conservachick

WOW - I feel like someone is reading from my diary! I am having the exact issue.. my doctor even made me cry.. told me that I am the problem... It's amazing... would love to chat with you.... let me know if you wanna talk.. I'll give you my phone number.. HUGS.. and hang in there.. you're not alone.. many of us are going thru this and just don't wanna talk about it....

I never EVER thought I would want to run! Even when I was physically fit back in the day!!!! And now I have decided, after losing 60 pounds, and still having a good 60 more to lose, that I am going to train for a 10k. Is that crazy? Should I aim for less? Am I setting myself up for failure? I sure hope not because I really want this! Has anyone done this post-surgery? Did you get the support you hoped for from family and friends? Just curious if anyone has an opinion! :puke: HUGS!!!!!!!

Good luck! Glad to know you're feeling better... it DOES get easier... and as you lose weight, you'll forget more and more all the pain and strain and things you had to give up.... It's soooo worth it!

Hello! Welcome to our neighborhood! I am 8 months post op. I lost 72 pounds... I have hit a few bumps in the road over the last month or so... I just stopped working out and began eating too much sugary foods... but I'm back on track now... and have an appointment with my surgeon's office tomorrow for a possible fill. The worst part of this experience was 1) having to pay for it all myself, and 2) quitting sodas and caffein... I quit both of those things BEFORE my pre-op liquid diet... just thought it would be easier to deal with one loss at a time... so i quit sodas first, then 2 weeks later I quit caffein... so when I started my liquid diet, I only was dealing with the urges to eat, the caffein and soda deprivation was already gone... ya know?? Anyway... Anyway - what I want to share with you is that if you have the chance to do this surgery and you have truly strggled with weight and keeping it off... then I think you absolutely should do it! I've had some struggles with pain and vomitting... and i would have this surgery every month for the rest of my life if I had to... I just would... No problem I've had since my surgery has been worse than feeling the way I felt before my surgery... does that make sense? I wish you the best! I hope that you are able to do what your heart decides to do.. and if it's surgery, then great! If you life in Texas, I can recommend my surgeon 100%. His staff is awesome!!! And they offer so many great perks! Anyway - I hope 2011 will be fabulous for you.. and that soon you will be posting your experiences on the post-op forum! HUGS

one more thing... you WILL have bad days after the surgery.... weeks and even months, even years into it... there will be days or weeks where you eat what you shouldn't or you don't work out, or you just feel down cuz you think the weight isn't coming off quick enough.... just be ready... I kinda think it was all going to be 'roses' as long as I did what they told me to do... but you have to factor in one thing.... YOUR HEAD!!! Until your head catches up with your body, you're gonna have bad days... so just be prepared... and don't be too hard on yourself!

first of all... congratulations!! secondly... in a day or so you are going to be so sick of those shakes.. but hang in there... by the end of my 2 weeks pre-op liquid diet I was really liking my shakes... And just remember why you're doing this... nothing tastes as good as how you'll feel soon! good luck

1. Exercise 2. Get your Protein in!!! 3. Stay positive - even when you fall off the wagon! Don't let the 'fat person' that may still be in your head begin to talk you down... for me anyway, that's my biggest issue! Good luck!!!

OK... so now I don't feel so alone! I'm so sorry you are going thru this but I have to admit I'm relieved I'm not the only one. I agree - sugar is NOT my friend.. whether it's small doses of it or not!!! I am just gonna have to realize once and for all that I don't need it and my body just cannot cope with it! I get very addicted to it easily!!! For the first 7 months of my surgery, I did great.. lost 72 pounds and all was well.... over the last month and a half - from Thanksgiving on - I have gained 7 pounds... I didn't weigh myself once cuz I kinda knew it wasn't gonna show a loss... but this morning I finally got on the scale.. and I have decided enough is enough... I have had way too many Cookies and slices of pie and whipped cream and ice cream... and ugh.. just disgusted with myself! I'm going to detox starting today... getting back on my Protein shake diet of 800 calories... and I will begin exercising again which I hadn't done at all during the holidays!! I also have an appointment with my surgeon's office TOMORROW to get a much needed fill! I felt hardly any restriction over the holidays... but then again, I filled up on slider foods!!!! Bad, bad patient!!!!! Oh well... we live and learn!!! Good luck to you! don't fret too much! There are LOTS of us out there... we just need to get control back NOW and not be in this situation again!!! HUGS

Congratulations!!! I wish for you all the best! Get ready for a great ride!!

Hi, Auburn... I agree with BWESLEY.... if I were your age and was the weight I was when I had surgery, I would have done it in a heartbeat!!! I think that it's a good thing you are band-curious... you should mak that appointment to see a GOOD surgeon... I'm pretty sure most first visits are free.. or attend a seminar.. lots of surgeons do those, for free.... and then go from there... it's the BEST decision I ever made... my outlook on life is better than it's been since I was in my early 20s. Although i am coming off of a 7 pound gain during the holidays (which I'm ashamed to admit) I still am very overall happy because any other year during the holidays I would have put on 15 pounds or more!! I didn't do any exercise during the holidays and I 'allowed' myself to self-indulge in sugar... which is just not ok. And I know that... and I'm getting back on track!!! I've lost 72 pounds so far since May, and my number one advice to you is take the plunge... I think It's great to get informed.. but you should have that first appointment... talk with the surgeon, and then with the patient-insurance liasson... and get the ball rolling... depending on your insurance, you may have several months of hoops to jump through.. so don't delay! Or you can do like me and just pay for the whole thing yourself! But at age 19, I guess I don't recommend that! Good luck... email me anytime.... I'm here often... don't post much, but I'm always here... HUGS and I hope 2011 will be a GREAT year for you!

Since Christmas was over, I've done nothing but worry about how much weight I've gained over the holidays... My journey, up until the holidays, was sooo successful... not bragging but I lost 72 pounds from May till mid November. Well, when I walked out of my doctor's office in November feeling on cloud 9, I thought, "I got this!!" Uh...... no, I don't!!! I have gained back 7 pounds... which, any other year during the holidays would have been a conservative number... but to gain 7 pounds with the band is just so disappointing to me... my problem was the sugar.. I began to gradually allow myself to have some - I guess as a reward for losing weight AND because of the holidays AND because I was baking non-stop due to the holidays... So today I find myself down and blue... and I decided I'm going back on my Protein shake diet atleast for a week or so.. i feel like I need to detox from all the sugar (Cookies, pies, ice cream, ugh...)!!! I clearly cannot allow myself a 'band' holiday.... and I hope I don't have to write something similar to this next year.. I hope I've learned my lesson and will be more mature and responsible!!! Good luck to you... and just know you're not the only one who has fallen off the wagon.. if people are honest, I'm sure there are LOTS of us out there.... Signed... confessions of a serial eater!

I want to wish you a smooth and successful surgery! I just said a prayer for you... I know about stressing out before the surgery! So many 'what if's' that go thru out minds... but you will be just fine! The anxiety is worse than the surgery... and you will be wishing you'd done this a long time ago in about a month! I had surgery in May and have lost over 60 pounds.. feeling great and wearing 'normal' size clothes.. it's a great feeling walking into a department store and going to the regular sizes to shop... wish I'd don't this years ago! Wishing you the best! Hugs to you! God bless!!! Monique

Hey there, North Texas ladies! Good to see we're not alone, huh? I wish you all the best! We're each at different stages of our journey but we all have the same goal! LOSE WEIGHT, BE HEALTHY, LIVE LONG AND HAPPY! HUGS TO ALL OF YOU!!!!

I live in Fort Worth, Texas!!!!!!!! Near StockYards! Banded by the great Dr. David Kim in Colleyville, TX on May 11th! I've lost 64 pounds so far... just started to really take walking to the next level - being serious about it! Hope to lose another 20 by Christmas... YIKES! Anyone else on here banded by Dr. Kim?

Fort Worth, Texas @ home mom of 3: ages 13, 11, and 5 substitute teacher :smile2:

"Eating and drinking at the same time causes food to move through the digestive system a little too quickly." I got that from the surgeon's guide book I was given.... The nurse also explained to us in a class before the surgery that drinking while eating promotes belly fat... ???? I also used to drink all day long.. I could drink 10 bottles of Water easily.. plus all the sweet tea and sodas i used to have... Now, I still drink plenty of water, but NEVER EVER do I drink during my meals... I wait about 20 mins. after I eat to drink.. but my surgeon said to wait 30.... ???? good luck!!!

Hello there, my fellow May Bandsters!!!!!! I was banded on May 11 and I have lost 64 pounds. It melted off during the summer.. September has been slow... I lost like 2 pounds... LOL I haven't been doing well with my Protein intake... so I'm getting back on supplementing with shakes!! I'm just sooo happy! I started this journey a few months ago and I was a whopping size 24W!!! I now buy size 16 regular in the misses section... Or XL - and when I was a 24 I bought a 3X and still had to stretch out my shirts... how sad... but I don't dwell on where I was... I focus and Celebrate what I am now and what I am becomimg... :rolleyes2: I'm excited to say that I'm going to be starting a program to get me ready for a 5k. It's called "from couch to 5k" and it is a 10 wk program.. it tells you every single step to take.. and it guarantees you're ready at the end of the 10th week!!! Jillian Michaels, form the Biggest loser is involved in this program.... if it intersts you, you should totally check it out online... Anyway, I hope others will post their progress, disappointments, milestones, and plans for the next several months! HUGS TO ALL OF YOU!! AND THE BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF US!

Hi there! My doctor and nurse, etc... told me to take it easy on carbs.... bread should be toasted and rice and pasta should be limited amounts and chewed VERY well... Good luck! :smile2:

I had sugar free ice pops from day 3!!!!!! I lived off of that and sugar free Jello for WEEKS!!!!! Good luck!:smile:

Hi! I take 60 mg of Cymbalta every night... the surgeon and his office said it's ok to take... What I've noticed is that sometimes when my band is too tight, it's very uncomfortable to swallow the pill.. so what I do is I open it and take the tiny little specks of the meds INSIDE of the cap.... I've got the technique down to a perfect science. LOL anyway.. today I was able to swallow the pill whole - didn't have to take it apart and swallow all of the little particles inside.... just depends... Good luck to you! HUGS

Hi! Sorry, I can't help you with the insurance part of it... I was a self pay patient! Just wanted to wish you luck and congratulate you on your new journey! Hope it all works out for you! Keep us all posted! HUGS :smile:

absolutely yes!!!!! without this procedure, I would still be hiding my house just getting bigger and bigger and my kids would be witnessing the destruction of their mom! I've lost 61 pounds and counting... so happy.. would do the surgery all over again if I had to! It has saved my life in sooo many ways! :biggrin:

Everything you are feeling I think is normal... I had all the same concerns... I LOVE my band and only wish I could have been able to have it done sooner! The hardest thing for me now is eating slowy, chewing enough.. etc.... but I've dropped 60 pounds in 4 1/2 months and I'm so excited to see what will happen the next several months! Best of luck to you... it's ok to be nervous.. and it's definitely the right thing to do by asking questions and making sure this is right for you!!!! HUGS:smile:

Well, gosh! First of all... I'm so sorry you have/had so much on your plate... so much to deal with and get through!!!! I'm very glad to know you and your family are ok!!! 95 pounds is a huge accomplishment... congratulations on that! GOOD LUCK TO YA!

ribeye steaks - cooked medium.... mashed potatoes and zukkini squash! And I'm addicted to smoothie King!