READ THIS B4 BEING BANDED...My Experience

[Krystal 4]

It's been two years and i have lost maybe 10lbs total. Why? People ask....I WILL TELL YOU HOW IT HAPPENED FOR ME....

The moral of the story is not to tell you NOT to get the band...but to tell you that this is no FIX and don't expect overnight weight loss....YOU HAVE TO PUT EFFORT into it.

This is important....people like me assumed the BAND would fix everything and the motivation would just fall into place...this is soooo untrue.....

I had always been big...all through school..always size 16+....senior year 2001 i was a good size 22....2003 i was a size 24 and by 2005 i was a size 32......I was always made fun of.....i gained almost 100 pounds in 3 years from being on the depo shot(birth control)so i got off of that...... and then getting pregnant. By 2005 I was at my worst.

I walked into the Dr's office thinking I was only 360 back in April of 2005. When I got on the scale it read 380...I almost died. I cried in his office because I was so ashamed. Ashamed over 20lbs!!!! I had researched the band and felt because I had a daughter it would be the safest surgery for me. I am only 24 and was 22 at the time. I thought this was going to be the FIX.....the thing to change my life. I thought that there was no way anyone or anything could stop me from losing weight after I had surgery.

I went through all the tests....and got all the required medical paperwork and convinced some family members to pitch in for my surgery. I set the date and started my pre-op diet!

From that point on I should have known I was going to be a mess. I was supposed to be on a liquid diet for 2 weeks because my liver needed to shrink for surgery. So i ate everything they told me to for the first 3 days and BAM....the feeling set in.....I WANTED AN ULTIMATE CHEESEBURGER FROM JACK N THE BOX AND I WANTED IT NOW! I couldn't get it off my mind....i was thinking about it allllllll day.....i went to bed thinking about it...and the next morning i went and got one. I figured...what could ONE double cheese burger with double cheese and mayo possibly do......well...it did nothing to the surgery process but it really broke the frame of mind. Before the 2 weeks was up i had eatin 2 not one but TWO ultimate cheeseburgers and a few chicken nuggets. Why? Why couldn't I just do the PRE SURGERY diet?

June 8th 2005------So surgery day came....and went.....all went well no complications.....i was on soft food in the beginning and I started to eat eggs for Breakfast....but my eggs HAD to have cheese and butter in them....HELLO!!! What was I thinking.....I remember getting my first fill and at this point I had almost lost 40lbs. 20pre-op and 20 post-op. It was amazing.......

About 3 months out(2 months after my 1st fill) I started to become familiar with my band and how much I could and could not eat. I realized that when i would eat too much, i drank a little bit, and it would make the food pass and then i would feel sooooo much better. I never exercised...keep in mind...(maybe got into the pool like 10 times the whole summer) and i was preparing for my wedding which was September 17th 2005. I was so stressed because my weightloss had pretty much STOPPED......I was craving foods like never before and started to eat and drink at the same time...BIG MISTAKE......i was eating at least double what I should have. So I went and had ANOTHER fill. This slowed me down...but still I was not losing ANY weight. I remember eating my first fried chicken after my fill and like trying to manipulate my band into letting me eat more by taking one bite and then drinking....it was the worst thing in the world i could have EVER done.

A year after my band was put in I was only 20lbs total lost (which means i gained 20 back) and I was so angry...I promised myself I was going to try and fix things and make it better....So much had happened that year....2006....we bought a house, my husbands dad died of cancer, my husband was leaving for weeks at a time for work...and i was home ALONE with my daughter. I had no energy to keep the house clean(and i still dont) but i would sit and mope.....and EAT.....I would make excuses to people who asked me WHY i hadn't lost any weight. I told them all that it was a slow process and that i had lost 40 pounds(lied to them).

This year, Jan 2007...I was just sitting at dinner with my husband and looked down and noticed i had a 12oz strip steak, baked potato loaded....and mashed potatos loaded on my plate. I ate all of it. my band was NOT going to stop me. I also ate bread before that.......and drank sweat tea....

in Feb07 I was online playing around and saw an ad for a weightloss show. Primetime...suppose to be JUST like the Biggest Loser....I thought...hmmmm I'll just fill out the app for shits and giggles.....well they responded and wanted me to send them a tape....so i did.

Then in march they had me get my band completely UNFILLED and then flew me out to LA and put me through med tests and interviews,THEY BOUGHT ME 2 PLANE SEATS because i was too big to fit in the plane chairs on my own....pretty sad huh,(cant say much more because they made me sign all kinds of disclosures) They told me it was a show that will be on ABC and told me i would be away from my family for 10 weeks. I thought....this is the chance i have been waiting for.

They made me think i was going....for weeks after the interview I was getting called and asked follow up questions and told i was in the top 4....then on March 31 i was called and told the network did not choose me. I was DEVISTATED.............like someone should have just shot me right there. I was so upset...i cried the whole way home(we were out to eat of course) and my husband looked at me and said...why dont you just do it on your own?

Ummmmm DUH right...? So about a week went by and I had done a real examination of what i have done wrong and how i have basically cheated myself out of my life! On Easter i saw my family and noticed how no one said i looked good anymore...that's because i didnt.....i looked worse...heavy as can be....and that night i sent an email to my family and decide that enough is enough.

Im exercising daily...NO EXCUSES...i posted before/after pictures on my walls in my house of other people who have had the band. I put sayings all over the house saying "whats ur excuse now" and i told my husband that enough is enough. So we decided to start our weightloss exercise on the 9th.....on the 10th I went and had my band RE-filled and since the 10th I have lost 10lbs......unbelievable huh!!!

:clap2: So hopefully all this will inspire SOMEONE before it happens to them. Let my "GAIN" be your "LOSS".

Good luck everyone!

Krystal

[joe7777 1]

wow, hope you can go through with it this time. I am doing the pre-op diet starting in 10 days...so I will fight through the urges....Hope everything goes better for you

[kt_999 0]

I wish you the best of luck... it really seems like you've had a change in attitude and I feel sure that you are going to succeed this time :mad:

[mdrai 3]

A very powerful, honest post. Thank you for sharing that. I think a lot of us DO think that it'll be a snap to lose once we get banded, and that we ignore or at least downplay the emotional issues of what got us this big in the first place.

I have been working mentally/emotionally already to figure out the "whys" of what makes me fat. It's difficult, but so worth it. For instance: what will I do instead of EAT when in a stressful situation?? I think about that, and then the next time I'm in that situation, I give one of the alternatives a try and see how it goes. I'm doing all that NOW so it won't be so new/painful after I'm banded.

Thank you for sharing your story. Best wishes to you as you take control! :mad:

[Boo Boo Kitty 3]

Wow! I thank you as well for posting your story. We all think the band is the end all be all for us, but it isn't unless we do it right! Good luck and congratulations on your Re-committment to your life!

[Katgirl 0]

Don't feel too down on yourself about the preop! I know that I would not have been successful with the preop diet either. Luckily, I did NOT have to do the preop diet; not all docs make this a requirement.

Obviously, you did not have enough fill - of course you can continue to eat if you don't have enough fill. Not being successful with the band is a minority as far as I am concerned. This band has saved my life and I was like you: craving the burgers, etc. I have enought fill that it is IMPOSSIBLE to eat as you have mentioned you were, in your post.

Good luck,

Kat.

[Shellybeans 0]

Krystal, first off thank you for your powerful testimony. For such a young lady, you certainly have the right attitude and are wise beyond your years. I am nearly 50 and am just now getting it! You can do this and just stay involved with this support group. I think that the support is a large part of our success. We see that we are not alone in this and that everyone here has had and are having the same issues. Just by your post alone, you have indeed helped someone. ME!

Thanks again and the best of luck to you.

[maltomeel 0]

I second Mdrai...thank you for your honesty. It wasn't easy, I'm sure, to do so. You are on your way. I can feel the energy right thru your post. You will do it this time!

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

:clap2: So hopefully all this will inspire SOMEONE before it happens to them. Let my "GAIN" be your "LOSS".

Good luck everyone!

Krystal

Can I make a suggestion?

Would you just try something? Let us help you. What if... What if you come back here EVERY SINGLE DAY and post an update. Tell us how you are feeling. Tell us what is going on. TELL US everything. If you have a horrible craving, come here. We can be your shoulder to cry on, you can lean on us, you can scream at us, and we will always give you warm fuzzy hugs.

What if you inspire others in your position to do the same. You are not the only one to have these issues. There are lots of people in the same boat. If each person in the same boat helped others in the same boat... it would be a healthy thing for everyone. If you can't depend on those who honest to God GET IT and understand completely, who can you depend on?

We all have to help each other in our own way. I'm not a great person for on line things, my writing style is mean and cranky even though that isn't what is in my heart at all. I just suck at writing. Sometimes people who have seen my writing style call me and they laugh at me because I have a quiet and soft voice. It doesn't match my on line cranky style at all. So I try to pitch in and help with medical stuff when I can. That's my way. Maybe your way is drawing people to you that are going through the same thing. Be an example, be a leader. Work together and we all benefit. If we all pitch in and do what we are good at, we'd have all the support and information we need.

Look, if you post daily and almost do an on line journal... you are holding yourself accountable but through us. Not sure if I am explaining my thoughts well but you need to be accountable to yourself and yourself only. You can do that through us. We can support you and you can support us.

I used to post my daily menu on a fat board and I'll tell you, it made me stop and think before I filled my pie hole. I didn't want to admit that I ate something really bad and a lot of it. So I thought before eating. It worked for me. I barf on yogurt but I can eat a bag of Fritos. I'd rather post that I ate yogurt and not mention the barfing part than to admit I ate a bag of Fritos.

We all mess up once in a while, it's the trends that are dangerous. By posting on line even if you don't recognize the trends, someone here will.

Please imagine me giving you a really big huge mega bear hug!!!!!

((((HUGS))))

[Krystal 4]

I will SOOOOO post as often as possible...if not daily................

Thank you guys for caring....i really hit like a rock bottom low last week and I had quit my job too...so hopefully all that will change and i can use all my free time as an opportunity to work out. Im going to go walk again....2nd time today.....maybe only 20-25 minutes this time...but hey at least its something.

THANK YOU

CHECK MY JOURNAL DAILY IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN MY PROGRESS....I HAVE ALSO POSTED PROGRESS SO FAR IN THERE.

MUAH

[Sissy907 1]

We are watching, reading, praying, and waiting for you to say you need us... We are here!

[kity 2]

Krystal,

Thanks for sharing your story. That was honest, and I am sure, spoke to many people here. If you need motivation, encouragement, and support, LBT is the place for it. And since you are REBANDING in April 07, I invite you to join our group. I have made many friendships there, and know you will feel the support you need. Whether you join us or not, keep using LBT...this is a powerful format that has helped so many.

Keep up the good work and thanks for posting!

[nbjen 0]

Good Luck Krystal!!! I think your finally on your way :mad: Thanks so much for sharing your story

[Krystal 4]

You All Dont Even Know How Much It Helps To Hear That People Are Reading My Story And Actually Care.

Thank You

I Love All Of You!!!!

Great Support Comes From The Lbt'ers

[Joyful1 0]

Krystal: Your story is a TRUE INSPIRATION to me and so many others!!! I will begin my pre-op on May 1st. After joining lapbandtalk.com about 3+ weeks ago, I begin to think to myself, "dog, if I have to work this hard with the band, why can't I do it without the band." As I continue to read different threads, I realize more and more that having the band is just a small but very important part of the total equation. However, without the band, WE would probably be much larger than we already are. Only imagine where you would be if you did not have the band at all.

Thanks for your HONESTY!!!!!! You were created by God for such a time as this!!! Your living has not and will not be in vain. You are a beautiful soul, preparing for a beautiful, HEALTHY, and fulfilling future!! I look forward to hearing more about your ongoing weight loss success. You will do well!

Hugs,

Joyful1