weightingtolose

I was originally banded on May 25, 2007 and lost a total of about 55 lbs in my first year. However, last July my family took a vacation to Hawaii and it was downhill from there. I suppose it all started when we went on a Catamaran cruise off the Napali coast and I had a puke session that lasted for 6 hours straight. Yes, I know that was a really bad thing to happen with my band but I paid for it dearly, TRUST ME! Anyhow, I returned from vacation and noticed that I could eat more than usual with my band so I didn't give it a second thought. I finally decided to get a fill in September where I learned that my pouch had stretched and I needed a complete unfill. Whew, did that feel nice. Suffice it to say, it felt so nice that I let time slip by and didn't go back for another fill. It's now 7 months later and I've gained about 10 lbs and I'm MISERABLE. I finally got the guts to call and schedule a fill for May 4th. I may change my mind and move the date up. My husband is starting me on an 11 day "diet" tomorrow which I hope to complete and NOT cheat. I could use some enrouragement as I finish my weight loss journey once and for all. I have about 60 lbs. that I want to lose before the year is up. Anyone who can and will help me on this journey, it would be greatly appreciated.

Hello all, I've been catching up on my fellow May Bandsters. It's been quite some time since I was on the site. Well to make a long story short, I've been without a fill for almost 7 months and it's time to get back on the bandwagon. I had to get unfilled becuse my pouch had stretched due to 6 straight hours of throwing up while on vacation in Hawaii. Anyhow, I'm scheduled to get a fill on May 4th but I'm contemplating on getting it on April 21st. I gained 10 lbs. in the 7 months of being unfilled. I'm looking forward to having restriction again. My daughter is the driving force behind me jumping on the wagon again. We are planning her 16th birthday bash for September 2010 and I want to SIZZLE. She's only known me as a HEAVY person and I want to be HEALTHY for her. I want her to be proud of me and to know that I can accomplish and succeed at what I set out to do. I'm sick and tired of failing on this weight journey. Anyhow, I'll let y'll know how my first fill goes. Congrats to all of you are who are doing well and staying the course. I'm in AWE of you! :thumbup:

I was banded almost 2 years ago and have been unfilled for about 7 months. Not to fret, I'm going back on May 4th to get a fill. What is it with mom's and their need to dwell on imperfections. I'm constantly being reminded by mom that I have such a pretty face but I need a body to go with it. :thumbdown: I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt to hear that. All I can do at this point prove her wrong and let her know that I'm more than JUST a pretty face. Strange how she sees what I don't see. She sees a pretty face, I don't. She sees a HUGE body, I see a person who lost 40 lbs. and on her way to lose another 55 lbs. I need all the encouragement I can get so if you can help that would be AWESOME!

Congrats. I remember that excitement. You are well on your way to a new healthier you.

So today I went for my 4th fill and what do I find out.....my pouch has stretched. I kept wondering why I was able to eat like I once used to. I was banded on May 25th and had 3 fills prior to today, but my October fill was a complete and utter joke. She gave me .2 cc. I'm really afraid at this point as I don't want to have to undergo another surgery which is quite possible according to the nurse. Can anyone offer any advice on what to do with a stretched pouch. How can i get it back to it's "normal" size. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!:help::help::help::help::help::help::help::help::help::help::help:

Hi purplegirl, from looking at your current weight loss, I think you are right on track to accomplish your goal of onederland by year end. Keep up the great work!

Hi Voondahbah: They were able to determine my stretched pouch when I went in for a fill under flouro. Needless to say, I was TERRIFIED when she told me that. I was like, what the hell!!!! My past 3 fills were all very small considering I have the large AP band. I believe my band holds 10 cc or 14 cc, I was holding 3 cc.'s IF that much. Mind you, I've been banded for almost 6 months now so 3 cc's wasn't giving me any restriction which prompted the 4th fill. Go in for the 4th fill and this is what I get. I'm hoping this can be reversed but I need to know how? If anyone can help, I would GREATLY appreciate it. I'm terrified that i will have to go through another surgery for a fix. :help:

Hi Jachut: They did in fact do a complete unfill. I will remain with an unfilled band for a month. I go back for a fill on Dec. 19th at which time they will try to fill me again in hopes that it the stomach has gone down. Has this happened to anyone else? I was wondering what are the odds of the pouch going back to normal. I was thinking of starting the South Beach diet with a friend in hopes I can maintain my weight loss and hopefully my pouch will go back to normal. Any other ideas on how the pouch can go back to it's original state? Thanks!

Congrats on the weight loss. You have made tremendous strides in this journey. You are going to be SMOKINNNNNN....(No pun intended of course) hehehe keep up the GREAT job! Very proud of you! :whoo:

I have the large AP band. Can anyone tell me if they can feel their food slithering down through their band? If so, do you know what causes this. I'm certain that my band isnt too tight because i don't feel that I have restriction. I mean seriously, I can eat a lot of food and STILL be hungry. For instance tonight, I ate two pieces of chicken from KFC. They were really small but c'mon I really thought I should be able to eat only 1 and get full from that. Next fill is later this month. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. I should also note that I weighed 209 as of Sept. 10th and I currently weight 204. That' like almost a month and a total weight loss of 4 lbs. thanks all and keep up the great job!

Im not certain what's going on here but last night I ate some sandwich meat, cheese, and some chips at my parents house. I started to hiccup uncontrollably and this morning I woke up and my stomach and mid back hurt. I've been feeling like this all day long and I'm concerned that my band might have slipped. I was afriad to anything solid for lunch so I went to Chili's and purchased enchilada soup. I had two crackers and the pain was excruciating. Does anyone have any idea as to what symptoms one would have if the band slips. Also, what causes hiccups? PLEASE HELP!

I posted the following on another thread but I'm in dire need of a response. Any advice you can provide would be GREATLY appreciated. Im not certain what's going on here but last night I ate some sandwich meat, cheese, and some chips at my parents house. I started to hiccup uncontrollably and this morning I woke up and my stomach and mid back hurt. I've been feeling like this all day long and I'm concerned that my band might have slipped. I was afriad to anything solid for lunch so I went to Chili's and purchased enchilada soup. I had two crackers and the pain was excruciating. Does anyone have any idea as to what symptoms one would have if the band slips. Also, what causes hiccups? PLEASE HELP!

My surgery was May 25th, 2007. Any advice would be VERY helpful and MUCH appreciated.

Hello all! It seems as though I've been on plateau for quite some time now. After reading all the posts and coming to terms that I've only lost 14.5 lbs. in 3 months has really challenged me to get moving again. I'm joining the August exercise challenge in hopes of kicking my weight loss into high gear. My goal is to lose 2 lbs. per week. I truly belive that most of my problems stem from not eating much. I can honestly say that I'm lucky to eat 900 calories daily. So compile that with lack of exercise and what do you we have. A body in starvation in mode! SO, I'm planning my meals out and taking my Protein shakes, working out 30 minutes a day and drinking my recommended 64 oz. of Water. Wish me luck because if this plan does not work, not sure how I'll feel. You all bring me such great inspiration and glad to be a part of this group.

Well I had my second fill on Wednesday, July 25th and I've only lost a little over 14 lbs in 2 months. :thinkI mean c'mon it's been exactly 2 months since my initial surgery. What is going on???? I get so disgusted with myself because I think I may be doing something wrong. At the rate I'm going it's going to take almost two years to get this weight off. Seems like a lot of people here have lost double if not more than me. On a brighter note, my second fill seems to be giving me GREAT restriction. Although it's a little uncomfortable downing yogurt much less Soup. I have the Large AP band and I'm not sur how much it holds? Currently, I have 4.5 cc. Does anyone know how much the large AP band holds? Any help would be greatly appreciated! :help:

Well today I completed my challenge. Actually part of the challenge. I didn't drink the 64 oz. of Water today but will make it a priority first thing tomorrow morning. My dh and I went for an hour long moderatly intense walk tonight. I managed to download some upbeat motivating music that kept me going. 2 miles of walking never felt better. Tomorrow's workout will be riding my bike for 2.5 miles and drinking my 64 oz. of water. One more thing, I had my first fill on June 25th, (3 cc - not sure how much my band will hold). All I know is that I have the AP band but not certain if I have the small or large. I'll ask the nurse the exact size of my band on my next fill. Stay tuned for that! Anyhow, I have yet to feel REAL restriction. Anyone else feel like this. Also at my first fill, they weighed me and I have not lost a single ounce. I'm very discouraged. Honestly, the only thing stopping me from overeating is myself. I mean, I can feel the food going through my band but it doesn't really stop me from overeating. Starting to wonder if this thing is really going to work for me. Any advice???

Hello all, hope everyone is doing well. I had my post op appointment today and found out that I have the new AP band instead of the VG band? Does anyone know the difference between these two bands? Or perhaps you can direct me to locate this information. I'm not sure what the differences are or if one is better than the other. I'm so confused. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreicated.

Hello all: I was banded on the 25th, and can honestly say that today is the first day that I feel like me again. I'm such a weenie when it comes to pain. I'm not sure about everyone esle, but I did not expect the amount of pain I encountered when I had my first BM. OMG, it woke me up from a dead sleep at 5 am one day last week. I thought I was going to die! Whew, glad I got that out of the way. Anyhow, I felt so good today that I decided to go for a walk at the local park. Walked only a mile but I'm hoping to progress to 2 miles by the end of the week. I have my post op appointment on the 7th and I can't wait to see how much weight I've lost. Thanks everyone for your continued guidance and wish you well on this journey.

I'm 3 days post-op and have phlem in my chest. I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I've been sucking on ice chips, pop sicles, and water since Friday, May 25th. Is this normal?

I'm 3 days post-op and have phlem in my chest. I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I've been sucking on ice chips, pop sicles, and water since Friday, May 25th. Is this normal?

I was banded on May 25th and found that my port site is also the most painful incision. OUCH! I feel like I've been hit hard with the flu. Every inch of my body aches.

Thats awesome news. Congrats!

That is wonderful news. Great way to start a new month. Woo Hooo!! Hope you have a speedy recovery.

Hello everyone, hope all the fellow bandsters are doing well so far. I don't get banded until Thursday, may 25th but I've decided to start with walking. With that said, I've been walking 2.5 miles for the past three nights but because my legs are so fat, my thighs rub together and I've developed a rash. Does anyone know what could help with this. I really dont' want the rash to mess with my ability to walk. I thought I read something somewhere that said rubbing baby powder before I walk would help but I'm not sure if my memory serves me right. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Mandi: I went through LBS and it's really not necessary that you attend the seminar to go through them. It's more of an informational thing. If you don't mind me asking, who will be doing your banding? I met a girl on the message board who did not go to the LBS seminar but still went through them to do all the necessary paperwork. If you're already going to AIGB, they'll submit all the necessary documents to LBS for you. As long as you have your appointment set with AIGB, you are one step ahead of the others attending the seminar. Honestly speaking, this message board gives your more insight into the Lapband than the seminar does. Same informaton but you are getting feedback from those who have ALREADY been banded as opposed to sitting in a room full of people HOPING to be banded. Hope this helps. The folks at AIGB are a tremendous help.