliming the entire time. Apparently, I was so tight I couldn't swallow my own spit. Literally. BUT, I had to go home to meet the moving estimator as I'm going through the nightmare that is selling and purchasing a new home in a different state. The entire time the estimator is there I'm pb'ing and sliming into a cup. I felt so bad for the guy, he was genuinely concerned about me because was I was really writhing in pain but I had to get this estimate done. I called the office and headed back to my doctors for a unfill writhing in pain as I drove the 45 minutes to get there in rush hour traffic. He unfilled me completely and said come back in a week after things settle down. Soo.. I got a week of shore leave with no restriction. Yes. I indulged a little. Ok, fast forward to this past thursday, I go in for a fill, he adds 1.5 cc's. This time I sit in the office and drink some water. I can tell almost immediately it's too tight but thankfully I was still there. So he takes out another .5cc's. Now I'm back to where I was. The then asks me how much do I chew my food? I say as much as possible so it's a sorta a chewey slurry before I swallow. He tells me I'm chewing to much which is why I can eat more than a cup.:phanvan :phanvan Huh? Ok fine. I head out the door. The next morning I try some scrambled eggs. I don't chew as much. Some of it gets stuck. I pb for 3 hours before I say phuck it, leave work and start heading for the emergency room because he is in surgery. I'm writhing around in pain on the baltimore beltway when I cough real real hard from deep within my abdomen, all of the sudden up comes a chunk of egg and all is better. I swallow my spit again. I get to the er, cry on my wifes shoulder who met me there and go back to work without a unfill. I was able to get through this past weekend. Things definately feel tight, I can only eat about 2-3 bites at a sitting but then 2 hours later and I feel like I can gobble food down without issue. Feel like I'm back to mourning the loss of food again because I had a week of shore leave and I haven't been feeling satisfied. :faint: is exactly how I feel. Also, does anyone else notice jaw pain when they pb or grinding of teeth during the day? Is that a ex smoker thing? d@mn I'm tired.