jennifer1

with my experiences with my band and being too tight and not tight enough..my 5th fill i told my surgeon how much i wanted in my band. he did just that and i have great restriction. i think after a while you kinda know where you need to be

Thanks everyone for letting me know I am not crazy I neither is my band. It's good to know I am not alone in this is normal. I am happy about my 8 pound lost.. yes I just hit on december 12th. I will take the advice of drinking a little before I eat.. thanks again everyone. I love my lap band family.:-)

my surgery was done out patient. so i was home by that time. i stopped to get pain meds and i'm sure i looked ridiculouse walking around the store hanging on to the cart! LOL i slept mostly, and i had company, but they were babying me so i didnt mind the company! LOL

i hear different things about her and the band. if she had or has one she looks great!

people tell me i look like her and i just say i'm the j hud before weight watchers, working on the after pic!LOL

i have heard the same comment and why dont you just stop eating and use some self control! WELL WHY DIDNT I THINK OF THAT instead of risking my life having major surgery, taking off work, being in pain, not eating "normal food" for almost 2 months! People can be soooo insensitive and retarded at times. I wish I hadnt told some of the people I did. Who can live on drinking liquids only, are they serious! Still to this site and you'll get plenty of support, some will even give you a verbal cyber hand slap when needed! LOL! this site helped me get thru my first few months. feel free to check out my blog(although i havent been good at keeping it up lately) or inbox me with any questions. Best wishes hun!

jennifer

sorry for the late response everyone, i hadnt been on in a while. THANK YOU SOO MUCH FOR ALL THE LOVE AND ENCOURGEMENT! i made it thru thanksgiving without eating out of control and didnt gain weight. well that dec 5th appointment was cancelled by the doc and rescheduled for the 12. so 2 more days!!!! surprizingly i have lost 5 pounds during this 6 week nightmare of no restriction and i do believe i owe that to working out.

and melinda..yeah i didnt wanna hear the self control part, but i needed to and thanks for saying that!

i did post a whole new entry in my blog recently, but it disappeared! ugh! so i thought i'd just update here.

THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

Lady T it's almost here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would suggest you give yourself some more time before getting another surgery. it's only been 4 months. i'm 7 months out and i'm not where i thought i would be either, but i also have had 4 fills 2 unfills, just havent found my green zone. are you following up with your appointments and getting fills? are you in the green zone, working out? not trying to badger you, just want you to give it more time.

just my 2 cents

jennifer

i still am trying to get to my green zone after 4 fills and 2 unfills. i do know that it is different for everyone. at 7.5 cc's i was good, then i needed a fill 9cc's and 8cc where too tight, so he took me back down to 6cc's, which is not enough. this part of the band is very frustrating, i've heard it takes some people 5-6 fills to hit the green zone, so i'm praying my next one does it for me.<br>jennifer<br>

same here....sooooooo freustrated

i am crying reading this post. thank you so much for posting. i am almost 6 months out and feel like a failure. yes i have gone from a size 20 to 16, but the scale is a different story, plus i've have 4 fills and 2 unfills, now awaiting my 5th fill, which i cant get until dec 5th, which means i have to go through the holiday with a wide open band!!!!ugh! i have thyroid issues too, yeah i would get so pissed at people that were like yeah i lost 60 pounds in the first 6 months. i was so angry saying why couldnt that be me! i was happy for them but pissed it wasnt me.

thanks for the post, it made me feel better.

jennifer

i wanted to ask you how do you define "restriction" i know i had the wrong idea of what it was. i thought i would be able to eat like 3 teaspoons of protein and feel like i was gonna throw up if i ate another bite...well to my surprize that's not was restriction is. lol

i found out the hard way that true restriction isnt necessarily about how much you eat, but about how long you are satiated between meals. sometimes before i got restriction i would be hungery like 2 hours later. now i can go anwhere from 4-6 hours before i am truley hungry and not just "head hungry". (boy is that a hard lesson to learn as well.)

I feel your frustration on the weight gain to,. i was about to jump off a bridge whenever i gained one pound! but i've figured out that my weight is gonna fluctuate a few pounds and now i just focus on how my clothes fit.

Hope something i said helps.

Keep up the good work.

Jennifer

i'm jumping on the band wagon with you! i have the working out down pat, it's the making better food choices and getting my water in that's a challenge. even though i'm 4 months out i think my mind is still mad about that pre-op liquid diet and doesnt wanna drink liquids anymore! LOL but i've got to do better

i decided to only tell a very few select people about my band. those that had something negative to say i just no longer discuss it with them PERIOD! this my journey and no one else. EVERYBODY ELSE CAN JUST KICK ROCKS!!!

yes you will have some swelling but you should be able to get liquids down. i would call your doc and see if you need a slight unfill, you dont want to get dehydrated. just my 2 cents

sometimes just saying out loud(well typing..lol) helps you feel better. i understand where you're coming from though!

side bar...you pic is gorgeous!

wow you go girl!!!

yeah i still have a few friends who dont agree with me getting the band, but i have not had any complications other than self induced(not chewing well/eating too fast...leading to sliming and vomiting.) But going from a size 20 to a 16 in 3 months i'm totally happy. i feel like some people who know i'm banded totally watch me when i'm eating . I still havent told a lot of people and some are wondering what i'm doing and i tell them portion control and i work out 2-3 days alone and 2 days with a trainer. so it's not easy, but i'm doing it. congrats on your loss so far! keep up the good work

i totally feel you on the scrubs. i started in 2X's and now in XL..can fit a L but might get arrested if i leave the house wearing them! congrats!

i'm glad i saw this post. i have had 3 fills and was thinking about going in for a small one. my scale just will not go past the 20 pound mark(banded may20th) and it's soooooooooooooooo frustrating. on the other hand i have gone from size 20 to size 16 so that's the only thing that keeps me off the ledge! LOL

i feel your pain. my insurance excludes all WLS! it pisses me off that Medicaid will pay for it! WTH!!!! ugh! but i didnt let that stop me. i took out a low interest credit card, took on some extra weekend work and that's the ONE bill i dont mind paying every month!! lol

I'm assuming when you mean off restriction you mean once you go thru all the phases of liquids, mushies and soft foods. well you can really eat what you want, but of course healthy choices are encourgaged. I was told i wouldnt be able to eat certain foods, but everyone's band is different and the band itself changes what it tolerates some times. my list of no no's is slowing growing but right now it's carbonated beverages, steak, chicken breast(no matter how moist or how much i chew) and i just added rice to that list. I am able to eat bread although it's harder to go down and i just figured out today that certain french fries(yeah i know not a good choice) arent my friend anymore. My band is kind of fickle and some days it tolerates things better than others. Unfortunatlely you will learn by trial and error. Once you get stuck on a food, trust me you will have NO PROBLEM not eating it again! LOL! hope this helps.

i have to same problem with slowing down eating...congrats on the jeans!!!! my weight on the scale doesnt seem to be moving but i'm down to a 16 from 20's so i gotta be doing something right! LOL! Keep up the great work!

here here! i am right there with you. i am almost 3 months out and i'm stuck between 17-20 pounds lost! wth!!! i lost 15 on the pre-op diet! ugh!!!1 soooo frustrating. i work out with a trainer 2x's a week and another 2x's on my own. i've gotten stuck and slimed several times as well. sometimes i feel like i dont have a band and sometimes i do. i'm so embarrassed that i havent lost more by now, but i have lost clothing sizes. froma 18/20 to a 16...i just dont understand why the scale is going the wrong way, but my clothes tell me different. i know they say muscles weighs more, but could i be gaining that much muscle. really! i was contemplating another fill i'mat 7.5 cc's, but i'm going to wait it out. i've been told in the beginning you will lose more inches than pounds.. well hell how long is the "beginning" going to last! ugh! i feel your frustration!

great job ms. lady i was wondering how you were doing!