PamHil

I haven't been on here for a while. I haven't losing wait and was getting very frustrated. My doctor warned me it might take a few months before it all kicked in. I am not a patient woman at all! :thumbdown: Well, I went to my fifth fill appointment and because I lost 9 pounds (the first loss in several months) he didn't give me a fill. That's fine with me! I am happy with 9 pounds down. Now, if only this would happen each month!! :blushing: It is great to see how everyone is doing. Seems like this is working for most folks here. There are some out there with outstanding results. Maybe I will catch up!

I was banded 12/23/09 and yes, I've had the same thing. I thought the port pain was all over with, but last week, out of nowhere, it came back for a few days. I saw my surgeon and he said that is because my body is losing the fat around the port and that it was completely normal. Hang in there.

My family and I went out to dinner for the first time since my surgery. I didn't think I had much restriction, because at home, I have been using the small plates that come with your set of dishes. Anyway, I had a normal plate of food (or what used to be normal) that I could have easily eaten before the surgery. About a third of the way through, I actually thought, oh man I can't eat anymore! Hallelujah! I couldn't believe it. I apparently had been restricting myself already and just didn't realize how much smaller the amount of food I was actually consuming. I was thrilled. Maybe we have more restriction than we think?? I know my scale seems to be stuck, but my body is changing, so I am just going to hang in there and be easier on myself for a while. This thing seems to be doing its job. Hang in there everyone!

I had to go in to see my surgeon today because I was having a new pain where my port is. He said everything is fine and he gave me an unexpected 2nd fill. Yeah. I lost some of the last fill, so now at a total of 2.8 ccs. Still a way to go, but I am hoping this one will make a difference.

That is totally FABULOUS! Congratulations! I haven't been shopping yet, but it is getting harder to keep my pants up, so the time will be coming soon. Luckily, I did have several sizes in my own closet to choose from. :thumbup: I kind of want to wait until I absolutely can't wear my clothes anymore, because it will be expensive to replace everything as we continue to go down. But, oh what fun it will be!

They had trouble finding mine too and I thought I was going to be the only one who complained about it. It wasn't horrible, but enough to make me not want to do it again. The nurse said the next time would be much easier because my scar tissue would be better then. Let's keep our fingers crossed!:smile2:

I am totally with you! You are not alone. I have had one fill that was 2.2 cc's in a 10 cc band and I am really not noticing too much restriction. I find my clothes are continuing to be looser, but my scale doesn't seem to be moving too much. I am only going to weigh myself every two weeks or so, to see if that helps my brain. If I get on the scale every day hoping to see it going down, I think I will get frustrated. I will be happy when it gets to the point of the 1-3 pounds per week. I would be happy with that. If I wanted it off faster, I keep telling myself, I should have gone for the gastric bypass. But that was too scary of an option for me. I am barely over the month mark, so I need to be patient. Not my strong suit! :thumbup:

I just had my first fill today . Apparently, I have a 10 cc band and I was given 2.2 cc's. The nurse had more in there, but when I swallowed the very heavy white icky stuff it wouldn't go through. That was interesting to see. To answer your question about the size of the fluoroscope Viv, it was about the size of a small dinner plate or maybe like the end of a metal detector. I wasn't given anything to shield any parts and I was surprised when I didn't have to strip down to just panties. I had jeans on and they have a metal button and zipper of course. The machine never touched my body. It was kind of an odd contraption.

I am getting my first fill on the 18th as well! I really can't wait!

Oh, Terriamn, I certainly hope you don't have to redo the surgery, once was enough. Please keep us posted and good luck!

Drinking all the recommended water is also important because it is supposed to help flush out the fat that we are losing. I had my surgery on 12/23 and I have only lost 4 pounds when I checked last Thursday. You are doing better than me. I am just trying to maintain the loss from before surgery until I get to the famous "sweet spot" everyone talks about. I was told before surgery to expect to not lose right away. That I would have to be prepared for people asking, "Hey, I thought you were going to get the lap-band..." because I don't look like I've lost weight. Not a great sales tactic, but I appreciate the honesty. Just remember, it took years to put the weight on, so we need to be patient with ourselves. Hang in there and try to think about and appreciate the small successes. We can all do this! Right?!

It must be normal, because sounds like quite a few of us are dealing with the same thing. I was banded on 12/23 and I still have that issue. I talked to my surgeon and he said it could occur for up to 4 weeks. The port is actually stitched to your muscle, so it doesn't move, but everything else wants to.

Most of the weight loss was required for my insurance to pay for the surgery. Then my surgeon wanted me to lose some more prior to the surgery to reduce my liver. Now I am trying to lose it just for me! It does get better, too, by the way. Each day my port sensitivity is getting better.

I was banded on 12/23 and am still having some sensitivity in my port area, but I am so glad I had the surgery. This is going to be a very exciting year for all of us and I am glad we are all in it together. Nice to have you here.

Okay, so I called my surgeon's office today, because the swelling is really going down around my port and I can totally feel the big lump there and it is weird when I move. Is anyone else having this issue? It is kind of creeping me out a little. They said it was completely normal and for me not to worry, which I am trying not to do, but I am just curious is anyone else is noticing there's. I was only banded December 23, so I am still very new to this whole thing. And MAN am I ready to eat something that actually requires some chewing. I've noticed that I am even chewing my Jello...now, that is just sad! :rolleyes2:

I was also banded on the 23rd, but have only lost one pound since then. I am not feeling hungry, so that is a good thing. I just started on the mushies yesterday after my appointment with the doctor. I am feeling really good one week after surgery.

I just had my first follow-up appointment and I asked the doctor if the feeling I have now where I don't really want to eat is just a side effect of the surgery and much to my surprise and delight he said this is how it will feel once I have completed my fills. Horray! That is going to make a huge difference. He called it a "surgical fill" since my stomach is swollen inside the band right now. First fill on January 19 and I am looking forward to it. Is that strange?

Hi all! I was just banded on December 23, 2009 and thought I would join in the conversation. It has been almost one week since my surgery and am feeling pretty good considering the timing and all. Am still in the full liquid stage, but my doctor says I can start with the mushies tomorrow. Any great ideas for the first few things to try?