tryinghard44

This is going to be harder than I thought. Maybe I should have waited to restart my journey until after I am fully recovered from my current case of bronchitis. Then again that just means putting it off again and coming up with another excuse not to get started. Does prednisone make you hungry? Does it make it harder for food to go down? I am thinking at this point that the answer to both of those questions is yes. Not really craving, but wanting to graze is more like it. I need to go to the store and get more healthy things to graze on like fruit and veggies instead of bryers chocolate chip ice cream! I really just need to be able to breath so that I can excercise! I must stay focused, I must stay focused!!!!!!! tryinghard44

Well, I have just realized that I spend 20 minutes creating, or thinking I was creating a blog to track my re-journey back to a journey of success.....shame I can't even get that right...! To make a long story short. I have much success for the first year of my journey, hit some roadblocks as I like to call them and now have regained all but 13 pounds of the 62 pounds lost! Double ! I have decided after hitting my lowest point that I need to suck it up and get refocus to regain control of this journey and in order to do so am going to post my ups, downs and all the in between so that I can be accountable for my success and failures. I have found I CANNOT do this alone without the help of others who have experienced some of what I have experienced. Those who have never had a serious weight problem or tried and failed to maintain a healthy weight cannot truly understand this mental and physical pain. Today is Day 1 of my journey back to MY Journey!! Tryinghard44

I hope I am not to late in replying to your post. I was banded in July of 2008. Like you at first I did wonderful and went from 216 lbs to 159 pounds by Christmas of 2008. I hit my first plateau and then it has been all down hill. I maintained the 159 weight until May of 2009 then I got a stomach virus and had to have Fluid taken out of my band. Finding the right fill since then has been a nightmare. I gained about 10 pounds over the next 14 months and then the unthinkable happened to me. I was sidelined with an old back injury that flared up and put me flat on my back from August of 2010 until February of this year which included 2 back surgeries and a very serious infection resulting in IV antibiotics for 7 weeks. That said I gained all but 14 pounds of my weight back and have been depressed and without motivation to get motivated. I too have a supportive husband who says you can do it again, just stop eating what you shouldn't. Easier said than done as you seem to know. I too am looking for support and friendship from someone who understands how hard this is and can be when you lose faith and self esteem. I felt so much better when I had was losing the weight and didn't dread putting on clothes or going for a walk. I have often thought of having the band removed since I feel like I, not the band, have been a complete failure. Honestly, the band is a great "tool" when you have the right support and motivation to keep a positive attitude. I decided this morning when I woke up that I have to do something one way or the other so that I do not have to continually be miserable and feel like a failure. I got out the WII Fit and the Biggest Loser for WII and have decided that I need to find someone who is willing to get back on this journey with me that understands and will motivate me. I hope that you and I can help each other out in some way. I don't know if this reply will hinder or help. Just knowing there is someone out there who was banded a while ago like myself that has some of the same feelings has made me feel a bit better in that I am not alone. Hang in there WE can do this! tryinghard44

At this time last year I had my first battle with band being too tight, ended up with gastritis and had fluid removed from band. At that time I weighed 155 pounds and was ecstatic about the fact that I had lost 63 pounds and was well on my way to being healthy and happy for the first time in more than 20 years. Several months past and I even had a breast reduction to relieve constant headaches and backaches from the weight of my breasts. To make a long story short, I had a fill in Sept due to gaining 15 pounds in the months since the fluid was removed. For the next 3 months life became a daily struggle to eat properly and get in excersize. Thank God I hadn't gained any further pounds when I went for my next adjustment on Dec. 24, 2009. After that fill I could not keep any solid foods down and instead of going to the doctor to see if I was too tight, I decided to tough it out and find a happy medium only to gain another 4 pounds!! I returned to the doctor on Feb 15, 2010 and had 2 cc removed from my band again, since that time I have lost 4 pounds and also became hungry all the time. On April 8, 2010 got another adjustment in which the doc put in 1 cc. Felt great not to be hungry anymore!!! I have since lost 6 pounds. I have found getting back on track to be much harder than when my journey first began. Is there anyone out there who has experienced anything similiar??????? I see lots of success stories and great mile stones being accomplished, which is inspirational to me, but I feel the need to no that I am NOT alone in having set backs and struggles. Please HELP!!!!:eek: