Shinyhappymommy

I love this. Thanks for asking these questions. 1. What have you learned about yourself since you have been banded? I have learned that I am capable of living a healthy life and that it's not just for anal-retentive thin people. I have discovered that I was actually eating a very unhealthy diet and learned how to change that. 2. What has surprised you most about being banded? How easy it has been. I am not throwing up all the time or getting food stuck because I've done fairly well at a medium-to-loose fill. 3. What foods do you miss that you can't/won't eat anymore? I haven't discovered anything that I can't eat, but a big ol' bowl of popcorn or ice cream, or a stack of Cookies are things I won't allow myself, but sometimes wish I could. 4. Do you regret being banded? Heavens, no. 5. Would you recommend the band to anyone? I would recommend to people that need it that they research the band and see if it might be a good option for them. I wouldn't try to convince anyone because it is a serious surgery. My success has been a huge testimonial for others. 6. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything? I would go with a different surgeon. My surgery was great, post-op guidance was lacking. Nutritional support was weak. 7. Would you do it all over again? In a heartbeat. 8. Has your self esteem improved? Yes, drastically. 9. Has being banded changed your personality? Being fat changed my personality. Losing that fat is bringing out my original personality. It's like finding myself again, when I didn't know I was lost. 10. What do you dislike about being banded? Trying to figure out if I have the correct amount of fill. Stressing over whether or not I need another one when I might just be at a natural plateau.

Mom2_4, Your pictures are amazing. You look happier and younger like everyone is already saying. :smile2: SLCMommy4, You're looking great and vibrant. Mac, Good for you. What an empowering experience. I hope you have great luck finding a new surgeon--one who will listen to you and help to calm your fears. I'm curious. How did the surgeon react when you told him that?

Sorry you're having a rough go of it. food commercials are evil. Don't watch them while you're not able to eat solids. That's just torture. It is good to be prepared. I was all geared up and ready to have a hard time with my post-op diet and there were moments when I was resentful at the food my family could eat, or that the tv was touting, but overall, I was surprised how well I was able to handle it. The first week post-op was hard, but more from surgery pain and stuff. It does get easier. Hang in there. :smile2:

You may not get a response on this thread. The last post on here was over two years ago. I'm sure there are some more recent discussions on losing your band.

Does anyone know if he's a member? I had my first appointment with him and loved him. He knew we were LDS, and I suspected he might be as well, but he didn't volunteer that info. I'm just curious. Doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. His nutritional info works right along with the Word of Wisdom guidelines, too. I love it.

The fact that my recommendation for Dr. Melniczek is sitting here on this thread has been bothering me. It breaks my heart a little because he gave me this band and things have gone so well for me. Plus, I like the guy. But, since I wrote that I have found out a lot of things that have changed my mind and I have come to the point that I would not recommend him for LapBand surgery. My personal experience with him has been fine, but many of his other patients have had troubles with his aftercare--Serious troubles. In my opinion, Kristin in Co, you dodged a bullet. If anyone wants or needs specifics I can provide them privately. I don't want to bad mouth him publicly, but I just had to withdraw the previous glowing recommendation because I no longer feel that way. He is leaving Colorado, but will be practicing again soon in Pennsylvania.

I always pick a focal point and stare at it while I breathe slowly and deeply. Kind of like labor breathing. It works most of the time. I can drink Water pretty fast too. It would be a problem for me to drink 20 ounces if I needed to.

Maguirre, Hopefully your fill will help get the weight loss going again. That's what they have done for me--especially the first one. Just remember to be careful once you're eating solids after the fill. You don't want to get anything stuck. Chew, chew, chew! Ovahkummer, Sounds like you're doing great. Keep it up. I'm really feeling good about this fill I got on Friday. I'm not too tight, but I am feeling a difference in fullness and satiety. I'm in a good spot. I hesitate to call anything my sweet spot, because I don't think there's a specific magic place. I think many places can be sweet with the band. You just have to be able to work well with what you've got and you're sitting pretty sweet!

Ezma, You're looking great. Too bad you don't have a pre-op side view. My side view change is my favorite because I think it's the most dramatic difference for me. Anyway, 96 pounds rocks! That's awesome.

ovahkummer, I'm sorry if you ended up overfilled. Maybe the fill will loosen up for you after a couple of days. As long as you're not vomiting all the time, you may be able to work through the tightness by eating soft foods until you can progress to more solid things. That is frustrating for you to not have the option right now to go back and get a little unfill. I think docs should include the unfill fee with the fill fee. You should be able to get an unfill, included in the price of the fill that got you too full. Too bad I'm not a surgeon, nor do I play one on TV. :thumbup: You might touch base with your surgeon about the acid reflux as that can be a definite sign that you are too full. My surgeon always shows concern when someone mentions reflux. The end of the year is a long way off, that would be too long to deal with something damaging your esophagus. I actually went and got another fill yesterday. I fought it for a while, especially since I've been so adamant about not being too full. My weight loss stalled for a couple of weeks and my satiety has really been hard to find. I've been able to get full at a meal, but still looking for things to eat afterwards. That hasn't happened to me since before my band. So I went to a new surgeon, (mine is moving) and he did the fill under fluro. He did a great job, I think, and I'm hoping to have a little bit more restriction. Funny thing is that I thought I had 7 ccs in, but when he withdrew it, there was just over 5ccs in there. So I've lost some along the way or something. So he tried bringing me back up to the 7 cc level, but we decided it was a little too tight once it was in there, and I ended up with just over 6. Like I said above, it's not the numbers that matter, it's how I feel at this level of fill. I'm still on mushies, so I don't know exactly how much restriction I'm going to have, but I've eaten cottage cheese and refried Beans without any signal of getting stuck. So at least I'm not overfilled! Also, this new surgeon has a vastly different approach to nutrition that is much more in line with how I view food, than my original surgeon. So I'm excited to start incorporating some of the foods that I hadn't previously been using back into my diet. (Whole grains, good fats, etc.)

Bandedtam, I felt pretty good restriction after my second fill. Remember, it's not the number of ccs that's important, it's how you feel at that amount of fill that's important. Since you haven't been losing weight, I think you're right that another fill might be helpful. I think the trap people get into is thinking that they aren't full enough because they can "eat anything", yet they are still losing weight. If you are losing weight and able to eat--hello sweet spot! Let us know how your fill goes! Melissa

Susie, One of my lowest points was purchasing a second airline seat for myself on Southwest back in September of last year. That will be a thrilling day when I fly again, knowing full well that I only need one ticket.

Cheryl, Good for you for sticking with the whole 6-month thing. I don't know if I would have stuck it out. I would have felt like giving up at that news. Luckily I didn't have to find out if I would have because my insurance didn't require it. I'm sorry you're running into problems with your kids. Just remember this is for you and your health. You may just have to not discuss it with them until you are ready to deal with them. It is such a brave step to take to make huge changes in your life. I think it can be threatening for some people when they are used to you the way you already are, they don't want you to change, even if it's for the better. Hang in there and keep doing what you need to do to get to that surgery date. Let me know if you need any help. Melissa

If you're losing weight, able to eat a reasonable amount of food, and not walking around hungry, why would you want to be any tighter? For me that is a sweet spot. To be losing weight, able to eat well, and not be hungry all the time. My second fill lasted me a long time. Just because it's "time" for a fill, doesn't mean you actually need one.

Mac, You sound so discouraged. I'm sorry for the struggles you are going through. A few questions and thoughts: Have you had your port and tubing checked? It almost sounds to me like you could have a slow leak. Is your surgeon checking the amount of Fluid each time he/she fills you? If not, I would have him withdraw all that is in there so you can see if it is staying or somehow leaking out. Over the last six months have you mostly eaten healthful foods? Are you limiting refined carbs and junk food? Exercising by itself isn't going to make up for poor food choices. I have come to realize that it really makes a big difference in what success we have. I'm not perfect, and I do allow myself a treat from time to time, but in small amounts. I was realizing the other day that although I've had a small bit of chocolate or part of a candy bar sometimes, I have not eaten a full-sized candy bar since being banded. I had a couple bites of my kids' blizzards, but haven't had one myself. I'm sorry that our successes are bringing you some measure of pain. In fact, I was hesitant for a while to post about my successes because of the frustrated and ranting posts from those who weren't having the same success. But I decided that's not fair. It's not fair to people reading the board. They need to see the good with the bad to be able to make up their minds about the reality of the band. It's not fair to me because I need to be able to share my success with others because the encouragement really keeps me going. I hope you can get to a place where you can both eat and lose weight. Good job on making exercise a regular part of your life. That's been a struggle of mine that I've only recently made good progress on. Melissa

I'll bite. 80 pounds in six months. 63 to go.

How are you doing this morning?

It sounds like you have something stuck. Try drinking some pineapple juice. Or mixing some meat tenderizer with Water and drinking that. Those things can help break down the meat or any food. Personally if I was throwing up for more than an hour or so, I'd call my surgeon. Good luck and eat slower next time. :whatchutalkingabout

Here are my six month progress pictures. I'm down 80 pounds. 63 more to go!

I would take work off. Unless of course, you can work from the bathroom.

When I was on mushies, I ate until I was satisfied, even if it was more than a cup. My surgeon said he didn't expect me to act like I had a tight band yet when I hadn't had a fill. I wouldn't gorge myself, but if you're still hungry, I think it's okay to eat a bit more than 1 cup. For me, the feeling of deprivation is very dangerous to my psyche. I have to make sure I feel that my needs are being met. Also, try to get in good protein, cottage cheese, etc., to help you stay feeling satisfied. Good luck.

mzreeda, *looking around* You talking to me? Thanks. :wink2:

Suzie, So do you not have a surgery date yet? Sounds like you're coming down the final stretch. I don't know what would have been considered my final weigh in. Maybe it was the pre-op visit the day before. I don't remember them calling it that. You'll have to let me know how it goes. Remember, we were all nervous. For me it was so worth it. It was hard, but that fades quickly as the thrill of weight loss takes over my life. Good luck with everything! Melissa

Well that would be my fault. I requested that we have our own separate forum. We can post under the Christian forum for anything generically Christian, but there are LDS specific issues that I thought it would be nice to have our own forum where we can discuss them. I'm truly sorry if I have done anything to perpetuate the myth that Latter-day Saints don't believe in Christ. We are, however, a bit different from mainstream Christianity. Not in beliefs, so much as how we go about living them and talking about them, probably more talking about them than living them. I think we're probably pretty similar in a lot of our life choices. Ideally, we should probably be a sub-forum under Christian Bandsters, but to me it looked like it would be just a thread under that title, not a whole forum.

I'm six months out today (Happy Bandiversary to me!) and I've just barely started exercising regularly in the last couple of weeks. I've finally started loving how it makes me feel. I no longer am hurting by the time I get home from walking 1.5 miles. I even picked up the pace and jogged a little yesterday. It was exhilarating. Good for you for getting things rolling, but know that as the weight comes off, it will be easier to do that exercise. Good going!