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Wow! That's absolutely fabulous!!! So happy to see the comments about cutting your hair and wearing your contacts more often. It shows that your confidence level is way up! That makes me so happy!!!

What happened to the pics? I don't see them?

Welcome, Trudi! You are about to enter the most exciting part of your life! I was banded 2/1/08, and would do it a thousand times over! It's the absolute best tool! I have a few suggestions for you. First, be patient. There are some immediate benefits regarding appetite immediately after surgery, but they do fade. It then takes time and 3 to 4 fills to begin to received the full benefit. I've had four fills, and can literally not eat more than a cup of food at a time, no matter how badly I may want to. Second, remember that the band is a TOOL, not the food police! It is possible to GAIN weight with the band if you don't eat the right foods. Lots of bad foods like ice cream and fried foods will slide right through. It's your responsibility to make wise food choices. The band only limits the quantity, not the quality of choices you make. Third, don't be afraid of failure. You absolutely should never give up trying. I firmly believe that the band is my lifetime solution, and it could be yours, too. You will see both positive and negative things about the band on this forum. We all have bad days, but I've never seen anyone write that they wish they hadn't had the surgery. Check back in occassionally, and let us know how you're doing. This group truly cares!

You started out about 5 lbs heavier than me, but looks like we're the same now. I was banded February 1, soon after you. The swimsuit came from Kohl's, which is practically my house of worship. I buy almost all my clothes from there. I love that store! Thanks so much for the compliments. It's those kind words that keep me going!

Beautifully put! I know a lot of VERY beautiful woman that are heavy. It's all about how you carry yourself, and your self confidence. A confident woman is a sexy woman, regardless of size.

Thanks for the encouragement. I still have a long way to go, but I know I'll get there. I have my skinny bitch sister riding my a** all the way!

Aw, thank you. Notice that in my before picture, I am not looking at the camera. My husband had to sneak to get a picture of me, because if I had caught him, I would have smashed the camera to bits. I am NOT a fan of getting my picture taken. Hoping the band changes that!

Linda13 is correct. You are a talented comedian, ReadySteady. Perhaps your should take your sarcastic witt to Vegas! "Perils and Joys of a Bandster!" That's a show I would pay big bucks to see!

Man, that sucks, LovableLynn. I had my first one four weeks after surgery, 2nd two weeks after that, then 3 weeks later for the third, and another 4 weeks to the fourth. I haven't had a single problem or overfill. There's just no reason for your doctor to be so stingy with fills. It's just sadistic, in my view. You are so excited to have the surgery, then BAM! The initial swelling subsides, and you're hungry again. I'm so sorry that you're having to basically do this on your own. Restriction is a wonderful thing. You will get it eventually. Just lay down and throw a fit in your doctor's office and insist that he get with the program and get you the help that you paid for!

You're welcome, ReadySteady. And, by the way, you're absolutely adorable! Whenever I see one of your posts, I drop everything to read it. They are always so entertaining! You are obviously a very intelligent and witty person. I'll bet you have zillions of friends.

Looking good! Those skinny bitches are going to be jealous of you in no time! You're going to be even hotter than you are now!

Holy, Moses, ReadySteady! You didn't get your first fill until April 17? I'd had THREE by then! No wonder you feel like you're falling behind. Actually, you're NOT! You've lost 35 pounds that will never, ever haunt you again, and with only one fill so far, you've done that completely on your own! And CoolCrystal is right when she says that a lot of people are including pre-surgery weight loss in their numbers. I know I am! I lost 5 pounds prior to surgery, but I'm not about to ignore that! It was just as hard fought as the rest of it. I didn't have really good restriction until my last (4th) fill. I'm now 7.4cc in a 10cc band. Finally, I can eat just a little and go, "I'm full!" My husband is absolutely amazed. He thinks it's the coolest thing ever, and so do I! Be as aggressive as you can be with your fills. Maybe it's your doc that needs to be smacked with a loaf of bread! You didn't go through surgery to do this on your own!

I feel ya, but I've actually found that when my weight stalls, being a little bad and having a couple of beers can jump start my metabolism again. As for drinking with meals, my doc says it's okay to sip, just not gulp with meals. I have a very strong gag reflex, so I must have a few sips of water with my meals, or it's not going to go down.

Coolcrystal is absolutely right! When you stall, you have to switch things up, be a little bit bad for a few days, and them right back to the strict diet. I'm telling you, I've done this like three times already. I spent the first two months eating nothing but grilled fish and green veggies. After some very fast weight loss, I went through three weeks of gaining and losing the same three pounds over and over. Quite by accident (because I was absolutely FED UP!) I was a little bad over one weekend. If I wanted a beer, damnit, I had one! (Several, actually. It's hot here in Texas, you know.) Low and behold if the weight didn't start falling off again. Now, I ease up a little on the weekend, and I stay very strict during the week. I haven't had any huge stalls since. I'm losing a very healthy 8 to 10 pounds a month right now. For someone my size (Currently approx 185 lbs) that's all you want to lose. So, cut yourself a little slack, ease up on the diet for a few days (like go really wild and have 1500 calories for a couple of days) then right back to your strict diet. I betcha it'll work for your too. Your body thinks you're starving it to death, so you have to go, "See? We're not starving! There's plenty here!" Eventually, your metabolism will figure it out.

I think a clothing exchange is a great idea. I have a box of size 20s & 18s in my garage. Ten more pounds and my 16's go with them. I would be happy to ship them to any of you gals that can benefit. Mostly slacks/skirts/sweaters. I hardly ever buy anything that I can't wear to work. If you want them, just send me a private message. My husband will thank me for getting them off of his work bench!

I went in for my fourth fill today, and am now 7.4cc in a 10cc band. The physician's assistant went on like this is a huge amount. My three month bandiversary is tomorrow, May 1. I've still been getting very hungry between lunch and dinner, and crave carbs after dinner, but I've been staying strong. If only my whole day could be like my mornings. It takes me about two hours to get down a glass of fat free milk and a protein bar, but then it's downhill from there all day long. Can anyone else tell me how much fill they have, and whether it's helped you hit that "sweet spot" yet?

Gastric Bypass??? Yikes! Don't even say that! Yes, those patients lose weight very quickly, but often at the expense of their overall health. They have to fight each day to get enough proper nutrition. You made the right choice, honey. If you're getting discouraged, you need to get on this site more and read and post, and ask for encouragement. You'll get it, that's for sure! I can't believe your doctor wouldn't do a fill for you the first time! I wouldn't have left until he did. Don't try to gloss over how hungry you are. Just because you are losing doesn't mean you aren't suffering to do it! Until my last fill (my 4th) I hardly felt the benefit of my band at all. Even though I have good restriction now, I'm still hungry driving home from work each evening, so you'd better believe I'm going to get another small fill at my next appointment. I didn't pay $15,000 to do this on my own! If I could do it on my own, I wouldn't have had the surgery! Your doctor will be more aggressive if you insist on it. Until you get really good restriction, you will have days when you feel let down. It gets easier, I promise. You can do this and you will! Now, no more talk of having your guts rearranged. You did the right thing!

Welcome to onderland! I came back myself a while back after having been gone sooooo long. It's every bit as fabulous as I remember! CONGRATULATIONS!

I've now had 4 fills, and am at 7.4cc in a 10cc band. I think I've finally hit my sweet spot, too. However, even though I don't feel hungry, I make sure I get three MEALS a day. I do this because I don't want to end up looking sickly or losing my hair. Skinny but bald ain't pretty, people! Remember, eat PROTEIN first, then veggies, and if you still have room, carbs. I know from past dieting experiences that loosing your hair due to low protein intake is a very real thing! The good news is that it is easily reversible once you adjust your diet for the proper nutrients.

I had swelling for about three weeks post-op. And the gas pains at this point are still normal. The best way to get rid of it is to walk, walk, walk. If you're laying around a lot, it's just going to lay there, too!

I was a self pay patient as well, so I didn't have to wait for any approvals, except a few medical tests they wanted me to have; typical bloodwork, and for me, release from a cardiologist because of the history of heart disease in my family. I had my surgery three weeks from my first consultation. That was on February 1, and I have now lost over 40 pounds! Plus, I had an extra bonus thrown in. Although my insurance did not pay for my lap band surgery, the surgeon discovered and repaired a hiatal hernia while he was in there. They filed on my insurance for that, and reimbursed me 100% what they received from insurance, which was 2/3 of what I paid for the lap band! Not wishing bad things for you, but a hernia for me turned out to be a very good thing for me. You have no idea how wonderful this thing is. I'm so full after eating so very little. I know that this is the lifetime solution I've been looking for. Even if insurance had not paid on the hernia, it's worth every penny! Absolutely no regrets.

Does anyone know of a clothing exchange in the Dallas area? I have boxed up all of my size 20 clothes, and my 18s soon will join them. I'd really like to find a clothing exchange, because I'm sure someone else out there could use them along their journey. No one wants to buy new clothes while they're still losing weight!

I've just been crazy busy at work, and I never get on the computer at home. I miss it when I can't get on and see how everyone else is doing. I've been complaining about what I thought were small and too infrequent fills, but I see by reading some others plight that my doctor is actually pretty aggressive. I've been banded 3 months tomorrow. I've had 4 fills and am currently at 7.4 cc in a 10cc band. Mornings are great. I get full on about four bites of a protein bar, but it goes downhill the rest of the day. My fourth fill was this morning and was .3cc, so I can't wait to get back on solid food to see how much difference it makes.

Seems to me that stuff that works great on diaper rash would work on pannus rash, too. I used some stuff called Corona Ointment on my babies. The worst, bleeding diaper rash would clear completely in three days, and you could see significant improvement from one diaper change to the next. You don't get this stuff on the baby aisle at Wal-Mart, though. It's actually used on COWS (hell, that might be appropriate for me! - j/k LOL!) so you find it at the feed store! I swear this stuff is a miracle cream. Why someone doesn't repackage it as a rash cream and make a million bucks is beyond me. Oh, and if you use it on your feet and night and wear socks to bed, you'll have the softest tootsies in the world! It is kind of thick and sticky, though, so not sure if you'd want to use in on your belly during the day.

I hate to see anyone say that this isn't going to work for them. It will work! We're still very young bandsters. We'll get there! I get discouraged, too, sometimes. I plateaued for about two weeks despite doing everything I was supposed to do. It gets very frustrating, but hang in there. No one promised that this was a magic bullet. You have to work at it...we all do. Go out and buy yourself a stunning outfit that's two sizes too small, and hang it where you can see it everyday. Then promise yourself you're going to wear it, and work toward that goal. Sometimes looking at several small goals is much easier than looking at the entire monstrous task of the total weight loss. Please don't give up on yourself. I won't!