HELP!!! Someone please reassure me!!!

[Agnes 0]

July 8th here! ..heading to Mexico with Dr. Ortiz!! (self pay) I am not fat enough (the irony):thumbup: for my insurance to cover me... I am at 31.4 BMI (I am only 5'1 and was horrified to see that I am technically 'obese')..esp when i was a SIZE 4 on my wedding day...

I am VERY excited:thumbup:, but still have SOOO many questions running through my head...esp after reading different threads on this site and others...:biggrin:

Some say they are so many weeks, even months post op and havent seen much success...that's tad scary to me!

I have done EVERYTHING to lose the weight that i regained and nothing ...thats when i decided to research Lapband...

I know it'll be HUGE adjustment..however the way I see it, if I am putting the $ into it...i better see some major results!! My husband has been SOOOO supportive. (he met me at 175lbs and I married him at 133lbs...regained back and now am at 166lbs and its killing me!) he doesnt care...he just wants me to be happy and I am far from happy. i cry alone, throw tantrums in my closet, dont feel like going out b/c "i have nothing to wear.."....well...you all know the feeling I am sure.

So after TONS of research and deciding...i AM gonna do this! It was a weight lifted off my shoulders to see ow supportive Erick (hubby) was. "i just want you to be happy", he says... and i know that getting to your goal weight will do that..":tt1:

but the LAST thing i want is for him to regret putting us further in debt b/c it didnt work.. PLEASE SOMEONE REASSURE ME THAT THIS IS GONNA WORK!! I know that you HAVE to follow the diet, and i am assuming that the people complaining are the ones eating icecream all day long and wondering why the scale isnt budging! LOL

I am not doing this for nothing! I know there will be sacrafice and there are foods that i will just have to give up (or they are gonna come back up! lol)

I have approx 50-55 pounds to lose? realistically, does anyone know fast or slow this process is? I mean, it HAS to be faster the dieting alone, right? and these refills.... why do i see people getting filled so often? Is it the more weight you drop, the more you have to fill?

July 8th cant come fast enough!! I am ready for my life to change FOREVER!!!:w00t:

Sorry for the novel.... :eek:

Agnes

[ash 5]

I don't have a surgery date yet (hoping to get one scheduled this week), and I know exactly how you are feeling. I'm also paying for this myself and am FREAKING OUT that even if I do everything right, it's not going to work. I just paid off my car, and the loan I took out to cover the surgery is going to take the place of my car payment!

On the whole, I am very excited to get this done, but I'm VERY scared the universe is going to work against me or something.

Anyway, best of luck to you!!!

[Kristine73 1]

Remember it's a tool, not a magic bullet. You get out of it what you put into it. I was banded 6/08 and am slowly loosing weight. I drink 2 soy Protein shakes a day. I use the powder and instead of ice, I use frozen fruit when I blend the shake for added nutrition. For a snack I use either ff yogurt or sf pudding. I also drink low sodium v8 juice for the added nutrition. If I'm still hungry, then I do scrambled eggs, 1 part egg product w/1 real egg (I like the taste that way). Oh, and I did have about 1/4 of egg salad today (no scrambled eggs) made w/ff mayo.

Notice, I'm not eating ice cream, full fat dairy products and I am putting and emphasis on Protein, not carbs.

Remember it takes time to learn how to use a tool. There will be set back, but the object is to learn from them, modify your diet and move on.

Good luck

[Good4me1313 54]

Congratulations on the decison to have the surgery!! It can really change your life.....but you have to activley participate in the weight loss and really use your band in the manner this "tool" is meant to be used. I took two years of soul searching before I knew I was ready for the life changes I have made and am making since having surgery. Not only do I try and make much better food choices each and every day, I also exercise now each and every day. I do not do this same type of exercises each day because I would get bored, I mix it up. I am fortunate that I have many family members and friends that have been extremely supportive throughout this process and I go to group support meetings offered by my surgeons office. So, I guess what I am trying to say is that by having this surgery, YOU have to make changes, it is not simply a diet. You are right, there are many people out there that have this surgery and don't see much weight loss at all. I think that you get out of it what you put in. Having said all that, if you focus on what you need to do you will find much success. I am so very gratful that I have had this surgery and have no regets whatsoever. I wish everyone the success I have had...good luck!:biggrin:

[paxie 0]

I know you said that insurance wont pay for it because you dont weight enough, but is it safe for someone with just 50 pounds to lose and worth it? Have you spoken to a us doctor here about that?

[ibelieve 0]

You REALLY have to work for it. The band is a tool to enable you to control your appetite vis a vis, you cannot overeat. (Well, I guess you can, but really, why would you even want to do something like that, especially if your family has gone into debt to help you). However, you will still be able to take in dense carbs, and high fat high calorie things, which you can easily fit into your banded stomach in such a way, that you are defeating the purpose.

So, from what I have learned, you fill up on lean Proteins at the beginning of each meal, and then fulfill the remainder of your nutritional requirements after that.

I wish I had heard of of the band back when I only had 50 lbs to lose. I've only been banded since Jun 4, and I intend to go low Glycemic Index, and Low Carb. right now I am on smooth foods and chopped Protein until July 3. I am still not able to overeat, and I am NOT cheating. I went to the mall, avoiding the food court, and only had a ginger peach iced tea. I came home and ate 2 oz of plain deli turkey, as prescribed, with a little bit of simple potato salad(potatoes with mayo only, about 1/3 cup) with it to keep everything moist, and chew chew chew it totally... and I am definitely NOT starving.

Of course many temptations went through my mind today/tonight, but its not overwhelming... I use my reasoning, "hey stomach-brain, you are not empty, so stop obsessing, chill out m'kay?"

I did prepare myself,during the wait for my surgery. I taught myself to get by on restricted Fluid diet, I lost 20 lbs, until my metabolism shut down, and I started eating again, and gained 15 back. I taught myself to chew my food into basically nothing before I swallowed it, and I studied the prescribed diet phases, and allowed foods intently until I had it nearly memorized.

After I was banded, I did not get hungry, crazy hungry, until the last half of the last week of the two week Protein shake diet. My first food was a single poached egg. That was awesome, I have to say. My first fill is in mid-July, and I have a vacation starting the first week of July, so right now, I am planning for that, and carefully considering my food choices, and restaurant eating (seafood, on Cape Cod) since that will be the first week I can move on to solid foods. Looking forward to that.

Get your band, work closely with a dietician if at all possible, and if you cannot do so for whatever reason, ask Dr. Ortiz for as much assistance with that as possible. And come here to lapbandtalk often. I have to say, this site has been an incredible resource. Your experience will be unique to you, but your surgeon is one of the best, I have heard (he is on my list of top surgeons in Mexico if I decide to convert to a sleeve after I am as close to goal as I can get with the band).

Good Luck, and come back and send me a note and tell me how you are doing! :biggrin:

[TopTier 0]

I'm probably going to regret saying this, but I think that getting a lap bad at 166 pounds, barely 40 overweight, is a little extreme.

I think you seriously need some head work.

I'm 5'1" so I know that 166 is not Weight Loss Surgery ready.

I can appreciate your frustration and your disappointment at not being a SIZE 4 anymore, but you are not at an unhealthy weight yet, and can very much control and decrease your BMI without a lap band.

You will need to exercise and work hard once you get the band in to begin with, so all that effort can be done without the added stress of lap band surgery on your body.

But. It's your choice.

[OnTheWay to Thin 0]

The whole premise of lapband is for someone who is mordbidly obese (at least 100lbs overweight) and the weight loss is meant to be slow, no more than 1-2 lbs a week. Many US doctors will not do surgery on someone of your size because the surgical risks outweight the benefits. Had I only had 40 - 50 lbs to lose I never would have had this surgery as good old fashioned dieting and discipline would have accomplished that. All the guidelines I have ever read, and I researched and read everything I could find on the subject would NOT recommend this procedure for you. I am not trying to be a downer, but this is serious surgery for serious problems with weight and luckily you are not there. You really need to think long and hard before you do this to yourself. Because everything you need to do you will still have to do with the band, i.e. diet and exercise. The band is a tool, not a magic bullet or quick fix, it is a long term solution to an even longer term obesity problem and you seem to think this is a quick fix. It is not, it is hard work and dedication to diet and exercise.

Edited June 23, 2009 by OnTheWay to Thin

[talkalot1981 5]

I would have to agree with the last 2 posters, even though I know what it feels like being told I was not FAT ENOUGH to have the surgery. I am fat enough because insurance approved me. I am 100+ lbs overweight. I actually think you don't have a real grasp on what this surgery intales. I think you are thinking of it as magic. And please know that with you not needing to lose as much, the weight you wanna lose will come off SLOWER!!!! I just hope you really know what you are doing and think long and hard about whether this surgery is right for you. If I were you I would save the money and use some on Nutra-System!!!! I don't mean to be rude but you post your post so you can get responses.. No one said we would have to agree!!!! Jennifer

[ibelieve 0]

:biggrin: I have to disagree completely with the folks here who think 55 or so lbs. overweight is no big deal. When I was still only 55 lbs overweight, after a lifetime of struggle, it was harsh enough reality to deal with, and then getting into my 30's when the weight piled on to my 5'1" frame, that was devastating. Look at my signature information... I started in my teens 15-20 lbs overweight. In my 20's that went up to 40, and then 60 lbs overweight, and then later, I became what is now referred to medically, as SUPER OBESE.

If I had this option back then, it would have saved me so many dark, lonely, introverted, limited, marginalized and depressing years that were to come.

People treat you like shit when you are 20 lbs over weight, and it gets worse from there - much worse. The psychological abuse from our culture is severely damaging. Not being able to do the things you would like to do because you are this overweight severely limits your life. The traumas from obesity pile up.

I am sure there must be many studies out that show that being very heavy when you are young, often leads to morbid obesity and even super obesity, particular in those such as myself, who have PCOS, and hypothyroidism, and asthma, and are often treated with prednisone for other medical conditions. I developed diabetes in 2005, and my PCP tried to get me this surgery in 2003 but insurance definitely would not cover it, and he was finally able to talk me into it last October, after I had reached some illumination that I needed to drastically alter my life. Had I been able to pay for this surgery in 2003, I would have definitely had a better life this past 6 years. It has been emotional, mental, and physical hell. No one should be expected to live like this!

If I had had this option when I was still just 55 lbs over weight, so many years of NOT living, so much time absolutely lost for me, just gone, with nothing to account for my life in these intervening years, I might have had a chance for some happiness, rather than extreme sadness for so many dark and shadow filled years.

No one should be condemned to waste their life because of a disease they are only now able to treat with great success. 55 lbs of excess weight is TOO MUCH no matter how you look at it. I always told my family, when I became morbidly obese, "well, I wish that I was still only 15 lbs overweight again, even though you condemned me for it and made me ashamed over it, so I bet you would really like it now, if I was 15 lbs overweight!!!" life was harsh enough in a family of slender people. It got much harder to live in a world where women are only valued if they are youthful, beautiful, and slim.

No one deserves that. No one. Medicine has given us help. Use it to change and improve your life, because getting heavier is the last thing anyone should be condemned to. They help people with deteriorating diseases, if they can. So why not let people get treated while they are still easily treated, rather than condemn them to the treacherous deterioration of this devastating metabolic disorder

[elcee 3,341]

Yes this surgery is safe for someone who "only has 50lbs to lose"

Here in Australia you do not need to be morbidly obese to have the surgery you only need to be obese.That is a BMI of 30 or over. Yes medicare won't pay for it but most private insurances will.

Surely it is better to be proactive and have the surgery earlier rather than later. For all those that have posted that when its only 50lb to lose it can be done with diet and exercise I have to ask did you?

Presumably the answer is no, that you continued to gain weight.

If you had had the opportunity when you only had 50lb to lose wouldn't you have taken it? 50lb is not easy to lose. It can be done when you are younger but the older you get the harder it gets. Also it is not so much the losing it that is the problem it is keeping it off. Diets do not work - that is a well known fact and that is why the weight loss industry is such big business.

agnes I wish you all the best and if you want to Pm me then feel free.

You may also want to look at some of Jachut's posts, she also had a low BMI and has done brilliantly. I find her to be truly inspirational.

[jms462001 9]

July 8th here! ..heading to Mexico with Dr. Ortiz!! (self pay) I am not fat enough (the irony):thumbup: for my insurance to cover me... I am at 31.4 BMI (I am only 5'1 and was horrified to see that I am technically 'obese')..esp when i was a SIZE 4 on my wedding day...

I am VERY excited:thumbup:, but still have SOOO many questions running through my head...esp after reading different threads on this site and others...:biggrin:

Some say they are so many weeks, even months post op and havent seen much success...that's tad scary to me!

I have done EVERYTHING to lose the weight that i regained and nothing ...thats when i decided to research Lapband...

I know it'll be HUGE adjustment..however the way I see it, if I am putting the $ into it...i better see some major results!! My husband has been SOOOO supportive. (he met me at 175lbs and I married him at 133lbs...regained back and now am at 166lbs and its killing me!) he doesnt care...he just wants me to be happy and I am far from happy. i cry alone, throw tantrums in my closet, dont feel like going out b/c "i have nothing to wear.."....well...you all know the feeling I am sure.

So after TONS of research and deciding...i AM gonna do this! It was a weight lifted off my shoulders to see ow supportive Erick (hubby) was. "i just want you to be happy", he says... and i know that getting to your goal weight will do that..":tt1:

but the LAST thing i want is for him to regret putting us further in debt b/c it didnt work.. PLEASE SOMEONE REASSURE ME THAT THIS IS GONNA WORK!! I know that you HAVE to follow the diet, and i am assuming that the people complaining are the ones eating icecream all day long and wondering why the scale isnt budging! LOL

I am not doing this for nothing! I know there will be sacrafice and there are foods that i will just have to give up (or they are gonna come back up! lol)

I have approx 50-55 pounds to lose? realistically, does anyone know fast or slow this process is? I mean, it HAS to be faster the dieting alone, right? and these refills.... why do i see people getting filled so often? Is it the more weight you drop, the more you have to fill?

July 8th cant come fast enough!! I am ready for my life to change FOREVER!!!:w00t:

Sorry for the novel.... :eek:

Agnes

It has worked so well, so easily, and so quickly for me of all people that I would say it probably works for the majority of people!! It has been quite effortless for me and I have been obese since I was a baby!!

[Agnes 0]

I don't have a surgery date yet (hoping to get one scheduled this week), and I know exactly how you are feeling. I'm also paying for this myself and am FREAKING OUT that even if I do everything right, it's not going to work. I just paid off my car, and the loan I took out to cover the surgery is going to take the place of my car payment!

On the whole, I am very excited to get this done, but I'm VERY scared the universe is going to work against me or something.

Anyway, best of luck to you!!!

*

LOL..I guess its good knowing that I am not alone!

Are you going to Dr. Ortiz? Good luck and def keep in touch on here! We can all support each other!

xoxo

Agnes

[suzetteherrera 0]

My surgery group, "Lapband Solutions" will perform surgery to anyone with a BMI of 27 and higher.

I was at 179 when I decided to have the surgery because I did not want to wait until I was 100 pounds overweight. I think it's better to get it under control now rather than 100 pounds from now.

I can eat, and I have lost weight and gained it back about 6 times. I've been under 130 about 6 times in my adult life, and no matter how hard I tried, I have gained it back every single time.

I'm dealing with the "not having anything to wear" issue as well. Going clothes shopping is depressing. I carry my weight in the middle, which is awful.

I had my surgery two days ago. I'm hoping and praying that it will help me lose the weight and keep it off long term.... Good luck to you!

[Agnes 0]

I know you said that insurance wont pay for it because you dont weight enough, but is it safe for someone with just 50 pounds to lose and worth it? Have you spoken to a us doctor here about that?

*

yes. actually, i researched that a lot as well and found many forums strictly devoted to those who are in the low 30's BMI...and have had the surgery.

I am petite, short and considered obese and struggle with weight loss and self esteem probably just as much as someone 100+ lbs or more. Too me, this is a tool I can use FOR LIFE, not a quick fix. I have lost 40 lbs before, however since then have been on meds that make it EXTREMELY difficult to lose weight. i know many people that know me will probably be shocked to hear what i am doing, however unless they have been through it, they dont understand the emotional issues i have gone through. I put on a great act in front of them. I dont think you have to be morbidly obese to feel like you have exhausted your options. but yes, in the beginning, I wanted to make sure that being 55 lbs overweight was enough to go through with this. To me, it'll be a struggle, but all worth it! And I have had several surgeons as well as my primary doctor indicate that it is safe and a good decision.

Thanks for the concern though! Good luck to you!!!