MyBandJourney2009

Yaaaaaaaa me,,, I did it, lol:-) Now I'm in the double digits!!! God and exercise have put me on track with the weight loss this week. I go Monday for my third times a charm fill and I think I'll be at around 9 or 10 pounds for the past month.

It's saturday morning and I just weighed in at 264! All I can say is WOW. I'm not sure what happened this past week, but I'm not eating as much and it seems the weight is coming off. Perhaps I was more busy with the kid's or God is answering prayers and helping me with my journey. I think that the last couple of pounds may put me in double digits of this weight loss goal instead of the triple digits!

It's saturday morning and I just weighed in at 264! All I can say is WOW. I'm not sure what happened this past week, but I'm not eating as much and it seems the weight is coming off. Perhaps I was more busy with the kid's or God is answering prayers and helping me with my journey. I think that the last couple of pounds may put me in double digits of this weight loss goal instead of the triple digits!

Well, it's been 3 months since my surgery,,, well, actually tomorrow, Thursday the 21st will be my 3 month mark. I've lost 33 pounds and it's been SO slow. I actually lost 17 of the pounds on the 2 week liquid diet before surgery and 16 pounds since. WOW,,,2 1/2 months to loose what I lost in the first 2 weeks,,, but I guess that was a lot of fluid weight in those first 17 pounds. I have had 2 fills and am scheduled for my third which I hope is the charm,,, this coming Monday, the 25th. I do feel that I have the band,,, certain things stick, breads and rice. If I eat too fast without chewing it sticks and if I drink too soon after eating it sticks,,,, SO, that's progress I think, lol:-) At least I know the band is there,,, if it weren't for these little things, I'd swear he forgot to put my band in? LOL All in all, I'm still very happy I had the surgery,,, I might be loosing it slow until I get that good restriction that is referred to as the "sweet spot" but with every pound I loose,,, I'm more positive than ever that I'll never see that pound again!!!

Hi everyone,,, Sharon, I see that you started this inquiry for a Starbucks support group last year, but I was wondering if you were still meeting? I live on Telge near 290 so it's very close to me. I can use all the support I can get. My surgery was in October and my weight is coming off SO slow,,, due for my 3rd fill next week and hoping that helps some.

Well, it's been 3 months since my surgery,,, well, actually tomorrow, Thursday the 21st will be my 3 month mark. I've lost 33 pounds and it's been SO slow. I actually lost 17 of the pounds on the 2 week liquid diet before surgery and 16 pounds since. WOW,,,2 1/2 months to loose what I lost in the first 2 weeks,,, but I guess that was a lot of fluid weight in those first 17 pounds. I have had 2 fills and am scheduled for my third which I hope is the charm,,, this coming Monday, the 25th. I do feel that I have the band,,, certain things stick, breads and rice. If I eat too fast without chewing it sticks and if I drink too soon after eating it sticks,,,, SO, that's progress I think, lol:-) At least I know the band is there,,, if it weren't for these little things, I'd swear he forgot to put my band in? LOL All in all, I'm still very happy I had the surgery,,, I might be loosing it slow until I get that good restriction that is referred to as the "sweet spot" but with every pound I loose,,, I'm more positive than ever that I'll never see that pound again!!!

AmandakRangel,,,at my support group last week they told us if we ever get to a stand still with the weight loss to change things up,,, do something different with what we are eating. Sorta like tricking your body into a different mode. You have done a great job though! Congrats on the weight loss so far!

Bostonlady,,, I'm going for my third fill next week also. I'm at my 3 month mark after surgery, I've had 2 fills and lost 31 pounds,,, 17 of which I lost on the 2 week post op diet,,, so I too am hoping the third time is a charm for that sweet spot everyone talks about:-) Good Luck with your fill and your workouts!

Hey Stephanie171,,, I'm not anywhere my goal,,, actually it's been 3 months since my band surgery and I've lost only 29 pounds. Although I don't have any advise for you on the subject,,, I am feeling like we are in the same boat right now. I've gotten 2 fills and while I do realize I have the band after the second fill due to sticking and such,,, I am still eating more than what I should due to not being full. Now, I do stop myself way before I use to stop, but still waiting for that magic fill that put's me where I need to be,,, the sweet spot as they say. I have some hard days wondering why I did this since I'm basically dieting like I would have before the band but still at the end of the day, I'm glad it's there and looking forward to the day I get that magic fill!!! How many fills have you gotten in your 12 weeks? By the way,,, 38 pounds is awesome!

Hey all,,, I was hoping to find some banders in the Houston/Cypress area that are already banders or that may be getting banded very soon. My proposed date will be around the end of October. I'm waiting on my insurance to send my approval letter which is due in about 2 weeks. Cigna can take up to 45 days but Dr. Wagoners office says they have only been taking 30,,, sooooooo,,I'm getting excited:thumbup:,nervous:confused: and all sort of other emotions, lol:-) It would be great to have someone close that is going through the same thing,,, perhaps even get a local support group together and meet ever so often to talk about our experiences. Hope to chat with someone soon:-)

Hey Juliansmom,,, I was banded on Oct. 21st as well! I don't know what the bander hell is,,, if anything,,, it was the 2 weeks with liquids only before surgery,,, or on day 3 or 4 after surgery when you feel better and want to eat anything you can get your hands on but know you can't. So, I'm not sure what the hell part is,,, I hope that the wanting food that I'm feeling is my only hell during this, lol

Ever since I started my liquid diet I have got addicted to weighing every day. I know you aren't suppose to do that,,, but for me,,, even though there are days I go 2 to 3 pounds up and down,,, it keeps me motivated,,, on a day I see the 2 or 3 pounds go up,,, it makes me more motivated to eat the right things to get back on track. Crazy I know,,, but this whole over eating and dieting thing, even with the band is such a head game for me. Does that make sense to anyone else???

Hey KarenK,,,, you are doing great to have lost 48 pounds and still don't have your first fill!!! Imagine how well you will do once you have that restriction!! I think that we might be getting our fills about the same time. My first is scheduled for Nov. 23rd,,, about a week after yours? I had my 2 week follow up this week and Dr. Waggoner says I'm doing great,,, he said to stick to a diet program, I don't have to do mushies but to be careful and practice a lot when I'm chewing to make sure and chew to applesauce consistency. I don't have any restriction in my band,,, he doesn't put anything in there during surgery,,, but I can tell that I eat less,,, I think it's due to eating slower and already loosing 20ish pounds. I eat mushies like applesauce, yogurt (found a great one at Kroger, (CARBmaster) has a lot of Protein,,, a lot less carbs and sugars as most,,, and it's good and then I eat stew,,, very slowly,,, very cautiously and tuna. Like you said,,, not sure if that's considered mushy,,, I'm sure not,,, but the amount of times I'm chewing,,, it's mushy, lol:-) I'm sooooooooooooooo excited to have my band in place and I'm looking forward to next summer and getting to buy new summer clothes that I haven't been able to wear in 19 years:-) Like shorts!!! :-) That will be nice to do yardwork in something that's cooler instead of pants, lol:-) Ok,,, I'm babbling,,, but it was nice to hear from you and I look forward to getting us all together,,, maybe we can get a group together at the end of the year,,, celebrating 2009 and the start of the new us,,, the bandito babes as another bander friend call's us:-)

:rolleyes2:Well,,, today is my 2 week anniversary since surgery. It's 11:30, the same time 2 weeks ago that they were getting me ready to head into the surgery room. I've lost about 21 pounds,,, mostly the 2 weeks before and the couple of days after surgery. After I started mushy foods last week,,, I gained about 4 pounds and have gotten that back off this week. I think that with the body only having fluids and then going to foods,,, the weight goes up some,,, and with me, I started retaining fluids when I started eating foods. But, besides all that,,, went for my followup yesterday, Nov.3rd and everything is great,,, but I won't get my first fill till Nov. 23,,, 2 days before Thanksgiving dinner, lol. O well,,, I won't be complaining that I gained over the holiday now will I, lol:-) I will be going it alone for the next 3 weeks on my diet,,, alone meaning no help from my little band buddy. I wish I could have had some restriction yesterday, but I understand I need to finish healing. I'm excited for the first fill,,, and I pray that I feel it. After reading so many stories that people feel no different after a fill,,, it's a little troubling. O well,,, no one said it would be easy,,, but as hard as it is to diet,,, it will be all the more great when I get to my smaller size!!!:smile2:

My surgery was Oct. 21st. It went better than I had been afraid it would. I've never had any surgery or been put to sleep, so that part of it was worrying me. BUT,,, I got to the hospital and it went very smoothly. I woke up with some guy telling me it was time for my procedure,,, sorta freaked me out,,, after all, was I not waking up from my procedure??? After I calmed down, I realized it was time to drink that good chalky stuff for the ex ray. All was good. I went back to my room, and went back to sleep. I think the meds from surgery just were not out of my system. I had a lot of discomfort from the air/gas,,, but I seemed to sleep through it, so guess it wasn't so bad, lol. Since my surgery was at noon, I had to stay over to the next morning. It was good I did,,, I got some good sleep. But, I will tell anyone reading this,, when they tell you it's important to W A L K after surgery to help with all the air pressure,,,, they really mean it. I didn't have the best nurse during the night and since I was sleeping off and on,,, they didn't get me up to walk, I found out later they were suppose to,,, and I think it made a difference in the amount of pain I had from the air. I felt so bad when I got home the next day that it hurt to walk,,, so I didn't. That was all a big mistake,,, it took my air about 7 days to totally leave,,, and it was after I started walking a lot that it got better. sooooooooo,,,, walk, walk, walk!!! Other than that,,, my surgery want great,,, my recovery went great,,, the only cut that gave me problems was the port site and that's just because it's attached to the muscle and when you move, it moves and till it heals,,, it hurts to move a certain way. I slept on the couch for about 8 days and it felt much better to be propped up that way then laying flat. On the 9th night,,, my port site felt good enough I could lay flat and move around in the bed at night and it not bother me,,,, yaaaa. Now, with it being 2 weeks since surgery, I feel totally normal, like I never had the surgery. Just a little twinge in my port site if I do something that really stretches that part of my stomach. I don't feel that I have any restriction,,, well I don't yet, but I must still have some swelling because I tried to eat a small piece of bread and it had a lot of trouble going down,,, sorta like a huge rock was sitting on my stomach. I will get my first fill in 3 weeks and am very excited for that day. Good luck to all that are having the surgery,,, it's not a bad surgery and afterwards, the recovery time is very quick. The only downside I can tell you that I feel is having to diet hard and not eat when you are hungry and dealing with the head hunger,,, but in my opinion, it's what we have all dealt with during our lives with any diet we go on. The difference with this is,,, we will loose the weight, the band is there to help us with our portions and when we reach our goals,,, the band will always be there to help us keep the weight off. I don't know about all of you,,, but for me, the band will work much better than my willpower alone. Again,,,, good luck and God Bless us all.:drool:

Hi all. I got banded Oct. 21st... still don't have my first fill yet,,, but am very interested in this Papaya Enzyme stuff. What is it,, a pill or liquid? Is it something that you take when you are having trouble getting something down? Or is it something that you take before you start eating,,, sorry to seem confused,,, but I am, lol:-) I've tried a couple of pieces of bread since my surgery,,, just taking a little bit and even though I don't have any fill,,, I guess I'm still swollen some and the bread was not my friend. Felt like a huge rock sitting on top of my stomach,,, but luckily, I drank some coffee and it went down. Like someone said,,, you make mistakes and learn from it.

Hey BrownBear,,,, you are doing great!!! 80+ pounds is an awesome thing! When were you banded? I live in Cypress,,, Telge near 290 We should all get together one day!

Hey KarenK,,, glad to hear from you. I actually haven't been on lapbandtalk for several days,,, it seemed that once I started my liquid diet 2 weeks prior to surgery and then the week of and after surgery,,, I was just out of sorts with everything. Anyway,,, had my surgery Oct. 21st,,, today is my 2 week surgery anniversary, lol. I'm doing great,,, I had lot's of the air pressure afterwards,, but doing great now. I've lost about 21 pounds since starting the liquids,,, I have no restriction yet,,, I get my first fill on Nov. 23rd. right before the holiday dinner, lol. I'm looking forward to getting it and am going to have to work hard to keep my weight down till then. 3 weeks of no restiction and diet only,,, we all know how hard that can be,,, but hey, I have the band now, so that part of the journey is done!!! How have you been doing since your post? Have you had any fills yet?

:rolleyes2:Well,,, today is my 2 week anniversary since surgery. It's 11:30, the same time 2 weeks ago that they were getting me ready to head into the surgery room. I've lost about 21 pounds,,, mostly the 2 weeks before and the couple of days after surgery. After I started mushy foods last week,,, I gained about 4 pounds and have gotten that back off this week. I think that with the body only having fluids and then going to foods,,, the weight goes up some,,, and with me, I started retaining fluids when I started eating foods. But, besides all that,,, went for my followup yesterday, Nov.3rd and everything is great,,, but I won't get my first fill till Nov. 23,,, 2 days before Thanksgiving dinner, lol. O well,,, I won't be complaining that I gained over the holiday now will I, lol:-) I will be going it alone for the next 3 weeks on my diet,,, alone meaning no help from my little band buddy. I wish I could have had some restriction yesterday, but I understand I need to finish healing. I'm excited for the first fill,,, and I pray that I feel it. After reading so many stories that people feel no different after a fill,,, it's a little troubling. O well,,, no one said it would be easy,,, but as hard as it is to diet,,, it will be all the more great when I get to my smaller size!!!

Hey AmandakRangel,,,, maybe with your working out, you are loosing fat, but gaining muscle. That would keep your weight staying the same? Just a thought:-)

Drasan,,, everything your doctor's are saying is pretty much what I was told as well. I was told that I should practice taking small bites, chewing 30 times and watching everything I eat, staying away from breads, pasta's and rice because after surgery, those things can be hard on you. I won't even lie to you about my two week liquid diet,,, it was hard. But every day got a little easier. I could have liquids, 3 atkins shakes a day and about 2 cups of green vegi's. I was having a hard time, so my doctor said to increase my protein shake to 4 a day and try to drink more chicken broth for the salt,,, it really helped. What also helped a lot with the shakes were to put them in the blender with some ice,,, it make it a bit different and sometimes on liquids,,, you just need different, lol:-) I had my surgery on Oct. 21st and after the 2 week liquid diet,,, I had lost 17 pounds. So keep that in mind,,, it's exciting to know you lost weight before the surgery. I'm still on mushies to help the healing process,,, but I won't get my first fill for 3 more weeks. Good luck to you,,, I know you have heard this,,, but believe me,,, the time will go by with the dreaded liquids and you will be on the other side of this journey.

Here I am, 2 days after surgery and I'm doing ok,,,lot of pain from the air they pump in you,,, chest and shoulder hurt way more than the cuts do. The port site give me a lot of discomfort when I need to cough or blow my nose,,, then of course, if I move wrong,,, but I'm sure it will be all worth it by the time this all passes. Although, yesterday, 1 day out from surgery I was really wondering why I had done this to myself,,, pretty miserable day it was. Took the pain meds, a suppository for nausia and slept very well in the recliner :wink: I've been trying to sip on water, broth and some gello, but really not wanting to eat anything,,, doing it for the dehydration thing. Don't want that to happen,,, one hospital stay was quite enough thank you, lol:bored:

17days since post op liquid diet 3 days since surgery