june09bandit

I was banded June 4, 2009. I've lost count of my fills, but I had one fill a month for the first 3 months, then a fill every 2 weeks after that. My last fill was Monday, and it took me to 8cc in a 10cc band. I am just starting to feel restriction. I was overfilled in September and had to be emptied and start all over again. Lesson learned - don't do aggressive fills. My new theory is that I'm sneaking up on the sweet spot .5ccs at a time. I never want to be too tight again - not only was that particular night miserable, but starting the fill process over cost me a lot of progress. I think this may be it, but I'm not on real food yet, so I'm not sure. Don't give up, and don't beg your doctor for an aggressive fill - it's just not worth it. Hang in there!

Have your hub keep watch on USAJOBS for security jobs. The jobs are out there, but some have been contracted. There is also a special website somewhere (google it and you should find it) for jobs that require security clearances. Since your hub's clearance if probably still good, he would likely be a top candidate. Good luck to you both!

You may not be eating enough calories. If you go too low, your body will think it's starving and desperately try to hold on to weight. I would consider going to 1200 cals a day for a week and see what happens.

Nope, not fart - but you'll find a whole new level of burping!!!

I can only give you one warning based on my experience with the protein drinks.. be prepared to continually apologize to those closest to you. It's very possible that you won't be a very nice person after the 1st two days. I just finished apologizing to one of my good friends for snapping at him during my most recent post-fill two days liquid diet. Good luck!

Congrats on getting your date! You will whine.. it is normal - it's hard to give up food. Are you totally restricted to optifast for 3 weeks? I'd be cooking for the roomate occasionally - if he's putting his life on hold for a week for you, it's really not asking too much. He must be a very good friend - show him that you appreciate him :smile2:

It would be very difficult to fake - you have to have doctor documentation to back up the comorbities. I supplied 5 years of medical records.

Jaime, everyone's doctor is different. Regardless of what you read here, it's important that you stick to your doc's instructions. Good luck!

Based on your post above, you may even be suffering from depression. Most of us have had it at one time or another, and for me, it does lead to weight gain. Perhaps talk to your doc about the possibility.... Good luck, if you can improve your outlook on life, your weight loss will continue.

I eat both Beans and salad, but it seems to be different from one person to the next. I try to limit the salad - I eat a couple of bites then give the rest to hubby so that I can eat my Protein. I eat beans easily and actually crave them since I got banded. As a side note - I had refried beans while I was on mushies post op. Good luck on your journey!

You could always keep part of them - since you are in a 14, keep the 16's. Keep one size bigger than what you wear, and donate the rest to someone who needs them now.

LOL at Tadpole! Took me a minute to figure that out, but it's too cute. Like you, I don't want anyone to know I've had the surgery. It's not my place to discuss anyone else's personal business, so I expect the same in return. Still chuckling over Tadpole....

I'm all for getting together, whether we have a formal support group or not. I do work though, so if ya'll decide to meet during the day, I won't be able to attend. But.. since some of you are stay at home moms, it's probably a lot easier for you to meet during the day. Either way, I understand.

I was there this morning for a fill. What time was your appt? Mine was 1030. Are you going to proceed with the surgery or are you still deciding?

I was riding 3 weeks after surgery. I climbed up a fence to mount and dismount in order to avoid stressing my abdomen. I also took it pretty easy in the saddle. My doc basically told me not to do anything that hurt, and trotting HURT! It took about 2 months before all the discomfort was gone. Good luck!

Schwartz is dry - he doesn't have much to say. Expect to spend less than 5 minutes with him. But... I feel he is an exceptional surgeon. I had zero complications, and none of the horrible gas pain post op. I just accepted the fact that he probably chose surgery as a specialty in order to avoid dealing with awake patients. I'm ok with that - as long as he's good with a knife. His staff is great! They will answer any questions you have and explain as much as they can. After surgery, you probably won't see Schwartz again. Their physician's assistant and the other surgeon (Stevenson?) will do most of the aftercare. Again, I'm ok with that as long as they are all competent, and they seem to be doing just fine! Good luck!

I think you're being awfully hard on yourself.... There is no nice way to say this... but I truly don't mean to be rude.. but have you considered counseling to see if perhaps you suffer from depression? I had depression at one time (and I'm not convinced that it's totally gone), but your statements, along with the struggles to lose, could indicate other issues. I seem to go up and down for 2 weeks with every 2 pounds, but once it falls, it stays off. It's not easy - I can still eat anything I want to eat, and I occasionally do, but I force myself to get back on track after it's over. I've lost about 35 pounds in 7 months. It's not a lot, but it's much better than gaining 35 in the same time frame. Slow and steady seems to be my way. I hope you can find a way to make it work. Journal your food and activity, and you may find that you are eating more calories than you think, and not getting as much exercise as you could.

I would just ignore it. It's probably meaningless to most people, but there will be busy bodies. When those start to ask questions, it's then that I would explain it's a personal thing that you'd prefer not to discuss. Word will get around that you don't want it to be the topic at the Water cooler. I would also have a very pointed conversation with the boss. He/She should NEVER give out personal information on ANY employee - and I'm willing to bet the principal is aware that this was ethically wrong.

I guess I'm different. Since it's not a straight trade, you really have no impact on what you'll get. I'm going to give my old clothes away to someone that needs them - hopefully to someone tall that is struggling to find clothes long enough. I'm very tall, so it's not likely that I would be able to get clothes to fit anyway. It's not like I have a lot of options since I don't plan to have a yard sale. I can donate to charity or to a fellow bander - for now, I'll go with the bander.

What kind of problems were you having butterfly? And how did they diagnose the leak? I'm sorry you are going through this.

My good and bad are basically the same as everyone else's. The ugly - I was not prepared for how much I would "miss" food. I went through an actual mourning period when I admitted defeat and faced the fact that I would never eat the same way again. I'm sure that means I was using food as a coping mechanism - which is why I got so overweight to begin with. I don't think anyone could have prepared me for that feeling of loss.

Based on your reply above, and since you are primarily looking for support, I would join the challenge, and if I won, I would decline the prize and title. You would still get all the support without wondering if you had an advantage. Good luck to you!

I think it is an advantage - and you do too, or you wouldn't have been banded. We all got the band to use to help us lose weight. If you didn't think it would work to your advantage, then why bother? As far as the contest, it would depend on the rules. Good luck, you can do this - contest or no contest!

Congrats! I really don't think you will regret the decision. I went for a fill yesterday, so I had a lot of time to "think" on the 2 hour drive up and 2 hours back. I came to the conclusion that this was definitely the right choice for me. I'm not losing weight terribly fast, but I am consistently losing - which is something I haven't been able to do in a very long time. I ate a bunch of crap over the holidays, but with the help of the band, I still lost 4 pounds. In the past, I would have eaten much larger quantities of the crap, gained 10 lbs, then justified it to myself because it's "only once a year". Well guess what? The 10 lbs once a year surely does add up when you're not taking it right back off. Good luck to you!

I wouldn't have been able to do it. Too tired along with the pain from my bra would have done me in. Unless, of course, you don't need to wear a bra