MyDay2Shine

I was banded by Dr. Chua in 2008 & I still go to him for fills. They are pretty nice there, I like Vicky (I think that's her name) she cracks me up.

I bought an Enell 3 years ago and it is amazing! I found out about the Enell brand from doing research on LBT, a lot of women recommended them. I can run in it and my boobs don't move at all. My belly & butt bounce all over but not my boobs haha. It was expensive but it has been worth every penny. I actually wear a cheep cotton sports bra from walmart under my Enell, I have a few of the cheepies so I can wash them everyday, and only wash the Enell every few days to save on wear & tear. Plus the double support works great for running.

I think it sounds like he is sneaking around on someone. It sounds like you are obviously a better person than this guy, I think you're probably giving him more credit than he is worth. Go with your instincts, if he was really into it, it would have happened. Don't waste your time, if things fall into place cool. If not, he's a dimwit & cheater anyway! I'm sure once you get out into the dating/hook up world you will find better guys to have kick ass sex with!

Thank you so much for sharing. I am so sorry you are both dealing with so many complications. I think it is important to educate myself on both the pros and cons of my band, and stories like yours are very helpful. I'm interested to hear more about your wife and her recovery. Good luck to you and your wife, I will be thinking of you both. Best wishes Kristal

Hi, I'm Kristal I'm 33. And I'm in not too far from Chicago, near Lake Geneva, WI. I was Banded in December of 2008, lost about 65 pounds became pregnant in January of 2010 and gained about 60 pounds during the pregnancy and another 20 right after! So I know all about regaining the weight and feeling ashamed and embarrassed. My baby will be one in less than a month and I'm down about 35 pounds from my all time high of 278. Well thats my story, I don't know how much help I will be to you, but I will say that I am VERY determined to re-lose this weight plus some. We can do it!!! I don't go to support groups because the closest one is in down town Milwaukee. My bariatric program also offers a "back on track program" I have been seriously considering signing up, its a few hundred bucks and again all the way downtown Milwaukee. Honestly I get all of my support from this website, I don't post a lot but read postings everyday. I would love to have friends here!

Good Luck!

It wouldn't hurt to take another pregnancy test, just to be sure. I have gotten a negative result when I was 2 days late, then retested a week or two later and I WAS in farct pregnant! This happened with two different pregnancies. That being said, many times I have been late thanks only to PCOS, so I compltetely understand not wanting to get your hopes up

The pregnancy test at the dollar store is just as good as an expensive one. I liked the digital ones that say pregnant or NOT pregnant. I had good luck with those because I was always trying to see lines that werent really there haha!

Sounds like your doing great! Keep it up!

I got pregnant 1 year after my band surgery. My baby is perfect. My incisions hurt like hell while my belly was stretching, but I gained 80 pounds. Nobody needs to gain that much, I was obviously making poor choices. My surgeons PA gave me a half unfill and I should have never agreed to that. Of course the PA was not the one making my crappy food & portion choices, I did that all myself... But like I said my baby is perfect and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat (with better food choices). Having a baby is one of many reasons I got banded in the first place. Make the choice that is right for you!

Good Luck! I know its really hard but try to relax!

I love greek yogurt with honey. I love to use plain greek yogurt in place of mayo or sour cream. When I make chicken salad or in place of sour cream in a veggie dip. I love it because calorie count goes down and protein goes way up!

Hi Ladies! Halieesmom/lele, I wish I would have noticed your response when you posted it a couple of weeks ago! Eating has been such a reliable coping mechanism for me, I think its the first thing I try to do without even realizing it. Caring for a new baby is hard enough, but when your new baby has extra needs I can only imagine how stressful that must be. Sounds like your Dr. gave you a bit of tough love? If it works for you thats good! I personally don't respond well to tough love, I'm hard enough on myself! It seems to me if your already struggling not filling you would make things worse? I could see recommending a therapist, anyway I'm glad your Dr. did give you your fill. I have maintained contact with my preop therapist every couple weeks and still see her regularly. I have no idea if its helping or not, but I figure it can't be hurting. Interesting little story I have to share. I'm an OB nurse on a tiny unit and my coworkers are like family. After my surgery they all celebrated every pound lost with me. They even threw me a onederland party, a few weeks before I found out I was pregnant! My point is they love me and care about me, that being said I can tell they are really disappointed with me gaining back all my weight. One coworker in particular saw me eating my breakfast and the look on her face was one of complete disgust, it was just her reaction, she didn't do it on purpose. Then a few days later I saw her at a meeting and she looked me up and down and again that look of disgust. It bums me out because its like she is holding up a mirror in front of me and I really hate what I see. I haven't just let myself down, I've let my supportive friends down too. Well I'm going for another fill this afternoon. I haven't been losing for a couple weeks now and I've even gained a couple of my recently lost pounds back. I know I'll get there, right?

Hi Haileesmom, I too have been struggling with losing my baby weight. I gained back all of my lost weight (65 lbs) during my pregnancy and then gained 15 more after she was born while I was dealing with breastfeeding problems. I was really ashamed when I went in for my fill at 9 weeks postpartum. It went fine though, I lost 10 pounds but now have been kind of lingering at the same weight. Don't be embarrassed to go for your fill. That is what the band is for, if we didn't need it we wouldn't have it. Right? I should probably go in for another small fill, but the truth is I've been eating too fast (you know shovel it in with the baby in squirming in my arms) and getting a little stuck here and there... I don't know I would love to hear how you do and maybe from some other moms who got back on track after getting WAY off track....

Hi Kayla I'm sorry you're having a hard time. I too have suffered a relapse of sorts. During my pregnancy my band was half unfilled and I gained around 80 lbs. I'm trying hard to get back on track. My question for you is do you have restriction? Are you eating around your band? If you have no restriction with a max fill, then I would really get to the doctor. It could be a sign of a bigger problem. I hope things start to get better for you.

Oh no! I don't have any info to share, but I'm sorry for your complication & interested in what you find out... I hope things turn out ok for you.

I had my band baby October 22, 2010. It took me like two or three cycles to get pregnant. I'm willing to share more if anyone is interested )

It looks like your surgery was scheduled for last week! Let us know how things went when you are feeling up to it. That is great that your insurance covered your procedure. Good for you!

From the research I did, I learned that using no lubricant is best. Pre seed does not help sperm swim, it is just LESS HARMFUL than usual lubricants such as KY or astroglide. If you don't need extra lubricant use nothing. Now one study I read found that a few drops of plain canola oil (yes from the kitchen) worked even better than pre seed having no negative effect on sperm at all. Ok, so I talked my husband into giving the canola oil a try on out 3 month ttc. I have no idea if it worked or not but I did get pregnant that month! We did smell slightly like French fries (he-he) but it does make for a funny inside joke :thumbup: As soon as I knew I was pregnant we went back to using our usual astroglide, but I would use the canola oil again if we don't get pregnant when we want to next time!

I don't know if this helps or not but the PA at my surgeons office said that after pregnancy the band will most likely work a little different. She said it was most likely because the band location changes slightly and restriction comes with a different amount of fill. She didn't seem to know if I would need more or less fill, we would have to wait and see but fill slowly because it would be different than pregnancy.

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced an incisional hernia during pregnancy? I had my Lap-Band surgery in December of 2008. I'm currently 26 1/2 weeks pregnant and I have been having pain near my port for a few months, it seems to be getting worse as my pregnancy progresses. I have read about a few different ladies here with port pain during pregnancy, so I didn't think a whole lot about it. It's mostly just discomfort with pain only when I'm on feet for a long time, sneeze, laugh or strain in the bathroom. Last weekend I was extremely busy at work and the pain was really starting to get to me, I tend to rub the area that hurts. I thought to myself as I was rubbing away that it was a bit odd as my port is actually about an inch away from where I tend to rub. It was like a light bulb went off. I was like oh crap what if its my port incision and not my port at all! So I saw my OB on Tuesday and I told him about the pain over my incision so he checked it out and said yes I have a small incisional hernia over my port incision. Bummer! He suggested I see my Lap-band surgeon, but no rush as no one is going to want to repair it until after my baby is born anyway. My OB also said my best bet would be to wait until I am done having babies to get it repaired. Of course if at any point the pain becomes constant and/or excruciating it could mean that the hernia is incarcerated (or stuck through the muscle without blood flow) and then would need emergency surgery. Well I guess thats my story, if anyone has anything to add or experienced anything like it I would love to hear about it. I hope pushing my baby out goes OK! My OB said it should but no guarantees!