kristallynn13

In my opinon it seems as though sometimes the people doing really well w/ the band get a little judgy and forget that we all are obese people with the worst eating habits in the world and people come here for support not judgment you know who you are if your one of the ones who forgot the compassion that needs to go with your judgment we all need help or we wouldn't be here right?

Went to the doctor today. Sick as a dog (not due to lapband)...Anyway I got on the scale and realized I am now 162lbs, a total of 90 lbs lost since surgery 2/8/11!

Warning Mature Content
To be honest I was having sex with my wife and I noticed I couldn't go as deep as I use too, because of my belly. So I guess I did it because I wanted my d**k to look bigger…LOL
And all the other stuff you guys mentioned too.

Ok honey, first and foremost...cut yourself a little slack. The lap band is not a magic bullet, and we all have days (weeks even) where we screw up. It's a normal part of the process...that's how you learn. You will have periods where you will want to eat anything that's not nailed down, and there will be times nothing goes down right. Right now you are just coming out of surgery, and you need to heal. You can't do that if your beating yourself up over a cookie. Let it go, and relax a little...you'll find the band works better when your relaxed and in control...less emotional eating. And, btw...my surgeon said to me that I was going to have some depression after surgery, you kinda go into mourning. You want the ability to eat like you did before, but that life is over for you now...completely terrifying...but normal. So, I hope that helped you, and remember we're all here for you!!
Kelly

So I went to my primary care doctor last week. I hadn't seen him in six months. It was the beginning of my journey into lapband and weight loss. At that time I was 295 or so. I told him I was going to lose all this weight and have lapband done. I am sure he has heard the pledges of many overweight patients to finally lose the excess weight. He probably put very little faith in my statements. My weight was 225 when I went last week. That was a 70 pound loss. I could see the disbelief and pride in his face. Toward the end of the visit, he asked, "What was the one deciding factor that finally made you decide to lose weight?". Well, in the past 6 months, I have been asked this question many times and already had a rehearsed response. It came out like a reflex. I said I was sick of hurting everywhere all the time. Although this is one of the reasons, it does not begin to scratch the surface as to why. I failed to mention the very important reasons why. Such as the fact that at 317 pounds, I was wishing death upon myself almost everyday all day. I became a prisoner in my own body. I was ashamed to be seen in public with my children, boyfriend, friends, and co-workers. I knew my children were embarrassed to be seen with me in public. Hell, I was embarrassed to be seen with me. I was unable to wash my private areas without becoming a contortionist. I was unable to use tampons because I couldn't reach. My ankles, knees, hips, legs, chest, hurt all the time. My self-esteem was in the gutter. I was short of breath with any physical exertion. I couldn't hardly fit in my larger model car. I could barely heave my large ass out of the car when I did get in it. The reasons go on and on and on....
I have so much to be thankful now. My energy level is through the roof. I am confident. I am much more active in my social life. I have dumped the abusive boyfriend I had been settling for. I have discovered bones that I didn't know I had. I enjoy foods that are healthy. I seek out new friendships and relationships. For the first time in 42 years, I can say I love myself and really feel it and mean it. Life is good. I feel truly blessed to have had this opportunity to reclaim my life and begin living.

So I went to my primary care doctor last week. I hadn't seen him in six months. It was the beginning of my journey into lapband and weight loss. At that time I was 295 or so. I told him I was going to lose all this weight and have lapband done. I am sure he has heard the pledges of many overweight patients to finally lose the excess weight. He probably put very little faith in my statements. My weight was 225 when I went last week. That was a 70 pound loss. I could see the disbelief and pride in his face. Toward the end of the visit, he asked, "What was the one deciding factor that finally made you decide to lose weight?". Well, in the past 6 months, I have been asked this question many times and already had a rehearsed response. It came out like a reflex. I said I was sick of hurting everywhere all the time. Although this is one of the reasons, it does not begin to scratch the surface as to why. I failed to mention the very important reasons why. Such as the fact that at 317 pounds, I was wishing death upon myself almost everyday all day. I became a prisoner in my own body. I was ashamed to be seen in public with my children, boyfriend, friends, and co-workers. I knew my children were embarrassed to be seen with me in public. Hell, I was embarrassed to be seen with me. I was unable to wash my private areas without becoming a contortionist. I was unable to use tampons because I couldn't reach. My ankles, knees, hips, legs, chest, hurt all the time. My self-esteem was in the gutter. I was short of breath with any physical exertion. I couldn't hardly fit in my larger model car. I could barely heave my large ass out of the car when I did get in it. The reasons go on and on and on....
I have so much to be thankful now. My energy level is through the roof. I am confident. I am much more active in my social life. I have dumped the abusive boyfriend I had been settling for. I have discovered bones that I didn't know I had. I enjoy foods that are healthy. I seek out new friendships and relationships. For the first time in 42 years, I can say I love myself and really feel it and mean it. Life is good. I feel truly blessed to have had this opportunity to reclaim my life and begin living.

I am 42 and would rather the time off than the $$$$$, just me! )

Thanks all...it is hard to believe that 5 months ago I was wearing a 22!

I agree, you can't really change who people are or how they act. Success is the best revenge. Keep your eye on the prize.

OMG!!! I AM A SIZE 14 PETITE!!! I HAVEN'T BEEN THIS SIZE IN 19 YEARS.... I'M SO EXCITED.BEST DECISION I MADE IN MY LIFE

If you were addicted to cocaine would he tell you to just figure this addiction stuff out on you own with no medical assistance? I would guess not. This is a long term solution. Most of us can loose weight the question is can we keep it off forever.

I have also had this type of response from my dad, friends, and co-workers. Depending on the relationship I have with the person saying the comment is how I judge my response. Usually it goes something like this....I have lost hundreds, if not thousands of pounds in my lifetime. Losing weight is not the problem. Keeping it off after I lose it is. If you have never been morbidly obese, you could never began to understand what it is like. This is my decision. Your approval is not neccessary.
Good luck! It is only your journey to take. You decide how to take it.

Can I tell you...for me, Its because of jealousy and the fact I cant face my own disappointments in myself. My best friend, who has been my best friend since we were 9...started weight watchers in january - shes lost about 40 pounds...and i notice...i never say anything...because it reminds me of how much of a failure i am - she has seen me lose and gain and lose and gain...this was her first attempt at changing her lifestyle.How come she can do it and I cant? I am jealous of her. So much so that i cant bare to hang out with her. Because looking at her makes me think about how I want to be in her shoes so badly....I want those things...maybe its me being caddy. I dont know. But thats why i dont say anything....and I hate myself for it - because she deserves to hear it...and I just cant do it because it kills me inside.

me too. i work monday through friday 9-5 so i keep in open on my computer. as I am pre-surgery, i enjoy reading and knowing what i should expect after surgery from current bandsters. it is a great resource.

I had a check up with my lap band Dr. this morning. I was thinking I might be needing a fill ( I've been a lot hungrier and have been eating aprox 300 calories more per day) and she suggested taking Fluid out of my band.
Apparently, Austraila - which has been doing lap-band surgery longer than anyone, has done a study showing that if you eat and you feel the food sitting on top of your band your esopogus is working extremely hard to push that food through the band, eventually this will weaken your esophogus and it will lose some of it's strength to contract and push food through the band. She said that they are finding that it's the feel of the food going through the band, not the filling of the pouch that makes you feel full. If you over work the esophogus it could permanently be damaged, hence, affecting the band.
She said that you should be able to feel each bite go through the band before you take another bite. My food definately sits on top of my band, sometimes anyway. I don't know what to think, I told her I didn't want an unfill but I would do it if she thought I should.
We decided to go two weeks, really think about each bite. I don't know that I can feel the food go through the band but she said I should be able too. I'm going to experiment for 2 weeks then we will make the decision.
She said the Austrailian study "rules" for eating are.
20 - bites. 1 bite per minute. You should feel each bite move through the band before taking the next.
I said I didn't know if I could feel it but she said I should be able to, if I eat a few bites and can feel the food sitting on top of the band ( which I definately can at times) then my band is too tight.
I left feeling sort of deflated. I don't know why, scared I guess of being able to eat too much. We'll see what happens the next couple of weeks.
On a brighter note: I weigh 297 pounds!!! I started this journey 1 year 4 months ago and and have seen my weight start with 3 different hundreds now - 400 - 300 and now 200. Don't know if I'll ever see Onederland but I'm gonna give it my best shot.
Uff.... not sure what to think!

It's the thin woman in me finally get the chance to shine! I haven't become a health nut but I am loving the changes and the fact that I can do more than ever before - so I am doing as much as I can.
I'm not sure what the difference is except that I have made a major investment financially, physically and emotionally in getting the band. If I want to live with any quality of life, I have to make this succeed for me.

After a 50-60 lb loss, things can only get better.

I just made pizza for my kids and wanted to cry because I wanted to eat so bad!! I actually licked the sauce off my fingers...shameful I know! Im one week out as well, and I know how you feel! But we can do this, right?? Right???

I eat a lot of cottage cheese! Today my hubby, who is an execuative chef, made me up a batch of the most delicious egg salad. I pretty much ate egg salad & wheat ritz.crackers all day. Lol. I also try to drink yo on the go, a yougurt smoothie, every day. Occaddionally I make my self mini pizzas on small tortilla shells. I don't do well with beef any more, sad b/c I used to love steak, so I eat mostly chicken.< /p>

It depends how much saline you have in your band - how tight you are. I don't have much restriction (5.5 ccs in 14 cc band) and can still eat pizza with no problems (even thick crust). I do eat way less than i used to - depending on the pizza i can comfortably have 1 slice, sometimes 2 (some times 1.5 slice) - it all depends. I used to eat a whole half of a large pizza so i'm doing a heck of a lot better these days. I've been losing great - and maybe have pizza on average 2-3 times a month.

I can't imagine eating anything like a burger, even without Buns, just three weeks post op. I was still on mushies at that stage!
Now six months out and I've only had one stuck episode and although my instinctive reaction was to grab a mouthful of drink to wash it down, it had the exact opposite effect and hastened the return process.
Stick with your dr's advice, follow any rules given (cos we all get different rules depending on which surgeon we are with), and good luck.

Welcome to the club. It was your first episode, and trust me, it will not be your last. It's all part of being banded.
Yes. It is a learning experience, and over time, you will have to adapt to an entire new way of eating. I hope you've learned a few things from this episode.
In my case, I would say Burger Kings and other such places are 99.9% off limits. Wendy's Chili works good for a quick lunch but that's about it.
I can't eat a burger patty, meat is too tough! For that matter, I don't eat much red meat at all lately.

Drinking something (anything) while being stuck is not recommended, unless you are prepared for what will happen next.
If stuck, nothing can pass, or passes real slow. Thus the sliming begins. Drink anything and it has no where to go, will add to the sliming
process so to speak, and it will all come up almost instantly.

I have been stuck more times than I can remember, but not at all in the past month or so because I have adapted new eating habits, food choices, etc. I have learned the hard way.
My Dr. laughs at me when I tell him my experiences.

When I have gotten stuck, I would sip some Water while standing over the sink to get rid of it quickly rather than dragging it on.

Thanknyou to everyone. I cant tll you how much your comments mean to me. I need to stay off the scale and keep doing what I am doing. I am glad I am not alone. I need to lower my expectations, or rather, slower them... it will take time. You all rockThanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's normal to not lose or even gain some weight after surgery. The first month or so is all about healing, not weightloss. I was banded Dec 2010, the same happened to me, I lost about 13 or 14lbs the first week and then maybe another pound or 2 until my first fill, 6 weeks after surgery. Once I started getting fills the weight started coming off slowly. The more fills I get over time, the more restriction I get followed by more weightloss. I have months where I'll lose a good amount of weight, and some where I only lose a few or none at all.

For some of us it may take a few fills to gain restriction. You have to be patient and be very careful with what you are eating in between fills. If you aren't feeling restriction prior to fills you will have to diet all on your own as best as you can until your band starts helping you. The process of getting the band is so exciting and patience is the last thing we have when we've been through so much. We just want results right now, and that's understandable, I think most of us felt and/or feel that way. But that's not the reality of it (for most of us anyway), results may take a while. So just be patient for now, don't be upset if you gain a few pounds or if you're stuck at a certain weight, it's ok, you're on the right road. Give yourself time to recover before you start pushing yourself or being upset with yourself. The scale will start moving in the right direction before you know it.. Good luck!

I am so glad that this topic was posted. I was banded 9/27. Lost 22 lbs 2weeks pre and 2 weeks post, and now nothing. Very depressing. I am eating next to nothing. I get my first fill in a couple weeks. Hope that will make a difference. Think positive!! This too shall pass.