Kimberly Collins

10 years here! Very happy with it. I would like to lose 20 more lbs. But am thrilled with my loss and the band.

You act as though there is no wrong way or right way to work your band, but there is a right way and lots of wrong ways. Your physician will tell you that. This isn't t-ball where everyone gets a sticker for effort. This is real life. There are plenty of things you can do to keep yourself from losing the weight, and there are a handful of very specific right things that you must do to lose the weight. People are sharing that wisdom here. If you don't like it, you either need to get a thicker skin and come to the realization that there is a right and wrong way to do the band, or go somewhere where everyone will pat you on the back and praise you no matter what you do. Regardless of what your parents may have taught you ,it's not a tragedy or a personal affront for you to be wrong or to grow and learn from others.

I rarely if ever see rudeness here. Just because people are doing things differently than you are doesn't make what they say and do a personal affront to you. People are just trying to share their wisdom and help others reach their full potential. I think you are taking things a bit too personally.

The band is a piece of cake compared to a c-section. I was walking around Target an hour after I got to the recovery room. I had to take pain pills and take it easy for a couple of days, but I was back to work and feeling pretty normal after 4 days or so.

I did want to add that I can't eat steak, ribs, or pot roast any more. I have trouble with pasta as well. That is probably for the better though.

Stretch marks don't generally go away. I don't have any hanging skin because I lost mine slowly overall. I haven't had any trouble with my spider veins since I lost my weight, but they are still there. Mine never got too bad. I do love that I look almost normal now. I love that I can wear size 14. I love that my feet are slim and I can wear a wider variety of shoes now. I love that I feel attractive and sexy.

Overall, it isn't hard, but the weight loss part can be hard. I lost 50 lbs really fast, but it took me a year of really low calorie eating and massive amounts of exercise to lose 26 lbs, only to gain 10 lbs. of it back when I started an incredibly hectic schedule. I still have about 50 to go and I am worn out on eating like a rabbit. My band is really tight too. I am 6 years out and am still struggling. I have done right about average and have lost 50% of my weight. It is really hard to change your eating habits. I still want to eat naughty stuff and eat even when I am stuffed. I don't, but I want to and it's hard to resist. I only PB when I start my cycle, so that isn't a big problem.

You have to move as much as possible. By day 3 I was up doing fairly normal stuff and off pain meds. I did have horrible gas still in my shoulder. I think it lasted for a week or so.

6 years out I still struggle with this. I am struggling with this tonight. I do great during the day, then after dinner I want to gorge. I have started making myself wait, then if I still have the munchies I eat a piece of fruit or veggie sticks. With meals I, like others here, also measure my food out and stop eating when the food is gone--sometimes sooner.

I know it's hard, but you have got to stop beating yourself up about your appearance. I can assure you with so much focus on outward appearance they have to have issues themselves. Just remember, they are not perfect. And, if they are judging you for your weight, then they probably aren't very good people. With that said, insurance companies love to drag their feet and take their time. You will get there.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to cut back on oil in homemade vinaigrette? I only eat homemade dressing at home (no bottled.) I have tried just adding the same amount of vinegar with less oil and it is too strong. I have tried adding water and broth and it just tastes terrible. I have had great luck making creamy dressings with a base of low fat buttermilk and low fat Greek yogurt plus seasonings. I would like to find something that tastes as good as that combo for vinaigrette. In the mean time, I have started using a tiny drizzle of dressing, but the salad is still a bit dry.

I will agree that two fills probably won't put you into being restricted. It took me 5 or so to get restricted. I still remember that fill. I actually felt the band snug up and that was the day it started. I do think that 1100 calories is reasonable. If you go too low, it can slow you metabolism in the long run and make it to where you will be able to eat even fewer calories. I was told I could do 800 for a very short term (2 weeks or so at a time) but then go back up to 1000 or more for a while, then go back down for 2 weeks if I wanted.

I lost nothing for a year. Nothing. Turns out, I have hypothyroidism. I had a really good loss right after I started my meds, about 25 lbs. in 3 months. Since then though, it has been agonizing. I lose maybe 1-2 lbs a month if I am lucky. Since 2005, I have lost about 75 lbs or so. I am still losing at a snail's pace. But, I am now wearing normal sizes and am no longer morbidly obese. I am almost out of the obese zone. I have also lost more than 1/2 of my weight and continue to lose--slowly. At this pace, I will be at my ideal weight in 2-3 more years, which is fine with me. I know it is horribly frustrating. But, for every pound you lose, you are smaller than where you were. It adds up over time. And, don't expect exercise to have any real effect on weight loss. Eight hours of moderate exercise a week doesn't even burn a pound. My weight loss doesn't differ even with vigorous exercise. Even Bob Harper admits that it only helps if you do it several hours a day. The reason you do it is to strengthen your heart a lungs, and maybe lose a few extra pounds a year. Just hang in there. Something is better than nothing. I've averaged 12 lbs a year, but I am so happy that I kept working and am where I am now. No more sleep apnea, no more high cholesterol, I have really great blood pressure, and my resting heart rate is down. My Lupus and Fibro pain are greatly reduced. I am having a flare now and have little pain. It's worth the wait.

I don't know, but mine showed up in the CT scan and the radiologist freaked out. He thought the port and tubing was part of the band that came off. This was in 2005, so it wasn't that common to see them. I saw it and showed him what everything was for when he came across it again.

I have Lupus and severe allergies along with fibro. I have been banded for 7 years with no problems. It has actually helped my issues because of the weight loss.The only issue I have is that after I get a steroid injection, I can't eat much for a week or so. I know steroids are supposed to reduce inflammation, but they also cause massive water retention. I wonder if that could be the problem. Anyone else ever had this side effect? I try to avoid tablets b/c of the errosion factor, but I get tested yearly and am fine in that regard.