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Hello out there.... I am in the final stages of approval and will be getting my date Friday! My biggest stress is my skin. I would like to know of those out there that have lost 100 ish pounds and what has happened to their skin. If you were saggy, where it is, how bad is it - really.... I've pretty much accepted the "girls" are going to be the area most affected. I have still maintained a great deal of exercise and muscle despite my weight gain, so I am hoping that will help. Any stories, suggestions, ways of handling the problems, etc. Thanks!

hi, sharon it's true what the they say, you, have to becareful, with your eatting , and chew,alot, and small portions, use a baby spoon, for a while ,when your home, that will help you to eat small amount , i have a few,and my daugther wants them for her ,kids lol . one egg scrambled, 1 breakfast sausage,...and other morning,1 half a dollar size pancake, w/1oz cottage cheese,.. or 2oz. cearal w/ 2oz.low1% fat milk,chew well, or1/2 of banana or less in your 4oz. protein shake,you do the math. or farina 4oz. or oat meal 4oz. lunch: ham and cheese sandwhich just cut out the crust.and weight, to 3oz.total.and 1oz potato salad. chew well, is not much in size but, i hope you get the idear.. variety...and is normal food. some thing you are familar with for now, until, you make really changes, and dareing to start changing you food ,choses, dinner: meat loaf 3oz. mashed potato 1oz. or steak 2oz. and 1oz.pork and bean w/1oz rice.. and if you can tolerate some of the foods too, is a trail and error, also, so you need to be careful, in what you eat, because, at one time you could eat, every thing and now, you mite not be able to.. so please, becareful, you mite feel tight or pain. just stop eatting.. it can happen with any kind of foods, any kind, even the ones you like most and love to eat....but.. all in all you'll love your band and your energy, and getting out, and feeling great... enjoy.. margie ------------------------------------ margie 295/257.8/-37 band 4/5/04 bx ny. move to pa. STILL AMAZE AT THE BEAUTY OF IT ALL...

Weight loss is difficult when you drink everyday... gotta work on that!

Congrats on your success!! I too am slower with my weight loss than it seems other people are, but your story gives me hope that I'll get there! Thank you for sharing

Well only "7 Days" and the Band will be on! So far so good. I'm also a Type II Diabetic, and the past week my levels have been on Point, from 80-108 and I cut my Lantus (Insulin) down 80%!!! Do I smell a Needle Free Future?! I went to my PCP to get my Final Clearance this morning, all the Paperwork stuff. They took my Weight, I'm down almost 14lbs!!! I didn't believe it, so I weighed myself on two other scales there, but that's what it said. I really can't see a difference tho. I just have never felt this good about anything I've ever done, I mean done just for me. And I'm actually following through with it. But I have to say this Forum is what's getting me through. I have gained a lot of knowledge from you all, so thank you so much! Your Friend, Rocko~~:welldoneclap:

(Reuters) - One night when Lynn McAfee was 5 years old, her psychologically troubled mother left her at the side of a road as punishment for a now forgotten infraction.In the minutes before her mother's car returned, the terrified girl looked toward the nearby houses on the suburban Philadelphia street and wondered if she should walk over and ask for help."But I didn't," said McAfee, 62, who is now the director of medical advocacy for the Council on Size and Weight Discrimination. "I didn't think anyone would want a fat child."The stigmatization of obesity begins in preschool: Children as young as 3 tell scientists studying the phenomenon that overweight people are mean, stupid, ugly and have few friends. It intensifies in adulthood, when substantial numbers of Americans say obese people are self-indulgent, lazy and unable to control their appetites. And it translates into poorer job prospects for the obese compared with their slim peers.It may be the nation's last, accepted form of prejudice. But the stigmatization of obesity has repercussions beyond the pain it inflicts on its targets: It threatens to impede efforts to fight the obesity epidemic."As long as we have this belief that obese people are lazy and lacking in discipline, it will be hard to get support for policies that change the environment, which are likely to have a much larger impact than trying to change individuals," said psychologist Rebecca Puhl of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.That barrier to action is becoming clearer as the nation grapples with the costs of having two-thirds of adults overweight or obese. This week, an influential health panel proposed changes to an obesity-promoting environment, from farm policies to zoning, trying to shift the debate away from personal blame.A new Reuters/Ipsos online poll of 1,143 adults from May 7 to 10 captures some of the prejudicial attitudes. Asked to identify the main cause of the epidemic, 61 percent chose "personal choices about eating and exercising"; 19 percent chose the actions of food manufacturers and the fast-food industry. The poll is accurate to within 3.6 percentage points. Because of the methods used to collect the data, accuracy is measured using a statistical measure called a credibility interval.Reflecting the belief that the obese have only themselves to blame, 49 percent of respondents favored allowing insurers to charge obese people more for health insurance.Poll respondents also showed broad support for efforts that target the food industry: 56 percent wanted to limit advertising of unhealthy food or taxing sugared soda, 77 percent were in favor of calorie counts at restaurants and sport arenas. But an all-out ban on fast-food restaurants? America loves its Big Macs: Only 21 percent said yes.EFFECTS OF THE STIGMAOne effect of the obesity stigma is that discrimination on the basis of weight is legal. Michigan is the only state that prohibits it, along with a few towns and cities. Everywhere else, it is legal to deny people jobs or refuse to rent them an apartment if they are obese. The fact that two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese has not led to bans on such discrimination.That does not surprise McAfee, who weighs about 500 pounds. "Studies show that fat people are even more prejudiced against fat people" than thin people are, she said.Even respected leaders such as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, seen as a potential running mate for Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, are not spared the mockery.Christie's girth was the target of fat jokes at the White House Correspondents' dinner last month, though he shrugged them off."When you're overweight, fair or unfair, there's going to be those who make really awful comments about you and there are going to be people who make jokes about it. That's the way it goes," Christie told reporters.The stigma also hurts the efforts of America's 73 million obese adults and 12 million obese children to get back to a healthy weight: Targets of stigma often fall into depression or withdraw socially. Both make overeating, binge eating, and a sedentary existence more likely, studies show.Sophie Lewis and her colleagues at Monash University in Australia interviewed hundreds of obese adults who were the target of such comments as "look at that fat lady!" when out in public. As a result, found Lewis, obese people are less likely to exercise by walking outdoors.Even healthcare professionals hold negative attitudes about the obese, studies show. Physicians often spend less time with an obese patient, for instance, and do not counsel them about a healthy lifestyle, perhaps believing it would fall on deaf ears.Doctors and nurses who telegraph negative attitudes toward the obese can keep them from seeking treatment for diabetes, found a study led by Elizabeth Teixeira of Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions in Philadelphia."Patients are afraid of hearing, 'you're fat,' or 'just lose weight,' as if it were that easy," said Teixeira, a nurse practitioner specializing in diabetes. "I've had patients tell me they delay seeking care, even having their blood pressure or glucose checked, because they don't want to be lectured."A 2010 study by scientists at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found that the fatter a patient, the more likely a doctor is to assume he or she is not taking medications as prescribed. That, other studies have shown, can keep physicians from prescribing needed meds, assuming they won't be taken.Taking all that data into account, it may not be surprising how reluctant people are to call themselves obese. In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 14 percent of respondents said they are obese. Based on their self-reported height and weight, 26 percent are obese according to U.S. guidelines.SHIFTING THE DEBATEThe belief that obesity reflects personal decisions implies that the solution, too, should be personal: Eat less, move more. But as the Institute of Medicine argued this week, the most effective way to combat obesity is to change the environment.For average American adults, willpower is no match for "an environment in which we are constantly bombarded by food and food cues," said David Kessler, former head of the Food and Drug Administration and author of the 2009 book, "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite." "Lecturing people doesn't work."The IOM recommended building sidewalks to make it easier for people to walk, banning sugary drinks from schools and requiring 60 minutes of daily exercise in grades K-12, reducing portion sizes in schools and restaurants, and making low-cal choices widely available and as affordable as super-sized ice cream cones. Most important, it concluded, was changing the "messaging," including the ubiquitous marketing of calorie-dense food.Fat stigma makes those ideas ripe for attack by an industry that says how much to eat and move reflects individual choice. The restaurant- and food-industry-funded Center for Consumer Freedom called the IOM "arrogant and absurd" for suggesting "that Americans are too stupid to make their own food choices." By proposing to keep unhealthy, calorie-dense food out of school lunch programs, it said, "food nannies" like the IOM are "flatly arguing against consumers having any choice in their snacks and meals."In the Reuters/Ipsos poll, respondents were almost evenly split over "government intervention" to reduce obesity, with 52 percent supporting it and 48 percent opposing it. There was greater support for specific steps, with 87 percent in favor of requiring 30 minutes per day of exercise in school.ROOTS OF THE STIGMAPsychologist Chris Crandall of the University of Kansas has found that young adults who stigmatize obesity tend to be more ideologically conservative, favoring traditional sex roles and capital punishment, his studies found."Particularly in America, self-determination and individual choice is a fundamental value," he said. "We blame people for everything that happens to them - being poor, being obese. It's the ‘just world' idea that people get what they deserve."The stigma is less pronounced in countries such as India, Mexico and Turkey, whose cultures assign more collective responsibility for personal outcomes, Crandall found. His studies, going back to the 1990s, surveyed hundreds of people worldwide about how closely they associate obesity with adjectives such as lazy and stupid.Americans also stand out in their conviction that hard work and determination lead to success, while failure is due to lack of effort."Being thin has come to symbolize such important values as being disciplined and in control," said Yale's Puhl. The converse: If someone is not thin, he must be lacking in those virtues.Indeed, some Americans value thinness more than life itself. In a 2007 study, 24 percent of women and 17 percent of men said they would trade three or more years of life to be svelte.Yet despite the rising personal stakes, a growing body of research shows just how hard it is for the average person to keep the pounds off.Just before speaking to Reuters, McAfee had exercised for an hour in her Florida pool and had a salad for lunch."I work out, I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, and I'm still not thin," she said. "So please stop beating the crap out of me: It's completely counterproductive."(Additional reporting by Edith Honan; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Prudence Crowther)

I totally get you, I did the same thing for about almost two Weeks but it finally started up again after I looked at what I was eating. I had been allowing myself two Lindt truffles each night and realized that when I started that I stopped dropping weight even though it wasn't much in the way of calories but I think the sugar and fat were the culprit. I stopped while also chiding myself on trying to revert to old habits and the pounds started coming off again. Now I'm 34 days out and down the same in pounds but two days ago stalled out again but I think this time its just a natural body recovering period because I have really been careful about what I'm eating. I think when we lose so much weight in a short amount of time its natural for our bodies to take time outs and re normalize. Even though those stalls make us doubt everything we just put ourselves through I think they are a normal thing.

Well I made it through that. I have lost 17lbs and I was surprized. I hadn't weighed for two weeks prior. I had a 255 goal and weighed in at 254!!! I can feel a difference with 2cc's in my 4cc band. I can't wait to pull this weight off.... The local for this fill was a little painful but not bad. I didn't pay a cent at Hamilton Diagnostic. They filed insurance for me... Cyall:cool:

Hi all, Today marks 5 months since I had an emergency operation to remove my lap-band due to over-restriction resulting in a pouch dilation. I pleaded with my surgeon not to take it out. When they put me under I still thought they were just going to re-adjust it. When I woke I was told it was removed. I vomited and cried with the shock. My recovery was incredibly slow and far more painful than the initial operation to have it put in. Since that time I have been working hard not to gain any weight. Exercising, watching my intake etc, but just talking about it gets me upset. My surgeon and the clinic gave me no support and denied all responsibility, blaming it on me. I want to reach out to other people in sililar situations to discuss coping mechanisms and look on our experiences together with a positive edge. It has been a real challenge for me and I'm sure I'm not alone. I know there have been many great things happened as a result of having a band for 11 months, losing weight, gaining confidence, taking up sports etc, but I still find it hard to 'get over' the horrible experience of having my band taken out against my will. All advice, stories, and general support are welcomed and appreciated. Thank you

Hi Shelley, I have a Body Media Fitness device also. I love it. It amazes me how accurate it is. I was very skeptical of how it would work when I first got it, but I input all the information into my profile on the computer. I keyed in my food intake for the day and each nite I downloaded my calorie burn info from the device. It would tell me how much weight I should be losing each day based on the info and it was amazingly accurate. I also loved the sleep efficiency info that it tracked. It was dead on. If I woke up during the night and looked at the clock, the next day the darn thing would show exactly the time that I woke up. It is amazing. What is good about it to me is it really keeps me on track on exercize. I have a goal set for calorie burn each day and I would check it every evening. If i wasnt on track to meet my goal, I jumped on my treadmill to get it in line.

That's awesome. Thanks for the positive boost. Week 2 has been really rough on me so I'm hoping next week will be better. I haven't lost any weight since being banded but my nurse said that is probably from not having enough calories and the reduced activity. Thanks for the reply

Susan, my BMI was 39.5, so not so low! I had/have high blood pressure,high cholestral, acid reflux and the beginnings of diabetes. It was actually my PCP that suggested Lap Band. Not because he does it, but he has had several patients get the band and be successful. He told me after being overweight for 35 years and yo-yo dieting with no long term success, that if I could get this weight off and keep it off, I could most likely get rid of the four pills a day I'm taking for the co-morbidities. I figured that if I was taking 4 pills a day at 52, what was I going to be taking at 62??? My mom took handfuls of pills the last 10 years of her life and died at 61 of renal failure. I HATE TAKING PILLS!! I'm really doing quite well, 9 days post-op. I got a litttle over confident in the past 2 days and screwed up by eating mushies too soon and lifting a bag of dogfood I shouldn't have. Had to call the doc last night because one of my incisions was bleeding! Guess I put too much pressure on the glue and broke it open. It's fine now. I did feel crappy for a few days and was worried that I wasn't getting enough protein/nutrition. The docs office told me not to worry about that for the first several days as long as I was careful not to get dehydrated. I'm still not getting the 40-60 grams of Protein but I feel fine and have plenty of energy. I really don't have any fantasies that lapband will be a miracle for me. I really do understand that I still have to do the work. I just hope that it will be enough of a help to get me through. I want to be around for a while yet and at the rate I was going, wasn't going to get to see my as yet unborn grandchildren grow up! I am a person that loves food, has a very slow metabolism and doesn't get much exercise. I hope to become addicted to exercise like I am now addicted to food. Everyone tells me it get easier when you're not carrying around an extra 100 pounds.... sounds logical to me! LOL! Thanks for your interest and good luck. Would be happy to answer any more questions you might have.

I was on the pill for about 5 years then post op I was noticing my period was off by a week, my OBGYN told me it was because my body had gone through a shock and now it's try to recooperate. She said i lost 20% of my body weight so my body is trying to catch up with making 20% more hormones, so she suggested IUD would be best for me.

I'm not sure which book the other person was referring to, but I found the book, "Weight Loss Surgery with the Adjustable Gastric Band" to be a life-saver. It is written by Dr. Robert W. Sewell and Linda Rohrbough and was published last year. I like it a lot better than the "Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies" that my psychologist recommended at my first appointment with him. The book by Dr. Sewell is all about bands, while the other book is about bands and gastric bypass. My sister, who I love dearly, was banded four years ago. She went from 315 pounds to about 185 and I am so proud of her. I was banded two weeks ago, and I have more to lose than my sister. While the pre-op diet and post-op diets are restricted due to sutures healing and gradually adding back foods, your sister will be able to eat most things as long as they don't bother her. Some people love shrimp and have no problems, while others do have problems. It's like that about everything. Tell her to check out Dr. Sewell's book.....I highly recommend it. P.S. What a very supportive force you are going to be during her surgery and recovery. She is a lucky girl!:laugh:

I was just banded last week before Thanksgiving Day and I thought I was gonna miss the turkey and all the trimmings. I did good! I had my surgery at the new hospital in Juarez, Mexico with Dr. Rodriquez and what an experience that was. The hospital is BEAUTIFUL and the people are so nice. Some of the nurses were hard to understand because of the language barrier, but all in all it was find. I want to thank Belite Weight for helping me. They were very good to me. Check out this article in the El Paso Times. I was there. http://www.elpasotimes.com/business/ci_7535779?source=sb-digg

As the others have said there isn't really anything you can do to prevent it. The good thing about excess skin is that it is far easier to hide than fat. When you have clothes on nobody sees it! But if you lose an huge amount of weight then you may find that you are left with excess skin which can be uncomfortable and pose health problems. Why not start saving now. maybe just pop the couple of dollars that you save by not buying junk food into a jar, it will soon start adding up. Then if you need the op and it is not covered you will have already saved a good proportion of the money required, if it turns out that you don't need any further surgery you can spend the money on a nice holiday or something instead.

I have been overweight most of my life, so I am expecting that I may have some loose skin. I'm already halfway to my goal, and the only thing I can gripe about is that my upper arms seem a bit more jiggly, although it seems like it is fat in the skin.... I'm not too worried about the skin issue now, as I am 100% focused on losing the weight. If I have lose skin, I'll deal with it when the time comes.

Hey Guys, I went and asked my Doctor what he thought about my weight and we are in agreement I need to loos. He asked me why I felt I was a canidate for WLS as as I explained: I am 27 and 5'3 1/2" weigh 234 pounds with a BMI of 40. Since my weight is where it is: I have hypertension/high blood pressure Irrital Bowel Syndrome Diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Stomach issue which result in me taking Domperidone and Pantoloc Low B-12 My legs,and hips and back hurts all the time.... When I asked for a consul to a Weight Loss Surgeon Consult ,he thought I just wante dto see a dietician.... I explained my self and he said there was only one in Toronto and not in the Atlantic provinces. I explaine dthat I researched this many months and there is a Doctor in NB and gave him the name. My doctor told me to get him the contact information and he would send off my referral. He said he didn't think MSI would cover it and I explained he needed to send teh form and state why I would benefit from it..... So as soon as I got home I faxed my Dr and His reception the WLS contact information and also reminded hime that he needed to contac MSI and explain why I need this surgery...As he didnt write my reasons why I would benefit I wrote them on the fax I sent him...... I made it clear to him this just isn;t a spur of teh moment thought and I want to be taken seriously. I so want this to go through.I am praying for it . I want to be healthy. Some doctors think going to the gym will help they just dont get it.

Iam on 75 mg tenuate. My brother told me about it. He lost 30 lbs. So far it only works for 4 hours then Iam hungry again. Also heard its very addictive. Now I know the phentermine works, I lost 40 lbs in 6 months but then gained it all back. CLA is a joke to me. Right know Iam so confused. Good Luck ~Carmille

Well I went to the free seminar regarding all the different surgeries that are out there. I know that I am not the person to have a bypass surgery.....that one scares me and is just not for me. I have decided that I want to have the lap band surgery done. The seminar was a huge help in making me understand better and not be so scared about having the procedure done. I have my doctors appt set up for April 6th and I have to go in and have some test run before hand. I was really happy regarding the dietician that I will have to go see. I think that will be a big help. If anyone has any suggestions regarding questions I should have for the doctor, please let me know and things to ask or pay attention to when it comes to the dietician. I am ready to get started with the new journey. I have started walking in the evenings with my husband. Not very far but I figure something is better than nothing. My husband is really excited about me doing this. I just hope that he will be a help with the life change I am fixing to start. He went to the seminar with me and asked questions. He has been my best friend for over 25 years and I have always told him that I need help with this weight issue I have. We will see..... I do have a question....what should I be prepared for regarding the liquid diet I will have to be on in the beginning?

So I had turned 30 in September and was sleeved on November 14. I am hoping for a new lease on life. I started at my highest weight 339. Throughout all pre op weigh ins nd liquid pre op diet I went to 331, 321 and I was sleeves weighing 321 that morning. I went today for my first post op visit- 301!!!!!!! I am almost out of the 3's!! I have had no complications. No vomiting. No gerd or reflux. Truthfully I feel awesome! I NEVER feel hungry also. I take my antacid pill in the am and I am still sleeping on my back, which I really don't like, so at night I take 20ml of pain mess to put me to sleep while ok not comfy on my back and that's it!!! Normal day I start with pull and some broth if a can of soup(lentil, minestrone, chikarina, pot roast) and my bf has the food part of the soup to save money. Then ill sip water. Crystal light or G2 from Gatorade until I feel like j should eat again hours later. I will have a sugar free jello or half of a sugar free pudding. Continue the sipping and always making sure to walk walk walk! I barely have calories Nd it doesn't effect me. I just bought tuna chunk lite in water in those packets with no draining needed. I'm going to start having one a day at least bc there are 18 gms of protein in each!! That's awesome!! I hope this story is showing great results Nd my ultimate goal is to hit 180 pounds before I turn 31. I want to be beautiful for engagement and wedding. I look forward to great stories and replies :-) good luck to all!

Can someone explain to me why I'm up 5 pounds from surgery. I had surgery on the 5th and haven't eaten anything since the 4th. I have had broth and jello. I don't understand how I can gain weight. Is it that I'm very swollen or retaining fluids? I really don't understand how this can happen. The hospital pumped me up with IV's the entire time I was there. I don't have much of an appetite as I'm not feeling so hot. Terrible gas pains and feeling a bit weak.

Just as you shed water weight during your 3 days with minimal intake, your body is re-balancing its hydration level now that you are drinking again. It may bounce around for a while before it settles down and you start seeing a steady downward trend.

I am supporting my husband's choice to have the surgery for all the right reasons, but part of me wonders if having the surgery will reduce his snoring when he loses the weight. We havnt slept in the same bed since Sept '07 because he snores like a freight train!! thanks for your help.:smile2:

I have a band and my sister the bypass. I have problems with my esphogaus which effects my band. The most frustrating is eating, it's been over a year and every day is different. One day I can eat and the next I struggle. Now my sister, she has a problem with malabsorption, so she struggles to not lose more weight. A lot of health issues for both of us have been eliminated since having the surgery. You have to weigh the risks of everything and make a decision.