Kalipso2

just remember... hunger isn't evil. everyone feels hunger at some point. just don't let yourself get SO hungry you make poor food choices. that's the key!

is it weird of me to LIKE the scar where my port is? that's the only scar you can see after 2.5 years. i think of it as my "Battle Scar" and a reminder of all my hard work. of course i'm the person that is always touching my port when i'm walking around... its like a security blanket for me.

you need to trust your doctor. believe me, he wants you to succeed. being restricted does NOT mean getting stuck. you should be thankful that you haven't experienced that. do not judge your band or the restriction by how many cc's of Fluid you have in your band. i made that mistake and it set my weight loss back and hurt me in the long run. i also have a 10 cc band. i lied to my doctor about how i was feeling and got up to almost 6 cc's of fluid but i was throwing up all the time and had horrible acid reflux BUT i was losing weight. it turned out that my band was severely close to slipping because it was so tight. my doctor looked at my band under xray and he immediately took most of my fluid out. it was a long road back to where i am now and i just can't tolerate more than 4.4 cc's of fluid in my 10 cc band. you're losing weight... that's a GREAT thing! you're not losing too fast... losing slow is better in the long run. TRUST YOUR DOCTOR!

I'm thankful for my band because... I can now cross my legs like a "lady". I can now fit into a size 8 skinny jean! I have stopped taking one of my antidepressant medications. I no longer cringe or cry when I get on the scale. I feel like I fit in with the rest of my family or friends. I actually LIKE shopping now. It has helped me be the healthy, more confident person I am today!

congratulations!! that's so exciting! keep up the good work!! and like Humming Bird said... you're so close to a "normal" BMI and THAT should give you another reason to celebrate!

ugh... that's going to be me tomorrow! i can feel your pain already!!

i would definately call your doctor. you should be able to eat mushy foods without any problem but you do have to watch portion size. are you able to eat 6-8 ounces of food at one sitting? make sure you're eating slowly too. its normal to be able to feel your port... almost all of us can. some people even have their ports sticking out a bit. luckily mine hasn't. the placement of ports is different for each person. mine is on my right side... a little up from my belly button. call your doctor though... you should be feeling fine after 3 weeks!!

i think when a person is SO close to their goal weight every little pound (+ or -) means a lot because we've worked so hard to get to where we are now that gaining 2 pounds feels like 20 emotional pounds. i get that. i've been there and i have those days too! for me, my doctor told me at my 2 year anniversary (which was my last paid for appointment with him) that i was a "success" because i lost 60% of my weight. i asked him if he thought i'd ever get to 100% of my weight off and he told me "probably not" because i have a medium size body frame. well, that pissed me off royally! since that visit in april 2010, i've lost an additional 20 pounds... not alot if you figure its 20 pounds in 7 months which comes out to be 2.5 pounds a month but i'm okay with that. i don't care if it takes me 5 years to get to my goal... i WILL be in the "normal" BMI range!! keep up the good work... you'll get there!

for me, dilation was because my band was too tight for too long and i was surviving on mostly liquids. since the band was too tight, the liquid and food was sitting for way too long in the top portion of my stomach above the band which caused the top of the stomach to fold over the band. having this happen for too long will cause your band to slip. thankfully mine was caught quick enough because my doctor does his fills under xray. he unfilled me not quite to empty and we had to slowly add the Fluid back in over the next few months. for me the symptoms were HORRIBLE acid reflux where i would wake up literally choking on my own vomit. i also threw up a lot. if you feel your band is too tight go see your doctor!!!

where are you located?

congratulations!! yes, others seem to see the weightloss more than we do. i've had 4 people this week tell me i look like i've lost weight but to me i look exactly the same! it's a great idea to set goals and mini-goals... it keeps you motivated. keep up the good work!

i was banded in april 2008. i weighed 213 before surgery and i currently weigh 154. it's taken me a long time to lose the weight but slowly but surely i'm still losing. it IS important to be comfortable with the doctor and his staff. i was surprised that i rarely saw my doctor after the surgery... it was always his PA's... but they are all really supportive because almost everyone on his staff has been banded. there were a few occasions that i actually saw my surgeon but maybe only 3 times during 2 years. do you have any other band doctors in your area that you can go see since you don't feel comfortable with your current surgeons office? make some calls and tell them your story... they might be happy to help! are there any support groups in your area? that would be a great place to start getting back on track! do you exercise? if not, start doing some light exercise. start journaling ALL your food/drink intake. once you start making yourself right EVERYTHING down you'll see where you're eating things you shouldn't be. i've heard of something called the "5 day pouch test" (i think) where you basically go on a liquid pre-op diet and then introduce pureed foods and then mushy foods and then regular foods... almost like you did after your initial surgery. google it, i think you should be able to find it! i'm self pay too so i know your struggles. my fills were paid for the first 2 years. i was scrambling april 2010 to try to get to my sweet spot before i'd have to start paying for fills and unfills! so far it's worked because i've continued to lose weight since then. good luck and i have faith in you that you CAN get back on track!

i hate to chime in on the "Guys Room" but i'm going to anyway... i think a lot of women are attracted to jerks (myself included)... and most of them are "thin"... i wish i could explain why but i can't. i find myself attracted to someone with a larger frame because it makes me feel protected and secure BUT a confident man... big or small... goes a long way!! confidence, not arrogance!! of course... i've been single for way too long so don't listen to me : )

your name caught my eye... do you like birds? i have 3 quaker parrots and 2 parakeets! anyway... it's great that you have someone close who has gone thru the procedure and you can see the results! good luck on the journey to a new you!

congratulations on working towards your new life! i know you say the pain isn't bad but take my word... use the pain medication as directed! don't let yourself feel a lot of pain before you take the meds!

i've been struggling with my last 20 pounds too!!! i'm down to the last 9 but it's been f-o-r-e-v-e-r! i've always been a slow loser though but i'm SO anxious to get to my goal weight i can hardly stand it! what i do when i've hit a plateau is try to change things up. do a different kind of exercise. eat different meals... maybe eat Breakfast at dinner or excercise in the morning instead of at night. something to "shock" your body into change! good luck and congrats on your weight loss!! it looks like we got banded around the same time, were the same weight and have the same goals!!

i'm almost 3 years post of and haven't hit MY goal weight yet (i met my surgeons goal awhile ago). i went into this with a relatively low BMI so my weight loss has been s-l-o-w but i'm okay with that. i lost the majority of my weight the first 6 months after my surgery but then had a slight set-back because of severe acid reflux. i had some unfills and then gradual refills. it's been 8 months since my 2 year bandiversary. my surgeon told me i was done losing weight... with a successful 60% weight loss but i wasn't happy with that. in the last 8 months i've lost an additional 20 pounds. the scale is slowly moving and just recently my body shape must have changed because a lot of people have asked if i've been losing weight. they say my face looks thinner. there will come a time where i have to maintain and i admit, i'm worried about that...

don't be so hard on yourself... since you haven't had a fill yet, your band isn't really "working" yet because you have no restriction. you might not have restriction even after 1 or 2 fills. you're entering into what many people call "Bandster Hell" because you have the tool (the band) but it's not working yet. some people have even gained weight during this time. just be more careful in the future. and enjoy pizza while you can because that is one food i can no longer eat! bread is not my friend anymore. so i'll just eat the crust off one slice and the toppings off 2 slices. what matters is you realized what you are doing... even if its after the fact. next time you'll do better!

good luck on your journey, raul! i was extremely nervous too before my surgery. i had NEVER had surgery before and was more worried about the IV in the hand than the actual surgery : ) congrats on a new healthy you!

i guess it all depends on your pain tolerance. i spent one night in the hospital and they were giving me meds thru an IV. i was giving a prescription of liquid vicodin for home and i used all of it.

it's good to cry. you'll probably be doing a lot of crying during your journey. some will be tears of frustration and some will be tears of happiness. this journey you're choosing is NOT easy. i'm 2.5 years post-op and i still struggle but lately i've had many more happy tears than sad ones!!

i'm a belly sleeper too. for the first few days after surgery i slept on my side with a small pillow under my belly. after 3 days i just slept on my stomach and felt fine. if it doesn't hurt... you should be fine!

congratulations!! i love moments like yours... and there will be so many more to come!

i'm a diet pepsi addict. my surgeon told me no carbonation for 90 days after surgery... along with no alcohol. i did stick with it for the 3 months but i'm back to drinking it now. i'm 2.5 years post op and haven't had any problems other than when my band is empty and i take a sip of soda you can hear a gurgling sound as the liquid passes thru the band. it almost sounds like my stomach is growling but its just the Fluid passing thru the band. it only does it with carbonation though.

they way i see it, we (meaning us bandsters) need to learn to interact at "normal" food functions. i told all my family and friends not to change meals because of me. i can no longer eat pizza. it's just way too much bread for me.... even one piece. my mom wanted to change pizza night to something else but i refused. i'd learn to make due. i've learned i can eat the crust off one piece of pizza and the toppings off 2 pieces. everyone is left happy. i just learned to adapt my eating habits during holidays and dinners. you'll do fine!