HeatherO

Everyone has a different take on this, and every doctor has to start somewhere. However, I have read that complication rates go down significantly once a doctor has had more experience. You want your band to last a lifetime if possible . . . can you find a more experienced surgeon to do it? Experience is important when it comes to surgery. If you stick with this surgeon, perhaps you should ask a lot of questions during consult . . . such as what methodology would be used in the suturing procedure to secure the band to the stomach as to prevent slippage in the future. Also, how are those 20 something other patients doing so far, and how far out are they from surgery?

I think these are excellent titles and I am all for them being the next official challenges :0). Fran (mominlv), congrats on making goal, and being under 300 to boot. You are doing awesome!!!!! I am down another pound . . . yuppiiii!!!! 1 more to go and I have made my challenge goal. Name_________Start Weight ____Goal____ Lbs lost____Current Weight *****:tt2:********** :eek:**************************:party:***** aJoneen............230.........220.......7.......... Bea1128............220.........199.......5.......... Babs0101...........185.........170.......0.......... blesdbyonmzur......159.........148.......4.......... BTTRFLI1432........221.........210.......6.......... Bunkey1965.........212.........195.......16.........194 Chocolate_Snaps....254.........240.......6.......... Darr5380...........167.........155.......3.......... Epm316.............209.........199.......7..........202 erikadawn..........199.........175.......0.......... FloridaGirl........235.........215.......0.......... HeatherO...........172.........155.......16.........156 Heft_Bandit........261.........245.......6..........255 JennyPoo...........169.........159.......5.......... KarenG.............160.........158.......6.......... KathyStrick........305.........290.......0.......... Lapbandfan.........258.........230.......2.......... Leslie2Lose........224.........209.......0..........224 LessNLess..........144.5.......140.......0.......... LilMissBand-Aid....234.4.......225.......6.2........ Lunabeane..........209.........200.......11......... Luu2008............219.........189.......14......... Luv2Laugh..........232.........212.......0.......... luvinke............206.........190.......0.......... mamato3............199.........184.......6.......... mcgreen............189.........175.......0.......... mdgarcia31665......225.........200.......0.......... melboyd............266.........256.......5.8........260.2 Missrach...........269.........175.......25.........244 MollyMolly.........192.........182.......2.......... mominlv13..........316.........300.......15.2.......299.8 MSnika3............228.........204.......4.......... MyTurn.............250.........240.......7..........243 NANAbanded.........225.........199.......7.......... Ninja..............204.........189.......5.......... NukeChik...........221.........199.......6.......... Ollie..............242.........210.......0.......... Redtulips..........188.........180.......6.......... Renewedhope........174.........155.......5.......... ronni_NC...........243.........220.......0.......... slgandera..........185.........173.......7.......... StartingOver.......220.........205.......15......... Sunshine2..........187.........170.......10..........177 want_so_bad........170.........155.......0.......... Sades.......(7/16).192.5.......180.......8.6........ Sadie..............220.........199.......6.......... smwww..............189.........179.......0.......... tp78...............212.........195.......7..........

I absolutely agree with this statement. It has definitely been the case for me. Every 5-10 pounds seems to bring futher comments now when it took 30-40 pounds before. Everything is just sooo much more noticeable. Speaking of children and unnoticed changes, my 16 year old son has never said a word about my weight loss. He doesnt know I was banded. I was thinking about it more after reading this thread and so I just asked him for the first time on Friday evening, "Do you think I have lost any weight?" Can you believe his answer was "I don't know, I can't tell." So this is after going from 18/20 & XL/XXL to 10/12 & M/L in six months. When I lay my before clothes next to my current clothes I am staggered (and saddened that I was ever that large to begin with) by the difference. He did not notice this change??? Knowing my son, I think he answered this truthfully without trying to play with my head, he really just didn't notice. My son is thankfully not affected by weight woes since both my son and husband are tall and athletic in build. We have a decent relationship, almost never argue, he is shy and a bit of a homebody spending way too much time on the computer . . . pretty much a shy and sensitive boy and never much trouble. All in all we are making it through the teenage years without too much strife . . . and he can't notice this kind of difference . . . how on earth can that be???? I am guessing that it must be when you are 16 that your personal world grows the size of an elephant while your parents lives shrink to the size and complexity of a peanut, lol. I think my weight changes may not be relevant to his life. Nothing has changed in his perspective, I exercise a lot now . . . which I did prior to banding as well. He doesn't notice or care about what I eat. So what does this mean for the future of my son . . . is he going to be one of those husbands that never notices his wifes new hairdo or clothes? Is this just a passing stage? Any thoughts . . . ???

I am so sorry to hear that and I hope everything turns out OK. My thoughts are with you as well.

I have lost most of my weight and work out like crazy with a focus on toning. I am looking pretty good but my belly is going to be a little saggy and no amount of abdominal work has helped it much. So no bikini or belly button piercings for me, but I look good in a one piece. I really think I am going to get to avoid plastics altogether. It really is impossible to say how things will go. Youth is indeed on your side, but skin is different for different people. You can choose ten random women who got pregnant around the same age and same weight, and I bet you some of them may get away with almost no stretch marks and some will look like a road map. If I had to venture a guess, you will most likely be ok in most areas but may not be completely satisfied with your mid region at the end of the road. However, you are on the right track with exercise,water, Vitamins. If you are not exceeding 1-2 pounds a week in weight loss it helps as well.

I'd pack lunches and Snacks and do a restaurant dinner but that is just me. It gives more flexibility this way. For restaurant dining in general, I always eat off of my husbands plate now. I never get charged extra anywhere because I usually order a small Soup or some salad. What is really funny is that ordering for one still provides leftovers to bring home after two people finish. I used to eat a whole entree myself before and I would eat all of it . . . no wonder I was carrying a few extra pounds, lol.

I am not sure any of us really get completely "past" the urge to binge from time to time if we had it before. I think for a lot of us it is just part of who we are and we have to find appropriate, healthy means to deal with it. However, the band does prevent the ability from binging because you just can't eat that much without suffering. If you overdo it, the big stick comes out (pb'ing and being very uncomfortable) to teach you not to do so. Am I still addicted to food . . . absolutely. Have I found a way to deal with it . . . yes. I have exchanged quantity for quality and I take time to really, truly taste what I am eating. I have found that in most binges, beyond the first couple of bites, I no longer really taste what it is that I am eating. I don't even think binges were about enjoying the food as much as filling a void. Binges were always followed by a mountain of guilt which would make me want to do it again. I was never, ever happy or satisfied by doing this. It always left me feeling empty and depressed. Now I am finding I can take a couple of bites of something and be satisfied more than ever before. It only takes a little and I don't have to feel guilty about it. The band can not fix the root of most of our problems, which isn't in the stomach. However, there are hard limitations with the band in that you can only eat so much, and if you overdo it there are uncomfortable consequences. I think this helps with behavior modification to deal with binging and brings it more under control. It seems to get easier and easier over time . . . 2 months out food still ruled my thoughts (again, the thoughts were more important than my stomach) and there was indeed a big void in my day because what do you do with yourself after work when you are used to eating to relax??? I was actually grieving for the loss of my ability to eat. . . . 4 months out was a little better in that I could eat most things only in small quantities but I had to deal with the binge demon at that time and my mind was still saying more, more while my stomach was crying "uncle". This was actually one of the hardest stages in that this is where the "really difficult" work in behavior modification struggles were running rampant . . . 6 months plus out I seem to be more in control, more happy, feel more normal and food has become just another normal part of my life 95% of the time. . . . the future, I really expect it to continue to get easier as i continue to work on why I think like I do and find alternative more healthy ways to deal with life. I have already found that exercise relieves stress in a much more effective way than food ever did . . . with no guilt associated. I am on the right path and I will continue to move forward. For me it has all been a learning process . . . but I couldn't get there without my band. I still have no regrets. The band did not make my life easier by any means, but I am better for it. I love what my band has helped me to accomplish and I would not trade it for the world.

I was walking right away. I started going back to the gym to do aerobics at 4 weeks out per my doctors orders. I started my step class and it was really tough and I was easily exausted (but they are high intensity aerobics). I attempted to do abdominals with the class and took it easy, but the next day I felt really awful and decided it was just too darn early. By six weeks out it was business as usual and I was doing my usual routine. You can start many low intensity things now. I would even think biking would be fine a couple of weeks out. You absolutely will feel some soreness around your port when you start but it goes away and I think it is just part of healing.

I went to other sites before I came here. I came here because I wanted more band specific topics. I think it is fine to have others mentioned, but I stay on this site because the focus is the band.

I had it initially near the port site, but not anymore. It went away fairly quickly as time wore on.

I was told at least 50 grams at a minimum.

I had it too after I started doing a few abdominal exercises. I backed off on the abdominals for a while and when I started up again two weeks later, it felt fine.

Flouro is actually easier than the standard fill in that you can see everything. There is nothing to be nervous or scared about. The barium is not too terrible and it is cool to see it work its way through your system. I would be more worried about more pokes with a needle through the traditional fill when it is not going according to plan.

I hope everything comes back ok. Try not to stress over too much in that stress affects your band as well. Until you know what is really going on, the best thing to do is just to stay on liquids/mushies. At least that way you can do no harm and your stomach can begin healing a little easier. Good luck and please let us know the results.

I chewed a lot of gum as well, but didn't learn until later through this website that it is a no-no. Sugar free candy or cough drop might help. Drinking tons of water also helps. Best thing is, it goes away on its own and you will feel normal again soon.

This might sound like a silly suggestion, but since the commercials were driving me nuts I just started watching dvd's or avoiding normal television. It is just too hard at that stage. Best of luck to you :0)

I had a pinching sensation as well, but nothing serious. For me it seemed to be related to healing. However, if it gets any worse at all or if you get swelling or redness, call your doctor.

For some of us, like me, this neck shoulder pain lasts for weeks. I have read that it may be an irritated nerve in the diaphragm area but I am not sure if that is exactly it. I know I can not have abdominal gas for 4-5 weeks. GasX never helped it at all. I stayed on Tylenol and had massage and hot bath's (with my neck and shoulder submerged but incision sites were above teh water). Mine was severe but it did go away. However, I get occasional twinges if I have too much to eat.

The whole purpose of banding is to eat healthy food which fills your banded pouch and eases hunger. My doctor said to stop the protein drinks in the morning because I was defeating the use of the band in that it wont prevent hunger if it goes right through. The only liquid diets I go on now are caused by fills or a rare pb. :0)

I really like the Atkins Advantage shakes. They are yummy when cold. Isopure clear Fruit drinks are tolerable, not good, but definitely tolerable.

I have had two fills with a total of 8.3 to reach my sweet spot at the end of April . . . and I am not ready for another one. I am still losing well with what I have and am very very happy.

I would do it before because you have 17 days to feel it out. You also don't get much impact from your first fill, so it will be helpful to get it started. Also, why delay additional weight loss you could be experiencing by several weeks??? After the first fill, most people are able to eat reasonable quantities without a lot of difficulty. I think you should go for it.

For me it is eating wayyy slower than everyone else. My family is welll done before I am.

I am not sure why but I am interested in what the answer might be. I would have expected the exact opposite.

I don't drink pop anymore since banding. I found that drinking diet coke was a trigger for eating for me. I now find myself craving Water now. Most sugar free things don't taste that great anymore and water really seeems to hit the spot. I have tasted flat pop since banding once or twice, and it tastes awful. Did my tastes change or did it always taste that bad and I was just used to it????