trish151

I love sitting with my legs crossed again after almost 10 years. I weigh less than anyone in my house now, My waist is now 33 inches and my skinny butt husband wears a 34. (he's 6'2") I can wear smaller clothes I feel sexy now for the first time in years. I feel more comfortable now when sitting on the couch or driving my car. (just got a new one) People are really starting to notice that I've dropped 58 lbs and comment now because they see the difference and not just because they know I had surgery. There are so many good feelings. The biggest is that my self esteem is really coming up because I feel people are noticing me for the right reasons and not just because I am fat. It is funny how when you are bigger that people don't really approach you to talk or look you in the eyes as much. I didn't think people were so judgemental about people who are overweight, but I am finding out that they are.

Alright, I'm 5lbs behind you.

Nothing wrong, totally normal. I've had 5 fills and have had that with each one. Up at the top of your page where the search is, type in fat pad. Someone posted a big long post on one of the other forums where they talk about how when you lose weight, the fat pad around the band also starts to go away so your fill can be fine one day but as you continue to lose and shrink the pad, you may have to keep getting fills until the bulk of the fat pad is gone. I've done this every month and now 6 months out, I am not getting the large fills any more to make up the difference. Hope that helps.

I found it at a small town pharmacy but my Wal-Mart and Wal-greens both said they could order it.

Well.............giggle, some days are diamonds and well................you know. I giggle only because I am sitting here and just got done with a sliming episode. Yesterday I ate fine. This morning I got something stuck and lunch was a no go. I've got my band pretty tight so if anything irritates my band then I pretty much have to be careful the next day. Sorry your going through that.

Way to go. I'm down 57 now in 6 months. I'm with ya on the trying to shrink the clothes. I've been taking up mine with my sewing machine as much as I can. by the time I take them up in the waist and hips, the crotch hangs down to my knees but I'm trying to save up for a big spending spree at my final goal. Congrats on your progress. I love hearing success stories..

It's a lot harder to stretch your pouch than you think. I think it is natural for all of us to have that fear to some degree. I read on one of these message boards early on about how the swelling goes down and the fat pad around the band shrinks over time and there are going to be times when the band becomes lose. I was banded in Feb this year and have experienced this several times. Then I would go get a fill and it would be snug again and by the end of the month it would not be snug. As I have lost weight, the band would loosen up and I would just need to go get another fill. I would often worry that I had done something wrong but I have learned that as I lose the weight, adjustments are just going to be part of the process and I don't have to worry every time that something is wrong. Complications do occur but for the most part, I can wake up one day and it be fine and the next day it needs adjustment. My PA keeps explaining that as time goes on and I get closer and closer to my goal weight, I will need fewer fills and I will retain the right amount of restriction that is right for me. I like to keep my band a little snug. Just makes me feel good.

Just had to rejoice a minute. Been starving the past few days and went and got a fill. It is Peeeeeeeeerfect and just like I like it. I got full tonight on half a cup of broccolli cheese soup..............woo hoo.

Was banded 2/23/11. Down 54 lbs but stalled out last month after the PA missed my port during a fill. at first of Aug and they pulled all of the Fluid out of my band to see if she missed my port the previous time (she did) and then they put it back in, kind of messed with my green zone since I was so swollen. I have felt wide open since then. I like to keep my band a little tight.

Last month when I went for a fill, I did not experience the normal pressure when the needle went into the port but I didn't think too much of it. I also noticed that on the way home that Ididn't feel my band tighten like I normally do after about an hour. I went Monday for my next fill and told a different PA that I didn't think that the last gal hit my port. She used a long neele to pull all of the fluid out of my band to check. Holy heck, it felt like someone was pulling my throat out through my port. Then she discovered that in fact, the last PA did miss my port as I was only at 5 CC's instead of 5.5. Then she pushed all the fluid back into my band and it felt like someone took a sledge hammer and hit me in the chest. That is the most painful thing I have ever experienced. Then I got to experience what the red zone feels like, as she added another .08 cc and I could just feel the water I was drinking, sitting at the top of my throat. I'm thinking that the next time they miss the port, I will just keep quiet and as they continue to give me fills, eventually they will just think I have a bigger band..............giggle. I'm not going to have it sucked out again ever, if I can help it.

$150? Shoot, they charge my insurance company $600 everytime I go for a fill. The insurance only pays $375 and the clinic doesn't charge me the difference but that's what they are getting. Butterfly, I forgot to put that I went back in before I left when the water was sitting there and they took out .03 CC's and the water went down. Now I'm kind of wishing they had left it. The PA told me that the fluid removal would aggrivate my pouch and cause more swelling than normal. Now that it has gone down, I'm huuuuuuuuuuuuuuungry again more often.

I'm 6 mths post op and mine hurts when I drive for a long time. I think all of the jiggleing in the car does something to it. I just got one of those elastic tummy bands to see if it helps. We are leaving for vaca tomorrow and have a 24 hour drive. I'm hoping it helps.

I have those days...............giggle. One thing that has helped me is that I know I am lower in muscle than I have been in all my life. I had gotten pretty seditary. about my 2-3 post surgery marks, I was very frustrated, especially when the scales only moved 1 lb in 3 weeks. Then I would just keep going and the next week, 6 lbs would come off. I finally decided that if that was going to be the case, I had to hide my scales and focus on the joy of knowing that I was doing all I could do and it would catch up and the results would follow. They have. I still get frustrated some times. That's when I pull out my itunes, put on my headphones and lace up my tennis shoes and say, I promised I would keep going and if I gotta do this, I'm at least going to enjoy it." Now, what used to be my fat only arms, is starting to develop a little bitty itty teeny muscle that I can even see when I flex. Might not be enough to win an arm wrestling contest but it's enough to make me feel stronger and want more. I'm determined now that no amount of frustraton is going to cause me to fail. I keep getting my fills and moving forward. Sometimes they work well, sometimes they don't. The next month, I go get another one and am back on track. I've also noticed that at my TOM, that I stop losing anything for nearly two weeks and then right afterwards the scales will usually move 8-10 lbs in two weeks................go figure, it's crazy fun.

I think that is just normal. I have learned to listen to my body first and foremost. Dr.'s can go by a guideline but everybody's body heals and changes at different rates. My doctor said to try things out. I would try a couple of bites of things a few weeks out from my surgery too. I felt it was better for me to try something a little more solid to keep my hunger at bay than to constantly raise my calorie count by eating mushies constantly througout the day. I'm 6 mths post op and I can even tell when I need to slow it down after fills. My doctor suggests being on liquids for two days after a fill and then 2 days of mushies. Some times that works fine and other times I am hungry the first day and can take a few bites of mashed potatoes or sugar free pudding. For me, the last thing that was of any good was to beat myself up any longer for not being perfect with it. That's what has led to my weight problem. I overeat one day and then I spend 5 days beating myself up for it and it was a continuious cycle that had to be stopped. That's why I got my band for the extra help and I may still mess up from time to time but I am down 53 lbs and IT's OK.

Has anyone noticed that eating High Fructose Corn Syrup makes your band fill unrestricted? I have been trying to really change my diet and eat better and take my vitamins and fish oil and have been doing and feeling great. I have been taking the amino acid glutamine in addition because it is supposed to help you lose fat weight and not muscle when you are on a calorie reduced diet. I have been taking a powdered form mixed with a small amount of cranberry juice and have only been eating real foods, nothing processed. About 2 weeks ago, I went to GNC and they had the glutamine in a chew form so I opted to get it instead of the powder. After about 3 days I started that my band felt like someone removed it and I was soooooooooooooooo hungry. It didn't seam to matter what I ate, I was like a bottomless pit. I couldn't think of what in the world was going on and I scheduled a fill, which won't be till next Monday. Anywho, after 5 days of feeling bandless again, I started thinking that the only thing I had changed was my glutamine, so I looked on the stupid package and the chew form was loaded with High Fructose Corn Syrup. I stopped taking it and felt like someone put my band back on. Has anyone else noticed that when they eat something with High Fructose Corn Syrup, they feel no restriction at all?

Bless your heart. I didn't have to follow that diet but I am sure it would stink. I at a lot of black eyed peas with the tyson chicken that comes in a bag by the tunafish. It is really moist and then I would puree it in the blender with my peas, add some hot sauce and a small amount of sharp chedder cheese. I'm on solids, but I still like eating this sometimes. It always fills me up and keeps my hunger away. Keep up the good work sunshine. This too shall pass.

Woo Hoo, alright! The scary part is over.

I can tell the days I do certain exercises that my band gets a lot tighter and when I don't exercise for a day, the next day it is loser. I have just been trying to trick it when it is too lose by going and riding my bike for an hour. It always tightens back up.

I've had a fill every month so far since surgery at the end of Feb. I don't like my band to be too lose and I've been losing about 10 lbs a month. I've gotten one CC each time except the last one and they only have me a half a one because they said the fat pad around my stomach should be about as small as it is going to get and they are only doing small fills as I need them until I get and stay at my perfect spot. I think I read in the lapband book that they gave me at my first visit that over a period of about a year that a small amount of saline could leak out but it is supposed to be a very small amount. I'm at 5.5 cc's in a 10 cc band and have another fill on Monday. I'm hoping that I'll get to stop getting them soon. I have to drive 2.5 hours away to Dallas for a fill and it's getting old.

I'm a self diagnoser too....................giggle.

Gosh, I don't know. Does it feel higher than it was before? I still get nervous with my port sometimes because it is hard for me to be still and not doing things. Sometimes It still gets sore and last night when I bent over to pick something up, I could feel it pulling on the muscle. I'm only 5 months post op so I will sure be glad when the port area and the big incision heal up. When do you go for your next fill? They should be able to tell you. Good luck, I hope it is ok.

Woo Hoo. It's all down hill from here.

woo hoo. Congratulations.

Go to the store and get some thermocare wraps. I got the kind that goes around your waiste because they cover a larger area on your shoulder and you can put in on like you would put a purse sideways over your shoulder. It's like having a heating pad on that is not connected to a cord and they come like with 3 in a package and you can wear it almost all day. My sister told me about these and they helped soooooooo much.

If you can't take in water, go to the ER and have them contact your doctor immediately. As for the work thing, not trying to sound mean but if you don't take care of you, you won't have a job.