Purpleshell

It's my 1 year bandversary today and I'm down 48 kilos (over 100 pounds) and at the goal weight my Dr set!! Wooohoooo!!! I would like to lose another 5 kilos (can't believe I can say such a small number LOL) but will be very happy if I can maintain this weight. This has been an incredible year and one of the best things I've done for myself. Its fantastic to read all the wonderful posts and the successes. I look forward to reading a lot of bandversary results this month

Good luck to all of the December 2011 bandsters!! I am a December 2010 Bandster and remember exactly what you are all going through. I just popped into your thread to wish you all the best and a successful weight loss journey. The band has helped me to lose over 100 pounds. Its not always easy but well worth it.

Have you had any luck finding a Dr in Shanghai? I've moved to China and need a Dr for follow ups, fills, unfills etc. If you have any further info could you please post?? Thanks!

YES! I haven't had a winter for 8 years so my body is definitely feeling the change. My band is so much tighter and this is the only explanation. My last Dr's appointment was in may and I had an unfill!! Now I can hardly keep my food down and have lost 10 kilos (20 pounds) in a few weeks. I didn't lose much weight after the unfill to now, so this is a pleasant surprise. Its not getting any looser either. I'm off to a warmer climate for Xmas, so it will be interesting to see what happens. I was hoping to see a Dr then and get a check up and things sorted before I come back to snow!

WOW Great work everyone! I haven't been on here for months. Moving countries, new job, kids etc. I just haven't had time. My weight loss stagnated for most of the time I've been away from the forum. I had an unfill back in May and haven't had a check up or found a Dr here in China. Then suddenly the weather changes here and get rather cold (for me anyway) and my band is suddenly tighter and I've lost another 10 kilograms!!! I can't work it out. It almost feels like I need another unfill as I can't each much at all and its quite uncomfortable at times. I've even had to go back to the protein shakes. I'm not really complaining though as I'm only 4 kilos off the Dr's goal weight (I want more). I didn't think I would ever get there for a while and was starting to just accept it. I now might reach my goal by my bandversary and Xmas after all! Keep up the great work everyone.

So its been a bit quiet on here lately! I haven't posted for ages but love reading everyones experiences. Beergut- I hope you bought some new clothes, you will feel so much better and it will give you a boost to lose those last few pounds. I'm buying a few new things each month and it is really making me feel good and excited to lose more. I'm not buying expensive things as I hope to be out of them soon and I'm finding that the 'normal size' clothes stores are a lot cheaper anyway. Its just realizing that I can actually go into them now and not be embarrassed. Well its been 6 months (yesterday) since I was banded and I am down nearly 39 kilos thats 85 pounds! I'm very happy but still want MORE! My Dr only wants me to lose another 10 kg (22pounds) but I want to lose 15-20 kilos more! I'll see how it all goes. Since I've had an un-fill I've started losing again but very slowly. I'm loving that I can eat properly again and not throwing up after every meal. I will try to insert a before and after photo. Hope you are all well!

I'm moving to China soon and need to find a Fill Dr. Shanghai will be my closest city. Do you have any information you could pass on? Any info would be appreciated.

I'm moving to China and need to find a Dr who can do adjustments. I will be moving close to Shanghai. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Are you still in Shanghai? I'm moving near Shanghai this year and needing information regarding fills and lap band Dr's in the Shanghai area.

How many fills have you all had? 2 and 1 unfill How many cc's are in your band? 4.5cc What kind of band & what size is it? Lapband 10cc Do you feel like you are at your sweetspot? No not anymore. My last fill was fantastic and I was losing the right amount of weight and then suddenly it became too tight. I was vomiting daily and hardly eating anything. Then I stopped losing weight! So now I've had a 1cc unfill and I feel great but can eat way too much! I even ate a slice of pizza last night which I wasn't even able to swallow before! Who knows?!! I'm either under eating or overeating My Dr wants me to go back for another fill (1cc) in a few weeks but I think I will ask for .5cc. I don't want to be overfilled again and I will just have to work harder to get the scale moving backwards again.

Yeah I had my un-fill and I feel fantastic...... but very hungry! I can drink water again without it hurting and enjoyed 1/2 cup of coffee! The Dr. took 1 cc out which surprised me. I was hoping he would only take out 0.5 cc, so I'm only 0.5 cc more than my last fill. Most of my restriction has gone. He said I needed to give my stomach/pouch a rest for a few weeks and then go back for a refill. He also mentioned that I could have aggravated the band by eating spicy food or by drinking something really hot. He explained that spicy food often sits longer in the pouch / band area and can irritate the stomach lining near the band. Anyone else heard of this? The effect was immediate so now I have to make sure I only eat small meals and continue my exercise regime and maybe put up with my hunger pangs. Better than a lump in the chest and water hurting going down though, not to mention the vomiting and sliming and weight loss slowing down! Dr. was very pleased with my weight loss and only wants me to lose 15 more kilos (33lb). I want to lose more, but he said I might be disappointed and never get there if I set the goal to high as the people with the lap band don't always lose 100 % of their excess weight. Well I didn't tell him that this board proves that theory wrong and there are heaps of people reaching their goal and plenty going under their goal. I'm aiming to be one of those people! However, 15 kilos seems so much closer than 20. Maybe I'll make this my mini goal

Congratulations Joan! How exciting! I'm nearly at my goal of no longer being obese and only overweight which will then bring me under 100 (kilos that is). I've taken the day off work today to get an unfill. I can't stand it anymore. The lump I'm feeling in my chest constantly and tiny amount of food that I can actually keep down is driving me crazy and the scale didn't move this week! I found a Dr nearby yesterday but he refused to help me out and told me I need to go back to my Dr which is a 1 1/2 hours drive away. So I spent another unpleasant night with my stomach gurgling and slight reflux. I can't wait to see the Dr. this afternoon. I still can't work out why my band is getting tighter. Its been over 2 weeks now and each day is getting worse. The only thing I've been doing differently is lots of exercise and ab workouts! Who knows it doesn't make sense to me.

I went to the movies recently and had a few handfuls of my daughters caramel popcorn. It was sooooo good and thankfully didn't get stuck. It was a treat and doesn't happen very often so I enjoyed every bit of it. My band is very tight at the moment so I think if I ate before the movie I wouldn't be able to snack now even if I wanted to. I like the idea of the atkins bar and I love sunflower seeds. You could try blueberries too. They're small, healthy and you can have more than 1 so you get the feeling of munching during the movie.

A friend was just banded and told by her Dr that she can do any type of exercises as long as it doesn't involve sit ups, crunches etc. My Dr. hasn't told me anything about this and I have started to do serious ab workouts 3 x a week. It doesn't hurt and I'm actually enjoying them What has your Dr. told you? Am I doing damage? PS: My band has become tighter since starting my exercise classes, has this happened to anyone else?

I should have been more specific. My friend was banded a month ago. I was banded 4 months ago. I thought her Dr meant no sit ups forever! I would have never been able to straight after surgery. It took me three months to get serious about exercising

I've started barre exercises (Lotte Berk) and its amazing for thighs! Lotte Berk does not recommend running and all her exercises are low impact. My thighs start burning as soon as we start Google Lotte Berk or Barre exercises online. They can be done using a chair instead of the ballet barre and done in the privacy of your own home if you wish. I've only been going for a few weeks but already think my thighs have shrunk! Good luck!

Thank you so much for posting this. I thought I was going crazy!! I had a fill about 2 months ago I think and it was fine. It gave me good restriction like it should and I continued with life eating small meals and losing weight without too much difficulty. I Now for about the last 2 1/2 weeks my band is SO tight and doesn't seem to be getting looser. I used to be able to eat 1 egg scrambled for Breakfast, now I'm lucky to get through 1/2 of it and if I keep it for a snack I it will fill me past lunch. I can no longer eat a small tub of yogurt without feeling absolutely stuffed and when dinner comes along, I'm lucky to eat a few spoonfuls. I thought I must be rushing my food and going back to my old habits, but even when I eat slow and slider food it seems to fill me up. I've also had a lot of stuck episodes. I've just finished my TOM and it maybe is a little bit better but not much. I really don't think I'm getting enough calories in my diet and worried that I will stop losing and be in starvation mode soon. I will weigh myself tomorrow and see whats happening. I'm very happy with my weight loss and want it to continue (70lb in 4 months). I've also noticed that this started when I began exercising. I'm doing a lot of sit ups, crunches, ab workouts etc- could this be doing something? I think I'd better go for a small unfil but I'm scared of putting any weight back on and my Dr is nearly a 2 hour drive away. I guess no one ever said this journey was going to be easy

I had my second fill over a month ago and have been losing weight steadily. I have PB a few times and have had quite a few stuck episodes if I don't eat slowly and chew properly, however I feel like my band is getting tighter. I'm at 5.5cc's in a 10cc band. Its that TOM so I don't know if thats made things tighter, but I didn't notice a difference last month and each day over the past week or so has been different. I usually eat 1egg-scrambled for Breakfast and now I'm full half way through it and not hungry again for hours later. I don't feel like drinking either and that's whats starting to concern me- I don't want to dehydrate. For lunch I can eat a yogurt and be full, as before I would have the yogurt as a snack and a small salad with turkey. Last week I was able to eat a 1/3 of a chicken breast without any problems for dinner and today I was only able to eat a bit of my egg, and not even 1/2 of my salad with beef chili. I didn't even get half eaten and that was over lunch and dinner. Water also seems to fill me up. I can feel it go down slowly but I seem to feel very full after a couple of mouthfuls but I am still thirsty. How do you describe your green zone and approx how much do you eat for one meal? How long should I wait during/after my TOM to see if things settle down? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Thank you all for your useful advice. I'll wait for TOM to finish and see if I feel better. I was able to drink more water today so felt much better. I weighed my protein tonight too. Usually I just eat what I can and I now realise its probably only about 1-1 1/2 oz at any one time, so if this continues I might need a small unfil. Thanks again. The support from here is invaluable.

I was only on liquids for a day and then pureed foods for 2 weeks. I was then allowed to introduce real food week 3. All doctors are different and if he's happy with your progress and you're allowed chicken noodles soup, (yum) then I wouldn't argue with him.

Vickyd- how was your weekend? I hope everything turned out well and glad to hear that your not mad with hubby anymore too. I have a question...Just how many vitamins are you all taking and what type? My Dr said I shouldn't need any if I eat a balanced diet- now I'm really worried reading all of these posts as I've only taken a few in the last 4 months. What does your book say Heather?? Also I need to vent as I am feeling like a cheat and very dishonest today. Three people know about my banding as I wanted to keep it private (especially if I wasn't able to get it to work for me) and didn't want to be judged by others. A previous work colleague had been banded and was very upfront about it. She told EVERYONE and they all talked about her and still do. My work colleagues still bring her name and the banding subject up and are not very nice with what they say about her or the band. They are obviously misinformed and don't understand as none of them have ever had weight problems or been obese. (She looks fantastic by the way and it worked very well for her). Now I'm feeling like a lier as one of my other work colleague had some sort of surgery about 2 1/2 months ago and said it was similar to my operation (I had my gall bladder out during the banding op and that is all they were told) She also said she was having her thyroid out laproscopically and some other stuff removed from her stomach. I have asked this lady straight out since her op if she had WLS and she said No. She is the only person I work with that knows that I had the band as I confided in her after I thought she had WLS too. Well now everyone at work is talking about this lady. She ate solid foods for the first time today and has already lost 55lb. (I think she probably did have WLS and maybe the gastric sleeve, as she did mention this type of surgery before and asked me if I had had this done). Anyway- its her decision to keep it quite but now they are all saying "Well at least you've lost your weight without some band around your stomach!" I was shocked with these comments and didn't say anything but feel such a fraud! I also can't admit it now, as I've heard that the previous work colleague wasn't allowed sick leave for her op as it was for cosmetic reasons and I was given a week off work! Also its way past the point in admitting it now but I feel just awful. To top it off, another work colleague (at a different office, so I don't have to see her each day) has decided to follow my high protein diet as it obviously works so well and has caused her arthritis to flare up! Its even affected her eyes! Ahhhhhh! I feel bad! Anyone had anything like this happen? I know most of you have been open about the surgery- but I just can't. I haven't even told my mother or sister! I guess I will feel better in the morning and not so guilty for not telling the whole truth and hopefully they will stop talking about her. I made the comment that it doesn't matter as long as she gets healthy and it made them think, so I will have to try and think of some other positive things to say about her to shut them up! Sorry for the long post, but I needed to vent to people that understand as this forum is the only place I can talk to anyone about the band. Thank You!!

I was banded on the 6th Dec 10 and have lost 66 pounds. I'm very happy and think I maybe at my sweet spot after 2 fills. If I eat too quickly or not chew properly I slime or get stuck but if I'm careful everything is great and I am full with around a cup or just under in food. I've just started exercising and actually enjoying it.

Oh no Vicky! I would be furious with him. I'm the same as you and haven't told many people. My husband knows and 2 other people. 1 a work colleague as I suspected she had weight loss surgery, maybe the sleeve, and thought we had something in common. Well she denied it even though she is still on a liquid diet and will be for 3 months. That's her decision though so I'm not asking her anymore questions about it. Its also taken the heat off me at work and everyone is talking about her extreme weight loss and the fact she is not eating anything but slops. They all think she's had WLS as compared to me, I recovered so quickly from my gall bladder operation The other person who knows is a heavy lady who I was talking about lapband surgery with a long time ago. When I started losing a lot of weight she came straight out and asked me. So I didn't lie and said yes. She was happy for me and I told her that I wanted to keep it private and hope she respects my wishes. Now I don't know what I would do if I was in your situation Vicky. Maybe not go to the function or go and if anybody says anything tell them you don't wish to talk about it or say "Yes don't I look fantastic! Ahhh I really don't know and feel for you. I hope he understands how you feel that he has betrayed you and I wish you all the best for the function on the weekend. Hugs!

I'm excited! The scales went down again today and I feel great. I wish my scales were accurate enough to track the recommended 1-2 lb a week. They seem to go up and down (in Kilograms) for a while and then will suddenly drop! I think I will have to invest in better ones. I've started an exercise routine and actually liking it! My muscles haven't been this sore for a very LONG time! I'm doing Lotte Berk or Barre exercisers. Its amazing that in one hour you don't even work up a sweat but every muscle is worked to the max. I could hardly walk the day after. lol I love hearing about everyone's loses. 3+ months out from surgery and we're all different looking people already. I'm enjoying the comments I'm receiving from people I don't really know too. Like the shop assistant or waiter at the cafe who have noticed my weight loss. I still feel I have a long way to go and don't see too much of a difference, but I have to buy new clothes so that's exciting. Loved reading your blog Mandy. Its great to know that we are all not alone in this and facing similar struggles and rewards daily. Keep up the great work everyone!

Mine seems to gets less when I eliminate sugar from my diet. When I say sugar, I mean anything that turns to sugar in the body- eg Carbs. Like the PP said- with weight loss and leg exercises it should get better too.