girleyq

I feel the exact sane way! I have zero restriction! Have lost 20 lbs since feb of 2012! Have 9 cc in an 11 cc realize band! What am I doing wrong?????

So I think the problem is we 2012 Bandsters started "banding together" back lasts February, in a single thread on the pre-op page. None of us have ever really communicated on the February 2012 Bandsters Forum. Probably the best thing to do is for us to all move over to the February 2012 Bandsters Forum and see if that helps. I am going to do that now. I hope to see you all over there!

I do think think that this is an actual Thread, not a forum. Not sure how to fix this, but it's driving me nuts. lol

Maybe we February 2012 bandsters should start another thread, February 2012 bandsters? Not sure. This is becoming too full and convoluted.

First of all, I am right there with you on more than one account. The 2013 bandsters are confusing me as well! Anyway, I feel like I'm being a pessimist, but I'm looking for some support out there. I got banded Feb. 23, 2012. I have lost a total of 30 pounds. I know 30 pounds is 30 pounds, but I really thought I would be at my goal of 80 pounds lost by now. Here is where I am having trouble - and please, please, please understand I am looking for support, not a lecture. I have NEVER EVER felt restriction. EVER! NOTHING gets stuck! NOTHING restricts me! I can eat EVERYTHING and ANYTHING. It's like I never had the surgery (except for the scars and the $3,000 out of pocket). This is what I can't understand. I have a Realize band. 11 cc. It is filled to 8 cc. I know there's fluid in it, because when I got my last fill, he took all the liquid out (which was 6 cc.). So I know it's in there. But I still have no restriction. Everyone says you have to help the band work, but if it's like the band was never there, what is the use? I'm just wondering if there's anyone else out there in my position and if anyone knows of anything I can do. I try to diet, but heck if dieting alone helped ANY of us, would ANY of us be here? I know it's a TOOL - but it's a TOOL I DON'T HAVE! The PA who did my last fill said that it's like putting a belt on. Some have bigger waists, some have smaller waists, and if you try to tighten a size 40 belt on a size 28 waist, it's going to take a lot of tightening to get it to restrict the waistband. My question is, if I am at 8 cc of an 11 cc band and have absolutely no restriction, what can I do? I cry daily when I get on the scale. I need encouragement, or ideas, or something. I am slipping back into old eating habits - and realizing I can eat way more than I do (and that's a very bad thing). Is there anybody out there that give me an idea of the next step?

I am like you in a different way. I keep going for fills - after getting rid of the PA who made you show you "deserved" a fill and used the Jilllian Michaels approach - but I am now at 8 cc of an 11 cc band and still have no restriction. I too test the limits but can eat anything in any amount and never get stuck! I am so frustrated and feel like a total failure. I have lost 30 lbs but most of that was in the liquid phase. My PA at my last fill said I may have a tiny inside and it is like putting a size 40 belt on a size 28 waist. It will take a while to get to restriction. What if I get to 11 cc and still don't have restriction? I paid a lot out of pocket for this surgery and feel it did no better for me than Atkins or weight watchers. I could use some encouragement to get back on track or hear from people who have similar stories?

Okay, so here I am again, got a 2 cc fill back a month ago, so I'm now at 6 cc in an 11 cc band. I SHOULD be feeling restriction, right? NO!!! I have lost according to my scale a total of 35 pounds. According to theirs, 30. Not enough from February to September! But here is my point - and I KNOW I should not be eating this stuff, but just to prove a point: For dinner tonight, I had a hot dog with a bun, a spoonful of potato salad, a spoonful of macaroni salad, a spoonful of baked beans, and an ear of corn. For dessert, I had a brownie and a half a piece of eclair cake. YES I KNOW it is all the wrong stuff - but should I be able to eat that much with 6 cc in an 11 cc band? I am so TOTALLY frustrated that I think I am trying to eat just to see how much I can eat - and it's a lot!!! Can anyone shed some light on what I should do, or is anyone else having this trouble? I really am feeling like I should have never got this band, because it has helped me NADA!!!! HELP!!!

I will admit, I have fallen off the liquid bandwagon, also. What is the true reason for not eating before and after a meal? Maybe that's why I'm having so much trouble, but it's just such a habit to grab your food, grab your drink, that I don't usually give it much thought. Maybe I need to adjust my thinking! I'm only down 35 pounds since Feb 23, and maybe this is the reason why? Looking for other opinions here, does anyone see a huge difference in whether they eat right before/after meals or if they don't?

I went yesterday for my second fill, 2 cc. for a total of 6 cc. She said this should give me some help with how much I'm eating, as I am eating too much. I feel NO restriction whatsoever, so I'm hoping this helps. I'm ready to get some of these pounds OFF!! I'm not complaining about losing 35, but I'd like for it to be 70! I'm being patient! I really liked this new PA, not nearly like the meanie I had before, so maybe she is what I need to get a jump start. Hope everyone is doing well, and good luck! Horrible taste in my mouth today, won't go away, guess it's all part of the plan!

So when the PA is telling me I'm not losing weight because I'm thinking like a FAT person and not a SKINNY person, I'm not the one that's crazy? This lady is telling me that hunger pains are not really hunger pains, it's food moving through the system. She says eat your portion and stop. And you will get used it the portion. She wont' fill me because I'm not losing to her satisfaction and don't DESERVE a fill! I really thought the whole purpose of this was to feel fuller with less food. Well, I can eat almost what I used to eat, but I don't because I don't want to test the waters, but I'm definitely hungry within 2 hours of eating. I had my surgery Feb 23, and had one fill, which was April 16, of 3 cc. I have an 11 cc Realize band. Should I ask for another PA in the practice? I'm from Pittsburgh and had my surgery at Magee. Anyone else share my experience?

I feel like you wrote this for me. I just got on here to tell my tale. I started at 6 months prior to surgery at 235. When I was approved and finalized, I weighed 232. Had a few great last gorges and went into surgery at 239. Of course they have me at 232. I went to my first post op with no fill, and was read the riot act for not following the diet, but she did give me a .3 cc fill. Lost 9 pounds that month, but have NEVER felt restriction EVER. She said she wouldn't fill me because I didn't NEED a fill. Went this time, and lost 3 pounds. She said she wouldn't fill me because I didn't DESERVE a fill!!! I am dead serious! She picked apart everything I ate. According to her, you eat your portion and stop. If your stomach is growling, that is not HUNGER that is food MOVING THROUGH YOUR SYSTEM. Told me to quit thinking like a fat person and start thinking like a skinny person. I told her that if I went to a restaurant, I feel less deprived ordering a hamburger without a bun than a broiled chicken breast. She said DEPRIVED????? Do you want to be fat or skinny? So she says I should eat what I am supposed to, and nothing more, and never cheat. But I can eat ANYTHING at ANY TIME and have NEVER had restriction, so I think I need a fill. If I could eat my portion sizes and never cheat, why would I need the surgery I really thought when I had this surgery that I would be eating normal food, like a normal human being, and be rid of the broiled chicken breast and broiled fish and no this and no that. I figured I could eat almost like a normal person (minus the fried foods and really bad stuff), but eat 1/4th of what I normally did, and be satisfied. But she said to me, well you should have told the doctor that you wanted the MAGIC PILL!!! She was so hard on me, I was almost in tears. I started at 239, I now weigh 206, so I've lost 33 pounds. She said that's not nearly enough this far out. But she won't fill me. I am seriously thinking of asking for another PA to fill me. Is that even possible? FRUSTRATED!!!

Pardon my ignorance, but what is C25K? I went to the doc last week, expecting to get my second fill, and she said I didn't "need" one. I have lost a total of 22 pounds, which I guess isn't horrible, since it has only been 10 weeks. I have had two incidents of severe pain between my breastbone that lasted about 15 or 20 minutes, then subsided. I have also had a couple instances of productive burps, not too bad. So the good and bad, I never get sick on any food, can eat almost anything, and not have any side effects. The bad side is, I don't feel like I have had any surgery, I am still hungry all the time, and feel like I am depriving myself. I honestly thought (silly me) that I would be able to eat whatever I wanted, but only a very limited amount. I find that I'm still eating baked fish, grilled chicken, tuna fish, and vegetables. I guess I was crazy, but I am feeling like I did all this and I could have gone through this withoug the pain and agony of the surgery! Someone talk me out of it! In a way I wish she would have filled me again ( I am currently at 4 cc in an 11 cc band), but then I'm glad she didn't because I don't want to get sick on everything I eat, and those two episodes scared the living daylights out of me!!!

Just wondering, I haven't had my first fill yet, and I was so careful with the foods I tried, and chewing, and little bites, and sipping, and slowly but surely, I have been trying more and more foods, and to my surprise, NOTHING disagrees with me! I can eat chicken, beef, bread, haven't tried fried foods yet, but am wondering how they'd go! I was just wondering, is this because I don't have a fill yet? I'm going Friday for my first fill, and just wondering what to expect. I feel right now as though I never even had the surgery, although I do seem to be full faster. Any thoughts?

I believe I may have had a stuck incident last week. I ate some trail mix, lots of nuts, and about an hour later, I felt like someone was stabbing me in my breastbone. Scared the bejeebers out of me, since i was thousands of miles away from home in Las Vegas. It did finally go away, but boy it was scary! I didn't think I had any restriction, but that proved to me that I must.

I go for another fill on May 4, so hopefully we'll all be happier (and weigh less) in a couple weeks! And I don't know how you know you have restriction, because I don't have it yet either! I do seem to be eating less, but I think that's only out of sheer willpower. I am able to eat anything (salad, rice, everything they say you may not be able to tolerate) so I don't think I'm at the correct level. But we'll see these second fills go. So glad we all found each other! I still wonder why we don't all switch over to the group, but wherever you guys are comfy, I'm comfy!

I've managed to drop a few pounds, but only because I've become religious with my water! I still feel absolutely no restriction, but I'm going to Vegas on Friday for five days (shouldn't that be interesting!) so I don't want to get filled before I go, just in case I run into some problems. I'll make an appointment for right when I get back. We're all in this together, and we'll get through it! Bandster HELL will eventually turn into Bandster HEAVEN!!!

I was away this weekend, and I'm proud to say, I didn't do that badly! We were served food, and I ate what I could and did the "only three bites" thing of the rest. Did have some things I shouldn't have, but when I compare it to what I would have wolfed down 3 months ago, I'm so proud of myself! I'm bummed with no restriction, too, but we all seem to be following the same path, losing originally (how could you not drinking clear liquids and jello? LOL) and we're all kind of stuck a little and discouraged. But remember, we ROCK and in a year, we'll all be modeling our new clothes and personalities to go along with our new "us"!!!

There are so many of us who are repeating the same story, we can't ALL be wrong! We all had our fills in February; some but not all of us have had fills; most have lost some weight, but are stalled at the moment. Many are getting discouraged. Here's the story - we can't ALL be wrong! This must be the way it works. So many people say you have to get in your "green" zone or hit the "sweet spot." We just aren't there yet and have to be patient! I, too, had surgery in February (Feb 23). I have lost about 20 pounds total, but only two in the last month. Got a good talkin' to by the Physician's assistant when I got my first fill, but honestly, the reason most of us are overeating is because we can't control this without help, and with no restriction or not enough restriction, the help isn't there! I've found myself more than once saying, well, geez, I don't feel any restriction, I might as well just eat - and that I did. So we need to band together and know that it's going to come off. Next year at this time we'll all be sharing our SKINNY PICS! FEBRUARY BANDSTERS ROCK!!!!!!!!

Will def. keep you informed! We have a lot in common, for sure! We're the same age (born only a month apart) and both have Realize Bands. I have a little more weight to lose than you, but we can be partners in this! I really feel like I will have no restriction with the 4 ccs, but she wants to see me in two weeks because I only lost two pounds last month, so maybe she'll give me another fill! I hope so!!

I had my surgery Feb 23, and first fill yesterday, 4 cc, and hope it restricts, but a feeling it won't! Where are people's "sweet spot" ? I want restriction, but I also don't want to bring up everything I eat, either! I have an 11 cc. Realize Band. ANyone else have a realize band?

Great Job! So nice not to fear the scale and look forward to going into the closet for clothes! Together we will all get there! Had my first fill today, hopefully it goes well! I am on clear liquids and protein shakes for two days then soft for two days, so I've tolerated Flavor Splash and Muscle Milk, so far so good!!

This may seem like a stupid question, but I can't seem to figure out how to join a group! I would like to join the February bandsters (I had surgery Feb 23) and even found the link somewhere, but I can't seem to find the "join button." When I go to add groups, it is for adding a brand new group, which I don't want to do. Any help would be appreciated!

I am on a regular desktop, and all I see is "follow this group." I have no option to join the group. I am signed in, so I don't know why it won't give me an option to join. I thought maybe just following would work, but when I go to My Groups, it says I belong to none! no one wants me! What am I doing wrong?

Okay, obviously don't know how to attach a weight loss ticker. Can anyone help? I put the URL in the signature, but obviusly, that didn't work!