jennifer1

i'm sorry you have to deal with that, but glad to know i'm not the only one. it's soooo hard not to discuss this part of my life with my mom cuz we usually talk about everything. i find myself catching myself so i dont discuss it. to put icing on the cake she told me sister today that it looks like she's losing weight! MY SISTER IS BIGGER THAN ME AND HASNT DROPPED AN OUNCE LET ALONE A POUND! WTH! I just stood there with my mouth gapping open. It just hurts so much that I feel like she's going out of her way to not recognize my success.

Thank you guys soooo much! i dont think I could make it through this journey without your encouraging words and concern for my success. As far as restriction. it feels like teh liquids pauses in the middle of my chest and then slides down. (about a couple of seconds) sometimes i feel like i need to pat my chest to make things go down. I have a lot of extra gurling going on in my stomach now and some small burping. So far i've eating some pudding and mostly been drinking liquids. I had a protein shake this morning at 7:30am and wasnt hungry until like 1:30!!!! i pray and hope this continues, but you know i'll keep you guys posted!!!!

I am self pay as well and i am trusting God that if something were to arise that I would be able to take care of it. I cant worry about things that are not promised to happen. I've trusted him thus far no need to stop now. I hope i didnt offend you with my God referencre but that's how i'm handling it.

thanks for your post. i was banded may 20, 2011 and i just got my second fill today. finally feeling some restriction!!!

i take pics and i started a video blog on my phone starting the day of surgery. Not sure what i want to do with the video blog yet. Any suggestions. i'm not to computer savy! LOL :P

i had my 2nd fill literally a few hours ago. My first fill did NOTHING! i some how still lost 5 pounds and i had no restriction and was hungry all the time. Now when i drink liquids(which i'm on for 2 days), i feel it stop in the middle of my chest and then kurplunk it drops in to my stomach. LOL! OH HOW I'VE WAITED FOR THIS FEELING! I cant wait to see what happens when i get to solid foods. my fills dont hurt at all. my doctor uses a air compressed needle with numb the area and the needle for the fill is HUGE!! i refuse to watch it go in my stomach, but all I feel is pressure. l'm so ready to get this ball rolling towards my size 12!!!! best wishes all!

i am not to eat solid foods 4 hours before my fill, and liquids for 2 days after. every sugeon is different. i doubt eating a boiled egg right then will fly with the doctor, but i would call the office before your fill and see what your surgeons policy is.

Hi jen..there's a thread on here call skinny bucket list...check it out. it goes with what you're saying.

i love this forum! thanks for the encouragement all those who were banded before some of us. thank you for not being negative and telling us negative things. i saw a post on here where some one who had been banded like 2 days gripping about people complaining about not loosing weight. 2 days! ha that person has no idea what we're dealing with at this stage, so maybe their tune will change once they get to our point. anyway i'm glad i read this post cuz it made me feel a whole lot better! 2nd fill on friday! praying for some restriction and more time between being hungry!

my surgeon does the first fill at 4 weeks and then wvery 2 months, but i had my first fill on june 17th and i'm going back june 25th cuz it's like he didnt do anything. he has a policy if you come back within 2 weeks of an adjustment there is no charge.

oh hunnie i feel your pain. i went through the same thing. once i started eating mushies and soft foods i actually gained 2 pounds. i was ready to jump off a ledge! i spoke with my dietician and she assured me this was normal. i have a love hate relationship with my scale. i got my first fill on friday (my band was empty too) and i did nothing. i'm goin back on friday for another one. i advise you to make sure your're getting liquids in and exercise, that's pretty much all you can do at this point and wait. i totally understand where you are coming from. sending you cyber hugs!!!!

wow! i'm so happy your BP has come down! i got my first fill on friday and i'm going back this friday for another, cuz this one did nothing! ugh! just so glad they are pain free!

i understand your frustration. i was banded on may 20th, got my first fill june 17th and am starving after 2 hours. i'm going in for another fill on friday. i'm tryin to be patient with this, but it aint easy. HMPH and who said this was the easy way out! ha please!

You are such an inspiration. I'm struggling right now. I got my first fill on friday and i dont think it's doing anything. I called the doctor's office and explained that i'm starving 2 hours after i ate and plus i'm able to eat more than a cup of food if i wanted. I'm going in for another fill of friday as they told me my surgeon is pretty conservative with the first fill. i have no idea how much he put in it. My friend(who is not banded) told me i should be counting my calories and aiming fo 1200 and i should wait be fore i get a fill. ummmmm u dont even have a band so she has no idea how i'm feeling. i was just sooooo annoyed that she felt she could give me advice. How can you count calories when you are preparing meals from scratch or buying pre seasoned meats and just measuring out portions. I'm sooo afraid that i am going to fail at this. Our weights are very similiar. i started at 242 and i'm currently at 227, i wish i was where you are, but i know i need to get more consistent with my working out. Any advise would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

My name is Jennifer and I live in the south suburbs of Chicago. I am 36, single with no kids. I started my pre-op all liquid diet on monday may 9th and am scheduled to be banded on may 20th. I am so excited this has been a 5 year process in the making. Just looking for someone who is willing to share the good, bad and ugly about the band, and offer any advice. thanks

Ok so i know i havent blogged in a while, just really havent been in the mood, but i knew i needed to post after today. Well today i got my first fill!!!YEAH!!! It took all of 2 minutes and wasw TOTALLY pain free! I stood in front of the xray machine and he made me drink the white chalky stuff to ensure that everything was in place. Next he used a needle to numb the area(it felt like a small mosquito bite) and 2 seconds later he inserted the needle to do the fill. He added some saline, had me drink, added some more and I drank again. He pulled the needle out(all i felt was pressure and i REFUSED to look at that needle in my stomach) and put on a bandaid. wham bam..done!! WOW!!! i'm so glad that was pain free. Now i'm back on liquids for 2 days! BOOOO!!! but if i could survive 2 weeks on liquids surely i can do 2 days! so i have to make sure to eat some chicken before tues when i call back to let them know if everything is goin down and if i'm still hungry. If so I have to go back before 2 weeks to get it adjusted. I'm soooooooooooooo excited that I finally got a fill. I was told to really pay attention to my body these next 2 weeks so i will know what "full" feels like to me. I'M ON MY WAY! Oh yeah i gained 2 pounds since i started mushies 3 weeks ago, but i'm not even concerned now that i know that is normal. I went to the gym again today and did an hour of cardio. I AM STILL PETRIFIED TO DO ANY AB WORK!!! I've been released to work with my trainer again. Was anyone else afraid to do ab work or am I being a big baby? LOL

Hey uptwist. I was banded at day one health downtown. i had the referred left shoulder gas pain for about two and a half weeks! UGH! gas x doesnt touch it cuz it's not in the stomach it left over in the abdominal cavity. i did finally get some relief from walking on the treadmill, but that didnt realy help my when i was sitting in church or at work.( excuse me pastor i know you're preaching but can i just take a quick jog around the sanctuary, i'll be right badk) ummmm yeah dont think that would have went over to well! LOL! feel free to add me as a friend and PM with any questions

I was banded on may 20th and it took my 4 days to go thru my discharge bag to realize i had a freakn ice pack! so i just toughed it out! I was in real pain about the first week or so. it just subsides slowly till one day you get up and realize it didnt feel like your innerds were ripping out! LOL! Hope you dont have to suffer with the gas pain in the left shoulder like i did! almost 3 weeks before it was totally gone and even now every once and a while it will throb a little. congrats on being banded

my friend and i (she's not banded) just had this convo the other day. we almost feel like we deserve to do what we want on the weekend since we've been good all week. well that's what got me where i am! LOL! I just got my first fill on friday so i'll start solids again on mon. i cant wait to see what my new "full" feels like. i am petrified of throwing up so i'm sure i'll stop before that happens. Hope you're weekend is goin good so far.

yeah i'm gonna go on the forum and see how long others were on liquids after their first fill. i'm starving!!!!!!!!!!!! ugh!!!!! did you doc say 2 days of liquids and you just choose to do mushies or did he say that. i'm strongly considering doing the same thing!

welcome fellow chicagoan!!LOL! i was banded on may 20th by dr. elli at day one health in downtown chicago! this has been a very interesting experience. I had my first fill today. This site is a great support group and has tons of info. Feel free to PM if you have any specific questions. i am very open!