Thewall26

Thanks Gary,

I was banded by Dr. Wagner as well. I see him later today for my first visit after the surgery. It's interesting that you didn't fell any restrictions until the third fill. I am having a hard time distinguishing hungry, full or just uncomfortably from the surgery. Right now I am just trying to eat in very small amounts three times a day and get things adjusted. I think it may take a while to understand what being full and hungry feel like now.

Good news is all my body functions seem to be working again, BM's and such, and I have not been getting sick. Just want to get healed and then get past the 8 week mark to make sure I minimize any chance of slippage or complications at this point. The weight loss so far is a bonus I suppose.:scared2:

WOW that is pretty cool I didnt even notice you were from St Louis till now.

I totally understand. The first 8 weeks are the hardest.

Oh I am not saying I didnt have any restriction, but I guess I was thinking it was going to be different :cheers2:

I think it was just more of a I didnt want to be able to eat as much as I was. I am pretty good now, but I was told by Dr Wagner that the fat on the stomach will continue to decrease and adjustments will continue :party: I go back on the 18th and I will probably get another fill.

You will get there, you have a great support staff.

Nice to meet you K. Hang it there. Recover takes some patience. SOunds like you are doing well though. Good Luck...

Hello two the both of you. Congrats on taking your next step. You will find this is the best thing for you. I have had mine close to 10 months now and I love it. One small piece of advice I can give you is be patient. I got a little down on myself, close to the holidays because I actually gained some weight back, but I also realized that my body had gone close to 2 and a half months with not real food intake, so it took my body awhile to re adjust. Your fills are another big thing. I didn't feel restriction till my third fill. Good luck and you have tons of support on here.

Gary

Wednesday last week was week 5 post op, and the first day of a normal diet. I joined the Mother's Day challenge (obviously did NOT meet my goal) and was weighing myself every day. I got easily discouraged because I wasn't losing ANYTHING, and it was suggested to me that I only weigh once a week. I took that advice, and this morning, when I stepped on the scale, my heart sunk when I saw 211.0 vs. the normal 206.8. WTF?

I don't know if it's because I'm eating normal foods again, or what, but I am so afraid to go to the Dr. on Thursday because I know he'll be disappointed. I'm afraid he won't think I'm trying hard enough...and I really am trying!

I know I'm new at this, but I am having THE MOST DIFFICULT time not drinking when I eat, and measuring foods seems pointless, because I am so unsatisfied and end up eating Snacks because I'm so hungry.

Has anyone else experienced this right before their first fill??

Dont worry about it too much at the beginning. I gained about 10 pounds after I was able to eat food again. Just my bodys way of telling me that if I ever went 40 day again without giving it some food I better watch out. :biggrin:

The first month or two is all a learning process for you nad the band. I didnt really start to lose until my third fill. which was 3 months after my surgery. Just hang in there and keep up the great work.

I feel embarrassed that I want it... I told my hubby that if I got it, I'd like to keep it a secret unless I just have to tell them. I feel like I couldn't do it on my own and I was weak. :biggrin:

Dont feel embarrassed. I know i can be difficult not to feel like that, but your doing it for you, and the ones you love. My only problem is that I wish I would have done it sooner I was killing my self before. I was on 8 meds from high BP to diabetes to high cholesterol. now I am on nothing and I I we it all to my Band.

Hi to all who are "new" to this (including me). I'm curious about how everyone feels about telling folks...I don't want to tell anyone, but I'm trying to look hard at the reasons why. My weight battle has always been so internal for me. I am surrounded by great family and friends, but I will admit I feel a bit like I've failed to have to resort to these measures. How does everyone else feel?

I guess for me, I really didn't care who knew about it, so I told anyone that would listen. Now granted I wasnt walking up to complete strangers and saying hey guess what.

I knew why I was doing this, and it was to benefit me and my family. The way I look at it is you need all the support you can get, and friends and family should be there for you. If they cant back you in your decision then you don't really need them in your life.

I have a 14cc band and 4cc in there. I noticed a difference in the amount of SOME foods I can eat but not ALL foods. I know there are slider foods (ice cream, chips etc) but I'm not eating any of those foods. My fill was 7 days ago and I stay within the same number by 1-2 lbs + and - I keep thinking what the heck?!! I'm getting full quickly on certain foods but not others and I'm not losing like I thought I would. My surgery was on Feb 26th and to date I've lost around 15lbs. I wanna know if I'm on target or if I'm off mark or what??! Anyone else have this issue or had it previously? Some people say the 3rd fill is when they saw and/or felt the difference. Any light?? Anyone!!!?? Thanks all!! :thumbup:

Hey, I know everyone is different but I had almost 8cc in my 14cc band before I had any decent restriction. I am currently at 10.4cc and just went to the Dr today and this is the first month I have not had a fill in 9 months.

so jut hang in there and watch your food. Counting my daily calories really has helped me quiet a bit especially when i wasnt having great restriction.

Well I did it. :thumbup: Went in for my weigh in today and lost 15 lbs, which put me over the 100 pound mark.

Pretty exciting I am only 6 pounds away from being what I weighed when I was a senior in high school.

I didnt have to do a caloric journal but my nutrionist wanted me to write down my daily foods I was eating and turn it in to her every month, I will admit that I fudged some of the entries because I didnt always write everything down. I felt that they just wanted to make sure I was willing to change my habits. I lost about 25 pounds during my six month supervised diet.

Well I have only one thing I can tell you based on my my own experience. I did not got any real restriction until my 6th fill. I was just patient with myself and my Dr. I finally got there and I am finally losing weight after hitting a wall. Just keep telling yourself that it will get better and nothing is going to happen over night.

The same thing happened to me once I was able to eat solids. I went to taco bell and ate 2 burritos and tacos and was like what the heck am i doing knowing it wasnt right. You will get to that sweet spot it might just take awhile. I have the AP large with 9.8cc in it and just got to my sweet spot.

You will do great!!!!

FINALLY After 6 months since surgery I think I am there. I have the AP Large Lap Band and currently am at 9.4cc's out of the 14. Can finally only have a few bites of food and actually feel full :thumbup: Whoooo Hooooo

My info was submitted 3 weeks ago and I'm just wondering how long did it take to hear from your insurance? I know they said it could take a couple of months, but I'm so eager to find out. I just pray that I am approved!

Mine only took 2 days :biggrin: Although they did tell me that it could take up to 30 days. I guess they had nothing to do, so I got pretty lucky .

How many of you have had or planning on having your "last meal". I know it's wrong to do! lol :biggrin:

I am having mine tomorrow evening and i can't wait. I am going to Cheesecake factory with my sisters and a few close friends. :tongue2:

Surgery is one week from today pre op starts Wednesday. i can't wait for my new life to begin.

I hope everyone has a wonderful experience with starting a new life.

Tracie

OHHHH I am a guilty on on this :thumbup: The morning I got my call to say I was approved I set my surgery date, I told them the sooner the better. I was told to start my clear liquid diet the very next day ( I was diabetic and had to do a two week all liquid diet )

Called my wife and said we are going to UNO's pizza for dinner. I had pizza, Wings, a big ole dessert :seeya: I was a very happy camper. I must say that I am even more happy since I have had surgery. Just look at the weight ticker :mad:

Okay, this might be kinda gross and personal, but I gotta figure out what's goin' on, if it was my bad hygeine or what.

I was one of those folks who did not take well to surgery. I was miserable. Surgery was on a Monday, I didn't shower until Fri. afternoon. I also wasn't wearing a bra and no undies, just elastic waisted sweat shorts. Over that first weekend I started experiencing some abdominal itching and thought it was the incisions healing. But then when I went for shower #2 on Sunday, hubby noticed that I had a rash under my breasts and under the tummy roll.

I have been putting Gold Bond Medicated powder on it and that helps, but there a couple of spots that just don't seem to want to go away. I might add, I am showering every day now and wearing a bra.

Has anyone else experienced any kind of rash? I can't figure out what it might be caused by, surely not just being dirty.

Any advice on how to make the last stubborn spots go away?

Thanks

Hello, I had something similar on my stomach on the right side. I mean it itched bad. I didnt really pay much attention to it until I was to go in for my first fill I asked my Dr what it could be, and honestly told me he wasnt sure. He didnt think it had anything to do with the surgery. Told me to get some Benadryl cream and just keep an eye on it. Which I did, and in about 5 days it was gone. Not really sure what it was, but I got it about a week after surgery, and after useing the cream it went away. Just my two cents.

You are very welcome. Keep in touch with how things go.

The diet really is not that bad. The first week following surgery is Clear Liquids only, week two is full liquids which was things like protien shakes, pudding, milk, ect....... week 3 was mushie type foods like egg salad, eggs, oatmeal, grits, ect..... week 4 I started incorperating more solid food. I could not have bread or red meat till week 8 so that was a little tough, but now I have everything, just a whole lot less.

No worries, ASK AWAY its the only way you are going to get the answers you need. My wife was not supportive of it at first. but I told her I was geting it done no matter what. :tongue2: I mean I understood where she was coming from but I also wanted to be around in 10 -15 years.

I was 380+ pounds when I started, and I had to do a 6 month supervised diet first. During that time I lost 30 pounds, and since my Pre op diet which started 2 weeks prior to surgery I have lost 50+ pounds. I do not have any reall excess skin hanging of, but my stomach is still not the prettiest

Remember the band is only a tool you will still have try and eat the right things, but at the same time do not deprive yourself of anything either. I think the hardest part of the surgery was the 2 weeks following. Even that wasnt too bad. As far as your husband, that is honestly all up to him. I would just tell him that you will need his support and tell him that you are doing this for "us" weather it will help with the baby, love life, other health issues, whatever.

I can tell you my wife is totally behind me now which is great and she was extremely scared at first. not only for the surgery aspect, but we had a friend that got it done, and she ended up getting a divorace after she lost her weight, due to all the attention she ws getting from other guys. I mean it does happen, so he could be scared for that reason too. Maybe show him this web site, and all the information that is out there.

ok I am really thinking about getting this procedure done. I have done all the yo yo diets over the past couple of years. if anyone can give me the pros and cons I would really appreciate it.

Hello Camie,

Welcoome to lapband talk. I was banded by Dr. Wagner on July 2nd, and I would not change it for anything. Here are some things that I have liked about geting the band. I also could not have picked a better Dr. to do my surgery.

PRO's -

1. I am at a weight now that I have not been in 13 years

2. I have better control over how much I eat can eat

3. I am currently off 8 medications since being banded

I can honestly say that I dont have any CON's I use the band the way it was intended - as a TOOL. I still eat what I want just A LOT LESS. Now granted that may change as I get adjustments, but that is where I am now.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I wish you luck on whatever you chose.

Hey July Banders! I read that some of you have had a lag in weight loss in the last few weeks. I'm there too. I've been working out and eating right, it's just not coming off. I was told that for some reason we are at a point where we hit a "metabolic shift." That we will stall for a bit and just to keep at it.

I've had 2 fills and I'm at 4 cc. I think this is probably a good level for me. Maybe .5 cc more.

Including my two-week pre-op diet I've lost 53 pounds (15 pre-op). I love my band!

You are all doing really well and should be proud!

Anyone from Illinois?

I am one of those that has come to a stand still. I am proud to say that I did make it under 300 pounds for the first time in about 13 years. Although at the moment I keep fluxuating between 299-302. I am from IL as well. I am about an hour south of you near Belleville IL.

I can really commiserate with you -- my weekend was DEFINITELY less than stellar! Why is it all the junk food goes down so easily and we have to fight to get the veggies and chicken down? I think we just need to pull ourselves back up on the wagon and admit we are human and can make mistakes. Yep, I still feel like crap for doing it, but I am going to forgive myself and move on!

Thanks for the words!!!! I really wish I knew why all the junk food went down easy. I have dusted myself off and I am hopping back up there:rolleyes2:

I'm not great at motivational mumbo jumbo so I'll save that for someone else. You said you had a bad weekend. You admitted it and are facing it... kudos for that.

I'm sure everyone falls off of the wagon. You just need to get yourself back on up.

My scale has literally not moved in 6 weeks. I know exactly why. I make great choices at meal times. But I also have some not-so-great choices during the week. No, it's not what I was eating pre-band. Not as unhealthy and definitely not the quantity. I have not gained weight, but I'm sure not loosing.

Time for us to get it back together, and remember why the heck we went through surgery in the first place.

I think it's definitely about getting your mind back in the right place. If I can commit to one day of great choices, it's very easy for me to continue on in that direction.

Don't sweat your mistake, just learn from it. I do believe I'll do the same! :thumbup:

Thanks for the words, I did a lot better this evening, even went and walked 3 miles. I guess I was just mad at myself for eating all the stuff I did. When I had the surgery I told myself that I would not deprive myself of anything. What I didnt want to happen was to eat and drink at the same time.

I think my mind is back on track, and I am here in case anyone else needs to vent or whatever. Again thanks for the non motavational mumbo jumbo .

Hi I'm new here so I hope I'm doing this right. Please forgive me if not.

I am considering a band. I live it the Atlanta area. I have some questions if y'all don't mind answering.

1. How much does it hurt?

2. How much pain meds did you need? (I have a 3 year old and don't want to be out of it.)

3. How long until you were released to go home?

4. How long do you feel one should take off work? (I'm a teacher so my job's not demanding - physically that is)

5. Anyone have any experience with CIGNA good or bad?

That should do for a start.

Thanks so much.:mad:

Hello, Well I have CIGNA, and I got approved my first try, but between myself and my surgeons office I had all my duck in row.

1. Cigna requires a 6 month supervised diet - so that will be your first priority.

2. Physcological evaluation

3. I also talked to my PCP to talk it over with him although not required.

I had little to know pain, only problem I had was sleeping because I am a side sleeper. I also took a week off of work but I could have gone back in about 4 days, but I enjoyed the time to relax and let my body rest.

Ok,

Well I had a really bad weekend. Felt like I ate way to much, kept drinking while I was eating, and it has continued to today with eating a burrito, and chicken soft taco from the Bell. On top of the I had a 6oz bag of trail mix. I cant believe I have done this. I am sure there are some people out there that have had the same experience. I really just need to get my mind back to where it was and stay focused.

Thanks for listening :mad:

i am scheduled to have the surgery later this month and i'm scared to death

:frown:

Hello, So far, and I am only 7 weeks post op too it has been the best thing I have ever done for myself. 10 weeks ago I was taking 8 pills for various illnesses. Diabetes to HBP to sleep apnea, and high cholesterol. Today I am on ZERO medications.

As with any surgery your nerves will probably get the best of you all the way till they take you back to surgery room, I know mine did. I would do it again in a hearbeat and I look forward to being at a weight I have not been in almost 20 years.

You will do fine, and keep us informed.

Hi! I am having surgery in 3 days! I just saw this thread and wondering if anyone is still on here.... I saw most of the post were from 2007! I live in st. louis and work in south county so was looking for ppl around me!

I am still here Well I really am just starting out myself. I was banded on July 9th, and am loving it so far.

I cant believe there is not that many people on here not from our area, I have only talked to maybe 3-4 people so far.

Thank you everyone, so It has now been 9 days since my surgery. I have already lost 20lbs. Its alot at first. I have been following the diet plan to a T.

I do have a question. Realistically, how important is it to stick with the plan about when to add certain foods?

I would love to stay in contact with anyone. The support group with my local office meets on days when I work so I cant go to all of the meetings...

my email is my24rcks@aol.com

Karla

I would have to agree it is very important, I am 7 weeks into my journey, and I still have not had bread or red meat, which I am allowed to have starting the 8th week. I still to this day pretty much stick to the mushie type foods. I do have other things every once in awhile, but I get a little nervous.