sleepyjean

It’s part of the band insanity to get a little panicky when you stop losing or start gaining. First thing, take a step back and look at the situation. How much are you eating? Are you exercising? Do you feel any restriction? Are you grazing throughout the day? Band slippage alone wouldn’t account for weight gain unless you are feeling no restriction and eating more food. It’s virtually impossible to gain six pounds of fat in one week unless you are seriously overeating. If your food/exercise seems reasonable, it’s very likely that there’s something else going on in your body. It could be your period, stress, bloat, or any number of other temporary conditions that your body will sort out all on its own.

I had my first fill at 6 weeks and my second one at 9 months. Both kicked in immediately. My doc uses fluoroscopy which makes things easier, I think. The second fill, took a little longer to get the needle in because there was a fold of muscle in the way, but it was no big deal. I am shocked to see myself write that because I am terrified of needles and the one they use for fills is a big sucker. But I can’t see the needle or what the doc is doing and he numbs my tummy so I don’t feel anything except for a slight change in pressure when the needle pierces into the port.

Wow - I hope my size 9s shrink!

That's very good advice. Unfortunately, it's something I'm going to struggle with. I have a number in my head and if I don't get there, some small part of me will feel like I failed. It's irrational, but it's the truth. I can't imagine a world where I'm NOT trying to lose weight. It's been part of my life for 20+ years. Getting used to a life where my weight is OK will be like living on the moon - totally uncharted and mysterious territory. And to be honest, I'm not sure if I'll like it. Yeah, it'll be great to wear normal clothes and not ever worry about fitting into a small chair, but my fat is my shield and I feel extremely vulnerable without it. I've got this internal struggle where I'm absolutely determined to get the weight off, but am equally afraid to get the weight off. I've lost 60+ pounds three times in my life, and each time I failed, it was because I got within 15 pounds of my goal and decided that I'd have to starve myself and work out twice a day to get those last pounds off. That, of course, never lasted, and that's how I ultimately wound up weighing 266 pounds at the age of 31. Overweight - that's familiar and comfortable territory for me. But I digress... That said, my doctor sets goal weight strictly by BMI. I'm 5'8" and the healthy BMI range for me is between 125 and 164 pounds. They put my goal down at 143, which is right smack in the middle of that range. Personally, I'm aiming for 140, having finally accepted that 125 is completely out of the question.

I don't know your story, but I DO know that if you don't try, you'll never know if it could've worked out for you.

As frustrating as this is to hear, in my opinion there is no such thing as an "average" rate of loss. Not one that can be used to predict your own loss, anyway. I went into this thinking average was 1-2 pounds a week. But if you look around here, some people have lost 20lbs in a year, and others have lost 120lbs in a year. And the crazy thing is, both groups include people who A) exercised regularly, drank lots of water, counted calories and regulated their fill or did none of the above.

I took a week offadn that was perfect for me.

I agree. The band is just now coming into its own and lots of people, including doctors in other specialties, still confuse it with gastric bypass.

What kind of restriction does she have? Has she said? And do you see *everything* she eats? It's possible she's eating a lot at school, where temptation abounds.

Your daughter sounds like a pretty awesome kid

I'm almost a year out and for the past six months I've been battle constipation. It ain't fun. I thought only senior citizens used dulcolax!

Before I got banded, I didn't think much about the long term. I figured I'd lose the weight, then after I was finally acustomed to living (and eating) like a "normal" person, I'd probably have it removed. Why have it in there if you don't need it anymore, right? But I had a chat with my doc last month and it changed my mind. He said that it's virtually inevitable that you will gain weight if you have the band removed. That's not to say that you'll ever be obese again, but as doc said "the biological mechanisms that control hunger and satiety are complex and little understood even to this day." It sounded very wise and profound coming from him, LOL. I'd sure love to see some stats on this, but I think the man's right. There are all sorts of hormones and nerve signals and unconcious urges going on inside our bodies. The band helps suppress those urges, but doesn't eliminate them. And when you get the band removed, all that stuff comes creeping back, so slowly you may not even notice it. A year later, you've gained ten pounds and hardly realized it. Then the next year another ten, then another ten, and another ten. After a while, you find yourself back in those black stretch pants, wondering what happened. Personally, I'm not willing to risk it. A few months before I was banded, I was shocked to "discover" I'd gained over 120 pounds in the previous five years. As God is my witness, I'll never be surprised like that again. I'm keeping my band, unless and until modern medicine comes up with something even better.

Amen, Nana! I participate in a number of online communities besides LBT and it always makes me laugh when someone feels the need to exit with a dramatic "goodbye forever" post. First off, most of the people who read such a message have no idea who that person is or what she's talking about. Secondly, the person who left the message ALWAYS comes back to see how everyone reacted to their thinly veiled f-you message. Always. Good, bad, or indifferent, everyone here has the right to speak their mind. If someone thinks Dahlia is throwing a pity party for herself, they have the right to say so. If Dahlia thinks everyone here is an uncaring biatch, she has the right to say so. As with any online community, we are all strangers to some degree and that makes it easy to misinterpret things that people say. Bottom line is, this is supposed to be an enjoyable activity. If you're not having fun, leave. Lash out if you must, but it serves no useful purpose. There's a lot more to stress out about than comments from a total stranger on the internet.

I remember seeing a similar question on here before I was banded. Most people said they would do it again, even though at that time it seemed like a lot of people were experiencing complications. I wish there was a way to do a multiple dimension survey on here. I would like to see how the answers to these kinds of questions vary based on how long you've been banded.

Sharon Osbourne is telling everyone that you can't have your band more than ten years - eventually it has to come out. Has anyone heard this? And if so, does that mean you have to have it replaced every ten years, or that it has to be completely removed? I'm going to ask my doc when I see him on Wed, but I'm curious to know if other people's doctors have said anything about this. If it is true, I think I'd more likely to convert to a bypass when the time comes to remove the band, rather than have the surgery every ten years for the rest of my life!

From childhood all the way up through college, I was always chubby - ten or 20 pounds heavier than I should've been. It wasn't until after college that I experienced the true joys of obesity and yo-yo dieting. I can't imagine ever being thin. I would love it, but I think I'll probably wind up back where I was, with an extra 15 pounds or so standing between me and "thin".

I take Centrum chewables as well. I did some comparison shopping before I was banded and the liquid multis I found didn't have nearly as much bang for the buck - only half as many Vitamins and minerals as the chewables. plus, liquid is a lot more expensive than chewables. A lot of people here take Flintstone vitamins also. I think those are fine too.

I gained almost 20 pounds between my first consultation in October and my surgery the following May. I was feeling very discouraged, because until about February I was sure I wasn't going to be able to have the surgery. Depression + more depression + the holidays = Hello Pizza Hut? Do you Deliver? I'm not proud of it and wish I hadn't done it, but thankfully, it came off in the first month after I was banded. Seems like the most recent weight comes off the fastest. Or maybe I just made that up.

You have a very good reason for wanting it on the other side. Ask him. I'm sure he'll do his best to accomodate you.

That is how you know it's all bullcrap. Please don't fall for another fad diet/shake/pill/supplement/"program"/"system." If there were truly a way to lose a pound a day, it would be all over the news channels and there would be success stories left, right, and center. (Other than those on the paid commercial of course.)

Are you serious?They tell you you can't gain weight, but they don't actually weigh you themselves? What's to stop people from lying? That is so ridiculous. Why don't they just tell the truth - there's a mandatory 12-month waiting period because they're hoping you'll give up on the idea, pay for it yourself, or switch to another insurance carrier.

from what I see around here, lots of people don't get any restriction until after the first fill.

I've never been like clockwork, but I can usually tell what week it's coming. My cycle was seriously whacked out for the first couple of months after surgery. The first one was really heavy, and then three weeks later, I got it again and it was heavy again. From reading these boards, you know the surgery can disrupt your cycle, but when it happens to you, it's still scary. I thought I was dying for sure. Give it a little time. :-D

Nah, nobody thinks that