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I like to think that If someone is in pain I feel Empathy for that person and will do all I can to help. Since being Banded in 09 I've researched allot online and gone to numerous sites that promote forums for the Band. But the Thing that occurs consistently is the Lack of compassion for others If your going through a tough time, or went through it, SHARE your experience, research, or humor ( it goes along way to heal) about that experience. The people needing help don't always know the right thing to do, or questions to ask. Maybe their Doctor wasn't "the Best", and who's to judge? Do any of us really know all their is about our Health care professionals, or about the band? No, I think Not. NO ONE PERSON has ALL the answers to LIFE or surgery Negativity only breeds MORE Negativity. If someone said, you may only post FACTS, your experience is then irrelevant, and Thus, there is No need for forums like this, because we would only be able to view "The Facts" as presented by the manufactures, doctors, scientists, and researchers and then must take that as Fact. I personally believe Life experiences are more fact based at times than anything else but that is just my opinion ( and Yes I know we all have one ) Unfortunately, it's not only online that compassion has been lost, society as a whole seems lacking as well.. I guess I'll continue to listen to the little voice inside that keeps saying "If you can't say anything nice Don't say anything at all" Because I don't know everything, ( I've yet to meet someone that does) and I surely don't know what the Other person is going through right now..so I wish them, and You Well......

I had my surgery on May 23rd and today is my 4th day post-op. I was extremely calm before the surgery. I wasn't feeling any anxiety or fear at all but ooh boy, then it hit. After I was sitting home trying to gulp down my disgusting protein shake, I just started to sob. What have I done? I love food and now I can't touch it. Will it ever get better? Logically I know that it will but when I get like this I feel so helpless. Then of course my mind starts to wonder - I'm 30 years old, single, no love prospects. I broke it off with my boyfriend on my 30th birthday because I was tired of the drama yet here I am, wondering if I dial him with my caller ID off will he know it's me? So ridiculous! It's amazing how the beginning of this journey is bringing so many emotions that I thought I wouldn't have to deal with. I just want to say that reading the forums has been a tremendous help. You guys are some of the most positive people I have ever come across and you're truly an inspiration. I know you don't know me from Adam but you've been a tremendous help. And for that, I thank you.

Wow that is beautiful and you are truly an inspiration to us all. congratulations on your awesome 50 lb loss, I wish you all the best.

You are an amazing and beautiful person. I wish you & your husband the very best. He is blessed to have you as his wife. Congrats on the 50 lb success!

Dylan- My hubs is my everything, I love him as much as I love to breath. He is the best thing that happened to me, but I think my MIL worries because she doesn't get so see us often so she doesn't Know what is going on. Each time we see her I think she gets a little more comfortable with me, she is sweet, but I just have this desire to please her.

I am so sick of playing by the band rules; I just want to break one or two of them. Eat a big huge meal, take big bites, or wolf food down in ten minutes flat. Wish I could have a break and not think about my food choices, my portion size, how I eat, my water intake, and exercise, ugh…. Calgon take me away! Do you feel that way some days? I’m sure we all do. So how do we get past this? There are some who have reached their goal and have been maintaining for years. They say they think like a thin person. They never think of food. Will I ever be like that? I reached my goal in December and have been maintaining since then. Has it been easy? NO. It has been the most difficult part of my journey so far. But, I won’t give up because I look in the mirror and I really like the person that looks back at me. So, I will continue to play the game. I will make health food choices, take small bites (hubby calls them band-bites), drink water and exercise. I will do this for the rest of my life because I am worth it!

I was also sleeved on the 21 of may. However, I live in Stockholm Sweden and we were supposued to be 4 ladies operated on that day but one was cancelled and I think it had to do with the fact that her blodpressure was to high, or maybe she chickend out. It was so easy, first night, discomfort and some nausea and from then on it got better fast. I am sitting with a bowl of tomato soup and enjoying life. I am so happy I went through this. Lets go back to the part of the lady that didn´t go throug with the op. The day before we were all in the clinic to do all the testing and while we were sitting in the waiting room a sleever came in. This was a woman who had had her surgery a month ago. She was so mad that she couldn´t eat or drink properly. She started to tell us a horror story about her surgery and how awful it was and how much pain she was in. The poor lady was so scared that she told me she was thinking of bailing out, and i guess later she did. So my point is this, be prepared for anything and everything but you need to know that your decision to do the operation comes from within you and is not to be messed with.

What your feeling is normal, we have all been there and the feelings are pretty over whelming in the beginning. I was what I call very prepared for the surgery but nothing prepared me for the emotional rollercoaster ride I had for the first few weeks and month after surgery. I went through a period of time, I morned food. I never thought I would every be able to get all those calories down and felt I would live on shakes for the rest of my life. Enjoy your band and allow yourself some time to adjust to the new life. Good luck!

The weight loss all depends on the person. I'm dropping weight like a wild man averaging more than 5 pounds per week. I also workout 7 days a week for at least 45 minutes a day. Today I worked out for nearly 2 hours. Of course the higher your initial BMI is the faster you are going to lose. I know what you mean about looking in the mirror and seeing a bigger person looking back a you. I've lost 12 inches from my waistline and dropped 2 shirt sizes. My mind still hasn't been able to comprehend that :-)

I've been feeling really good about my progress lately, not just the weight loss, but also my physical abilities and what i can now accomplish. I had taken the day off from work yesterday and decided to reward myself. I went to the movies and saw GI Joe 2. I know I shouldn't have bought the popcorn, but I did and just got the smallest size. The sales girl tried to get me to buy the size bigger (she was just doing her job) and although I would have loved it, I refused because I knew I couldn't eat that much and didn't want to take it home with me only to finish it off later. Then she asked the bigger question, do you want butter on that? I said yes (even though I know how bad it is), but I didn't ask her to put some in the middle as I would have before surgery. Ohhhhh....how yummy it was. Half way through the movie and I had only eaten half the bag. I put it down to stop myself from getting sick. I later picked it back up and ate a little more. I had to put it back down again because it was making me feel sick. The movie was almost over and I had the urge to use the bathroom. So glad I was able to finish the movie before rushing out, although I could have waited for this movie to come out on DVD. Not worth the money, even though I did see it in 3D. On my way home, I decided that I was going to make this a "cheat" day for myself. I stopped at my favorite Teriyaki place and got some spicy chicken teriyaki. I also stopped at the local produce stand and got some fruits for the week and vegitables for the soup I planned to make for the weekend. By the time I got home, I was hungry, so I started eating some of the chicken. I didn't touch the rice because I know I shouldn't be eating it, even though this is my cheat day. I probably ate about 4 or 5 pieces of the chicken and had to stop. That chicken ended up being 3 meals for me. Yes, I did eat it again for dinner and the rest of it this morning for breakfast. So, what I'm finding that even though I want to try to eat some of the things that I used to before surgery, I'm still applying some of the teachings my nutritionist taught me, by habit and not from guilt of what I'm eating. I also weighed myself this morning and I'm down 3 pounds, which made me not feel so bad about eating things that aren't so good for me yesterday. I did realize that even though the popcorn tasted amazing, I probably will try it without the butter next time I go to the movies (I don't do it very often). I also realized that the teriyaki that I used to love doesn't taste as good now. Lastly, I know that it's okay to treat myself once in a while and knowing that I still can apply what I've learned to my choices, I still can do it without feeling guilty providing that it's on a rare occasion. Today, I am back on my schedule of making good choices (minus the teriyaki breakfast). By the way, I did eat my normal breakfast for lunch. I'm feeling good, possitive and happy and can't wait to see/feel the changes that will happen through out the next year. =)