Msbandtastic

$14,000 which includes one year of follow up, fills, and 3 dietician visits. I live in a rural area and did not have a lot of options but I am not sorry one bit and I love my surgeon.

I am only six weeks post op so I can't speak to how hard it is going to be but there is no doubt in my mind that I will get there. I am very happy with my decision especially because getting the Gastric Bypass was never an option for me personally. The death rate with the Gastric Bypass was not acceptable to me. I weighed 273 pounds with a BMI of 49 but I had no co-morbidities. I could not see electing to get a surgery that might take me away from my children and having them know that it was my own choice. I remember one pro-Gastric Bypass doctor telling me that the death rate was no greater than the death rate for an Appendectomy. My response to him was that I personally did not know of anyone who had ever died from an Appendectomy but I personally have known or known of 5 separate people who have died as a result from complications from the bypass surgery. I am willing to put up with anything the Lapband throws at me and will not quit until I have reached my goal.

6:00 a.m; wake up and walk on treadmill 30 minutes. Drink 16 ounces of Water 8:00 a.m.; Breakfast (two eggs, laughing cow cheese melted in and two turkey sausage or Chobani Greek Yogurt and 1/2 banana) 9:00-11:00; drink 16 ounces of water and take Vitamin, Actigall, Calcium chew, and Fiber Gummie 12:00; lunch (2 - 4 ounces canned tuna, chicken, shrimp, crab, refried Beans, Soup, egg salad, etc.) 1:00 - 4:00 (drink 16 ounces of water) Between 3:00 - 4:00 (I will have a piece of string cheese if I feel hunger) 5:00; 30 minutes of yoga on the wii 6:00; dinner (chilli, crockpot meatballs, some sort of meat and small serving of vegetables 7:00 - 10:00; drink 16 ounces of water, take vitamin, Calcium chew, and Fiber gummie My lunch meals have to be easy and on the go so I can take them to work in a lunch box. I am trying to add variety to my dinner meals by going on this lap band website and my REALIZE band website for lap-band friendly recipe ideas. I try to prepare dinner meals (and sometimes lunch) ahead of time on Sundays and then freeze them up to use the rest of the week or later. 9:00; if I feel hunger, I will have a sugar free Jello pudding.

I am so sorry. This is terrible. I have never heard of this happening and hope you will get some replies so we can learn about it.

I was banded on October 13th and have lost 33 pounds. I had my first fill 11/29 and my surgeon put in 6cc. It was very weird because I literally did not feel a thing. I do not know if I have restriction because I can eat any size bite and don't necessarily chew well enough but have felt nothing resembling a stuck episode. I eat about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of food 3x/day and stop because I am done and not because I feel full. On the other hand, I do feel full about a half hour later and keep that full feeling until my next meal so I am very happy about that. For exercise, I walk on the treadmill 30 minutes 5x/week. I plan to start a gym membership in the next week or so so I can add some weight training.

My surgeon originally told me to cut out coffee and I did for six weeks and then I confronted him (in a nice way of course) and asked him to tell me the specific medical reasons I could not drink coffee. He got a grin on his face and said there really weren't any. I told him I would be drinking coffee the next day. I have discovered sugar free Coffeemate and it is delicious and only a few calories.

My surgeon originally told me to cut out coffee and I did for six weeks and then I confronted him (in a nice way of course) and asked him to tell me the specific medical reasons I could not drink coffee. He got a grin on his face and said there really weren't any. I told him I would be drinking coffee the next day. I have discovered sugar free Coffeemate and it is delicious and only a few calories.

My surgeon originally told me to cut out coffee and I did for six weeks and then I confronted him (in a nice way of course) and asked him to tell me the specific medical reasons I could not drink coffee. He got a grin on his face and said there really weren't any. I told him I would be drinking coffee the next day. I have discovered Sugar Free Coffeemate and it is delicious and only a few calories.

I have to admit that is a very strict list of no's. My doctor allows me to eat anything I can tolerate except he did say nothing from the grain group until I have lost 75 percent of my excess body weight which sounds suspiously like the Atkins or protein diet. I have issues with this because I have already done that diet and was very successful on it until the day I went off it (then gained it all back). I am going to follow his orders for now but hope to work towards being able to eat anything I decide; just in much smaller portions.

I am tolerating fluids great. What I was trying to say was that I won't know if I have restriction with the 6 cc's he put in until I start eating solids. My doctor wanted me to do liquids two days and then mushies two days and then solids so I won't know until this weekend. I certainly hope I will fill some restriction because I have been hungry all day on the liquids.

I got my first fill today and the doctor put in 6cc. I was a little shocked that he put in so much but glad too. I don't know if I have restriction because I am on liquids for two days and they are going down fine. I am also hungry! I guess I will know if it was a good idea in a couple days.

I do not even know this doctor, but I detest him. I hate his arrogant attitude. I can't believe that he would not think someone with a 65BMI was not a good candidate for the surgery. I wonder if he was not pro-gastric bypass surgery and trying to imply you would have a better chance with that surgery. When I went to my informational meeting, the doctor was very negative toward the lap band and tried to imply that the success rate was very low (this is certainly not true for a huge number of people on this site and I intend to be one of them). He even went so far as to say he won't even perform the lap band procedure. Needless to say, I went and found another surgeon. I refused to be pressured into a surgery I did not want. Please do not take what this doctor told you to heart. Find another surgeon. After reading all the stories on this site and watching all the vlogs on youtube, I believe people can be very successful with the lap band.

I had a weird experience. I am six weeks post op. For the last two weeks, the scale stayed exactly the same and I was eating between 800 - 1000 calories. I was only exercising 30 minutes/day. I had not had a fill (I got my first one today) and was starving. Anyway this week, I snapped and decided to eat Thanksgiving and then ended up eating it again in leftovers the next day. Back on track Sat and Sun. My weigh-in is every Monday. Today I had lost 5 lbs!!! I don't get it. My theory is that my body went into "starvation" mode and metabolism shut way down. The two days I ate shocked it into kicking back in. I have heard that some athletes do this kind of "interval" eating. I don't think it is something I want to rely on but it is nice to know that we can eat crazy once in awhile and it is not the end of the world. Also, just when you think the scale is never going to move, it does!

I am so sorry you are going through so much stress in your life right now. I wish you could have this time to focus completely on you and your weight loss journey. The end of a marriage is such a difficult time and if you are anything like me when you feel stressed or sad, that is when you want to eat. What am I saying? Also, when I feel happy, or angry, I want to eat. On a positive note, I can tell you have the sweetest daughter ever and you are losing weight (even though it might not be as easy or as fast as you would like). Keep up the good work and I wish you the best on your journey.

Please call your doctor. Something could be wrong and it is best to get it straightened out right away.

This is my first blog so I hope I am doing it right. I guess I will just start with an introduction? I got my band on 10/13. I did not have a pre-op diet. My insurance refused to pay for any WLS so I had to go self-pay which has been extremely difficult. My starting weight was 273 lb. I am embarrassed to say I gained 10 pounds after deciding to have WLS. I felt that every meal was my last and went hog wild. I am six weeks post op and have lost 33 pounds so far. Today was my first fill. It was very exciting. My doctor did not use anything to numb the site and I was terrified but then he stuck the needle directly into my port the first time. I DID NOT FEEL A THING! I find this very strange. I feel like I should have felt something, even if it was only a pricking sensation but I did not. He put in 6 cc and told me to be on liquids for 48 hours. I can't wait to eat food and see if I feel any restriction. Thank you for letting me share. I have been obsessively watching every youtube video and every blog on this site that I can get my hands on and finally got up the courage to make my own.

I am six weeks post op and just got my first fill today. It was amazing. At first I was scared because the doctor got out the needle and didn't bother to give me anything to numb it. I didn't feel a thing! I mean it. I couldn't even feel the needle go in. It was crazy. He put in 6 cc's. I was able to drink the water he gave me with no problems. I am on liquids for 48 hours so I have no idea if I am going to have restriction. I don't seem to have any with the liquid.

My doctor waits for six weeks after surgery to do the first fill. He wants the body to have time to heal. I agree with you that it has gotten really hard. I am six weeks post op and get my first fill today! I just keep reminding myself that this is for the rest of my life and to just be patient. It will happen.

I am the same way except it only takes me about ten minutes. This is definitely going to be one of my challenges. Bottom line is we are only eating a minimal amount of food and it just doesn't take that long to eat it. I have not had a fill yet so I am thinking that once I get some restriction I will be forced to eat slower and more carefully.

I am also new to this journey. (6 weeks post op). My experience was very strange. I went to my orientation in mid-September. They really pushed the gastric bypass but I was very clear with the doctor that that was not an option I would consider. The next day they talked to my insurance company and were told that they would not cover weight loss surgery under any circumstances. Two days later, I came into a $20,000 financial windfall. I felt that this was God or some higher power telling me I was on the right path and it was meant to be. I think because I was a cash patient, they pushed everything through. I had my psych eval, appointment with nutritionist and pre-op all the next week and had surgery on 10/13. I barely had time to take a breath or think about my decision. I did not have a pre-op diet other than being told I could not have anything to eat or drink for a day and a half before surgery. So far I have lost 28 pounds. I have to admit I am starving every minute and obsessing over my next meal. Looking forward to my first fill so some of this hunger goes away.

This is my first post ever. I have been watching every you tube video on lap banding and have gotten so much information from them. I feel that if I am going to take from these sites, I should also be willing to give. The problem is I don't know how to make a you tube video so I found this site. I do know how to type. I was banded on 10/13/10 so I am six weeks post op. I have not had my first fill yet. It is scheduled next week. I have lost 28 pounds so far. I am excited about my journey but also scared. I am most scared of failure or gaining my weight back. I am also scared of having loose skin, no boobs, and all my hair falling out by the time this is over. Time will tell. I will try to keep everyone posted on my progress.