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I'm 3 weeks out and also struggling. I have calculated that if I eat 5 small meals (2 tbs, which is about all I can manage) as recommended, each takes around 30 mins to eat. If I follow advice not to drink 30 mins before a meal or drink for an hour afterwards, that is 2 hours a time when I can't drink- adds up to 10 hours per day. Add in the fact that I can only comfortably take 125 ml (1/2 cup) per hour, you can see that I am really struggling. Today I have had a couple of cups of coffee and am sipping a cup of tea - it's 16:25 UK time. I have had about 1/2 tsp of hummous, but didn't fancy any more. Any advice greatly welcomed

I'd like to know how many people are being banded the same week as I am - June 19th? Not sure how many of your know the significance of this day, but I find it ironic that it will be the beginning of my personal liberation. Some say it's not a good day, considering the history - I don't see it that way. Although freedom came 2.5 years late for slaves on the gulf coast of Texas, it came and should be commemorated. Just as I have waited my entire life to be free from extra weight, it will be a day that I commemorate for as long as my band does what it should do for me. If you've never heard of Juneteenth, it was a pivotal time in our nation's history, even moreso for African Americans. In Galveston, Texas (where it actually occurred) it is commemorated by the original declaration of freedom being read on the same mansion steps it was heard from by thousands of Galveston, Texas slaves in 1865. (The mansion is so amazing, it's hard to imagine it being a plantation, it looks like a castle). There are theories about why it took 2 1/2 years for them to be freed - the most common belief is that the information was deliberately withheld - and why they had to ride through the entire state before making the announcement makes it even more logical since they passed millions on their way across nearly 800 miles. While it angers some, it is a part of history that should not be forgotten. Thanks girls and boys, I hope you enjoyed your history lesson for today!

I'm in need of size Xl or L in shirts/tops & size 12 or 10 in pants badly. Anything style will do, I just can't afford to go out & by used or new...Im on a tight budget.

I have had a really busy summer. I had my friend and her daughter visit in May. Then in June, they returned with her husband. Now, I have a a friend coming over from Ireland for two weeks and while she's here, I have my brother in law and his daughter visiting for two nights as well. Now, please know that I love everyone that is visiting and I wouldn't have it any other way. The issue is that I put so much pressure on myself to make my home look clean and welcoming. 10 years ago, I could clean my house from top to bottom, scrub the floors, clean the bathrooms, do laundry, make the beds, do dishes, and finally finish it all with dusting and vacuuming. Well, 10 years ago, my back wasn't as bad and I could wake up and have the house all done by 4pm. I would end the day by taking a shower and then getting a beer or glass of wine and relaxing on the couch while I looked around and admired my work. That's not even an option now. My back has made it so that I have to clean in spurts. Because I have procrastinated, tomorrow, I will have to suck up the pain and attack the dirt and clutter with no mercy. Now, I know my home isn't 'dirty", it's more cluttered than anything. I also have the issue that we have no storage area, so there are many things that I would throw out, but my husband SWEARS he needs that empty box in case one day it's worth money. Yes, that's all true. I have boxes of empty game boxes for him. I have found a place to store them, but if I had my way, they would all be out side in the trash. You all know that becasue this is how I feel, what will happen is one day, he will sell a game with the box and we'll have $10,000. Then I'll have to hear, "I told you so" for the rest of my life. Oh, I can't wait. LOL Ok, back to cleaning. Because I know what I have to do tomorrow, and becasue I am stressed with all I have to do before my Irish friend gets here Thursday night, I now am not able to fall asleep. So, tomorrow, I will be in pain, tired, and I will have to clean for a guest. This should be fun. The problem is I know what will happen. By the time my husband gets home from work, I will be so exhausted that I will either break down sobbing (and then have to worry about the sinus issues), or I will start a fight with him for no reason except I want to yell at someone. Gosh I hope I cry. For now, I think I will go to bed now. I will wake up around 9 or 10. I will do the laundry, dishes, and kitchen floor. Then I will do the bathrooms (quickly), and then go to the pool. Once I am done at the pool, I can come back, dust, and vacuum. Then I will make the house "company ready". You know what I mean: towels folded perfect and the bed made perfect, books placed in the perfect spot as well as a candle. I hope I'm not the only one who attempts to make my home look like it's in Good Housekeeping becasue if I am, I need more help than I thought. LOL Then on Thursday, I will relax and wait for her arrival. Yes, that sounds perfect. Problem is, I know tomorrow, I will totally mess this up and will still be running around like a chicken with his heard cut off right to the point she walks through the door. Then I will say the words we all say to company. "I'm so sorry the house is a mess, please just ignore it." Yes, that will have to do.

I do the chicken crust pizza but no egg...1 pound ground chicken, 1/2c Parmesan cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, oregano, garlic, roll thin, bake 20min. on parchment paper at 450, add sauce ( I use canned Contadina pizza sauce) & toppings bake another 10 min. This is great! Out to lunch with friends, got cup of chili and brought 1/2 home for later.

My PCP scheduled me for a Bone Scan February 7th, perhaps,THIS is why; I am relatively certain he reads as much,as I Do, and folks I read lots! Self-taught at 2-and-half years, yeah you saw that correctly. I was the youngest person in my city and library to have a card, well before 4. Mama took me in there, queried the Head Librarian " How old do you have to be to receive a card?", answer was "late in Grade 1, because children don't read well until then". Mama said " But she reads already!" Librarian , her name was Miss Edwina Fitzgerald, went to reach an Early Reader to test me, Mama said :" No No, something without pictures" so a Grade 5 level was proffered, which I read 7 pages of letter-perfect, why not? One of the books I started with was the New Testament at home, matter of fact, the story in the family goes, I started learning to read because I got peeved, Mama wanted to do housework, like laundry instead of reading to ME. So-o-o! I really don't remember Not Reading that well. Any-whoo I am a RnY and 73 so Maybe It Is a GOOD THING.😝✌

I'm in the exact same boat!! [emoji51][emoji51][emoji51] I need to lose 10 more in 2 weeks uhhh I'm wishing I can just drink some protein shakes and work out and drop some quick uhhhh

I had my surgery on 8/28/06. I know that I don’t and won’t have any restriction until my first fill. But right now I am eating just as I normally would pre-surgery, which is NOT healthy eating at ALL. And Ive gained back the 10 lbs I lost in the liquid phase. I’ve had no vomiting or uncomfortable feelings at all. (Which I kind of wish I had so that I could stop eating) <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p> How much of a difference does a filled band make verses an unfilled band? I understand that its not a cake walk but it has to be easier than this or I would have just dieted without the band to lose weight. It certainly would have been cheaper. I’m really starting to wonder if they even put a band in there, lol. <o:p> </o:p> I am really disappointed in myself but am mainly curious to know if this eating like this now could cause some type of problem when I actually get the fill. Am I setting myself up for failure? <o:p> </o:p> I guess what I am really asking is, how many of you pigged out when you found that solid foods were okay? And was it easier when your band was filled? Am I abnormal? I’m really depressed about this, no more’Yay, happy I’m going to lose weight’ feeling. :help:

I recently bought some clothing that was super cheap in smaller sizes at a thrift store. I figured what my daughter didn't end up taking I would wash, and put away for when I lost more weight. I thought for the hell of it I would try on the med, from Kohls and see how far I had to go to get into those tops. I was floored when it fit, a Med fit. The bottoms are all still too small, I bought 8's and 10's. I know I have a way to go for those sizes, as I'm in a 14 now. But I don't see a med body in the mirror, I still see a plus sized woman. My mom will meet me somewhere and comment on how my clothes are hanging off me, and I have dressed myself convinced that I still need the XL, or the 16-18 tops. I finally had her come over and tell me what looked good and what was too large to pull off anymore. My local domestic violence shelter got a ton of clothing, and I don't have to second guess myself any longer when I'm getting dressed.

Hello: I would look on this forum in the section called Lapband complications, there might be information there. The FDA states the band is good for at least 10-years and could last longer without complications. As far as studies, here are some links: However, the best research papers are in medical journals. Do a Google search for information. gastric banding research - Google Scholar Gastric Banding Reverses Impact Of Type 2 Diabetes

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Congrats Gentry, Yeah, the only pain I had was port pain too. I never had any on the shoulder pain and I'm proud too. My doctor gave me 5 big bottles of the liquid loritab with a refill of 5 and I used about 1/2 of one and went back to the pills. I take the loritab 10's if I need one and break it in half. I couldn't choke down that liquid. yuckkkkkkk Sip don't take large drinks that was my biggest deal breaker. I would be thirsty and use to drinking big drinks and would forget. I think the walking saved my life. I walked and walked and at day 4 was vacuming, sweeping, laundry, dishes, everything and at day 12 was out riding 4wheelers and just very active. I think the walking is the key. Good luck and you'll be losing like crazy. The liquids were hard for me but enjoy them because now that I can eat the weight loss has slowed down.

I do agree age plays a big role. I was a competitive athlete growing up and our capability to grow muscle is reduced as we get older. I'm now a woman in her 40's. I'm lucky that I have a naturally athletic/hour glass body shape without even trying. I'm currently training to hike half dome. I take strenuous 10 mile plus hikes on the weekends and try to fast pace walk 5-10 miles per day minimum. My body is lean and defined but the muscle mass just isn't what it used to be. On one hand I'm thrilled because I used to hate my legs when I was younger because my calve and thigh muscles would become so big and bulky! I'm thinking with the hard training I'm doing, I need to increase my protein intake. That's where coming on these boards and reading all of the posts are helpful to remind me of what I SHOULD be doing! They warned us about a honeymoon period! I am a pretty clean eater and am dedicated to my health and this process. Still, it becomes more challenging when you are once again capable of eating whatever you want!

thanks for the compliments - I'm blushin here! Shelley, can't believe how amazing you are doing - i am hereby demanding full list of your hints and tips! You must feel fantastic! So wish I was where you and Donali are - big congrats hugs from me xx And Jennye - HELLO!!!! Check out my (v badly fake tanned!) feet in the photo where I'm wearing hubby's Ireland shirt, and you will see my fave pink flower flip flops! And in answer to Marsha's jokey query, I have actually gone down two shoe sizes - you can see the flip flops are big on me - my feet are all the way " in", but they are still huge - I have had such fun buying shoes since I've lost some weight - I used to take an european 42 and now take a 38 (think that's an american 10 to an 8!) And Vera, I have my super critical mother-in-law eating bags of prunes a day - the poor woman can't be more than ten feet from a bathroom - me bad!

When I was btw 10 and 12 my family went to Orlando to visit family and we went to Nickoledean studios. My cousin was chosen to do a commerical for Family Double dare, I lost a coin toss w/ my other couisn so she got to play the daughter and my parents were the "parents". While I was chillin on the sidelines, I met the Prez of Nick and she loved my name...A few months later Hey Dude comes out and there's a girl named Bradley on it! Way cool....right? LOL

I woke up this morning and weighed myself and I have now officially lost 50lbs! I was sleeved on 9/19 and I don't know why but it felt like these last 10lbs took FOREVER! Now I have 70 make e to get for my personal goal:-) just a small victory I wanted to share:-D

I am also hoping to get to the 100's. I dont expect to ever be considered "skinny"...besided my husband would probable be unhappy if i lost to much weight. Are you working out? what is your calorie intake? im asking cuz i have been feeling hungrier in the last 10 days... and i know i am eating way to much..specially in the latr afternoon. I have my 1st fill coming up this week i hope it will help.Weight is coming off very slowly. Good luck

Hi folks I was banded on 11/18. My progress has been steady (slow, but steady) and my goal is 1-2 pounds a week. At that rate I can reach my goal by the end of 2011. I've only had 1 fill and don't anticipate getting another until the first week of Feb. I have found that a large part of feeling "full" is truly eyeing your portions and knowing when to stop eating, even if you don't feel full. Then, I wait for about 5-7 minutes and I begin to feel full, even though I don't "think" I will be full based on what I ate. After 10-15 minutes, I'm definitely full. That's all a part of learning to eat slowly, which I am still working on. I rarely feel "restriction" and I've never had to throw up. Mostly because I am so afraid of that happening that I stop eating before I reach the point of being stuffed. The only times I've felt weird and uncomfortable was when I ate too much raw broccoli too fast. That hurt like hades. Folks - we all know this is hard work. It was hard work to walk in the door and say that we were ready for the surgery. It was hard work to have the surgery and survive the recovery. And the hard work will not end there. It continues, and is especially hard in the first several months after surgery - thats when we are "learning" to live with the band. We have to STOP eating the way we did before. We have to eat differently, otherwise the band will not work. We have to exercise! Exercise is not an option when you're trying to lose weight and be healthy. It is a requirement. I do not like it, I never have. But 3x a week I get up at 6 in the morning and I just do it. Because I don't want all the hard work I've put in so far to go to waste. I can't afford it, mentally, emotionally or financially (I don't know about you, but this band has cost me a little change and I had insurance!). YOU CAN DO IT!! Focus on yourself! Imagine all the great clothes you will wear when you get the weight off!

I'm in Bakersfield, and was just banded on 1/4/10. It'd be neat to meet up with some of you to chat about life after the band! Feel free to private message me!

Ok, My high was 4 months ago. I went to the consultation thinking I was around 395, found out I was 441, could have been a negative but just it motivated me to move forward. Surgery weight was 422, and I currently weigh 395-401. (weighed today at 395, but the scale didnt go that high so it could be inaccurate as it went past 0 to 95) Just wanted to post to create accountability and meet some other's in similar situations. I am 6'6'' ex college football player, played between 350-375. My initial goal weight is 275 then I will reasses the situation. I havent been below 300 since I was 10! cant wait to get back in the two's Any insight or input is helpful and welcome

Hello everyone!! I'll be going to see my surgeon in June to get a surgery date booked. I'm having a bit of a problem though, in order to get a surgery date I have to lose 5 to 10% of my current weight by my June appointment or my surgery date gets pushed back. Problem being, I keep eating horribly because I keep thinking "oh I won't be able to eat this after surgery so I better eat it now". Does anyone have any advice on how to stop having "food funerals"?! Thank you!!

Yes...but which one of the following as their are only 3 generations of them. I believe its the first one as he said he hasn't dealt with the latest generation of bands...and he has said he has had great success with them. Three different generations with continual improvements 2001 - The 9.75/10 LAP-BAND System 2004 - The LAP-BAND VG System 2007 - The LAP-BAND AP System

I am in the same boat as well. I have been eating everything under the sun since my Kaiser Options classes ended on 10/26. I have gained close to 20 pounds in the last 2 months because of all of the fast food and junk food that I have been eating including all of the holiday food as well. My thinking was that since I was going to be losing weight with the surgery then I might as well enjoy these few weeks before I have the surgery and have to been on a liquid diet for weeks. I have to meet with the surgeon this Thursday 12/30 for my final appt and to get my date, I am afraid that he will not give me a date until I lose these 20 pounds. So I have decided that I am going to go on liquid protein diet for the next 3 day to try to lose some of this weight. Wish will luck. Thanks. Jen

I had gastric sleeve surgery 10 weeks ago. Ever since I came out of it I had a terrible reaction, bloody vomits with clogs. 7 days after surgery I came down to the ER with a leak at the union between the esofagus and the stomach right at the Hiz angle with abdomen infection and they opened me up to wash the abdomen. I had several bad diagnoses that bring me to the tenth week without any improvement. I am consulting a second doctor and he recommended enteral nutrition with a probe from my nose to the jejunum at the intestines. This probe will keep me feeded and helps relieve presion from the sleeve and that would presumably to help close the leak. This is the second time I have this probe because the first time it was wrongly located by the first doctor. The second probe was introduced just this wednesday through an endoscopic procedure, they noticed my sleeve was twisted and obstructed because of the small width at the first cut with a transversal appearance. So with this finding they presume this is the cause for the leak which is located exactly at the "his angle" , where the esofagus and the stomach meet. The doctor says it is imperative to resolve the twisting at the sleeve and the obstruction so that the leak can begin to close. The location of the leak makes it very difficult for a bypass conversion. The next step to prevent the stomach from twisting is inject botox to the stomach so that it won't move for a period of time and also use a special balloon to expand or dilate the part of the stomach that is obstructed because of the width. Other options are a speacial prothesis to prevent the twisting, stents and ovesco for the leak, and thinking about the worst case scenario a bypass convertion of total gastrectomy in about 6 months. Can someone tell me if they are going through something similar, if they went through a complication relatable to mine? What has been your experience and what do you think about my options? Thank you for reading!

I had surgery Aug 18. I went into surgery at 258... On 8/28 I weight 244... ( 14 lbs lost in 10 days) on 9/4 I weight 236... (22 lbs lost in 14 days) and now it's 10/2 and I weight 235. I've lost one lbs in a month! What is wrong????? I AM WORKING OUT! I AM keeping my calories between 900-1100 calories. I feel like crying!:cool2: I am self-pay and feeling really disappointed in myself. There are times I have eaten sweets and things, but I have always remained under my calorie intake for the day in that case. I just don't know what's wrong!!! 2x a week 30 minutes walking, light weights