olemelissa

I'm only having a C-sec because this is my second child and I had to have a C-sec for my first child....so it's the once a C always a C rule for me. Nothing to do with the band.

Wow Pammycakes! You look amazing! Great work!

I am right there with you girls...I thought the experience was normal (not having anyone point out my fat!) I was really a lot larger when I had my son (no band) a little over 3 years ago and remember having a hard time feeling him move, and we did u/s every week the last trimester and sometimes just the stress test so that they could make sure he was active enough since I had a hard time feeling him move through all my fat. I blamed it on being a first time mom, but now at 19 weeks...I still haven't felt my baby move. They had to do an u/s at 17 weeks b/c the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat. The baby is doing fine and lit was moving a bit on the screen. Sure does seem squished in there with all the pudge though!! I dread my next appointment in 2 weeks since I have not felt anything yet. I'm not even sure if I know what I am looking for?! A friend of mine is 4 weeks behind me and considerably smaller and she has already felt her baby move. I feel like such a dummy :-(

I am 15 weeks pregnant and have gained 3 pounds. My OBGYN said he only wants me to gain between 5 - 10 pounds for the whole pregnancy. After gaining 55 during my first pregnancy almost 4 years ago, I thought 5 - 10 sounded unreal! I still have 1.2 ccs in my 10 cc band, but have not had it unfilled yet. I am doing fine. My lapband dr. said to come get it unfilled whenever I needed it, probably before the 3rd trimester.

Okay, I have always had huge, nasty upper arms. What are some good excercises to make them go away (even just a little). I am so afraid that plastic surgery in a year will be my only hope (and who can afford it?!) I would LOVE to join Water areobics, but I absolutely look like a flying squirrel in a tank. I just don't know how to get around it. Why don't they make swim suits with sleeves? Geesh! Any advice?

Despite logical reasoning, I really want to get pregnant. I started taking 2 prenatal vitamins this week, then remembered that we are not supposed to swallow pills. Can anyone explain this to me? They certainly didn't get stuck or anything. What's so bad about swallowing pills? And do you think I could just break them up and still take them? Also...is there anyone out there crazy like me who wants to get pregnant or has already gotten pregnant?

Wow. Thanks! I have never heard of rash guards before. Being in Mississippi, I think everyone is obsessed with showing as much skin as possible on the beach, but the website you recommended had a nice shirt and short set that looked great as well as sounded like a smart option to skin cancer! I'm a librarian, what do I care about being tan anyway?! Thanks for the help!

Tonight I am tempted to eat one of the doughnuts DH brought in yesterday. But this morning I realized that I am 100 lbs. from my goal weight. I am not eating that doughnut, because I already know it won't taste as good as being my goal weight will feel! Little things like this keep me motivated....it's a come and go deal though.

Hey everyone! I am in the process of moving to Oxford. I was banded there by Dr. Byars in August. I guess my signature says it all! Nice to see fellow Mississippians on here!

First off.....you are doing exceptionally well. Don't let anything make you feel differently! I know it is frustrating to lose in large quantities with sometimes little effort, and then when you start working really hard, it seems like the scales barely move. It is too easy to beat yourself up about it and feel like a failure. I used to think about how I would fail at my other diets when I had a bad day and the weight would just come back in mega doses. But this time you are not going to fail. That band is keeping its end up, even when you don't feel like it is. After my first three months, it was Thanksgiving and I realized that I could eat what felt like too much....and with ease. I got a fill the first of December and sometimes I feel it and sometimes I don't. I actually gained a few pounds over the holidays and have just now gotton back to 250. I am determined to lose 10 more pounds by February because we want to have another baby and I feel like I better make the best of it this month and next in hopes that I can get pregnant by March. (I have to try to plan pregnancies around holiday time!) Anyway....not to ramble on, I just wanted to say that I have been in your shoes. I went from losing 16 lbs. in October to only losing 3 in November. It was awful, but a fill was in order. I probably need another fill, but since I want to have my 2nd (and last) child before I'm 30, I will do without!

I've got two garbage bags full of 24s to 28s! I wanted to have a yard sale, but we don't have a yard and are moving to a condo in another town. I hate to take the clothes with me, since I'm sure I won't need them again, and will probably just give them to good will. But getting a few dollars for them would have really been nice as they were all in excellent condition!

Thanks for the comments and advice. Since it has only been about 6 months since banding, I have a feeling my doctor will not like my plans so soon, but if my God and body are willling, then I hope to add a second child to our home by the end of the year. I have not had problems with the pills going down, but this morning I started breaking them in half. I will see the doc. next week to discuss everything. I just wanted to go ahead and start taking the pills since they are really helpful for your body if you plan to get pregnant.

I remember when I first broke down two months ago to go shopping for something to wear to a presenation, that I thought someone was playing a trick on me with the size tags! I went from 26/28 to 18/20 and was totally taken back. I even bought a 14/16 button up shirt that I try on every now and then to see if I can wear it without the girls popping out. It's funny that my chest size is an issue now and not my waist size! Trying on clothes is such a great feeling, because I'm curvy again, but the price tags, even when they are good are just a put off because I am confident that they won't get much wear since I am still losing weight. But swinging by the department store for a few try-ons is a great way to get you happy about your new food regimen if nothing else! As for my oldies....we are moving this month, so I plan to have a closet full of 24s and up in a yard sale!

I had my first fill on Tuesday. 1cc in my 10cc band. I was really at a stanstill with no restriction throughout most of November, but this week I'm back in the game. I've managed to lose 72.5 lbs in just over 4 months, so I guess I'm doing something right, but when that head hunger gets me, it's tough. I also have to get with the excercise more, but my doctor told me that his best patients didnt' come in expecting a fill, and that with my progress they wanted me to consider advertising for them! He also said in terms of fills that it's mostly a mental battle. I think he is right on this because last month when I realized that I could "get away" with eating more food, more often, it was difficult to stop. But after this fill, even though it is just 1cc, I remind myself that I could seriously damage my body, band, port, etc. if I don't follow the rules. If I psych myself out that I'm doing the right thing for my new stomach, it tends to work.

Oh Nana! Thank you for the compliments, but you are doing great as well! Think of it this way....there are 17 years between us and only about 16 lbs., so you are keeping up a great deal of progress!

I was so amazed by everyone's pics that I wanted to share mine too. I don't know if this will work though. But I've attached a before and current photo. I think there is a slight difference!

Count me in too! It's not too terrible, but it is noticable. I thought I was sleeping funny on it, or that I had pulled a muscle, but it comes and goes around eating time, and I've never had it before surgery...

I was banded 8/16/07...I have had considerable weight loss with the band and pretty much no complications. At first I followed the rules to a tee, knowing that I needed to build up to the eating-solid-foods bit to really know how this band would work. I was 322.5 one month before surgery...then 302 on the day of surgery....and am now 260 after just over 2 months of getting banded. That's 42 lbs. people! And I have never had a fill. My dr. says that if I feel restricted enough then I don't need one, also my weight loss seems very good. Everyone is congratulating me, but here is the bad part...I don't feel like I am doing right anymore. These past few weeks, I have had ice cream, bbq, fried foods, not much excercise at all (less than 30 minutes 2 times a week), and birthday cake! Sometimes I feel like I severly struggle with wanting to eat because my head says so, not my stomach, and frankly I have a hard time knowing if I should eat or not. I keep up on my Water, and for the most part keep up on my Protein, but I just hoped that someone out there could tell me if they have experienced a similiar situation or if I should be worried about a slippage or (GOD FORBID) erosion. It's like I'm on auto-pilot. How come the scales go down each morning when I am not doing everything they say to do? I feel guilty about it, but since I am losing, everyone else thinks I'm just being silly. I warned you, it was a dumb question, but what does restriction feel like? And do you think I'm just feeling guilty about eating bad foods and not excercising?

I appreciate everyone's comments. You are all so encouraging. I really paid close attention to my body at lunch today, and started keeping up with my food/excercise on FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal (it was so easy!) Anyway, I can see now that I think previous comments about before banding portions and after banding portions will just never be comparable, even if I feel like I should be eating brocolli instead of ice cream, I'm talking about a once in a month (if even) event. Who am I really hurting? Not my tummy, evidentally! I guess I was just having a day. Thanks for bearing with me! When you spend 27 of your 28 years as the fat person, you just develop a bad sense of self-judgment . Thanks again for snapping me out of it. I see the dr. in a few weeks and will just tell him how I really feel.

I appreciate everyone's comments. You are all so encouraging. I really paid close attention to my body at lunch today, and started keeping up with my food/excercise on FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal (it was so easy!) Anyway, I can see now that I think previous comments about before banding portions and after banding portions will just never be comparable, even if I feel like I should be eating brocolli instead of ice cream, I'm talking about a once in a month (if even) event. Who am I really hurting? Not my tummy, evidentally! I guess I was just having a day. Thanks for bearing with me! When you spend 27 of your 28 years as the fat person, you just develop a bad sense of self-judgment . Thanks again for snapping me out of it. I see the dr. in a few weeks and will just tell him how I really feel.

Thanks for your 2 cents, Cyn! I am trying to take your advice!

I am in a similiar situation, so I know how ecstatic you feel. I find myself looking around in the dressing room as if someone is playing a joke on me...just writing numbers in the clothes at random. To think from a 28 to an 18! Congratulations on your success. I find it all surreal.

If only I had found you two weeks ago! This is the kind of recipe I searched Google for!! Thanks!