SoccerMomma73

I was thinking the same thing! I'm 5'6 and 294 at my pre-op, I was mostly in 22/24 with and occasional 26 top....now i'm 246 and comfortably in a 20. It probably was about 40 pounds for me to get down first full size. Good luck!

I will give my surgeon kudos on this, althought I don't like him so much, I think he's an awesome surgeon. He presents all the options (GB, LB, sleeve), pros and cons of each, and the patient type he thinks will succeed or struggle with each. Then asks you what YOU want and why...and why you don't want one of the others....he doesn't push any particular procedure but tries to make sure you are well educated on each. He also doesn't push a brand of band, provides info on each and pros and cons then lets you decide. I think part of it is probably so you can't come back later and say "hey, I told you I wanted XYZ but you told me to get ABC and it didn't work!" but I also think part of it is trying to get you (me) to be proactive and make decisions about your future, health, etc.... Like I said earlier, he may not be my warm snuggliest best friend but I have nothing but respect for how he handles this aspect of things. Good luck with your decision, as they've said above, LB isn't the magic cure all, and it can be a royal pain in the butt at times but I wouldn't trade it...research everything and know the pros and cons!

I am having major issues with being overtight in the a.m. and can't handle anything solid at this point, I got in the bad habit of skipping breakfast and then by lunch I was ravenous and eating too fast and PBing, blah blah blah. While I can't handle much and absolutely nothing solid I've started drinking a Light and Fit fat free yogurt smoothie, not a lot of protein but only 70 calories so better than skipping breakfast altogether and my stomach likes it, usually about 10:30 I have a snack of a cheese stick or yogurt and by lunch at 1:00 I'm ready for real food.

My doc requires you to stay 24 hours after you get admitted to your room, no exceptions. My surgery was supposed to be at 9:00, the day before was rescheduled to 1:30, and it was after 3:00 before they took me back. I ended up not getting to a room until after 8:00 p.m. so had to stay until 8:00 p.m. the next day. It was a very long and boring day. I would have preferred to go home same day but not an option with him.

You have a long road ahead of you with the surgery, post-op, achieving and maintaining restriction, etc. You don't necessarily have to like your doc but you need to be able to work with him.... Do your best to follow his guidance but if you think you're going to have a clash of personalities and constantly be struggling with him, you may want to step back and consider using someone else. Just a thought, and good luck with everything!

Ocracoke, glad to hear you're doing well, hope everyone else is doing well too. I'm down 48 pounds and as of today officially no longer "morbidly obese", I've always hated that term. You're right, no one said it'd be easy!

As of this morning I am no longer morbidly obese...just good old fashioned obese! I'm so proud! That whole "morbid" thing...yuck.

If you go back and look, many of us have complained, whined, wimpered about how much we gained day of surgery...for me it was 6-7 pounds due to IV fluids for 24+ hours straight...and it took me about 5 days to get rid of that and back to "normal"....Since then I'll lose 4 pounds in 1 week then 1 pound for a week or two then none for a week or two, then 3-4, repeat...1-2 pounds a week consistantly is realistic and nothing to be upset about. Be proud that you're losing 1-2 a week. Also, you're so close to surgery your body is still adapting and your metabolism is adapting. When I do liquids I lose quickly for 7-10 days then come to a screeching halt for a while....I've calculated it and when I'm on my docs liquid diet I average about 600 calories a day, my body doesn't like that and the weight loss stops, totally. Keep your chin up, 10 pounds is great!

I also have an acquaintance who was banded almost a year ago, has had no fills and has lost close to 100 lbs and is at goal. For her, just having the band in place allows her to get full quicker and stay full longer.... That would be awesomely wonderful, but I for one required fills. I've had 3 to date and am doing great. As mentioned above throwing up post band is not like regular throwing up, it's relatively painless and no acids etc like a regular hurl...I have had 1 episode post band that appeared to be like a pre-op puke...it wasn't pretty and I"m still not sure what happened, but it didn't kill me and I'm still cruising on down the scale. Good luck!

Someone told me yesterday that I have no ass...that is possibly the best compliment I have ever received. Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers, big bro has to be back in country and off orders by April 14th so, 1 week down 51 to go! Congrats to everyone on, well, everything, I'm tired and too lazy to go and comment on it all (except yay Anne!! I know you're about to explode from the excitement!)!

WOOHOO on weighing less than your husband!!! One of my major goals in life is to weigh less than my lean, mean, 6'3 father...I'm 9 inches shorter than him so you'd think that wouldn't be hard. He hovers between 195 and 200, if he hits 205 he feels fat and starts watching his girlish figure...apparently I got mom's genes on this one, not dads, darn the luck! Betsy-His name is James Reid, any thoughts and prayers are always appreciated. It's funny, I don't think it even phases him to be going...he's a manly man, all into the guns and such (although, yeah, he's probably hiding it some). He is the unit commander and has a whole bunch of young faces looking up to him for support and strength. His dog Delilah has moved in with use for the duration, I'm fairly certain I've been set up and he's hoping that in a year Connor and Delilah will be attached at the hip and will be mine forever....brat. (actually she's a sweet dog, I love her to death, but last year I watched her for a week and she ate my house....) Five weeks from my last fill and I'm still in the slightly tighter than I'd like to be category, solid protein is a major issue and if I so much look at rice I start to hurt. Last week was really a bear at work, emotionally and physically, way too many lunches and dinners and way too much crying, and too much emotional drama, and I'm PMSing...I felt like I was just barely hanging by my toenails....but it's getting better and I feel like I'm a little more in control of my world again...and...amazingly, the hunger has calmed down just as quickly. Very odd to feel like I was starving but only be able to eat 3-4 bites at a time. Have a great week everyone and keep up the good work!

The only reason I even know Bob is still alive is the farmville posts on facebook.... How come weekends are never long enough?!?!

Restriction can sort of sneak up on you, I went from fills that gave me a little restriction for a week or two to my third which has kicked my behind for about 5 weeks now. I figured I had a couple more before I got to this point but, SURPRISE! My doc said to expect 4-6 fills before I really had good restriction and his nurse has told me the last 2-3 cc before the band is maxed are a good place for many people....don't fret too much, you're getting closer!

And Leigha, I'm with the "get a small fill" group...wouldn't go for much but I'd definitely be going after the free fill. Good luck!

HB-I love the NSV! Totally rocks, in a mean spirited way. (I never said I was nice!) I am so glad it's Friday. This week has just sucked. Work is, well, work. My older brother came back to Arkansas for 2 weeks before his official deployment started, so today they had the big send off as the entire unit headed off to Wisconsin before heading to Afghanistan. It's the last time we'll see him until next April. I had to work but my parents and son went up to say goodbye and random people kept calling to tell me to tell him thanks for his service...and every time someone says anything I cry....It just sucks. I found myself yesterday craving, well, everything. I haven't done that in a LONG time. However today is much better on the fat front. I'm not starving, but have not exercised at all this week and am willing to bet the scales aren't nice to me on Monday morning. (but that's okay, 1 week of no weight loss isn't really a big deal in the long run, we'll get back on track this weekend) Okay, enough whining, given what Bobbie has been handling I need to shut up and suck it up (btw, Bobbie you rock, it amazes me how you are handling all of this). So, just glad it's Friday! Have a good one!

Leigha-In a nutshell...sort of, for some people, some times. Sugar (carbohydrates) causes your blood glucose to elevate which causes your body to release insulin (to control the blood sugar levels) which causes your blood sugar to go down, which can cause you to become hungry and crave sugar. In reality, most healthy people with a healthy pancreas probably wouldn't really notice the fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Now, someone who is having issues with their blood sugar (either insulin resistance or full blown diabetes) is likely to have larger fluctuations in their blood sugar, it goes up faster after eating carbs and then goes down fast and hard so they're more likely to get a lower blood sugar level which may be symptomatic and causing hunger or sugar cravings. Simple carbs make their sugar go up faster and come down faster while complex carbs take longer to digest so you have a more slow and gentle rise and fall in blood sugar levels which are less likely to cause symptoms.... So, in short, sugar increases your blood sugar levels...your pancreas releases insulin in response which brings down the blood sugar levels (just like in a diabetic, we give them insulin to lower their blood sugar) but if the blood sugar goes down too quickly or too far your body responds by trying to get you to eat more sugar....if you eat more sugar your blood sugar rises, your pancreas releases insulin, you blood sugar goes down, lather, rinse, repeat. Carbs tend to get a bad rap these days. I do try to avoid simple carbs because they cause the biggest fluctuations in blood glucose levels AND because they don't offer much nutritional value (sodas and sweets...high in calories, low in nutrients, just not much room for them in my diet). However, complex carbs (fruits, veggies, beans, grains, etc) don't have as severe an impact on blood sugar levels and tend to be high in nutrients (fiber, vitamins, etc).... Sorry this got so long but hopefully it helps!

I should clarify a point above, an excess in ANY calories leads to fat jiggly butt, not just fat calories....sorry if that was misleading. My butt happens to be jiggly mostly because of fat calories.... I try to stick with a lower carb, lower fat, higher protein diet. I won't say low/no carbs because good carbs have many nutrients you won't find anywhere else and I think some people take the high protein low carb thing a little too the extreme (that, and life on a low fiber diet does bad things to me so I have to get my fruits and veggies in). Hope this helps a bit.

Bobbie-a calorie is a calorie...HOWEVER...how your body uses those calories and the effect on your metabolism can be huge. Blah blah blah...small, frequent meals, high in protein, lower in carbs tend to fuel the fire and get the metabolism up and going. If you only eat 1 huge meal of 2000 calories once a day your body essentailly goes into starvation mode halfway through the day and you're essentially burning nothing which means you need less calories, which, well, sucks And of course, fat it fat...it tastes mighty fine, and the calorie is a calorie theory still holds but overall effect on your body is again different, a protein calorie boosts metabolism, builds muscles, etc, a fat calorie builds butt...big jiggly butt (I'd turn around and dance for you just so you can see but no one needs that picture). Of course you have to have some fat to be healthy, just not as much as most of use used to get, hence my jiggly parts. There's a big long technical explanation but hopefully this helps some!

As a mom...I would be so upset if I found out my son had done something as major as this and not told me.... They may flip out, if they do all you can do is try to educate them and make sure they realize that you have researched this and you know what you're doing and not just jumping in. I think most parents, once they're sure you know what you're getting in to, would support you in any way they could. Do what you need to do however as a mom, I'd want to know. Good luck!

So, this morning I weighed in at 249, finally breaking the 250 barrier in my mind. I officially weigh the least I've weighed in at least 14 years, possible even a little longer. So, WOOHOO!! Leigha congrats on normalcy! That is awesome! Bobbie-Good luck today, positive vibes being sent your way! It is a gorgeous day and we're off to the first soccer game of the season. Should be much fun! Have a great weekend everyone!

I'm closing in on 4 months post-op...the noise, good lord the noise...I don't think it ever gets better...People can hear my stomach from across the room, it's the craziest thing. Diarrhea, constipation, I've read about a lot of people going back and forth all over the place. I was on the constipated variety and IT SUCKED (well, in fact it is STILL an issue and I've never had problems with it before). It took me a while to be able to burp but once I was able to I coule burp like a 14 year old boy...as I've developed more restriction I'm having more trouble burping again.... Sounds like you're mostly normal! Good luck!

My doc does not use fluoro unless there's been a problem. With my first fill I felt amazing restriction for a few days which then eased up...it was better than pre-fill but not great. My second gave me restriction for about a week and then again eased up...still better than before that fill...My third was 3 weeks ago and is still a tad too tight, I can drink fine but food is not my friend...it eases up a bit every day but I've postponed my 4th fill from next week to next month. So....morale of the story? It just depends! Betsy and I are both at three fills, she has hers with fluoro, I have mine without, and overall we're in pretty similar places.... Either way it takes a little time, each fill seems to help but try not to set your expectations too high or you're likely going to be disappointed. Good luck!

Duct tape?

Mine is to the right of the belly button and up between my waist and ribcage....can feel it with effort, so far it's not noticeable and wastebands don't bother it at all, but it's low enough bras don't rub either.

Oh dear Anne, that did not even come close to whining! I occasionally get the urge to binge (tonight for example, I'm madder than hell about some things and have the urge to eat eat eat!) however, I can eat so little right now it pretty much kills the binge in seconds. We are in full spring bloom here now, for better or for worse. My dark blue mini-van is currently green from the pollen so we're snorting and sneezing like crazy. BUT we also manage to get out and walk or ride bikes every evening since it's so nice. Happy Monday to everyone!