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Hi MLW - I had my surgery today at OHSU in Portland OR. It is a teaching hospital, and I felt good having the surgey there. Have you had the surgery? If so, has it been successful for you? I had planned to have this surgery last year, but chickened out at the last moment. It was successful today, my doc said everything went well and looked good...Im in pain, think it is a combination of gas in my upper chest and then internally. The incisions don't seem to be to bad; 5 of them....I had some nausea after from the anesthesia, so stayed a bit longer today than doc or I thought I would...And, beleive it or not, I'm hungry....I'm only drinking water and crystal light, the nutritionist says clear liquids til day 3...

Hi Newmsa

I am 5'5" and went into surgery at 201 so a BMI of about 34. Tried and tried and tried and just couldn't change my eating habits for long, couldn't stop at just 1 or 2 cookies. This surgery forces me to do just that. I have lost 10 lbs within the first 10 days and know it is slowing so am staying away from the scales. Need to start exercising to get it moving again. Food is 80% of weight loss. I used to do a serious boot camp 5 days a week and didn't lose a bit - just goes to show.

The port site is the most tender part and the only real pain I have right now. I took 2 weeks off because I work at Verizon Wireless and am on my feet there at least 9 hours a day. When is your surgery date again? As long as you have like 4-5 days off I would think you would be ok at a desk job. Sitting up is hard the first couple days. Keep me posted on how it goes!! I'm sure you are getting excited!

damn dat sucks..I hope ur feelin better tho...everything is going good...Im tryna reach my -50 mark this week (been tryna reach dat since dec lmaoo) but right now im like -47 so it should be fairly easy...I need to hurry up n lose all this weight cuz I need 2 b rockin dem short ass dresses like u! lol u see my new pics? dats 1 of da best reasons y young girls should get da lap band, so we can finally wear tight & cute fitted outfits lol

Hey my doctor was the same way. I did three weeks of soft liquids and then right to solid he just said chew chew chew lol no puree or really mushy food strange

haha well i read some astrological stuff in magazines, and apparently us pisces girls have full lips.... true for both you and me so far.

thanks so much! in addition to the weight i lost over the past few months, ive lost about 15 lbs since surgery 7 weeks ago, so about 2 pounds a week on average. just where i want to be!

Hi Sarah, I don't know if you remember me...lol I had all but given up....long story short. I was approved! I have all my dates and am looking at surgery in Feb. I teach so I am hoping for Feb vacation so I don't have to take off another week. Look forward to talking with you. Kimberly

So how did the surgery go? Way to go 20 some pounds so far!! gained the weight that I lost on the liquid diet back during my 6 weeks of post opp! So since my first fill in 12/08 I've lost 16pds.

OH MY WORD! I just got this. Sorry about that! how are you doing? I've had three fills and will probably have my 4th the last week of January. I'm down about 46 lbs. I've been floating from 43-46 for about 2 months. I feel great though and it's really doing it's job. Hope you had a nice holiday. Talk to you soon. Moe

I will...I don't really have any (hate the camera! LOL) but within the next couple weeks I'll do it. I'm a short fat broad, if that helps! (short I can't help but the fat is going away!)

Hi Pete!

Happy New Year. Have you had a fill yet? If so how was it? I do not get my first fill until 1/28 my dr. likes to wait a full 6 weeks after surgery. I lost 23 lbs. but now I have not lost at all in 3 weeks and I am excersicing, drinkig water, eating less than 1500 calories per day etc....so this is frustrating but even my dr told me not to expect to lose after my two week visit and my first fill he said 23 lbs was a lot for my size and that my body would have to adjust.................

any thoughts?

Thanks,

Angie

hi! im doing well, i just got to my apt after being away from my scale for 2 weeks over the holidays, all this time im thinking i gained weight for all the holiday food... i wasnt going to weigh myself until the morning, but according to the scale 20 minutes ago, i lost three pounds the last 2 weeks... awesome considering all i had to eat today was airport junk! hope you are doing well, your bikini pic is AWESOME by the way!

i havent actually heard of him..where is he located? i just got a call from my center and it looks like my insurance in requiring a 3 month diet plan with a dietician. so frustrating!..at the beginning of the year, my employer decides to change insurance companies..(after 9 years!) just my luck! now i have all these new requirements...like the 3 month thing..i'm so sad...i just want it done now! lol

Restriction is when you can eat a small amount and feel full. I think this 3rd fill which puts me at 6.7cc may do the trick. I hope. I noticed last night I ate a small plate of food and was full. Although I was hungry again about 3 hours later. They say it should keep you full for 5 hours. So I may need to get another fill next week. I am going to wait and see how this week goes. I can actually feel it working for once. Meaning I am not hungry as much and little amounts of food get me full. Still not at that point where some can eat only 5 bites and are full. But I am working on it. I just want to see some loss. I think that will help modivate me. I think you will know when you hit that sweet spot. You won't be hungry and get full on a little amount of food. I know we will get there soon.

Hey, thanks for the note! I'm feeling great ... just a little over 2 weeks post-op. My right side still hurts some, but my doctor told me that's common. Keep me updated on your surgery status. I hope it works out for you!

glad to hear, i'm doing good i go for my 3rd fill in 2 weeks. and yeah i think i'm going to be a FILL JUNKIE..lol i love the restriction you feel after a fill. keep me posted!

Glad to know your'e doing good and that it will be better now for you. i think i've done what everybody told me not to do, and that's work out (weights) too much until you start turning fat into muscle. being that muscle weighs more that's one reason why i probably have'nt seen much weight lost lately, but at the same time i'm soo damn nervous and afraid that my body will not bounce back when i do finish losing the weight. so i'm just up in the gym like a darn fool because i don't want alot of flab. so now i think i'm going to walk everyday and workout(weights) a few times a week, also it's about time for my 3rd fill (Jan. 19th). So i'll set this plan in motion and see what happens after that.

I will keep my chin up! Thank you. I have been trying really hard to workout at least every other day. I have been flat with my wieght for about a week. I need to get a fill!!! How is yoru progress?

Hiya!!! Thanks for the note! I am so excited for you! You are doing great. I hope you have a great week and a nice Valentine's. My week has swallowed me up once again! ha ha ha Bye for now!

Hey-Dallas is a good place and very affordable. I have two daughters and they can make it on their own in an apt. I would be happy to lend advice or a helping hand if it gets to that point.

Well, I have to "get" my medical records. How much is that gonna cost?? I've been with one drs office since 2006, but need a 5 yr history of records. I'll schlep over to the other office next week when I'm off and see what I can do. I have not lost one pound of weight since going to the nutritionist. I've actually gained 4! I'm not seriously trying either. I do write stuff down and I was really honest the first 3 weeks, now I just put down what she wants to see. I'm only cheating myself, but I can live with that for now.

I turned 49 last month and I am ready to get on this journey. I want to be healthier and feel better before 50! I'm still hoping for April. Will definitely keep you posted. Kathi

Hi. I wish they would let me do a diet like that with real food! Mine is putting me on a liquid diet called Optifast. It's 5 shakes a day...period. I hear the first few days are hell, but afterward it gets better. 2 weeks of that! Yikes! But I also hear that you can lose up to 20 lbs. on the liquid diet! It would be a good head start to the weight loss. Then I have to be on the liquid diet for 1 more week after the surgery. Good luck with your diet and keep in touch...we will need support during this week! Take care!

One Dr said that sometimes a traumatic event will trigger panic attacks. I do remember when they put me under they were holding the cup over my nose and mouth and told me to take 3 deep breaths and it felt like there was no air coming through and I turned my head to get away and to get outside air and he pushed it tighter over my face and forced it on me and then I was out. But just before going out, I thought I couldn't breath and he forced that thing down over my face and it felt like I was being suffocated and murdered. Maybe that was it? Who knows, but now I'm fine and no more issues.

Anyway, now do you know me? Did you see any of that craziness?

If so, I'm sorry you did!

Did u stay at Lucerna Hotel?

Hi Deb

This is the first Forum I have EVER done so hope this reply gets to you. I was banded by Dr Dolan 3 years ago and he was brilliant. I couldnt be happier. I have lost 64 kilos and have maintained for 1 year now. I was 131kg and now weigh 67kg.It wasn easy by any means. The first year especially took a lot of getting used to what foods I could eat and unfortunately a bit of vomiting when trying to eat meats ans breads etc,, I was banded under Medicare out of Joondalup Health Campus and Dr Dolan even gave me a referral to have the loose skin on my tummy tucked (3 kg) and that was also coveredby Medicare. I cant believe the difference it has done. I still have terrible loose skin on upper body, arms and legs but it is a small sacrifice compared to what i used to go through. Do you have family and friend support? I wish you all the best. Jeanette:thumbup:

I'm doing well. I had my third fill about a week ago, and I'm trying to decide if it's ok, or if maybe the Dr. should take out 1/4-1/2 ml. I have to be very careful about chewing and what I eat now so I don't get anything stuck. I'm going to give it a little longer before I decide. I'm glad your surgery went well. I hope you're enjoying your time off work!

Hi Diana. I was also banded on Jan. 20th, 2009, and I am having a tuff time with feeling hungry. How are things going for you? At my 1 week post-op appointment I loss 20 lbs but have pretty much stayed the same after that. I hope everything is going good for you....please keep in touch.........talk to you later.

Kathy