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I am so enjoying reading this post. I had the band placed 8/2007, removed due to slippage 3/2008 and getting a new one 9/15/2008. I am also nervous even though I have been there before. Any surgery give me the shakes. I know the band can work as I lost 63 pounds, and have gained some back. I want that "tool" back and that "tool" does work, if you work with it. Don't expect quick or rapid weight loss as that just does not happen. But, hey, any weight loss is better than weight gain. I had great support the first time, but now many people can't believe I am going to "go through it again". Then there are those that say, "until eveyone walks in my shoes, it is my decision and to let those nay-sayers go." Teri, I have them in my own family also, and I just don't get into discussions about it with them any more. As long as my DH is in agreement, I am fine. He has to live with me and put up with my PBing, and not eating like the old me. He was so supportive the first time and is looking forward to me losing more and getting healthier. He has always been slim ( the typical Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean LOL), and is anticipating me doing stuff with him that I could not do before because of my weight. Hang in there everyone. Let the nerves run their course, and keep looking forward.

You are not taking the easy way out. Heck no! People who haven't struggled with their weight for years might think you're taking the easy way out, but they don't know the struggles you've had from being overweight. The hard times you've had trying to find clothes that look good, and the drastic diets you've tried that seem to work for two weeks and then fail badly, leading to even more weight gain. I could go on and on. You are NOT taking the easy way out. You are doing what is best for you in your situation, because you've tried so many other routes to a healthy lifestyle and unfortunately, they've just not worked for you. Don't worry, your friends won't hate you when you lose weight. They'll be super jealous, and one day they'll be asking to borrow your clothes!

I'm the opposite of Jacqui, I carried most of my weight in my tummy and torso and still carry most of the last 20 pounds I want to lose there. Do I NEED plastic surgery? No. I had a PS consult early this year and the cost ($20,000 Australian for a lower body lift) just wasn't worth it, it was purely cosmetic and vanity driven for me. I don't wear tight figure hugging clothes because I have a few lumps and bumps, but I don't know that I would if I was smooth anyway. I don't have loose skin as such, but I could use a little tightening all over to be perfect (but then, who is perfect??). I guess the best way to put it is that while some weight loss leaves a person looking like a fully deflated balloon, I'd probably be at about only 10-15% deflated. I got out of this as one of the lucky ones I think. Weight gain/loss take different tolls on our bodies and each journey is SO unique, it would be SO hard to even fathom a guess at what some body's body will look like after a massive loss.

I posted a small introduction but in case you missed it, I am a 40 y.o. wife, mother and nana to a beautiful family. My family is my life and I have spent more than half of mine taking care of all of them. My weight gain started after my 4th child, after starting work in an office and after quitting smoking. But, I guess that doesn't matter now. What DOES matter is that I took a step to change my lifestyle and was banded on June 24. I've had some minor and major set-backs but after 2 fills I have more restriction now, so I am on my way. food has always been the focus of our family gatherings. I would cook these huge meals, have family over and we would eat, talk, play games, etc. The hardest part for me was that I felt that I had to give that up, in order to stick with the lab band diet. If I cooked a huge meal, I felt too tempted to over-eat. If I didn't cook the way I used to, I felt guilty for depriving my family. If I take a walk around the block, I sometimes feel like the house will burn down. The other day I went to an essential oil conference at a beautiful resort. I wasn't there 10 minutes until I was getting calls from home and I had to run to save the day. It just seems that my family has always known that I would be there for them and the minute they think I can't be, they freak out. Don't get me wrong, they would do anything for me but they are so darned dependent upon me!! I am physically and mentally exhausted. I work full-time then come home and take care of my husband, my 14 y.o. daughter and my husband's 23 y.o. son who is living with us and not working! My married daughter is in school in the evenings so I take care of the grandbaby for her. I know I am rambling but my point is...why do I feel so bad if I do anything for myself? What is with this stupid guilt complex and grieving for the old me? Ugh! Am I being selfish? I fully intend to join the support group in September, but am a little worried about it due to all the posts I've seen about it on here. Thanks for listening, I am sorry to be so negative!

BBK...my doctor was actually happy to see that I had gained a couple of pounds. She was sorry that my medicine made me a raving lunatic that craved sugar like a cocaine addict. I was NOT happy to see a weight gain. I think you look gorgeous. Now if I could see bones sticking out of everywhere including your ears....I would say too thin. But you look radiant. I think they are jealous!

No problem about the question. I am actually not on it for depression but rather for anxiety which is weight related. I have obsessive compulsive personality disorder (not OCD but sort of related) and I was obsessively counting calories and freaking out over any weight gain. I had lost 100 pounds and had a total melt down (if you go to my blog and go to older posts...i think in early June...you can read what happened). Anyways my PCP thinks it is a chemical imbalance and wants to keep me on them. The anxiety and obsessive behavior was greatly interferring with my life. I was constantly hyperventilating and throwing turkey sausages across my kitchen. As for the depression...mine is pretty much gone. However I haven't felt the same since I had my TT and have been unable to exercise. But that should all change tonight when I have been given the clearance to return to full exercise with NO limitations. That is right i can do ANYTHING. :eek: So you are very much correct that exercise can help with depression but unfortunately for me it didn't help with the anxiety. I wish you the best of luck with your band. I was banded in August 2007 but was lovingly adopted by the lucky#7's. They have been there for me every step of the way...through the good, the bad and the UGLY! This has been an amazing journey for me, which is why I freaked out about the cravings!

Leisa - I always have time to talk. No worries there. When I started at Kaiser they had only been doing the band for about 5 months. What I decided was that they were more proned to wanting to do the bypass because they were more comfortable with it. Kaiser itself doesn't have a lot of their own statistics but the band has been very successful in aiding in weight loss. I myself have lost 126 pounds which is 100% of my excess weight. When I first saw my surgeon I had already lost more than 50 pounds (due to being on their pre-op for so long). He told me that he was very proud of what I had done but to not expect to loose much more. I asked him if he was saying this because the statistics said that. He said yes and I told him to hold onto his statistics because I was going to blow them out the window. At my pre-op appointment I had lost 70 lbs. I got the same remarks. I gave the same remarks. He now wants pictures. Kaiser at SSF is now starting to sing a different tune about the bands and at the last support group meeting I went to they were telling the bypass people that if they got where they could eat more food in the future and were gainig weight that they would have to have a revision. They said "but if you have the band it just a matter of adjusting it". The way they said it really made it sound like they were beginning to push banding. The lapband will give whatever you want to work for. There are no magic pills in this world and you do have to follow the rules most of the time. Do I never eat the "wrong" foods? Sure I eat what is considered wrong. I had birthday cake just yesterday. Do I do it all the time? Not a chance. But if you don't allow yourself to live life you will be setting yourself up for failure. What I have found is that I give a lot of thought to those times I have something special which makes me slow down and enjoy it. I also don't have that "I've failed so I might as well give up" feeling afterwards. I still journal my foods because it makes me feel more secure in the fact that I'm not eating mindlessly. Weekends are the days that I don't journal. I'm usually not near a computer and carrying a notebook isn't me. LOL The first thing I would do if I were you is get that thyroid adjusted. Hopefully they've got you on meds for it. It can cause more than just weight gain. I know it can cause lack of energy, depression and a bunch of other things. Make them fix that! Then I would go into the surgeon's office and TELL HIM what YOU ARE comfortable with. Ask him outright if he is uncomfortable with doing the lapband surgery. If he is, ask for another surgeon. They have more than one. This is your body and your surgery. The only way I personally would go with a bypass is if that is the only choice I had. It scares the c**p out of me. But that is MY opinion for me. I understand the lure of quick weight loss. But 126 pounds in 14 months is pretty quick in my opinion. The second thing I would do is go online to www.smartbandsters.com. It is a yahoo group and it has a lot of people on there that have been so successful with the band and can give you the statistics to knock your doctor's socks off. There is also a bariactric nurse on there named Jessie that had her band placed 10 years ago in Mexico. She's great at answering questions. There are very few reasons (unless medical) that people can't loose weight with the band. Everyone can eat around ANY WLS. The band has to be adjusted properly. My surgeon (Dr. David Le) was very causcious in sneaking up on the "right" fill. At first this frustrated me but now I'm glad he did. I have had no problems with my band. None! The only time it even speaks to me (scolding) is when I eat too fast, too much or something that is too dry. Otherwise I get the subtle signal of satisfaction that lets me know I'm done. This is restriction. A lot of people think that restriction is a stranglehold on your stomach. That's too tight. As far as depression about missing foods goes, not really. My biggest thing is I like the taste of food. Sometimes when I'm really enjoying a meal I get angry because I can't over induldge like I used to. But I'm learning to stop being the spoiled child and remember that I can take it home and enjoy it again later. Because of how I'm adjusted I can eat almost anything. It has to be WAY overcooked for me to have trouble. Therefore, I don't "miss" anything. I don't eat very many sweets anymore by choice. After not having them for a while they surprisingly don't taste as good as I used to think they did. BUT if I want a small desert, I have it. Like I said, a calorie is a calorie. If you count them, keep them limited, the weight will come off. However, I got where I would look at that high calorie food and think to myself that there wasn't much there and I would rather be able to eat something with more volume. Now I'm just used to not having that stuff and the band controls the volume. I think the only thing I had to do as far as getting my mind around it was to get where I believed it would work as I had heard. It does that. I also put it in my mind that during the period when I was waiting to be properly adjusted that I would have to continue to do the 1200 calorie diet in order to loose weight or just not worry about loosing weight until I was properly adjusted. That is an important thing because many people get depressed when they don't just magically start to loose weight. I made sure that the people who would be "watching" understood this. I also made sure that I was totally comfortable with my decission to do the surgery. There are things that will come up in your life after surgery that you'll want to turn to food for. After WLS you won't be able to. I suggest that you get the Beck Diet Solution (book). It isn't a "diet" but a book that addresses why we eat like we do. I thought I was a real emotional eater and found this to be helpful. Otherwise, I'm so happy with my band that I will have it with me for life. I take care of it so that I don't do a lot of throwing up or cause it harm. It's really easy to take care of it and have not PB'd yet. I would recommend the band for anybody. I wish they had had it sooner so that I would not have wasted so much of my life. Get your facts together. Do this by doing as much research as you can. The next time you see your surgeon, confront him with the "facts" and take a stand. This doesn't mean go in there and take his head off. It means that you can tell him that you've throughly researched the surgery, made an educated decision and if he's not comfortable doing the surgery/follow-up you understand and would be happy to see another surgeon. Plain and simple. If he's not having much success with his banded patients, then maybe he's not good at banding or he's not good at educating them. I didn't rely on Kaiser because I knew they were in the infancy stage of banding. I made sure I got online and found out the answers to my questions. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever asked them a question. But they have to start somewhere. Check out smartbandsters.com. Also, do a lot of research with your husband and arm yourself and make sure you are comfortable. You'll be ok. If you don't mind my rambling style of writing, feel free to contact me anytime. You can PM me if you want too. Take care and keep me posted. Ask any questions you want. Vicki

Hi all, just checking in on you guys. I've been having way too much fun this summer camping, surfing (yes, even in WA!!) and quilting. Suzz, congrats on your new baby. I'm sorry about his eye. My baby (97 pound yellow lab) is in an e-collar too....that's why we're getting such good tv reception right now! lol He's got hot spots and still chews on his leg....he was a kennel rescue dog, and this is common. As far as the weight gain, I think what works best for me is to get in a mental frame of mind. For me it's all in my head. Try to focus on what motivated you in the first place. Are you wearing your BB? Maybe I can commit to you to wear my BB and log my food...and we can check in with each other? I haven't been doing that or exercising. I got 4.0 put back in my band on Wednesday, after a month with a complete unfill. I'll go back in 2 weeks and get more. Still no restriction, and I did gain a bit back. But, I'm going to get back on the band wagon! lol Insub, congrats on embarking on your new trip. I'll look forward to updates on your location and activities. I'm jealous too! Mj, ahhhhhh bread! Nirvana! I've enjoyed my month of bread! Why can the french eat bread, butter, cheese, beef, wine and still be skinny? I have a friend who is filled pretty tight and she can eat bread. I know when I get my restriction back, there's no way I can eat it, or rice or pasta. Bigbaby, thanks for all your motivation. I know I can log in here and you'll have something positive to post. I printed out your plateau breaker. It reminds me of Adkins. I think I will try it...but will miss my fruit! Of course, fruit for a diabetic......I might as well eat a candy bar! Everyone else, do like Bigbaby says!! Keep on keeping on!

Name: Bergdorfblonde Weight loss from day of surgery: 32 lbs Total weight loss: 32 lbs Name: Brandottie01 Weight loss from day of surgery: 32 lbs Total weight loss: 32 Name: Candle Weight loss from day of surgery: 109.5 lbs Total weight loss: 123.5 lbs Name: Ceradad Weight loss from day of surgery: 102 Total weight loss: 122 Name: Frangipani Weight loss from day of surgery: 119 lbs Total weight loss: 125 lbs Name: Gometros Weight loss from day of surgery: 52.9 lbs Total weight loss: 74.9 Name:Gweniper weight loss from day of surgery: 57 total weight loss: 91 Name: hf2havefun Weight loss from day of surgery: 41 lbs Total weight loss: 56 lbs Name: JudiM weightloss from day of surgery: 73 lbs total weight loss: ?? Name: KarenG. Weight loss from day of surgery: 96 Total weight loss: 96 Name: LessNLess weightloss from day of surgery: 63 lbs total weight loss: 69 lbs Name: NanaRenan Weight loss from day of surgery: 71 Total weight loss: 91 Name: Nikki S Weight loss from day of surgery:102 Total weight loss:102 Name: Pammycakes Weight loss from day of surgery: 102 lbs Total weight loss: 104 lbs Name: Pizzicato66 Weight loss from day of surgery: 75.5 Total weight loss: 87.5 Name: purplegirl1818 weightloss from day of surgery: 73.5 lbs total weight loss: 90.5lbs Name: TexasBecky Weight loss from day of surgery: 111 Total weight loss: 121 Name: Salsa Weight loss from day of surgery: 105 lbs Total weight loss: 105 lbs Name: SPEBSQSAlady Weight loss from day of surgery: 57.8 Total weight loss: 57.8 Name: Valstar Weight loss from day of surgery: 52 lbs Total weight loss: 57 lbs ----------------------------------------- This didn't seem like much of an update, but considering I went on a long, driving vacation (translation: graze-fest!) I'm just happy to not have to report a weight GAIN!!:wink2:

Hi Everyone. Recently my highest weight gain has been 10lbs. I too start to lose that quickly when I start eating right. Like now, I've lost 5 of the 10lbs I put on. And that's been over the last 7 days. I expect to lose the last 5lbs by the end of the month. Then I'll start losing regularly again. When we reach our goal weight, it'll be more of a challenge to maintain that weight. I'll also will be increasing my gym routine. A few co-workers have joined the gym by work and we plan to dedicate one day in the week to go. So, I'm hoping I'll be at my goal weight by anniversy year 2. I'm also going back to incorporating more fish into my diet. When I did this for lent I lost weight more regularly than when I was eating meat (chicken, turkey and some red meat). Juli, I will be signing up for a class somewhere. When I think of going back to school, it's always to college. I'm not really interested in getting a degree, just to take a class in something. So, I'm signing up at one of the community centers//learning annex. Thanks. I'm having trouble eating and keeping food down again. I'm going to make an appt. w/ my doctor when he returns from vacation. I can feel my band port more as I lose weight. And it's kinda of scaring me. It feels like it has turned or something. So, he's going to have to tell me that's normal or something is wrong. Like tonight I had 2oz of a piece of lamb chop and some creamed vegggie (corn, green Beans w/ onions and garlic). I struggled to eat the meat and forced myself to eat the veggies. That took more than 30min. to eat. Well Good Nite To All and Have a Great Weekend if I don't get to log on over the weekend.

Hi Im actually in the middle of the master cleanse right now. I am pre surgery though. You not only drink the lemonade but you drink a laxative tea at night and do a saline flush in the morning. Im doing it to cleanse my liver before surgery. The liver and kidneys process toxins in the body and when its overloaded with chemicals and antibiotices from your food it stores it in your fat so as you lose fat you release the toxins back into your body. Im hoping to eliminate the toxins BEFORE losing the weight. so my body liver and kidneys can focus on getting the fat out haha. but mostly because its good for your skin and other organs in the body. Im not hungry but I crave foods...talk about the epitome of weight gain. Eating not because your hungry but siply because you WANT something. haha. Im learning alot about myself. As for after surgery my only concern might be dehydration during the flush. Otherwise I dont see why you COULDNT do it.Hope this helped.

I'm also a transplant patient 6 years ago and doing great. I just want to know how have you tolerated acid reflux and your appetite with the band? How old are you and did the weight come off without exercise or diet modification? Tell me more. I'm studying the lap band because of my weight gain with prednisone.

Julie, Look how darn cute you are in your cap and gown. You should be so proud. So I want to poll you guys: At any given time since having the lapband put on(other than complications do to a complete unfill and weight gain) what is the most you have gone up in weight???? I would love to know, now that you guys are about 18 months out and getting close to your goal weight, can you pretty much use the band to maintain????

Oh yeah.. a while back my band suddenly got tight and then I got second degree burns on my legs to where they swelled up like elephant legs and I could barely walk.. the pain was so bad and then I stopped working out cuz of it. I got some fill out and even though I didn't gain any weight, I haven't really lost much either this past month.. but I started back on my work out regime yesterday.. and it feels good. I need to go get my fill back next week now that all the swelling is down. I'm hungry all the time, but I make better decisions, like eating spring salads with 1 calorie spray instead of chips... or sugar free 50 calorie fudgsicles instead of candy ... stuff like that. So, it helps. I'm sure we all stray away due to stuff like this every now and again, but as long as we find our way back and it doesn't cause too much damage, aka, weight gain, I think it's fine. Welcome to the group!

The weight gain is perfectly normal and will take about a week or two to lose. Stay off the scale until you have your pre-op appointment so you don't get discouraged.

Karri - It must be something in the air about the sweet tooth issues - I have had them too.. When I was away this weekend bought oatmeal Raisin Walnut Cookies - I was tired and hungry after my 6.5 hr drive with 3 kids (17 13 10) 2 dogs - well ate a few Thurs - Frid - Saturday - I don't know why I buy stuff like that when I am away from home - I won't do it at home - but did ok otherwise and scale was up only a pound when I got home - so I feel ok - I have quit keeping a food diary - but still think about how much calories are in whatever I am eating - I am eating healthy (well for the most part except when I am away from home ) At home only sf stuff is allowed:tongue: OMW 8 lbs fluctuation in one day - that's crazy - I know that when I was 1st on zoloft i didn't think about food but that did change.. I think the running will help and we don't want you to have the anxiety or the weight gain - so just be patient and see what works for you once you can start running again.. Phyl the sweet tooth fairy must be hanging around your house too.. Mindless eating - popcorn is my food of choice for those times. Your trip sounds fun - how long of a drive?? I was suprised that my GS went on this last little trip - It was good to have all the family together. --------------------------------------------------------- Well it's 7:17 - turkey meatloaf in the oven (will have meatloaf sandwiches for lunch the rest of this week on light bread)- think I will have some carrot to.. Well off to watch my Olymipics from last night (went to bed like at 9 p.m I was pooped) Karri you are going to have to run in the next Olympic Marathon... You can do it we will be there to cheer you on... CBL :tongue2: P.S. Phyl good for you to be pampering yourself - and did you get another set of holes in your ears ??? While you were in NY

food has been sucky for me lately. I have really good restriction but I have way too much of a sweet tooth (and that is rare for me). I am being really strict about my diet right now but I am hungry almost all the time. I think it is my anti-anxiety/depression meds. This is what happened the last time I was on it before I was banded. I was hungry all the time and made really poor food choices. I am going to hold off going to the doctor until I can start running again and see if it goes away. If not we are going to have to change the medication. This is true hunger feelings. My stomach growls and I get nauseated if I don't eat. However when I feel it I wait for at least an hour to see if it will go away. I drink during that time to make sure that I am not thirsty. I didn't have these feelings before I was on the meds so I am begining to think that perhaps this is the problem. I haven't been under too much stress (except yesterday and this morning with the class numbers!) so I am not sure what is going on. My weight is fluctuating like crazy depending on what I eat. If I eat very many carbs I retain Water and the scale jumps up 5-7 pounds. If I don't eat any carbs then I lose the water weight and it drops back down. My clothes still fit just like they did when I bought them so frankly I don't khow what the heck is going on. I finally told DH to take the scale out of the bathroom and I am back to just weighing 1 time per week. The PS wanted me weighing everyday after surgery so that we could monitor swelling. But I think the swelling is pretty good now so I can safely go back to 1 time per week. Hopefully that way I wont see the wide swings. Serious on Saturday I was at 148 and then Sunday morning I was at 141. Go figure!! I try not to read the side effects of medications until I start feeling something being off and then I will go check them out after I have tried to eliminate everything else. Lots of people claim to have serious hunger issues and weight gain on Effexor as well as water retention. So it could be a possibility that it is the meds. But like I said I am going to hold off and see if the running helps. I don't want to go back to the obssessive/anxious feelings that I had before, but I certainly don't want to start gaining weight. I am going to be working 2 jobs for the first part of the school year so I am not going to have the time to frantically count calories and be as obsessive as I was at the end of last school year so I need to find a happy medium. Well best get back to test writing. I have 1 and 1/2 tests to write and then I am done with the crappy part. The fun part is putting together the lessons and activities. Test writing...not so much fun!

Long...I know where you are coming from on the getting your head set to match where you body is. 15 yrs ago I was a size 8. I could walk into a shop and pick anything off the rack and not even try it on. That all changed in a hurry when I packed on pound after pound. I guess through the weight gain I kept remembering what it was like to be slim and feel great (healthwise). Over the years I just kept wanting that back. I never want to feel that overwhelmed and rueful again. Hopefully the band will always be there for me. I know it is work with the band but just certain food issues are gone with me. I never felt like the rug was pulled out from under me when I got the band. I don't miss any certain foods. I do a lot of cooking and baking. (We are farmers and I feed a number of guys every day). I never seem to crave anything, even when I am cooking and serving the guys. The band has done that for me. I understand where you are coming from on never looking back. The only reason I will ever look back is to remind myself that I never want to be there again. You are really dropping the weight in the last couple of weeks. Hope you are feeling well.

I am curious to hear from other bandsters who have had a tummy tuck and then gained some weight back. How does your stomach 'feel' now? I was banded on 1-12-07 and had a tummy tuck on 2-19-08 after losing about 50 pounds. Since that time, I have had to start taking a couple of different medications for almost daily migraines, and have gained back around 15 pounds. I am so disappointed and just feel miserable about it. I am going to work really hard to get the weight off again so that I don't feel like a COMPLETE failure, but am having a hard time ending my pity-party . . . I need one more fill to hopefully get me back to my 'sweet spot' (life was good when I was at my sweet spot!) and I have that appt. scheduled for next Tuesday morning. I know that not having enough fill for the past 6 months has allowed me too much room for error in my eating. I have got to get the structure back and then figure out how to deal with the medications. I am concerned too, because before I had the TT, my stomach felt 'normal' other than being able to feel the port. Now I often have discomfort in my abdomen that feels like it is sometimes going to pop. It feels so tight and uncomfortable and my upper abdomen looks like a watermelon. I didn't start this thread to whine, I just wanted to see if there were others out there who either had, or are experencing the same things I am. I would love to hear from you if you don't mind sharing. Thanks in advance for your input.

Posted by Lindata "I never ever thought I would one day be technically 100 pounds overweight. Looking at myself, I would think where would 100 pounds come off of me? Now that I've lost some of that weight it's like blinders have been taken off - I can't believe I COULDN'T see the weight. I really believed I looked way thinner than I did. How is it that we can lie to ourselves and believe what we say?" I do the same thing, Linda. I'll look in the mirror and try to figure out where the rest of the weight will come off of. Even before I lost any weight, I couldn't imagine myself so big unless I looked in the mirror. Whenever I had to write my weight down for anything, I would mistakenly put a "1" where the "2" had to be. At least I'm back into the 100's but I still have so much to go. You're very fortunate to have married a man who loves you no matter what. I wasn't so lucky. I have seen a big change in my husband's attitude with me according to my weight. He married a slim young woman who allowed the stresses of life to affect her eating habits. I can't even blame my weight gain on having children. I only gained 28 pounds with each child which came right off. A rocky marriage, a partial hysterectomy, a car accident, and the loss of my parents are to blame for my lack of control. food became my drug of choice. Like Judy, I think it is the most difficult addiction to overcome. We need to eat so keeping the "drug" out of the house is impossible. The demons are always there tempting me. At least the band helps keep them at bay.

CTerry.......I feel your pain! I just went through 2 months of doctors' appointments (some weeks I had 2 or 3), tests, psyche evaluation, diet to lose 5% etc.....only to be turned down by insurance. My BMI does not meet the 40 they require......BUT.....I was told that a BMI of 35+ with at least one co-morbidity would qualify me.....Well, they said no anyway! I have type II diabetes, thyroid disease, mild sleep apnea, mild neuropathy (from diabetes) GERD, Barretts Esophagus (pre-cancer), small hiatal hernia, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.......... I am also post menopausal. Insurance company seems to think my medical issues are not that severe. All of these health issues have contibuted to weight gain and they also contribute to an inability to maintain any weight loss. My endocrinologist basically said that it would take me TWICE as long to lose HALF as much as a "normal" person........ There is no justice in this world. I too just want a chance. I have spent the past week feeling depressed, angry, hopeless etc........but you can be sure that I WILL fight back! Unfortunately, I am a stress eater so of course the day the denial letter arrived, I went on a junk food frenzy..... Seems stupid to hurt myself because I am angry with them! Good luck to you. Let's keep on fighting for our rights.

Yes, most of us can identify with the love and comfort of food. We have all been there, and probably will always struggle, however, for me the lapband has lessened that desire, especially with the amount. I am a slow loser but a consistent loser. I was unsure, scared, hesitant, desperate, and the feelings go on and on. However, I wanted to feel healthy and be able to get some kind of control over this weight issue. I had tried so many different things. The lapband has helped me personally to get a better perspective on my eating habits. Does the lapband take away my desires, control my weight gain, stop my bad habits, no…however the band gives me incentive to keep trying, to not feel like a constant failure, to limit my amount, to shrink to a weight that lessens my hunger, to improve my health, etc. Is the lapband a cure all, NO, but it's a tool. As for me it's been a successful tool. It's taken me almost two years to lose 75 pounds and I need to lose at least 40 more, but I see the possibility now, something I had totally given up on. So go into this as informed and realistically as possible. Find a good surgeon, mine was Dr. Enoch and he was great for me. We, who relate to you totally, wish you the best in your decision and your weight lost. Initially the band took a good month to feel truly feel good. The first week was a bit tough but manageable, each week after better and better. Prepare to lose slowly, but I feel that losing this way has been more long term in the end. So far continue to lose a pound at a time, sometime, 1/4 or 1/2 in a month, but it's better than continually gaining. Keep Smiling Vickie from Morrisville, NC

Denver - I too have "body dismorphic disorder" (well, that's what I call it)where I would see myself in a mirror and think "ah, not so bad, maybe even darn good", but then see a picture and think "holy crap, am I really that fat?" Well, it was the day that I actually SAW myself in the mirror that I decided to have the surgery. I have continued to see myself differently than pictures, but now the pictures are starting to match what I see....something to look forward for! You'll enjoy it! About afterwards...everyone is different with what they can and can't eat. I suck at being able to eat any kind of bread (even toasted) or any kind of pasta (although I managed some moose lasagna a few weeks ago). I AM able to drink soda though and that can be bad...it's expensive here so I don't partake as much as I want (which is a good thing). Lap Dancer sometimes posts things about Overeaters Anonomous (sp?) and it's helpful for me - even though I don't tell her all the time. Weight gain/loss can be from different issues for all of us and the Band isn't going to make the issues go away so you still have to be comitted to changing how/what you eat. That's awesome that you're doing so well with the pre-op diet. Just remember, if you can stick out this two weeks then you'll be just fine post-op! We are all here for you! Ador - I had my gallbladder out years ago and it was killer! I've had three c-sections since and those (and the Band) were cake compared. I have to say that I'm grateful for all those who complain about the surgery because I thought I might've just been a total wus back then...but now I know I wasn't, that surgery really is a killer! Take it easy and enjoy the Vicodin! :wink2: OK FOLKS - I'm back on and that makes 2 for 2...it's like it's the LapBandTalk Olympics for me! Too funny! I'm trying to get inspired by the athletes, but really, I'm enjoying sitting on the couch a little too much. My arms are killing me today from all the wood chopping...I'll hit the axe again tomorrow though...we still have quite a bit to split so it'll dry up before it starts snowing!! When we're all done I'll have to take a picture of our "stack" so you'll all be impressed.

P.S., my husband still loves me at any weight, with zits on my face, with bad morning breath, with greasy hair, with my bad attitude, with weight gain and weightloss.