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I have has my band for 5 years with great success (-140) and very little problems. I haven't been to my doc in 3 years! (Didn't realize it had been that long). I have been struggling with burning stomach, some reflux, being able to eat too much, and weight gain ( about 20 lbs since November) I let all these things go for way too long I know! (Don't wait like me). I finally went in on Monday and they completely unfilled my band. She thinks I have just stretched my pouch. But I'm going in the morning for an upper gi to be sure. I'm hoping there is no major prob and a few weeks of unfill will fix it! Now I have to try to be a very good girl in the eating department. Thanks for letting me vent to people that understand all of this!

I have to start my liquid diet now, even before I have a surgery date because I gained 3 pounds since April. I think mostly from quitting smoking. I have everything done, just an ultrasound because they found gallstones when they did my upper GI. I am really dreading it, but hopefully I can get through it. I am waiting my doctor is sending my paperwork to get approval from the ins company, BCBS of Mass. Does anyone have experience with being denied because of a weight gain? Even just 3 pounds? Dr. Didn't seem to be too concerned, but I have to go to the nutritionist to start my liquid diet now, even before getting a surgery date, who she said could be November!! Don't think I can last that long on a liquid diet!!!

It’s tough being around loud, pushy people who voice every emotion they feel when they feel it. On the opposite end of the spectrum and easier to be around are quiet people who don’t complain and keep their feelings to themselves. As it turns out, your body begins suffering physical symptoms when you hold unresolved emotional feelings inside. Research supports that the more the emotional baggage is felt internally, the worse it is for the body. Nowhere is this demonstrated as clearly as heart disease or with emotional issues such as depression and anxiety. Women’s bodies are another area that suffers from emotions held in is. According to experts in mind/body medicine, our emotions affect our bodies because they are linked to our bodies via our immune, endocrine and central nervous systems. Just as a broken heart affects our heart and can lead to death, what we feel affects our body and how effective it works. For women, emotions such as unresolved grief or anger at a partner can cause intestinal problems and headaches as easily as it can cause chronic pelvic pain, and many other bodily issues. Holding in emotions weakens your body’s immune system which make it tougher to ward off colds, infections, and when you do get sick you have a more difficult time getting well. Observing a list of body functions affected when women (or men) hold in their emotional baggage is staggering. This is why when you become ill it is so important to evaluate what you are feeling, and what you have been feeling for the past six months because some illnesses, such as rheumatoid arthritis, may take months to become symptomatic. Constipation or diarrhea, as well as stomach pain/ulcers Back/Neck pain Depression Insomnia High blood pressure Anxiety/Depression Weight gain or loss (eating disorders always have an emotional aspect) Sexual problems Rheumatoid arthritis Fibromyalgia Asthma Cancers (for example, pancreatic cancer may present with depression before the patient is symptomatic with cancer) Emotional healing is very different from physical healing. When I worked with cancer patients I was reminded of this fact many times. The tumor went away, and the body healed, but the mind lingered sometimes for years over the experience of losing hair, a body part and/or trust in your body. Counseling becomes a wonderful way to release pent up feelings so you can heal emotionally. There are many ways you can help your loved one or yourself unpack your emotional baggage. Try these suggestions and practice them frequently. Laugh as much as you can. Watch funny videos and allow yourself to laugh out loud. Cry when you need to, don’t hold it in, and just let it flow. Practice voicing, “I’m angry.” You don’t have to do an action with it, just say it out loud and say why. Mindful actions. Before you take any medication for a headache, tummy ache, backache, to stay awake, or to fall asleep, ask yourself what am I holding on to. Begin jotting things down. This small action offers huge rewards. Massages are a common treatment for people who have gone through horrendous crisis, and they’re also a wonderful treatment for fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. Breathe and let go of held in emotional pain as the therapist works on the body part that holds the physical pain. Medical care has come a long way with advancements in treating so many illnesses. Your body is more than physical though; there is an emotional and soulful part, which is more complicated to treat. Knowing yourself and being able to express uncomfortable feelings is healthy, not only for your mind, but for your body and soul as well. –Mary Jo Rapini

I'm down to the wire--and the days are taking LONGER and LONGER to go by. I am at strict liquids for these last two days. I've lost almost seven pounds on this preop diet in the past five days doing strict Adkins. My goal is to be at 205 the day of surgery. I have 1.4 pounds to go--but think that should be attainable doing all liquids. My clothes don't feel so "poured into" feeling--and so I'm glad I didn't splurge and buy some last week when they were all straining to keep up with my last supper weight gains! I'm regretting not exercising as I had vowed to do--haven't so much as walked..but am planning on doing that the day of surgery! Wednesday, June 17th, 2009.... is the first day of the rest of my life. With the force of all my past failures, the suction of the hopes of a new unburdened life, and the grace of God...I will make it thru this transition and finally, for the first time in what seems like a lifetime away, will look in the mirror and see someone "in control" of my self---confident, vibrant, alive. I go to visit my family and friends over Christmas vacation and I am SOO excited about that! I will look at pictures taken of myself from this time and not die an inward death--or try to hide behind someone. I've learned alot this past week of pre-op dieting...I have really felt a slipping of the grip that food has had on me. I really WILL do this this time!

Recently an acquaintance told me about seeing an obese man on TV who claimed that bariatric surgery hadn’t worked for him. “How can it NOT work?!” Patsy exclaimed. There’s no simple answer to that question. In the past I’ve written about why weight loss surgery fails (read the article here: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/page/index.html/_/support/why-does-weight-loss-surgery-fail-r88). Today I’d like to revisit the topic and focus on how our expectations affect the perception of as well as the ultimate success or failure of WLS. BARIATRIC MYTHOLOGY Some powerful myths influence our beliefs about and expectations of WLS. An especially insidious one that affects both bariatric patients and the general public is that WLS is essentially magic, requiring little or no effort on the patient’s part to achieve the desired weight loss. Hence the infamous and heinous phrase: “Weight loss surgery is taking the easy way out.” This magic myth has a corollary one that purports that the weight lost as a result of bariatric surgery is weight lost forever, again without any effort on the part of the patient. Sorry, but that’s not true either. While the whole point of bariatric surgery is to make weight loss easier, it does not eliminate the need for hard work by the patient. No bariatric surgery can cure obesity, which is a chronic, recurring disease. That doesn’t mean that succeeding with WLS means you’re sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor, dragging heavy chains and digging ditches, but it does mean that in the long term a successful patient is one who takes responsibility for his or her eating behavior, weight management, and general health. Reading the paragraph above may serve to shatter some illusions that you held dear, but when would you rather face the truth: early in your journey, or later? Although I was once a bandster like you, I lost my beloved band and recently converted to vertical sleeve gastrectomy. I have to tell you that despite all my advance research and preparation, the reality of living with a sleeved stomach is giving me a bad case of buyer’s remorse, but there’s no going back now. Seventy-five percent of my stomach is gone forever, but living with what’s left and finding a way to eat and to manage my weight now is an ongoing challenge. And I’ve heard countless stories from all kinds of bariatric patients about the challenges they face after surgery. Anyone who promises you a completely sunny picture of the future is either mistaken or trying to avoid bursting your bubble. BAND MYTHS There are a number of myths related to the adjustable gastric band. One of them is that slower weight loss with the band will prevent sagging or excess skin, and that just ain’t so. A more dangerous myth, peculiar to bandsters, is that fills cause weight loss and unfills cause weight gain. While fluid adjustments are an important part of how the AGB works,the fluid is NOT what causes weight loss. In fact, there is absolutely nothing in any part of the band system (the band, the tubing, and the port) that causes weight loss. The band does not directly affect the way nutrients from food are ingested or metabolized. It releases no weight loss instructions into the patient’s bloodstream, nervous system, or endocrine system. It doesn’t directly affect the patient’s eating behavior or exercise habits. It doesn’t compel the patient to make good food choices, limit portion sizes, eat slowly, or resist the urge to graze or binge because of boredom, stress, cravings, etc. Weight loss results from eating fewer calories than you burn, and the band helps with that by reducing your appetite and causing early and prolonged satiety. Those features are related to the pressure of the band against the stomach and the consumption of solid food whose mechanical digestion triggers the vagus nerves in the upper stomach to send satiety signals to the brain. If the patient ignores those signals, the calories taken in may exceed the calories burned, slowing or preventing weight loss. And since weight is affected by many other factors entirely unrelated to the band (like medications, hormone imbalance, etc. etc.), all we can do is to concentrate on the ones that are within our control and understand that it’s a fallacy to attribute weight loss to the band or to fills. One harmful consequence of the fills=weight loss myth is that the patient seeks more and more fills in the quest for “perfect restriction” (also a myth) or the legendary (but also mythical) “sweet spot.” This patient tends to tolerate side effects and eating problems that can cause serious damage to them and their band because they’re so focused on finding that perfect but elusive fill level and believes (erroneously) that the more fluid in their band, the better. When you suggest to this person that they may actually need less, not more fluid in their band (so that they can eat healthy, solid food instead of not-so-healthy slider foods), they react with panic, so aren’t able to make a good decision and may not even be willing to tell their surgeon about the eating problems they experience. Please don’t read this article thinking that my purpose is to discourage you. I’m the eternal optimist who believes in self-fulfilling prophecies. If you’re determined to lose weight and work hard at it, you can indeed use your band to reach your weight goal. The key phrase in that sentence is “work hard at”. There’s just no getting around that, so if your expectation is that you’ll lose weight effortlessly, you’re probably going to be disappointed in your band, yourself, or both. Your band can assist your weight loss efforts by providing early and prolonged satiety, but it’s not going to make good food choices, control portion sizes, make you exercise, be vigilant with aftercare, win you cash and prizes, or turn you into America’s next top model. On the other hand, believing that you will succeed and working hard to learn and change what you need to in order to lose weight will greatly increase your chances of becoming a bariatric superstar. And when stardom comes from hard work, it is much, much sweeter and longer lasting than stardom that falls at random out of the sky!

This past Monday I went in for my much anticipated visit with the doctor and nutrionist. It was my first time back in over a month and I was excited, curious and nervous all at the same time. I was excited because I knew this was another step closer to where I eventually want to be, curious about my test results and nervous about getting on the scale because I knew I had gained weight. Well, my appt definitely took me closer because by the time I left I had my psych appt scheduled (8/20), my appt following the sleep study moved up 2 weeks and in between appts to return to the doctor. More or less I have an appt every week between now and the end of Sept and if everything goes well, I may be looking at an Oct date. My test results came back well. I was told that my ultrasound and upper GI was normal and my blood tests were excellent. My blood clot scare last year had me wondering about how my tests would come out since this is always a worry for me now, but it gave me a chance to dicuss this further and I will see the doctor that will insert the filter to avoid clots prior to surgery on my next appt at the hospital. My fear about the weight gain rang true. I knew it from the way I was feeling. My back has been aching and I feel sluggish. My back aches at a 5 lb weight gain, so I knew I had at least gained that..but I was shocked to learn it was in fact 11 lbs. :wink: I was told it was probably fluid. Yeah..Grey Goose I explained. The numerous happy hours my co workers and I had attended since my last visit had caught up with me. The nutrionist and doctor both encouragingly told me not to worried since "thats what I am there for". I later had to laugh since it was the first time I wasn't scolded by a health care professional for gaining weight. The surgeon on the other hand, came to see me with a couple of students, wasnt as dismissive reminding me of the high calorie content of alcohol and how important calories will be when I get lap band since my body will not reject the sugar automatically like gastric. I knew he was right and could only sit there like a scolded kid nodding in agreement. I needed that kick in the ass. It brought the importance of this surgery and saving my life back to the forefront of my mind. I had lost focus having so much time in between appointments and simply slipped back into bad habits. I had to get back on the horse. As I explained to the nutrionist, I KNOW what to do, its DOING it. I am a professional dieter. I know it all..I have read it all. I am just a very unsuccessful dieter. She listened but I could see she wasnt buying it, she gave me my food journal for the week and told me to fax it on Friday. She told me her appt is last and usually a couple of weeks before my date to avoid wasting money if not approved. She said she had flexible hours so I said, cool lets meet for drinks. I quickly followed with..IM JOKING! and she actually laughed, then added, sure we will meet for breakfast and have carnation instant breakfast drinks! She was so quick I had to join her in laughing. :eek: She later repeated it to the surgeon who also got a laugh. Putting that imprint on her mind, also puts her in the forefront of mine. I know I have to make more of an effort to do the right thing because it is truly now or never.

Ok I know I didn't blog last week. First off I gained 2 pounds last week but then I lost 2 pounds this week so it is a wash for the last two weeks. Let's talk about week 33 really quick. On Sunday the family and I were coming back from a reunion at my in-laws and I blew a tired on the freeway on the way back. Scary I know. Well in changing the tire I injured my back and hamstrings. As a precaution to keep from hurting myself any further I did not walk for the week. Thus the two pound weight gain. My injuries did heal thank the lord. Now for this week I walked on Monday. It felt great. Then Monday afternoon we had a meeting at work which was to inform us that we as employees needed to make a choice. We could either be laid off and go on unemployment or we could take an hours cut and only work 16 hours a week. Well for me that meant dire financial consequences as it would anyone and so my wife and I had to discuss what to do. As a result my stress level has been on high all week. I have hardly slept through the week. Today will be my last day at work but yesterday we learned at my work place that a client may be needing major work done which would bring everyone back to full time and keep us there for several months. So there is a glimmer of hope that the layoff will be short lived. My diet and exercise has not been the for thought in my life this week. So I can only attribute the weight loss this week to stress. However I am getting back on track and will continue to work on it. It feels so much better to to have lost what I have but I still have plenty more to go. I also will be back on track with blogging weekly and hope you all continue to check in on my blog each week! Weight loss totals for the last two weeks... Week 33 This week 2 pounds gained Current Weight - 357 lbs Loss Since Surgery - 85 lbs (33 weeks) Total Weight Loss - 128 lbs Week 34 This week 2 pounds lost Current Weight - 355 lbs Loss Since Surgery - 87 lbs (34 weeks) Total Weight Loss - 130 lbs

darlingkassy welcome gotta tell you girlfriend .....don't misunderstand, but........... you are "everyones" worst nightmare!!!! seeing a fellow sleever gain back their weight but.........its good to confirm/show us that it is possible to gain the weight back!!!!egads :ph34r: many/hopefully most people realize weight gain back is possible we tell ourselves it can't happen - but most of know better we have to work hard with all the rules we followed earlier so we can maintain i think its good to hear stories like yours, because it makes me/most of us realize that working with the sleeve is a must for the rest of our lives we always knew that - but i think many/some NEWBIES think once the weight is off - its permanent well it IS permanent - as long as we follow the lifestyle with water/protein et al that we've been taught I think many/most VETS are more aware/scared of gaining weight back knowing that there is/could be a prob with weight gain, is half the battle I/us most/all of us have always yo yo'd not able to keep the weight off now we are finally being given theis "tool" of the sleeve - we must abide by all the rules forever and a day!!!! guess i'm just repeating this to myself - because its so important - and i'm trying to convince myself of something i already know (about the possibility of weight gain) we've all gone through so much to lose this weight - KEEP it off my meds, comorbities are gone - i never want to go backwards!!!! I can't physically/mentally afford to go back to my old lifestyle I have in the past said this "spiel" to myself - to remind myself to stay on track!!!!! we/me still goof up sometimes - but hopefully/usually bounce back soon now............to finally answer your question darlingkassy :wub: my suggestion to you/and any of us in the future who fell off the wagon,,,,,,, go back to basics with the Protein shake drink as much Water as you can maybe stay on liquids only for a week - full liquids for another week this will give you that push, to start your weight loss again when back on solids - chew everything to death, eat very very slowly stop drinking about 30 minutes before you eat never drink with meals don't drink for about 45 minutes before you eat again drink at least 64 oz of H20 a day!!!! i'm repeating these essential rules in case you don't remember them, since its been a while since you were doing things correctly do some exercise - walking is great if you are just getting back into the groove glad you came here - we all do support each other, thats the name of the game the first step is the hardest and you made it by coming back here, realizing you have a problem, and wanting to go forward you can do this!!!! come back with any and all questions i'll be on the lookout for you glad you are here good luck kathy

I am scheduled for a resleeve after having my surgery Jan 7th 2006. 8 years 6 months. I got pregnant (not planned) 3 months post surgery and had to force feed myself. All was still good walked and did sit-ups regularly and maintained my weight until I had to have c-spine surgery, total disk replacement and a fusion. I was put on pain killers 1 month prior to surgery, hello constipation. I didn't know that pain killers caused this... Then I did very minimal activity for 1 year and regularly took Gabapentin/ Neurontin which I didn't realize causes weight gain. I was all clear with all blood test results however my stomach had returned to normal size. My surgery was new in Jan 2006 in Mexico and hadn't hit the US yet. I had a 36 bouge and got pg and meds made my stomach return to allow me to eat way too much. I am doing a resleeve after my upper GI etc. as the weight hurts my body, back especially but I miss being 145-165 and feeling good. I'm just curious if there are any others who are years post op and have regained the weight have been resleevers or are considering it? I am more nervous this time than before. Even 2 years after my surgery the Doctors procedures changed and he is quite a bit more Americanized as far as treatment etc.. He was good then and much better now. I went to Dr. Guillermo Alvarez which is where I'm headed back to... Cost is $2k cheaper than original however I'm still paying what he charges full price to new patients. Worth it to me. If anyone has any resleeve info or questions feel free and I would appreciate any info. Thanks

Read your program materials back to front. Take notes, and then immediately commit to follow your program. Too many slips could lead to weight gain...

What feels to me like the biggest hurdle has been jumped! And it's fine! I came down on the other side on both feet! I had my appt with my PCP today. I need from her a letter of medical necessity. And I wasn't sure how my visit with her would go - whether she would make me defend and justify this, whether she would be adamantly against it, whether she would emphatically support it...I just wasn't sure at all! And she said she would absolutely give me that because while she's only known me for a year, she's seen enough to know that I'm not lieing when I say "I TRY!" And it comes off. And it comes back. She said we would do some testing to prove a comorbidity that she thinks I may have. She said we will jump through those insurance hoops and give them NO REASON to deny this! She also said three or four years ago she would have been hesitant, would have said, 'do it yourself' but she's seen those people she told that lose the weight and then gain it back plus some. It's something about a BMI over 40 that makes your body NOT WANT TO LET GO! And she's seen lap-band® after lap-band® do wonders for people. She said my choice in surgeon is fantastic. Can't beat him in my area and she would have suggested him had I not found him myself. She recommended doing the supervised exercise and diet program with them because she likes their nutritionist and the staff in that office are all fantastic. She gave me copies of everything I need for the consult tomorrow - which should help some of this role along faster. I did some blood work because I had questionable liver function earlier this year and she wants to see if we can prove it's fatty liver. If the blood work warrants it, I already have the order in hand for a abdominal ultrasound. She said even if we can't prove that comorbidity, it's enough that my parents are ALREADY deceased - were deceased by 55 (mother) and 61 (father) - for things that are comorbidities. I already have tons of odds against me, I don't need this weight stacking my odds even further! To me, getting her approval was potentially my biggest stumbling block. Had she said no, I would have gotten myself a new PCP and kept trying. But I like her and I didn't want that hassle which would also potentially become a demotivator. And I KNOW I'm fat enough. She laughed at that. Was impressed at how much research I've done, what I knew, and how I've been taking care of myself in this endeavor. Wasn't asking for the answers, was asking for endorsement - and from what she said, the people willing to do this from start to finish like this, on their own - if you will, are the successful ones. The people on this website, I'd venture! Can't be done on your own - don't get me wrong. But I'm not being spoon fed my information. This wasn't suggested to me, I explored the thought. That's what I'm talking about... Anywho... She said she has seen it before where people are like me, on the fence with the BMI with no comorbidities. And she's seen - and even supported - minor weight gain to get them to the "acceptable level of fatness". I find that sad. But it's the game we have to play, apparently. Comorbidities help, but I've enjoyed my food this weekend to ensure my weight today and tomorrow would not be an issue. And hopefully tomorrow can start the six month supervision. And hopefully I can be looking at the March/April time frame. And if not, I'll take it as it comes. My biggest stumbling block has been passed. I just feel like now I can say "Ok, hope is on the horizon!" YAY!

Stay in this, don't have a weight gain the next time u see the doc. It's a minor setback because as fast as time is passing it will b here before u know it!! (HUGS)

I love Christmas. I love the hustle and the bustle of all the preparations and I love the feeling of togetherness that develops as the season wears on. This weekend was a particularly fantastic weekend! Friday night my hubby and I met up with one of his oldest friends and his girlfriend who were visiting from Denver. We went to our favorite Mexican place and ordered the world's most fantastic fajitas. I could only eat one. Wow! Saturday I spent the day baking and candy-making. I baked up two batches of my family recipe of sugar cookies which probably makes up 140 some odd cookies. I baked up two batches of gingerbread men (another 60 cookies). I baked up three batches of pecan butter balls (my fave - and another 80 cookies). I made up three bathces of english toffee (about 300 pieces). And finally, I made up two batches of fudge - one with nuts, one without. I was on my feet in the kitchen for 15 hours. After all that - I can pretty much bet I will eat barely any of it. I don't sample while I cook. I don't nibble while I bake. I don't eat bits and pieces while I decorate. Almost all of this will get given away. Somewhere around the 27th of December I will wander into the kitchen and grab a glass of milk and a pecan butter ball. And then it will all be over and I'll grab 2 or 3 each day until they are gone. But by the time I start, there will only be about 10-20 left and so this won't last very long for me. I can't explain it - but if I make the stuff, I don't eat the stuff. If I leave it for someone else to do...I will nibble on the stuff then. Furthermore, I spent so much time in the kitchen doing all this that I burned off two pounds. Add those two to being down because of the gastroenteritis two weeks ago and I'm really down for the month. So I can eat those pecan butter balls and not feel too badly for it. Wouldn't it be nice, though, if I weren't trying to lose this weight for good? If just in the normal cycle of things I lost weight and then put it back on...because I was trying to maintain a weight? Wouldn't that be awesome?!?! I have a whole collection of tins I've bought through the getting ready for the season outtings and my hubby and I will load those up with a sampling of the goodies and then take them around to friends and family. We are giving out about 20 tins and 40 baggies this year. I'm telling you...there won't be much left for us. I have always baked like this. My mom did this when I was a wee little one and when I was about 2 she started putting me to work. When I moved out and got set up - I couldn't not bake and make so I kept it up even while she was doing her own batches. Most years we were back together and did all this together but there were two where we did things separately and then joined up for the holiday. But now, with my mom gone, I'm glad I never lost momentum on this. It IS an undertaking and it WOULD be so easy to say "not this year". But the first year I say that will be the year after the last year I do this. And I won't give this up. Especially since this has never been a source of weight gain - I don't eat the stuff. Ok...I do nibble on a piece or two of the toffee and a piece or two of the fudge. And I do eat the pecan butter balls. But I very honestly do not eat very much of it and I have never gained weight from it because the calories do come off of other items through the days and the activity level is way up right now, anyway. But I won't give this up...Saturday night, after hubby and I slaved away and got the kitchen back to clean we (literally) crawled into the hot tub, which we were wise enough to start heating at just the right point so that the hot tub was perfectly ready exactly when we were. While we were sitting in the very perfect water on a very chilly night we were chatting away at each other, as we do. And he told me...he loves that I do this. Anywho. I won't give this up - even when I have a band that is so friggin tight I can't drink water - I will STILL be in the kitchen baking and candy-making! (Hopefully I am never in a situation where the band I will have next year is so tight I can't drink water. I'll have other issues then...and might have to say - I'll bake tomorrow but not today.) :cursing: Sunday was another fantastic day. We got to see the oldest friend and his girlfriend again for a brunch. The brunch was at the friend's parents house and it was great to catch up with his parents. After the brunch we took them up to the airport since we live much closer to it than his parents do and were on our way there anyway. And from there I went home and got to work on my etching. I am loving all of this glass. Each piece I have done I want to KEEP FOR MYSELF! It's all so beautiful. And I just hope that the people I give this stuff to appreciate it! Each piece is personalized in two ways. One - in the design I pick out and two - I am putting their monogram on, as well. And so here we are, on Monday. Back at work with nothing to do...I'm just waiting for today, tomorrow and Wednesday to be over so that I can finish getting all this stuff made and then wrapped - so that it can be unwrapped. I do hope this year is good for smiles. I love giving gifts more than I love receiving gifts and I think I've got a great year on my hands - I just hope it pans out as I think it will. What a wonderful time of the year!

Pam, you've discovered the one thing that makes being banded so different from anything and everything we've tried in the past. So many people considering banding want to know why this might work where everything else has failed. Well--this is it! It works because it doesn't go away!! Of course we have to change our habits, and of course it can be hard sometimes. But this little band of silicone is our tool to help us stay on course, or get back on course when necessary. I've done what you describe several times. Changing our lives to the extent necessary to put morbid obesity behind us forever is not something that can be done overnight. Our bodies and minds NEED to take "breaks" once in a while, think about something else for a few days/weeks/months, get used to the new reality and internalize it completely. If we continually think we're on a "program" then occasional lapses in vigilance only lead to a sense of failure. I've worked hard to just BE smaller, eat less and more healthfully, and not treat my banded life as being one of constant dieting. The band is there when we're ready to refocus. Lapses don't lead to weight gain and disappointment and failure anymore!! :)

I love Christmas. I love the hustle and the bustle of all the preparations and I love the feeling of togetherness that develops as the season wears on. This weekend was a particularly fantastic weekend! Friday night my hubby and I met up with one of his oldest friends and his girlfriend who were visiting from Denver. We went to our favorite Mexican place and ordered the world's most fantastic fajitas. I could only eat one. Wow! Saturday I spent the day baking and candy-making. I baked up two batches of my family recipe of sugar cookies which probably makes up 140 some odd cookies. I baked up two batches of gingerbread men (another 60 cookies). I baked up three batches of pecan butter balls (my fave - and another 80 cookies). I made up three bathces of english toffee (about 300 pieces). And finally, I made up two batches of fudge - one with nuts, one without. I was on my feet in the kitchen for 15 hours. After all that - I can pretty much bet I will eat barely any of it. I don't sample while I cook. I don't nibble while I bake. I don't eat bits and pieces while I decorate. Almost all of this will get given away. Somewhere around the 27th of December I will wander into the kitchen and grab a glass of milk and a pecan butter ball. And then it will all be over and I'll grab 2 or 3 each day until they are gone. But by the time I start, there will only be about 10-20 left and so this won't last very long for me. I can't explain it - but if I make the stuff, I don't eat the stuff. If I leave it for someone else to do...I will nibble on the stuff then. Furthermore, I spent so much time in the kitchen doing all this that I burned off two pounds. Add those two to being down because of the gastroenteritis two weeks ago and I'm really down for the month. So I can eat those pecan butter balls and not feel too badly for it. Wouldn't it be nice, though, if I weren't trying to lose this weight for good? If just in the normal cycle of things I lost weight and then put it back on...because I was trying to maintain a weight? Wouldn't that be awesome?!?! I have a whole collection of tins I've bought through the getting ready for the season outtings and my hubby and I will load those up with a sampling of the goodies and then take them around to friends and family. We are giving out about 20 tins and 40 baggies this year. I'm telling you...there won't be much left for us. I have always baked like this. My mom did this when I was a wee little one and when I was about 2 she started putting me to work. When I moved out and got set up - I couldn't not bake and make so I kept it up even while she was doing her own batches. Most years we were back together and did all this together but there were two where we did things separately and then joined up for the holiday. But now, with my mom gone, I'm glad I never lost momentum on this. It IS an undertaking and it WOULD be so easy to say "not this year". But the first year I say that will be the year after the last year I do this. And I won't give this up. Especially since this has never been a source of weight gain - I don't eat the stuff. Ok...I do nibble on a piece or two of the toffee and a piece or two of the fudge. And I do eat the pecan butter balls. But I very honestly do not eat very much of it and I have never gained weight from it because the calories do come off of other items through the days and the activity level is way up right now, anyway. But I won't give this up...Saturday night, after hubby and I slaved away and got the kitchen back to clean we (literally) crawled into the hot tub, which we were wise enough to start heating at just the right point so that the hot tub was perfectly ready exactly when we were. While we were sitting in the very perfect water on a very chilly night we were chatting away at each other, as we do. And he told me...he loves that I do this. Anywho. I won't give this up - even when I have a band that is so friggin tight I can't drink water - I will STILL be in the kitchen baking and candy-making! (Hopefully I am never in a situation where the band I will have next year is so tight I can't drink water. I'll have other issues then...and might have to say - I'll bake tomorrow but not today.) Sunday was another fantastic day. We got to see the oldest friend and his girlfriend again for a brunch. The brunch was at the friend's parents house and it was great to catch up with his parents. After the brunch we took them up to the airport since we live much closer to it than his parents do and were on our way there anyway. And from there I went home and got to work on my etching. I am loving all of this glass. Each piece I have done I want to KEEP FOR MYSELF! It's all so beautiful. And I just hope that the people I give this stuff to appreciate it! Each piece is personalized in two ways. One - in the design I pick out and two - I am putting their monogram on, as well. And so here we are, on Monday. Back at work with nothing to do...I'm just waiting for today, tomorrow and Wednesday to be over so that I can finish getting all this stuff made and then wrapped - so that it can be unwrapped. I do hope this year is good for smiles. I love giving gifts more than I love receiving gifts and I think I've got a great year on my hands - I just hope it pans out as I think it will. What a wonderful time of the year!

I was banded March 2nd and was on liquids for two weeks and started mushies yesterday. I was dying for chinese food and I had it finally yesterday. I had steamed moo shou with sauce on the side. I was fine when I weighed my self.. i stood the same 25 lbs down since surgery. Today, I had liquids all day and had a little of the left over chinese food before class. Than six hours later I ate a little more and still have plenty left for tomorrow, but I have gained six pounds. I am so upset and I feel so guilty for eatting! Is that normal? I am so discourage and I do not know what I did wrong. Should I wait to eat until I get my first fill.. even though the first two weeks were tourcher..

Hi guys, Just thought I would share this and see if any of you have had a similar experience. I took a nap last night when I got home from work (I have been trying to fight off a cold). I woke up from my nap frustrated. I had dreamed that I went to my surgeons office and I had gained 11 lbs. 11lbs! So I was talking to the nurses and dietician and begging them for a fill. The nurses were telling me that he didn't have any appointments open before my next appointment. All the while my Dr. went by carrying a box of pizza and then back by carrying a box of donuts. A big box of donuts. He then sat down on a couch in the room behind them and started eating and watching football. Finally they let me talk to him and I talked him into giving me a fill after I had to prove to him that I had been doing 5 miles a day on the treadmill. Yes there was a treadmill in the office. Is that weird or what. Needless to say I had to get up and go way and Shew! no weight gain. Anyone else had weird or crazy dreams? :drool:

Hi guys, Just thought I would share this and see if any of you have had a similar experience. I took a nap last night when I got home from work (I have been trying to fight off a cold). I woke up from my nap frustrated. I had dreamed that I went to my surgeons office and I had gained 11 lbs. 11lbs! So I was talking to the nurses and dietician and begging them for a fill. The nurses were telling me that he didn't have any appointments open before my next appointment. All the while my Dr. went by carrying a box of pizza and then back by carrying a box of donuts. A big box of donuts. He then sat down on a couch in the room behind them and started eating and watching football. Finally they let me talk to him and I talked him into giving me a fill after I had to prove to him that I had been doing 5 miles a day on the treadmill. Yes there was a treadmill in the office. Is that weird or what. Needless to say I had to get up and go way and Shew! no weight gain. Anyone else had weird or crazy dreams? :smile2:

Well....my day is here! As of this morning...I have hit my goal weight of 165lbs!:thumbup: I knew this day would come but until you actually see it, you just don't believe it!:drool: Funny, I thought I'd be jumping up and down and screaming over it, but I am pretty calm about it and happy as a lark. I had to go for a tad bit of unfill yesterday. I am down to 5.2cc's. My body is adjusting a bit and I may have to go in again for another tweak by getting more taken out so I can maintain. It's amazing to me that I don't need as much fill as others. I mean I just assumed we all were pretty much on the same with that but not needing much more than 5cc's is amazing to me. Anything too much over 5.4cc and I get stuck and throw up in my sleep. Which is NOT a pleasant feeling at all.:biggrin: It's scary because I think, what if I don't wake up and I choke?! So now, the major question is....do I need to lose more or should I be happy with what I am now? My initial goal was 170 but then I thought 165 would be better for BMI purposes. Now I am not really sure if I want to stop. What about 160? Plan for the monthly weight gain, blah, blah, blah. Am I turning into one of those skinny bitties who obsesses over the scale!:thumbup: There are some places I feel need to get a little thinner but I am not sure if it's because they are not quite as toned as I want them to be or if it's really just a tad bit flabby. Everyone knows from previous posts I am not exactly happy with where my tummy is but I want to give it a full year before considering anything else. I tried on a size 10 and danced all around the dressing room when they fit. I am thrilled with that....so what is it in me right now that wants more? I am going to have to meditate on that. I mean, I don't want to look sickly! Shape and curves are good.:thumbup: RIGHT???? I am feeling really silly right now...why am I not as happy as I thought I would be? On a different note...my doc left the office where he was. He is on an extended vacation right now and when he comes back he will decide where he will be. Not sure how I feel about that. I love him but I love my nurses too. I bet my main nurse will go with him and if that happens I will move my files with him. Didn't see that coming!:confused: As always....I AM BLESSED! Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?:cursing: Surgery Date: May 21, 2009 Starting Weight: 280lbs Dr. Michael Metz - St. Luke's Hospital Denver, CO:thumbup: Follow my progress thru photos: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/members/5...lbums3475.html

I was on Depo on and off for years. I loved it. I gained weight while on it, but my lifestyle changed during that time, so can't pin the weight gain on Depo. But I decided to go off it permanently due to the effects on bone density. https://www.nwhn.org/depo-provera-and-bone-mineral-density/ Just prior to WLS I also switched to the Mirena IUD, and have been very happy with it for the last year.

I think someone needs to do a major study on antidepressants and weight gain. I've already posted elsewhere about my experience, and while I can't say that Prozac and its SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) friends made me fat -- I did that all by myself -- they didn't exactly help. I complained to my shrink for a few years, and he finally admitted that while there wasn't any medical literature indicating that Prozac led to weight gain, he had heard this from so many of his own patients that he could no longer deny a connection. I suspect other SSRIs may tend to have the same effect. Years ago, a few docs were prescribing Prozac for weight loss. I haven't heard of this for a while; I bet that too many patients realized it didn't work! Rhonda, talk to your prescribing doc about your concerns. We have different reactions to different drugs. There are some new meds available now that might be better choices for you -- if you decide that drugs are the way to go. For some of us medication is the only thing that brings us back from the brink; for others, it's an ineffective or second-rate solution. Whatever you choose, I hope you feel better soon.

AIleen, Dr. Miranda told me Mirida (sp?) was the anti depresesant that they started using as a weight loss drug. She also said to use Wellbutrin if I needed it. No weight gain.

When I was on Zoloft I gained about 45 pounds in four months without changing my eating habits. The weight gain was so fast and so profound that it was frightening. I literally would step on the scale and put on three pounds overnight. It spiraled out of control so fast and furious that I was forced to go off of Zoloft. I have never experienced anything like that. If it had not been for Zoloft, I would not have qualified for the band! I'm not saying it's the same for everyone, but that's how it was for me and it was dramatic. I would never touch another SSRI again with a ten-foot pole.

Tonight is the health and wellness class that I teach, and the Subject is"Listening to your Inner Voices" Good and evil, the voices do speak to us every day, when we listen, we hear both, it is what we do, the decision we make that gets us where we are going. Listen to your Inner Voices, learn to "Talk Back" to them, put them in their place! The voices always come to me before making good food choices. I always want the high calorie choices, it is only natural since those foods taste sinfully delicious. But what a poor result, a weight gain, not a weight loss. What do we want? LOSS So listen to your inner voices and have victory over them.:w00t:

Tonight is the health and wellness class that I teach, and the Subject is"Listening to your Inner Voices" Good and evil, the voices do speak to us every day, when we listen, we hear both, it is what we do, the decision we make that gets us where we are going. Listen to your Inner Voices, learn to "Talk Back" to them, put them in their place! The voices always come to me before making good food choices. I always want the high calorie choices, it is only natural since those foods taste sinfully delicious. But what a poor result, a weight gain, not a weight loss. What do we want? LOSS So listen to your inner voices and have victory over them.:thumbup: