lifechange82

Just wondering if there were any fellow banders that had the Lapband surgery with Dr. James Smith in Pueblo, CO? My "re-birthday" is March 27th.:rolleyes2:

My surgeon told me from the get-go that my port would be tender off and on for the first year, and that it might always be just a tad on the sensitive side....and if you think about it, thats a big hunk of plastic (or whatever) right there near your rib cage and organs, so you might want to think about it that way. Also, sometimes when I eat too much it gets kinda tight and weird feeling. And definetely after a fill its super sore.

I never believed that losing weight would actually help/clear up PCOS, mainly because I just didn't want to accept I needed to lose weight!! But I am living proof it's absolutely true. After about 4 months post-op, I had my period, and ever since then I have had a period every month, and I can pretty much predict it. Completely new experience for me. And I hope this isn't inappropriate to say, but sex has gotten 1 billion times better. :tt2: Alot of the time before, sex was painful most of the time because of the fluid filled cysts on my ovaries. Best of luck to you and in your journey....

So it has been 10 months since my surgery, and I am sitting at an incredibly discouraging 30 lb weight loss. I love my band, and would do it all over again, but I am kind of in a slump. I have FAITHFULLY gone to get my fills and exercising, but I think the conclusion I have come to is I have been living band life too tight. (I got the stomach flu last month, and had to get completely unfilled because my stomach was so swollen, and am slowly getting fills ut back in.) I was gagging and getting food stuck alot, and seemed to only be able to eat mushies, or food that easily turned into mush. Has another long term bandster been too tight at some point and had reeeeeaally slow weight loss? And if so, when did you find your sweet spot where you saw steady weight loss? I am in a terrible rut, and would love some advice. :wink:

I have seen a similar thread as the one I am posting, but mine is a bit different. I would like to know what everyone's surgeon's told them about what causes the band to slip. I know there are different theories, and would like to see what all is out there. Please understand I am just curious and thought other people might be as well, but I am not suggesting anyone go against their surgeon's orders! As for me, my surgeon basically told me that lots of vomiting is pretty much the only thing that would make my band slip. And that's excluding any type of unrelated health problems or anything like that.

Hey everyone- It has been awhile since I have posted. I had my Lapband surgery 3 1/2 months ago, and I have lost 20 lbs. I was hoping at this point for it to be more. For awhile it was coming off steady, but now I seem to be at a standstill. I still seem to have a really good fill, so I don't know what the problem is... Any advice?

Just wanted to share my exciting news!!! I am about 2 1/2 months post op, (March 27, 2008) and I am 19 lbs down! Just wanted to share my news!!!

I was banded on March 27th of this year. I have been exercising, and I am doing well with my weight loss, but strangely enough, my energy level has drastically declined. There are times I am so physically AND mentally wiped out that I can barely finish a sentence. It is so frustrating, and so I called my doctor, but he will be out until Thursday of this week for emergency surgeries, so I wanted to get some opinions. Anyone else go through this??? :eek:

I definetely will keep ym blog updated when I find something out. It is VERY ironic to me as well that my energy level has DE-escalated rather than escalate. And I just dont feel good...it sucks because this is such a cool time in my life with the weight loss.

thats very true- i kinda forgot about that! well, im just happy to be at a sweet spot for now anyways! thanks ladies!

I was just wondering if experienced bandsters could give some advice? I just had my second fill on Tuesday, and I think I may be at my sweet spot! Here's my question- should I be planning on the good restriction going away and probably needing to get another fill, or is it possible that I could be done, and I have found the holy land so soon!? Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated!!

Just wondering if anyone has tried it? I am wanting to get a jump start on exercising and trying to hopefully avoid alot of excess skin, and just wondering if it was another gimmick?

sorry about that...i was in the middle of researching it and just assumed everyone would know what im talking about!!! its one of those belts that go around your waist and sends out pulses to flex your tummy muscles. im not looking to replace the exercise i am already doing, but wondering if anyone has tried, and if they have had results because i am looking for it to boost my exercises. thanks!!!!

oh honey, im so sorry you are having such a hard time. your story sounds like mine not too long ago. first, take a deep breath, and think to yourself: all things that are meant to be will find a way. now, when i emotionally ate, (i say ate because i cant eat near the volume of food i used to, but i still emotional eat) i would eat a large pizza from pizza hut in one night. then i would have the 2 liter pepsi i ordered with it (not diet mind you) and then usually i would have at least 1 or 2 candy bars before retiring to bed. emotional eating is an addiction, and just like ANY addiction, you cant just walk away from it, and again like any addiction, it gets worse when you are stressed, sad, mad, whatever. i couldnt do this alone. an eating addiction is a little more tricky than other addictions. i wont say harder because drug,alcohol, etc. are incredibly hard to beat as well. the difference is though is that an eating addiction is still IN YOUR FACE all the time. you cant just walk away from it. you HAVE to eat. it was my drug of choice as it is yours and pretty much everyone else on this site. know that there are others out there that are going through the same exact, IDENTICAL struggle you are going through, and if not now, they were at some point. i will be sending good wishes your way. keep us all posted on what progresses with your surgery!!!!!!!!!!

Well ya cant live your life in constant fear of what if. People die every day from car accidents and we still get in the car and drive or ride with someone. I am in agreement that when it is your time to go, it doesnt matter what you are doing whether it is walking across the street, or having surgery. If you feel the WLS is right for you, and you think it will PROLONG your life, however long any of us have, then I say do it. But either way, it's a great loss.

omg, getting food stuck is NOTHING like being full. being stuck hurts incredibly bad. for me it happens when i eat too big of a bite or eat too fast, and it sets off my gag reflex. i have had two fills already.

frogs and beginnings: call your doctor first thing monday!!!

ok first of all, dont freak out about the stopped weight loss. alot of people either stay at their same weight or gain weight the first month post op so you are already way ahead of the game. you have already lost more weight than me, and i have already had 2 fills!!! the first month is for your band healing, then after your fills, looks at your diet more closely. in my opinion, you need to call your doctor ASAP about the acid reflux and the only 1 bowel movement to make sure that is normal for you. i had constipation after my surgery, and my surgeon put me on a fiber supplement, but now i am off of it and back to normal. good luck! and take a deep breath!

my surgery was 3/27, and when i went for my first fill, my doctor said i will be having soreness for along time. it was the most painful thing after my surgery. make sure you are watching for infection, and if something doesnt feel right, call your surgeon IMMEDIATELY

my gas was so bad for about 10 days after my surgery i thought i was gonna explode. and it was very painful, and never could get it to move through. it will pass, but he needs to call his doctor anyways.

Hey everyone! Just wanted to share my exciting experience. I went to get my first fill this past Monday. (Which was a breeze btw to all you newbies out there) Well, to give you the background to this story, before I had surgery I went and bought a nice scale. I figured it would be a good investment seeing as how I would actually WANT to look at a scale now!! So I digress, my starting weight the day of surgery was 269. My scale had been telling me for the past month before my fill that I was 271, which had been incredibly depressing. (I had also been execising for 30 minutes a day as well.) So of course when I go into the room for my fill, the first thing the nurse wants to do is weigh me. Ugghh I think to myself. So I very hesitantly step on the scale and look down at the numbers- 258. Out of shock and confusion, I turned around and told the nurse something was wrong with their scale (totally oblivious to the fact that it was MY scale that was the one that was wrong) and after re-weighing myself two times, and letting the shock absorb, I started BALLING!! I could not believe I had LOST 11 lbs instead of GAINING 2!!!! So, beware of your own scale, becuase it very well may be wrong!!!

I just got my first fill yesterday, and already have ALOT of restriction. Question is, I have REALLY bad gas. The kind that doesn't come out, just kinda sits there. I haven't found any posts' where people are complaining about gas after a fill, so I was wanting to know if anyone had that problem. :blushing:

Ditto on everything Jack said. I don't know what kind of pre-op diet you are on, but logic has it that if you have failed alone on other diets before, (as all of us bandsters had) aren't the chances are pretty good you'll fail alone on this one? As for anxiety, I was the same way as Jack. I had such a bad anxiety attack 10 minutes before I was wheeled off to the OR, that my lips and eyelids went numb, and they had to drug me so I could get a grip! (It had nothing to do with the actual lapband surgery itself, just the idea of surgery. I haven't had good experiences in the past with surgeries) Another reason for my anxiety was because having this surgery would mean taking away my best friend- emotional eating. I loved to binge eat ALL the time. And having this band once I start getting my fills, emotional eating and bingeing isnt an option anymore. And that scared the living poo out of me. It is a battle that I still struggle with, and probably will for awhile. But as I start losing weight, it definetely becomes easier. As for giving up carbonated drinks- when my surgeon told me at my pre op appt that they were no longer going to be part of my diet, you would have thought he told me he was going to take my beating heart!!! I was 100% addicted to cokes. But then I thought, ok, do I want health, or do I want soda?? (because either way, let's be honest, diet or regular, they are not healthy in any form or fashion) So I gave them up cold turkey before my surgery. Sure I miss them at times, but I get over it pretty quickly and have an iced tea. I wouldn't change the fact that I had this surgery. There were times after though when I was in some pain and overwhelmed, that I thought, what the crap have I done to myself?? But once you get through the first week or 2, everything changes. Whatever decision you make, keep your health in mind. Good luck!!!!!!!!!