StLouisGal

What a great thread!!! My bandiversary was June 15. As of that day I have had 3 fills, total of 3 CC's in a 10 cc band. I have lost 49.5 pounds post-op and a total loss of 62.5lbs. I am down 35.25 inches, from a tight 26 to a comfortable 18. :tt1:

Thinking about you today! Let us know how it goes.:tt1:

I told everyone I know and some I didn't know. I was excited and when I get excited everything sort of pops out. It is a personal choice but I am not a very transparent person so it is hard for me to keep secrets. My co-workers are very supportive and at lunch and things like that they make sure we go places where I can get a choice that works for me. It's been a great journey and I've appreciated the prayers and concerns of my friends and aquaintances and I enjoy their comments now that the weight is coming off. As far as the "easy way out", obviously the people who believe that have not really researched the band much, no carbonation, measuring your food so you don't eat too much, PBing if you do eat too much, not drinking during meals, etc. They don't equate to "easy" but they are sooooo worth it. If you go into this thinking that it will be easy or a magic bullet to lose the weight, you had better research some more. It is a great tool but you have to work with the band to make it work. I love my band and it has allowed me to lose weight that I thought I would never lose so I would say it has been worth every pain and problem. I have a couple of folks in my life that are so jealous they can't stand it. They think I took the easy way out. That is their problem not mine. Hang in there and do what you need to do to make yourself healthy and happy.

I weigh myself nearly every day before I get dressed. I only count as "official", the weekly weigh in at Curves. I go every Friday or Saturday morning before I eat anything and weigh on their scale. It keeps me honest. I have a tendency to look at my scale and say "oh well" if it doesn't say what I want. I write the Curves weight in my book and keep track.

Last night must have been the night for PBs. I ate too much at a pot luck dinner. It seemed to go down fine but in about 15 minutes I was headed to the ladies room to throw up. I threw up a little but not all of my meal, that stayed stuck for about two and a half hours and then it came up. Yuck! I'm going to have to learn to be way more careful. It hurt, a bunch!

What an awesome "Mom and Son" picture. Thanks for sharing. You are looking great!

My doc said no alcohol for 6 months, no carbonation, period. He gave the same explanation the one in the video did. He also explained that one drink has the power of about 3 because you are drinking on an empty stomach.

Try to stick to the liquid diet. I was on Clear Liquids plus 2 Protein shakes a day for two weeks. I is really hard but very important for your stomach to heal, especially since yours had a little extra stress with the hernia repair. Getting the Protein Shakes in and taking your Vitamins will help with the dizziness and weakness. Just take it easy and go slow. It is terrible that the nurse treated you so badly in the hospital. I hope you reported this to the hospital and your doctor. Pain management is the main reason you are in the hospital the night after the surgery and that kind of treatment is unacceptable. Your body can't heal if you are in pain. Hang in there. You will be feeling better in a couple of weeks and back to your old self. You had a little more going on than most band patients so give yourself some time. Take care of yourself!

Hang in there Jaimie, :biggrin: You are doing great! It's hard to know if you need a fill or not. If you have trouble with stuff you usually eat, you probably don't need a fill. I have been craving stuff between meals too, I think mostly because I'm bored not because I am really hungry. Eating just sounds like a good idea. I also think I may be craving carbs because I tried eating crackers under my cheese. My doc told me to skip the crackers because they make you crave carbs. Since I stopped eating the crackers I am doing better. I think I will be a very old lady by the time I figure all the ins and outs of this band but I'm sure glad I have it. My next fill isn't until July 31 and I am wondering if I really need it. Take care of yourself and keep on keepin' on.

I have really good restriction and don't have a problem with tuna salad (I make my own with no sugar added pickle relish, onions, and low fat mayo) It is less dry than plain tuna, Soft chicken should be fine as long as you eat very, very slowly with tiny bites. I haven't tried bread but Pasta gets stuck. Try to stay away from the liquid calories (yogurt, Soups, shakes, etc.) because you don't feel full on them. Hang in there! The weight loss is worth the effort.

Great haircut! Keep up the good work!

Ok, this is just too wierd, I've lost an elephant penis and my brain (if it is average sized.:rolleyes2:

It's been four months since my surgery so here is the latest update. The first one was taken at my high weight of 289 on 11/29/07, the second one was taken on 6/16/08 at 227

Hang in there, four months ago I was right where you are today. It does get better. As the pounds start to melt away you will love your new life.

This is a great, positive post! Thanks for sharing. My story is almost identical to yours Shinyhappymommy, banded in mid February, lost about 60 lbs since I started pre-op, no complications, feeling great about myself and enjoying smaller clothes sizes. I have a APS band with 3 cc's in it. I have almost too much restriction. If I eat too fast, or try to take too big of bites I do get stuck but I can eat a small healthy meal without problem if I eat very slowly and chew very well. No more quick meals for me. I haven't really found anything that is impossible to eat although there are several things that I choose not to eat because I know they aren't good for me and if I can tell myself I can't eat them it is easier to say no to them. Crusty bread and butter fall into that category. I don't get that gnawing hunger I got before I got the band. I find that sometimes I go looking for food because I am bored and eating fills the time but I try to stay busy enough to avoid that. This board has been a great support to me on this journey. Even though I have had an easy transition to banded life, there have still been questions and concerns that I have found answers to here on the board. Thanks to all of you for that support.

The only time I have gone to a Mexican place since my band I ordered a cheese enchilada. When asked if I wanted an order of enchiladas I said no, I want one enchilada. that is what I got and it was the perfect size. I ate slow with tiny bites and finished about the same time my family finished their monster platters. I was more concerned with eating something that would stay down than the calorie count at that point.

I've been a Curve's member for 3.5 years. I love it! I was banded four months ago. I waited 11 days before going back and I skipped the squat machine and the crunch machine for about a month after that. I have lost 36 inches since my surgery so I must be doing something correctly. I go at least four times a week and sometimes 5 or 6. If you go often you get to know the coaches and other members you are working out with and we are great cheerleaders for each other. I am reasonably sure that had I not been a Curve's member before my surgery I would probably have weighed at least 100 lbs more. I am excited about our Curves getting the new "technology" in the next few months. I am glad to hear that it really works. I've been to several different Curves around the country while traveling and they do vary a lot in the equipment available, friendliness of the staff, etc. but it is a great way to start the day before a long car drive.

I've taken a water pill (Maxide or Diazide) for years for fluid retention. I had to stop because after I lost 60 lbs my blood pressure was dropping too low. I did not affect my band at all. :tongue:

Slowing down definitely helps. Saturday I PBd all over myself on the way to a dance recital, talk about embarrassing. Fortunately it was a hot day so I found a sink, washed up and dried quickly as soon as I went back in the sun. We had gone out to lunch before the recital and although I didn't eat a lot, I guess I ate too fast and talked too much because about 15 minutes later (as we were in the car and on our way on a busy street) here it came. :tongue:

If you go to Vitalady.com, you can buy samples of several Proteins to see what you can tolerate before you buy the 60 serving can. I enjoy the Protein nectar by Syntrax. The Twisted Cherry is pretty good and the Fuzzy Navel is really good. "Iced tea with lemon" a little too creamy for my taste and tastes like instant tea. They are pure protein with no carbs or fat. 23 grams per scoop. You can purchase them at Vitamin Shoppe or online. They tend to be lighter than the ones mixed with milk. I like unjury also.

Is your insurance through an employer? Are there other options? If you go the self pay route, your insurance probably won't pay for complications or fills either so that can run into a large amount of money. When your company's open season on insurance come around check the other available policies and see if you can change plans. Make sure you call them to make sure LAP Band is a covered procedure or you may find yourself in the same boat all over again. You could also try appealing to your insurance company. Call them up and find out why it is not a covered benefit. Some companies just reject it the first time around to make patients go away. Other times it is because the employer has made that a specific exclusion for Bariatric surgery. Mine did for a long time but now it is covered. Keep working at it and it will work out. If your insurance will pay for the doctor supervised diet, start now. That way when the insurance is figured out, you will be ahead of the game, if they don't you will at least be a few pounds lighter.:tongue: Hang in there. It is worth the fight.

Congratulations In our preband lives would you have ever dreamed you could lose 50 lbs in four months!!!! WOW.

I've had all my fills done under flouroscope. You lay on the X-ray table, they find the port and mark it then the doc injects it. It takes about 1 minute. I can't eat anything for four hours before the procedure.