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Hello Everyone!! I'm so excited that I found this forum, I can't wait to read all the great stories and ideas that you all have shared.. My story is, I was banded on Feb 8th 2012. The surgery it's self went well, but I did have a problem with anesthesia.. I had some kind of asthma attack so I couldn't breath when I started to wake up.. Dr's. think I might have just gotten to much fluids into my system because now I am fine and show no signs of wheezing or any kind of asthma problems. I'm not in any pain except for a slight pain every now and then on my right side, mostly when I bend over. I've lost 15 lbs since the day of surgery and 14lbs prior to surgery so a total of 29 lbs.. I'm on the mushy phase of my diet and I'm doing about 1/2 cup of food per meal.. That seems to work for me. At times i do feel hungry but when I do I just start to drink more and that seems to really help.. I think I've got a good system going that works for me so I'm happy abou that.. Now, excercising isn't working like I would like.. In November I broke my foot and my cast just came off on Feb 3rd.. I still don't have bone to bone contact with the area that's broke, but I don't need to ware a cast anymore ( actually I had a cast on for 3 weeks, then I moved to a boot ). My ortho dr. said I can do very light walking but I need to be aware the bone hasn't healed yet and I just need to give it time.. So, I'm not real sure when I will be able to get back into doing some kind of excercise.. I've continue to do light walking and that's it.. I have a mailbu pilates machine that I just got and can't wait to use it, but I'm waiting on lapband dr to clear me for that. I've thought about doing curves or siging up to a gym, but I will wait until I get the ok from dr. first.. I'm looking forward to reading all the post and reading about everyone's journey.

I went in for a fill today cause I have started to creep up a little. My fill doc wanted to know if I would like to be a mentor for a new lap bandster. I reminded her that I wasnt even at my goal yet. She said that didnt matter. I am at 75% of my excess weight, so I am doing better than the average at my time frame. I am still losing (fairly slow pace) so she thinks I would make a good mentor. I told her I would. I am hoping that it helps me as well to keep on track and revisit the basics more often.

go to youtube, key in flabby arm exercises. found some good ones

I do agree with "readyformyjourneytobe" though. Since I stopped weighing every day, I started noticing how my clothes fit, how my energy level is, even how my shoes are starting to feel loose on my feet.

Checking in today at 145! I hit my challenge goal a week early, woohoo! Let's see if I can make it to 143 by the end of the month. So close to my goal of 138 and my stretch goal of 135.

Thank you very much. I will search for contact information on both.

For me, stuck is a rock just under my sternum. More often than not I cannot swallow my own spit. Sometimes it will pass on it's own. Generally it takes intervention on my part to bring the offending item back up. If I swallow a few swallows of Water that will start the launch sequence. Welcome to truly being banded.

I wish I could say the same. Today is day 1 for me and it has been ROUGH!! I am hoping after a couple days it will get easier, but I am in the pity party stage right now! I keep looking at the before pics my hubby took of me over the weekend. ICK!! That tends to slap me back to where I need to be Best of luck to you. We can do this!

Does anyone out there reward yourself with gifts for weight loss. If so what do you use. I always do better if there is some incentive. So I have decided that I will gift myself with a Pandora Braclet for the weight loss. One charm for each 20 lbs. That way i can wear it all the time and remind myself the journey i am going to be on.

As much as I love my band, I have to say that it's a fickle mistress. It can take several fills to achieve optimal restriction, and then as you lose weight and the fat surrounding your inner organs (including your stomach) shrinks, your band will feel looser so you'll need more fill. Also, restriction can be affected by the time of day, the climate, medications, allergies, hormones, and the position of Mars in the sky. You'll feel more restriction when you're making healthy food choices of SOLID foods, less restriction when you're choosing to eat soft and slider foods (some of which are healthy, like yogurt, but a lot of them are high-calorie and nutrient-poor, like ice cream and potato chips). We're all sick of dieting by the time we have WLS, but in a sense success with the band does involve dieting. Your band can't make good food choices for you, it can't make you exercise, it can't make you say no to trigger foods. That's all up to you. I'm over 4 years post op, 2 lbs. below my goal weight, with excellent restriction, and I still have to work on all of that in order to maintain my weight loss. It's a lifetime project. Finally I have to say: just because you can eat anything or overeat doesn't mean you should. Overeating can indeed stretch your pouch and/or esophagus and it can indeed cause your band to slip. Nowadays self-control seems to be a no-no word, but portion control is up to you, at least until you learn your soft stops. Your band won't ring a bell or flash some lights when it's time for you to stop eating. You have to eat slowly and pay close attention to how you feel as you eat. Soft stops are usually subtle - a hiccup, a sneeze, a sigh, a burp, an urge to clear your throat. If you eat through that kind of signal, looking for your pre-op sense of satiety (what I call "Thanksgiving dinner Full"), you'll go on struggling indefinitely. Success with the band is a lot of work. Although it's possible that you've stretched your pouch, only an upper GI study can prove that. If you go on overeating, it'll just make the situation worse. So I suggest that you make yourself do the evil D word (diet) for a week, pay very close attention to your satiety signals, keep a food log including the times of your meals or Snacks so you can get a handle on how long your satiety lasts, and only then go back to your bariatric surgeon to discuss another fill. Jean