Cindy C

After my initial loss of 39 pounds the first 2 months, I consistently lost 8 pounds a month for the first year.

The thing that helped my gas pains was a good chiropractic adjustment.

Actually, according to most studies, the long term complication rate is around 8%. I'll take those odds any day!

No, the fluid doesn't leak out. (If it does, that's a problem!) However, as you lose weight, you lose fat around your band site which loosens it up more, thus causing you to need another fill. My last fill was almost 5 months ago. I've never gone that long. I've lost about 15 pounds since then and can tell that my restriction has changed a little. I'm still in the green zone, but I'm sure that if (make that when) I lose another 10-15 I'll probably need another fill.

I haven't been able to eat red meat in so long, I can't remember. One of my all time favorites is Lamb with Tzatziki sauce but whenever I have tried to eat it since banding it has caused me grief! I was out with friends tonight and they wanted to go to a Greek restaurant. So I thought, "OK, I'm gonna try this one more time!" I ordered my old favorite, without the pita bread and rice. Much to my delight, I was able to eat it with no problem. Granted, I didn't eat much. Brought home about 75% of it. I haven't enjoyed a meal that much in ages! I may just try to eat some of the left overs tomorrow!

There's always going to be something coming up that could make you want to wait. If you wait for November then are you going to be freshly banded for Hanukkah. If you do it now, by November you could easily be down 40 or 50 pounds. There's no time like the present. If it was me, I would go for it as early as possible.

I hear ya, sandworms! I think the problem is that we've (most of us, anyway) have been fat our whole lives and have never learned how to handle compliments because we never got them. I'm the same way. It really does feel awkward!

I am the queen of shopping!!! It's a good thing both kids moved out. I turned both of their bedrooms into walk-in closets! I don't feel one bit guilty about it either! I still spend less on clothes than I used to spend on food!

You really can't compare your amount of fill to someone else's. Everyone is different. My friend and I both have 10cc bands. I have 5.8, she has 7.0. She can eat way more than I can.

Don't worry about your hair. It doesn't fall out, it just breaks. Once your body adjusts to the changes, it stops and grows back.

It just gets better! Congrats!

I don't miss my thighs rubbing together when I walk!

LOL!!!!! I guess if that's the case, you probably have no use for periods anyway!

If your doctor is doing that many removals then, I'm thinking she probably isn't educating her patients properly. That or she just found something more lucrative to do. Find a new doctor. Here is a list of Doctors in Pennsylvania: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/forum/1851-pennsylvania/

Actually, I have made it before. It's just not the same as having an Greek Adonis of a waiter bring it to me!

You could almost set your watch to my periods the first 35 years that I had them. About 6 months (and 70 pounds) after my lap band surgery they got incredibly screwed up. There was absolutely no pattern. I may or may not have one each month. I had one that lasted 1 hour....had another one that lasted 6 weeks! It was crazy...doctor said it was probably from the weight lose. I finally just went and had endrometrial ablation. Haven't had one now in about a year and a half.

I can't eat pork or beef any more.

HURRAY, JENN!!!! Great feeling, isn't it? I've done the same thing the whole journey. Every time I see a new number, I say, "No, the scale did NOT just say that. I gotta see that again!"

WOW!!! 50 pounds in 11 weeks....that's great! Don't believe the horror stories. You can lose just as much with lapband as you can with GB and have a better chance of keeping it off. I lost 115 the first year and a total of almost 150 in 3 years. I can guarantee you I won't be regaining. You only need to go to the doctor about once a month for fills in the beginning. I've been at the same level since April. Yes, there will be times when you might be too tight and need to go get a little taken out but, in time, you will know exactly how much is going to be too much.

It happens if you eat too fast, too much or don't chew well. Everybody swallows about a quart of saliva a day. If your pouch gets too full there's nowhere for it to go so it comes back up.

That's awesome. It's the first in a long line of NSV's you're going to experience. Things like that really help to keep you on track! Congrats!

It surprises me that they would tell you to have lunch right after a fill. Adding fluid to the band usually causes a little swelling. My doctor says 12-18 hours of liquids. I wait at least 24...sometimes longer before attempting solids.

That 4 pounds will come off easily!

I never heard of anyone having headaches from restriction. That's weird. Maybe you have something else going on like a pinched nerve. I was in a car crash when I was 21. As a result I had a headache that literally lasted for 8 months. Every minute of every day! My Dad's next door neighbor was a chiropractor. He adjusted my neck and the headache instantly went away. When I started seeing a chiropractor on a regular basis I stopped having headaches all together. You might try that..could help...certainly can't hurt!