lovecats85

I just did it - I wonder if they really send the $$$. Anyone could go on there and lie, ya know!

Hey everyone, I am happy I got my band, and I am happy about the weight I have lost, etc etc etc,,,,, but I have been at a 9 week stall since 2 weeks after surgery. I am so frustrated b/c I have been filled up twice and with each fill I had hopes of losing and I'm not losing anymore. I don't understand why - I'm counting calories, I'm eating pretty decently, I am eating 1/3 of the food I ate pre-band. I know some people are just turtles and I will probably be a turtle, but it makes me want to cry sometimes b/c I just don't understand how someone can cut thier calorie intake by 2/3 and not lose weight. Fitday.com said I needed to eat 1200 calories per day to lose and I am doing that. I am going to get filled again after the holidays but I kind of feel like "what is the point" when cutting out calories isn't doing anything for me! It's just so hard when other people who got banded when I did have lost 40 lbs already. I'm depressed.

I try not too whine too much to but sometimes I just have to! ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

ok, now I don't want tater tots ever again thanks to the PB AND Jack's desciption - I will remember that if I ever think about ordering them again. Now tell me how gross ice cream is so i can give that up LOL

sounds like me after surgery - you're doing great!

while the ressearch on DS seems to have great results, its not as popular due to the high death rate - higher than GB and much higher than LB

So far I have PB'd 3 times and 2 out of the 3 was on tater tots so I won't be doing any tater tots ever again! It's still so weird to me that some things are fine and others aren't - I could eat a ton of cheetos but one tater tot and it's PB city!

Yeah! They let me join the turtle club! Not happy about being a turtle, but at least I get an exclusive club membership out of it! Anyways, here's my NSV's so far: 1. I feel in control of food, not vice versa, for the 1st time in my life. 2. My clothes are looser. 3. I've been exersizing more than pre-band (not hardly enough but some is better than none) 4. I haven't binged since I got banded. 5. It's easier to count calories now that what I eat is actually ONE serving size. 6. I do think I look a bit better. 7. I don't have anymore acid reflux or stomach sickness episodes since my doc fixed my hiatal hernia while getting banded. 8. When my DH rubs my back he says he can feel bones in there now! 9. I don't bake and cook stuff that is just around to eat anymore b/c I know it will just go to waste since I can't hardly eat anything anymore. 10. I've had things like ice cream in the freezer for WEEKS! I used to just eat that stuff if it was around. Now I never have room for ice cream after dinner, and I used to eat ice cream after dinner every night. 11. I don't get out-of-breath as much or as easily as I did before my band. That's it for now!

I would gain the weight. I had a BMI of 88 and I qualified for self-pay. But if I had insurance I'd gain the weight probably. My friends mom and her friend didn't quite qualify for GB 5 years ago so they wore weight belts to the doctor for weigh in and noone ever knew!!

I've heard that dairy can help you lose weight and I've heard it can make you gain weight. I'm just curious what other think/notice/heard b/c since I can't drink soda now that I'm banded I seem to have replaced that soda with chocolate skim milk made with the sugar free choco syrup.

How and where do I start a NSV thread and link to it?

Last night and today I have had tons of little tiny burps over and over after I eat. Last night it went on for hours after dinner, and today I ate lunch and same thing now. Could it be because I have a cold and can't breathe thru my nose so I'm breathing lots of air into my stomach? Has anyone has this problem with tiny burps for hours after you eat?

Am I the only one that can sometimes eat a little but sometimes alot? I feel really tight - I usually can't even eat in the morning. But sometimes I can eat like 5 ounces of chicken and sometimes only 3. Yesterday night I had barely any dinner and tonight I ate a whole cup of pasta and sauce. I know I should be eating stuff like meat but I didn't want to eat meat tonight after PBing on chicken last night. Anyways, is it normal to be able to eat a whole cup of pasta - this is the most I've been able to eat since my last fill and I am so worried about slippage since I have never PB'd before and have now PB'd 4 times in 10 days! How do you people live without worrying about your band everytime you eat!??!?! Will I ever be able to forget I have a band?

I have a lab/whippet mix named Kaliber, a pit bull named Isis, a pit bull mix named Godiva, a fat tabby cat (she needs a Cat Band) named Jesper, a fish tank inside, and a pond in my backyard with goldfish, koi, snails, and a crawdad. My pets are a huge part of my support system. They made me get out of bed to feed them etc after my surgery! If it weren't for the encouragement of my dogs and my DH I wouldn't walk for exersize like I do now!

Please let me join the club! I am about to rip my hair out and I need this club!!! I think some of that 17 lbs may have come off in the one week pre-op liquid diet so I think I meet the criteria and I need support!

I am getting a cold and I am smack in the middle of my final exams. I need an effective liquid cold medicine ASAP. Anyone have any suggestions?

I thought the band working by food going from the mouth into the pouch and then slowly filtering down to the rest of my stomach. But I don't get this because how come when I eat something that isn't going to go down I PB right away. Wouldn't it take some time to sit in the pouch beforer it decided if it was going to go down or not?

I wasn't told to lose weight but I had to go on a pre-op liquid diet so I did lose a few lbs.

I am starting to think I am a slow loser. I have lost 17 lbs in 10 weeks. It's over 1 lb per week but less than 2 lbs per week. And, does it really count as lbs per week when ALL the weight I have lost was in the 1st week or two after surgery. I am starting to get really frustrated here!!!!!

Thanks for all the advice, my hubby got me the liquid tylenol for day and nyquil for night and nose spray. The liquid tylenol mint tasted awful I thought but oh well. Also, he got those shower tabs that you put in the shower and relsease steam - It really helped clear me up.

My 1st goal was 30 lbs by Xmas,,,, still working on it! Good for you! Truly inspirational!

blended broccoli cheese soup from jasons deli is so good

my 1st fill did NOTHING,,, now wit my 2nd fill I am probably going to have to get some taken out b/c I cannot eat until lunchtime and I can literally hardly eat a thing. I know bandsters aren't supposed to eat much but I think eating 1/2 cup food per day is not good for you, and now I'm getting a cold and I think my immune system is down b/c my body has no fuel. Anyways, 1st fill did NADA, seems like that's normal for alot of people!

I don't think someone should just go get banded w/out finding out about thier doctor but for those of us who had to self pay like me, price is very important. I really wanted to have the surgery done by Dr Cribbens who was recommended by my PCP, other people, etc and I really liked him but his office basically refused to give me a breakdown of why it costs 17 grand. With Dr Barker, I knew exactly how much was going to the anesthesia, how much was going to him, etc. I personally don't mind places offering "deals" on the band b/c these band docs are getting paid out the friggin wazoo. Also, even though some docs may not have done as many bands, they are qualified. Like my doc, he has only done a few hundred bands but he does laproscopic RNY and is a highly skilled laproscopic specialist. The point I'm trying to make is do your research, but it's fine to research the "cheaper" doctors. I am just a third year law student but I have been trained in an internship where I am more than qualified to handle law cases a more experiened lawyer might not be, yet I would never be able to get away with charging what some of these lawyers you see on tv do. All in all it is just business and the band docs want to make money, and the patients who have to self pay want to save money. Just do your research, trust your gut, and remember that just b/c a doc is offering a "deal" on self -pay,,, he's probably making it up on way overcharging the insurance companies for people who's insurance pays.

I have had no problems thus far other than the barium puke incident which was just one bad day! Anyways, the band can have complication, but continuously gaining and losing weight or staying overweight can have life-threatning complications in the long run. The band isn't perfect, nothing is. Just weigh the good and bad and do what your inner voices tell you is right!