Rebecca Cain Salpacka

So, after the first 15 lbs or so that I lost, I felt my bra getting to big...but i just didnt feel i lost enough inches to drop a size. Last tuesday when I weighed myself i was at 29lbs gone (16 of it since surgery 4/26). I had gone to the store with a friend, and as we passed the "intimate apparel" area, i thought..hmmm, maybe? Then i got gutsy lol. I was wearing a 50C, normally you would just try one size down..but i said what the heck and grabbed a 46C...it fit..and it fit great...didnt roll on the sides, straps didnt slip, and mega support! It is a Just My Size brand...but this means that I am not far from a 44, which means I can go into any store, and select from many more styles off the pegs, rather than just the JMS ones in the boxes...i swear i have worn the same 3 styles of bras for as long as I can remember lol. I dont track my measurements..one because in past years when I have...after losing a few inches I would assume that i should change size and then go try it on, and it just didnt work and id be disappointed...so this way, i dont assume anything, and if i try something on and it dont fit..i dont feel so bad. Now, if the lower body can drop as easily as the upper body, id be set lol...but ill take a drop...ANYWHERE on my body lol.

I have been happy with my progress since surgery on 4/26. I found out last week that I am getting my first fill tomorrow 6/4. I have been eating the right foods for my meals and doing pretty good....however, the last 3 or 4 days, I have found myself snacking on crap foods. I dont sit there and eat a whole package of Cookies or bag of chips...but over the 3 days I have had 2 donuts, 2 chocolate bars, about half a bag of low fat chips, and 2 16oz bottles of soda. None of it got stuck (cuz i have no restriction yet) and the carbonation from the soda didnt bother me. I know this isnt an obscene amount of junk over 3 days..but its junk I havent touched since the end of January when I decided I wanted to get the LB... Obviously this wasnt a single slip up since its something i did over few days..but for some reason the will power to not have those things, just wasnt there anymore. I have been able to say no to them even when hubby has them in the house, now that I have been eating them, this morning we tossed the remaining donuts and chips that were in the house....I have tried not to beat myself up over it, we all have moments we "mess up" and i know that things will start going in the right direction again...just still really sucks that I let it happen. I am certain I have gained back a lb or two in the last couple days, or at least I feel like I have...but I vow to get rid of them very soon...I was down into the high 320s and if that scale says 330's again...I WILL NOT be happy.

I felt the same way night before surgery...i ended up in bed several hours early lol. good luck tomorrow

A fill is an adjustement to your band. In most cases, the band is put in with no Fluid in the inner ring. approximately a month after surgery..but can vary with each person...u will get a fill..they use a needle to add saline to your band and make it tighter, so you have more restrction and feel full with smaller portions. The other "adjustment" is if its too tight after a fill, and you cant get any food down..they remove fluid to loosen it back up. Ask your surgeon for more info, this should have been something she or he went over with you at your first consultation or would have been in reading materials they should have given you. hope this helps...good luck!

I hope it does..i dont get my first fill til this coming monday, and i pray it gives me restriction because i have absolutely none right now. the weight i have lost has been pure willpower to step away from the food lol. I have no clue how much my fill will be, most i have read have said between 1-3 cc...so i will have to see. Good luck and hopefully it gets better for ya, or when u talk to your doc, maybe u will need more fill...

wowsa...100 in 5 months. AWESOME~ I told my doc i had goal of 75 in a year and she said thats perfect cuz its the average for most people...so 100 in 5 months is amazing.

I have been sending my food journal and weigh-ins (which i do weekly) to my nutritionist. I told her tho im eating portions twice the size i should be, im still using all i have to stop eating at each meal because im still hungry. I told her i was afraid the surgeon wouldnt do fill cuz im losing, she said losing is one thing, feeling full is anohter, if im not feeling full, then i need a fill, so that i dont end up eating more calories, while trying to get full and then stop losing. So yes, even tho u are losing, you can still get a fill...tho im sure there are some docs out there, who would say otherwise. good luck

You sound like me, having a big goal to work towards is what i need in order to stay motivated...you had your wedding day, and now that has passed. Is there another big day, maybe a childs graduation or reunion, etc..that you can pinpoint and use as a goal? The prednisone for sure has been a huge issue and when you are off of that, hopefully some will drop right back off...like you said you did this before and you CAN do this aggain. believe in yourself, those around you believe in you! Get back to tracking your meals...my guess is, that by now you have stopped doing that, (i only say that because in my past, before the band) i would stop tracking after a cpl months cuz i thought "i had it down and in my head" what i could and could not eat. you may have to go back to the very beginning. Do the pre-op diet for a week or two, then step up like post-op, this may be just enough to get that scale moving again, and once u see the numbers going back down, it will surely get you excited to keep it going. positive thoughts lead to positive actions which can only lead to positive results!

wow thats amazing. since surgery 4/26, ive lost 16...so you are far ahead of me..im still very happy with that tho, considering it took me about 7 weeks to loose the first 13, prior to surgery lol. Keep up the good work...i get my first fill on 6/4 so i know i will see big changes after that.

my first fill is next monday, i was told no solids that morning..my appt is 1130

this is true that most insurances will allow coverage if there are medical issues with rashes, however, most will allow it only after you have lost a percentaghe of the access weight over your "ideal" weight, or after you have had the weight off for a certain time...so depending on these factors you may have to wait a bit for the lift, but it will most likely get covered from what i have researched.

Definite notice in my knees. im down 15 since surgery and about 13 prior to surgery, and just around the 20 lb mark, i remember saying to hubby..wow, my knees havent been hurting me nearly as much. I have a PCL tear in my right knee as well as osteoarthritis in both and a bakers cyst in the back of the right knee...i didnt expect to see a diff til about 50 lbs so i was glad when the decrease in pain started so soon.

Congrats! Such a beautiful Angel. Bless you and your family, and good luck on your Journey.

I dont know if its "normal" but its not all that uncommon. I know a friend of a friend, as well as my sis that both had bypass...both turned into very stuck up snobby you know whats. It was one of the key reasons i was so dead set against having weight loss surgery myself..i feared i would turn out the same way. However, with the LB it comes off slower so its not this sudden look in the mirror of "damn I look hotter than so and so" those with LB tend to have time to get use to the slow changes so in my opinion we are less likely to have the stuck up attitude. I told my husband I want to gain more confidence, but if i EVER come across as snobby or cocky, PLEASE say something, because i dont want to be that person.

The shoulder pain is from the gas...i know it sounds crazy, but thats what its from. The gas of course being from all the Co2 they fill ya up with during surgery to make room for them to manuver around. I read on here some people said it lasted 2 weeks...and I cried when i read it..mine was bad for about 5 days, and more bareable from days 6-8..then it was gone. Get up and walk. I live in a two bedroom apartment, about every 20-30 mins i would get up and go down our small hallway and back twice...and sit back down...it definitely helped.

So i knew both of these things were possibilities when i decided to do surgery. The doc as well as tons of info i read about the lap-band make it seem like they dont happen alot nor are they big deals. However, in the last month or so, nearly everyday when i sign into the forums, I see a new person posting that one or the other has happened...leaving me to believe that both are inevitable. I really dont want to have to go through another surgery, even if it is something simple.

So i lost 13 lbs in the 7 weeks before surgery, and after surgery the first two weeks seemed very slow going...but now i have jumped another 5 lbs as of the 15th and verrry happy with my 13lbs sicne surgery. My eating and exervcise is starting out about the same as last week,but something tells me i will be sitting at the same weight come weigh in on tuesday...but thats ok...if it happens i wont let it discurage me...everything happens at the time and speed it should happen, right?

i was told no more than 10 lbs, never said anything about bending, tho for the first two weeks i was careful not to, and now just 3 wks after surgery im back to the trainer...but she has kept the lifting and the core exercises to a minimum.

I have a "lump" under my port incision too, small tho, but two nurse friends have told me its most likely just scar tissue..and im not having any pain at all..so i hope they are right. I havent scheduled first fill yet...nutrtionist and doc both said to wait a week or two and see how im doing, if im still losing steadily, then hold off.

first 4-6 wks after surgery is about healing...not so much the weight loss. many dont start losing big amounts til after their first fill. i two only lost 4 lbs in the first 2 weeks..but then as i was able to change my diet and increase my calories to closer to 1000, i then lost 5 lbs in just under a week...this wont happen for everyone, but even if it doesnt..dont freak out...it will happen in time, and any loss is better than a gain. Keep your chin up!

hubby and i always have had high drives..just at diff times..he is morning im night..which is usually when hes already asleep. However, the other day, i was bent over straightening up books on a lower bookshelf, and hubby made comment about the roundness my behind has started getting lol...though he has always - even after 17 yrs - told me i still turn him on...it was nice to hear a specific thing that was getting to him lol. He just went back to work for first time in 3.5 years and he started school in March..so now im healed up from surgery and ready to go and well hes too tired lol..but i know when we do get back into it..its gonna be amazing.

holy moly...22lbs in a month...64 lbs in 10 wks...thats awesome. i havent had my first fill yet, today is 3 wks since surgery. i was weighed 2 days before surgery but not on day of surgery...so i weigh-in on tuesdays...as of the 15th i was down 13lbs. i also lost 13 lbs in the 7 wks prior to surgery..so im happy with my loss. keep up the great work!

Sorry you are having so many issues since the band. Please know that I dont think its common for so many issues to arise...everyone is different. There are thousands of members on this site and in the couple of months I have been a member, I have only read of two other ppl having other medical issues coming up after the band. I point this out because i dont want you to regret your decision to have the band. I know it can be frustrating to get sick when you are doing what you are told to do in regards to your eating, but some things are out of our control. I will pray that the pancreas and gallbladder issues can be addressed without any major procedures or surgeries and that there will be no further medical issues arising. You are on a tough road right now and things have to get better for you, prayer, faith and positive attitude will help guide you to that happening. best of luck