giggles&curls

I was just thinking it would be nice to have a thread that we can each leave our blog (if you have one) address in. I love reading fellow bandster's blogs and I know I get tons of support from my own. So if you've been banded a while, just a short time, or will in the future post your blog!! Mine is Being a Winner by Being a Loser

I'm trying to decide if I need a fill so I'm looking for some insight. I have 5.5cc in my 10cc band and I'm feeling some pretty good restriction. I had my last fill last Wednesday and up until Sunday I was feeling AWESOME restriction, to the point I was thinking, maybe I'm at my sweet spot! I was only eating 4-6 ounces at a time and was feeling full for 3-4 hours if not longer. But starting yesterday I'm still only eating 4-6 ounces but it's only keeping me full for 2-3 hours max. I'm thinking I need to go in for a fill. From what I've read I should be staying full for 4-5 hours right?

For the first two fills I have to wait a month but once those are over with my surgeon said that if I'm not feeling good restriction within a week to call and make an appointment. Thanks for sharing your experience! I'm hoping that yesterday was just a fluke day. Today I had a protein shake for breakfast at 8:00, it's now 11:30 and I'm my stomach is just starting to think about lunch.

It's been two and a half months since I had my surgery and as of today I have lost 25 pounds, a fourth of my total weight loss goal!! It's been hard but so worth it. For those of you still struggling or just getting started keep up a positive attitude, you can do it!:confused:

I was banded on 2/22 and have lost 25 pounds as of yesterday. I think you all are doing great! I've got 5cc in a 10cc band and I've got another fill scheduled for Wednesday. I'm really hoping for some restriction!

I had my second fill a few weeks ago and I noticed it took almost a week for the swelling to go down and lose my restricted feeling. Try giving it a few more days.

I've had my band for about 6 weeks now and have had my first fill. Since then I haven't lost any weight. I know that I haven't hit my sweet spot yet but I guess I expected to lose some more. I've not been perfect on my diet, but I'm still learning to eat healthy and I have cut way back on my portions. I usually eat 1500 calories a day and try to get some exercise in on the elliptical. I'm just frustrated and feeling like a failure!

I understand that it's not going to be magical and just instantly fall off. When I first had surgery I was eating 1100-1200 calories a day and wasn't losing so I upped my amount and started losing. Now I'm stuck again. I was just looking for some encouragement I guess. I don't pig out and over eat daily, I stop when I feel full. I have made some not so smart choices in my meals but that's occasionally and not every meal. Thankfully I have not been gaining but maintaining for the last two weeks.

My nutritionist told me the same thing but I found that I wasn't eating enough calories to have successful weight loss. Before I was eating 1100-1200 calories a day and I wasn't losing anything, in fact my weight was going up a little bit. So I bumped it up to around 1500 a day and I started losing again. I talked to my doctor yesterday and she said that to do whatever I needed to lose the weight (obviously within reason!). I'm not a calorie counting nazi or anything but I'm also very aware of how much I'm getting. I have an application on my iPhone that helps a lot.

I'm an Air Force wife, too! I know exactly what you mean about working out at the gym on base next to all these pretty fit guys that are just trucking away on the treadmill. But I think that's you're best option. You don't have to pay a monthly fee and it's super accessible. I've noticed that the base gyms are usually pretty busy early in the morning and later in the evening so try to go between those times. You're still going to find the fit guys but just not as many! Good luck with your decision!

Thanks for sharing your amazing story! What a great motivating story!

Has anyone tried it on an elliptical?

I've heard that most insurances won't cover it unless you're getting sores from the skin rubbing and that sort of thing. I just got banded but this is something that I'm really worried about! My husband said I can get a tummy tuck though!

I was suprised at how bad the gas pain really was! When I woke up from the anesthesia my shoulders hurt more than my abdomen.

That's awesome! What a great new hobby. Maybe I'll have to pull out my trombone from high school and spruce up my skills again!

I lost 7 pounds during my week long preop diet and then 10 pounds since being banded on 2/22. This was a really good question because I was curious, too! Looks like I shouldn't be too concerned if I don't lose anything else before my first fill, it's on the 24th. But it was nice to lose 2 pounds overnight those first few days after surgery!

We got banded on the same day and I moved ahead on my diet. I wasn't getting enough protein/carbs so I just started having scrambled or hard boiled eggs once a day or so. I'm able to start on my full soft/mushie diet today and I was so excited! I didn't feel too bad about moving ahead a bit because I fell really well and I don't have any more swelling in my stomach at all and I was getting hungry every few hours so I knew that my stomach was good to go!

Lately it's been every day but I'm 10 days post op so it's a good motivator to see that I've lost 2 pounds in a day! But I'm going to start weighing weekly on Monday. I think I'm going to have to hide my scale though, it's too tempting!

I'm supposed to be drinking 64 ounces of liquid a day. I'm lucky if I can get in 40! I need some tips to increase my intake. I don't mind drinking it I just never think of it until I'm actually thirsty. I'm also not supposed to eat 30 minutes before or after I eat and that's when I would drink the most. Ah it's frustrating! Any ideas would be appreciated!

Try getting some gas-x strips for the gas pain. That has helped me a ton. I've had the opposite problem of you though! But I've read that it can go both ways after surgery. I think it was 4 days after surgery that I finally was able to go. I couldn't take really deep breaths either for the first few days as well. I remember in the post op anesthesia room I was doing shallow breathing because my shoulders hurt so bad when I did regular breathing.

I know what you mean. I got mine on the 22nd and last night was horrible! I finally bought a simple sleep aid to get some more rest. I sleep on my side so it's been really difficult to get comfortable. I tossed and turned all night last night, it was ridiculous. Hope you get some good Zzzs!

I'm 5 days post op and would LOVE a salad! That being said, I'm on a liquid diet for two weeks. I've read and heard that it's for healing purposes. The stomach is really swollen and sore so we need to be gentle to them. I've had a few bites of my bread but that's been it. I almost caved and had mac and cheese today for lunch! Stay with your doctor's recommendations and keep thinking that you'll get to have salad soon!

I used an ice pack for my stomach instead of a heating pad. It helped tons with the swelling and kept me cool at night. My hubby had ankle surgery and we ordered this cooler that wrapped around his foot. I just layed it out flat and it was marvelous! But I did get the disposable heating pads for my shoulder and the gas pains they had. My post-op nurse recommended them to me and they have worked so great! food wise I got creamed Soups, sugar free popsicles, pudding, Jello, and broth. Along with my Protein shakes it's going really well. Good luck with your surgery, you're going to love it!

I got my band on Monday. I'm doing pretty well in my recovery but today I'm noticing that I'm hungry! I'm still doing my full liquid diet so I can have protein shakes, yogurt, jello, pudding, popsicles, and cream soups. So do I just eat my 4-6 ounces whenever I'm hungry or what? Thanks for any advice and encouragement!

Thanks for all the input. I forgot that I had some pudding so I made some of that yesterday and that stayed with me a lot longer. I ordered some flavorless protein and when that gets here I hope to add that in to some of my yougurts and stuff to help it sit longer. I have been keeping track of I've been eating and the calories and I'm hitting about 500 calories a day or so. Maybe I'll convince my hubby and kids to go for a walk later to help if I need it. Thanks again!