JerseyGirl80

Don't be disgusted with yourself, we all go through this. If you find you are eating more, then yes, I'd say you need a fill. It happens to me too, I have good restriction for a while, then I'll be able to eat more and gain a few (which is where I am right now) then I get a fill and start to lose again. It's what our bands are there for, if we could do it ourselves without any restriction we wouldn't have gotten it in the first place. Don't beat yourself up, get your fill and just keep going. You haven't been banded very long, it sometimes takes a while to find good restriction, be patient, and keep seeing your doctor for fills as needed. I know for me I need a fill every 2months, if not I'll be able to eat anything and everything, I constantly need to be on top of my adjustments. Good luck!

LOL I love this stuff.. Congratulations!

The few problems you have and your family history may be a big help. I'm glad you found a doctor and staff that you are comfortable with, that's very important. I love my doctors and their entire staff are wonderful.. One tip, your doctor can answer all your questions the best but the one thing our doctors can't answer (unless they are a patients themselves) is what it's like to have a band on a daily basis, what swallowing, getting stuck, feeling full ect really feel like with a band. My doctor talked to me about this, she actually asked me to please explain all of it to her in full detail, she admitted to me that she can get frustrated not being able to truely answer certain things because they just cannot be answered unless you've experienced it. So for every question you ask your doc, you ask us here on this site too, you'll be amazed with the things you will learn. Good luck with everything! I got my fingers crossed for you!

It took me about a month before I felt comfortable sleeping on my belly, but everyone's different, some sooner, some needed more time. Sex positions haven't had to be altered because of my port, it's the same as always. After I healed the port hasn't gotten in my way during sex or any other time, I forget it's there for the most part. I have port pain occasionally when the weather changes suddenly or when it's cold and damp out, but none is sex related.

My doc numbs the area with a spray, it generally doesn't hurt, it's just a pinchy feeling. Although my doctor had a hard time finding my port the first time due to scar tissue, it hurt, I won't lie, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. It took 3 painful tries that first time which made me not want a second fill, but since then it's been easy breezy and not painful at all.

I guess it's kinda common sense but this was a little confusing to me too. But right after my surgery, before I went home, I asked the post-op nurse what "clear liquids" meant exactly. She said "any liquid you can see through" she said, water, jello, sugar free ice pops, chicken broth/stock (low sodium low fat is pretty see through) and sports drinks like gatorade (I love the low calorie ones, I lived on them my first month post-op, I still drink them during work outs and after fills). No thick fluids like creamy soups/protein shakes or anything you can't see through, like coffee or milk I would assume.

26lbs is awesome, congratulations!

Everyone is different, every doc suggests different things. I would consult your doctor or nutritionist about this. But for me, I'm not a big soup eater, but when I'm in a restuarant and I'm feeling that I might be a little too tight to eat my meal, or if I just really want soup, I'll order a cup of it as an appetizer (I don't always finish it) for me I find that the hot liquid opens me up just enough to be able to eat some of my meal on my tight days. I use this "technique" while dining out because the last thing I want to happen is to have a "stuck" episode in a restaurant. It's happened to me before and it sucked, big time. My nutritionist told me to avoid Soups because they are pretty much wasted calories just like drinking beverages that are high calorie, the soup goes right through and really isn't very filling (for me anyway). Creamy ones are usually high in fat and calories and the others like chicken noodle for example, are similar to eating and drinking, the broth can flush the food through quicker which can cause you to keep eating. The point of our bands is to eat things that will take a while to digest/pass threw the band so we stay full. So I try to limit how often I have soups, I don't eat them as my actual meal. if you are going to eat soup, I'd limit the broth and eat most of the gurth of the soup, like the meat and veggies so that this will keep you full for a longer period of time. Hope this helps! Good luck

2 weeks after surgery I hurt myself taking out the garbage so I got scared.. I ended up waiting a month for sexy time to start up again, my tummy just hurt too much and I didn't want to pull anything. It may be TMI, but after 62lbs lost it has gotten better, easier, a little more creative and more frequent.. I actually want it more now LOL.. It feels good to not feel like a total pig fighting under a blanket anymore..

You mean a 6month pre-op diet? It depends on your insurance and/or your doctor. I was on a semi-diet that was given to me by my nurtrionist for 3 months. She went over what I should eat and how, which was very similar to how I ate anyway from doing years of Weight Watchers, so it wasn't a very hard transition for me. My 3 months of "diet" was really practice, practice of eating slower, practicing my chewing and taking smaller bites, trying to not drink while eating, picking healthier food while dining out and at home, and not eating BAD fast foods (which has always been my drug of choice). This part of my "pre-op dieting" was VERY important. I think everyone needs this kind of practice, it was only then that I really realized what I was getting into, and made the post-op part much easier. I wasn't starving and was allowd to make my own choices, which to me was realistic. Some doctors require certain types of diets, luckily I didn't have to do a 2 week liquid diet before surgery or do any kind of crazy meals plans, which it seems, almost everyone has had to. You would have to dicuss this with your surgeon to see what he requires of his patients. Most of us have been on lots of diets over the years and have lost tons of weight only to gain it back and then some over and over once we start eating "normal" again. Gimmick "diets" don't work, we have to find a healthy balance. The band teaches us a new way of eating, teaches us to adapt to our new "stomachs" this is what helps us lose the weight and keep it off. It's a life long way of eating, it's not supposed to be about starvation or deprivation, it's just a whole knew way of thinking and eating. Good luck to you!

sugar free Jello chocolate pudding pops (I've seen them in store brand too) these are really good and usually about 60 or 70 calories. Weight Watchers also make HUGE chocolate fudge ice bar/pop things, sooo good. Diet hot chocolate is usually what I go to when I need something sweet. I'm not a big sweet person but I do keep some of the different Weight Watcher Desserts and or ice creams on hand for when I'm in need of something sweet. Skinny Cow also makes some good low cal treats in small portion containers. There are always much healthy alternatives for our favorite treats, we just have to find them lol. Everything in moderation, I don't believe in deprivation. Treats are ok, just not all the time. P.S. I just had a snack size bag of peanut M&M's (there were only 6 or 7 in the bag lol), yes I'm a bad girl lol. But for 103 calories, on some days it's just worth it..

I'm not the type to let what people think bother me, but just now a co-worker said something that made me want to punch her straight in the face.. After complimenting me on my weightloss, she continues to go on about how the lapband doesn't work for long making it very clear that I'm going to gain all my weight back. (I know the risks and the general outcome of this surgery, I don't need some illiterate old bag telling me anything) anyway.. She said "You know it stops working right? I know someone and it stopped working for her after 2 years, she got fat again, but you look great." As if finishing with another compliment made what she said ok.. Trying to be nice (which is really hard for me to begin with) I just said "Well everyone is different, you have to keep getting filled and keep seeing your doctor, you can't just eat whatever you want and expect it to work". OMG if I was in a cartoon at that moment smoke would have been shooting out of my ears! lol I really wanted to tell her to go F**k herself. The woman has been against me getting surgery from day one, and has nothing but negative things to say about it. I kinda get the feeling like she looks at me with pity whenever we cross paths because she knows, or thinks she knows, that I'll gain all my weight back. The look on her face speaks a thousand words. I swear I'm reminded daily as to why I hate people!

Congratulations!

I guess they just don't get enough out of their own lives.

Thank you. This woman isn't worth me trying to educate her, she's just one of those know it all people that think they have so much life experience that they know more than anyone younger than them. She has reached her cap of knowledge, she cannot retain anything else because everything she thinks she knows is all there is to know, it's just not worth my time.

Thank you!

Thank you Kat!

Thank you Ro-Jae!

lol, no it's always funny, because I really do hate people as a general rule. I know it's really negative for me to feel this way and it may sound really bad to most people but too bad lol, I'm just being realistic. The majority of people in this world are too stupid to be allowed to breathe and I just can't be bothered with them. Some people are ok, at least the ones with something interesting or entertaining to say. This is probably why I don't care what people think and usually just laugh at them.. But this B***ch really rubs me the wrong way, I think it gets on my nerves because she's a co-worker and there's nothing I can do about it.

lol, I'd of loved too.. but I need my job. I doubt it's jealousy, she's thin and has never know what it's like to have a weight problem. It's also part of her judging me because "you can do it on your own, just don't eat as much and workout", most thin people always think it's that easy and I know she's thinking it too.

First of all congratulations on being banded and on all the weight you've lost so far.. I was very happy to enter my mushy stage as I couldn't stand just drinking and slurping cold sweet drinks and jellos anymore. It was quite exciting to even eat mashed potatoes or egg salad once I was able to.. How sad lol.. But anyway... Don't be bummed about not losing. You know it's time to heal, not lose, losing will come. People say this over and over again on here, you know you didn't gain the weight overnight, so don't expect to lose it overnight. Us that have had fills and have lost some good amounts of weight still have periods of time where we don't lose or we may even gain a few, you cannot let these little things get you down. It happens, it's just part of having a realistic goal and keeping the large amounts of weight off permanently. Keep your eye on the big picture. We've pressured ourselves, deprived ourselves and beat ourselves up lots of times on other "diets". This is your new life, take time to get to know your band and get used to it, in time it'll start working the way you want it to. And remember, some of us lose quickly, some slow, but as long as we are losing we are all successful at this. Good luck to you and be patient.

"Medically necessary" is basically a co-morbidity. The insurance companies are looking for a medical REASON as to why you need WLS, morbid obesity or a high BMI are not always enough of a reason for them. Some examples of medically necessary diagnosis' or co-morbidities are sleep Apnea, PCOS, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, and other cardiac or pulmonary conditions. They want proof that your weight is a threat to your health. Which is stupid because obviously weight is a threat to ones health! But if you do not have any other co-morbidities as of yet, they could deny you for this. Do you know for certain that you do not have sleep apnea? I didn't think I did because I didn't have any of the common symptoms, but it turned out that I did have mild sleep apnea after taking a sleep study (which was a requirement for me). My family history of diabetes, high blood pressure and my PCOS and Sleep Apnea helped with my insurance approval. They also wanted PROOF that I had been overweight for at least 2 years, the only thing they recongnized as actual proof were my medical records from my OBGYN. My weight history from Weight Watchers meant nothing. Also, I didn't need to be referred from my PCP, I went straight to finding a surgeon and was still approved after my medical history was submitted to insurance. To insurance companies if it's not on paper (medical records), it didn't happen or it just doesn't exist. So not really having much of a medical history might be a problem. I don't know what your insurance requires (they're all different) but be prepared for anything, things can get quite messy. But hopefully things will go smoothly for you. Good Luck!

Go to, My Settings - Settings tab - Notifications Options. Incase someone else needs it..

Thank you Cindy, normally I could give a crap about what people say or think, this just really pissed me off today! Thanks for the support. I guess it's the nay sayers that keep me going, I have nothing to prove to anyone but myself, but it'll sure feel good when I can rub it in her face once I get to goal! (Hopefully!lol)