JulieNYC

I have the VG and it had 4 cc's in it from surgery. On my first fill they took me to 6.2. I felt nothing. Fill #2 a week later took me to 7.6. Still NOTHING. Fill #3 a week after that took me to 10.0, which is PERFECT. Still on the open side compared to what I read others experience, but I'm doing well with it -- almost no PBs, no problems with food textures yet I don't really think about food much. YEA! For the smaller band, I think 1.5 is the most common first fill. I've heard many that do 1.0 and some that do 2, but lots that do 1.5. You don't want to be too tight, particularly if your doctor has a liberal fill policy and lets you come back until it's right.

I'm vegetarian, but lacto ovo and I have no problem at all getting in my Proteins. I start my day with a high Protein yogurt (Total Yogurt has 13 grams) and 1/2 serving of Kashi (7 more grams). Sometimes if I'm not in the mood for yogurt, I have cottage cheese, or even an egg, with the Kashi instead. For lunch, I often have a morninstar soy patty (150 cals, 9 protein) with whatever veggie I cooked that week (this week is roasted red peppers stuffed with spinach, couscous and just a touch of feta -- 120 cals and 5 g protein). I eat a fruit or veggie for a snack around 4:30, or sometimes a piece of string cheese. dinner is often a tofu stirfry that runs about 15 g protein and 300 cals. I usually hit 900-1100 cals (usually on the low end of that) and 60ish g protein. I'd love to exchange vegetarian recipes with you, particularly high protein, low cal main meals! Good luck with your journey.

I had my bloodwork done for my general medical clearance 3 months before surgery. Then, as part of the admit process, the hospital did more bloodwork 3 days before surgery. I would call the band doctor and see if that's the way they work. If so, and if they're looking for a general medical release to pursue the surgery, ask for documentation so you can get your PCP to go ahead now with the understanding that someone will be looking at more bloodwork closer to the actual surgery date.

Just close your eyes and get through it. I had the exact same reaction, despite having done the research and knowing it was the right thing. It just starts to seem real when you get close to the date. It's the right thing. You're going to be so glad you did it. Just get through it and you'll be on the road to being a new person!

Julie, I wish I had something different to report, but I was miserable from the time I moved to solid food to the time I got my first fill (3 weeks). I gained a few lbs during that period from making really poor food choices and having no restriction at all and being unsuccessful at eating like a bandster without that restriction. In comes the first fill. Ahh, relief! Then immediately thereafter (a week apart, each) the second and third fills. Glory! What was that sound? Weight falling off left! Weight falling off right! Now THAT'S what I'm taking about! With restriction, I was excited to make really good food choices and get plenty of Water and exercise. I'm riding the wave. You will too!

Debi, It took me a long time to get over the possibility that I might require a second surgery if I got banded. I researched and read for more than 3 years rather than taking action almost exclusively because of that concern. Then I realized that I wasn't living life, at least not to its fullest, by being so heavy. I had tainted my twenties and didn't want to say the same about my thirties. The conclusion I came to was that laparoscopic surgery is very safe for most people by surgical standards and often done outpatient. If the band could help me to lose at least a portion of the excess weight, even if I had a slip or the like and required a follow up surgery, what was there to lose? 3-5 days more off work in exchange for keeping the weight off? So what! Being morbidly obese affects us and our health every single day. Surgery is 45 minutes of one day. A second UNLIKELY surgery would be even less than that. Having complications beyond a slip or a port infection are so rare that I choose not to worry about them. Could they happen? Of course. But it's not statistically significant. Being morbidly obese and addressing that health problem far, far outweighs that risk. Move on to surgery day, when I realized that the recovery from the most invasive band surgery (original band placement) really isn't that hard. Something like fixing a slip would be even easier (assuming the band didn't have to be replaced, and if it did, I'm probably just back to the stats for original band placement). Speaking now, at -46 lbs, I'd have the surgery every year if I had to. And the odds of that happening are miniscule! My advice, for what it's worth, is don't make the mistake I did in waiting 3 years. Complications are rare and, unlike bypass complications, are rarely significant. The weightloss and benefits are far more significant than the potential complications. Good luck, no matter where your weightloss journey takes you.

Definitely get the fill. Like others have said, you can always unfill if it's unmanageable. Yea for the ADJUSTIBLE band! When you first go to solids, if the first bite hurts, don't forget that to drink a sip or two of something hot can help to loosen the band a little so you can get your solid Protein and veggies in. You're going to do great!

I was what I'd call "sore" for about 2 weeks if I twisted funny or used my abs heavily. By 4 weeks I felt 100% -- so much so that I didn't even believe I had a port until they did my first fill!

Leona, Definitely don't worry about not having lidocane first. My doc doesn't use it and getting a fill is seriously less painful than plucking a single eyebrow. It's normal to worry about it, but I promise it's not a big deal. A non-event even, but for the weight loss results! Good luck!

I have a rule that junk is not allowed in my actual house. That doesn't mean I have a rule never, ever to eat junk, just that it can't be in my house. So, if I can't fight the ice cream urge, I go to a parlor and get a scoop and eat it there. It's not nearly as fun as eating a whole pint, comfy on the couch. But I seem to be able to stick to that as a rule and it's working. Good luck!

Monica, Why not try a compromise? Add a fourth 45 minute session to your week. If and when you're not meeting your weightloss goals in the time you wished to meet them, then you can decide if it's worth it to add more. Until then, 45 min X 4 is reasonable and you can still live life. Good luck!

I used to use Fitday.com, but I switched over to Sparkpeople.com and I vastly prefer it. If you're looking for a system, check out both and see which you like. I like the Sparkpeople interface much better and it has about 90% of the foods I eat already entered (where Fitday only seemed to have about 10%), but many people have just as strong a preference for Fitday, so see what works for you!

Woohoo! You've hit Twoterville! Congratulations. I can see the city limits in my horizon as well.

Completely, completely normal. Having to wait a month makes no sense. I didn't feel anything until my third fill. I was REALLY discouraged between fills 2 and 3 (which were only a week apart). Then fill 3 took effect and BAM. Glory! If you can't move your fill schedule up, really question your doctor about what the reasons are. From my research, the best band surgeons in the US have an open door fill policy (NYU and NWWLS do, at least), which greatly contributes to their success rates. If you do have to wait, don't worry. It's just another challenge and as soon as you get proper restriction this WILL work for you.

I love a good spinach salad with feta, chick peas, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and a boca soy chicken patty. Chop up fine with a double blade, sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar and YUM!

I have exactly the same problem. At about minute 12 on the elliptical, my right foot falls asleep. I go to 15, then I stop and do my weight training for 15 minutes, then I go back to the elliptical for 15, then I finish with 15 more of weight training. I'm going to try shifting my weight to my heels and I'll report back!

Ryan, That's the most powerful post I've ever read on any forum. I would confess my love for you if you didn't have a beautiful woman by your side in your photo (and the pic's too small for me to size up the competition, wink). Congratulations on your successes and on being so in touch with yourself. I hope to get there one day! As for what my last straw was, I've been thinking about that for a couple of days since I first saw this post. I don't have a trigger moment like many of you do. The only thing that stands out for me is that over Christmas vacation, my Mom kindly asked me if I'd given any more thought to WLS. She asked me that once or twice a year for about 5 years and I always brushed it off. I'd lost weight by traditional means many times and thought I'd just do it again. What I wish she'd said to me was what she really meant, which is -- scientifically speaking, do you know the percentage chance that you'll ever lose the weight and keep it off without surgery? Less than 5%. I'm a numbers girl. If I'd have really known that before I started researching WLS, I would have done it earlier. I almost wrote that if I'd have known, I wouldn't have wasted my 20s, but I don't really mean that. I've had a great life so far, obese and not. It has made me who I am and I'm ok with that. And now I'm ok with changing.

My advice is to call the nutritionist at your doctor's office and explain the difficulty you're having. When I did this, the nutritionist told me she'd rather me eat 4 oz of solid Protein (chicken for most, soy for vegetarian me) than to full fledged cheat. I still lost 12 lbs and even at a high BMI, my surgery was a snap. See if you can break the rules with your doc's permission. If you can't, you WILL make it through this. The band is SO SO worth this sacrifice. I'm thinking about you!

I think you're doing great! If I were you, I'd leave the calories exactly where they are but try to get in a little more Protein and a little less in carbs. Just a tweak. If you like track your progress (diet and weight) on fitday.com (or my personal favorite, sparkpeople.com) and you'll see that the overall curve is consistantly down. Remember that you chose the band (over other WLS options like the bypass) for a reason. Remember that reason and recognize that the weightloss is healthy, which means that you just have no choice but to lose slower than anyone on a crash diet or with other types of WLS going for them. You're a success story for the band and your numbers are far better than the norm! Good luck on your continued journey. Fighting the head games like what you're experiencing is half the battle.

For me, it was my third fill that got me to where I want to be. I have the VG band, which was loaded with 4cc's in surgery. 7 weeks post-op, I got my first fill, which brought me to 6.2 cc's. I noticed literally no difference, so I went back in week 8 and they took me to 7.6. In a panic, as my appetite still wasn't supressed, I went back on week 9. They filled me while drinking water until it wouldn't go down, then backed out a little. I'm not at 10.0 cc's and it's PERFECT. I've lost 12 lbs in 10 days and looking to ride the wave as long as possible (fully aware that my body won't keep up that rate of weightloss).

If you take grape chewable tylenol and you're older than 6 you might be a bandster. If your first thought about the word "slip" has nothing to do with a banana peel, you might be a bandster. If you know what papaya enzyme even is, much less have purchased it, you might be a bandster. If you secretly think of your kids' college fund as your plastic surgery fund, you might be a bandster. If having an apron has nothing to do with kitchen attire, you might be a bandster. And lastly... If you can instantly pick out the term that doesn't belong -- BatMobile, BatMan, BatPhone and BatWings -- you might be a successful bandster!

Msheavensent, You've lost A LOT! I can expecially see it in the hips, as well as the face. It's hard to believe that's the same t-shirt! Way to go.

Though the nutritionist at my doc's office doesn't believe that you should force yourself to eat breakfast if you don't want it, I do eat it even though I'm not hungry per se in the morning. I eat it because if I don't, I always come in under 1000 cals for the day, and I need to stay above that because I have so much weight to lose. Also, i'm vegetarian and if I don't have 3 meals, I can't get in the 50+ g Protein my doc recommends for my height. So, I usually eat either (1) 80 cals of FF Total Yogurt with 1 c Kashi (total of 220 cals and 26 grams of protein, which always sets me up to meet my caloric/protein goals), (2) 1 morningstar veggie sausage patty (80 cals) or (3) 2 wedges of laughing cow cheese sandwiched between 2 pieces of Kavali crackers (140 cals). lunch is usually my biggest meal.

Mine are quick. If I feel stuck, I give it about 5 minutes and most of the time it goes down. If I know it's going to come up (or if I want it to), within seconds it's over and I feel fine. I've never slimed, so I'm not sure about that.

I'd tell your friend to get a second opinion. A surprisingly large percentage of lap bandsters had a hiatal hernia repair at the same time. I can think of dozens I know personally, including myself. Of course, your friend's may be different from the norm and the surgeon certainly has his reasons, but I'd get a second opinion before writing off the lap band.