kacee

I did mine in May of 2007. I went in completely excited and looking forward to my different life. I came out thankful that I had done it...from day one...NO reservations. I am now 5 pounds below MY goal...25 pounds below my doctor's goal, and I AM LOVING LIFE!!!! I'll tell you...I worried about perceiving myself as a fat person in a skinny body. I am amazed to say that was NOT SO!!!! (except for the last time I went to the mall to try clothes and the salesgirl said, "Oh, no dear...that 12 will be WAY to large on you...I think you'll take an 8!" and I looked at her and LAUGHED.....but she was right!) I look good and I KNOW it and I don't shudder at the thought of entering into a room full of people anymore. AND....I eat any darned thing I want...all the time. Just in way way way smaller portions and obviously attempting to eat healthy (I mean, 5 oreos a day as five meals just doesn't cut it, folks!). There are things I have given up due to the logistics of eating them (hamburgers for instance...but I don't miss them!)...and I tend to order out at restaurants from the appetizer section of the menu (which is becoming more and more automatic for me!). I consider myself a HUGE success story.

Reached my goal back in February or so. Sailed past it (my doctor's goal) and sailed past my temporary goal of 150 and then plummeted past my "never in my wildest dreams" goal. I fluctuate between 135-140 lb now. I wear a size 8-10 and I am no longer even considered "overweight". I look at other people who I used to envy and think....I look BETTER than THEY do (i.e., more healthy). Food doesn't rule my life ANY MORE. My mindset has changed. I don't deprive myself...I eat WHAT I want....but nowhere NEAR the amount I used to. I love my life now and my whole mental outlook on the world has changed. This is hands down the BEST decision I EVER made in my life. Worth every penny of the out of pocket and THEN some. I was a self-pay.

These things do happen. Glad you are investigating and being proactive to get a new plan together. It shows your determination. You will succeed!

We've been bombarded with so may advertisements of weight loss miracles (that will work for YOU!!!! <not>) that we've become jaded and figure everything out there is just snake oil. I had the same misgivings initially myself. The old "Well, it works for SOME of the people SOME of the time, but PROBABLY not ME." HA! For once I am so thankful I was WRONG!!! And it is what you put into it. It's a partnership. Good going!

Your life is fixing to change for the better! Welcome to BandLand!

Relax, it WILL come. I had my first one the week of solid foods...the culprit was scrambled eggs no less...you'll certainly know it when you get it!

Welcome to the convoluted land of the LEARNING CURVE. Yep, it's a bugger! It only takes one of two of those little instances to give you proper negative behavioral modification (NBM)! Don't feel bad. Most all of us have gone through it in one way or another. Learn from your mistakes. NBM is a VERY effective learning tool!

WORTH IT WORTH IT WORTH IT WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! It doesn't happen overnight. It's a process. The first few months are kindof a pain in the you know what with the learning curve, but HANG IN THERE. It gets better and better and better. Don't expect miracles when you first get banded. You won't see the ultimate results until you have good restriction (sometimes 2-3-4 fills down the road). You didn't put the weight on overnight and you won't lose it overnight, but you WILL lose it (unless you fight the process) and it WILL stay off.

Hi guys. It's been a WILD spring. My Mom passed away (she was my best friend...we had a GREAT relationship and she will be sorely missed in my life) in April, and things kindof went south after that. The next month was spent with my brother going through things at the house, putting it on the market, making arrangements, etc. To say I have been exhausted is an understatement. Then on TOP of that I put a contract down on a house two weeks after she passed, while things were still chaotic, and the last two months have been the rollercoaster ride to close the sale and get in. I had not stepped on a scale since before April, and just did today, finding that I have lost MORE! Okay guys, here's a kick in the pants...I now have hit the 130's for the first time since 1983!!!!! I've got a pretty major case of the sags, but when thinking of the alternative, I wouldn't give it up! Gravity and old age have set in to redistribute my lumps and bumps and lo and behod, I have NO MORE SADDLEBAGS!!!!! I think they dropped to my knees, but what the heck, right? My butt has dropped and is pretty innocuous now. I can wear tight little tops and not feel like a complete PEAR. I wear sleeveless shirts!!!! My collar bones stick out!!!! I can move, get up and down, stand, walk, go upand down stairs without taking a nap between landings...LIFE IS SWEET!!!! Hang in there people! It is what you put into it!

Often spasms in the legs are indicative of low potassium. I wonder if the surgery reaction on the body could change that level. You can be proactive and eat a lot more potassium filled foods (bananas are good).

Been with Spivak over a year now and never had a single problem getting in immediately when I needed to, or having to wait to get an appointment.

Dr. Spivak, hands down. I had an unfortunate experience with the office staff at Dr. Spiegel's (like the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing...I kept getting calls from them about an appointment I had changed...and calls and calls....). When something like that happens a RED FLAG goes up. I have no doubt Spiegel is a trusted surgeon, but Spivak's "bedside manner" topped it off. He is wonderful and I cannot say enough about him, and his staff.:ohmy:

Thanks Ang! You're doing really well I see! Wow, you disappaear for a few months and everyone is on a completely different level! Nice to be back.

Hey WAS! Nice ta see ya! I see a few familiar "faces" around. Has Terridoodle flown the coop or is she still hanging around? Dang girl, you've been going gangbusters!!!! What's this about the sleeve?

Thanks guys! I honestly don't think I could have gotten through all that has gone on in the past several months with all the weight I started with. I think this has given me the energy to persevere. Am just starting to get settled now in my new BEAUTIFUL home with tons of windows looking out onto a defunct golf course, and my wonderful 4 chihuahuas, 5 parakeets, 9 cocktiels and 1 red lored amazon parrot. We are a full, happy, LOUD busy house! (Yes, I know it looks like I am becoming the neighborhood "crazy cat lady"...)...

<p>For those of you who are afraid your life will come to an abrupt end after banding and that you won't be able to eat anymore... I just went downstairs to the cafeteria to see what was for lunch. My appetite kicked in when I saw the eggrolls they had and I really started salivating. Then I saw the chicken tenders and reacted the same way. I initially got two chicken tenders and one egg roll and then thought more about it and got only one tender and one egg roll. Sat down at my desk. Three bites into the eggroll everything "hit bottom" and lt me tell you, when you have good restriction and you eat slowly and you don't drink with your meal, and your food "hits bottom", you could CARE LESS if you have any more. I did finish the one eggroll but it's like my taste buds turned off or something. I took the remaining tender and tossed it, and I am FULL! The appetite can kick in for foods, but it stops pretty quick being an overwhelming force the minute you put the food in your mouth. Now if I can just convince myself that one lonely eggropll on the plate is PLENTY...and not consistently feel like I have to ADD something!</p>

Okay, I am 3 days post-op and supposed to be on liquid/soft foods now for a month. If all you are having is things like jello, smoothies, protein drinks, cottage cheese, pudding, how do you do the no fluid before or during eating? Also, it's a little difficult to "watch calories" when there's not that much going in anyway. When you are in mushie/fluids are you supposed to be doing that like you would when you are eating regularly? Doesn't really make sense.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! Maybe we should have a society like the one in Logan's Run (probably most of you whippersnappers aren't going to know what this is). You turn 30 and they "recycle" you.

Puuuuleeeeeeze! I SAILED through my surgery (also, as we get older I think we take things a lot more in stride...). I have seen hundreds of posts from "youngsters" who piss and moan about how "bad" they feel afterwards and how if they had known what an "ordeal" it was they might not have done it (Oh no! Three weeks of liquid diet before surgery???? OH NO! Liquid and mushy diet for 4 weeks AFTER surgery???? Totally NOT worth it!!! I thought they were just going to flip a switch and I'd be thin!....Bummer!). I've got to really laugh at that. Now my caveat is that I DO understand that everyone heals differently, has different pain level tolerances, etc. However, if you are going into this with your eyes OPEN and you are EDUCATED, you can get through this with NO surprises. I was shocked at how WELL I felt right after surgery. Of course, I have been through several major surgeries in my lifetime, most of which were in my "youth" and knocked my socks off. This was a breeze.

Go for it! I was 55 when I got my band (and NOT in good health...because of my weight!). I am now almost 57. I look better than I have looked in 30 years and feel stupendous. In just under a year I have surpassed my doctor's goal weight, my original goal weight (!!!) and am still losing....

I got my last fill Dec. 9. I was pretty tight, but everything seemed okay. Then in the second week of January I started having a HARD time finding a time of day when the food would go down and not get stuck (My band is always tight in the mornings and looser at night). I rode with it for two weeks and babied myself and it subsided in February. Then about three weeks ago it started again, not too bad, but I was PB-ing about once a day or so. Then it got worse....and worse....and worse.... until two days ago I realized I couldn't go ANY meal without a PB....and then several times. I was waking up at night with reflux and waking myself up puking and choking. I was to go have lunch with a girlfriend yesterday and I realized I was worried about being able to eat ANYTHING when I went. I canceled the lunch and went back to the doctor for an unfill. When he flouroscoped me, my pouch was "spastic" and swollen. He said the ONLY way to relieve it is with an unfill and "rest". He removed 1.3 ccs (I had 3.3) putting me down to 2. He said the swelling and problems would go away immediately, but I needed to wait two weeks before coming back in and they would slowly fill me back up over two or three times, back to maybe 2.8 or 3. My message here is that he said IT WON'T GO AWAY BY ITSELF. ONCE THIS STARTS AND THE IRRITATION IS THERE IT STARTS A CIRCULAR CYCLE THAT WON'T QUIT...IRRITATION, SWELLING, PBs, STUCK FOOD, CHOKING AT NIGHT, REFLUX. So as someone who has "learned her lesson" (I was trying to ride it out thinking if I lost more weight it would subside as the band loosened)...don't live like this. Get your unfill (there was IMMEDIATE relief), follow the doc's orders, and then work your way back up once the irritation has subsided.

I know everyone is different, but just from my perspective, I was 55 when I had my band put in. I was out of work for 6 days and then back full time without a problem. As far as feeling weak, you can avoid that by stepping up the protein (protein drinks like Isopure especially during the healing period) and keeping a bottle of water with you always, sipping regularly. Other than that, any walking you do (to and from class across campus) is the best thing you can possibly do too.

My "aha" was when I was in Walmart parking lot with my sister-in-law. She had a new car and parked waaaaaaaaaay out in the lot away from other cars. My firwt thought when we got out was looking towards the door and wondering, "Gosh, I wonder if I can walk that far!" EGAD!!!!

I wouldn't make any bets on it (being unfilled to eat in "moderation"). Since my unfill of 1.3 cc's last week, I am having to really consciously watch myself. Those old habits come back fast (I was banded 10 months ago). My band is back to where I was in June of last year on my second fill. I did not get really good restriction until my 4th fill. I am being extremely careful and biding my time until I can be refilled in a week (See the thread about those who PB/Refluc a lot).

I upgraded and love the extra graphs.