jennifer1

congrats on your decision!!!!

i have the same mental battle as you. i was obsessed with the scale. i mean a couple of ounces gained would send me over the edge, questioning why i even got the surgery. i got banded may 20th and my weight loss hanges around 15-18 pounds. i just wanna hit 20 pounds for the love of GOD!!!!! and all things holy!!! i have decided for the next two weeks my focus is on eating right and working out and not the scale. i want to only weigh myself in 2 weeks. this is going to be a great challenge for me so i'm putting my scale in the trunk of my car so i dont have easy access to it. i know that may sound crazy but i need to do something. best wishes on your goals. we can and will do this!!!!

welcome to band land!!!!!! i wasnt hungry for 3 weeks so enjoy it while you can! lol

dont beat yourself up. i used the 2 week liquid diet as a guage for myself and i did get...but have i been 100% great since i've been banded! hayle naw!!!!lol! i'm not saying i'm just eating any and everything, but if i do desire something i make myself drink a bottle of water first and if i still want it then there you go.we have learned bad eating habits since childhood probably so dont feel like that issue is gonna go away in 14 days. relax girl. it's cool. just get back on track and keep moving. i dare to say there is ANYONE with a band that hasnt eaten something "not so good" and if they say they havent their lieing!!!! LOL best wishes to you!

welcome brandi. where in illinois are you getting your band? i had LT(lion tamer...my band's name) added to the family may 20th. feel free to ask questions. this is a great site with plenty of support!

thanks for the feedback. i had a salad for lunch today and i had to make my self eat real slow. i did notice that my band seems tighter and food was still getting a little stuck despite all my chewing. is it possible that a week after getting a fill it could be tighter? i'm not complaining cuz i lost 2 pounds since the fill and i'm still able to eat normal foods and not resorting to slider foods. so am i crazy or can you band get tighter a week later?

Hi I was banded may 20, 2011 and it's been a journey. Let me see if i can answer your questions: 1. girl sometimes my tracker works and sometimes it doesnt. just decided to stop fooling with it! LOL sorry i know that didnt answer your question. 2.I like six star(got it at walmart) I prefer the chocolate. i add a teaspoon of Peanut Butter and a few slices of banana. I still drink this from time to time, when i dont wanna eat Breakfast or i'm rushing. 3. My surgery was done on an outpatient basis, which I was happy about. I had a friend drive me and stay with me the first two night. the most difficult thing is getting in/out of bed and i needed physical assistance with this the first night. it depends on your insurance i think most make you stay at least one night. i was self pay so i got around a lot of the loops insurance companies make you jump though. 4.Well the first thing i had to do was give them my credit card!!!LOL! I signed some final paper work, got my id bands and waited. Once taken to the back i put on the lovely gown and got comfy on the bed. A nurse came in took vitals and started my IV's. My friend came back and chatted with me. My doctor came in and we chatted a bit. i wanted to know how many incisions i would have and if he was using glue or staples or stiches. Another nurse had me swallow this really bitter solution to help calm the stomach acid before surgery. They started my ansthesia through my IV and rolled me out my room. My next recollection is being waken up by the nurse for me to get up and get in a chair(ugh i wanted to kill her, but that's a different story.) lol 5. My surgeon only uses the lap band so i dont know much about realize...sorry 6.I lost 15 pounds during my 2 week(actually 11 day) all liquid pre-op diet. 7. although my weight loss is slow(17 pounds 2 months out.) i also have hypothyroidism..i would do it again in a heartbeat. the best $12,500 ever spent!!!!! Please feel free to add me as a friend if you have further questions..before and after your get banded. i love sharing my experience with others. Best wishes hun! MUAH!

OK OK OK OK so it finally happened. I got stuck( not the first time) but the sliming this was new! I'm a therapist and on mon. wed and fri we having staffings with the doctors. Well that means i'm running around to different conference rooms meeting with dotors and writing my documentation and eating lunch. Well today I had some string beans a turkey patty with no bun or anything. I was walking down the hallway and mindlessly eating. Well apparently the piece of turkey patty I bit off was to big and i didnt chew it well enough. Someone noticed I was walking funny and i told her I had some food stuck in my throat. ( i couldnt tell her really why i was stuck cuz only 3 people at work know i had the band and she wasnt one of them.) i've been stuck before but never like this. I was in the bathroom for 10 minutes hanging over the toilet praying i wouldnt throw up. I ended up sliming(yeah pretty gross) It was sooooo painful until it finally went through. What lessons did I learn today! 1. no matter what i must cut my food into small pieces...i can no longer trust myself to take small bites if it's not already cut up 2. i can no longer rush and eat because then i'm not paying attention Ok these may be lessons I should have learned a while ago, but after today!!!!!!! trust me i have learned them well!

what you're feeling is normal. i am 2 months out. the feeling you're having is most likely gas. they say walking helps, and i did to a certain extent. i was plagued with the dreaded left shoulder pain, which i still get some times. i think you're doing fine. did your doc give you a lifting restriction. mine was 10 pounds for 4 weeks( and i'm a therapist..ugh), but i made it through. i didnt have an appetite for almost 3 weeks but trust me it will come back, enjoy it while you can! LOL! feel free to add me and PM with any other questions. always happy to help a fellow bandster!

i also had dermabond. i showered day 3 and it had already started peeling off. i just let it happen naturally and when it was hanging gently pulled it off

i had a hiatal hernia repaired when i had my band placed. the people i didnt want to know i just told them i had a hernai repaired. that way they know i had surgery, which would explain my pain etc. best wishes

man xaiver i wish my doc did fills like that!!!!

great post and i totally understand where you are coming from. i am learning to break up my goals into meal by meal as well and hopefully growing to day by day and on to weeks. best wishes on your journey!

thanks everyone for your reply's. i went in for my 3rd fill today. it was scheduled for next week but they called and cancelled since the doc wasnt gonna be in the office on that day. i have a gazillion things going on right now, so i had to go today. I was not shocked when i went for my weigh in and i had gained 3 pounds (2 of the 5 i had gained was from my cycle). I didnt feel like they were judging me. no one yelled at me or questioned why i had gained weight. the person who weighed me just politely told me you gained 2 pounds, but we're gonna fix that. i was so glad i didnt ge the stank eye! LOL my doc just asked me how things were goin. went thru the usual process and i was done. he told me to be careful cuz i was really tight. i dont mind that at all. so i'm just praying i get this ball back rolling again. everyone wants to know how much he put in, but honestly that doesnt really matter to me right now. i think that's just something else to stress about cuz if he said something like 10 cc's and i hade a 11 cc band(dont know if those are actual numbers) then i would be freaking out. so i'll just take what i have for now and move forward.

i'm going for my 3rd fill on monday. i cant wait till i get good restriction so i can get this ball rolling down hill!

Ok so I started back with my trainer last thursday and we did legs. i had the regular muscle soreness for the first 2 days, but then my left hip was hurting far more than i thought it should. Long story short I have a hip sprain! i'm soooooo upset. i was doing so good with working out consistently, now this! Also after my cycle left i have gained 5 pounds!!!! wth!!!! i called my doctor's office for another fill. right now the only thing that stops me from eating is myself. i know the band is not a cure all, but i only feel like i have one when i dont chew something well enough or drink a too large sip of water. I am trying not to get frustrated right now. I am almost 2 months out and i cant even get to a 20 pound weight loss!!!! i'm happy for others that are consistently losing, but i want to be one of them! ugh! i just needed to vent. thanks guys!

ok i'm pissed and it didnt even happen to me!!! that is some nerve! if i ask for your opinion then that's when i want it. otherwise how about a little more do your freaking job and a lot more shut the hell up! ugh! i understand not wanting to complain for fear of reprecussions on your behalf. that's a tough one cuz i wouldnt want her to do anything to jepordize your process. ugh! but that sucks!

welcome all my chicago bandsters. feel free to PM with any questions. i'm 6 weeks out.

girl you sound just like me! i enjoyed reading your post! congrats on getting into those capris! My weight loss tends to happen at my waist and top half first. Now if we could combine ours bodies weight loss trends we'd be some bad shut yo mouths! LOL! I have 7.5 cc's in my band (2nd fill) cuz the first one did nothing! Keep up the great work hun! I wear a size 2X scrubs but they are falling off but the 1X is still too small. i need a damn 1.5X LOL. hmmmm i need to invent clothes that shrink with our bodies when we are between sizes! LOL! Have a good holiday and enjoy your time in ATL!

I'm with you Cindy. Not looking forward to losing the girls. However I have been "overweight" since I was around 8, so I have no idea what it's like to be thinner as an adult. I'm sooooo looking forward to it. I am learning this this is an adjustment for me.

i am 6 weeks out so i'm on normal foods. the first time i went to a resturant to eat it was with my family and to a buffet none the less. i had one plate, where before i would have 2-3 and i was totally content. it was more frustratin knowing my family was watching what, how and how much i was eating! ugh!!! like i was an exhibit at the museum. wow 2 weeks and you can have solids. my surgeon was way more strict. i think even after 4 weeks when i was allowed solids i still did pureed foods at times just cuz i was petrified to hurt my band....i dont want to ever have surgery again. i think having people there to distract you so you're not so focused on the actual eating part and being able to pause and talk between food helps. Best wishes on your journey

i had terrible constipation a few weeks after surgery and i was soooo afraid i was gonna cause my band to slip while tryng to ....well you know. i am in health care too and i know better, that pain meds cause constipation. i figured out that mine was because once i started pureed foods i totally slacked on my Water and chewable Fiber pills.. i took some stool softners and prune juice and upped my water intake and after a few days back to normal. i would advise asking your doc for recommendations of things that wont be so harse on your stomach or your pharmacist. i would also say dont stop drinking water like a dummy like I did! WHEW! i'lll never do that again. congrats on being banded!

i used to have a side ache. i told my doctor that i discovered it like 5 days after surgery. i felt like someone literally kicked me in the ribs. My doc thought it may be due to how i was positioned on the table. i had no bruising. it was weird, but within 2 weeks it went away. never did figure out what that was. LOL

So I am almost 6 weeks out and i still have the dreaded shoulder pain sometimes. I've read in other threads that's how some people know they have eaten to much. Hmmmm today at work i had to rush through lunch, while making doctor's appointments, car appointments, writing a report and trying to talk to a doctor about her patient...needless to say it wasnt fun. I had made some chicken salad. I noticed shortly after eating that my shoulder was hurting. I'm starting to wonder if that's my sign for eating too fast or too much. I will have to pay close attention to that. I had my first training session since April. I was so excited. then i told him i wanted to continue cuz the first year of training i had so many things going on....finding out i had hypothyroidism..trying to get my levels correct...some slacking off and then the lap band. I want to up my sessions to two per week and we've worked out a deal! I'm gonna do some laps in the pool tomorrow since i'm eyelash and weave free for a minute anyway! LOL! Hope eveyone has a great holiday weekend.

Hi briemarrow, I havent had the experience of getting anything"stuck" at this point and I pray I never do. I wanted to tell you DONT EVER STOP ASKING QUESTIONS!! if someone doesnt want to answer them, then they should just keep right on past the thread. There are a few negative people on this site, but dont let them discourge you, there are far more poeple willing to answer any and all questions. I'm sure as more new people join there are repeats of questions..sooooo what, that's why this forum is here. best wishes to you!