auggies

I think we might be the biggest group of December bandsters. Must be a lot of us were operated on Dec 15th. I had my last fill on Feb 23rd and I decided to pass on a fill for March. I think I'm very close to my sweet spot. I have good restriction when eating meals and I have had difficulty with a few foods (peanut butter and toast, donut - not a bad thing to have a problem with, and hamburgers). I have been very disappointed in my weight loss. I haven't lost anything since two weeks post op - that's way back in December. I have remained in the same seven pound weight (245-252). Yesterday at my appointment we talked about a plateau. I am going to up my exercise level. I currently work out at least 3 times a week but instead of walking a 38 minute 2 miles, I'm going to pick up my pace and see if that helps.

I wrote a blog post today on my lap band blog about non-scale victories. Feel free to stop by and leave a comment about your nsvies. Start Enjoying Life

I have my 2nd fill today. I actually noticed more restriction about 2 weeks after my first fill. I didn't have much restriction at all right after it but when I hit the two week mark I could start to feel it. It still isn't at the level that I am hoping to be at so I am getting my 2nd fill. I'm really hoping that this next fill will be right where I need to be. I know everyone is different. Some only need 2-3 and others do need more. My doctor told me that I had alot of internal fat and that is already adding restriction around my band. As that fat "melts" away, I will need to be filled again. So I'm guessing that even if I get the restriction I want, I'll have to keep having mini fills as my fat goes away.

Thanks for the update, Kathy. It sounds like things are finally falling in place for you. I had my surgery with Dr. F on 12/15/08 and I have my second fill scheduled for tomorrow. I currently have 3cc in my band and have very little restriction. I'm looking forward to my 2nd fill. I have found Dr. F's office to be very supportive in my after care. They get me right in for appointments and I've only had to wait 1 1/2 weeks for my fills. When I was in last week for my appointment, they actually were willing to fill me there in the office but I'm still a flurobaby. My inner tube of a waist line is still too big to handle an in office fill. Hopefully I'll be that much closer to my sweet spot soon!

Okay, I found a before photo. My after photo is actually from Christmas. I haven't lost must since them but I will have my daughter take a photo of me tonight so I can add it.

Teresa, Congratulations on those 18W and XL clothing!!! I was wearing a size 22/24 when I started this process. Right after Christmas I went to Kmart and bought myself some 18W jeans on sale for $9. I figured I'd have them when I lost more weight and could wear them. Just for fun I tried them on to see how tight they were and they fit perfectly. I went back and picked up more of them. Inside I kept telling myself that I wasn't really in an 18 and that they must run big. Yesterday I stopped at Fashion Bug to pick up an outfit for an interview I had today and I tried on some jeans there in a size 18 and they fit also. I am so excited. Although the scale isn't really showing a loss, I must be losing inches for those pants to fit. I know that we'll both be shopping in the non-plus sizes soon. Won't it be nice to walk into any store and be able to buy something besides accessories?

Debi, I haven't lost the weight either. Although I do know that my portions are smaller than they used to be. I wish I would start losing more or should I say something. I haven't lost any weight since two weeks post op. Unless you could the 6 pounds I gained the first two weeks of January - I have lost those. I have my second fill on Monday. I am really hoping that this makes a big difference. I am thinking it will as I did feel a little with my last fill. I know some doctor's put a little in the band when they place it, my band didn't have anything in it. So my first fill had 3cc put in. I don't know how much I'll be getting on Monday - I would love 2ccs, but we'll see.

I had my first fill three weeks ago and I have my second fill next Monday. I felt a little restriction after the first fill, but very little. I am really looking for my second fill. I really haven't lost any weight in a month and I'm feeling discouraged. Although I do know that before I had my first fill I wasn't always choosing the right food to eat. I felt hungry all the time and i ate all the time. Since the last fill I had cut down my portions alot and was really hoping to see a loss, but I haven't. :rose:

Great job everyone! You all look fabulous. I, stupidly, didn't take a pre-op photo. I do have a few from this summer but they aren't good photos to compare today's photos to. I did take a photo at Christmas though and I'll be able to use that photo to compare to, in the future. Keep up the great work!!!

Hey everyone. I just updated my blog if you want to read an update. Start Enjoying Life I went to the doctor's last week for my two week post fill appointment. We scheduled me for another fill on the 23rd. I'm excited to get myself a bit tighter. I haven't been losing the weight like I thought I would be. Even with cutting my portions back and watching what I'm eating. :rose:

My egg shaped thing actually ended up being my port. I went to my post op visit and asked the doctor what it was and he said it was my port. I told him that I could feel my port at my incision and that this was about 3" above my incision. I was wrong. What I was feeling at my incision must have been scar tissue. He said that when I lay down, the egg shaped thing will move down to my incision and that was actually my port. When I'm upright, my port moves up.

I think it only happens after I eat and not all the time, just sometimes.

First off, Jodi Congrats on an awesome weight loss so far. You've gone wonderful. I stumbled in this thread after doing a search for hiccups. I almost never hiccuped or burped until I had the band. Now I find myself hiccuping all the time. I take it as a sign that I'm full although sometimes I don't feel full. It is nice having another little signal telling me to stop eating. I have not noticed that I'm in tight in the morning. I do have some friends from my local support group that mention they are tight in the morning and they have to drink something warm. I do have a question - I have this weird feeling and I'm not sure what it is. It's almost like a hiccup, burp and maybe even reflux all in one? It's not like the reflux I used to have - it never gets very high and it doesn't burn but it feels like the start of reflux but sort of like a burp and a hiccup also but nothing fully. Does anyone else experience something like this?

I just posted in another thread but I had my first fill on Monday. It went really well. Not much pain at all. Quick and easy. They did use fluro for my first fill. So far so good. It definately isn't too tight and I do feel a little different. I eat more than 1 cup but less than I did last week. I also feel full longer. I'm looking forward to another fill that brings me that much closer to where I want to be. Now I just need to work on exercising.

I had my first fill on Monday. Today was my first time eating some "normal" food. I feel fuller than I normally do. I did eat more than 1 cup but it hit me sooner than it would have last week. I also noticed this afternoon that I wasn't hungry like I normally am around 3pm. So it did make me fuller longer. I'm really excited to feel that today. Yesterday I was a bit down and feeling like the fill didn't do anything. I guess we really don't know until we start eating real food (not just liquid/softies). At my lap band support group meeting they say that it can take two weeks before you start noticing whether the fill is really working or not. I agree with the previous poster that I'm here for the long haul. I knew before going into this that it wasn't going to be a quick fix and that it could take multiple fills. I'm expecting at least 5-6 before I hit my sweet spot. Also, I was really surprised at how painless the fill was. It was so easy and quick. I had mine under fluro at the hospital.

Every Tuesday starting at 5:30pm there is a weekly support group and weigh in at FAHC 5th floor waiting room (in the new wing). Geared towards post op patients. Tamra

Hey folks. Sorry I haven't checked in in so long. I just haven't felt like myself lately. I've been disappointed in my weight loss and actually haven't felt like I even have the band. I get my first fill tomorrow and I'm hoping that starts giving me some restriction. I did put an update on my blog - Start Enjoying Life

Thanks Bubbles!

Does anyone else experience the feeling of fullness yet your stomach is still growling? I'm still having a really hard time trying to figure out when I'm really full. Last night after drinking 1/2 cup of Tomato Soup on Hand I felt really full - like I had over ate and it was hard to breathe. Tonight, I had just a small yogurt and felt the same way but my stomach was growling like crazy. It's now 3 hours later and I still feel really full but my stomach is still growling. Am I really hungry? Should I eat or ignore the growling?

I'm wondering what the verdict was on this? I have the same exact thing, except mine is sore. That's how I found it. It is NOT my port. I only have it on my right side, same side as my port. I have felt my left side and can't find anything similar - not to mention it is sore. Could it be the band or is it just scar tissue/fat tissue that was moved from the operation? Could it be part of the tubing from the band to the port? I'm two weeks post op and I won't see my dr for another two weeks.

I was two weeks today. Over the weekend I started adding in solid foods. I have tried chicken noodle soup, non-blended, low fat cheese, swedish meatball, crackers, small pieces of beef stick - all items I ate at a family holiday gathering. I chewed, chewed and chewed and everything went down okay. Today I ate homemade turkey soup and it felt fine. I have noticed that my hunger has come back. Week one I could only eat 1/4 of a banana and I was stuffed. Now I can eat the whole banana. Tomorrow I am going to work on getting in more protein as the last couple of days I haven't had much. I had stopped drinking my protein drinks for breakfast as I was really getting tired of them. Unfortunately I need to go back to them or find a good substitute. I don't like eggs so that's out of the question. Oh...I have a confession also. I know I shouldn't have done it but last night I ate a very small piece of pizza. I was worried about the bread as I have read that some people have issues with bread. I took a tiny, tiny bite and chewed the heck out of it. I waited a bit and nothing happened, so I took another bite and then another. I didn't eat the crust - passed that onto my husband. I feel really guilty that I ate it and disappointed with myself.