mom007

So after being completely unfilled last June, I feel like I'm back at page one (maybe page 2 since I already have the band). My first fill since the complete unfill did nothing for me, as evidenced by the gain of 93 pounds in a little over 9 months (total gain, I was already up 55 when I got my first fill). Hoping this fill might do it for me. I had 3.4 put in last time which gave me zero restriction...yesterday I got an additional 2 cc's putting me up to 5.4 where I was at 5.8 when I had my slip and complete unfill. Been having a few issues that have me thinking I might be a tad too tight but I'm going to wait a few days and see how things settle down. Given the amount of weight I gained, I might just let things be for a while to get a jump start....summer is coming after all! I am grateful I have been able to keep my band with "minimal" complications compared to some stories I've heard and read, just sucks I let myself get to the point where I have so far to go again. So here's my latest stats: Surgery weight: 288 Highest weight: 294 Lowest weight: 143 Complete unfill weight: 150 1st re-fill weight: 205 2nd re-fill weight: 243 New goal: 155 To quote Texas' greatest Native son, Wille Nelson, "On the road again, I can't wait to get on the road again..." LOL Good Luck folks!!!

Hello everyone! Sheesh....glad to see I haven't been the only one struggling! I have had a love/hate relationship with my band. Thanks to my 3rd slip about this time last year, I got down to 143 lbs (pre-surgery I was 294). Unfortunately at 5'11", I looked like a bag of bones and had friends telling me I looked sick. I had been living on Soup and mashed potatoes for about a year because it was the only thing I could get down. By this spring I couldn't even get liquids down and had to push my bed to the corner so I could sleep sitting up, my reflux was so bad. In June of this year, I was miserable and was completely unfilled after the diaganosis of the 3rd slip. I have since gained over 50 lbs - as of the last time I weighed myself about 2 months ago. Now I am miserable in a whole new way. The food addiction is still there obviously but I feel like the band has given me a warped way of looking at my body. I know I'm not "fat" like I used to be, as a matter of fact the same friends that were telling me I looked sick 6 months ago comment about how healthy I look now but I just don't see it. I want to see my hip bones and ribs again! I am to the point now where I would rather be throwing up and sleep sitting up to be skinny than look like this! How sick is that? Ugh. Thanks for listening and starting this thread back up! Good luck to all of us out there who are struggling with this thing that was supposed to change our lives so perfectly.

sorry, double post

I haven't been on here in nearly 2 years so it's good to see I'm not the only one that's been away so long. Have an appointment this afternoon to be checked for a slipped band. I haven't had a fill since June '09 and since then have slowly gotten, not only to my goal weight, but am now 30 pounds below that. That's where my fear of a confirmed slip comes in. My best friend had a slip and gained back every pound she'd lost. That scares the s#!t out of me! I'm finally to where I wanted to be, am happy and now am facing my greatest fear. I know if I'm careful in what I eat and don't go crazy I should be able to not gain, but um, hello, it was my lack of self-control that got me to 300 pounds in the first place. Sorry for the blathering but I just felt like I needed to put a voice to my fears and hopefully have someone who's been there tell me I'll be OK. anyone....

OK, I haven't logged in here in almost a year, but what a hell of a year that's been. And that's where my question is coming from. Am I the only one who has had their marriage/relationship go completely to hell and feel that the band is to blame? My STBX and I both got the bands (mine March 08, his September 08) and I am truly feeling like the weight loss has changed us both into completely different people that not only don't love each other but he's just completely gone out into left field with his issues. Mind you, he is 38 and left me for a teenager his own daughter's age! She is over 18, so although not fine by me (the cheating and leaving part) she is legal. I guess I can't blame the band, maybe we were just in love because we were both fat and now that we're not, there's nothing left for us anymore. BTW, I do have to say that I am kinda glad he's gone! He left me 6 months ago, right when his big loss kicked in and now when I see him in court he just grosses me out! If he looks that saggy and melty in clothes, I'm just thankful I don't have to see him naked anymore! Wonder how long his little 19 year old girlfriend with think he's her "sexy cuddly bear". sorry, I just had to vent and have been wondering if anyone else's world has changed way more drastically than they ever imagined!?!?

Hi ya'll, I haven't been on in a LONG time (again) but got a little caught up on everyone reading the last few pages of posts. Scrappy, I have to tell you when I saw your pic my first thought was HOLY $#!+! you look AMAZING! I'm sorry to hear that you've been struggling with those last few pounds. you truly are an inspiration though! As of yesterday, i officially hit 90 pounds down which put me in ONEDERLAND finally! WooHoo! I honestly can't remember the last time i weighed less than 200 pounds! Harley, I was reading about your "newfound re-romance" with your hubby which is great, but I am going through the exact opposite with my DH. Am I the only one? It seems that the more I lose, the less he wants to do with me. It's very frustrating when I get attention all the time from other men but not my own husband. Hell, I've even switched to thongs and sexy lingere which hasn't even worked. I know he's still struggling with his band (he was banded in Sept and still doesn't have good restriction, but we've all been there. It takes a while and I keep telling him that) But as for our relationship seemingly going down the drain, I'm at a loss!?!?!? Any input would be greatly appreciated. I just can't figure it out. :cursing: Thanks!

I loved that ya'll want to set X-mas goals! I had actually already set my personal goal to be below 200# by X-mas and as of this morning I weighed 217 so I don't see that as unattainable. Actually, I think I'm going to push myself to try and get there by Thanksgiving. Then see if I can hit my Dr's goal (188) by Christmas, or maybe New Year's. I got a fill on the 26th and have lost 8 pounds since but I'm too tight. I was actually O.K. the first week but ever since last Friday I haven't been able to eat anything without throwing it up. Used to when I'd get stuck I could just "yak" it up and be fine, but now I "yak" then can't stop and end up throwing up everything. Plus the reflux is killing me. As for the bras, I went to Lane Bryant and hit their clearance section. I got a couple cotton underwire ( in 40C BTW ) for $6.99 a piece. Of course one is hot pink, the other blue with white apple outlines and the other is neon green with hot pink flowers. Not so much to wear under a white T-shirt but I usually wear black anyways - remember how "slimming" black is supposed to be for a big girl? Also I had all my hair cut off last week. My DH hates it, hasn't spoken to me since except to tell me how ugly my hair is and if he wanted to live with a lesbian, he would have stayed with the one he had. On the other hand, I haven't been hit on more in my life than I have in the past week! If he's not careful, he's going to get traded in. Real fast! Had some interesting offers, maybe I'll actually consider them. :sad_smile:

annie, i love your hair cut! but DH would KILL me if i cut off all of mine. Actually, when I've been pissed off at him in the past that's exactly what I've done, just because I know he hates short hair on me and it gave him a daily reminder not to piss me off again. :crying: I want a shorter 'do but i don't know if I can take his B.S. over it. especially because of your side effect, (his ex-wife left him for "the other team"). So for now I guess I'll deal with my thin, limp, sad ponytails. At least is seems that there's a light at the end of the tunnel tho! If not, when I hit goal, I'll be skinny AND bald! won't i be cute?!

Oh, I almost forgot! Any advice on dealing with hair loss? Not enough Protein? Vitamin deficiency? I used to have thick hair (a pony tail holder would only go around twice, now I can twist it three times and it's loose) I have lost a lot of hair. Any one else with this problem or have ya'll already discussed this and been over it all in my absence? I'd appreciate and advice or suggestions! Thx.

I haven't been on here in FOREVER, but it seems by my skimming, I'm not the only one! I just seemed to feel like I had gotten the hang of things with the band and went off on my own. My DH finally got banded on the 3rd of this month and is back to the eating normally stage before his first fill, which is on the 1st. He lost 22 pounds on his pre-op diet and another 6 after his surgery, but has slowly gained 5 of those back, but still...... I think it took me 4 months to lose that first 30 pounds! Not fair! I've hit a plateau with the weight loss too, but since I was overfilled (with 0.3 cc's) about a month and a half ago, I've been kinda scared to go and get another fill. It was awful but I lost 9 pounds in 5 days! But so far I'm down 63 pounds and that seems pretty par with the rest of us that got banded in March. I used to wear a tight 24 and when I was in Old Navy a few weeks ago, I bought a pair of "normal" size 18 jeans just because they were on sale for $9.99 figuring I would be able to wear them eventually, and when I tried them on at home they actually fit. I almost cried! Some of my co-workers have even nicknamed me "slim" which kinda makes me wonder just how fat I looked to them before! Since I'm still not any where near "skinny" yet. But I feel tons better about my self and that was the whole reason to do this. And for my kids. It about killed me when about a year ago my DD who was 4 at the time told me that when she grew up she wanted to "be fat like you, Mommy". She deserves better than that. anyhoo, I need to get caught up and I will be back at some point. Good Luck to all of us! WooHoo!

Ooops, guess I need to update my stats.......

Geez, I've been gone a long time! When I logged in it showed my last log in as 4-25, so almost 2 months! I'm really happy to hear everyone is doing well, and I need to get caught up on my reading. I've just been skimming today. So far I've had 4 fills, up to 6.5 cc's and have lost 33 pounds so far. My last fill was the one that did the trick. Hadn't been losing much up until then, but I got the last one on Wednesday of last week and in 6 days I lost 9 lbs.! (Whoo-Hoo!) But I'm starting to notice that I've lost some restriction but I'm scheduled to go back on July 7th so we'll see where I'm at then. Just have to say that I LOVE "having" to buy new pants because my old (size 24, gasp!) are falling off and I don't even have to unbutton them to get them on and off anymore! (Lucky Hubby, tho! Which in that I've noticed a big difference too! I feel a lot sexier and I am now lighter than when we first started dating.) Anyhoo, sorry this is long but I've missed all you guys!

24 pounds since my initial consultation, 13 since surgery. Not as much as I would like but not too bad!

I got my first fill 4/16 of 2.4 cc and apparently had .2 in there so a total of 2.6 (don't know how much my band holds - isn't that sad). 8 days later I have just lost 2 pounds but last Saturday I was down 3. I had decent restriction for about 3 days, too, but now I'm pretty much back to very minimal. I go back on 5/14 for another fill but I think I'm going to try and get in sooner. I haven't been on in forever so I feel so out of touch and have lost track of all you guys stories. I'll try to get caught up soon!

I got my band exactly one week ago today. The steristrips have come off all but my port incision, that one I'm afraid to take off for some reason so I just keep trying to stick it back on! I don't think my guts are gonna fall out or anything but I'm not taking any chances.:biggrin: Still can't do any Protein. Yuk... But am to the point where I'm getting actual hunger. Last nite I had thinned cream of mushroom Soup and felt like I'd died and gone to heaven. All morning this morning I've been hungry. Only have a small thing of SF Jello so I guess that's all I'll be having today at work. I am so desperate to start the mushies, but the post about ripping the stiches where the band is stitched to my stomach justs makes me not...... (I'm pretty sure mine is stitched in because Dr. mentioned making "little belt loops" around the band to hold it in place) Anyhoo, my 2 week post-op appointment is next Wednesday so just one more week then hopefully I can have "real food". Good Luck to all those banded this week so far and still to come!

I'm not doing so good with the Protein either! At least I know it's not just me. I had not been trying to specifically try to get more protein since I've been banded because I've been having a hard time just trying not to be naseous all the time. Just been sipping LifeWater and regular Water since last Wednesday. Yesterday morning I tried a SlimFast Optima and after the first couple of sips I felt like puking so I quit with that. Then at lunch I went a bought some Isopure and it tasted like grape flavored vomit. Ugh! I don't know what to do! Yesterday on driving home from work my body was trying so hard to throw up and I was trying so hard not to let it! As soon as I pulled in the driveway I ran in the house to take one of my anti-nausea pills that I got the day of surgery. Left my kids in the car and everything. I figured it would do more damage for me to throw up than to leave the kids in the car for a few minutes by themselves! I'm going to try a different flavor of the SlimFast today and I just had 6 oz. of chicken broth which I added a couple of drops of soy sauce and that made it a little less bland. Probably not so good sodium wise but so far I don't feel like throwing up yet! If any of you have any ideas for protein that aren't too horrible taste wise please share! I think my problem with the SlimFast is the milk base so I'm kinda leery of it but I'm still going to give it another try!

I know I've seen a list on here somewhere that other bandsters have made about what to have on hand at home for after the surgery. I can't find it now (maybe I'm not looking hard enough). But those of you that have already had the surgery this month, what are the things you got or wish you had gotten for post surgery? I know to get: broth (low sodium) liquid Tylenol GasX/Phazyme strips or liquid sugar free Jello sugar free popsicles (if I can keep the kids out of them) protien shakes What else will I wish I had? Thanks for the help!

Good Luck to for the Surgeries today (and cardio check)! I am once again back at work and feeling a lot better than I did on Friday! Trying to come in then was a big mistake! I ended up making it until 2:30 but that was after a 1/2 hour nap at my desk while everyone else was out of the office! shh..... don't tell my boss! LOL Right now the only things I have going is the tightness in my chest when I try to breathe and the immensely painful tiny burps that come up about every 2-3 minutes. I've been using the Gas-x strips for that and it helps for all of about 5 maybe 10 minutes. Also my port incision is still tender. I got kinda worried about it on Saturday because it was really tender and hot to the touch which the mom in me said "infection" and with the steristrips still on there, I couldn't even get a good look at it. But it's better now, maybe I was just overreacting. Anyhoo....... Again, Good Luck to all those Marchers still to be banded. In the end it is SO worth it!

Well guys, I'm back and banded! Never should have told my boss that I'd be back at work by Friday, having been banded on Wednesday! I expected everything to be so easy and not bother me at all but I've been having a hard time. When I was down for the surgery my Dr. found a hiatal hernia "big enough to put you fist through" so he fixed that and I'm thinking that that's a lot of the pain. Especially under my rib cage and the fact that I can't take a deep breath. Burps hurt too. I'm nauseous, can't really drink anything exept Water without wanting to puke, tried SF Jello last nite and had about 4 small spoons of it until I gave up. Maybe I'll try broth tonite when I get home. But I'll survive. I am at work but will probably be leaving around 3:00 or so, the sleepyness is getting to me too. Good luck to all of you being banded on Monday!

Well, the surgery center FINALLY called me to let me know what time to be there in the morning. 7:30 and my surgery starts at 8:30. It doesn't seem real that it's finally here! Yikes, nerves are really starting to kick in. I was thinking the only good part will to be off the pre-op diet, but from what I've been reading here, the pre-op diet is uber cuisine compared to the post-op diet! Hopefully I won't be as hungry all the time though! I'm planning on coming back to work on Friday so I'll post then (I live way out in BFE and there's no internet out there yet except the expensive satellite version that I'm too cheap for just so I can read my horoscope and log into this forum!) Wish me luck and good Karma!

I am STARVING on my pre-op diet! Thank God there's only two days left on it. Actually just the rest of today and tomorrow, then surgery for me on Wednesday! I've been making progress though. I bought a scale for home (I've never owned one) and as of this morning I've lost 9 pounds from my pre-op appointment last Tuesday. I'm thinking it's going to be +/- a pound or two because it's a different scale and not the one at the Dr.'s office but for the most part I think that's pretty good! Good Luck tomorrow O2B! Make sure we get an update and let us know how it went!

I just went for my pre-op appointment yesterday and got my date: the 12th! So just one day after you. I started my pre-op diet this morning and only have to do it for one week. Surprisingly, after having "last supper" syndrome for almost a month and a half, I got back on track and since my very first consult on Jan. 8th, as of yesterday, I had lost 2 pounds. Not much but with all the hand over fist eating I had done, I was surprised I wasn't up. Small victories, yes? Good luck! Hope the nerves don't start kicking in! When the nurse told me I could get it done on the 12th, I said, "So soon?!?!". All this waiting and now I get a date and I'm not sure I want it so soon! Is that crazy or what?

Me too! I have a stash of old too small clothes that I can't wait to get back in to. We bought a house this past summer thought so I got rid of a lot of clothes I now wish I had kept. I did keep my absolute favorites and stuff that still had tags on them. But what I wish I had kept was the about 20 pairs of jeans that I gave to Goodwill. Sizes from 16 to 22 (I'm now wearing a "snug" 24 and I refused to buy any bigger). But I can't wait to "closet shop" again! I for sure don't have the $ to go out and buy new stuff every month!

Maybe me! I had my pre-op appointment scheduled for today but I had to cancel it. Took my 2 1/2 year old son to the doctor yesterday and he has pneumonia and strep throat. When I set my pre-op appt., I told the nurse that I had already put myself on their 2 week pre-op diet and wanted to have it done on the 7th. Well, since my son is sick and I had to push back my pre-op I think I'm going to have it done on the 21st. I don't get any vacation until the 20th and if I was able to get it done before then, i was going to do it on a Friday and go back to work the following Monday. But now since I'm already pushing it back one week, two weeks won't kill me plus I'll have vacation and can "afford" to take more than just one day off. Not push myself too hard. Know what I mean? Doing the surgery and having to take care of 4 kids pretty much by myself will be hard enough (DH works A LOT) not to mention having to rush right back to work. I'll know for sure next Tuesday, that's when I rescheduled my pre-op.

Just wanted to wish you "Good Luck" on your upcoming surgery! It's all good! Congrats on the 10 year & 3 year anniversaries this week too! Just think, in a year, this week it will all be 11 + 4 + 1 year anniveraries, respectively. You're just adding another super momentus event to Celebrate in your life! You'll look back and laugh at how worried you were! Keep us updated!