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Rubbing alcohol. Or my Dr said to let it wear off naturally if it was too close to the incisions.

Hi. I have a knee problem that makes walking difficult. About 16 months ago I finally went to a Orthopedic surgeon about the pain. Horrific. In a very harsh way he said I was to young for a replacement and that I was fat. Yeah like I did'nt know that. Well I started swimming everyday (7 days a week) and some food choice changes and lost 30 pounds. Despite these changes at 39 I got a blood clot in the brain and had a mini stroke). At one of my many doctors appointments afterward one said to me "Have you ever considered weight loss surgery?" I was devistated. Because I felt like I had been working on my weight and I still had a stroke! Three weeks later I went to my First Consult. I totally understand that it's hard for you to do weightbearing exercise and strongly recommend swimming. I use a waterproof MP3 player which makes exercising so much better. I'm really lucky in that my family has been very supportive of the surgery. My brother is a recovering alcoholic so my family knows we (as a family) have addictive personalities. I am not telling anyone outside my immediate family (plus one friend who has weight issues whose sister is considering Lap Band). It boils down to the fact that this is your body and you're the one who has to live with it's problems. No one else.

Alcohol - of the rubbing sort Same way you get price stickers off of glass frames :thumbup:

Please DO NOT feel like a failure if you decide to get banded. I used to feel like that and then one day there was a "click" inside me and I didn't care what other people thought. It's about YOU and what you need to help you lose weight. Some of us just need a little help and that's what the band is--a helpful tool. I'm not banded as of yet, but I can't wait!! This is a way for us to live life the way it was meant to be lived. No one bats an eye if an alcoholic or a drug addict gets help so why is it so bad to get help with food??

Hello there! I love this site as everyone is so honest and open and it has really helped me with my research and options. My short (but often unfortunately repeated) story is a weight struggler from aged 10 now 34 need to lose for my little one's sake and mine. Sick of seeing person in a mirror that is not me. need help - drastically. I lost 4 st in 4 mnths on CD last year (loved the mid bit where I was released of thoughts of food)- nearly gained all that again - same old story diff diet ... I know a band will suit me as when I had my 2 pregnancies I was lighter both times at the end - than at the beginning! NHS/ PCT won't fund so only option is to go private (prob diff story if i was an alcoholic or drug user). Now or never for me as the beleif in myself losing weight virtually none. Hadn't much money so was relieved to find europesurgery; I was scheduled to be banded with Chris De Buyrne(? is that right) in Belgium at beginning of Sept but family intervened - or rather sister - and stumped up £3k (bless her) for me to stay alot closer in UK and have package which includes psycholigical assistance. So now I am awaitiing my LAP-BAND® op (with Spire) in Sept - date tbc! Any other Septemberbanders (hee!) out there? please say hi! x

Its all a learning process. Don't feel bad. Another thing that may have made you tighter is the alcohol. It dehydrates and my band tends to be tighter when I'm dehydrated. So, as much as possible drink cold water. The other poster that says warm/hot liquids can worsen the swelling is right. I got too tight after a fill and drank warm broth thinking it would help and it pretty much closed me entirely up for a few hours. My doctor told me afterwards to only drink cold liquids if I ever feel that tight again.

fyi-per my dentist, sugar fee mints have sorbitol...an alcohol....which is drying and causes bad breath.

Alcohol calories are always the first burned, even when the body is in deficit, they are such a ready source of energy. So if you drink, and drinking, even white wine can certainly add up calorie wise, the rest of what you eat will only be burned after the alcohol, its really just sugar. Everyone here knows I'm no fan of high Protein diets but it is certainly true that if you take in sugar and readily burned refined carbs, then you are giving your body such an easy source of energy that it will always burn in preference to fat. Your body only turns to fat if your glycogen stores are fairly depleted, and that will never happen if you keep filling up on sugar. I like my wine too though, not sure whether giving it up is worth it to be 10lb lighter, lol.

I'm sure you hear this all the time, but let me start by saying you are an awesome parent to know you needed this surgery to be there for your babies. ((((HUGS)))) to you on that. With that being said, I currently have the Lap Band that I am having LOADS of problems with. My husband also has the band and has lost 20 pounds in 5 years, he can still eat the "old way". I believe once I recover he too will convert to this surgery once our insurance decides it's cheaper than all the problems associated with the Band or RNY. As far as your food issues. What really helped me when I was going through my "withdrawals" from food was to really tell mysel that "The Colonel", "pizza, Pizza Dude", "The Golden Arches and all of them had done me WRONG. Basically they were all slowly killing me and taking me away from my friends and family. Why would I stay with a friend who continually hurt me physically? I wouldn't and neither would you. So if food is your friend then why would it hurt you so much? I understand correctly eating food isn't like alcohol or drugs or cigarettes you have to eat to live. But that's just it, you eat to live not live to eat. They did surgery on your tummy not your head. And until you get to a point and you will that you realize all the awesome benefits you get from giving up the beast that has hurt you so badly over the years you will feel this way. You've lost 23 pounds so far which is amazing. Your ticker says you want to lose 95 more pounds. I would be willing to bet within the next few months you will be almost half way to the remaining goal of 95 pounds. Write down a list of things that you want to do that has nothing to do with your scale weight. Such as taking your kiddos on a roller coaster, fiting into a regular airline seat w/o an extention, bending over to tie a shoe without feeling like you can't breathe, etc. Basically write out all your Non-Scale Victories and put that on your refigerator. When you start "missing" food look at the chart and by all means mark through each goal as you achieve it. Doing that will keep you motivated. As a single parent I would be willing to bet if it came down to doing something for the kids or yourself the kids would win everytime! Well you are doing this for yourself but also for your KIDS. They will have an even more awesome and interactive dad than they have ever had. You developing a closer relationship with your kids will fill the "void" you my feel without that extra food. YOU CAN DO THIS. You may also want to write down a list of everything you hate about being obese. This will give you an actual list of how your old friend aka food has "done you wrong". Perhaps this will make you miss it all the less. Another suggestion is to take up a new hobby or two that has absolutely NOTHING to do with food. Also when you go to visit folks, be there for the company, NOT the food. You are there for adult interaction, not whatever is there to eat. That's a hard one I had problems with that one for a long time because nobody ever serves others nasty food. lol. Take care my friend and remember you are never alone here. I sincerely wish you and yours the best.

You may have seen my posts on other threads where I finally decided that to get to goal weight I would have to stop drinking wine on a daily basis. My goal weight is pretty aggressive at 21.6 BMI. I had reached a point where it took 46 days to lose 2 pounds, 21 days for one then 25 days for the next one. So I knew I had to make a change. I am doing a very aggressive exercise schedule and I have a very streamlined diet so the only thing left was the wine. I usually had a glass of wine a night, and maybe a couple on the weekend nights but I made sure that the calories still fit into my budget. So even though I was fitting the alcohol calories into my calorie budget they were still keeping me from losing weight. I stopped drinking wine 12 days ago and I have lost 3 pounds, and it isn't that I am taking in less calories, I added food to replace the alcohol calories so the moral of my story is its not just calories in vs. calories out its also what kind of calories in vs. calories out too. Here are a couple things I learned from this experience. I was looking for a flavored drink more than looking for alcohol. The night I stopped, I was wandering around the kitchen and so I decided to have a G2 Gatorade that I buy for our boys. I drank half of one (25 calories) and that settled my cravings. Substitution is very important when you are creating your new band lifestyle. I can still have an occasional drink and still lose weight. I had a drink on 2 nights since I quit drinking daily and I am still losing. Moderation is key. (DUH:biggrin:)

Janet, I've eliminated the bad carbs but picked up some things with complex carbs. Atkins has some surprisingly good things. Their Daybreak Chocolate Chip Crisp Bar has 0 gram sugar, 10g Protein, only 3g net carbs. Atkins only counts the carbs that shoot up your blood sugar (hi glycemic) as carbs that count toward total carb count. The bar does have 6 g. fiber-most of it soluble because its made from soy and oats. I still have to take my Miralax everyday--more than ever--because fiber makes me constipated--and the gas is unbelievable. Doesn't matter how much liquid I ingest. I also found an Atkins candy bar called Endulge, only a couple of carbs, they use the sugar alcohols that don't raise your blood sugar so net carbs are very low. Tastes a lot like a 3 musketeers/milky way and it has protein and fiber. One of each of these a day seems to really take care of my cravings while keeping my carbs low. I'm more into keeping my carbs low and my protein high than into total calories. I add some vegetables and a little fruit. Both the Atkins products really fill me up. We'll see if they help with the weight loss, but they do add fiber and no simple carbs. And they taste good. Took over an hour walk today. Yesterday no walk. Spent my day and night with various children--which does give you exercise. Cheri

Haydee and laura, so excited for you both....2 lil beebee girls..went out for dinner and had 2 margies...and enchiladas...yummmm-hopefully we get to stop for lunch when we get by my sisters' for a margie lunch...omg..am I becoming an alcoholic??? Saw a pic of Kat on FB-did she go to wedding too??/ Curious...was wondering if any contact was made with the "others". Ok, going to bed, gonna be on the road early --allegedely....:redface:

Honk, I understand and agree with what your saying but I don't really think it's that serious. I'm hoping that the contract thing is probably just and extra incentive or motivator to try to keep you on your toes What can they do ? sue you if you don't lose weight or exercise? Yeah , I can just see that on Judge Judy!! On the other hand if God forbid something go wrong at your surgery because you binged out or have a gut full of alcohol or something it may be a piece that they can use against you if we wanted to sue them. Who knows? I think it's just more like one of those pledges Oprah always has people signing...like yeah O just cause you shame somebody into signing your don't text and drive pledge on your show their not gonna do it but it may make someone think twice about it.

Hey everybody. I am going to have to beg to differ on Bob's liquid diet. I have lost 2 pounds in 3 days because I stopped drinking wine. The 2 pounds before these took 21 and 25 days. I now have hope again that I can get to goal by my 1 year bandiversary in October. Isn't it funny how we can be so stubborn? I tried everything else before I finally admitted to myself that the wine was the problem and then here is the kicker, it really wasn't that I wanted the alcohol. The night I stopped, I found myself wandering around the kitchen, so I ended up drinking half a G2 Gatorade (25 calories) that I buy for the boys and found that satisfied me just like the wine did. I was really just looking for a flavored drink not necessarily an alcoholic one. As the boys tell me, DUH.

I know y'all are all going to be shocked but I stopped my nightly glass of wine about a week ago and I have lost 2 pounds in the last 3 days. It took 21 and 25 days to lose the last 2 pounds and now 2 pounds in 3 days. I found that my desire for a glass of wine was really a desire for a flavored drink. I usually drink a cup of black coffee in the morning and then just Water all day. When I stopped drinking wine I found myself wandering around the kitchen so I substituted a half bottle of G2 Gatorade (25 calories) and I was satisfied with that, so I really wasn't craving alcohol just a flavored drink. I start week 4 of my cross training tomorrow morning and that is going well so now I have hope again that the last 6 could be gone by my bandiversary. I hope everyone is doing well.

P.S. Something about being anonymous here defnitely works like alcohol on my inhibitions! In fact, I've been known to get rather brash and offensive. It's lots of fun, I have to admit. And quite liberating for someone who normally prefers to be politically correct in polite company.

In general it is always easy to make judgements from the outside. There's a reason for the proverb "walk a mile in my shoes". Personally alcohol does'nt do a thing for me. Period. I have to have sweet dessert drinks so why bother with the alcohol; I might as well just eat a piece of cake. My brother however is a recovering alcoholic. Our difference is I can walk away from beer; and you would have to force feed him cherry pie. I find that weight problems are something that many people cant empathize over. Unfortunately you may never get someone to understand why you've made the this decision if they are not of the mindset to really listen.

Well I've always enjoyed getting a good buzz and have been known to have a few too many from time to time. But alcohol just never has made me feel as good as ice cream used to. Weird, huh? I totally understand the dependancy transfer situation. I imagine I could figure out how to do that. Not that I'm on self-destruct, mind you. But I am a girl who likes to have fun. Many of my friends like me better with a few drinks in me because I'm generally so darned uptight all the time. I'm one of those chicks who grew up needing to have everybody like me and so I've been bad about trying TOO hard, if you know what I mean. That kind of behavior often makes others uncomfortable and kinda feel sorry for you. Gawd, youth is wasted on the young! Thanks for the feedback, Jane.

thank u for ur kind words and support...the center i'm going to offers individual therapy and group therapy..the individual therapist will get to the root of the problem...the group therapy is where the actual eating dis-order will come in2 play...my therapist has also suggested i go to support groups for over-eaters and not just bulemics....some centers handle all eating dis-orders....this one is specifically designed for bulemics and aneroxics...it's an in-patient/out-patient center...i've asked my new therapist if there is anyone else in there with a lap band...and like i've mentioned b4...she said "its very common"...i still have a hard time admitting i have an eating dis-order...but i fight with food...i fight to eat...i fight...i fight...i feel guilty when i eat..some go to drugs and alcohol when they r stressed i go to laxatives and now i find myself vomitting when i am stressed...i'm getting a grip on the mental part...starting to feel like myself again...losing my image...i feel like i'm waking up from a bad dream...but the other part has a strong grip on my mind...i'm scared to death of food

I've had acid reflux on and off and there are few things that really trigger it. Alcoholic beverages definitely make a difference, as do sodas and coffee and acidic foods like tomato sauce. I also got very bad reflux when I had post nasal drip from a sinus infection. You should try to find out the root of the acid and in the meantime, there's a few things you can do to make it better. I was put on Prilosec 2x per day and that managed it well. Also monitor what you are eating/drinking. Don't drink or eat anything within 2 hours of bedtime and if you do, try to sleep with your chest and head a bit elevated. I hope it gets better for you because it can cause longterm damage if left untreated.

I chuckled when I saw your comment about the Iced Cap being better than beer. Then I started to wonder - would an Iced Cap be better, nutritionally? Well hold on to your Timbit, Rosie! A medium original Iced Cap, with cream, is 320 calories. A medium original with milk, is 240 calories. But a regular beer is anywhere between 150 and 200, depending on the alcohol content. So strictly calorie-wise, a beer is better than an Iced Cap.

The truth. I want to lose weight so I can get a better paying job so I can leave my husband. I married a mentally abusive alcoholic 15 years ago, and that has led me down a river of self abuse/denial. I've filled the holes in my life with food & pets. Food loves me, pets love me, and I love them back. Don't ask me how it all hapened. It just did. He drove away my friends, then my family, then my own self respect. But bit by bit I'm clawing my way out of the hole I've been in. When I got my band I started to see light. (he never even asked me why I was in the hospital. duh, love) It's hard, but I know i'm not alone feeling this way. I don't want to be thin so i can get another man. No way. I've been burned enough. I just want to have people look at me, not look at my fat or my ill fitting clothes. I can giggle and joke about the chips I had, or the donut i had, but it's sad. There's nothing funny about being fat.

I gained 2 pounds since last week and haven't a drop of alcohol all week. Maybe that's it. Gonna suck down a few Guinness right now and get rid of these extra pounds.

Yup, those two things, the travel and the wilde beests, are the reason I haven't wanted to make the trip. But I dunno if I had the chance to go I probably would. Your photos of the Sex in the City party were very cute. You're a better man than I for being able to manage those shoes until the wee hours. Which brings up a good question: wine? I have teetotled since surgery because of all the stories I've heard. Plus my dietician says that alcohol is hard on the tummy. Have you had any problems? I have a tendancy to get drunk on small quantities (being part red Indian, ya know) so I've been afraid that I would totally make a fool of myself by waking up with a lampshade on my head and burn marks on my knees.

That's really horrible to hear, especially since you went to a center of excellence. Part of the "hoops" that most people need to go through is phyc counceling. When I had my appointment she was as honest with me as I was with her. She told me that I should get counceling throughout my weight loss. I chose not to. I was honest with her about my past and she told me that if I didn't deal with my issues, I could turn my food abuse and become abusive with other mediums, like alcohol, sex, gambling, smoking, as well as other food driven issues. I knew from the get go that the band was a tool. It was very plainly NOT the magic pill everyone is looking for. Even today at my fill... man is that another story, the Dr. was questioning me about eating, exercise ect. What kind of treatment are you starting Sat? Counceling?