secretstolen

I got banded in 12/07, and long story short, I did great for the first 6 months - quickly dropping 60 lbs. from a combination of following the rules to the letter, eating right, and working out 5 days a week. I plateaued around the 6 months mark when my working out became inconsistent, and I didn't push myself because I felt very comfortable at the weight I was at that point. Over the next couple of years, those 60 lbs. stayed off. A whole lot of other stuff happened in my life in the following years including getting married in 2010 and having kids. Before kids, though, as newlyweds, I got pregnant and the result was a partial molar pregnancy - basically, I drew the statistical nightmare short straw that day. I ended up getting referred to a gynecological oncologist with a diagnosis of gestational trophoblastic disease, also called choriocarcinoma, a rare but highly treatable form of cancer. Over the course of months, I had countless testing done, lots of lab work, and 7 rounds of methotrexate shots. It wasn't until 7 months after first finding out I was pregnant, that my HCG (pregnancy hormone) finally hit negative, indicating that the cancerous tissue in my uterus was eliminated - and right before starting a much stronger chemo drug, thankfully. So, during those 7 months, I kind of lost myself. I gained 30 lbs., and I joke that it's because I spent those 7 months stuffing my face to avoid having to speak at countless parties, BBQs, get-togethers, and events where we were bombarded by pregnancy announcement after pregnancy announcement by friends.. but honestly, I was depressed and grieving, and isolating myself from most of my friends because I was internalizing all of what I was dealing with. Even now, only about 4 people outside of our parents knew about what we were dealing with. A year after my HCG hit negative, I got pregnant, resulting in an easy pregnancy, an awesome labor, and a healthy baby boy. I gained 20 lbs. with that pregnancy, and by the time I was 5 months post-partum, I had taken off 28 lbs., so I was feeling confident about getting back on track with the band. Then, surprise! As my son hit 6 months old, I found out I was pregnant with baby #2. During that pregnancy, I gained back all of the weight I had lost, plus some, putting me about 10 lbs. below my consultation weight when I first got my band. After my daughter was born, right before I went back to work, I visited the bariatric surgeon's office and had all of the remaining Fluid in my band taken out - maybe 8ccs, or something? I can't remember - because I was getting stuck all the time, and I felt confident that I could eat clean, work out regularly, and take the weight back off. He made an off-the-cuff comment about, "Most people think that, and they're wrong. Only 20% succeed." I thought, I'll be that 20 percent. Buuuuuuuut I'm not. I joined an awesome gym almost a year ago where I've developed a love for weight lifting and kickboxing, and I'm surrounded by other regulars who love to do OCR events, and eventually, I'd like to try a Spartan trifecta. But in the past year, I've been trying different things to see the scale reflect a lower number - low-carb, carb-cycling, cutting out processed foods and sugar, tracking/weighing everything religiously - and I am still lingering very close to my pre-op start weight. I can see my body composition changing in certain ways thanks to weight lifting.. my shoulders and upper arms are slowly becoming more defined, my quads and lower half is different, too; but my mid-section stays the same, even in terms of inches. And that pendulum of weight holds me back from box jumps, from completing Olympic lifts, from attempting OCRs (I can't imagine pulling my own body weight over a 12 ft. wall.. at least not right now), etc.; and enough is enough. So, I called up the bariatric surgeon's office and made an appointment to come in and talk with someone about getting back on board with the band. I haven't seen them since 2014, and since then, their practice has split and restructured. I'm hoping I can get in sooner through a cancellation (otherwise, mid-August it is..), but in the meantime, I'm going to be revisiting the binder of information from my surgeon from when I had my surgery almost 10 years ago, and trying to reconnect on here. Anyone else going through something similar? I feel like a total newbie all over again! Thanks for letting me reintroduce myself!

Hi there! Good luck with your VSG! I was banded in 2007, and still have it (haven't had Fluid in the band since April 2014), so I'm working with what I've got unless the bariatric doctor tells me that it has to come out. My appointment is in August, so we'll see.

Heyyyyy, congrats on your weight loss!! That's awesome!! I'm hopeful that my band's okay, but yeah.. the more I've been reading, the more I'm preparing myself for that possibility. A friend of mine who was banded had hers removed and had the sleeve done, and she hit her goal weight and was much more successful with that. She was getting stuck on sips of Water with the band! Yay for being able to eat better, too! I can't remember a lot of specific foods causing problems with me getting stuck, but I also stopped being diligent about chewing well, about not drinking fluids with meals, and so forth. Congrats again on your weight loss, though! That is such a great accomplishment, and so much hard work and dedication!! And good luck to your mom! I hope the post-op pain isn't too bad on her!

Aw, thank you!! I appreciate it.

Hi everyone! I'm SecretStolen. I had the lap band surgery in 12/07 and I used to participate around here all the time. Over the years, my weight loss plateaued and I've been stagnant since. I'm basically back on board with my Protein shakes, Vitamins, and I'm getting back to measuring out small portions and making healthier choices. Plus, this place is an awesome resource and I missed it. So, just a quick intro to me, and good luck old and new bandsters alike!

I would love to come to this! I'm in Northern Virginia, but I will have to wait and see closer to the date. I'm going back to school full-time in January, so it depends on what my semester schedule looks like.

Hey everyone.. I'm having that left sided pain, too. It's also a little tender where my port is on my right side. It's not a horrible pain and it doesn't radiate to my back or anything, but I have an appointment with my surgeon this afternoon to have it checked out. I've had the pain off an on for the last couple of days and it's mostly just annoying, like a side pain you get from running. It doesn't intensify with deep breaths or stretching, either. I'm hoping it's nothing major and it's as simple as an OTC solution, but we'll see.

Hi there. I figured since it's been awhile since I've been on the board, and there's this awesome new section for banders in their 20s, I'd sorta reintroduce myself. So, I'm 24, and I was banded on December 13th, 2007. Since then, I've lost around 40+ pounds, and I'm still workin' on it. I got a little derailed around April when I moved and went through a break-up at the same time, so my focus became less on watching everything I ate and making regular trips to the gym and more on spending time with my friends and keeping my mind off being sad. Although I have continued to lose pounds even without keeping a food diary or making those daily trips to the gym, I do feel like I could have lost more if I had been more on point. So, I've whipped out the notebook I keep track of my intake with and I'm back to the gym daily as of 4 days ago. Just recently, my old high school best friend contacted me. She and I hadn't seen much of each other since graduation but we kept it touch periodically online. She contacted me to tell me that she had decided to have the lap band surgery in Mexico. I hadn't told her about my surgery, so we had a really long conversation about that. I recommended that she come to this board for information and she admitted she had already begun posting here. Since she just had her surgery and she's back home recuperating, I got thinking about my own success and what goals I want to set for myself by the end of summer. So I'm back here, because this place keeps me incredibly motivated and very informed. So, hello everyone! I'm glad to be back and I'm excited about reading up on new banders and their successes. Yay!

I have 3 tattoos - one on the small of my back (technically 2, but since it's all in one area, we'll classify it as just 1), one at the top of my back, and another on my left clavicle. None of mine have been affected by my weight loss. I figured those were areas where I would be safe if I ever did lose all my weight. As much as I really wanted to put something on my hip, I knew it would be a disaster later on in life.. :/ I will say, the more weight I lose, the more prominent my collarbones become, and the sexier my clavicle tattoo looks. Makes me giddy. :thumbup:

Hey there! Welcome to the board. :eek: I was in the same situation you're in. I would diet and lose (at the most) 50 pounds over the course of a year, but as soon as I stopped being 100% strict on myself and counting every calorie or obsessing over working out for 2 hours a day, I would begin to gain again. I could never keep it off. I finally had enough of it and decided while I was still young enough with no high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and no real health problems aside from joint pain from the weight, I would fix it. I had my surgery on 12/13/07. It's only been 7 months for me, but I'm still very happy I had the surgery. I've only lost a little over 50 pounds since then, but I'm excited because I haven't gained any of my weight back at all. I've never had that happen before. Honestly, there's nothing that's really all that hard for me. There are days when I don't feel very restricted and I want to have something I shouldn't, and those are the times when you have to use willpower. Even then it's not so bad. I don't buy foods I know I shouldn't eat, and when I'm at work, I don't keep cash or change around to hit the vending machine, and my closest friends at work know about my band, so when there's cake and take-out, I don't partake and they don't push the issue of joining in. I can only speak for myself, but it's not so bad. I will say that if you're really considering the band, do as much research on here as possible. I found this board right around the time I attended the initial conference to hear my surgeon speak to an audience. By the time I went for my first face-to-face consultation, I already knew what to expect to some degree. It also gave me the opportunity to really weigh the pros and cons of the surgery and make sure that it was something I was willing to go through. I hope you stick around! Good luck!

After my surgery, I couldn't sleep lying down either. The gas they use during surgery that gets trapped inside your body had traveled up through my back and shoulders, so it was this excruciating pain that never seemed to ease up when I was lying down. The first night after leaving the hospital, the night after the surgery, I tried to sleep lying down and I woke up every 10-15 minutes in pain. I took my pain medicine as the surgeon said, and to avoid lying down to sleep, I slept in a big comfy chair in my mom's living room. Using their ottoman for my lower half, I positioned myself to where I was still sitting up, but at an angle that was somewhat comfortable enough to sleep. I made sure to have a big thick quilt and a couple of pillows to surround myself with. I spent the next 3 nights sleeping that way. During the day, I made sure to walk as much as possible and stay hydrated and within a couple days, that pain started to go away. :thumbup: Hope yours does, too. Do you have a comfy chair you could improvise with until you're feeling a little better?

You guys with the liquid stuff are lucky! (Then again, considering how some of that stuff tastes, maybe not! Heehee!) :thumbup: After my surgery, the surgeon saw me for the second time that evening before going home and he told me that the nurses had been ordered to give me pain medication in pill form, not liquid, because he wanted me to begin attempting to swallow to make sure I could do so efficiently before being discharged the next day. That night, the nurses cut the small pain pill into fourths and when I tried the first fourth, it got stuck and I felt like I was choking. They gave me a suppository for the pain and then, after hours of sipping on Water, it was much easier in the morning when I had to try swallowing again. The surgeon saw me the next morning and said, "See. I'd rather have you do that here and have difficulty trying to swallow something the first time after surgery with nurses and medical staff around you than to do that at home and panic." Good point, Doc. Good point. For the first 2 weeks after surgery, I still used a pill cutter to break them into fourths. (I was given Percocet and because of the way it made me feel dazed and kind of out of it, once the pain started to become more manageable, I started only taking half of one pill in the morning and the other half in the evenings before going to bed at night so I could sleep.)

I had my surgery on a Thursday and it wasn't until the following Wednesday that I was really feeling back to good. The first couple of days were the worst. I was discharged from the hospital on Friday afternoon and I spent the weekend at my mom's because she didn't want me by myself at my apartment. I took my pain meds every 4 hours like the doctor instructed and slept for what felt like forever, and by the time the following week came around, I was down to taking it twice a day - upon waking up and once in the evening before bed. Don't beat yourself up, doll! You are doing fine. You just had abdominal surgery on Friday - 2 days ago. Right now you're going to be in pain and you're going to need your meds. Just make sure you get up and walk periodically throughout the day and that you stay hydrated with fluids. You'll bounce back soon. :thumbup: Congrats on your banding! :teeth_smile:

Within an hour of waking @ 4:00 AM: protein shake, half a banana Breakfast @ 7:30 AM: coffee, other half of banana Mid-Morning @ 10:30 AM: 1 squeezable packet of peanut butter Lunch @ 12:30: mini-can of chunk light tuna fish, 4 whole wheat crackers Afternoon snack @ 3:00: apple slices Then I'll have dinner out with friends tonight, and another protein shake a couple hours later. My dietician says to keep your metabolism going with small, healthy portions every 3-4 hours. I've never been one to eat like that - and I used to only eat maybe once or twice a day - so it's been an adjustment, but it really does help me with shedding the pounds. :thumbdown:

I can eat pizza with no problem. I don't make it a regular habit, and I stay away from typical delivery places, but I really love the Kashi frozen pizzas. Because it's just me eating most nights (unless I go out with friends or something), if I fix one of the Kashi pizzas, I let it thaw until it's soft enough to slice into quarters. I put a fourth of the pizza in the oven and fix that for dinner and it is more than enough. (Plus, only having a small portion readily prepared keeps me from being tempted to eat more.) The other parts get wrapped up individually and stored in my freezer for the next time I have another craving for my favorite food.

Isn't that the best feeling ever?! I went into a Macy's just recently with a friend and we went by the dresses and just picked up some and went to try them on - just for fun. Before the band, I never would have done this, much less walked out and let my friend see how the dress looked on me. This time, though, I did - and I looked awesome! :thumbdown: I'm so happy for all of us! Yaaaaay!

Allison: Thanks! I love it. It's my little disclaimer. ichatter: I know what you mean about being the girl who dances on the table at least once. I think I should dance on a bar once. If just to say that I've done something crazy. :thumbup: I hope you get your chance! AngelMae2105: Aww! You should totally get your tattoo when you reach your goal! Honestly, I was always a little shy going to the tattoo shop, but I've built a rep with my artist, so there's no more uncomfortable feeling there. The first time, though, I was terrified! Once you get to your goal, though, and you're feeling awesome and completely accomplished, you could walk into a tattoo shop like you bought and paid for it.

Hey darlin'! Just hang in there! After my surgery, I was still in some pain up until 2 weeks after. Remember to take it easy and don't do too much bending or lifting. I promise, if you're careful, it gets better! (BTW - We are sooooooo getting together when you're on mushies and gabbing. I can't wait to see you and hear all about your surgery! I'm so proud of my J! )

Hi, everyone! I'm in Fredericksburg.

I'm reiterating what has been said by others: APPEAL. Exhaust every option to appeal their denial. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! Good luck!

Just wondering - do any other doctors make you do anything funny to find your port? Mine always has me lie flat on the table in the room, then lift my legs a couple inches in the air which I guess contracts the muscles around the port. He says it's much easier to locate it and get the needle in on the first try. Fills are usually pretty painless, but he always numbs the area before hand, too. The only part that sucks is having to lift my legs and keep them up for a little bit, but I'd rather have 2 minutes of that than 10 minutes of pokin' around with a needle. :Banane03: gigem: I'm sorry your fill was such a bad experience. Hopefully in the future, it'll go much smoother.

Hey girlie! I'm so glad your surgery went well! LYLAS! :cool2:

It's from "Portions For Foxes." I have, "Baby, I'm bad news" tattooed on my left clavical. I picked out Cygnet Round as the font to use, and had it done in hot pink ink. Here's a picture:

Oh, your tattoo sounds so pretty! Do you have any pictures of it? I love seeing pictures and hearing the stories behind them. What's the story behind the peacock? It sounds beautiful. I have a running horse on the small of my back, surrounded by aqua stars that form the pisces constellation. I also have a small heart and Celtic knot at the top of my back, and also a Rilo Kiley lyric on my left clavical.

Just had a recent non-scale victory yesterday.. I uploaded some pictures to my Facebook account a couple weeks ago - photos of me with friends, and a couple of me just posing and being goofy in this pink dress I was wearing. A girl I graduated with is on my Facebook friends' list. We haven't seen each other since high school. As kids, she used to tease me for being heavier than she was. As adults, I don't really keep in touch with her, but there's no bad blood or anything between us. She commented on one picture of me, "OMG! You look great! You look so tiny in this pic!" It kinda made my day. *lol*