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Getting banded has been really great so far. My surgery went without a hitch and I was out of bed and rarring to go almost immediately following. Its early days, but I remain hopefully optimistic that this will work out in ways that all the other diets that I have tried have not. I consider myself a professional inexpert dieter --if its out there I have tried it. Low carb, no carb, nutri whatever, ww, fasting, diet pepsi and cigarettes, opti, medi, HMR, slimfast, diet pills (Rx and OTC) added to the mix to keep my appetite in check. My best and longest successful dieting foray was from the winter of 2000 through the summer of 2003. With boatloads of Water, a low carb diet, and as much exercise as I could stand -- I managed to lose about 90 lbs (this left me still needing to lose about 50 or 60 lbs to achieve a healthy weight by American standards and certainly by my standard). However, the long plateau worked to undermine my dedication and the weight began creeping back at a pretty steady clip. I never again got to my high of 292, but at my first weigh in with the lap band surgeon I was about 268 or so. It was a tough decision for me to make. For a variety of reasons I wasn't interested in a bypass....and it killed me that essentially I am paying someone to restrict my food intake. But the yo-yo dieting had really defeated me. I have been forturnate in that I am a relatively healthy fat person -- but I knew that time was working against me and the older I got -- the less likely that that trend would continue. So it was with alot of baggage that I started shopping around for a bariatric doctor to explore the lap band. The whole insurance thing was/is a hassle. They cover, but I couldn't find an in network provider (in NYC or NJ), just out of network with a threatened 70% coverage amount. I haven't seen any bills yet. I will certainly provide updates as that situation unfolds. Post surgically I have "officially" lost 14 lbs.... this is a little sketchy in my opinion. They weighed me at the hospital the day of .. and I was a whopping 274. I think working the day before from home, planted in front of my computer all day with no food after 3pm and no liquid (because I can be overzealous in following pre-surgery instructions) had me retaining major water. If I go by my last weigh in at the doctor the week before my surgery my weight loss as of 12-19-2007 is closer to 4 lbs. Post surgically, I was bullied by my doctor to lose about 10 lbs. Surprisingly, I have found that I am not at all interested in monitoring my weight other than whatever I am forced to do when I go to the doctor. I mean why torture myself? That's why I decided to get the surgery, right? This should not be interpreted as not monitoring my intake.... I have. Although I didn't do so good with the whole crushing pills until 1 month after surgery. Yuck! I just couldn't. I have tried my best to limit my intake, eat three times a day with no snacking and don't eat and drink at the same sitting. The last has proven to be the toughest thing. Also, it has put me in jeopardy of not taking in enough water -- I am trying but if you can't drink during, or up to 30 minutes before or after, and can't gulp it down like medicine.... I am reduced to totting around a bottle and taking sips all damn day. It has proven to be my greatest challenge so far. :faint: But generally speaking -- its so far so good and I am hopeful that I will have lost another couple of pounds when next I see my doctor 1-15-2008. And if I haven't... that's alright. The average weight gain between Thanksgiving and New Year is like 5 lbs, right? If I managed to dodge that bullet -- its all good. Later,

You did great without getting one! I was hoping I wouldn't need one either, BLAH! I bounced between 242 and 245 for 3 weeks until I finally decided on a fill. Tomorrow will be a week since the fill and as of this morning I'm down to 237. It was very strange how I seemed to be able to eat all of a sudden. We're back on track now!

Just got home from my consult and I was approved to have the sleeve! I still have to see the pulmonologist tomorrow for clearance, and go to an all morning or afternoon workshop and then we can schedule surgery! It looks like it'll probably be somewhere around the first two weeks of March! I'm so excited! Stacie

Just added my pre-op diet above... includes a decent amount of solid food! I put a call into the nurse's desk last week and haven't gotten a call-back yet. Figured if others here hadn't needed one, no need to call back and bug them again (I've had a decent amount of questions haha).

Had my first fill about 3 wks ago..The Dr put in 5 cc..took about a week or so to get accustomed to what I could eat..Have started to lose a little wait..Down about 5 pounds..Hard getting in the exercise..I don't eat as much as I used to however I don't think I have that full feeling you are supposed to have...If I eat slow I can still eat a good portion....:thumbdown: I have lost about 21 punds since I first got Banded in July..so I feel pretty good...Just need to keep motivated....

Had my first fill about 3 wks ago..The Dr put in 5 cc..took about a week or so to get accustomed to what I could eat..Have started to lose a little wait..Down about 5 pounds..Hard getting in the exercise..I don't eat as much as I used to however I don't think I have that full feeling you are supposed to have...If I eat slow I can still eat a good portion....:thumbup: I have lost about 21 punds since I first got Banded in July..so I feel pretty good...Just need to keep motivated....

Most bands have very little saline injected during surgery. Your surgery swelling may be dwindling so you will experience less restriction and more hunger. Bandster Hell can last for weeks or months depending on how aggressive your doctor is with fills and how well you adapt to eating properly.

I was a mess the week leading up to my surgery. But getting banded was the best decision I ever made. Take a deep breath and remember why you are doing this in the first place. Envision yourself a year from now, happy and healthy. It will be worth it!

I'm scare too!! Lol I just have too see the nut 2 times, and in between the process had a gallblader surgery (august 7)... I'm very nervous too, when your surgeon office submitted your documents? Mine was this week...

I have 9 cc's in my 11cc band and that was just with my second fill. The first one they put in 6 cc's and I didn't feel anything. Now I finally feel restriction, but i can also still eat bread. I dont drink sodas because my doctor says the carbination and caffeene can mess with my pouch, stretch it and the caffeene can give me an ulcer. But if i take very small bites and chew well i can eat bread. I can still eat a decent amount but much less then with the 6 cc's. And I get full way faster, but I also notice that I get hungry again in a few hours. Also, I got my fill done on the 9th and it took a few days to really settle in with the solid foods. So wait a week and see if it works better as far as hunger goes. Are you drinking a lot of water throughout the day? Water always makes me feel full in between meals.

Yes!!! At four weeks out it is starting to die down a bit. I can remember being so sick after surgery and a nurse walked in with the strongest cologne. It was horrible!!

Go Nickie!! I have only been going for a couple of weeks, but I am starting to notice a difference in my energy levels - and I have lost 8 lbs... Treadmill, bike & eliptical........... It's not what I would call FUN - but, it isn't too horrid after the first couple of times. Good Luck!!

Two things I have learned in the last week: 1. I cannot lose weight if I don't work out too. I didn't work out for a few weeks due to sickness and Tietze's syndrome and I only lost one pound.. As soon as I started working out again I dropped 5 pounds in a week! WTF??! Another thing I learned... 2. Even my brand new $70 scale tricks me. I got on this morning and it said I lost 3 more pounds from yesterday's weight.. I was so excited.. jumping up and down telling my husband and just to make sure it was right I got back on.. guess what.. I suddenly gained 3 pounds.. again WTF??!! I get back on.. lost a pound.. got back on and gained a pound.. What the hell do I weigh!! I weighed myself 6 times and just took the weight that showed the most.. I lost one pound. I'll take it.. but, I guess I'll have to weigh myself several times each morning.. What's funny is my husband weighed himself three times in a row and all of his weights were exactly the same. Maybe my scale is just tired my big butt getting on and off all the time... :ohmy: ANyway, does anybody else have these problems???

Good for you, Bug! You are making a wise decision. The fact that you lost 70 pounds on WW shows that you have the determination to do what it takes to shed the weight. With the band as your tool, you can keep it off. My twin girls were 18 months old when I had my surgery and my recovery time was hardly anything. The only thing that I couldn't do is to lift them into their cribs. But my dh was there to help out. As long as I had a pillow protecting my tummy, they were able to climb on me and I was able to rock them, etc... I was very mobile, but just very tired for the first couple of weeks. Piece of cake, really...

Attention all Bandster Bunnies! We're a little more than a month away from our new birthday month (at least that's how I'm thinking of it)!!! How are you all doing? What are you doing to prepare for the big day? Does anyone have their surgery date yet? I have a couple more appointments in March and I should be applying for ins. approval the first week in April - and darnit I better get a fast approval! My roommate is getting banded on 3/8, and I am so excited for her! It feels like we've been traveling down this road for so long, I can't believe we're finally here!

I am 6 weeks post op I have had chicken tuna ham turkey not to bad just remember to chew chew chew

Varies on your program, how your doing and your doctors. My program it was six weeks, and they had me start meat at five. I will be six weeks out on this upcoming Monday. I have handled the meat perfectly fine. I'm down 52 pounds right now :-) Keep up the great work!!!!

This year has been great so far........ I had my lap band on the 10th and things have been going well. I have also quit dipping... that is a little harder, but getting throught it... And oh yeah last Friday I had three root canals and Dang! This has been a tough year so far! My mini goal for weight is 300 by the end of March. My goal for dipping is to stay stopped! And my goal for my root canals.... is never have another one EVER!!

Okay, this is my 2nd day on stage 3 (pureeds/blended) and I can't see much difference between this diet and full liquids. They gave me a short list of things to try but they look gross blended. Think about drinking cottage cheese! I read other people's posts and no one seems to be on stage 3( pureed) for a month and stage 4 (very soft foods) for another month before trying regular foods. Stage 1 was clear liquids for 5 days and Stage 2 was full liquids for 2 weeks. What do you guys suggest?

It's typically best to follow your nutritionist/surgeon's plan. I had 4 weeks of full liquids and then 4 weeks of purees (although my allowed purees food list included canned chicken & tuna, soft cooked veggies, eggs, cheese, etc. so I had a lot of variety). Try the Eggface blog, I think she had a lot of suggestions for pureed food stage.

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'm going to start 3 Opti's and a proper dinner for the next week. I'm going to attempt to drink 2 litres of Water a day & cut down to one diet coke. I'm going to be so grumpy!!! I think I'll be less anxious if I do this and see that the weight loss is possible.Then I need to do it properly the few weeks leading to surgery in Feb 5.

I had all kinds of cravings my preop diet was strictly liquids so i was craving large im now 5 days post op and the sight of food makes me ill im actually dreading week 3 soft foods i rather stick to liquids BigBodyBombFace

I don’t want to be a Debbie downer, so I am starting a new topic, I don’t want all the newbies to read this a freak out thinking this is typical. I am 5 weeks out of bypass surgery and am having major complications. I was told I have a stretchier and ulcer. I am at home with a PICC line, doing two bags of IV fluids a day. Back on a full liquids diet, and struggling with getting that down. And on top of it all, I have not lost any weight in three weeks, no, really, I have lost a total of one pound, I kid you not. Talk about feeling LOUSY. I am really needing a good buddy to chat with. Really someone who can talk about anything just so I can talk to someone else who is going through this. My family is super supportive but I feel like a broken record and they must be tired of it because i am tired of hearing me complain!

As of June it will be two years since getting banded, for the first time I have gained weight -11lbs to be exact. I have never had this happen but I am not going to let it slide. I have an appointment in two weeks for a fill thankfully. I am refocusing on my diet and exercise - looking back to my old success from when I first got my band, I just need to take good look at what I have learned and reapply it once again :smile:

It does, thanks. I know that recently when she had another surgery they had to lower her dosage to be able to do the operation. She spent three days in the hospital under care and being monitored before they could slice her. I hope to hear some experiences that I can share with her before pursuing this as an option. Thanks again, ~Cheri