RedTulips3

Adorkable, I don't remember all the details of your leak issue, but do you know for sure that it's your port/tubing that has the issue as opposed to the band itself?

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've checked in on LBT. I've been extremely busy with school. It's been 9 weeks since I had my band replaced due to a leak. October was really about me healing again so I guess the weight loss was on the back burner. I'm mostly healed and I'm getting back into my exercise routine. It's definitely getting harder to lose weight. I really want to get to my goal of 160 by my bandiversary, but I don't know if I can make it. I lost about 6lbs right after surgery and have been bouncing around that weight for the last 2 months. I would really like to get into the 160s soon, and it's going to take a lot of focus. I need to really be careful about what I eat and getting in lots of exercise to get to my goal. I'm finally feeling some restriction now and I'm eating less, but still enough to keep me from losing. I'm hoping to get to my sweet spot to get the weight loss going again. With that being said, I am extremely happy and grateful about my weight loss so far. I have never been healthier! I have so much energy to do things and I enjoy exercising and I miss it when I don't! I can go shopping in regular stores now. I'm wearing a size 12 or 14 bottoms and Medium and Large tops. I've lost 80lbs since surgery and 145lbs since my highest weight in April 2007 so I really can't complain. I can't believe it's almost a year since our surgeries...where has the time gone? Keep up the great work everyone! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey Adorkable, I haven't been on lately because I've been busy with school so I just read about your leak issues. I'm glad to hear that you may not actually have a leak. I had a leak in my band that we found in August and I had my band replaced at the end of September. I'm starting to learn what real restriction is now almost a year after surgery. Considering you hadn't had good restriction this whole time, losing 70lbs+ is amazing! I hope you don't have to have another surgery and that the restriction will help you continue to lose weight! Good luck!

Congratulations on having sleep apnea?! It's good twofold that you found out you have sleep apnea: 1. Now your body and brain can get the proper sleep it needs every night and 2. You have a chance at qualifying for surgery. Good luck with getting approved!

Sue, I was self pay for the first band. The second time around, since the hospital actually provided the defective band to the doc, my hospital stay and anesthesia was covered. However, I did have to pay my dr.'s fee for performing surgery, which was $3000 and I was fortunate enough to have the ability to pay for it. I didn't have any need to contact Allergan directly, but perhaps my dr. did. I think we dealt with the insurance co. and the hospital more so than Allergan. Of course the band was sent back to Allergan to "diagnose" the problem, but we're still waiting to hear back from them. When you say last generation do you mean the older one? Originally I had the VG 4cc band (the older one). My new band is the AP small 4cc.

Thanks Suzanne! Congrats to you too! I'm more like 15lbs from my goal. A week after my rebanding I dropped to 171, which was like 9lbs in one week, but I went back up to 177 a week later since all I had was liquids. I haven't updated my ticker since I like to keep my lowest weight there. I'm around 175 now. It's definitely harder to lose weight when there's less to lose, plus I had no restriction for the first 5 weeks because I couldn't get a fill til last week. Since I started from the beginning I got 2cc last week. This past week I was still able to eat a large quantity so I got .4cc more today. We'll see what kind of restriction that gives me. Hopefully it will help me get control of my portions like the band should and I'll lose the last 15lbs to get to my first goal of 160.

I'm also not going to make it to my goal, but I had lowered it from my original goal, which I didn't make either, but I was close. I'm also doing the end of the year challenge. Here's the link for anyone who wants: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/last-2008-weight-loss-challenge-74034/

Joining a little late in the game! Name_________StartWeight___CurrentWeight______Goal________ToGo *****<v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" filled="f" stroked="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe">:cool2:</v:shapetype>************************:tt2:**********:biggrin:****** :wink_smile: * agreatknead........204............194...........180...........14 areellady..........189............189...........159...........30 BIGB...............342............342...........300...........42 BellaPerdente......253............225...........200...........25 Boos02.............258............226...........200...........26 Brandy.............221............211...........191...........20 BrownBear..........240............235...........200...........35 Cadets71.........223.4..........223.4...........189.........34.4 Claudine...........250............231...........225...........6 Bunkey1965.........194............177...........170............7 CubsGirl17.........172............161...........150...........11 Cutiew/booty.......251............237...........220...........17 cQQlgirl...........195............191...........175...........16 crzytchr...........276............269...........246...........23 Donna113...........199............193.5.........160...........33.5 Ekat...............527............172...........152...........19 feefee57...........262............212...........180...........32 FeliciaLevy75......240............222...........190...........32 GillieBean.........304............296...........264...........32 HeatherO...........150............143...........130...........13 Hollie ............l54............154...........125...........29 Jeni85.............182............182...........160...........22 Jillbeme...........235..........207.5...........185.........22.5 Josie74............260............255...........215...........40 klmsilva...........216............212...........190...........26 legster............183............183...........160...........23 linksmom...........251............236...........200...........36 Liquidbluegal......225..........220.4...........199.........21.4 Liz_hager..........161............158...........130...........28 Long2BThin.........253............229...........215...........14 lotzasunshine......292............283.5.........250.........33.5 Luu2008............230..........199.5...........153.........46.5 Lunabeane..........244...........197............187.........10.0 Mamanmidwife.......295............282...........260...........22 Melissa Aguirre ...266............233...........160....... 73 Melody2006.........223............223...........173...........50 MiniPearl#2........???............???...........???...........?? Minxz..............299............287...........270...........17 neefam.............238............189...........158...........31 odizzzydori........242............242...........199...........43 paige65............252............242...........220...........22 rainer.............236............231...........210...........21 Redtulips3.........180............175...........160...........15 reif78.............294............195...........140...........40 RichardCranium.....338............276...........200...........76 soontobehottie.....201............191...........165...........26 srknepler..........285............253.7...........255.........-1.3 squale.............353............353...........325...........28 Sunshine2..........177............167...........160...........07 Suzzzie............305............305...........285...........20 stevegoad..........370............341...........267...........74 Terilynn112........240............227...........199...........41 Truediva...........299............285...........235...........50 thininside28.......255............255...........215...........40 Turler.............219............217...........194...........23 youcandoit!........196............189...........165...........24

Congratulations! You've come a long way! Thanks for sharing the great news!

I was required to get a sleep study done before surgery. I never had issues with being very tired during the day or having headaches, but I was surprised to find out that I did have mild sleep apnea. The apnea wasn't severe enough that it warranted getting a cpap, but nonetheless, I still had it. My sister has sleep apnea and she had no idea. She had headaches everyday and was always tired even after a full night's sleep, which wasn't so full because she was always having apnea episodes. She finally went for a sleep study, and sure enough she had sleep apnea. Now she sleeps with a cpap every night and feels much more rested throughout the day. Sounds to me like you might have sleep apnea. If you were gasping for air, you may not realize it because your body brings you out of a deep sleep so you start breathing again, but you may not be fully awake. If you need another comorbidity to qualify for surgery, then you might have found it! Good luck with everything!

******NAME**********START WGHT****CURRENT WGHT*******GOAL********LBS. LOST *****:cool2:***********:frown:*************:tt2:************:smile:*********:w00t:* 1dayatime..........263............261............243............2 2BHealthE!.........194............179............194............0 ahsem2bme..........244............244............225............0 aJoneen............223............218............213............5 Aphrodite1984......208............208............190............0 Ariel..............199............191.3..........185..........7.6 ArmyWife4life......209.5..........209.5..........190............0 Barb12590..........228............218............213...........10 Bea1128............210.5..........205.5..........188............5 blueriley..........206............206............190............0 Brandymom1234......227............151.9..........135..........4.1 Caramia71..........208............202............195............6 cQQlgirl...........194............192............180............2 Crzytchr...........281............272............265............9 DebinFl............181............181............168............0 georgiagirl........245............229............220...........16 HarleyGirl.........188............187............175............1 HeatherA...........210.5..........203.9..........200..........6.6 HeatherO...........155............144............140...........11 Ivyrose325.........212............212............199............0 Jazzyywan..........255............255............190............0 Jodi_620...........196............179............177...........17 KikiVal315.........237.5..........229............220..........8.5 Lana24.............208............195............185............0 laurigee...........180............173............160............7 Leslie2Lose........220............214............205............6 lindar172 .........274.2..........259.6..........256.........14.6 LisaB..............205.5..........194............180.........11.5 livn4thm...........235............233............210............2 Long2bthin.........248............230............230...........18 Luu2008............203............199.5..........183..........3.5 Mamanmidwife.......299............286............280...........13 mamato3............186............186............170............0 MarinaBleu.........226.5..........226.5..........216............0 memom..............210............210............170............0 Minxz..............299............286............280............9 mominlv13..........299.8..........284.6..........280.........15.2 Momof5.............192.5..........187.5..........175..........5.0 nip50..............175............168............160............7 NukeChik...........218............218............208............0 NurseNiki..........258............246............239...........12 odamay.............242............242............225............0 paige65............252............247............232............5 Peaches11..........205............205............194............0 pj_txlady..........220............220............200............0 Redtulips3.........180............171............169............9 Renee74............214............213............199............7 Renewedhope........171............168............150............3 reif78.............294............195............185............0 savimama...........216............216............200............0 shaversd...........230.5..........225............210..........5.5 SpecialK...........294............286............280............8 Sunshine2..........177............171............167............6 Tess...............304............299...........280............5 thatDEgirl.........211............202.6..........195..........8.4 tp78...............201............192............180............9 Turler.............225............217............210............8 wendyw.............192............188............172............4 wowox7.............195............183............170...........12 WyominGirl.........327............321............312............6

And you shouldn't Chrisann! Everyone loses at their own pace. There are so many different factors that affects each person's weight loss. As long as you're happy with your progress (and you definitely should be), then that's all that matters. But as a note Chrisann, we've lost about the same amount of weight and bmi points and we were only banded a little over a week from each other.

miles2empty- I had a leak in my band and my doc could not find where it was. I definitely had one because I had 3.2cc in my band and 3 weeks later it was all gone. We did a test and put in 3 cc and within a week less than 1cc was left. I had my band replaced 3 weeks ago. I got an entirely new band. We didn't do any x-rays/contrast tests to try to find a leak because my dr. said it was pointless. The reason being because the band needed to be replaced regardless, and because if the leak is in the band itself (as opposed to the tubing) you may not be able to see it in an x-ray because the band is encased by the stomach that is pulled up and sewn all around it. Before my doc removed my old band, he injected methylene blue dye and he couldn't find the leak. Then after he removed it, he injected saline into it and there was no leak. The band was sent back to Allergan to find out the issue and we're waiting to hear what they say. My doc thinks that the issue is as such: The balloon that holds the saline is designed to withstand a certain amount of pressure from being filled and the fluid will not leak out. What he thinks happened with my band is that the saline did not evenly distribute itself around the entire band. Instead, it collected in one area of the balloon, thereby putting too much pressure on the balloon, which caused it to become permeable and the saline leaked out of that area. So there may not have been an actual "hole" or puncture per se, but only when there was extreme pressure on one part of the band, the fluid leaked out. This explains why he didn't see a leak when he replaced my band and also why I didn't feel any restriction with 3.2cc in a 4cc band because it wasn't functioning the way it should. I wasn't happy about being rebanded, but I wanted to have a functioning band that would do what is was supposed to do.

Fallout girl, to answer your first question, people do the wrong thing because they're human. Hopefully they're doing the right thing most of the time and keeping in check to try not to slip, but it does happen. For the first 6 months post-op I was doing cardio 4-5 times a week for about an hour each time. I did mostly the treadmill, but I have come to like the elliptical. I started out slow just walking on 3 mph and adding in small jogs for 30 seconds, and then 1 min and then 2 min etc. Now I do various walking and jogging intervals and have played with the different incline and resistance settings on the treadmill and ellipticals respectively. This summer I got a personal trainer and was doing weight training 2-3 times a week and I've incorporated that into my work outs now.

Chrisann, congrats on getting into an 18! B-man, congrats on your loss so far, but just keep at it. If you can, get rid of the foods you know you shouldn't be eating! WTG Suzanne on your loss! We're basically at the same point. I have 20lbs or so til my ultimate goal weight. Gingerbug- congrats on your weight loss! kcintx- amazing weight loss! Keep it up!! As for myself, I was rebanded 3 weeks ago and I am healing well. I'm grateful that I was able to get rebanded a little over a month after finding out that I had a leak. But because I am still healing, my food and exercise have been out of whack, which is to be expected. I was in such a great groove this summer and I have to wait a few more weeks to start weight training again. I just re-started my cardio and am trying to get back into the swing of things. I have ABSOLUTELY NO RESTRICTION AND IT STINKS! But because I am healing a lot quicker than the first surgery, I can eat almost everything now, and as much as I want of it. I can eat just as much as I could pre-band, which scares the heck out of me. That is why I am SO ready for my first fill next week. I just don't want it to take 3-4 months to get to my sweet spot. I want to be able to have good restriction so that I can get to my goal weight by my one year anniversary, which is in 12 weeks! Where did the year go?

Chrisann- you look wonderful! Keep it up! Kintime- looking fab! WOWX07- you're rockin' it! Congratulations! Ang, there's going to be such a huge difference between your pre-op pics and your current ones! I can't wait to see!

Thanks! I've actually lost 80lbs since surgery in Jan. (because my highest was 10lbs more than when I started my pre-op weight loss) but it's still a huge number and I feel amazing! I also noticed that your BMI is 34.8, which was a NSV for me when that was my BMI because it means you don't qualify for surgery anymore! So congrats on not qualifying for surgery!

Congrats Long2bThin! What a great accomplishment! I'm sure you are extremely excited. Keep up the great work!

As much as I was sad to say goodbye to my old shoes, I was more than happy to have my feet get smaller because at a size 11, I didn't have as many options, but now wearing 9-9.5 I have SO much more to choose from. Plus I am a lot more comfortable in heels!

I'm adjusting my goal for this challenge! *******NAME**********START WGHT****CURRENT WGHT*******GOAL********LBS. LOST *****:thumbup:***********:w00t:*************:wub:********************** 1dayatime..........263............261............243............2 2BHealthE!.........194............179............194............0 ahsem2bme..........244............244............225............0 aJoneen............223............219............213............4 Aphrodite1984......208............208............190............0 Ariel..............199............196.4..........180..........2.6 ArmyWife4life......209.5..........209.5..........190............0 Barb12590..........228............218............213...........10 Bea1128............210.5..........205.5..........188............5 blueriley..........206............206............190............0 Brandymom1234......227............151.9..........135..........4.1 Caramia71..........208............202............195............6 cQQlgirl...........194............192............180............2 Crzytchr...........281............273............265............8 DebinFl............181............181............168............0 georgiagirl........245............229............220...........16 HarleyGirl.........188............187............175............1 HeatherA...........210.5..........206............200..........4.5 HeatherO...........155............148............140............7 Ivyrose325.........212............212............199............0 Jazzyywan..........255............255............190............0 Jodi_620...........196............184............177...........12 KikiVal315.........237.5..........230.5..........220............7 Lana24.............208............195............185............0 laurigee...........180............176............160............4 Leslie2Lose........220............214............205............6 lindar172 .........274.2..........266.2..........256............8 LisaB..............205.5..........198............180..........7.5 livn4thm...........235............233............210............2 Long2bthin.........248............236............230...........12 Luu2008............203............199.5..........183..........3.5 Mamanmidwife.......299............286............280...........13 mamato3............186............186............170............0 MarinaBleu.........226.5..........226.5..........216............0 memom..............210............210............170............0 Minxz..............299............286............280............9 mominlv13..........299.8..........290.2..........280..........9.6 Momof5.............192.5..........187.5..........175..........5.0 nip50..............175............171............160............4 NukeChik...........218............218............208............0 NurseNiki..........258............255............239............3 odamay.............242............242............225............0 paige65............252............247............232............5 Peaches11..........205............205............194............0 pj_txlady..........220............220............200............0 Redtulips3.........180............171............167............9 Renee74............214............213............199............7 Renewedhope........171............169............150............2 reif78.............294............195............185............0 savimama...........216............216............200............0 shaversd...........230.5..........225............210..........5.5 SpecialK...........294............288............280............6 Sunshine2..........177............171............167............6 Tess...............304............300.5..........280..........3.5 thatDEgirl.........211............205.2..........195..........5.8 tp78...............201............192............180............9 Turler.............225............219............210............6 wendyw.............192............188............172............4 wowox7.............195............185............170............10 WyominGirl.........327............321............312............6

Hey fellow Knockouts! Just a little (more like big) update about what’s been happening with me in the past month or so. My lapband journey has taken an interesting twist and turn lately that I never would have expected. It turns out that my band has a leak! I’m getting re-banded this coming Wednesday. I never thought that I would be the one with a defective band. It wasn’t even something that I worried about going into the surgery initially, but it happened. (I apologize that this is post is extremely long!) Here’s how it all played out: Some of you might remember my posts about not being sure if I had restriction as I felt like I could eat a considerable amount. However, I had been consistently losing weight because I’ve been strict low-carb (even pre-band) so I couldn’t complain. In retrospect (now that I have absolutely no fill and no restriction), I did have some restriction and it did help with the weight loss, but I hadn’t gotten to my sweet spot yet. I had a fill in May, which brought me up to 2.4cc in 4cc band. I went back the first week of July and only 2.2cc was there. There was no concern about a leak because such a small amount could have evaporated or the doc couldn’t get all of the saline out. I got a fill to bring me to 2.7cc. It didn’t make much of a difference. Went back 2 weeks later and got a little more for a total of 2.9cc. Still no difference. Went back a week later and got a little more for a total of 3.2cc. (I’m still confused as to why an entire 1cc was added over a small time period and I didn’t feel a difference at all. It wasn’t the leak because my doc made sure that my fill was still in my band before he added the fill each time). After all those visits in July, I was only 3 weeks from the original date of my next fill appointment mid August, so I just waited to go then. I had an inkling that maybe something was up because I hadn’t felt any difference in restriction, but it was a distant thought. When my doc went to remove the fill before adding more, nothing came out. My doc has never missed my port, but he tried again to confirm that nothing was in my band. So over a 3-week span, I had lost my entire fill of 3.2cc. I was definitely surprised and I wasn’t sure what to say, but I was relatively calm about it. He just said the obvious: that there was a leak somewhere in the band and it needed to be replaced, and that was that. As an experiment, he added 3cc to my band that day and when I went a week later to meet about getting rebanded, less than 1cc was left. As of right now, we don’t know where the leak/problem is, but I’m having the entire band replaced. Some docs replace only the part of the band that has the problem like the port and tubing, but the way he explained it (and it makes a lot of sense), is that, yes there may be a leak in the port/tubing, but if he just replaces that, it’s possible that there could be a leak in the band itself too and you’re still left with a defective band. Some people have fluoroscopes or contrast tests to find the leak, but my doc said that a leak by the band may not even show up on those tests because it’s surrounded and encased by the scar tissue and the stomach that’s sewn on top of it and that’s why we didn’t bother to do those tests and the entire thing is just being replaced. When I go into surgery, my doc will inject the blue dye to see if he can find the leak, but regardless of where it is, the whole thing is being replaced. Like I said before, no one plans for this to happen. I’m not sorry at all that I had the surgery in the first place. Having the band for the past 9 months almost has been a great experience and I’m extremely happy with my progress thus far. I’m down 70lbs since surgery and 130lbs in the past year. I’m in great physical shape and I’m healthier than ever and I couldn’t have done it without the band. I still managed to lose weight this summer even without restriction, which I credit to my low-carb eating and exercise. I'm not excited to go through the whole thing again, but it’s completely worth it. Now I can actually answer the question "would you do it again?" honestly and say, "not only would I, but I am doing it again!" My doc reassured me that my recovery time would be quicker because the stomach is already sewn into place and the scar tissue is formed and there’s a spot for the port already made. All he has to do is remove the old band and slip the new one in. Obviously there will still be pain from the incisions and the surgery itself, but overall I’m optimistic that it won’t be too bad. When actually faced with deciding to have surgery again, I had to really think it through and consider my options. I considered not getting rebanded because I had done so well until now even without decent restriction, but I quickly came to the conclusion that that would not be the best option. As much as I had been successful, maintenance of the weight loss is key and that’s what the band is there for along the way and at goal. Additionally, the less we have to lose, the harder it gets to lose those last pounds and again, the band and restriction is what will help us get there. And I can’t even tell you how clear this is to me because I have absolutely no restriction right now. I can eat and eat and eat and eat like I did pre-band and I don’t like it at all! I’m looking forward to being over and done with my surgery and getting back to my normal routine. I’m looking forward to actually getting to my sweet spot and reaching my goal weight. I was aiming to reach my first goal weight of 160lb by my 1 year bandiversary (the original one that is), which I think would have been feasible, and I’m still aiming for that even with being rebanded. I have tried to remain as positive as possible about the whole situation. In general, I try to just take things as they come and deal with them, and I think I’ve been pretty successful doing that. Like anything in life, in a few months it won’t be such a big thing, it’ll just be another part of “life”. I pray that the surgery will go smoothly and that there won't be any complications. I will hopefully give you guys an update as soon as I am up to it after surgery to let you know how things went! Thanks for reading my extremely long post! Thank you in advance for your support as I know I can count on it here at LBT! I have been so busy as I’m a full time college student and I haven’t had a chance to post much, but I have read your updates and I see your progress pics. Keep up the great work everyone!

Hi fellow September 24th bandsters (well sort of). I wanted to just stop in and say hello. I was first banded in January 08 and my band had a leak and I was rebanded last week along with you September Samurais. Congratulations on being banded and I hope you will all be successful with the band! It's a life changing journey if you want it to be and if you work with the band properly. Each of you will have different experiences along the way. At some points it will be hard and you'll wonder if it's worth it, but just remind and encourage yourself to keep going because it is worth it (at least I think it is) and because you deserve it! If you gain weight one week, don't come down so hard on yourself and remember it's one week out of the entire year. Try to be positive and notice the small changes along the way because they help put things into perspective. And don't let people tell you that you took the easy way out because it's a lot of hard work! I forgot what it was like to be banded until I had to go through it again! My revision was not as invasive as the first one as all my dr. had to do was remove the old band and put in a new one (so there's not a tremendous amount of healing to do because most of the scar tissue is formed already to hold the band in place, but there is a small amount of new stitching that needs to heal). The first few days were just as rough as the first go-around though, but after that I have recovered a lot quicker than the first time. However, I'm still on the the post-op diet like the rest of you so I can empathize (gotta love them liquids! So happy to be on pureeds now!) Now that a week has gone by, it seems like most of you are feeling much better, which I'm happy to hear! It might feel like the first month or so will seem to drag on, especially with the post-op diet and you'll think you'll never get to chew real food again, but I promise, you will! It will pass, and before you know it, you'll be 2,3,5,8 months post-op and you'll wonder where the time went! If you have any questions please feel free to ask, and I will answer them to the best of my ability! Melody, I found out at the age of 20 that baby food is actually pretty good (who knew)! I'm a fan of the oatmeal and pears (or apples). I add some sweetnlow because it doesn't come sweetened and you would think you're eating the most delicious apple cobbler/crisp you've ever had. Cream of tomato soup is good and I add in some ricotta cheese to up the Protein, plus it adds a nice flavor. I also just microwave some ricotta (you could use cottage cheese too) with some tomato sauce and add basil and garlic and onion powder! It's like a good Pasta dish minus the pasta. I made some cream of sweet potato soup with babyfood sweetpotatoes (again the baby food). I did 1 jar of Stage 2 (I think like 3-4oz jar) and add a half cup of skim milk and like 1/4cup of Water and I heated it and added a bit of ricotta cheese and garlic/onion powder, salt and pepper and it was really good too. It had a nice sweetness to it too. The first time around I had butternut squash soup which I made from jarred butternut squash and followed the recipe on the jar. I also made a cream of cauliflower soup which was good too. I think I have the recipe if you want it. I think I found it here on LBT. Be well everyone! -Redtulips

I do like my Dr. It's a small office so I never have issues getting appointments and getting in touch with the office staff. NYU is a huge practice, which makes it difficult to get in touch with them. Why would getting drunk bring on dry heaving? I'm not much of a drinker, so maybe I'm missing something. Would it be because all the alcohol made you vomit? I've only ever had 2 PBs (or what I consider to be PBs). The second one was the worse of the two and it happened a week after I found out about the leak in my band. So I had absolutely NO restriction, and then I have my 2nd pb ever. I think because I had no fill that I had no restriction and I must have been a little careless in my chewing because I got stuck and I spent the entire day trying to get it up. In between all the attempt at unstucking myself (which just made me even more swollen) I was trying to calm the swelling by sipping warm tea, but that would just come up. I got to the point where nothing would go down. I waited until the evening and took some liquid motrin (which took a while to go down) and I was able to get some Water down at night (thankfully). Moral of the story- even with no restriction, if you don't chew, you'll be reminded that the band is still there. That's coming from someone who is extremely careful with chewing (to which I credit only having 2 pbs in 8.5 months)

I can't help you the least bit with all those calculations Heather, but CONGRATULATIONS! That's so exciting!

I don't know if everyone's feet get smaller. It does take some time to lose a shoe size. I wore a size 11 at 315lbs and still at 250lbs. It was when I got below that my shoe size moved to like a 10.5 and then a 10 and now I'm a 9-9.5. It sounds like you are looking forward to having smaller feet, so for your sake, I hope they do get smaller! Good luck!