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I think a lot of people kind of go on a "binge" before they are banded. If you are worried though about the weight gain, I would follow the high protein/low carb diet. It will reduce your appetite and of course, you can eat extra protein if you are hungry. Sometimes it is difficult to get th insurance to approve it. They consider it an "elective" surgery but your doctor can write it up as medically necessary.

Hi TaraJane I have also cancelled several appointments recently. Its just so humiliating having to get on those scales and have the nurse record the weight gain. I actually gathered up my courage and went back for a fill in April. Unfortunately, I got too much put in and I basically couldnt eat any solids. I lost 4 kilos in two weeks but it was so horrible, I had to get the band loosened again. Of course, I've regained the 4 kilos and now I'm nervous about getting a refill as well as embarrased about the weight gain. Do you want to support each other in making a commitment to go back for a fill within the next month (no matter what the scales say)? I'm game, if you are.

I'm really lazy with the boards lately, haven't been reading outside my month's thread.. this title caught my attention, so I read the 1st 2 pages.. just wanted to reply before going to bed! I knew you were talking about the sleeve, did not realize it was so soon, glad you're feeling better already!!!! Good luck with the weight gain -- jeez who says that to a bariatric patient? :frown: And screw the person on the other board, you know it doesn't take anyone else to tell you how some people in the world are just daft. I'm always interested to hear about surgeries after banding, just in case (knocking on wood too!!!) I ever lost the band due to something, I really don't want RNY, or the your-shit-smell kills people surgery.

Hi Gang! Working has been nuts. Talking about the Lap-Band ALL day long is great and I love helping people and giving them help for themselves but it is hard to then come home and even loov at the word Lap-Band! So I know it's a poor excuse, but I just veg at night. I do miss you all and will try to peak in durning the day and say hi. Hope your all doing good. I got a fill this past Monday and I can really feel it. I want to get to my goal by Nov 08 20 more pounds! The only major concern I have is my thyroid surgery the end of August. My understanding is that the thyroid medication takes a while to get adjusted and there could be weight gain! So I guess I need to kick butt before then. I am going to get a conplete unfil a few days before the surgery in case I have another bad reaction to anatesia. Have a good SAturday! Hugs to all!

It all depends on where your stretch marks are, and how much they remove. If your stretch marks are limited to below the belly button, then most of them will be removed. I only had a few stretch marks from pregnancy, but had developed some through the years from weight gain, which made me bigger than any pregnancy did!! And now I have none at all. What I do have is a scar! So......it just depends.....some people have serious stretch mark issues, all the way around the side, and those would most likely not be dealt with, with the TT. I am smooth....unbelievably so!!! I have swelling still, and it is way worse on my left side.....but I am still totally thrilled with the result of the TT! Kat

Hi Lovies, Great to see so many posting again... oldies and newbies :smile2: I'm sorry no personals today, there's just so much info here my head's gonna pop (((well you know it doesn't take much for me lol))). To bad we can't do one big meet up, that would be awesome!!!! You know. ... like at Pat's house Still struggling with wl ... actually weight gain uggggh. So in a nutshell nothing is new, sosdd. Still fighting the thought of another fill. Got a busy day, karate (dd), a visit to FIL...haven't seen him since his stroke 2 weeks ago...poor old thing. Then we are going to the honda dealer that I said we were going to last week LOL...gonna check out the pilot. Then if the night time storm doesn't hit us to early, we'll take a swim. How are all you chickies doing? I so wish I had more time to be here :thumbup:

Dear All, Well I finally took the plunge after fighting to keep my weight under control with diet and exercise for over 20 years. I am a low BMI bander (36 at banding) but I chose to use this tool after years of failure and in anticipation of deteriorating health and more weight gain as I aged. I am one week in and very excited about the future, while at the same time very apprehensive. I chose to use the band to assist me primarily with portion control. I have decided after many years of assessment that I love exercising and I love my unhealthy foods and that my main issue was lack of portion control with bad foods (i.e. eating the whole pizza instead of just one slice!). So my goal is to lose weight slowly but try and live a relatively normal life with a wide variety of food selections, just eating much less of them. So I am not too concerned about making sure my diet is perfect and healthy, just reasonable. Perhaps I am naive but given that I exercise 5-6 days per week and don't mind that and given that over the next couple of years I only want to lose 50 lbs, I think the balance and trade off can work. So that having been said I want to ask all of you (and this forum has proven to be a fantastic resource I must say) for your guidance and experience on the eventual diet (after recovery); 1. How do you find eating melted or sliced cheese? Can you? 2. How about a piece of garlic bread? 3. How about some potato chips while watching a sporting event? 4. Can you EVER go to a fast food restaurant and have a hamburger again or do they always get stuck? 5. I hear so many conflicting things about Pasta? Can you or can you not eat pasta? 6. What about rice dishes? Can you have those? I look forward to hearing from the many of you who have taken this positive and life changing step.

Boy how time flies! As I approach my 4 year Bandiversary, I started thinking how the Lapband has changed my life or how I had to change my life to live with the Lapband. First off, I thank God every day for showing me there was an option and giving me the opportunity to have the Lapband procedure. Like most in my situation, I tried every diet that always ended in failure. I almost got to the point where I wouldn't want to diet because I KNEW I would gain the weight back and probably gain more. It was a horrible vicious cycle that I lived in for years. Living with the Lapband was a continual learning process for a while. I tested foods to see what I could eat and what gave me difficulties. I tested out drinking with meals and not drinking with meals. Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way on a lot of these issues, but the key is I learned and now the changes that I have made in living with the Lapband are part of my normal way of living. I don't even think about it anymore. One of the most frustrating things about the Lapband is obtaining proper restriction level. On one end, I wish doctor's would be a little more aggressive with the fill amounts, on the other hand, I think that working your way up to the proper restriction level is the way to go to avoid getting filled too tight which can be very uncomfortable and dangerous. I think that more discussion needs to be made about preparing one's self for life after the band which includes the cost of adjustments/fills and the expectation of how many fills it may require to achieve proper restriction. For self payers, many people use all their financial means to pay for the actual Lapband surgery and then don't have the funds to get adjustments afterwards. This creates frustration because you just paid a lot of money and went through surgery and now want to lose the weight. Sounds reasonable....... But many feel like they wasted money when they don't lose weight after the surgery or they feel like they can eat like they could before the surgery which is true until the band is adjusted properly. So if someone is scheduled for surgery and they ask me about the band, I make a point of preparing them for after surgery. I also try to tell them that their patience level will be tested to the max until they get their bands filled properly. I've heard this said by many and it's so true "It took us a long time to become this overweight, we're not going to lose it all overnight" It may take some time to lose weight with the Lapband, but with a little patience and following some very basic rules, you will lose weight and you will be successful. Things that have changed for me after I was banded: I don't drink with meals. I found that this flushes food from my small upper pouch into my lower pouch which enables me to eat more food. This kind of defeats the band doesn't it? I don't want to eat more food, because this little thing called weight gain occurs if I do . Not drinking with meals was probably the hardest thing for me to get used to, but now I don't even think about it. I still take small bites and have slowed down while eating. I found that taking smaller bites and slowing down while eating actually fills me up quicker. I also don't look like I'm inhaling my food anymore, which was a very unattractive habit that I got into pre-band. I listen to my band. It tells me when to stop eating. Oh, I've tried to argue with my band in the past and tell it that I could eat more even when it warned me that I have had enough, but for some reason the band was always right. I paid a small price for trying to fight the band. I would feel horrible until the food passed through the band. Sometimes I would PB (not pleasant) and learned very quickly that it's just not worth fighting the band. It knows best, so now I listen to it. I try to stick to protein foods first. I'm not always good at this, but it's something that I feel is very important for Lapbanders. I have also found that when I eat protein foods first like chicken, fish ect... then I don't require as much food to feel full and I stay fuller longer. Not to mention the benefits to my health for eating protein. Since I can't eat as much as I used to, my food choices have changed. Before the band, I would eat horribly. It's because I could eat a lot of anything I wanted. So if I wanted to snack on chips before dinner, no problem. I would still be hungry enough at dinner to eat it, then have enough room for dessert afterwards. I now chose quality over quantity. I do this because I know I can't eat a lot, so what I DO eat becomes very important. I have found that if I eat chips now, I will fill up on them, and I won't feel hungry to eat what I should be eating. Then I end up feeling awful because "foods" like chips drain my energy if I try to use them as my source of nutrition. Don't get me wrong, I still eat things like chips, but I make a point of not eating them when I'm hungry because I know that I will fill up on them and won't eat what I need to be eating. So I will have junk food occassionally, but usually with my meal and have very little. I don't eat dinner late in the evening. I have a cut off time for dinner. I make sure that I don't go to bed for about 3 hours after I eat. I also don't drink a lot of fluids at night and I religiously take 2 Pepsid AC chewables before I go to bed. I believe that these things have decreased my chances of having acid reflux at night. So yes, the Lapband has totally changed my life. With almost 140 pounds gone I'm feeling terrific! I feel that the minor things that I have changed in my life (with eating) due to the band are so minor and so worth it to help insure that I keep this weight off. Don't get me wrong, I don't struggle to keep the weight off, which is fantastic, but I believe that the minor changes that I have made have contributed to this. The Lapband won't do it all. You'll need to help it some, but once your band is adjusted properly, the band will work for/with you instead of you working for the band. Life is wonderful! Tricia

Boy how time flies! As I approach my 4 year Bandiversary, I started thinking how the Lapband has changed my life or how I had to change my life to live with the Lapband. First off, I thank God every day for showing me there was an option and giving me the opportunity to have the Lapband procedure. Like most in my situation, I tried every diet that always ended in failure. I almost got to the point where I wouldn't want to diet because I KNEW I would gain the weight back and probably gain more. It was a horrible vicious cycle that I lived in for years. Living with the Lapband was a continual learning process for a while. I tested foods to see what I could eat and what gave me difficulties. I tested out drinking with meals and not drinking with meals. Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way on a lot of these issues, but the key is I learned :cool: and now the changes that I have made in living with the Lapband are part of my normal way of living. I don't even think about it anymore. One of the most frustrating things about the Lapband is obtaining proper restriction level. On one end, I wish doctor's would be a little more aggressive with the fill amounts, on the other hand, I think that working your way up to the proper restriction level is the way to go to avoid getting filled too tight which can be very uncomfortable and dangerous. I think that more discussion needs to be made about preparing one's self for life after the band which includes the cost of adjustments/fills and the expectation of how many fills it may require to achieve proper restriction. For self payers, many people use all their financial means to pay for the actual Lapband surgery and then don't have the funds to get adjustments afterwards. This creates frustration because you just paid a lot of money and went through surgery and now want to lose the weight. Sounds reasonable....... But many feel like they wasted money when they don't lose weight after the surgery or they feel like they can eat like they could before the surgery which is true until the band is adjusted properly. So if someone is scheduled for surgery and they ask me about the band, I make a point of preparing them for after surgery. I also try to tell them that their patience level will be tested to the max until they get their bands filled properly. I've heard this said by many and it's so true "It took us a long time to become this overweight, we're not going to lose it all overnight" It may take some time to lose weight with the Lapband, but with a little patience and following some very basic rules, you will lose weight and you will be successful. Things that have changed for me after I was banded: I don't drink with meals. I found that this flushes food from my small upper pouch into my lower pouch which enables me to eat more food. This kind of defeats the band doesn't it? I don't want to eat more food, because this little thing called weight gain occurs if I do :tt1: . Not drinking with meals was probably the hardest thing for me to get used to, but now I don't even think about it. I still take small bites and have slowed down while eating. I found that taking smaller bites and slowing down while eating actually fills me up quicker. I also don't look like I'm inhaling my food anymore, which was a very unattractive habit that I got into pre-band. I listen to my band. It tells me when to stop eating. Oh, I've tried to argue with my band in the past and tell it that I could eat more even when it warned me that I have had enough, but for some reason the band was always right. I paid a small price for trying to fight the band. I would feel horrible until the food passed through the band. Sometimes I would PB (not pleasant) and learned very quickly that it's just not worth fighting the band. It knows best, so now I listen to it. I try to stick to protein foods first. I'm not always good at this, but it's something that I feel is very important for Lapbanders. I have also found that when I eat protein foods first like chicken, fish ect... then I don't require as much food to feel full and I stay fuller longer. Not to mention the benefits to my health for eating protein. Since I can't eat as much as I used to, my food choices have changed. Before the band, I would eat horribly. It's because I could eat a lot of anything I wanted. So if I wanted to snack on chips before dinner, no problem. I would still be hungry enough at dinner to eat it, then have enough room for dessert afterwards. I now chose quality over quantity. I do this because I know I can't eat a lot, so what I DO eat becomes very important. I have found that if I eat chips now, I will fill up on them, and I won't feel hungry to eat what I should be eating. Then I end up feeling awful because "foods" like chips drain my energy if I try to use them as my source of nutrition. Don't get me wrong, I still eat things like chips, but I make a point of not eating them when I'm hungry because I know that I will fill up on them and won't eat what I need to be eating. So I will have junk food occassionally, but usually with my meal and have very little. I don't eat dinner late in the evening. I have a cut off time for dinner. I make sure that I don't go to bed for about 3 hours after I eat. I also don't drink a lot of fluids at night and I religiously take 2 Pepsid AC chewables before I go to bed. I believe that these things have decreased my chances of having acid reflux at night. So yes, the Lapband has totally changed my life. With almost 140 pounds gone I'm feeling terrific! I feel that the minor things that I have changed in my life (with eating) due to the band are so minor and so worth it to help insure that I keep this weight off. Don't get me wrong, I don't struggle to keep the weight off, which is fantastic, but I believe that the minor changes that I have made have contributed to this. The Lapband won't do it all. You'll need to help it some, but once your band is adjusted properly, the band will work for/with you instead of you working for the band. Life is wonderful! Tricia

Muscle Milk has several formulas. There is one for people who are trying to bulk up. ( A weight gain type) There is one for regular Protein intake with good fats. Read the label. If it's the type that is 150 calories a scoop (or 300 for two scoops), with 30+ grams of protein, it's great stuff. They also have the light version (available premixed at Costco). Great to grab for Breakfast.

LOL Salsa...I was sitting here thinking the exact same thing about Frangi and Stein Mart!!! I'll be back on the exercise thread tomorrow. Nursing a back pull . But...no weight gain!!:biggrin2:

my husband and i were banded the same day. same as you; got fluffy after the I do's were said and our extremely active sex life dropped off significantly - and it was more on his part. he was extremely self conscious & unhappy with his weight gain. fast forward 8 months and it's back to our courting days, he's a teenager with the constant grabbing/touching/kissing - very affectionate. he made goal in 6months (hate men loose faster:tongue:), and i'm getting close - the weightloss has made a HUGE difference in our relationship - not just with sex.

I would call the insurance company’s member services and have the rep send you the coding for bariatric surgery documentation. Sometimes member service doesn’t explain everything to you over the phone. There might be an alternative to get around stuff. For example, I had to choose between a six months diet with an A*** network dietitian or have a private bariatric dietitian for three months. I choose to see the private dietitian which I had to pay out of pocket first. I also had to get two years documentation of my BMI being over 50 but dietitian and staff worked really fast with pre-certification process. They clue me in with a lot of stuff. Did you go to the GYN; they probably have your weight information in their records? If you just type a really nice report with your weight gains with photos stamp dates and weight related illnesses including irregular periods. List Current Year: 2008 Weight: ______________ Year: 2007 Weight: ______________ Year: 2006 Weight: ______________ Year: 2005 Weight: ______________ Year: 2004 Weight: ______________ Year: 2003 Weight: ______________ Name every type(s) of diet(s), if any, have you followed in the past. Alternative Medicine, Fad Diets, Overeaters Anonymous, Jenny Craig, Over the Counter Diet pills Like you mention, froggi1975 the doctor couldn't weight you because the scale never went high enough to get your weight. He should have sent you to another doctor if he didn't have the tools to treat you properly. Never settle for bad health care service. Remember you pay them! Try sending the insurance company all this information – sometimes it helps. You can always appeal and appeal the decision. From the insurance perspective, weight loss surgery has always been considered “medically necessary.” This means that weight loss surgery is not considered cosmetic but rather is performed to decrease the health risks associated with severe obesity. Lastly you can always try to finance it at www.capitalonehealthcarefinance.com Hope this helps!

Hi girls, thanks for all of your input. First of all, a little history: My name is Beckyo. I am 53 years old and have a 34 year old daughter, 23 year old daughter and twin boy and girl age 22. I have been a homeaker since my twins were born. I was always thin until I started staying home and I injured by back at a fit club six weeks after my 23 year old was born. the bad back is what started my weight gain journey as I have been limited and then just got lazy. I lost weight many times on weight watchers but gained it back. I know I can be good with the band and my food choices but it takes the weight loss to help me stay motivated. I have started with walking and will gradually build up to that but I am an avid gardener so that also helps me with exercise. I also have a pool which i will be using this summer. My height is 5'3", weight is 246. All of my blood work and tests say that I am in good health, I have a small hiatal hernia and cholesteral problems but surgeon says it should come down with weight loss. I have become very lazy since my weight has gotten this high but I am still trying to garden, etc. My surgery is next Wednesday, June 18. I start my fasting (all liquids for five days) tomorrow.Thanks everyone Beckyo

Try to drink Water, water, water. When I was in the hospital I was well filled with fluids from the IV. I had the IV working over 24 hours and came home nicely hydrated. For nearly two weeks I didn't really drink and boy did I lose weight. I had no desire to drink a drop (or eat) for the first two weeks. I was feeling very week and light headed. Most likely I was dehydrating. I finally started Crystal Lite mixes and it was much easier to drink. Once I started eating on Day 15, I was surprised that I could eat. With in a week I put on 10lbs and realized it was not a weight-gain it was putting water back in to my body. (I was only eating about 500 calories of healthyy food a day.) Wish I didn't let myself dehydrate. It was disappointing -- not discouraging -- to drop 31 lbs and then put 10 lbs right back on. I'm almost back to 31 lbs and it's been 7 weeks since surgery. So bottom-lining it...you may not be able to drink or have any desire to but keep a bottle of water in arms reach. And lastly walking around helped seem to empty the "water" from where it rested after the first sips. G'luck!

Great question. I haven't been banded yet, but will be struggling with the same issues. The only difference is I work 12 hour night shifts (7p-7a). Hopefully, I will be working day shift by the end of the summer. I know working nights has contributed to my weight gain, as all I have the energy to do is sleep. I eat on the run and or at bad times. I can't wait to read the replies you get, as I am also facing this challenge. Stephanie---Waco, Tx

Suzi, You have found support from friends here! There are some great people on this site to help encourage us all in our low times. What you are going through right now, we have all felt. I don't know about doctors everywhere, but right after my band was placed I had a weight gain of 3 pounds. I broke down in the doctor's office. My doctor explained that I had nothing really there to restrict me from eating. I didn't know this. It would be about 8 weeks before my first fill. Then it would be a gradual filling of the ring. I had my last fill in May and that was 1-1/2 years after my surgery. You will be successful. You may need to be especially careful with what you eat right now and try to really get the exercise in. In time, the pounds will begin to melt away. It still won't be easy. I worry about nutrition, personally. I can't eat anything except soft foods and it stay down. I take vitamins, but am not sure that is the best way to get my nutrients. Keep in touch here. We will be your support. Leah

i used to be on depo but i had horrible side effects - weight gain, headaches, terrible mood swings...needless to say, i'm not the biggest fan of the med.

I am not so sure about this word called "forgiveness" I have made peace inside myself over certain things that have happened in my life but I cannot say that I have totally forgiven anyone (or want to). I have taken certain steps to confront the people who ripped my world apart and felt so very much peace after confronting them, having my say and then leaving the ball in their court. I was continually raped by my brother from the time I was seven until I was seventeen. (He was much older than I). I confronted my mother about this 13 years ago and I was no longer allowed in her life. She went to her death bed two years ago still living the lie. Three years ago I wrote a letter to my bastard brother confronting him with everything he had done to me. I felt a certain peace come over me. Most of the horrid anger I had pent up eased it's way out of me. I have had no family contact since 1996. It's the way it has to be in order to save myself and keep my children away from demented family members. I attribute a lot of my weight gain to the stress of living without my family of origin. But, I am now truly happy. I have brought people into my life that have filled the void and I am blessed. Total forgiveness? I don't think so!!!!!!!!

“Melissa, Why do you work with bariatric surgery patients?” I’m often asked this. Clients and readers are often curious because I’m not a weight loss surgery patient myself and because I don’t have a “weight loss story.” Except that I do. My story has emerged from the stories of others. The truth is, I founded Enduring Change Coaching after years of practicing as a Clinical Psychologist. As a Clinical Psychologist, one area of expertise has been helping people with food and weight issues. Since 1995, I have worked with just about every kind of eating disorder, weight issue, and food issue an adult can have. I’ve witnessed peoples’ pain, struggles and desperation, and I’ve had the honor of sharing in their experiences of transformation (and I’m not just talking about weight)—as they found their own paths to making peace with food, resolving weight issues, putting eating and food in a much smaller place in their lives, and moving on to focusing on more enjoyable and empowering things. I developed the Emotional Eating Toolbox™ Program and run the bariatric surgery coaching programs at Enduring Change because I saw people struggling with their weight and feeling hopeless and I knew the tools and strategies that I have developed with my clients can make a profound difference. I’ve met too many people who believe that taking control of their weight and their relationship with food isn’t possible and who believe that they must resign themselves to fighting—and losing—battles with weight forever. I’ve known and worked with too many bariatric surgery patients who are stuck in a mode of self-blame. They believe they should be able to succeed with weight loss and with weight loss surgery without help or support and they blame themselves when they struggle. I’ve known other weight loss surgery patients who were never told that there are other essential tools they need to acquire and use with weight loss surgery. (Thankfully, I’m seeing less of this.) They too feel like failures when they find themselves struggling with emotional eating, overeating and weight gain after surgery. And I’ve worked with plenty of people who have had weight loss surgery, who know darned well that the procedure they had is only one tool. They know that they have other challenging work ahead of them, and other tools they will need to acquire to get where they want to go. The problem is, they aren’t sure where to get those tools. There are (in many areas) too few support groups (especially for individuals who are 12 months or more post-surgery) and not enough information about good resources. There is not enough information about overeating and emotional eating. People are quick to tell you not to overeat, not to use food to fill an “emotional hole,” and not to eat to cope with stress or boredom or loneliness. But there is not enough quality information and help out there about what to do instead. That’s been my experience. And that’s why I coach individuals and hold special coaching programs and conferences for people who have had bariatric surgery—by telephone—so anyone can attend. It’s why I periodically offer free teleclasses. Most importantly, it was one of my motivations for creating the Emotional Eating Toolbox™ Self-guided Program. Because there is too much shame and self-blame out there. And because we all are a lot more likely to succeed when we have the right tools. Melissa McCreery, Ph.D. is a Psychologist and the founder of Enduring Change Coaching. She helps her clients create and live the life they crave. She is also the creator of the Emotional Eating Toolbox 28-day Program for Taking Control and Moving Beyond Dieting. Sign up for a free 5 part Self-care Package Audio Course, learn about upcoming WLS seminars and other programs or contact her www.enduringchange.com.

Are you getting enough Protein in? Are you taking Vitamins? I know you are scared of gaining weight but I am afraid you might be sacrificing your health to be thin. Having an unfill does not necessarily mean weight gain, specially if you are being careful and consientious about your food choices. This is true if you are eating meat/proteins and focusing on getting more healthy foods in. It helps to be at the "sweet spot" but it sounds like you have bypassed it at the risk of your own health. You may see weight gain if you continue eating slider foods along with increased capacity that a looser fill provides. Slimfast might be helping you in the near term but may not be helpful over the long term. My doctor advised against drinking slimfast. She said that by taking in liquid/easy nutrition this way, it goes right through and I am not allowing the band to help me by giving me the full sensation. It is not very satisfying in the long run. I have been reading posts on different web sites for a long time. One recurrent them that I have seen that people who are too tight for a long time is lack of weight loss (not to mention the physical side effects). It doesn't have to be a large unfill, but something small may get you back to a more healthy diet and the additional weight loss you desire.

Travelling down was not great, my compression band was really irritating! It is heavy, and it creases, and put pressure right on the ends of my incision! While I was in Texas, I went shopping, and found a firmest control type of high waisted compression he told me I could move to after 2 weeks, and let me tell you it made a HUGE difference!!! It is made of soft sleek material, as opposed to the other that was stiff. I bought 1, to see how it did, and have already been back to buy another! I am allowed to move to less firm control after 4 weeks.....so will see what I do then. Other than that the trip was uneventful. I was concerned about weight gain! I am on antibiotics---so have to eat 3 meals a day with the pills to avoid making myself sick at my stomach. Since we were there such a short time, we didn't really open up the house much, so did not turn on appliances---so ate out the entire time, or with relatives. But I only come home 2 pounds up, and when the swelling from the heat went away so did the 2 pounds. But that means I am still sitting at 177----time to get busy I guess!!! I did end up with some infection, which he said was highly common when the fat necrosis begins, due to the moist areas. It was grown and only shows a strept type infection, no staph type grew. It is still oozing, and has some open areas. My incision is not curved, it is more angled, following the angles of my body. It begins on one hip, and goes down on an angle to the "corner" of the pubic bone, then straight across, way low, right at the pubic hairline, then when it gets to the other side it angles back up to the other hip bone. From the edge of the pubic bone on both sides up to the hip bone it looks awesome! Healed almost invisibly!!! BUT the straight across part looks horrible, oozy, and has a couple of holes in it. He says it is ok, but I am concerned, and looking forward to my appointment Wed. to see if it should still be this way. I want it better!!! It does not hurt. There is no real pain left. Occasionally I stretch further than before and a muscle twinges, but nothing bad. I went for a motorcycle ride last night!!! It felt wonderful! Didn't go far, just a maiden voyage since surgery!!! DH said he sure could feel the difference in room on the bike! My size 12's are still what I am wearing, they are loose enough to be comfy and yet look like they fit. One of the biggest differences in the compression garments is how my clothes work with them. The old one was made with this ace bandage kind of like texture, so it helped hold up clothes that were too big. The new one being slick----does not!!! Almost lost a pair of pull on capris! I was walking in a store in Brownwood Texas, and felt like the crotch was twisting----nope, they were almost falling off!!! I would have been so mortally embarassed!! LOL!!! Anyway, gonna go check on the girls coming up!!! Just wanted to let you know, the travelling was fine----I did get my Dr.'s ok first though!!! Kat

I haven't posted in a while and I wanted to say hi to everyone and hope that everyone is doing ok. A lot has been going on with me and it has affected my weight loss. I left my husband in January of this year and of course that was stressful and the past two months I have had a toothache and the only way I could relieve the pain was eat something, even when I wasn't hungry. I have noticed a little weight gain, not enough to not fit into my clothes and size I had gotten down to, 14, but I have noticed a little bit. To top it off, I had my surgery in Dallas and I now live in West Texas and all the doctors in this area won't touch my band with a ten foot poll even for a fill so I am going to have to go back to Dallas if anything goes wrong with my band or if I need a fill. Of course I am stressed and what happens when I get stressed, I eat. I am trying to listen to my band, which most of the time I do, but sometimes I don't, which I get dissapointed in myself and am not starting to think about diets again, which never helped me in the past and won't help me now. I guess I just needed to vent to ya'll because I knew I would be understood. Thanks for listening.

Why are the trigger foods in the house? My husband and kids know that there are some things we can't have in the house because just the thought of them makes me crazy. For example, I don't allow any soda in the house. Just the smell of it makes me want it, plus my kids just don't need the crap either. Everybody in my family is eating better and getting healthier because I am. My kids are both thin, though my 5 year old was starting to get a little chunky because she's very drawn to sweets and I do not want her to start down that road because I have been there all my life. I'm not here to say anybody is or isn't working hard enough for their band. I don't know where you got that from my post. I did say that it takes some level of work. I'm the opposite of Jachut--I don't like to exercise, I'm very clumsy and hurt myself in the stupidest ways, and I'm completely uncoordinated. So I choose to do the lower calories, track what I eat, etc., to balance out the amount of exercise I do. If you aren't willing to exercise or to watch your intake, how can you really expect results? I am sure there are people that won't do well with the band. I was worried I would be one of them. I have PCOS and insulin resistance which has contributed to my weight gain over the years and I was really concerned that those things would hinder my loss. I think that most people who go through WLS have done years of yo-yo dieting, and have crappy metabolism. I would work with the doctor and nutritionists to find ways to boost your metabolism, find optimal restriction, and work with the band. In your case, if you feel you're eating slider foods and too restricted, how about a complete unfill and work your way back to restriction slowly? If you haven't already, I would request a swallow study to make sure you haven't had a slip. But that's just me and my opinion if I were in your shoes. If you have a strategy that you are happy with, good luck.

Imaducky, What do you know of certain astrological signs and weight issues. I've read that Taurus and Cancer have issues with weight gain, do you know anything about that? brandyII, (:smile:not looking for another excuse)