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dont hate me for what i am about to write i write it because i care if you eat more calories than your gonna burn off, you will gain...so dont..eat your band allotted amount..focus on lean protein, fruit and veggies, get out of the processed/fast foods...drink alot of water/crystal light and get on with it....so you cant access your port...dont use that excuse as a reason to gain weight..the band is there, working fill or not..i have no fills but i am cautious of my food intake....some call it a diet, i dont care... i call it doing what i have to do to make it work and so can you, if you want.

I had complications too. My band was leaking for 15 months. I gained weight fast and I struggled with hunger. BUT I stopped and took stock, and started focussing on losing again. And I did - 15 lbs in 5 months until I got my band replaced. Gaining and over-eating is not the band's fault, no one controls that but you. The band is there to try to help you NOT over-eat but it won't do it for you. If you want to lose, you can do it with or without the band. I won't lie, it's HARDER without a band, but it's not impossible. I know it's frustrating having complications and not ever knowing if you'll have a functioning band, because it's something you can't control. I understand, I've been there. But there is ONE thing you can control, and that's whether or not you manage your weight in the meantime, while you're waiting for answers.

For the last three weeks I've felt a little blah - well a lot blah. I have MS and unfortunately had a relapse. For those of you who don't know - that means going on IV steroids - the very ugly little suckers that made me gain all this weight in the first place. I usually gain 10-15 lbs during the time I am on steroids. Well, I am happy to report from the other side and tell you that I actually lost 4 lbs this past week while on the steroids! I absolutely LOVE my sleeve! I did have some wacky food cravings - but found that I could eat so little that it wasn't hard at all not to gain weight. The second cool thing - today I wore to work the suit I was wearing on 9-11-2001! Seriously?!?!?! And what is even better is that it looks awesome! There are a couple of pieces of clothing that I have kept over the years - mostly for sentimental value - but I always said I was going to wear them again when I lost weight. I cannot believe that it is actually happening! 6 month face progression...So amazingly happy!

We got a treadmill, and today I had my first session, and it's also my 29th birthday! I burned 451 calories in an hour! I'm so stoked!!! I can't wait to continue working out in the mornings and seeing the inches melt off! Bonus, there is an ipod/mp3 jack and speakers so I can listen to my own music while I'm sweating away!! Makes it a billion times more effective! Lovin life, lovin my sleeve!!

I am sorry to hear that you are having to go this this, I am sure being just 15 months out is frustrating. Hang. In. There. You can do this, until everythignis resolved, it may take more of an effort, again, you can do this. You have the "want-to" to lose weight or else you would not have had the surgery, as you know surgery is no the "easy out", it still requires work from you. You will jsut have to do your part a little more, but it will all be worth it in the end. Promise!

WOW. So I finally decided to do this, only one year in the making or, convincing. I scheduled my surgery and was really looking forward to submitting my time off request! I know that sounds funny, but I thought that I needed something exciting to document and completing the space that says REASON, I was able to write, without any reservations, surgery. What I really wanted to write, though it lacked any kind of professionalism, was "I'm about to get this fat ass off of my fat ass for good!" So one of my awesome co-workers helped me out and took the first picture of my long journey and celebrated my awesome feel good time off request!!!!!

Good for you! You're not just going to do this - you ARE doing this!!! Keep working on increasing that water intake and moving your body. Hang in there! To this day the best thing I have ever eaten in my entire life was my first scrambled egg after surgery! I had been on a 6 week pre-op liquid diet, then the clear liquids and full liquids post-op. I will never forget that first egg! Go Adrienne! Shelly

Seven weeks since surgery. I only lost a pound and a half since last week. Yeah, I’ll admit it: I’m kinda bummed. Obviously I’ve gotten spoiled to 4 & 5 lb losses each week. Spoiled rotten! I’m doing all the same things….so I guess it’s time to do some different things, huh? Tonight I’m going to a Pilates class. I loved Pilates back in the day. I may hate it tonight, but I'm sure I will love it again eventually I work in an accounting office, so I live my life in Excel. I have a spreadsheet tracking and projecting my weight loss. Really nerdy, eh? It’s my own special way of obsessing My average loss is -1.59% per week. That’s my AVERAGE, slightly inflated because the first and second weeks were big losses. But there’s this pattern that every 3rd week (well it’s an apparent pattern…it’s only been 7 weeks so far) my weight loss is miniscule. Perhaps this is tied to my TOM, which is roughly every 24 days (yes, this does suck). ANYways….could also just be the good old fashioned roller coaster that is major weight loss. It’s funny too, because in my past life, when this kind of thing would happen, I would throw in the towel and eat whatever I wanted, then feel like crap and not be active. Not gonna do that this time. Just gonna ride this old roller coaster. I’m frustrated because I wanted to be sooooo different immediately after surgery, as far as my weight, size, and energy. In some ways, I was different right away. The snoring stopped pretty quickly. Husband is significantly less grouchy for that I’m in clothes I haven’t worn in a while. I’m taking the dog out hiking 6 evenings a week. I no longer feel completely hopeless. But I want MORE energy. I want MORE weight loss. I want to feel stronger, faster. I want to get to the point where I can no longer go closet shopping and need to go real shopping. That’s why the Excel spreadsheet is fun….I have formulas set up to where I can see on any particular day in the future where I might be if I continue on this average weight loss. Other columns are set up to show if my weight loss rate increases or decreases….. We are planning a trip to the east coast (this is a huge trip for us from our home in Hawaii), and there is a possibility that if I could be in onederland by that trip. OMG. That would be awesome. However, living “in the now” as reality forces me to do, I am still stuck feeling obese and drained right now. Things are changing, but I wish they’d change faster. It’s funny how I got myself mentally prepared for surgery as if it were an end in itself in some ways. Reading the boards, I suspect a lot of folks are that way. But after surgery, life goes on. Surgery was drastic, but the weight loss can be gradual. I know it’s all perception, and that in a couple of months when I’ve lost more and my life is incrementally that much different, I will feel better about it. Perhaps I’m just melancholy this week in general. I am reminding myself that all things considered, I am in a much better place than I was at the beginning of May, right before surgery. And it stands to reason that in as many weeks in the future, I will feel that much better. I’ve just got to keep working. I will do this. Onward

Let me be the contrarian here. This is a pity party and I'm not buying it? I agree with Dylan that your PCP may have some sway over getting you in. And I know if it were me, I'd demand they get me in or at the very least put me on a waiting list if someone should cancel. Hard to believe that an opening won't happen in the next 6 weeks? You can't expect them to take your band right to where you were before the illness. Your stomach lining could be different now and you also need to show a willingness to eat like a bandster. You're starting all over again and that's the way I would approach it if I were your physician. Have you looked at other clinics for a fill? It's easy to give up and if that's what you want you will. But if you really want this, you will find a way. I don't mean to be cruel but there's no way in hell I'd give up my dream so easily. tmf

I am so sorry to hear you got so sick. Do Not Give Up!! We are all here to try to help you. I have had my PCP call and make appointments for me with specialists. Would yours with the Band people? I have never eaten 1/2 cup of anything. I eat more than that. I have under 3 cc in a 10 band. Try mind over matter and don't think about the band's liquid think about your health and try to retrain yourself to have less food. I wish you luck with everything.