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Five more pounds to go to hit my century mark.  Hoping to do it before my 9 month anniversary on August 9th.  Hope, hope!

Have learned to listen to people on the board.   Most important things to do are to eat low carb and take your vitamins.  If you are on meds, have your doctors monitor them closely too.   My blood pressure meds have been messed with so many times the past three months it is not even funny... but at least I am down to the lowest dose available now.  Few more pounds and I will be off them all!

For anyone interested in the DS, I invite you to research and come on over to the Dark Side.  It is heaven!

After reading post upon post from the past few months, I have come to love the DS Vets on the forums.  I appreciate the insight, advice, and support that they give to the "newbies" and whether I agree with it or not, I like gathering their opinions and trying new things.

Well here I am 3+ months out and I have done EVERYTHING wrong.  Carbs are still calling my name, I don't get all my vitamins in every day, I don't count my protein the way I should, I have hit a stall for the past few weeks and feel like crap because I am not losing.  You name it and I have done it the wrong way... but I am trying.

I have cut down the carbs, set a schedule for my vitamins, and have started posting on the bites and vites thread, but still feel like a no nothing clueless person.

Wish I were the DS Vet that lost all their weight, had marvelous insight, and did everything right.

I want to be a "Vet"!

Ok, so it is a few days past two months out...but all is good.   I am down 48lbs, even after the holidays!

Here are my main challenges with the DS:

1.  Making sure I don't kill my family with all the bacon I cook.  I try to tell them it is mine, but they don't listen.
2. Getting all my vitamins in when I am suppose to.  I have found a wonderful way to sort them out that works for me, but taking them in between classes, and right after school seems to be too much for my tiny brain to handle.  I use a twice a day pill sorter for my medication, and morning and bedtime vites.  Then I sort and bag my lunchtime and afternoon vites in the pill bag. (www.pillbag.com).  I tried just little jewelry bags, but I like these better.   I put them in my pocket and go to work. 
3.  Trying to avoid comparing myself to other DSers.  I have lost less than some, but more than others.  I worry about not losing as much as others. But I have to remember I have never lost 48 lbs in 2 months before.
4.  Getting all my protein in without shakes.  I hate shakes, but drink at least one a day to make sure I get my protein.  Would love to figure out how to get 100 grams of protein in without shakes.
5.  Pant size.  I started out a tight 4x, went to the store and bought a 3x (did not try them on) got home and they don't fit.  They are too big!  Now I gotta take them back and get a smaller size... darn!
6.  Trying to get my meds right.  Stopped my Metformin all together.  Lowered my blood pressure medicine.  That is the one I have to watch.  But since I lowered them, there is hope I can get off them all together and that makes me really happy/hopeful.
7.  Dealing with people that have heard of the bypass, but not the DS... and they keep saying:  It sure looks like that bypass is working for you.  Then when I try to educate, they just look at me like I am an alien.

A friend asked if it was worth the pain of the surgery... and to that I say YES a million times over.  I feel better, look better, and can't wait to get off all those stupid meds.  Even with all the "challenges" I have had so far... I love my DS!

Search "weight loss surgery comparisons" online.  Here are a few of the valuable results I found:
http://www.lapsf.com/weight-loss-surgeries.html
http://www.thinnertimes.com/weight-loss-surgery/wls-basics/w eight-loss-surgery-comparison.html

I had the lapband installed in 2006.  I jumped thru the hoops and got it done.  Then 30 lbs down... I had a slip.  Then pain, then more pain, then weight gain. Lots of money spent on fills, unfills, egd's, doctor visits, you name it.  And did I mention the pain?  Water weight effects restriction.  Can't eat in the morning.  Golf ball feeling when you swallow something, sliming for hours if something gets stuck....  OH yeah!

When it came right down to it, I knew it had to come out so I tried to get approval for the sleeve.  No go, experimental.  But you can self pay and get it for 1000.00 more than the band, so I thought about it.

Well at this time I thought... ok I was denied 4 times for the sleeve go ahead and put in for the RNY.  Got approved in three days.  Then thought about all the things I had seen when I worked at the bariatric clinic, and I just couldn't do it.   My husbands advice was to get unfilled wait a few weeks and try the band again.

So there I was, approval in hand, going in for fills for one last attempt to make the band work.  Then pain, slip, pain, and I went ahead and considered the RNY because my approval was about to run out.

Then my insurance started covering the switch in 9/15/09.   I had some issues with surgeons because the one I was approved with did not do the DS.  So I switched surgeons, switched procedure approval with insurance company, and switched my insides on 11/9/09.

Dr. Stewart removed the lap band (with difficulty because of scar tissue and damaged caused by the band) and now I can LIVE.

I can drink something first thing in the morning.  I can swallow pills WHOLE!  I don't know about anything other than mushies as far as food, but guess what... it does not hurt to swallow mashed potatoes... and that makes me very happy!

Don't let the insurance company decide how you will live the rest of your life.  You have to LIVE the lifestyle for whatever surgery you choose.

My main issues with the bypass were the "pouch" and the blind stomach.  The fact that you can get ulcers in a stomach you can't get to via egd.  The fact that you can get blockages that require surgery to stretch the little fake opening they make to attach the "pouch" to your intestines... and a ton of other things that you may not read about on the boards... but I have witnessed first hand.

Glad to be home after my DS surgery.  Most things went well.  Just have some pain in my arms... of all places.

Looking forward to not having that stupid band and going on into the switch world with hope!!!

My hubby just brought up a wonderful point about pills, vitamins, and drugs in general.

With the band I have to cut my pills, or I suck on the capsules a little to soften them up before I swallow them.  This helps things go down without pain.

I told him that I really dreaded the RNY because I will have to take vitamins all the time and will need to cut them up so that I don't get blocked.  And I MUST take them or my hair will fall out and all that other good stuff.

To that he asked:  Will you have to take as many vitamins as you do prescriptions?  You MUST take you BP meds or you have chest pains.  Would it be any different than what you do now?

Geez that man is smart.

So, guess there is no complaining about pills.

Well, I have been on this forum for several years now.  I go to this website and one other lapband site to talk about issues.  Have loved reading about successes and struggles from all the members and it just dawned on me that I need to share stuff too.  If for no other reason to reinforce the time spent and effort made to try and transform my life for the better.  Up until now, I have not been successful in my weight loss efforts, but my family life is great.  I have a wonderful husband, a 10 year old son, and a 3 year old son.  I love my turtles and dogs, love my job, have a wonderful life.

Now I am thinking about revising to RNY from my lap band.  So if I drop dead on the surgeons table, somebody email my husband and let him know I have announced to the world that I am totally happy with my life. (But yeah, not my weight.)

Had the lapband put in in 2006.  The best I could do with it is to lose 40 lbs.  Which has come back and gone away a million times over in the past 3 years.  I have had terrible pain, acid reflux, slip, you name it.  I truly hate this thing and what it has done to my life. 

I am terrified of the RNY because I worked behind the scenes at a hospital 10 years ago and know the issues that come up, come back, and need surgery.... again... and again. 

My surgeons office says that alot has changed since then, but I still wonder.  Will my incision get infected, will I have to be opened up and rinced out because of a leak, will my hair fall out, will I get too skinny?  Will I be the one that looks old or young after the weight loss?  Will I need plastic surgery because my knees are at my ankles?  And where will my boobs end up?

But I am not doing this for cosmetic reasons.  My health is bad, my family history is a basic death sentence, my weight is climbing, and I just keep doing worse and worse physically with HBP, PCOS, Diabeties, backpain, sleep problems, etc.

They are going to remove the band one way or the other.  Since I will be opened up anyway figure we might as well convert to something else.   

Just an update I am scheduled for the DS with Dr. Stewart in Denton!  No longer fear the future.  No Rny for me!