smyly

Hi all, I just had a question for anyone who can answer it. I had a fill yesterday and since I had it I have been extremely gasy. Has anyone else had this issue or am I the black sheep of the bunch? It seems worse than before when it happened. Of course I am almost at my sweet spot. I am at 3.2cc's now in a 4cc band. I really didn't want to ask this question considering it is a little you know...personal. Hopefully this will jump start my weight loss, since I have been maintaining for two months now.

TracyinKS: Where your hair up, with some soft tendrils down. Wear some drop earrings too. This would look so nice. Love the dress, it is very pretty and you look great!

Thank you so much Tracy... I have a fill appointment next week on Thursday. How often have you gotten your fills? Tis is the longest I have gone. I just want to be in onderland by March...possible or impossible? I am leaning toward possible with hard work and determination!! Have a great day Violets.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been going through some things. My Grandfather passed away before Thanksgiving, and then all the Holiday stuff, been busy. I have been having some serious weight loss issues. I can't sem to break the 223 mark. I have been fluctuating between 223 and 226. I am in need of a fill. My last one was two and half months ago, and the past month I haven't felt much restriction. Could this be the culprit? I am so damn impatient lately with my weight loss. I know I should be proud of all that I have accomplished so far. I mean 67 ponds is no small feat. I think we have all have felt this one time or another. Would someone please try to help me with this slump I am in, before I do some serious damage. Thank you all.

Kity: Don't worry so much and stress about the weight staying a t a certain point. I did that and it got me so stressed I started losing clumps of hair, not worth it I think. I was told by my doctor that it is normal for lap banders to plateau for a while, especially if you are exercising. You start to gain muscle and muscle weighs more than fat, so your weight stays the same, Once your muscle gets strong enough to burn the fat, then the weight will start to come off. Trust me I know... I stayed at 230 for about amonth and a half. I stuck with the calories of 680-800 and exercised 5-6 days a week and now I am down to 223. It will pay ff I promise. So don't get discouraged and hang in there. I know you can do it!!

Jennifur - Don't get discouraged with your weight staying the same or bouncing between two numbers. I had the same issue, I could not break the 229-230 mark for about 2 months. I finally had another fill, which makes my 4th fill and now I am at 3cc in a 4cc band. I was told by the doctor that a plateau or a fluctuation between a few punds is absolutely normal for lap banders. She also said that if you keep measuring, journaling, exercising and get in your fluids, eventually it will drop off again. She also said that muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are exercisng consistently and strength training as well you are building muscle. Until the fat can get burned off from the muscle, then your weight will fluctuate or stay exactly the same. Some encouragement with this is that I stuck with it and I now am down to 226. I had this goal for September, but I finally got it last week. So I am a little late but I still got there with lots of persistent and pursirverance. And you will too!! So keep up the good work and eventually you will get there.

Lauraj23 - Good for you with the less than 100 pounds to go. Doesn't it feel great. I can't wait to get to onderland, only 27 pounds to go. It seems like alot, yet what amount I started with to lose was definatley greater than that, so 27 seems like a walk in the park. TracyinKS- Have you hit onderland yet? If so how long did it take you? Well have a great weekend to all you shrinking violets, hope there is less of you (weight wise) all next week.

Thank you all for welcoming me to your group. You all seem like lots of fun. I had my 3rd fill last week. It's okay, but not as restricted as I would like. I need to wait until October 1st to get my next one. I don't have insurance right now, and I am sure it is pricey to self-pay. I'll just have to stay self-motivated and keep a watchful eye on the food scale! My weight seems to be slowing down to a pound a week. So I am hoping with the next fill I will be fuller faster. Well you all have a great day!!

Hi Tracy: I would like to join the Shrinking Violets. I was banded April 30, 2007. What do I need to do to join?

Hi Mich: Glad to hear back from you. You can email my direct email at smylyp@sbcglobal.net if you want and we can keep in touch. I have my fills at the UMass Medical Center at the Weight Loss Center. I actually am going today for my third fill, a little nervous. I was hoping for more of a weight loss this visit. But I guess 9 pounds in 6 weeks is okay. I just was hoping for more. But at least it's going down not up. Keep me posted on your Boston visit, hope all goes well. Talk to you soon.

I had my band done April 30, 2007. Has anyone run into a plateau between the second and third fill? Does this break after a fill? or at least speed it up? I am concerned that my weight loss is going to slow down until I reach my goal? Is this normal or I am I the only minute case? Please let me know, thanks.

I could feel my port right away. Now three months post-op I can grab it with my fingers, it is right below my rib cage.

hlayne, I have had two fills. The first one was 1cc and the second was .5cc. My doctor also said it is better to do this slowly until you reach your spot where it will stay full. How many fills have you had? and how long since your surgery date?

Good Morning Mich, I am glad you are looking in to the program at UMass. I had done about a year of research and found that Dr. Kelly at the Weight Center at UMass to be the best. He is the one of the top in his field and he started the program at UMass. I started the process in September 2006. I had to go to two seminars at the UMass auditoriums. Then I contacted UMass to set up for the process. You go to classes for nutrition, information regarding the process and what it intails. Then you have exercise classes, if the surgeon gives the okay for you to do so, if not, you will start that after surgery once your clearde with the surgeon. Then you meet with the nutritionist and psychologist. If the psychologist doesn't give the okay it can set you back a month or so before they call you with a surgery date. One thing you must know though is that if you should really make sure this is what you want and are ready for the committment and dedication this change in your life will take, because it is an everyday challenge. I had my surgery on April 30, 2007. It seemed like forever. But I am glad that it took as long as it did, because I was a very emotional and hard process after surgery. Once I had my surgery, I was sent home a few hours later. I felt good, and I recovered from the anesthesia very well and could walk around right away, which helped. Although be prepared for the gas and pressure from the anesthesia, especially within the first two days after surgery. Walk as much as possible and purchase GasX strips and Tums as well. If they give you pain medication like Percocet or Oxycodone, it causes severe constipation, please make sure you have Milk of Magnesia on hand, because if you don't it's not pretty, trust me. After the first week it is better, you can move around more and you feel a little more comfortable. It took me about a month to feel like my old self again. But after that it was like I had this new lease on life. I didn't have to take my Tagamet or my two high blood pressure meds anymore. That was the biggest relief I could have hoped for. I am now just about 3 months post-op and I have lost 57.9 pounds. This has not been easy. You still have to exercise every day if possible and weigh EVERYTHING!!! I know it seems like it's time consuming, but you don't want to have gone through all this hard work for nothing. I wish you all the luck in your journey. If you have any questions or you want to keep in touch, please email me at smylyp@sbcglobal.net and I will help you through this any way I can. Good Luck From, Smyly

I was banded on April 30th and have lost 57.9 pounds. I have only had two fills. The first one was for 1cc and the second one was for .5cc. How long does a normal fill stay restricted? I only felt that way for about two weeks now and my next fill isn't until September 15th. They said they would only fill me .5cc at a time, is this normal? Should I call to try and get in sooner? or does it take more than 3 fills to feel more restricted? Anyone can yo help me? Thanks so much.