NJGirl32

Truthfully I am so tired of hearing that I have to track this and record that - I didn't sign up for weight watchers which is all about keeping track of "points". I mean we had surgery-yes surgery-our bodies have incisions on them and we had a piece of plastic put inside around our stomach! It needs to do it's part too!! I feel like I shouldn' have to wait months and months before the band starts having a significant effect on me and my ability to control portion size and satiety. Oh it's so frustrating-I feel like I am doing my part the best of my ability-my kitchen is filled with diet friendly food and I go to the gym 3-4 times a week, even Zumba classes! I am at 3.5ccs in what I believe is a 10cc band. Wow, I never knew the band could be such a slow process! I am hoping with a couple more fills my attitude will change and I'll have better control of my eating.

OMG! I am so sorry to hear you had to go through all of this-how terrible! But it is such a good thing they caught it in time! What are the signs of a band slip? How did your band erode so much? I thought they were suppose to last forever (pretty much)? Does the band actually erode into your body? Thank you for the advise and I wish you a speedy recovery!

Thanks guys! Unfortunately this fill hasn't done the job either! I have an appointment with my surgeon on August 22nd-that would be 11 days between fills - so I really don't know if he'll do that-plus I have a cruise to go on the 25th. I might just wait until 9/2 for the next fill. It's so frustrating not getting the proper fill! Well I guess I got this far and each fill is a step closer to my sweet spot! @ Melissa-how did you know that you had a band slippage? What were the signs? Did they have to operate again or just let things work themselves out? How big is your band? Good luck to you!

Update- well good news and bad news...they did give me a fill (very happy about that), but it was only .5cc. The doctor was very nice and agreed that I needed a fill and actually took time to ask me questions and give me advice. He explained that after 3ccs (which I had) they only put in .5ccs at each fill. I don't feel too bad because I remember someone saying the band is like a balloon and after you inflate it somewhat it simply doesn't take as much to get it filled (tighter). SO far I don't feel any different at 3.5ccs-so we'll see! Good lesson though-if you are hungry and not losing weight go for a fill even if it hasb't been 6 weeks or 4 weeks! Can't waitto get this thing on track!

That is the craziest thing I've heard of! Why on earth would they want you to sign that?! They might as well had you sign a paper saying you'll never over eat again-I mean seriously!

First I wanted to know if you get stuck does that mean you have some sort of restriction in which back up the opening of the band? Secondly, when I get stuck it seems to be in the middle of my chest-not in my stomach area. I always was under the impression that being stuck meant something was stuck over the stomach opening?? Am I wrong-I am thinking I must be! I don't feel like I have restriction, but I can't eat breaded chicken or I get that feeling in my chest. What's causing that if I don't have restriction?

You are right!! I looked up a diagram of the stomach!! Thanks, I never knew the stomach was that high up!

Keep us posted!!! Thank goodness they took the fill out-I am guessing they'll wait and see if it slides back into place? Hope everything works out for you soon!

OMG!! What a difference!!!!!!!!! You look amazing!!!

That is the 2nd miracle baby story I've read in the last week on this thread! Maybe the Lapband should having a warning that it may cause pregnancy!! lol That is really suck wonderful news! What an exciting 9 months you have ahead of you!

Thanks for the reminder! Can you tell me what happened as far as the slip? How did you know the band slipped-could you feel it? Did they have to do surgery again?

The first 6 weeks is ALL about healing and nothing else. You shouldn't really focus on losing or worry about gaining. Your insides have just been through surgery and need time to properly heal. Making sure you are taking your Vitamins and having enough Protein will help in the healing process. Again-the first 6 weeks is only about healing-so relax. Now I am going to be brutually honest here and say that it may take several fills and several months before you really start losing-do not be dicouraged!! With each fill you will inch closer to what many refer to as the "sweet spot" and the band will start doing it's part. This is not a surgery for the impatient. Very few people have quick weight loss, especially in the few few months-which is unless GBS. With that beiing said...you will get there-you absolutely will! Keep all your fill appointments, watch what you eat, drink lots of Water, and exercise. If you go to YouTube you'll see lots of video diaries of people who tracked each week of the journey on YouTube. Whatever week you are at you'll see that you are normal in your frustration and worries-but you'll get there if you keep moving forward. Good luck to you!

I had 2 C-sections plus the extra weight so I definitely will always have a floppy belly unless I get a TT (which I am not really thinking about at this point). The only thing that really held me in was stockings from JCPenny (tummy control queen sized). It really did the trick. When I was on the dating scene I would wear them with a short because they pulled the fat in from my legs too-and they were comfortable! I know it's summer but with fall hits you might wantto check out somesupport stockings.

Karon-I think it's either a failure to chew and take tiny bites like you said or certain foods just seem to expand inside like bread and rice. It is a terrible feeling! The stomach is a lot lower than the stuck food so I am not sure exactly why stuff gets stuck!

I am posting another one of my favs-slice a 1/2 of banana (or fruit of your choice)in a mug, add 1 teaspoon of Peanut Butter (optional). SF choc pudding and a little bit of cool whip.. OMG-this is SO good! Or get mini vanilla Nilla Cookies (they are not many calories ) and I put 3 0r 4 minis in a mug with 3 thin slices of banana and top with SF vanilla pudding cup (60 calorie kind), a dollop of cool whip!

I use a chocolate protein shake (Total Lean GNC) with ice cubes it the blemder along with 1/2 a banana=blend up! I would advise using half of the protein shake because it makes a lot. Then I put a dollop of LF cool whip and squirt a teeny dizzle of SF Smucker cho. syrup. This is SO yummy and filling!!!! If you don't have GNC's shake (which I like because it has 23 vitamins and high protein and is thinner than other shakes) you can use carnation instant breakfast packets and skim milk. It's like a milk shake!

I have had 2 fills so far in what I believe to be a 10cc band (when I asked the doctor he just said it was a medium band?). My NUT old me that I now have 3ccs of fill. I have no restriction and can eat large amounts. With the second fill I noticed that I can't eat certain things for fear of being stuck-but not because I am full. My doc does fills every 6 weeks. I managed to schedule my appointments 4 weeks apart so I have been lucky. This Thursday I have an appointment for a fill but it has only been 20 days. Part of me is worrying that he'll say come back in another 21 days-I don't want to wait that long!! It's so frustrating having the surgery and then having to wait so long between fills. I could go on August 22nd and I think they would do a fill then-but I am not sure about the 11th? I really didn't wantto do the 22nd because I leave for a cruise three days later. Did anyone speed up their fills instead of waiting the 6 weeks? Did they still give you the fill? I am Dr. Strom patient in NJ.

Thanks for the input! I was wondering if you go to a "Center of Excellence" site that they may require 6 weeks? I am goingto go anyway and tell him that I don't have restriction at all-zero-and I am starting to gain which I totally don't want!

We will have days like that-the point is to simply reflect on how you could have handled it differently and learn from it and move on. The band isn't going anywhere and with proper fills it will help deter you from some bad choices. We all have been there-I can't wait until I feel more restricction so I can better manage my portion control. Good luck to you!

This thread is too funny!! lol Congrats to all of you! I lost my Jack Russell and his 3 pounds bag of dog food! lol When you put it into perspective it really is amazing how we carried all that extra weight around each day-no wonder we were always so tired!

What a transformation!! Awesome job!

I went and I loved it!! I smiled the entire time-it was intense!! The next day I felt it! I did feel like I had 2 left feet, but my class had ALL ages and ALL sizes! I wasn'tthe heaviest obe in class (maybe the 2nd). It was a freshing change from the treadmill and machines.

Whoa!!! What a difference!! You look beautiful!! Congratulations on achieving what many just dream of-and it's amazing that you did all of this in a year! Enjoy being skinny out in the world!

I decided to fully commit and join a gym last week! I convinced my 19 yr. old and my 24 yr. old to join too. They had a really good special going on so I figure why not? Last night I bought myself some exercise outfits. I really hate working out-I am 48 years old and I doubt if I'll ever be one of "those" people who are just simply addicted to working out! But, at my age my metabolism is really slow and I need something too jump start it. I have noticed my weight loss is very slow too and it's my hope that exercising will help. It took me 25 minutes to walk a mile on the treadmill-25 minutes!! I am headed to the gym today so hopefully I can do a little better than that! My eating has been ok-I could do better. We eat out a lot and I do try to avoid the bread basket and I usually order fish, but eating out is definitely extra calories no matter what the heck you order. At a friend's house I had 3 beers. I have felt bloated ever since. I think if I am going to partake in a beverage it will have to be something other than beer. Maybe just bring my own Crystal Light mixture. As far as fills- well my doc wants me to come in every 6 weeks. My last 2 fills have been 4 weeks because I am not waiting 6 friggen weeks! I have an appointment on Monday and it will only be 17 days since my last fill. I am afraid he'll say-sorry no fill - too soon! But I am going anyway! I want this band to start working better! I am so glad I didn't tell anyone about the band (other than my hubby and a girl I work with) because everyone would be thinking-WTH I thought she had surgery-where's the weight loss?! I can tell I have loss weight and I am definitely down a size in clothes-but it's painfully slow and when you are heavy it's not as noticable to other people until you lose about 30-40 pounds. If I can lose 25 pounds more it would be a huge defference-so that's my short term goal! Good luck to all of you in Bandland!

I went shopping and the same thing-I actually enjoyed trying on clothes!! I tried on a size 16 dress-a little snug, but spanx could take care of that! Size 18s are loose-but fit-I can't believe it! I am 5'6 at 222-I figure another 10 pounds and I'lll be in a comfortable size 16-even jeans! Who would have thought that trying on clothes could feel so good! Congrats!!!