LeslieW

Wow look at that sexy guy! Congrats!!! Awesome job!

It certainly is visible! I can't see it in myself either but other people do. I think that is just a side effect of being a heavier person. We never quite see what other people see unless we look at pictures. You are doing great!!

Best of luck to you!!

I was not allowed to lift more than 20lbs for 8 weeks after surgery. The doctor said he had only had one female flip their port but he has had several men flip one from moving things from refrigerators to falling off a roof while the guy was trying to lay new shingles. That scared me enough to wear my hubby lifted everything for me. I was able to swim again at 6 weeks but no idea about the ocean.

That is fantastic! My husband is thinking about getting the sleeve. I am happy with my band but ready to support him too. You are an inspiration! Seeing your progress makes me happy!

Girl use that Vicodin. That is what they give it to us for. I hate taking pain meds but I had to post op. I had to sleep in my recliner for two weeks. There was no way i could have gotten through sleeping at night without it. It will get better, promise. The pain goes away and in two weeks you are going to be back to doing things you need to do. Just give yourself time. If you have a good support system, let them take care of you. You can do it. Walk, walk, walk for the gas pains. That was the only thing that helped my pain. The vicodin just helped me sleep at night.

I am sorry I have not blogged in a while. Life got busy and is about to get busier. I promised when I started blogging to tell the good and the bad so here goes.. Last month was a ton of bad. Not the bands fault. However, it was easy for me to blame the band and say WTH when it was me trying to sabotage myself all along. Not only did my weight loss come to a screaming halt, I gained 4lbs back in one week. One day I felt great and the next I felt no restriction. It was like I never had anything done. For some weird reason I freaked out and started eating and eating to try to feel "full". I am still not quite sure why I did that. I "know" what my portions should be and how I should eat. I do not know why I was looking for that "full" feeling other than I reverted back to eating for comfort which is something I thought I had conquered. Apparently not. So I went in for my monthly check up with my doctor with my b***h on. I was furious I gained weight, convinced I should have done another surgery, pissed at the world because "What if I did all this and am fat forever?" Now, my doc is a no bullshit kind of guy. He doesn't do well with whining because he has the band himself and he knows whats up. Its like a teenager getting caught sneaking out of the house by a parent who already did all that when they were a teenager. You can't really get anything past this guy. So he comes in the room and says What's going on? Are you drinking your calories? Are you partying? Are you eating a ton of carbs? *Bingo* the Carb alarm goes off. I don't drink and seriously with 6 kids who the hell has time to party? But I was eating baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, fried potatoes. They went down well. I had stopped recording all my calories and was only going to the gym 3 days a week. He told me absolutely no veggies that grow under the ground from now on. Exercise 3 times a week was only going to maintain for me so he wants 45 minutes 7 days a week. *faint* My poor inner fat girl wanted to cry. He asked me what exactly did I expect? The weight was not going to pack its bags and take off on its own. I had gotten lazy again because the band had been working so well for me that I thought I didn't have to work anymore. We did another fill and guess what? I had to re learn how to eat! I thought it was too tight for a bit but it was my bad habits again. It was hard the first week after the fill. I got stuck and finally learned what people mean when they say they "slimed". It is gross and a horrible feeling and completely my fault again. I got complacent. I got lazy again and looked for anyone but myself to lash out at. This month I am back on track. I have learned that eating a lot during the day is not going to be something I will ever do again. I have very small meals now but I am not looking for the feeling of "full" anymore. I understand now that is not what I need. I need to make sure I don't get dizzy or light headed from not having enough food. Feeling "full" is too much. I have replaced all the potatoes I was eating with squash or zucchini. I replaced a lot of the meat I was eating with fish because it has a lot of protein that I desperately need. I need to make sure that every single day I push my body just for a little while. I need to make sure I am helping the band work. Not expecting it to do all the work. I lost sight of the fact this band is a tool not a cure. This month I lost all the weight I had gained back. I made it to the next decade down. Since seeing the doctor 3 weeks ago I have lost 8 lbs. I feel great. I am not going to be "fat" or should I say "unhealthy" forever. I have forgiven myself for slipping up. I think maybe that is the most important thing. I have owned the mistake and forgiven myself for it. I will never come on here and bash this tool and say it is evil or its all the bands fault things are not working out for me. The band is an inanimate object. Not capable of either being good or bad or having choices. We control it. We decide how it works for us. The thing I want people to take from this is if you are in a stall or a plateau right now really look at everything. See maybe the tiny things you might be doing. Do NOT get angry. Try to stay calm and look at it from all angles. Write down everything. Write down how you are feeling emotionally, what are you eating, when are you eating? Once I started keeping logs again I figured out what was wrong. Don't give up hope and don't take it out on yourself or the band. It's just a matter of figuring out where the roadblock is and you will be back on track. Keep your head up. It does not have to come off over night. The goal is to be healthy. You are on track for that already. I have gone from 305 to 259 since January 11. I am going slow but I am doing it. All I can ask of myself is to be nicer to me.

Keep on trucking! Most of us slow down at about that time period. Keep your eye on how the clothes fit and all your NSVs to get you through the slow downs. Sounds like you are doing wonderful!

Congrats on reaching your goal! That is wonderful!!

I haven't been on the boards for a little bit but I think this is a wonderful topic to have. I am currently a CMA going back to school for my RN. I am worried about how I will fit in the meals I need with school and clinicals. I have been told not to even think about trying to have a job for the next 2 years. I am sure I will be carrying lots of Protein shakes with me. I had my surgery in January so I do not have to worry about lifting restrictions anymore. I am more worried about eating to fast and getting stuck or not eating at all. I do forget unless I schedule my meals. I have also told everyone around me about my surgery. Sometimes I even tell the servers when I go out to eat. I got tired of getting the stink eye when I didn't eat much food or managers falling all over me because they assume I do not like the food. I figured my close friends and family will either be supportive or not. Right now I don't have any co-workers to tell but I would think being in a profession where you have to lift you would want to tell people you need assistance at least. I was not allowed to lift over 30 lbs for 3 months after surgery because my doctor did not want us to flip the port and have to have revision. laralen02---- lol I had to laugh at the cosmetic surgery and boob job comment. People can be so funny.

Some of the others were inspiring me so i thought I would dig around for some before pics. Mind you it was hard to find since I never let anyone take my pics... But Highest weight was 305. I am at 264 as of this morning. Surgery was 01/11/13. It is not coming off as fast as I would like but seeing the picture makes me realize it is actually coming of. I think I will take more pictures a long the way to help with my self esteem. I do not see myself as any different from the Christmas picture. But the camera doesnt lie. I need to get some full body pics next. Oh the horror of the thought! lol

I really had to make myself NOT compare our journeys. There are so many things the same but a lot different too. Its hard when you are so close. lol Girls are naturally competitive with each other. I did hide her scale once lol. She was obsessing. I gave it back a week later. Now she threatens to come get mine. haha

I would agree with the others and say get a second opinion. A male friend of mine had his port flip last year and had to have a revision. It set him back about 6 weeks but after that he did very well. Unless there is some other reason the doctor thinks you should get the sleeve a port revision is not a great reason by itself. Plus if you are an insurance patient I would think getting a sleeve would be a great deal harder after having lapband paid for than a port revision would be.

Thank you =). I am playing head games with myself now I think. I have a friend who did the sleeve a month after I did band and she is dropping weight so much faster. I could not really tell I had lost any until she told me I needed to do a side by side picture comparison. She said everyone but me can see it. I am glad I did. I don't feel frustrated anymore. I know I am losing slower and that is ok. Just the big girl in me wanted to wake up skinny. The smart girl knows that is not going to happen and wouldnt be healthy if it had. Thanks for all the encouragement!

Congrats! I was banded on 1-11-13 and have also lost 40lbs! You look amazing but the smile tells the story! =)

It has been a while since I have written on my blog. Life is happening and I just haven't been able to sit down and put thoughts on the computer lately. So currently I am 2 1/2 months since surgery. Since my surgery date on January 11th 2013 I have lost 34 lbs. I had my second fill a week ago. So here is the tricky part. I do not feel I am doing enough or losing enough. However, I KNOW I am doing good. I have this inner conflict going on second guessing myself and longing for the day when I can look at my weight loss ticker and it does not say 121 lbs left to go! Now I am going to the gym, eating less and better than I ever have in my life and doing all the things my doctor is telling me to do. We even bought a grill so we could make sure we grill almost every single night. My husband has also started to lose weight. This is great! Why then is the girl in my head still telling me I am fat and gross? I drive my husband nuts. I ask him do you think i just ate too much? He looks at me like I grew a second head. For the first month he was convinced I was going to starve to death. When I saw my physician last week they were super excited I had lost 10lbs since my post op visit. All I could think was I could have lost more if I hadn't busted my ankle up. So I am wondering when this odd head game I am playing with myself will end and if anyone else has gone through this. When do you start seeing the healthier you? I know she is already here but I do not see her when I look in the mirror. I am extremely blessed. Aside from some annoying hair loss, I have not had any bad side effects at all. Except from a bit of a pull around my port area if I overdue the exercising I have no discomfort or pain. I breezed through bandster hell. I think it only lasted about 4 days for me before it was time for my first fill. I do get slightly hungry but i can manage this by scheduling my small meals. So the doctor and my nutritionist say to stop worrying about it. Slow and steady. There is a reason I picked this surgery and not one where I would drop 40lbs a month. I wanted it to be slower. I understood this and I need to stop obsessing about it. So when does what I know catch up to how I feel? I still extremely happy I have the band. I would not change it at all. I just wonder how do I change the way we are taught as heavy people to think about ourselves? I think I will make this my goal for the next month and the weight loss can be a side bonus.

Thank you! I think the mental part is definitely the hardest. The band tells me if I do something wrong physically. I have to constantly remind myself to stay off the scale and be nice to myself. Hopefully I get the hang of it soon!

Thank you so much for this. I am 2 1/2months post op and still sometimes fill my plate too much. I each 6 or 7 bites and the rest goes to the fridge for later or in the trash. I told my husband yesterday I don't know why I still do that. I know I cant eat that much. This was great for me to read.

Congrats on your bandiversary. Thank you for sharing your story!

Don't feel bad about crying. It is a stress relief. I cried because my husband got me the wrong kind of tomato soup. Now we laugh about it. You can get through this and you will. I also used to work in the healthcare community. It amazes me how as healthcare professionals we are all telling our patients to be healthy but then we eat stuff drug reps bring us or have pot lucks with bad food in them all the time. Just shake your head at it and think to yourself when your scrubs start falling off your butt you are going to have fun shopping for the new ones.

add the flavorless protein powder to your food. It blends well with cottage cheese or greek yogurt. I also would drink the ensure clear protein drinks. I would trade on glass of water for one of the drinks. You will get there.

No you won't be able to get your co pays back. The doctor's office still had to be able to bill for time spent. Keep your head up. Sometimes even if you are denied first the surgeon can talk to the dr at the insurance company that denies and can talk them into approving. I was denied first but then my doctor called the insurance company and I was approved the same day they denied me.

So when I started my blog, I promised to be open and honest about as much as I possibly can with progress with the band. I want my blog to be a place where newbies or those going in for their diet visits to get some honest info. No scare tactics, no BS. So I have read the boards and forums but I have never seen anyone say step by step what it is like to get a fill. Today I went for my first fill and this is step by step how it happened. First I had a meeting with my dietitian. I had tons of questions for her today. I was upset that I had seemed to stall out on my weightloss. She said in fact I had lost more weight that I was unaware of. She also explained with the amount of exercise I have been doing, I am building muscle even though I am only doing cardio right now. So she explained the muscle will weigh more than the fat and eventually I will start to lose again. She told me to calm down and stop wigging out. My husband and I have decided I should not use the scale anymore at home to weigh myself. It drives me nuts and is obviously not accurate. I just bought a new one and it still drives me bonkers. I absolutely love my dietitian. She was very patient with me today. She explained in detail how the fill helps. I was confused as to why the fill is supposed to help when I am already only getting about 800 cals a day. However, I also have the plication. Because I was unfilled sometimes I would eat just a tiny bit too much. By the time the food got to the plicated part of my stomach I would be uncomfortable but just a little. She explained to me the nerves that tell us we are full are at the top of our stomachs. The goal is for my band to put gentle pressure on my stomach so that the nerves are triggered easier to tell me I am full. That was I will not over eat with that one more tiny bite that sends me into discomfort. After I spoke with her it was time to get the fill. First the nurse took me back to the fill room, had me lay down and looked for my port with the ultra sound machine. Once the port was located, she then put iodine on the port location. Once I was prepped and ready the doctor came in. Now, my doctor is the kind of doctor who is very friendly and chatty. At the same time he is a no bullshit kind of guy. If you are messing up he is going to tell you. So he comes in chatting away and I am immediately put at ease. He numbs the port site with lidocaine. Honestly this was the worst part with a tiny burning sting. I have had kids.. this aint nothin... so they say. Once the port area is numb, Dr. DeBarros then put the needle for the saline into the port. The nurse helped me stand up and handed me a cup of water. Dr. D told me to drink the water while he was doing the fill. He was looking for the point where the water would back up. So the funny part was because I am used to sipping he kept telling me to drink faster. So about the third time he said that I stopped and said.. You are not supposed to do that on the band, Dr. D. He just laughed and said, "I didn't say stop." Now all of this took about 5-10 minutes start to finish. They he asked me about my exercise and was surprised I am already up to 45 minutes a day. He said I was doing great. My diet for the next few days is to move up each stage one day at a time. Today is clear liquids, tomorrow fulls, Sunday will be mushy and then i can work my way up. My next fill appt is set for March 22. If I do not feel like I need one I will just go in for a check up and talk to the dietitian. I am so happy that I get to go visit the office once a month. I cannot imagine having a procedure where you see the doctor once and that is it. I am supremely grateful that my surgeon's office has a full staff that answers my questions and can give me the education I need to succeed on this journey.

I have to just keep telling myself i did not wake up weighing 305 over night. Since my fill I have gotten past that stall. I am very comfortable now and as long as things keep going this way, I may not have another one. Thank you for responding to my post. I just want to be able to post things to ease fears.

Dont forget too when you are feeling emotional.. Estrogen is stored in fat cells and when we start losing this can wreak havoc on emotions. You are normal. Nothing is wrong with you. It is a learning process for us all. I stalled out too on the losing in the last week. But I am keeping my head up. I am certainly smaller than I was a month ago and a whole lot healthier. I go for my first fill on Friday. All things in time. You are doing great. Just keep talking it out here with us and we will help to get you through the frustrating part.