deflating the band

[ElfiePoo 109]

I have only read from a very few people who have never had a fill and got to goal and stayed there. My Dr said it is possible and he sees it in a very small percentage of people.They usually are very strong willed people.

Which begs the question, "If they don't need the band, why did they get banded?"

As for 'strong willed'. I have to say this type of comment really torques me because the reality is that banding does not remove the need for self-control and will power. Even when I was overfilled and so restricted that I lived on Protein shakes until I could get an unfill, high calorie slider foods were still a possibility...if I did not practice willpower and self-control.

Many banded people struggle not to graze through the day...which we can still do when we have restriction...and that takes self-control and will power.

I love my surgeon. He was only 60 pounds overweight but because he had a problem controlling his portions...and because he was gaining more weight every year, he was banded. I believe that is why he has a much better understanding of this whole process than most surgeons do. He was very clear in my seminar that being banded is not about being a failure and lacking self-control and will power. It's just about finding the right tool. If WW or Jenny Craig work, great. If the band works, great...but all require self-control and willpower.

[coloradobanding 5]

Which begs the question, "If they don't need the band, why did they get banded?"

As for 'strong willed'. I have to say this type of comment really torques me because the reality is that banding does not remove the need for self-control and will power. Even when I was overfilled and so restricted that I lived on Protein shakes until I could get an unfill, high calorie slider foods were still a possibility...if I did not practice willpower and self-control.

Many banded people struggle not to graze through the day...which we can still do when we have restriction...and that takes self-control and will power.

I love my surgeon. He was only 60 pounds overweight but because he had a problem controlling his portions...and because he was gaining more weight every year, he was banded. I believe that is why he has a much better understanding of this whole process than most surgeons do. He was very clear in my seminar that being banded is not about being a failure and lacking self-control and will power. It's just about finding the right tool. If WW or Jenny Craig work, great. If the band works, great...but all require self-control and willpower.

I am totally confused by this post.

First thing I would like to point out is your specific question that makes my skin crawl. "If they don't need the band, why did they get banded?"

When did I, or anyone else state they didn't need the band? Obviously, we all needed the band because we are or were overweight and needed a "tool" to help us lose weight, and more importantly, learn healthy eating habits and change our lifestyle.

OF COURSE it takes will power to lose weight, with or without WLS. But I PERSONALLY don't struggle not to graze all day, that is GONE!! I personally have gained an INCREDIBLE amount of will power I have NEVER had before and would NEVER have had without my band. To be honest, I don't even think about food on a daily basis. To me, it is a mission. I get my Protein in and that is about it. I don't have cravings (apart from an occasional one here or there) in general, I am almost never hungry and that is exactly what I was hoping for. I am NOT saying this is "normal" or what happens for anyone else, nor do I care quite honestly. This is MY JOURNEY and how it is going for me. I do not and would never imply that everyone should do what I do nor do I dare to say this is how it is "suppose" to be. This is how it works for me.

I have NEVER and I repeat NEVER said I didn't need the band. I could NEVER have gotten to where I am without it. Why in the hell would I subject myself to a major surgery because I didn't need it? Seriously, let's use some common sense here. I hope that alleviates any question about this particular question that just torques my ass! I NEED THE BAND AND THE SURGERY AND WOULD NEVER BE WHERE I AM OR WHERE I INTEND TO GO WITHOUT IT.

That said, and apart from whatever reasons I supply for MY CHOICE why would anyone judge someone else as to how they proceed on this VERY PERSONAL journey?

So you rely on the band and choose to for a lifetime GREAT!!! I genuinely hope it works for you!!! So some choose to eat around the band day one. GREAT!!! Hope that works for you!

So I choose to live my life normally once I reach my goal. WHY DO YOU CARE and WHY WOULD YOU JUDGE ME? Because I'm not doing it the way you are or the way it is "suppose" to be? Give me a break please!! Again, to state the obvious and what everyone SHOULD know, the band is a TOOL!!! The unofficial definition of the word "tool" is a device or mechanism that aids in achieving a task.

I use mine to achieve the task of teaching me healthy habits, which it has done and continues to do every day. I am VERY CLOSE to feeling 100% confident that I can continue what I've learned WITHOUT depending on a piece of plastic around my stomach but to RELY on ME!! Shocking I know, but that is my plan. Will it work? I hope so! Am I sure it will work? Hell no! Am I dedicated and educated enough to make it work? HELL YES!! But if it doesn't, I have my good ol' piece of plastic to back me up and get me on track.

My surgeon is rated in the top 5% of all WLS surgeons in the US. He was one of the VERY FIRST to gain the Center of Excellence rating and has done this for many, many years. He has not had lap-band, nor has anyone in his office. But that makes him no less qualified or have a less understanding than a doctor that has had the surgery. I'm SO HAPPY that you are pleased with your surgeon, that is one of the things that I am SURE has helped my success. Many have surgeons that don't know what they heck they're doing. But don't presume that yours is better than anyone else's. Just be glad you are happy with him.

I am not a professor in the area of lap-band and my theories may be unorthodox. But PLEASE don't judge those who do something differently or believe differently than you! What you do that works for you is a PERSONAL choice as it is mine.

Edited March 23, 2010 by coloradobanding

[ElfiePoo 109]

I am totally confused by this post.

In which case you should have asked for clarification instead of going off on a totally unrelated rant. My post was in response to your surgeon's comment that some people *never* get a fill and must be strong willed thus the implication that those who get fills are lacking in such. You obviously have had fills so my comment obviously had nothing to do with you.

There's no point in responding to any of your accusations because they are false accusations based on your misassumptions. In fact, your entire post was based on a wide range of misassumptions about what I said, so perhaps we could back up a bit.

.

[coloradobanding 5]

In which case you should have asked for clarification instead of going off on a totally unrelated rant. My post was in response to your surgeon's comment that some people *never* get a fill and must be strong willed thus the implication that those who get fills are lacking in such. You obviously have had fills so my comment obviously had nothing to do with you.

There's no point in responding to any of your accusations because they are false accusations based on your misassumptions. In fact, your entire post was based on a wide range of misassumptions about what I said, so perhaps we could back up a bit.

.

If I misunderstood your post then I apologize. Obviously it hits a nerve with me when that question is asked.

[ElfiePoo 109]

If I misunderstood your post then I apologize. Obviously it hits a nerve with me when that question is asked.

Apology accepted. :thumbup:

[MrsCabes 2]

Thank you Colorado, I am so glad that I am totally not from another planet. I have only read from a very few people who have never had a fill and got to goal and stayed there. My Dr said it is possible and he sees it in a very small percentage of people.They usually are very strong willed people.

I feel great, look great, and I am determined to not have to get a fill unless like most of you said, things change down the road and i somehow get back into my old habits and start to change my new and good habits into those ugly demons.

I love my band and would never trade it for anything and I personally have talked to a woman in town that gets fills with somebody else because it is "the thing to do". Last week she got dehydrated because she could not even drink Water.

I use my own mind and body to tell me what is right or wrong and what is comfortable. To me being so tight that I cannot drink Water (while living in the desert of Arizona) is not how I want this journey to go.:thumbup:

I see so many success stories on here and I too am one in my own right.

Yes, because the rest of us just suck and are weak.

[sparkplug 106]

Colorado, again thank you for your thoughts and I agree with you 100%. People who think they know it all and tell me that if I don't get a fill that the band is not going to work are very ignorant in how everybody's body is different. Yes, I mean ignorant, you have blinders on to think that everybody goes through this banding the same way. Just as everybody loses weight differently, people's bodies respond differently to the band.

Yes I never had a fill and do not need one even at goal, I am sorry that you have to have your band so tight to control your eating. I do not need the band that tight to learn new eating habits and "eat to live" and not "live to eat".

I have no apology for you Elfie Poo, you go on ranting about how if it is not done your way, it is wrong. My Dr in Las Vegas is one of the top 5% surgeons that specialize in this and if he says that there is a small percentage that never need a fill, than he KNOWS it is true.

If you think I spent $31,000.00 to have somebody on this website tell me what is right or wrong in how I work the band, than you are sadly mistaken. I go by what my Dr says and that is what has got me to goal? Are you to goal? Well, I am!!! Thank you Dr. Atkinson and your staff for your intelligence, patience and skill in getting me my band and saving my life.:thumbup:

[RavenClaw779 2]

Wow - I never considered a point where I would have an "unfill" but I can see both sides of the issue including those who've had minimal fills.

I'm only 2 weeks out with an unfilled 11cc Realize band but I feel restriction and according to the nurse at my post-op, the swelling has gone down so that's not cause of my restraint. She (jokingly?) said that it's probably my willpower kicking in. Well, maybe. Maybe all the years of battling the bludge and nutritional counseling plus my new tool are helping me to make smarter choices. I'm losing about a pound every three days(the honeymoon period?!) and that's working for me. The first fill is 4/14 and I go in for a check every month for a year, so I'm going to take this one step at a time and see where it takes me. If I get to the point where I can control myself and enjoy the foods I may miss, I'll take a realistic look at my fill level.