pixcess

I had my lap band surgery done 2/20/07. I actually gained weight before surgery (I went from 268 to 272 between my last pre-op appointment and just before surgery). In not quite a years time, I've only lost 33 pounds. I have had 3 fills. I had no restriction after the first or second fill and I have moderate restriction right now. I get tired of the dietician (who's quite young and I would imagine has never had weight issues), giving me attitude because I need to be limiting my food intake to "this" much. Well, if I could have limited my food intake BEFORE surgery, I would have lost the weight on my own, just having the surgery didn't change that, at least not without proper restriction. I'm going to schedule another fill soon. At first, I was upset at having lost so slowly. I didn't want to lose too quickly because I didn't want people to know I'd had surgery (I just don't feel like I should HAVE to tell anyone unless I WANT to, I guess I'm just stubborn). I would have been happier losing about 50 or 60 pounds this year, but even with just 30 pounds gone people are starting to notice and that's really nice. I still have about 110 pounds to lose. I'd like to lose it over the next couple of years. I know it will take more restriction for me to lose it, I just don't have the willpower to fight the hunger on my own, whether it's "real" hunger or "head" hunger. I guess I will never understand why people (surgeons, nurses, dieticians, etc) can't get it through their heads that if we weren't able to limit our food intake to a small amount before surgery, just having the surgery doesn't make us magically want to eat a smaller amount of food. It's going to take the restriction to make it happen.

Thanks for all the great ideas, Token. I haven't gone down any dress sizes yet; so far everything is just fitting better. I feel like I need to have something to offer someone else before joining a clothing exchange -- I can't wait until I do have clothing to give away! I did finally make the trip to a consignment shop close by that I've been intending to visit for years. I found a pair of jeans and a funky pearl necklace that looks like macrame (the necklace was half price -- my lucky day). I thought of something else too: I have worn a favorite outfit so much that I wore little holes in the inner thighs. I'm going to take that outfit apart and use it as a pattern for a new outfit. I'm not a great seamstress, but this outfit fits so well that I'm willing to give it a try. Wish me luck..... I'm afraid of skirts and dresses because of the way I'm built. I'm 5'3" and my weight is in my hips, thighs, and stomach. If I get skirts and dresses, they stick out and fall beyond my stomach making me look really round. Jeans and slacks fit over my stomach but they are snug on my legs, so I don't feel like I look like a beach ball. I'll be glad when I can fit into skirts and dresses though.

Molly, thanks for the info on the post signature, I'll follow your instructions. All of you guys are doing so well! I'm a bit discouraged. I was banded on Feb. 20th, got my first fill 5 weeks later, and have only lost 10 pounds so far. I got my 2nd fill last week (3 weeks after my first fill), and I'm still getting hungry after 2 hours. I went to my first group support session last Thursday and people seem to be having a lot of trouble with bread but they can eat any kind of meat. I'm the opposite, I can eat small bites & portions of chicken, fish, and hamburger if it's not dry, but I can't eat steak or pork. And I have absolutely no problem with bread what-so-ever. I feel like I need more restriction, but the doc seems pretty conservative with the fills. Will I eventually get where I need to be as far as restriction? I have a 4cc band. My first fill was .5 cc, and my second was .4 cc. Why is the doc coming along so slowly? The fills are included in the total cost, so it's not like he's making $$ by filling more often. People are losing 30 & 40 pounds in the first few months after their surgery, why aren't I losing that fast. I'm still hungry and I can still eat quite a bit of food.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I haven't worn skirts in years because my legs rub together, but a friend told me about split slips, they're like coulottes. She said she wears them with everything, so I'm in the process of finding a couple of them. I believe there's an Avenue shop in Indianapolis (about an hour away), I may make the trip to see what they have. I shop at Goodwill a lot, but ours is a small one and I rarely find anything there. I may need to go to Indy to find a good Goodwill too. Thanks again. By the way... how do you guys get all the stats posted on the bottom of your emails? Where do you put them so they'll show up?

Does anyone know of any clothing patterns designed for weight loss? I'm thinking, maybe pants with multiple buttons at the waist so you can adjust the waist size by which button you fasten, like how you can adjust a belt. With maybe a matching vest with some sort of button adjustment on the back too, so as you shrink the clothing shrinks. I would think someone could design a pattern like this that would take you through maybe 3 clothing sizes at a time before needing to purchase new clothing. Does anyone have any ideas of how to stretch your clothing budget?

I've noticed that you guys all have your statistics & some personal information at the bottom of your posts -- how do you get that information to show up?

My first fill was only 1/2 cc. In the waiting room before the adjustment, I overheard someone say if you get too much restriction you'll be sick all the time, so I think I was too quick to tell the doc I felt restriction -- and I was tired, I had waited 3 hours in the waiting room, and ended up having to go to xray because the doc couldn't locate the port opening. I felt no restriction from the beginning, and no restriction with 1/2 cc either. Luckily, I'm going back tomorrow (2 weeks later) for another adjustment. I'm still a bit nervous about getting too much restriction and feeling sick all the time. I'm losing 1/4 to 1/2 pound a week, sometimes every two weeks. And on one visit, I had even gained 1.5 pounds -- not good! Ideally, I'd like to lose 1.5 to 2 lbs per week. I wish there was a way to 'feel' whether restriction is enough or not while you're actually getting the fill, but I guess that's not really possible. It feels completely different when you're lying down than it does when you're upright. Besides, in xray, I had to drink that yukky stuff they use for xraying rather than water, and it's a bit thicker than water--more like a thin shake, and tastes like chalk probably tastes. And, since I was lying down, I had to drink it from a STRAW, which is a no-no, but how else are you going to drink when you're lying down?!

I'm very allergic to dairy products (eyes swell shut, hives, and feel like I'm walking on golf balls, which I guess is hives on the soles of my feet), and there's something in the soy protein drinks that makes me very itchy -- not hives, my skin and eyes just itch. I've been eating sardines almost every day to try to get my protein in. I'm not sure what else I can do. I was banded on 2/20/07 and have my first post-op appointment on 3/15/07.

Has anyone ever had stomach flu with a lap band? I've started the process of getting the insurance okay to have lap-band surgery, and since it's flu season and I'm hearing about flu shots and a probable future flu pandemic, I'm concerned of the possible harm of stomach flu and repeated vomiting. Anyone been there? Anyone else given this any thought? Pixcess

Oh, thanks for your reply, Sunshine. That's quite different than some of the terms that came to mind (peanut butter, for instance) when I was trying to figure it out. Pixcess

I've been to tickerfactory.com 5 times and still cannot get the ticker attached to my signature. What am I doing wrong? I have no ticker! I cannot do this without a ticker!

Susan, Thanks a million! That link will come in very handy. Pixcess

Is there a place for newbies to learn the lingo--maybe a list? I know some general IM terms, such as: DH (dear hubby), but I don't know the lap-band lingo yet, such as: PB. Pixcess