faybie

Its not going to be as hard as you think. My pre-op diet was way way harder than being banded. And honestly, I didn't stick to it 100%. I still get to eat foods I enjoy so I do not feel deprived. Today at lunch we had a pot luck. I chose food that was good and band friendly. Then I took a small dish and put one spoonful of some browning, creme, pudding dessert. It was so good. It was about 5 band bites. I was very satisfied from my one teaspoonful of dessert. Almost everyone else walked away with full portions of 2 or more dessert choices.

wow. grats! Had you ever run long distance before?

Ha. Ha. nice.

Thanks for all of the kudos! Yeah, I had to downsize my underware last month too. That is such a great feeling. It feels sexier not to have to wear cotton hanes. Oh and Lisa, I tripped over my pants too. I hadn't considered trying a smaller size until I tripped myself. LOL.

Josette, I agree with Libra I think you just need another fill. If you can ignore your full feeling then you aren't restricted enough. If you are restricted enough and keep eating it backs up into your esophagus and there is no way you could ignore that because you start PBing. Holly, I am glad your pill became unstuck. I had the same thing happen to me and it took over 8 hours to clear. It was the most painful thing I have felt with the band yet and it kept me up all night. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Well ladies, I couldn't be happier today. I have been wearing size 18 pants that were too big. I knew they were baggy, yesterday they almost fell down, they are so baggy. I decided to put on a pair of 16s today getting ready for work. I guess I didn't really believe I could wear them because I haven't been able to for more than 5 years. I can't believe it, but the 16s are baggy too. No wonder I almost lost my size 18s! the coolest thing is I haven't really given up any food that I love. I may only get a bite or two of it, however I still get to have it and loose weight. (I'm gonna post this on the main board too for inspiration for other people)

Do you mean the one in whole foods on kirby and Westheimer? If so, I am going to try and make that one too.

I was looking at the daily news and this was a featured article at one of my local news stations. Interesting. Notice at the bottom they say staples or bands. http://www.click2houston.com/health/10524511/detail.html

thanks for sharing, I might go pick up the book.

Welcome! Glad to have you. I am grateful for this site myself. I was on here everyday starting pre-op through 2 months post op.

Thanks carebear and Diane Brink for saying such nice things about my post. I am on cloud 9 these days as I am now wearing size 16 down from a 22. My old clothes look like I am a kid wearing my moms "dress up clothes". Everyday I find a new piece of clothing that is too big. I don't always realize it before I get to work however. LOL. I show people my before photo and they don't even believe its me! Now... that is the best feeling of all. Good luck to you.

You should look for your December 2006 bandsters post. You will find a whole post on nothing but people banded this month. It is so great to have a group of people who are at the exact same stage you are. Good luck!

Maybe you should ask your PCP for some anxiety medication. I am an anxious person by nature and my anxiety medication was a "god send".

I was very nervous before hand too. Surgery day came and bam its over in a flash. All the worrying was for nothing. Good luck and just know that I think all of us were nervous before the surgery! Oh and all of you getting banded soon, you should look for your December 2006 bandsters thread. It is very helpful to have a close knit group of people who are at the exact same stage as you are. Take care!

I have heard that some people have had .10 removed or added to get to their sweet spot. 4.8 may have been too full and 4.5 may not be full enough. Try having the Dr. put .15 back in. Your perfect spot is there, at least now you know its somewhere between 4.5 and 4.8. Good luck!

losingjusme, I was feeling very guilty about things that I ate before my fill too. I told the xray/fill technician that I thought I had stretched my pouch because I was eating too much. I drank the barium stuff and she took a look at everything and says "you have done fine, you are eating more because you are wide open". It was really great to hear her say that. I was so paranoid that I would stretch my pouch that I was having huge mood swings thinking that I was going to sabotage my 16k surgery. After I got to my sweet spot, there is no way I could sabotage myself if I wanted to. I didn't read your post on "should I get a fill". Personally for me, it was difficult without the fill because I didn't have the strength/will power to fight my head hunger all by myself (hence the reason I am overweight to begin with). I think you should use your band as the tool it was designed to be. If you aren't feeling full after small portions of food then you aren't restricted enough. Hats off to you, because if you can exercise and lose weight without restriction then you are doing better than I could do.

Wow Maryrose, I am so sorry that your Dr. responded that way to you. I would have been a bit shocked at that reaction myself. My first reaction was to tell you what everyone else has said and drop the Dr. However, as I read everyone's responses, I remembered the first time I mentioned this surgery to my husband two and a half years ago. He basically flipped a gasket. He had never been blatently against anything I wanted, so I was a bit shocked. The more I researched and the more I explained to him, he really did a 180 about what he thought of my decision. Maybe your PCP just needs to be educated. She may not even understand the differences between the lap band, the bypass and stomach stapeling. I am glad you had the forum to share your experience. If that happened to me and I didn't have this board, I wouldn't know what to do. I feel so fortunate that we have access to this community of people who know exactly what we are going through. It has definitely made my journey easier.

Wow Cam, what a nice post.

I haven't measured anything either. I just eyeball it too. You will learn that your band is in charge. Some days I can only eat about 4 bites at a meal and some days I can eat 1 cup of food. I never know what to expect.

My first fill was pretty easy. It didn't really give me any restriction, however I wasn't able to eat as much afterwards. I think it is good to gradually get to your sweet spot. It gives you a chance to get used to eating smaller portions and confront any emotional attachments you have to food. My first and second month after being banded, if I was as restricted then as I am now, I might have regretted my decision. It has made my journey easier to gradually eat less and less while coming to realize "food isn't everything". My "good" restriction came on suddenly about two weeks after my second fill as I was eating a small bowl of garlic Pasta that wasn't necessarily gradual but I was ready for it when it happened.

Cute story. I might just get on my expensive treadmill tonight too. As it stands so far, I have paid about $500 a use for my treadmill. LOL.

Before my surgery I had "last supper" syndrome too. I visited all of my favorite restaurants and ate my favorite dish from each one before my surgery. I can still eat most of the things I could before. I just eat a LOT less of it. Appetizer bread before a meal is now 1 regular size bite(band bites its about 4) instead of 6 pieces. Pasta is now about 3 regular size bites(band bites its about 12) instead of two HUGE bowls. I can't eat pizza crust anymore and I don't miss it. I never have room for dessert anymore and don't really miss that either. My chicken marsala at California Pizza Kitchen yesterday turned out to be 5 meals. Before surgery I would have asked for extra bread then ate the dish and probably bought dessert. I don't feel the least bit cheated about not being able to eat large portions. I actually get more enjoyment out of my food now that I am banded. I would take huge bites, swallow half whole and just shovel it in before. Now, I take my time and actually enjoy the flavor. So, I guess my point is... You aren't really "giving up" food like other diets, you are more giving up large portions of food instead. I haven't felt like I have been on a diet at any time during my journey so far. Diets leave you hungry and desiring food that you aren't suppose to eat. The band leaves you satisfied as well as excited every time you look in the mirror.

I didn't have any gas pains after surgery. I saw that several people suggested doing an enema then they didn't have any problems. I did the same thing and had less problems. I can't say it really really worked but if I had to do it all over again, I would do the enema again. I also took an anxiety pill before surgery. This helped me tremendously. I have a tendency to get very anxious before surgeries. Goodluck, I don't think you should cancel, the surgery was the best thing I have ever done for myself. I was very nervous too, and it was over in a flash!

I am a natural size D always have been, however I have always been the "full figured" type. Meaning that my hips are also round, so if my boobs were ever smaller I would look like a pear. Even at 145 lbs., I would look "fuller" than my "boy" shaped friends at the same size. I don't mean "boy" in a derogatory way, they still looked very cute its just a different shape. I didn't really see body stats so I would base it on your hip shape. If they are fuller then I would stay with a D. If they are "boy" shaped then I would go with the C.

Dr.'s will do the surgery if you are under BMI, btw, they just make you sign a waiver making sure that you understand the risks. I have also heard of people using ankle weights. I can guarantee they don't pat you down. One lady that I met only had 30 pounds to lose and was banded. And Lisa, I know exactly what you mean about people being nicer and maybe not realizing it. Happens to me daily now. I am not really insulted, it just proves to me that there really is weight prejudice out there. Although, I can't remember any time where a "heavy" person got a lesser "hello, good morning, how are you?" from me than my thiner co-workers.

Welcome back Jessica, nice to hear from you. Our chat thread is kinda slow these days. Eileen, I don't eat very much these days. So, I try and stay away from carbs and junk so that I can at least eat what my body needs. I can barely eat Breakfast maybe 4 bites of what I choose. lunch isn't much more typically 1/4 of a salad with some chicken. I have been having an afternoon snack, where I eat a Protein or a vegetable. For dinner, I eat more protein and veggies. I always fix my plate like I am going to eat a lot, then I can't get it down. When I mean a lot, I mean a salad plate. I try to fill up a salad plate and end up eating about 1/4th of it. Just when I think I have no restriction, I wake up and have a day where its tough to eat more than a few bites at a time. For example, I ate for 2 hours straight at my Christmas party the other night, taking a bite every 5 to 10 minutes. LOL. I wasn't ready to give up such good food, so I would wait 10 minutes and take another bite. I don't typically do this but it was a special occasion. I probably ate a half of a salad plate of food in two hours. I chewed like there was no tomorrow. Jamie, It is so good to see you doing well. Have you made a decision about your wedding yet? Has your friend been deployed or is he in training now? We had a guy at work go on "leave" at work over the summer to be deployed to Iraq. I didn't realize he would be training for 5 months or so, I don't think he is shipping until after Christmas.