general_antiope

P.S. don't eat that again!

Lol. Yes that is the band working. Welcome!!!

BTW, I had a bad morning (Tastykakes...ahh god) but for lunch I made a salad with cherry tomatoes, a little goat cheese, and 1 tbsp blue cheese dressing. I didn't eat all my dressing (always on the side, dip the fork!) and had some tuna with light mayo. It's still got fat and calories but it's the first "diet" meal or ANY type of restraint I have done since I was 4 months preggo and my band unfilled (about 8 months ago). LOL. Tonight we're having baked haddock and orange-vanilla carrots.

Fixed!

Danielle - My doc does a 7 week liquid diet, specifically to get the liver less fatty so she can maneuver it during surgery.

Yes I know how you feel! You're "detoxing" from having chewing and solid food during your eating. if you can't finish a whole shake, the band is working How long is your post op liquid phase?

Congrats everyone!! Woo too, Feb is ALMOST here! Can't wait! Feb 2013 Group http://www.lapbandtalk.com/groups/show/124-february-2013-bandsters/

Throwing up after surgery is painful, sore, cause they cut through your ab muscles. But it's not horrible pain, imho, just very sore like you did a million sit-ups. If I recall correctly, it didn't hurt unless I moved my abs. (which was whenever I moved!) I also would eat applesauce. But it's very thick, so I always had to water down the applesauce to get it down. I love apples, and I am enjoying eating whole fruit now...won't be able to soon. When in doubt with consistency, just water it down a bit!

Good luck Danielle and Mandy! I'll be posting surgery dates in the Feb 2013 group (click here) so we can all cheer each other on for the big day!

Congrats to all the upcoming bandsters!! I can't wait to get banded on Feb 4. My doc has me on a 7 day liquid that I start on Monday. Feb 2013 group: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/groups/show/124-february-2013-bandsters/

I'm going Feb 4, and I'm a little nervous about surgery because my old band (broken) is being removed and a new one put in. I'm nervous because my tube is disconnected and has been 'free floating' in my abdomen and causing me immense pain since April (I was 4 mo pregnant and they couldn't do anything about it). I'm wondering if there will be adhesions...is the tube stuck to my intestines or abs? Could there be complications? I'm not nervous about the banding, I'm excited. But I've been through it before...it was a fast surgery and the wounds didn't hurt nearly as much as the shoulder pain Hey girls, sorry if this is getting annoying, but I did create a Feb 2013 group...please feel free to join! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/groups/show/124-february-2013-bandsters/

Good luck Marci! I'm going to shamelessly plug the Feb group I just created here. We'd love to support you! I'm going Feb 4, but we have a few people around the 21st. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/groups/show/124-february-2013-bandsters/

Here's the link to the group http://www.lapbandtalk.com/groups/show/124-february-2013-bandsters/ Come on by and join us!

Crystal, I love reading your stuff You have a nice writing style. Missionary work? How cool! How did you get into that? I have no major health issues other than my degenerative lumbar, great cholesterol and such, too. I feel like I wanna hurry up and "catch up" before my age starts taking my weight seriously, LOL. I'll tell you what my experience with this was...Once that weight started coming off, I literally lost interest in the scale. I would weigh myself every day, then stopped and did it once a week. Life started taking over! It was amazing. My mom would exclaim that I was shrinking every time she saw me, but I didn't REALLY see it. Or believe her. The scale said I was losing, my clothes were hanging on me, but for some reason I ignored weight and weight related stuff and just got distracted by work and friends and personal projects. I actually like that. I stopped obsessing, watching, waiting for my moments to live. Before I knew it, I was 190. All I kept seeing was another 30-40 lbs to lose, but when I took pics of myself I would be SHOCKED at how thin my face looked. It took me a while to resolve the person in the 14 pants and having only one chin with how I still felt. It was weird It took a year or two to accept a size 12 as normal, and feel normal, and no longer shop at Lane Bryant.

My husband is a teacher. Since we've been together I've "helped" him gain 50 lbs He was lean when I met him, now he's overweight and tired. He's going back to healthy eating as I go on my post op diet. He also sits more teaching his classes than he used to! What grade do you teach, and subject?

So much to reply to! Here goes... Dave, so great to meet you. I'm looking to lose 100 lbs too! Can't wait to start the journey with you. Hi Felicia! It sounds like you have a good, healthy attitude toward the band. That will absolutely be a great asset in the coming months. What kind of concerns about post op do you have? Ohh I'm interested in the C25k. I would need to walk, as I have a degenerating lumbar that I had surgery on, but I want to do marathon walking. It's my goal. You and I are about the same weight. I refuse to weigh myself til next Monday, when I start my pre op diet. lol. We'll do it together! Crystal, great post! You have done tons of research and thinking, you're going into this experience well informed. And wow, already practicing the band lifestyle? And what a great job on your self motivated diet! You're going to do a fantastic job with this. Kudos to you. Cynthia, the fact that you're being so honest with the pitfalls and obstacles is healthy and positive. The family can also adapt to you...after all, although you're the one going through the surgery and weight loss, this will impact them too. You'll be happy and excited, energetic and will be doing more, even with your injuries. And losing the weight will certainly improve many aspects of your current medical issues, I bet! I'll cheer you on, if you'll cheer me on, okay?

How frustrating! okay let's break this down. You say you're eating 1000 calories a day - I'm going to estimate that your basal metabolic rate (the minimum amt of calories your body burns in a day to maintain weight) is at least 2500. That's a daily deficit of 1500 calories a day - you should be losing 2-3 lbs a week. If you're not, there is something else going on and it's not the band. The band can't interfere with your metabolism. The PA may have been right about your thyroid issue, but wow that docs office sounds like a circus. It seems like life is telling you that you need to advocate for yourself more. Doctors aren't god. Some suck! Don't live with it, don't tolerate it. Get yourself tested for other metabolic issues that could be sabotaging you. I'm also stumped about you not tolerating a small fill well. Some ppl may not feel they need a fill but are you struggling with hunger and portions or are you comfortable? While investigating other reasons for no weight loss, keep up with your routine. The math will owe you.

That nurse just fed you a load of crap. The band sits on a nerve that send full feelings to your brain. It takes that nerve 20 minutes to tell you you're satisfied when you are unbanded. I dont know about you but i can destroy lots of food in 20 minutes which is why I was morbidly obese!!! When you're banded and filled properly, the nerve is almost always being touched, so you DO NOT feel the same kind of hunger as before, and when filled right you CANNOT eat the same size portions as before or you will get food stuck and feel horrible. That horrible feeling is called restriction. If you don't feel a struggle or tightness when eating or drinking, you don't have the right fill period. There are a few people who CAN eat anyway past those feelings. Those people are at serious risk for band complications. The majority of filled bandsters feel an unbelievable freedom and joy at having hunger controlled and warnings from overeating . For most people, this is all we need to lose weight rapidly, to make better choices, and to leave food addiction behind. I wish I could slap medical professionals who give misinformation. A lot of them tend to be nurses. They are not doctors!

Good luck!!

Is he operating at NYU (Tisch?) Looks like I'll get to meet you in recovery Dr. Ren (Dr. Fielding's wife!) is replacing my band 2/4 as well. Maybe we'll meet up doing our laps around the floor! That's what we did the first time, mandatory walking...maybe it's changed now, I don't know.

I'm really not sure what you just said. But you asked for help. I've been banded for 8 years and am speaking from a lot of first hand experience. You being a martyr and calling yourself bad is not going to solve your problem. Perhaps you should try talking to your doc if you don't feel you're getting the answers you need?

I lost like nothing until 4 months after I was originally banded. I just could not control my hunger. But once that magic fill hit, BAM! I lost a shedload

I can completely sympathize. I don't have PCOS but I have had the most aggravating issues with my band for 8 years now! Constant hardware malfunctions, and I keep thinking I'm screwing up, I'm embarrassed, etc. And I've almost gained everything back. I force myself to be positive and to NEVER GIVE UP because I know this works, it's worked before, and it will work again. The one thing you wrote that jumped out at me...avoiding your doctor. This I'm gonna harp on, because I did the same thing. I would be so humiliated to go back to my doc when I started having a leak (and didn't know it). I stopped feeling restriction so slowly I didn't notice it. That happens when you stop thinking about food But I let years pass before I went to see what was wrong. My doctor told me I was ridiculous for being embarrassed. She said "I am here to help you! The band works, PERIOD, there is no "you get used to restriction"...if you are hungry, you simply don't have the right fill." THen we found out I had a slow leak. I wasted so much time not getting it fixed. And I realized that the emotional part (embarrassment) is still a leftover of our brainwashing. Aren't we told that we're lazy, weak, gluttonous for being obese? God that's horrible. And it's true that most people think that of us. You have to consciously throw that crap out, it is useless and TOXIC to you as the extra pounds you're carrying. Tell yourself today: The doctor is there to help. If you don't like your doctor, look for a new one. if you can't get a new one, rip the band aid off and ask him/her about it. Tell him/her you're feeling embarrassed or down on yourself. I guarantee the doc will tell you that it's his/her job to keep you in the green zone, and if you're not there, they will work with you until you are. If your doc still has attitude, you may need to just advocate for yourself more. I'm glad you're getting the barium swallow. It SOUNDS like your band may have a slow leak. The mechanics of the band aren't magical. You don't ever "lose" restriction feelings if your band is filled and working. They will always be there. You haven't missed your window to lose weight...take it from someone who has had nothing but issues with the band thought it was THEIR fault! Not my fault! And it's not yours. Your job is to push and push until you feel the right restriction. In very rare cases, perhaps the band isn't going to work for you, but that's unlikely. And of course there are other options. But the odds are in your favor of getting back on track. Message me any time.