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AmyH33's Blog
 

5 months post op

almost 5 months post op (12/30/10) everyday is a struggle, the band is just a TOOL, it is NOT a fix all. You MUST follow the "diet" i shouldn't say diet, its a lifestyle change. If you are not ready for a life change this will NOT work!! I am so excited for those of you that are starting your journey. You have no idea how much better you are going to feel. I am down 60lbs from my highest weight of 282, i have NEVER been able to keep weight off in my life. I am enjoying it, I just wish I could keep to my new life style change, its a daily struggle, but I CAN DO IT!    
AmyH33

AmyH33

9
bandedbritt's Blog
 

post op 2 years

hey everyone, i am currently 2 years post op and wouldnt change it. iam down 93lbs which is like a another whole human :-p my journey has been far from easy. at 18years old i weighed in at 286lbs i was boarder line diabetic. it was a little bit of a wake up call and thats when i went to see my doctor. i was a size 26 in jeans and a 3xl in shirts. Today iam a size 15 in jeans , a medium in my victoria sweat pants =) and a xl in shirts. With all the positives said i still have the " fat girl mentality" i still feel like iam that 286lb girl from 2 years ago. one of my close friends said to me " you call your self fat more now then you did when you were really fat". Honestly shes right. Dont get me wrong i am very proud of how much i have lost but those thunder thighs and muffin top seem to not want to go away. When i look in the mirror i still see that fat girl. i dont know if anyone else is having this problem. its like my mind hasnt caught up with my weight loss. There are days i just cry and say " i hate being fat" its such a struggle to find an outfit for the day. its almost like it was easier when i was big i was in denial of how big i was now that i looked back at old pictures im like oh my god i was that big. It takes a mental toll. i came to this site because im sure my friends , boyfriend and parents are sick of hearing it and i needed people who could relate to what im goin through. its hard to explain to my mom whos 5 foot 110lbs who calls her self fat. go figure i guess it doesnt matter what weight you get to your always going to find something wrong with yourself. I just want to know if iam the only one going through this mental roller coaster. Thanks for letting me ramble on =)
bandedbritt

bandedbritt

2
fancy huh's Blog
 

Almost there

<a href="http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/w2zzHdV/"> <img border="0" src="<A href='http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/t/w2zzHdV/weight.png">http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/t/w2zzHdV/weight.png"></a>
fancy huh

fancy huh

0
Change
 

Me and "that" scale....

So yesterday I had my 6 wk post op appointment and I don't go back to see my surgeon until October 5th. I am once again in a stall. I'm setting at 264lbs and nothing is changing! To say that I'm frustrated is an understatement. I do believe that the scale will move again. I have one of those Health O Meter scales which is horrible and today I ordered a scale from overstock.com and it's a Taylor scale I have so many things on my mind...... I think I'm stressing out and maybe I need a break from thinking about my weight so I'm going to force myself to go to the gym, do normal "Candace" stuff and try and focus mostly on graduating. When the scale goes down another 5 pounds- I will blog again- until then, I'm on strike lol.
Candace2314

Candace2314

3
Day Dreamer's Blog
 

Reality sets in...

And so my story really begins: I got my date June 6th! I suppose I made it seem like I would never get approved, but that was mostly fear. I was psyching myself up to be let down. Well guess what, no let down! I got my date and I started my 2 week pre op diet. Nothing left to stop me but myself.   I am excited and scared. Wish me luck and I will keep you updated!   I <3 VST - you guys have helped me so much.... thank you all! <3 <3   Xox! Heather
Day Dreamer

Day Dreamer

6
jennifer1's Blog
 

TODAY IS THE DAY!!!!OMG!

Well the day is FINALLY here!!!!! I cant believe this day is finally here. I'm not nervous at this point, not sure how i'll feel once i get there. So in the 11 days I've been on the pre-op liquid diet and lost 13 pounds!!! I cant believe that I made it the whole time and didnt cheat. I pray everyone has a successful surgery today. I'll try to check in later to let you guys know how it went! Thank you guys for allllll your love and support during this time, it has helped me sooooo much! love you guys like my family!!! MUAH!
jennifer1

jennifer1

6
Ciara Patrice's Blog
 

1 Month Surgiversary!

It's officially been one month since I had surgery, and aside from the very light, barely existent scars I have on my abdomen, I can hardly tell I've had surgery.   I've lost about a total of 34 pounds so far, from my highest known weight of 305lbs, I'm currently at 271lbs, I think. I don't eat nearly as much as I did prior to surgery. I don't have a fill as of yet. I get that at the beginning of June. If I eat a real heavy meal, I'm mostly good for the rest of the day; sipping on water throughout of course. I know I should be eating small meals, which I've tried, but being hungry still hurts, and my mouth waters to the point where it feels like I'll vomit if I don't eat something!!! So I tend to eat a good healthy meal and then snack on low calorie things throughout the rest of the day. Again, this is not ideal. I know! And I know I won't be able to eat as much (thought I feel I'm not eating alot) once I start getting fills.   I've had some NSVs! There are two scrub tops that I have for work that I normally NEVER wear unless its laundry day because they fit so tight. Well, I've worn both this week, and they fit PERFECTLY! Not too big, not to tight! PERFECT. I am having issues with my pants being too loose though. It's like my stomach has gone down and now there's nothing to hold my pants up!!   I do notice that by looking in the mirror my belly rolls aren't as "rolly polly"... if that's a good way to describe it. I know I've lost weight and can visibly see this because of how my scars have "moved". Granted I was probably swollen after surgery, but one scar was tucked under a belly roll, and now I can fully see that scar! It actually looks like it's sitting "ontop" of that roll now instead of under it... Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me I dunno, but I am happy at they way the scars are healing. I think I'll have more of an issue with loose skin and stretch marks than the actual scarring from surgery.   I joined the YMCA ... as far as exercising goes. I go when I can, and I'm trying to make it a daily thing, as of right now, I've been going sporadically and I'd like to make it a permanent part of my daily life. Like brushing my teeth! I know this will help me get to goal so much faster. Though I'm not "moving" as I should, the weight is still coming off. Even starting solid foods, I thought there would be a stall in my weight loss or that I would gain since going from a liquid diet to a solid foods diet can do that, but I didn't stall, it's just not coming off in 5 pound chunks anymore... just a pound or two here and there, which is expected.   Another NSV is that I got my period. This may not be an NSV for most, but since I suffer from PCOS and irregular/non-existent periods, this happens to be one for me. I had a period in March before surgery, and before then I don't remember, but I was on Metformin and Agyestin to help my periods come on monthly. I'm no longer taking either. I didn't menstruate in April, but I got a lovely gift from Mother Nature this month, and I actually HOPE that I see her again in June because though I hate my period this would mean, I'm almost normal, and that's my main goal!   So, all in all, Michaelangelo and I are doing well, and hopefully when we go to the Dr on the 6th of June, we'll be doing even BETTER and on our way to the 260s!!!!
Ciara Patrice

Ciara Patrice

6
KrisH1070's Blog
 

Back to the hospital for IV's

I was banded on May 16th and yesterday 05/19/11 I ended up in the ER per my surgeon. I was dehydrated and very sick to my stomach.   They kept me there for a few hours and gave me some IV's to rehydrate me. They also gave me some naseau meds. I felt good when I left there. Although when I came home I still cant seem to get anything in. I managed to get 1/2 cup chicken broth and about 6 oz of crystal light in through out the day. Im too full and the gas in my belly is awful. I have no cravings for food and the liquid diet is just fine with me for now . But trying to jam in the amount of fluids they want me to take in seems impossible. I do not want to end up back in the ER. Any one else having these issues? I'm so tired all I wanna do is sleep.   I know once I get through this stage things will get better. I'm walking constantly to get relief from all the gas in my belly. I had no gas pains till the 3rd day after surgery. Also everytime I sip I get the pains in between my shoulder blades, which they say is gas pains? I can not burp as it hurts like hell and the hiccups are horrible!       Anyone else have this happen to them? Also the scale is very discouraging to me. I came home weighing 7 lbs more than the day of my surgery. My Dr says its from all the gas and IV's. I hope so. I'm taking in less than 200 calories a day at the moment.
KrisH1070

KrisH1070

3
MV ROCKS' Blog
 

I can eat again

I know what some of you are thinking why would you be happy about being able to eat but I am. I had 1 cc taken out and feel great. I ate lunch at 12. It's now 5 and I'm not even hungry. That's what's awesome. Ate 4 oz of chicken two bites of mashed potato and I feel awesome. I hope it stays this way. I have had breakfast and lunch. No snacks and I'm on top of the world. Like I said I hope it stays that way stay tuned for more to come.
mmv671

mmv671

1
Lucky Lady's Blog
 

AH Relief

Yesterday went to see my care provider. Bandages off, incisions are small except for the one by the port. I think they will heal nicely, not raised or bumpy. Care provider said full liquid diet and follow the handbook they gave me. Well handbook says Im on week two and I can go to pureed foods. So I had a little cottage cheese, oatmeal and and a shake today. Not hungry. She said it will come back but I dont want the hunger to come back. It gets difficult to be around other people eating. Some of the guys had cheeseburgers for lunch and one had a hot roast beef sandwich and potatoes and gravy. Smelled yummy. Im not hungry but my mouth is watering I saw a picture of my lovely band. She asked if they put some fluid in my band already. That I could not answer. I do have some left shoulder pain that comes and goes and not sure what that is. The terrible gas and bloating has gone and I feel human again.   Im wanting a potato. Dont know why but I do. Maybe my body needs a certain mineral. Cant go on supplements until next week.   Its been one week since my surgery and I have went to work everyday this week. I am pooped but recovering quickly.   I ordered some exercise videos "Zumba Dance" for my Kinect and P90X. I know Im not ready for either yet but getting geared up.    
missmary44

missmary44

2
The Skinny Girl With In!!
 

NSV.. and celebrating highest weight and surgery weight losses..

2 1/2 weeks later.. my NSV(non scale victory) is I am down 2 guchies sizes (for you non Western Pennsylvania people, that means underwear, and it is an actual word). :bananajump: Also.. do you celebrate your highest weight loss or what you weighed right before surgery or BOTH?? From when I started this journey 8 months ago, I am down 39lbs.. Since my surgery I am down 25lbs...:thumbsup:
Tricia Lewis

Tricia Lewis

1
MV ROCKS' Blog
 

Went for my un-fill yesterday

Yesterday I had 1cc taken out of my band. It's a tad more then I wanted but we decided to give it a try for 4 weeks. I know some people say they are tight in the morning but he said you should never be so tight that you can't eat solids at every meal. Three meals a day of solid protein no snacking and that last 15 pounds should come off. I can do anything for 4 weeks so I'm giving it a try. 3 meals a day no snacking and exercise 30 minutes a day. Wish me luck. Would like to break this plateau .
mmv671

mmv671

0
Blog 98380
 

I took your advise

Thank you to those who gave me some advise on whether or not to have another fill. I went in yesterday to talk to my surgeon and see about a fill. He was reluctant to give me a fill but said he would if I really thought I needed it. Its been 8 months and I have only lost about 30 lbs. I am 198 lbs and a size 12. I am a fanatic about my workouts ( I do 2 a day usually, high intensity)...but still I dont lose any weight. Since my unfill 2 months ago I have been able to eat whatever I want, slowly......sooooo...I have been. I eat clean 80% of the time but I have some form of sugar and fat every day. He told me that I need to be much more strict with my diet. The band only does a small portion and I have to do the rest. I realize that I am not that big , but for me, I would like to get back to a size 8 - and that is about 180 lbs. He put only .3 into my band and he said he would not fill me anymore. This requires a ridiculous amount of dieting and exercising for those of us who only need to lose 20-30 lbs. I think I have a lot of work to do! So, I must stick to 1000 cals a day even though I burn that much in my workouts. It seems strange but apparently that is what I need to do. Its ganan be very hard since Im so hungry.
kelly111

kelly111

0
jennifer1's Blog
 

BALLING MY EYES OUT!

Ok I know i posted this yesterday, not sure what happened to it, but hear goes again.   I've been checking my cell phone like crazy waiting for my company to call me and tell me if I have a job in 2 weeks since my current contract ends in two weeks. I see that I have missed a call from the surgery center. I check the VM and they said they have to reschedule my surgery from Fri(20th) til Monday(23rd)! WTH!!!!OMG!! I went into my supervisor's office and balled my eyes out. Couldnt do that to long as my patient was waiting on me. I went and found a friend of mine and she said a quick prayer for me. Well minutes later I went back to my desk only to find another VM from the surgery center! MY SURGERY IS BACK ON FOR FRIDAY!!!! THANK YOU JESUS! God answers prayers and I needed this one answered quickly.   Secondly, I still hadnt heard from my company, finally they call and tell me the hospital has extended my contract till June 24th and possibly longer than that! THANK YOU JESUS!! Now I can go into my surgery with no worries about if i'll be employed in a week. Plus my supervisor know about my surgery and has agreed to manuever my patint caseload to accomodate my 10 pound weight lifiting restriction!!!!! I thank God for his favor, cuz technically she could say you cant do your job and we're ending you contract!     I'm still doin well on the pre-op diet! no cheats! but also no gym ...Tonight is my last night band free!!!! I will find out today the exact time of my proceudure today!   Hope all is well with everyone!!! MUAH!!!
jennifer1

jennifer1

13
BandedKitten's Blog
 

May 19th, 2011

I thought about writing a blog for my weight loss and who knows how long it will last, but I feel the need to write about this interesting, somewhat bizarre journey. I mean I have a piece of plastic in my stomach. Now that's weird.   I am up too late as usual and I'm going to write my "real" first entry in a few hours. It's 2 am and I can't sleep. Today is one week post-op and I find that I'm all about the band. Don't want to drive my friends and family crazy--this is a place that I can talk about it till I'm blue in the face.   More later.......
BandedKitten

BandedKitten

1
abbey's Blog
 

my journey continues

Ok,Update time, AGAIN! (this all started with the "life still sucks thread")   I will explain my week from the start which goes from this past Friday when I went BACK to the ER for the 3rd and final time   I finally ended up getting moved up to a Ward with potassium burning into my veins. (very painful). This ward was a bit of a gong show, the nurses did not seem very knowledgable so I didn't ask many questions. My roomie was an older lady who was pretty quiet and we were able to just do our own thing. I didn't see a doctor after being in the ER until Saturday when I was told I would be getting ANOTHER scope by a different doctor. So, I was hopeful that this would provide answers, sadly, it only left me with more questions. She felt that there really wasn't really an L shape in my stomach, that she was able to get the scope through and that I may have to live like this forever or learn to live like this AND she wondered if my vagus nerve (not sure what it is exactly) might have been affected. She also kinda dissed the surgery in general so I was defentitely feeling like I was getting nowhere again. I sat with my mouth gaped open, totally speechless. I asked, did I just totally ruin my life here??!?!?! She was nice and said no but did not give me the answers I was looking for, or any solutions for that matter. SOOOO, on Monday when my Aunt who works in the hospital for the Director for Critical Care came in we talked and then another GI doc. He came in and was explaining that the doctor that did my scope the day before didn't feel there was anything to be done. My aunt and I said we did not agree and that we wanted to talk to the origianl doctor I was scoped by who was a bariatric surgeon. This Dr. said that he would send in another GI doc who had more experience with my situation first and then we could go from there. We decided to go with this dude and if that didn't work out we were going to make a complaint and my aunt was going to talk to the Chief of Medicine whom we ran into and I told my story to including the issues with different answers from different doctors. He said I absolutely had a right to get answers and solutions no matter what. So, yesterday I was admitted to the GI ward where I was placed on a freakin ER stretcher to sleep (because I wasn't as sick as others and they didn't have enough beds). Whatev. So this Dr. comes in and I call my aunt to be in with me as my advocate. She comes in and we had a whole list of questions that we didn't even have to ask. He said that he understood my concerns, knew that I knew something wasn't right and that he was going in to do another scope make his own decisions and balloon it, period. He also said he would take a biopsy cause he was in there and check out the surgery in general. He said that it would be around 2 or 3. Well, 11:45 am they came to get me! I was waiting for a while down in endoscopy and was a bit nervous too! So, I told him before he konked me out that he should just balloon the whole damned thing! He kinda chuckled and said he would do what he could. I woke up with a bit of a sore throat and tummy (just to the touch) but otherwise no worse off than before. At least it told me he did something in there. I was taken back upstairs and fell asleep for a couple of hours as I had a terrible sleep on the cot the night before. I then got up and asked for a cup of tea for my raw throat. I drank an ENTIRE little styrofoam cup of tea! Total victory right there. He told me not to get my hopes up too high that it wouldn't be a miracle solution and we would still have to work with it, together, but I still took it as a good sign. My sister came and saw me (my first visitor as I didn't want to see anyone and my parents are in Mexico) and it was a good day for her to come, I was in much more positive spirits for sure. Now it's Wednesday morning and I got awoken at 5 am for my nausea meds and then dozed off an on while my 4 other roomies began to get up. Then my new Dr comes in 15 minutes earlier than thought and than I told Derek (hubby) to be there. Anyway, I had some questions ready and he was just awesome to talk to again. He said that he used the largest balloon they have to dialate the top (entrance) and bottom (exit) of the stomach, the middle part didn't require it as it does stretch naturally. He said that is wasn't grossly narrowed, but that the stomach is an odd organ and could look ok one moment and not the next. No harm done to just do it. He also said that my surgery looked great. Nothing wrong with how it was done at all. Now it would be up to me for the next 4 weeks or so to see how it all holds. I follow up with him in 4 weeks and if I feel good, I will just meet him in his office, unless I still have concerns, in that case we will schedule another scope to be sure everything is still a-o-k. He said I should remain off of work for the next 2 to 4 weeks, I got a note for only 2 and have an appt with my Family Dr on June 1st to follow up with blook work etc as he will be sending her all of my information to keep an eye on me too. I just feel 2 weeks will be plenty to get me back on my feet, and if I feel I can go back sooner, I just have to call my Dr. to get an ok to go back to work. We will see, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself just yet. My diet is starting back a bit, I am on soft liquids like soups etc for this week and then next week I can start with eggs etc and add one extra food at a time and see how it goes. I got some boost JUICE not milky drinks that I am going to use to supplement my diet as well. I prayed so much for an answer and for someone to help me and really feel optimistic that this Dr. really has by best interest at heart and he is truly my hero. He said we would get it figured out one step at a time, if this didn't work, we wouldn't stop until we found something. Just a super person. As I am sure you can tell, I feel better mentally big time. Physically, I am still weak, but Derek and I walked together and I am just going to persist with what the nutritionists/dieticians suggest and make my life the best it can be. I feel like I have my life back again, just have to drink a lot and keep on eating, which I feel is doable now.   I have told my family that it will take time again, but now we just need to be thankful things are going in the right direction now and I can soon begin to enjoy my new life.   Thanks again for all the encouragement and support. Hopefully it's all uphill from here on out! erin :amen:
Erin92

Erin92

1
kssunflower's Blog
 

Esophageal problems

I had my lapband in March of 2007, I have lost 100 lbs and I was 61 when I had the surgery. In the last year I have continually been having problems with my esophagus burning, lots of phelgm, purge some, I never had this problems before. Im just hoping its not caused by my lapband, I have heard on tv that it is one of the side effects, would like to hear from some of you that it has been at least a couple years since your lapband.
kssunflower

kssunflower

0
kssunflower's Blog
 

Esophageal problems

I had my lapband in March of 2007, I have lost 100 lbs and I was 61 when I had the surgery. In the last year I have continually been having problems with my esophagus burning, lots of phelgm, purge some, I never had this problems before. Im just hoping its not caused by my lapband, I have heard on tv that it is one of the side effects, would like to hear from some of you that it has been at least a couple years since your lapband.
kssunflower

kssunflower

1
ChoseLife's Blog
 

Week 4 Solid Foods

In the past week I have only lost 4 pounds. I now weigh 350.2. Solid foods are a bit more difficult than I expected. When I eat solids I chew till there isn't much left but even than I still get the pain in between my shoulder blades and I have to stop eating. I am not getting much food down. I find myself sticking to mushy foods because they give me more comfort. Tuna salad, egg salad. meat sauce, cottage cheese , applesauce and shakes are about the only things I feel comfortable eating. A friend told me I should try eating lunch meats because they are already sliced thin. I think I am going to try this approach. My new goal is to lose 10 pounds before June 4th. with 17 days I think that is a managable goal.
ChoseLife

ChoseLife

4

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