ohpuhleez

You've gotta let it go. Seriously. Do NOT let anyone take these accomplishments away from you. And in truth? There is something to be said for silent strength in your own achievements. Be strong in yourself and your actions. Their weight loss does not diminish your own. Their achievements do not mean you haven't achieved anything yourself. Lose it fast, lose it slow - just lose it :hurray:. And feel good in your own skin, please - CLAIM IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU know how great you feel - don't let others have that power, don't hand it over to them :hurray:!!

Congrats to all - even JUST 1.75 lbs is great! And look, why not a little of everything in moderation. Eat a big salad with lots of protein for dinner so you're good and full. Then, if you want a few cheetos, or a little ice cream or something sweet, have it. I guarantee you won't even be able to eat half the amount you used to. The whole point of this amazing tool is to be normal, and normal is grey area. Not bingeing but not starving. Not eating no sweets but not eating only sweets. This is what normal people who don't have food issues/addiction do habitually, but we bandsters can only do with the band in place. I'm due for my period soon and even being slightly too full, finding myself ravenous. Well of course, in talking to my non-food addicted friends, I realized they are like that too. Only difference is I used to be like that 24/7, and now it's just at period time. Wow. Normal. Crazy concept! So follow the band rules and get nice and full. Give it some time and if you still have the sweet or salty craving, have a little. That's NORMAL !

Ditto! Also, talk to your doctor if you can about other plateau tips! Stick with it!!

Thanks all :-) Yeah I wrote him a letter and cc'd the doc who suggested him so he would know why I'm taking my business elsewhere. Thankfully my main GP is awesome - so supportive and lovely and encouraging! This guy - why should he give a crap how I do it as long as I do it!? What an asshat! Meanwhile - I have about an extra 5 hours in my day now that I no longer think about food, plan my day around secret binges, and eat three small meals a day. So hubby bought me a bike for the holidays! I love it - been doing about 5 miles a day. And in April I'm going to start training for the Avon breast cancer marathon. It will be my second time doing it (2007 was the first but didn't in 2008 due to surgery). Can't wait to see what it's like with about 50 fewer lbs on my body :-)!

So sorry it's been forever since writing. Been reading everyone's updates and am constantly amazed at this process! WTG everyone !! I was banded 9/6/08 and just hit the 50 lb mark - started at 240 and now 190. Aiming for 130, give or take. My apnea and snoring are gone, tho I'm dealing with a real jerk of a cardiologist who thinks if people applied their passion for the band to traditional dieting then they wouldn't need surgery. To say I was furious would be an understatement. Does he seriously think there is anything I haven't tried??! Ugh - the closed minds!! Ah well - onward and downward !

while I really love him, reaching his support staff to schedule a fill is IMPOSSIBLE! Just met with him for the first time on Wednesday, and I'm really glad I've decided to go with him for local followup. (I had the surgery at NYU in September, but am based in LA). Cuneen took me on as a patient, and he's great. I'm down 42 lbs. since surgery in September and feel great, but haven't found my band "sweet spot" yet. I've now left three messages for the group that schedules the fills, and not one call back! They say they will call you back within 24 hours, so I waited 24 hours after the first call. Nothing. Left a second message and waited 24 hours. Nothing. Left another message today. I am SO discouraged by this - what's the point of working so hard if you can't get the medical staff to work with you?? This was one of the reasons I wanted to find a local doctor, and now once again I feel completely let down. I won't, of course, let this get in the way of my success, but it will be very hard to HAVE success if I don't stay on top of my fills. Anyone else have this problem with Cedars?

Good morning all! Great reading everyone's posts. Teri, not sure which anti-depressant you are on, but I've been on Prozac on and off for years for serious bouts of depression. Well, I've been off it since prior to surgery due to concern with it getting stuck in my band (how do you get those vitamins down - any tips??). I met with my psychiatrist yesterday, who is my prescribing doctor, and it turns out that Prozac comes in liquid form. You might want to investigate that option, since it won't hurt your stomach and will be released properly via a liquid delivery method. I'm down a few pounds to 203.2 as of this morning - slowly but surely - big smile on my face !

Doritos will not kill you, nor should they quash your motivation or spirit. I didn't even see until now in your sig that you're a single mom of three - that you have even undertaken this effort on behalf of yourself is HERCULEAN!! GOOD ON YOU!! The better you are to yourself the better you will be to and for your kids - kids model what they see, and when they see that mommy takes care of herself, they will know that it is important for them to do the same as they get older. So good for you and that it's good for them is just a nice side effect :Dancing_sorry:!

all of the Yes on 8 banners on this site. The propaganda on the Yes side, not to mention the money pouring into this from out of state (remember when conservative Republicans stood for the rights of states to make their own decisions???) is disgusting. No on 8 - it's the only way to go if you are a strict constructionist who believes the Constitution should stay...

Hi Dot and Teri - thank you for the welcome. Brave or crazy, I'm not sure. I've got an appointment at Cedars next month and hope to start working with that doc on a regular basis - no more feeling guilty about not going to NY if that doesn't keep happening. Teri - three is a crazy age, isn't it? I have a boy and a girl. How is your son with CP doing? Has that been a food stresser for you? I'm definitely a "stress stuffer"...been working on that. Regardless - kids are a blessing, a miracle and a challenge all rolled up into one constantly fascinating (sometimes difficult) package :Dancing_wub:! I just wish someone had told me that the terrible twos were nothing compared to the "Effing Threes" (as my own dad, who also has twins, puts it!) Okay, about the gas? OH. MY. GOD. Had I been banded prior to my kids' birthday in August I could easily have filled up every single balloon in the place, with some to spare. Gas X chewable helps a bit - mostly I just belch like a fiend! And yes, my kids AND my husband think it's hilarious :Dancing_sorry:!

Hi all - I'm new to this group. A few of you posted on my thread about being frustrated regarding fills, and since I'm September too, "followed" you here :thumbdown:. I was banded by Dr. Ren at NYU. Started liquids 8/23, surgery 9/6, more liquids until 9/18, then mushies 'til 9/28, solids finally started on 9/29. I'm down about 34 lbs. as of today, with another 70 or so to go. I am based in Los Angeles and travel to NY for my followups and fills (first fill was 10/12 to 4.5 ccs; second fill was a couple of days ago, now at 6.2 ccs). The traveling is rough - I have three year old twins, a husband, a job, etc - but I committed to doing it once a month for a year. Problem is that I don't feel like I'm getting the greatest follow up care. Everyone at the office is SO NICE, and yet their investment is minimal. For example, since the beginning I 've been talking about getting a local doc, just in case, and they keep saying they'll give me names. When I finally did get the names this week, I learned they just pulled them from the "find a doctor" link on the lapband.com site - I mean, good lord, I could have done that myself! They could have told me that on the phone 4 weeks ago instead of making me wait another month. So... Frustration abounds, and surprises too - like when I was handed a prescription for phentermine to get me through the "difficult days" before I'm due for a fill. The medication thing left me a little unsettled. I could have popped pills without surgery - to me the whole point of getting banded was to have this tool to use to help me make smart choices and know what it feels like to really feel full. Okay, I'm just rambling here, guess I'm grateful to be technologically surrounded by a group of people who really get it, who've walked in my shoes and know the pain of chronic and obsessive overeating. With so many joyful things in my life, it sometimes amazes me that - at age 41 - this is the one thing I just can't walk away from. I hope that this new tool will help me break free from this addiction...and if anyone is still reading, I'm thankful to you. Looking forward to getting to know you and supporting each of you in your own journey as I make my way in mine! OPL

Glad you posted! Wow, we're really on almost the exact same timeline! I realized today that part of my eating issue stems from boredom - when I'm not really fully engaged, eating becomes my "go to" activity. Today I threw myself into a project (work is slow, and I work from home) around the house...all of a sudden it was 5pm, I forgot to eat lunch, and it was time to get the kids. 3 oz turkey burger and a bite of mashed potatoes and I was done for the night. TINY STEPS :thumbdown:!!

I was banded 9/6/08, no fill. Went for first fill in beginning of October and they put in 4.5ccs. I was starving and can't believe I didn't gain any weight back (started at 240 lbs, post-surgery, etc was down to 223, at first fill was 215). Went back for 2nd fill 2 days ago and was down only 2 lbs. (after 4 weeks). Not sure how the nurse practitioners math works, but he said I'm now at 6.2 ccs, although he said total I'm at 7.5 ccs. HUH? Not sure if that means that's what he added on top of what was left? Didn't get it at all. Regardless, I'm now back home (I live in So Cal but had surgery with Dr. Ren in NY) and once again, I'm still hungry, scavenging for food, as opposed to that sweet spot I had post-surgery when I was swollen and couldn't even think about food. I'm SO frustrated! The nurse practitioner, who does the fills, actually wrote me a prescription for phentermine for the "tough times" but hello!! I had this surgery so i could use this tool to my advantage; if I wanted drugs I could have taken them without the surgery! I just don't get it. I don't have much more room in this band. Maybe it's all head hunger? But seriously, for the three weeks after surgery, I couldn't even be around food, I was so full. 1/2 a cup of Soup felt like an entire thanksgiving dinner. Maybe I'm just expecting too much, but I'm terrified of being completely disappointed and having this not work. Any suggestions?

You all rock - thank you for some MUCH needed perspective!! It's so easy to get caught up in all of this, I forget that it's all a process, and that sometimes processes slowdown (or stop) but that doesn't mean things won't get going again. Thank you thank you - and I really hope to be here for all of you have the way you have for me - thanks :thumbdown:.

But plus side (SIDE, not size !!!) Look, you're down 54 lbs - that is an INCREDIBLE achievement!!!!!!!!!! Yes, we're headed out of hell - look, anything has to be better than where we started, right :thumbup:?

Thank you so much for responding! I've probably not been drinking enough, I bet that will help - and yes, I think it must be psychological hunger that's getting me. I just remember so well that sweet post-surgery feeling of not even thinking about food, and my NP said, "That's the sweet spot we're aiming for!" And of course haven't found it since. But you are so right - it's all so new and so early. I definitely am NOT giving up - what choice do I have? I've come this far !! Thank you THANK YOU for posting, you've both really boosted my spirits more than you know!!

My surgery was Sept 6, and I had my first fill back in early October - sad to say, it was a bust. I have a 10cc band, and the NP decided to "push" it because I live in CA and travel to NY, where my doc is (I've committed to traveling once a month for the first year, though am in the process of looking for a local SoCal doctor for backup - any reccs anyone??) NP filled me to 4.5ccs, and I don't feel full at all. I still have an appetite, don't feel full after eating, and am still seeking out food...I've made it my goal until my next fill (which is a week from today) to do the best I can, keep only safe foods in the house (which I do anyway) and maintain my weight until then. I remember that post-surgery, the NP asked me to describe how I was feeling. I told him that I wasn't thinking about food and that after even half a cup of Soup, i was full and would feel sick just thinking about eating more. I had no cravings, had no urges to eat, and wouldn't even notice I was hungry until my stomach would gurgle and I'd realize it had been four or five hours since I last ate. He told me that we would do our best to re-create that feeling with my fills, as he would call that being in the "sweet spot." I would have to agree - it was a great place for me and it's exactly what I imagined, post-surgery. All that said, this fill didn't even come close. I'd like to fill more next Monday, but of course don't want to get sick, etc. Any reccs from people regarding first vs. second fill, the "sweet spot" for fills, and how you handled a "too little fill" situation so as not to gain before next fill? I'm SUPER motivated to use this amazing tool to its best advantage! Thanks all OPL

Hi all - long-time lurker, first-time poster ! I was banded by Dr. Ren at NYU on September 6th of this year. My process was relatively simple. I decided to have the surgery earlier this year, luckily had six months with a nutritionist, so was able to get approved by insurance easily. Started liquid diet on August 23rd, weighing in at 240 lbs. Had surgery on September 6th, was down to 223 lbs. Started mushies on September 16th, then real food on September 27th. Now down to 210 lbs. I'm about to do my first post regarding my first fill on the post-op board. Thanks to all who are here, congrats to everyone on continued success, and looking forward to connecting! OPL

In looking for boards with inspirational posters, this was by far the best group! Thank you for the welcome :thumbup:. Happy to be here!!

I'm in San Fernando Valley, but could go LA basin side, Valley, San Gabriel Valley (Glendale, Pasadena, etc) - anything's closer than NY, right :thumbup:?

Yep, MacMadame, you hit it on the head! It's Google Ad Sense, so geared to SoCal board members...interesting since Google is anti-8. Maybe the proceeds can be donated?

LOL, Plain - will you adopt THIS white girl :tongue:?? Seriously all of the above is true - it's totally crazy! Oh, and my apologies to the board - read on another thread that the Yes on 8 banners are coming from Google Ad Sense...I think I'm now ESPECIALLY glad that my husband works at Yahoo!!!

None - that's exactly what I'm talking about. Those who support the constitution of the state should NOT support Proposition 8, as it aims to change the constitution. Regardless of how they feel about marriage, if they are TRUE conservatives, they should not support changing the constitution. Yes on 8 means yes, we should change the state constitution. I'm seeing the Yes on 8 banners all over this site - connecting my children's education to protecting marriage - it's a farce and lie and it's ridiculous.

Thank you for posting about this! I live in SoCal, just joined this board, and cannot believe I'm looking at Yes on 8 banners on this website - especially ones with Obama on them. Yes, he said he doesn't support gay marriage, but he also doesn't support changing the constitution of California. I was in SanFran this weekend and heard Gavin Newsom speak at a No on 8 service at Glide church - it was truly inspirational.

How are you getting through? The good news is that - at least from your ticker - your weight is still going down (that's the right direction !) How do you stay motivated?