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!