Bandista

So glad you're writing this -- I will be reading every word! And to have just a teaspoon of that hazlenut gelato. Heaven! Say hello to Piazza Michelangelo for me, Baptistry and Duomo. Oh my, you're so lucky! Keep us posted on your adventures, which we know will be involving a lot of walking -- on air and on the ground.

On my goal list -- time to saddle up!

Congratulations on your band! Hope you have a nice relaxing weekend. Walking really, really helps........

Congratulations on choosing yourself and your healthy future so you'll be there for your beautiful family. Very inspiring post -- you write so well and every sentence resonates. Good luck with the process. Keep taking deep breaths when there are a lot of appointments, etc., and you are going to rock the pre-op. For me that was the first time I lost a chunk of weight that I knew was never coming back. Best wishes as this new chapter unfolds! My life is so much easier now. It's wonderful being at peace with food.

@@JustWatchMe Buon Viaggio! I love Italy and what a great time you'll have with your daughter. So happy for you! Wish I was on that flight -- Primavera, Bellisima.

Nice to bring home all that swag without any extra pounds. You'll probably have a whole new wardrobe of polo-shirts, etc., frisbees, plastic water bottles, etc. Personally, I am a sucker for those little books of different-sized post it notes. Have fun! Ask them to please stumble on cure for arthritis between martini bars....

Thanks every one! The thing does feel like such a bother, especially traveling. And I think it's just not fitting properly now so I will look into that. Maybe this is just the incentive I need -- new sleep study at 180 or something like that. My husband calls me Aqua Girl. I have grown used to the white noise but I hate that hose.

My surgeon doesn't share the amount of the fills but I know he is of the small frequent fills school of thought. I have had seven now! I was getting worried that I wouldn't have enough room in my band at some point but they laughed and said there is plenty. So that's good. He says he doesn't want me obsessing about the amount because it's meaningless. And of course we can't really compare because some people have plication or a band that was primed at the time of surgery, etc. The question for me is whether I have satiety after an appropriately-sized portion and whether I am not hungry again for four or five hours. The closer one is to the Green Zone the more necessary it is to listen very closely for all the signals. I figure my body tells me. Getting this last fill was a big decision because I DO NOT WANT TO BE TOO TIGHT. I weighed all the options, talked it over at my six-month check-up with the LB coordinator and then made an appointment with my surgeon for that seventh one. Now I'm watching very carefully as I don't want it to all of the sudden feel tight -- or if I have symptoms such as reflux, etc. I will be right back in there getting a tiny unfill. Good luck to you! So glad we have this forum as it can be a complicated process. Have a great weekend!

Hi there, sending best wishes and I know this can be a difficult time. The hoopla from prepping for the surgery itself is gone, the initial weight loss slows a bit and our bodies need to get used to a whole new mode. Re: fills, my surgeon was looking for two things -- satiety after a tennis-ball sized meal and 4-5 hours before being hungry again. I had the first one but not the second so we kept going. I'm so happy I proceeded with small fill after small fill until reaching the green zone. Of course every one is different but it took me six to get there and when the sixth appeared to wear off I went back for a seventh. And I am some one who is very paranoid about a too-tight band. I need to be able to glug my Water and feel like I am eating less not because of any kind of physical restriction, etc., but because my appetite is dimmed. That's the way the band is supposed to work. No sliders! Having that appetite turned down is a wonderful relief. Yes, I could still stress eat -- go back for more before the interval has elapsed, etc. -- but I am able to resist now and that is something of a miracle. You will get there! It's early days and I think this is the hardest time from all the posts I've read from the people who have gone before us.

Hi there, I have just celebrated my six month "bandaversary." How am I doing? Well, I'm thrilled! The weight loss has been great. I am 52 and I wasn't sure how fast it would be possible for me to lose. I am very satisfied with the results. In November I was a size 18 in my Lee long jeans. This morning I'm wearing size 12 Lee longs. I guess I'll be getting some 10's next time they are on sale. I find this mind-boggling, as though it must be some one else! My collarbones are coming back and I find myself noticing more definition all the time. This morning I wore exercise togs that I've had for a long time and the shirt is like a dress on me. It was kind of tight before. I no longer resemble Mrs. Winnie-the-Poo. I carried a lot of weight on my belly and now when I stand on the scale I can see right down to the floor. Yes, there's still plenty to lose, but wow. Yesterday I had an appointment with the lap band coordinator at the hospital where I had the procedure. She is also banded and we had a great time together. I haven't seen her since the month before my surgery, so it's been a while. According to their records I am over fifty pounds down from the morning of my surgery. I don't go by their scale, though. On mine I am still one pound away from Onederland and I will be fifty down when I lose three more pounds. I was hoping to be there for this post, but that's okay. I know it will happen. That's one thing I am learning, patience with the process. How I can feel impatient when I've had this kind of success is beyond me, but I guess that's human nature and part of the "more, more, more" mentality that got me fat in the first place. I had labs last week and we reviewed all the numbers. Every category has improved, in some cases greatly improved. I am healthy, healthy, healthy! I still have a lot to lose (30, 40 or 50?) but I feel so much better now than I did six months ago. I know that there is even more vitality to come as I continue to focus on fitness. I am sleeping better, waking up rested and I am able to walk long distances that I would not have attempted a year ago. I feel strong and able. This site has been a god-send for me. I have not told very many people about the surgery and in any case those are not people who know what WLS is all about. They love me and want to be supportive, but let's face it -- only another banded person can understand the ins and outs of the thing. I have benefited so much from veteran banders, some still here and others no longer here. I felt very prepared for my surgery and for the months afterward getting used to my new lifestyle and learning how to listen to the band (nod to B-52 there!). If I start naming people I will probably forget some one and I don't want to do that, but I hope you know who you are. I really appreciate your willingness to share information and give support along the way. What's next for me? Well, more of the same, really. Keep increasing the exercise. Keep reminding myself that I'm not on a diet. Keep noticing everything. Notice if I'm hungry and eat when I'm hungry. Don't eat if I'm not hungry. Stop when I'm satisfied. Next week I'm going to get another small fill. I've learned what my body is telling me when it is nibbly too often or I seek larger portions than I should be able to eat. I pay attention to the amount and the frequency and I always eat high-quality "real" food. Am I perfect? No way. But I'm doing very well and no longer beating myself up. At all. For the first time in decades I feel like I can hold my head up high when I'm out in the world. I don't feel judged -- I feel like I fit in and that I'm being seen more for who I am than my size. I look better and feel better and there's a feedback loop there with the world. It's pretty exciting to crawl out of my shell and feel welcome. This band has been the most wonderful gift I could give myself and I'm grateful for it every day. November, 2013: May, 2014 (six months later): November, 2013: May, 2014 (six months later):

I don't have any carbonation per surgeon's instructions but no problem with alcohol or caffeine. I am a big tea drinker and I enjoy a drink or two some evenings. I don't feel deprived -- at all.

Protocols vary so much from surgeon to surgeon. Some people have no pre-op, some are all liquids, some include a meal, etc. Find out what your surgeon prescribes. I lost a chunk and was happy because I knew it wouldn't be coming back again -- unlike any other weight I'd lost previously, which always did come back, with some extra of course. We have similar stats and my insurance required a 40 BMI no matter what so my pre-pre-op involved some gaining. I wish I had fudged an inch on the height measuring -- slouched -- as the whole BMI thing was such a stress factor for me.

Hi Bee, I think it's very natural to get nervous as the date gets closer. And if you have a pre-op diet that can being a lot of things roaring up to the surface. I wrote my fears down -- some were things like will I be able to eat out in restaurants, will I be able to cook for dinner parties, will I have to give up cheese -- all those ways I loved food in my life and I was worried I'd have to give things up. But I didn't. I still love food, just in much smaller amounts and at appropriate intervals. I was very excited about the surgery but I had never been an overnight patient in a hospital before. Once I got there, every one took such good care of me. And I felt well-prepared for the surgery because I had read so many posts here on the forum. I skipped anything that sounded negative from the title -- just leap-frogged right over those as I didn't want to get fretting and of course on a big forum there are going to be people with issues or axes to grind. Band problems generally have to do both non-compliance and I knew I would comply -- otherwise why go through it all? I also took advantage of a therapist to talk things through with. I really copped to my issues with food in a new way -- I didn't lean on excuses but admitted to myself that I had a problem with eating. I needed the band to dim my appetite so I could make good decisions. It worked! I have never been so happy and at peace with food. Best wishes to you -- we have all been where you are now and it's not easy. The waiting can be really nerve-wracking. Maybe get a journal and list all the reasons you want to do this, all your goals, your fears -- and have a friend take your measurements as those are so fun to have later.

Now I have King Cromson's Elephant Talk going through my heàd -- "I repeat myself when I'm under stress, I repeat myself when I'm under stress........" -- but that's better than an announcement about Jesus as I was afraid this post would be about. If we are ranting here, I find it annoying when people announce they are praying for some one who posts about a hard time, etc. Sweet Jesus, take it elsewhere! As for new people posing same questions, I agree @@CowgirlJane that each person is enthralled in their own experience and looking for direct feedback. I got so much information ahead of my surgery from reading a zillion posts, but I also asked a lot of questions and am grateful for the people who answered/responded. The reiteration actually helps me remember where I came from and what I'm doing. When I tell my experience I'm telling myself something again, too.

Such a great thread. Life can get overwhelming at times. I love the idea of giving the behavioral issues child the "job" as your trainer. Maybe you could pay him or her fifty cents a "session" and up the stakes. Also sometimes I've made a game with myself out of finding the furthest possible spot to park the car. Do you watch movies? We got a peddler that works sitting down or as an elliptical standing up. There's that whole world of Wi also, though I've never tried any of that. You are on the right track knowing you need this. Here's a mantra: I choose myself first; every one benefits. I choose myself first; every one benefits.

Hi Rose, glad you got to touch base with your medical professionals. Good luck with pre-op -- I was so happy to lose weight that for once I knew was never coming back!

@@HealthyNewMe -- I didn't know this, fascinating! I think they won the lottery, too, with you as a participant.

WOWIE-ZOWIE you look great! Beaming health.....congratulations and thanks for the inspiration this morning.

Hmmmm....wondering if I could do this -- and I'm not very competitive!

So happy for you!

I cant handle High Fructose Corn Syrup, etc.-- that's what makes me feel sick. Or Sucralose (Splenda), blech.

Hi there, so happy for you to be showing up for yourself and your family in this way! I have no advice except to research like crazy, let things resonate and be patient to with the process, really. And since you're due in November this will all work out perfectly timing-wise -- get ready to rock and roll! I chose the band because this is right for me. You will find out what's best for you and do it. Best wishes -- so glad you're here on the forum!

Tracy -- so excited for you! The way I looked at it that was twenty never to be seen again. I am six months out and so, so happy with this decision. Good luck for your big day. I found an excellent sense of humor a good thing to have on hand -- the gown and gurney (I had never been an overnight patient in a hospital before), the ridiculous forms, etc. I felt like every one was there to take care of me. I walked ASAP after surgery -- every time I thought I had to pee (that is me at 52) I walked up and down as much as possible. Over-rode all signals for lazing out and just went for it, up and down the halls. Then at home next day round and round the driving circle. I really feel like this gave my body the signal HEY WE ARE SERIOUS and kicked everything into gear. Wishing you the very best!

I remember the anticipation of my first fill. Mine are not done under fluoroscopy either, but I like to think that is available should it ever be needed (I did have fluro the morning after surgery, so I know they have that but don't know how billing works as radiology services are separate, etc.). Anyway, this is how it goes for me. We chat for a few minutes then I lay down on the table with my arms up in the air. The surgeon feels around for the port then uses a needle to numb the area. It really is just a pinch. Nothing. The fill itself is really quick and all of the sudden he is handing me an arm to help me sit up. I drink a glass of water to make sure everything is going down well and that's it. There is a bandaid and I react to that so am careful to ask for paper tape. I generally have some bruising after a fill -- I bruise easily -- but there is no pain whatsoever. Good luck to you -- you are doing great!

Interesting, but I need an interpreter! Is that 61% weight loss statistic correlated to the weight for our heights on BMI charts? I am definitely noticing the BP result already. My other issue is apnea, and I am excited to see this resolved in so many of the patients in this study. I want to lose that friggin CPAP machine!