dhawkins

I was banded on Oct. 19,2010 and to date I have lost 40+ pounds. I have had 3 fills so now i am up to 4.3 cc's in a 10 cc band. My question is I am Pear shaped. I have allot of stomach. I am so afraid of my weight falling off on other areas but my stomach. Does anyone have any good excercises that they do to get rid of the stomach? Also if there are any pear shaped women can you please tell me your stomach eventually got smaller.

I had my band now for 8 weeks. I had my first fill a month ago. 3 cc's in a 10 cc band. i have lost a total post op of 30 pounds. I feel great and i must admit I even look greaLOL!! My only problem is that I have not had anymore fills. I have been to my doctor twice and he will not give me a fill because he said that I am loosing 2 plus pounds a week so i must have restriction. He said that he will only fill me if I go a week and not loose a pound. I must admit that I do think I have restriction but I just feel like I could lookse allot quicker with another fill. I have never gotten stuck on anything so I feel that I could be a little tighter. Am i correct does great restriction mean that you get stuck on certain foods? My doctor also said that it is possible that some people reach their sweet spot only after maybe 1 or 2 fills. is that possible? He says I am loosing @ a great pace and if it aint broke then dont fix it. BUT I WANT A FILL!!!! So has anyone reached their sweet spot only after a few fills?

Thanks for responding. I do agree with you both. I do think that he is trying to make me stumble by saying wait until you don't loose a pound. I am scared to get to that point, I have come to far to stop loosing now! I feel that if I get there i will continue to not loose. But on the other hand I don't want to be so tight that I am sick all the time. This is all just so confusing to me. I really want to trust my doctor but I also want tobe successful which means I have come to far to turn back. Maybe I will not loose after the holidays so then I can get a fill. That sounds really crazy right? I will keep you all posted on how my hoildays go.

Ok I got bandeds oct 19th. I had my first fill today which was 3 cc's in a 10 cc band. My doc said I can eat as normal today. I am not hungry yet but I was wondering should I expect anything different now?

Thanks for the replys. But my docor has me on no restriction. He says eat until you are full. but I am going to take it easy for a few days until I see whay happens. He did say the min that I stop loosing or I feel like I can eat to much to come back right away for a fill.

Well I was banded on oct 19th. I have not gotten my first fill yet. But I know my Dr. told me that whenever I get hungry and stop loosing weight to come in right away. As far as your menu I think you should cut down on your carbs and add more protein. Especially in the morning. Try a boiled egg and fat free yogurt to start you off. For the next week just try no carbs and that should jump start your loss again. I have stuck to this as well as excercise and have lost almost 30pounds in 4 weeks. Try also keeping a food journal. That really helps me stay on track. I am consious of everything that goes in my mouth. If it has no nutrional value I dont eat it. oh yeah wendys chili has lots of protein so try that for lunch. I hope this helps. Good luck on your journey.

Well I wad banded 2 weeks ago today. I returned to work today and I was already nervous about people asking me where I had been for 2 weeks. So as I was walking down the hall a co worker of mines screamed omg where is the rest of you??? I asked her what did she mean? She said I mean you look so different and you lost allot of weight what have you been doing? I just smiled and nodded and s as id oh working out. Then I said you know what I am lying I got the lap band! She was so suprised but then said how she wanted to get it but was scared. It made me feel really good because I knew that I lost over 20 pounds but I didnt think it made that much of a difference. My question is I dont feel like everyone should know my business but if someone ask me what have I been doing to loose the weight should I lie? I dont want to be like star jones. I am so confused and just want to sit a @ my desk all day so no one can see me.

Thanks for all your advise. I agree I dont want to be the center of anyones conversation. So I will just keep it simple and say I am eating better and working out.

I was banded last tuesday 10/19. I got dressed for church yesterday and I noticed that my clothes were a little loose. But when I went to church and people was asking me if I was loosing weight I was like wow can people tell already??Today I went to my doctors appt and I got on the scale and omg I cant believe I lost 21lbs in less than a week of surgery. I went by the book this week and it paid off. So I just wanted to motivate the newbees.. Just stick to it and the results will come... good luck!

I am hardly able to get anything down. I have been drinking water and whatever else works. Just mainly sipping everything. I had a little broth but wasnt able to tolerate that either. the doctor said as long as I was keeping things down not to worry. Tomorrow I start mushy foods so I will see how that goes. Right now I have no intrest in food. I hope it gets better.

I have been banded for 5 days now. throughout the day I am fine. But @ night is when I feel like I have a lump in my throat. It feels like I have to throw up. Now I am still on liquids so I barely have anything to throw up. could this be a bad sign of a esophagas problem? If so can this be treated while keeping the band? I can hardly sleep @ night and cant imagine how I will feel once I start getting fills and eating food. So I need to see whats going on now. I am just a ball of emotions right now. This site has really helped me throughout my journey. Thank you all!!

Thanks for responding. I do only get it @ night and it does seem to get better if I am propped up with a bunch of pillows. But I will call my doctor first thing in the morning just to make sure everything is ok.

I was banded on tuesday. But today I have no pains in my incisions but very bad gas pain below my breast bone. I can only take a few sips of water. Can someone please give me some ideas to help make this a little easier. Thanks!

I finally made it to the other side. I am banded!! I went to the hospital yesterday @ 6:30 am for my scheduled surgery @ 9am. Things went pretty well I was out of surgery by 10:30. I am so excited i feel like a brand new person. My only cimplaint was that the anesthea they gave me made me very sick. I have 5 incisions and I am very sore. I did end up staying @ the hospital overnight because I could not eat or drink anything. 24 hrs after the band I still dont want to eat anything. Is this normal? I dont even want to drink. I am finally @ home resting. I cant wait until the healing process is over.

I am sooooo excited! I have bcbs/il and it only took them 6 days to approve me. My 3 month pre surgery requirements was a breeze. I am so glad that I have made the decision to get lap band. I was not an overweight child but after having 4 kids the weight just kept comming. I feel like this was one of the biggest decision of my life next to getting married and having children. I want to take back my life and get healthy. I have so many emotions going on right now. But I will be banded on october 19th and it can't come soon enough. I have read about the diets before surgery but I was glad to here my doctor tell me all I needed to do was go on a high protein diet to shrink the liver. So I will keep you all posted throughout my journey... Beyonce watch out girl... Here I come!!!

I am so happy for all of you also. But ok I have a small problem. I had a upper gi done and it shows that I have gastritis and esophagitis. I am praying that this won't stop me from getting the band. I have read that you can't get the band if you have theses issues. Please can someone tell me something good.... I am in tears.....:thumbup:

I have ulcers and I let my doctor know that I had them. I read that you can't get the lap band if you have ulcers. has anyone heard anything like this? Please tell me this is not true. I am on my last step just waiting on my approval from the insurance company. I have been looking forward to this journey and now it's possible that it won't happen? Someone please give me some answers.... Thanks!

OK I have been waiting to finally complete this journey now for a few years. Ever since I finally decided to go though it I have been so excited and I know that this is the right decision for me. I have BCBS of Illinois and my doctor just called and said that i have successfully completed my 3 month program requirment and that she was submitting my paper work to the insurance complany. I am so excited and nervous @ the same time. I want to get this over ASAP. So now I am worried about how long it will take BCBS to approve me. Can anyone please give me some type of idea how long it takes BCBS to approve?

thanks Cali for replying. From what I have seen BCBS appoves pretty quickly. I have heard as early as 24 hours. I am just so excited i feel like calling them everyday. But If I get approved by next week i want my surgery ASAP. So good Luck to you as well..

Congrats! I live in Illinois also and I have BCBS of Illinois and I just got the OK as well. It is only a 3 month program also. My doctor said that my surgery date would be in september. I am so excited. so good luck to you also.

Ok I have been lurking around here for sometime now. I really enjoy reading post from everyone. I think that everyone is so helpful and encouraging to each other. I have not yet been banded I had my first consultation the other day. I am so excited but I am also confused. I am not sure if the lap band is for me. I am looking to loose @ least 100 pounds and it seems almost impossible to loose that much. It just seems like after a while everyone has a hard time. So I am almost thinking about getting the gastric bypass. That seems like it is the best for the amount of weight I want to loose. So my question is..... Is anyone having a hard time loosing or had a hard time loosin and if so what did you do? Also is everyone happy with their choice to get the lap band? Please be real honest. Thanks very confused and discouraged!

Thanks so much for all the great advice. I am looking forward to starting my new life. I am more committed now than ever. I think that since i have finally started the process it is becomming a reality now. I just want to make sure I am doing the right thing. I cant wait to post my before and after pictures... Beyonce' watch out!!! :thumbup:. Thanks again!

WOW Astramom I am convinced. I cant believe you lost 101 pounds in 8 months. so how much do you excersise? I am a 26/28 now. and i would love to be a 14. That would be my highschool size. YEAHHH!!! I really thank you for replying. You have made my decision allot easier. :thumbup: