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thank you so much joyb1only...that was just the kind of information I was looking for. I have been on weight watchers on and off for years and really like the program...and was wondering if it was doable the the band. Thanks for your insight. I appreicate your help.

Congrasts on finally getting some restriction! I hope that I will be feeling that way soon too. I agree wtih Dave about the calories though, I have read a lot on here about people having major stalls in their weight loss because of not getting enough calories. My doctor recommends 1,000 which I am trying to reach at this point. Congrats again. Let us know how you are doing.

I had the lap band put in June 2010. I have lost no weight due to my own actions, not the bands. I kept waiting and waiting for a 'sign' from my lap band, some feeling, some fullness...something. Not until recently, did a light bulb finally go off. It is only there to keep me from feeling hungry. For me...The lap band isn't going to make me feel full. It isn't going to make eating naughty foods difficult, uncomfortable, or give me unpleasant consequences. It isn't going to keep me from putting food in my mouth. It isn't going to make me feel 'full' after eating the recommended 1-1 1/2 cups of food per meal. I know it's different for everyone, but I wish I had realized a few of these things sooner, rather than later. I have been waiting for the band to do the work... It's time I work with my band. I highly recommend the band as long as you realize it is a small part of a big picture.

I had surgery with Woodman on 11/26/08. Just wondering if any one would like to share their experience. I feel like he expects above average weight loss and is very reserved with fills. I have yet to feel any restriction. Anyone out there learn how to get around his bedside manner?:tongue:

Hello Im glad you wrote this! now I don't feel so bad! I keep losing & gaining back 2 pounds ! I also was hungry and eating ! I just had my first fill on Nov. 2nd. I feel some restriction , but still I don't think its enough. In the last week I have lost 0 pounds ! Its a little depressing! But after reading a response to yours about not really feeling restriction until the 2nd or 3rd fill makes me feel better. Because I still get hungry ! drinking water does not help me either ! but the s/f popsicles do work good for satisfying your sweet tooth. Just hang in there it should get better for us both. banded 9/15/2005 215/198/140

TrimSpa, my #@%! I trhink Shannon is right, she acts like a meth addict! Got to love that speed...whatever! Off-Topic: I promise that if I ever lose this weight I will volunteer to be the Lap-Band spokesmodel. That's quite a concession since only a very limited number of people know I've had surgery! That's also quite a big IF because the scale isn't moving. But I can look in the mirror and KNOW I'm beautiful, I just need to get this weight off so the rest of the world can see it too.

Thank you for all you information makes me feel better because I was on my period the day that I had my blood drawn and yesterday I saw the doctor and he said my anemia was very minor and that supplements and vitamins should do the job also about my thyroid I will get re-tested in a month and go from there. I do feel alot better now that I lost weight thats why I was kind of shocked when my tests came back with these results.

I'm so sorry to read about your bad news. Write up the hospital in the reviews section on OH. I don't know how all of this medical stuff works, and I think hospitals are short staffed, yet with a test that doesn't read right, I would expect immediate follow-up. I had a call last night, Friday night @ 9PM, to tell me that my lung test was okay. They even called me and left a message Friday before I had arrived home from getting the scan. Two calls to me telling me surgery was still on. I thought I would have to wait until the following Monday to find out the news. Try and keep up the exercises to help you be relaxed (that will be really tough...)until Tuesday. I believe in the sit and be fit exercises- YouTube - Sit and Be fit Keep in touch -support groups are one of the keys to successful weight loss. Anita

Can I go on record as saying this all scares me? See I have been over weight my entire life and I know now that I have used my weight as a way to try to keep from getting hurt by others even though I get hurt often from different people. There is apart of my deathly afraid of receiving a lot of attention or seeing how it changes the people I have always known. Is anyone experienced that before.

ith your weight loss you've clearly gained a lot of self confidence and you're carrying yourself differntly overall. Physcial change and a change in attitude it is not suprising some wouldn't recoginize you. As someone who has also lost a large amount of weight I am still going through the identity crisis at times. At times I look in the mirror and all I see is the 500lb man. I also notice the behaviors of others around me. I notice even the smallest of things such as going into a coffee shop to have the person behind the counter engage me in conversation rather than just giving me my coffee without the slightest amount of eye contact. Lets face it fat people make other people uncomfortable either because they're afraid of making you uncomfortable or they're just plain ignorant and are passing judgement. But again maybe it's not them and maybe it's me. I go in with my head held high and I make eye contact where as before I would look down and avoid eye contact. I don't think people are purposely acting a certain way to me but yet reacting to the way I present myself. I certainly do think that this journey is not all about physical changes. There are a lot of mental adjustments that come with it. Two questions for you... Aside from being unrecognizable at times are you happy? Are you healthy? OK three... What does your Therapist think? If you answer yes to both then I would say you're in a pretty good place. For me I was embarrassed when I was 488lbs but now I get embarrassed to tell someone how much weight I actually lost. I actually lied to my Barber a while back. He had asked me how much I had lost and I told him 120ish when in fact it was 250! I have grown tired of the weight loss questions. As for off the cuff remarks I have heard them all with my favorite being "Oh you're face is soooo skinny"

Hi Stacy, I am a mother of one beautiful and active 14 yr old and the wife of a wonderful, supportive man. I know exactly where you are coming from. That was me last Aug. I was banded on May 1 of this year and have lost about 30 pounds. People ask me all the time if I think I made the right choice to have the surgery and I always tell them that it was the best decision I've ever made. I had struggled for a long time with my weight and tried everything also. At first my family thought I was crazy to even consider it but then after explaining the whole thing to them many times, they finally got it! Congratulations on making it this far in the program and getting your surgery date. Whenever you need to chat, feel free to mail me...I can't answer every question I am sure but I will help you all I can.

Hi all, happy Friday!! I have an odd thing happening when I swallow, I'm wondering if it happends to any of you and what your Dr's say about it, mine is of no help. I had surgery in February, all of my anatomy pre-surgery tests came back perfect, surgery went perfectly, nothing was out of the ordinary. 5-6 weeks after surgery I went in for my first follow up appt and (hopefully) a fill... my Dr does fills using an x-ray, I stand in front of it, my band shows up, I swallow the barium Fluid and we watch it go down, pool up a little and then slowly flow through my band. It's pretty cool! Except here's the odd thing that happends - when I swallow, it doens't ALL go through the band, it will pool up, sit there for a few seconds, and then here and there the fluid will start to drain through the band. After watching for a few minutes it still doesn't ALL drain through, there is still a bit left handing out above the band, eventually it does all go through. So the first time we saw this (6 weeks post op) my Dr said he never saw it before and I must have some food stuck in there, or I must be too tight, he gave me a total unfill (I had fluid in there coming out of surgery, although he doesn't know how much, maybe 6cc's he said - but I TOTALLY don't believe him that I had 6cc's, I would put money on that, he made that number up, yes, my Dr lies to me and I can prove it). He said come back in a week. After a week, the same exact thing happend (remember I now have NO fill AND that day from first thing in the morning until my appt I didn't eat a thing, only drank) so this confirms that it isn't because of a stuck peice of food and it isn't because I'm too tight. He gave me a 2.5cc fill that day, told me to come back in a month. Went back Wednesday of this week, SAME THING happends still. He did not want to give me a fill, but he also isn't doing anything else to figure it all out and he's just wasting my time (SO many issues with my Dr). I told him that I can't keep waiting for this to change on it's own, it hasn't changed in the month and a week that we've been watching it, if we're not going to do some tests or something different then I want to ignore it for now and move on with my weight loss, please give me a fill and get me back to some restriction - PLEASE! So he did, I'm at good restriction now and hopefully will see some weight loss results. Anyone have anything similar happening? Dr is now calling it a "spasm" that happends in my throat when I swallow. Some facts that might be helpful to know: 1. I've never been stuck 2. I've never felt discomfort from it, never have felt like I was choking or couldn't get food down 3. Remember that it isn't because I was over full, because it happends when I have NO fill Thanks for your 2 cents!! Melissa

hmmm sweet rewards! the look on my estranged husbands face when he sees me at my goal weight and realises what he missed out on...who's the big fat cow sitting on the couch eating chocolate now...LOOSER! We are in different countries now and when i allow him to see me next i am going to knock his socks of and leave him hanging by his ****? (you know what i mean!) :bananapartyhat: Becky

Hi..I was band on Oct 19th. Good luck. It's really hard to find the support you need but I'm here if you ever need to talk. How are you doing with weight loss? I've lost 26 lbs in the very 1st Dr. appt How are you emotionally? Good days and bad days. Are you exercising? No not really. A little walking but pain at the port site. What is your daily routine? Up at 3:30 eat around 8:00 egg or shake, lunch around 11:00 some type of meat, dinner around 5:00 meat and veggies. I snack on cheese sticks and yogurt. What has been the easiest thing so far? Eating small amounts What has been the most difficult? Port pain... burning and tearing

I guess I should answer my own questions eh? How are you doing with weight loss? Not so great. I lost about five lbs over thanksgiving and then gained it all back plus a little. I am down around 20 lbs total since my pre op appointment. How are you emotionally? A total mess. I am really struggleing. Along with personal struggles I also lost my grandma right before thanksgiving. Are you exercising? Not in two weeks or so. I kinda dropped the ball there. Im looking into the couch to 5k. I think i may try to make a new start on the day of my next fill. 6 days away. What is your daily routine? At this point I dont have one, Which is probably why I am struggleing with eating and Vitamins and exercise. What has been the easiest thing so far? Nothing. None of this has been easy! What has been the most difficult? Everything. Rebuilding myself and a new lifestyle. Trying not to feel defeated.

hello I am a calorie counter as well but i do eat the weight watchers meals for dinner when i work other than that i eat regular foods just watch the portion of how much i eat. I also use the lean cuisene and south beach meals too. and ive been doin great so far i have been banded for three months now. I just love this thing:thumbup:

Your not alone. I was doing great then had some fudge and then Cookies, a little of this a bite of that. Yes you have company. I gained 6 lbs back. YIKES So I have started back to being a better bandster, I am doing a sugar detox this week, and In have a fill scheduled for Thursday. (it's been a year since my last one) I'm ready!!! Good luck to you, you can do this!!

hi Beth, I am James. I have had my band for over 3 years. worked well at first till hurricane Ike. since then i keep putting weight on. i go friday to start again. good luck

Change your exercise routine. You can't do the same thing daily and get the same results. I use to just do 3-4 1 hour Zumba and other exercise classes a week and I could loose weight. Now I have to walk 4-5 miles and incorporate exercise classes because my body need a change.So far it is working. The goal is to constantly ttrick your body because it will stall because it gets use to the same routine. FYI the best exercise that i have seen the greatest weightloss is walking. When I walk 4-6 at one time, I get on the scale after I am finished and I am down 2-2.5lbs. Walking has taken off more weight than any class that I have taken at the gym. Try it and see if it changes,

i was banded in July 2009 and found out i was pregnant in March 2010 i had my daughter in dec 2010. i havent seen my lapband dr since 2010 bc i moved to NY and now im back in MA where i was banded i see him on thursday for the first time in years kinda dreading it idk how he will react to me basically breaking every "rule" i agreed to before i was banded but we shall see. during my pregnancy i had about 4CCs and no unfills i ended up with a dialated esophogus and am not loosing anything but not gaining either. Right now im also starting over and going back to basics and i feel no restriction what so ever, do you?

Hi my name is kim. I just came back to this site and posted my first post in 9 months. Then went to read through post and found this one! So funny how this works out! I will paste the message I posted on the main page. Id love to stay in touch with you and we can maybe be a support to one another since going through the same thing!!! Heres my story.... I'm baaaack!!!!!! So I was banded on July 7th last year, and three weeks later didnt think I was healing very well so I went to the dr and found out band was ok, but I was 8 weeks PREGNANT! So yes, I was 5 weeks pregnant when I had surgery. 13 years of never being able to concieve then SURPRISE!!!!!!! Thankfully my baby survived surgery,xrays, lots of test, rapid weightloss, b12 absorption issues and extreme anemia, oh and pre-eclampsia. I did not have a fill after my surgery, because of the pregnancy. It was left with the small amount that was put in during the surgery. I had no problems eating whateer i wanted. I did feel full quicker but also got hungry quick too. After I delivered my little miracle baby, within a day I noticed a huge difference with my eating. I started feeling really full really fast, couldnt eat bread or eggs without getting stuck, and couldnt drink while eating without feeling really uncomfortable. I talked with my OB about it and he said that during pregnancy the blood flow is so increased that digestion speeds up, so that is why I probably didnt have a problem while pregnant. My baby girl is now a month old and I have lost 35 of the 55 pounds I gained. (I lost 35 pounds my first trimester) so I am 10 pounds less than my surgery day weight. I am excited to finally getting to utilize my lapband, but very nervous!!! I have not followed any of the lapband rules, and I am scared I wont have the results I may have had if I had had time to work the band before hand. But I am ready to give it my best. I look forward to seeing my surgeon May 3rd, and hope I will get my first fill and start seeing results.

Keep up the good work, Lee! You will have some wonderful results! (and I'm talking more than just weight loss & increased health---you are making memories with your kids!):clap2:

So i finally am experiencing restriction on what i eat. Here's my story. I was banded 08/13/10. Lost 20 lbs pre and post op. After the after surgery feelings went away my appetite came right back and i felt absolutley nothing. I couldn't tell that i had a surgery. I was slightly better at dieting but my portions were still pretty large. I never really gained or lost, and stayed right around 20 lbs lost. My doc is rediculously busy, and the closest he could schedule fills were usually 7 weeks apart. he told me that he would like to do fills every three weeks, but he never had enough appointments to do that. He was also conservative on how much saline he put in. That was frustrating because i just wanted it to go faster and it was taking forever. so now 5 months later i am finally feeling restriction!!!! Its a crazy feeling. As soon as i take bites i feel like it is hard to swallow. I feel like i can feel the food going all the way down, and i feel like i need to eat really slow and chew a lot. Sometimes it almost feels like im choking on my food, but when i sit for a minute the feeling goes away and i can eat more. But depending on what i eat i feel like i cant eat any more, and wouldn't enjoy it if i did eat more. For the last 5 days i have only ate like 700 calories a day, and i haven't had the awful torture feelings that i did when i use to diet. Im so excited for the future, and just wanted others in "bandster hell" to see that it will eventually work with time and patience.

This is off topic a bit and quite stupid, but I am new to the site. How in the heck do I track my weight loss/BMI on the bottom of my replies to all the conversations?? I have no idea how to work this site lol..thanks for the help!!

He tries but not all the time, if he makes french toast he'll offer me some and i give him that look, he tends to forget im trying to not eat that stuff,he's fine with the way i am but i try to tell him im not fine with the way i am ,he can eat all he wants and not really gain weight ,so it's hard for him to understand me, he does try tho sometimes, he'll want chinese food but wont get it because he feels its not fair to me, so when the weekend comes i feel like okay i can eat some unhealthy stuff and go back to eating good on monday but i always over do it..., i guess i have to learn i can still have a good time eating healthy and picking healther choices that are still good, im still trying to rearrange my process in thinking about the foods i eat,im thinking if were on the road i should probaly start packing a small lunch for myself....