Bandista

My surgeon doesn't share the amount but I have had six fills and am feeling like I'm in an excellent place. I think he is of the small frequent fills school of thought. I would not tolerate any difficulties swallowing or any spitting up, GERD, etc. Not okay! Determined not to be too tight but to have the appetite dimmed as much as possible yet still enjoying food. If that makes sense.

I'm going to quote the tag line some one has attached to their posts, "Compliant Banders are successful Banders." Following your doctor's plan is the best possible option -- be careful of looking for workarounds as it is very possible to eat around your band later. You have made this decision to choose your healthy future -- congratulations! Any minor sacrifices are nothing compared to what it's going to feel like to lose the weight and regain your health.

I had one night in the hospital (my first ever!) and was a little sore at home for a few days after but just so elated. I think the positive attitude helps a lot. And I elected not to take prescription pain medication. Walking cannot be overstated. I think all the walking -- up and down those hospital corridors and then round and round our driving circle at home -- helped me shake off the a anesthesia and kicked my body into healing mode. I got some left shoulder pain at about four days and managed that with a heating pad and Tylenol (liquid). Loved my Popsicles. I was glad to have about a week off from real life. Now I have a new real life! Good luck to you and congratulations on choosing yourself now and your healthy future.

Yippee! So happy for you. What a great thing to be inspiring others. By the way, you inspire me nearly every day. Thanks for the post!

Hi Ducky, just sending you best wishes. I am new at all of this but it sounds like you're doing really well with noticing what's going on -- we can all identify with the emotional eating, boredom and missing gulping, etc. You are in good company! I think it's great you're running for the treadmill in times of stress. And identifying that you were going for sliders -- so easy to do. But you want this weight loss more than anything, that's the thing. You are on way! And just one other thought, some people do a five-day pouch test or all liquids for a few days to get back on track. You can google five day pouch and see information there.

I'm so glad -- hope you feel better soon. Keep us posted!

What a great blog post! I hope people getting ready for surgery will read it as to me it is stress-relieving to have such a thorough description. You have a beautiful smile! Good luck with your recovery. You sound very prepared and so ready for everything that is ahead. I was banded four months ago tomorrow and I am so happy. Feeling very healthy in my head and in my body -- not obsessing over food and eating, plus I've been able to increase my exercise a lot. That is a huge surprise to me -- has not come naturally in the past, that's for sure. I am feeling "whole." Oh, and hey, good call on giving your son his cell phone back -- what a sweet text to receive!

Hi there, congratulations both of you! I am four months out tomorrow and so happy with my decision. I can barely remember the recovery process but I know how happy I was to be on the other side of the long-anticipated surgery. My only advice is to be patient and know that it's all happening even when it may feel like there's a stall. Sometimes people have an immediate return of appetite and for others it takes a while to come back -- some people have Fluid in their bands at placement and some do not -- for most people it is a process to reach the right fill to have the appetite dimmed. Just know that it's all good. I'm really glad I did lots of walking. It helped me so much and now I am a regular exerciser and I'm pretty sure that is aiding in the weight loss. Don't forget to pat yourself on the back, too, for this big decision to reclaim your life, to welcome a healthy happy future. It's all beginning now. Best wishes!

This is great, Brant! Yippee! What a milestone to cross over into the two hundreds. Excellent.

Best wishes to you and many thanks for all the posts and comments that have helped me figure out my life with the band. You have been a great role model and I hope you'll continue to pop in once in a while. You will be greatly MISSED!

Carlotta, we were posting the same thing at the same time. How about that! Here's to sticking to what we know and being careful to direct people to their own medical professionals and not sounding like we have the right answers for all.

This keeps happening. I'm so glad it was LB Talk I found last summer when I was doing my research. If it had been Bariatric Pal back then with all this kind of strife I would have fled and then missed the benefit of all those who have helped me figure out my new banded life. I'm happy for those who choose the sleeve. I think we have more in common than not and I enjoy comparing notes with others in the WLS community about exercise, etc. Not about the band, though, not unless you have one. I am concerned about a trend in putting out information about one surgery being better than another to all the desperate people who are coming here to find help.

Hi Irish, we were writing the same thing at the same time -- how about that! And all three of us at six. Funny.

I am also at six fills -- had to call and check because I lost track. It's so different for each person. I think it's good that the process takes a while as it gives us time to adjust our eating habits. Experiencing the chest tightness repeatedly and a few regrettable stuck episodes has helped me learn my new limitations. I have to pay attention now and I guess that's the whole idea. That, and a dimming of the appetite which allows me to overcome cravings or just mindless eating. My surgeon describes a tennis ball sized portion of food being adequate and not being hungry again for 4-5 hours. We've kept I going to reach this and I'm glad as it is feeling easier now. Last time I was there I joked that we need some kind of light to go off or other signal for when we are in the zone since all of us came out of overeating and diet disorders, etc. and it's so hard to rely on ourselves to be able to judge what is hunger versus what is wanting to eat anyway. Good luck to you! You're getting there and you are not alone. Keep us posted on how you're doing.

I missed this thread, too! Catfish, I hope everything is resolved now and that you're not having any more episodes. TMF that is great about the blood pressure medication but a scary way to find that out. I have been asking about mine, which is a small dose. A nurse practitioner once told me I would need to be careful of "bottoming out." When I mentioned this to my bariatric surgeon he did not know what that term meant. I notice I've been skipping my BP med here and there so maybe my body is naturally weaning off. Here's to lots of exercise and good heart health! David, let us know what's going on, okay?

Name, real or screen~ Bandista Goal weight for March 31st~ 209 Weight on March 1st~ 216 Age~ 52 City/State~ New Hampshire Dietary goal for March~ Eat when I'm hungry. Don't eat when I'm not hungry. Exercise goal for March~ Workout five days a week plus get back down to the basement for extra spurts on treadmill even when I've already worked out that day. Shoot for eight minutes for these extra little sessions. On any nice day, call a friend to walk at the lake. There will be more and more of these nice days as we move out of winter into spring. Do PT exercises with my husband; those are good for me, too. Personal goal for March~ Recognize stress in my body and learn to let go of it without turning to food for help. Date banded~ November 5th, 2013 Total weight loss since banding/pre op diet~ 33 pounds What are you lucky to have in your life? My band! Having my appetite dimmed is allowing me to lose weight and recover my health. I'm very, very grateful for that.

Hi there Yadiordz, I hope you are feeling better after that fall and that the MRI is clear. What a winter this has been! So icy here also. Let us know how you are doing! I am at 215 this morning, a number I have seen before but now I am visualizing 211 on that scale -- can't be long now. I have increased my workouts. Really trying to step it up for March. I have had 5-6 fills (lost count!) -- no primer in my band so started from scratch. I am feeling a good dimming of the appetite and happy to be at peace with hunger. I do have "head hunger" in the evenings when I am used to snacking a great deal, but I am working through that bit by bit. I am down one third of the weight that I want to lose. I'd like to lose that second third by summer. Hope every one is doing well!

Hi Laura, hope your ankle heals up quickly and that your fill helps with dimming your appetite in the meanwhile. I've been doing some of the old-fashioned arm windmill kind of exercises and working out with weights. Love to see those biceps coming along. Maybe this will help work that part of your body and get the arm/shoulder/chest muscle groups going while you rest the legs. Good luck to you -- and spring will be here before you know it!

Swimming, yay! So happy to see a post from a long-term bander -- you are doing beautifully. Personal trainer a great idea. I know you can get those thirty off and feel really good again. I used to hate to exercise but then I saw a Ted Talk about pretending to like it and then having that become the new reality. I do like it afterwards, always, but it's the dread of doing it that gets me caught up in a web of procrastination.

This is really great. One of my goals for later in the spring is to get a bike. We may even have one in our barn that can be refitted for me -- or sometimes bikes appear at our town recycling center. Anyway, I can't wait to do some biking. It's such a lifestyle thing as we can't really bike where we live -- too rural of an area, just not safe on our back roads. So it's a matter of taking the bike to a bike path. I want to find out all the places to do this and get my head into the game. Then just need the snow to melt and to get riding!

Way to go!

Thanks for posting this thread as we all need the motivation. I have a theme this month: March is a Verb. In otherwise, time to get marching! I am working out 80 minutes 4-5 times a week and really need to make sure I am doing something every single day, or even doubling up some on the days when I have a workout. So, my goals: 1) Get back down to the basement for sporadic 10-20 minutes on the treadmill even on days when I've already worked out 2) Any day that is not too cold call a friend to walk at the lake. 3) Check out the pool at parents' retirement facility. No one uses it and getting a little swimming in would be a great thing. Can start slowly. 4) Do PT exercises with my husband -- they are great for me, too (working with weights). 5) Keeping drinking lots of my drink (32 ounce glass bottle filled 3/4 way with Water, then cranberry juice unsweetened, aloe vera and magnesium). Get in 2-3 of these a day.

Early on when I was reading posts ahead of my surgery I noticed that two months out is a tough time for many, many people. I think you're doing beautifully and you just need to hang on a little bit to let that first fill settle in and then it's step by step. You will be losing again shortly but things are just evening out a bit. Don't get discouraged -- this happened to me as well but since I knew about it ahead of time I wasn't worried. The scale will start moving in the other direction but meanwhile take note of all the non-scale victories as they will be very prominent in your life from here on out. I was wearing 18 jeans and am now wearing size 14 (same brand). The number might not be shifting as fast as I'd like but the thought of buying size 12 before much longer is tremendously exciting. Best wishes to you -- you're doing great!

Good luck, all -- spring is a great time for renewal. I was banded last November and I am very happy with how things are going. I expected it to be all about the weight, but it's also just such a relief not to be fighting my appetite all the time, obsessing about food, etc. That's a wonderful thing -- out of food jail at last!

Happy Bandaversary!