NurseSophie

Not a regret....except I didn't do it sooner. Not an easy way of life....but I am SO MUCH HEALTHIER!

It took me about three months to feel safe at trying sweets because that is my addiction. I am happy to report that I have not lost my mind with anything. I even got nauseous on ice cream so I do stick to frozen yogurt. I don't eat it daily. I don't eat a lot. It seems that I mostly eat a dab of something during special occasions...like weddings, work potluck, birthday party, etc. I DO make sure I've gotten my protein in so honestly, there isn't much room but because I'm not eating sweets 3 and 4 times daily, it really is a treat now. Plus, I'm not gonna lie...I'm diggin my 60 pound weight loss and don't wanna go back.

Mine says drink up to my first bite and then 30 minutes after. I am very good to follow the 30 minute rule and only one time did I drink during eating. NEVER AGAIN. OWIE.

For me, the fills have caused me to not be hungry as soon...the amount of food hasn't really changed as much as the amount of time in between. I'm able to go around 4 hours on the average for my next food and at times up to 6 hours, depending on what I ate. I don't see me getting another fill (I've had two which gives me 5cc) because I cannot eat fast and there are foods I can't eat but I've never slimed nor thrown up. I feel like I'm at a perfect place FOR ME.

I stuck to the nutritious stuff....but if I was hungry, I ate. If I am having hunger pains, I don't do well with them :-) I was able, even through bandster hell, to maintain no more than 1400-1500 calories and have maintained steady weight loss. I knew that if I wasn't losing weight, I would have to change my gameplan but I just exercised, ate the right foods, and only ate when hungry. Now that I've had two fills, I can stay around 1200 cals and do fine. The lapband is a tool to lose weight, in my mind, but not a way to torture myself. I refused to be miserable in my hunger but I wanted to lose weight. Hoping that made a little sense to you. My nutrition class helped tremendously so I almost make a game of getting the most out of my calories!

I am an RN who works around surgery daily. I want to encourage you that although there are risks with surgery...they are RARE. We rarely have someone have problems afterwards unless they already had medical problems in place. I understand your concern and had it myself, knowing what I know. I just put myself in the hands of the Great Physician and also had many others praying for me!

I've done that many times. :-)

Yep, same for me...was told to give it a try...I do NOT like the extra air..not worth it to me. Same for gum!

I had a couple of bouts of severe sadness and I am one of those annoying people who get picked on for being so perky. :-) I really really struggled for a couple of days...prayed through it....got out there and exercised and it passed. (walking at the time) These two different times were pretty close to post op though so I was wondering if anesthesia had anything to do with it?

I've taken advil tons since my lapband. Tylenol does nothing for me. I just make sure I drink a lot of water and then eat a small snack to make sure I have something on my stomach. I drink the water before the snack to make sure I wash the pills on through. I've had no problems.

Zumba, in my opinion, is the best exercise I have ever done! First I love to dance but I am almost 41 years old and just a few months ago was 300 pounds. Zumba is so much fun though I DO NOT CARE what I look like! And it burns tons of calories. I only have time to fit one class into my schedule a week so I use tons of youtube videos. For those of you who can attend class, nobody cares if you can do it well...just get out there and do it!!

Been there, done that recently. I love it!

The one thing I have sincerely noticed is a more positive reaction to me....I have gone from invisible to at least worthy of a "hello! how are you?". (from passing the surgeons in the hallway) A couple of times, I KNOW my jaw has dropped. LOL

My husband has been INCREDIBLE. The first month or so were the hardest for me emotionally so he often fixed food for him and our son. After that, I use our crockpot often. I really don't eat much at all of what he eats but I am hyper sensitive to sodium and fat makes me nauseous. This week, I started mixing up the extra tuna, chicken, or egg salad that I eat and he gladly eats it now too. I wish everyone had a guy like mine. :-)

Going on my 6th year as a nurse....it took me years to get to my lapband decision after much studying and prayer. We had a hand full of other nurses get it and I watched how they did. Morbid obesity is an awful place to be...never aspired to be there and after many attempts, remained there. Lapband seemed like the tool for me. I LOVE my lapband. I am very open about it with others and don't mind answering questions. I know that I am working hard to achieve my goals...the lapband is kinda like a security guard....saving me from myself so I don't gain the weight back. My body hurts way less at the end of the day....my feet, knees, and back. I do feel like you get a little more trust from your patients when you can stand before them healthy. I feel more confident in the teaching I share with them. Went from 3X scrubs to L. :-)

Sparkpeople.com...you can track food and fitness..I really like it.

I know telling you not to be discouraged isn't going to work but I will tell you the band is worth it. Right now, you are still healing from your surgery and now your hematoma and still able to eat because you're not filled. I had a small one...that burst open after zumba class and fortunately I am a nurse who works in surgery so I was able to play with mine a little and it stopped bleeding. (this was also about 3 weeks out) Knowing what I know about surgery, these things can just happen and it's nobody's fault. I hope yours heals well and quickly! Keep on keeping on....

I'm at the same place. My weight has not changed though in a week and I'm trying not to get discouraged but I'm not convinced a fill is the answer. I'm not interested in pbing or sliming or throwing up and the band allows me to eat most things (minus bread and chicken) just much less. I havent' increased any food intake but yesterday changed my exercise. We'll see. My clothes continue to increase in size(getting baggier), however, in spite of the scale staying the same!

I haven't even tried the soda...even gum causes me to have air that is very uncomfortable. Not worth it!

Honestly, this was so anticlimatic for me that I don't even remember! I do remember being excited about cottage cheese because I've loved it my whole life. Food just isn't that great anymore..it's such hard work LOL chew chew chew.

thank you so much for sharing!