Luv2prayz

Hello, I am new to the group and wanted to introduce myself. I was banded in Aug 2008 with a starting weight of 265 got down to 214 by Dec 2008 and found out I was pregnant. I had most of my band unfilled and gained all my weight back during pregnancy and now almost a year and a half later am stuck at 245. I lost my insurance so couldn't really afford my fills. i had one shortly after my son was born and then had another one 4 months later. I was not in it mentally so nothing really helped. Now it is over a year later and I will be getting my first fill in over a year on Wednesday. I am kind of excited to start again but also very nervous because I have fallen off the band wagon. Also nervous that I won't be able to lose like I first did when I got my band. It is very embarrassing when I had done so well and people are always asking me how much weight have you lost or how is your band working for you. Luckily we live in a new state with new friends so they don't really know but I do, and I feel like the biggest failure at times. Anyway, I came on here hoping for some support and some advice on how to get started...I feel like I have totally forgotten what to do and what works. I am looking forward to hearing from you all!

Hi there! I wish I could say that I am newly banded but that is not the case, I was banded in Aug 2008 and started out great. I lost 50 pounds in 4 months and was the lowest weight I can remember in a very long time. Then I got pregnant and gainned most of it back. But thankfully not all of it. Anyhow, not going to give a sob story, i blame myself for the weight gain. So this Wednesday I will be getting my first fill in over a year and would like some support and advice how to get back on the band wagon. i am really excited to get started again but I kind of feel like I have forgotten EVERYTHING. I would love someone to kind of hold me accountable, let me know what worked best for you, what does your week look like in terms of meals? And also I have a family of 3 little boys and a husband and would like some tips aswell how to make food we both can eat. I should also say I do have some very picky eaters. One thing I know about myself is that if I have guidance like a meal plan even for a couple of weeks it will really help me out. i am pretty good at following those types of things. Also if you are near Colorado SPrings that would be awesome but not necessary. Thank you!

Wow!!! I wish I found this forum a year ago... And I got all of you beat on time. My son will be 18 months in March and since he has been born I have only had 2 fills about 4 months apart and that was over a year ago. While I was pregnant I still had some fluid in my band but not much so after a while I ate what i wanted and how much I wanted. I was only banded for 4 months before I got pregnant and had lost 50 pounds. My birth control failed. During pregnacy I gained almost all of it back and then lost after the delivery I was 15 pounds away from my lowest but since then I have gained again and am at a steady 245. which is 20 away from my starting weight. SO now I am at a place where I can afford my monthly fills again and this time I am excited and very nervous at the same time. Just like many of you have said, It's like I have forgotten what to do. I am also nervous about what they as in Dr. or nurse may say....but I need all the support I can get.

Sounds like you have quite a support system going here. But I totally understand. I was banded in August of 08 and once I found my sweet spot so to say, i had dropped 50 pounds by December, but my birth control failed me. So due to pregnancy I had a lot of my band unfilled because my last fill had caused me to be a little too tight and I was concerned with morning sickness and getting enough protien, etc. Well needless to say I gained ALL my weight back during pregnancy and after lost some of the weight but not all. and now am at a pretty stable 245 which is about 20 pounds less from my original weight. I haven't had a fill in over a year. I had 2 after my pregnancy but they were probably 4 months apart with absolutely no restriction or change, Plus I was not mentally prepared to make the change but was pushed to get fills by my husband. Mind you we no longer had insurance so fills were a little more than we could afford, hence the space in between fills. Now fast forward a little more than a year later, and I a fed up. I am scheduled to have a fill in a week. Very excited and nervous, because I too feel like a total failure and I don't know what to expect. I am starting a liquid diet in the morning to help me mentally prepare somewhat before I get my fill, something I did not do before. I agree with the others though, you need to find a doctor that will be more supportive, but also need to be sure this is what you are ready to do. After my experience last year and knowing that I was not mentally prepared to start my lap band life style, I know this is something you need to really want. So what, you have 6 children, i am a very busy mom too but I think we can do it. I know this time around I have found a support group that i will be attending, I need that accountability. My thing is I was doing so well with diet and all right before my pregnancy that now, I have forgotten where to start and how to eat etc. I wish you luck on your new journey. If you really want you YOU CAN DO THIS!!!

I'd like to see the answer to that because I think I feel the same thing at times. Maybe it is just the gas moving around?????

Totally normal. I was banded on Wednesday and had a lot of gas too. I still do at times. I heard that Gas-x works for some along with walking. As far as eating I haven't been feeling too hungry myself except earlier in the morning. I have actually been struggling getting my fluids, protien and calories in. I was extremely week earlier today until I had some tomatoe soup. I had some chicken broth a while ago and I think I over did it because I am feeling very full. I hope you feel better soon. It does get better with each day.

Hello Everyone, I am back:thumbup:, 2nd day post surgery and feeling pretty good. Still sore in the incision spots though. And a little uncomfortable when getting in and out of bed but other than that I must say I am feeling alright. I am sorry to hear that others of you haven't been doing as well. I have been able to eat/drink a little more today, wasn't able to do much yesterday. Today I was able to drink halfs of my protien shake, a couple of spoonfuls of applesauce and a popsicle so far. Haven't been feeling hungry like others I have read about and hoping this feeling lasts at least a week 2 would be great. I haven't been able to check my weight loss thus far because I don't have a scale so that is driving me crazy but I am pretty sure I lost something. I lost about 10 pounds on my pre-op diet so anxcious to see how much I have lost so far. I also wanted to say thank you to all of you have kept me in your thoughts and prayers during these past couple of days.:biggrin:

Hi there, I am fairly new to this forum and trying to figure things out. I am 30 years old and am blessed to be married to my first and only love who is an amazing husband and father.:wink2: I have 2 boys, 18 months and 4.5 years old. I am a stay at home mommy and love it and can't wait to enjoy it even more once I lose some of this weight. I am only on my pre-op diet as I will be banded on Wenesday 8/27/08 and I have lost about 9 pounds so far. I live in the Northern Dallas area and I am also new to Texas, just moved here from CA a few months ago. As far as how much weight I want to lose my first goal is to lose about 55 pounds which will put me just under the 200 mark. Eventually I would like to go down to 145. I am not even sure what that would look like, especially since I have been overweight most of my life. But I just want to be healthy.:crying:

Thanks Lellow and everyone else for all your warm thoughts and prayers. I was quite surprised to see you had my name listed since I just signed in a few days ago. I can't really say that I am nervous right now maybe in the morning it just doesn't seem real to me yet. Unfortunately I was unable to do much cleaning or laundry since I hurt my back on Sunday. It is feeling better though and getting easier to move about. But thanks again and I will keep you posted as soon as I feel up to it. Thanks again for the support. It is so refreshing to know that people are thinking and praying for me and don't even know me. That is so awesome. Thanks, Carina:biggrin:

Hello Everyone, I wanted to stop in and say Hi. I have been looking on this forum for about a week but a bit overwhelmed at how large it is. I have been told to come check you guys out so here I am. I will be having my surgery on Wednesday 8/27/08 with Dr. Felts trough True Results. I am blessed to be married to my first love and highschool sweetheart and have two beautiful boys. 4 and 18 months old. I am doing this surgery for me and so that I can be around to actually enjoy my boys instead of always feeling like I am watching on the sidelines. I look forward to meeting some of you if not most of you along my journey. Thank you Sades and Dwrd73 for the invite!:biggrin:

My concern wasn't so much about brestfeeding, as much how it would work with all the sticthing and all on my stomach and being able to get in a comfortable position in able to breastfeed. My son is 18 months old and is over 20 pounds so I was a little worried about how it would hurt me and how you managed to do it so soon. But thanks for all your answers.

Hello Everyone, I wanted to stop in and say Hi. I have been looking on this forum for about a week but a bit overwhelmed at how large it is. I wasn't and still not quite sure how or where to start using this forum. I will be having my surgery on Wednesday 8/27/08 with Dr. Felts trough True Results. I am blessed to be married to my first love and highschool sweetheart and have two beautiful boys. 4 and 18 months old. I am doing this surgery for me and so that I can be around to actually enjoy my boys instead of always feeling like I am watching on the sidelines. I look forward to meeting some of you if not most of you along my journey if I can ever figure this forum out. LOL! I have heard many good things about it.

Thanks a bunch and I will. Congratulations on the 50 pound weight loss too!

Yes I have, originally I was put on 2-3 protien shakes and 1 small meal, a lean mean and I think it was 6 oz. of vegetables or enough to get me satisfied. NO potatoes or carrots. But since my surgery date got pushed up a couple of days I now have to watch my calories. I am aloud 800 which seems so much harder. She didn't say anything specific so I have basically been doing the same just watching my calories and pretty much no carbs. When I weighed myself on Friday I think it was I had already lost 8 pounds in less than four days. Hopefully I will do the same on the 800 calorie one. I am so nervous about my liver not being in shape for surgery and not losing anymore weight. I have my pre-op appt. tomorrow so we shall see, One thing is for sure I have not eatten this little or this healty in along time. I got a little scared today because I sprained my back today and ended up in the ER. I thought I was going to have to cancel my surgery due to the pain I am already in but the Doctor said I should be alright. So I am praying I would hate to have to cancel after all this.

Cool. Keep me posted on your progress and I will do the same.:smile:

I noticed that you had a little one that you were breastfeeding prior to being banded. I have an 18 month old whom I still breastfeed and I will be having surgery in less than 4 days. My question and concern is well since he isn't a tiny little baby anymore, will I still be able to continue breastfeeding? My concern isn't the quality of milk especially since he gets it from other things but more for myself. 10 months is quite a difference from 18 months but did your baby at the time weigh more that 10 pounds and how long did you wait to breastfeed him or did you. I was told not to lift anything that weighs more than 10 pounds? I am kind of freaking out because I don't know what I am going to do with my little one. how did you get through it. Especially the first few days/weeks. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Anyone been through the same thing?