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It isn't losing the weight that is so hard, it is being patient and making the changes we know we need to when things are not going 100% our way that is hard. Determination to succeed no matter what and willingness to take a good long hard look at yourself and admit or deal with your mess ups are key to your success. Make sure you go into this surgery with the mindset that this band is a tool to help you lose weight, and not the magic cure that will do all the work for you. Like anything in life, if it is worth having, it is worth putting forth some effort to achieve.

You will do fine and keep us posted.

Let's not forget that even though we may not be losing at the rate that we "think" we should be losing, at least we are not gaining.

Carrie - you only have 23 pounds more to go. Look at other people's posts, the last 20 pounds are usually the hardest. I think you are probably right where you are supposed to be. You yourself said you weigh less than you did in 9th grade - that is a huge accomplishment. How of your 9th grade classmates can currently say that - not very many because they have gained weight over the years and do not have the tool in place that you have. I also am down to my last 20ish pounds and for the past month have been trying to get two pounds off so that I could say I had 60 lbs. I am a person who weighs every morning, and each time I saw that I went up half a pound or stayed the same, it just made me more determined to do everything I could to emerge the victor in the end, especially since I paid $17,500 for this new me.

CindyLou - you are right, you would have lost weight if you had dieted and journaled before. The real question, is would you have kept it off - I sure didn't and would venture to say that many people on this forum that lost weight that way did not keep it off. Maybe it is time to stop looking at the scale and start looking in the mirror. Are your clothes getting looser, are you having to buy new ones just to make sure that you aren't walking around looking sloppy, are your watch and rings getting looser? The weight charts say I should be 144 lbs. at goal, but looking at my bone structure and such my doctor and I agree that 160 is a more reasonable goal for me. What I am trying to say is that the number shouldn't rule your life, but rather how you look and the changes that you see occuring.

Having a cold last week I decided to self medicate with orange juice. That is when I finally lost those two pounds. I seriously think I just needed to kick start my body by giving it some extra calories in a controlled manner. Sometimes our bodies do need to be fooled in thinking something different than normal, other times they just need a little bit of a rest to catch up to all of the changes they have undergone in the past few months. Remember that the weight didn't go on overnight and it won't come off overnight, but it will come off.

The surgery is absolutely worth it. You have waited four years for this and by golly you deserve for it to finally be your turn. You may think you have regret about having the surgery at the moment, but if you cancel it you will be very upset with yourself and feel even more like a failure (which, by the way, you are not). In fact, you will be giving out comforting advice to others within a few weeks of having your surgery as you will have relized by then that you fears were unwarrented.

I am going to make some assumptions here. 1. Since you live in Australia you are having the surgery there as you talked about having to be on the waiting list for four years and 2. you might spend one night in the hospital, but other than that you will be going home day of or day after the surgery.

Based on these assumptions, you probably do not need to take any kind of food items to the hospital with you because they should have everything you need. I wore pajama pants and a sweat shirt to the hospital and then wore the same things home the next day. While at the surgery center I had the "privelege" of wearing one of their gowns. I don't remember wearing undies while at the surgery center, as they would have been a pain to get up and down while hooked up to the iv's, but am pretty sure that I put them on for my 20 minute trip home from the surgery center. As long as they do not come much above your belly button you should be fine as your lowest incision is a couple of inches above your belly button. Take a toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, deodorant, contacts/glasses and gas-x. Other than that forget about vanity and leave the make-up, hairspray, etc. behind. You probably won't need anything more than a small duffle bag or overnight bag. Slip-on shoes are handy as well.

When you get home, you will need to have liquid stuff on hand, items such as the following should work. Broth (chicken or beef), jello, popsicles, crystal light, tea, juice (grape or apple). Once you get past the clear liquid phase and on to full liquids, milk and some kind of protein shake are crucial additions to help with getting in some protein. Cream soups and hot cereals are also wonderful and hot chocolate is a wonderful treat that taste like something you would have under normal conditions. Your doctor should provide you written information explaining what you can have and when you can have it.

Take a deep breath and start thinking about Wednesday as being the first day of your new life.

I have never really done many protein drinks as it was never a pre-op requirement by my surgeon. I did use Slim Fast a couple of times after I would have a fill, but it took me 10 months to go thru one can of it.

However, I came down with what I thought was a cold this week and did not want to eat anything. So, I bought a can of the Slim Fast High Protein powder and have been having one for breakfast each morning. I have also been having two glasses of orange juice each day and one or two cups of hot chocolate at night. I figured I would be setting myself up for failure by adding the liquid calories from the oj and hot chocolate, but low and behold I have lost 3 lbs. in the past 5 days after hovering at the same weight for the past month.

I am not sure if upping my caloric intake or doing a shake only in the morning did it, or if maybe it was time for my plateau to end. Regardless, I am going to stick with the shake in the morning until I finish this can. I will stop the oj when this jug is empty, and will go back to hot chocolate one or two nights a week - my theory of treating a cold with oj, hot chocolate and diet coke didn't work this time as I ended up at the doctor with a sinus infection and am now taking antibiotics.

I did forget to tell this doctor that I have a lapband and I ended up with the biggest antibiotic pill that I have ever seen. The first one didn't go down well as I swallowed all the liquid and the pill was still stuck on my tongue - that was nasty bitter. I now keep a pudding cup in the fridge. Place one pill in it and cover it with more pudding. I then take a decent sized scoop which includes the covered pill and swallow it in one big swallow. I know this may sound childish, but it was prevented it from being left on my tongue and has gone thru the band fine every single time so far, I just hope it continues to do so for the next 15 times I have to take it.

If you have a recliner, try sleeping in that for at least the first few days after surgery. Once you are feeling better then you can try sleeping on your stomach again. I sleep in a twisted position partially on my side and partially on my stomach. It took about two weeks after surgery before I could resume this position, but have been sleeping this way ever since without any problems.

Whatever you do, do not let this minor issue deter you from having the surgery. A little sleeplessness is a small price to pay for the future benefits you will receive from the band.

I had my doctor's appointment earlier today to discuss my test results, and I am absolutely ecstatic. He said I do not need to worry about having my gallbladder out at this time. I do not have any gallstones, so there is no concern with movement or blockage. My gallbladder looks perfect, it just isn't working much and if it were him he would not have it out just because at the present time. He equated it to a brand new car sitting in the driveway that did not have a motor in it.

He did ask me about a tummy tuck in the future. When I told him I would definitely be doing that he said I could find a surgeon that would do both. He is going to call a few other doctors for me to find some options of surgeons that do both. This was the best news ever as I can have both done in one surgery and have some of the costs such as anestesia and such covered by insurance.

He did congratulate me for having the lowest functioning gallbladder he has ever seen in his sixteen years of practice. That being said he also said that there was not much hope for it to ever regain function. I am okay with this now that I know I am not in any immediate danger and I can have both surgeries done together.

Thanks for listening/reading.

Hello Everyone -

I have been a lurker on here for over a year now. I was banded in Kansas City on 2/29/08. As of this morning I am down about 59 lbs. and thinking I only have about another 20 to go until I am at goal and ready to check into some plastic surgery. That will still have me about 16 lbs. above my ideal weight, but I was "blessed" with the broad shoulders of a football player and am afraid that if I get to my ideal weight I will be too thin to look good - who would have ever thought I would say that.

Anysay, in Sept./Oct. I started having minor discomfort at my waist about 3 inches on either side of my belly button. This mainly occurred when I was walking/working out or taking deep breaths . I asked the PA at my surgeon's office and his first thought was scar tissue as that is the area where my port scar is at. We do know that I have scar tissue there because the needle usually bends trying to get thru it when I have a fill. However, the PA suggested I get it checked out with my PCP, which I did, and he sent me to have a test on my gallbladder. The results of that test said that the excretion rate of my gallbladder is only 2% and my PCP's nurse said that I needed to have it out. To my knowledge I do not have any gallstones, but will ask that question on Friday.

Well, I do not want to have another surgery right now as it would by my 3rd within the past year. I do have a follow-up appointment scheduled with my PCP on Friday, but honestly I am not convinced the minor discomfort I am feeling is really from the gallbladder. I am still leaning towards the scar tissue theory due to the fact that if I am not moving I am not hurting. Having done some internet searches I now realize that gallbladder issues are pretty common for people who lose large amounts of weight or who lose weight quickly. I am basically concerned that what I may experience for life after the surgery will be worse than the minor discomfort I am having now, if in fact it is the gallbladder.

Has anyone else on here had any gallbladder problems since losing weight? Also, for those of you with medical knowledge, is there any possibility that once my body adjusts to all the changes that the gallbladder could start functioning normally again?

Thanks for you help!