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Hi Wenjea - Thanks for the info - that helps a ton!!!! I start my puree in a week and cannot wait. I wonder if dr oh and dr srikanth have the same post op instructions cause mine say puree wks 5-6 an oz at a time per serving having the protein shakes in between... So I will get an oz of cream of wheat and that is it, the rest is protein drinks and liquids. I will double check my instructions... hmm Funny thing on the shoes and clothes deal. I was in "denial" a little about my weight gain so I am still fitting into stuff after all my weight loss, I am still somewhat bloated but I have at least 2 sizes down worth of clothes to wear before I have to go shopping (yes some of it is dated). Shoes are fitting loosely as well since I am loosing fat in my FEET. Jeez... Hope everyone is well...

JC, You know, I had a boyfriend in my 20's named JC. I wonder what happened to him hmmmmmmm. I am sorry to hear of your weight gain. That has to be hard. I can't remember why you got unfilled. I need to read back. I wish I had some good answers for you. I am just now starting to lose again, after a very long plateau, from not having the right fill. I wish all of us could get together. They are talking about a lapband talk get together someday. Alysa, My advice to you is to start exercising. I had a very easy recovery, or actually none at all. I think it's because I was in good shape from exercising prior to surgery. I went into day surgery at 7 am and was home posing on lap band talk byt 11 am. The next day I was out walking 3 dogs. I had surgery on Fri and Mon was a holiday, but I could have gone back to work easily on Mon. I think being in good shape makes a faster recovery. As for what to do with ourselves, I am with you. I spend so many weekends alone, renting movies, wondering what other people are doing. If you have any answers, I would love to hear them.

Hello everyone, This is my first post. I have been peeking at your site for months reading your posts. I'm scheduled for LB on 6/21. That's probably the first time I've said that outloud. My story is the familiar one. Yo-yo dieting, comfort eating, no time for me. I am truly hopeful that the LB will be a tool to overcome the many pitfalls and vicious cycle I have subjected myself to over the past 10 years. It's odd--I'm not scared, it's almost as if I can't believe it is true that I'm actually going to go through with this. What I have noticed the most while reading the posts these few months is that most everyone on this board who have/had weight issues are never at a loss to accept responsibility for the weight gain. It's like we know exactly what we do wrong but have trouble fixing it. Well seeing all the success stories it really makes me feel like I'm doing the right thing! Please wish me luck, as I have secretly done for all you who have been recently banded. I think this forum is great.

Tomorrow is my one year anniversay and I told my husband this morning that I want to do something special for myself to celebrate. He told me celebrate what-- Did you lose 100 pounds in one year? You cheated on cake and icecream and ate shit sometimes: I told him this was when I was depressed -MOST OF IT WAS BROUGHT ON BY YOU ! ALSO I HAD MY MEDICATION CHANGED 5 TIMES IN 5 MONTHS - MOST CAUSED WEIGHT GAIN THE DOCTOR SAID! He said your going to celebrate a 50 pound weight loss, you act like your lost 100 pounds! I wanted to buy myself an I-pod to encourage me to get back into my exercise routine and to get to the gym. I saw some great sales and he said no,your going to put us back into debut with your spending! So what did I end up getting $40 dollar gold earrings from a gift card that my husband got for Nurse's day ( He is a transporter at a Hospital and they gave the Nurses and Transporters gift cards a while back) so he gave it to me . Iam so mad right now! What made it worse was he came on this site and looked at the post and saw all of your before and after pictures and said - see these woman lost almost 100 pounds WHY COULDN'T YOU ! I HAVE NEVER FELT SO HURT AND LIKE A FALIURE ! My surgery was done on a Tuesday so it was technically a yeas ago today on June 13th. I look at my day of surgery picture and Iam no longer that person , I will never be her :cry. This dam insensitive bastard! Thanks for letting me vent! Lisa

Yep, no restriction yet. I cannot wait until my first fill! I just called the doc's office today to see if I can have it at 6 weeks instead of 7. I hope he says yes. I still have another 3 weeks before that - I am just 3 weeks post op today and hungry a lot. There is a reason they call this time 'bandster hell'. LOL My doc says DO NOT focus on weight loss right now although he doesn't want to see a weight gain either.

Why am I fat? The real reason is I ate too much and didn't exercise. Like so many others on this thread I came from a so called dysfunctional family but I had a strong mother that helped us make it through. My dad was an alcoholic. We were never sure if he would come home drunk, sober or somewhere inbetween. We were never sure what his mood would be. I'm the third oldest of 8 kids. My oldest brother is Downs so my dad was always mad about that. He basically made my older sister his son by having her help with all the farm work. I don't remember very much about my childhood. I was told while taking Psychology classes that often that happens when we want to block out unpleasant activities. I do remember wanting to please my dad but being scared of him. At times I recall physical and now I know verbal abuse too. I was also the heavest of all of us kids. You've heard of pre-conceived perception. That's what I did because I was always told I was fat and lazy. My uncle always said I was his favorite because there was more of me to love. Because of these statements I ate and did become very lazy. My mother was a strong hold in the family. She would always have something warm coming out of the oven for a snack when we got home from school, cake, cookies, bread, pie. I always ate more than my share. I left home as soon as I graduated and went to college. By than my eating habits were aready established. I tried every diet that I could do. I used diet pills and everything. I always felt that no one would ever love me. Then I met my wonderful husband. Although I didn't loose any weight, it stopped going up and up. Doug never said anything about my weight. His concern was my health as heart problems and diabetis ran in the family. He ate properly and ran 4 miles 5 days a week. In the almost 30 years we were married my dress size went from a 12 to 18. That's not too bad for 30 years I don't think. When Doug passed away 5 1/2 years food once again became my good friend. I couldn't eat enough to kill my feelings of loneliness. Each season I had to get new clothes because last seasons clothes didn't fit again. My finacial adviser was telling me a year and half ago about the lap band he had put on. Until then I had never heard of lap band except the adds on TV. I began researching and after a little over a year decided that was what I needed to end this cycle of weight gain. I've probably gained and lost 500 pounds in my life time. I use to tell people that if I wasn't an overeater I would probably be an alcoholic. Being an overeater the only person I was hurting was myself but now I know different. Do I love myself any better, I'm not sure if I love myself completely but I don't hate myself. Maybe just dislike just a little. This weekend I read the book Inside My Heart by Robin McGraw. I got to thinking how much I can change myself is I just work at it. I'm going to work at getting more of what I want out of life. What I really want I can never have again, my husband Doug. Now I'm just rattling but it does feel better to get things off my chest. Thank you for this thread.

dont despair, i was banded on 6/4 at 240lbs. came home from the hospital at 253. I was horrified, keep drinking, some people retain fluid, and the gas and edema can cause weight gain. thurs 6/6/ at md ofice 246, today on my scale at home 235. make sure you drink enough to keep your urine almost clear. Is there salt in the broth? That can retain fluid too. PM me anytine

Thank you for starting this post. I never thought I would admit this but we will be married 20 years this fall but our sex life ended 17 years ago. I know my weight gain was directly related to my feelings of loneliness and emptiness and not wanting to be attractive (so my outside would match my insides). It's good to know that i'm not the only one on the planet with this problem, 'cause it sure seems like it from TV and movies! I know nothing will change if I lose weight. I do know it is very uncomfortable to get attention from other men now that I have dropped a bit of weight. BTW, i'm a trekkie too (live long and prosper)

JoeyGirl I was in hospital for 2 days but by the time I got home I was still up 5lbs... I lost that weight over the next couple of days (fluid coming out!) and by the end of the first week I'd lost an additional 3.5lbs!!! So don't worry about the weight gain, it is just all the fluid they pump into you and it does come off.

Big shout out for "wasabubble butt"!!!!! My teenage years of being fat destroyed me, I ended up in many bad relationships, because how could anyone love the fat chick, I was happy to be in a bad relationship because it was all I could get, or so I thought! If I had sorted out my weight in my teens I wouldn't have had to go through that crap..... As I said my son is heavy, 14 and 220llb 5'9,k his Dad is 6'4 and I'm hoping he now just grows upwards. I will and would do anything in my power to save him any unhapiness. At the moment he is doing great with his food and exercise he's down 20llbs but I try not to dewl to much on his weight because I want him to know that he is so much more than that and I want him to get on with his life. I truly hope he manages to gain controle of his weight, and food. Unlike me who has struggled with it all my life. If he get's to 16/17 and it is still a problem I will look at banding for him. The funny thing is my daughter who is 11 and has always been slim has started to put weight on, quite a bit. Now I have never once mentioned this to her, I have never reffered to her weight gain, in the opposite I have told her how beautiful and curvy she is and do you know what, she thinks she is "Canadians next top model". I have noticed she herself is begining to take controle of portion sizes and exercise! But as for self essteam she has it in bucketfuls, It makes me wonder how much of my sons weight issues I have caused indirectly. As soon as he started to put weight around 7yrs old I freaked and tried to take controle of it, whilst not even being able to take controle of my own! Jx

Marlynn,Michelle and Jojo, it is tomorrow for us! It sounds like we are stretched across the day. Michelle you are fortunate to have it first thing, I wish I could just go to the hospital when I wake up and have it done. I don't have to be to the hospital until noon, surgery at 2! I am scared and excited at the same time like you all! Wow, it is finally here.. I am so freaked! Good luck to you guys! Huntersmom, great question about the scale. My husband has this large scale, old thing, not digital. My last try at Weight Watchers, I did not have a scale. I did not like weighing every day, it fluctuates to much and gets you discouraged. I still will keep it to once a week. I will put this on my list to buy! Welcome ML and Stef. You will love this thread, we are a hopping group and you learn so much, at least I do. Good to know about the possible 8-10lb weight gain I may experience tomorrow and friday, it is a mental let down, but knowing it is what it is, and it will be shed away, I can deal with it. Thanks for the Heads Up! I will check in the morning before my DH takes me to bandland! I need to write down the page( now46), so I know where to start when I get back home on Friday. There have been so many pages this week, busy we are.

Musicalmomma- Thanks for the explanation of weight gain! I was a bit freaked out.

You completely confuse me jsrico... your posting shows that you've lost 13 pound since surgery.... that's awesome. I've only lost 9. Sometimes weight plateaus... but, even one pound back is better than what you normally would weigh. If you continue to gain... call the doctor. Weight fluctuates... even the weather can effect that. Never mind water weight... gaining muscle, PMS...... I think you've done great!!!!!

Thanks Alexandra, You make some good points. I started gaining weight in my late teens. I worked in an office at 18 and got very sedentary. At first it wasn't a problem. I was just curvey and I met my husband and he loved it. Sometimes I would lose some weight and always gain it back, but I wasn't morbidly obese. I gained a lot of weight after losing weight on a liquid diet and I got pregnant soon after I finished the diet. I gained so much and kept on putting it on. My daughter will be 17 this months and its time to lose the baby weight, plus. When I had my first daughter 22 years ago, I lost a couple of lbs after I had her. Anyway the depression really started after I gained the weight with my 17 yr old daughter and I had moved from NJ to PA. I missed my friend in NJ and was faaaaaaaaaaaaaat and tired. You are right everything won't change magically, but I think I will feel more confident; like i did before this big weight gain. And I just wanted to hear others stories about how they felt. Thank you for your reply. Adele

Welcome Bigbaby! And congratulations!! The day will be here before you know it. Kimmum & Nina...my thoughts and prayers are with you today!!!! Post as soon as you can and let us know how you're doing Tomorrow is a BUSY day in band land!!!! Day four and I am feeling pretty darn good! Still not hungry, but that's a good thing. I am able to drink more water today, so that's a good thing. I was thirsty but just couldn't get much down before today. I've lost all my surgery weight (gained 8 pounds of fluid) and am on the down swing again. Ya know what's so strange to me??? I drink about 3oz of protein shake and I am STUFFED. I just can't wrap my head around it yet. It's so exciting!

This just breaks my heart. I'm sorry to tell you, but if your husband was gay before you married him, then he is gay now. He is not interested in sex with you because he is not interested in sex with any woman. I'm just astounded at the number of gay men who marry women in a feeble attempt to reject their homosexuality. It just doesn't work and the wife and the children are the ones who get hurt. This has obviously taken a huge toll on your self-esteem and probably greatly contributed to your weight gain. This is an emotionally abusive situation and you need to do something to get out of it. As long as you stay with your husband, you will never know what it's like to be truly and deeply in love with a man who feels the same way about you. Please don't deny yourself that. Life is too short to be miserable.

Im Chloe Im 18 from Australia and overweight. My Mum got a lapband 10years ago and has now lost 30kilos. I've always been big but I've now realised there is no non-surgical solution for me other than more weight gain and trust me i have tried! So on July the 30th I am booked in for the lap band.I cant wait. FIFTY SIX DAYS!! :nervous The thought gives me hope and a real release from alot of sadness that being a young overweight person has caused. i hope to meet other young people in my situation or who have had the lap band.:clap2:

Chickie -- I understand totally. Why then do you see the pronounced rebound weight gains in gastric bypass patients (group at large) but not in lap band patients over a 5 year span? My surgeon also explained to me (perhaps I misunderstood) that one option in some cases of pouch dilation for gastric bypass patients is to THEN apply a band. I'm not discounting your points at all and I don't want to appear to be a newcomer with all the answers. I've enjoyed reading your views on life with the band and think we are of similar mind. Particularly with regard to slow weight loss. My point to the original poster is that the studies clearly show a rebound weight gain long-term (3-5 years) that band patients don't show -- another plus in the band catagory. According to my surgeon one distinct reason for this is the adjustability of the band. Not that it will cure a dilated pouch from "abuse". With regard to slippage and erosion, I wonder how many folks out there have their band embricated to hold it in place and further reduce the chance for slippage and erosion? I'll post that as a seperate question.

I had my surgery on Tues. May 29, and was told that I would probably see a weight gain after the hospitalization due to the fluids and the gases. When does weight loss start?

Good point Chickie! I'm only a newbie (banded 5/29) here but I've read every study I could get my hands on and discussed them with my doctor. While your point is certainly valid, I'm referring to study outcomes that I've seen comparing the two methods over multiyear spans. You can clearly see a rebound weight gain in the bypass line graph vs lap band pts. And, although no infinite adjustments, one advantage of the band is that it can be adjusted long term vs the bypass. Just pointing out another reason to look favorably on the band vs bypass.

I am currently having a situation with a lifelong friend who has always and forever been the "thin" one and now our roles are almost reversed (I am by no means "thin" yet but. . . .) she has been gaining steadily over the last several years and now we are within 10 pounds of each other. Her weight continues to go up and thankfully, mine is still going down. She is having a very hard time with this as she is supposed to be the the "thin" one, not me -- I'm supposed to stay fat, forever. It has, as you can imagine, really put a strain on our friendship. She claims to diet and exercise constantly but when we are together and there is food involved, she makes all of the wrong choices for "dieting" or eating healthy and tries to get me to do the same. She gets very aggravated when I tell her I can't eat the cheesesteaks, thick-crust pizzas, mega fries and strombolis anymore. I've tried to explain to her that it will get stuck and cause me tremendous pain, not to mention all the other fun stuff we go through when something clashes with our band! I'm not sure how this is going to work out, but right now, it doesn't look too good. I'm really hoping she can come to terms with her weight gain and not be so negative towards me for doing something that is improving my health. It has to be hard for her, having such a role reversal, and I know all too well how being overweight and unhappy feels.......I've had years and years of practice. I've offered to exercise with her, share recipes, whatever, but she's not interested. The thing that really got to her was when her 7-year-old said "mommy, Stacy is skinnier than you now, you're getting really fat!" I know that really hurt her feelings, too. I feel really bad for her because I know her struggle, but she doesn't want to work at losing weight together. I don't know, I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Lor-coherent! Yes I understood everything....all too well! Good luck with your fill. And hearing from someone banded helps me to be all the more determined...as you are with your new fill! Thank you. Big As Life-....okay....you are now my official "poster child" for the Lap-Band!....no......seriously....I want to be just that way! The doctor seems to say that but as you know....everyones experience is different! Thank you for your inspiration! Lynne....I am so sorry! Yes that stress would be tremendously. Stress I have not had to deal with yet! I'm praying for you. And what a success that now you don't have to start back with a weight gain of 20 plus pounds. I know that must've been hard. Mol.....message me!!!!! Anxious to see how it is going....just 3 days ahead of me! Good luck!

Okay, so I'm getting banded June 6th! Oh I was so excited when I was scheduled! But here's the deal. It's like the closer I get to the surgery date the more scared I am! It's kinda like what I would imagine an alcoholic or drug addict might go through before being admitted to a rehabilitation center. Food has been my comfort now forever!!!! I eat when I'm sad, happy, celebrating, depressed, hungry, bored....the list goes on....I EAT!!! Now I'm scared about my life after surgery. I'm a lower BMI candidate but I'm also 45 and I am definitely headed to more and more weight gain. I'm a RN by trade and I know when people begin to talk about their experiences (i.e., surgeries, child birth etc) the vast majority tend to make them sound more and more horrible. As I'm reading this board I have to say MANY sound tremendously unhappy and miserable with the band and yet when there was a poll over 90% would do it again. SO QUESTION? If I give this my all.....exercising, chewing, chewing, chewing, small and wise portions, never eating in a hurry(barring complications of course....).....are chances being that I will be glad I got this band?

If you read the long term studies by O'Brien weight loss is virtually the same when comparing bypass vs band. But, the band is minor surgery, totally reversible and carries few if any complications. Furthermore, if you look at weight loss for bypass vs band charted out on a line graph you'll see a slight weight gain for bypass pts in the long term...kind of like a rebound. You don't see this same curve for band patients b/c in bypass the pouch can stretch with the band it can continue to be adjusted. For me its a no brainer. My surgeon has ceased bypass altogether considering it somewhat barbaric considering the strong results of the band.

O.K. Someone please explain what this sweet spot is? I don't have a clue.All I no is that with the other knee now replaced, they were monitering all of my foods to about 3000 cal. a day. whew!! I feel guiltey, and terrible... Even my surgeon from Henry Fords called me to see how the surgery went. I said not as good as the other knee, and I got myself a fiil date with him and said please don't hollar to bad about the water weight, or weight gain!! He said it's expected, so no don't worry about it. Since they have me eating so muchI feel like I am starving to death... I only have 1cc in a 4cc band, so he better put something in it. Please get back on the sweet spot matter. shirley.