~Michelle~

I was banded June 5th, and have lost 41 lbs. I have only had one fill, and I still do get hungry. So if your looking for quick results, and no hunger the band may not be the right choice for you. There are pros and cons to all the WLS, I suggest you research them all and decide what is best for you. I choose Lapband because I wanted a slower weight loss, trying to avoid the extra hanging skin. Also because if I do have complications the band can be removed, and because I thought recovery time was less then the other surgeries. I misunderstood what the recovery time actually is. But that was a minor reason, I still would have gone with Lapband even if I would have understood recovery time was longer. I really considered getting the sleeve, I loved the idea of not being hungry, but hated the idea of having a portion of my stomach taken out. There were other reasons I choose to go with the band, but all in all mainly because it was the surgery I felt most comfortable with.

Thursday July 16th was my first fill. It was one of the strangest things I have ever experienced. I had 1 cc added, and that brought it up to 2 cc's. My weight loss has slowed down a little bit, but my surgeon was impressed with the fact that I am still loosing at this point. I am still not sure how many calories I should be eating a day, but since I am loosing weight still, I will just keep doing what I've been doing. Some days I get so hungry it is hard to stick to the diet plan, but for the most part I am. I really want to hurry up and get to restriction, but I guess going the slow route is best. I also feel like I am stuck at the 230 mark, even before lapband I could not get below 230. It is very frustrating. I was loosing so quickly at first I thought I'd be down below 230 by now. I was hoping to be below the 200 mark by October, but maybe I am setting unrealistic goals, or at least unhealthy goals. Funny I was worried I was loosing too fast, now I am upset because I am loosing slower. It is quite the rollercoaster ride.

Thursday July 16th was my first fill. It was one of the strangest things I have ever experienced. I had 1 cc added, and that brought it up to 2 cc's. My weight loss has slowed down a little bit, but my surgeon was impressed with the fact that I am still loosing at this point. I am still not sure how many calories I should be eating a day, but since I am loosing weight still, I will just keep doing what I've been doing. Some days I get so hungry it is hard to stick to the diet plan, but for the most part I am. I really want to hurry up and get to restriction, but I guess going the slow route is best. I also feel like I am stuck at the 230 mark, even before lapband I could not get below 230. It is very frustrating. I was loosing so quickly at first I thought I'd be down below 230 by now. I was hoping to be below the 200 mark by October, but maybe I am setting unrealistic goals, or at least unhealthy goals. Funny I was worried I was loosing too fast, now I am upset because I am loosing slower. It is quite the rollercoaster ride.

I had surgery June 5th, and had my first fill last Thursday. I had 1 cc in band, and now up to 2 cc. I feel a little more restriction, but still get hungry between meals. and I am pretty sure I can still eat just about anything, but I ty not to. My surgeon told me it will probably take a couple fills before I get to proper restriction.

According to BMI I am now just obese. I am not sure why that sounds so much better to me, but it does. I have lost 40lbs now, and have dropped at least one size. My clothes are getting very loose, and some of my favorite things I can no longer wear. This is bitter sweet for me. Its ok if my casual clothes are loose, but my bartending clothes, and going out clothes need to fit right. I hate to spend more money on clothes right now, but I think I am goinng to have to. I also hate to give up some of the clothes I am going to ahve to give up, maybe I could find a seamstress or something. I doing great following my diet plan, except I have a hard time getting in all the water I need on the weekends. I have also started belly dancing which is really hard, but fun. I also bought a bike, and have been riding that starting out slow, and hopfully by the end of the summer I will be able to take it on trails. Thursday I get my first fill, and I am really nervous about it. I read so many posts where that seems to be where the trouble starts. I almost don't want to get the fill, because of that. I have had no problems at all, no vomiting, or PB'ing, no food intolerance, and I don't want that to change.

I had been thinking about WLS for 5+ years before I finally got it done. The final straw for was after being diagnosed with PCOS, and metabolic syndrom, I lost 50lbs. Then after going through a depression because I could not pregnant after trying for 3+ years I gained half of it back. Then when I snapped out of my depression I tried getting back on track of eating healthy and trying to loose weight. I would do ok for a few days sometimes even weeks then back to my old habits. I told myself, last summer that WLS was my last option. I was terrified of surgery, and really wasn't ready for it. I didn't want to give up fast food, and buffets, and margaritas, so I was detrimined to do it on my own, and thought that the idea of surgery would get me back on track. I ended up going up and down in my weight, and then slowly just gained 20 more lbs back, which brought me back up to 275 lbs, and my health was just getting worse. I went to a seminar and decided it was time to get the surgery. I was tired of being overweight. Tired of always trying some new diet with little to no results. Tired of feeling out of control. I was finally willing to give up the fast food, buffets, and margaritas. I went back and forth about wich surgery to have, and came to a decision that I felt was best for me. I weighed out all the pros and cons about each surgery. I have done good with LapBand so far, and I am glad I have it. As far as the cost went I started thinking about how much money I would be saving on clothes, food, and insurance.

Being able to fit in chairs in public places and be comfortable Shopping at Hot Topic instead of Torrid Buying bras at Wal-Mart Hiking steep hills without loosing my breath 1/4 of the way up no meds PCOS under control no more knee, foot, and back pain being healthy

I never had side effects from Metformin, but my sister did. She was always feeling sick, so her Dr prescribed her Actos, and that worked well for her.

I had surgery on June 5th so I am four weeks post op. My port is still sore to the touch and sometimes when I bend over. It is not so sore I can not stand it, probably more tender then sore. Also it feels swollen around the area of the port. All my incisions are healed up, and they only have a tiny bit of scabbing left. Does anyone else have this? Should I be concerned?

Since surgery it has been pretty easy sticking to my diet plan until the 4th rolled around. We had a BBQ, and had friends over. This was the first party I have attended since surgery. I completely blew it, I ate crackers, chips, dips, not-lean burger w/o the bun, and even a damn hotdog w/the bun. I did manage to stay away from the alcohol though. I was pretty down on myself for going off the wagon, and still kind of beating myself up over it. I feel so guilty, and a little ashamed. I am back on track now though, and plan to stay on track. I just wonder if everytime an event rolls around I am going to fall off again, and that is a bit discourging. On a good note, I am allowed 4oz of food now instead of 2. I am also allowed to start adding more solid foods, salad, and even fruit on occassion. Last night was the first time I tried 4oz of food, and it seemed like so much food too me. I still have no restriction, so I am still getting hungry between, meals. But it is so nice to go up to that 4oz. I am just worried I will start gaining weight now. I am having a hard time getting my 64oz of water in a day too. I come close like maybe 50-60oz. Its hard to just sip all day. I tend to gulp, and learning to sip is a real challange.

Since surgery it has been pretty easy sticking to my diet plan until the 4th rolled around. We had a BBQ, and had friends over. This was the first party I have attended since surgery. I completely blew it, I ate crackers, chips, dips, not-lean burger w/o the bun, and even a damn hotdog w/the bun. I did manage to stay away from the alcohol though. I was pretty down on myself for going off the wagon, and still kind of beating myself up over it. I feel so guilty, and a little ashamed. I am back on track now though, and plan to stay on track. I just wonder if everytime an event rolls around I am going to fall off again, and that is a bit discourging. On a good note, I am allowed 4oz of food now instead of 2. I am also allowed to start adding more solid foods, salad, and even fruit on occassion. Last night was the first time I tried 4oz of food, and it seemed like so much food too me. I still have no restriction, so I am still getting hungry between, meals. But it is so nice to go up to that 4oz. I am just worried I will start gaining weight now. I am having a hard time getting my 64oz of water in a day too. I come close like maybe 50-60oz. Its hard to just sip all day. I tend to gulp, and learning to sip is a real challange.

No warmness....just sore. I does not appear to be inefected. Most of the swelling is down now, but still sore. I am hoping it goes away soon, it has gotten a little better since I posted this. I am also very flexible, I have gymnasticts to thank for that.

Lindsay, I had surgery on June 5th, and I too have had some of the same feelings you have. I got depressed thinking about having to give up something that was really important to me. Although I wouldn't call food my best friend, it was the one thing I could count on to get me through something tough, and now I am going through one of the toughest things I have gone through, and I can't turn to food. I started to feel this way one week post-op, I just had to remind myself why I did this, and think about what the outcome is going to be. Right now is really hard, because I have no restriction, this past weekend was hell. I cheated, but got back on track something I couldn't do without the band.

Pain has gotten a little better, but I am still sore where the big incision is, and still have some bruising and swelling. Also I pulled my steri strips off too soon I think. They were very itchy, and I am somewhat OCD. Thankfully I go to the DR tomorrow. I have lost 30lbs since 2 weeks pre-op according to my scale. But tomorrow could be a different story when they weigh me at the Dr's. I didn't own a scale before. I hated seeing how much I wieghed. Mushies stage is going really good for me. I even had some chicken breast boiled in broth, and that was probably the best chicken breast ever. Only problem so far is that I get hungry between meals, and sometimes my meals leave me feeling hungry afterwards. Hoping I will get a fill tomorrow, and that will help. I have also been feeling a little down. I knew some drepression was a possiblity, but really didn't think it would happen to me. I was so sure I wanted this surgery. But there have been a few days where I really felt like I made the biggest mistake of my life. I think about how I can't have fast food anymore, and all the other foods I am missing out on, and it just makes me sad. I never noticed before how many food commercials there are on TV. I hoping that this will get easier with some restriction. I also have come to the realization that food has always been my comfort not only when I am stressed, but when I am sad. I really enjoy food, and I almost feel like I took something from myself, that I can't give back, and the I worry because of the way I am feeling I am going to end up failing at this. But then I look at the overall picture, and think of the benefits, and know I will learn to enjoy food in a healthy way. I know I am going to slip up, and that's ok as long as I get back on track. I am going to be thin and healthy and that's the most important thing. I do want the lap band, and I wouldn't change anything. :thumbup:

I lost 18lbs pre-op (2 wk slim fast), and have lost another 15lbs post-op. Also have gone down about 1 size. I only had a full liquid diet the first 48 hrs post-op. On day three I was allowed to start on cream of wheat, and cottage cheese. By day 6 I was able to add eggs, lunch meat, and also start adding different soft foods like boiled chicken breast and green beans. My surgeon told me I might start to gain weight because of adding foods to my diet, but if my scale is accurate I am actually still loosing. I follow the diet very carefully, and I walk every night just about.

So I am almost 3 weeks post op now. My incisions are healing great, and I don't think the scars will be too bad. My visit with my surgeon was pretty quick, and unfortunately I did not get a fill, that will be at my next appointment. Basically went over how I was doing, what kind of foods I can start introducing, and answering all my questions. I really like my surgeon he's an easy going guy, who is very patient. He was pretty impressed with the weight I had lost, but informed me that the weight loss is going to slow, and I may even gain weight as I introduce food into my diet. I was kind of bummed out by that, but so far no weight gain. On the down side no loss either. I have gone down a size though. Now I need to learn how to sew. I would hate to buy more clothes until I go down at least a few sizes, and I have some clothes I just hate to give up. Last couple of days there has been stuff posted on the forum that really kind of has me worried about my decision. I am reading so much about how that years after people get the band they start having problems. I knew going into this that there were possible complications, but the numbers seemed so low, but on here is seems the numbers are very high. The other surgery I was considering was the sleeve. And on here it seems that a number of people have converted to the sleeve, and have had much better results with no complications. Its a bit depressing reading these things, and it has me kind of freaked that 3-4 years from now I am going to end up with some major problems. I wanted a life change, but a good one. Now everytime something feels a little funny or when some pain kicks in I am wondering if its the beginning of something major. I have to keep reminding myself that I am only 3 weeks pre-op and I feel pretty damn good considering. I also have to keep reminding myself why I chose Lapband over the sleeve. There is no getting back that part of your stomach they take away. If I do have problems with the band I can have it removed. But all the talk about has gotten me pretty discouraged about the whole thing. I already am dealing with some serious emotions of loosing food as a comfort, and quitting smoking. So I guess I need to stay away from the threads that shed a pretty negative light on banding, and has posters bashing eachother left and right.:crying: I started comming here for support, because there is no support group where I am at, and the nearest one is 2 hours away. So I will just stick to the threads that are more supportive, even though the ones that become a day time soap opera can get interesting its hard not to want to see what is next. But those threads just aren't productive. I like this site a lot though, and it has been very helpful so far.