PrettyThick1

That's jealousy sweetie...get used to it, because it's going to get a lot worse the sexier you get with your band! Woo Hoo!!! We are your support system, blow the haters off! BAM! #drops mike and walks off stage

This might be TMI...but we all get excited about going down a clothing size, right? I've just purchased the smallest underwear I've been able to wear since about age 9 and a whopping 3 sizes since my surgery. Women, we KNOW that's a big difference. Woo hoo!

If you're looking for insurance to cover it, you'll need to check the guidelines for your carrier. With your BMI you could be covered if you have at least one co-morbid condition. The rules are a bit more relaxed for self-pay. The band was my solution to end the yo-yoing and to stop several health conditions that were just starting to take hold: diabetes (March 2013), sleep apnea and fluctuating blood pressure. I'm glad to say that I'm over all of these conditions and I'm feeling splendid! Good luck on your decision!

I read someone else's post and thought I'd share my experience with newbies: If you're having difficulty keeping food or liquids down, make sure your body is warm and you are in a warm environment before eating or drinking. I am so tight that I'm nearly closed when it's cold outside or cold around me...I have learned that I simply cannot eat or drink unless the temperature around me is at least 70 degrees and I've been in the environment for at least 30 minutes. I've experimented with this over the course of a week and have determined that cold weather affects the tightness of my band; if you are having this issue, it could be your problem as well so try this before going in for an unfill.

Congrats honey! Fill #3 was my magic number...I felt restriction after fill 2, so you might expect to reach the green zone on this fill or the next one.

I would suggest "testing" your fill by making sure you are completely warm before you eat or drink and avoid cold foods or beverages. Cold weather is DISASTEROUS when I am hungry...I'm better off going without and starving because if I'm cold, my band seems to be completely closed shut! Once the air temperature around me is at least 70 and I've been in that environment for at least 30 minutes, I can eat or drink normally. I've experimented and this is a proven fact for me...it could be your issue as well.

You have an awesome username by the way! i82much! LOL LOL

That was beautiful and fitting. I'm going to keep this in mind for myself, thank you for sharing such an awesome quote!

Take it one day at a time and don't think about the entire period as one big chunk. To do so is intimidating and discouraging, so be gentle with yourself and don't "go over the edge" if you have a slip up here and there. Think about the end result and it will help you get through the preop...this is the time you're paying your dues! Good luck and stay on the boards for encouragement and motivation.

According to experts, I should weigh about 132lbs. for my height. According to appearance, I shouldn't weigh less than 150. According to guidelines, my healthy appearance is still overweight. According to loved ones, I would look sickly if I weighed What experts said I should. What's a girl to do?

And who wins the DIAMOND CIRCLE AWARD today...YOU DO!!!! Congratulations on your success, I see a drastic improvement and I'm sure you feel much better already. Way to go!

Hi Catfish: I think I'm getting in enough as it is now, but I don't want to continue to lose 10lbs. a month - which is what I'm sure is going to happen if I leave it as is. I really don't want to be much smaller than I am now and would love to drop the last 5 and "hover" there (giving allowance for 3-5 gain/losses here and there). I'm really not sure what to do and I get better advice from experienced bandsters than I do from the clinicians. Do you feel you can't get in ENOUGH nourishment with your band the way it is?? Some health concern? Congrats on the great success BTW!

Thanks for everyone's advice! My only issue is that I've never really denied myself anything...I've been eating whatever I wanted, just in band-sized portions and I honestly don't see how on earth I could add any more meals or Snacks to my day without overeating and causing a problem. So...does a TINY unfill in 10lbs. sound like the right thing to do now?

Congratulations!!!

You cannot wait this out. You need an unfill so that you can eat normally for your baby. I lost weight during my first trimester with my daughter and wasn't very concerned, but she was born at 31 weeks. Did the weightloss and lack of nutrition have something to do with it? It certainly didn't help. I should also remind you that your baby will take from your body what it needs to develop. So if you treasure your: hair, skin, nails, teeth, blood counts and vital nutrients, get unfilled and provide adequate nutrition for your baby. The weightloss can wait. Good luck to you.

You sound like I did and if you weren't experiencing these feelings, it wouldn't be normal. This journey is as much a mental effort as it is physical. There are stages in this process that you have to process in your own way, on your own time and you are now in the "second thought" stage, which coincides with the "fear of complications" stage. I must tell you that the fear of complications stage will not go away until after you're on the other side. There will always be something to make you wonder if you're doing the right thing, I know it was a constant nagging thought for me. Now that I'm banded and am successful with it, I only regret that I didn't do it sooner and that I allowed fear to consume me as much as it had. You will be successful. Know how I know? You are asking questions now and getting advice from people who have been where you are. Keep a positive outlook, your life will change for the better in so many ways once you start shedding those unhealthy pounds.

I worry about gaining the weight back, but I don't obsess about it. I notice that if I make bad choices for a few days and the scale responds negatively...I just get back on track with proper eating and hydration and in a couple of days I'm back where I started. As long as you don't overeat and stay below your calorie count, you should be fine. I would suggest digging your heals in and getting closer to your goal before you stray too far off again though.

Too funny! Who would take advice from someone who has had mediocre results from the band?

Congratulations!!! Keep up the good work!

I have a weird pain, but it feels more like the tubing from the port and looking at diagrams, my feeling would fit the area the tube is around. I'm almost to my goal and have very little fat around my midsection anymore, I think the weightloss has it rubbing against something. I plan on getting it checked out soon, I have no other complications.

I am by no means ungrateful for the insane salary increase I just got, neither am I so gullible to think that after 9 years, they suddenly realize my value. No. I have been blessed with a $20k per year salary increase...and a hell of a lot less responsiblity. I know it's because of the way I look. I use to loathe women like that, the ones that get things their way just because of the way they look. I now realize that it's not their fault. Blame hormones, if you're attractive to men or women in power you just go further. I'm not complaining. I love my band "Miss Pearlie"! She has given me a brand new life...not just a better version of the one I had before, which was still pretty awesome.

One of my very closest friends of 4 years is now my VERY SERIOUS boyfriend. We had been buddies (yeah...some stuff happened every now and then) and in that time we got to know each other inside and out. Well now, he's mine and I can't put into words how it feels. See he's a "hot guy" who is also down to earth and sweet - even with my personality, I didn't think someone like him would want me. Guess what? Not only does he love me, but he's crazy attentive and goes out of his way for me. He lives out of state right now, but he comes to Houston every other weekend, so it's not so bad. I won't go into the details, there is so much to love and be excited about in this relationship. By the end of the year, he will relocate to Houston! I never saw us getting together. When I was around him I felt like I was twice his size and didn't feel comfortable, even though we had so much fun together...I just felt like his buddy with benefits. Nothing more. Thanks to Miss Pealie...he can see what was hiding under all that fat and found his best friend and the woman he is seriously thinking about marrying. Yes, I'm in love. Now that I'm a more normal weight...I'm quite a bit smaller than him now, so it's a great feeling for sure. Besides that, I'm a hot girl along side this hot guy and the world can tell he loves me! Wow!

Congratulations Steph and thanks for checking in to inspire us relative "newbies"!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

I've gone from wearing a size 3 in tights/stockings to a size 1. Not since infanthood have I worn anything with a 1 that wasn't followed by a couple of X's. LOL