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Hello Everyone, I was banded in October of 2009, I have never really had restriction, got stuck alot but never that sweet spot I read about. I teach zumba 3 times a week and the only time I had great weight loss was the two week post op of liquids only. I do realize that no matter how much you excercise a bad diet or eating will not make it a difference, and this is where I fell. I was burning 5K calories a week and felt like I could eat what I wanted, I didnt gain but I didnt lose , I kep losing the same 10 lbs over the last 3 years. Last year I started getting really bad acid reflux but at first I didnt go back to the doctor because I felt like a failure in the weight loss department. Part of my issue is menopause as well, weight is the only symptom I have nothing else. Well I got sick in January and when throwing up the band was acting funny, went to the doctor and I had esophogus dialition and they had to unfill my entire band. WOW the hunger pains I felt were like are you kidding me? My first thought was take it out and I'll do it on my own with weight watchers. Then as I was talking to the physicians assistant who I trust and has been incredible during this journey told me that although my band didnt work as it was suppose to that it was still doing something, and that if I didn't revise I would probably gain 10 lbs a month until my body normalized, around 6 months, and when she said it I didn't believe her but since getting unfilled and the hunger I feel I do now. I also started weight watchers as I think its a good foundation to eating after the revision, so if I'm ahead of the ball this time the more the better. Its also helping me to lose my ten pounds before surgery. and its great espeically with the apps on my phone, and its true when you logging what you eat, you do realize when you really are hunger or just thirsty or doing something out of habit. My surgery tentatively is for May 2, I have BCBS federal and they require 3 months weight classes, well it seems that weight watchers classifies so my billing admin is going to try to submit next week since April will make 3 months going and weight watchers is weekly. \ My question is to the board, how do you feel when you awake from a revision? How are you at getting around? Whats the best Protein poweder? I have a realize band so I dont know if that makes a difference. When I had my lapband day 4 I walking 4 miles at the park, so I"m just trying to get my head around it and try and be as prepared as possible. ANy hints, info you can provide would be helpful and appreciated.

Just an FYI these numbers are just a little off 3-4% body fat is what pro body builders gets to for only about a day or two when they have competition the norm for a six pack to start looking good is 10 to 8% Can is be done at 40 sure, will it be easy no.

I realized something last night - I haven't had a migrane - or a headache for that matter- since this new Dr. put me on these pills to treat my high blood pressure! Holy cow. I was getting them 2-3 times a week (up from like 2 times a month). I don't know if there is a connection or not, but considering these new pills cost me .32 cents and the migrane meds cost $15 per dose (after insurance!!) I like the change! I weighed this morning. I know I said I wasn't going to - but I did. It was 245 - NOT the 240 like the Dr. scale said last week. I'm sticking with that number for a few reasons - 1. it seems more realistic. 2. It still means I've lost the required 10 lbs preop. 3. I will lose more in the next few days and it will be "cherries on top". My GOAL was 240 before surgery, so I'll aim for that by Tuesday. I will have to update my ticker though!

Congrats on the 10+ lb weight loss!!! WTG and great to see that your body will be more than ready - shrunk liver and all - for the surgery! woo hoo!

Down 6 pounds as of today. Haven't been very hungry today. In fact, I have had to force myself to eat to get the cals/protein in. At 11:30 tonight, I had to go down to the fridge and figure what would be the best choice to get in 300 more cals and 10 more gms of protein. I think I'm officially detoxed from regular Coke as of today...that was probably one of my main vices to gaining so much weight back. So YAY for that! Here's the calorie log for the day: B: South Beach Protein Bar (140 cals / 10 protein) L: 1 cup taco meat (200 cal / 20 protein), lettuce, salsa, 2 tbsp low fat sour cream (40 cal / 2 protein) D: 1 cup taco meat (200 cal / 20 protein), lettuce, salsa, 2 tbsp low fat sour cream (40 cal / 2 protein) Yes..it was a leftover day! S: 1 cup ricotta cheese mixed with sugar free lemon flavor jello pudding mix (320 cal / 24 protein) Total calories for today is 940 calories and 68 grams of protein. Surgery Date: 8/5/05 Starting Weight: 384 pounds Lowest Weight 1/2/07: 226 pounds Starting over Date: 1/4/09 at 320 pounds Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

It has been a week now since my band was installed. I called the Doc office to find out why I was in so much pain, turns out they had to use more gas to inflate me than usual. Hence, more gas pains. I still had some this morning but they are bearable. Other than burping I haven't really been passing gas. So I am not sure where it is getting off too. I have really struggled this week food wise. Up until the surgery I had great control over what I was eatting but by day 4 post op I was trying potato soup and chicken noodle soup. I just struggled to stick to the protein shakes and liquids. My Doc will be real upset to know I was eatting those carbs. My weight did go up a bit but today it is back down to 246 which is -14 for me. I had gotten down -18 presurgery. Post surgery I was -16 from all the swelling. I am sticking to the liquids today and tomorrow will start soft foods. I am not gonna give up anymore of my -14 pounds to carbs. I did start my workout again yesterday and today. My Doc only ask for 10-15 minutes of excercise to begin with. I can handle that on my Wii. Pre op I was doing 30 min and hope to get back to it in a few weeks when the tenderness goes away. I also started school again today. It went pretty well. Just gotta get buckled down again and get some reading done. I switched campuses this semester and today felt a little out of place. Everyone seemed to already know each other pretty well. Plus, I got the feeling like I would have a little more competition. The professor did say we would be dissecting a fetal pig this semester. It should be and intresting course. It was a little confusing as far as class schedule goes though. When she wants everything turned in. I'll catch on.

Hi there! Hang in there! It is very rough in the beginning.I'm almost 8 weeks out now and am finally really to start to feel "normal" again.I too had alot of pain & hunger in the beginning.It gets better and easier. I'm still sore from time to time at my incision site and do still experience hunger but nothing unbearable.I have only had 1 fill of .5cc.And am due to see my doc on Jan 14th for another fill.I've lost almost 40 alltogether,they made me lose before surgery 10 lbs. One thing I'm learning is this is a "learning" experience.And you will figure it out.Just hang in there one day at a time and soon the weight will be coming off and you too will be feeling great!! Keep reading the website & asking lots of questions,,there is alot of valuable info here!! Take care & know your not alone we've all been there!!

Well, over 7 months have passed since my first entry. I had my surgery on my son's 6th birthday, 10/21/09. I lost 17 lbs pre-op and have currently lost 30 post. I just had my first fill today, which wasn't as bad as I built it up in my mind to be. I am just worried that there is hardly anything in there. I kind of expected to be hungry all day like I was either. What the heck? I am about 40 lbs away from my goal and I can see it dangling in front of me like a 3 Musketeers bar :thumbup:. My will power has gotten me this far post-op. Let's hope this fill kicks in and my tool gives me a little more help!

i have had problems with protein shakes... i am not a big sweet/milk drinker so i would gag. the ones i can tolerate are Carnation isnt. and special K protein shakes. they have about 10-14 gm per serving but they are not to sweet or chauky. must having over ice! My # 1 protein sourse is CABOT cottage cheese. 1/2 cup of it has 13gm.. so i usually eat it 3 times a day and get over 35gm of protein. Im happy with that. good luck and take it easy!

Hello all-- So far I have gone to a WLS orientation (12/16/09)....a Bariatric Program orientation (1/10/10)....and I have ANOTHER appointment with a Surgeon & Nutritionist on (1/22/10)... is it "normal" or ok for me to be this FRUSTRATED & ANXIOUS?!?!?!? I just want my band NOW!!!!!!!!! all these appointments are VERY informative & helpful but they are making me crazy....any advice out there on how to RELAX and go with the flow?????????????:huh2::w00t::smile::ohmy:

Hello all-- So far I have gone to a WLS orientation (12/16/09)....a Bariatric Program orientation (1/10/10)....and I have ANOTHER appointment with a Surgeon & Nutritionist on (1/22/10)... is it "normal" or ok for me to be this FRUSTRATED & ANXIOUS?!?!?!? I just want my band NOW!!!!!!!!! all these appointments are VERY informative & helpful but they are making me crazy....any advice out there on how to RELAX and go with the flow?????????????:cool::thumbup::smile2::)

Sunday, January 17, 2010 Life Goes On, Without the Weight I'm always surprised when someone comes up to me and compliments me on losing weight. I forget what a shock my appearance is to people, especially if they haven't seen me for a while. If they ask me how I lost the weight, I tell them about the lap band, but I always make sure they know its just a tool; I tell them if I don't eat right it won't work. In fact, if all I ate was ice cream it would slide right through and I could eat enough to gain all the weight back and then some. I find being honest publicly helps me be honest with myself. I'm 3 lbs. from goal and slowing down on speed of weight loss. Trying to ease into maintenance. I'm scheduled for another fill Feb 2, which I can tell I'm going to need. I can eat a lot now at a sitting. Not good. Means if I do that, then I've got to really be careful for several days after in order to maintain or continue to lost. However, I can't manage a life of weighing and measuring and writing everything down. So I need the band filled to limit the quantity I can eat and then make good choices most days with occassional treat days. One big relief is that Roseland Christian where I work is doing much better. The money has come in to keep us running despite the IRS freezing and then taking the money in our account. We are meeting all our current obligations, including to the IRS, for this year. We are working on paying past obligations, with the help of donors who believe in us. And we seem to be getting some good help in place for future fundraising. I don't think I can tell you how much I love teaching at Roseland. I am not a textbook teacher. Probably no effective teacher is. I no longer even attempt to write lesson plans. The material I cover from year to year is basically the same. The workbooks my assistant puts together from the materials we have may come from new materials but I have kids working through them at their own pace and ability levels like before. As they finish a page I check it, reteach as necessary and have them correct it or I do it with them. They constantly circle around me and sit back down and get back to work. They love working in my classroom because they're working at their own level and pace and because my assistant and I are available to help them. Flexibility is the key and rigid lesson plans don't work. I work through reading the same novels as in past years but the questions I ask have to be so flexible because the children's abilities are so varied and their responses are so different. I have to ask the questions in totally different ways for different children. What worked one year might not work the next year. For example, my fifth grade class is mostly boys. They all have very poor attention spans. Boys are competitive, so everyday I split them into their teams and start with review questions on what we've read previously. Their team gets points for what they are able to answer. They hate when I stop the game to continue reading the book, but they have also really gotten into the book so they hate when the bell rings, too. I make things up on the fly while I'm teaching that I would never think of if tied down to a detailed lesson plan. My most recent memory device is a song set to the old Mounds/Almond Joy jingle. I sing to the kids who are learning to carry or trade numbers, "Sometimes you carry the number (or 10), sometimes you don't." Every year I get better at teaching. I get better at handling the kids and building relationships with them. This past week a fourth grade boy said while he was doing his math, "I love Mrs. Flory. I love math." Man, that's worth all the other hassles that go with teaching. I love these kids at Roseland. I'm so connected with them. And I might not get to teach them next year. I have begun to realize what a privelege teaching these kids is. But its all in God's hands. I believe Roseland will still be there another year. The help is coming in. That's one hurdle. Now I need to hear from Chicago Public Schools if they're still going with an outside vendor, then that vendor has to agree to subcontract with Elim who is the vendor for my services at Roseland for me to keep my job. Meanwhile I'm signing up for two graduate courses next summer. I'll only need one after that to be endorsed in Special Ed and I'll be able to keep taking Master's courses after that. Possible that I'll have my degree by the end of the following summer. So I'm doing the footwork to continue my employment. I might become a consultant for one of the programs I use in my classroom, or I might connect with homeschoolers who have kids with learning problems. I really don't like the way special ed is handled in the public schools. These teachers seem to be testing kids, filling out paperwork, writing ieps, and sitting in meetings a lot more than they're teaching or helping the kids. That's not what I want to do. So we'll see. God has his plans for me. He's brought me safe thus far. And whatever my future holds, I'm going into it a lot healthier and with a lot less weight to hold me back. God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.

Jes Lynn, so proud of you! As you start reading the different post you will find your success at loosing so much weight isn't the norm - so pat yourself on the back. Now it's time to work on your self esteem! Go see a counselor for cognitive behavioral therapy! You've been through a lot in your life and you haven't even lived that long. Therapy is a great way to help you overcome some of your problems.....as for dating......once you meet someone that you feel comfortable with removing your clothes he will only see the beauty of you. I've been married for 26 years to a great guy - one who married me when I was a size 8 and still found me sexy at size 26 and STILL finds me sexy at size 10 - with all my saggy skin LOL! Then, start investigating a way to get yourself tightened up........look at medical schools, newly practicing plastic surgeons.........you never know who mighr be willing to help a confident, successful young woman! Good luck - I'd love to here about your journey!

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I was sleeved on 10/20. Today I am 299.2! This may not be a big deal to some, but boy am I excited! Next stop is Onderland!

Hi everyone! I am officially a bandster. Woo hoo!! Mom flew in the night before and we briefly chatted and got ready for bed. I was really tired, but once I was in bed I was quite anxious so I took my $13 Valium. Next thing I knew it was morning. We had to be at the surgery center at 6:45 so we were up and at it bright and early. We happened to walk in with my surgeon so I felt that was a good sign somehow. I was slated to go second for the day and I filled out my paperwork. They took the first girl back and it seemed just a few minutes later that they called me back. The nurses were super sweet as they prepped me. I had to give a urine sample before I had the surgery but I had to wait until the first girl was out of the bathroom. That took about 20 minutes, I think. Poor girl could never go so they brought her out to give her fluids and bumped me up a spot. Woo hoo! I talked to the surgeon a bit. He's a feisty one. But I like that. I remember meeting the anesthesiologist (CA-UTE!) but nothing much after that. Next thing I knew I was in recovery. The nurse said that I did so great during my preop diet that my liver looked fantastic and the normally 45 minutes surgery took only 20! That made it all worth it. I felt like I had been hit by a truck, but I was also feeling optimistic. I had to sit in post op for about an hour and I started to feel a bit better. As I was about ready to go the girl that got bumped came out of surgery and she was not having an easy time of it. I felt bad for her but it made me realize how well I was doing. That was it and I was ready to go home. Mom drove me and I realized it was only 9:15. Wow. I was home three hours from the time I left in the morning. Crazy! The day was long. I wasn't sleepy at all so a nap was out of the question. My mom kept me company and we watched mindless TV all day. I would move back and forth from the TV to the couch throughout the day. One thing I noticed is that I could lay on my side almost immediately. That surprised me, I took pain medication every four hours regardless of how I felt. I think that helped a lot. I also took a lot of GasX. It didn't seem to do much until late in the evening when I started to feel things moving in my tummy. I have been farting like a trucker ever since. My throat hurt worse than I expected it to, my incisions hurt less than I expected to and my gas hurt about like I expected. My friends at work sent me flowers which was super sweet. And I had a lot of friends and family members sending me good thoughts and messages. I went to bed around 10 PM. I was able to cuddle a body pillow and sleep on my side. I slept quite well until 4:30 when I got up and took more pain medication. I went back to sleep and woke up around 8:00 to a text from my friend. (Side note: she recently had a break in, but is trying to hook up with the police officer that came by and I have been giving her pointers. She had just taken some thank you cookies to the station and needed some support. :thumbup: ) I still have gas today, but it has subsided quite a bit. Insicions hurt but only a little bit. My throat is almost all better. There is just a small cut on the top of my mouth from the breathing tube that is driving me crazy. I have been drinking water like crazy. Yesterday I had grape juice, a popsicle and a tiny bit of chicken broth. No issues whatsoever. Today I have had more juice and I'm having hot tea now. I also took my birth control pill and had no issue. For lunch I will have some more chicken broth and for dinner I might get crazy and have some beef broth. All in all...not a bad experience. Yesterday I felt like I got hit by a Mack truck, but today just a VW bug. Ha! Hope you are all doing well out there!!

hi Jen, congrats on your pregnancy! i, too, had the 'all day sickness' and did find that ginger did help - it was pretty much the only thing that did work. Walgreens has ginger snap Cookies that are pretty cheap. not the ideal thing to eat really, but hey, if that's the only thing you can swallow, i say try it.... you may want to up your Vitamins... fruits/veggies ... cant eat them, V8 splash berry blend is wonderful when its really cold. i hope your m/s doesnt last too much longer. i think mine ended between 10 and 11.5 weeks. i still get more 'motion sickness', i cant watch my daughter spin around and around and around and sometimes when my DH is driving (fast) and changing lanes, i get queasy, but for the most part it's gone. i'm now 20 weeks. best of luck to you!

Welcome! If you poke around these forums, you are bound to come across lots of stories, advice, and answers to questions. Do you have any specific questions right now? I can tell you a little bit about my experience so far. I was sleeved on Sept. 1 (6 months ago yesterday!). I have turned out to be a "slow loser", which I was initially very frustrated about, but have come to embrace. I realized that this is diet or a race. I will never be "done" with my sleeve. So if it takes me 6 months or 16 months to get to goal, what does it matter? 10 years from now, if I am happy and healthy and maintaining my weight, will it really matter what date I hit goal? That is the number one lesson I would like to pass along to all new sleevers. PATIENCE! It is soooo hard to be patient, but it's what is required. Leading up to your sleeve, you are so anxious to just have it done, and it's tough to be patient. Then once you are sleeved, the first few weeks are so rough and you are so miserable and wondering if you will ever feel normal again. Those weeks require some SERIOUS patience! Then you have the weight loss itself... it might come off fast in the beginning, but you will hit stalls or just see it slow way down, even though you are working SO HARD and doing everything right. That's where the patience really comes in, because it gets easier and easier to go off track.... skip some exercise here... eat a cookie instead of your Protein there.... You think, "if being perfect isn't working, then why bother?" But it IS working... it's just not working as quickly as you might want. Be patient!

My heaviest weight is 386.4, my starting weight when I began the VSG journey was 381.6. I had to do a 3 month supervised weight program bc of my insurance. The day of surgery 10/14/15 I weighed in at 348.1, this morning I weighed in at 332.5. I have a bad habit of weighing in daily. It is what it is. It keeps me on track. Im well aware of stalls but I like seeing the numbers go down!

Wow, this isn't about bashing one procedure over the other. I am 4 years post sleeve and maintaining 150# weight loss and there are plenty of others with similar stories to tell. Click on m my profile to see my before and after. Here is the truth, the early days (after you are healed) which normally last 6-18 months you get the most hunger reduction. The successful people use that time to change their relationship with food. They learn technique, strategies that work best for THEM and create a new lifestyle. Then, they keep doing it, year after year.. You can regain with ANY WLS procedure if you don't make those inside / lifestyle/ habit changes. I promise this to be the absolute truth. I had the lapband for 10 years and while there are many success stories, not a single person that was banded in the early 2000s, that I knew still has their band. Not a one. I hope that the more modern approach is better and I wish everyone lasting success.

I wish more people would learn to just tell people to &^$% off. You lost 24 lbs in a month. That is a lot. You aren't going to drop 10lbs a week or something. It is slow but constant which is what it should be. I lost over 90lbs in 6 months. Around 20 the first month, and then 10-15 per month after that. Keep your head up

I am soooo glad im not the special case cuz I am super hungry as well. I was banded on 8/19/2011 and on day four I was getting hungry. I followed post op Liquids till an hour ago! My stomach was growling and making all kinds of noises, felt very weak and tired too. Today was also my first day back to work. I just had to eat! I stuck to soft but just could not do the liquid for dinner. Such torture. I'm ready to be a few months ahead in the process so I can feel normal again!

It's time for a my third Fill. :thumbup: Traveling to Seoul Korea again early Sat.:smile: This "Fill" will mean I have 6 cc's in a 11 cc band. And liquids for a few days.:smile2: Can't Wait as I am sure the weight loss will occur. Weight has decreased to 243#s from 270, 4 Jan 10.:smile: Not bad with some exercise thrown in.:thumbup: Feeling more energetic everyday, wearing old clothes stored away during the past few years and feeling great about myself is the positive results of having lap band surgery.:thumbup: Glad I did it.:thumbup:

You are beautiful! Congratulations. I am scheduled to have my surgery 3/11/10 and I am so excited.

:biggrin:Yes my youngest daughter is getting married in October! She has always wanted the different things from all the other girls so 10-10-10 is her choice for a wedding date, won't be around for another 1,000 years! Great Choice! It will also be cooler in Florida for a wedding outside! We went shopping for "Styles" in Wedding gowns and Mother of the Bride Gowns Saturday and a Tasting from the Caterer's. The food was delicious and by the time we got through with the Cocktail selections I was full! LOL The tiny crab cakes (4 of them) were the best! And the crostini's were good too (2) Shrimp Cocktail (2) and I was stuffed! I found a beautiful gown, loved the style on me! A size 14 is what I tried on but I "HAVE" to order a size 12!!!!!!How wonderful is that? When I started this LapBand Journey, I weighed almost 270 lbs and wore 22-24-26's depending on how they were made. I Thank God for leading me in the direction of the Band! Have a happy Day all!:thumbup: