bella5425

congratulations to those who were banded and to those who are coming up. i was banded april 22, 2009. i am 115 pounds down from my highest weight and about 90 of that is since the surgery. wouldn't trade it for the world. keep up the good work - i blogged in the beginning. it helped keep me sane. good luck! kate

i don't know how to tell if your band has slipped, i am starting to wonder if mine has tho. i had my surgery april 22nd this year and have lost about 90 pounds since, 115 since my highest but in october i had major dental surgery done - 7 implant sites that have to heal until late january so i am missing teeth in the back i used to have until that surgery and now i can't digest well so i've been throwing up alot - my dr took all of my Fluid out of the band monday until my mouth heals but the vomiting was so harsh a couple of weeks ago, i actually cracked a couple of ribs from a 45 min long throwing up after eating mashed potatoes. my regular md said i have severe esophageal reflux and put me on kapidex and i am on oxycontin and robaxin for the pain in my chest/ribs. strangely enough, even with nothing in the band i am still losing - lost 9 pounds in the last few weeks which surprised me b/c i have been on mostly liquids since i can't keep anything else down. my surgeon said the pain in my chest would subside but so far it hasn't. i am grateful for the weight loss but here it is christmas eve and i am just miserable. if i find out it did slip, i'll post something. hope everyone has a merry christmas and a happy new year katie

i would love to be at 199 by feb 15th which is my 43rd bday - i am down 115 pounds from my highest and still have 85 to go to get to my goal. i was banded in april and am down close to 90 since banding.

haven't checked in a while - about 90 pounds down from my band date 4/22 and 120 pounds down from my all time highest. i am kind of bummed b/c i had major oral surgery starting in october (implant surgery) and my mouth is kind of jacked up for another 4 weeks so i've been throwing up ALOT b/c my mouth is healing before the implants go in so i'm not digesting well. my surgeon took out all the fluid in the band yesterday b/c i ate 1 bite of a chicken nugget from wendy's (the only kind of chicken i can tolerate) and it got stuck so i'm on liquids for 48 hours and the pain in my chest is still pretty bad. i am still losing which is surprising but i will be sooo glad when my mouth is fixed, my band is full and i can get back on track. thanks for letting me vent!

it's going really well for me. my surgery was april 22nd and i have lost about 80 pounds - about 110 from my highest. i could have lost more but i had major oral implant surgery which impacted my ability to chew and digest properly so i haven't had a fill in 3 months and i need one but other than that i've been great. you will never regret this decision. it's been a godsend for me. keep us informed of how things are progressing! happy holidays! kate

the liquid stage is rough, it gets better w/ the mushy stage but not to come across harsh but we are all food addicts. those rules are in place for a reason so the band can heal. you can cause slippage if you keep steering off the liquid path regardless of what consistency you are chewing from. i have lost 110 pounds now - my band was put in nearly 8 months ago and the liquid stage...i lived off soup and popsicles and i just cried for days on end. i missed food desperately....we all know what you feel like being an addict but if you care about this investment, you have got to white knuckle it until you can move to the next stage. you are doing yourself a total disservice at this point. sorry to be so harsh.

congratulations :smile2: i live in az and had mine done in april of this year. who is going to do yours?

this is verrrry common - i am sorry your sister wasn't supportive but that's what we're for :thumbup: i remember a few days out of my surgery i was desperate for a soda and a milky way and i just sat on the couch and sobbed. it did pass - i am 8 months in and have lost 80 since the band and 110 from my highest. i don't even miss sodas anymore and trust me, when you get on regular food, you will feel so much better. you are doing great!

i was self pay and w/ my md the fills are covered for 2 years following surgery but since you are going to Tj and have to pay in state, at my md's it is 100.00 a fill. the number of fills depends. i have only had maybe 3 fills in 8 months and am down 80 + pounds from the surgery, 110 pounds from my highest. hope that helps :thumbup:

i can understand how you feel - how much have you lost if you don't mind me asking? remember your body is still adjusting at this stage - things will align soon enough. kate

Thank you for saying that! I felt the same before I had my band at all the valuable info and support I was getting on here. I was banded April 22nd and have lost 83 pounds since the band and 106 from my highest - you will be so much happier once you are on this path! Good luck!!

when my dr unfilled me, i hadn't even had a fill yet and i swear to you, the second he pulled Fluid out, it was like all the pain in my chest disappeared the instant he did it. it was sort of like having a big weight on my chest and the minute he unfilled me, it was like aaahhhhhh.....instant relief. i feel for you, i hope you get better soon. keep us all updated :thumbup:

Congratulations on your first day! I also had my meds before the surgery so I just had to go home but I was feeling pretty good afterwards so I went grocery shopping, lol. I am 6 months in and 80 pounds lighter - I was 315.5 going in - you are going to feel sooo much better soon! Have a great weekend! :thumbup:

I had a small piece of baked chicken get stuck about a month in and I was in pain for 36 hours - couldn't drink water, nothing. The pain does go away I promise although I did have to have an unfill when I got home (I was in Vegas) to get it fully passed through. I couldn't throw up for the life of me. Hope you feel better!

Just checking in - it's been a while. I went in for a much needed fill today, (it's been over 2 months and I was in bad need back then) I had the 1st of 3 major oral surgeries so my dr won't fill me until they are all finished which won't be until the end of January. I am 6 months out and have lost 80 pounds but I am so hungry all the time and have zero restriction. I begged him for a fill today but he said no. I am having implant surgery and I am having trouble digesting when I eat so I have been throwing up a fair amount which is why he won't fill me. I don't look forward to the holidays. I can't exercise right now. I have a spinal injury and a knee injury and found out today they may be doing a knee replacement on me soon. I got injured in my water aerobics class last week and have had trouble walking since then. I am so bummed....happy about my weight loss, but bummed because I need a fill desperately bad. Thanks for listening.

hi cc i was banded april 22nd and have lost 80 pounds. my diabetes disappeared, my anemia, my high cholesterol and my high blood pressure. what really helped me was more of a mental thing i did before my surgery. i held a funeral for fat me. i forgave myself for 42 years of bad eating habits, i released myself from the behaviors of using food to comfort myself, then i wrote myself a letter from little me to big me. i also made myself a promise that me or my car would never grace a mcdonald's or a burger king again and i never have. i had a serious spinal injury a year ago where i was in a wheelchair most of the year so exercising for me has been limited to only Water aerobics which is great. i also allow myself one cheat a month and that is a small slushie from sonic. i don't always take that cheat but i allow it if i am desperate. i started growing organic veggies in the backyard and started reading up and getting educated on what were good carbs vs bad, what was the story on fats - things i didn't know before. my dr told me that Protein was the key. i unfortunately made the mistake growing up of thinking that starvation was the key to weight loss and it's not. it's like my surgeon told me, the band is only a tool to control the amount you eat, what you put in your stomach is still your decision. i have zero regrets. i also blog on wordpress which helps. i was such a dr pepper addict and a food junkie - i had my moments in the beginning where i would just cry but it passed in time. the liquid stage was the worst for me. i only had to be on it for a week but it was a miserable experience. thankfully, the absence of sugar going in and the amount of sugar going out put me in a sugar coma almost and i just slept the first week away. you will do great! if i can answer any questions for you, feel free to ask! my email is southernbella67@yahoo.com take care! katie

sadly, my exercise has been very limited. last year i got injured and shattered my knee, broke my leg and damaged my spine by the impact of my fall shoving my hipbone into my thighbone so i was in a wheelchair for most of the year and i have serious serious problems w/ my spine so the only exercise i am able to do right now is Water aerobics which i highly recommend and that's it. even walking the gas pain off after the surgery was an ordeal b/c i had to use a walker and have someone with me. diet wise, i only drink fat free milk and water, i eat a lot of Protein - cottage cheese, scrambled eggs. i eat black Beans - really any beans except baked beans. i eat a lot of fish, tuna, tilapia, flounder - i use citrus on everything i do so i will use black pepper, zest from a lemon, lime and orange w/ a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar on my tilapia and it's great. that's really it. my dr said protein is the key - my metabolism had really slowed down - i'm in my 40's - so he said if i was desperate and really starving to eat protein. i haven't had a fill for over 2.5 months b/c i had a major oral surgery that shut down my ability to eat for a while so i just did chocolate unjury shakes but now that i am able to eat again, i really need a fill. all in all, best decision i ever made. good luck! katie

rachel, i was banded 6 months ago and i felt a lot of the same fears you are feeling. i didn't have to do a pre-op diet but i was so focused and determined to make it work. i actually had a "funeral" for fat me before the surgery to let go of all the behaviors that helped get me to 315 pounds. i have lost 80 pounds in 6 months and yeah, i have gotten stuff stuck - i had a piece of chicken that was stuck once for 36 hours but that was an isolated incident i believe. normally, if it gets stuck you will either have slime or you will throw up and you will feel a lot better. you have to take bites of food that literally are the size of your pinky nail. my dr gave me a special fork and you have to chew like crazy. i was a serious dr pepper addict before the band and ate about 4000 calories a day. i made myself a promise that my car would never go to mcdonald's or burger king again and i would never walk in there and i never have. in a weak moment, i did drive and sit in the parking lot twice but came to my senses and left. you will do just fine and it will be such a life changing event. i recommend before your surgery, have someone take a before pic and your measurements so you have something to look back at. if you ever want to chat, my email is southernbella67@yahoo.com i have a few friends on here and we email each other pretty much daily encouraging each other. take care! katie

congratulations! if i were to make a recommendation i forgot to do myself and regret - have someone take a picture before you go in and your measurements so you have something to look back to. i had my pic taken but forgot my measurements :thumbup: it was 6 months oct. 22nd and i am down 80 pounds, you will do great!

i am also 6 months out and i was a serious soda addict but i invested too much money to run the risk of damaging my band by going back to it. the carbonation can cause the band to slip, the calories are empty - there is no point to it. i have my days where i miss it but ultimately, i want all of my health to change, internal and external. i've lost 80 pounds and haven't had soda or carbonated drinks of any kind. i wouldn't do it at all. just my 2 cents. take care

i was never told not to take those meds so i take them as needed. i would check w/ your dr

the gas pain will disappear - it was pretty bad for me too. walking it off is the best way, you can also use gas x strips and sometimes a heating pad will help. it will get better. i had my surgery 6 months ago and have lost 80 pounds. the liquid stage is the worst. hope you feel better soon. katie

hey squeaks, i had my surgery april 22nd and have lost about 80 pounds. if you have any questions, feel free to ask away or email me at southernbella67@yahoo.com katie

aahh...the pretty face comment - how i loathe that statement. everything is pretty - my hair, my makeup, my clothes, my face but not the body. i was banded april 22nd and was a serious serious soda addict and ate about 4000 calories a day. i went in at 315.5 feeling like i wasn't human - like a picture of me just sent me off in a terrible depression. i looked like i was on steroids i was so poofy. i had a "funeral" the night before my surgery complete w/ eulogy in the backyard w/ my firepit. i said goodbye to fat me - i released myself from my addictions to soda and food and allowed myself to be okay with whatever the outcome was. i have lost nearly 80 pounds since then w/ very little exercise (i don't recommend it but i had a serious spinal injury last year and periodically do water aerobics) and i can actually be photographed now and i don't mind. you will get there tina, you will feel so much better. best of luck to you on your journey - you are beautiful, just keep telling yourself that. it's funny, when i was a child i believed whatever negative thing i heard about my body but i have to work twice as hard to convince myself that i am not a troll and i am not inhuman. i am just happy i don't have diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol anymore. the physical body is an added bonus. God bless!

i agree w/ the other posts. i was banded april 22nd and have lost close to 80 pounds and trust me, the first couple of months were brutal. the liquid stage and then the mushy stage are really important b/c you are still healing and your body is adjusting. i definitely don't want to sound like i'm coming down on you but it was too big of a decision/investment, etc to jeopardize the band slipping. when i got into the mushy stage, i took black beans and ran them through a processor and heated them w/ cheese and topped off w/ a little salsa and it was delicious and really filling. stick w/ high protein and it will kickstart your metabolism, at least that's what my md said. i am in my 40's w/ a sluggish thyroid anyway and i am still losing b/c i do everything i can not to cheat. if i do cheat, and it does happen, i just make sure i cheat w/ protein. you can do it! just be careful at this stage - don't jeopardize the band :thumbup: good luck! katie