AmyH33

oh no bless your heart, I too had that.....OMG the pain....had surgery over a year ago have mostly good days now, alot had to do with my weight, but even being 70lbs lighter i still have to be careful.....best of luck to you

The band DOES have a mind of its own, my last fill was May, i have days that i can eat and other days that nothing stays in, I go 9/19 for another fill, i can say that the weight loss has stopped only 10lbs in 4 months, but it is a loss so i will not complain!!

It is really GREAT to see this positive feedback! Thank you so much! I am in the process of approval for it and I was getting nervous because all you see are the troubles people have. (which is great to know about too...as long as the good follows)

was going to say dont be nervous but you will be anyway.....follow your doctors instructions DONT CHEAT....i know i know.......its hard its a lifestyle change...i didnt cheat AT ALL for the 2 week pre op diet, have cheated many times after surgery but havent had a soft drink since December.....craved one yes, but drank one NO! You will feel AMAZING once the weight starts to come off, you will be amazed at the things you can do again, like squat down, bend over to tie your shoe, not to mention things in the bedroom, when YOU feel good about you that will be passed on :-) Best of luck on your lifestyle change

I also was banded June 29, 2009. I have kept off 110 pounds and just had a "Nip and Tuck". I feel great and Like the others I too would do it again. It has change my life and I will now live longer and healthier. Best wishes to everyone and follow the rules. imaluckydog

would love a nip and tuck when i get to my goal, i stand in the mirror and pull and tug and say oh yeah, bless my hubbys heart for loving me the way i am saggy skin and all......

I GOT MY BAND DEC 14TH 2010 :0) I WOULD ALSO DO THIS AGAIN IN A HEART BEAT. I LOVE LOVE LOVE THE LAP BAND LOL. DRAMATIC I KNOW BUT I HAVE LOST 60LBS AND I FEEL AND LOOK GREAT! I HAVE 30 MORE TO GO!! NOT BAD AT ALL! HOW MUCH HAVE YOU LOST?

i cant believe how much better i feel and that i am a "size" 16...from my highest weight i have lost 70lbs

good luck guys! I was banded 12/30/10, BEST thing you could have ever done for yourselves! Please remember this is a LIFESTYLE CHANGE not a DIET. You MUST be ready to change how you did everything in the past this is not a miracle band, not a fix all, please please please do yourself a favor and if you have ANY issues that made you over eat, something that happened in your past, PLEASE seek help for it, if you dont deal with your past you are at risk for slipping back into old habits. I wish you the BEST, it really is worth it, i promise! You will have bad days, you will have days that you will say what did i do? Let me tell you, you saved your own life, stick with it, do what your doctor says, you will be SO happy with the decision that you made!

oh no no no girl, 70lbs? Hell yeah! banded 12/30/10, I too am down 70lbs, just told myself today, yep that fat girl is still in there cause i was stuffing my face with cheetos...ugh! remeber it didnt take you over night to gain the weight its not gonna come off over night either. Look back at the photos of you 70lbs ago and then it will click. My daughter just commented today as she was looking at our album, wow mom you have lost alot of weight, that doesnt even look like you. Keep your head up, you have come this far to turn back....set small goals, dont look at the "big" picture, you can do this!!

it is so funny to hear others with their panty stories. I too finally broke down and bought some new ones, 60lbs later and my panties was sagging. May have gotten the new ones a little too small, but they do their job. Cant seem to find a bra. Good luck! and keep it up

60 lbs..........you are 5 pounds up on me. Had surgery day after yours. Best thing I ever did. I have never lost so much weight on any diet I have ever been on. Tool is the word for this band. It is not the easy way out like some people think but it sure does help. Congrats to you and don't it feel great when your underwear is too big for ya????

Judy

underwear that fall as you walk, bras that have so much room in the cups that I could fit 2 breasts in there lol, pants that you can take off without unbuttoning....feels AWSOME!!!!! Never ever have i ever lost weight on any "diet" that i didnt gain back. I am over joyed that I weigh less now than I did when i was 9 months pregnant w/ baby # 2 12 yrs ago! haha stupid fat take that!!

I hear Amy. I am 10 months post op and I say almost eeryday that this is still a struggle. I have a huge weakness for ice cream so I have to take it one day at a time. If I stick the the low carbs I do great! I have lost almost 130 lbs. I try to ride my bike about 20 miles each day. You are so right about the life style change. This band is only a tool but can really be abused if the person isn't ready for the change. I know a few people that have started to gain weight back. I can't say that I will never be right back where I was but I sure am going to try to stay strong. I wish you well.

as you know everyday is another day to screw up or kick it in the butt, its our choice, yes we have bad days, but we signed up for this and we CAN DO IT

Hi AmyH

I am going in for my lapband next week. Sounds like it is a little harder but good for you at the hard work you are doing. I know of a person that got it down a mth ago and she is drinking beer already. To me that defeats the whole purpose. I went into some of the chat rooms and started to get nervous about doing the lapband and not the sleeve. To be honest those surgeries scare me. I am about 80-85 pounds overweight. I think it's good for us to know that we still need to apply the right eating and get some exercise. Sounds to me like you have done awesome. That is more then 10 pounds a month! Congratulations. Be proud of yourself!

one piece of advise STAY OUT OF THE CHAT ROOMS!! For me, they were negative, yes, we talked about lap bands, sex, everything under the sun, but you have people in there who have met their goal, got thier plastic surgery, and still are unhappy. I didnt need that negative energy, so for me chat rooms are a no no.

Stay in touch would love to know how it goes for you. good luck!

Yeah for you Amy but so sorry about leaning over the sink. That part is tough but we all go thru it because we just have to have that last bite and then your too full. Our surgery dates are one day apart and I am down 55lbs and lots more to go and when that person that you have not seenin a while says ....wow, you have lost weight, you look good..........yep, it is worth it. And when you can bend over just to cut your toe nails, yep it is worth it....and so on and on and on. This week was the first week that I did not loose a any weight but that is ok, I will work harder for the next weigh in day.......Fridays.

I have 5.5cc and I think I am at my sweet spot because I have lots of restriction. I eat yogurt first thing in the morning and I have to eat it slow because it gurgles on the way down. My husband says I sound like a clogged drain. It does make lots of noise....LOL Have a good day and think skinny and yes it is worth it.

Judy

I had another fill on 5/23, I think it is a bit too much, it was fine when I left but more times then not i end up in the bathroom. I am too stubborn to go back any earlier then my next appointment on 6/27 to have an unfill. I hope my stubborness doesnt cost more in the end. As long as liquids can make their way down I think i will be ok?? Maybe I will try the yogurt, all i know is that my brain hasnt caught up with my tummy cause sometimes my head would love to be able to sit down like all these other people and clean my plate......but then the lapband brain kicks in and says see you dont need all that. I am the one walking out of the establishment feeling good while the others are overstuffed and miserable. For the first time in a very long time I can cross my legs, i see bones that I didnt know i had lol, fit into a size 16 that i havent seen since before kids, and finally weigh less than my husband!! One last thing, it hit me the other day, what happens when i have met my goal? oh my it will then be up to me to maintain it on my own, SCARY.

Best of luck to you, keep us updated

the liquid diet will test your will power, i can say for 14 day i didnt cheat not one time, and this was during Christmas, amazed myself and my family that I stuck to it. Knowing what you have coming is SO worth it!

What i can tell you and I dont want to be negative, but it is a possibility, after you can eat again u may try a "no no" food and be like oh that went down, so maybe i will try something else. DONT DO IT, it is the beginning of a very slippery slide. Example the other day i really thought i need a piece of candy, reminder, just because you had the surgery and made your tummy smaller your head still thinks it can do what it did before, so instead of eating 1 piece i ended up eating 25 pieces, yes 25 "fun size" pieces. There was NO fun in that but I couldn't stop. I felt so guilty that i did a 2 day liquid diet to "punish" myself. Just remember stay positive, set obtainable goals, and your weight gain didn't happen over night and neither will the weight loss. All the struggles and fighting is SO SO worth it. Keep in mind the big pictire. I have lost 37lbs since my 12/30/10 surgery, 56lbs since my highest weight and I FEEL SO MUCH better!! I wish you the best of luck and stay strong!

thank you all for the words of encouragement. I know that some says its hour by hour, i know this is what i am supposed to be doing and I know this is what He has planned for me, I tried to get the lapband years ago and i was so upset when i didnt get approved, i jumped thru all the hoops again and left it in Gods hands and said if this is what you have in store for me then it will all work out, and it did. So I know for a fact I am doing what I am suppose to be doing, I am a huge believer in everything happens for a reason and you are where you are in life for a reason. Going for fill # 3 on 4*11*11 will update.....

Wow, you are doing great. My surgery was the 31st and only down 36 lbs with NO excerise. So I guess that is not too bad. I have a bad foot so I can only exercise my upper body which it gets boring. My foot is getting better so I hope when I get back to the gym my weight will go down faster. I am old and have noticed the saggy skin under by chin which is gross but 36 lbs is great for me. Usually I loose 30 and start to gain it all back plus another 10 lbs so I am feeling good about myself. Congrats to you and keep up the good work.

Judy

Congrats to you too! Anything that is a minus is good in my book! I was one that never lost then gained, it was always gain gain gain, UGH! So I am super happy with the progress. I cant tell you how much better i feel emotionaly and physicaly.

sorry to hear you are having a bad time. If i ever have to smell broth again i will puke. My diet is meats, cheeses, and dark leafy greens. I live off of eggs, turkey bacon and sasuage, sliced turkey from the deli, mayo, mustard, and dark leafy salads. This is a lifestyle change, its not an easy one, but it is well worth it. Try soem different spices, Thyme, garlic, etc. I hope you can find you "sweet spot" and things turn around for you. Good luck keep us posted.

he said .3, i know it isnt enough because i was eating 8oz before and can still do that, I was so nervous from hearing all the horror stories on here about over fill that i talked myself into thinking i couldnt swallow the water as he was doing the fill, lesson learned, go back in 4 weeks, but i have lost 5 lbs since thursday. What a learing experience banding is lol.

that is the truth, everyday is a new day to learn regardless of when you were banded, that is why i am very glad that i found this forum.

its amazing how quick your body will adjust, i thought for the first week OMG what did i do to my body, but then you get into a routine and your body catches up with your mind, and before you know it you feel like a humman again!!

Do you have a diet plan to follow that your MD gave you? I asked mine just last week how much of what he wanted me to get in, his response was drink, vitiamins, and follow your diet plan. If you follow the plan you will be ok. Here is a sample of my diets;

post op weeks 1-2: clear liquids only, sugar free popsicles, suger free jello, broth, if you can see through it you can have it NO Carbonated beverages ever

weeks 3-4 mushy stuff, like thined yogurt (the kind for diabetics) watered down grtis, thin oatmeal, protein shakes, each meal was 8oz

weeks 5 and beyond: meats, cheeses, dark leafy greens, tuna, fish,

please remember the band is a tool, there are ways around it, ways to eat things that you shouldnt, yes you will slip up sometimes, but always remember tomorrow is a new day and a new start, its easy 99% of the time, stay positive, keep your head up.

thanks guys! My goal is to have the scale go down, i havent set any numbers because i am afraid that if i dont make it then i will get down on myself etc etc....i feel SO much better, my cloths are fitting better, so i know its working. I go up 4 flights of stairs without stopping, might not be able to breath at the top but i dont have to stop in between floors anymore!! Hey I just set a goal, going up the stairs and not being out of breath by the time i get to my floor!

thanks roseyposey how is it going with you

More good days than bad Thank You God! positive attitude is just as important as following your diet and exercise routine.

congratulations!! I was banded 12/30/10, i also had the 2 week pre op diet, remember that all doctors are different. I could have anything liquid. Water, loved vitiman water 0 calories, won ton soup without the won tons, onions, etc, diet soft drinks, sugar free popscicles, sugar free jello, anything that had calories was considered the "meal" and the items with NO calories in between, drink, drink, drink, and keep yourself busy! Keep us updated.