Search the Community

I am a lap band owner i have lost lots of weight. i my life i have been heavy, painfully depressed, theres no such word i can describe of how i felt. I ate and laid around so many years my weight pilled fast i looked at my self in the mirror and cried. But then i talked to my doctor and i was a great candidate for the lap band. i used to weigh 253lb. now im down to 217. And i feel great i can walk rest i feel more confident about my self, i feel pretty. In my life i have accomlished alot i have 4 kids from 19-15 and a adopted one at 4 now. im totally greatfull first at God for granting me so many things in my life. and i want to be friends with all..:mad2:

I was banded 8/6/12, and it is a month now. I struggled at first with snacking, but healthy snacks, no carbs just greek yogurt, or cottage cheese, etc only protein. I got the carbs from the yogurt and cottage cheese. I was not losing weight for about 10 day, and when I did a follow up with my doctor i realize they meant no snacking between meal but I was so busy trying to get in carbs and protein, that i was eating too many calories. I have nothing in my band until hopefully the 19th of September. I am now eating 1 cup of food each meal, and i am losing weight. I am not eating between meals which allows me to get in my 64oz of fluid, ex: water, tea, etc and i am not hungry. My dr. said to only focus on the protein and fiber, not the carbs and fat but be mindful to make low calories, low fat choices, not pizza or canned processed foods. She explained to me that i will not feel full after my 6-8 ounces of food, but wait the 20 minutes and let your brain process the food and i should not be hungry for at least 4 hours. I could eat more, but i don't, i wait and i find that i am not hungry. I would not beleive if it didn't happen to me. She explained that it is very important to have the 4 hours window of not eating, because what i don't take in with carbs and fat by not eating between meals your body will use your body fat to get the carbs, fat etc and burn the fat and you lose weight. If you do eat between meals, your body does not need to burn the fat because you are feeding it more food between meals. It was so profound when she said that, it all clicked and i tried it and it worked. Remember I have nothing in my band yet, and i can eat more, but i stop at 1 cup and wait the 20 mins. I was talking on the phone today and went 6 hours and still did not feel hungry, and all i had this morning for breakfast was a 6oz greek yogurt with fruit, a cup of coffee before breakfast. Unbelievable. I may not get a fill if I keep up this way. I do want a fill, because my doctor said once i get a fill, it will be hard to eat more than 1/2 cup of food and then i really need to focus on protein and fiber. Try not eating between meals and if that does not work, don't eat the white carbs because it is not a healthy choice, and i may be filling you up but not keeping you full (carbs make you hungry and that may be what is happening to you) and you need to have high protein with each meal. I have been on a ground turkey homemade chili for 1 week and loss 4 pounds. I have only followed this meal plan for 1 week and it works, where I did not lose any weight for 10 days before my dr. set me straight. Hope this helps.

I have Kaiser and they you to lose 10% before surgery

I get a pain to . I'm 6 days post op. I don't know how to describe it. It comes and goes it sits right behind my sternum at the top of my stomach. It feels like the beginnings of a burp that never comes, or like something is going in and gets stuck even though I'm not eating anything. When it happens it's only for a few seconds like between 5-10. I can't take a deep breath and sometimes it triggers a hiccup. Its really annoying and uncomfortable when its happening. I'm not sure if that's what you're feeling but hope you feel better soon.

10 years last month!! It has been on my mind so much lately that I can't focus on much of anything else. I am now 54, and I must say that I do have more energy with the lost weight. Years of my doc telling me to lose weight really didn't sink in, one day he casually said "You know that one of the side effects of obesity is cancer?". That was all I needed to start seriously looking at WLS. It's been 3 years and I only wish I had done it earlier. Right now I am not following the rules and paying the price. Scale is going in the wrong direction, I am one who really doesn't have true restriction so I have to stay on top of things. I don't get hungry so my problem is usually due to liquid overflow (coffee creamer). I wasn't hungry befor surgery, I was a mindless eater and now a mindless drinker. I was listing surgeries the other day and was shocked by how many I've had. The breast reconstruction was 12 hours and I am so glad it was an option. No I'm not even, and the scars are unreal; I even managed to burn my fake nipple off with a heating pad. Oh well. I am reasonably healthy, very much happier and I dang sure look better

For sure call your surgeon and get direction on this. You do not want to jeopardize your surgery date or your health. My surgeon required I use that nasty bottle of stuff and I am glad that I did because it was nearly 10 days before I went to the bathroom again. It's always like that for me post surgery. Haha....

It's 19 days since my surgery. I had an all night into morning bout with reflux, (been taking the prilosec 2x per day along with regulan (anti nausea medication that my surgeon says "helps to push food through" the digestive system.) I had some yogurt with applesauce, and chicken broth with a very little bit of cottage cheese, as well as the usual protein drink/s and waters all at times according to instructions. So you can imagine how disappointed and uncomfortable I was. Today I was hesitant to eat and just sipped and had a bit of protein (brand name "naked") which I find tasty and tolerable. However within the confines of my chest I could feel air bubbles and/or liquid not quite making it's correct passage through. Not getting in enough nutrition does indeed create anxiety for me as I have been a healthy eater and with a strong immune system, which I feel will surely break down if I am not soon able to get enough protein and nutrients to sustain me. Losing a pound every 2 days doesn't excite me in the least when I feel my over all health is being put at grave risk. At this point I'd rather have the pounds and continue to grapple with them in more traditional modes. I am feeling very sad not because I can no longer gorge myself but because I can't seem to even enjoy those things I must even at a minimum i am having difficulty. I wish this would not create such overwhelming anxiety but it has and today it was not until I took an anti anxiety medication that I was able to relax. I suppose I will need these drugs temporarily and then be weaned off when things truly physically improve for me. I am trying really I am. I just mushed one hard boiled egg with mayo and ate about a teaspoon of it over 10 minutes in tiny little portions which I further mushed with my tongue. I am going to put the rest away since I'm not sure if I will suffer repercussions. I also bought papaya digestive enzymes today to see if this may help. My mother bought me a bottle of pepto bismol, but I'm not sure if I should take it. Well that is my current status.

My husband and I both went for our psych evaluations yesterday. We are trying to do everything at the same time to minimize the amount of time that he has to take off work so we can save it up for surgeries. Anyway, it was an awful experience. I tried to call for two solid weeks, each time I got her answering machine saying she would be out of the office today, May 9th. Well, it stopped being May 9th at some point. Anyway, she never returned my call. I ended up having to be routed to her assistants cell phone through numerous other calls to the hospital she works in. I should've known this would be a sign of things to come. Anyway, when I made the appointment I told her I need to make an appointment for my husband on the same day, and her first reaction is "Oh, you BOTH want surgery?" Like this is some kind of red flag already. Yes, we both want to be healthy and quit batteling obesity...how nutty. She said "You'll need to come in at 8:00 for some paper work, then I'll interview one of you at 9:00, and the other one at 10:00, you'll need to come back at 1:00 for feedback". I said "Ok, I've gotta go pick up my son from school at 11:30, but that'll work fine. It's good we'll be able to switch back and forth because we will have our other 3 children with us as well". She said ok, and everything was set. Well, I get there at 8:00 for my part of the paperwork and she said "Where's your husband". I told her he was in the car with the kids, and he would come in when I was done. She said "Oh no, the exam part of this takes about 2 1/2 hours, you have to do it at the same time". Um, WTF? She said 'some paper work', not '2 1/2 hour long exam'. I called him up and told him to bring in the kids and we took the exams with three kids, one of them a screaming baby. She kept asking me "Now Jodi, why didn't you know how long this would take? Were you not paying attention?" I was so confident going in, I have read and re-read on this subject. I have thought about it, and I've even read about all the reasons they would deny someone. No suicidal thoughts, not trying to be a super model, don't smoke, do drugs, or drink, no pychosis ect.... Well, apparently all that didn't matter. She asked why I wanted to lose weight and I said "To have more energy for my kids", in feed back she tells me this is a red flag because I will need to 'push through' my lack of energy to exercise in order to make this surgery successful. Well, I NEVER said I didn't push past it. I have 4 kids, I don't get to just lay around regardless of how much I want to. She asked me if I had tried to lose weight before and I told her about how I've pretty much dieted for the last 18 years, losing some weight only to gain it back. She grilled me forever about why I gained it back, then she told me that if I lost it with diet before, I should be able to do it like that again. And also, that if I gained it back before, I would probably just screw up with the lap band and make it null and void. Pretty much I should just give up I guess. I wanted to cry so bad. She also said one of my 587 questions (that was all true/ false, no degree of inbetween) showed that I was showing signs of depression. I asked her for an example since I feel pretty darn happy, and she didn't know. She then ended the interview by grilling me on the date, day, name of the hospital we were in, what town we were in etc. I didn't know I looked THAT out of it. I asked my husband how it went with him. I thought he would do worse since he hasn't REALLY tried dieting for more than a couple of meals here and there, and knows only what he does about the lap band because I've told him. Well, he did "just fine, no problems". She didn't even ask him what freaking day it was. In the end she gave me the "green light" for surgery, but wants my husband to go to all my doctors appointments with me to take notes because I clearly can't take it all in by myself. :angry Anyway, I just had to gripe. I didn't know it was going to be so horrible. Thank god that parts over with, one less hoop to jump through! Now I've just got 2 more (consultation and pre-surgery visit), and I'm good to go! Thanks for listening!

Hey, BariatricPal Members!We’re turning the corner from winter into spring, and it’s about time! How did the winter go for you? Did you make progress toward becoming the healthy person you want to be? Just before you look ahead to spring, take a look at this month’s BariatricPal newsletter, and spend some time on the boards for further motivation and ideas. Here is what you’ll find in the newsletter. Member Poll: Governor Chris Christie and the Lap-Band Member Spotlight: Meet cindymg! New Jersey Governor Chris Christie: Bariatric Success or Disappointment? Come Chat on BariatricPal We hope you enjoy the newsletter and then you log into BariatricPal to talk about it and everything else related to weight loss surgery. Get tips, share stories, and find inspiration on the boards, and don’t forget to tell your surgeon and support group members about BariatricPal. Thanks for your membership! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder, BariatricPal Member Poll: Governor Chris Christie and the Lap-Band New Jersey Governor Chris Christie quietly had lap-band surgery in February of 2013. As you can read in this month’s BariatricPal newsletter, recent political events have made the topic resurface, highlighting his 100-pound loss and his current weight of 320 pounds. What do you think about the issue? He failed because his BMI of 45 keeps him in the morbidly obese category. He is doing great because of his 100-pound weight loss in a year. It’s too soon to tell. He’ll fail if he doesn’t lose any more weight or gains it back, but the surgery will be a success if he keeps losing weight. I really can’t give an opinion – I do not know anything about him or his diet, and I would not want people to judge me if they didn’t know me. Other – Read my answer in the discussion! Click here so you can mark your answer and let us know what you think in the discussion on BariatricPal! Our Latest Newsletter Sponsor: Insure Nutrition! We are always thrilled to welcome a new newsletter sponsor into the BariatricPal family, and this month, Insure Nutrition is giving us the pleasure of doing just that. Our latest sponsor, Insure Nutrition, is an online company that specializes in getting health insurance coverage for nutritional supplements. Its Post-Bariatric Surgery Nutrition products includes Premier Protein shakes in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavors and OptiSource High Protein drinks in caramel and strawberry flavors. Checking if you are eligible is easy. Insure Nutrition encourages you to use its online form to find out if you qualify. Our sponsors help make BariatricPal newsletters and other services possible. We encourage you show your thanks by considering them first for your bariatric needs. Member Spotlight: Meet Cindymg! This month’s spotlight is on cindymg from Chicago. She is a 59-year-old computer consultant who says she has been dieting since high school. In those 40 years, she tried every diet program and calculates that she has probably gained and lost 2,000 pounds in yo-yo dieting. The diets seriously harmed her health as she developed diabetes, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease. When she started to lose the feeling in her feet, she knew that she would lose her feet soon if she didn’t do something drastic. After some serious investigation, cindymg chose the vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) because she felt it would be effective without having the side effects of gastric bypass. Cindymg’s surgery was in May of 2013. Her starting weight was 258 pounds, and she is just under the 200-pound barrier en route to her goal weight of 175 pounds. She had no complications from surgery, and her family has been largely supportive. Her main challenges now are her excess skin and her hesitation getting rid of her oversized clothes! Since getting surgery, cindymg says that she has been able to cut her medications to one-quarter of what they were. She exercises now and feels much better “without lugging around that extra weight.” She does not get hungry, so she is saving money on food in addition to losing weight! She also notices a change in attitude. Cindymg says she now “eats to live, rather than lives to eat,” and does not feel guilty over food. The gastric sleeve feels like a permanent solution, not a temporary fix. Cindymg says BariatricPal keeps her mindful, and she enjoys reading members’ stories. She hope to provide them with advice and humor. Her advice for members struggling with weight loss is to avoid beating yourself up. Just get up and try again, and “keep coming back to the forum!” Thank you, cindymg, for being in our member spotlight! We are excited to be a part of your journey to mental and physical health, and are proud to be part of that journey. Do you have any members whom you want to see in the BariatricPal newsletter? Do you want to be featured? Let us know in the Member Spotlight Forum or by sending Alex Brecher a private message. Thank you! New Jersey Governor Chris Christie: Bariatric Success or Disappointment? A year ago, New Jersey governor Chris Christie got the lap-band. At the time of his surgery in February of 2013, Governor Christie, who stands at 5’11,” weighed over 400 pounds. Since then, NBC News reports that he has lost 90 to 100 pounds and now weighs in at 320 pounds. The speculation surrounding Governor Christie’s weight loss journey has led to opinions as divided as the political views of those who follow New Jersey politics. Critics maintain that he has failed in this weight loss effort. They point to his current BMI of 45, which places him in the morbidly obese category, and claim that he will be unable to run for president in 2016 because of his weight. Supporters point out that he appears to have lost 40 to 45 percent of his excess body weight, which is right on target for most lap-band patients in the first year after surgery. Governor Christie himself has kept relatively quiet about the issue from the beginning. He did not reveal his surgery until months had passed, and provided few details. In September, he said that he is more than halfway toward his goal, although he did not specify his current or goal weight. What do you think? Is Governor Christie’s surgery a failure? Will his weight prevent him from making a serious run for the presidency in 2016? Is he on the right track? Or, maybe it is too tough to judge because it is too soon to tell or because we, as outsiders, do not know the whole story. Let us know what you think on this thread! Come Chat on BariatricPal Where do you go when you need a pep talk, information about your weight loss surgery diet, or a celebratory high-five? The BariatricPal chatrooms, of course! In-person support groups might only be once a week or month, you need an appointment to see a doctor, and nurses are only available by phone. Family and friends are encouraging, but they might not understand what you are going through. The BariatricPal chatrooms are open 24/7, so there’s always a chance that you can find people to talk to. When you chat with BariatricPal members, there’s a good chance you can find someone who is sympathetic to productive burping, or who can suggest a WLS-compatible snack to satisfy your munchies. The chatrooms have been updated to better serve members’ needs, so come check them out! That’s it for this month’s newsletter. We hope it brightened your day after these long months of winter and gave you some inspiration to look forward to a healthy spring. Thanks for reading it, and we’ll see you on the boards!

I'm banded (10/04/04)and live in Mesquite. What do you need to know!

I'm sorry if it's not what you want to hear, but I'm just trying to help. What you're seeing does not indicate it's for public employees because you are not seeing the full version, you are seeing a very very small piece of a larger document. 5-10-8 is a provision for "Group Insurance for Public Employees." The part that I believe has interested you, "...the state shall provide coverage for nonexperimental, surgical treatment by a health care provider of morbid obesity" is part of Chapter 8 - for public employees. You can find Chapter 8 (title intact) here.

I have Bipolar 11, and take Riperidone which when i first started made me gain 20 lbs in 3 weeks!!! I kid you not! I had had my gastric bypass July 2009 and had lost 60 lbs by Nobember then i had to be put on Risperidone and it basically reversed the whole surgery. So i go in for lapband surgery next Friday now that i am almost weened from it. Abilify is a weight gainer but not as bad a risperidone. Here is a link to a study about Abilify and other of the same kind of bipolar meds. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/business/28psych.html?_r=1&

I am only one week post op and I have not lost an ounce since surgery. I lost about 13 lbs on my pre op diet (10 days prior to surgery). I feel like I am still holding on to a lot of edema and swelling from the surgery. I have to stop weighing myself everyday. I think I am going to wait one week b4 I weigh myself again..... who am I kidding. I will wake up, strip naked and get on the scale in the morning like I do every day.

First time and hoping the last time for me! I got a fill a week ago, that is finally giving me some restriction. I can feel that when I eat certain foods, they do not go down as smoothly as before, so I have been extremely conscious of making sure to eat small bites and chewing well. Well, today I was in a rush and took a piece of roast beef for lunch with some veggies. I just took a bite and the doorbell rang. I got up to answer the door, and I swallowed way too fast, and it was not pretty! I had those horrible pains in my chest and back, a little sliming, and then finally after 10 minutes, I threw up a little bit, and it was over. I kept taking deep breaths and walking around until it was over. Whew!! It was awful! I've consisntently read about these episodes, and never truly understand the feeling until now! The one good thing out of all of this, was that it was the UPS man at the door bringing me a package that contained some new clothes that are 3 sizes smaller than what I have worn! So at least I got to smile a bit after it was all over!

I am scheduled for October 2nd also! Pre-op is October 1st, I am getting excited also! I keep wishing it would hurry up, but I know it will be here before I realize it. Congrats to you and good luck with this new life we are going to begin! Yay for 10/02/13. ????????????????

Well everyone....I am in the land of the living...I was banded yesterday. It was so funny as I was watching Big Medicine the night before my surgery and saw a lady that was doing the lap band surgery...I love that show. Listen anyone who has not done this surgery...It is probably the best thing that could have every happened to me. For many years I suffered from an eating disorder and it got out of control. For anyone out there that may feel that binging and purging can make you loose weight (trust me there are people out there that feel that way). You will not you were looking at at a previous bulimic that gained 50 lbs! It's better you do what you have to do and get this band. I know this journey won't be easy but now I am in control of ME and that is the most important thing. Here is the low down: 1. I waited until 1:20 p.m. a lady met with me and brough me to OR I was put in a waiting room. 2. The nurse told me to put on a robe that could finally fit me. You know the hopital gown that you have to put two on or you will be ass out..yeah...that can't happen there! lol. I also got a took to put on.The nurse came in asked a few questions. She weighed me and to my suprise I lost 15 lbs.:whoo: 3. The anestigolist (mind my spelling) met with me to explain what he would be going and asked what meds I am on and if I am allergic to anything. 4. Then I met with Dr. Cobourn for a while. He answered all my questions. He told me he loved my touqe and not to start without him.lol. I told him I would try not too! 5. I was then taken to OR they strapped me up to the machines and sent me to lala land. 6. I woke up. The post op nurse Francine was amazing. She came me all sorts of cool drugs lol. I got some demerol and codine. 7. Dr. Cobourn met with me breifly and told me that I had a bit of a hernia and he fixed it! HA...I went to Peel for the same problem and they turned me away saying nothing was wrong. 8. I had a lot of gas pain in the shoulders which I think was the worst. 9. Got home and put a hot Water bottle on the shoulders took gas X and went beddie bye. 10. One thing that helps with the gas I found was a nice message. My hubbie gave me a message it helped move around the gas. 11. I slept on the couch for the evening as my couch has a lot of pillow which was very comfortable. 12. Woke up this morning to some gas but now soreness in the tummy. I guess the stiching is making me sore. The gas is starting to come out (gross) and is litterly a byatch to come out lol. All in all ... everything went well. I am very happy and that each and everyone of your for your support along the way. If it wasn't for you all I would be in the dark as to what to expect. At least by reading your experiences I now know what to expect. You all are amazing! Thanks again for all your support.

Well things are moving right along!!! I was supposed to attend a 6 week nutrition course 1 hr. 15min away that was only available on Thursday mornings and started the 2nd week in October, but I don't have a babysitter and was really starting to worry - WELL, I actually found a nutritionist 5 minutes away that specializes in Bariatic pre and post-op nutrition and my surgeon ok'd this as acceptable!! WHOO-HOO! Since this class is 1 on 1, it should only take 2 sessions which would make my surgery alot sooner. I meet with her MONDAY at 10! I am really starting to feel I am getting somewhere!! Just had to share my joy!

Welcome - I am in canada and having my surgery at 10 tomorrow. I am self pay and will go home right after. I have lost 18lbs on the preop diet and very excited to get more off. My Dr. does a phone consult at 4 weeks to see if you need your 1st fill at that time. Sorry to hear you are hungry but hang in there.

Shaydee, you are doing really well. Just try and stay focused on your goal. Set mini goals for yourself. Say 10 lbs at a time or something like that. Stay on these boards as much as possible. You will get support here. Good luck.

Well, abstract of an article, anyway. Here is a link to it. It compares results of all the major surgeries. I thought you guys might be interested. It may require you to register, but it's free. If you do have to register, it should take you directly to the article afterwards. The authors reviewed all reports published in English journals up until September 2005 that had at least 3 years of follow-up data. It shows that Lap-Band and RNY were statistically equal in the mid-term (>3 years). There weren't any long-term results (>10 years) for the lap-band procedure, but the authors did note this: "Mean %EWL for standard RYGBP (RNY) was higher than for LAGB (lap-band) at years 1 and 2 (67 vs 42; 67 vs 53) but not different at 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 years (62 vs 55; 58 vs 55; 58 vs 55; 53 vs 50; and 55 vs 51). There was 59 %EWL for LAGB at 8 years, and 52 %EWL for RYGBP at 10 years. Both the BPD+/-DS (biliopancreatic diversion with or without duodenal switch) and the Banded RYGBP (banded bypass) appeared to show better weight loss than standard RYGBP and LAGB, but with statistically significant differences present at year 5 alone. The LL-RYGBP (longlimb bypass) was not associated with improved %EWL."

Cubby - I was banded on the 5TH. Had no preop diet, and liquids only for 1 week. My second week (Until Saturday) is mushies - I love eggs! I cannot wait until Saturday to have a bit of ground beef or Turkey!!! Congrats on your weight loss! Banded 3/5/10 Starting Weight 350 Current Weight 330

Dear body, You sir, are an a*****e. If you are going to act like one, could you use yours more? I dont appreciate being woken up at 6am (after going to bed at 1am) with insistant chatter that now is your time to, ahem, "shine" and to have you get all shy when we get there. This waffling is getting annoying and embarassing. You made us late to work twice last week. I know stomach is being a whiney baby and getting all the attention but that doesnt excuse you from doing your job. And your buddy, brain... Just because colon is all like "tada!" at 6am doesnt mean you need to start with a new round of "what do you think about this". You could have quietly gone back to sleep and made everyone happy. Five hours of sleep might seem all fine and dandy now, but later today everyone is going to be cranky. By the way, could you stop asking for stuff that you know is not an option. I am tired of trying to mediate between you, stomach, bank account and doctor. I know that gourmet grilled cheese on artisan sourdough looks delicious, but bank account is not up for spending $30 fon ingredients for a recipe that stomach will take 3 bites of before whimping out and I dont want to hear another "told you so" from doctor. Bank account hates him too. Last not but not least... stomach. I know you got the raw end of this deal but think of it as taking one for the team. Everyone, well except maybe fat, will be better off in the end. You and I are not on the same page right now, but I trying to learn your new language and how you like to be treated... Give me some time! You have been unreasonably persnickity lately and not like there is a manual. To top it off, you keep changing what some of the rules/signals are and what you like/will tolerate on a day to day basis. Work with me buddy! TLDR: Brain, dont be a d**k. Colon, if you're gonna act like an a*****e, the least you can do is use yours. Stomach, make up your mind. Sincerely, The rest of us at Casa de Queenofthetamazons HW 385 SW 359 CW 335 (50lbs down!) Sleeved 10/5/16

Hi Rida, I had surgery 10-30. I must confess I'm not sticking to post-op so well...eating most things pretty well. I've been weighing myself daily unfortunately...but have lost 9 lbs so far. I'm in the Dallas area also. Congratulations on your surgery. Best of luck! Shari