KarenFY09

I love my band! Weight loss has been slow, but I have not been hungry. I admit I had a pang of jealousy when my friend had a bypass last week, knowing she will lose so much faster than me, and she won't have to go for fills. But I also didn't want my innards rearranged. I didn't like the mortality rate with GB. And I love that five years from now, if I mess up (I don't intend to but IF) I could get a fill. A bypass patient that stretches out their stomach 5 years later is just out of luck.

I had my fith fill last week, from 4.5 to 6 cc. What a difference! Finally, real restriction. I've been putt-putting along, but I think I will be losing a bit faster from now on. I could eat anything last week, but this week I wouldn't even dare to try bread or pasta. After nine months on the slow track, I'm ready. Good luck everyone!

I've had my gowear fit since Jan 09. I chose Gowear over bodybugg for the sleep tracking. It tells how much time Im actually asleep vs time just laying in bed. Since I've lost weight, I sleep much better and don't wear it to bed anymore. I never used the calorie tracking. I track my calories on Sparkpeople and just input the average number of calories I consume. I'm not sure you can do that with bodybugg. I love that I can upload to Excel, so I have a really good record of how I've been doing over time. I still love my gowear fit and wear it most days. I find it very motivating. One thing that is better about the bugg over gowear fit is that the gowear fit only comes with a medium armband and I believe the bugg comes with a med and a large.

Hi Marge, I'm losing pretty slowly as well. I'm okay with it though. This is more success than I have ever had before. I was banded in Nov 08 and just got filled to 6cc a couple of days ago, so I guess my doc is pretty conservative also. Good Luck!

My surgeon requests I weigh in every day and write it down. He goes over the list every time he does a fill. Any time I have a gain or go 5 days without losing a lb, I'm supposed to go on protein shakes until I lose a lb.

Thank you for keeping up the spreadsheet. I'm at 219 now. I'm glad to see so many Notorious Novembers are doing so well. Karen

I haven't logged in for ages. I've been losing pretty slowly. I just had my 4th fill and now I'm at 230 lbs. It's very inspiring to see so many people doing so well. Thanks for keeping the spreadsheet Sistasassy.

Once my insurance approved, the surgeon's office offered me the next available date, which was only a couple days later. I couldn't go on that short notice, so I had to wait almost 3 weeks.

I agree with the posters above you may need a little unfill, or you may need to chew more slowly and take smaller bites. Not that I'm an expert, I'm only 2 months out and not restricted yet, but that's what I've read here on other posts. For motivation to exercise, check out sparkpeople.com. There are several 10 minute exercise videos on the website. Its all free. Maybe you can commit to 10 minutes a day at home and work your way back up from there.

I lost 14 lbs preop. My diet was 2 protein shakes and a salad with meat every day. Sometimes if I was really hungry in the evening I would have an oz or 2 of meat or an extra shake. My surgeon was pleased with the loss.

I didn't have a psych eval. At my consutation, I told my surgeon I had done a lot of research and he asked me if I was sure in my heart that lap band was the right decision for me. I said yes and that was it. I think it is often insurance that requires the psych eval and I guess mine didn't because they paid.

I'm in the same boat kplant. I'm only losing about a half pound a week since surgery on 11/13/08. I've had only one fill and I still have quite an appetite. I get my 2nd fill on Feb 3rd. I hope I get some restriction then, but if not, I will keep plugging away a half pound at a time until it happens. Good luck,

All of my incisions healed fine but one just wouldn't heal and got a little infected. Six weeks after surgery, 2 stutures came out still tied in little loops and the wound healed after that. My port is fine so far. Good Luck. I hope your port is okay too.

Congrats on breaking your plateau and your fresh start. I get a little discouraged sometimes waiting for my second fill because I'm so hungry and still going on just will power. I think you are doing awesome and I will be thrilled if I am where you are 7 months out. Good Luck.

Texan poking my nose in.... I like Sparkpeople.com because I can also set up my own goals to track - like getting up right away and not hitting the snooze button. It keeps track of streaks, how many days in a row I've met my goals and the percentage of days I've met my goal since I created it.

I chose the band mostly because of the lower mortality/complication rate. I didn't have any other health problems and didn't feel bypass was worth the extra risk. Also because I too have a history of losing and gaining it back. I feared I would do really well with bypass at first, but I would be one who would gain it all back after a few years because I would have a bad couple of months and stretch out my stomach. The band is always adjustable and if I screw up a little a few years down the road, I can get back on the wagon. I wish you the best of luck whichever you decide is right for you.

Hi Sistasassy. My current weight is 245 and my goal is 150. I'm not losing very fast, but I've only had one fill (2cc's in a 10cc band) and I'm so hungry, so I'm happy with any loss. Thank you for the chart. I find it very motivational.

I like it as a fun extra workout, to get my blood flowing in the morning before work, but I think I burn a lot more calories at the gym in zumba or step aerobics.

I too am a military dependent. I told them I wanted a lapband referral when I made the appointment. I saw a doctor I had never seen before and she made the referral right away. Tricare approved quickly and I had my surery within a month. Good Luck!

I had my surgery on a thursday and returned to work the nex tuesday. I wish I had taken a week off. My incisions felt ok, but I had shoulder pain from the surgery gas and it was hard to concentrate. I felt pretty good after 6 days and decided I could drive. That was a mistake too. It was very uncomfortable turning corners, I felt a pulling on my incisions. I stayed one night in the hospital because my surgeon requests that of all his lapband patients. Many people go home the same day.

Thank you MTBiker. I've been feeling discouraged because I'm so hungry. I don't get my second fill until Feb 3. Your post was exactly what I needed to read today. I can't wait until the band really starts working.

I had my first fill today. He had me lay down, lift my feet up, put my hands behind my head and hold a partial sit-up. He had trouble getting the needle in. He poked around several times and had to switch to a longer needle. It hurt a little but it was over quickly. My band was empty and he put 2cc's in and asked me to be on protein shakes for 3 days. I'm hungry already, but sticking to liquids. My next fill is Feb 3rd.

11 days post op and feeling pretty good. I had quite bad shoulder pain for about a week despite walking walking and more walking. The best relief from it was letting the shower just beat down on my shoulder for a while. Only one steri-strip has fallen off so far. My port site is still a little uncomfortable but bearable. I've lost 4 lbs post-op. I'm just starting to feel hungry again. I get to start mushies on Thanksgiving . Good luck to those about to be banded!

I just had to lift my shirt over my belly and the surgeon showed me where the incisions would be and what he would do for a tummy tuck (someday). He also listened to my heart, stomach and back with the stethescope, but I didn't have to remove my shirt.

I was banded yesterday, Nov 13. The doc found a hiatal hernia and repaired that too. I'm doing pretty well. The gas pain in my shoulder hurts more that my abdomin. It hurts to breath deeply probably because of the hernia repair. I had to spend the night in the hospital. The respitory tech came every 2 hours to have me take a few deep breaths and they checked my blood pressure often, so I didn't get much sleep. Then in the morning I couldn't drink anything because I had to wait until the surgeon got there to do an upper GI. I got to see my band on the x-ray. That was cool. Doc wants to see me on Monday as a precaution. I live 4 hours away so that means not going home. He says I have weak abdominal walls. When he saw how bummed I was about staying in town the extra days he even offered to see me after he got out of church on Sunday. He is such a wonderful man. I couldn't take away his family time, so I called work and told them I'm not coming in monday. :Dancing_sorry: I am on Clear Liquids for a week then thick for a week and I get to have mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving. I cant wait. All in all the pain isn't that bad and I'm just drinking and eating a bit of sf Jello. Good luck to everone about to be banded, Karen