Losing_It_In_Texas

Hi!! Thanks for asking....No, I didn't end up getting an unfill because Tuesday morning things had loosened up quite a bit. I did have trouble again at lunch with tomato soup of all things, but by dinner time and again today things are fine. I just think I was trying to drink too fast Monday night and the same with the soup on Tuesday. This is the first time since getting my band that I have actually had to just sip my drinks and cut up my food into tiny pieces. Hopefully things will continue progressing ok and I will bebin to see weight loss again. I only lost 5 lbs since my last fill a month ago.

Don't see anything yet....you may have pasted the code in the wrong place

If you are still constipated when you get to the "solids" stage, which I was....then I recommend dried apricots. That are what my dr recommended when even MOM, Benefiber, and Miralax failed to work for me. Try 4-5 pieces a day, but if you are feeling restriction then you should cut them in smaller pieces and chew them well. Some brands are tougher than others, but I get the store brand at WalMart and they work like a charm for me. Best of luck to you!

I don't drink even a sip with my meal and it does indeed suck, thats probably one of the worst parts about the band for me. I do drink one sip after my meal to clean out my mouth but truly only one sip since I'm afraid of washing my food down too soon and risking being hungry again.

After I get a fill I gurgle every single time I swallow....whether its liquid or food. I have read on here where someone explained it as water/food going down a sink drain and the similar sound that makes. Maybe you'll get some better answers, but I know that it is not uncommon.

Mine was 1 week of clear liquids then cream based soups the second week. I was allowed to add sf pudding and jello at that time on the advice of my nutritionist. I would really check with your doc before you make any additional choices though....every doc is different. Good luck!!

I was told to resume "sexual activity"...(my Dr's term) whenever I felt like it although I had read on here about some people experiencing pain at their port. We waited nearly a week and I was a little scared it would hurt but it was a breeze. It didn't hurt then and it has never hurt since even when getting a little overzealous:wub:. Maybe port placement has something to do with it or the size of the participants tummy...mine still has plenty of fat on it unfortunately and my port is pretty high up (between breasts and navel) and to the right a bit from my incision.

Hello all. I am 47 y/o, 5'5, and was 250 at my first consultation. I was 233 the day of my surgery (9-22) and am currently at 211. My goal is 140, but if I lose to 120 that would be even better. I began researching the surgery when I got to where just moving off the couch became a struggle, along with sore ankles, feet, and back. I wanted to be able to live my life again and not be a prisoner in my own home. My health has always been good....no diabetes and no high blood pressure but I'm sure those things would have developed at some point. Also, I wanted to look good again.

I had a really enjoyable Thanksgiving, but thank goodness its over....at least the food part! I didn't do nearly as bad this year as years past but I still ate more than I should have and had a 2 lb weight gain....OVERNIGHT!! I'm sure that it will fall off in a couple of days though, I'm not terribly concerned about it. I didn't even attempt the turkey cuz turkey is usually a bit dry even for the un-banded so unfortuantely everything I did eat was of the soft, slider-type foods. What was weird about the the whole day was I checked out everyones plates to see how mine measured up (they are all "normal" size people, I'm the only overweight one in the entire family) and their servings were HUGE,,,,much like mine used to be. That made me feel good that my servings were so much smaller than the "normals". Hope everyone had a great day!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! I am thankful for so many things, so to just list a few: I am happy to have my whole family together for the weekend. I am happy that at least I still have my job....my husband got laid off on Friday from his job that he had been at for 15 years. So there goes our health insurance. But at least I had my surgery 2 months ago so I am thankful for that. I am thankful to be in good health as is the rest of my family, currently. ANd last but least, I am thankful for this forum....it has helped me thru so many obstacles. Hope everyone has a wonderful day, and that we all remain thankful even when times are hard.

Thanks to all of you who have decided to get in on the New Year challenge. I think accountability will help all of us stay on track and hopefully not pig out too much on Thanksgiving day. I wish I had more restriction right now, but I think I'm up to it as I LOVE a challenge. Plus, right after my surgery I promised my DH a special treat :wub:when I got under 200....I think it must have been the drugs talking! LOL! Good luck everyone, and lets all meet up on New Years DAY to see how we did.

I love this thread!! 1) I will not miss having to roll onto all fours and needing to have something industrial strength to push up on to get off the floor 2) I will not miss having to hold my lower belly up while I wash under it 3) I will not miss being overlooked or looked away from by "normal" size people 4) I will not miss BEING FAT!!! YEAHHHHHHH!!!

Hello, I was banded a few days after you (9-22) and I have lost 23 lbs since surgery. I am really struggling with my weight loss right now. I have had 2 fills and I believe I am at 7.6cc in a 10cc band. The first fill on 10-20, surprisingly enough, gave me lots of restriction.... I lost 14 pounds that month (Oct); lost 4 pounds in the 8 days after my surgery (Sept); and have only lost 5 lbs this month. I had another fill on Nov 10 and it has been sadly lacking, I have been REALLY hungry! I am trying to eat the amounts that I am supposed to, but it is all willpower right now not the band. I have another fill on Dec 8 but I might try to move it to next week so hopefully I won't do too much damage. Best of luck to you!!

I thought this might offer some insight to how we all became overweight in the first place and will hopefully be sort of cathartic to tell our story. Here's a synopsis of mine: I was "normal" weight (118 lbs) my whole life till I entered into a 5 year mentally abusive relationship when I was 30, I am now 47. I say it was mentally abusive because he always wanted me to be thinner, monitored my food and constantly compared me to other women that were smaller than me. I began dropping weight till I was hovering around 100 lbs and people were constantly asking me if I was sick. Granted, I was a mental wreck at that time and had major counseling over why I would let someone treat me that way. Over the next 12 years, I set about eating what I damn well pleased to pay that a**hole back for the torture he put me thru. Showed him, didn't I....LOL!! I am now happily married to an extremely kind and good man who has loved me thru thick and thin, or more precisely thru thin and thick. He never uttered a word about the fact that I went from overweight to obese to morbidly obese in the 11 years that we have been married. It was 100% my choice to take control of my life back and get the lapband and he has been wonderfully supportive...even in that first couple of weeks after surgery when I was cranky and hungry ALL the time. It has five weeks since my surgery and I feel better, mentally and physically than I have in a very long time. Best of luck to everyone on their weight loss journey.

I was sooooo swollen for about a month. I had gained 5 lbs overnight from my surgery. My stomach is still taking the longest to go down. It was always the biggest part of me. Its so weird how different parts of my body are losing at different rates.

My doc is pretty aggressive, or at least he said my fills have been aggressive. I had my first fill 1 month after surgery and he put in 5.6cc, then I went today after 3 weeks of starving and he put in another 1cc. he said my 10cc band had a "prime" in it at surgery of 1cc, so that would make a total of 7.6cc. Will the fills be incrementally smaller from now on? I'm concerned that I only technically have room for 2.4cc before I'm totally filled. has anyone else experienced an aggressive fill dr like mine? Please help!!

I don't know about y'all, but I was suffering from MAJOR constipation after my surgery on 9-22-08.....I mean like I had only 2 BM's in a month. When I went in for my first fill on 10-22, I told my surgeon about it and he recommended eating 4-5 dried apricots EVERY morning with my breakfast. I was skeptical at first since I had already tried Miralax and Milk of Magnesia to no avail. Let me tell you, the apricots have worked wonders for me....I am now going at least every other day....WOOHOOO!!! TMI, I know....but maybe this will help someone else who is suffering like I was.

What I mean is does the tight feeling you get in your chest that signifies you are full feel like it does when you first know that you are stuck? I've only been banded for 2 months and I'm still struggling with the signals although I'm just beginning to listen to my body a tiny bit...just not there 100% yet. Thank you!

I would say that it would probably be possible...thats 3 pounds a week. How fast are you losing right now? Have you had fills already? Do you have any ore scheduled before then? I think all of these things would be factors. I'm not currently losing that fast...only about 1.5 - 2 lbs a week but I'm sure if I really tried I could bump it up to 3 pounds. Good luck to you!!

Hi Susie, I never would have thought I'd be sharing BM stories with virtual strangers...LOL! I have never asked my doc how often I should be going, but thats a good question. I was as regular as clockwork before my surgery so I never took the time to think much about going, then afterwards when the constipation set in it became my goal to have a BM at least every other day. I'm sure that due to the reduced volume of food as well as that we are having less fat in our diets, it is probably going to be less frequent than pre-surgery. The apricots have kep me going every day but much less volume.....EWWWW, I know thats gross!!! Even if its only every other day I would be ok with that too. Best of luck to you.

Sorry that I didn't see your post sooner, but someone that I met on here told me about the Bolthouse drinks and you are right....they are awesome!! I like the Mocha one best but there is also a good one called HAzelnut something. My doc doesn't recommend protein drinks now that I can eat "real" food but I drink them after fills since I'm supposed to stay on liquids for 24 hours. They sell them in Wal Mart and HEB also. Glad you found them!

I felt the EXACT same way that you do, just please don't give up. It definitely does get better, you are just going thru what I considered the very hardest part. I am only 2 months out so I am no expert but I have surely been where you are. Just keep doing what you are doing and one day you'll wake up and realize that time has passed and you are losing weight and you'll be on here passing your encouragement on to someone else who's in the same boat. Hugs to you!!

Loads- my doctor is Mark Sherrod of Southwest Bariatrics in Austin.

I have the Allergan 10cc band....i just think I have an agressive doctor, or maybe he is just filling it up quicker so he'll have to see me less....LOL