KelinTx

I also love my spanx! I would however suggest going up a size from what the package chart says u will need. I have the kind that reach up as high as the bottom of your bra and go down to a few inches above the knee. I swear they take a good 15 lbs off ya.

I lost very fast at first as well, in the first six months after surgery i lost 88 lbs. Needless to say i was quite thrilled. There is no way i could of ever done that without my band. Im in the home stretch now and its no easy feat. I just keep telling myself even it it takes another entire year to lose the last bit ........ I WILL DO IT!! Best of luck on your amazing loss!

Please know that you are definitely not alone in your quest to lose over 200 lbs. It is possible!! Best of luck to you with your upcoming surgery.

For me restriction feels like a pressure in my upper chest, almost as though someone is pressing down on me, makes me want to take a deep breath. When i get that feeling i know to stop eating and do not even think of taking another bite or intense pain will occur and chances are food will want to come back up. I have the large VG band and have 10cc in it so i am very restricted. Its taken me 2 years to get to this point of restriction. For instance tonight i made a weight watchers entree and was only able to eat 1/3 of it before i had to stop. It took me a half hour to eat that. Takes alot of getting used to.

A medical professional once said to me that there is no such thing as a magic lotion or potion and exercise alone will not undo the effects that a massive weight loss has on the body. Soooooooo......untill plastic surgery is covered by insurance (big laugh) i will be sucking in my flab with spanx and hiding it under the beautiful cloths i can now purchase because i can fit into them !

I was in the same boat. Every time i went in for a fill i had less saline in then i was supposed to. I ended up having the band emptied then refilled with a dye solution under fluoroscopy so that they could see if there was a leak. I ended up having port replacement!!

Congrats on your great loss thus far! I don't think one pb episode can cause a slip. I think it takes many a pb and being to tightly restricted for a long amount of time. I guess the thing to consider is are u totally unable to tolerate solids or are u able to just consume a small amount? Ive always been told that when properly restricted i should not be able to eat more then a half a cup of food at a sitting. I still find myself having the mentality that i should be able to eat more then i do a reality check and say wow i guess this thing really is working because after 5 or 6 bites i am done! Do i still want more YES i sure do but thank god i have my band to stop me dead in my tracks.

Wow im floored.....one fill to restriction. If i could offer one piece of advice it would be to make sure you can drink water before you leave your fill center. Not just a few sips either, make sure u can get down a full glass before you leave and do so without being in pain or feeling like you have to bring some of it back up. Being overfilled is not worth the host of problems it can bring on. Also bear in mind that you may not actually feel the full effects of your fill for a few days. Proceed with caution on an extreme caution.

I started my quest weighing 359 pounds. I was never encouraged to choose a different option other then lapband surgery. The end decision is yours to make no matter what the medical professionals say. They refer to statistics when they say the lapband will only enable you to lose half of what you need to lose. It is indeed possible to lose a large amount and i am proof of that. I am not that far away from the point where i will be able to say that i lost half of my total body weight. Best of luck to ya!

Having to move the car seat closer to the steering wheel was a big NSV for me! Also a big thrill for me was being able to fit into a pair of victorias secret "pink" brand panties.

I am filled to 10cc in the vanguard band and am restricted to the point where i can only eat 4 or 5 bites at a time.

Restriction for me is a feeling of pressure in my upper chest, when i get that feeling it means .....your done eating do not eat another bite or you will have problems. I never really have a full sensation, a satisfied feeling yes but not a full sensation.

Wensweet, congrats on your great loss thus far. One thing id like to mention that has been helpfull to me as a fellow bandster that started out needing to lose at least 200lbs is that i never focused on the large number of pounds i needed to lose. I made small attainable goals for myself from the get go. I tend to focus on 10lb increments. Makes the journey so much easier. I also ALWAYS rewarded myself with a new purchase (not food), when i reached a goal i had set. Best of luck to ya.

For two years now i have only ever had to pay my co-pay amount. Just like if i was going to any other doctor.

Enjoying good food together has always been my husband and i's favorite thing. From the day we met would always seek out the GREAT restaurants even if it meant traveling FAR! How can you not love a guy who is always bringing you presents of the best chocolates, wines, pastries and ice creams money could buy. I loved it 359 pounds worth!! I was 142 when i was married 15 yrs ago. Hub went from 180 to 275. After i was banded we both continued dining out at least 3 times a week, but made much healthier choices. Hes managed to lose 75 lbs of his own since ive been banded. Yes he still comes home with "Food Presents" for me but they are band friendly and never more then enuff for us each to have one serving.

I had the same problem in the beginning. Drinking gatorade always took it away. I would dilute it half water half gatorade!

because.......ive decided to aim for a full 200 pound weight loss and to do that I NEED TO STAY ON PLAN!

I think alot of it also depends on how much you need to lose. A larger person naturally would lose more initally just from the drastic reduction in calories. Starting off at 359 i averaged a loss of a pound a day for the first month out. Needless to say it has slowed down quite dramatically.

BURGERS! I simply can not eat a hamburger and boy do i miss them! Its been over 2 years since ive had a fast food hamburger and my god did i LOVE WHOPPERS. I swear i salivate when fastfood commercials come on tv. I seriously wonder if the cravings will ever go away, after all this time being banded you would think they would have subsided but NOPE.

You can do it!! Best of luck

I started at 359+ wearing a womens plus 34 pants, im so thrilled to say i just purchased a size 14 jeans from victorias secret (pinching myself)!! I am 5 ft 5 and weigh 185.

Not one regret here, it has truly been a life saver for me!

Has anyone else noticed the significant increase in the amount of posts from folks saying that they were just banded and they are eating things that are not normally permitted till months down the road? Im finding it increasingly difficult to bite my tongue. I just dont get it........why would anyone willingly subject themselves to a weight loss surgery and dish out a ton of money and risk the complications involved by not following the set dietary guidelines and rules??? I mean come on now lets get real here, if your throwing caution to the wind after being banded a week or so, statistically what does that say for your chances of success in the long run! Why even bother to of had a weight loss surgery if your sabotaging yourself from the get go. Had to get that off my chest.

Head hunger is a big nagging problem of mine also, i deal with it every day! No matter how much i lose no matter how much or little i eat .. ITS STILL THERE! Being a food addict i think this is something that will always plague me. I wish there was a magical answer or solution.

I find that the more i lose and the smaller i get the straighter i stand! At my starting weight of 359 it was hard to stand straight i sorta had to walk hunched over to try and difuse some of the horrible back pain brought on by all my excess poundage.